Glenn looked at the dagger in his hands. It was delicately carved from a marble-like material, black as night and streaked with golden veins. It was a wonder of craftsmanship and looked sharp enough to cut through stone like butter. The young man hesitated to try it but then remembered the price of making a new one. He made a wry smile and dismissed it, glancing back at Reginald, who was still sitting in front of him. The gentleman played with his mustache, before smiling politely.

"Congratulations on reaching the Black-Gold rank, Fixer Glenn. You truly made your way up in these three months, didn't you?" The gentleman slightly leaned forward, crossing his fingers together. Glenn answered with a silent nod, choosing not to reminisce on the said three months.

"So be it. I'll present you the opportunity to receive a recommendation from the Gold Church, then," Reginald slipped his hand in his vest, pulling out a document and holding it toward Glenn. The young man took it, his eyes quickly going through it. He soon stopped on a picture depicting a somewhat familiar face. A voice chimed in with a surprised tone in his mind. 'Isn't that the guy who was...?' Glenn's eyes widened slightly, and he pointed at the paper in shock.

"The hell? Isn't that the guy who transformed into a monster?"

Reginald nodded slightly, inviting the young man to read more. Glenn went through the document, his mind fuming with puzzlement. 'What...Why the fuck do they want me to investigate that guy? Don't they know who he is? And why is it so important the Gold Church would place importance on it? I'm going crazy...'

The gentleman in front of him chuckled, straightening his classy vest.

"I can see what you're thinking. To make it short, let's just say that what descended into that poor man's body shouldn't have been able to do so, unless the host was someone special to begin with..." Reginald trailed off, casting a shadow on his face.

"Someone special, huh..." Glenn thought back to the rose tattoo on the man's neck and the appearance of roses growing on the creature. Indeed, the Thorn's Church seemed hellbent on finding him for whatever use, is it to make him a "host" of some sort? But why would he be a better host than, let's say, the rose-tattoo man there?

Additionally, they did manage to make the rose-tattoo man into a host, inviting something, no, someone who also knew about Glenn. Someone aware of his time in the Church's prison... Could it be that the mastermind behind that hell hole was the one who possessed and transformed the tattoo man into that thorn/vines monster?

Glenn's mind raced as he tried to make sense of it all. He picked up the file and went through it again, focusing deeply on the matter. Reginald stood up, bowing slightly while tipping his hat.

"I'll trust you with the matter, Fixer Glenn. It's not an urgent one, but you're the only one who can take care of it without risking a leak of information," The gentleman smiled darkly and turned on himself, the small booth warping and moving in an unnatural matter. Glenn raised his head when he heard Reginald's last words.

"After all, you'll be the one at the most risk if you do end up leaking something... Hahaha!"

A second later, Glenn found himself not in the Gold-rank hidden room, but another one. The walls and decorations were made out of a black marble strained with gold, and the lights themselves seemed to be made out of gold. There were few people in the room, and all seemed pretty comfortable doing their things. But, somehow, they all exuded a strange sense of hidden strength. Glenn felt like any of the persons there could be a potential danger to him, something he never felt while hanging around the Gold-rank Fixers.

At the end of the room, past a few pool or poker tables, there was a huge, pristine bar filled with rows and rows of bottles of liquor. Glenn's gaze was irremediably pulled when he recognized the single figure sitting at the bar. He steadily walked up to the bar and pulled a chair under him, sitting next to the hot lady there. The barmaid cleaning a glass looked at him with a radiant smile, the same one the pretty receptionists in the Main Hall wore.

"Long time no see, Teacher Mary," Glenn said with a respectful tone while gesturing to the beautiful barmaid to serve him something. The lady next to him sighed, before downing in one shot an amber-colored liquor. The barmaid swiftly served the same drink Mary was drinking to Glenn, putting two ball-shaped ice cubes in it alongside a slice of lemon.

"...Damn it, you're already a Dark-Gold? Shit..." The woman pulled down on her face while playing with her glass with her other hand. The corner of Glenn's lip trembled slightly before he dipped his lips into the unknown beverage. He tasted it, freezing in awe, before putting down the drink very slowly and carefully, acting as if the glass had become a very potent bomb.

"...What the hell are you drinking, Miss Mary? This is...dangerous, to say the least!" Glenn blurted out, staring at the drink in horror. Mary rolled her eyes and took the drink for herself, emptying the glass as quickly as it was filled, disregarding the two ice cubes and the slice of lemon.

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"I guess congratulations are in order. Wouhou, congrats Glenn, you're a Dark-Gold rank," Mary said with a barely happy tone, her chin leaning in her left hand. The young man beside her turned slightly, throwing at her a suspicious gaze.

"Teacher, don't tell me you...again?" Mary's eyes flashed toward him, pausing for a few seconds before a lightning-fast kick landed in his ribs. Glenn bent over, holding the bar with a trembling hand. He took a few seconds to gather his breath, before looking up again. Somehow, Mary looked a little happier now.

"...Damned sadist..." Glenn whispered, rubbing the part that hurt with a pained face. He suddenly bowed forward with an extremely apologetic expression, narrowly dodging another hit. Mary sketched a smile, before sighing loudly. The young man risked himself to stand back straight, before taking out the document Reginald gave him.

"By any chance Teacher, do you have an idea of who..." The woman stopped him by raising her hand, shaking it dismissively.

"I'm also in the investigation, Glenn. And I also have no idea of who the fuck is this poor guy. So don't bother." She ordered another drink, not sparing him a glance. A voice whistled in Glenn's mind, mocking him.

'And that would be my cue to leave. Or your cue, you know?' Glenn thanked Mary anyway and slipped the document into his small dimensional pouch. He gave one last glance at the beautiful and wide room, before heading for the exit door. He came out in the hallway he previously entered, only a little further in it compared to where the Gold-rank door was situated.

"What a mess..." Glenn sighed and rubbed the end of his nose. What should he start with?

'Well, let's do it step by step,' Diamanes interjected excitedly, 'It's been a long time since we took on an investigation! It always feels great to do those, I feel like Sherlock and you're playing Watson's part perfectly!'

Glenn sneered.

'You're sure you don't have that backward?'

They kept bickering while Glenn walked, arriving at the Cleaner's Workshop Library. He nodded at the bored librarian, and headed for a desk, sweeping a stack of empty paper and a pen.

"Alright, let's do this," The young man motivated himself, before writing up everything he knew about the young man. First, he had to situate what he knew.

The most important and visible thing was that rose tattoo. It's not something trendy at all in this day and age. Additionally, it was made exquisitely. I must investigate where it's been done and see if others have the same pattern.

Glenn's pen moved swiftly as he wrote up his thoughts.

Secondly, that guy was pretty handsome, and shouldn't have gone unnoticed. He probably had colleagues, friends, or even lovers. Shit, with a face like that, there should be a few women fawning over him. Yeah, I can also ask his neighbors, and find out if he had teammates to go on mission. See what he was able to do, his skill range, and what he was like back when he was alive.

The pen paused for a second, and the young man looked at the high glass ceiling for a few seconds, before going back to writing.

...Maybe the rose tattoo wasn't the only thing on his body that could help identify him. I don't know what's left after he got squashed down to death, but it wouldn't hurt to ask to see the corpse. I probably won't find much, but I'll take every lead at this point. I should also go through his stuff in his room, even if it's been half-destroyed. There should be some hints there, maybe some ID or something... Oh, I should ask if we can find the records and the silver dagger used as an ID. If he came out of King's Rise, he should also have an identification circle on one of his hands. Another reason to check on his body...

Diamanes chimed in, bringing his thoughts.

'Perhaps you should try and check with the Gold Church itself. Since they are interested in the matter, they might have some related intel.'

Glenn nodded, noting down the suggestion. He scratched his cheek with the end of the pen, before keeping on writing.

I'm not trying to find the murderer, but the identity of the victim. We already know the perpetrators are these cultist bastards. I have to keep that in mind so I do not stray off. That makes me think, I need to go see the Watchers of the Rampart to see if they met that guy. That could be another way to find some kind of hints. Should I also try to see if we can channel the dead's spirit? I never heard of such magic, but it might pay to explore that path. I need to remember this is a magical world. There probably are hints hidden only behind a thin veil of Mana.

Glenn put down his pen, looking at the paper in front of him. With that, he already formed a guideline about how he should deal with this investigation.

'Any good investigation begins with the corpse. After all, no corpse, no murder, no investigation, right?' Diamanes suggested. Glenn shrugged, as it didn't matter where he started. He placed his notes in his dimensional pouch, pocketing the pen alongside them, and left the Library. It wasn't thievery, he was a Dark-Gold rank Fixer! He had the right to take some paper and a pen, right?

He stepped outside, wondering where he should go to check the corpse out. A sudden thought crossed his mind.

What if they buried the poor guy already? Glenn hurriedly ran to the Main Hall, stopping in front of one of the pretty receptionists.

"Hey, huh, any idea where you guys keep the corpses, here?" The lady froze with a puzzled expression for a second, before smiling and pointing at one of the posts that indicated the directions. The Morgue was one of those.

"Well, of course, there is a Morgue... I should have known. Thanks!" He swiftly disappeared, running in the Morgue's direction. After a few twists and turns, he arrived in front of a steel door with the symbol of a moon engraved on it. There was no handle and only a slit there. Glenn summoned his Dark-Gold dagger and slid it in. As expected, it worked, and the door opened, blowing freezing air on Glenn's face. His face scrunched on itself as he took in the scent of death itself.

"Urgh, how many are they keeping in there?" He plugged his nose before entering the Morgue. He was soon stopped by a guard covered in dark steel armor.

"Can I help you?" The guard asked with a cold, emotionless voice. Glenn's face illuminated, and he flashed a smile toward the guard.

"Actually, you can! Any idea where they're keeping the corpse of the monster from last night?" He asked with a hopeful expression. The guard seemed to think for a few seconds, before rubbing his hands together.

"...Which one?" His voice chilled Glenn's back. What did he mean, which one?