Yujin stared blankly at the quest window for a long moment. Then he let out a hollow laugh.
“Ha ha, these useless pieces of trash……”
He was beyond words. He had been putting in genuine effort with his Guiding all this time, and yet they’d gone and burned through all of it overnight inside a Gate. On top of that, wasn’t exceeding ninety percent the zone where the risk of going berserk spiked dramatically? Yujin raised a hand and dragged it through his hair, leaving it a complete mess.
“Can’t even handle a Multi-layer Gate on their own — what are they going to do going forward?”
He shouted to no one in particular, frustration spilling out of him. But the hollow outburst rippled briefly through the air and faded just as quickly. Yujin breathed in slowly and steadied himself.
Calm down. Losing my temper in a situation like this only hurts me. More importantly, I need to get to the Center and find out exactly what’s going on.
Beep, beep beep!
Just then, his watch let out a call alert. It was Hayeong calling. Yujin, still fuming, tapped the screen and picked up.
“What is it?”
— Team Leader! I think you need to come in right away. The Center Director is asking for you.
“Got it. I’ll head to the Center Director’s office.”
Yujin answered calmly and ended the call. He got ready quickly and headed out, going straight to the Center Director’s office.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, Team Leader Kwon, you’re here?”
People moved in and out of the Center Director’s office in a constant stream. The Center Director’s secretarial staff in particular looked frantic, scrambling to field an unending flood of incoming calls. It seemed they were busy compiling information coming in from both the military and the Association. Yujin watched them for a moment, then turned to look at the Center Director.
“What’s happened?”
“Huu, well……”
Since he’d last seen him, the Center Director’s complexion had gone even paler. Yujin wondered if he’d managed to sleep at all. At least Yujin himself had gotten some rest — even if he’d been blindsided the moment he woke up.
“The first Gate — the entire Alpha-1 Team minus Lee Siyun went in, and Lee Siyun went into the second Gate alone. But……”
Up until now, apparently, the other team members — excluding Lee Siyun — had handled S-rank Gates, while Lee Siyun entered lower-ranked ones alone. The Multi-layer Gate that had opened this time consisted of one S-rank and one A-rank. In theory, they were exactly the kind of Gates Alpha-1 Team was suited to handle.
But contrary to expectations that they’d close the Gates and be out quickly, the operation had dragged on in fits and starts all the way through the early hours of the morning. Eventually, a report reached the Center that Baek Dohun — the Alpha-1 Team Leader — as well as Kang Taejun and Min Jaeha were all at risk of going berserk. At this rate, instead of clearing the Gate, the S-rank Espers might actually lose control.
“So…… both the military and the Association are requesting that the Center dispatch a Guide team into the Gate this time.”
“……”
The Center Director said it while watching Yujin’s reaction carefully. Though his Guiding performance had been solid lately, unlike before, there was clear uncertainty in his eyes — he wasn’t sure whether Yujin would comply with an order to enter a dangerous Gate.
And truthfully, even as himself rather than as Yujin Langford, Yujin would have refused such an order. His body was precious to him. Whether those Espers went berserk or not wasn’t something he particularly wanted to get involved in.
“Ha……”
But the quest window floated insistently in the air around him, pressing in like a demand. The words “World Destruction” at the very end glowed an ominous red. Yujin’s face twisted as he ground his teeth.
Fine! I’m going, I said I’m going!
Having to go trudging through that wretched Gate again. He found himself wondering why he’d even come back in the first place if it was going to come to this. He exhaled heavily and answered.
“Understood. I’ll go in.”
“I-is that really true?”
“Yes. Please coordinate with the military to have escort Espers ready.”
“Of course!”
Color flooded back into the Center Director’s face at Yujin’s answer. For all intents and purposes, if he had refused, there would have been no Guide to send into that Gate. Guiding S-rank Espers wasn’t something just anyone could do. Since it was a combat situation, most of it would need to be handled through radiant Guiding, and pouring Guiding energy across a wide range was a strain even for A-rank Guides.
Even without the quest, he suspected the pressure alone would have driven him into the Gate eventually. Yujin sighed and changed into his combat uniform. At least after going in and out of Gates constantly in the novel world, he wasn’t nervous about it.
“Team Leader, how should we put the Guide team together?”
Hayeong came over and asked. For the first Gate — the S-rank one where the Alpha-1 Team minus Lee Siyun had entered — it seemed like he’d need to go in with one supporting Guide.
Someone familiar would be easier to work with, so Hayeong would probably be the better choice. His rank is A, which is on the higher end. He’d be perfect as a support Guide.
“Hmm……”
But Yu Haneul’s presence also weighed on his mind. His matching rate with Kang Taejun in particular was especially high. When Yujin was focused on Baek Dohun and Min Jaeha, Yu Haneul could take exclusive responsibility for Kang Taejun. His rank was a concern, but as long as the efficiency was there, it didn’t matter.
“Ask Guide Yu Haneul if he’d be all right going in as my support Guide. If he agrees, you put together a separate Guide team and go into the second Gate.”
“Ah — Guide Yu Haneul…… is it?”
“Yeah.”
Hayeong had clearly expected to be the one going in as support Guide — he asked back in surprise, then made a sullen face.
Cute. Yujin gave a small smile and reached out to ruffle Hayeong’s hair into a mess.
“It’d be a waste to only have you as my support.”
At that, Hayeong’s face flushed red and he nodded with frantic enthusiasm.
“A-alright, understood!”
Hayeong rushed out. The Guide team for Gate deployment was assembled quickly after that.
Yu Haneul agreed, so it was decided that Yujin and Yu Haneul would enter the first Gate, while Hayeong and the other Guides would go into the second Gate to Guide Lee Siyun. Lee Siyun was an S-rank Esper as well, but since he was going in alone and could regulate his own Contamination level through his mental-type abilities, it seemed like he’d be fine.
Even closing just one of them properly buys us time.
Further down the line, the time limit for closing the Gates would shrink and the condition of having to close the Multi-layer Gates simultaneously would kick in to make things more troublesome — but in the early stages, the conditions were more lenient. That was how it had been in the other world, so things here would likely follow a similar pattern. Which meant that as long as he and Yu Haneul properly closed the first Gate, they’d be buying themselves time.
“Good morning, Team Leader Kwon Yujin. I’m Han Yugyeong, Team Leader of Alpha-2 Team, which will be escorting the Guide team this time.”
“Nice to meet you, Team Leader Han.”
Alpha-2 Team had been assigned to escort Yujin and his support Guide Yu Haneul. Han Yugyeong was the Alpha-2 Team Leader. Since the Guide A Team that Yujin led was dedicated to Alpha-1 Team, it seemed he hadn’t had many occasions to cross paths with Han Yugyeong, the Alpha-2 Team Leader. In the first place, Yujin Langford’s avoidance of Guiding had meant he rarely met with Alpha-1 Team either.
“We will protect you with our lives until you reach Alpha-1 Team.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Han Yugyeong said it with an almost overwhelming gravity, expression set and firm. Yujin gave a muted nod.
“Guide Yu Haneul, are you ready?”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Yu Haneul, similarly dressed in his combat uniform, had a somewhat tense look on his face. Even with his high matching rate with Kang Taejun, going into a high-ranked first Gate would have been frightening — and yet he had accepted without hesitation, which surprised Yujin. He looked him over with fresh eyes.
Leyan also used to throw herself headfirst into Gates without a second thought.
Leyan, the main lead of the original story, was a kind and righteous person. She was only D-rank, but her high matching rates with the male leads and her background as a former priestess meant she was always at the forefront when the country faced a crisis. Whatever else might be said, she was nothing like Yujin, who had always been reluctant to enter Gates.
The more Yujin observed Yu Haneul, the more he reminded him of Leyan. If this world had been changed by the system to mirror the novel, then Yu Haneul would occupy the same main-lead position that Leyan had. The Alpha-1 Team Espers with high matching rates to him would be the male lead characters.
Which would make Yujin’s own role the villain who got in their way once again. He had no intention of meekly going along with whatever the system had decided for him — but it still didn’t sit well with him.
“Then we’ll be entering the first Gate.”
Han Yugyeong said it in a slightly tense voice and went in first. Yujin and Yu Haneul followed after her. The remaining Alpha-2 Team members brought up the rear.
“Hmm……”
They passed through the Gate entrance, obscured behind a translucent barrier, and stepped inside. Yujin opened his eyes and swept his gaze around. A barren landscape greeted them. There was nothing in the vast, dust-swept wasteland. Yujin squinted and turned his head.
This feels… somehow familiar……
For some reason, the landscape inside the Gate felt like something he’d seen before. Every Gate he had entered in the novel world had looked different. Sometimes it was wasteland like this, sometimes forest, sometimes a mountain with sheer cliffs. He had even gone inside one that was underwater.
Among the Gates he’d entered alongside the male leads, there had been desolate wastelands like this too — but just because the environments were similar didn’t mean it was the same Gate. That had only ever been a fictional world inside a novel. There was no way they could be sharing the same Gate. Thinking that, Yujin turned his gaze to Han Yugyeong.
“Are you tracking Alpha-1 Team?”
“I’m sending a transmission now.”
Watches made from Gate byproducts could communicate normally even inside a Gate. He had heard that the watches used specifically between Espers were unaffected even by a Gate’s interference with signals. Yujin waited quietly while Han Yugyeong used her watch.
