* * *
They say strike while the iron is hot, so Esper Team 1 Leader Do Hyeonuk conducted a matching rate test with Jiwon the very next day since the topic had come up.
“The results are out. Matching rate is 76%. Quite respectable.”
Within Center 1, there were only two Guides who showed a matching rate of over 80% with Do Hyeonuk. And even those were Guides of lower rank than Jiwon.
Do Hyeonuk couldn’t help but be satisfied with the matching test results.
Though he valued their skills highly, he was happy about the fact that he wouldn’t have to see those troublemaker team members who caused a ruckus every time tease him with their matching rates with Jiwon anymore.
Do Hyeonuk, who entered the office to inform his team members of this news, felt disappointed at the empty office, processed a few documents, then headed to the training ground.
Since he’d gotten matching rate testing with Guide Kim Jiwon done, he’d also received Guiding, and his body felt light as if it could fly.
Guide Kim Jiwon’s direct Guiding skills, which he’d only heard about by word of mouth, were truly amazing.
It didn’t take very long for the energy flowing in smoothly to stabilize the waves throughout his entire body. He’d even stuttered with a stupid expression without realizing it at that bewilderingly tremendous Guiding speed.
Speed aside, maybe because he was high-rank, the Guiding efficacy was also ridiculously good.
“Is Team Leader 1 dating someone? Why are you grinning alone like that?”
As he was walking to the sector where he usually trained while recalling the Guiding Jiwon had given him, someone picked a fight from behind.
“What? It’s Traffic Light?”
“I told you not to call me that?!”
It was Team Leader 3, Esper Shin Hoeun.
“Is it a red light today? Why are you picking a fight with someone just passing by quietly?”
A vein mark appeared on Team Leader Shin’s forehead as she glared fiercely.
Hmm, should I go easy today?
Like team leader, like team members—Team Leader Do Hyeonuk, who had the same mental age as the team members he cursed out every time, thought today wasn’t the place to lie down at Team Leader 3’s sharper-than-usual reaction and quickened his steps.
Gotta avoid the bomb. If I get caught at times like this, it becomes tiresome.
But matching Do Hyeonuk’s quickened steps, the other person also stuck close and followed.
“What is it?”
“Team Leader 13 ran off again.”
“What?”
Do Hyeonuk’s steps stopped abruptly.
“That bastard ran off again. You know our team has a business trip mission this time, right? We’re already busy to death, and because rookies overlapped, he dumped even his team’s rookie on us and disappeared.”
A few months ago, while Esper Team 7 was raiding a dungeon, a double dungeon occurred and multiple fatalities resulted. To fill that personnel gap, the former Team Leader 13, whose ability compatibility matched well, had been transferred to Team 7 as deputy team leader.
After that, Team 13’s leadership was taken over by Esper Oh Hanyeong, who had been the existing deputy team leader, but he was someone who originally loved going out to have fun and lacked somewhat in the responsibility to lead a team. Perhaps because of that, small problems kept occurring in Esper Team 13.
It would be fortunate if it ended there, but gradually the damage was spreading to other teams as well.
Team Leader Esper 1 didn’t just manage Team 1, but also held the position of general team leader who had to take overall command of the Espers within the Center in emergencies, so Do Hyeonuk, who received related reports, also knew about this fact.
He’d already been planning to do something when the upcoming quarterly work evaluation came out, whether giving penalty points or replacing the team leader. But not being able to hold out until then, this kind of news again.
Unlike Guides who manifested and had no particular risk factors, rookie Espers weren’t skilled at ability control, so if they let their guard down, they could rampage.
There were cases where they got overly excited about their suddenly acquired abilities, or if they were weak mentally, got scared by monsters’ killing intent at their first field site and recklessly squandered their abilities.
Therefore, when assigned a rookie, for at least 2 months, several team members took turns managing them 24 hours a day so they could handle it even if unexpected situations occurred.
While carrying out existing schedules, meticulously caring for a rookie Esper judged to be outside combat strength was considerably bothersome and worrisome work.
But to dump that on another team and disappear—what kind of absurd situation was this?
“What are your team members doing?”
“They must have entered a dungeon gate.”
“All of them? Everyone went out? Leaving only the rookie?”
“Team Leader 13 didn’t go on the mission. There were also two remaining team members, but they’re frantically cleaning up whatever mess Team Leader 13 made. After doing that, yesterday he threw their rookie at our team and disappeared! Not a single hair to be seen. That crazy bastard, really!”
Shin Hoeun jumped up and down as if getting angry just thinking about it. Do Hyeonuk calmly assessed the situation.
“Was the newly entered rookie a B-rank electricity type?”
“Yeah, it’s their third day since manifestation. The rookie on our team is also only a week in and is a flame type, so we can’t take our eyes off them, but he’s like, you’re already training one so what’s one more?! What is this, a one-plus-one deal?!”
“Electricity type and flame type… Of all things, both are troublesome abilities. Geez.”
Though the period for stably controlling abilities after manifestation differed from person to person, there was a difference in difficulty depending on the ability’s inherent attribute.
Among them, electricity and flame types belonged to the highest difficulty attributes. Accordingly, the risk level was also high, so it was obvious that seniors would suffer more than with rookies of other attributes.
“On top of this, there’s also a business trip mission! Aaaaah!!!”
“Hey, calm down, calm down. Shin Ho—I mean, Shin Hoeun, be calm.”
“Do I look like I can calm down?! And you just tried to say Traffic Light again, didn’t you?!”
Cold sweat broke out on Do Hyeonuk at the sight of Team Leader 3 Shin Hoeun suddenly accelerating in the middle of the hallway.
“F-first, wait. I’ll check Team 13’s situation and attach support personnel.”
“Right now! Right this instant!!”
“Okay, I’ll check immediately, so cool down a bit.”
Do Hyeonuk, who barely appeased Shin Hoeun and sent her away, thought that Team Leader 13’s disposition couldn’t wait until the quarterly evaluation after all, postponed what he was going to train, and moved his steps toward Esper Team 13’s office direction.
But at this time, Do Hyeonuk didn’t know.
That before a big incident occurs, many small problems pile up and pile up as precursor symptoms and eventually burst.
* * *
Today too, Jiwon, who didn’t return to the house without Seo Gangwoo and slept in his personal private room, had dark circles settled under his eyes from tossing and turning with stray thoughts and not being able to sleep properly.
In poor condition, he thought about taking a day off, but thinking that if he just got his field license, he could go together with Seo Gangwoo without worrying about this, he dawdled but still got up from his spot.
When he roughly washed up and arrived at the training ground, Woojin teased him saying what panda had appeared. Having no energy to bristle, he moved sluggishly like a paper doll, so he shook his head and reduced the intensity of the lesson more than usual.
Jiwon, who finished even theory class with an exhausted body, dove onto the bed as soon as he returned to his private room.
Though he’d even drunk coffee, drowsiness kept coming so he couldn’t concentrate throughout the lesson.
“I’m tired…”
As soon as he entrusted his body to the soft sheets, Jiwon fell asleep as if passing out.
On top of not sleeping deeply for several days, accumulated fatigue from digesting a busier schedule than usual to shake off his anxious mind had eventually caused a decline in condition.
Inside the quiet private room. Jiwon fell into deep sleep for the first time in a while, even making ssssh, ssssh— sounds.
Had about two hours passed?
Suddenly an announcement broadcast throughout the entire Center.
But Jiwon, who had fallen deeply asleep from fatigue, didn’t hear that sound.
The announcement broadcast repeated once more.
[Emergency—, ———training building, ———, —Code Red— Guides within the Center——.]
By the time the sound faintly heard in his sleep barely reached Jiwon’s ears, the broadcast had ended.
“…Mmm?”
Jiwon, who barely lifted just his head at the strangeness, stared at empty space with dazed eyes, unable to grasp the situation.
He’d definitely heard some sound…
Still not coming to his senses, half-asleep but unable to fall back asleep due to a somehow unpleasant feeling, Jiwon blinked his eyes slowly.
Just as he was about to frown at his throbbing head, the broadcast rang again. Only then did the content reach Jiwon’s ears clearly.
[Emergency situation occurrence, Code Red, currently in Training Building Section 27-B, electricity-type Esper has reached rampage stage, requesting support from Guides within the Center. Announcing once more. Emergency situation occurrence, Code Red—.]
Code Red?!
Jiwon’s body shot up with a start.
Code Red that rings when there’s danger of Esper rampage within the Center.
He’d definitely heard during training time that it hadn’t occurred in the last 10 years, so he was flustered about why it was ringing now, but Jiwon moved first.
He didn’t know how far the rampage had progressed, but the more he delayed, the more it would become an irreversible situation. He hurriedly put on his shoes as if cramming his feet in and rushed out of his private room.
He was worried because he couldn’t confirm how far the situation had progressed. In his impatience, Jiwon just pressed the innocent elevator button several times, then took the arrived elevator down to the first-floor lobby.
[——— requesting support from Guides within the Center. Announcing once more. Emergency situation occurrence, Code Red.]
In the first-floor lobby, the Code Red broadcast continued to come out, and Espers standing gathered here and there were pacing with stiff expressions.
For Espers, this situation wasn’t someone else’s problem. Something that might happen to them someday.
A yoke they couldn’t escape while alive.
The dark aspect of those whom the people of the world called heroes—that was rampage.
