Goal: Removing the First Obstacle (10)
Esper Myeong Woo-seok hesitated, reluctant to speak, then quietly added an explanation.
“Actually… I only found out recently. Until now, I never had to use something like that, and I never thought to try it, so I had no idea.”
“How did you find out?”
“Well…”
As Esper Myeong Woo-seok made a troubled face at Esper Hwang Ji-hyun’s question, Jong-hyeok hyung, who had been quietly observing the situation, stepped in.
“That’s not what’s important right now, Ji-hyun. So to summarize Esper Myeong Woo-seok’s point, you can use suggestion to go there safely without danger, right? Did I understand correctly?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Esper Myeong Woo-seok nodded and answered calmly. Esper Hwang Ji-hyun still seemed to have many questions, but she closed her mouth at Jong-hyeok hyung’s signal. Esper Lee Cheol-min also scratched the back of his head and offered his opinion.
“If you’re really worried, I can go with him.”
“Wouldn’t it be more dangerous if you went with him since you’d stand out more? You’re so flamboyant, after all.”
“What? Hey, Hwang Ji-hyun. What do you take me for? Even I know to be discreet in such important situations.”
“Yes, yes. I’m sure you would be.”
The heavy atmosphere relaxed considerably with the cheerful bickering between Esper Hwang Ji-hyun and Esper Lee Cheol-min. Esper Myeong Woo-seok, with a much more relieved face, checked outside the window. After watching the direction of the abandoned building intently, he looked at Jong-hyeok hyung as if seeking approval.
“Team Leader.”
“There’s a high possibility they’re holding hostages, and rescuing them is the top priority, so we have no choice. Esper Myeong Woo-seok, be careful. Don’t do anything dangerous or reckless. We’ll wait exactly thirty minutes.”
“Yes. I’ll be back before then. Leave it to me.”
With his response, Esper Myeong Woo-seok got out of the car without hesitation. Esper Lee Cheol-min flinched as if about to follow, but Esper Myeong Woo-seok shook his head in refusal.
“It’s fine, senior. I’ll go alone. It’s easier for me that way.”
Soon the door closed. Esper Myeong Woo-seok stood in the alley, looked around, and carefully started walking toward the abandoned building. As he got closer to the building, he moved further from our sight. When Esper Myeong Woo-seok finally disappeared completely, Esper Hwang Ji-hyun sighed deeply with a worried face.
“Am I the only one worried about Senior Woo-seok?”
No one else answered, but Esper Hwang Ji-hyun must have vaguely felt that everyone shared the same concern. Even in dungeons, the main stage for Espers, it was extremely rare to operate alone, and Esper Myeong Woo-seok was a mental-type. Since mental-type Espers were usually deployed against terrorists or people rather than dungeons, it was impossible not to worry.
A heavy silence fell.
About ten minutes passed in tension. During that time, Sa Hae-geon kneaded my right hand like dough, and Esper Lee Seong-rok and Esper Hwang Ji-hyun glanced at where Esper Myeong Woo-seok had gone, unable to stay still. They seemed quite worried about him. Though they hadn’t been together long, they often hung out separately, so they seemed more concerned.
As we passed twenty minutes and approached the promised thirty minutes, the two showed visibly anxious signs. Jong-hyeok hyung also checked his wristwatch repeatedly with a stern face.
That’s when it happened.
“Oh, there he comes! Senior Woo-seok is coming!”
“It’s true! It’s Senior Woo-seok!”
Esper Lee Seong-rok and Esper Hwang Ji-hyun, who spotted Esper Myeong Woo-seok walking from a distance, were so excited that the car shook. Finally, Esper Lee Cheol-min couldn’t stand it anymore and scolded the two.
“Alright, I get it, now stay still. It’s chaotic!”
The two, who seemed to be calming down, rushed to him like dogs waiting for their owner as soon as Esper Myeong Woo-seok opened the car door.
“Senior, you’re not hurt anywhere, right?”
“How could you really go alone, Senior…! Next time, let’s go together. Okay? Yes?”
Esper Myeong Woo-seok, who had been looking at the two awkwardly, got into the car with an enigmatic smile. All eyes were on Esper Myeong Woo-seok as he sat down. Even Sa Hae-geon, who had only wanted to talk with me, stared at Esper Myeong Woo-seok, waiting for what he had to say.
“As soon as I approached the building presumed to be their base, I encountered a D-class Esper guarding below. Fortunately, I was able to use suggestion on him. Though he didn’t know much information, there was still some gain.”
Esper Myeong Woo-seok continued, furrowing his brow.
“The D-class Esper said there were two Guides inside the building.”
“Guides…?”
“Yes. But I’m still a bit confused about whether they’re hostages or not. The D-class Esper didn’t think of them as hostages. He thought the Guides were participating in the same operation as him. He also mentioned they agreed to work together because they had no affiliation.”
They were Guides, not civilians. There was now a slight possibility they weren’t hostages.
“So I met a B-class Esper. Fortunately, suggestion worked on B-class too. It was a chance for me to test the limits of my ability.”
“What did you say? Senior!”
“Senior!”
Esper Hwang Ji-hyun and Esper Lee Seong-rok shouted in alarm, but Esper Myeong Woo-seok continued his explanation regardless.
“Well, the B-class Esper knew more information. He also said the Guides agreed to join them because they had nowhere else to go. He said they probably didn’t know about their plans.”
“That means…”
“Yes. Given that both Espers said the same thing, there’s a high possibility they’re not hostages, even if they don’t know about their plans.”
Those with the illegal group seemed to be unaffiliated Guides. Unaffiliated Guides were rare in a world where Guides had become scarce and received better treatment than before. Even when they existed, they usually worked with places that paid a lot of money.
It was unusual for them to take such a big risk to work with an illegal group like this.
“Team Leader, should we rule out the possibility of hostages?”
“Don’t rule it out completely. Anyway, Guides, unlike Espers, are physically weak, almost like civilians. That means we don’t need to treat them like we would Espers.”
“Ah, yes. Then I’ll keep that in mind.”
Jong-hyeok hyung nodded at Esper Hwang Ji-hyun’s words and looked at Esper Myeong Woo-seok.
“Was Shin Woo-jun in the building?”
“He didn’t seem to be inside the building. They said he moved somewhere else briefly before we arrived. They said he would return today, but they weren’t sure exactly when. Could he have noticed?”
“He probably noticed when we evacuated residents in the area. But he probably didn’t know the exact operation or timing. What about the information on those wandering around the housing complex?”
“They said they were Espers working together. I heard they were patrolling the area while looking for potential hostages to capture.”
Jong-hyeok hyung frowned at Esper Myeong Woo-seok’s words.
“They’re out of their minds.”
“Team Leader, why don’t we sweep them all away before Shin Woo-jun arrives? It would be easier for us than facing them all at once.”
“We still don’t know the whereabouts of one person. There’s a high possibility they went with Shin Woo-jun.”
“Ah, you said there were two Guides? Then one Esper is missing. But who would be with Shin Woo-jun?”
“The Esper with teleportation ability.”
“Ah… If they’re with Shin Woo-jun… they would be a great help for escape. Should we lay in wait then?”
“Fortunately, I don’t think that will be necessary.”
“What?”
Just as Jong-hyeok hyung finished speaking, the car began to vibrate slightly.
“What’s that? An earthquake?”
“An earthquake?”
The team members looked around in confusion, but soon realized it wasn’t an earthquake but the effect of wind. It seemed Shin Woo-jun was returning.
“Everyone get ready.”
“Yes!”
The team members, who had prepared themselves, all got out of the car together. Sa Hae-geon also squeezed my hand once before getting up.
“Guides, wait in the car.”
“Yes.”
The work vehicle was made from dungeon byproducts and could withstand attacks from Espers or monsters. Additionally, it had a feature to hide the handles during emergencies so doors couldn’t be opened from outside, making it a good means for Guides to wait at the scene.
Just before the door closed, Sa Hae-geon whispered quietly, just loud enough for me sitting near the door to hear.
“I’ll be back soon. Wait just a little, hyung.”
And the door closed. I traced the traces of Sa Hae-geon, who quickly disappeared from my sight, with my eyes, mulling over his voice I had just heard. Sa Hae-geon’s voice still lingered vividly in my ear.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
