# Chapter 71
There was anxiety mixed in the reactions of people who were watching the Center’s movements.
S-class Espers handling administration?
Distrust was rampant that while Esper abilities were powerful in combat, being S-class Espers didn’t mean they would be good at other aspects of daily life.
The S-class Espers weren’t unaware of people’s thoughts. However, they hadn’t taken on their positions out of a desire for power. Dungeons with gates could reappear anytime like dormant volcanoes. Since they hadn’t taken the positions to gain power, the S-class Espers had nothing to be anxious about.
Origin’s Espers were going through intense training and enduring difficult times, but they felt they were finally where they needed to be. Initially unsure if they could conquer dungeons when they appeared, their confidence grew daily as they trained with strong comrades.
As the Center solidified, political and financial officials wanting to strengthen their own positions began requesting meetings with the S-class Espers. They were the center of Central, and without the S-class Espers’ cooperation, it would be difficult to maintain their support base.
When the S-class Espers effectively closed Origin, their prestige plummeted. People hurriedly returned to the original Central after being told those who didn’t return would no longer be protected. Even the power holders who were reluctant to return eventually had no choice but to follow suit.
Having returned, they wanted to regain their former power, and judging that an alliance with the S-class Espers was inevitable, they had already made several contact attempts. But the S-class Espers’ response remained consistent each time.
“They’re really persistent,” Lee Ha-min muttered while looking at the Espers gathered in the training area.
“You shouldn’t say that, Ha-min. You’re only A-class, so they don’t actually contact you. Even for me, it’s just…”
“How long will this continue? Why are those people acting this way? Do they feel like dungeons appearing is no big deal to them? You know what they said to me today when I mentioned training? They asked when there would ever be a day without training.”
“Well, that’s not entirely unreasonable.”
“Would they still say that if a dungeon appeared where they live? Or if monsters from it destroyed their homes?”
“Maybe it’s because a dungeon has never opened in our Central.”
“No, that was said by someone who went there and came back.”
“Ah, I see.”
I gave up trying to understand that crowd and advised Ha-min not to worry about them.
“Eunwoo-ssi, could you please be quiet? I need to concentrate now. Esper Ha-min. Ready?”
Shim Woo-jin called Ha-min with a gentle tone.
The training about to begin involved Woo-jin using his ability to create a dungeon-like situation where each Esper would directly face and fight dungeon monsters.
From the outside, it might look like they were using abilities against thin air, but they were actually engaged in fierce battles with illusions.
Ha-min supported Woo-jin with his amplification ability, and occasionally I would go and face them directly.
This training method I developed received such positive responses that more and more Espers wanted to participate. So we split the training into two sessions per day, but even then, some people couldn’t get in.
I was considering increasing it to three sessions, but worried that would burden Woo-jin too much.
The Espers’ movements had definitely gotten faster. That made training them worthwhile.
With them working so hard, I couldn’t help but teach them more.
Woo-jin finally withdrew his mental imagery twenty minutes past the scheduled time.
The Espers were panting, drenched in sweat.
I went to each of them to explain their weak points.
“There’s a limit to attacking with only your comfortable body parts. Of course you want to use what’s comfortable. But what if you can’t use that hand or foot? You need to prepare for those situations. Think about making yourself twice as strong as you are now. If it’s not working, come find me. I’ll face you. Working together, you’ll figure out faster what needs to be fixed.”
“Thank you, Esper-nim. I’ll do that.”
After speaking to a few people who particularly stood out, Ha-min approached me after waiting.
“Eunwoo, you don’t seem to get tired.”
Woo-jin was also waiting and asked how we should schedule the training.
“If we increase the number of people, the training effect might decrease, but if we add more sessions, it might burden me too much.”
“Esper-nim’s training is definitely effective.”
Kyun In and Byun Tae-young weren’t as efficient as Woo-jin in these situations.
Woo-jin probably liked hearing that, but he would also know this wasn’t the time to be flattered by such words but to find a solution.
“Let’s find a way. For now, let’s continue as we have been. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll have to let the others train as they did before.”
It seemed necessary to admit when something wasn’t possible.
While thinking about this on my way back to the quarters, I spotted Cha Yoon passing by.
Why hadn’t I thought of Cha Yoon before?
“There’s Cha Yoon!”
No one seemed to understand what I meant.
Both Ha-min and Woo-jin just looked at him.
“What? Are you happy to see him, Eunwoo?”
Ha-min even asked that.
“Of course not. But I think Cha Yoon could help us. Why didn’t I think of this before?”
“Ah! I see. With Cha Yoon, we could train the Espers!”
Woo-jin realized it immediately, and Ha-min also exclaimed in realization.
“Cha Yoon!”
I called out loudly, but Cha Yoon pretended not to hear and walked faster.
He surely heard me but was probably convinced I wasn’t calling him for a good reason.
A Mental Division S-class Esper.
I should have thought of him earlier.
I quickly ran and grabbed his shoulder.
“Ah, shit!” Cha Yoon muttered lowly with his head bowed.
“You seem to know why I called you. Take one team. Let’s start this afternoon.”
He raised his head with an expression that said he had no idea what I was talking about.
You want to play it like that? Then I’ll explain!
“You know we’re training Espers, right? Esper Woo-jin and Esper Ha-min create dungeon-like situations to train Espers. They help them experience monsters they’ve never faced before, or make familiar monsters stronger so they can learn how to deal with them.”
“So what?”
“If you’re here, earn your keep. All the S-class Espers here do that.”
He seemed to flinch at that.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“S-class Esper status isn’t determined by a machine. Don’t make me state the obvious.”
“I’m on my way to see the Center Director for something important.”
“Yes, go ahead with your business. It won’t take long anyway. This isn’t something you can avoid by making excuses. You have a good sense for these things, don’t you?”
I called the Esper in charge of training and told them that Cha Yoon would be taking over one section from now on, and instructed them to take applications from people who wanted to learn from Cha Yoon.
Cha Yoon seemed to realize he couldn’t escape anymore and cursed to himself again.
Ah, that feels refreshing.
***
Around the time when the competition between Woo-jin and Cha Yoon was intensifying, dungeons began to appear.
As if deliberately, the speed was incredible, and the danger level of the emerging dungeons was high.
If we hadn’t been frantically focused on training during that time, Central’s existence might have been in jeopardy.
The S-class Espers performed better than imagined.
They had enjoyed enough money and other privileges from the beginning and knew those things weren’t special, or maybe that’s why they didn’t covet them. They had no reason to be desperate to show off to others or to be anxious for recognition as brilliant individuals.
They only thought about dungeons, monsters, and the survival of the Center and Central, which was why they responded quickly when dungeons appeared.
The dungeons that appeared this time were definitely different from previous ones.
Signs appeared before the dungeons manifested—a deep, rich blue fog that lingered in Central for almost a week.
The fog was highly humid and felt sticky.
It was clearly different from the fog that had previously appeared in Central, so people found it strange but didn’t think it was a sign of new dungeons appearing.
Still, since this unusual phenomenon persisted, the S-class Espers called Ha-min and me to investigate it. Because of this, I went out with Ha-min to the fog-covered Central.
The blue tint in the fog was fascinating.
Looking at the fog, I distinctly remember asking Ha-min about it.
If fog was naturally blue-tinged.
He shook his head.
He said he’d never seen fog like this before and that it made him uneasy.
The fog completely enveloped Central.
For a brief moment, it felt as if an immense monster of unimaginable size was wrapping around all of Central.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
