Survival Rules for D-Rank Guides – 21

The answer didn’t come right away. As the brief moment of silence passed, Lim Haeyul hastily added another question.

“President Jang seemed to think it was a bit strange that I’m fine. Since I’m just a D-Rank, I should only be able to guide a tiny bit, but it might look weird that Cha Jae-woo could leave the Gate after that. Normally, he shouldn’t have been able to get out, right?”

“Even using the usual method, it would’ve been enough to get out of the Gate.”

“Don’t lie. Why are you changing your words now?”

“Oh, really now.”

“……No, I mean, before, when I asked if it was enough, you let me know through your wave that it wasn’t…….”

To Haeyul, it had been quite a shocking event, but to Cha Jae-woo, it didn’t seem like a big deal. It was obvious that he was only now digging through his memory. Since it wasn’t something critical, Haeyul didn’t bother waiting for him to remember. The obligation to ask quickly and get the guiding done pressed on him.

“Besides, even if that wasn’t it, I already know, you know? I’ve hung in there, only to get devoured, more times than I can count.”

“……”

“No, wait. That’s not the point. What I’m curious about is—are you deliberately only letting me do that weird kind of guiding?”

“Weird kind of guiding?”

“Yeah. Like, the one where I’m releasing the Black Mass or whatever…”

“And what’s that supposed to be?”

He knew the feeling, but trying to put it into words made it sound strange. The mana that Haeyul injected into Cha Jae-woo’s body would thrash about inside the twisted energy that had accumulated after his awakening as an Esper. He would then struggle to stabilize it. As he did, the parts of the Black Mass touched by his mana would separate and disappear—probably converted into stable energy.

However, Haeyul’s mana didn’t last long. It was impossible to completely dissolve the Black Mass. Through his half-closed eyes, he would see his mana gradually fade, and once he could no longer endure, he would inevitably be swallowed up by the Mass. That had been the method of guiding he had used for some time.

“Um… I don’t know how to explain it properly.”

“……”

“It’s like… trying to loosen a knot in a cramped muscle? And once I run out of strength, I have to stop—something like that…”

It was a ridiculously bad analogy. It was no wonder Cha Jae-woo frowned silently in response. As Haeyul fretted about how to better explain the sensation—

“You’re saying you can see the Black Mass?”

Cha Jae-woo asked. Haeyul immediately nodded.

“Inside you, I can see—well, more like, I can sense just how badly tangled your energy is. I can also vividly feel the mana I send into you.”

“……”

“Ah, yes! Exactly! It’s less like seeing a mass and more like… this chaotic, tangled mess! And my mana is what untangles it!”

The enormous Black Mass looked like a scribble of wild, black lines, all clumped together into a single lump. Even though Haeyul’s metaphors were strange, Cha Jae-woo still understood them perfectly, and the frustration Haeyul had been feeling lifted slightly, causing his cheeks to flush. However, unlike Haeyul, Cha Jae-woo didn’t look pleased at all. Instead, he stared at Haeyul with a hardened expression.

“You’re not just imagining it?”

“Uh… I thought it might be an illusion at first, but, well, the guiding works, doesn’t it? And every time I guide, I see the same thing.”

“The Mass?”

“Yeah. When you come back from a Gate, it’s all savagely twisted again, so I’m pretty sure it’s not just my imagination.”

“……You can see it.”

Whatever was going through Cha Jae-woo’s mind made his expression grow even more grave. Did he say something wrong? Haeyul automatically began fidgeting with his fingers, feeling like a scolded child even though it wasn’t that kind of situation.

“Do you even realize how absurd what you’re saying is right now?”

The next words only deepened the feeling that Haeyul was being scolded. Even though he thought the conversation, which he had started purely out of curiosity, was heading in a strange direction, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything about it.

“What do you mean?”

The bewilderment at Cha Jae-woo’s words grew stronger.

“Am I really just hallucinating?”

And honestly, it was a little scary. If it was such a vivid hallucination, maybe he really needed to go to the hospital. Cha Jae-woo let out a deep sigh at Haeyul’s reaction.

“Normally, a Guide can’t tell what state an Esper is in.”

“Huh?”

“Guiding is supposed to continue until the Esper says they’re good, or until the Guide runs out of mana. A Guide can’t assess an Esper’s condition.”

But that wasn’t true for him. He could see it. The more of the tangled mass Haeyul unraveled, the more comfortable Cha Jae-woo felt. That was an undeniable fact.

“But I can see it.”

“Yeah, I know.”

What the hell. He had just been talking like it was impossible, but now he nodded, as if he had always known.

“Judging by how much guiding you can do with so little mana, I guess you’re right.”

His face was stiff, as if he was deep in thought. Haeyul stood quietly, waiting for what he would say next.

“But this feels like the first real conversation we’ve had.”

Well, he had meant to wait. But his lips moved before he could stop them, speaking his mind the moment the thought arose.

“…It just suddenly hit me, I guess.”

As Cha Jae-woo raised an eyebrow at him, Haeyul hurriedly blurted out a lame excuse. Cha Jae-woo clicked his tongue and sighed again.

“In a lot of ways, it’s better if the Guide Association doesn’t know about this.”

The conversation, which had wandered for a moment, finally circled back to its original point. Haeyul nodded belatedly, understanding what he meant.

“There are no Guides who can perform guiding beyond their limited mana like you can. …Nor are there Guides who can read an Esper’s energy.”

“I see……”

“What do you think the Association would do if they found out?”

Since he could guide more effectively with less mana, wouldn’t they want to teach everyone? Even with a small number of Guides, they’d be able to guide many Espers without exhausting mana.

“I think they’d be happy!”

“…Yeah. They’d be thrilled.”

“If everyone could do what I do, they could guide with less mana, right?”

“Which would make it perfect for exploitation.”

“…Huh?”

“Why would they bother recruiting more Guides? They could just rotate a few around endlessly.”

“Oh……”

That made sense, too. Still, Cha Jae-woo didn’t strike Haeyul as someone who would care enough to worry about that. His lips twitched but he said nothing, barely holding himself back from speaking aloud.

“Not that it’s really any of my business.”

It wasn’t exactly unexpected. Though Haeyul couldn’t see his own face, he was sure it looked a bit pale right now. Cha Jae-woo gave a faint, dry laugh.

“But for you, it’s a different story.”

“……”

“Like you said, your mana is barely enough to be called a drop in the bucket. If they start rotating you around, wouldn’t that just be pure hell for me?”

“Oh……”

“I made a contract with you.”

He was right. Even if he changed his guiding method, it wasn’t like he was using no mana at all. Still, it didn’t feel like this alone fully explained why Cha Jae-woo had cut him off so completely from the Guide Association. If Haeyul didn’t guide, that would be the end of it. And Cha Jae-woo didn’t seem like the type to care whether other Guides got exploited or not. There would have been no reason for him to step in just because of that.

“And what if it turns out… you’re the only one who can do this?”

Sensing that Haeyul hadn’t fully accepted his explanation, Cha Jae-woo pressed further. Haeyul couldn’t immediately answer—he had never even considered that possibility.

“There’s no one else anywhere in the world who can guide like this. Only you.”

“……”

“So think about it. Which is more likely: that no Guide like you has appeared anywhere until now, or that you are the anomaly?”

It was probably the first time Cha Jae-woo had ever spoken this much at once. Before Haeyul could even finish his silly little thought, a cold shiver ran down his spine. He had never even imagined the possibility that he alone could guide this way. It didn’t feel special—it was terrifying.

More than anything, the words Cha Jae-woo added next stoked his fear even further.

“You could end up a subject of global research. Inevitably, your entire identity would be exposed before long.”

Even the mere possibility was chilling. Unable to hide his unease, Haeyul stared at Cha Jae-woo. But the one who had thrown out that horrifying statement looked utterly unbothered, as if it had nothing to do with him.

“So, are you… protecting me right now, Cha Jae-woo…?”

There was no resentment toward him. After all, it was Cha Jae-woo who had separated Haeyul from the Guide Center. He had acted first, before Haeyul even had the chance to think that far. If he had met Kim Sol recklessly, Haeyul would have undoubtedly babbled on about all of this without a second thought.

“…Let’s just say that’s true.”

He had never once thought of Cha Jae-woo as a good person, but today, just for today, Cha Jae-woo looked like a savior. With a face full of emotion, Haeyul nodded and grabbed Cha Jae-woo’s hand with both of his own. Cha Jae-woo twitched instinctively at the contact, but Haeyul didn’t care.

“I’ll start guiding now. I’ll try to hold out a little longer today.”

His resolute determination left no room for any other thoughts.

“……”

Just before closing his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Cha Jae-woo’s face, which looked for all the world like he was staring at a hopeless fool. It was Haeyul’s fault for digging into things that he could have figured out if he had just thought a little harder. But at this moment, Haeyul felt he could understand Cha Jae-woo completely.

Author: Levia