# Chapter 16
Eventually, S-class Espers also got injured frequently, which only increased their dependence on Ha-min.
Their obsession grew more intense, and S-class Espers couldn’t bear the anxiety of not having Ha-min nearby.
This gradually wore Ha-min down, and with his already low self-esteem, he increasingly lost his will to live due to their verbal and physical abuse.
Still, he endured because he thought they were the world’s saviors and believed they couldn’t continue handling dungeons without him.
‘Wait. Isn’t this when the guild gets formed?’
After the gate appeared, the overall danger level of dungeons increased.
More high-level Espers died while processing dungeons, and the Center failed to protect them.
Some Espers who realized this left the Center.
The Center considered these escaped Espers criminals and resolved to kill them if they didn’t return voluntarily.
This decision was made out of concern that other Espers might follow suit, but high-level Espers left in droves anyway, leaving the Center in an uncontrollable state.
However, S-class Espers remained at the Center, and this was the section where they somewhat regained their tarnished honor after angering readers by tormenting Ha-min.
They showed what it truly meant to be overpowered, sparing no effort in using their abilities to handle difficult dungeons. The battle scenes were so excellently described that I still remembered them vividly.
‘Is it about time for the guild to be formed?’
The guild that formed this way had no interest in processing dungeons but focused on building a new city.
The role of Espers changed to maintaining public safety in the city, creating a strict ruling class where rank decreased the further one lived from the city center.
Everyone living in the city had to risk their lives to prevent monsters from reaching the city center.
That was the method the Espers who occupied the center of the new city devised to protect themselves.
‘That will happen soon too. But no one will ask me to join them, right? It’s something that happens among high-level Espers.’
However, I soon discovered that my assumption was wrong.
Perhaps because of my achievements, known and unknown, someone came looking for me.
And he wasn’t just any high-level Esper.
***
Kyun In came looking for me during a time of strange tension both inside and outside the Center due to the gate incident.
It wasn’t unusual for Kyun In to be looking for me, so when I saw him coming, I just thought, “Here we go again.”
His expression was more serious than usual, but I only wondered what kind of prank he was planning.
As Kyun In approached, he glanced at me and said while passing by:
“Meet me behind the training center. Follow me five minutes after I leave.”
“…”
There was no reason for me to listen to Kyun In…
No, wait. The internal rules had changed to require following high-level Espers’ instructions unless there was a special reason not to.
The S-class Espers had probably pushed for that change.
I didn’t even wait five minutes.
There was no one watching anyway, and if he wanted to avoid being seen, I just needed to do that.
When I reached Kyun In, confident that no one had seen me, he clicked his tongue.
“I told you to come slowly. Were you that eager to see me?”
I gave him a look that clearly meant “cut the nonsense and get to the point,” which seemed to make Kyun In uncomfortable as he cleared his throat.
“Ah! I wonder what people would think if they knew I was this nervous talking to a low-level Esper.”
Then he continued.
“I know you don’t like wasting time, so I’ll get straight to the point. Join me, Esper Seo Eunwoo.”
“Join you?”
“Yes. I’m going to do something new, and I want you to come with me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m going to build a new city.”
He said and looked at me for a moment.
Why Kyun In?
As far as I knew, none of the S-class Espers participated in the exodus to the new city.
That was why, despite the rapid exodus, many people remained here until the end.
No matter how safe the new city claimed to be, many people considered this place safer simply because S-class Espers were here.
But now Kyun In was saying something different.
If things happened this way, I had no idea how the story would change from here on.
“Surprised? You look very surprised.”
Kyun In seemed quite satisfied with having shocked me.
“We need change now. A gate has appeared too. When gates appear, the overall danger level of dungeons increases. More people will die. Not just ordinary people, but Espers too.”
Kyun In seemed to think his words would unsettle me.
He appeared to be enjoying watching my reaction, but not only did I already know this, I even knew things that Kyun In didn’t.
He was merely making guesses, while I had certainty…
No, that’s not right. Even that certainty was about to be disrupted because of Kyun In’s actions.
I couldn’t understand why Kyun In suddenly had such thoughts, but it was a bit irritating to think that what I knew would be altered because of this guy.
Some futures needed to be changed, and certain things like creating stabilizers needed to be accelerated, but why would Kyun In go to the new city?
While I was thinking about this, Kyun In looked confused, unable to tell what I was thinking.
“I’m going to form a guild.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want you to come with me.”
“You should talk to the high-level Espers. Many of them would follow you.”
“Just filling up numbers is meaningless. And I’d like to have an enjoyable time there if possible. Even if life involves dungeons appearing and fighting monsters, that doesn’t mean we have to give up hope.”
“I’m not interested. Not in the guild, not in the new city.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t like moving around.”
He looked at me as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing, then clicked his tongue.
“Fine. I’ll make it so you don’t have to move. Should I drive the whole way?”
“You probably know that’s not what I meant. I don’t like my environment changing.”
“Then we can make it exactly the same as here.”
He probably wasn’t genuinely confused but seemed unwilling to listen to what I was saying.
“I mean I’m not going anywhere else. I like the food from our cafeteria. Don’t say things like you’ll bring the cook along. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of this. If this gets out, you’ll be disciplined even though you’re an Esper.”
Kyun In laughed.
He seemed like he hadn’t expected to hear such words.
“Are other S-class Espers going too?”
“Would you come if they were?”
“No. I’m just wondering how many people are leaving and how much the Center’s strength will change.”
Kyun In didn’t answer, which was answer enough.
It seemed he hadn’t told others yet and didn’t plan to take them along.
I couldn’t yet tell how much Kyun In joining the new guild and city would change the original outcome.
But if Kyun In got involved, I thought the Center’s ability to respond to escaped Espers would be significantly weakened.
“I don’t know how long the current Center can guarantee safety. The Center doesn’t have the power to protect itself. There will be more dungeons we can’t handle in the future.”
“That’s possible, but it might not happen. It hasn’t happened yet. And having Espers stay together rather than splitting up will help deal with new crises. I won’t be escaping the Center. And if you mention this to me again, I’ll report what you said to the higher-ups.”
“…”
Kyun In looked perplexed, as if he hadn’t expected this situation.
“Esper Seo Eunwoo. I was just telling Esper Seo Eunwoo—”
“This applies from now on. It would be better not to bring up going to a new city, joining a new guild, or leaving the Center.”
Kyun In finally closed his mouth.
He seemed to think I might actually report this to the higher-ups.
“It could become dangerous, Esper Seo Eunwoo.”
“Is that so? It seems the organization is quite well-formed already.”
He shook his head and smirked.
“I never expected this kind of reaction.”
Then he looked at me with a changed expression.
“I understand how you feel. It would be greatly appreciated if you could completely forget that you met me here today and the conversation we had. I also won’t mention that I met Esper Seo Eunwoo and discussed the new center and guild.”
“Yes, let’s do that. I’ll be going now.”
As I turned to leave, he kept shaking his head and burst into laughter.
Then he said to my back:
“I’ve been wavering too, but this makes my decision much easier.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
