“I have something to say.”
I quickly scanned the group of Guides and noticed Do Wonjin looking particularly pleased with himself. Realizing that Do Wonjin must have said something to Peter, I claimed a spot in the living room.
“I’ll put up a sound barrier first, just in case.”
I took security precautions first since I was about to openly discuss someone closely connected to the terrorist organization he was pursuing. Peter straightened his posture, looking slightly taken aback by my formal approach.
“Why such a serious face for this conversation?”
I realized I might be coming on too strong based on Peter’s reaction, but since I’d already set the tone, I went straight to the point.
“I’ve figured out who the leader of the terrorist organization you’re pursuing is.”
The smile disappeared from Peter’s face.
“And who would that be?”
“The Center Director.”
“…”
Despite the confidence in my voice, Peter’s face only showed discomfort.
“I guess bosses making life difficult for their subordinates is the same in America as in Korea.”
“I’m not joking. Let me explain why I think this.”
To convince the skeptical Peter, I told him about what I experienced before my regression. He listened silently to my story until I reached the part about how I already knew about the S-class dungeon that appeared at the amusement park a few days ago.
“Wait a moment.”
Peter cleared his throat and covered his mouth.
“So to summarize, you’re saying the Center Director kidnapped Jeongjae’s mother and placed her in the terrorist organization I’m currently pursuing. And did so after brainwashing her. Is that correct?”
I nodded to confirm his precise summary of the lengthy explanation I’d given.
“So far you have circumstantial evidence but no concrete proof?”
I nodded again since that was also true, which made Peter sigh deeply.
“Alright. I understand. From Jeongjae’s perspective, I can see how the circumstances might lead you to suspect he’s the terrorist leader.”
At first glance, it sounded like he agreed with me, but Peter wasn’t finished.
“But then why would he deliberately establish a terrorist organization in the United States while he himself works in Korea, and as a Center Director under a government institution, no less? Is a Center Director’s workload light enough to travel back and forth to the United States? I doubt that’s the case.”
I hadn’t considered that aspect before.
“To begin with, terrorist organizations are anti-government entities—it doesn’t make sense to have a base in the United States while staying in Korea. If he wanted to spy, he could have aimed for a Center Director position in the United States, which would have been sufficient.”
Suddenly, a plausible theory came to mind based on Peter’s words.
From Peter’s American perspective, he naturally assumed the terrorist organization held grievances against the United States, but what if someone was exploiting that perception?
‘What if the Center Director had set up an anti-government group targeting Korea from the beginning? Then having a base in the United States would just be a cover.’
Of course, for that to work, someone would need to actually run the terrorist organization in America. As Peter said, the Center Director wouldn’t have the capacity to manage operations all the way in the United States.
‘But this is all just my speculation. Without evidence, we’re just sharing our respective viewpoints.’
I racked my brain for a compromise that could end this conversation with Peter.
“Peter.”
Peter, who had also been deep in thought, looked up.
“Let’s set aside the question of who the leader is—that will become clear when evidence emerges. However, you do understand that what I’m planning to do is related to the terrorist organization you’re pursuing, right?”
“Yes, I understand that. But.”
Peter’s eyes surveyed the Guides sitting in the living room.
“May I ask what you intend to do once you find this terrorist organization?”
His face showed traces of suspicion, as if he had already guessed my intentions.
“I’m going to destroy it.”
Peter’s mouth fell open.
“Wow.”
He exclaimed with genuine surprise.
“That’s quite a plan.”
Then he continued with a cautious expression.
“But there’s a problem.”
Peter knew more about the terrorist organization than I did. I nodded, showing my willingness to hear whatever issue he had identified.
“What’s the problem?”
“I’ll be blunt. With your current abilities, it’s impossible. You’d be lucky not to get captured if you went after them.”
My mind went blank for a moment. This wasn’t a simple problem like the difficulty in finding them or how to investigate in America—it was a more fundamental issue.
“Is my skill level insufficient?”
Peter nodded without hesitation. I was considerably shocked by his response and realized I’d become complacent about being the country’s only S-class Esper.
“Have you heard of breakthrough? Commonly called awakening.”
I’d heard of it, but awakening was as rare as imprinting. Of course, it was more frequent than imprinting, but the requirements for awakening and its effects on Espers were still insufficiently researched. That’s why it wasn’t covered in detail during theory classes.
“An Esper can undergo a maximum of three awakenings. Some ranks are limited to just one awakening, but in my case, I became an S-class from an A-class through my third awakening.”
It was the first time I’d heard that Peter became S-class through awakening, but the information he possessed was very interesting.
“From what I observed before, it seems you’ve already undergone your first awakening. But even so, trying to destroy a terrorist organization alone is reckless. You’d need at least a second awakening to inflict damage on them, if not completely destroy them.”
“What about a third awakening?”
“A third awakening is like a dream, but if you succeed, you’d become the world’s first person with abilities beyond S-class.”
As Peter continued speaking, I felt my nerves tingling all over my body. Something electrifying and boiling inside me. A fierce fighting spirit I had never experienced before in my life.
Unable to contain my excitement, my wavelength began to act up, causing Yang Garam to come over and hold my hand.
“How long does it typically take to reach the second awakening?”
While Yang Garam’s guiding was helping stabilize my wavelength, Do Wonjin asked Peter.
“In my case, it took a year to reach the second awakening.”
Everyone’s expressions darkened. I wondered if my declaration to complete all plans within a month had been too hasty. But even so, a year was too long. My plan to destroy the terrorist organization wasn’t just for my personal revenge—it also included rescuing my mother.
“I do know a method to accelerate the process.”
Peter offered some hopeful words, seemingly trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.
“Is it possible to do it within two weeks using that method?”
After squeezing Yang Garam’s hand to signal I was fine and then letting go, I asked Peter.
Peter stroked his chin with an expression that seemed to be recalling past memories.
“Awakening requires training that pushes you to your limits. That’s why awakening is a double-edged sword. It can lead to a rampage if you’re not careful. Trying to compress it into two weeks would significantly increase the risks.”
After pausing briefly, Peter looked at me.
“Usually, this kind of warning makes people back off, but you seem quite determined.”
“But you went through three awakenings, Peter. So there must be a way, right?”
“Yes, there is. But two essential conditions must be met. First, an imprinted Guide who can prevent a rampage. Second, a training location that can withstand you exerting all your power to the limit.”
I nodded, restraining my urge to look at Yang Garam beside me. My face tingled from the gazes of the other Guides.
“I had an imprinted Guide, but I lacked a place to train freely. That’s why I’d immediately rush to dungeons whenever I heard one had opened, even if I was asleep.”
As I listened to Peter, I thought of the training room in the Center’s basement, but quickly shook my head.
That would be like openly advertising to the Center Director. In the end, both my situation and Peter’s were similar.
“I don’t have a suitable location either.”
No matter how hard I tried to think, there was no way a suitable place would materialize out of nowhere. I told Peter in a dejected voice, and he shrugged as if it was expected.
“Of course. It’s not like dungeons open in your backyard, so how could it be that easy…”
“I believe I can provide that training location.”
“Really?”
Peter’s words were drowned out by Jeong Seyeon’s statement. I immediately turned toward Jeong Seyeon, who slowly stood up.
“Let’s go to my house first.”
The doorbell rang as soon as he finished speaking, suggesting he had already informed Jeong Se-eun.
When I opened the door, Jeong Se-eun appeared with a commanding presence, giving me a side-eye upon noticing the additional person. But she seemed to hold back in front of Jeong Seyeon.
With her help, we safely arrived at Jeong Seyeon’s house, following his lead along a stone-paved path. Our destination was a shrine standing apart from the traditional Korean house.
“This way, please.”
Jeong Seyeon went to a corner of the well-maintained shrine and removed the straw mat covering the floor. This revealed stairs leading underground. Jeong Seyeon went down first, and I created a small flame to illuminate the dark passage.
After a while, at the bottom of the stairs, we found something completely unexpected.
“A gate?”
A gate connects one space to another. It’s because of these gates that Masu, which should only exist in dungeons, cross over to Earth. Gates naturally appear when dungeons emerge, but they can also be artificially created as transportation alternatives. However, creating gates artificially was a government privilege. Private ownership of gates was legally prohibited.
“My great-grandfather discovered this dungeon while he was alive.”
The fact that they continued living in a house with an undetected dungeon beneath it was extremely rare, but as I read the wavelength coming from the gate, it made sense.
“F-grade, isn’t it?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
An empty dungeon without a core, with only a gate—this was possible for the lowest grade dungeon. Without a core, Masu couldn’t exist either. To put it kindly, it was called a dungeon, but an F-grade dungeon would be more accurately described as just a spatial rift.
Jeong Seyeon passed through the gate, and we followed behind.
I had expected an empty space, but my eyes widened at the vast wasteland that spread out before us.
Though it was a desolate landscape without any life forms due to the absence of a core, it was truly an enormous space.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
