Chapter 8
“Zone C ability users, please come this way.”
Following the training director to Zone C, Yeonwoo calmly surveyed the training ground. As expected, this place was also familiar. Beyond familiar, it felt cozy, like home.
“For the next three months, you will adapt to mana between team members, get accustomed to dungeon mana through virtual dungeon training, and then take on official missions.”
The offensive types’ names were called first. The sound of offensive types calling out team members from the distributed roster echoed from all directions.
“Esper Han Yeonwoo!”
Heading toward where his name was called, Yeonwoo found Guide Jo Heeseo standing next to the offensive type, looking at him with an unwelcoming expression.
“I’m Han Yeonwoo. Esper Park Seohyun, I look forward to working with you.”
“Oh! You know me?”
At her startled expression, Yeonwoo gestured to the employee ID hanging around her neck.
“Ah, I thought it was something else.”
Looking at the offensive type Esper, Park Seohyun, who was greeting him with a smile, Yeonwoo forced his lips to curve upward.
“I’m Choi Dongwon.”
“Our team has a good composition, doesn’t it?”
As Park Seohyun said, the team’s composition wasn’t bad. A B-class guide with a B-class offensive type, a C-class defensive type, and an auxiliary type—true to the basics, and… a familiar team.
Yeonwoo looked around at his teammates while pressing his throbbing head. Despite having quite a solid team, Jo Heeseo’s expression wasn’t very good. She had an unhappy look from the moment she saw Yeonwoo, and after confirming Choi Dongwon’s class, her expression became literally desperate.
Park Seohyun, standing beside such a Jo Heeseo, blocked her line of sight by greeting Choi Dongwon, but Choi Dongwon was already wearing a dejected expression.
“Looking forward to working with you all.”
“Yes…”
While the awakened ones gathered in circles with their teammates were also exchanging greetings with Espers from the same zone, only Jo Heeseo ran to the training director without greeting anyone.
Watching her determined back view, Yeonwoo clicked his tongue softly.
Like anywhere else, the military academy also had a shortage of guides. As a result, even B-class Jo Heeseo had formed teams with A-class Espers several times. So she had expected to be paired with A-class in the Center as well, but being teamed with a C-class in Zone C, not even Zone B, seemed incomprehensible to her. She’ll get what’s coming to her at this rate.
…What?
Watching Jo Heeseo talking with the training director, Yeonwoo had a blank expression. What was I just… thinking…?
“Esper Han Yeonwoo, over here.”
Following behind Choi Dongwon, Yeonwoo received his training uniform and blinked slowly. Maybe it was because he hadn’t slept properly, but today his thoughts kept breaking off.
“Excuse me, excuse me! Just a moment!”
Upon coming out after changing into the training uniform, Choi Dongwon was desperately calling for Yeonwoo while holding an auxiliary bag, looking helpless. Ah, that’s difficult to assemble.
While helping with the assembly after receiving the parts, Park Seohyun was bringing Jo Heeseo, who had a gloomy expression. Exchanging eye greetings with Park Seohyun who was subtly gesturing toward Jo Heeseo, Yeonwoo attached the auxiliary bag to the arm of Choi Dongwon, who was struggling to attach a belt to his thigh.
“Thank you. The clothes are a bit complicated.”
Smiling and saying it was okay, Yeonwoo moved to the side and received a weapon. The knife was a fake issued for training, but the gun wasn’t. Running his hand over the handle, feeling its substantial weight, Yeonwoo looked around.
Leaving behind those who were delayed changing into training uniforms, Yeonwoo walked to a corner and disassembled the gun. Though he received it to get used to the weight, there were no bullets…
Looking down at the disassembled gun, Yeonwoo turned his gaze to the ceiling. His hand holding the gun trembled lightly, and laughter occasionally escaped his lips.
What in the world?
Even the gun’s serial number, NAC912-7712, was familiar.
Though the situation was confusingly crazy, there wasn’t even time to be confused.
All the déjà vu and discomfort were incomprehensible, but Yeonwoo forced himself to accept it. Unlike Yeonwoo, who entered military academy immediately after being classified as an Esper by the Ability Users Association, Yeonhwa had been dragged from place to place. He had heard about the Center from Yeonhwa many times, and the Center was also the main background for Kang Chahun, the protagonist of the book. He thought the reason all these scenes were familiar was because he had read and heard about them.
He pushed all his doubts and suspicions to one corner of his mind, cramming them tightly into one spot. Focusing on real problems was more important than finding these things strange or worrying about them.
“I’m sorry!”
Watching the mana ball rolling to a random spot, Yeonwoo bowed and shouted.
His ability was acting erratically.
“It’s okay. Relax!”
“Let’s try again~”
Biting his lip, Yeonwoo ran to pick up the mana ball. Choi Dongwon patted his shoulder, saying it seemed like he was too nervous, and Park Seohyun threw the mana ball back, urging him to try once more.
Taking a deep breath, Yeonwoo drew mana from his mana core and set coordinates. This part went smoothly. But as he drew a pattern on the coordinates, one side of his heart felt stiff. No way, is the mana core feeling burdened over something so minor?
After infusing mana into the mana ball, Yeonwoo used his ability toward the coordinates.
“Ah!”
The coordinates were set for Park Seohyun’s right hand, but the mana ball fell on Jo Heeseo’s left shoulder. Park Seohyun quickly darted out, snatched the mana ball, and threw it to Choi Dongwon, who bounced it with a palm-sized barrier and threw it to Yeonwoo. After feeling Choi Dongwon’s mana flowing from the mana ball in his hand, Yeonwoo infused mana again and set new coordinates.
A little more to the right than before.
Despite setting the coordinates properly, the mana ball dropped with a thud between Park Seohyun and Jo Heeseo. As Park Seohyun picked up the rolling mana ball, a cold voice dropped.
“Again.”
It was Jo Heeseo.
“Are you playing around? How many times is this?”
“Come on, it’s just because he’s not used to it. I slip up sometimes too.”
“That’s right. We’re still in the adaptation period.”
Despite Park Seohyun and Choi Dongwon’s defense, Jo Heeseo’s stiff gaze became even more piercing. With that expression, she glared at Yeonwoo throughout the training, and as soon as the end-of-training alarm sounded, she mercilessly turned and left the training ground.
“Why is she like that? It’s not like Esper Han Yeonwoo is the only one making mistakes.”
Choi Dongwon, who had been enviously watching the guides of each team member making contact with their Espers to provide guiding, grumbled. Watching Park Seohyun pat his shoulder saying she would go ahead, Yeonwoo swallowed a sigh and looked around.
Despite the training being over, there were quite a few teams that voluntarily remained to train, and mana balls were bouncing all around. Tracking with his eyes the mana ball rolling toward one side of the training ground, where “Let’s do better” and “I’m sorry” were alternately echoing, Yeonwoo looked down at his palm.
Every time he used his ability, he felt repulsion.
The repulsion blocked mana trying to flow into the coordinates, and the coordinates that couldn’t absorb mana simply dispersed into the air. Without coordinates, there was no space to move to, causing the ability to act erratically.
Even when he first awakened, this had never happened…
Why? Brushing back his sweat-soaked hair, Yeonwoo felt over his training uniform. Is there an uncollected item stuck somewhere? Otherwise, there’s no reason to feel repulsion. Clicking his tongue, Yeonwoo reached out. Mana flowing from his mana core rippled in his right hand, then smoothly transitioned to his left hand following his gesture.
So it’s not a problem with handling mana either.
As he let out a long sigh, Choi Dongwon, who was organizing training tools, patted his shoulder.
“Take it slow, take it slow. Relax your shoulders too. When you get impatient, even things that would normally work don’t work.”
Taking a breath at Choi Dongwon’s words, Yeonwoo smiled slightly and greeted him.
“What about Esper Han Yeonwoo? Aren’t you going?”
“I want to practice a bit more before leaving.”
After sending away Choi Dongwon, who was putting down his belongings saying he would join, Yeonwoo sat in a corner of the training ground and laid out pins in a grid pattern.
Though he didn’t know the reason for the repulsion, now that he was part of a team, he couldn’t hold back his teammates.
In a dungeon, a momentary, tiny mistake can cause someone’s death. Pushing away the memories that were creeping in, Yeonwoo pressed his forehead firmly. His teammates might say it’s okay, but if the training director caught him, there was a high chance of being expelled from the Center. If that happened, aside from everything else, he would lose his qualification as Yeonhwa’s guardian.
…Is that why I’m feeling the pressure? Because I need to be perfect to protect Yeonhwa? So that Yeonhwa won’t be used to make money like when she was young.
Sighing lightly, Yeonwoo held a ping pong ball instead of a mana ball. It should be fine with practice.
Let’s start with A, 1.
* * *
“Did you sleep here again?”
Staring at the pins, Yeonwoo startled and checked the time. It was already morning. After greeting Choi Dongwon, who said he would come after warming up, Yeonwoo called Yeonhwa. After leaving a message to eat meals on time to Yeonhwa, who wasn’t answering the phone—whether she was sleeping, preparing for school, or seeing premonitions in her subspace—Park Seohyun came strolling over.
“Did you come to work early? You didn’t sleep here again, did you?”
“I slept here.”
As Yeonwoo smiled while answering as he organized the pins, Park Seohyun, who was putting down her bag, furrowed her brow.
“Practice is good, but do it in moderation. So that it doesn’t burden your mana core.”
Faint mana could be felt from the hand patting his shoulder. In response to the mana that wrapped around his entire body before dispersing, Yeonwoo also infused mana into his hand and patted Park Seohyun.
Maybe because she was in her seventh year—no, what am I saying—third year, Park Seohyun frequently infused mana into her hand and tapped people to increase mana adaptation. Thanks to that, even without directly looking, he could feel that Park Seohyun was running around the training ground.
“Here.”
“Ah, thank—”
“Don’t help him. He has OCD, so he’ll just reorganize it anyway.”
At Jo Heeseo’s words, Yeonwoo, who had been thanking Choi Dongwon who was helping with organizing, nodded awkwardly in a half-finished posture.
Before the awakening fever, there was a period when his ability was unstable. After experiencing objects disappearing at his touch, he felt at ease only when everything was in its designated place.
Nevertheless, after Choi Dongwon helped with organizing until the end, they were warming up moderately when the training start notification sounded.
His footsteps toward the training ground dragged. What mistake would he make today? Why was his ability acting so erratically? Sighing and lining up with his teammates, there was a commotion at the entrance.
“Oh. It’s Esper Kang Chahun.”
At a guide’s murmur, everyone’s gaze turned toward the training ground entrance.
Judging by the training director’s surprised expression, it was clearly an unscheduled visit. After calming the murmuring ability users, the training director ran toward the entrance, and the Zone A training director waved with an exaggerated gesture.
“Hmm. Everyone, don’t mind and continue what you were doing.”
“What brings you here?”
“Uh… nothing special, Esper Kang Chahun just wants to observe a bit. Is that okay?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
