#083
After buying a lot of armor and weapons and returning to his lodging, Eunseok immediately took out his phone. He brought up Choi Hanseo’s number but couldn’t press the call button. Come to think of it, it had always been Choi Hanseo who contacted him first; Eunseok had never initiated contact.
He must be busy.
After hesitating, Eunseok finally gave up on calling Choi Hanseo and slumped down on the sofa.
After sitting quietly for a moment, Eunseok eventually turned on the TV. A news broadcast immediately came on.
[As variants continue to appear incessantly across the country, experts are beginning to express concerns. Some are suggesting that this might be a precursor to a massive gate break like the one 20 years ago. The Ability Management Bureau has dismissed this, stating that there is absolutely no correlation between frequent variant appearances and gate breaks. However, there are ongoing criticisms that in the current situation where ability users are being mobilized non-stop to deal with variants, their fatigue levels are becoming excessively high as they also have to handle gates.]
It seemed that the Ability Management Bureau was still not revealing the existence of the magic stones intentionally causing variants. Certainly, as mentioned in the news, if this situation continues for a long time, ability users’ fatigue will inevitably increase. They needed to quickly find and eliminate the forces planting the magic stones.
Was the Ability Management Bureau already on the tail of these forces? Had they at least found some clues? Eunseok, not being part of the Bureau, had no way to resolve these questions.
Looking at the clock, it was almost time for his appointment. He was supposed to have dinner with Ji Taeuk after several days.
Just as he was getting up, his phone rang. It was none other than Ji Taeuk.
“Hello.”
– Oh, Eunseok. I’m sorry, but I can’t make it for dinner.
“Did something happen?”
– Another variant appeared. The 2nd and 3rd combat teams are already out, so they’re saying we need to go. Let’s have dinner together tomorrow.
Seemingly busy with preparations for deployment, Ji Taeuk briefly stated his business and hung up. Eunseok frowned at his watch, which showed nothing. For the past few days, he had been resting under the excuse of recovery, but that was over now. However, Eunseok was not included in the 1st combat team’s deployment.
After staring at his watch for a moment, Eunseok soon called Secretary Kim on his phone.
– Hello, Guide Lee.
“Yes, hello, Secretary Kim.”
After greeting, Eunseok immediately got to the point, not giving Secretary Kim a chance to say anything.
“The 1st combat team just deployed, but I didn’t receive any notification.”
– Ah… The Guild Master said that Guide Lee needs to recover his condition, so you won’t be doing any external activities for a while. By the way, are you feeling better?
“I’m fine. I understand for now. Have a good day.”
Eunseok hung up immediately. Suddenly, he felt his temper rising.
Right. As a valuable S-class guide, he had created a situation where he was kidnapped while wandering alone without proper awareness. That was Eunseok’s mistake. But to stop all external activities because of that? Wouldn’t that result in just sitting in the guiding room doing guiding?
Eunseok pressed Choi Hanseo’s number without hesitation, which he hadn’t been able to press earlier.
– Have you had dinner?
Choi Hanseo asked abruptly as he answered the phone. It was noisy on the other end of the line.
“Where are you now?”
– Ah. I’m in the middle of dealing with some variants. So, have you eaten dinner?
The statement about dealing with variants could be confirmed by the sounds coming through the phone. The sound of something being smashed kept ringing out.
“I heard from Secretary Kim that you’ve completely stopped my external activities.”
– Ah, that’s right.
Choi Hanseo answered shamelessly.
“Isn’t this a breach of contract? I have absolutely no intention of just sitting quietly in the guiding room doing guiding. You should know that well.”
– Strictly speaking, it’s not a breach of contract. The condition you set was to enter gates together. There was no condition about accompanying for dealing with variants outside of gates. Isn’t that right?
“I’m not trying to play word games here.”
When Eunseok spoke through gritted teeth, Choi Hanseo went quiet for a moment. The sounds of battle could still be heard through the phone. Then, after a while, Choi Hanseo spoke.
– Alright, I understand. Let’s talk when I get back. I’ll come right after I finish here, so don’t get angry and wait.
“…Fine.”
After hanging up, Eunseok let out a deep sigh.
Unlike when he was ignorant, now he had become somewhat aware of his position as a guide. Especially, he had definitely become aware that he was high-value prey targeted by many. But… he still had no intention of just sitting quietly in the guiding room doing guiding. At this age, he had miraculously gained the opportunity to harm these monstrous creatures with his own hands. He didn’t want to miss that opportunity.
To calm his mind, Eunseok took a hot shower and sat at his desk. He opened his laptop and went to the Ability Management Bureau’s website.
The Bureau’s website provided detailed notifications about gate and variant appearances. Entering the map showing the current notifications, he could see variant appearance notifications evenly distributed throughout the country. Indeed, it was an incredible frequency of appearances.
If there was a force behind this, or rather, assuming there definitely was one. What exactly were they aiming for?
It would require astronomical funds to spread magic stones to this extent. However, the results compared to the investment were minimal. Unlike the monsters pouring out of gate breaks, Earth creature variants can be easily handled by any decent hunter. It just means the frequency of hunter deployments increases, but hunters rarely get injured or die. The only ones suffering damage are ordinary people with no ability to resist. This was nothing short of indiscriminate terrorism.
Terrorism and the resulting social chaos. Then, in the end, what they’re aiming for is…
“To tie up the eyes and feet of the Management Bureau and the guilds.”
Eunseok muttered softly. And he mentally chewed over the words he had muttered several times. He felt certain that this was the case. They were tying up the Bureau and guilds with variants and trying to trigger something bigger in the meantime. And if it’s something bigger than variant appearances, it’s probably…
Gate break.
Eunseok clenched his fist at the conclusion that came to mind.
After mulling it over several times, he reached the same conclusion each time. Eunseok paced back and forth, waiting for Choi Hanseo to return. As the guild master of Baekho Guild, Choi Hanseo would have access to considerable information. It was quite possible that he had already reached a similar or identical conclusion to Eunseok’s.
It was only after nearly two hours that the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, Choi Hanseo was standing there.
“Did you wait long?”
Choi Hanseo briefly kissed Eunseok’s cheek. He smelled of fragrant shampoo, as if he had just showered, and was dressed in comfortable indoor clothes.
The nerves that had been on edge suddenly relaxed at Choi Hanseo’s ticklish kiss. Eunseok glanced down the corridor to see if anyone was there, then pulled Choi Hanseo into the house.
“You haven’t had dinner, right?”
Choi Hanseo asked assertively, holding up the bag in his hand. Then he walked to the dining table.
Choi Hanseo, setting up the takeout food on the table, looked as comfortable as if this were his own home. The funny thing was that Eunseok also didn’t feel at all awkward or uncomfortable with Choi Hanseo being in his territory.
“Come on, let’s eat.”
Choi Hanseo said, pulling out a chair. Eunseok obediently sat in the chair Choi Hanseo had pulled out and picked up his chopsticks.
“You came back faster than I expected.”
“Of course I had to come quickly when you were waiting.”
Eunseok paused his chopsticks for a moment at Choi Hanseo’s casual reply. For a brief moment, Choi Hanseo’s words, which could have sounded embarrassing, felt very ordinary.
Come to think of it, it didn’t seem that long ago since their first meeting, but their relationship and his image of Choi Hanseo had changed a lot. This was the first time he had experienced such an extreme and rapid change in a relationship. Of course, it was also the first time he had formed such a deep relationship with anyone other than his deceased family.
His heart fluttered strangely again. Eunseok felt that this unfamiliar emotion was a bit overwhelming.
