‘After all the money I’ve spent on this, they’re going to ban me?!’
Even when he left a post on the in-game inquiry board, the only response that came back was a message saying, ‘We are currently reviewing your inquiry. Please wait a moment.’
‘This is so damn suspicious, for real. What is this? What, did I stumble upon some kind of secret something-or-other that I’m not supposed to mention?’
There was a story that circulated openly among the game’s users. It was said that if you discovered an Easter egg1) hidden by the developers and posted it on the community forums, the developers would delete it, fearing the Easter egg would become widely known, preventing users from even sharing it amongst themselves.
Even so, what was with the ban?! Wasn't that too extreme? At the time, Juwon had seriously considered quitting the game.
But this was a game he had poured not only his already scarce time into, but also a huge amount of money. He hadn't been able to quit even when the item enhancement probability manipulation scandal broke; there was no way he could quit just because of some unknown event and a ban from the community.
It wasn't like he couldn't play the game because of the event, and the notification messages were no longer bothering him, so he had decided to just ignore it and move on.
But now, after seeing Bureau's announcement, he had a feeling that this 'Guide' entity might be related to that quest.
‘Making eye contact. I guess I just have to make eye contact with that Guide whatever-it-is.’
Juwon checked the message sent by the guild master and leaned back against his bedsheets as if he were about to lie down.
‘To ensure safety, the Guide’s identity will be revealed slowly? Ha, seriously. They sure know how to make it sound plausible. They’re just casually saying they’re going to monopolize them.’
[Guild Master: I’ve set the schedule. It's a meeting at 4:30 PM. Chief Shin Yonghyun will be there to greet you, so do a good job.]
Only then did Juwon realize why the guild master had sent him.
‘That’s a real elegant way of telling me to find out who the guide is.’
If he, who had no talent for negotiations or sitting still for a conversation, was the one being sent, then the S-rank Esper title must be what was needed to meet the Guide. No matter how tightly they hid the Guide's identity, they wouldn't hide it from him.
Besides, if this quest was related to the Guide, Juwon guessed he would know the moment their eyes met.
‘Ah, what a pain. It’s easier to just run off and conquer a gate. Isn’t this kind of thing for the brainy types?’
At meetings or negotiations, Juwon's role was usually to sit in a corner with a scowl and folded arms, creating a menacing atmosphere. The leader of Attack Team 1 would often say, as if praying, every time he attended a meeting, "Juwon, let's please just keep our mouths shut today."
Every time, Juwon would cry out in protest, "Ah, but that bastard started it!" but no one paid any attention to the words of Juwon, whose credibility had already hit zero.
‘Hand over the Guide! …Nope. Hey, are you trying to pull a fast one by hiding the Guide? …Pass on that too. Ah, c’mon. You’ve got something good, let’s see it together? Hmm, is this one better?’
After pondering for a moment, Juwon stopped thinking and launched the fantasy ability battle game. He felt that rather than wasting time with such headaches and thoughts, it was better to grind one more event.
***
"We're scheduled to meet with Baek Juwon Esper, an S-rank from the Geonyeong Guild."
"Huh? So suddenly?"
"Yes, the message came unexpectedly. It seems to be because of the Guide, the Geonyeong guild master contacted me directly, saying they would send Baek Juwon Esper."
"Ah. Come to think of it, it ended up looking like we left only him out."
After the announcement, the four of them had gone to the company cafeteria near the dispatch team department to have drinks and pass the time. Whether Yonghyun had given a heads-up in advance or if it was out of consideration for them, the cafeteria was empty, allowing them to relax comfortably.
"We were planning on contacting Geonyeong anyway, so it was good timing that they reached out first."
"Ah. Come to think of it, I guess that's how they'd see it. All the other S-ranks were gathered while their own Esper was left out... Oh my god, what if he misunderstood? Like, 'Are you guys ostracizing me?'"
As Wonwoo trailed off, Jinho shook his head.
"Juwon-hyung is the type to ostracize the world, not be ostracized by it."
"...Is that so?"
"Yeah. He's got a nasty personality."
Yonghyun clicked his tongue at Hyeonil's words.
"That's not something for you to say, Kim Hyeonil-ssi."
"What? Hey, where else would you find someone as nice and flexible as me?"
Hyeonil spoke as if wronged, but his words didn't reach Wonwoo's ears. Instead, Wonwoo looked at Yonghyun and Jinho with an anxious gaze.
"Is his personality... nasty?"
Ignoring Hyeonil, who was whining, Wonwoo asked Yonghyun again. As someone who had to consider Juwon as a target for ‘Heart-Pounding ♥ Relationship with Espers,’ the news that his personality was nasty was concerning.
‘If we make eye contact, is he going to be like, ‘What are you staring at?’ No, what if he’s really that type?!’
To the worried Wonwoo, Jinho quickly answered as if making an excuse.
"No, hyung. Rather than nasty... he's as fiery as his ability. A personality that doesn't care about fire or water...?"
‘Isn't that what people usually call a nasty personality....’
Wonwoo tried his best to deny the thought that came to mind and took a sip of his grapefruit ade. The sweet scent of grapefruit and the cool fizz went down, and a sound of "Kyah" escaped him unconsciously.
After the video ended, Yonghyun had made an announcement about the Guide's ability and their existence. He drew a line from the start, stating that he would only take five questions or fewer.
Q. Is a Guide a different existence from Espers, or buff-type or support-type Espers?
A. Yes, they are different.
Q. Only S-rank Espers appeared in the video. Is the Guide's ability limited to S-ranks?
A. Internal experiments have shown that the effects of Guiding appear not only in S-ranks but in other Espers as well. However, the efficiency of the Guiding is proportional to the Esper's rank.
Q. When do you plan to reveal the Guide's identity?
A. We intend to reveal it as quickly as possible. We plan to make it public as soon as we are ready.
Q. Will Bureau be in charge of the Guide's dispatch and management? With the number of Guides unknown, this raises concerns about a monopoly.
A. There is only one Guide. And Bureau will only play the role of a dispatch intermediary, just as we do for other Espers. The Guide's opinion will be prioritized.
Not only reporters but also guild officials raised their hands to ask questions, but Yonghyun ended the seminar as soon as he finished answering the fifth question.
‘From now on, the Guide will work alongside me and other Espers to conquer gates.’
And in that spot, Wonwoo saw it. The gazes of naked desire and discontent, clinging as if they would pounce on Yonghyun at any moment. The desire was for the being that could enhance an Esper's abilities, and the dissatisfaction was for the Bureau hiding and protecting that existence without revealing it.
The thought that if someone pointed him out as the Guide right here, all those gazes would pour onto him, made Wonwoo's mouth go so dry he didn't dare take a drink of water. He could only stand there, stiff with tension.
‘If Jinho-ssi hadn’t been there then, I might have actually fainted.’
As if noticing Wonwoo's intense nervousness, Jinho tried to divert his attention by getting him water or making small talk.
‘Just like Wonwoo-hyung gives me Guiding, it would be nice if I could also give him strength.’
As soon as he heard Jinho's words, the anxiety strangely disappeared, and a sense of stability and warmth that came from the fact that someone was by his side washed over Wonwoo.
Moreover, Jinho's words also contained the meaning that 'my Guiding is helpful.' As soon as he realized this, a ticklish sense of satisfaction filled Wonwoo.
"Yeah, I did predict that if anyone were to contact us after the Guide announcement... the Geonyeong Guild would be the first."
It was a single sentence from Hyeonil that pulled Wonwoo out of his thoughts.
"The guild master there, that nuna(older sister), has a fiery personality. She doesn't like to weigh her options. So when something happens, she's the type to charge straight in."
The other guys are probably so busy analyzing the video we released today frame by frame and dissecting every single word the section chief said for meaning that they haven't even thought about what to do yet.
Hyeonil's words contained blatant sarcasm.
"There's nothing wrong with being cautious, Kim Hyeonil Esper."
"That's right. Nothing wrong with it. But, the caution of those who are no help anyway. There's nothing good about it either, is there?"
Sensing another war of nerves was about to break out between the two, Wonwoo hurriedly jumped in with an internal scream.
"In that case...! Would it be alright for me to meet Baek Juwon-ssi as well?"
"Yes. I was just about to ask you about that. If the others have time as well, it might be good to meet him together."
"Hmph. An S-rank Esper meeting, is that it?"
"You could see it that way."
"Aah. As I thought, we should take Wonwoo and lock him up somewhere...."
Wonwoo let out a "haha" and decided to ignore Hyeonil's highly criminal remark. Though he had only known him for a few days, he had already realized that ignoring Hyeonil when he spouted such nonsense was the best policy.
"Considering the Guiding efficiency, there will probably be many times I'll have to work with Baek Juwon-ssi. It would be good to get to know him and talk."
Through experiments with the Espers belonging to Bureau, they had found out that Wonwoo's Guiding worked on all Espers.
‘It’s kind of like... the feeling of having a cup of coffee and your eyes snapping open with caffeine after staying up all night for several days.’
But judging by Assistant Manager Mihee's description, it didn't seem to have as tremendous an effect as what Jinho, Yonghyun, or Hyeonil had felt.
‘It’s probably also because my side effects are minor. My only side effect is that when I use my ability, I sometimes get indigestion and burp.’
Yonghyun had said that it seemed the effect of Guiding was proportional to the Esper's rank.
Therefore, considering efficiency, Wonwoo and everyone else agreed with the opinion that there was no need to guide other Espers and participate in gate conquests when there were S-rank Espers to consider. The system also sent a message, actively agreeing with that opinion.
[Not a chance. 24 hours isn't even enough for Wonwoo to guide S-rank Espers! （︶^︶）]
_____
1) Easter egg : Things hidden by game developers during development to surprise users.
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