Chapter 32

“So, hyung-nim, what do I do about Guide Baek Ihyeon, the guy I supposedly kidnapped? People at DUST are bound to ask.”

Ihyun tapped the rim of his coffee cup with his fingertip.

“Tell them he’s dead.”

“What?”

“Say he died while escaping. And that you lost the body when you ran into the Supernatural Bureau’s pursuers.”

“…Do you really think they’ll buy that?”

“They might. They might not.”

Ihyun offered a bright smile as Juwon’s expression stiffened.

“Instead, you’ll look suspicious as hell, and I’ll be completely hidden in your shadow.”

“Ah…”

Juwon was temporarily rendered speechless by Ihyun’s brazen assertion.

“Then what are you going to say, hyung-nim?”

“That I’m a Guide you picked up on the run.”

“Picked up?”

“Yeah. Let’s say you dragged me out from a broker in the back alleys while getting fake IDs—a guy you snatched up because you happened to need a Guide. And don’t go shooting your mouth off before they even ask. No point drawing unnecessary eyes.”

“…What if I say I kidnapped Guide Baek Ihyeon to offer him as a gift to Han Taeyoon?”

“Juwon. Every single member of the leadership around Han Taeyoon knows who you are. That’s not the lesser of two evils; it’s the absolute worst option. You used to snarl whenever you caught sight of Han Taeyoon. If a guy like that suddenly shows up offering a present, would you believe it if you were in their shoes?”

Juwon nodded meekly.

Thinking back, he wasn’t wrong. Every time hyung-nim inadvertently showed signs of caring about Han Taeyoon, Juwon had hated that obnoxious face even more. That was why he used to mock them and get into fistfights with Han Taeyoon’s squad members.

“Anyway, you take all the heat.”

“…Do you think I can handle it?”

“Yup. Your hyung trusts you. I’ll disguise myself as much as possible and blend in quietly.”

Ihyun patted Juwon’s shoulder a couple of times reassuringly.

Bzzzt—!

Right on cue, Kang Taesik’s disposable terminal, tossed into a corner of the living room, vibrated noisily.

[Joo Iwon, Ihyeon of Blue Fin. Passed document screening for the DUST Newbie Selection Trials. Report to designated coordinates (U-14-SE / 33.4580°N, 126.9420°E) by 09:00 the day after tomorrow.]

Ihyun snatched up the terminal, the corners of his mouth lifting.

U-14-SE—a closed sector forming an island off the southern tip of the continent. It was a contested zone that DUST used as an outpost, a place with a long history of clashes with the Supernatural Bureau.

Choosing a location like this for the trials instead of their main headquarters was clearly intended to filter out potential spies first.

At last, the ticket to hell had been issued.

Ihyun badgered Kang Taesik until he secured a Spatial-type Esper. Thus, the two were transported to the designated coordinates—the entrance to an abandoned city on the outskirts of the metropolis.

A sector where people had once lived, now completely evacuated due to Gate pollution and the scars of battle.

DUST was using it as the arena for their newbie selection trials.

When they arrived, dozens of applicants had already gathered at the temporary staging area. DUST agents dressed in black uniforms were checking IDs, while surveillance drones and Detection-type Espers were stationed throughout the area.

“Joo Iwon and Ihyeon of Blue Fin.”

When Ihyun held out their fake IDs, the agent scanned their faces with a terminal.

The moment the agent looked at Juwon, his eyes narrowed sharply.

Ihyun immediately ducked behind Juwon’s broad back, adjusting his thick-rimmed glasses and pressing down on the fake beard stuck to his chin. Before the trials, he had even dyed his faded natural hair dark, but he still couldn’t relax.

“Lee Juwon?”

Juwon let out a low exhale.

“Yeah. I came over from the Supernatural Bureau.”

Instantly, eyes swarmed over from all around.

A few applicants began muttering, and a DUST agent walked straight toward Juwon.

“Esper applicants to the right. Guide applicants to the left. Lee Juwon, you undergo a separate verification process first.”

As Ihyun was pushed toward the left passage, he caught Juwon’s eye.

Draw the heat well.

For a split second, Juwon flashed an aggrieved expression before following the DUST agents with a hardened face.

As he entered the passage mixed among the Guide applicants, a watch was strapped to Ihyun’s wrist.

[Field Adaptation Evaluation Device.]

[Move along the designated route and stabilize unstable mana targets.]

[Deduction for exceeding the time limit or failing to stabilize.]

Shortly after, agents shoved the applicants into the interior of the abandoned city.

Beep-beep.

[Evaluation starting.]

“This is a bit different from what I expected.”

The thick fog blanketing the abandoned city swallowed his vision.

Ihyun let out a dry laugh.

“Haa… haa…”

Ihyun’s heavy breathing scattered down an alleyway in the ruined city center. Gray dust fluttered between collapsed buildings. Long-shattered asphalt fragments and rusted rebar littered the ground beneath his feet, while the sound of an explosion that had gone off somewhere echoed down the alley a moment later.

BOOM—!

The pressure of mana surging from behind pressed down on the back of his neck.

Ihyun gritted his teeth and ducked low.

A second later, and he would have been caught in the blast and disqualified on the spot.

Beep-beep.

The watch on his wrist vibrated.

[Move 120m East.]

[04:12 remaining until time limit.]

[Field Adaptation Evaluation in progress.]

“Ha… Time goes by ridiculously fast.”

Ihyun cut into the left alley.

Detection devices embedded in the walls of abandoned buildings flickered with red lights.

“Still better than the Supernatural Bureau, though.”

Recalling their pointless anti-terrorism exercises, Ihyun scoffed and vaulted over the wreckage of a halved bus.

The test required applicants to navigate the abandoned city along a set route while channeling Guiding into dummy Espers positioned along the way.

Far from simple machines, the dummies were devices engineered to simulate mana wave patterns on the verge of a runaway.

When a Guide approached, an unstable wave would burst forth. Failing to calm it properly triggered nearby traps and docked their remaining time.

Whether one could maintain Guiding even when completely exhausted.

Whether one could read an Esper’s mana flow amidst unexpected crises and keep oneself safe.

DUST was observing every single response and converting it into a numerical score.

Beep-beep.

[Mana instability reaction 30m ahead.]

[Move after stabilizing target.]

Ihyun swallowed a curse and slowed his stride.

Beyond the fog, a human-shaped training device leaned crookedly against the entrance of a collapsed pharmacy. Sparks of blue mana crackled across the dummy’s frame.

Before he could even catch his breath, Ihyun reached out.

The Guiding energy gathered at his fingertips drove deep into the dummy’s mana circuits.

Sizzle—!

The dummy vibrated violently.

At the same time, the watch sputtered an alarm.

[Unstable wave rising.]

[Deduction if forced stabilization fails.]

“I know! I’m handling it!”

Ihyun popped open a mana supplement from his inventory, downed it, and began driving his Guiding in once more.

Crack!

The blue sparks died out.

The dummy ceased trembling, and the watch screen shifted to green.

[Target stabilization complete.]

[+05:00 bonus time added.]

[Time limit: 08:56.]

[Proceed straight 200m North.]

“Ha…”

A sound slipped from him, unclear whether it was a sigh of relief or a dry chuckle.

Far off in the fog, another explosion detonated.

Right after, a wave of mana pressure swept across the entire abandoned city.

Someone must have set off a trap.

Ihyun raised his head.

Surveillance agents stood atop the roofs of the ruined buildings, their gazes sweeping below. When the explosion went off, a few agents leaped down without hesitation.

It seemed they were moving to retrieve the disqualified applicants.

Applicants who had finished the test lay sprawled across the floor of an abandoned warehouse.

Ihyun leaned against a pillar in the corner, catching his breath as he drained a cold water bottle tossed to him by a DUST agent.

Soon, a commotion stirred near the warehouse entrance.

“Results come out in two hours. Eat and rest until then.”

Following the surveillance agent’s blunt announcement, applicants pouring out of the Esper sector began to mingle.

Among them, one massive frame stood out conspicuously.

The moment Juwon stepped into the warehouse, the eyes of every Esper swarmed toward him at once.

At the appearance of an S-rank Esper who had recently shaken the Supernatural Bureau to its core, the applicants displayed instinctive vigilance and curiosity in equal measure.

Among them were jealous glares alongside blatant stares attempting to gauge his strength.

Unable to contain their curiosity, a few applicants hovering nearby surrounded Juwon.

“Esper Lee Juwon. Is it true you kidnapped Baek Seungho’s son?”

Juwon scowled in annoyance and waved his hand dismissively.

He had already heard the exact same question dozens of times during his interview.