Chapter 29

“Are you serious…?”

It wasn’t just idle talk, was it? Haon found Cha Yugeon’s words perplexing.

It was the first question Haon had ever asked Cha Yugeon.

Cha Yugeon casually nodded his head.

“You need to be able to use your full capabilities as a guide when it was needed.”

“…That’s true.”

It was a well-masked statement, but it carried a lot of meaning.

Once, he was an A-level esper, he gradually lost his abilities and couldn’t properly manifest his abilities when needed.

As a result, other espers or guides who had gone out with him were often injured. As someone who remembered the fear of those times, Haon felt Cha Yugeon’s words resonated more strongly than any other.

“…I’ll set a schedule.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Just as you said, I need to be able to use my abilities when it was needed.”

When Haon calmly repeated what Cha Yugeon had said he looked surprised. Yugeon glanced at Haon for a moment before nodding his head.

“Okay then. I’ll… get in touch.”

It felt awkward to Haon to say that he would contact Cha Yugeon himself, so he took a moment to catch his breath before speaking. Cha Yugeon nodded without saying anything. Haon tidied up the tray and left the cafeteria.

It all seemed like a lie. Having a casual conversation with Cha Yugeon, eating together, and even making plans. It was something that Haon had never imagined, and thought would never happen.

“…It’s not as bad as I thought.”

Haon muttered on his way to the fitness center. It was a bit awkward, but it wasn’t as bad as he had imagined.

So, he didn’t think his future involvement with Cha Yugeon would be bad enough to worry about, even if it wasn’t very pleasant or satisfying.

* * *

The fitness center was busier than expected. The communal training room, equipped for basic exercises, was almost full.

Eventually, Haon headed to the VR training room.

The VR training room provided a place that simulated real mission sites in VR as closely to reality as possible. As such, the training intensity was high, and there was a risk of injury, so not many people used it.

Entering the VR training room somewhat nervously.

As expected, Haon found that most of the rooms were vacant. Haon entered one of the advanced rooms prepared for higher guides.

<Please enter the trainee’s name.>

As soon as Haon entered with the necessary equipment, a status window appeared in the air. Haon wrote his name in the air with his finger. The AI recognized Haon’s information and quickly implemented a mission site suitable for him.

“Cha Yugeon…”

Though it was a scenario created in VR, it looked exactly like the real thing. If Haon hadn’t known this was a VR training room, he might have thought it was the real Cha Yugeon.

“Damn, Cha Yugeon!”

That’s why. Because it was too similar to reality. When Haon saw Cha Yugeon bleeding profusely and collapsing on the floor, he momentarily forgot this was a VR training room.

Haon immediately ran to the fallen Cha Yugeon. The wound was so deep that it was hard to tell how bad it was, covered in blood. Haon, with trembling hands, tried to find the wound by tearing off the half-torn shirt.

Even at first glance, the wound that ran diagonally from his right chest to the left pelvis was severe. Haon quickly took a healer potion from the pouch on his thigh and poured it on the wound.

“Ugh…….”

“Does it hurt? Damn, no. Don’t talk.”

Surprised by Cha Yugeon’s groan, Haon asked and then cursed himself. What was the point of asking if it hurt when the wound was so deep?

“I am a D-class healer esper from the support team.”

Just then, a healer esper appeared. However, he was D-class, inadequate to heal such a severe wound. But considering the urgency of the situation, where every second counted, there was no time to be picky.

Thus, it was crucial for Haon, with his guiding ability, to maximize the D-class healer esper’s power to achieve the best outcome. This was the crux of the training.

In the meantime, Cha Yugeon was gasping for breath with a pale face due to the bleeding. His breathing was so labored it seemed he might die at any moment, making Haon so anxious he almost forgot it was just training.

“I’ll guide you, so start healing at the same time.”

Seeing the deep wounds on Cha Yugeon, Haon chose to guide while the healer esper heal simultaneously, as there seemed to be no time to heal Cha Yugeon otherwise.

“I am a D-class esper, so if the S-class guide Park Haon injects more guide power than necessary, it could strain my body. You need to control the amount properly.”

“…Understood.”

Only then did Haon fully understand the aim of this training. It wasn’t just about drawing out the healing power of a D-class esper but also adjusting the output so as not to strain the healer body.

Haon reached out his hand to the back of the D-class healer esper and concentrated as much as possible. As the virtual D-class esper said, injecting more power than necessary into a lower-class esper could strain their body. Preventing that was Haon’s mission.

Haon gathered his guide power in his palm. Although he had guided several times before, there was never a need to adjust the force, as both time the recipient were S-class espers.

He had focused solely on pouring out as much guide force as possible. However, in an actual situation, various scenarios could occur. For example, there might be a need to inject the appropriate amount of guide power into someone, just like now.

“…Cough!”

Despite his caution, it seemed he injected too much guide power. The D-class esper coughed out violently. Consequently, his healer went awry.

Instead of healing, Cha Yugeon’s wounds worsened.

Seeing this, cold sweat formed on Haon’s forehead. The thought that his mistake could severely harm both individuals made his legs tremble.

Although it was just a training session, meaning no one was actually hurt, if it had been a real situation, it could have been disastrous.

With almost a crying face, Haon tried to steady his shaking spirit. But the situation only worsened due to his already disturbed state.

“Ugh!”

“Cough, cough, ugh…”

As the D-class Esper let out a pain-filled groan, Cha Yugeon coughed up blood. He kept repeating in his head that it was just training, but seeing Cha Yugeon dying in front of his eyes did not calm him down.

He wasn’t particularly fond of him, having only had a proper conversation with him for the first time today, but he didn’t wish for him to die. Especially not because of him. Haon gritted his teeth.

I must focus. I must focus.

Contrary to his thoughts, his hands trembled. He could barely control even a single hand of his own volition, and there was no way he could effectively control the vague and abstract guide power.

“Cough…!”

Cha Yugeon’s eyes were lifeless as the D-class esper let out a cough and fell to the side.

He was dead.

Haon didn’t need to check his pulse to know. He extended his trembling hand towards Cha Yugeon.

“…Cha Yugeon.”

“…”

“Cha Yugeon…”

“…”

“Damn it, Cha Yugeon! Cha Yugeon!”

No matter how many times he called, there was no answer. Cha Yugeon just stared into the air with lifeless eyes.

Cha Yugeon was dead.

The moment that reality hit, Haon felt as if something had snapped in his mind.

<Mission Failed>

Letters floated in the air, and both the D-class Esper and Cha Yugeon disappeared, leaving only the white walls and floor of the training room.

Haon remained seated in the same spot for a long time after seeing the words ‘Mission Failed,’ blankly staring at where Cha Yugeon had been just moments before.

Cha Yugeon was an S-class Esper. Even the past Haon, who disliked him, acknowledged that Cha Yugeon was strong. The fact that such a person could die was a tremendous shock to Haon.

Of course, there had been times when he wished Cha Yugeon would just drop dead. But even those thoughts were under the assumption that Cha Yugeon couldn’t possibly die. The virtual experience of Cha Yugeon’s death brought an indescribable desolation to Haon.

And to think he could have saved him with his power, but lost that chance due to his own lack of ability, made it even harder for Haon.

“Fuck…”

Haon’s muttered curse echoed in the training room before fading away.

Soon after, a deep silence filled the room.