DPGR 145

Kwak Jiheon, Dojin, and Jiho returned to the Director’s office. Lost in his own thoughts, Kwak Jiheon didn’t even realize that Dojin and Jiho had followed him in.

‘Now that I think about it… Things weren’t all that hopeful for the espers either.’

The training room he visited every day always held a certain brightness, a hopeful energy. Especially after the recent boom in reawakenings, the mood had been more optimistic than ever.

But looking back, not everyone had been training with the same spirit.

Some high-ranking espers had joined the preparations reluctantly, either swept up by the atmosphere or due to their positions. Kwak Jiheon had sensed it on some level, but hadn’t paid it much mind.

Maybe he, too, had been so exhausted and worn out that he only let himself see the positive side.

“Haa…”

A heavy sigh escaped Kwak Jiheon’s lips, it was far from the first.

‘Forcing people who are this frightened and withdrawn into a dungeon is just asking for trouble.’

He had decided to give up on deploying Unpaired Guide Team 1.

The dungeon was already critically important and dangerous. He couldn’t risk ruining the atmosphere by sending in people like that.

Then what could he do?

His concerns deepened. How could he possibly gather the promised number of people from each nation?

‘The other unpaired guides… No, they’ll likely react the same.’

He figured espers, at least, had the experience to manage their fear of dungeons. But unpaired guides without any field experience were a different matter.

Would things have gone differently if there had been someone to support and train the unpaired guides?

‘Maybe I really did need a Guide Director after all.’

Trying to oversee the entire center alone may have been overly ambitious. Kwak Jiheon’s worry deepened, and the frown lines on his forehead grew more pronounced.

Jiho hesitated, then offered a quiet word of comfort.

“I-It’ll be alright. I can do radiant guiding… If I just practice my control more, I should be able to care for a lot of espers.”

Dojin frowned at that, but Jiho shot him a warning glance to keep him from stepping in.

Still, Kwak Jiheon responded much like Dojin had, not particularly thrilled by the idea of Jiho’s radiant guiding.

“Hmm. Let’s keep that as a possibility for now.”

He cherished Jiho too, which was why he felt it would be best to treat radiant guiding as a last resort.

He gave Jiho’s hair a rough tousle and spoke with exaggerated cheer.

“Even so, there must be some unpaired guides who are willing to take on the dungeon. We’ll find them, and we’ll start training them for combat right away.”

***

Just as Kwak Jiheon had said, a few unpaired guides stepped forward and volunteered to enter the final dungeon.

However, most of them were C or D-rank. A few A and B-rank guides from Teams 2 and 3 volunteered as well, but it still wasn’t nearly enough.

‘No, but still… this is better than nothing.’

Kwak Jiheon bowed deeply to the guides who had volunteered, thanking them sincerely. These people weren’t accustomed to the fear of death, yet they’d come this far. That alone deserved gratitude.

“There isn’t much time left before we enter the Final Dungeon. Please do your best in training until the appointed day.”

He ordered them to begin physical conditioning and shooting practice.

The espers were already busy with their own preparations, so the training of unpaired guides was handed over to experienced veteran guides.

“Um, Guide Choi Geonwoo. Is this how I’m supposed to hold it?”

“Ah, it’ll be easier to grip like this. Just a sec, move your index finger here. Yes, like that.”

“Could you check my posture too? My shoulder feels awkward.”

“Same here! Guide Choi Geonwoo, over here too, please!”

The most popular teacher in the guide shooting practice was Geonwoo.

He was the best marksman among the paired guides and his calm, easygoing demeanor made him well-liked by everyone.

He also had a natural talent for teaching, so he was constantly surrounded by Guides.

“Um… Guide Seo Jiho?”

“Y-Yes?”

“Could you take a look at mine too? It keeps pulling down, maybe because it’s heavier than I expected…”

“Oh! Um, sure. Try holding it like this.”

Jiho was also quite popular among the unpaired guides.

He was a little awkward due to his shy nature, but since he had only recently learned the basics of shooting, his advice was especially helpful to beginners.

“If you’ve never used firearms before, they’re going to feel heavy at first. I felt the same. That’s why I did a lot of arm, core, and thigh exercises.”

“Arms make sense, but why core and thighs?”

“You need strength in your thighs to stabilize your body, and your core helps you absorb the recoil. Ideally, you want to strengthen your whole body, but… I didn’t have much time to spare for physical training.”

As Jiho quietly explained, more and more guides gathered around, ears perked.

Before he knew it, he was surrounded by unfamiliar guides.

Though many of the gazes directed at him were fairly kind, Jiho wasn’t used to being the center of attention, and the pressure quickly made him shrink with self-doubt.

‘…Am I even explaining things properly?’

He had never taught anyone before, so he wasn’t sure if he was doing a good job. He was even afraid he might pass on incorrect information and end up causing harm.

Whether they realized how nervous he was or not, the guides gathered around Jiho began asking questions from all directions.

What exercises were best for short-term training?

How should they plan their diet for best results?

How many hours a day did Guide Jiho work out?

How long would it take before they got good at shooting?

While Jiho fumbled through the questions and answered them with hesitant stammers, elsewhere, Sena was similarly surrounded by other guides, drawing attention in her own way.

“Why are you holding it like that?! You wanna tear your shoulder muscles?! Planning to spend the rest of your life with just one arm?!”

“Th-then how should I hold it…?”

“Like this! I showed you already! Again!”

“Like this?”

“Nooo!”

“Like… this?”

“Argh! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?! You wanna die?! Want me to put a hole in your head?!”

Sena, a guide from Alpha Team known for her sharpshooting skills, was quite popular too.

However, she had absolutely no knack for teaching, and her fiery personality made it hard for her to tolerate the clumsy fumbling of beginners.

Still, she managed to hold back, barely. She’d been nagged all day not to punch, bite, or otherwise maim the precious guides they’d finally managed to round up.

“You’re dead meat, seriously! You might as well shoot with your toes! You’d have better aim!”

“…Verbal abuse is still abuse…”

“Tch!”

“Sniff…”

She might have torn into them with words, but she didn’t go further than that.

Despite her small frame and relatively weak stamina, Sena was someone who had learned how to survive inside dungeons. Even as she bounced in frustration, she still shared every bit of survival knowledge she had without holding back.

Thanks to her, more and more people gathered around, and her area quickly became just as lively.

From a distance, Jiho glanced over at the loud and chaotic crowd forming around Sena and quietly let out a breath of relief.

‘It’s a little exhausting and overwhelming, but…’

Thanks to the unpaired guides’ strong desire to learn, they blended surprisingly well with the paired guides.

Contrary to Kwak Jiheon’s fears, the atmosphere among the guides remained warm and harmonious.

***

Meanwhile, unlike the relatively (questionably) cheerful group of guides, the atmosphere among the espers was far from good.

Kwak Jiheon had no choice but to admit it.

Believing the preparations for the Final Dungeon raid were progressing peacefully and smoothly had been nothing but self-deception.

‘Unbelievable…’

He had just received a report that two A-rank espers had gotten into a fight during training, using their powers.

These two were, of course, slated to enter the Final Dungeon. The pressure from the upcoming mission must have made them unusually tense.

He had already heard that minor arguments were breaking out once or twice a day, but this time it had escalated into an actual fight.

“So, one of them is seriously injured?”

He pressed his fingers to his temple, looking pained as he asked. His secretary, looking just as distressed, nodded.

“Yes. He’s currently hospitalized.”

An esper with self-healing abilities had ended up in the hospital. Whether he was genuinely injured or faking it, the situation was absurd either way.

“And the other one… went into the bunker voluntarily?”

Even more absurd was the other esper.

He claimed he had violated protocol and harmed a teammate, insisting he should be arrested and locked up.

That turned into a bigger scene, and in the end, they had no choice but to detain him in the bunker just as he requested.

‘Obvious, isn’t it.’

They were both just looking for ways to be excused from the Final Dungeon raid. Kwak Jiheon ran a dry hand down his face.

‘And to make a scene in the middle of the training room, of all places.’

He had no doubt the other espers would be unsettled by the incident. In a weary voice, he asked,

“What’s the situation on-site? No, never mind. I’ll go see for myself…”

He began to rise from his seat, but his secretary quickly raised a hand to stop him.

“No, no. It’s alright. You really don’t need to worry.”

“…What?”

“The espers from Alpha and Beta Team stepped in and calmed everyone down. They’re all back to training now, each focusing on their tasks. The atmosphere isn’t bad at all.”

That… couldn’t be right, could it?

‘After something like that, and the mood’s fine?’

The secretary had no reason to lie, but Gwak Jiheon couldn’t believe it until he saw it for himself.

“…Don’t tell anyone else. I’ll go check it out myself, quietly.”