"What do you mean, you’re not taking guiding?""It’s just… I’m tired today.""If you’re tired, that’s exactly when you should be getting it, isn’t it?""That’s…"Siwoo fell silent, unable to answer. Raon frowned, staring at him.Now that he thought about it, Siwoo had stormed out in the middle of guiding not long ago too. He’d been too busy with training afterward to properly bring it up.Remembering how that had left him feeling drained, Raon forced the corners of his mouth upward."Siwoo, you walked out last time too, remember?""Yeah.""And if you keep skipping guiding altogether, what am I supposed to do, huh?"He tried to coax him gently, reaching out his hand. To his surprise, Siwoo stepped back and avoided his touch."Siwoo?""It’s not that, I’m just… sorry, Raon.""Hey—where are you going? Hey!"Siwoo turned and ran. Raon shouted after him, but he never looked back."Unbelievable."Raon ground his teeth. All that progress on the contamination metrics would fall apart again at this rate. Even if the team didn’t have immediate deployment orders, letting things slide like this was bad news.He sighed and shook his head. He had no idea what was going on with Siwoo anymore.***"Good. Now raise your arm and aim straight ahead.""L-like this?""Yes. See that deep groove here? When that and the target’s center line up, that’s when you fire."Raon adjusted Hamin’s stance as he spoke. Hamin aimed the pistol with a serious face.Starting today, he was training the guides in firearms. He’d wanted to expand their weapon handling a bit more, but there wasn’t much time left.Since Hamin and Dasom lacked upper-body strength, he’d started them on handguns that suited their build. Hamin aimed carefully for a few seconds and pulled the trigger.Bang!"Ah!"The recoil sent his slim body stumbling backward. Raon caught him quickly."You okay?""Y-yes."The weapon the guides were training with wasn’t a standard handgun—it looked similar, but was one of the latest models designed to intercept monsters.Still nothing compared to an Esper’s power, though.No matter how advanced human weapons became, they couldn’t truly compete with monsters. The only reason these prototypes worked at all was because they incorporated materials retrieved °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° from Gates. Without those, modern science alone wouldn’t stand a chance."Even if it’s just a pistol, it packs power. Brace yourself properly, or the recoil will hurt you.""Understood."Hamin nodded, still tense. Raon lifted his head to check the target."Hit.""Ha…"Since they were training for monster encounters, the targets were large. Gate creatures tended to have massive bodies.But the next ones wouldn’t necessarily all be that size. Raon’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the half-shattered target.Once the team got used to these, they’d have to move on to moving targets—and smaller ones too. He watched the others gradually adjusting to the feel of their pistols.Bang!"Kyaah!""Whoa."Dasom still struggled with the recoil. Raon hurried over and corrected her posture."Don’t raise your arms too high. Always hold with both hands—like this. That’s how you stabilize it.""Ah, thank you."After several more tries, Dasom finally began to adjust. When her stance and aim stabilized, Raon stepped back, satisfied."Raon.""Yeah? You’re back?"Raon turned to see Siwoo returning with the Espers. The combat unit didn’t need firearms training, so they’d been off doing their own drills."We’re starting combined training today, right?""Yeah, it’s about time."In truth, “combined training” wasn’t anything complicated. They’d line up on the field, practice formation, and then move to simulations to rehearse roles inside a Gate.The Espers would do most of the fighting upfront while the guide team stayed behind—Though who knows if that’ll go smoothly this time.Raon had little faith in Dojin’s combat team. In the original timeline, the same reorganization had happened. There hadn’t been a separate guide team back then—just Dojin’s Alpha Team with a handful of guides thrown in, himself and Hamin included.That half-measure had led to chaos. The mismatched formation caused minor errors, and when faced with a high-difficulty Gate, panic spread. The guides hadn’t been protected properly.In the end, the only guides who survived the next Gate had been Hamin, himself, and Haedam—the one who later became Center Director after Seokhyeon. Raon smiled bitterly at the memory of it."All right, everyone, line up as I call your positions."He calmly arranged the formation. He and Taehyeok stood at the front, Dasom in the center, Hamin and Juwon at the rear. The Espers surrounded them in a loose perimeter."This is the base formation. You move while keeping your positions intact. Understood?""Yes, sir!"Their voices rang out in unison. In an actual Gate, other units would join the escort, but the ones who’d have to protect the guides in critical moments would be the Special Team’s Espers.Beep, beep-beep."Hm?"Raon’s wrist device chimed mid-training. The caller ID read Jang Seokhyeon.Perfect timing—there were things he needed to discuss anyway. He left Siwoo in charge and headed for the Director’s Office."I’m here.""Good. Sit down."Raon blinked. Seokhyeon’s face was unusually stiff. He tilted his head and sat across from him."Something wrong?""Have you been in touch with Hanmyung Group lately?""Excuse me?"The question caught him off guard. Seokhyeon sighed."You’re aware that Chairman Han Myunghun still hasn’t been discharged from the hospital, right?""Yeah, well…"Myunghun hadn’t been badly injured by Siwoo’s ability, but he’d been left with severe PTSD and still hadn’t returned to work. Raon only knew from news reports—he’d turned off every phone except his work line to avoid being bothered after the incident."His sons have been handling company affairs in his stead, and they’re causing problems.""What kind of problems?""Take a look at this."Raon frowned as Seokhyeon handed over a tablet. The black screen lit up, and his eyes widened."You’ve got to be kidding me."It was the first time he’d ever cursed in front of the Director. The article was that absurd.[The Guiding Center’s Atrocities — The Reality of Guide Rights Being Shattered Again]Right beneath the sensational headline were photos of Raon and his team mid-training. Not the sort of images that should ever have leaked. They were sharp, high-resolution—obviously taken from inside.Hanmyung, those bastards.He could already guess who was behind it. The Hanmyung Group were masters of media manipulation—planting agents inside the military and Center, feeding the press “exclusive” stories to stir public opinion in their favor."If this blows up, the only one who benefits is Hanmyung," Seokhyeon said."Yeah, no argument there."Raon exhaled sharply, twisting his mouth.They’d found the perfect pretext to stir outrage and tighten control over the newly formed guide team—revenge for him taking the leadership post while dodging their calls."Since Chairman Han is still hospitalized, this is likely the work of his sons—Executive Han or Managing Director Han.""Right.""Would you consider talking to them yourself?"Seokhyeon looked uneasy as he asked. If public sentiment turned against them, the guide team could easily be dismantled; he was hoping Raon’s family ties could smooth things over.But Raon found those two sons even worse than their father.Those psychos wouldn’t listen to me if I begged.He pressed a hand to his forehead, already feeling a headache."I doubt it’ll do much good if I try—"BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! BEEP!"!?"The Director’s wrist device shrieked before he could finish. Not a normal call tone—a full emergency alert. Raon’s head snapped toward it."Yes, this is Director Jang Seokhyeon."—Director, it’s an emergency! A new Gate just appeared in Sector 7—"What?"Seokhyeon’s eyes flew wide open. Raon froze, pulse quickening.

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