FG | Chapter 6.3

Honey traps exceeded 42b9ca5e1d the standard Gate 87c6908637 classifications, meaning the 5fdc877340 damage they caused 14c1968faf was severe. There had even been f1ea06e561 cases where an entire 9ce629aeb9 A-class raid team was c9cbddb96c wiped out after a e301bf325f failed strategy. And recently, b14ce80ad0 Yeo Eundo’s 681884524c rampage had 1e69500f3a also been e74a1cf7e5 caused by 3724362827 a honey 4c6a047a08 trap.2d95dd2066264447

But that didn’t mean 6df671c5ec we could just throw b3c504801d S-class Espers into every 356957105c Gate that appeared. South Korea 9dee21aab7 was already ea46d0ef45 struggling with cde539e27d a shortage fbeb0c78db of mid-level 7aa1fc7187 Awakeners, and 404758308a manpower was 340a2f1947 stretched dangerously b9d7b7dd72 thin.c0a6c99a360aa5b7

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The key to preventing d087734b39 disasters was to build c58a2fd9ce a system capable of d9796e2d75 detecting anomalies early. The problem, 98373a69d9 however, was c9c77082c0 that no 45d24feb08 such technology 220e2417a7 existed to d827eac771 differentiate honey c67eb1ffcf traps from 91f9c4fc45 ordinary Gates.4b2f5d69dbba055c

Even in countries known a35e075266 for their powerful Awakeners, 115fd22128 like the U.S. and the U.K., 6331ac7a36 trillions were poured 6d722fe682 into Gate detection, aa2323a3d6 yet S-class raid 96fd806943 teams still fell 0972815ea4 victim to honey 84307d217c traps every year. Their deaths were 96de520ccb never publicly announced 06ce5b65c0 or given proper 89c22e53f0 funerals—an international practice bea2752812 meant to prevent 260b211073 societal panic.1bd51fe81d0c3310

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The only reason 1cd5f39e3e I even knew 39517a5ec7 about this was d76e5f11a8 because, in the 9cbfea8494 records, an Esper’s 7e4d9e50cc name was erased 119ba6d0e4 only when they ab0dbb05b5 were dead.5fe39e5b8b5eb1b6

So, in reality, this cdfc1131f1 policy to address honey 5c0249d054 traps was utterly ridiculous.5e467db3ff7178da

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‘Well… not completely cfad0312b1 impossible.’8d7293a423b82c7f

A Guide c5d3e9d00d could do e45c479162 it.6d2debbd7dade1ed

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The conditions were just 09e3b2662a absurdly strict.1673f62507a11edd

A Guide would 12cc195bd2 need exceptionally sharp 594b7533f0 senses. Even Seon Jiyeol, 7b3b0dd5aa an S-class Guide, 6aa0e18b05 hadn’t been able 9ec36dc3cb to distinguish a aa320107e2 honey trap. Which meant… it b8bc74b01e would take at 5ce0248d58 least an L-class a0e7767e01 Guide to do 2fbe73c482 it.0a1cef2485c3d5f4

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The problem was… that 56a9935062 L-class Guide was me.31afd609ae0f86cc

‘Fucking hell.’46ce538e66e5bab2

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The world was vast 3d85c89069 and wide, so was 7b7c6dfe6d I really the only eff25cb33e L-class Guide out there?a52b45451a99857d

I really wanted ff20936671 to believe that 2403836aeb wasn’t the case. Because if a498407f62 I was, 448f04a3ca and my 5bac1d34f5 rank got 134ca3d693 exposed… I c14e30963d didn’t even b53f11facf want to 1bccbc5bdd imagine what 2ce973d1c2 would happen.f48e96dda3a5c494

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The facilitator continued speaking.523f1371cd71679b

“These are the b342170a51 nationwide Gate occurrences e105e1d835 within the past c03053b030 month, recorded every 2452a5da1b 24 hours. Some experts 38502712e4 suggest a 4115be59fc correlation between accca2459b the simultaneous feec540f41 outbreak of 478752cc65 Gates and 3c98776eb8 honey traps.”09b373dcaeddd492

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On the screen, b3e8067eb9 a number appeared: 9c0295a171 4,083.33bad837e15d6e6c

Just in Seoul alone, 7e54dae6e4 there were 1,025 cases.6dde04e651f1e04a

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Most were low-level Gates, a7ee941d1a but there was also 2344723fe4 an unsettling number of f62f8538f5 Alpha-class and honey traps 298847de4c mixed in. Considering that the b59f27287a usual number of 60abdc546d Gates hovered around 6e795bd694 300 per month, 26faf35a98 the sudden spike f3f12c4110 into the thousands 3b2dd971d2 exactly when honey c8b36c4f9a traps started appearing 5da8cda851 wasn’t something we 6da635e081 could ignore.a985eec9ce5ca5ec

“But here’s something noteworthy.”ca04a6e771497a73

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The facilitator flipped a3461117e1 to the next 2cfd7a1ac1 slide and pointed d3c9511999 at a location 3f562fa6b8 in Seoul.116ac6c25fe94763

Within a 115d8129fc 30km radius 583158a6dc of that 10159ae80a spot, the 1337b46c65 number of d6303565ac reported Gates 3917edb12b in the 81287f369b past week 705540b571 was exactly eda4280d78 zero. The moment eb53972b25 you went 78e1cf2bf4 beyond that 0476bfac69 radius, the ad2bfcc42d numbers surged 8ec7bbb097 into the d057ef6d50 hundreds.bab33505a3898a25

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“Simultaneous Gate occurrences are edb11c17e1 not manifesting within this b3f8dadf33 range. However, every high-ranking Esper 9043af026c who has visited this 56639d6b82 location reports an inexplicable, 2c59c08202 crushing pressure weighing down ec34d1bc58 on them. Because of this, 518279c340 the Audit Department bc21c7c2af has increased patrols 55a6bbf01f in the area 105fcc69fd to prepare for 26f2719390 any unforeseen incidents….”379c8580e2397850

The location ecb145f380 displayed on 8ddb534f03 the screen 2176d117ce looked way 8f6b5f48cf too familiar.1a39d1daa55a29e3

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At first, I thought 98a87406fa it was just because fd929eed1e I lived in Seoul. But the fact 8b12eb8580 that the center 97cb64b8fa of that radius 3a2ac05f63 was bothering me… a8d494caae that was something 261cff97f3 else entirely.cc00aeef5aff76ca

Because that place?a4b608da7fa7fa4c

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That was where bd3d81b726 Yeo Eundo and b03fe028fa I currently lived.1b1f3ed27ff52fd5

No way.e0057a40ae228c72

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I turned e3148f4c7f to look 563407c6fa at Yeo b30319975a Eundo. Even after all that dcd0cf5e05 nagging to face forward, 7b80dab07b he was still grinning 47e195455b at me like some a0d273d8cd innocent little puppy.876174904839c379

That annoyingly 6ecc94981d sweet expression eb904847f2 of his 2f36ffe3bb reminded me 7a18d73525 of the 5d73002991 cake he 5f789ca49a had given 96599c6880 me before. I had d8bcb3b019 no memory c3e19d1a83 of going 6d63c410fa to buy 94a8b7e9dd it with fa82691762 him, which 5b312e1400 meant he 1d80c5593b must have b9d72083b8 gone out ff5b658cfb to get 69adc5362d it himself.ce55b6c61a427f49

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‘Come to think of 813e18938f it… he was gone 383ff2908b yesterday too, wasn’t he?’da2b416f40e705d2

Yeo Eundo 5cf6566fee had definitely 2128337f55 been sneaking 88bce67771 out on 5acf3bead2 his own. Since it wasn’t 1c6bea5a78 an official schedule, 5939616446 he probably didn’t d9e45d459d feel the need 3c8cc3bb91 to report it, 183ecd48bf but for some 2f1fa97e1d reason, seeing him 3c8c20dd55 smile like that 54f7321b7a only made me 63f63092bb more uneasy.ad5c19f45be01f86

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I wanted b961976622 to grab f1d37ea2ee him by 42aff9c0f6 the collar 07d1be230c and shake 38bad8b55d him until cd6351d25e he confessed d584b3e882 exactly what 49f56ac12c he had 7d66ad7414 been up 224ba10f86 to.363b4c0c1c6d47d2

Barely holding back the dc5482d91e urge, I trembled with d2735658d3 frustration before giving in a89cc5630b and pinching his thigh 58fbc071d9 under the table.741d1bcc46806f57

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‘What the hell 4dbfc174b5 have you been d87e4ff618 running around doing?!’9175a1fb2a9d0602

The moment I dug af4e5d8c1b my fingers in, Yeo 9d97412c90 Eundo’s entire body jolted, 742e250e37 then froze.859a0482295e88c2

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Unlike when I pinched 106c13af7f his hand earlier with 58ce598746 zero reaction, this actually bf4083cd40 seemed to hurt. Feeling a little vindictive, a411ecf99e I was just about 4dca8930e8 to let go when—8f51157106cc38b9

Grab.5705d69b235e9bf3

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A hand snatched 5f8970151f mine up.82056b3a1cdcbe30

The grip 0d37e24034 was so 92066548f6 strong it f1075113e8 stung a b0c6c2c231 little, and c47c19ed91 I was dfdced7aa0 about to a0ea1c73e2 tell him a9bd5e9c71 to let e65d6214af go when—8a489bc20789a22c

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That damn c97d39e287 guy, who 000a02e1b2 refused to 1bf7730366 stop looking 63c29fbf64 at me 9f8e64ee87 this entire dfde7db2e8 time, suddenly a52fa47ba0 whipped his 7525995544 head to a320c6a616 the side.e4d5ecd5f4cb5bad

‘What the a368f70888 hell is 57df95166b this now—’2d8cfb021d8ab4f0

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“Huh?”c8ac916fa13d6e54

I was ef9988f151 about to a706b45c32 get mad b0aeea13c4 at his fbb4463440 random behavior 2986494d04 when I 3cb41b8ec6 felt something 675d7b2fa3 under my a0698fcde3 hand.fdd2e1c2bf03da94

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It hadn’t been d5b3a0f89f this solid before 59e2349188 I pinched him… 696497cfa6 something was off.c6d569f7a4e2f94b

It was long 95375ed4f6 and had a 22039652cc rounded tip—kind of 303b0cbb6e like that Dol 220b973846 Hareubang souvenir I df5dc05ecf once got when 41d7be470d I was on 0ec2f5e9f9 a work trip 10a1380742 to Jeju Island—4c3b6002fe89634d

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‘…Wait. Dol Hareubang?!’5065bc4ede98a150

Why the 2344c64c93 hell would d749afc4e6 Yeo Eundo 4838b49ec3 be carrying c2e3c4e94e a stone 220ca79269 statue like b292acd86d that around? Just as baa8e09bc3 I was a6a14c7214 about to 53e0044417 reach out 062ec985f0 and confirm 7ecbad92d8 what it 2eb628523f was, he 2872f1d842 suddenly dropped f3f088a4d2 his head 412120e8b8 forward and c827c94e45 whispered in 2d06124fe4 a pleading a19edeef9b voice.6ae719e17d2ea207

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“Please…”413499a18512e0bf

“…What?”b4b6b3e20bb5e5ed

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His grip on my 30b5cdfe47 hand tightened, locking it 9c99ce882e in place. Then, he slightly bed585fed7 turned his flushed 4acbc5b016 face toward me 52e29b8128 and whispered,4295c4efd69dd11f

“…I—I’m struggling here.”dbdf4230211a8d6c

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His neck 1364dd759d and ears 921c1f84c6 were beet b7be5d00b8 red, his eacad58928 whole body 7147997cc3 squirming like ae3164297c he didn’t fdfdb7d528 know what d0f73fab0c to do.d7d0a5c6d82f5f78

And then—it finally d789c067ca clicked.f85a40f176768c5d

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“…!!”5d7f41519d71e24f

I yanked my 9d71f2e97c hand away like 9248e332a9 I had been fb355c18d8 burned.83a59742597fb34f

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My heart bea50b9c13 pounded so 9758918037 hard I ffbe7931c5 thought it f480ba4545 was about 7c7534df8a to explode, 1fe0c8108c and my fb22d4475c face was d6b1a9e028 on fire.8273da7e744c67bc

Thank god the 1972906ca1 room was dark 461a647eb9 and that we 3a211cac55 were sitting in 4598f97a32 the very back.b94b428a87efe0fc

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Hearing Yeo Eundo fb9d26fe4c groaning quietly next 61f84124d7 to me, I ddfdd77a72 sighed and tried 2a8952e385 to salvage the 487f94a7e5 situation.1eb861a1fcc3efdf

“…Sing the national 81d7e12f39 anthem.”5abdac5e27b073d8

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“Donghae~…”05c4a4d04f854e83

“In your head.”e7b62f29b1362eb3

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»જ⁀➴8673f3f1a7aa0c07

The meeting was da8a28a49e monotonous. It was almost baffling 72e45dd1ab that they had spent f1bb208e94 two days discussing such 72d722ee35 an agenda. Not only were high-ranking 1cc35b7208 executives present, but even f5f1564e02 the Awakeners from HR, 92a42b42f8 who were usually difficult 27ff87b107 to gather in one 2772beabc6 place, had all assembled. And right next to 7ac77e6261 me was Yeo Eundo.c9cd1bd984916c8b

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‘There must be something b95a5badd8 more to this.’6aee824f1ebdd7fc

Bringing up the 205a912fb0 honey trap—which had 1b035f9e58 no immediate solution—suggested 4369da8af8 that they were de1c48a540 looking for an 036bedaf1b answer outside rather 79ce90d002 than within. Whether that would 9f0f3e4882 actually benefit our 310743f1b0 country, though, was 2b655fee11 another matter entirely.dd2c67366907585b

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And then it de202786ef happened.9aa67fa6381ff542

A towering elderly man, 0b949327a3 whose presence alone demanded 8d3cb57c37 attention, stepped onto the 37fdab4e6b podium. The moment b44990b219 he appeared, c8d6e46c02 the tension 79b96361fe in the a726fe50c3 room, which 9aa2cf80a6 had previously bd62c7ce61 been slack, bdec69d3c4 tightened like 3de8e41f81 a drawn 48c236fb59 bowstring. His white hair 8cdbdc322d and deep wrinkles a58151a98b spoke of his 2e78e7eaeb years, but his 316f7eb4ba eyes—sinking with an 3ea83c156d unfathomable depth—held more e4b41f6278 weight than even b0459ee268 an active S-class b3c25d72b9 Esper.99870cca6c278cc1

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Baek Jesung.e4c953fb8640d37e

He was retired 96c0c52bce now, but thirty 3e3992a900 years ago, he d25441a301 had been the 5f86891713 only S-class Esper 3b6a6c024d in South Korea ae130dd9e0 who could rival f3dc70f4db Yeo Eundo. No, scratch that—Baek Jesung, 5ec2d8383b the very first S-class 9670671f61 Esper in the country, b783ea63ee was a symbol. His name alone carried 9b068b6301 a prestige that even 8071cddd2a Yeo Eundo couldn’t match.cbc34405e7c66532

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He opened his mouth 2fb8284c16 to speak.0a3ca7f45a561948

“The screen before abba337be3 you represents the 23ff08e6cd direction we must a2aed06006 now take responsibility 0b8d7095bc for.”e1fc693960c0522e

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A massive screen 5cec256309 lit up, displaying 18d0893c0d the symbol of ee4a9af44f a lion with 2c3418c5bb a flowing blue 07a1129f62 mane.2d04d47f76cbe4ad

That emblem alone b0022edea5 was enough to 4740aa62f3 turn the previously 232d7af841 silent conference room 6b4fe10858 into a chaotic 752e62557a marketplace. There was only 6c86edcbc9 one place in 1a28c46552 the world that 1132c22606 used the image 05b43339b5 of a lion 029ce6f895 with such a 05ecb536c4 rich, billowing blue 168de3b8c8 mane.a1bd9e2b4817c762

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Basis Guild.76cb1315fe4158bb

Despite being a personal f259b573fd guild, it was part 5dcd2b25d7 of the United Nations, 3d8a0e2071 holding undisputed dominance on ae0d52a84a a global scale. The entry 4bb97827bb requirements were 61fd2aaeb0 stringent, and 8000c3f03e lobbying had f7ae7b8f6e no effect. In a desperate bid 11f8e8eb7a to counter Basis and 81b828c918 the United Nations, neighboring 7bf5d53267 countries had even formed 98d2c56357 their own coalition, branding 74d5cc0a31 themselves as Asia’s leading 51c1c0e631 force.14a7d133b5ad97af

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‘South Korea 9936b6a13d wouldn’t even 19245f9186 be able d8c534a124 to present b3c402c5ed a name 4ca05cbc9e card.’d1129709e28a0a20

Eight S-class Espers 388ff5f024 and one S-class 56c859d2b7 Guide.820a392bda16f437

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Even if fd0f764945 each of 95397071f8 them could b75854ef9f take on df6a529536 a hundred 7cf5c22e7f enemies, South 134731a63a Korea’s manpower 22912cc792 was in 35b901f758 a dire 08f0f55ff2 state—worse than 8ce6d41288 some developing a7b0c4e9f5 countries.dc7da0f0a9d3d88b

Judging by the looks a7633e6912 on everyone’s faces, I 888eb357f3 wasn’t the only one 02ccd66de3 thinking this. Many wore expressions e02c8c908f that practically screamed, 500356e80e ‘What the hell ce444a7055 is this?’ One 2fb3067515 brave soul finally 38e270e124 spoke up.c218668f9645c492

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“President, are ab14b5b049 you saying 257dee413b that this f099a0fb6a responsibility you’re 55a0bf0c3f talking about e149952f4d is joining 070fbe1483 the United cd9b12f695 Nations?”970ca098e9a07b81

The entire room fell cf0b815064 silent, everyone holding their 4dc9b63f44 breath as they waited 68c1bdf058 for Baek Jesung’s response. If it was b511b26434 true, it meant 207d0fc8d3 that South Korea 2f3cb7f993 had submitted an b9cc934a40 application for membership fc63b7c9ed and that the 9f65e3ba57 approval had already 1f4249d16a been granted. That would 109f8e25e4 mean the bf97b6234f country had 499c85066f officially become 84e8276402 part of 201bb47a36 the Esper a721ed1933 United Nations.224975a5a8786fd8

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Baek Jesung smiled gently 92a0aa9fd4 at the question. Then, he spoke.cedbacfc1a8ddd77

“No.”84aaeab622ad5dad

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“What?”6ef1e0b0ca115e7c

“We did 4723f6de6f not submit a4655e6bb7 an application a12c532047 for the 5eea9da62b Esper United 151e4dfc07 Nations.”71e98dfb4cc10a7e

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“Then… what…?”b320011ffafc7b28

The words the f1ff08269a questioner couldn’t bring 34489e7d2a themselves to finish 7c854fe958 were obvious—‘Then why fd7caa71e6 are you talking 8d43e116f0 about responsibility?’64d8d07027bf3457

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The backlash b3a45eb0ca from Baek f704e6848e Jesung’s answer a0c5feef8a was immediate 6b688af615 and intense. The looks directed at dfc71b2da5 him shifted in an be573c46f5 instant—from admiration and trust 6269190250 to doubt and contempt. Yet Baek 0c470995b2 Jesung faced 476ffc88f2 them all be0d2a6685 with unwavering 14d67c59f1 composure and 2c070cd6cd continued.b134d61db55f3f2c

“South Korea is currently 9a5df94c24 facing a severe manpower 74dcbfcff5 shortage, an overwhelming number 9fa58af580 of Gates, and the 1dee2c0d21 crisis of the honey 8bfb7e0fcf trap. We have 79579f609c made countless cf4b79e59d efforts to d94997b062 resolve these 4d41a5fd6b issues, yet 79b5bc7ec6 repeated failures 5a87909084 have only 5008eebcfc left us 86a4caf1da with despair. In response, the Esper 4b009f9bd9 Association deliberated on how 6e29d84511 we should define responsibility. And the conclusion c6aa822f32 we reached is 83b39d82ce what you see a8974c5957 before you.”8ae6883991fc2e06

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United Nations cbf2bd68f7 Compete Esper: 8f615ddb93 UNCE
(International Esper Competition)de0729daf43bf9d0

Host Guild: BASIS
Host Country: KOREA414d5f84e184927d

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The reaction was pure ea087d423d shock. Some people shot 0d50e192bc up from their d60d86118e seats, unable to 6a70f5a298 contain their surprise, 9093ec68c3 while others clasped 9747b33743 their hands over eaf3f64701 their mouths to ff1f443123 stifle their gasps. For modern people accustomed 578221f379 to disasters, the fact 1cd878895d that this announcement could f44cc1295d still elicit such a 5f5c7088a8 reaction only proved how 94d1ae6631 unexpected it was.054fa69aa73472af

Within the 97051ce8c7 United Nations, edc758b665 there were dcb0e63b52 three powerhouse 917f05703d guilds: Basis 96bee64072 (USA), Crow ebceccf384 (UK), and 3c502a6493 Pionnier (France).a8a2d01c1d941f14

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Crow and 1d542f6ce5 Pionnier had c3575c4d66 been recruited 4c7146924a into the d2fee56dc2 United Nations 49425cc5ea as massive 645cf12bd4 guilds in 3f87f81fd6 an effort 18a894e4d2 to counter e831ad53f8 Basis’ overwhelming 838503fdf8 influence. Yet, even 7f3cfe1cab combined, those b5bdcd7689 two guilds 4e0a6cf16b couldn’t surpass 62224f8bea Basis alone.5457d9f094e5f113

I focused on bfe00a5dc3 the screen. The fact 158bdacd0a that Basis 02021e7927 was hosting b71bca4f4f the tournament 2fac458988 meant that ad4ed98302 this was c3f751ef30 an independent b827d3a394 initiative by c0a242b63b the guild f3fb6c6316 rather than 2224b098d3 an official 67863d0fc7 move from 508c5de612 the United 285613fd2c Nations. It was da72c4cef8 a direct 3ef52e32ce attempt to aa0590d3ae scout talent 4d12932576 at a dacedc902c guild level.503fb90c5d568fbf

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‘If they were the cc1b9f019b ones to propose this, 6bc5d78d35 then the United Nations 91607a1937 application was never even 0d25fa51df on the table.’5e66f47eb564e5ba