#1

Disaster struck without warning.

Gates and domes appeared out of nowhere, and from them emerged horrific monsters that drove people to helpless deaths.

In the absence of any solution, as fear paralyzed people into inaction, those who possessed the power to confront the monsters began to emerge.

They were called Espers.

Espers were individuals endowed with a variety of abilities to fight against the monsters.

Some commanded the forces of nature, others possessed bodies stronger than steel. Some wielded supernatural powers, while others created barriers to block the monsters’ incursions.

Kang I-won was an Esper with the power of “regeneration.”

Facing a monster charging toward him, Kang I-won extended one arm. The sharp teeth of the creature, lured by the bait, instantly sank into his arm. Despite the gruesome sight of his pierced flesh, Kang I-won remained calm. Using his free arm, he drove a dagger into the monster’s eye and, without hesitation, dragged the blade straight downward.

The specialized weapon sliced through half of the monster’s eye, causing it to screech in agony. As the monster’s mouth opened wide in pain, Kang I-won yanked his arm free from its teeth and kicked off the monster’s body to retreat.

While Kang I-won withdrew, a formless energy surged toward the distracted and trembling monster.

The sharp energy pierced through its open mouth, slicing through like the blades of a blender. It tore apart the creature’s insides, shredding its esophagus and internal organs in an instant.

Screeeeech! The monster let out a horrific wail as its bear-like body slowly collapsed to the ground.

“Is it dead?”

Someone asked, and Han Kang-jin, inspecting the corpse of the monster, answered,

“It’s dead.”

“Wow, that was disgustingly hard,” said Choi Soo-bin, who had been supporting from behind. She let out a weary sigh and plopped down on the spot.

Han Kang-jin wiped the sticky monster blood off his shield, while Kang I-won massaged the arm that had been pierced by the monster’s teeth.

The arm was drenched in blood, yet it was perfectly intact, without a single wound, as though it had never been bitten. This was the power of his regeneration ability.

Watching Kang I-won calmly rubbing his arm, Han Kang-jin let out an audible sigh.

“I-won.”

“Yes?”

“How many times do I have to tell you to act more efficiently? Do you have any idea how much you scare me when you pull stunts like that? This time too—you didn’t have to stick your arm out like that. And then—”

“It ends faster this way,” Kang I-won replied nonchalantly, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Han Kang-jin frowned in disapproval at his response. Seeing this, Choi Soo-bin grumbled in frustration, her tired face matching her tone.

“Team Leader, can you stop nagging? I-won’s the one getting scolded, but it’s my ears that are hurting. Hasn’t he always been like this? And more importantly, when is our assigned Guide coming? Seriously, I’m going to lose it at this rate.”

Choi Soo-bin’s voice sounded on the verge of tears.

Espers, who gained the power to fight monsters, also developed a “core” within their bodies as they awakened their abilities.

Unlike the solid, mineral-like cores that monsters possessed, Espers’ cores were more like invisible concentrations of energy. Nevertheless, as the source of their powers, these energy clusters were also called cores.

Espers might have gained the strength to face monsters and carried the energy cores that powered their abilities, but they were not invincible.

Every Esper’s core emitted unique wavelengths, and these wavelengths became turbulent whenever they used their powers. The more power they exerted, the more violent the fluctuations became, stabbing into their cores. Each stab left the Espers physically and mentally unstable.

As the waves surrounding their cores thrashed and stabbed, the cores became increasingly worn out. When the damage reached a certain threshold, the core would explode like a bomb, leaving the Esper as nothing more than a being driven by instinct and destruction. This phenomenon was called “rampage.”

Espers who entered a rampage were living catastrophes. As such, they were quickly “handled.” Handling meant death for the Esper, making rampage synonymous with death.

However, there was a way to stabilize an Esper’s unstable wavelengths: Guiding.

A Guide’s unique energy could calm an Esper’s wavelengths, stabilize them, and even restore a damaged core to its original state. This process was known as Guiding.

A Guide’s energy could only be transferred through physical contact with the Esper, and the closer and more intense the contact, the more effective the results.

Despite Guiding being the only way to manage an Esper’s unstable wavelengths, there were far too few Guides compared to Espers. Because of this, Guiding drugs were continually developed as a substitute for actual Guides.

Unfortunately, the drugs often caused side effects and various other complications, leading many to avoid using them.

Thus, most Espers received Guiding not from the drugs but from a Guide assigned to their team. Typically, a team comprised of four to five Espers would have one Guide.

However, Team 5, to which Kang I-won belonged, was unusually without a team Guide.

It wasn’t that they never had a designated Guide. Initially, an A-rank Guide with an average team matching rate of 70% was responsible for guiding Team 5. But the Guide fell in love with an A-rank Esper from another team and unexpectedly formed an imprint bond.

A Guide who formed an imprint bond couldn’t guide other Espers, leaving Team 5 without a Guide. That happened two months ago.

In the two months since their designated Guide left, Team 5 had relied on a temporary C-rank Guide, who barely had an average matching rate of 48%, as well as Guiding drugs, to stabilize their wavelengths. But they were nearing their limit.

Choi Soo-bin, not bothering to hide her frustration, spoke again.

“Team Leader, I swear I’m going to implode. My stomach feels twisted, I’ve got a headache, and I can’t even remember the last time I had proper Guiding! Hey, Young-ho, at least you’re a B-rank, so it’s better for you, isn’t it?”

She jabbed her finger at Kim Young-ho, Team 5’s only B-rank Esper. His face flushed bright red as he shouted back.

“I’m struggling just as much, okay?! Don’t you know my matching rate with the temporary Guide is only 41%? It’s the lowest on the team! I’m having the hardest time here!”

Choi Soo-bin slumped even further and muttered lazily, “I don’t care… If you’re so upset, just use the drugs…”

“You’re saying that knowing the drugs make your stomach twist even worse? Why don’t you use them, Soo-bin? Anyway, Team Leader, when are we getting our new Guide? I’m at my limit too. My rank’s already low, and my wavelengths go crazy with just a bit of power usage. Honestly, I’m feeling sick and my head’s starting to hurt…”

The team members were all complaining about the lack of proper Guiding. Even Kang I-won, who was wringing out his monster- and blood-soaked clothes, turned to look at Han Kang-jin. Kang I-won, too, was feeling the strain of using his abilities without proper Guiding, putting him in a slightly precarious situation.

With all three teammates staring at him, Han Kang-jin let out a groan and cautiously spoke.

“A Guide from Seoul will be joining us soon. When they arrive, they’ll conduct a matching rate test. So, just know it’s happening—but don’t get your hopes up.”

“Wow!”

At Han Kang-jin’s words, Choi Soo-bin clapped her hands together, her joy evident.

“Who? Who’s coming?”

“I told you not to get your hopes up.”

“Still, I’m curious!”

“Would you even know if I told you?”

“Of course! I have quite the wide network, you know,” Choi Soo-bin said, puffing herself up with pride.

Han Kang-jin smirked at her confidence.

“Someone named Heo Do-gyeong. Seems like they’re pretty well-known over there.”

“Heo Do-gyeong? Heo Do-gyeong, Heo Do-gyeong… I’ve heard that name before somewhere…”

Choi Soo-bin tilted her head, muttering the name repeatedly. Watching her, Han Kang-jin gave her shoulder a few light taps.

“Do you think repeating it will jog your memory? If you’re rested enough, let’s wrap this up and head back.”

“Wait, wait! I feel like it’s right on the tip of my tongue… Heo Do-gyeong, Heo Do-gyeong… Heo… Heo-ttto? Wait, Team Leader, is it that Heo-ttto?”

At Choi Soo-bin’s exclamation, Kang I-won tilted his head and asked, “Heo-ttto?”

“You know, that lunatic! The one who’s rumored to be a total nutcase! That S-rank Guide!”

Tl/N: The nickname “Heo-tto” (허또) appears to be a playful or mocking shorthand for Heo Do-gyeong that incorporates the Korean word 또라이 (ttorai), which is slang for “crazy” or “lunatic.”

Heo Do-gyeong.

A renowned S-rank Guide, known not only for his rare abilities but also for his infamous quirks—his obsessive cleanliness and his rumored hatred of Espers. Choi Soo-bin continued with a mischievous tone.

“Have you heard the latest rumor? It’s been making the rounds recently—apparently, a Guide subdued an Esper.”

“A Guide subdued an Esper? How? Is that even possible?”

Kim Young-ho’s astonishment was clear as he turned to Choi Soo-bin for answers. Even Han Kang-jin, who had been tidying up the area, couldn’t help but tune in, his curiosity piqued. Choi Soo-bin eagerly continued.

“You know Woo Young-seon, right? The S-rank Esper from the Seoul branch?”

“Of course. Is there anyone in Korea who doesn’t know that guy? He’s even famous overseas,” Kim Young-ho replied.

Kang I-won rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. Catching the subtle reaction, Kim Young-ho leaned in and cautiously asked, “Wait, don’t tell me… you don’t know who that is?”

“……”

“You really don’t?”

“……”

Kang I-won let out a small groan, his silence betraying his discomfort. Why should he care about some random person’s name? He averted his gaze, but Kim Young-ho pressed on.

“He’s the Barrier Esper,” Kim said, emphasizing the title.

Barriers—special protective shields that blocked monsters—were highly coveted abilities. Even an average Barrier Esper was considered valuable, but Woo Young-seon was S-rank. Not only did he stop monsters, but he could also block gates, making him a near-legendary figure.

“Oh, I know who you’re talking about.”

“Didn’t catch the name, though,” Kang I-won said flatly. “So what about him?”

Ignoring the dismissal, Choi Soo-bin picked up the thread.

“Apparently, he fell for Heo Do-gyeong and started following him around like a lovesick puppy. It must’ve annoyed Heo Do-gyeong because, during a Guiding session, he flipped Woo Young-seon’s wavelengths completely upside down.”

“Wait, that’s possible? Wouldn’t that cause a rampage?” Han Kang-jin asked, his concern evident.

Choi Soo-bin shrugged, her expression neutral.

“I’m not a Guide, so I don’t know the specifics. Luckily, there wasn’t a rampage, but Woo Young-seon’s wavelengths got so messed up he ended up hospitalized for a while. I heard some top-tier Guides with high matching rates have been assigned to him now.”

“And what about his Barrier?” Kang I-won asked.

“It’s a good thing the Barrier in Seoul was set up recently. If it had been time to reinforce the Barrier and Woo Young-seon wasn’t available, it would’ve been absolute chaos. Well, it already is chaotic, but still. Makes you wonder if Heo-tto actually thought it through before pulling that stunt…”

Choi Soo-bin trailed off before continuing, her tone conspiratorial.

“And they need to punish him, but honestly, what could they even do? Never mind what he actually did—his target was also an S-rank Esper, but he’s a rare S-rank Guide! What if he just refuses to provide Guiding out of spite? Let’s be real, Guides are even more valuable than Espers. On top of that, I heard Heo-tto has some powerful backing. Apparently, he’s from a pretty influential family. So instead of real punishment, they’re just going through the motions. I heard he’d be temporarily reassigned, but I didn’t expect him to end up here.”

When her unusually long explanation came to an end, the group, now sufficiently rested, quickly began cleaning up the scene.

The most important part of site cleanup was removing the core from any monster classified as C-rank or higher.

C-rank monsters and above possessed a core, which was the source of their strength. Without it, they lost over half their power, rendering them significantly weaker.

Han Kang-jin sliced open the monster’s abdomen and extracted its core. Depending on the size of the monster, the core varied in size, typically ranging from the size of a finger to the size of a palm.

The core in Han Kang-jin’s hand looked like an ordinary colored stone.

While the monster was alive, its core contained energy. However, the moment the monster died or the core was removed from its body, the energy evaporated instantly, leaving behind only a solid, inert stone.

Although the energy inside the core was no longer usable, the core itself remained valuable.

Conventional weapons were ineffective against monsters. To inflict damage, specialized weapons known as “monster-killing weapons” were required, and their primary material was the cores extracted from monsters. Kang I-won’s dagger was one such weapon, crafted from a monster’s core.

After Han Kang-jin removed the core, he gathered the monster’s remains into a single area. The cleanup crew would come later to collect and dispose of the bodies.

As the group wrapped up the site, Kim Young-ho asked, “So, do you think this Heo Do-gyeong guy will end up being our team’s Guide?”

“I told you, don’t get your hopes up. It’s unlikely, and even if he does, it’ll probably just be temporary. He’s an S-rank, after all.”

“Even if it’s temporary, it’d be great if he became our Guide. With the current temporary one, the matching rate is so low it doesn’t even feel like I’m getting Guided.”

“Don’t worry,” Choi Soo-bin said with a grin, drawing a finger across her neck. “If you go on a rampage, I’ll take care of you as your senior.”

Kim Young-ho flared up, yelling, “I don’t need you to take care of me! And for the record, I’m not going to rampage!”

Ignoring the bickering pair, Han Kang-jin turned to Kang I-won and asked, “How are you holding up?”

Kang I-won assessed his condition. A faint headache pressed against his temples, and his empty stomach churned nauseously, as if he’d just run a marathon. His uninjured arm, where the monster’s teeth had sunk in earlier, throbbed with phantom pain, and his overexerted body screamed in protest. Rotating his wrist lightly, Kang I-won replied nonchalantly, “I’m fine, all things considered.”

“Fine, my foot,” Han Kang-jin muttered disapprovingly.

Kang I-won shrugged off the concern with indifference. “Really, I’m fine. I’ve got this, too.”

He slipped a small, individually wrapped syringe from his pocket. It was a dose of Guiding medication, freely distributed by the Center. Han Kang-jin clicked his tongue at the sight.

“Stop using that stuff and get Guided by the temporary Guide. Even with a low matching rate, it’s still better than those drugs.”

“I’m getting Guided. And honestly, it feels the same to me.”

“Same, my foot. The side effects alone make a huge difference. Tsk, I know your abilities can handle it, so I’m not too worried, but seriously… How many times do I have to tell you to work smarter, not harder? You’re only wearing yourself out.”

“Got it,” Kang I-won said simply.

“I’ve been pushing upper management to send us a proper Guide. So even if you’re not happy with the temporary one, just suck it up and keep getting Guided for now. Understand?”

“Yes.”

Finished with his scolding, Han Kang-jin walked ahead. Kang I-won followed behind, his expression unreadable.

* * *

Beep-beep—beep-beep—

The wrist device lit up with a red light.

Each light on the device had a specific meaning. A blue light signaled a designated call for a specific team, a green light indicated an individual call for a particular person, and a red light signified an emergency call broadcast to all Espers in the vicinity, requesting immediate assistance.

Kang I-won, running on a treadmill, pressed the accept button on the device and stepped off. Quickly wiping away sweat, he grabbed his weapons and headed to the location displayed on the device.

The site wasn’t far from the Center, so he opted to move swiftly on foot. On his way, he noticed a man slumped in frustration in a corner of an alley, furiously jabbing at the screen of his device and muttering angrily.

“Ugh, damn Espers! It’s always the same ones who show up. Honestly, don’t any of them have a sense of duty? Selfish bastards.”

Kang I-won recognized the face. It was familiar—likely the C-rank Guide from Team 9. Since it was rare for Guides to be present on the field, their faces tended to stand out.

Recalling the man’s details, Kang I-won instinctively found his feet taking him toward the grumbling Guide.

Sensing someone approaching, the Guide snapped his head up. Upon seeing Kang I-won, his face lit up, and he enthusiastically waved both arms in the air.

“Oh! Esper Kang I-won! Over here, over here!”

Kang I-won approached the Guide, who was frantically waving at him. As soon as Kang I-won got close, the Guide began speaking at a rapid-fire pace, almost like he was rapping.

“Esper Kang I-won, thank you so much for showing up again today! If you head that way, you’ll find my team barely holding things together. An unexpectedly high-ranked monster appeared, and, well… I’ve been told two more are coming to assist, so I’ll wait here for them. Can you head over there first?”

Without hesitation, Kang I-won nodded and immediately headed in the direction the Guide had indicated.

It didn’t take long before the monster came into view. At the end of the alley, where it connected to a pedestrian path, a massive three-headed snake—easily over three meters tall—was tightly bound in what looked like sticky, web-like threads.

The snake thrashed angrily, writhing its body to break free of the threads. Each time it tore through the webbing, an Esper would produce more, wrapping the snake tighter. The amount of thread was so excessive that the snake’s body, encased in layer upon layer, resembled a giant cocoon.

The Esper spinning the sticky threads was desperately holding the enormous snake monster in place. Meanwhile, three other Espers were meticulously dealing with smaller, thread-like snake creatures scattered around the area, but the sheer number of them made it clear they were struggling.

One of the Espers spotted Kang I-won and called out excitedly, “Oh, backup’s here! Are you alone?”

“Two more are on their way. Have you identified the monster?”

When encountering a monster, having detailed knowledge of its type, weaknesses, and attack patterns was crucial. If the species were common, teams could rely on prior information to handle the situation effectively.

However, the variety of monsters was frustratingly vast. Even among snake monsters, there were countless variations—single-headed snakes, two-headed ones, three-headed ones, ones with double tails, or those with chain-like bodies.

Thankfully, similar types often shared characteristics, weaknesses, and behavior patterns. As such, the first priority when confronting a monster was to assess it based on existing knowledge and adapt accordingly.

For instance, with snake-type monsters, cutting off the head is the key to killing them. In the case of this three-headed snake, all three heads would likely need to be severed.

The Esper struggling to hold down the giant snake monster shouted in a near-scream, “It’s not venomous! We cut off one head, but it split into those thread snakes over there and regenerated a new head from the severed stump!”

“What about the core?” someone asked.

“It’s external! Located in the tail! The tail!”

Monsters were broadly categorized into two types based on core placement: internal and external.

Internal cores were located inside the monster’s body, typically retrieved after the monster was killed. External cores, on the other hand, protruded from the body, and removing them drastically weakened the monster, significantly lowering the difficulty of extermination.

Of course, removing an external core was no simple task either.

A core was a concentrated mass of energy, surrounded by energy waves that acted as a protective barrier. To remove it, one needed to carve out not just the core but also the surrounding flesh to which it was attached.

While attacking from a distance was safer, ranged attacks often bounced off the energy waves protecting the core. As such, melee Espers were typically responsible for approaching the monster directly and extracting the core.

Sometimes, uninformed individuals would ask, “Why not just destroy the core?” But that was impossible.

Only Espers with specific abilities could destroy cores, and even then, the core had to have already been removed from the monster’s body and completely depleted of its energy.

In most cases, it was easier to kill the monster first and then retrieve the core, just as with internal cores—unless dealing with particularly troublesome circumstances.

This was one of those troublesome cases.

To kill the monster, all three heads needed to be severed. However, cutting off a head caused it to split into hundreds of thread snakes. While individually weak, their sheer numbers made them a significant hindrance.

Removing the core was the priority. As mentioned earlier, this was typically the job of a melee Esper.

Team 9 had one melee Esper, but their weapon of choice was a hammer, which wasn’t ideal for extracting a core. As a result, the responsibility naturally fell to Kang I-won.

However, the situation was far from favorable. The monster had already split once, leaving hundreds of thread snakes writhing across the ground, making it nearly impossible to approach the main body.

Kang I-won gripped the handle of his monster-killing dagger tightly, cutting down the thread snakes that leaped toward him as his sharp eyes assessed the battlefield.

One Esper created a wall of water, while another froze it, sealing dozens of thread snakes inside an icy prison.

The remaining thread snakes, which weren’t caught in the ice, shifted their focus and swarmed the struggling Espers.

The snakes bit into any exposed flesh, clinging with their needle-like fangs. Though they weren’t venomous, their persistence was maddening. Even when they were slashed or shaken off, more kept latching on, making them seemingly endless.

“Argh! Damn these snakes! Can’t you just stay still for once? Why the hell are you causing so much trouble?! When are the rest of the reinforcements getting here?! I’m losing my mind!”

The giant snake monster thrashed violently, its resistance growing stronger. An Esper, already drained from overusing their abilities, let out a frustrated scream as they spun more webbing to hold it down.

Seeing their struggle, another Esper, who had just crushed several thread snakes with their hammer, shouted, “Hang in there! Hyun Ho-joon’s on the way! Esper Kang I-won! Once Hyun Ho-joon arrives, please focus on removing the core!”

Kang I-won nodded. He didn’t know who Hyun Ho-joon was, but based on the urgency in their voices, it seemed they had the ability to deal with these annoying thread snakes.

For now, Kang I-won focused on enduring. He slashed the thread snakes crawling up his body and yanked off those that managed to sink their teeth into his flesh. Their sharp fangs left long, jagged wounds on his skin, but the injuries quickly regenerated, leaving no trace behind.

As he held his ground, the sound of someone’s voice, filled with relief and excitement, echoed through the chaos.

“Hyun Ho-joon’s here! Everyone, fall back! I’m going to burn the thread snakes!”

Hearing this, Kang I-won quickly retreated. While his body could regenerate, his clothes couldn’t.

As Kang I-won moved back, flames surged past him like a tidal wave, consuming the thread snakes. The heat was intense, palpable even at a distance, and simply brushing past it made him feel its searing temperature.

The wave of fire engulfed the thread snakes, filling the air with the crackling sound of flames and the acrid stench of burning flesh. Kang I-won slashed at the surviving snakes leaping toward him, biding his time for an opportunity to approach the massive snake monster.

Hyun Ho-joon’s blazing flames burned relentlessly but remained controlled, incinerating the thread snakes without spreading beyond them. The flames evaporated the ice walls in an instant and burned the trapped thread snakes within.

“Shit! It’s melting! Put out the fire! Put it out!” someone shouted in panic.

But the flames, advancing rapidly, reached the area around the giant snake monster and began melting the sticky threads that had been binding it. The heat spread, and the snake monster let out a horrendous scream, writhing in agony.