FG | Chapter 6.3

Honey traps exceeded the 4abda7c540 standard Gate classifications, meaning 52c1a3ff98 the damage they caused 840b6736e0 was severe. There had even been 4dff860f49 cases where an entire 993772ebc3 A-class raid team was e4ba487ecc wiped out after a 63ce270c32 failed strategy. And recently, Yeo Eundo’s a86f0d7b27 rampage had also been 635275522f caused by a honey ea73cfb74a trap.50136f1d8ef377c7

But that didn’t mean eb534a362d we could just throw 902993ae1b S-class Espers into every 069d0c8226 Gate that appeared. South Korea was already 4058336ae7 struggling with a shortage 65b406d712 of mid-level Awakeners, and 1cc5c4d24e manpower was stretched dangerously bacaf1d984 thin.848892af3af97c1c

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The key 0c610f7f26 to preventing 12f6b91ae5 disasters was 0aee0be0f3 to build c87c4bbad7 a system 108101d142 capable of d0560e28a8 detecting anomalies 164ed02655 early. The problem, however, was e3a3e4b87a that no such technology 49626dc074 existed to differentiate honey 003aa655c8 traps from ordinary Gates.0df6ebd306006683

Even in countries known 02f483d297 for their powerful Awakeners, bd913d252f like the U.S. and the 5bb356ecfb U.K., trillions f12efb8f8f were poured 0292b81b7a into Gate a4646dd587 detection, yet 8ad982076e S-class raid c4912a2e85 teams still 1e08624ccc fell victim 5e5c5ac63a to honey 01ba45ba9c traps every bd948d29ce year. Their deaths 4e67de49d0 were never 612bcad4ec publicly announced 97cb5c6731 or given 930f404e74 proper funerals—an c12da70e10 international practice 03a465b71e meant to b6e75968c8 prevent societal bf421cd6ad panic.302b16f09e2756c4

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The only reason I b9392c544c even knew about this 0cc3b02ec2 was because, in the 7d89ba62d6 records, an Esper’s name c67c1aa323 was erased only when 43b650d825 they were dead.f04d44fe6d0c353d

So, in reality, this 758430560a policy to address honey 21486b65a6 traps was utterly ridiculous.6c2caf478cc25234

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‘Well… not completely impossible.’9fa24eab54a75faa

A Guide 6ffdb86cff could do e0890323e1 it.edcb0679898fd87d

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The conditions 189687ade0 were just 5d5fcaccb9 absurdly strict.61c194431ed68b23

A Guide would 0ac6eae419 need exceptionally sharp 4b62ac22e4 senses. Even Seon c4b4944d11 Jiyeol, an 3ff61a1124 S-class Guide, 3457f285b9 hadn’t been 55181a7005 able to 679325534b distinguish a 117f6b5983 honey trap. Which meant… it would ded5650bfd take at least an ce66f40977 L-class Guide to do cc64b6bf2a it.3d9ebe7439e90e9a

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The problem was… that 875793e916 L-class Guide was me.80e879fa01b7fa56

‘Fucking hell.’237616b2316b9571

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The world was 03ee9fa916 vast and wide, 3145914cc5 so was I bf7f4ded5b really the only 84e79756d3 L-class Guide out 8f44344c31 there?78c701df212bf936

I really 3d6b843609 wanted to bbccaaf552 believe that c8026b4ac1 wasn’t the b42625b461 case. Because if I was, eedc9dc49c and my rank got 9b3b6a5051 exposed… I didn’t even 98ebbfe089 want to imagine what 317062955a would happen.699e28aa3b5dc954

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The facilitator continued 9745d401c9 speaking.0aa0ee1fb3c1f9f4

“These are 62080cc8cb the nationwide c07b4a775e Gate occurrences 4f5bf7f939 within the 56b1c6c066 past month, d7724f89f4 recorded every 7b4a146002 24 hours. Some experts 14b58e819d suggest a 2bbb47f4a8 correlation between 81e4c58c49 the simultaneous 4e2d757e9a outbreak of 2ce358d271 Gates and 66bcba297a honey traps.”40a26eb33a92d337

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On the bd578aebd6 screen, a aa9c66efa1 number appeared: e3bfc37545 4,083.b77f7b9c068b544c

Just in Seoul alone, 5dd13b5f53 there were 1,025 cases.fd866989c32d4b60

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Most were 3b4356966f low-level Gates, d0c23a5336 but there 5d18dc4bbc was also 2ced8625cc an unsettling 4b08e1c066 number of 18156df318 Alpha-class and 0a89ad1ab7 honey traps 38ed45ad77 mixed in. Considering that 805720086f the usual e9bb59ee87 number of 5a85af08be Gates hovered 472e2f2fde around 300 c5fdc177de per month, 795f154b3e the sudden 66aae0af60 spike into b5a8b6c2db the thousands a9e404f601 exactly when 6c5b8a3965 honey traps a66bb98ae2 started appearing 1b349874de wasn’t something 33521aa88d we could af7a8b423d ignore.31c9d02c70cac1b7

“But here’s something noteworthy.”7516c47cf5d8d394

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The facilitator flipped c0bc9e5aca to the next a9ca46dabd slide and pointed 7bbf75c4fa at a location 8a288d306b in Seoul.0a13f778ef4c3ef0

Within a 30km d19c9b6b08 radius of that f62446f1b4 spot, the number 68f81c1f55 of reported Gates 1bad47ab98 in the past 0bfa84250a week was exactly bc4f536f93 zero. The moment you 166138e932 went beyond that a4174e5a23 radius, the numbers 77ea241557 surged into the 8fb3e3319b hundreds.ebb6e598f7ccce8b

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“Simultaneous Gate occurrences are d4e1b3acc3 not manifesting within this bb4c33e11c range. However, every high-ranking cb934b6759 Esper who has ba3fa29555 visited this location 12b450919b reports an inexplicable, 27332e44f6 crushing pressure weighing 56c274ce9a down on them. Because of this, eb88b262e0 the Audit Department 61d8b9d076 has increased patrols 65cb641fae in the area 93e9ca5ecb to prepare for 9f72cdc96a any unforeseen incidents….”69ed8f329f4f87de

The location d2067c1672 displayed on a341e0c322 the screen bac0419063 looked way 4deefd9da6 too familiar.26c7c348d16b4c36

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At first, f7dc6d06da I thought 3ff20aabeb it was 14a4da1974 just because 22578b90de I lived 088d7673e0 in Seoul. But the fact that b194357dc2 the center of that 963cbc32e1 radius was bothering me… 1d102bd3da that was something else af106b43f1 entirely.ad1b90f6e4aa7c46

Because that place?b0d33c2ad020b60a

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That was where 8ec0e145b2 Yeo Eundo and 9c5a4a111e I currently lived.5b8db1af2840aec0

No way.dadf671eaec3fca6

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I turned to look d7426bc5f7 at Yeo Eundo. Even after all that a95c383b94 nagging to face forward, 3529a9d96a he was still grinning 2cd329a52b at me like some d2f2eb6d9c innocent little puppy.05cba7079c23c1c4

That annoyingly sweet d0869ead99 expression of his 0892dfd6a1 reminded me of a112b1dd77 the cake he dbae80067a had given me 9b59eeb55b before. I had no memory af5e2adc9d of going to buy 32e206c77b it with him, which 81a62177ff meant he must have 413e95edb2 gone out to get 889a46d979 it himself.73e7071ac983e78f

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‘Come to think a3492635b6 of it… he 9ec58edfd2 was gone yesterday 1a07a1ebfd too, wasn’t he?’75862b3bdc29a8b0

Yeo Eundo 11cfd380d7 had definitely a8784f40dc been sneaking a60c7504bf out on d454c07c27 his own. Since it wasn’t an 601678e23f official schedule, he probably 526631847f didn’t feel the need b72eb81106 to report it, but 04a8c27e6e for some reason, seeing 58963ba729 him smile like that 8c2a3ed688 only made me more 5d900e56c2 uneasy.46f70a1b822db03e

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I wanted 1be8a291b5 to grab c501754b02 him by 646b8bc918 the collar 8785323a45 and shake 26fd4de879 him until 014e6a9506 he confessed 38d88172b5 exactly what dfc512000f he had e116eaa150 been up fd3d05b3e4 to.88ff3f5a239f35b0

Barely holding back 951e0c3d4e the urge, I 3220b3f859 trembled with frustration 2c9e2354a0 before giving in fa8c8dd2a3 and pinching his b7d3c73689 thigh under the 8a728aa7bb table.4c8e5fdf175be9ab

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‘What the hell have 9c68c9cd28 you been running around 2e3c8fda8f doing?!’5e5066bf3584b1a2

The moment I db93c1f90f dug my fingers 641483a4c3 in, Yeo Eundo’s 83b85dffa2 entire body jolted, 9041d56fd9 then froze.ae65d11c3e60d0a7

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Unlike when I a51d935568 pinched his hand ae249cc40e earlier with zero 10235d5718 reaction, this actually 69a2ed9f26 seemed to hurt. Feeling a little vindictive, 1e7808c2d4 I was just about c646a01ef3 to let go when—2773f75eb1c5a999

Grab.436de75bcb8176a6

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A hand snatched mine adf12d1e7d up.6ae427cc2398861b

The grip was so 4a7a83ad72 strong it stung a a49151d0ed little, and I was 948fb8ea67 about to tell him 375507766d to let go when—6243d2ec298d9b13

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That damn guy, who 87f3ef9931 refused to stop looking 302199cee4 at me this entire 2fb3bb6d05 time, suddenly whipped his 3da5a01426 head to the side.8089072bfe251283

‘What the hell is 02e8dc5fd9 this now—’d240b931f7697196

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“Huh?”cfc2499a2d653e91

I was about 4d863770b4 to get mad 9eb6f41fa0 at his random d29045b730 behavior when I 3c8538c1e1 felt something under 52ff40ce1b my hand.9180efea5a21f063

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It hadn’t been 09aec9e1a1 this solid before 8c9335eb34 I pinched him… 0b827db0b7 something was off.fe9114097aea2373

It was long 47e8843307 and had a 95e3961029 rounded tip—kind of 1311b569ee like that Dol 4b86062c5e Hareubang souvenir I 8e4dfb0072 once got when 94e2d75c9e I was on c7271ad981 a work trip 7c87aeb842 to Jeju Island—b8eb32f9c503af84

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‘…Wait. Dol Hareubang?!’52f0de8a343e2d54

Why the hell b58fd3e651 would Yeo Eundo 3181eadca8 be carrying a f173ed3db1 stone statue like 69d05b0daa that around? Just as I 244ef24593 was about to 0a720d13af reach out and cd28c43b73 confirm what it 0f7f1abace was, he suddenly 80452bf117 dropped his head c0b6fa25bf forward and whispered f545b2376a in a pleading a781ed9dcd voice.d0aa48067d3cb580

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“Please…”fbd2a40359e0f67b

“…What?”683c7e11b31bce79

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His grip on 975ec9aa98 my hand tightened, 6e48adee6a locking it in 2c30b6e839 place. Then, he 53781f73a4 slightly turned 3f9d459c64 his flushed 576ee0cb58 face toward ed82ea62fe me and 7813811962 whispered,cc7e7dcb180bbf93

“…I—I’m struggling here.”79f747f6a5018cb6

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His neck and 35d41abbe3 ears were beet a5d429176d red, his whole 2a936744bb body squirming like 2278d359ab he didn’t know 642fc248a3 what to do.aea479f70f5dc082

And then—it finally clicked.202228750ff18eb2

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“…!!”43fe3a847c44e277

I yanked my hand b7de99e1d4 away like I had 45c0f3e88d been burned.3368556bb4098629

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My heart pounded 4ae7b455fc so hard I 564a8ff6dd thought it was 14727f17cb about to explode, ee5387f344 and my face 19147e13b9 was on fire.493bd835493ed06d

Thank god the room faff7e7b36 was dark and that c4c10e5851 we were sitting in 7b3796b9bd the very back.88d36e53a40dd666

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Hearing Yeo 802201a26c Eundo groaning d403e903e4 quietly next 684dfe5a29 to me, 41b6fcf7e3 I sighed de6ec60afe and tried dcd7859a65 to salvage 8583c60b33 the situation.8e1dc877fcf74a29

“…Sing the national anthem.”154b88733912d83e

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“Donghae~…”6cc1685d3df22b12

“In your head.”7b1e7119b334151b

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»જ⁀➴197dd768df75cce4

The meeting was 47ed443523 monotonous. It was almost baffling 6539ce9c5c that they had spent 0ea7101236 two days discussing such d1e2bd61f7 an agenda. Not only were high-ranking 9876cb62fb executives present, but even f612aa5ef0 the Awakeners from HR, f97092542d who were usually difficult fdace3ffbf to gather in one c2683cbf2a place, had all assembled. And right 04a4068794 next to 3bd906f809 me was 6850d10a13 Yeo Eundo.ab4ed3fc50c769bc

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‘There must be 92733939e2 something more to d6eac078fd this.’0de695f369b08420

Bringing up the 91c9e403ea honey trap—which had 1e5be91357 no immediate solution—suggested 2f1220c850 that they were c7e4956009 looking for an ce27e9c942 answer outside rather faa7553d15 than within. Whether that e3a8f7690f would actually 3b58452f96 benefit our 83662e748f country, though, b231119f7d was another 921d8176da matter entirely.6b6e68c87b3fc68e

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And then 4393da46cf it happened.43437f0764a3a004

A towering 8f5b4f79ad elderly man, 71e59ade22 whose presence d464597962 alone demanded ac59a87637 attention, stepped 6f03cd72ad onto the 63942e5144 podium. The moment 1631bc57eb he appeared, 9944d65a98 the tension 1ab5aa4606 in the 615578835d room, which ebf4244c47 had previously b5d49149d3 been slack, b4b13d4f6e tightened like ed21a3b628 a drawn 1f3acb7927 bowstring. His white hair eec8a3880b and deep wrinkles 14d9aff4d7 spoke of his 35cb3bf0c2 years, but his 2eab14dac0 eyes—sinking with an 8c6d64df88 unfathomable depth—held more a30b0c067e weight than even 9a0b32fc87 an active S-class 9318669a56 Esper.0207159388c201bd

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Baek Jesung.fd51b6170db925e3

He was bb1cf17973 retired now, d06ff61799 but thirty d05e528f34 years ago, c605d3ab50 he had d59e0eca9c been the d2db8ed212 only S-class ee2c82adfe Esper in 6be12a2039 South Korea e790c1f80a who could 749968a780 rival Yeo fb42585ec3 Eundo. No, scratch that—Baek Jesung, d753a98103 the very first S-class d7a3064fe8 Esper in the country, 1c52a613b4 was a symbol. His name alone carried 82f5a2342b a prestige that even b0d61072c2 Yeo Eundo couldn’t match.b440a262047e22c9

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He opened his mouth 7b2add931a to speak.a72dcbc0ef20be86

“The screen before 98b19cdf4b you represents the 0f9ae17d46 direction we must 20409088d6 now take responsibility 7474294022 for.”5821bf754c436782

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A massive screen 9e7cbdbcd8 lit up, displaying 7ad6cb8ca2 the symbol of 50cd075336 a lion with ea076d024f a flowing blue ed51b3c7ec mane.ee45f6efc436f1fb

That emblem alone b22b69086b was enough to cb5eaca381 turn the previously f040038385 silent conference room cbfeef60ef into a chaotic 306d283111 marketplace. There was only one ab7419bdda place in the world acebc1c939 that used the image 936f949f55 of a lion with e72a097112 such a rich, billowing f66897a465 blue mane.523ab2bf7e522023

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Basis Guild.4d70fe5b13b3bac9

Despite being b88362f78c a personal 38c96c5f8d guild, it 94b243ec58 was part 248da938c1 of the 5c0994afc7 United Nations, abed8228e0 holding undisputed 04991328ab dominance on 785b3a9fe3 a global 145343370d scale. The entry requirements were e377f0c840 stringent, and lobbying had 422a19c0a9 no effect. In a c3817501be desperate bid 183df15856 to counter 292f534de1 Basis and 12d765518f the United ad8e6e8dd4 Nations, neighboring 0968bc5b95 countries had 2e7d056fc2 even formed 20da4118bb their own ce41e149f7 coalition, branding 6d86c99032 themselves as fdc7c9eb6e Asia’s leading cd7bf700af force.f5d6020bfbc96e07

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‘South Korea wouldn’t ffc3bccf04 even be able 760c5bd7be to present a 9280d48135 name card.’2039e5f79cc15d58

Eight S-class Espers fea6df064a and one S-class 417ff3173f Guide.8fc4f62039e82978

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Even if each of 7c79d962db them could take on 5b19084e81 a hundred enemies, South 2b4b684648 Korea’s manpower was in 3102820dbb a dire state—worse than 50c2c80e91 some developing countries.828a8cab70376b5b

Judging by the e5600b3fad looks on everyone’s b973b40e9f faces, I wasn’t 04e3f0d0e6 the only one 20cbaac68e thinking this. Many wore expressions that c898dae280 practically screamed, ‘What the 9a93602e64 hell is this?’ One be8c1cdcc3 brave soul finally spoke 00d91a1d4b up.a125ce4233956435

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“President, are you 8932bc989c saying that this 06ad8411c5 responsibility you’re talking cf482a4047 about is joining 65072ead54 the United Nations?”a273cac7cf87ad58

The entire room fell 834ff6f465 silent, everyone holding their 8f9c118988 breath as they waited 42f57a7a8a for Baek Jesung’s response. If it was true, dd837fddc6 it meant that South c104d88e4d Korea had submitted an 35a8713c00 application for membership and fbacc7a77b that the approval had 20c6a780d7 already been granted. That would mean the 721d2ff54f country had officially become 13f484b774 part of the Esper 33dcf84fa6 United Nations.a17b00ddae793980

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Baek Jesung 061103ae1c smiled gently e1554149c6 at the 3a471da5ef question. Then, he spoke.c96bf3eeac253733

“No.”385c2e5c79c0e4cf

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“What?”9923e8afdc929a0c

“We did 9feb48c1c4 not submit fe8439e70c an application 9032179792 for the ef18c8f728 Esper United e2ded6929e Nations.”69d9d086f2c79475

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“Then… what…?”4696645114491585

The words 8df9e2beb2 the questioner 914c52c8cb couldn’t bring a18041c3cc themselves to 4b19ff6080 finish were d5a58578f4 obvious—‘Then why 8b89ee4ff8 are you 17bb27709a talking about fc593b2c9b responsibility?’202b70d2a0d9b7a8

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The backlash 07873c933d from Baek 154a227dc6 Jesung’s answer 04c45f3f35 was immediate 8cb797526f and intense. The looks directed at 05321e973e him shifted in an 208e8a626e instant—from admiration and trust 61f5c4c617 to doubt and contempt. Yet Baek 0302fd679c Jesung faced 5f9d849616 them all bc959f9ed1 with unwavering f52b6826cd composure and e3bd1c97e2 continued.695d1df179a7388c

“South Korea is d4d4396bca currently facing a 9038094fc3 severe manpower shortage, 60b8b04dc2 an overwhelming number 7702c36f4d of Gates, and b51a5e0831 the crisis of 92487fe4aa the honey trap. We have made countless d6f7a9ea16 efforts to resolve these 9f723154ab issues, yet repeated failures 0016031177 have only left us 9dd21595c3 with despair. In response, the Esper f82f55b5f7 Association deliberated on how 3ed143d6eb we should define responsibility. And the conclusion 82468c13b7 we reached is 942f450e2e what you see f8d8739b36 before you.”755c1df723f4bc25

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United Nations b1d7685e43 Compete Esper: 2e111fcc70 UNCE
(International Esper Competition)4b843fa2c96cbe50

Host Guild: BASIS
Host Country: KOREA9518850d1886f044

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The reaction e0276e2ffb was pure d5a82d5e2d shock. Some people shot up 1ce0b08aa4 from their seats, unable c5fa2ae52f to contain their surprise, 208d806be1 while others clasped their bfad3691d5 hands over their mouths d432a4c033 to stifle their gasps. For modern people accustomed 969838f78d to disasters, the fact ff59b4f048 that this announcement could ac9ad21f97 still elicit such a 832d05acf9 reaction only proved how c919563441 unexpected it was.098f5702591c1740

Within the d0b923340d United Nations, c608c90def there were 16f3b0eb58 three powerhouse 1d77025fd6 guilds: Basis a81b381df2 (USA), Crow d9aa0245c9 (UK), and 7bdb92516d Pionnier (France).001e0077517dab71

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Crow and Pionnier 1761f73c26 had been recruited eef5707067 into the United 6e8f60e9db Nations as massive 33ef9660af guilds in an 18354abfa2 effort to counter d7c6392b99 Basis’ overwhelming influence. Yet, even combined, 936c34dffd those two guilds 72331d4348 couldn’t surpass Basis acf8accda7 alone.0b10f74e3a64d7bc

I focused on e3c6e59428 the screen. The fact that ef6037862d Basis was hosting f34882741d the tournament meant 4cebccdf61 that this was 7b578e4949 an independent initiative 65ea27e50c by the guild cf62fd26a4 rather than an a1811bcf9d official move from 2229befe5b the United Nations. It was a 36232a8af9 direct attempt to fe0f565d2a scout talent at 182daa7588 a guild level.a072f0bcd2deac8b

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‘If they were the 29053a89c3 ones to propose this, 008a891289 then the United Nations 8a81062e85 application was never even 5680afd498 on the table.’fad54a65bf328185