Flash Meetup (1)

“A team leader?”

Just then, an employee entered. It wasn’t Ye-eun; this person seemed to be of a higher rank.

The neatly dressed employee in a suit bowed to us before sitting down across from me.

“Jiho, this is the man who contracted with the Fire Spirit.”

The employee, called Jiho, widened his eyes.

“Congratulations…! Mr. Han-gyeol! You’ve become a Spirit Summoner!”

“So I was just suggesting he consider becoming a team leader…”

“Hmm, a team leader… But from what I know, Mr. Lee Han-gyeol is—”

“Inexperienced… It’s truly a shame…”

“But… may I ask why you’re offering me the position of team leader?”

“Well… first of all, a Spirit Summoner is better suited to be a team leader than a team member. The interaction with a spirit is far more useful from a leader’s position. In a way… you could even see a single Spirit Summoner as a small team? And most importantly… sorry, Jiho.”

Whoosh—

A barrier of wind formed, enclosing just the two of us. It seemed to be blocking out all sound.

Was Mr. Jiho deliberately turning his head so he wouldn’t even see the shape of my lips? Oh, the loyalty.

“But the most important thing is the ‘price’ you have to pay. The spirit must have demanded a price from you other than mana. Am I right…?”

“…Yes.”

“As a team member, bound to others’ schedules, can you really obtain the price you promised the spirit on time? A price related to humans probably isn’t something you can acquire so easily…”

She was right. I couldn’t even use mana without Essense. After all, my mana recovery skill, ‘Essense Conversion,’ wasn’t just another way to restore mana—it was the only way.

“…It would certainly be difficult to obtain the price consistently. But I truly have no experience. I don’t know what a team leader does, and I’ve never led others before.”

“That’s fine. Everyone has a first time…”

She slowly closed her eyes, then slowly opened them again. In that instant, the atmosphere shifted.

Her half-lidded eyes glinted.

“Do you… want to be a team leader?”

Honestly, I did.

Unlike a team leader who sets their own schedule, being a team member who has to follow one would be unstable in terms of securing Essense.

More importantly, now that I’ve started this life as an Awakener, I should climb as high as I can. That’s why I’ve gone so far as to transform… well, anyway.

The only problem was that I still didn’t know anything.

But then again, everyone has a first time.

“…Yes. To be honest, I wanted to.”

“Excellent!”

She smiled and flicked a finger.

The barrier of wind dissipated.

“Have you finished your discussion?”

“Yes. He’s decided to become a team leader. However, since Mr. Han-gyeol is inexperienced, you’ll have to help him a lot, Jiho.”

“Yes. Understood.”

“And Mr. Han-gyeol… please discuss the details regarding the team leader position with Jiho here. Ask him if there’s anything you don’t know… alright?”

“Yes.”

“And you must be exhausted after contracting with a spirit. Would you like to rest for a bit?”

A five-day vacation, one day back at work, and now another vacation?

It was true that my Essense was nearly depleted, but was it really okay to take another break like this?

“I recommend you rest. Just being in the Spirit World must have been taxing, let alone forming a contract.”

“…Actually, I just came in today after my five-day vacation ended yesterday.”

“Nonsense, that doesn’t matter… Even I can see you need to rest. And besides—”

She paused and looked at me.

Her gaze seemed to ask, ‘You must have spent a lot of your ‘price’ to make the contract. Are you really okay?’

Why could I feel it…?

“…I understand.”

A vacation? If they’re offering, I’ll take it. The Guild Master herself said it was necessary, so who would dare complain?

“Good… Are we done then?”

“Yes. I will coordinate the details with Mr. Lee Han-gyeol.”

“Alright. Well then, goodbye.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

“Yes. Thank you for today.”

As I stepped out of the Guild Master’s office, I glanced back just before the door closed.

Through the slowly shutting glass door, I could only see her back as she walked back into the gate.

*

“Congratulations once again. But you must be tired from the contract, so I’ll get straight to the point.”

“Yes.”

“First, we will give you three days of paid vacation. You can rest well during that time and build a closer bond with your spirit… Do you happen to need more time?”

“Three days should be enough.”

Of course, the more paid vacation, the better, but even so, a five-day vacation, one day of work, and then a three-day vacation… I felt a bit self-conscious.

“Then rest for three days for now, and if you feel you need more during your break, please contact me.”

“Okay.”

“And after your vacation, you will take on the role of team leader—”

“Ah, I haven’t finished my Lightning element training yet.”

“I heard that you’re improving quickly. In the beginning, you’ll only need to attend the team leader training, so you should be able to do it alongside your elemental training.”

“I understand.”

A sudden image of her back flashed through my mind.

Even amidst that tremendous storm of magic, her hair had fluttered as gently as ever.

“The Guild Master…”

Mr. Jiho looked at me with a questioning expression at the sudden mention of the Guild Master.

“Does she normally stay in the Spirit World?”

He soon replied with a smile.

“Yes. She primarily lives in the Spirit World, protecting the Earth. If the ‘waves’ or ‘storms’ you probably saw in the Spirit World were to surge through the gate and reach Earth… it would cause a lot of trouble.”

That… was true.

*

Another vacation starting tomorrow.

Now’s the time to finally test ‘Innate Vital Energy Absorption’.

I have no Essense, and my friends are busy.

And I have to pay the spirit its Essense, too. But the word ‘pay’ has a bit of a strange feel to it.

Hmm, right. I have to feed the spirit Essense, too.

Out of curiosity, I had looked up the descriptions for the skills ‘Spirit’s Blessing’ and ‘Spiritmancy’, but they were disappointingly vague.

‘Receive the spirit’s blessing,’ and ‘Command the spirit.’ That was the entire explanation.

It would have been nice if they were described like ‘Demonic Horns’, detailing their effects and how much Essense was needed for growth, but oh well.

It was a ‘spirit’, after all.

In that case, the more Essense, the better.

Whether it was for the horns or the spirit, I needed a lot of Essense. What if they consumed even more than the amount I converted to mana?

[Recruitment Board]

I scrolled down through the ‘Small Gatherings’ section.

Recruiting gate raid team members, recruiting guild members, guild applications, instructor recruitment, student recruitment…

There were, of course, posts looking for team members to raid gates together.

There were also posts looking for guild members. Guilds that recruited here were usually uncertified. Not that there were no certified guilds, but still.

Not all uncertified guilds were criminal organizations. They were just uncertified if they didn’t meet government standards. The standards weren’t particularly high, but I heard they were a hassle.

And not all guilds were as intense as Elemental. If you met up regularly to raid gates when you had free time, that could also be considered a guild.

Though it would be hard to become a certified one.

Since I had my Awakener ID, should I try making an uncertified guild of my own? Not a criminal one, of course.

Just then, a post caught my eye.

[Awakener Social Flash Meetup]

I read the details… It was basically a gathering for Awakeners to talk, share information, recruit people, and so on.

The date was tomorrow, and the place was a pub.

Perfect, it was tomorrow. What a relief.

As I got closer to home, my body, which had felt fine, started to feel sluggish and heavy. It seemed an incredible amount of fatigue had built up in my body.

After arriving home, I washed up and lay down on my bed. My eyelids slowly drooped—

The moment my eyes closed, I heard a small voice whisper from within me.

‘Good night.’

A chuckle escaped my lips at the tiny spirit’s voice.

Has it been exactly two weeks since my Awakening? In just two weeks, I’d become a team leader at Elemental, was handling two elements, and had even contracted a spirit.

And though I couldn’t tell anyone, there was my transformed self, who was getting better and better at body enhancement.

I was looking forward to the future.

…I whispered back.

“You too.”

Feeling the joyful pulse of the spirit, I drifted off—

*

I still had some time before the afternoon meetup.

Since I’m transforming anyway, should I do some strength training and Balgyeong practice before I go? Though I couldn’t use enhancement or practice Balgyeong without Essense.

Huh? What happens to the spirit when I transform?

First, transform.

A body with skin as pale as white jade and the beautiful curves of an hourglass appeared.

So, what about the spirit—

‘Cool!’

Ding—

[Trait Unlocked: Spirit Summoner]
[‘Spirit Summoner’ Skill Acquired: Spirit’s Blessing]
[‘Spirit Summoner’ Skill Acquired: Spiritmancy]

Hmm?

Thankfully, the spirit remained within the intangible horns.

Because of that, the ‘Spirit Summoner’ trait was unlocked in this body as well, granting me ‘Spirit’s Blessing’ and ‘Spiritmancy’.

Anyway, I was worried the spirit might hate this form, but it seems to like it even more than my original one…

‘What are you doing today?’

“Today? Today… I’m going to get that thing you like.”

‘Really? Yay!’

“Uh… but I don’t think you can come out of the horns today. Is that okay?”

‘I don’t mind!’

I wonder how it’ll react when it sees me absorbing Essense. It’s a spirit, so it probably won’t think anything of it, right? Please.

“Ah, but what’s your name?”

‘A name? What’s that?’

“Um… a word to call you by? A unique word that… only means you?”

Does it know what ‘unique’ means if it doesn’t know what a ‘name’ is?

And how is it even talking to me?

‘I’m me. Why do I need that?’

“You might get confused about whether I’m calling you or not.”

‘I can feel when you’re calling me, so it’s okay!’

“Really? That’s a relief, then.”

It seems like it can read my thoughts and intentions to some extent. In that case, will it know if I just call it in my mind?

Hmm, what should I say? Hey, you.

…

No response.

Hello? Hey? Spirit? Can you hear me?

It seems it can’t hear my thoughts alone. I probably have to think while making a sound with my mouth—

‘Are you calling me now?’

“Huh? You heard that?”

‘A little? But I can’t hear it well.’

“Okay. I’ll call you louder next time.”

‘Okay!’

*

I worked up a bit of a sweat from the exercise.

I was about to give up because it was tough, but the spirit was having so much fun that I had no choice but to continue…

It didn’t like me showering, though.

Yeah, well, I’m still going to shower.

I put on the suit, then the robe. A mask? I should wear one on the way there. Even I can tell this face is too conspicuous.

Since I’m Seo A-gyeol, should I take the burner phone? Might as well. I’ll leave my regular phone at home. I’ve already transferred the important numbers to the burner.

…And instead of Lee Han-gyeol’s Awakener ID, Seo A-gyeol’s.

From now on, I am Seo A-gyeol, a C-rank Enhancement-type.

Seo A-gyeol, heading out.

My destination was the pub where the flash meetup was being held.

But the only women’s clothes I have are the suit and the robe. Should I buy more clothes? But I don’t have space to put them. A bigger house? Hmm, where could I find a place that’s cheap and good? Or wait. Can a team leader afford a house without worrying about money? Ah, I forgot to ask about the salary—

Lost in my rambling thoughts, I soon arrived in front of the pub.

Come to think of it, are these people really meeting in a pub in broad daylight, with the sun shining so brightly?

Peeking inside, it looked like they had rented out the entire place. The drinking… hadn’t started yet. I mean, of course not, the sun hadn’t even set.

I took off my mask. The flash meetup post said not to cover our faces, so I had no choice.

It was… necessary for seduction, anyway.

I also pulled back the hood of my robe. A cascade of wavy, black hair tumbled over my shoulders.

My reflection, Seo A-gyeol, was faintly visible on the pub’s glass door.

Mm, beautiful as always. Is this really me?

This was the first time since Yoo Yi-jun that I was meeting strangers in this form…

I felt a momentary flicker of fear, but the anticipation that had filled me just before I fell asleep yesterday—the anticipation for the future—kept me from running away…

And so did the small spirit’s voice, which had been so full of that same anticipation…

“Hoo…”

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

Creeak—

At the sound of the door opening, all eyes turned to me.

And then, a sudden silence fell over the once-boisterous pub.