episode_0026

In the office atmosphere colder than the winter chill, Baek Jisoo stood up quietly while doing the copying work.

“Please focus for a moment.”

When the team leader spoke, everyone’s gaze turned towards her.

“Some of you may already know, but another rape villain appeared yesterday.”

As Baek Jisoo spoke, Kim Hanna lowered her head.

“The victim is B-rank esper Lee Ji-eun. It would be a shame if it ended here, but a bigger problem has arisen.”

“Rape incidents occurred inside the shelter protected by S-rank and A-rank espers.”

As Baek Jisoo sighed, Kim Jiho next to me quietly provided additional explanation.

“S-rank is Im Eo-jeong and A-rank is Park Hee-sun, both experts in spatial abilities.”

“Even though two people who manipulate time and space joined forces, they couldn’t catch the rape villain… This is it.”

“Yes. That’s why the atmosphere within the association has become chaotic.”

Kim Jiho, who was speaking, awkwardly smiled and looked at Baek Jisoo.

Baek Jisoo, who had waited for me to grasp the situation, spoke again.

“In the end, the Daegu headquarters of the Esper Association sent a request for cooperation to the headquarters across the country.”

“Ah, so it ended up like that.”

“Wow, this is a big problem…”

“Tsk!”

The atmosphere was tense, but once again, I was the only one who didn’t understand.

“Hyung. Isn’t it a good thing for the Esper Association to join forces?”

When I asked Kim Jiho, who was scratching his head, he shook his head.

“Although the overall framework of the Esper Association is the same, the associations don’t get along well in reality.”

“Why? Is it because of regional sentiments?”

“That’s not entirely wrong.”

Crazy.

I wondered what kind of world we were living in with regional sentiments.

“Three years ago, when a major earthquake occurred, most espers went back to their hometowns.”

“To protect their parents or friends?”

After calming down a bit, I also went to find my family.

Both of my parents passed away due to the earthquake, and since then, I have been living alone in a studio apartment.

“Yes. Since then, regional sentiments have gradually started to rise.”

“Awakening in Seoul and then going to Jeju Island! Abandoning Ulsan residents and going up to Daejeon?! It’s really useless to talk about such things.”

“Accumulating such useless emotions… even affecting the associations.”

“Isn’t it ridiculous? That’s why espers don’t go to other regions without official orders.”

“If Im Eo-jeong is in this situation, she will probably return to Seoul.”

“Is Im Eo-jeong from Seoul?”

“No. She’s from Cheorwon, Gangwon Province. She used to run a restaurant near the military base.”

“But why go to Seoul?”

“They probably want to keep an eye on the powerful ones in the capital. That’s what it seems like.”

“They just made the rules as they pleased.”

“Exactly.”

Kim Jiho chuckled and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

“Is the gossip over?”

“Sorry, team leader.”

“No need to apologize.”

“Well, Jinsu doesn’t know much about the association.”

“Until the rape villain issue is resolved and the Daegu branch members lose their membership temporarily.”

“Ah, so it ends up like this.”

“Argh! How many membership discounts are there!! Damned!! Can’t believe it!!”

“…?”

“Yes? What nonsense is this? Why take away the membership?”

“Since you couldn’t solve it in Daegu, we’ll help. But don’t interfere and stay out of the way.”

“This is insane.”

“It is. But that’s the way of the association.”

It was not just unbelievable but also shocking, but I understood to some extent.

The Esper Association is a newly established organization that has only been around for three years.

It extends globally and has a large number of members, but it is a very unstable organization.

There are many powerful individuals, but without proper laws, chaos reigns where might makes right.

Baek Jisoo, who chuckled, unpinned the team leader badge she had pinned on the collar of her suit.

With a flick of his thumb, he wiped the surface of the badge before placing it on the desk.

“We may not know when, but let’s meet again once the rape villain incident is over.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Team Leader.”

“Sob! It’s sad to part like this!!”

“Team Leader… let’s go into the labyrinth together.”

Each of them exchanged words and left the office weakly.

Badge Supervisor Bae, who seemed to be following the rule that the team leader must be the last to leave the office, remained.

“When the problem is resolved, we’ll meet again, right? Why is everyone saying goodbye as if it’s the last time?”

Forced to smile, he approached Bae, who chuckled.

“If it were a different incident, we could have met again soon. But this time, it seems a bit difficult.”

“Why?”

“That bastard Im failed. Even Park Heesun, known as the prison guard of Korea, failed.”

“They estimated it would take at least a year to catch the rape villain.”

“… Really?”

“Yes. It was a short time, but it was enjoyable being together. Let’s have a drink together sometime in private.”

And so, teasing each other, they unintentionally ended their one-month employment.

Still not feeling real, he sat on a bench near the association’s office, lost in thought, when his phone rang.

“Hey.”

“Hey, jobless~ Should I call you that instead of loser?”

“You bastard.”

He was so excited to tease that he called immediately.

“Still, it’s a relief. You got your first paycheck and got fired, right? Oh! That was your last paycheck, wasn’t it? Ahaha!”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes right now.”

“What’s a loser like you. Come home quickly. Eunmi Chicken is waiting for you.”

“Taxi!!”

As he reached for the front door handle, the door opened on its own.

“You’re here, loser.”

“A psychic intruder came in. Where should I report it?”

“Report it to the association~ But they’re not here anymore, right?”

“Damn it.”

Pushing him aside, he entered the house, where Eunmi Chicken and beer were all set up.

After washing his hands and feet lightly and sitting at the table, the bird sat across from him.

“Poor thing, huh, loser.”

“The ones who are pitiful are others. I was just a loser anyway.”

Uh… Am I really such a bad guy for thinking that way?

Until now, I had been blaming [my job loss], but now I saw it from a different perspective.

The reality of all the association members losing their jobs…

Suddenly feeling guilty, my chest ached… Bullshit!

“Those damn association bastards! If even a loser like me can’t catch them, what is the association for?!”

Come back stronger! You pathetic bastards!

Feeling better after eating Eunmi Chicken and drinking beer, he and the bird devoured chicken legs and drank beer.

“Kkk! So what are we going to do now? Are you going to live like before, watching porn?”

“I’m not a viewer, I’m a creator, remember? Well, we can always explore the F-grade labyrinth, it’s worth a shot.”

“F-grade is not a real option. You should go to a place like a school to study E-grade. With your abilities, it’s totally doable.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. The more you think about recycling, the more things you find.”

“Recycling, you little shit.”

“Oh! Was that it?”

At his response, I bit on a chicken bone and lay on the floor, sucking it dry.

‘A school…’

From my perspective, not knowing much about psychic abilities, learning properly would have been a good choice.

“How much is the tuition for a month at a school?”

“It varies depending on the level, but places that are well-known charge around 100 million per month.”

“I’m not going.”

“Not that you can’t go?”

“Fact-check yourself.”

After serious consideration, I gave up on going to a school.

… It’s not that I can’t go because I don’t have money.

“Birdie, how about a round at the Daesung Park Labyrinth to digest and achieve something?”

“Sure.”

With a solid C-grade backing, we entered the F-grade labyrinth.

Out of habit, I swiped my association member card at the entrance.

Beep! Beep!

[Unregistered card!]

“Hey, Baeksoo. If you steal a guild member card, you’re screwed~”

“Shut up.”

Exhaling, I scanned my ability registration card instead of the guild member card, and it was recognized as valid.

As soon as I entered the maze, I tore a summoning scroll from my hip bag and summoned a low-level fire elemental by tearing it.

“Hey, are you still using that?”

“I have some saved up.”

“Now that you’re a commoner, you should save money.”

“Yes, yes~ I understand~”

I brushed it off lightly, but it felt good to think that the sparrow was considering me.

“Sorry, sparrow. I can’t reveal my abilities if I succeed… can I?”

Revealing my abilities is like becoming a villain who commits assault!

The sparrow won’t spread my secret, but it’s better if no one knows.

Anyway, after lightly exploring the maze with the sparrow for about 2 hours, the fire elemental disappeared.

As I was about to tear another scroll, the sparrow stopped me.

“How much money do you have saved up?”

“I have some. Why?”

“Well, there’s something a bit more expensive than disposable scrolls, but you can use it permanently.”

“Permanently? What’s that?”

Asking with a puzzled look, the sparrow chuckled and rolled up its sleeve.

“Did you get a tattoo?”

“I got one recently.”

“You scoundrel.”

“It’s not just a tattoo. It’s a magic tattoo. Most C-rankers have at least one.”

“Magic tattoo?”

“Take a good look.”

As the sparrow gathered energy and took a deep breath, the black tattoo on its skin turned red.

The flesh that was originally flesh-colored suddenly turned gray, and the sparrow reached out its arm towards me.

“Touch it.”

I hesitantly touched its arm, which was so hard that it was difficult to call it muscles.

“Are you… made of steel?”

“Pretty cool, right? I couldn’t handle the C-rank maze with just speed. So I spent some money on this~”

As the sparrow explained, our fists collided with a clang! clang! sound.

“Are you crazy? How much did it cost?”

“B-rank Steel Enhancement. 50 billion for one arm.”

“100 billion for both arms? The sound of billions is coming out naturally.”

“My bank account is a bit sore this month, but it’s an investment for the future.”

As the sparrow released the magic tattoo and brushed its hand, it asked, “Have you decided on your combat type?”

“Since my ability is more of a support type, I’d rather support than fight directly.”

“Then try a magic or summoning tattoo like now. There are plenty of decent ones for 50 million if it’s E-rank, right?”

Summoning… might not be a bad idea after all?