TTOA Chapter 116

The thought made him feel suffocated. His chest felt heavy, like he’d swallowed a stone. His mind rattled.

“…Wow. Are you seriously worrying about that?”

Amidst the seriousness, Seo Eui-woo burst into laughter.

Looking into his eyes, he was staring down at Kwon Jae-jin with an expression that seemed to say he was unbearably cute. Kwon Jae-jin felt a little sulky.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Well, it’s because Jae-jin, you’re so clueless.”

“What do I…”

“Ah, how should I put this?”

Seo Eui-woo continued to chuckle and whisper.

“Um, okay. I’ll put it this way. Jae-jin, I’m confident I could overwhelm hundreds of Special Task Force members all at once.”

“…Yes, I’m well aware of that.”

Of course, he would be.

He had actually seen it, so he couldn’t argue.

“Knowing that, why are you worrying?”

“…?”

“If that’s how I am, how do you think Jae-jin is?”

Kwon Jae-jin had always thought Seo Eui-woo’s exceptional nature was dazzling.

An existence that was itself an anomaly, unique, extraordinary, and different… an extreme and captivating life form. That was Seo Eui-woo.

He was a one-of-a-kind, absolute being.

Even if all of humanity was grouped together as a single species, it felt like Seo Eui-woo alone should be classified as a separate, special category.

So Kwon Jae-jin couldn’t help but be aware of his own ordinariness whenever he was with Seo Eui-woo. Compared to Seo Eui-woo, he repeatedly assured himself that he was a very ordinary, universal person.

But that wasn’t true at all.

“Jae-jin, you’re my Guide.”

If Kwon Jae-jin was ordinary, he wouldn’t have been able to become Seo Eui-woo’s Guide in the first place.

“Even hundreds of ordinary Guides combined can’t compare to Kwon Jae-jin alone.”

Seo Eui-woo isn’t the only one who is a one-of-a-kind and absolute being.

“Jae-jin, you’ve never once been depleted while Guiding, have you?”

…Depleted?

What is that…?

As he looked up at Seo Eui-woo with questioning eyes, a dimple appeared on his handsome cheek.

“Haha, I knew it.”

“No, what is depletion? Can Guiding be depleted?”

“Oh, well, it can, but you don’t really need to know. It’s probably something that will never happen to Jae-jin. Let’s hurry up and get tested.”

“No… Eui-woo, huh?”

“Come on. It’s already a mess outside. Lieutenant Colonel Jang must be furious.”

Seo Eui-woo grabbed Kwon Jae-jin and came out of the dressing room.

As soon as he opened the door, he ran into Lieutenant Colonel Jang. Even more so because of his bulky physique, the muscular man was standing in front of the door like a gatekeeper, Jae-jin was a little embarrassed.

“Lieutenant Seo. What is the meaning of this? If this continues, I’ll have no choice but to report this to higher-ups.”

“Please do. Isn’t that why Lieutenant Colonel Jang came here in the first place? As a watchdog.”

“…”

Seo Eui-woo calmly walked past Lieutenant Colonel Jang and guided Kwon Jae-jin to the precision testing machine.

The researcher in front of it was startled, then bowed his head and started the machine.

“Woah, please get on the platform and spread your arms. Do not move.”

Perhaps because he had been severely reprimanded by Seo Eui-woo earlier, his voice was polite.

“Ah, yes.”

“Take off your access pass and shoes as well.”

Following the instructions, Jae-jin removed the bracelet from his wrist, took off his shoes, and stepped onto the flat platform. The platform began to rotate 360 degrees at a slow speed, humming. Wing-like parts attached to both sides of the machine also rotated.

Bright light shone from the ceiling, permeating Kwon Jae-jin from head to toe. Then, a beeping sound was heard a few times.

The gathered researchers watched the large monitor connected to the machine and gradually adjusted the numbers. Kwon Jae-jin couldn’t see the screen inside the machine he was standing on, so he didn’t know what they were doing.

‘Isn’t it over yet…?’

The test took longer than he thought.

He was slowly getting nervous.

The frequency of blinking increased, and his expression hardened. He was told not to move, but standing still was quite a chore.

He wanted to check the researchers’ reactions, but he couldn’t see them because they were blocked by the monitor. Seo Eui-woo had been smiling ever since. The way he was standing with his arms crossed and leaning slightly was like a sculpture and a work of art, which made him unnecessarily annoyed.

“T-this value. Wait a minute, is this an error?”

“L-let’s try again with another machine.”

“Yes. We should. Whew, I knew it…”

The researchers, who had been adjusting this and that, suddenly started whispering and preparing another machine.

“W-well, it seems there’s a defect in the new machine itself. Let’s re-examine it over there. Please get back on the platform.”

Jae-jin crumpled the backs of his shoes and moved to another machine. But this time, the result was the same. The researchers frowned at the monitor for a while, then awkwardly called Kwon Jae-jin.

“No, well, there seems to be a defect in the new machine itself. We’ll re-examine it with the old machine. This way.”

“Yes, I understand.”

How many times is he going to be re-examined?

Anyway, he followed the instructions.

This time, it was a machine that measured while lying down. Like an MRI machine, if you lie still, the bottom plate would go inside and out of the machine like a cave. One of the researchers quickly handed Kwon Jae-jin earplugs.

“Put those on and lie down. Close your eyes.”

He did as he was told.

Blocking both ears and closing his eyes, he thought this would be the last time. With a whirring vibration, his body was pushed into the machine like a cave, and light and frequencies flashed, scanning Kwon Jae-jin’s body evenly.

‘…Is it over now?’

By the time the test was over and he came out again, he couldn’t hear anything because of the earplugs.

The researchers were excitedly talking among themselves, and one was communicating with someone.

Wondering what was going on, he turned his head and saw Seo Eui-woo, who had come closer without him even realizing it, taking off the earplugs. Only then could he hear the researchers’ voices.

“Report to the higher-ups immediately!”

“Can such a number come out? Is this for one person? And a Mutant/Late-Blooming Esper/Guide at that…”

“Unmeasurable, S-rank, S-rank Guide.”

Seo Eui-woo parted his shapely lips. It seemed like he whispered, “See?”

Only then did the blood circulate to his fingertips. He was relieved, but suddenly he felt drained.

‘Ah…’

Thank goodness.

‘I really am an S-rank.’

There was no anomaly. Kwon Jae-jin was the first S-rank Guide. And a Mutant/Late-Blooming Esper/Guide at that.

The Core of a Mutant/Late-Blooming Esper/Guide is small and incomplete. It is vulnerable to shock and easily broken. But there is no problem with its function. Kwon Jae-jin was proving it himself.

Even if they are Mutants/Late-Blooming Espers/Guides, there is no difference in ability compared to regular Espers and Guides, and they may even be better than them.

Until now, the military has continued to argue that Mutants/Late-Blooming Espers/Guides should be culled because of the system that emphasizes efficiency. However, Kwon Jae-jin’s very existence was a deviant that overturned that logic.

Can Kwon Jae-jin, who was born with S-rank, be dared to be belittled as inefficient?

Is an S-rank Mutant/Late-Blooming Esper/Guide really efficient or inefficient?

“It seems the results are out. I knew he was an S-rank. Congratulations.”

Lieutenant Colonel Jang, who had been watching the situation from afar, approached and offered his congratulations.

“…Thank you.”

Unlike the researchers, he didn’t seem very surprised even after seeing the results of Kwon Jae-jin’s rank test.

That’s because Lieutenant Colonel Jang had witnessed it himself.

“Then let’s go for the next test now.”

“Is there another test after the rank test?”

“Yes. This test is for Lieutenant Seo to take.”

Enhancement of abilities.

The Guiding of an S-rank Guide dramatically enhances the Esper’s abilities.

Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san, who had witnessed Seo Eui-woo’s explosive abilities, had no doubts from the beginning. His interest was not in the results of Kwon Jae-jin’s rank test, but in whether his abilities had been enhanced by Guiding.

“Major Ma Tae-o, no, Captain Ma Tae-o testified that Kwon Jae-jin’s Guiding dramatically enhanced his abilities. The same will be true for Lieutenant Seo.”

“…”

“Guiding that amplifies the Esper’s abilities. If that’s true, the world will be turned upside down.”

Kwon Jae-jin’s eyes widened.

Turning to the side, Seo Eui-woo’s expression was also unusual. His beast-like, wild eyes were sharp.

‘Come to think of it, General Choi Yul also brought up something similar.’

At that time, he had dismissed it because of the situation, but now it seemed like it was time to correct the misunderstanding.

“That’s not true. Seo Eui-woo’s ability is his original power, and it has nothing to do with my Guiding.”

“Is that so? Then, in the case of Captain Ma, how can you explain it?”

“Perhaps there was a misunderstanding…”

“Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not will be determined through testing.”

Kwon Jae-jin frowned.

He didn’t know what was going on at all.

Enhancement of abilities. Major Ma, no, Captain Ma… his abilities grew after receiving Guiding from Kwon Jae-jin? Is that even possible…?