* * *
The sound came from the Espers’ testing area, not the Guides’.
The first thing he saw was Yeojoon dangling from the ceiling, screaming.
“Lee Yeojoon!”
Taehyuk, his fellow Team 3 member, shouted and rushed over.
Raon quickly followed behind.
“What happened?”
By the time Raon arrived, the situation was already under control.
Siwoo stood calmly on the ground, holding Yeojoon by the scruff of his neck.
Yeojoon’s face was pale as a sheet.
“Uh, well…”
Yeojoon stammered as he struggled to speak.
Raon patiently waited for him to explain.
Apparently, during one of the fitness tests — specifically the standing high jump — Yeojoon had jumped so high that he hit the ceiling and got stuck.
Espers perform the same tests as Guides but with heavy weights attached according to their rank.
For him to reach the ceiling like that… his physical ability was outstanding for an A-rank.
But that wasn’t the real problem.
“Do you have a fear of heights?”
“…Yes.”
Raon let out a short laugh.
An A-rank Esper with acrophobia.
Of course, fear of heights isn’t something one can control, but in the unpredictable environments inside gates, having an Esper with acrophobia was a serious liability.
‘No wonder I wondered why an A-rank was assigned to Team 3.’
The Alpha Unit, which consisted of top-ranked Espers, had a total of three teams.
Based on his abilities, Yeojoon could’ve easily fit into Team 2, even if not Team 1.
His placement in Team 3 now made sense.
‘Why isn’t this in his file?’
Raon sighed.
Since they belonged to different teams, it was understandable that he hadn’t known about Yeojoon’s acrophobia, but such critical information should’ve been noted during his selection for the special unit.
Raon was once again amazed by the military’s incompetence.
“Team Leader, I didn’t deliberately hide it. It’s just that Yeojoon’s acrophobia has never interfered with his missions before…”
“That’s because Team 3 only handles lower-level gates.”
“That’s…”
Taehyuk, who was speaking up on Yeojoon’s behalf, trailed off, unable to argue further.
Raon shook his head.
The higher the gate’s level, the harsher the circumstances become.
The reason Yeojoon had never faced issues before was simply because Team 3 hadn’t been assigned to gates full of unpredictable dangers.
But the gates they’d be entering from now on were on a completely different level.
If Raon had known this in advance, he never would’ve allowed Yeojoon onto the special team.
“I’ll have to reconsider Lee Yeojoon’s placement on the special team…”
“Wait, please!”
At that moment, Yeojoon spoke up desperately, still catching his breath.
Raon looked at him quietly.
“What is it?”
“I-I can do it. Could you please give me a chance?”
“And what exactly am I supposed to trust about you, Lee Yeojoon?”
“That’s…”
Raon asked coldly. Yeojoon had no response.
The difficulty of the gates they would face was beyond imagination.
Even now, dozens of dangerous scenarios flashed through Raon’s mind — including situations where they might have to fight in midair.
The thought that Yeojoon might freeze during such missions because of his fear of heights gave Raon a headache.
He couldn’t afford to take in an Esper who could become a liability to the team.
“I’ll discuss the rest with the director, so Esper Lee Yeojoon can be excused for now…”
“Please, Team Leader, I’m begging you. Please?”
“Sigh…”
Yeojoon clung desperately.
Come to think of it, Seok-hyun had mentioned in passing that surprisingly many espers had applied for the special team.
With Siwoo already taking up one spot, there weren’t many positions left.
The moment Yeojoon stepped down, stronger espers would rush to fill that vacancy.
Then Raon would have to sweat it out again, trying to find an esper whose abilities were compatible with Siwoo’s.
‘Esper Lee Yeojoon is still the best option, though.’
His rank was fairly high, he was on good terms with Siwoo since they were school friends, and their abilities complemented each other well.
Honestly, Raon hadn’t expected to find anyone better than Yeojoon.
‘But that fear of heights is critical.’
As he was about to reluctantly give up, Raon shook his head.
Lives were at stake here—this wasn’t a decision he could make carelessly.
He was about to speak firmly again when—
“But isn’t acrophobia something that can be overcome?”
Hamin asked brightly.
Raon stared at him for a moment.
“Mental illnesses aren’t so easy to overcome.”
“I got over mine though.”
“…What?”
He wondered if he had misheard.
Hamin used to have acrophobia?
And he overcame it?
“It’s true. Ever since I was little, I’d get terrified whenever I was up high. I wasn’t screaming like Yeojoon, but my legs would give out and I’d collapse…”
“And you say you’ve overcome it?”
“Yes. I thought it would become a problem once I joined the center, so I trained on my own.”
“How?”
The fact that Hamin once had acrophobia came as a surprise, something that hadn’t been mentioned in the original storyline.
Feeling an odd sense of anxiety, Raon asked, and Hamin answered with his usual innocent smile.
“Bungee jumping.”
“Ah… bungee jumping…”
The unexpected answer left Raon repeating the words blankly.
Hamin and bungee jumping — what an unlikely combination.
Above all, the fact that he had recklessly cured his fear by repeatedly bungee jumping was simply astounding.
“At first, even climbing up for the jump was terrifying. I almost passed out a few times, but after a while, it got better.”
“…At that point, most people would just give up.”
“But I succeeded, didn’t I?”
“Ha…”
Hamin’s wide, innocent eyes seemed to say, ‘What’s the problem?’
Raon shook his head in disbelief.
Still, it was fortunate that his fear of heights was cured thanks to that.
“Anyway, don’t you think Yeojoon could improve if he trained similarly?”
“B-bungee jumping is a bit…”
Yeojoon, even paler than when he’d been dangling from the ceiling, slowly backed away.
Taehyuk grabbed his arm.
“Why don’t you give it a try?”
“Hmm…”
Even Taehyuk was looking at him seriously now, deepening Raon’s dilemma.
Truthfully, it did feel like a waste to let Yeojoon go like this.
“All right, Esper Lee Yeojoon. Choose. Will you leave the team, or train?”
“W-well…”
Cold sweat trickled down Yeojoon’s face as his eyes darted around.
It was a sunny day.
Not a cloud in the sky.
Raon beamed as he looked around at the team members gathered on the training field.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Please ignore him.”
The others glanced nervously at Yeojoon’s constant screaming, which had become background noise by now.
From today, Yeojoon was undergoing special training.
‘Siwoo said he would handle it…’
Raon had been looking for someone to supervise Yeojoon’s training, and Siwoo had volunteered.
Since the special team was short on espers, it seemed even Minjae could help out without much strain.
‘I suppose I’ll focus on the guides for now.’
As Yeojoon’s ear-piercing screams gradually subsided, Raon officially began training.
The first step was basic physical conditioning.
“From now on, don’t expect espers to protect you inside gates. Like I said before, there will be times when you’ll have to run or fight monsters yourselves.”
In the irregular gate, Raon and Hamin had almost been killed by monsters.
Remembering that, Raon spoke with a firm tone.
“For now, we’ll push everyone’s physical limits. Keep up.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Louder and shorter responses!”
“Yes!”
Turning into a drill sergeant, Raon signaled, and the guides started running all at once.
“Run in sync with the count! Begin!”
“One! Two!”
Running was one of the most effective cardio exercises one could do with just body weight.
Of course, no matter how hard they trained, guides could never match espers, but it was still better than sitting idle and getting slaughtered by monsters.
“Keep running! Begin!”
“B-begin!”
After several laps around the large field, some of them began to struggle.
Dasom, the only female guide, looked ready to collapse.
“Guide Dasom, if it’s too much, you can step out for a bit.”
“N-no, I’ll… finish… till the end!”
Raon offered, but Dasom shook her head.
Her firm determination left Raon with no choice but to let her continue for now.
If things got worse, he would have to forcibly stop her.
No matter how important the training was, it couldn’t put anyone’s life in danger before entering a gate.
Just as Raon made up his mind and approached Dasom—
“What the hell is going on here?”
“…?”
A loud voice echoed across the field, and Raon turned toward it.
Someone was approaching him, fuming with anger.
* * *
