‘The Espers’ condition doesn’t seem as bad as I thought.’
Raon closely observed the Espers while running the training.
Especially those Espers, including Seo Dojin, who were allegedly abusing the drug use.
However, the Espers moved perfectly fine, better than expected.
Seo Dojin, who hadn’t received a Guide’s Guiding for a long time, was no exception.
‘Something is strange…’
It was suspicious, but he couldn’t show his thoughts.
Raon continued the training, concealing his uneasy feeling.
“It definitely feels like we move better than usual when the teams are spread out like this!”
“I agree, this kind of training is not bad sometimes.”
Fortunately, Inho and Yoonchae were complimentary about the training method.
Raon smiled brightly at them.
Currently, Raon, Dasom, Hamin, and Minjae were standing in the middle of the training ground.
Raon and Dasom provided wide-range Guiding and Healing to teams needing assistance from the center, with Hamin guarding their side.
Since Hamin was a wind ability user, he could react quickly if anything happened.
Thus, Raon entrusted Hamin with the escort of both Raon and Dasom.
And the East team, which was attacked by monsters the most, was composed of Espers centered around Siwoo and Yeojun.
Since they might be short on Guiding, Juwon was attached to the East team, and Taegun was also placed in the East team so he could communicate with Minjae.
The West team, which received comparatively fewer attacks, was formed around the defense-optimized Inho.
The South team, which received the second-most attacks, was assigned the high-firepower Yoonchae and Mikhail, and Taesung as their Guide.
Finally, the North team, which faced the least frequent monster attacks, was where Seo Dojin and other Espers reportedly overusing drugs were gathered.
However, no particular problems were observed during the training.
‘Well, just in case, I put Jamie in the North team, so it should be fine.’
The Dark Blue Gate wasn’t a particularly high-difficulty Gate anyway.
So, this level of preparation should be enough.
Raon decided to table the issue of the drugs for now.
He thought it would be fine as long as it was resolved before entering the Black Gate.
Just then, Mikhail approached during a brief break in the training.
“Team Leader Raon.”
“Ah.”
It was still hard to adapt to Mikhail’s gentle face, which was still wearing a soft smile.
Raon hid his uncomfortable inner feelings and asked him.
“What is it?”
“Nothing much, I just wanted to ask if there has been any change in your thoughts.”
“Ha…”
Raon let out a small sigh at Mikhail’s words.
Mikhail had been persistently contacting him.
To the extent that Raon felt like blocking his number.
It was intense enough to make him wonder if the Guides scouted by the Alliance eventually succumbed to this tenacity.
Raon unconsciously frowned.
“Of course not. With the Irregular Gate crisis, where else would I go as the only S-class Guide?”
If he abandoned his post, he would deserve to be reviled by the entire nation and even banned from the country.
Although he had little attachment to his past life’s family, who were also rotten like his current life’s family, he didn’t want to be branded as a traitor who abandoned his country.
‘Ah, there was my mother.’
Raon belatedly remembered Yoo Nahee.
Since the System had revealed that Han Raon was his past self, Yoo Nahee was no longer a stranger.
He had felt an uneasy feeling whenever he thought of her, but now an affectionate feeling seemed to take precedence.
“You can take your time to consider it after the Irregular crisis is over.”
“Yes, then I will consider it very slowly.”
“Haha.”
Mikhail burst out laughing at Raon’s sharp answer.
In the process, his gaze, which looked at Raon as if he were a cute creature, was also hard to get used to.
“Esper Mikhail, please don’t openly scout him like that.”
“…!”
Seo Dojin, who had approached, glared at Mikhail and warned him.
Of course, Mikhail didn’t even flinch.
“Why? Are you afraid of losing him?”
“I don’t feel it’s worth answering.”
Mikhail, instead, provoked Seo Dojin with a mocking tone.
Naturally, Seo Dojin didn’t easily back down from that either.
“Ha, is it not fear?”
“Are your ears blocked?”
Raon shook his head at the staring contest that had officially begun between the two and turned away.
Espers often followed such exchanges with a sparring match, so Raon naturally stepped aside.
The Espers gathered around weren’t trying to stop them but were instead eyeing them with anticipation for a spar.
‘Espers, honestly.’
Raon sighed quietly and looked for the Guide Team.
Then, his eyes met someone’s gaze.
“…!”
Siwoo was looking their way.
He didn’t know since when, but he might have been watching since Mikhail approached.
“Ah.”
However, Raon couldn’t bring himself to approach him.
The words he used to reject Siwoo’s confession kept echoing in his ears.
“Team Leader Raon!”
“…?”
Just then, someone rushed into the training room.
It was Haedam, Seokhyeon’s secretary.
“What is it?”
“You need to go to the Center Director’s office right now.”
“Understood.”
Raon immediately nodded.
‘Is it the Irregular Gate after all?’
Since he thought it was about time for it to appear, it wasn’t a sudden development.
First, he entrusted the training to Inho, and Raon followed Haedam.
He glanced sideways at Siwoo, who was following as an escort as always.
“You’ve arrived.”
“What is the matter, Center Director?”
“An Irregular Gate has appeared in Sector 2.”
‘As expected.’
Raon nodded and stared at the tablet screen Seokhyeon showed him.
A clear, dark blue Gate was shimmering in the air.
“It’s floating in the sky, so it will be a bit tricky.”
“But the entrance is wider than other Gates, so it seems helicopters will be able to enter.”
“Then I will prepare immediately and go in.”
“Team Leader Raon.”
“Yes?”
Having confirmed it was the Dark Blue Gate, Raon immediately turned to leave.
But for some reason, Seokhyeon stopped him.
“The experts say that this Gate is excessively large.”
“Ah…”
“It may be useless now, but take the maximum amount of personnel and supplies you can carry before entering.”
“Understood.”
Raon nodded at his words. Indeed, upon closer inspection now, the Gate seemed excessively large.
‘The Dark Blue Gate was supposed to be a normal size.’
Was there another variable?
Raon’s expression grew serious as he listened to Seokhyeon’s advice.
In any case, since the Gate had opened, they had no choice but to enter.
Raon gathered the personnel who were training and prepared to enter the Gate.
“This Gate has opened in the air, so we will enter inside by helicopter.”
“Yes!”
“First, we will match the personnel to the helicopters as we just trained, and I want you to wait in position inside the Gate as well.”
Raon deliberately used a method that allowed them to be dispersed into four teams.
Now, even without his guidance, they would naturally move as they had just trained.
The timing was perfect.
“The Gate’s color is getting deeper…”
“…”
Dasom, on the helicopter, muttered softly.
Raon and the others remained silent at her words.
‘It’s okay. The Dark Blue Gate is not the end.’
The Gate that would destroy the world hadn’t opened yet.
So, there was no need to worry too much yet.
Yet, a strange stirring sensation was in his chest.
As if his body instinctively felt discomfort.
“We have entered the Gate!”
“…!”
Entering the Gate by helicopter was a first for Raon as well.
The helicopter shook briefly under the Gate’s pressure.
However, the helicopter, made of dungeon components, fortunately entered the Gate safely.
“Gosh, it’s completely open in all directions.”
“…!”
The team members who disembarked from the helicopter were initially flustered by the terrain, which had no cover whatsoever.
But they quickly regained their composure and began to gather in their respective spots according to the teams they had just trained in.
Raon calmly looked around.
The monsters would first swarm from the East.
But he shouldn’t focus firepower on the East at that moment.
Because monsters would soon appear from other directions as well.
‘I wonder if it will be the same as before the regression…’
There were too many variables this time, so he couldn’t let down his guard.
But since the initial phase was unfolding quite similarly, it should be fine for now.
“Monsters are coming from the East!”
“…!”
As Raon expected, he saw monsters coming from the East first.
Somewhat relieved, Raon shouted.
“The East team will respond first. The rest, stand by!”
“Yes!”
Fortunately, the other personnel, including the Guide Team, followed Raon’s command well.
Taegun and Minjae spread their voices around so that Raon’s orders could be heard clearly.
“Kieeeek!”
“Kkeeeek!”
Monsters of all shapes attacked the East personnel.
Siwoo and Yeojun confronted the monsters first.
Taegun was also seen backing them up appropriately from the rear.
‘It’s smooth sailing so far.’
After that, monsters began to swarm from other directions as well.
It was exactly the order Raon had surmised.
Indeed, the Dark Blue Gate seemed to have a simple structure, so there wouldn’t be any major variables.
“Kiiiiik!”
“…!”
But a loud cry was heard from somewhere.
And it was from the sky.
Raon looked up with an anxious face.
“Team Leader!”
“Ugh!”
Flying monsters, which had never appeared before the regression, swarmed down, targeting Raon.
