The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 81

I also noticed that Lee Shinra, standing next to Yeon Dogyeong, looked restless.

Come to think of it, these guys have always been obsessed with the idea of “the four of us.”

From that perspective, their reaction wasn’t that strange.

Watching the two of them, Cha Eunhwi let out a small sigh and explained the emblem again.

“As Dogyeong said, it represents the four of us. And it also means we’re equal—balanced partners.”

I looked at the emblem again.

A cross where no side was longer or shorter.

Four circles, none bigger or smaller than the others.

I had always believed that espers and guides should be equals.

Of course they would know that.

They must have chosen this design on purpose.

The atmosphere was getting awkward, so I spoke casually.

“I heard guides are more valuable now. Shouldn’t my circle be bigger?”

“Oh. Just in case, we made that version too. The emblem is detachable.”

“…What?”

Detachable?

I touched it carefully. The patch felt slightly thick.

When I pulled on it, it came off easily.

Velcro.

Then Eunhwi placed something else on the table.

“We registered this as an official squad emblem too. You can wear whichever you like.”

The shape was the same.

Except the top circle was huge.

The other three were tiny.

And inside the giant circle—

my name was embroidered.

Was he insane?

Lee Shinra stared at it and reached to switch the patches.

I quickly grabbed his hand.

“No! Don’t! This one is better! Equal relationship!”

Maybe no one would look that closely at another squad’s emblem.

But I absolutely did not want to walk around wearing that thing.

Shinra flinched and put it down.

I gathered all the oversized-name versions and declared,

“Destroy these immediately. I like the one we’re wearing now. Cancel the registration too.”

“Okay. If that’s what you prefer, Hyeya. Dogyeong? Shinra?”

“I’m fine with it.”

“I honestly wanted to wear that one, but since Yoon Hyeya looks horrified, I guess I can’t say that.”

“You just said it. You really need to grow some conscience.”

I snapped at him, annoyed by his grin.

Instead of looking offended, Dogyeong smiled even wider.

“…Ha.”

We’d only eaten breakfast, received uniforms, and heard the emblem explanation—

and I was already tired.

I leaned fully back against the sofa.

Eunhwi, who had returned to the desk, came back holding a laptop and several papers.

“I promise this is the last thing.”

He laid the papers neatly on the table.

Even though I knew what they were, I gave a look that said, What’s this?

Gate allocation chart.

Each squad receives weekly or monthly quotas.

We clear those gates and build performance records.

That chart was what we used for reference.

After giving that short explanation, Eunhwi continued,

“We’re technically still in recovery training, but since Hyeya rejoined, our overall power increased. So I received this from Director Jeong Sigyeom yesterday. You’ll see priority levels listed here. He asked us to clear the urgent ones first.”

His finger slowly traced across the numbers.

“So this morning we’ll plan. And starting this afternoon, we’ll go straight into clearing. Everyone okay with that? If it’s too much, say so.”

Dogyeong clenched and unclenched his fists.

Shinra rolled his shoulders and moved his energy, then nodded.

I looked at the three of them and muttered,

“You said you were half-dead for a year. Your recovery is insanely fast.”

“That’s because, noona—”

“Yoon Hyeya, you guided us regularly. That’s why.”

“…Hyung.”

Shinra tried to say something shyly, but Dogyeong cut him off.

Great. Another argument about to start.

Ignoring them, I touched the back of my neck awkwardly.

Guiding isn’t some invincible healing spell.

But strangely—

for espers, it almost felt like one.

“Hyeya, what about you?”

Eunhwi’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I stared at the allocation chart and answered,

“If it’s not extremely dangerous… I want to fight with you.”

“…Ah. You want to fight.”

“Yeah. It feels really refreshing.”

“…I see. I’ll factor that into the plan.”

His smile looked a little strained.

I chose to ignore it.

While I scanned the gate names, Eunhwi mediated whatever Dogyeong and Shinra were bickering about.

Then he turned the laptop so we could all see.

“Since everyone agreed, let’s plan for at least three gates per day.”

Three per day.

I felt a quiet surge of motivation—

and forgot one important thing.

Clearing gates meant we had to study them too.

“First, I’ll explain the ecosystem of this one. It’s a B-rank gate. As the name suggests, it’s a terrain where snow never stops. The main danger is—”

“….”

Shinra, Dogyeong, and I exchanged slightly worn-out looks— and opened our ears.

 

 

 

****

 

 

 

⟦ Platinum Squad Work Report (Brief) ⟧
【Day 1】

C-rank Gates ‘C—2’, ‘C—4’ cleared

No injuries

【Day 2】

B-rank Gate ‘A—3’ cleared

C-rank Gate ‘B—3’ cleared

No injuries

【Day 3】

C-rank Gates ‘B—1’, ‘C—1’, ‘C—3’ cleared

D-rank Gates ‘B—4’, ‘C—5’ cleared

No injuries

【Day 4】

B-rank Gate ‘A—2’ cleared

C-rank Gates ‘B—2’, ‘D—1’ cleared

No injuries

【Day 5】

B-rank Gate ‘A—1’ cleared

D-rank Gates ‘B—5’, ‘D—2’ cleared

No injuries

【Day 6】

D-rank Gates ‘D—3’, ‘D—4’, ‘D—5’ cleared

No injuries

Smooth.

There was no better word for the past week.

We had been assigned:

• 3 B-rank gates
• 8 C-rank gates
• 7 D-rank gates

A total of 18.

All cleared in six days.

With our schedule completely empty, I lay on my bed that morning, being extremely lazy.

The Integrated Gate never connected once. And even the B-rank gates were surprisingly safe.

We had studied, prepared, and entered each one cautiously—

just in case.

But every time, it ended with a feeling of,

That’s it?

The biggest reason things went so smoothly was, of course—

guiding.

They really looked like they were flying.

Cha Eunhwi literally flew.

He manipulated air pressure using his mobility ability.

I didn’t understand a word of it.

Dogyeong and Shinra were in incredible condition too.

They ran as if they were airborne.

My stamina and reflexes had improved a lot.

I moved faster than before—

but I still couldn’t keep up with espers.

Still, after clearing so many gates, I figured out four things.

1.

When I use physical guiding, monsters don’t recognize it as “guiding.”
(Confirmed up to B-rank. Needs testing in A-rank and Integrated Gates.)

2.

My guiding ability has grown.
After I guide them, Dogyeong, Shinra, and Eunhwi become noticeably stronger.
The efficiency seems higher.

3.

My physical abilities are improving too.
Throughout the clears, I kept getting tested.
My grip strength, flexibility, stamina, eyesight, hearing—everything is increasing daily.
And the growth rate jumps when I kill monsters with my own hands.

4.

But I am not an esper.
I still cannot see or hear the system notifications that espers can.
The “Paradise Guardian” message before was probably a special feature of that specific gate.

 

Using my data, they re-tested selected guides.

The result?

They found a few guides whose physical stats had improved compared to previous records.

Not as much as me—

but noticeable.

One of them was Taerin unnie—

the guide of the former Geumgang No.1 Squad.

Now simply—

the Geumgang Squad.