Mana's Gathering (1)
Two days had passed. Thud. Thud. Thud-thud. I walked down a familiar street. A refreshing breeze brushed past my ears.
Han Sion. She'd contacted me as promised, so I was heading her way.
"What the fuck is with contacting me a day later than you said?"
She'd sworn she'd hit me up the very next day after getting back, so what the hell was this two-day delay? Grumbling to myself, I followed the map on my phone.
Just keep going straight for another 500 meters as the high-rises thinned out. Not far now. About the time it'd take to skim through the latest bullshit posts. I pulled out my phone again.
"...I really can't handle bugs."
I already hated them enough, but the title baited me into reading it. Lovebugs. The nightmare started creeping back—the terror when those damn things infested our one-room.
"Ugh—feels like something's crawling on me."
Maybe because of the bug pic, but I felt shit crawling up my skin. And on this suddenly hot day, I'd ditched the hoodie for just a short-sleeve tee. Goosebumps everywhere.
I shook my arms hard to shake off the sensation. Then I felt it.
Not the smooth feel of my skin at my fingertips. Something hard and fuzzy...
"Uwak, fuck, what the hell is this?!"
Right between my elbow and forearm. A green something. That familiar, cursed look. No doubt about it—a Tinkerbell.
Shiver shiver shiver—
"Get off! Get the fuck off, you little shit!"
I flailed my goosebumped arm, praying the damn Tinkerbell would drop. Flutter flutter—
Off it went, like it'd gotten its fill of assholery from my panic.
"Argh, you Tinkerbell bitch!"
Those leisurely wing flaps were infuriating. Made me wanna bail to Seoul sometimes. Too many bugs here. Sure, Seoul had mayflies and shit, but they'd never know the horror of giant bugs followed by lovebugs.
I sighed and checked my phone.
"Oh, I'm here?"
Guess I walked on autopilot. Confirmed the arrival message and looked around. Matched the photo Sion sent. Except...
"Wait, where's the guild building?"
It should be between that green and gray high-rise. No sign of it. Sion, did you trick me? Where the hell is it? Did they hide it overnight to prank me before I arrived? Nah, no way. Even if I cost them a ton in fees, an S-rank wouldn't pull some childish stunt.
I shook my head and scanned for anything I might've missed. But...
"It's not there. Just gone."
No trace of the guild, not even the 'G' in the name. I scratched my head. Did they really prank me? Should I call? All sorts of thoughts swirled.
That's when it happened.
"You've arrived."
"Eek?! Shit, you scared me!"
A voice from behind as I clutched my head and looked around. I nearly tripped but casually turned.
"Wh-what the hell. Seriously."
Packed with meaning: Where'd you come from? Where's the guild? And some resentment for the jump scare.
"Ah, sorry. I should've warned you. Come this way for a sec."
Taejun beckoned. He pointed to an empty lot. What could be in an empty lot like that...?
"Guild leader, open the door, please."
Taejun muttered into his ear, hand to his ear. Yeah, earpiece. Looked like he was talking to someone.
"Please wait a moment."
He held out a hand like to protect me. What the hell was going on? I hung back just in case, watching.
Rumble—
"Huh?"
Space warped in front of me. Like a film peeling off. Heat haze rose, air tearing with a sound. What the...? It held for seconds, then the rippling space cleared inside.
A guild? Wait, it's shabby as hell. Yeah, a rundown guild building emerged. Peeling walls, ancient design—peak old building vibes. Did they dump all their money into that spatial trick? Didn't wanna get close. Felt like I'd inhale asbestos...
"This way, then."
Taejun waved me on. Really didn't wanna go in, but no choice. Maybe the inside's decent? Clinging to that hope, I followed.
Approaching the decrepit building with Taejun, we reached the entrance. Screeech—
The rusty glass door scraped like it was shredding my eardrums. They really need to fix shit like this. Who'd wanna enter for security or whatever? Honestly, that spatial trick was less secure than this godawful screech. Any intruder would bail at the sound.
"Right here."
As I scratched behind my ear and cursed inwardly, Taejun pointed inside. Stairs up and down.
"What? Up? Or down?"
"Up you go."
He pointed up. But why not coming with? Just me?
"What about you, mister?"
"Oh, I have business to handle... Mister...?"
"Ah, yeah."
Fine, he had stuff to do. I left the dumbfounded Taejun and climbed. Dust thick enough for footprints. Total abandoned building. Swallowed my irritation and kept going.
Another interior appeared.
"...Not like we're loan sharks or anything."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Movie-style loan shark office. In the center, Sion at a desk with a chairman plaque that screamed executive suite.
"What're you doing?"
"Just some casual remodeling and interior work."
"...No cleaning?"
"Huh?"
Never mind. I'd sensed it from our first chat—she wasn't detail-oriented or stylish.
I shook my head and headed to a random sofa. Swipe—
Ugh, dust here too. Brushed the seat and sat.
"So, what'd you wanna talk about?"
I shoved her message screen in her face.
"Oh, right. Tea or something?"
No thanks. I'd eat dust too. I shook my head.
"Suit yourself."
Sion plopped on the sofa opposite.
"First off, welcome to the guild."
"Uh, thanks."
Yeah, whatever. But that's not why she called me. I shot her a get-to-the-point look.
"Ahem. Anyway, I called you to explain the guild's future direction and everyone's roles."
"Roles?"
Wait, wasn't it freeform? No meddling? Betrayal in my eyes.
"No, no, misunderstanding! Just roles as in what you do—no forcing you into anything!"
"Ah—"
Sion waved frantically, explaining. Fair enough. But roles? I stared into her eyes.
"Sigh— Okay, basically, you do your thing, provide us with those elixirs and stuff."
"Huh? Why me?"
"No misunderstanding. Stuff you can mass-produce—we'll auction it off. Use some ourselves too."
Ah, middlemen, got it. They might use some, but mass-produced anyway. Guild's only three including me—won't use much. I nodded.
"But auctions come with fees."
"Sure—"
Didn't matter. Already haggled to the bone. 5% wouldn't sting.
"Assuming that's settled. Anything else you want from us?"
Here it came. Reading the employee's mind. Honestly, that's half why I came. One thing to ask her.
"Um... could you teach me how to handle mana?"
That mana control I'd seen from her. My chronic issue. The way she wielded that golden mana—not directly taught, but shown. I wanted to learn it.
And at my words...
"Sure~?"
Sion let out an ominous tone.