New Goal
When I slipped back into the original dream, I saw her lying on her side atop the massage bed, staring straight at me.
I wondered what it would feel like to watch a sex scene from a third-person view. Especially if the person on the screen was me. Somehow, that seemed like it would have its own strange sort of appeal.
So this was why people filmed themselves having sex.
With that useless thought drifting through my head, I moved closer and drew her into a light embrace, her body soaked through with something I couldn’t tell was sweat or water.
“I’ve had a good idea,” I said.
She enjoyed the feeling of my hand slowly stroking her skin and answered, “I’m sure it’s another useless idea. Go on, then. I’ll hear you out.”
Was she jealous because I’d just been with another woman? The thought made her seem oddly cute, so I kissed the crown of her head and continued.
“It looks like I can return sexual energy, too.”
“So it does.”
“Then, if we handle it as a kind of give-and-take with sexual energy, couldn’t we do it over and over?”
“Hmm.”
She gave me a sidelong look. “That girl must have really tasted good.”
“Huh? No, that’s not it...”
“Just how good was it that you’re trying to make sure no other man but you could ever even dream of her? Honestly. Keep that up and you may go mad.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
When I asked her with a baffled expression, she clicked her tongue.
“Didn’t you see it when you kissed her at the end? She came at you like a starving beast.”
“Well... I guess she did.”
I hadn’t thought it was that intense, but she had definitely responded with enthusiasm.
“You’ve already experienced it yourself, haven’t you? The pleasure a Succubus gives isn’t a joke. What do you think happens if you keep feeding that heated body with lust-soaked energy?”
“Uh...”
“And you’d repeat that several times? At that rate, she’d become a beast who can’t think of anything except sex. Literally a woman driven mad by it.”
“That bad?”
“That bad. That’s why I can’t use the same method on you.”
“Ah...”
I’d finally come up with a good idea, or so I thought, but of course the world never went that smoothly.
Too much or too little, neither was good in this world. If that girl wasn’t enough, then you simply had to add another.
“Is that all right?”
She narrowed her eyes and glared at me. “You really never know when to quit, do you? Men, honestly.”
“Cough.”
“Wait and see. If there’s someone who matches well, I’ll tell you.”
“Yes. As expected, it’s only you for me.”
“Hmph. Sweet talk.”
Still, she didn’t seem to dislike hearing it. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she turned her face away.
And then the dream passed, giving way to the next day.
Morning came as always, and when I went to work, I saw Im Hana entering the center with a faintly brightened expression.
At first she’d seemed a little defeated, but now she looked so full of life she seemed like a different person entirely.
I probably don’t need to look too hard for the reason.
“Good morning, Unni.”
“Mm. Good morning.”
“Did something good happen? Your whole face has opened up.”
“D-did it? It’s nothing special.”
“What could it be, then? Did you get a boyfriend or something?”
“It’s not that. I—I just... had a good dream.”
“Ohhh. Then sell me that dream. I’ll pay top dollar.”
At my words, Im Hana jumped and shook her head so hard she looked dizzy.
“No.”
“Why not?”
She was shaking so violently that she staggered at once. Goodness. Did she like it that much?
“Anyway, no. Especially not to someone like Seha.”
“Someone like me isn’t allowed?”
“T-there are reasons.”
“What reason? Tch.”
Was this what people meant when they said you could see straight through someone’s heart without any telepathy at all?
Still, she must have felt bad about refusing so bluntly, because she bought me coffee and I accepted it happily.
Once I got into the office, Mr. Kim, who had arrived before me, greeted me.
“Welcome. Seha. Take the schedule.”
“Yes.”
When I looked it over, I saw that new Awakened training was scheduled for this week.
“Are the newcomer training sessions always set on a regular schedule?”
“Not exactly. We set them once a sufficient number of Awakened have gathered.”
“I see.”
Since Awakening wasn’t something that happened according to a neat, fixed timetable, training also wasn’t arranged in fixed periods. Instead, they seemed to schedule it by watching new Awakened pile up over time.
“We’ll mostly be handling the new recruits’ stat calculations, right?”
“That’s right. And we’ll also be dealing with a lot more contact with the guilds.”
“Ah. So there are guilds.”
When the Association provided the standard stat readings, the guilds would come to observe during the hands-on training period based on those results. I’d been through all of that myself.
It had all gone to waste when I crashed out for an entire week in the middle, but still.
The guilds that had come to scout me would probably be participating again, which made the whole thing a little awkward. Then again, it was all in the past—did they even remember it? Guilds weren’t exactly idle places.
Between this and that, I spent the morning busily preparing, and before I knew it, lunchtime had arrived.
Down in the cafeteria, while I ate, Im Hana leaned close and whispered in a lowered voice.
“This is actually a secret, so you have to keep it to yourself, okay?”
Once you say that much, it already doesn’t sound secret anymore.
“What is it?”
“Apparently... there’s a celebrity in this batch.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. A pretty famous idol, apparently.”
“Hmm.”
Of course an idol wouldn’t be exempt from Awakening. In fact, from their point of view, it probably wasn’t such a bad thing. Once you became an Awakened, your physical abilities went up one way or another, and if you were an Awakened idol, that gave your name one more thing to stand on.
“She’s a girl?”
“Yeah.”
“I see.”
I put on a blasé act, but inside I was hiding my anticipation.
I’d already been thinking I needed to add someone besides Im Hana as a thrall, and it looked like a perfect target had just appeared.
Of course, the condition that our compatibility had to be good still remained, but who knew? Maybe this would work out after all.
Carrying that sense of expectation with me, the newcomer training finally began.
The rumored idol Awakened was impossible to miss without anyone pointing her out.
That made sense. Out of everyone gathered there, there was only one person whose appearance screamed idol.
Light brown hair with a soft wave to it. A black T-shirt under a denim jacket on top, white hot pants on the bottom, and black knee-high socks.
But the most striking thing about her was her chest—so large I couldn’t even begin to guess what size it might be.
I’d already gained a pretty impressive bust after becoming TS, but even I didn’t stand a chance against that monstrous size.
Her name was Lamia. She wasn’t one of those massive big-label idols from a huge entertainment company, but she was apparently a fairly well-known mid-tier idol whose name anyone in the know would recognize.
Still, even setting everything else aside, I had the feeling that chest alone would have earned her a sizable fanbase.
The rumor had already spread quite a bit, and I could see the other Awakened in the training group sneaking glances at her.
This scene felt oddly familiar. That was right—I’d been exactly like that when I went through training, too.
On top of that, a few people who looked like reporters were loitering around inside the center, apparently having dug up the information somehow.
“I’ll help with the check-in.”
As headcount verification began, everyone started moving. I, too, had to tear my eyes away from her and get to work.
Once the checks were done, the liberal arts lecture would begin right away. While the new recruits headed off to class, the staff, myself included, had to go down to the basement and prepare for the practical training scheduled for the afternoon.
“Seha, do you happen to be busy this afternoon?”
When the bald instructor asked me that, I shook my head.
“Nothing in particular, as far as I’ve been told.”
“In that case, how about helping with the practical training? I’ll mention it to Mr. Kim.”
“I don’t mind, but is my skill level really all right for that?”
“Of course. If your class hadn’t gotten tangled up, you would’ve already been scouted by a major guild.”
“Even so, I’m only an intern now.”
“Haha. In any case, I’d appreciate the help.”
I’d already been thinking about finding a way to make contact with Lamia, so this worked out perfectly.
Im Hana was just as busy. If the support team was tied up with organizing the stats, the medical team had to verify the new recruits’ physical data, too.
At first she’d been sluggish and gloomy, but thanks to what had happened in the dream, lately she’d become almost unrecognizable.
Maybe because of that, there seemed to be more and more men in the center who had started to take an interest in her.
As usual, I went down to the cafeteria for lunch with the intention of eating there, only to see the new recruits pouring out in a crowd.
“Wow, the rumor was true. This is my first time seeing an idol. She’s really pretty.”
“Her face is gorgeous, but that chest is just, wow...”
“Seha, that was full-on old-man talk just now.”
“Yes. I’m actually just a sly old man on the inside.”
“Pfft. What is that supposed to mean?”
After goofing around with Im Hana and finishing lunch, I headed down to the basement for the practical training assistance the instructor had requested.
Practical training meant moving your body. Especially for Awakened, since combat in Gates was the premise, there was bound to be a lot of physical contact. That made it awkward for men to teach women in many cases.
Of course, to handle situations like this, Awakened assigned as instructors were dispatched to the center during newcomer training, but that didn’t mean there were enough of them to spare for one-on-one lessons.
That was why the bald instructor had asked me for help.
“You probably already heard, but there’s a celebrity in this batch.”
“I did hear that. Are you asking me to take her on?”
“That’s right. The others seem a bit intimidated by her.”
Since the other party was famous, they probably felt that one wrong move could bring more trouble than benefit. Honestly, I could understand not wanting to cause problems while dispatched here. If you were a fan already, that would be one thing, but if you weren’t, it would only feel worse.
I’d already been wondering whether there might be a way to connect with her, so I had no reason to refuse.
“Understood. Then I’ll take care of her.”
“I’m not sure if this is a relief or not, but she’s a mage class, so if you could just help her with the basics of controlling her energy, that would be enough.”
There were plenty of dealers in circulation, but among them, mages occupied a slightly special position. You could say they got treated a little better than the more physical kinds of dealers.
When I opened the tablet to check, I saw that her class was Elementalist, specializing in elemental magic.
“Hello. You must be Lamia.”
“Yes. Pardon me, but who are you?”
She seemed wary as I approached, my hat pulled low and a mask covering half my face, not to mention my rather conspicuous figure.
“I’m the person assigned to help with your practical training. My name is Lee Seha. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ah, you’re an instructor?”
“Not exactly. I’m just here as support for the moment.”
“I see.”
“I hear you’re a mage class. Are you able to control your energy yet?”
“Not really, no...”
“I see. Then today, let’s start by practicing something simple: how to handle your energy.”