Chapter 138
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 138
Chapter Title: Something's Off About the Newbie's Skills (1)
Finally, the long, drawn-out call came to an end.
"...Ah, right. Ihyeon!"
But just before releasing Seraphina's skill, her urgent voice rang out.
"You're joining the Pioneers soon, right?"
"Ah, yes. I already passed the interview, so I'll start in two days."
"If anything tricky comes up there, go see my junior. I'll give her a heads-up in advance, so she'll be a big help."
"Your junior?"
I tilted my head.
I knew that before becoming an instructor, Da-eun had been active on the front lines of a Hunter Guild.
Was this someone she'd connected with back then?
"Her name's So Ye-seo. She's currently the team leader for Central Team 5. She was my underclassman at the Academy, and got scouted into the Pioneers a year and a half ago."
So Ye-seo, So Ye-seo.
It wasn't a name I'd heard in the game story, at least.
But Central Team 5...
'Isn't that where I'm assigned? The Student Team?'
I wondered at the coincidence, but on second thought, it wasn't that unlikely.
An Academy instructor alum now leading the Pioneers' Student Team.
It was a perfectly plausible placement, so it wasn't weird if Da-eun knew her.
"Got it, sis. But you don't need to mention my name ahead of time. I don't want to be seen as a parachute hire."
At my words, I heard her let out a small laugh.
"Hehe, no need to worry. The Pioneers aren't recruiting much right now anyway, so even without your name, she'll figure out who you are right away."
"...Yeah, when you put it that way, you're right."
How many new hires could there even be besides me?
"So, what's she like?"
I asked out of curiosity.
"Ye-seo is..."
Cheon Da-eun's voice brimmed with affection.
"A sleepyhead who's always drowsy about everything, but she's super cute and such a good kid."
A cute and kind kid.
For some reason, hearing that made me start looking forward to meeting her.
Central Team 5 office of the Pioneers.
Unlike other teams that resembled war zones with paperwork and emergency dispatches, Team 5's office was unusually peaceful and quiet.
And at its center, sprawled face-down in the team leader's seat, oblivious to the world, was a woman fast asleep.
A girl with short platinum blonde hair and thick white eyebrows.
Her development was impressive relative to her height, but her jade-like skin evoked the image of a student no matter who looked at her.
She was So Ye-seo, team leader of Central Team 5.
Snooort... snuffle...
The snot bubble at her nostril swelled and shrank in time with her breathing.
Then her mouth naturally parted with a sniffle—
"Achoo!"
A cute sneeze burst out.
And with it, the snot bubble popped free and floated lazily into the air.
It wasn't just that.
"Haaah... Did someone mention me...?"
As So Ye-seo stretched and loosened her stiff body, transparent bubbles like soap suds began bubbling up from all over her.
And every few seconds, rainbow-colored soap bubbles leaked from her mouth, nose, even her ears, floating up with soft boops.
In an instant, the office was filled with a fairy-tale wonderland of bubbles.
Right then, the office door opened, and a man walked in.
A rough-looking guy with a scar on his cheek. Nick Hobbs, a fourth-year Academy student and Team 5's vice-leader.
He took one look at the bubble-filled office and freaked out.
"Gah! Team Leader! Again?!"
Nick hurriedly covered his face with his hands, but too late—several bubbles touched his skin and popped with a plink.
"Hehe..."
So Ye-seo scratched her head and gave him an awkward smile.
"Watch out, Nick. Some of those might be snot..."
"Ugh! That's disgusting!"
Nick recoiled in horror, wiping the mystery fluid from his face.
Then he shot So Ye-seo a resentful glare and sighed.
"Team Leader, were you sleeping on the job again? Not doing any work?"
"Hehe... What can I do when there's no work? Might as well sleep, right? Don't hate me~"
Nick was at a loss for words at her innocently shameless reply.
How was he supposed to handle a team leader who was so drowsy, always sleeping, and basically a salary thief?
Her ability was, quite literally, 'soap bubbles.'
A space-control skill that endlessly produced special bubbles from her body that weren't treated as 'attacks.'
It seemed unremarkable aside from not popping easily and carrying loads regardless of weight, but that single unique trait—not being classified as an attack—had gotten her specially scouted into the Pioneers after just one year as an Academy instructor.
Nick clicked his tongue.
"Good thing it was just me. What if the higher-ups had come down to check on you?"
"Hehe, then what can you do~?"
He lightly swung the ordinary pen he was holding.
In an instant, it stretched into a sharp spear.
He swung it expertly, popping every one of the hundreds of floating bubbles in the office.
Plink, plink, plink, plink—!
The liquid from the popped bubbles gathered at his spear tip, forming a large, weightless droplet hovering in the air.
He opened the window and flung it outside.
The office returned to its pristine state in seconds.
"Ahh, you can't just dump it outside... The janitor yelled at me for that."
"You deserve to get yelled at more."
"Tch..."
So Ye-seo pouted.
Nick pretended not to notice her sulky expression and closed the window.
"So, how'd training go?"
"Good. We shaved ten seconds off our clear time on Rift 105."
"Ooh, impressive. Our kids are getting good."
Central Team 5, aka the 'Student Team.'
Their job was simple.
Turn freshly conquered new rifts into safe 'mines.'
In other words, repeatedly enter the still-unstable rifts after their conquest to further refine the strategy routes and analyze the monsters’ patterns.
Identify hidden traps and gimmicks, compile them into data—like a 'test server.'
That was the Student Team's role.
It was close to busywork, but essential drudgery that someone had to do.
Students gained real combat experience, the Pioneers secured safe mana stone mining paths to auction off to other guilds as mines—a win-win.
"Still, Team Leader."
Nick reverted his spear-pen to normal and spoke seriously.
"This can't go on. We need to request personnel reinforcements for our team soon."
"Huh? Why? We barely have work."
"Sure, our jobs are easier than others, but that's exactly why we're last in reinforcements! Graduates don't stick with the Pioneers—they head to better guilds, no newbies come in! We'll end up with just stale old-timers rotting away! I'm speaking for everyone—team members, juniors, they're all fed up!"
At Nick's tirade, So Ye-seo yawned and rubbed her eyes.
'Oh no, what do I do...'
She was panicking inwardly.
"I-I know~ That's why I specially brought in one this time~ A newbie's joining!"
It was more like she'd been saddled with it.
So Ye-seo had no say.
Academy grad? Student Team takes 'em. That was the unilateral order.
'Look at this amazing recommendation letter. Even the vice-captain's watching him closely. This is great, great.'
'Isn't that just code for parachute...?'
Recalling that conversation, she shook her head vigorously.
And it wasn't just that.
Yesterday, she'd even gotten a direct call from her most respected senior, Instructor Cheon Da-eun.
'Take good care of the kid joining this time.'
Even a request from a senior she admired felt off.
A parachute was still a parachute.
'Can one kid really meet the team's expectations?'
So Ye-seo was anxious inside but showed none of it outwardly. Instead, she puffed out her chest confidently and thrust the file at Nick.
"Here! Take a look! D-Class's hidden ace! Rising star Maker Hunter!"
"D-Class? You said D-Class?"
"Y-Yeah! Don't worry! Even from D-Class, he aced the interview, so he'll be solid firepower, right?"
"...Why was someone that great stuck in D-Class all this time?"
"Must've had circumstances! Anyway, this kid will definitely bolster our team! I guarantee it!"
At So Ye-seo's confident attitude, Nick finally backed down.
"Hmph... Fine, if you're vouching that hard, I'll expect something. But if he's a dud, I'll formally request reinforcements then. In your name, Team Leader. Got it?"
"Of course! Leave it to me!"
The moment Nick left the office, So Ye-seo's bravado vanished.
She flopped onto the desk like a deflated squid with a whine.
Her energy drained away, rainbow bubbles began bubbling up again, one by one.
"What do I do... Won't get called to the captain's office again...? They'll chew me out for hitting the request button every few weeks when we're short-staffed..."
Her only sliver of hope was that this newbie had truly earned that stack of recommendations with real skill.
A very slim chance.
Thus, half-worried, half-hopeful, she passed the time.
Two days later.
Finally, the day the problematic newbie started arrived.
Fifteen minutes before shift.
So Ye-seo waited anxiously outside the office door, biting her nails and swallowing hard.
Right then, she spotted a man approaching from down the hall.
Neat uniform. Tall stature. A confident stride.
Was that Kang Ihyeon?
Sure enough, he approached and bowed politely. His name tag clearly read 'Kang Ihyeon.'
"Hello, Team Leader. I'm Kang Ihyeon, assigned to Central Team 5 starting today."
He stood before So Ye-seo and greeted her courteously.
She scanned him up and down.
He looked more decent than expected. No, actually handsome. She even questioned her own preconceptions.
Even for a parachute, what kind of bias had she held?
So Ye-seo smiled awkwardly and offered her hand.
"Hi, I'm So Ye-seo. Nice to work with you."
"Likewise, Team Leader."
"No need to be so tense. It's the Pioneers, but treat me like an Academy instructor. Hmm, so how's it feel starting at the company instead of the Academy?"
So Ye-seo imagined him fumbling nervously like a typical newbie.
Young, innocent, a bit clumsy.
But her expectations missed completely.
Kang Ihyeon showed no tension or intimidation.
"Eh? Way freer than the Academy, so I like it. That place was too rigid."
His nonchalant reply left So Ye-seo speechless for a moment.
Was he that bold because he was a parachute?
"Heh, hehe, I see..."
So Ye-seo led him inside.
"Here's our Team 5 office. Today we'll do handover, meet the team..."
"Yes, sir. Main duties are new rift stabilization, right? Route optimization and data collection."
What surprised her more was how naturally he rattled off their duties, like he already knew them inside out.
As if he'd worked here for years.
'Heard it from someone?'
As So Ye-seo stared at him in bewilderment, Kang Ihyeon did something even more shocking.
He pulled a small wooden doll from his pocket and tossed it to the floor.
The doll instantly transformed into a human figure.
Black bobbed hair. Sharp eyes. Mechanical movements.
It looked exactly like...
Her senior acquaintance.
"Wha... Huh?"