Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Provisional C-Rank Guide
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Ever since getting swept up in the precursor gate incident, teaming up with Center Espers, and revealing myself as a Guide, registering with the Center was an inevitable outcome.
The Guide rating measurement room I was stepping into for the first time looked like some kind of laboratory.
A thick glass partition ran across the center of the spacious room, and the other side was lined with all sorts of miscellaneous machines.
As I blankly took in the unfamiliar sight, someone in a white lab coat who had been poring over documents called out to me.
"You're Kim Yu-jeong, the Guide involved in that precursor gate incident, right?"
"Ah, yes."
"Hmm—looks like you underwent several extra tests beyond the mandatory ones? Must be thrilled that your Guide abilities have finally awakened. Congratulations."
I blinked twice.
...Who got extra tests? Me? Kim Yu-jeong?
Awakener tests in this country are divided into those done in childhood and those after reaching adulthood.
Even after fulfilling the required mandatory tests, some people opt for additional ones out of faint hope, but unlike the state-supported mandatory exams, these require paying out of pocket.
If the results come back negative for Awakener status, you foot the entire bill yourself—and the cost is far from trivial.
Yet that pricey extra test had been done by me—or rather, by Amelia, who I used to be...
'Did she want to become an Awakener that badly? Why?'
It puzzled me. From the reactions of those around her that I'd gauged so far, Amelia didn't strike me as the type to stake her life on honor or fame.
'Or maybe she wanted to become one for the subsidies?'
Even that didn't add up.
Unless you manifested as C-rank or higher—which qualified you for lifelong pensions—the subsidies were only temporary and not all that substantial anyway.
"We're ready. Kim Yu-jeong Guide, please stand right here."
"Yes."
...Yeah, no point dwelling on it.
Whatever the reason, there was no way to confirm it now, and even if there was, it wouldn't change a thing.
I placed my hand on the machine shaped like a human palm and glared at it.
'D, E, F—anything's fine! Just don't come out C-rank or higher!'
With my Guide status already confirmed, training and mandatory service were unavoidable, but anything C-rank or above meant a full three years of service.
A few months versus a few years was a world of difference.
Unwilling to let go of that last shred of hope, I dialed my wavelength down to its minimum, just like always.
As a Guide, I couldn't eliminate guiding entirely, but minimizing my wavelength to hide my true nature was my specialty.
And yet...
"What the— the measuring device!"
The machine—which looked like it cost hundreds of billions at a glance—broke down.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 🆔 Center Training Hall ID Kim Yu-jeong Guide
Affiliation: Unaffiliated (Center Trainee) Rank: C-Rank (Provisional) "Yu-jeong finally did it!"
"I was shocked when I heard. Who would've thought you'd get caught up in both the Il-hu incident and the precursor gate."
"Right! Il-hu said he survived thanks to you and wanted to send a gift or something..."
"Il-hu's a bit rigid, but he's got a good heart. I think he'd get along great with you, Yu-jeong."
"Yeah, Il-hu's a good guy."
"......"
I stared blankly at the ID card, tuning out Han Se-young and Yang Hyun-woo's chatter as they showed up early at the shop.
'C-rank... C-rank... Damn it, C-rank.'
On the day of the rating, the machine's breakdown had caused quite a commotion.
They assigned me a provisional rank until a new device could be installed, basing it on the lowest wavelength recorded just before it failed—which was still C-level.
I could still vividly recall the staff staring at me like I'd crawled out of a spaceship.
"Oh! Come to think of it, doesn't this mean we have to close the shop for a while?"
"...What?"
Han Se-young's words made me snap my eyes wide. She waved her hands frantically, looking flustered.
"Well, yeah. You'll have at least three years of mandatory service—how could you run the shop? It's a shame... I really thought it was taking off this time. We've got a ton of pie inquiries backed up from your break already."
"What if we just do takeout sales?"
"Oh, that could work—"
I blinked as the two of them casually wrapped up the decision to shut down the café.
In a way, it made sense. Mandatory service in the gate era wasn't some kid's game you could dodge on a whim.
It's like trying to run a business in the middle of boot camp—that's desertion.
But like public service in lieu of military duty, there were alternatives here too.
"Isn't there an option where you don't have to serve full weeks?"
"Ah... well..."
"I'm not closing the shop."
In all my life—past and present— I'd never truly done what I wanted.
As a kid, I slaved over studies because that's what everyone said mattered most. After becoming Amelia, I just clawed my way through survival in another world, in another body.
Finally back in reality, I'd scraped together enough to chase what I loved—and now they wanted me to give it up?
"Like hell."
Han Se-young and Yang Hyun-woo exchanged uneasy glances at my hardened scowl. Han Se-young spoke first.
"Did the Center staff say that?"
"Yeah."
"There is a way to fulfill service flexibly like you want... but it's not common. And it probably wouldn't be what you're hoping for."
Her reluctant explanation boiled down to this:
First: Standard Center support team Guide.
Basically desk work at Center offices, five days a week. Pay's separate but meager, like most mandatory service gigs, and weekends might get called in during emergencies.
Second: Center field team Guide.
Waiting near gates to perform guiding, sometimes deployed directly into the field.
You might even venture inside gates for expeditions—not just outside work. Higher pay than support due to the risk, and you only report in for your team's expedition schedule. But danger scales accordingly.
Third: Guild-affiliated (contract) Guide.
Guilds pay the Center a fortune to "borrow" you for your service term. Conditions and pay vary wildly by guild.
They treat it as an investment, so joining the guild post-service is expected.
"......"
I lifted my teacup.
Han Se-young shot Yang Hyun-woo a worried look as I calmly sipped despite hearing it all.
"Um... Yu-jeong, you okay?"
"You've got three months of training first anyway, so think it over."
"Should we scout some guilds you might know? Just in case—"
"Hyun-woo, even if they cover the cost, she'd have to join the guild after the contract. Yu-jeong's not really into that."
Sure, some Guides live as civilians despite being Awakeners.
But that's for low ranks. At C-rank like me, you end up tied to a guild or the Center. Better pay, better protection.
I just wanted to serve my term and bounce—back to freedom. If I could juggle a side gig smoothly, fine, but otherwise, the shop was toast.
That left me one option.
"Goddamn enlistment..."
I muttered quietly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The newly arrived Kim Yu-jeong Guide was practically a celebrity at the Center.
Unprecedented machine destruction. Provisional C-rank before measurement even finished.
Some whispered she might be the first A-rank Guide in ages, though others dismissed it as hype.
Even high minimum wavelengths don't guarantee a high final rank.
But the real reason she stood out among trainees was her guiding prowess during practicals—on par with seasoned pros.
While others handled one Esper, she knocked out a full week's quota of five in a single day.
How many minutes? Twenty? Does that even make sense?
The guiding instructor stared blankly at Kim Yu-jeong packing her things.
'...A genius?'
No matter the rank, guiding five Espers in under ten minutes—via basic stage-1 hand contact, no less.
Her judgment and decisiveness were top-notch too. No one told her, but she prioritized the most urgent cases first, clearing the queue flawlessly.
No mistakes, sky-high satisfaction rates. Anyone would mistake her for a field veteran, not a fresh trainee.
'Good lord! They said retest due to machine failure? Maybe... just maybe an A-rank is coming!'