Hiring My First Agent

The moment of hope.

No demand for money or anything—it just started the hiring process right away.

Probably a reward concept for reaching level 30.

What to pick.

I don't usually like agonizing over choices, but this time it was seriously tough.

What would come out? What's this one? What's that?

'Shield Technician, Cleric, Elf, Pope.'

Of course, I was hoping for an agent that seemed directly tied to my survival!

But I decided to keep my mind detached.

'It's just so unpredictable.'

- Gulp.

My throat went dry on its own.

Not just handed to me—I was picking it.

Whatever I chose, it'd be my pick, so no room for complaints about bad luck, but my indecision was torturing me anyway.

After staring back and forth with my right hand for a while,

I realized that since it was face-down anyway, more agonizing would just drive me nuts.

So I decided to go with my gut.

'This one.'

Third from the right! I touched it with my finger.

"Let's go!!! Time to crush it!!!"

The card my finger touched lit up bright purple,

That light settled in the center of my shelter—between the fridge and the bed—and began forming a 'human shape.'

Plus a message that the agent would never harm me or disobey orders.

- Shooooook.

"Please."

For the first time in my life, I prayed to the heavens.

Ultimate tension. What agent would it be?

Then,

'Huh... small build, at least.'

As the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shape solidified into a person, I guessed it was someone tiny, like kindergarten or elementary school age.

- Shooooook.

It took about 1-2 minutes like that.

I stood there awkwardly, waiting to see who it was.

Cold sweat broke out...

A bit more waiting, and the agent's form sharpened.

'A kid.'

Right in front of me stood what looked like an elementary school low-grader.

"Uh."

Honestly, realistically speaking,

I'd hoped for a cleric or something, but deep down I expected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a military-type, agent-vibe character... something battle-ready.

Unexpected.

Messy, unkempt pink bob haircut,

A robe that was a bit grubby but worn as neatly as possible.

'Mage? A mage agent to save me, my savior!'

That's what it looked like.

I'd expected someone military-like, so it was surprising, but if they kept me alive, that was fine.

Meanwhile, the agent opened her closed eyes, wobbled like she was dizzy for a moment, then spotted me.

"Eek!!!"

And suddenly freaked out big time.

"Aaaaaah!"

I screamed too. Mine was just a tad louder.

"!!!"

The agent who spotted me immediately prostrated herself and bowed deeply.

- Thud!

"Uh. You don't have to?"

I tried to stop her since it felt awkward,

"Greetings, Captain! Thank you for hiring me! I'll work so hard! I'll stake my life on it! I'll do my absolute best! Thank you so truly!"

"......"

Overwhelming.

She even called me Captain.

"My name is Jenny! Please call me Agent Jenny casually!"

A status window for Agent Jenny popped up before my eyes.

Agent Jenny approached me with confident strides, vowing full loyalty,

"Don't come too close..."

I had no clue how to handle kids, and since she was an agent, I was lost.

"You must use casual speech! I'm your loyal agent, Captain!"

"Don't come closer."

"Yes!"

For now, keep distance.

- Bwaaang...

- Beep-bo-beep-bo...

Outside, ambulance sirens and horns blared.

Sounds of bustling people and the world turning.

A landscape I'd have no ties to for a while.

"......"

Where I was: a space separated from the world by the barrier.

My own cozy shelter.

With some modest growth alongside me, it was no longer 6 pyeong but decently spacious, and accordingly,

"......Yeah. So."

I wasn't living alone anymore.

Companion—no, better call her agent. Anyway, I had a helper for my survival.

"Name's Jenny."

"Yes!"

At a glance, not from this world. Human appearance, but name and outfit screamed otherwise.

I sat Jenny on a folding chair and questioned her properly from a safe distance.

She sure looked like a kid, so casual speech came easy.

"Yeah. So, what're your abilities?"

I'd already seen the details, but confirming again.

"I can use space magic!"

She answered brightly and eagerly.

"What?"

"Space magic! I'm specially bad at other magic, but I can use space magic, which people say is super hard..."

What? No clue what that means.

Kim Yu-hee.

Acquired a 'space magic' agent.

<Training Ground>

"......"

For now, I brought Jenny here first.

"This is the training ground. Your name's..."

"Jenny! Jenny Gorwell! Captain!"

"Yeah. Jenny."

Her 'in training' status protected me, giving a sense of security.

So there I stood in the training ground, facing Jenny awkwardly.

Reality hit suddenly.

She's a kid.

I must've looked pathetic.

I let disappointment show in front of a kid.

Jenny burned with zeal in her eyes, ready to give her life if I just gave the order.

"Phew."

Always expecting max happiness. That's me.

'But space magic, huh.'

Honestly, no feel for it.

Still, seeing this little kid so fired up to help as an agent made disappointment hard to hold onto.

Yeah. I picked her. If it's space teleport, maybe stuff I haven't thought of is possible.

Changed my mindset.

Expecting instant [damage immunity] or whatever was silly anyway.

Beyond that, having one person this dedicated to support could solve a lot of issues from my shut-in life.

"Alright then."

- Clap!

Clap to refresh the mood.

Decided to dig into details. But first,

"My name's Kim Yu-hee. Never say my name outside."

Introduce myself. She'd be living with me from now on.

Of course, I'd drill in precautions to block all variables.

"Yes! Captain Kim Yu-hee!"

"Yeah. But does it have to be Captain?"

"Captain it is!"

"......"

Super burdensome, but no other title came to mind, so I let it slide.

Jenny knelt straight-backed, hands clasped, eyes sparkling as she listened intently.

"I'll teach you the rules. One: don't come close."

"Yes!"

Mutual damage nullification or whatever, but I'd stay cautious till it sank in physically.

"Two: don't make noise."

"Yes!"

This one added because she's a kid.

I explained other things that could threaten quick-HP-death Kim Yu-hee's life.

Agent Jenny knelt neatly, hands together in focus pose, eyes gleaming.

"That's enough for now. Can you show me your abilities properly? Anything goes safely here."

"Understood! I'll show you my best! I'll prove my worth to you right now, Captain!"

- Swish.

At my command, Jenny closed her eyes

"Huuuu."

Exhaling as if pouring her soul into concentration. Then

- Woooong...

"!"

Right in front of Jenny, a subtle vortex barely visible to my eye—like space distorting in heat haze.

Another one formed over there, about left-diagonal.

'Two distortions.'

As I focused on the magic,

Jenny removed a small wooden ring from her finger and gripped it in her left hand.

"Hya!"

She hurled the wooden ring hard, flying toward the distortion in front of her.

"?"

The ring, which should've flopped to the floor weakly, reached the distortion and

- Pop!

"???"

Vanished in a blink,

- Shoosh!

- Tap. Tap. Roll roll...

"Oh?"

The ring burst out from the left-diagonal distortion and finally hit the ground, rolling.

"That's my magic! I can connect or link two different spaces!"

Hmm.

This is basically a wormhole, right?

Go through here, pop out there.

Which means,

"Wait, can you teleport my body too?"

"Yes! Of course! Right now if you want!"

"No. Absolutely not."

"Yes! Sorry!"

Got the gist.

Jenny had space-linking ability.

I pondered briefly and got a simple idea.

"Jenny. Can you only do that up close?"

"Even super far! But not too far... And I need to know the exact location or see it! Sorry! I'll work harder!"

How far exactly?

No way to know without testing.

I set the training ground to [Current Location] to gauge distances and reviewed Jenny's ability.

"......"

One idea popped up immediately upon seeing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her power.

Maximize its application.

Time to check if it's feasible.

"Hah. Hah."

After 4-5 space magic uses, Jenny looked exhausted.

"Oh, multiple times tires you out, huh! Take a break!"

I thought my bullets and durability didn't wear here, so same for her, but apparently only for me.

The sight of the little kid sweating made me feel bad.

"No! I can do it! I'll make it happen no matter what!"

......Not unlimited.

Stamina drain visible. Maybe condition-dependent.

Also, slight delay between uses. Probably needs focus.

Anyway, after a few experiments,

This range is nationwide almost.

Space-linking distance was huge. Assuming exact location or image provided.

"Hah. Hah."

I let breathless Jenny rest and planned one last check.

That building with the gargoyle.

Go there. Me.

Not fully exiting, of course—training ground, so poke just the sniper rifle out barely.

Great way to extend shooting range.

Jenny said my whole body could transfer, but

Leaving shelter completely had risks.

Plan: poke out just a bit.

As I mulled it over,

"I can do one more! Captain!"

Jenny's color returned; she clenched fists, flexing her tiny biceps.

I explained the plan.

Quick on uptake or focused, she got it instantly.

"Let's go! Do it!"

"Yes!"

- Woooong...

Training start.

Jenny concentrates, forms two wormholes.

One in my one-room.

One on that gargoyle-fight rooftop.

I grip sniper rifle, slip just the tip into the wormhole.

"...It works."

Whoa. This works.

Upper body slightly protruding into empty air—right on the gargoyle rooftop.

Look back: my one-room right there.

"Phew."

Reason I kept testing: simple operation name came to mind. Namely

【Don't Let the Shelter Get Spotted】.

One skill to incorporate here.

"Jenny. How's it look?"

"Eek! Where'd you go? You're gone! What do we do?!"

......Strategy solidifying.