Choi Jian (2)

"Here, I got us some beer!"

"Ah, thank you."

I took the cold can from her and sat down on the bench.

"Anyway, you said you wanted some advice?"

"Ah, yes...!"

Choi Jian straightened her back the instant I said it. She fidgeted with the beer can as she spoke.

"The thing is... I have a reason I need to raise my rank as fast as I can. You saw right through the artifact problem, so I thought maybe you could pinpoint other issues too...! I'll compensate you as much as I'm able, so... would you please give me even a little advice...?"

By the last sentence, she was all but begging.

"...I don't know how much I'll actually be able to help."

"Th-that's okay! If you'd just take a look..."

I let out a sigh and opened her status window. At the same time, I could see that Choi Jian's status window had changed — another item had been added to the list of improvements.

...Doesn't this mean things are even worse than when I looked this afternoon?

Just how many improvement items was this thing going to spit out? I sighed inwardly and checked the newly appeared entry.

A guild?

So she hadn't signed a contract with anyone yet?

Well, she is still just an E-Rank hunter.

No matter how much SSS-Rank potential she had, who would be able to see it? Impossible, unless you possessed a bizarre ability like mine.

This isn't something I can solve right now anyway.

I didn't even know which guild would suit Choi Jian. I could hardly tell her to go somewhere out of the blue. And even if I did, whether that guild would take her was a whole other problem.

What I might actually be able to do something about right now...

The psychological issue, wasn't it.

This is it.

I asked her immediately.

"Have you been feeling like your confidence has taken a hit lately?"

"Con... fidence?"

"Yes."

Choi Jian's expression turned complicated, the look of someone who had come hoping for concrete advice and instead gotten something that sounded like I was grasping at clouds.

"I-I don't really feel like my confidence has dropped or anything..."

"Really?"

"Yes. But why are you asking that all of a sudden...?"

I didn't buy it. The status window had it written in black and white that her confidence was down — not that I could just tell her that outright.

Ah, screw it. Whatever.

I'd already agreed to help. Saying this much shouldn't be a problem.

"From where I'm sitting, it looks like your confidence has dropped quite a bit."

"I-is that so?"

"Yes. I don't know the reason, but I can see that your confidence is quite low, Jian. And on top of that..."

I glanced at her status window again.

"...it seems like the people around you are demanding far too much of you."

"H-how did you...?!"

"I just saw it."

"Hah, I knew it...!"

Choi Jian's mouth fell open in astonishment.

"...The truth is..."

She fidgeted with the beer in her hands, took a sip, then spoke carefully.

"My mother... she has very high expectations of me. Our family ran up a lot of debt a while back, and she says if I just work hard enough, I can pay it all off. A guild approached me with a scouting offer this time too, and she's telling me to join them."

"Is it a well-known guild?"

"I-I'm not sure. I've never heard of them before, but they said the signing bonus is higher than the industry average..."

"...By any chance, is that guild called Divine Flame?"

"Hah, how did you know?!"

"Don't sign with them. They're not a good fit for you."

"R-really?"

"Yes."

It wasn't just a poor fit — expected compatibility of one percent. At that rate, they must have been mortal enemies in a past life.

"B-but they pay more than the standard rate..."

"If you stay there, you'll never escape E-Rank."

"Hah...!"

Choi Jian startled, then nodded rapidly. She glanced at my face and asked, hesitant.

"Um... then which guild should I join? Is there anywhere you'd recommend...?"

"You'll find the right one when the time comes. For now, I can tell you it's not Divine Flame Guild."

"Ah, I understand."

"And as for the other issues..."

I looked at her status window once more.

The mana circuit problem and the elixir aren't things I can solve for her right now.

Which meant it came back to the confidence issue.

"Jian, shall we be honest with each other?"

"Ho... nest?"

"Yes. About your confidence problem."

I hadn't known Choi Jian long, but it wasn't hard to tell she was quite timid. And while I didn't know exactly how her ability worked, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠knew her lack of confidence was holding her back.

So if I just boosted her confidence somehow, that should do it, right?

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠took a swig of beer and prepared to lay it on thick.

"Honestly, I don't understand why you're so withdrawn."

"W-what?"

"Because your ability isn't the kind that should be stuck at E-Rank."

At the sudden flattery, Choi Jian's face turned scarlet.

"I-I don't think I'm that impressive..."

"No. Your ability can go all the way ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to SSS-Rank. I'm not joking. I'm being completely serious."

"...What?"

Choi Jian's eyes went wide. Then she laughed awkwardly and waved her hands.

"Come on, even so, that's a bit... hehe, you're taking the joke too far."

"Is that so. And what would you do if I told you I wasn't joking?"

I cut her off. Maybe it was the alcohol, but I kept wanting to say things I didn't need to.

"Seriously. If you had the potential to become SSS-Rank, and I could tell you how... what would you do?"

"Then..."

Choi Jian hesitated, then stood up from the bench. She bowed at the waist toward me.

"...I'll do anything. I can do it. If you'll just tell me how."

"Y-you don't have to bow..."

That said, she believed me way too easily.

"You were right about the artifact, and you were right about the guild's name... it would be weirder if I didn't believe you."

"...Well, that's fair."

I cleared my throat a few times.

"...There's a lot you'll need to do to awaken your talent."

"I'll do anything!"

Choi Jian nodded vigorously — then her face suddenly flushed red. She dipped her head slightly.

"J-just please don't make me do anything too extreme."

"...What exactly are you imagining."

She was getting the wrong idea.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but I have no intention of making you do anything strange."

"Heh, hehe... I was just joking."

Just as Choi Jian laughed awkwardly and tried to explain herself, a vibration buzzed from somewhere.

"Ah, just a moment!"

It seemed to be Choi Jian's phone. She pulled it out, checked the screen, and her face darkened. Then she put the phone to her ear.

She hung up. Then she looked at me with an expression like she was about to cry.

"...Yeonwoo."

"Yes."

"What... what do I do?"

Her voice grew wet.

"My mother said she signed the contract for me. They want to meet me tomorrow... what am I supposed to do?"

"With that Divine Flame place?"

She nodded instead of answering.

...Is that even possible?

She was a legal adult, and an Awakened at that. How could someone else sign a contract in her place?

"Wh-what should I do...?"

Choi Jian clung to me, pleading.

"You told me not to go there. If I go, something bad will happen, right...?"

"It will."

That much I could guarantee. The expected compatibility had been one percent. At the same time, a faint greed kept stirring in me.

She's SSS-Rank potential, though. Wouldn't it be a waste?

Just giving her a little help and leaving it at that felt like a waste. I wanted to raise a future SSS-Rank with my own hands.

What if Choi Jian joined my guild?

So it depended on what I did.

That was actually better. Depending on how I handled it, I could even pull a hundred percent compatibility rate.

So I just said it.

"What?"

Choi Jian stared at me, bewildered.

"I can't promise you a salary or a signing bonus. But I can promise you this one thing."

I looked her straight in the eye.

"I won't oppress you or push you the way the people around you have until now."

"Yeonwoo, you... have a guild?"

"Ah, yes. Apex Guild. It's a guild that's pretty much falling apart."

"...What?"

Choi Jian's eyes went round.

"W-where did you say?"

"Apex Guild."

For a moment, silence hung between us.

"...WHAAAAAT?!?!?!"

Choi Jian's scream echoed through the park.