TTOA Chapter 78
by VolareBelow the mountain’s foot. A newly dug pit was visible. Three search team members surrounded the pit, reaching out their hands.
A shimmering, faint energy gathered in their hands. They focused intensely, drawing out their Tracking-type abilities to the point where sweat beaded and trickled down despite the bitter cold, but they couldn’t obtain the desired result. This residue wasn’t the trace left by their target.
“Haa, this is also a creature’s trace.”
“Of all things, a Gate opened in the nearby area, so no matter what we examine, we only sense the energy of monsters.”
The search team members eagerly reported their unfavorable findings. Major Ma Tae-o, their commander and the one ordered to find the S-rank Late-Blooming Guide, issued instructions calmly.
“I see. We’ll move to the next point.”
“Yes, Major.”
“Continue to operate in teams of three as before, but use routes that don’t overlap with the team members already searching. The A-rank Esper will survey the entire terrain, the B-rank Esper will search primarily the foreground and ground, and the C-rank Esper will search primarily the background, sky, and treetops. I’ll report the interim status to Brigadier General Oh and follow afterward.”
“Yes.”
Following the instructions, the search team members moved. Major Ma Tae-o remained in place, pushing his Goggles onto the bridge of his nose and turning them on.
Originally, as the deputy commander of the 7th Special Task Force, the person he would report to would be his direct superior, Lieutenant Colonel Shin, the commander of the 7th Special Task Force. However, the unit Major Ma Tae-o was currently leading was not a Special Task Force but a search unit.
A search unit urgently formed to track down the whereabouts of the S-rank Late-Blooming Guide.
Therefore, the direct superior to whom Major Ma Tae-o would report was not Lieutenant Colonel Shin but Brigadier General Oh Seong-hwa, the Operations Commander of the Army.
– Uh, yeah, go ahead.
After attempting communication for quite some time, he connected with Brigadier General Oh.
“This is Major Ma Tae-o, commander of the Emergency Search Unit.”
– Look here, young man, your voice lacks vigor. So, is there any progress?
“It’s difficult. So far, no particular anomalies have been discovered.”
– Why not?
“It’s due to the Gate that occurred near the incident area. Originally, we would have been able to quickly capture the Core’s wavelength, but… the situation is unfavorable as it’s covered with traces of numerous creatures.”
Brigadier General Oh rebuked Major Ma as if to show off.
– Sigh, I’m speechless. Who doesn’t know that? I also received a report that a Gate occurred. I also know that creatures are rampaging and turning the vicinity into a wasteland. But, I didn’t assign you this task just to hear such disappointing words.
“……”
– Major Ma, is this how you’re going to do things? Is this the best you can do? No wonder the prestige of the Army is declining day by day.
“……I will rectify it, Brigadier General.”
Major Ma responded to the pouring rebukes with a cold expression. He wasn’t a man who would be shaken by a few words like these. In fact, he was also feeling responsible because it was true that he had not achieved any results.
“First, we should eliminate all the creatures that poured out of the Gate and then resume the search. Furthermore, the team members are getting exhausted. They need rest.”
– There’s already a Special Task Force assigned to the creature extermination over there. Is that not enough?
“Yes, please allocate additional personnel for rapid post-processing.”
– Alright. I’ll consider that.
Icicles were formed under the bare branches of the trees. Dangerously swaying in the wind, the middle broke and fell right above Major Ma’s crown. Major Ma used his ability nonchalantly. He blocked the sharp icicles with the shield he created and said additional details.
“And there’s one more thing I’d like to confirm. Whether this land is state-owned or private. If it’s private, we might be able to obtain meaningful information for the search through the owner.”
– Tsk, talking nonsense. Are you thinking of just doing door-to-door inquiries with a bunch of Tracking-type Espers?
“……”
– That’s not something you need to worry about. You just need to properly do what you’re ordered to do. Utilize your Tracking ability! Run around on the ground and find the whereabouts of the Late-Blooming Esper for sure. Understand?
“……Yes, Brigadier General.”
– The higher-ups also have their thoughts. We’ll do the thinking. Major Ma, don’t do anything pointless and focus on the search.
“Yes. I will follow your instructions.”
– Alright, then.
Click. The communication was cut off.
Major Ma reached out to lift the Goggles above his head. As he grabbed the angular frame, a simple message appeared on the Goggle screen.
[I will add the 1st Special Task Force to the creature extermination. It will be cleaned up soon.]
The 1st Special Task Force.
The elite combat unit led by the veteran Lieutenant Colonel Jang Tae-san. They gathered only the best of the best among the Espers, and even the famous first S-rank Esper, Captain Seo Eui-woo, is affiliated with them.
Originally, they were far from such trivial tasks as dealing with these remnants of creatures. They are the best unit that takes on only the most dangerous missions, such as entering the deepest part of the Gate to destroy the Gate Core or expanding the frontier lines of the Frontier Districts adjacent to the creature habitats.
For such people to participate in this mission.
It could be seen that the higher-ups were paying a great deal of attention to the search for the whereabouts of the S-rank Late-Blooming Guide.
‘Now that it’s come to this, I must find him.’
Major Ma took off his Goggles. His black eyes quietly scanned the dark surroundings, resting on the area above the mountain’s ravine, the bluntly cut-off zone. He looked up at the heavily ravaged mountain range, where the scars of the explosion remained intact, and recalled the man who had passed by.
Kwon Jae-jin.
S-rank Late-Blooming Guide, Kwon Jae-jin.
The clenched fist trembled slightly. He couldn’t forget the moment he had grabbed that man’s neck. The act of touching his skin, and further, forcing his fingers into the mucous membranes of his mouth, vividly came to mind.
Could that act really be called Guiding?
After contacting Kwon Jae-jin, Major Ma Tae-o’s ability was greatly improved.
The strength, radius, and duration of the shield he created were noticeably improved. This was an unheard-of, miraculous event.
Guiding to improve an Esper’s ability?
That couldn’t be.
Guiding exists to resolve the side effects of using abilities, namely Imbalance, and cannot interfere with the power of the ability itself. The utilization of abilities is entirely up to the Esper’s capabilities, and only the Esper can handle and develop their own abilities.
But that S-rank Late-Blooming Guide had elevated Major Ma Tae-o’s ability to another dimension with just a few minutes of contact.
‘To be exact, it seems that he helped me unleash my original power that even I hadn’t realized…’
Is such an unbelievable thing even possible?
Is it a delusion?
It would be good if there was a way to prove it for sure, but that would be impossible until Kwon Jae-jin’s whereabouts were found.
In the first place, Major Ma Tae-o was the only one who had close contact with that man. Only Major Ma had touched Kwon Jae-jin and received Guiding. This meant that he alone was the only one who had actually experienced what S-rank Guiding was like and how great its effects were.
‘With just that short contact, the effect is so great, I can’t even begin to imagine what the results would be if I received formal Guiding…’
Major Ma Tae-o’s brow furrowed deeply. His expression, which had been unwavering even when communicating with Brigadier General Oh, was now crumpled, revealing his agitated inner feelings.
One. If capture is impossible, kill him immediately.>
If a definite capture is not possible, a definite elimination is the next best thing. Do you understand?>
Brigadier General Oh’s voice echoed unpleasantly in his hot head. Behind the persistent voice, base resentments surged up. The Esper’s instinct was shouting.
Catch Kwon Jae-jin and Guide.
Don’t hand him over to Brigadier General Oh, don’t kill him, Guide. He needs to Guide.
‘Haa…’
Major Ma let out a coldly stifled sigh.
Perhaps Kwon Jae-jin was already caught in the previous explosion and died. If he had burned without even leaving a corpse, the search would be meaningless.
‘What was that explosion in the first place? A light like the sun erupted, and in between that, something… something oppressive…’
His already distorted expression became even more disheveled. He repeatedly replayed the events of that day in his memory, but he couldn’t figure anything out. He only received the feeling that a large and great light, that something huge and transcendent, was taking Kwon Jae-jin away.
‘I should have used my ability. If I had deployed the shield in time… I wouldn’t have missed the S-rank Guide.’
If Kwon Jae-jin had died in the explosion, it was Major Ma’s fault for letting Kwon Jae-jin go so futilely.
The first S-rank Guide.
Even if he’s a Late-Blooming, even so, he’s the first S-rank Guide…!
‘No. I can find him. He was quite resilient. He’s not dead yet. I have to find him.’
Regret is useless no matter how much you do it. Now, there was no other choice but to search and track with a desperate determination to find out the whereabouts of Kwon Jae-jin.
Find him with all his might, and then…
After finding him…
‘Yes…’
Capture.
Kill.
Guiding…….
Major Ma wore a bitter smile.