Guide Me If You Dare-Chapter 194: PROTÉGÉ

FIFTEEN YEARS.

That was how long Ki Gayoon, Ryu Sungbin, Lee Sarang, Jin Sooin, and the real Matthew reigned as the only natural S-Class Espers in the country.

The natural S-Class Espers were recorded officially, at least.

Someone was about to be added to the legendary list.

If Kwon Hojun survives, that is.

Tsk.

Gayoon stomped his feet on the floor, creating long cracks all over it.

Then he snapped his fingers, causing Kwon Hojun to be sent flying by the invisible force that he hit the kid with.

Kwon Hojun, who obviously didn’t know how to use his power yet, wasn’t able to protect himself. The kid hit the window, broke the glasses, and his body was thrown out of the room as Gayoon intended.

Yes, he threw Kwon Hojun out on purpose because it would be dangerous to fight inside the building.

I have to get the danger as far away as possible from Noh Yuno.

The hell with everything else.

"Lee Sarang, protect this place," Gayoon said in a hurry while running towards the broken window. "I’ll deal with the kid."

***

AN ESPER was at their strongest during their awakening.

Lee Sarang should know because she was unstoppable when she first awakened.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that she was stronger than Ki Gayoon and Ryu Sungbin back then.

And I was also the most violent.

There was one thing that most people didn’t know.

The higher an Esper’s level is when they awakened, the more violent they become.

Kwak Hakjae, the Esper Association President, even once said that high-ranking Espers— especially the natural S-Class— were all "born" crazy.

And Lee Sarang agreed with that sentiment.

To think that a new natural S-Class Esper would awaken in our country after fifteen years...

She clutched her chest tight.

"Are you okay, Sarang-ssi?" Lee Woonhak asked worriedly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I’m fine, Woonhak Oppa," Lee Sarang assured the Healer. "That kid is the first natural S-Class Esper who awakened after fifteen years. I feel an innate connection to him, so I’m wondering if the others feel it, too."

It may sound cheesy, but the Top 5 natural S-Class Espers had a unique bond.

They could basically tell if each one of them was still alive.

But that strong bond disappeared when Bambi-ssi came into our lives and seduced Sungbin Oppa.

"You all have a strong bond ever since you all awakened as natural S-Class Espers in the past, so I won’t be surprised if that’s the case," Lee Woonhak said, nodding. "But if Esper Ryu Sungbin-ssi, Esper Jin Sooin-ssi, and the fake Esper Matthew-ssi could feel it as well, then maybe they already knew what was happening in here."

Oh, right.

Lee Sarang sighed. "Yes, they probably already know by now."

"S-Sarang Noona..."

Lee Sarang immediately turned to Kim Jaeha when she sensed the fear in his voice. "What is it, Jaeha-ya?"

"I-It’s empty," Kim Jaeha said, pointing a shaking finger at the Ice Cube still suspended in the air. "The Core is gone..."

What?

Lee Sarang immediately lifted her head— and there she saw it.

The treasure chest made of ice was open...

... but it was empty.

"Where is it?" Lee Sarang whispered to herself. And then she gasped, immediately turning her head to look outside where Ki Gayoon was busily suppressing Kwon Hojun. "Could it be...?"

***

"SUNGBIN-AH!"

Ryu Sungbin didn’t show it, but he was so surprised that he almost dropped the cup in his hand.

But he wasn’t surprised by Jin Sooin’s loud voice.

He was actually shocked by the strange feeling that washed over him for a moment.

"A new natural S-Class Esper has awakened," Jin Sooin reported in disbelief. "This is the first time that something like this happened, Sungbin-ah."

He was grateful that only the two of them were at his office at the moment.

And this office was one of the safe spaces where they could talk freely.

Ah, I guess this is why Jin Sooin came here.

It was a good thing then that Ryu Sungbin went straight to his office to work after he got kicked out of Moon Noa’s room.

I’ll return there later, of course.

"This is big news, Sungbin-ah."

"Should you really be surprised, Jin Sooin?"

"What do you mean—"

"You stole Matthew’s Core and put it in Kim Jaeha’s heart," Ryu Sungbin said, leaning against the chair. "You know that Noh Yuno has many hidden skills. That kid could mess with both Espers and Guides. So, it won’t be an exaggeration to say that Noh Yuno may have taken that Core out of Kim Jaeha’s heart and implanted it in someone else."

"Do you think something like that is possible?"

"Isn’t that why you sent Kim Jaeha to Noh Yuno? To find out if they could give Matthew’s Core to someone else?"

"How about you, Sungbin-ah?" Jin Sooin asked, throwing him a question instead of answering. "You made that stupid plan to send the Ice Queen to Ki Gayoon knowing that your plan was bound to fail. But you still did that because you wanted Lee Sarang to be under Ki Gayoon’s protection while she was vulnerable— and you did that even though you knew that thing would punish you for it."

"Are you done?"

"You and Ki Gayoon have always had a soft spot for Lee Sarang."

"We’re different," Ryu Sungbin said, shrugging. "Ki Gayoon sees Lee Sarang as a little sister, but I see Lee Sarang as a national asset. There will be a big fight soon among countries with powerful Espers. I can’t let that thing ruin one of our strongest players. We already lost the real Matthew— we can’t afford to lose another one."

"Sure, whatever you say," Jin Sooin said, and then she changed the topic. "Why are you here? I thought you were busy seducing Moon Noa."

"Someone got in the way."

"Who?"

"Haru-ssi," Ryu Sungbin said, sighing. "That bastard Ki Gayoon called Haru here."

"Why?"

"I don’t know."

"Ki Gayoon is always one step ahead of us."

"It’s not him," Ryu Sungbin said while shaking his head. "It’s probably Noh Yuno."

"Ah, Bambi will take care of Noh Yuno," Jin Sooin said, pausing for a moment. "I think Bambi has already found SECO— that group that was responsible for Choi Kangmin’s death."

***

THIS IS Matthew’s power, isn’t it?

Ki Gayoon was confused and annoyed.

It’s really Matthew’s Mana.

Kwon Hojun was now in possession of one of the greatest abilities in the country, and yet all the kid could do was throw "wind daggers" at Gayoon.

This kid couldn’t even make a powerful windstorm.

If it was the real Matthew I was fighting, that brat would have surely tried to literally suck the air out of my body.

Well, it was a skill that Matthew couldn’t master.

And it’s a skill that he can’t use against powerful Espers.

So, even though wind manipulation was a strong ability, Matthew wasn’t able to beat Lee Sarang in the ranks because Lee Sarang could control her ice and water abilities better.

Having said that, wind manipulation was still a god-like ability.

And it seemed like Kwon Hojun wasn’t ready to handle such power yet.

"This is going to hurt," Gayoon said after successfully avoiding all the wind daggers that Kwon Hojun threw at him. "But don’t snitch on Noh Yuno."

Gayoon then stomped his foot on the ground.

The ground below Kwon Hojun’s feet collapsed, swallowing the kid as if he had stepped on a deadly quicksand.

It was amusing to see because it reminded him of something funny.

That’s how I buried Noh Yuno in the ground the first time we met.

"ARGH!"

Haaah.

The poor kid didn’t know how to use his power to get out of his position.

I guess I’m lucky that this won’t escalate to a big fight.

Gayoon then put his foot on top of Kwon Hojun’s head. "If you don’t stop moving, I’ll crush your head."

It wasn’t an empty threat.

And it seemed like Kwon Hojun noticed that even though he was in his berserk mode.

The kid suddenly stopped moving.

Did he understand me or...

The soft gust of wind seemed to be saying something to Gayoon.

"Are you still here, Matthew?"

Instead of a verbal response, a soft gust of wind hit him again.

Ah, so Matthew is still here.

"Is your Core in Kwon Hojun’s heart now?"

Another soft gust of wind blew in his direction.

To be honest, Gayoon didn’t understand how something like that was possible.

Did Kwon Hojun really awaken because of Matthew’s Core?

It sounded outrageous, but it was plausible.

Moreover, it seemed like the kid even inherited Matthew’s old abilities.

If this leaks out to the public, many people would probably dig out dead Espers’ bodies to steal their Cores.

"What do you want me to do with your successor, Matthew?"

The gust of wind that blew in his direction was a bit stronger this time.

Gayoon let out a long sigh. "Fine— I’ll take your protégé under my wing."

***

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