Zero Point

#015

Lee Eunseok slumped back onto the sofa, taking deep breaths. The mental fatigue was higher than when he had been pouring out wide-area guiding to Moon Bora for an hour.

Ding-.

A text message alert sounded. He took out his phone from his pocket to check, and there was a message from Ji Taeuk, who had taken his number earlier.

Ji Taeuk

[Eunseok. Is the guild master’s guiding over? Good job. Want to have dinner with Bora noona and me?]

After staring at the message for a moment, Lee Eunseok tapped out a reply on the screen.

[Sounds good.]

Ji Taeuk

[Okay. Then I’ll come to your lodging in 30 minutes^^]

“…Time to clock out.”

Lee Eunseok sat blankly on the sofa for a while, then muttered softly, feeling somehow like he had become a real office worker.

***

Second day of work.

When he entered the guiding room at 8:40, everything was arranged in the same state as he had seen on the first day, like hotel room cleaning.

He took out a water bottle, drank about half of it, put on his gown, sat down, and picked up his tablet. Soon it was 9 o’clock.

Just like yesterday, at the moment the time changed from 8:59 to 9:00, notifications rang out on his watch, phone, and tablet in succession.

Guiding reservation request has arrived.

[Accept / Decline]

Guiding reservation request has arrived.

[Accept / Decline]

Guiding reservation request has arrived.

[Accept / Decline]

Guiding reservation request has arrived.

[Accept / Decline]

Unlike yesterday when he started work a bit late, today he arrived on time, so there were 4 requests in the notification window.

Han Cheolyong (B-rank): Rating (5.0) | More

Shin Jeongho (A-rank): Rating (4.98) | More

Oh Seongeun (A-rank): Rating (5.0) | More

Lee Eunseok was accepting them one by one while checking the names in the notification window, but he paused at the last reservation applicant.

Choi Hanseo (S-rank): Rating (5.0) | More

Once again, the guild master was the last applicant.

Once might be a coincidence, but twice was hard to see as such. As the owner of the guild, it wouldn’t be difficult to arrange himself in the last order.

He remembered Moon Bora and Ji Taeuk looking dejected, saying their numbers were too low to qualify for guiding requests today. Unlike them who had dropped to zero, Choi Hanseo was still yellow.

If guiding is needed, I should do it.

Lee Eunseok accepted Choi Hanseo’s request as well.

“Hello!”

Han Cheolyong, the first-time applicant, greeted with a voice full of energy.

“Please, have a seat.”

As Lee Eunseok offered a seat, Han Cheolyong sat down with a demure movement that didn’t match his build.

Han Cheolyong placed both hands on his thighs, trying hard to hide his excited appearance. However, the sparkle in his eyes clearly revealed his mood.

“Nice to see you again.”

Lee Eunseok spoke lightly to help Han Cheolyong relax.

“Yes. Thanks to my diligent application, I got the first priority today.”

Han Cheolyong said proudly, like a fan who succeeded in getting concert tickets.

“Can I check your numbers?”

When Lee Eunseok asked, Han Cheolyong unhesitatingly showed his watch. Unlike his seemingly very good condition, his watch displayed a light orange color.

“Your numbers are high. Haven’t you received guiding?”

“It’s not that, I trained as much as I could all day yesterday, expecting to receive guiding from you today.”

It was a story of training hard, pouring out energy, believing he would receive guiding from Lee Eunseok.

“Then I’ll start the guiding. It will be wide-area guiding, so just sit comfortably.”

“Yes.”

Han Cheolyong nodded obediently. Thanks to yesterday’s experience, Lee Eunseok was able to perform wide-area guiding towards Han Cheolyong quite skillfully.

“Um, I heard you’re from… a special forces, intelligence agent background.”

Han Cheolyong, who had been sitting quietly for a while, opened his mouth as if feeling awkward just sitting face to face.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Being an intelligence agent, you must have had various training and experiences.”

“That’s right.”

“Did you ever do intelligence activities overseas?”

“That’s classified, I can’t tell you.”

“Ah…”

Han Cheolyong let out a small exclamation and nodded as if he understood.

“I heard you’re part of the 1st Attack Team.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Han Cheolyong nodded. Then he quickly added,

“The 1st Attack Team is basically composed of A-rank hunters, but I was recognized for my tanking ability and became the first B-rank to join the 1st Attack Team. Although I’m B-rank, I’m confident I can pull my own weight.”

“It’s impressive that you’ve surpassed your rank.”

Lee Eunseok nodded. Even in the special task force, there were occasionally agents who were exceptionally good in practical skills despite lacking somewhat in physical strength or weight class. Han Cheolyong seemed to be a similar case.

“Oh, it’s not that impressive.”

Han Cheolyong made a shy expression.

Following Moon Bora’s advice to guide leisurely, Han Cheolyong’s numbers turned blue after 40 minutes. Han Cheolyong wore an expression of joy as if he had been freed after being confined in a small cage for a long time. His eyes looking at Lee Eunseok were filled with a sense of worship.

“Being able to receive guiding from you, it was worth joining the 1st Attack Team.”

Han Cheolyong said with eyes full of reverence. Lee Eunseok hid the slight discomfort rising from his gaze and smiled lightly.

With the guiding ending quickly, there was quite a bit of free time in between. Lee Eunseok killed time by reading a book he brought from his lodging or using his laptop.

Shin Jeongho and Oh Seongeun, the second and third time slot applicants, appeared with their numbers raised to orange, as if preparing to receive S-rank guiding, just like Han Cheolyong.

Lee Eunseok guided them with wide-area guiding as well, engaging in small talk. Since they were all part of the 1st Attack Team, they would be fighting together when entering gates. It was good to be familiar with their basic information.

Shin Jeongho was a melee DPS with a nimble build and somewhat few words, while Oh Seongeun, with a slim figure and cold impression, said he was a ranged DPS. Seeing their firmly established positions, it was clear that the overall balance of the 1st Attack Team was very well maintained.

After finishing the guiding for Oh Seongeun, the third time slot hunter, Lee Eunseok used the remaining time to open his laptop and bring up a search window on the screen. After pondering for a moment, he typed in Choi Hanseo’s name and pressed the search button.

Choi Hanseo’s information appeared prominently on the laptop screen.

Choi Hanseo. 28 years old.

Second son of Chairman Choi Taebum of the White Tiger Group.

Guild Master of the White Tiger Guild.

S-rank Esper.

Besides the basic information, there were endless related articles, photos, advertisements, and community posts. There were countless short videos, seemingly taken by reporters or passersby, and advertising videos featuring Choi Hanseo.

“At this level, he’s like a walking corporation.”

Lee Eunseok muttered, looking at a luxury watch advertisement featuring Choi Hanseo. Whatever his inner nature might be, the advertisement suited Choi Hanseo perfectly, who appeared to be the very embodiment of a gentleman, at least on the surface.

Setting aside his family wealth, it was clear that he must have accumulated enormous assets from various advertising appearances alone.

Well, with that level of wealth, he wouldn’t hesitate to offer Lee Eunseok an annual salary in the tens of billions.

Clicking on various websites, people’s reactions to Choi Hanseo were explosive. There were several massive fan sites, and the comments on news about Choi Hanseo and posts in communities had staggering view counts and responses.

As he scrolled down the screen, roughly skimming the titles, Lee Eunseok paused his finger for a moment.

[White Tiger Guild Master Choi Hanseo. Successfully contracts exclusively with one of only 4 S-rank guides in the world.]

Clicking on the news title, a huge photo of Choi Hanseo getting out of a car appeared along with the article. Below the article, countless comments from people continued endlessly.

[White Tiger Guild Master Choi Hanseo. Successfully contracts exclusively with one of only 4 S-rank guides in the world]

…

Comments

Anonymous1 An S-rank hunter got an S-rank guide? Now our Mr. White Tiger will fly to the sky wearing fairy clothes

└ Not the sky, but space ㅇㅇㅇ

└ Not space, but the galaxy ㅇㅇ

⁝

Anonymous238 Now that he’s met an S-rank guide, White Tiger Choi will finally release his limits.

└ 222

└ 333. He couldn’t use his full power properly until now because there was no guide matching his rank. ㅠㅠ

└ Agree. How frustrating must it have been to have power but not be able to use it.

Anonymous239 At this point, here’s a past interview video showing Mr. White Tiger Choi’s frustration (link)

Lee Eunseok clicked on the link attached to the comment.

An interview video immediately appeared.

‘As an S-rank hunter, it must be very frustrating not to receive guiding of the same rank.’

As the anchor asked, the camera zoomed in to show the smart watch slightly revealed under Choi Hanseo’s sleeve. The numbers weren’t clearly visible, but it was showing an orange color.

‘It’s known that you don’t move personally unless there’s an urgent request from the Hunter Association, citing your numbers as the reason. I understand that White Tiger Guild has quite a few A-rank guides. Is guiding still insufficient?’

The anchor’s tone was polite, but the content clearly revealed dissatisfaction about not being properly active, using numbers as an excuse.

‘It is insufficient.’

Choi Hanseo answered briefly with his characteristic languid smile.

‘It’s known that hunters who don’t receive proper guiding experience considerable physical and mental pain. I suppose you agree with this, Guild Master Choi Hanseo?’

‘It’s so routine that there’s nothing special about it.’

‘What does it feel like to live as a hunter, unable to receive proper guiding and suppressing the risk of going berserk?’

‘Well…’

Choi Hanseo paused for a moment, and although his expression remained the same, somehow he seemed extremely annoyed and irritated. It didn’t seem like he particularly wanted to do the interview either.

‘I suppose it could be described as driving a 1000 horsepower supercar at 30 kilometers per hour.’

Driving a supercar capable of 300 km/h at 30 km/h.

Lee Eunseok chuckled at the easy-to-understand expression.

If Choi Hanseo was really living with such a feeling in his daily life, it meant he was barely managing to continue a daily routine that would drive one crazy with frustration. Having more than enough ability but unable to use it properly to suppress the risk of going berserk, Lee Eunseok felt a bit of sympathy for Choi Hanseo.