Chapter 2:
Thirty years ago, frequent earthquakes of unknown origin plagued the entire Earth. No matter how much investigation was conducted, the cause remained elusive; they were literally earthquakes without a discernible reason.
As a result, doomsday theories emerged, amplifying the widespread fear. Then, amidst the growing panic, mysterious blue portals, known as Gates, materialized across the globe, unleashing hordes of monstrous creatures.
It was a monster wave straight out of a fantasy novel.
However, reality proved far more horrifying than fiction. Modern weaponry proved ineffective, leading to countless deaths and even the complete annihilation of some nations.
Just as despair threatened to engulf the world, individuals with the power to slay these monsters emerged, akin to heroes from a movie.
Thanks to these individuals, who wielded magic-like abilities and dispatched monsters with a single punch, Earth was able to claw its way back from the brink of annihilation.
Later, when it was discovered that the byproducts obtained from the dungeons and monsters beyond the Gates held immense value, these newly empowered individuals, now called Espers, eagerly engaged in battles against the monsters and began conquering dungeons.
But this, too, was short-lived.
It came to light that the more Espers utilized their powers, the greater the strain on their bodies. Eventually, they would lose control, leading to a catastrophic overload and a gruesome death by explosion.
Indeed, when a single Esper overloaded, devastating an entire city before perishing, fear once again gripped humanity.
Fortunately, it was later discovered that another type of individual possessed the ability to stabilize this overload through physical contact.
While they lacked the physical prowess to combat monsters, their ability to alleviate overload significantly elevated their importance.
These individuals, who could prevent Espers from overloading, came to be known as Guides.
***
Seo Jae-yi was an Esper. And not just any Esper, but an S-rank, considered among the strongest.
S-rank Espers, capable of single-handedly clearing mid-level dungeons below rank 3, were extremely rare. Consequently, Seo Jae-yi was constantly dispatched on dungeon raids, leaving her with little respite.
Until recently.
Now, instead of a dungeon, she found herself confined to an isolation room resembling a prison cell, clad in a hospital gown and lying on a bed. Four IV needles were inserted into her arms.
The fluids being administered were not mere nutrients or vitamins, but a lethal dose of tranquilizers.
Despite the amount being sufficient to render her unconscious, Seo Jae-yi maintained a serene expression.
“The test results are in.”
The doctor, standing before her, appeared visibly uncomfortable, his face etched with fear, as if anticipating her imminent outburst.
“How many years do I have left?”
Seo Jae-yi nonchalantly inquired, unfazed by the blatant treatment as a monster.
After a prolonged hesitation, the doctor curtly replied, “At this rate, you won’t survive beyond five years.”
“And if it’s shorter?”
“If you continue using your abilities, you might die within a year.”
The doctor’s blunt prognosis, a death sentence.
While undeniably harsh for a young woman of only twenty-three, Seo Jae-yi simply nodded, as if she had already anticipated it.
Seo Jae-yi awakened as an S-rank Esper at the tender age of thirteen.
As the youngest S-rank Esper in the nation, she was extensively featured in the media, garnering widespread expectations. Naturally, a greater number of powerful Espers meant a safer Korea.
Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived, lasting less than a decade.
Espers required Guides to continuously utilize their abilities, but for Seo Jae-yi, not a single Guide with a compatible wavelength had emerged in those ten years.
Consequently, Seo Jae-yi, having overused her abilities without receiving treatment from a Guide, nearly overloaded not long ago. Although she managed to regain her senses and suppress the overload, the excessive use of her powers drastically shortened her lifespan.
However, the only ones who grieved were her comrades who had fought alongside her.
An Esper with a dwindling lifespan and an overload level nearing critical, perpetually on the verge of explosion, was unwelcome everywhere.
She had become a liability, someone who was better off dying quickly and quietly.
Yet, Seo Jae-yi remained unfazed, devoid of tears or despair.
“That’s too short. I’ve only been fighting for ten years, and now I’m going to die. Ah, what a shame.”
“…Excuse me?”
The bewildered doctor’s eyes met Seo Jae-yi’s, which still shone brightly.
“I’m still a vibrant twenty-three-year-old with so much I want to do. Of course, I’d feel regret. I guess I’ll have to use my vacation time and do everything I’ve always wanted to do before I die.”
“…”
The doctor had delivered countless death sentences to Espers throughout his career.
Each time, they would cry, plead for their lives, lash out in desperation, or succumb to despair.
Their reactions were invariably heart-wrenching, but Seo Jae-yi was different.
Is she alright…? Did she suffer a severe shock…?
“…I don’t think you’ll need to use your vacation time.”
The doctor, observing Seo Jae-yi with a dubious expression, pointed out a fact she seemed to have overlooked.
“Huh? Why?”
“Due to Seo Jae-yi’s overload level reaching 80%, the government has issued a provisional retirement order.”
The more Espers used their abilities, the greater the overload accumulated in their bodies. If this overload became excessive, they would lose all reason and explode, wreaking havoc until their lifespan expired.
Fortunately, the development of a method to calculate and quantify the overload level within an Esper’s body led to a drastic reduction in overload incidents. Espers were instructed to cease using their abilities and seek immediate guidance from a Guide if their levels rose.
Espers received treatment for overload through Guiding, a process where they shared the special energy possessed by Guides.
However, not all Guides could effectively treat every Esper. For proper stabilization of overload, their unique wavelengths needed to be compatible.
This compatibility was referred to as the Matching Rate. If the Matching Rate was low, even a Guide couldn’t fully heal an Esper.
The reason Seo Jae-yi nearly overloaded due to a lack of Guiding was precisely because she lacked a Guide with a high Matching Rate.
The highest Matching Rate she had encountered thus far was a mere 37%.
Since a minimum of 50% was required for significant effects, the deterioration of Seo Jae-yi’s condition was inevitable. She hadn’t become known as a ticking time bomb for nothing.
‘With an overload level exceeding 90% triggering an explosion, it’s understandable why the government would be afraid.’
The devastation caused by an S-rank Esper’s explosion wouldn’t be limited to a single city, so their decision to retire Seo Jae-yi was a logical course of action.
“They want me to retire right now?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Wow! Freedom!”
Seo Jae-yi raised both arms in the air. The doctor couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight of her singing a nonsensical song about retirement.
While it was certainly more pleasant than witnessing an Esper wallowing in despair or screaming in agony, it didn’t entirely put his mind at ease.
He couldn’t fathom the emotions of a twenty-three-year-old who only realized her aspirations after receiving a death sentence.
“Do you have anything specific you want to do?”
“Hmm, let’s see. First, I need to take care of this body. It’s hard to enjoy freedom with such a high overload level.”
Seo Jae-yi showed him the watch on her left wrist.
Instead of clock hands, letters were displayed on the black screen.
【Overload Progress — 70%】
【Danger Level. Restrict Ability Usage.】
Upon seeing those numbers, the doctor tensed up once more.
He was acutely aware that the Esper before him was a hazardous element, capable of exploding at any moment.
“Are you experiencing any discomfort right now? Like a headache…?”
“That’s something I always have.”
That was to be expected, considering Seo Jae-yi’s average overload level of 65% without a Guide.
“Ah, don’t worry. I’m feeling quite well right now, and I’m managing my abilities properly.”
Noticing the doctor’s fear, Seo Jae-yi waved her hand dismissively, assuring him that there was no immediate risk of an explosion.
“Then how do you plan to lower your overload level? Guiding alone might not be sufficient…”
“That’s right. Even with Guiding from the Guide with the highest Matching Rate, it would take a considerable amount of time to reach a normal range.”
The Guide with a 37% Matching Rate.
While begging him for help was an option, Seo Jae-yi had something else in mind.
“I don’t know if it will succeed, but I have to try.”
Unaware of her intentions, the doctor simply nodded, assuming she would seek Guiding.
However, a week later, she vanished from the semi-confined isolation room.
Although the CCTV footage from the Guide Management Center captured her casually exiting the building, that was the last trace of her.
She remained missing for half a year. Even the Haeil Guild, to which she belonged, had no knowledge of her whereabouts.
Even the stoic Guild Leader, Kim Yoo-sung, searched frantically with reddened eyes, but Seo Jae-yi remained elusive.
It was after a long six months that she finally reappeared.
“Hey everyone! I’m back!”
Seo Jae-yi suddenly materialized before the guild members, who had been spending each day in tears. Whatever she had been doing, her overload level had dropped to an astonishing 55%, and her complexion had significantly improved.
“Where have you been all this time, and what have you been doing?!”
Kim Yoo-sung, the Haeil Guild Leader, demanded answers, but Seo Jae-yi remained tight-lipped about her activities. Her only response was a single sentence.
“I didn’t do anything weird. I didn’t get scammed or anything! I did set some things on fire, though!”
Setting things on fire? It was a worrisome statement, to say the least.
However, since Kim Yoo-sung had no way of knowing what Seo Jae-yi wouldn’t divulge, he had to be content with her safe return.
The problem was that this wasn’t the end of it.
“…What are you saying you’re going to do now?”
“I’m going to open a flower shop!”
It was an explosive declaration, considering her mysterious activities during her six-month disappearance.
The entire Haeil Guild was understandably thrown into chaos.
“A flower shop? Are you crazy, Leader?!”
“Not content with being reckless, you’ve decided to go rogue? Absolutely not!”
“I think she did get scammed after all!”
Seo Jae-yi sulked, hurt by the frantic dissuasion of her guild members.
“I’ll make sure the shop has proper fire safety equipment. I have the money and the time, so why not? Plus, it’ll be run by a beautiful woman in her twenties. There’s no reason why it shouldn’t work.”
“That beautiful woman in her twenties is the biggest risk factor!”
“That’s true…”
While it was an undeniable point, Seo Jae-yi was not one to back down from such opposition. After (physically) persuading her guild members, she finally succeeded in opening her flower shop.
Of course, unable to bear the thought of her being too far away, the guild members pleaded with her to stay close, forcing her to establish her shop next to the Haeil Guild headquarters. But that didn’t matter.
The important thing was the flower shop itself.
“I’ve finally achieved my dream!”
Her own space, a shop she could cultivate. She could finally mingle with ordinary people, share laughter, and live amidst the fragrant aroma of flowers.
Seo Jae-yi was finally happy.
***
However, that happiness lasted only a month.
While she hadn’t expected the shop to flourish from the start, she hadn’t anticipated it would be a desolate wasteland, barely attracting a single customer a week.
And to top it off, today, for the first time since opening, she had two customers in a row!
She certainly hadn’t foreseen drenching her precious customers with water!
“…”
“…”
As the youngest S-rank Esper in Korea, how often had she felt the need to be cautious?
Seo Jae-yi, known as Haeil’s Reckless Firestarter, who had always lived on her own terms, experienced a rare moment of self-consciousness. Never before had her precious flower shop, where the rising heat had instantly dissipated, felt so intimidating.
Seo Jae-yi trembled as she looked at the drenched man.
The customer ran a hand through his waterlogged hair, revealing his face.
Brown hair that appeared darker due to the water, a fair complexion, slightly sharp eyes, and a black mole next to his left lip.
He was undeniably handsome.
‘But wait, he looks familiar…’
Seo Jae-yi, still trembling, found herself staring at the man.
Despite it being their first encounter, a sense of familiarity washed over her. Strange. She couldn’t possibly forget such a handsome face.
“Sigh…”
Then, a deep sigh escaped the customer’s water-kissed lips.