By Zephyria 
Having missed his meal because he had to treat patients while eating, he first quenched his thirst with cold coffee. The coffee he sipped thoughtlessly tasted terrible. Cheap coffee tastes even worse when it gets cold. The man’s face distorted strangely as he swallowed the liquid like a bitter pill.
The only doctor in this place, the most underdeveloped and poorest among the 13th Districts, was named Kim Kyeong-su.
“Ugh, I’m tired.”
When he, a native of Erto which was as developed as Haon, said he was going to the 13th District for volunteer work, his acquaintances told him he was crazy. Even now, nine years later, Kyeong-su was called a madman. However, his convictions were firmer than anyone’s, and his compassion, which couldn’t bear to ignore the tragedy of this place, was also extraordinary. He had been called a madman for nine years now. While caring for patients, nine years had already passed.
Taking a bite of a sandwich with tooth marks in it, Kyeong-su roughly tidied his cluttered desk. Since it would just get dirty again anyway, there was no need to clean it with sincerity. His hand paused for a moment as he stood up a desk calendar that had been under some professional books.
“Ah… I forgot about that.”
Taking another large bite of the sandwich, he entered the examination room and lightly scanned the shelf where medical tools were displayed. It should be around here. After fumbling for a while, he finally opened a black plastic lid about the size of a computer monitor. In the center of the machine, which felt very old-fashioned, there was a small screen where the word ‘Complete’ was blinking. While the test results were printing, Kyeong-su rotated his stiff waist.
“Now, let’s see.”
The machine he used was an ability user aptitude test machine, an early model that was rarely used now. Normally, medical institutions were required to have one, but this was the 13th District. Still, thinking that he should at least have the basic equipment, a friend from Haon had sent him the machine a year ago. The reason it now occupied the center of the examination room was because of a certain man who had visited three days ago.
He had a strong image of a boy, making it awkward to even call him a man. His glossy black hair and large eyes without double eyelids were impressive. Kyeong-su was of the mindset not to trust names and ages given in this place, but he felt the information the man had written was quite honest. The age recorded on the medical chart matched the man’s appearance very appropriately. Having lived here for seven years, Kyeong-su thought he knew almost everyone in the area, but this man was a stranger, perhaps having come from far away.
To the man who stepped through the door, Kyeong-su gave a gentle, eye-smiling look, just as he did for others. Because life in the 13th District was so barren, people were often stingy even with their smiles. If it was their first time, most were flustered or uncomfortable by Kyeong-su’s bright smile, but the man was different. He quirked an eyebrow as if Kyeong-su’s smile was unexpected, then relaxed his face. The way one corner of his mouth rose asymmetrically was slow yet fluid. It was a gentle smile that didn’t fit the 13th District, which was steeped in poverty and devastation.
“What brings you here? Where does it hurt?”
A curious gaze wandered around the clinic. The man, wearing a dark-colored long coat that was out of fashion, fiddled with his collar at Kyeong-su’s words. He glanced at the iron door he had entered through, then dropped his head to his toes. His untrimmed black hair slid forward disheveledly.
“An acquaintance is sick, so I’m here for a proxy consultation. I’ve written the symptoms here.”
The man fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a scrap of paper. Kyeong-su took the paper. Age, gender, and mild cold symptoms were written on it.
“But.”
“Yes.”
“Um… I mean…”
The man’s eyes sparkled as he hesitated for a moment, scratching the side of his nose.
“Do you also do aptitude tests here?”
As he spoke almost in a whisper, as if the words were delicate to utter, Kyeong-su’s eyebrow arched.
“Uh…”
An aptitude test. It was a term he hadn’t heard in a very long time. In Neo, it was mandatory to take one at a certain age and undergo periodic re-awakening tests, but this was the abandoned land of the 13th District. Ability users had long since drained away to Neo, and no one had requested an aptitude test since two years ago.
“Yes! Of course.”
Kyeong-su was inwardly flustered but put on a smile, pretending to be composed. This was also strictly a medical institution. Of course he should do it. Now, where did he put that thing? Kyeong-su barely recalled the location of the test machine he had tucked away like a white elephant.
The test was a simple process that only required a blood draw. As Kyeong-su rolled up the man’s sleeve, he spoke without much expectation.
“Are you taking the test knowing you might be an ability user? Is it a re-awakening?”
The man looked into Gyeong-su’s eyes with a troubled expression. Unable to speak readily, he bit his lower lip and let it go once. The man was hesitating to answer Gyeong-su’s question. His clear cheeks were flushed, as if he were embarrassed by something. After hesitating for a long while, the man rummaged through his pockets.
“I don’t really know about that.”
“…….”
“I… saw this.”
“Hmm?”
The crumpled piece of paper was a flyer. The background was decorated with the disciplined figures of Espers dressed in special forces gear.
[You could be a Potential Ability User.]
State-Certified Aptitude Test Institution –
“Ah.”
Only then did Gyeong-su understand. This man harbored hopes of rising in social status. To think there were still people in the 13th District who held onto such hopes. He decided to hide his pity behind a smiling gaze.
Since the man was over twenty, it wouldn’t be an initial awakening. Even if he were an ability user, there was a high possibility it was a re-awakening. The man didn’t seem to have a proper concept of awakening, but that was a natural reaction for someone born in the 13th District.
“By any chance, were there any ability users among your family or relatives?”
Ability users were characterized by strong family history. The reason aptitude tests had become meaningless in the 13th District over the past two years was that the bloodlines capable of producing ability users had either died off early or moved to Neo.
“None?”
He had asked because it seemed a stretch to say the man had been lured in by a flyer alone, but the man’s face darkened noticeably. Unable to speak readily, the man fidgeted with his clasped hands. He cleared his throat.
“If you mean… family connected by blood, there weren’t any….”
The atmosphere turned chilly in an instant.
“…Uh…. I, I see. I’m sorry.”
He had unintentionally touched upon a sensitive subject. In the awkward situation, he repeatedly blamed himself internally, thinking, You idiot, Kim Kyeong-su, why would you ask something like that in the 13th District?
“It’s okay.”
The man seemed accustomed to such situations. He quickly returned to a composed expression.
“You didn’t have anything like a fever?”
“I had a severe cold a week ago.”
“Did you take your temperature then?”
“I didn’t specifically measure it, but I felt like my body was melting.”
As if the memory were vivid, the man frowned and muttered, “I really thought I was going to die.” An extreme fever was a good sign. Gyeong-su gave a bright, smiling look.
“It’s a symptom that awakeners usually experience.”
“But… what is that?”
The man awkwardly changed the subject. His gaze was fixed on the blood pressure monitor.
“It’s a machine to measure blood pressure. If you put your arm in the round hole, you can check your vascular health.”
“Ah.”
“Now, the needle is going in. It’ll sting a bit.”
After the blood draw was finished, Gyeong-su put the blood into the machine and stepped out, only to find the man gone. Instead, in the place where the cold medicine had been, a small amount of cash had taken its place.
He had told him that the test results would be out in a day and he could come back anytime after that. However, it had already been three days since the man left. Gyeong-su, who hadn’t checked the results yet because he was busy caring for patients with nowhere else to turn, found it strange that the man hadn’t returned. Had he done it as a joke? He didn’t seem like that type. Gyeong-su shrugged and picked up the result sheet.
The early models could not distinguish detailed grades and stats. In those days, classes weren’t subdivided, and the necessary technology didn’t exist. It could only identify the genetic sequence for the Matching Test, whether the person was a Guide or an Esper, and their representative class.
“Huh?”
Gyeong-su’s eyes widened as he checked the result sheet.
Surprisingly, the man was an A-Class Guide. He had expected him to be C-Class at best, but the letters [G-A] were clear. Staring intently at the result sheet, Gyeong-su double-checked the man’s name written on the blood sample. Was it a machine error? But aside from being an early model, it was an official Neo product that his friend had been using continuously. Other than looking shabby, it was perfectly functional. Moreover, since it was a machine that judged based on very basic principles, the possibility of an error was extremely low.
The history of Neo began with the war against the ‘Oni’ and their higher-level counterparts, the ‘Gon,’ and even in a state of lull, it was still ongoing. This was because they were beings that would never disappear as long as the land existed.
The only beings capable of facing those monsters on equal footing were Espers, and the only beings capable of controlling and subordinating those Espers were Guides.
While they were indispensable talents and tools in Neo, Espers had the fatal flaw of Rampage. Without a Guide, they were no different from time bombs. The higher the stats of an Esper, the more they needed a Guide.
An Esper’s blood could kill monsters. However, a Guide’s blood not only saved Espers but also made the Gon and Oni stronger. This was why those lumps of mud were particularly obsessed with a Guide’s blood. When monsters consumed a Guide’s blood, their resistance to Espers temporarily strengthened. Naturally, they became much harder to eliminate.
“Wow, this… is actually possible.”
Looking down at the result sheet again, Gyeong-su could not hide his astonishment.