Guide Me If You Dare

"I'M DONE lining them up, kid."

"Thank you, sir."

"You can just address me casually, you know? How do you address older males in Korea again? Is it 'hyung?' You call Ki Gayoon that way, after all."

Yuno gave 17 a look of disbelief. "Have some conscience, sir. You're an 'ahjussi' and not a 'hyung.'"

"Noh Yuno, has anyone ever called you 'rude?'"

"All the time, sir."

"I wonder how you survived for this long with that mouth of yours."

Yuno just ignored 17's whining.

After all, he was busy inspecting his 'patients' now.

I don't want to admit this, but having 17-nim around is really useful.

The world's #1 Esper pulled out three long tables from his Inventory.

Apparently, those tables are Items that were meant to keep the 'zombies' unconscious.

I don't know where 17-nim got these super convenient Items, but this is probably why the System sent me here.

"Kid, what are you going to do with those zombies?"

"I'm going to extract their Artificial Cores," Yuno explained, his eyes glued to the Status Window that popped up in front of him. "The System said these poor humans were 'zombified' due to being implanted by Artificial Cores. My bet is that the Artificial Cores didn't match the bodies of these people."

"Artificial Cores exist?"

Yuno just nodded because he was busy reading his Status Window.

[Welcome to your Inventory, Guide Noh Yuno.]

Oh, wow.

Of course, just like any other Awakened Person, Yuno had been using his Inventory from the moment he manifested as a Guide.

It's super convenient, after all.

However, seeing the lists of the items stored in his Inventory was pretty embarrassing.

Do I really own this many BL books and merch?

Fortunately, the lists for the items and Items (as in stuff from dungeons) in his Inventory were separated.

Hence, Yuno ignored the items and went straight to check the Items.

It was practically empty since he was a Guide, and Guides were not usually allowed in dungeons.

The Items I have were gifts from Sajangnim and my Esper friends.

There was two Items there that he didn't remember owning, though.

First was a pair of <Surgical Gloves.>

Second was a transparent <Safety Glasses.>

Yep, those were the bland names of the Items.

"Am I supposed to use them?" Yuno asked the System out loud, causing 17 to stop bombarding him with questions. "But I can extract Cores with my bare hands, and I can see them just fine with my naked eyes before."

[This case is different, Guide Noh Yuno.

The Artificial Cores have a virus in them after they had been literally touched by the Virus itself. We don't want to get you infected.

So, please wear the Items provided.

The <Surgical Gloves> will protect you from getting infected, while the <Safety Glasses> will help you see the virus.]

Oh, that actually made sense.

"Alright," Yuno said, opening his hands. "Please hand them to me now."

***

"IS YOUR little test not over yet?" Ki Gayoon asked the System impatiently. "Can't you send me to Noh Yuno already?"

"And please leave Noa-san's body already," Haru added, clearly starting to get annoyed at this point. "How long are you going to stay there anyway?"

Right?

"Just a little bit more," the System said casually. "Noh Yuno and 17 are working great together. Their abilities complement each other well."

"Tsk."

Haru looked at Ki Gayoon with pity in his eyes. "You're really being replaced, Gayoon-san."

"Yah," Gayoon complained. "Do you want to die?"

Haru just shrugged before avoiding his gaze.

Tsk.

"Ki Gayoon, you've met Mother, haven't you?"

"What about it?" Ki Gayoon asked, scrunching his nose because just the mention of that witch's name was enough to make his skin crawl. "To no one's surprise, that witch is working with the pink bastard."

"Aren't you curious how she's still alive after you killed her?"

"I suppose she has a skill that allows her to use another body to survive. After all, she was using a young Guide's body the last time I saw her."

"Exactly. I want you to find out how Song Heejin did that."

"Tsk."

"If you succeed, I'll give you a reward," the System promised. "A reward that will allow you to remain as Noh Yuno's most compatible Esper."

Ki Gayoon scoffed. "Fine, I'll do it— but even without that kind of reward, I assure you that I'm the most compatible Esper for Noh Yuno."

***

IT KINDA burns…

Yuno was glad that the System provided <Surgical Gloves> to him.

If hadn't worn those gloves, his hands must have been burned already.

This isn't as easy as I thought it would be.

In the past, he would just pierce the chests of his targets with his bare hands.

But, now, Yuno had to be extra careful since he needed to avoid the virus around the patients' chests.

Fortunately, the <Surgical Gloves> also served as a barrier.

The virus— shaped and colored like little broccolis— avoided his gloved hands.

However, he was still very careful not to touch the viruses on purpose.

"Kid, what do you know about Artificial Cores?" 17 asked cheerfully. However, under that cheerful tone, it was still obvious that the Esper was serious. "I heard a lot of things from Ki Gayoon. Plus, judging by its name, it's safe to assume that Artificial Cores are Cores that are man-made— and presumably embedded forcefully into the victims."

Yuno kept his mouth shut while 17 continued yapping.

"Based on that, I assume that the victims have been 'zombified' because their bodies weren't compatible with the Artificial Cores that had been planted in them. But who made those Artificial Cores? And what are they trying to make? Espers? Guides? Or both?"

Aigoo.

"17-nim, I don't give out information for free."

"What?"

"I understand that you are currently our country's ally, but that doesn't mean you have access to everything," Yuno said, carefully extracting the Artificial Core from the child's chest. And then he showed it to 17— an Artificial Core that looked like an octahedral diamond. "17-nim, I'm probably the only person who knows a lot of things about these Artificial Cores. If you want the information I have, then offer me something of similar value."

"Alright, then," 17 said, grinning until his eyes turned into little crescent moons. "Noh Yuno, you must be interested in E-Class Guides."

"Huh?"

"I already told Ki Gayoon that I've met a few young E-Class Guides in the past."

"What?!"

"I also told him the last location where I found those kids."

"Excuse me?!"

"But there's one thing I haven't told Ki Gayoon yet," 17 said, laughing as if making fun of Ki Gayoon was that funny to him. "My runaway Guide is actually an E-Class Guide like you, Noh Yuno."

Yuno gasped out loud, shocked but delighted.

I'm not the only E-Class Guide in the world!

***

HUH?

What happened?

Lee Sarang was winning the fight just a moment ago.

But the sudden shift in the air made her drop to her knees while her Mana began dropping as well.

If this continues, I'm going to lose my mind and go on a Rampage…!

Lee Sarang clutched her chest tight, trying to control her Mana— but to no avail.

"Miss Sarang Lee, do you need my guiding?"

English?

Lee Sarang raised her head and was surprised when she was greeted by a pair of glowing red eyes.

***

Please ADD <GUIDE ME IF YOU DARE> to your LIBRARY to be notified when an update is posted. Thank you! :>