Zero Point

#001

#Prologue

It’s been about 20 years since the so-called Gates began appearing worldwide.

These Gates, initially called the countdown to human extinction due to the tremendous loss of life and property damage they caused, have now been fully absorbed into human life.

Humanity, with its remarkable adaptability and evolutionary power, is in the midst of revolutionary progress by collecting and analyzing information from these Gates. The byproducts from the Gates are being used as new energy sources through numerous experiments, triggering the 5th Industrial Revolution, also known as magical engineering. As a result, the Gates have now become an indispensable industrial resource for humanity.

Of course, the emergence of new human traits known as Espers and Guides played a crucial role in making these Gates the main source of key resources.

Espers, who are like superhumans only seen in science fiction and movies, and Guides, who can control the rampages of these Espers, are called the new humanity that began to appear along with the Gates.

Although there’s fierce debate, the prevailing theory is that this new humanity with unique traits like Espers and Guides is born when a tiny fraction of humans awaken, influenced by some kind of wave emitted by the Gates. Evidence for this can be seen in the fact that a small number of various organisms on Earth have begun to transform into unusual variants since the appearance of these Gates.

In any case, Espers and Guides, who can exterminate these Gates and variants that cannot be handled by simple military firepower alone, have now become indispensable human resources for humanity.

Team Leader Hong carelessly skimmed through the content that seemed like it could be found in a middle school textbook, with technical and academic terms removed as much as possible, and tossed the document onto the table.

“So, what are you trying to do now?”

Team Leader Hong’s eyes twitched slightly as he sat with his legs crossed, looking at the people in front of him. Such an emotional expression was very rare for Team Leader Hong, who seldom showed his feelings on his face.

No, including when he saw Lee Eunseok’s mandatory health checkup results this year, it was an expression seen only three days ago.

“I believe you’ll understand, Team Leader. Lee Eunseok has been confirmed to have awakened as a Guide in his health checkup, so he will be reassigned to the Bureau of Ability Management.”

“Who decided that?”

“We’re not here to ask for permission, but to notify you.”

“Again, who decided that!”

Team Leader Hong shouted, pounding the table hard.

The fierce cry of the Special Task Force Team Leader of the Military Intelligence Command was not something ordinary people could easily handle. However, the three men dispatched from the Bureau of Ability Management only flinched slightly, showing no signs of being intimidated by Team Leader Hong.

“It’s a special order from the Director of the Bureau of Ability Management.”

The man at the front slid a crisp order paper across the table towards Team Leader Hong.

Team Leader Hong’s eyes twitched as he snatched the order paper as if he was about to tear it apart and quickly scanned it. Although the Bureau of Ability Management had a history of less than 20 years, it had risen to become an important national agency that couldn’t be ignored in the current world. Even for the Special Task Force of the Military Intelligence Command.

Team Leader Hong’s expression changed dramatically after rubbing his face once with his hand. As a specialist who had successfully completed all sorts of intelligence missions and risen to the position of team leader, he was very adept at controlling his emotions and expressions.

“Look here. I’m not doing this because I’m reluctant to send one of my team members to your side. The person you’re trying to take isn’t just any ordinary officer or soldier lying around everywhere, is it? Do you know how much national budget goes into training one of our unit members? It’s tens of billions per person. We’ve finally trained someone to be useful after spending tens of billions, and now you’re going to take him away because he’s become a Guide or whatever…”

At this point, Team Leader Hong glanced towards Lee Eunseok, who was standing expressionless as if this situation had nothing to do with him.

“Moreover, this guy is tacitly designated as the next team leader, a talent among talents. You need to think about how much of a national loss this is…”

“Did you say it cost tens of billions in national budget to train Lee Eunseok?”

The man from the Bureau of Ability Management interrupted Team Leader Hong’s words.

“Yes. At least tens of billions.”

“As you can see from the results here, Lee Eunseok has been confirmed as an S-class Guide, of which there are only 3, no, now 4 in the world.”

The man continued, pushing the test results towards Team Leader Hong.

“The economic effect created by an S-class Guide easily surpasses hundreds of billions. No, it’s in the trillions, or we could say it’s priceless. Leaving such a talent as just an intelligence agent would be a huge national loss. Don’t you agree?”

Team Leader Hong stared at the results for a moment.

His eyes lingered long on the boldly printed words “S-class Guide.” And finally, a faint sigh escaped Team Leader Hong’s lips.

Lee Eunseok could sensitively catch that reaction from Team Leader Hong, with whom he had been together since joining the military right after graduating high school until now at age 25. Probably, the higher-ups had already decided to yield to the Bureau of Ability Management. And Team Leader Hong couldn’t let go and was holding on until the end.

“But… where can we find another guy like him… and to train him to that level again…”

Team Leader Hong made a gesture of tearing at his own hair. At that moment, Lee Eunseok, who had been standing like a statue, opened his mouth.

“Shouldn’t you ask for my opinion first?”

Lee Eunseok’s calm voice drew the attention of all four men, including Team Leader Hong.

“Since even your position is confidential, I guess we’ll have to just call you Mr. Lee Eunseok. Mr. Lee, you probably didn’t know because it’s not your field, but there’s a clear law stating that Korean citizens who awaken as ability users must serve in a national agency for 5 years of mandatory service.”

The man who introduced himself as the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Ability Management spoke with a rather solemn face.

Lee Eunseok nodded slightly while maintaining his rigid posture.

“Of course, after hearing the results, I’ve already fully understood the relevant matters. When I checked that law, it clearly states that ‘one must serve 5 years of mandatory service in a national agency.'”

“I’m glad you know.”

The corners of the Deputy Director’s mouth loosened slightly. Lee Eunseok looked straight into the Deputy Director’s eyes and calmly said,

“I’ve already completed my 5th year of service in a national agency as of the 28th of last month.”

The Deputy Director’s eyes widened slightly. Lee Eunseok added, looking at the Deputy Director,

“The Special Task Force of the Military Intelligence Command is also a proper national agency. Therefore, there should be no law that can force me, who has already served 5 years here.”

“Eunseok!”

Team Leader Hong jumped up from his seat, calling Lee Eunseok’s name hopefully. His face said, ‘Yes, this is my boy.’

The Deputy Director exchanged glances with the men standing behind him. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

“That’s calculated as 5 years after awakening as a Guide.”

“When I consulted a lawyer, they said that because the laws related to ability users are not yet sufficiently comprehensive, if this turns into a legal dispute, I have over a 90% chance of winning.”

It was natural that the law was somewhat flawed, given that the history of ability user-related legislation was not long.

The face of the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Ability Management hardened. A sense of defeat spread deeply on the faces of the other two men as well.

“That’s right. This is my boy!”

Team Leader Hong finally couldn’t hold back and patted Lee Eunseok’s shoulder, laughing heartily.

“I’m not giving up my boy, so you can go back now.”

Team Leader Hong waved his hand at the three men with a victorious face, his arm around Lee Eunseok’s shoulder.

“And Team Leader.”

When Lee Eunseok called, Team Leader Hong gave him a look as if he would give him his liver and gall bladder. Lee Eunseok spoke after a beat,

“I’m going to be discharged now.”

“…What?”

The face that had been full of victory and exhilaration turned blank.

“I’m planning to transfer to the French Foreign Legion after being discharged.”

As soon as Lee Eunseok finished speaking, Team Leader Hong, the Deputy Director of the Bureau of Ability Management, and the other two men all shouted simultaneously,

“No!!!”