The grass was soft beneath their feet as they crossed the field. Yoru noticed a dandelion in his path and deliberately crushed it underfoot.
"Yoru."
"Hm?" He responded, twisting his heel into the dirt.
"Besides Ophelia, have you met any of the other espers in our squad?" Sera asked, walking around a stone slab embedded into the ground. Yoru stepped up onto it.
"Yeah, all of them," he said, jumping from the stone slab and landing with a gentle tap, like a butterfly settling on a petal.
"I've met Holt, our team lead, at mission briefings, but I haven't worked with him. I've been on a couple missions with, ugh, Varos…" Yoru looked up in thought, "and one with Mira Calder. Mira is an Armament-type. Reeeally sexy – the way she uses her needles." He whistled.
Sera bent down to pick a wild daisy before continuing to trudge towards their destination. "Are they nice? Think we'll get along?" she asked, putting the flower behind her ear.
"Nope," Yoru replied. "Between you and Yaret and me and Varos, I'm pretty confident our squad will be recomp'd. Our squad is a disaster." He shook his head.
Sera opened her mouth to respond, but Yoru lifted his chin toward the clearing ahead.
"Never mind," he murmured. "There they are."
The grassy field opened into a small clearing ahead. Three figures waited there, their silhouettes dark against the morning light.
A red-haired man lounged on a boulder, idly rolling a small fireball, the size of a marble, between his fingers. Nearby stood a brown-haired man with dark grey eyes fixed on them. Beside him, a bright pink ponytail swished in the morning light.
"Greetings," Sera stepped forward into the clearing, her smile bright. "Nice to meet you. I'm–"
Suddenly, a translucent panel flashed across her vision. The System interface had appeared without warning, its pale lettering hovering at the edge of her sight:
< Notification >
System Profile access detected.
Active users: 3
Sera's breath caught. A System scan – three of them simultaneously, already running.
Every Esper and Guide carried a profile maintained by the System as they progressed through the Great Filter – records of their vessel, their abilities, and their classification within the guild.
Espers and guides could access it whenever they were close enough – and they were doing exactly that.
Panic fluttered through her chest. Instinctively, Sera turned inward. Her awareness slipped beneath the surface of her vessel, into the warm darkness where her core pulsed slowly, searching for her skill. The hunger that allowed her vessel to feed on power that wasn't her own.
Her will closed around the instinct like a hand gripping the scruff of a wild animal. The predator in her core snapped back in irritation, baring unseen teeth beneath the surface of her vessel, but she forced it lower – deeper into the quiet dark where it belonged. Not now.
Carefully, she smoothed the outer currents of her vessel, flattening the restless ability with her mana until it resembled something far more docile.
System scans didn't reach the depths. They only skimmed the surface. What the espers would see wasn't the creature coiled in her core. They would see the mask.
The System panel shifted as the scan completed, displaying the profile that formed from the surface she presented:
< System Profile >
Name: Seraphil Yun
Affiliation
Organization: Ratha Guild
• Classification: Guide
• Rank: C
Vessel
• Primary Ability: Consumption
• Secondary Ability: Conversion
Status Effects
• REDACTED
Authority insufficient to view this record.
Time Remaining: 7134:34:23s
The prickle against her vessel lingered for one long second. Then it faded. The System interface flickered and disappeared from her vision. The scan was complete.
Sera exhaled slowly, careful not to let the relief show on her face. I should just keep it hidden like this, she thought, that was close. Too close.
"Ohh," the red-haired man said, eyes moving from the system panel only he could see. "So you're the dead weight." He looked down on Sera from his perch – the flame brightened briefly as it rolled across his knuckles.
"Haha…" Sera forced a laugh. What the hell. First a profile access without warning, then an insult. This guy's an asshole.
He raised an eyebrow, his red eyes staring at Sera. "Consumption and Conversion? Those are some weird names for some Guiding powers. Usually it's something like…Purification or Stabilization."
"You know how the System is," Sera rebuffed mildly. "Loves to be mysterious."
The System liked giving abilities succinct names while explaining absolutely nothing about how they worked. Most espers and guides spent months after awakening figuring out what their powers actually did.
"And that status effect, the redacted one, is that a Gate scar?" he asked.
"Yup, a debuff," Sera responded. She added another lie. "I got it from the Hei Shan gate break a year or so ago."
"What does it do?"
Sera gave him a steady look while thinking through her answer.
For once, she was glad for the System's cryptic tendency. Debuffs and curses gained from gates were often redacted from others. The System was like that – deliberately incomplete. Until the world crossed the Great Filter, pre-Filter existences were expected to work with whatever scraps of information it chose to give them.
"It halves my physical strength," she lied evenly, deciding a physical attribute would be the safest.
"That doesn't really matter then since you're a guide." The red-haired man shrugged. "Here I thought when it expired you might actually become useful. But I guess you're just weak after all."
Sera quirked a half-smile, mentally adding him to her list of people to eat.
"And…" he swung his gaze to Yoru and frowned. "You again?"
"Good to see you too, Esper Varos," Yoru said dryly, an equally disgruntled frown on his face as well.
The brown-haired man interrupted, clapping his hands twice, sharp and decisive, noting the growing tension between the two espers. "Let's not start anything," he murmured in a low voice.
He shot a sharp, steely glance toward the redhead. "We're a squad now. Our lives are in each other's hands. Let's try to get along." His voice remained flat.
Then his gaze shifted to her, his face completely stoic. "Nice to meet you, Guide Yun."
"I'm Esper Darien Holt, the team lead." He turned to Yoru next. "Good to see you again, Esper La Maria. I've seen you at briefings." Yoru nodded in response.
Darien flicked a hand toward the redhead. "This is Esper Kael Varos – our close combat." He placed his hand on his chest, "I'm on defense." Then, he gestured toward Hibiscus. "And this is Guide Hibiscus Yaret."
Yoru nodded again in response.
Sera's eyes landed on Hibiscus. The pink ponytail, the sharp posture, the familiar look of disdain curling across her face. Of course. Sera's smile brightened immediately.
"Hibiscus!" she said warmly, clasping her hands behind her back. "What a surprise. I didn't realize we'd be squadmates."
Hibiscus's expression soured another degree.
"Lucky me," she said flatly.
"You guys know each other?" Kael asked Hibiscus.
"It's like you Espers. All Guides know each other," Hibiscus retorted, "Especially that one. She makes us all look bad."
Sera smiled sweetly. "Someone has to make you look good, Hibiscus."
A gentle melodic whistle cut across the clearing before Hibiscus could respond.
Everyone turned.
Two figures were approaching from the far end of the field.
One walked ahead in a fitted brown leather corset over a tight white longsleeve, glancing down at a glowing system panel as she moved. The other followed half a step behind, her long white robe shifting in the wind, pale white hair braided loosely behind her head, her movements carrying an easy, relaxed confidence.
Sera studied the approaching pair – the remaining members of their squad.
As the two drew closer, their features became clearer.
The woman in front had chestnut hair pulled into a high ponytail. Sharp green eyes scanned the clearing with practiced focus, her posture straight and controlled. There was an intensity about her as if she was on guard.
Behind her walked a white-haired girl with soft sky blue eyes and an easy, gentle smile. Her long coat fluttered around her legs as she continued humming the same lilting tune she had whistled earlier.
Esper Mira Calder. And the healer – Ophelia Brent.
Sera felt a faint ripple of mana from across the clearing. Darien's attention sharpened. Yoru and Hibiscus had gone still as well, their gazes fixed on the approaching pair. Looks like they're reading their profiles too.
Across the clearing, Kael suddenly straightened. A moment later he jumped down from the boulder and headed toward Ophelia, red hair bouncing, his arrogant composure cracking into something openly pleased.
"Ophelia!"
She lifted her gaze to him, blinking slowly as if surfacing from a pleasant daydream.
"Kael," she replied in the same soft, unhurried tone she had been humming in.
There was no particular warmth in the greeting, but neither was there any distance. She simply acknowledged him, the way one might acknowledge a familiar tree on a well-traveled road. Kael, however, seemed perfectly satisfied with that.
The chestnut-haired Esper slowed to a stop and regarded the rest of the squad with sharp bright green eyes.
"Greetings," she said calmly. "Esper Mira Calder reporting in. Long-range combat." Sera noted Calder's tense, bracing posture.
The healer inclined her head beside her.
"Esper Ophelia Brent," she added, her voice quiet and even. "Healer."
Kael lingered near her shoulder, looking faintly pleased with himself. Ophelia had already turned her attention back to the rest of the clearing.
Darien stepped forward.
"Good," he said, his voice as flat as ever. He did introductions once more.
"I'm Esper Darien Holt, your team lead. Defense."
He gestured first toward Kael.
"Esper Kael Varos. Close combat."
Then to Yoru.
"Esper Yoru La Maria. Utility."
His hand shifted toward Hibiscus.
"Guide Hibiscus Yaret. Primary guiding."
Finally, his gaze settled briefly on Sera.
"And Guide Sera Yun. Secondary support."
Sera twitched internally at Darien's words.
At the mention of her name, Ophelia's blue eyes drifted toward Sera.
Her expression softened, recognition lighting her features in a quiet, unmistakable way. "Sera," she said, her voice warming. A small smile spread across Ophelia's face, beaming with familiarity. "I wasn't expecting to see you here. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw your name on the list."
Sera returned the smile easily. "Likewise. We've only ever met in the office, field work will be new."
Ophelia hummed softly, almost pleased, as if the situation had turned out better than she'd anticipated.
"Well," Yoru said lightly, glancing toward the healer, "this should make nights more interesting."
Ophelia turned toward him, her expression brightening with the same gentle warmth.
"Indeed," she said. "Looks like we'll have a lot of fun evenings here, Yoru."
Beside her, Kael hesitated. "Ophelia… you know them?" he asked, a faint unease creeping into his voice.
"Of course," Ophelia replied readily. "I see Guide Sera every two weeks. And Esper Yoru is–"
"Her nighttime companion," Yoru cut in smoothly. He offered Kael a mild, perfectly polite smile.
Kael's brows drew together, throwing a shocked glare at Yoru. He looked between them, something faintly wounded creeping into his expression before he could quite hide it.
"He… doesn't really mean that, right?" he said, glancing back at Ophelia with a small, almost pleading note in his voice.
Ophelia blinked at him.
"Sometimes, in the evenings, we play chess," she said after a moment. "And he drinks my tea."
Yoru lifted a shoulder in an easy shrug.
"Details."
Kael shot another glare at Yoru. Sera bit back a laugh. Darien clapped his hands once, the sharp sound cutting cleanly through the clearing.
"All right," he said. "That's enough."
His gaze moved across the group. "The commanders will start calling squads shortly. Let's focus."
As if on cue, the moment lingered for another heartbeat before a sharp whistle cut through the morning air, the sound carrying across the training grounds. A heavy masculine voice followed a moment later, amplified by mana so it traveled easily over the open fields.
"Squads Seven through Nine, report for muster."
Darien glanced toward the far edge of the clearing.
"That's us," he said simply. "Move."
The party fell in around him as they crossed the grass together, leaving the quiet clearing behind. By the time they reached the muster field, Squads One through Six were already standing in ranks across the open ground. Sera recognized several of the people standing among them – some she had guided before, others simply familiar from passing one another in the guild halls.
Darien guided their group into position beside the other teams, and almost immediately the posture of the squad changed. Espers stepped into the front rank, feet planted firmly, hands clasped neatly behind their backs, and necks upright and stiff. Sera and Hibiscus arranged themselves just behind them, mirroring the same composed stance.
The relaxed air from earlier vanished as everyone settled into formation. At the far end of the field, a raised command platform overlooked the assembled guild members.
Four commanders stood there in silent authority, each dressed in black combat leathers, their weapons of choice resting at their sides. Administrators Risa and Takumi had taken their places on either side of the structure below, positioned like silent sentinels beside the steps leading up to the platform.
Sera's gaze lifted toward the platform, sweeping across from the western edge. She did not recognize the first commander.
The black-haired man stood at the far left of the platform, arms folded behind his back in a rigid posture that spoke of long habit and absolute discipline. His outfit hugged a lean, muscular frame built more for speed and precision than brute strength. His dark blue eyes swept over his assembled squads with cold precision. His presence was stiff and domineering, the kind that seemed to press down on the air around him. A long staff stood beside him, perfectly upright – though he wasn't touching it.
An A-Rank commander. That must be Joel Herion, Sera surmised. The one responsible for Squads One through Three.
Next to him stood the S-ranker Rena Swift. Swift's posture was relaxed by comparison, her arms loosely crossed as her chestnut eyes swept over her squads with razor-sharp focus. Two heavy revolvers rested at her hips, their dark metal worn from countless draws. A long rifle placed rigid beside her. The calm in her stance carried a different kind of authority.
The soldiers of Squads Four through Six watched her with quiet attentiveness, keenly aware of their posture. Commander Swift rarely corrected mistakes in the moment, but she never forgot to correct them later.
Sera's gaze drifted across Commander Swift's ranks and caught a familiar figure. Simon stood among them, neck stiff, shoulders pulled back so rigidly he looked like he'd swallowed a ruler. She bit back a small chuckle.
Her attention lifted back to the platform.
Beside Commander Swift stood Rian Thern.
Sera's stomach tightened slightly. He commanded Squads Seven through Nine – her squad. She straightened instinctively. Around her, others were doing the same beneath his gaze.
Tall and broad-shouldered, Commander Thern stood motionless, his arms crossed over his chest, the posture drawing attention to the powerful lines of his biceps beneath the leather hugging his solid frame. His skin was sun-touched, the warm tan stark against the dark uniform, and his black hair stirred faintly in the morning breeze. Beside him rested the long, curved silhouette of his weapon of choice, a scythe, its black haft planted beside him like a standard.
Dark purple eyes moved slowly across the assembled squads, his gaze heavy with a brooding, moody intensity that seemed to weigh and measure everything it passed over.
Finally, at the east end of the platform stood Commander Arlen Cunning, leader of Squads Ten through Twelve. He rested one hand lightly on his hip, surveying the muster field with a small, mischievous smile. A staff rod stood upright beside him as well, untouched.
Sera wondered if the commanders were using mana to keep their weapons balanced like that. Sometimes, weapons fed enough mana could develop habits and limbs of their own.
For a moment, she found herself missing the familiar weight of her own weapon. Lost, when she had tunneled through space into this world.
The last of the squads were still crossing the grass.
Sera straightened slightly as the members of Squads Ten through Twelve moved into place, filling the remaining space at the far end of the muster field. Armor shifted softly. Boots pressed into the earth. One by one the last arrivals settled into the lines until the formation stretched across the clearing in ordered rows.
The soldiers beneath Arlen Cunning carried themselves differently – still disciplined, but without the tight nervousness she had noticed among the other squads. They must feel at ease with him as their commander. It suited what she had heard about him.
At last the movement stilled. All twelve squads stood assembled beneath the platform.
Sera lifted her gaze toward the commanders and flinched when she saw Arlen Cunning was already watching her. The corner of his mouth curved faintly, a private, sneaky smile that seemed like it was just for her.
Then he turned, leaning slightly toward the man beside him. Arlen murmured something.
His head tipped once – almost casually – in Sera's direction.
Rian did not react immediately. He continued surveying the field, his attention moving through the ranks with quiet precision.
His gaze began at the far end of Squad Seven, moving steadily from right to left as he inspected the lines of Espers and Guides. His eyes lingered just long enough on each person to measure them – their posture, their composure, the quiet pressure of mana that clung to their vessels. Sera realized he was reading their System Profiles.
When his attention reached Squad Nine, it slowed.
His eyes passed over one soldier, then another.
Then his gaze reached her and stopped.
Their eyes met across the field, the moment stretching taut between them.
At the edge of her awareness, Sera felt the familiar prickle of a System scan.
Up on the platform, his deep violet eyes seemed almost unnatural in the morning light – dark and shadowed, like bruised twilight. The intensity of his gaze burned steadily into hers.
They reminded Sera, inexplicably, of amethysts.
At the edge of her vision, the System interface flickered to life.
< Notification >
System Profile access detected.
Active users: 1
Something in her chest thumped once, hard.