CHAPTER 35: CH 22 - GUIDE DIVISION: FIRST STEPS

That boring lady behind the desk finally looked up and said, "Training starts tomorrow."

I nodded slowly. "Cool. Thanks for the enthusiasm."

Guess I’ve got one night to rest.

Still stuck in their little system. Not free yet. Just an E-rank noob pretending to be F-2. There are bigger fish out there — stronger, hungrier — waiting to chew me up if I even blink wrong.

Get arrogant, you die. Simple human psychology. Or biology. Whatever. I don’t know, you get the point right?

I tapped my chest where that weird root was crawling under my ribs, felt it twitch a little, slow and steady.

I took a breath, told myself to chill. Just wait. Let them laugh, let them bark. I’ll swallow it all for now — till it stops tasting bitter, till I can use it later.

So I’ll be the joker for now.

Jokers aren’t stupid. They’re the ones nobody bets on. They laugh at the joker, fold him into the deck, use him to fill a gap.

When everyone’s drunk on their own noise, that’s when the joker flips the table.

I’ll laugh, I’ll joke, I’ll be the idiot everyone remembers. But keep watching my hands. Jokers keep the trump hidden.

They think they know the game. Fine. Let them play. I’ll learn the rules, stack the deck, and when they cheer the loudest, I’ll flip the table and leave them on the floor.

[Next Day]

The next morning came way too fast. I thought I’d sleep for a week but nope, body had other plans. I didn’t even feel tired, kinda fresh actually.

Wow, new feature of being rank E, huh? Runs on trash power but still works.

Then that stupid alarm went off. Loud as hell. I covered my ears, didn’t help at all. It just kept screaming like it wanted to fight me. And guess what, no snooze button. Perfect. Great start to the day.

I shivered the moment I stepped into the training ground. Not from cold or anything, just that feeling, you know? Felt like one of those places where people suffer and call it training.

Big board on the gate said TG-1: Guide Division Training Zone.

Fancy name. Probably just a nicer way to say, "Welcome to your funeral."

There were only three of us out there. Yeah, three.

One dude looked like he just saw a ghost but decided to eat chips anyway — priorities, right?

The girl next to him had her arms crossed and that face girls make when someone dares to ask their real age.

And the last guy, black hoodie, quiet, no reaction at all. He stood so still I had to blink to check if he was breathing.

Then instructor walked in, dragging his steps like he already hated being here, like training a bunch of trash was the last thing he wanted to do.

His uniform was old, torn here and there, looked like the government just went, ’eh, they’ll live,’ and cut the budget.

[Name: Han Wei]

[Rank: D-2]

[Bloodline: Ironback Hound]

Yeah, this guy looked like someone who’d seen too much and just stopped giving a damn about life.

He looked at us for three seconds and probably regretted his life choices.

"Welcome to Guide Division," he said, voice rough like gravel. "You’re the trash that didn’t make past the entrance. My job is to make sure you don’t die in your first Zone."

He stopped in front of us, staring like he was already guessing which one of us would die first.

When his eyes met mine, I straightened up a bit.

Then he barked, "Shut up. Stand straight. Listen."

Yeah, morning motivation at its finest.

I was standing straight, or at least doing my best impression of it.

Han Wei was talking... something about teamwork, ranks, rules, not dying — the usual. Probably important, but I knew the second he stopped talking, half of us would forget everything anyway.

My brain started drifting.

It’s not my fault, really. His voice had that "I’ve said this fifty times and hate it" tone. Like a lullaby for people with regrets.

I tried to focus. Failed instantly.

My brain wandered. What if a monster just came in and bit his head off? Honestly, I’d clap.

Would anyone even scream? Probably not.

We’d probably clap and thank the monster for saving us from another five minutes of boredom.

To my left, the messy-hair guy was grinning.

What’s with this stupid grin?

Bro looks like he’s advertising his toothpaste brand — "Whitest Teeth of the Year."

But his legs are shaking like he’s about to ran off any second.

His breath doesn’t even sound normal, like he’s half-laughing, half-panicking.

I looked at him and thought, dude, you’re not the only one dying inside. I also need to get out of here before I turn into a fossil.

Behind him, there was this girl with her arms crossed, face all cold like she already hated everyone here.

I got this weird vibe from her, like she was secretly planning how to kill all of us and writing a list of 101 ways to do it — in alphabetical order.

And the last guy — black hoodie, hands in pockets, head low — looked like he wanted to disappear.

For a second, I thought maybe he really did.

I squinted at him. Bro, are you trying to be invisible? Hello? I can still see you.

He didn’t even move.

Just stood there, quiet, calm, like a ghost.

Then Han Wei looked right at me. Crap. Felt like getting caught sleeping in class.

I straightened up real quick, face all serious like I’d been listening the whole time.

Inside I was just like, yeah yeah, totally paying attention, sir... please stop talking.

Han Wei didn’t waste any time talking.

Good. I was already fighting sleep like it was a life-or-death battle.

He just crossed his arms and said, "You’ll find everything in the rookie guide manual. Sent to your cards."

A beep hit my ear, and the white card blinked once.

I blinked too. "Wait, what? It does that?"

No one told me these things came with alien tech installed.

It just flashed, and boom — info uploaded straight in.

What next, will it make coffee too?

I need it so bad after hearing all that blah blah... my ears are bleeding.

Obviously, I didn’t listen to a single thing, but somehow, I still heard it.

I stared at it like it might start talking any second.

New job, new headache. Great start.