Ilyas never understood espers and their behavior. Before becoming a guide, his only source of information about espers was TV and social media, but most of that information were negative.
Attacks on civilians, causing a ruckus in public, messing up in a gate.
As the list went on, Ilyas' perception of them became twisted.
But, there would always be an exception in everything. Among those espers, there's one that the government praised for his heroic deeds. An S-Rank at that, the one rank known as the contender of maniacs.
They already had two of them in this country, so a third one — even if it's good for military power, was still a minus in civilians' viewpoint.
'It's just a facade to raise espers' image by the government.'
Ilyas just casually branded it as such without learning the cause of these espers' behavior.
"Severe headache, paresthesia and insomnia."
That's what was written under Ethan Dale's medical record.
"How is he even alive at this point? All of his medical expenses are painkillers and wavelength stabilizer."
Since receiving the three espers' information, Ethan caught his eyes the most out of the three. While the other two had been going in and out for guiding, this one didn't.
Ilyas understood why.
The lower the guiding compatibility percentage the harder it would be for the guide. If they pushed through with guiding, it would bring side effects like nausea, fainting or shock that would cause death.
It's not even a secret that the two S-Ranks in his country had sent hundreds of guides to the hospital. Fortunately, they still had enough sense to not let someone die.
Perhaps Ethan had experienced this and chose not to do guiding frequently.
Ilyas glanced at the man beside him. It's the first gate they would be raiding as a team. An S-rank gate formed on a beachside and Ethan was giving their two teammates instruction as they prepare to go in.
"You are free to go rampage on the mobs but we'll regroup once we see the boss, you hear me?" Ethan gave a serious look to the two.
"Yessir."
"Yeah, yeah."
Though Cedric was playing with his phone and Xain looked uninterested, they still gave an answer.
Ethan turned his head to Ilyas, he gave a nod and said, "Let's go in."
At 11.31 AM, the four of them step inside the gate.
A gate was an artificial space formed based on the frequency of their surroundings. As this gate formed on the beachside, the inside of the gate mirrored the real world outside.
Half of the area was an endless sand and the other half was an endless ocean.
"Woah, it's real hot in here." Xain commented as he squinted his eyes. The sand they stepped on under their combat boots felt soft, and the sound of waves rolling to the shore brought tranquility to the mind. But of course, this beautiful view was in fact, the nest of monsters.
"Stay alert, it's coming." Ethan warned.
Thousands of ocean creatures ranging from crab, shrimp, and fish walked up to the land.
Yes, they walked up.
The sea creatures had a pair of legs which were bent in a weird angle and it made them walked like a zombie.
"Ugh, disgusting, die you piece of shit!"
Xain launched himself into the air and crashed down at high speed, crushing the creatures into unrecognizable chunks of flesh.
"How inelegant, this is why I could never work in a team." Cedric raised his hand and his eyes glowed blue.
SSSKKK!
The sea water spun like a vortex, pulling the creatures that were still inside before suddenly launching the water up in the air.
This motion made all the creatures float for few seconds in the air.
"Show me your blood."
Within that small time margin, he flicked his fingers. Water droplets floating on the air formed small, sharp lances, hardening as it froze. It flew through the air, and with nowhere to dodge, it pierced through the sea creatures' bodies.
But Cedric didn't stop there.
Several huge ice lances surged from the sea, killing the sea creatures under the water or in the air. He only stopped after almost all the ocean surface was covered in spikes.
"Now that's a good firework show, you should always end it with a bang!"
Cedric clapped to himself as he saw the sea creatures fall down into the sea, their lifeless body floated on the water.
"Wow, that's amazing." Ilyas muttered in admiration.
Cedric noticed it and with a huge grin he said, "Of course it's amazing, It's me we are talking about."
"Oy Cedric! How long are you going to show off huh?! Your ice almost hit me!" Xain protested.
"Tsk, shut up! Your job is to prevent the mobs from reaching me while I deal with the rest, I'm the main DPS here, it's your fault for getting in my way." Cedric said while pulling out his phone.
"You arrogant- Ack!" Xain's word was cut mid-sentence as he tried to dodge the ice lance aiming at his head.
"Ah, just shut up and finish this already, I still have a game event to finish."
Seeing their interaction, Ilyas' expression turned flat. He had heard rumors about how Xain and Cedric didn't get along well both in personality and skill, so this much was expected.
"Is it okay to not separate them? Their attacks are interfering with each other." Ilyas asked cautiously at their group's captain.
But Ethan just shook his head, "No, for the first time it's better to let them loose. After all, S-Rank espers always talk with our fist."
'Is that really okay?'
Ilyas couldn't understand the mind of these espers, but the view he's seeing right now proved how different the mindset between an esper and a civilian.
Amazing and flashy skills made his eyes twinkle in awe, but what caught his eyes more was the sky filled with blood. It was the blood of sea creatures Xain and Cedric had killed. Behind him, a sphere of blood was swirling in the air, slowly absorbing it and growing in size.
And the controller of that huge amount of blood was the man in suit beside him.
'So this is why they make him a support.'
"Ilyas." Ethan called out his name but his gaze was focused on the sea. "Stay close."
An earthquake accompanied with a screech came from below the sea. Silver scales glimmered on the ocean's surface as it was reflected by the sunlight.
Noticing its presence, Xain and Cedric pulled back from their position.
Gigantic head rose, revealing its fangs. Its long body swayed as its slit tongue detected every movement of its enemy.
The gate's boss had finally appeared.
"A sea serpent." Xain said, gone was the fierce temper in his eyes as he was now focused on the boss. "I'll fight it, so just stay back Cedric-"
"Xain, what's the purpose of this team again?" Ethan interjected.
Xain turned his head, his face full of confusion at the sudden unrelated question. Without letting Xain answer, Ethan continued.
"Efficiency. So we'll combine our force and kill it quick." He said with the flattest face ever, but joy could be detected in his voice.
'Huh? He's happy?'
Ilyas looked at Ethan, there was no sign of his lips curving into a smile, but his eyes twinkled – like a child finding a new toy.
The swirling blood behind him came forward, changing its shape into a sharp blade and hardened – transforming into a sword forged by blood in literal sense.
"Cedric will protect Ilyas and become our footing, Xain will come with me."
Moments after Ethan said that, he had vanished quietly – leaving only traces of his footprints on the sand.
"Huh?! What?! Hey! Wait for me!"
"Tsk, this is why I hate teamwork."
Xain dashed over following Ethan, which caused the sand to fly around. Cedric on the other hand, raised his hand to use his skill.
"Cough! Cough!"
Ilyas could feel sand filling his lungs, but that didn't bother him for long because the sight of the two espers dancing in the air captivated him more.
Hundreds of thin, hard ice formed in the air, creating foothold. Sensing the imminent danger, the sea serpent sprayed it's venom in circular motion, destroying most of their foothold in the process.
But that didn't hinder the two S-Ranks. Ethan step on the closest ice to the serpent's body and aimed with his sword. With high agility, he moved from one ice to another, slashing every side of the sea serpent's scales with every contact – digging deep into its flesh.
KIEEKKKK!
Screech of pain filled their ears. The serpent's tail spun around, trying to catch the enemies injuring it.
"Stop moving." Cedric muttered under his breath.
The ocean's water temperature went down, freezing the serpent's body, trapping it.
"Ragghh!"
Xain came in and launched himself at the snake's head like a missile. Stopping the snake from twisting its body even more.
KIEEKKK!!
"You're big, but that's all there is to you- Woah, waitwaitwait! Don't strike down Ethan! You are going to hit me too!" Xain quickly pulled back to the shore when he saw Ethan.
Standing on one of the ice floating in the air, Ethan raised his hand. A giant greatsword made from blood had formed above the serpent's head.
He smiled, and with a motion of his hand, the giant greatsword arched beautifully-
SLASH!
And cut through the serpent.
BOOM!
Water splashed under the sudden weight of the serpent's body. Its head had been cleanly cut in half – leaving only its lifeless body.
"Tsk! Now I'm all wet, aren't I?! I told you not to use your skill while I'm in range!" Xain clicked his tongue at the man in suit descending from the sky.
Xain wiped his hair as he walked toward Cedric and Ilyas. "Hey guide, check the time."
"Ah right. It's 11.59 A.M... Wait, we finished the raid within thirty minutes?!" Ilyas raised his voice in surprise.
'Doesn't it usually take 2 to 3 hours minimum for S-Rank gates?'
Every time he watched livestreams of A-Rank espers tackling an S-Rank gate, they would come up battered after hours of battle. But this team didn't break a single sweat.
'S-Ranks are really on a different level.'
Ilyas reassessed his view about S-Rank espers, they were indeed a powerhouse. That's why the government bowed their head and complied to their needs.
"28 minutes, not bad for our first raid, let's aim for 20 minutes next." Ethan walked past them into the exit.
"What?! 20 minutes? Are you insane?!"
"I'm still in my right mind, thank you. I say it because I think we can do it. After all, you guys are strong, aren't you?"
Ethan flashed them a confident smile. Ilyas didn't know why but that smile really captivated his attention.
Ethan turned his heels as his eyes shifted to Ilyas, "We'll take a 20-minute guiding for each person and move on to the next gate, is that alright with you Ilyas?"
A precise order with the capability to control his team's behavior.
The team of S-Ranks led by this man in front of him...
'Maybe working as a guide for this team isn't that bad.'
Ilyas answered with a smile, "Yes! Leave it to me!"