Pressure and silence were the only things that graced Penn’s ears, as he could feel nothing but vibrations in the air and see nothing but darkness surrounding him. His body felt like it was floating on the heaviest air, too heavy to breathe or move - yet still, he was weightless. Was this what being in space felt like? He wasn’t sure. 

He floated for what he couldn’t tell was hours or days, maybe even longer. Whenever he attempted to focus his thoughts, it was as if something was clouding his mind - lost in a haze. As time went on, he began to notice the vibrations grew in strength, and he focused on whatever mental capacity he had left zone-in on - just to keep his sanity.

When he thought he had reached his breaking point, he felt burning heat and static electricity lick his skin. Slowly, he was pulled toward a gravity source until he was face-to-face with a red spark that grew larger at an incredible speed — until it overtook the sky. It was with that that sound crashed against his ears all at once.

Wind, explosions, falling concrete, scraping metal, deafening roars, and screaming of millions of people came from below him. His body turned and saw the city below engulfed in flames. Smoke bellowed from every building, filling the sky, where lightning rained indiscriminately. 

He focused on the horrible events below, and finally, he could make out monsters that had overtaken everything in sight. He didn’t even need to look that close to see that the streets were filled with blood in every direction. He felt nauseous, but he couldn’t throw up. His body wouldn’t even let him close his eyes. Even in the military, he never witnessed such crude scenes. 

He felt a massive tug on his body, and he chose not to fight it, letting himself be pulled in whatever direction this nightmare took him. He let his eyes unfocus, trying to tune out as much as possible. But then he realized his body had stopped moving and that someone stood before him.

All he could make out was a heavily contrasted body standing on the ledge of a skyscraper, looking down with a goose feather saber resting in his left hand. The figure remained still, watching the events unfold. Penn couldn’t tell whether the person had given up or possibly enjoyed the sight. The smoke bellowed up from below, filling his vision until it entirely turned back to darkness.

Penn sat up, gasping for breath, covered in a cold sweat. He looked around the empty room, threw the covers off, and ran to look out the balcony window. The scene was calming as dawn approached - the warm, cool tones poured over the dorm complex and through his window. Penn paused as he went to open the door for fresh air, noticing it was still cracked open.

“Did I leave it open before bed last night?” Penn mumbled to himself, confused. It was a long day, so he had been quite tired. He opened the door, and as the breeze came in, a scent he had smelled the previous night dissipated. He frowned, confused. “Do they use an earthy air freshener or something?” 

Penn changed into his running attire and headed out the apartment door. The morning air was brisk since the sun hadn’t completely risen over the buildings. His breath fogged before him as he left the building, turning towards the running path along the river. He set his pace and kept it for over an hour before deciding to stop and return home to change for work.

As he passed the cafe, he spotted Nathan sitting in the chairs they had previously sat in, watching him out the window. Nathan smiled at Penn, raised his coffee cup, and then waved his arm to the empty chair across from him. Penn chuckled to himself, making his way to the cafe doors.

“Good morning, Nathan. You’re up early today,” Penn commented, standing beside the set of comfy chairs. Nathan smirked in response.

“I’m not much of a sleeper. Consider it a long-term effect from long dungeon raids… or maybe it’s even skill-related,” he chuckled in response. “Saw you doing your morning jog and ordered a coffee for you.”

Penn looked down in surprise at the steaming cup of coffee with just cream. He nervously looked at the counter and sighed in relief when he didn’t see the barista who had annihilated the coffee on his previous visit. Nathan noticed, and a low, rumbling laugh sounded beside Penn, causing his neck to flush in embarrassment. It seemed his thoughts got caught in such a blatant manner. He coughed, clearing his throat, and sat across from Nathan.

“Thank you,” Penn replied, hiding his face behind the mug in shame as he took a sip. Nathan smiled and nodded, drinking his own. 

“Hmm,” Nathan hummed, looking up at Penn as he reached for a plate with two scones. “You still look like you haven’t slept well…”

“I slept through the night,” Penn replied awkwardly. “And I made sure to eat before bed as well.”

“Good,” Nathan nodded, taking a bite. “Make sure you eat more than just that coffee for breakfast. You have a full day today.”

“Sure,” Penn tilted his head in confusion, reaching for the reaming scone Nathan pushed towards him, nodding his thanks. 

“Shall I take you to work?” Nathan asked in a worried tone. Penn shook his head.

“You’re probably busy, and I have plans to meet with Daniel before the lecture, Penn mentioned, glancing at his phone. 

“Daniel…” Nathan replied slowly, his smile faltering into one made for customer service.

“Yes, he’s a receptionist at the association and my trainer.”

“It’s good to be trained by another Guide. Understanding their habits and mindset is important to integrating them into your new lifestyle,” Nathan stated, sitting up straight. Penn paused.

“My trainer is a hunter. But I guess training under a Guide makes more sense… Maybe because there aren’t many of them, and they are so busy with their workload, I’m being trained by a hunter instead.”

“A hunter is training you?” Nathan questioned with a cold voice, but a smile was still plastered to his face. Penn nodded. “... Have you had a match test with your trainer?”

“Yes, we even scored a decently high number. He’s second after you for proficiency,” Penn recalled while sipping his coffee. Nathan froze in place, his eyes narrowing.

“It’s easy to forget that a high-quality Guide would be so coveted,” Nathan clicked his tongue.

“I wouldn’t put me on a pedestal so early,” Penn chuckled. “I’m fresh blood.”

“Then we need to make sure you’re up to par,” Nathan smiled, his lips stretching thin as he crossed his fingers in his lap. Penn’s eye twitched, confused at the tone.

“Sure, let’s do that…” he replied cautiously. 

“I’ll head into the association first. I have to make sure everything is ready for you, after all,” Nathan said as he stood up, brushing his hands of any remaining crumbs. 

“Thanks for the coffee, Nathan,” Penn smiled from his seat. 

“Anything for my Guide,” Nathan replied, his smile void of all emotion as he left the cafe.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Daniel asked, sitting next to Penn in the lecture hall and placing a paper cup of tea before him. Penn quietly laughed, taking the tea, and pulled the chair out for Daniel.

“Actually, yes,” Penn replied. “Why am I being trained by a hunter and not a fellow Guide?”

“Ah,” Daniel nodded, then laughed. “That’s a reasonable question. The standard answer is that we are short-staffed. But the more in-depth explanation is related to my skill.”

“Something about being a Librarian, right?”

“Yes,” Daniel flashed a wide smile. “Because I have the ability to access shared knowledge - like a private network between other Librarians that have uploaded their own data, memories, skills, and so on. I have all the data shared in the network about Guide’s, and even memories from some Guide’s - so I can experience it and train you effectively.”

“What a useful skill,” Penn mumbled.

“It’s why I get paid so well,” Daniel chuckled. “I may not be of much use in a dungeon battle, but my skill is still highly versatile.”

Penn couldn’t help but agree. Even after several days of training he received, he still preferred Daniel’s ability over being a Guide. He sighed, frustrated with himself for his insecurities. He continued to sip his tea as he zoned in on the lecture while Daniel leaned against his shoulder as he explained some things in more detail during the lecture. Penn closed his eyes to focus and listen as the calming, subtle scent of jasmine surrounded him. 

“No,” Daniel said firmly, clearly frustrated at the newest situation. Penn sighed, unsure how to proceed as he stood in the middle of the observation area that overlooked the training room. “Who did you threaten to get this position? Did you beat up someone’s kid?”

“You think so little of me, little secretary,” Nathan smiled, his six foot four self towering over Daniel’s five foot nothing.

“Because your reputation thinks for itself,” Daniel spat back. “You are not his trainer. Stay away from Penn.”

“The last trainer was a jealous, corrupted individual who couldn’t do his job correctly. And who better to train him than the Hunter who’s matched highest with him and who he’ll be assigned to as a Battle Guide?” 

“Why didn’t you tell me this morning?” Penn asked, bending down to pick up Daniel from the waist and put him down behind him.

“It was a surprise,” Nathan smirked, then looked at Daniel. “I wanted to see the reaction.”

“What’s the plan?” Penn stepped forward towards Nathan, trying to keep the two separate.

“From now on, I’ll train you to be ready as a Battle Guide. Both fighting with skills, dungeon preparation, and how to guide during a battle. There is no such thing as sitting on a comfy couch and holding hands during a raid.” Nathan stated. Penn nodded in understanding. 

“Do you need guiding before we start then?” Penn asked, but Nathan shook his head.

“I said yesterday that I would be fine for a while. As your new teacher, I can focus entirely on you. I’ll be sure to put in all my effort for my favorite student.”

“He’s your only student…” Daniel grumbled. “No one would work with you.”