The room Daniel shuffled Penn into looked like a standard university lecture hall. A large stage at the front held a podium, and a large whiteboard and screen were built into the wall. Though the room was bright and state-of-the-art, it felt unbearably empty, with the group gathering accounting for less than ten people. 

He knew from what he found online that the ratio was for every thirty Espers, there existed one Guide, but seeing the new group of young guides in front of him really hit home. Thankfully, that ratio counted for every awakened, not only the ones registered with the Hunter's Association or Guilds. With that number in mind, since not all awakened decide to work as a Hunter, the ratio for working professionals was closer to 20:1.

With a sigh, he followed the excited Daniel to the third row back, thanking him for picking a spot out of the way from the young ones since he was almost a decade older than the new recruits. He was still determining what this Guide training should involve, but he only hoped he wouldn't need to report anyone to HR on the first day. 

"Since it's my job to take you through all the training, I get to hang out with you during all your lessons and combat training, as well as the testing," Daniel giggled as he shuffled the chair closer. Penn gave a small smile as a silent thank you that he didn't have to suffer alone, and he was with a familiar face throughout this experience. And like that, the morning classes passed at a snail's pace.
***
"They won't poison you. They're just peas," Daniel laughed, patting Penn on the back as they stood in front of the cafeteria's healthy and nutritional food options.

"Maybe not you, but they are like poison to me," Penn replied apprehensively, glaring at the large selection of edible greenery.

"Are you allergic?" Daniel asked, his hazel eyes filled with concern.

"Worse," Penn looked at him. "The texture makes me gag."

"What?" Daniel laughed so hard he had to lean over, clutching his sides. "Are you a child?"

"Everyone has a weakness," Penn clicked his tongue, looking away from the greens and Daniel in embarrassment. "Just because I have a military background doesn't mean I'm invincible and can eat even scraps off the ground."

"I never once assumed so," Daniel chuckled, standing up as he wiped away the tears from his eyes. He shook his head as he put food on his plate, watching as Penn looked through the options for someone his stomach could handle.

"What else is on the docket for today? More Guiding lessons?" Penn asked over the buffet table. Daniel shook his head in response, his straight golden hair swaying as the light bounced off it through the cafeteria windows.

"We'll do a combat training test based on your skills after lunch. Then we'll do your first match proficiency test." Daniel replied as they finally picked their food and made their way to some tables.

"Is it time for that already? I thought I would have to wait longer since you mentioned that many hunters were away currently."

"A group returned from a dungeon expedition yesterday, earlier than planned. It means you don't have to wait weeks to go through all the hassle," Daniel shrugged as he sat down. 

"An expedition finished early? How long did they take?" Penn asked, shuffling his fork through the salad on his plate for the high-protein chicken chunks hidden under the leafy greens. 

"It depends, really. A yellow gate can take a few hours to a day. An orange gate can take a few days to a week. And a red gate can take several weeks, depending on the team builds. This was a red gate, and we even sent out our S-class hunter to deal with it. It still should have taken him and his team three to four weeks, but they only took two." Daniel hummed, looking around the cafeteria. Penn looked around with him, seeing the crowds of people.

"Is that why it's so crowded here? Was it because a team returned?" Penn asked. Daniel nodded as he looked back at him.

"Yes, it was a large team of over forty people. The guides and healers had a busy day yesterday. If you were here, you would have been drained empty," Daniel joked, pointing his fork at Penn, who shivered in response. "Oh! And well we're doing the match test. We'll just run some other basic tests on you - since you're a unique case and all."

Penn nodded, eyes staring at his food out of focus. The idea of matching to different espers churned his stomach, making him lose his appetite.
***
"TEN MINUTES LEFT!" yelled the instructor behind the safety class as Penn rolled to the left, avoiding the rocks that flew at him from his sparing partner - a telekinetic esper who made objects levitate and fly. Penn ran for the weapon rack and dived, just missing the rocks that flew past his head as he managed to grab onto a crossbow. As he tucked the bow to his center, he pulled off a low-gravity spin and swiftly loaded the crossbow faster than their eyes could follow.

As rocks curved through the air to stop Penn, he aimed and fired consecutive shots. The opposing esper tried to block the arrows by using the floating rocks, but she could not avoid how fast they were - skimmed by a few as she attempted to avoid. She threw her hands up to call for a ceasefire, and Penn paused his barrage before standing up and whipping the sweat from his jaw.

"Training complete. Come back to the observation room," the instructor called over the speaker. Penn and the sparring partner nodded and returned their weapons to the rack before leaving the training room.

"Well done," called Daniel as he ran over, flashing a sweet grin. He looked like a proud mama duck who was happy their duckling crossed the road safely. With a slight chuckle, Penn patted the back of Daniel's shoulders as they turned to the instructor.

"So far, we have a general idea of how your subskills Quickdraw and Skilled Marksman work. We'll have to wait for a time when more Hunters are free to arrange a team training session to test your Team Champion skill. Anything we have done so far hasn't triggered the requirements for the pathway to unlock your two hidden skills."

Penn nodded, and Daniel directed them to sit down by the monitors. The hunter, his sparing partner, sat beside him and held out her hand. Penn stared, confused, until Daniel leaned forward and whispered that the esper was asking to be guided. Penn jumped momentarily before slowly putting his hand underneath and concentrated on his first guiding session.

As Daniel and the instructor had their discussion off to the side, Penn closed his eyes and focused his energy towards the hunter beside him. Contact guiding was a new feeling compared to guiding based on proximity. It was an all-consuming feeling as if he was in the depths of their inner mind. He wasn't sure if what he was experiencing was their subconscious or a manifestation of their powers. 

Inside this esper, he couldn't tell if he was floating or being pulled in every direction by some electric current. It wasn't as encompassing as he initially felt. It felt like he just woke up from a nap in the darkest part of a library, away from the windows. It's not too dark but newly refreshed in a comfortable place.

And as the moments dragged on, it felt like he walked close to a window where the room warmed and brightened at noon. It was that feeling that he instinctively knew to let go - he had completed guiding the hunter back into normal condition.

"Thank you," she replied with a warm smile. "That was quite fast for a guiding session. You must be a high class."

"A class, apparently," Penn awkwardly responded, biting the inside of his cheek. The hunter nodded as if her unsaid guess was correct.

"It felt like it. Your guiding is very clean. The best way to describe it was as if I was standing on a cliff, feeling the breeze come off the sea, standing at the edge of an evergreen forest. What a refreshing feeling. I feel energized, like I just took a stamina potion."

"I'm glad I was of assistance," Penn nodded stiffly.

"So that's what you feel like," Daniel spoke up, standing behind Penn. He must have come over in the middle of his guiding. "I was curious. I've never been a fan of most of my guiding sessions - they all felt like my mana was being forced back into me."

"You're a hunter?" Penn asked, turning around to face in, surprised.

"I am a registered awakened, but I'm not a hunter who goes into the gates," Daniel gave a knowing smile. "I'm a support that's used outside the dungeons, what they call a Librarian. We have access to a shared knowledge network. We can even store and read memories of dead awakened. We're shared equally between the Association and government organizations as civilian officers for awakened-related crimes."

"I've never imagined such a class existed," Penn mumbled.

"There aren't too many of us, and some may never realize the use or extent of their abilities. You have to be very attuned with yourself to understand how your mana works," Daniel answered. "I hope I get the chance to experience your guiding in the future, Guide Jennson."

"Let me know when you need me," Penn smiled warmly up at Daniel. "And please, since we're spending so much time together, just call me by my first name."

"I would love that, Penn," Daniel laughed, his eyes sparkled excitedly.