Chapter three: Becoming a Guide
1105 Words
"What? A Dual Abilities Guide?!"
A Sentinel couldn't hold back his curiosity and peeked out from behind Dehn.
Then he froze.
His mouth stayed open, forgotten.
"Dual Abilities? Healing Type… S-rank?"
The corridor went silent for a split second.
Then it exploded.
"Wait—S-rank? Isn't the highest Healing Type only A-rank? And those are all kept and worshipped in the Central Tower?"
"Did you smell her scent? I knew something was off earlier!"
"Quiet."
Kai's voice wasn't loud.
But it cut through all the noise like a blade.
He walked to the doorway and fixed his gaze on the screen.
It was written clearly: Dual Abilities. Control A-rank. Healing S-rank.
Unlike everyone else, Kai wasn't shocked.
He already knew.
From the moment Shuangshuang touched his fingers, he had faintly sensed it.
A Guide who could reduce his Contamination Level by 11% just through a Spirit Beast… how could she be ordinary?
He turned his head and looked at Arya standing in the center of the room.
Sunlight streamed in through the window behind her, turning her golden hair into flowing honey.
She tilted her head slightly, watching the stunned Sentinels who had lost their voices, her expression faintly confused—as if she didn't understand why all the attention was on her.
Kai's throat moved.
His gaze landed on her profile and stuck there, unable to move away.
It wasn't just "desire." That word was too light.
It was something deeper. More instinctive.
Like a man who had walked too long through a desert… suddenly seeing water.
He didn't know what his expression looked like right now.
But if someone told him his eyes were filled with "obsession," he probably wouldn't deny it.
—
Dehn was the first to recover from shock.
He stepped forward, eyes moving from the screen to Arya's face, then back again. Twice. As if confirming he wasn't seeing things.
Then he looked at Arya.
In those green eyes, too many emotions were tangled together—gratitude, hope, and something that had been suppressed for too long, finally daring to surface.
"Guide Arya… are you really willing to stay at our base?"
Arya looked at him.
This tall man. Sharp features. Sharp gaze. Years of exhaustion carved into his brows.
He looked like a bow pulled too tight for too long, on the verge of snapping.
She nodded.
"I don't have anywhere else to go."
Dehn's eyes turned red.
He blinked quickly, then turned his face away, pretending something had gotten into his eyes.
A commander over 190cm tall, built like a wall of muscle, standing there with slightly red eyes.
No one laughed.
Because they all knew.
This base might finally have hope.
The news spread faster than a plague.
Within an hour, the entire The Lost Fort knew: the new Guide was Dual Abilities, Healing S-rank.
Every Sentinel who heard it felt their heartbeat jump.
This place—once swallowed by despair, once called the "graveyard of genius Sentinels" abandoned by the Central Tower—now had a Guide again.
Beautiful. Powerful. S-rank. Healing Type.
In no time, everyone in The Lost Fort was talking about her.
Some asked where she lived. Some tried to learn her preferences. Some even lingered near the testing room just to "accidentally" catch a glimpse of her.
It couldn't be helped.
A Sentinel's desire for a Healing Type Guide was carved into their bones.
—
"Don't worry about salary. You'll get full room and board, and pay will be at the highest market standard."
Dehn's hands trembled slightly as he filled in her basic information. Not from nervousness—but excitement.
Arya looked at the Smart Brain device he handed her and stayed silent for two seconds.
Room and board. High pay.
She was tempted, though she didn't want to admit it.
Still, she stayed cautious. "What's the workload like? What exactly do I need to do?"
"Don't worry. We won't overwork you," Dehn said sincerely. But his eyes flickered for a split second. "You can choose how many Sentinels you want to Pacify. It's entirely up to you."
Entirely up to her.
It sounded free. But Arya noticed the wording.
He said "how many you want to Pacify," not "you don't have to do it if you don't want to."
She said nothing and put on the Smart Brain device.
—
The office was much larger than she expected. Silver-white walls. Ice-blue light strips. High-end equipment everywhere.
A staff member led her through a quick tour, then stopped in front of a device that looked like an operating table.
"This is the Pacification bed. It's used to prevent Sentinels from going out of control during Pacification—mainly for those with high Contamination Levels or strong aggression. If it feels unsafe, you can use the restraints."
The staff demonstrated briefly.
Arya nodded, her gaze lingering for a second on the sturdy restraints.
*Hopefully I won't need those*, she thought.
"And this is your robot butler." The staff pulled out a small, one-meter-tall robot from the corner. "It can handle daily tasks and common issues. You can give it a name."
The robot lifted its screen, showing two big eyes, looking at Arya timidly.
Its shell was silver-white. Round and compact.
"Xiao Yin," Arya said.
"Thank you, Master!" Xiao Yin spun in place twice happily.
—
After the staff left, Arya finally had a chance to lie down.
The bed in the office was more comfortable than she expected. She stared at the ceiling, her mind drifting through scattered thoughts—how she got here, Shuangshuang, Kai, S-rank Healing Type, The Lost Fort…
Then she felt a resentful gaze.
Shuangshuang was lying by her pillow, its little face scrunched up, looking weak and listless.
"Master," its voice echoed in her mind, weak like it hadn't eaten in three days. "I'm hungry."
Arya reached out and touched its flat little belly.
*Can Spirit Beasts even get hungry? Can they even eat?*
She decided not to question it for now.
"What do you want to eat?"
"That… black mist… from before."
Arya understood. The "black mist" Shuangshuang had mentioned.
"Got it." She rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. "I'll start booking Sentinels tomorrow."
Shuangshuang hummed in satisfaction, curled into a small fluffy ball, and closed its eyes.
Arya lay there a while longer, then suddenly remembered something.
*She still didn't know how "Pacifying Sentinels" actually worked.*
*The staff had only demonstrated how to strap someone onto a bed.*
*Not how to pull them back from the edge of collapse.*
Forget it. Tomorrow.
It's just Pacification, right?
How hard could it be?
- Writer
