Chapter 235: First day as Squad Leader [2]

’...This is because of my game, isn’t it?’

I was a little surprised by this development.

As far as I was aware, Sarah was a top recruit from a regional Academy. She was decently ranked and was supposed to be a highly promising recruit.

For her to be affected by the game...

’Is something actually wrong with her, and it has nothing to do with the game, and I’m overthinking, or is it really related to the game?’

I wasn’t entirely sure, but I planned on finding out more later.

"It’s really strange..." Joanna muttered while pinching her chin. "She’s been acting a little off since that day. I can’t quite explain it. Do you possibly think it’s because of the game?"

As she asked me the question, I shook my head.

"I’m not sure."

The situation told me that it was.

However, my gut told me that there was more to it.

"I see."

Joanna looked a little dissatisfied with the answer, but didn’t probe any further and just as she moved away, the room’s door opened and the Section Chief came in.

"Looks like everyone is here."

He looked to be in a better mood.

"...It looks like Seth is also here. Perfect."

He was just about to clap his hands in satisfaction when he paused and looked towards a certain cubicle.

"Oh, wait..."

"Sarah is missing."

Without missing a beat, Joanna pointed out Sarah’s absence to the Section Chief.

"Sarah..."

He pursed his lips and looked at me.

I told him what Joanna told me.

"She apparently isn’t feeling well."

"Hmm."

His brows furrowed, but he didn’t say anything after that.

"I guess that’s fine. Today, you’re not going to be diving into any gates. It’ll be more of an introduction to the gate system and what you’re going to be doing."

I felt a little relieved hearing this.

I wasn’t quite ready to enter a gate or anything like that. I also didn’t know what I was supposed to do, and was fairly ignorant of how the entire system worked.

"Seth, follow me."

Walking towards the desk by the end of the room, the Section Chief motioned me with his hand before sitting down on the chair and booting up the computer. It was also then that I noticed the computer, and I paused.

’Can that even be considered a computer?’

It looked like a massive white brick block.

It resembled something that came in the early nineties.

"I’ll give you a general rundown on what you’re supposed to do."

Once the computer finished booting up with a series of whirrs and beeps, the screen flickered to life, casting a dim green glow across the white desk. Thick lines of text blinked against the monochrome background, and a blinking cursor waited in the corner.

The interface was barebones. No icons, no windows... just rows of blocky, pixelated letters.

What sort of fossils were they using here?

"...Don’t judge the computer because of its appearance."

With his eyes flickering green due to the monitor in front of him, and as though he could sense the shift in my thoughts, the Section Chief smiled before moving the cursor.

"This right here is probably one of the most advanced pieces of technology that we have in the Guild."

Click!

Even the sound of the mouse felt odd.

However, it was also then that I saw changes occur on the screen as several texts appeared.

▶

[Gate 0]

▷ [Null Arch]

▷

[Infinite Path]

▷

[Silent March]

▷

[The Maw of Passage]

Each name blinked in unison as the pixels on the screen refreshed continuously. Pausing the cursor over the first name, the Section Chief looked at me.

"Press ’enter’ on any of them and you’ll be able to directly bring everyone in the room into the respective gate."

"....!"

My brows couldn’t help but jump up upon hearing the words.

Then, shifting my attention back to the computer, I pressed my lips together.

’So you’re telling me that I can directly enter gates and bring everyone in the room with just the computer?’

This...

The Section Chief pressed his finger against the monitor screen.

"One more thing. Each gate is classified by level, starting from the lowest rank, F, up to the highest, S. When choosing a gate, you’ll first need to select the rank before seeing any available options. The classification gives a general sense of the gate’s difficulty. For example, an F-ranked gate typically only requires individuals from the First Order, with higher ranks demanding progressively stronger participants."

Pausing, the Section Chief gave me a knowing look.

"Not that it actually matters... This is just a general safety guideline."

"I see."

I still found it hard to believe that someone with no powers or order could actually clear a high-ranking gate, but I was the living proof of it.

’With the right items and preparations, I guess it truly is possible.’

"Okay, now that I’m done giving you a general rundown of the situation here, I’ll address everyone within the room."

The Section Chief raised his head and looked at everyone present in the room.

"...All of you here will be a squad. Your squad name is ’507’, the same as the number on your door. You will all be under Team Leader Soran, and your main job will be to enter gates and collect fragments."

The Section Chief stood up from the chair and sat down at the table while crossing his arms and scanning the room.

"I’m sure all of you are aware of how things work around the Guild. However, I’ll still give a quick introduction to refresh your mind."

’He’s just saying it for me, isn’t he?’

"Gates provide fragments. We want fragments. We clear the gates. We earn fragments. The higher the clearing, the purer the fragment. We like that. We want that. We repeat that. We call it farming."

"....?"

Visible question marks popped up on the heads of everyone present.

The same was for me as I looked at the Section Chief.

What sort of way of talking was this...?

’No, thinking about his personality, he’s probably speaking like this just to save time.’

I pinched the middle of my brows as I continued to listen to the Section Chief speak.

"Each gate has limited fragments. The higher the ranked gate, the more we can farm. And... that’s pretty much it. Oh, wait... Right. Each gate also differs with each dive. Just a little bit."

The Section Chief smiled, looking extremely satisfied with himself.

The only thing I felt was a headache.

However, I more or less understood what he was trying to say.

’In essence, our job is to go to gates and ’farm’ fragments. The gate rank doesn’t really matter in terms of the fragment level, but we can earn more fragments from them. Each gate differs slightly with each dive, and the better we do, the purer the fragment.’

It was pretty straightforward to some extent.

"There will be a quota that you’ll need to meet by the end of each month, and for each fragment that you earn, depending on the purity level, you’ll be assigned GP, which stands for Guild Points. You’ll be able to use the points to buy items provided by the Guild."

My heart sped up in that moment.

This was exactly what I had been looking for!

"You can access the shop directly from the computers before you. There’s detailed information on all of them."

I looked at the computer and felt my body itch.

I really wanted to get right onto it.

But...

"Seth."

The Section Chief’s voice shook me out of my thoughts as I lowered my head to look at him.

My expression tensed when I saw his serious expression.

"I’d like a word with you outside."