The car door slammed shut as Penn Jennson exited the passenger side of the military jeep parked outside the main Hunter Association branch in Caelus City. His midnight-black hair was still cropped short from his most recent military tour. His sharp ocean-green eyes darted around as they scanned the area, a second-nature habit for him. His surprisingly pale skin reflected the intense sunlight bouncing off the glass front.
"Jennson, with me," commanded the driver's voice, which had exited the vehicle alongside him.
"Yes, sir," Penn's sharp voice replied quickly and clearly. His hand tugged at the collar of his clean, black standard-issue military t-shirt and patted the crease from sitting on his uniformed khaki pants. With a long sigh, he followed behind his commander to the Hunter Association entrance.
He was never one to get nervous. He was well-known among his comrades for his calm demeanor and stoic behavior, but his high heart rate could only be attributed to that. He had his whole life planned around working his way up in the military like his mother had before him. Being a 'civilian-military personnel,' he could still make it quite far up the promotion chain. And if he ever awakened, he assumed it could have at least been something of use for the army to keep him.
Passing through the doors of this intimidating building under these frustrating circumstances left an unsatisfying taste in his mouth. Flexing his jaw outside his commander's view was the only protest he could show to avoid being accused of contempt. After signing in at the front desk as expected guests, they were guided through a maze of secure doors and pass-card-locked elevators. Then, they passed through double-set reinforced steel doors.
They were shown to a large meeting room with a large tinted floor-to-ceiling window into an impossibly large area. A whole complex was laid out in one of the many basement levels of the headquarters. With the white-textured walls and the hexagon-shaped floor that Penn could see through the glass, he internally scoffed at the budget difference between the military and the hunters' association regarding basic training.
"Hello, you must be Penn Jennson, the newly awakened guide. I'm Miranda Wake, and I'm in charge of guide management. Please have a seat, Mr. Jennson," called a neatly dressed woman at the end of the room. She waved to a medical recliner.
It was crowded with buzzing machines and draped with suspicious wires. Penn chewed the inside of his lips as he stepped forward, taking long strides across the room, stopping to look down at the tiny woman before him—his 5'10" stature appearing more intimidating with his built body.
"It won't bite," she commented, nodding again to the chair. His cold green eyes darted from the expressionless woman to the chair before seating himself in it. Mrs. Wake swiftly moved around, attaching different monitors to different parts of his body as if it were a standard checkup. Penn relaxed slightly, his muscles less tense as he silently watched.
"These are just standard medical machines: heart rate, temperature, moisture level, etc. We'll do physical tests another day. We will be testing your basic guidance ability, your average guidance over time, and the transfer of your guidance to those training in the room through the window.
"We'll have remote monitors on them to gauge their response to your guidance," she said. Then, she wheeled over a pulsing sphere that glowed with gold and blue hues. Though Penn initially felt uneasy, a sense of calm filled him as soon as his hand was placed on the sphere, which unnerved him.
"Is that a dungeon core?" Penn's eyes narrowed, running his tongue over his teeth at the feeling of cotton being stuffed inside his mouth the longer his hand remained on the orb.
"Correct. Have you seen one before?" Mrs. Wake asked in surprise, walking around the chair to activate the medical machines.
"No, but based on reports, it seems to match the description I've read about," Penn shook his head as his eyes followed the woman.
"Good judgment," she smiled before looking down at his flexed hand on top of the core. "It's okay to relax your hand. It may be an unusual feeling at first, like drinking a very hoppy IPA. Once you relax and place your focus on that hand to give instead of guarding against it, that uncomfortable feeling will disappear."
Penn scrunched his nose as he forced himself to follow the instructions. It was hard to tell a well-trained officer to just give in and relax. He stared daggers at the back of his hand as if trying to forcefully will it to do as told. Mrs. Wake coughed as she tried to hide a laugh and looked away when their eyes met. Penn closed his eyes to focus on relaxing his hand, picturing that he was reaching out a hand to a fallen comrade to help him up. After a few moments of this visualization, that stuffy feeling in his mouth vanished.
"Perfect! Well done! You got the hang of it faster than most others would. It usually takes a few visits and discussions with our counselors to find the best way for you." Mrs. Wake gave an approving nod as she looked at the monitor. "Now I'll let the training hunters know to start their spar, and you can continue with the method you figured out."
Penn nodded and looked toward the glass wall once again, but this time to watch the training of those special-powered hunters. He had encountered them in the field or civilian life when dungeons opened, but never this close.
The room he was in turned out to be perfectly soundproof, for he heard nothing even as the hunters threw things or broke things. Penn enjoyed watching others train; there was always something to learn — even from hunters. As he focused on his hand as instructed, he watched the gold particles float up from the ground and gravitate toward the hunters, with some particles being drawn more in large quantities to certain hunters. Mrs. Wake nodded as she pressed some buttons on her tablet absently.
"You're averaging a steady, but high-quality guidance. And from the numbers we are recording from the training hunters, it's being universally well received. You also resonate well with higher-class hunters—which is a blessing on our end. It's hard to find a high-quality guide. We'll have to arrange a few days to do guiding proficiency match tests with our class A and higher hunters, but everything is recording well so far. Usually, if you score over 60%, hunters will be assigned to you—but it's best when the proficiency is over 75%."
"I'm monogamous," Penn stated flatly, his eyes unwavering as he looked at the woman who was looking back and forth between her table and the monitors.
"I'm not sure what your pref—oh!" Mrs. Wake started, slightly confused, before laughing. "So you heard the rumors. That's not a standard for official government guiding. We have sexual harassment laws for a reason. Though scientifically, full physical contact with emotional connection has been shown to give higher quality guidance, resonate with the hunter on a much larger scale, and the hunter reach their standard levels at a faster rate—that is not the norm. Though what you do outside of office hours—"
"No, thank you," Penn replied, turning his head away to look back out the training window. His ear tips were tinged with a blush pink — more notable against his pale complexion with no hair to hide behind. That is not an activity I have any interest in. What is the standard for guiding, then?"
"The lower class, the guide - or the larger gap between the guide's class and the hunter's class - will need contact guiding. Usually, it can be just sitting and holding hands like a handshake or sitting next to each other on the couch, shoulder to shoulder. The higher class you are, and the better your average resonance, the more they just need to be in the same room with you as you focus on guiding."
"So if my numbers continue to record high on your monitor, I don't need to touch anyone?" Penn's eyes darted to Mrs. Wake while his head still faced toward the training room window. She gave a small, reassuring laugh.
"We believe in a sanitary workplace, and the only time we are coercive is when we try to scout support power users and guides. However, there are strict standards for government support personnel. As a guide, not only will you need to go through the Guide Training Program and receive the certificate, but you'll also receive extended first aid training—which covers emergency and wilderness first aid, mental first aid, and a course on basic psychology. Though we have a full wing dedicated to therapy and psychology for our power users, the hunters tend to be quite prideful. So, while in a guiding session, they tend to open up about their experiences in the dungeons."
"I have to be their mind doc, too?" Penn's brows furrowed in annoyance, turning to face her completely."No, we wouldn't ask that of someone who's not a professional. We just want you to sit and listen to them and give basic advice per our handbook. You've already received a lot of training from your years in the military - so there isn't too much for you to learn. Usually, all awakened must undergo six months of basic military training alongside courses related to their powers."
The first aid training is also related to multiple factors. Sometimes, the hunters need guidance before medical assistance—since many have a faster healing factor than the average person. So you need to administer first aid while you guide so the transition to the medical wing will be smooth. It's also for when guides are on-site at dungeons as well." She finished off.
"Jennson, this is a cushier job than you are used to, but you deserve it," the commander finally spoke up, having stood quietly by the door the entire time. "You have been working like a dog nonstop since you joined the military at eighteen."
Penn looked at him before turning to Mrs. Wake once more. "Is that all I need to do for today, then?"
"Yes," she nodded, standing to remove all the wires from him before extending her hand to shake his. "Thank you, Mr. Jensson. We'll contact you today or tomorrow to arrange your training dates and proficiency match test."
"Thank you," Penn replied with a polite bow and curt tone, shaking her hand in return. "I'll take my leave then."
"I'll take you back to your quarters, Jennson. Let's get you packed up while they arrange your dorm space." The commander called for him, opening the door. Penn and his commander nodded farewell to Mrs. Wake before leaving the Hunters Association building.