Toward the End (6)
In an instant, thirty-eight monsters had their lives extinguished. With over a dozen Espers launching fierce attacks, even monsters from an A-rank dungeon with allegedly higher difficulty than usual were helpless.
Unlike the other Espers, Sa Hae-geon deliberately attacked the monsters half-heartedly to avoid drawing attention to himself. He didn’t care what others thought of him or how they treated him, but he hated the idea of Chae Do-min becoming the subject of gossip because of him more than anything. He also didn’t want to give ammunition to the Espers who had been glancing at him and whispering throughout the journey.
In a way, he thought it was natural for them to be wary and uncomfortable with him. An Esper whose very existence they hadn’t known suddenly appeared, and not only was he S-rank, but he could handle two abilities. He was the perfect combination of conditions to be viewed with suspicion.
Woo Jae-dam, who had briefly observed the combat styles and ability utilization methods of the Espers as they fought the monsters at the first location, nodded.
“Right. Everything seems to be cleared up, so let’s move to the next location.”
Even though the dungeon’s difficulty had increased from usual, it wasn’t challenging enough to feel overwhelming.
“What’s this? It’s more manageable than I thought.”
“Yeah. It’s not as difficult as we feared.”
“I know. Are those two underestimating us too much?”
“Come on, I’m sure that wasn’t their intention. There are Espers of the same rank as us in their team too. They wouldn’t have said that with such intent.”
“Is that so? I guess you’re right. Maybe we overreacted?”
The Espers, now more at ease, exchanged jokes and giggled.
However, from the second location onwards, some Espers began to tilt their heads questioningly as they used their abilities. They frowned, seemingly offended, as they saw monsters still walking around normally despite being attacked with their usual level of power.
Sa Hae-geon perceived this subtle change more keenly than anyone. Having faced monsters at both locations with the same level of strength, he could roughly gauge how much the monsters’ level had increased. Though at the final location, he’d probably just be watching.
Two B-rank Espers who had barely managed to finish off the monsters gasped for breath.
“Damn… this is fucking hard.”
“This is ridiculous…! How can A-rank dungeon monsters be this tough?”
They had somehow managed to deal with three monsters by combining their powers, but anything more would have been challenging. Usually, even in A-rank dungeons, they could handle monsters without much difficulty when cooperating with other Espers, but today was unusually taxing.
As the Espers, who had been confident until dealing with the monsters at the first location, now murmured anxiously, Woo Jae-dam stepped forward.
“I clearly told you this isn’t a dungeon with the difficulty level we’re used to conquering. But it’s not at a level we can’t handle either. If you identify and target the weak points, you can deal with them sufficiently. And the third location is mine and Si-yeong’s responsibility, so take a brief rest.”
Woo Jae-dam encouraged the Espers who were hesitating in fear. Even if only a few were inspired by his words.
After Woo Jae-dam and Myeong Si-yeong had finished dealing with all the monsters wandering at the final location, the Espers who witnessed it looked completely dumbfounded. They were still breathing heavily from using more abilities than usual. A B-rank Esper who had confirmed the number and size of monsters that Woo Jae-dam and Myeong Si-yeong had dispatched in one go muttered in a daze.
“Is this… is this really an A-rank dungeon?”
It felt like a bitter taste was rising from their throats. Had the difficulty increased too much? If it was like this in an A-rank, could they really conquer an S-rank dungeon? What if they just held back the S-rank Espers? Or became their meat shields? Either way, they wanted to decline.
Of course, they had consistently visited various dungeons even after the major reports about the emergence of S-rank dungeons, but this was the first time they had encountered such difficulties, making the Espers’ expressions even darker.
Only a few Espers with experience in S-rank dungeon conquests or strong willpower managed to maintain their composure. And Lee Cheol-min, who belonged to the former group, came to Sa Hae-geon’s side while shaking his wrist, talking casually.
“Wow, I tried putting up a shield, and it’s no joke. The attacks from the monsters we faced in this area are definitely stronger.”
Sa Hae-geon glanced at Lee Cheol-min’s hand, with its protruding veins, and agreed quietly.
“I also felt the monsters at the second location were stronger than those at the first.”
“Right? It’s not just my imagination? Oh, what about those guys?”
Lee Cheol-min’s gaze was directed at the Espers who had been frozen since facing the monsters. The younger or lower-ranked Espers seemed overwhelmed with fear, on the verge of losing their composure. Since inability to properly control emotions could cause problems with ability use, Lee Cheol-min was particularly concerned about them.
Woo Jae-dam, seeming to grasp the situation, spoke as if to comfort the Espers.
“There’s no need to be afraid. Our forces are much stronger. But I understand that you might be surprised by the unfamiliar situation. Well, let’s return to the base camp to regroup and then tackle the boss.”
The Espers visibly relaxed at the prospect of having time to catch their breath, even briefly, when they had expected a forced march to conquer the dungeon. They moved toward the base camp with lighter steps than before. Sa Hae-geon, walking alongside Lee Cheol-min, watched Yoon Seon-hoo walking and laughing among unfamiliar Espers rather than the Field Team 2 Espers, before eventually looking away.
* * *
I organized high-calorie energy bars and ion drinks with the others who had remained at the base camp, waiting for Sa Hae-geon and the other Espers. After placing the energy bars, ion drinks, and rice balls that we had brought in abundance for any possible situation on a makeshift table, Guide Oh Se-rang quickly gathered them up.
She hummed a tune while taking a bite of a rice ball.
“Mmm, this familiar yet tiresome taste of ready-made food.”
“You’re eating it just fine. What, too greasy? Want a cup of ramen instead?”
“No, this is enough. One rice ball is sufficient, what’s with the cup ramen? Besides, I have plans tonight.”
“Plans? What plans? Wait, you made plans even though you’re at a dungeon?”
“It seems like we’ll finish early anyway. I guess I made those plans because I had faith in that.”
“Ah, I suppose that’s true.”
An A-rank Esper who had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two Guides tilted his head.
“What if the conquest ends late? You’ll be breaking the promise unilaterally without even being able to contact them.”
“Hey, don’t say such ominous things. Words can become reality, you know. And… I did mention that I might not be able to make it if I’m unlucky. I do have that much conscience.”
Guide Oh Se-rang grumbled as she chewed on her rice ball.
“But I’ve always wondered. I understand it for Espers, but do Guides really need to eat high-calorie food too?”
“Why are you questioning something so obvious? Don’t you know how quickly your physical and mental strength drains during guiding? Guiding really depends on your energy, you know?”
“Ugh… that’s really gross, so gross. Sigh, I get so annoyed when Espers who don’t even need guiding come looking for us just to hold a Guide’s hand once. Chae Do-min, what do you think about this? How do you think we should handle it?”
Yeom Jae-hee, one of my fellow Guides, singled me out. Suddenly, all eyes in the base camp turned to me. Finding myself the center of attention unexpectedly, I rolled my eyes around before responding slowly.
“Well, how should we handle it? Just send them away, I guess.”
“That’s exactly the problem. Why just send them away? Why do we have to coddle Espers like babies? Huh? I think Espers who unnecessarily look for Guides should be punished with fists.”
“Exactly! Are only Espers precious? We’re precious too! In fact, we’re more precious than Espers. But the treatment is too different, don’t you think?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Sorry to the Espers here, but honestly, it’s the truth. Even if you can’t agree, please understand just this once that we’re just venting among ourselves.”
“…Ah, yes.”
“Yes, I understand. Feel free to talk comfortably.”
I watched the Espers who simply smiled off these direct comments, then unwrapped an energy bar. I wondered if Sa Hae-geon was doing well. I hoped the other Espers weren’t giving him a hard time or bullying him. While worrying about such trivial matters and anxiously looking around the base camp:
“Oh, they seem to be coming back.”
An Esper with keen senses shouted loudly, perhaps having detected something. Simultaneously, Gu Jin-young, a strategy support team Esper who had been checking a tablet while drinking an ion beverage, jumped to his feet. Jin-young’s face, holding the tablet, had turned pale.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
