A Certain Moment (7)
Could it be that Hae-geon had no interest in promotions or performance bonuses? Seo-ju looked at Hae-geon with confused eyes, then drew the sword from her waist. Though it was bewildering, she had no intention of refusing Hae-geon’s suggestion. Above all, she was several times more tired than usual from using her ability in such a different way, and wanted to receive Guiding and rest as soon as possible.
Seo-ju took a deep breath and ran toward the monster. Finally, she pushed off the ground, leaped up, and plunged her sword into the huge monster’s abdomen. Seo-ju’s sword mercilessly pierced deep into the soft underbelly, despite the thick outer skin.
“Keeeeeek…!”
The monster writhed violently with a scream, incomparable to moments before. As a result, reddish bloody water and swamp mud splashed all over the riverbank. A considerable amount of blood splashed toward the conquest team, but it was blocked by Lee Cheol-min and Kim Je-gon’s shields and fell to the ground.
The ground around the shields quickly became stained with reddish blood. After struggling for a while, the monster seemed to sense its own death as it opened and closed its jaws a few times before stopping its breathing completely. While everyone watched with bated breath, Esper Lee Cheol-min spoke.
“Okay, good! With a big one like that around, the others must be hiding without making a sound. Well then, shall we take care of the remaining ones now?”
The conquest team moved again, following Esper Lee Cheol-min. Inside the dungeon, there were various kinds of monsters, including insect-like ones much smaller than the crocodile monster, and other reptilian monsters. They were about the size of large dogs, but the conquest team handled them with ease.
After dealing with these lesser monsters, there were no living creatures left in the dungeon.
“Conquest complete! Now we just need to collect the by-products here, so let’s head out.”
Although they had struggled a bit, the dungeon was cleared faster than expected, which brightened Lee Cheol-min’s expression. Unlike the group heading outside the dungeon following him, Hae-geon seemed to find something strange and kept looking around.
Chae Do-min, who was watching him most closely, tilted his head.
“What’s wrong?”
“Hyung, how do you know when a dungeon conquest is complete? What changes?”
Chae Do-min burst into laughter at Hae-geon’s question.
“Right. I should have told you that. I’ll explain.”
“Yes.”
Hae-geon obediently replied and listened attentively to Chae Do-min as they walked together. Chae Do-min kindly explained in a pleasant voice.
“Do you see the sun in the sky?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t it move?”
Hae-geon looked up at the sky once in response to Chae Do-min’s question.
“It normally moves, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. But it’s different here. Until the conquest is complete, the sun or moon doesn’t move, and once it’s over, they start to move little by little.”
Come to think of it, when they were searching for the crocodile monster, the sun did seem to just hang in one place.
“That’s why scientists who study dungeons speculate that what we call dungeons might be spaces that existed on Earth originally, but exploded with dungeon energy, separating space-time from Earth. They also believe that monsters are likely the animals and plants that lived in those regions transformed by dungeon energy.”
Hae-geon nodded his head at the interesting story, showing that he was paying close attention.
“The theory that when all life forms containing dungeon energy die, the separated space-time reintegrates with Earth, causing the moon or sun to move again, is an extension of the hypothesis I just mentioned. Dungeons are still a field with much to research, so various hypotheses emerge.”
“Really? You know quite a lot?”
“Well… Jong-hyeok’s friend is a senior researcher at the Dungeon Research Institute, so I’ve just heard various stories. Do you have any more questions about dungeons? Being your first time, I thought you might be curious about a lot of things. That’s how I was during my first dungeon. I was curious about everything.”
Hae-geon stared intently at Chae Do-min’s moving lips and replied.
“Nothing yet. But what were you curious about?”
“Hmm… what was it… Ah, yes. I wondered if you could find by-products by digging in the dungeon, and also how many monsters could exist in a dungeon at maximum. Everything was just fascinating and curious.”
“Maybe it was more so for you since you entered a dungeon at a younger age than me?”
“Hmm, that could be the case.”
After chatting about various things while moving, they found themselves in front of the dungeon gate. The other team members had already left, as it was quiet around. As they exited the dungeon gate, they saw Lee Cheol-min with his arm around the shoulder of a conquest support team member, laughing heartily.
“We brought all these tents and stuff, but couldn’t use any of them. Still, it’s nice to leave work early, right?”
“Yes, certainly.”
“What’s that… ‘quick exit’? Seo-ju, is that right? That term young people use these days.”
“Yes, ‘quick exit’ is correct.”
“Ye-eah, right. Since we’ve made a ‘quick exit,’ let’s all go home and rest well. The conquest support team should ‘quick exit’ too.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Esper Lee Cheol-min, who had been chatting, spotted Chae Do-min and Hae-geon and waved his hand.
“Hey, you’re coming out now? You two need to go to the Center, right?”
“Yes. We should go to the Center before heading home.”
An Esper participating in their first dungeon had to have their ability usage and wavelengths checked. This was to estimate the approximate total of their power and to Guide more efficiently. Staying at the Center for an hour or two for examination also allowed for quick response if any abnormal signs appeared right after the dungeon conquest.
Guides also took time to calm the wavelengths of Espers who were extremely excited from facing monsters, and to figure out how much power to use for Guiding. Of course, such procedures were only followed for first dungeons and high-grade dungeons; usually, they would finish their work or extend it after receiving Guiding inside or outside the dungeon.
For Guides, it was mostly the latter.
In the small bus, Hae-geon watched Esper Hwang Ji-hyun and Guide Jeong Mi-rae holding hands tightly while Guiding, then glanced at Chae Do-min standing beside him. Chae Do-min was conversing with other Espers with a faint smile. Judging by the warm, pleasant feeling enveloping his body, he seemed to be doing radiation Guiding.
Hae-geon wasn’t pleased that the person he loved was Guiding other Espers, but he didn’t show his discomfort. Chae Do-min wasn’t his Guide, and he wasn’t Chae Do-min’s only Esper. He hadn’t been given that right yet.
Hae-geon recalled his conversation with the Esper Center Director.
‘I’ve heard it’s difficult to find a Guide with matching wavelengths. But with such problems, wouldn’t it be advantageous to contract with a guild? Why specifically choose our Central Center?’
‘Because Do-min hyung is here. That’s why I came.’
‘Do you want to pair with Guide Chae Do-min?’
‘That would be nice if possible, but not yet. I don’t like pairings arranged by the Center.’
He already knew that Chae Do-min was bound to the Center by a special contract. And that if he expressed his desire to pair with him, it would likely happen.
But he didn’t want that. He didn’t want to start any relationship with Chae Do-min in that way. He wanted to start with his own strength, conveying his own feelings. Even kidnapping him was to have a conversation with him on his own terms.
Even while knowing it wasn’t the right method, even while regretting it at times, he ultimately concluded that he did the right thing.
“Hae-geon, let’s get going too.”
If he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been able to face such a kind person at such a close proximity, or have conversations with him. Meeting Chae Do-min on the day he left home without a plan, and kidnapping him, were the best things he had ever done in his life.
Hae-geon carefully held Chae Do-min’s hand as he headed toward the car. The hand, which seemed to flinch slightly at first, soon held his hand back. He could feel Chae Do-min’s warm temperature through his palm. Every time he realized this fact, he felt like he might cry, but he held it in because he didn’t want to appear like a child.
As soon as he got into the car, he collapsed into Chae Do-min’s arms and mumbled.
“Today was so exhausting.”
Of course, he was well aware that such childish behavior might make him appear like a child in Chae Do-min’s eyes. But to be held in Chae Do-min’s arms, which smelled like warm sunshine like Cream, without the excuse of Guiding, there was no other way. So, he just pretended to be a large Cream and allowed himself to be held.
“You worked hard, Hae-geon. But you really did well. I was surprised.”
“That’s because you were watching me. Weren’t you tired? Were you scared?”
“I’ve been a Guide for several years… Of course it’s scary. It would be a lie to say I’m not scared. But I’m used to it. When you get used to it, though monsters are scary, they’re not frightening enough to make you want to run away.”
At the calm voice, Hae-geon pressed his lips together. His mind was filled with the thought of handling all monsters before Chae Do-min could get scared, so that he would never have to be afraid for the rest of his life.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
