# Chapter 14
“I don’t need it.”
“…Is it because I’m weak?”
Well, they probably didn’t need him anyway. Even if a dangerous situation occurred, other Espers might respond faster than him despite his proximity. Dohyun’s expression darkened at this thought.
“No.”
But Haegang immediately shook his head and showed something in his hand. It was the barrier generation device that Dohyun had been considering taking out a loan to buy.
‘It seems I was the one who needed to worry…’
Having unnecessarily extended his concern, he now felt proportionally embarrassed. He tried to act nonchalant and averted his gaze. As the embarrassment faded, he finally began to take in the interior of the gate.
The sight inside the gate was fascinating. Even Haegang, a Guide, wasn’t particularly amazed, but Dohyun couldn’t help looking around at everything inside the gate.
Before entering the gate, Dohyun had been in an open area full of sand and dust, with no forest in sight despite its name. After taking just one step through the gate that appeared like a tear in the air, the inside revealed a completely different landscape from the outside.
The scene before him was a bizarre mixture of forest and sea. The sky wasn’t the clear blue one typically imagined, but a deep one reminiscent of the ocean depths, rippling like water. Trees resembling blue coral were embedded in the field, swaying slowly.
“Beautiful…”
Though it wasn’t the kind of place where such words seemed appropriate, the scenery was incredibly beautiful. He didn’t want to sound like a child, but the scene was so dreamlike that he couldn’t help but mutter it.
“Amazing, right? I felt the same way the first time I came in.”
“The scenery differs a bit from gate to gate.”
The guild members smiled and commented as they watched the still-young Esper turning his head this way and that, taking in the inside of a gate for the first time. Everyone in Somyeong Guild knew Dohyun’s circumstances to some extent.
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Dohyun, who had been absently looking around, tried to compose his expression when he noticed the adults watching him. What was he doing while everyone was working? He hid his embarrassment behind a nonchalant face. But with Haegang staring intently at his neck from quite close by, Dohyun lowered his head. Not just his face, but his neck was also burning hot.
“Now, let’s check.”
The Espers who had been chatting turned their attention and gathered in one place to review their strategy. Among the gathered Espers, the Guild Leader—an overwhelmingly powerful S-class combat Esper who could disrupt the power balance—approached Dohyun and patted his shoulder.
“Well~. Shall our Esper Dohyun come over here~?”
The Guild Leader, who had originally entered to protect Dohyun and the Guide, wasn’t with the other Espers. The Guild Leader took Dohyun to where the Guides were waiting near the gate entrance.
It was a principle for Guides to wait near where the gate entrance had formed. After some time passed following entry into the gate, the entrance would naturally disappear as if healing itself, and when the gate raid was completed, the exit would appear in the same spot, which was why they needed to quickly identify the location.
The Guides, the Espers tasked with protecting the Guides, and the F-class Espers responsible for handling byproducts had gathered in one place, taking a rather leisurely rest. With the belief that there was no danger, some had even taken out picnic mats they had brought to sit on, while others checked the gate gauge measuring devices they had brought while chatting.
“Esper Baek Dohyun! You can use the mat too.”
“No. I’m more comfortable standing.”
“Really? If your legs get tired later, you can sit down.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Who would really find standing more comfortable? It required keeping your legs tense. Nevertheless, Dohyun adamantly refused. It was a bit awkward with Haegang, who stood slightly apart from the guild Guides with whom he had no interaction, constantly staring at him, but Dohyun could bear it. Since this was a low-grade gate with many high-ranking personnel entering, the raid wouldn’t take long.
Soon, monsters appeared. Dohyun couldn’t help but gape at the sight of monsters he was seeing for the first time. Colorful fish-like monsters flying through the air as if swimming in space created a dreamlike scene, like watching a beautiful movie or animation. The monsters’ scales emitted multicolored light with every movement, making them even more mystical.
But when a monster approached and opened its mouth, it was filled with teeth reminiscent of a shark. Just as he was alarmed by the sharp teeth capable of tearing apart any creature, the Espers began to move quickly. They gave feedback to each other and changed positions as they ran.
“No! This formation won’t work. I have too high a chance of getting hit by ranged attacks.”
“Two more monsters outside the barrier are coming in.”
“Then let’s change positions once more before taking them all down.”
Even though it was F-class, it looked too dangerous to Dohyun, and he couldn’t keep up with the Espers’ movements. Suddenly remembering a fish movie he had glimpsed as a child, he felt uncomfortable.
‘Seonwoo, this is a bit much, isn’t it?’
He shook his head, trying to shake off the memory. The bad memories faded behind the image of monsters falling from the air under the Espers’ attacks. It was because the Espers’ powerful strength was so much more intense than the uncomfortable scenes. In fact, the Espers seemed to be controlling their attack strength because the monsters were so much weaker in comparison.
The raid team continued eliminating monsters while testing various methods. After a long assault, it seemed the raid was complete as the Espers greeted each other and walked closer to where Dohyun was. Perhaps due to the barrier Esper’s ability, even the monsters that had been unable to approach from a distance had all collapsed at some point.
It was now time for Guiding. The Guides, who had been chatting leisurely, stood up and performed Guiding for the approaching Espers. Dohyun, who had only been watching, didn’t need Guiding, so he stood a bit apart from those gathering to receive Guiding, staring into space.
If he had an ability, would he have naturally accepted Guiding? Even now, he was tense thinking his body would start hurting if he remained still. But when he thought about Guiding, he still found it uncomfortable. A body so inefficient that everyday life became difficult without a Guide. And to think that he had ended up with such a body.
As Dohyun was sighing, he suddenly looked up at a large shadow cast over him. There were too many people to notice someone approaching. He flinched and stepped back slightly as Haegang approached, backlit by the light.
“Would you like to receive Guiding?”
“What?”
He didn’t know his ability and couldn’t use it, and he wasn’t in pain either. He had received Guiding just yesterday and was fine, so was it really necessary? Wondering if Haegang had noticed his concern while watching the Espers receiving Guiding, Dohyun was about to say it was okay when he closed his mouth at Haegang’s outstretched hand. What was this feeling of “shut up and take my hand”? It seemed as if Haegang had anticipated his refusal and extended his hand to prevent him from speaking.
“It’s already your scheduled time. After the exit appears and we leave, it’ll be past 5 o’clock.”
It was indeed his regular time. Dohyun obediently took Haegang’s hand. The now-familiar Vigor enveloped Dohyun’s body. Haegang’s Vigor matched well with the gate.
‘It really feels like being underwater…’
He took in the swaying water plants and the rippling water-like sky. If Haegang’s Vigor had just felt like touching water, he might have simply felt cool. But Dohyun felt warmth instead of coolness. Warm… swimming pool? No, more like a bathtub?
Having only ever used a shower, this was the first time Dohyun had experienced the sensation of a bathtub. He thought this pleasant feeling was due to the high matching rate.
But it wasn’t good to continue feeling such unconscious attraction. Dohyun remembered that Espers need to discern for themselves the instinctive attraction they feel while receiving Guiding from a Guide.
When an Esper develops an attraction to a Guide, they need to accurately determine whether that attraction is genuinely real.
No matter how he thought about it, his attraction to Haegang couldn’t be real, so this feeling must be due to the pleasant Vigor. Thinking that it wouldn’t be bad to stay like this if he could continue to receive this feeling, Dohyun deliberately released the hand he had been holding. If he continued to receive Guiding, he might drain too much of the Guide’s energy. Since that could also cause reverse-Guiding, he couldn’t receive it indefinitely just because it felt good.
“Well then, Esper Dohyun?”
“Ah, yes.”
Perhaps the gate’s atmosphere had made him too emotional. Dohyun quickly came to his senses and approached the Guild Leader.
“Once we exit the gate, we need to stop by the Association again. Understand?”
“The Association… why?”
Can I really not go home? Dohyun’s hands trembled. It had been over 30 hours since he’d been home…
It wasn’t like he had something significant to do at home. But just lying down quietly would make him feel at ease.
Even by his own assessment, Dohyun was an introverted person. He preferred staying at home quietly doing his own things rather than going out, wandering around, or meeting people and having his energy drained. Being active was good, but not everyone needed to be active, right? One could engage in enough activity for life even at home. Though others might see his home as merely small, to Dohyun, it was an incredibly warm and peaceful place.
“Umm… Esper Dohyun?”
“Yes, Guild Leader.”
“Espers who enter and exit gates receive what’s called a gate raid allowance…?”
But I didn’t participate in the raid. As Dohyun looked puzzled, the Guild Leader explained.
“Of course, most of it goes to the Espers who directly participated, according to their contribution. But even Espers who were on standby receive an allowance.”
“I… I literally just stood there. Isn’t this unearned income?”
“Unearned… Well, if you want to be that detailed about it, it is unearned income…”
The Guild Leader looked taken aback.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
