Chapter 91
The unexpected impact from behind sent me flying without knowing what had happened. My body floated up and then fell, rolling on the ground several times before stopping.
When I tried to get up after regaining consciousness, I couldn’t breathe properly. Something seemed wrong from the impact I had just received.
The one fortunate thing in this misfortune was that the serpent’s remaining head had completely fallen off. As I painfully raised my head, I could see the headless giant snake’s body collapsing. As the main body’s life force was cut off, the thick poison that had spread began to quickly dissipate.
Relieved that the battle was over, I tried to get up again. But a sudden intense pain in my chest made me dizzy.
“Wake up! Hello?”
“I’ll start guiding right away!”
As the poison completely cleared, Guides rushed in to check on the Espers. Desperate cries, wailing, and confusion mixed together, turning the base camp into chaos once again. And surprisingly, there was a Guide who spoke to me. It was Choi Young-sun.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
I answered but felt a bit puzzled. In a situation where everyone was instinctively looking after the Espers they were close to, I hadn’t expected Choi Young-sun to approach me first. Though we belonged to the same Guild, we weren’t close even superficially. In fact, we probably had the most awkward relationship among anyone in the Guild.
But her next words were even more surprising.
“I’ll guide you.”
Because of this, I momentarily forgot my pain and asked with a dumbfounded face.
“Me?”
“…If it’s not urgent, I can go to someone else.”
“No! I’d be really grateful for your help.”
I quickly regained my senses and grabbed Choi Young-sun. A-grade was effectively the highest Guide rank, and Choi Young-sun was considered among the top. When such a person extends a helping hand first, it was only right to accept immediately.
“Can you make it to the barracks?”
“Of course.”
I followed Choi Young-sun as she led the way. Despite my prompt answer, my physical condition wasn’t good. With each step, I felt pain as if someone was gripping my internal organs.
‘I can’t ask for support either…’
It wasn’t just because of the psychological distance. Choi Young-sun’s physical abilities were the same as an ordinary woman’s, and if I had put my arm on her shoulder, we would have both collapsed together. The situation after that… I didn’t even want to imagine it.
Convincing myself that walking on my own was better than falling over, I finally reached the barracks. First, I swallowed some painkillers and barely sat down on a chair. My whole body was drenched in sweat.
‘I need to see the doctor as soon as guiding is over.’
While I was thinking to myself, Choi Young-sun sat across from me and said:
“Can I have your hand?”
“Ah, yes.”
Hiding my slight nervousness, I took her hand. With her calm voice indicating she was about to begin, her energy started flowing into me.
—
When I took Choi Young-sun’s hand, I had subtle expectations. As I mentioned, she was a skilled Guide, and personally, this was my first time receiving guiding from an A-grade Guide.
‘I wonder if I’ll feel a dramatic improvement in a short time. I hope the pain subsides too.’
While I secretly hoped for additional benefits, the reality was very different from what I had expected. Instead of the refreshing energy I had anticipated, I felt a lukewarm energy being transmitted weakly. Honestly, it was so minimal that it was disconcerting.
Is this right for an A-grade Guide? At this rate, the efficiency seems almost non-existent…
I tried to relax my body as much as possible and eliminate resistance to receive more energy. But the amount of energy trickling in remained unchanged. At this rate, even if we stayed connected for an hour, it seemed like not even 20% would be purified.
Trying to absorb energy while enduring the pain, I finally spoke carefully.
“I’m really sorry, but could you make it a bit stronger?”
With both gratitude and apology, I forced a slight smile, and I saw Choi Young-sun bite her lip before releasing it. I couldn’t tell if she felt sorry or if her pride was hurt.
Soon, a small but clear voice answered:
“I’m sorry. The compatibility is worse than I thought… I should have just suggested finding another Guide.”
Hearing that, I broke into a cold sweat for a different reason. I had absolutely no intention of blaming or criticizing her, but it might have sounded that way to Choi Young-sun, making me feel even more apologetic.
“Not at all. Another Guide might have been even worse. I couldn’t say this earlier because of the chaos, but I’m really grateful that you came to check on me first.”
“…It’s nothing.”
Choi Young-sun briefly answered, slightly lowering her gaze. Known for being taciturn, Choi Young-sun, like myself, had nothing more to say.
As I listened to all kinds of commotion around us with a troubled heart, I heard Choi Young-sun’s voice again after a while.
“I’m sorry, but can we end this?”
My gaze, which had been directed elsewhere, quickly turned toward her. We hadn’t even properly resolved the energy, and she wanted to stop already?
I almost spoke out loud without thinking, but hesitated when I saw Choi Young-sun’s face. Her expression was visibly strained.
This reminded me of something I had momentarily forgotten. Before the monster attack, Choi Young-sun had covered her mouth and hurriedly left during guiding. It was clearly due to guiding side effects, and not enough time had passed for her to fully recover. Thinking about this, I couldn’t bring myself to ask for more.
“Yes. Thank you so much for helping.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Eventually, the guiding ended. Seeing her leave urgently as soon as she released my hand, just like before, it seemed her condition still wasn’t good.
I looked at her retreating figure with worried eyes, but not for long. I wasn’t in good condition either. With unresolved residual energy and persistent chest pain, I was extremely on edge.
Just then, seeing a familiar person passing by, I hurriedly called out to her.
“Senior Hee-seon!”
The senior turned her head and quickly approached me when she saw me.
“Are you okay, Su-hyeon?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Um… I’m sorry, but could I ask for some guiding?”
My habitual “I’m fine” was contradicted by the request that followed. Hearing my words, the senior looked surprised.
“You haven’t received guiding yet?”
“I did. But the effect was minimal.”
“Who guided you?”
“Guide Choi Young-sun.”
“You received it from Young-sun, and the effect was minimal?”
Only then did I realize my unintentional slip. Saying the effect was minimal after receiving guiding from an A-grade Guide might make me seem ungrateful or excessively greedy.
“I guess Young-sun used too much energy too.”
But fortunately, the senior didn’t seem to think that way. Instead, she continued with an apologetic expression:
“But I’ve already guided two people in a row, so I don’t have much energy left… Is your condition really bad?”
If I said yes, there was no doubt she would force herself to guide me. I knew she was the type of person who, as our team leader’s pair Guide, would try to protect team members as much as possible.
“No. I just felt a bit unsatisfied and was wondering if you had any energy to spare. There’s no problem with me guiding Ji-hyeok later.”
So I said I was fine without a moment’s hesitation. Our team leader would likely return in a terrible state, and I would feel tremendous guilt if my situation affected the guiding of either of them.
“Go and rest, senior.”
“Are you really okay?”
“Of course. I’m perfectly fine.”
“…Alright. Oh, and thank you so much.”
“For what?”
“I know we would have been in big trouble if it weren’t for you. I was so worried watching you run out there… I’m really glad it was resolved well. You did a great job.”
“It was thanks to the other Espers. Anyway, please go rest.”
Finally, Senior Hee-seon turned around. As soon as her gaze dropped, I grimaced again. With the throbbing pain in my chest still persistent, I swallowed two more painkillers and headed for the barracks that served as a temporary infirmary.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
