Toward the End (4)
At that moment, Esper Lee Cheol-min, who had been silently observing the situation, stepped forward.
“If we end up carrying out the mission without Esper Woo Jae-dam and Esper Myeong Si-yeong, what should we report to our superiors? What will you two report? An unavoidable choice due to conflict before the raid? Or our insubordination?”
Myeong Si-yeong’s face crumpled with displeasure at those words. Woo Jae-dam quickly grabbed Myeong Si-yeong’s arm to calm him down and shook his head.
“No. We have no such intention. I didn’t mean to suggest that we would lead the operation on our own. Si-yeong was indeed rude in his comments, but… I share his opinion that this dungeon is completely different from other volcanic terrain dungeons we’ve conquered so far.”
“I see. Then please explain that part further. We want to hear more about how you came to that conclusion.”
At Lee Cheol-min’s prompting, Woo Jae-dam glanced around briefly before continuing.
“Well, first of all, I’m sure everyone knows that more dungeons are appearing as we get closer to the S-rank dungeon outbreak date. And there was a recent news article summarizing statistics on the perceived difficulty of recent dungeons. Did you see it? The article’s main point was that many Espers feel B-rank dungeons are more like A-rank dungeons in difficulty. We received that article from the guild support team this morning on the bus. That’s why we urgently changed our strategy.”
The noisy base camp suddenly fell silent. Perceived dungeon difficulty, statistics… Everyone seemed surprised by these unexpected terms coming from Woo Jae-dam’s mouth.
“I understand completely. I think that explanation should have come first, but it’s good that you’ve told us now. And as Esper Woo Jae-dam said, Esper Myeong Si-yeong’s comments were indeed inappropriate. For the sake of team morale, as we’ll be working together until the S-rank dungeon conquest, please apologize, Esper Myeong Si-yeong.”
When Lee Cheol-min spoke sternly, Myeong Si-yeong’s face turned red. He glanced at Woo Jae-dam standing in front of him and the other team members, then reluctantly apologized.
“I’m… sorry. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
The Espers, who had been silent in apparent surprise at Myeong Si-yeong’s apology, soon spoke as if it was nothing.
“Well, people make mistakes. It’s fine since you weren’t trying to undermine us for achievement points. If that had been the case, I would have been really disappointed in both of you.”
“Right. Just don’t do it again. If it wasn’t about blindly insisting on your way for achievements, then it’s okay now.”
“Yes, and we were unnecessarily harsh and aggressive toward you two as well. Sorry about that.”
The tense atmosphere melted away instantly. Taking advantage of the warmer mood, Woo Jae-dam resumed discussing the strategy.
“Then we’ll proceed with the original plan that doesn’t favor either approach. However, you shouldn’t think of this as a typical A-rank dungeon in difficulty. Don’t overlook the fact that the raid might go in unexpected directions.”
“Yes, we’ll be careful.”
“Okay. I get what you’re saying. We’ll approach it as if it were an S-rank dungeon.”
Though young, Woo Jae-dam was quite experienced from leading teams through many dungeons. With Lee Cheol-min’s help, he quickly resolved the chaotic situation, making it clear why he was an Esper entrusted with leading a team. Come to think of it, I’d been quite surprised when I was assigned to a raiding team under his command in the past. Some Espers doubted his abilities and refused to follow him, but eventually, even reluctantly, they acknowledged him.
There were several others in Woo Jae-dam’s team who could have been leaders. But the fact that he was chosen as team leader over them meant there must be good reasons. In fact, I’d heard that in other countries, even younger people who weren’t S-rank Espers could become leaders if their command abilities were recognized. Rank wasn’t the measure of everything.
Having completed their strategy review, the Espers began moving in formation as previously arranged. The plan was set: one A-rank Esper and one B-rank Esper who could manipulate water, two A-rank defensive Espers, and one A-rank healing Esper would remain at the base camp, while the rest would move to conquer the dungeon.
“The dungeon boss is probably near the volcano crater. I can’t be certain what form it will take, but since it seems quite large, I think it should be easily visible.”
An Esper from the strategy support team showed us a tablet as he spoke. At the top of the screen showing a scan of the dungeon terrain, we could see the volcano crater and a large red dot moving nearby. It was clearly the dungeon boss. At various other locations away from the crater, small orange dots were swarming. The Espers frowned at these dots crawling around like insects.
“Ugh, disgusting creatures.”
“Whew, there are quite a few? If we want to finish today, we should move quickly.”
Sa Hae-geon, who had been watching the Espers warm up, also did some light stretching. Shortly after, the Espers, with helmets attached to their protective gear, left the base camp following Woo Jae-dam and Myeong Si-yeong. They moved away quickly, without even time for the customary “we’ll be back” farewell. Sa Hae-geon didn’t look back either.
I quietly took in the sight of Sa Hae-geon’s back as he left the base camp without a proper goodbye, then turned around. My fellow Guides, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, were staring at me with uncomfortable gazes.
“…Why are you all looking at me like that?”
My peers looked at me with mischievous eyes and asked.
“You… there’s something between you and that Esper, right?”
“Yeah, I was about to say the same thing.”
“Exactly. Isn’t it too suspicious? If several people get the same feeling, there must definitely be something going on.”
“…What could there possibly be?”
“Stop playing dumb. You definitely have something with that Esper.”
At their sharp questioning, I just shrugged with a clueless expression. This made their gazes even more intense.
“There’s definitely something.”
“That’s what I’m saying. Is it because we haven’t seen him in a while? It really stood out.”
“He’s just denying it for no reason. Can’t you tell at a glance? How many times have we seen Chae Do-min?”
“Well, we do see him once or twice a year.”
As my peers’ conversation shifted to silly joke-telling, I tried to sneak away, only to accidentally make eye contact with one of them.
“Chae Do-min, stand right there. Where do you think you’re trying to sneak off to!”
In the end, I was caught by my peers and had to endure a barrage of questions. Of course, I didn’t reveal everything about my relationship with Sa Hae-geon. I was sorry to Sa Hae-geon, but given the timing and the fact that high-ranking ability users always had to be wary of getting caught up in rumors, I had to be cautious.
* * *
Meanwhile, the Espers who had left the comfortable base camp and were moving toward the volcano crater didn’t look happy. Sa Hae-geon was in a bad mood, not because it was hard to breathe or the protective gear made movement difficult, but because he had to leave without even properly saying goodbye to Chae Do-min. Whether aware of this or not, Lee Cheol-min, walking beside Sa Hae-geon, playfully asked.
“Sa Hae-geon, is this your first volcano? You’re not scared, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
Despite Sa Hae-geon’s curt response, Lee Cheol-min continued regardless.
“You might not know this, but Guide Do-min still struggles with volcano dungeons.”
“…Hyung does?”
Sa Hae-geon, who had been showing clear signs of not wanting to talk, immediately responded to the mention of Chae Do-min, making Lee Cheol-min raise the corner of his mouth and say.
“Yeah. Though he might not seem like it, Guide Do-min is actually quite a scaredy-cat.”
“…Esper Lee Cheol-min, you seem to know hyung very well.”
“Of course. Believe it or not, I’ve worked with Guide Do-min for over 5 years.”
“…5 years.”
“Yes, 5 years. He’s probably worked with the team leader even longer.”
Though this was a fact he already knew well, hearing it again from Lee Cheol-min made him feel heated anew. The thought that he might have met Chae Do-min sooner if only his body had been without defects filled his head. Or perhaps he should consider it a blessing in disguise, since his defect allowed him to receive Chae Do-min’s guiding exclusively.
Still, he couldn’t help but envy Lee Cheol-min, who had spent 5 years seeing Chae Do-min daily at the same workplace, and An Jong-hyeok, who had been with him even longer. His own experience had been limited to watching from afar or sneaking into Chae Do-min’s home at night to observe him sleeping. Of course, the fruit of his relationship with Chae Do-min after such a long wait was exceedingly sweet.
At that moment, Sa Hae-geon’s gaze shifted to a tree directly ahead as he walked with the other Espers. He sensed something moving beyond the tree blazing with the heat of lava. Simultaneously, the other Espers also stopped in their tracks.
Woo Jae-dam spoke in a calm tone.
“I can see monsters on the other side. Five of them.”
Woo Jae-dam, an S-rank Esper who could manipulate earth, could sense all presences he wished to detect simply by putting his feet on the ground.
“Si-yeong.”
At Woo Jae-dam’s call, Myeong Si-yeong nodded and stomped his foot, causing the shadows rippling on the ground to move and pierce the vital points of the monsters whose forms were not yet clearly visible.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
