Toward the End (5)
When Myeong Si-yeong effortlessly dispatched the invisible monster, the Espers’ eyes widened in surprise. While it was widely known that Myeong Si-yeong’s ability involved manipulating shadows, this was the first time most had witnessed it firsthand, leaving everyone speechless. Moreover, hadn’t Myeong Si-yeong always treated dungeon conquests with an almost arrogant casualness?
While the Espers remained frozen, Woo Jae-dam, having confirmed that the monsters were completely handled, spoke matter-of-factly as if this was entirely normal.
“Let’s continue.”
“…Oh, yeah. Let’s do that.”
“Yes… let’s move quickly.”
The Espers following Woo Jae-dam wore serious expressions. They couldn’t shake the thought that these two alone could have easily conquered this dungeon. Frankly, wasn’t it quite an efficient method? Woo Jae-dam identifying the monsters and Myeong Si-yeong piercing them with his shadows. Using his own shadow rather than the monsters’ shadows, despite having that option, was likely to conserve his ability.
They showed no signs of excitement, which was unusual for their young ages of nineteen and twenty. Most Espers of similar age tended to be hot-blooded and liberal with their abilities, but these two were completely different.
The Espers secretly admired Myeong Si-yeong’s combat sense, despite him being much younger. Even for high-ranked Espers, let alone someone who would still be considered a student in civilian terms, unhesitatingly targeting a monster’s vital point wasn’t an easy feat.
When they initially heard that the dungeon conquest would focus on Woo Jae-dam and Myeong Si-yeong, they had objected partly due to suspicions about performance metrics, but also because of vague concerns and prejudices that two young individuals, despite being S-grade, couldn’t handle it properly. After all, younger Espers typically acted impulsively.
But Woo Jae-dam and Myeong Si-yeong dispelled such doubts in the most direct way. Occasionally, there were grumbling complaints that they were showing off their abilities too ostentatiously, but these were few. Most other Espers didn’t agree with such opinions.
After dealing with the first monsters encountered, we advanced a bit further and reached our first destination. As we had seen on the tablets at base camp, dozens of monsters were swarming at the first checkpoint on the path to the dungeon boss. Large lizards were spewing fire in all directions. The monsters roamed nonchalantly over lava, howling eerily at the sky.
The Espers anxiously watched Woo Jae-dam and Myeong Si-yeong, wondering if they would take the lead again. Fortunately, the two Espers seemed to have no intention of moving, standing with arms folded while observing the distant monsters.
Woo Jae-dam spoke in a quiet but clear voice.
“Thirty-eight of them. Earlier was an unexpected situation, so we acted, but from now on, we’ll follow the strategy.”
Sa Hae-geon, who had been hanging back, glanced at Woo Jae-dam before recalling the strategy and steadying his breath.
The strategy was simple. At the first checkpoint, Espers who controlled water and earth would face the monsters; at the second, Espers with electrical and mental abilities would take over; and at the final checkpoint, Myeong Si-yeong and Woo Jae-dam would handle things.
It wasn’t an intricately designed strategy, but it was a good method to distribute personnel evenly and familiarize everyone with each other’s combat abilities and ability usage styles. Since Sa Hae-geon was a dual Esper, he was assigned to cover two checkpoints.
At that moment, Yoon Seon-hoo approached Sa Hae-geon, who was warming up in the back.
“Esper Sa Hae-geon, isn’t it difficult to adapt to this kind of atmosphere?”
Without even glancing at Yoon Seon-hoo, Sa Hae-geon asked dryly:
“What do you mean by ‘this kind of atmosphere’?”
“Well, should I call it an uncomfortable atmosphere? Everyone seems on edge, making interactions difficult. It’s hardly a situation where you feel the camaraderie needed to fight back-to-back.”
Sa Hae-geon’s brow furrowed at this casually delivered remark. He couldn’t understand why Yoon Seon-hoo had specifically come to his side to ask such a pointless question. What kind of answer was he hoping to get? Surely he wasn’t expecting Sa Hae-geon to agree with him.
When Sa Hae-geon merely hardened his expression without replying, Yoon Seon-hoo shrugged and added:
“Why so serious? I asked out of genuine curiosity. This must be the first time Esper Sa Hae-geon has participated in a conquest with such an atmosphere. If you’d answered, I was going to offer some encouragement.”
Despite Yoon Seon-hoo’s hasty explanation, Sa Hae-geon remained silent. It was Yoon Seon-hoo who became uneasy at this reaction, which differed considerably from others’. He tried to alleviate the awkward atmosphere between them by laughing loudly and speaking jokingly again.
“Come on, you’re not even smiling. I was trying to make you laugh. Esper Sa Hae-geon, do people often tell you that you’re no fun?”
“Are you hitting on me right now?”
But what came from Sa Hae-geon’s mouth wasn’t an answer but a question—and one that went in a completely different direction than Yoon Seon-hoo had anticipated. Yoon Seon-hoo stared blankly at Sa Hae-geon’s face before bursting into laughter. As Yoon Seon-hoo suddenly guffawed next to Sa Hae-geon, Lee Cheol-min, who had been stretching nearby, approached with a puzzled expression.
“What’s going on? What are you two discussing that’s so amusing? Were you two… friends before? I don’t recall seeing you hang out together.”
Sa Hae-geon’s expression hardened at Lee Cheol-min’s murmur. Then, as if even being grouped with Yoon Seon-hoo as ‘you two’ was distasteful, he hastily moved away. Lee Cheol-min watched Sa Hae-geon’s retreating figure with an amused expression before meeting Yoon Seon-hoo’s eyes and straightening his face.
“Esper Yoon Seon-hoo seems quite interested in that kid Hae-geon and Guide Do-min, huh?”
“I just enjoy making new acquaintances. I’ve heard that Esper Lee Cheol-min is quite the social butterfly too—I’d like to learn from you.”
“What nonsense… I can’t stand people like Esper Yoon Seon-hoo who speak with inscrutable expressions.”
After saying this, Lee Cheol-min quickly followed Sa Hae-geon before Yoon Seon-hoo could make any excuses.
“Hae-geon, let’s go together. You’ll have to stay within my shield anyway, so why waddle ahead on your own?”
“Waddle… what does that mean?”
“Why are you so flustered? I’m being polite. Guide Do-min treats you like a complete newborn, you know.”
“T-that’s…!”
As Sa Hae-geon visibly flustered and unable to hide his embarrassment, Lee Cheol-min burst into cheerful laughter. Yoon Seon-hoo quietly observed the two before naturally blending in with a group of chattering Espers nearby.
“You just can’t manage to catch a decent Guide…”
“What are you all discussing that’s so interesting?”
“Oh, I was just telling them about how this guy got completely rejected at a blind date… But who are you again?”
“I’m Yoon Seon-hoo, working in Field Team 2 at the Central Center. We’ve exchanged greetings several times—I’m hurt you don’t remember me.”
“Uh… did we? You do seem familiar… Ah, now I remember! Yes, Esper Yoon Seon-hoo. …That’s right. That was your name.”
B-grade Esper Son Seong-hoon nodded and put his arm around Yoon Seon-hoo’s shoulder.
“What? You two know each other? …Oh, what am I thinking. Right, of course you did.”
Another Esper, Ko Jae-ung, muttered somewhat mechanically as he shook hands with Yoon Seon-hoo.
“Esper Yoon Seon-hoo, how have you been?”
“Fine. Um, your name was…”
“I’m Ko Jae-ung, Ko Jae-ung!”
“Ah, that’s right. Has Esper Ko Jae-ung been well too?”
“Why ask something so obvious? Well, my love life’s a mess, but I’ll manage somehow. Right?”
As Ko Jae-ung spoke while scratching the back of his head, Yoon Seon-hoo merely smiled politely without offering any particular words of encouragement. Even while conversing with them, Yoon Seon-hoo’s gaze remained fixed on Sa Hae-geon and Lee Cheol-min, who were still talking.
With his exceptionally keen senses, Sa Hae-geon couldn’t possibly miss Yoon Seon-hoo’s stare. He furrowed his brow at the unmistakable feeling of Yoon Seon-hoo’s eyes on him, despite trying to ignore it.
It bothered him. Actually, it had been that way since they first met. Regardless of preference, his instincts seemed to warn him about Yoon Seon-hoo. Whether it was because Yoon Seon-hoo was a mental-type Esper, he wasn’t sure, but in any case, he was the type Sa Hae-geon preferred to keep away from. He didn’t recall feeling this uncomfortable and unpleasant around Myeong Woo-seok, who was also a mental-type Esper…
Was he unconsciously biased because he had seen Yoon Seon-hoo hitting on Chae Do-min? It was hard to say.
“Hey, Hae-geon.”
“…Yes.”
“Be careful of that sly fox Yoon Seon-hoo. His type will stab you in the back when you least expect it.”
But seeing Lee Cheol-min react similarly to himself, it seemed it wasn’t just his own prejudice. Sa Hae-geon stared at Lee Cheol-min, who had said something agreeable for the first time in a long while, and nodded.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
