# Chapter 52
“This place really looks like the Crystal Cave.”
Lee Seungwoo grumbled. Ko Eungyo, who was wiping off the sand covering his face, responded.
“In Mexico?”
“Yes.”
The cluster of thousands of crystal cave gates in Mexico each contained tremendous value. However, they were equally well-known for being extremely dangerous. Even for espers stronger than ordinary people, it was infamously impossible to clear these gates without submarines or protective suits and oxygen tanks to protect them.
Ko Eungyo was also well aware of these gates.
“You’ve been quite far.”
“When there’s a wind esper, clearing becomes easier, so orders come down frequently. I went during summer vacation when I had some time.”
Indeed, with a wind esper present, at least you wouldn’t have to worry about acidic air burning your lungs or situations requiring prolonged underwater submersion. Surprisingly, gates were heavily influenced by topography. Even if it had been him, he would have checked if Lee Seungwoo was available when clearing such dangerous gates.
Still, to actually make time during summer vacation to clear gates. It would be impossible without considerable motivation.
“That’s impressive.”
Ko Eungyo murmured. Lee Seungwoo shrugged as if it wasn’t anything special.
It wasn’t without reason that countries and corporations preferred elemental espers. Despite his young age, there were so many requests for him to come—Ko Eungyo looked over Lee Seungwoo with fresh eyes.
The Crystal Cave gates were primarily formed in terrain shaped by magma. There, one could see naturally formed crystal caves.
Lee Seungwoo said he had seen the largest crystal in the world there. It was dangerous, but the scenery was equally mesmerizing.
Of course it would be.
As he listened to Lee Seungwoo’s story, he imagined the sight of massive crystals scattered throughout. The enormous cave, where one had to walk on floors made of gypsum and crystal while breaking golems to advance forward, spewed out remarkable byproducts once cleared. What fed Mexico now was none other than this cluster of Crystal Cave gates.
“I wanted to go there too.”
When he blurted this out without much thought, Lee Seungwoo glanced at him.
“Why didn’t you go, Professor?”
“Just, I had too many schedules… And they said Mexico requires long flights that are hard on the body.”
Of course, what he was talking about was from when he was Jang Iju. Mexico was so far that it took at least fourteen hours by plane.
“I see.”
Lee Seungwoo muttered with an indecipherable expression. “You certainly had many schedules.”
His voice was so low that Ko Eungyo didn’t hear it.
“How was it?”
“Pardon?”
“The Crystal Cave gate. Does it seem similar to this place?”
At that, Lee Seungwoo smiled slightly.
“Compared to that, this place is like a tourist attraction.”
“Is the difference that significant?”
He had heard that gates appearing in Mexico were unusually dangerous, but… Ko Eungyo made a face that showed he could hardly believe it.
“Yes. You can see magma flowing beneath your feet, and the air is so hot that just breathing normally would cook your insides. Especially with water reaching up to your ankles—it’s constantly boiling, so without an esper constantly paying attention, you’re bound to get burned.”
“Hmm, so that’s why they don’t bring guides in.”
“With a proper guide, exploration isn’t completely impossible.”
At that, Ko Eungyo chuckled.
“Are you referring to yourself just now?”
“Yes.”
Lee Seungwoo laughed while dusting off the limestone powder from his hair.
They continued to tackle the gate slowly while making such idle conversation. Although the gate was large with many rooms, Lee Seungwoo shattered the monsters within each room with definitive firepower in the shortest time possible. If there was any hint of remaining monsters, he eliminated them all, even if it meant going around two rooms.
The number of ability users proceeding with the gate operation was just two. In the last room, the boss room, it would be very troublesome if they aggroed the remaining monsters while taking down the boss. It was because there was no esper to protect the guide. In a situation where Lee Seungwoo absolutely had to face the boss monster one-on-one, the possibility of the guide left in the rear being exposed to danger had to be reduced to zero percent.
Just as they left the eighteenth room, Ko Eungyo felt the air rapidly cooling.
“This is…”
Crystals with blue and purple hues were embedded throughout the cave ceiling. It was a space too open to be called a room. Lee Seungwoo, who had been lighting the way with his phone’s flashlight, turned it off. It was a place where they could save the phone’s battery.
Naturally, the underwater cave gate was not friendly to them.
Except for a few rooms, there were several dark chambers suitable only for aquatic creatures that didn’t need vision. Some pathways connecting rooms had never seen light, making it impossible to distinguish what was ahead even with an esper’s eyes.
Fortunately, since Lee Seungwoo had entered the gate with his mobile phone, they were able to use the flashlight to annihilate enemies in such sections and continue advancing.
He looked up at Lee Seungwoo and said.
“This seems to be the turning point.”
Lee Seungwoo already seemed to know this was the turning point, as he answered without any particular expression.
“Yes. There’s only one room left ahead.”
The last room was definitely the boss room. Since this information was confirmed by the wind esper, there was no need for doubt.
Honestly, coming this far, he didn’t feel like they had used that much stamina or time. In his perception, Lee Seungwoo was too competent an esper. Despite the handicap of having to move while carrying the guide in his arms, his skill in passing through each room was precise and clean. He controlled his abilities without lacking or overflowing, clearing the gate as efficiently as possible.
With the boss room just ahead, Ko Eungyo felt the overwhelming helplessness he had experienced when first falling into this gate completely disappear.
“I see…”
He nodded.
The size of this gate was certainly large enough to qualify as A-rank. But given how much potential there was for development compared to the effort invested, it could be considered a gate with clear clearing objectives.
That is… at least with Lee Seungwoo.
“This is nice. Is this… a lake?”
“Shall we take a look?”
It’s common sense that the area before a boss room is safe. They went to the lakeshore together. Beneath the ceiling embedded with amethysts, a huge lake was situated.
Beneath it, as if a hole had been pierced, faint light leaked through, filling the cave and resonating with the crystal light to make the interior even brighter. He paused for a moment to quietly observe this fantastic scene.
Looking closely, jellyfish were wandering around the lake, emitting a soft glow. That meant this water wasn’t toxic. At least because living creatures inhabited it.
“It’s salty. It’s seawater.”
Lee Seungwoo, who had tasted the lake water in the meantime, said. This gate was clearly an underwater cave.
“I wanted to wash up, so this is perfect.”
Letting out a long sigh, Ko Eungyo also approached the lake. Lee Seungwoo seemed to have relaxed to some extent, presumably because no monster presence was detected nearby.
Was the air so cool because of the lake?
He sat cross-legged near the lake, running his tongue over his pasty mouth. When he took off his shoes and turned them upside down, sand poured out. Even without that, his feet had been uncomfortably gritty walking this short distance. Having been carried in Lee Seungwoo’s arms until now, he hadn’t realized so much sand had accumulated in his shoes.
Seeing that, Lee Seungwoo snickered, then stripped off his clothes and entered the lake.
Splash, splash sounds were heard.
Ko Eungyo watched Lee Seungwoo swimming while wiping off water droplets that had splashed up to his eyebrows. The lake was much deeper than it appeared. Lee Seungwoo, who had gone to the middle of the lake, was submerged almost up to his shoulders. He watched as Lee Seungwoo dove and disappeared, then dipped his own feet into the lake as well.
In an instant, sand and stone particles were washed away by the water.
“Ah…”
A moan escaped involuntarily. The lake water was ice-cold and clear. Even though he was just washing his feet, his mood improved.
As he entered the lake, Lee Seungwoo, who had been swimming some distance away, immediately returned. Throughout their time in the gate, Lee Seungwoo would overprotect him like this. It felt both slightly concerning and reassuring at the same time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
