Chapter 35
“Are you sure you’re feeling alright?”
No, I’m not. Yeonwoo, who hadn’t been able to sleep properly for over a week, just sat down. He wanted to lie down completely, but his exhausted body would probably refuse to get up again. He’d likely fall asleep and wake up with nightmares.
“Guide Jo Heeseo.”
At Seo Yujin’s stiff voice, Yeonwoo instinctively curled up. He still couldn’t get used to Seo Yujin’s mana, and it continued to cause him discomfort. Not the repulsion caused by interaction between Espers, but something more instinctual.
To make a comparison, it was similar to the feeling of opening his diary. He didn’t have to check it, but it felt like he’d be more at ease if he did. It was like having Pandora’s box right in front of him.
“Oh! The training instructor is here!”
Jo Heeseo, who was being pulled along by Seo Yujin, made a fuss and moved away from Yeonwoo. Anyone watching would think he had the plague. It’s not like her mana would wear out just from giving him Guiding. Was there some superstition that a Guide’s rank would drop if they performed Guiding for a lower-ranked Esper?
Clicking his tongue, Yeonwoo stood up, pressing on his knees. As he rose, his vision became tinted with various colors. Staggering from dizziness, Yeonwoo could only stand with Park Seohyun’s support.
Finally, it’s Friday. After training ended today, he planned to exhaust his physical energy and then collapse into sleep. If that didn’t work, he’d get sleeping pills from the treatment room and force himself to sleep.
“Well, is everyone here?”
While the training instructor verified the consent forms, Yeonwoo moved his toes to distance himself from Seo Yujin. If only he could sleep comfortably for just ten minutes, he’d have no other wishes. Yeonwoo, who had lowered his head and yawned deeply, lined up at Choi Dongwon’s gesture.
“Today, before we do the virtual dungeon, quiet, before that, we’ll conduct a simple preliminary test. If you feel even slightly unwell, give up immediately. There will be cameras in the upper right and lower left corners. Facing them, everyone raise your left hand. Then make a fist and wave it. Yes, that means you want to give up. Even if you don’t indicate your intention to give up, the staff may retrieve the dungeon mana based on their judgment. After the pressure of the dungeon mana dissipates, you can slowly come out. Just in case, let me clarify—hanging on inside doesn’t guarantee you’ll pass, so if your mana core feels abnormal, you should give up right away.”
Choi Dongwon’s complexion rapidly deteriorated at the training instructor’s explanation. The training instructor, looking around at the tense ability users, sorted them by team. When Seo Yujin was excluded, Choi Dongwon’s eyes widened.
“A-aren’t you coming with us?”
“I’ve already passed, so go ahead.”
Choi Dongwon’s shoulders slumped as Seo Yujin patted the team members’ shoulders and motioned for them to go. Perhaps he had relied on her since they were both in the Defense division. Following Choi Dongwon, who was looking at Seo Yujin with lingering attachment, a container appeared.
“What’s that?”
“Ugh.”
As Choi Dongwon muttered in disappointment, the Espers standing next to him agreed. Yeonwoo just smiled at Choi Dongwon, who was seeking agreement that it looked too flimsy.
Though it appeared crude on the outside, the inside was different. The container, mimicking a gate, was filled with high-purity dungeon mana. After entering through the door, one had to overcome the pressure of dungeon mana and recover their tangled bodily sensations within the time limit.
Simply put, it was a test of whether one could escape from there or not, but it wasn’t as easy as it sounded. The aftereffects were also quite severe.
If they passed the test after overcoming all that, they would become part of the follow-up team trailing the extermination team. If not, they would be immediately assigned to the cube in the danger zone.
“Esper Han Yeonwoo. This way.”
As Yeonwoo was helplessly pulled by the force, Park Seohyun gathered the team in a circle and offered various pieces of advice.
She was sharing her experience, explaining how to breathe when opening the door and how to calm the mana core that would react strongly to the dungeon mana, but Yeonwoo was only half-listening.
Rather than breathing finely as soon as one steps into the dungeon, it’s better to hold one’s breath as much as possible. Dungeon mana can infiltrate through the respiratory system too. To calm a raging mana core, it’s more efficient to use abilities in short bursts to push the dungeon mana out of the mana core.
Instead of voicing such information, Yeonwoo just closed his mouth and nodded.
It made sense for Park Seohyun to know various information as an experienced Esper of 7 years—no, it’s 3 years now? Anyway, as a career Esper, it made sense. But Yeonwoo was a rookie Esper who had just joined. Not only would it be implausible for him to know such information, but sharing it wouldn’t help him at all.
The moment he shared the information, they would be grateful at first, but gradually they would take it for granted. Later, they would get angry when he didn’t share information. “Lucky you, having a good sister?” “You think you’re something special because Han Yeonhwa is your sister?” Most people were sarcastic like this. Park Seohyun was one of them.
Being on the same team, having nowhere to confide, he had relied on Park Seohyun, the team leader, only to be stabbed in the back more than once.
“Alright, let’s do our best.”
Yeonwoo greeted Park Seohyun as she stood up, wishing her a safe journey, then pressed his forehead firmly.
“Um… aren’t you nervous?”
Yeonwoo smiled at the pale Choi Dongwon.
“Don’t be nervous. You’ll pass.”
It was true. All of Yeonwoo’s team members had passed and became part of the follow-up team for the extermination team. For three years, they had collected and organized dungeon by-products before the gate closed, after the extermination team and attack team completed their dungeon conquest. And it was Choi Dongwon who first suggested desertion out of boredom with the job.
Though all plans were thwarted when Jo Heeseo left for the Muyeong Guild right before they were to be assigned to the danger zone. Yeonwoo, who was staring blankly at the container, slowly organized the memories that were surfacing one by one.
First, let’s not rely on team members like before. They’re just team members, not people who understand his circumstances.
“Guide Jo Heeseo.”
Yeonwoo frowned as he watched Jo Heeseo, who had been sitting apart from the other team members who were huddled together, stand up. During her military academy days, Jo Heeseo had sung about joining the Muyeong Guild and eventually did join. How did that happen again…?
Choi Dongwon, who had been holding onto Yeonwoo with his chin propped up, wailing that he was terribly nervous, got up with a gasping sound when his name was called. As Yeonwoo watched Choi Dongwon walking unsteadily, Park Seohyun approached like a zombie.
When Yeonwoo handed Park Seohyun, whose hands and feet were numb and shaking violently, water diluted with mana potion, she drained it in one go and sat down beside him. Behind Park Seohyun, who was sitting with her head in her hands as if suffering from a hangover, fallen Espers could be seen.
Even the Espers who had mocked those crawling halfway out of the crude container, wondering what was so difficult, were now clutching their hearts in agony.
“Come on, everyone, don’t just sit there, walk around a little. If it’s hard to walk, at least talk. You need to expel the dungeon mana accumulated in your mana core.”
At the training instructor’s words, Park Seohyun, who had been looking like death, surveyed her surroundings with cloudy eyes.
“Where’s Guide Jo Heeseo?”
“She hasn’t come out yet. She should be out soon.”
At Yeonwoo’s words, Park Seohyun let out a groan, took a water bottle, and slowly stood up.
“Still, she’s our Guide, so I should take care of her. I’ll go meet her.”
Yeonwoo watched Park Seohyun heading towards the exit, then lined up. Park Seohyun waved her hand and clenched her fist, signaling that Choi Dongwon had made it out. Reading her lip movement saying “Fighting,” Yeonwoo nodded and gripped the doorknob. Before activating the door, he took a deep breath and—
“Esper Han Yeonwoo. Enter.”
—held it.
As soon as he set foot inside, he felt pain as if his entire body was being pierced by sharp needle points. Yeonwoo, who endured the pain by clenching his fists, moved as slowly as possible to escape from the mana mass that resembled slime. Even just that made his breathing heavy as if his lungs would burst, but it wasn’t time to breathe yet.
As soon as he entered the passage that was embarrassingly short to be called a virtual dungeon—less than 2m—he felt a pressure as if his entire body was being crushed. Highly concentrated dungeon mana attacked his mana core. At the same time, as his mana core compressed, he felt extreme pain.
Gritting his teeth, Yeonwoo visualized a pattern in his mind. Normally, he would have flowed mana through his fingertips, but now with his senses confused, he couldn’t distinguish which was his foot and which was his hand.
First the right hand, then the right foot, then the left hand, and finally the left foot.
It was then, as he was calmly distinguishing his senses while muttering like humming a tune, that he felt a vague sense of someone being nearby. Yeonwoo, sensing the opaque feeling, tried to look around, but his eyes wouldn’t open.
Has Choi Dongwon not made it out yet?
As he blinked hard, the vision in his left eye returned. Despite the blurry vision, he strained his eyes to look around, and at that moment—
“!”
Golden eyes were gleaming.
Those eyes. The golden irises that kept pushing Yeonwoo into nightmares every time. The eyes that caused him terrible pain every time.
And… the eyes that caused Yeonwoo’s death.
In that instant, along with a headache that felt like his head was splitting, scenes from his dreams flashed before his eyes.
‘Did you say the Center should lead the extermination team?’
‘A dungeon with a Dragon’s Lair. Isn’t that quite tempting? Picking up anything there would let you live comfortably for life.’
‘Hmm. Even I can’t hold onto Esper Han Yeonhwa. You know how sharp that person’s intuition is. I’ll try my best, but… what’s the compensation?’
‘Oppa! Listen to me! Don’t you know how many people have died trying to change the future?!’
‘Wake up.’
‘Kang Chahun!’
It was the nightmare he had every night.
Yeonwoo, who had been flailing from the headache that felt like his head would split, collapsed. Along with recovering all his bodily sensations, he felt phantom pain as if his toes were melting.
Yeonwoo, who barely opened his eyes, looked down at his feet. My feet are fine. This is a dream. When I open my eyes, it will be morning.
“Dream…”
As he muttered, a fluttering laugh was heard, as if a wind was blowing from somewhere.
[How cute. Did you really think that was just a dream?]
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
