Whoooosh.
Just like we’d planned, Cha Si-yoon blasted a gust of wind and launched me far out of harm’s way.
My body was lifted clean off the ground, soaring through the air. In that brief moment of midair suspension, I saw the cockroach monster’s head twitch—maybe disappointed after noticing one of its prey had slipped away.
Once I flew far enough out of sight, it seemed to forget all about me and refocused on the remaining Espers.
Damn thing and its three-second memory span.
Wow, that really takes me back.
This was just like back then. Je-ha had flung me out of danger with his telekinesis, telling me to get to safety.
Granted, I smacked face-first into a rock and almost got a concussion, but hey—since I survived, it became a half-decent memory.
Cha Si-yoon wasn’t half-bad either. If Je-ha had yeeted me over a kilometer, this guy managed to throw me around 750 meters, just enough to get me away from that Mister Roach monster.
Thud.
Luckily, we were in a desert, so even after falling, it didn’t really hurt.
I sprang up and watched the rookie Espers fight.
There wasn’t much I could do right now, so I chewed on my fingernail, repeating in my head the same self-hypnosis: I’m just a fragile little C-rank Guide who can’t do anything but stand here.
“Oh no, what do we do? I’m just a Guide, I don’t even have the power to attack a monster!”
Potato, right beside me, gave me a snide comment.
[Your acting sucks.]
Shut up.
I ignored Potato and kept my eyes on the Espers.
Right as they neared the edge of the Antlion’s pit, their leader, Ra Ho-yeon, glanced back first—then the rest followed.
“Attack!”
A dazzling fusion of water, fire, wind, and light burst from their hands all at once.
“Fire!”
It was a coordinated strike aimed at the cockroach monster’s head. Like a high-pressure stream surging through a hose, a pillar of energy shot straight for the monster’s face and hit square-on.
SSSSSSZZZK.
The air filled with the smell of searing flesh.
—KIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEK!!
Well now, they didn’t even need to be told—already went and blinded it?
Smart move. May as well blind it completely—it’d just go berserk and try to devour them alive.
I leisurely watched the chaos unfold.
—Shhhk! Shhhhhhkkkk! Shhk!
Smoke billowed from the cockroach monster’s scorched face. Viscous fluids—ooze or bodily slime—dripped down from under its head.
Potato gave a sharp shout, eyes narrowed with smug satisfaction.
[Its eyes are blinded!]
Nice. That’s what I wanted.
[Seems like the eyes are softer than the rest of its tough shell.]
Makes sense. It’d be hard to armor up even its eyeballs.
—Shhhhhkkk! SHHHHHK!
The monster staggered backward in pain.
And then—hesitating like a deer caught in headlights—Seo Yoon-chae let out a wild shout.
“Y-You filthy, rotten bug bastard! You trying to run away ‘cause you’re scared of us?!”
—…Shhhk!
Oho. One of the Mister Roach monster’s legs twitched just now. Excellent aggro.
Noticing its reaction, Seo Yoon-chae kept going, more emboldened than ever.
“You dumbass freak! What’s the point of being huge, huh? How long’s it gonna take you to hunt us down like that?! I bet your brain’s the size of a walnut, you half-baked piece of shit!”
—Shhhk… shhhk, SHHHK, SHHHHHHHHHHK!!
I could almost hear a crack splitting across the monster’s forehead.
It might not understand human language, but tone? Even animals know who likes them and who doesn’t.
Monsters are no different. They always somehow know when they’re being shit-talked.
—Shhhk! SHHHHHHK!
That roar practically screamed, I’m gonna rip those little shits apart and eat them alive.
“Damn, even monsters know how to cuss now.”
I almost laughed out loud—but barely held it in. That bastard employee’s probably watching, so I had to keep up the act of a frail and helpless Guide.
Following Seo Yoon-chae’s fearless lead, Ra Ho-yeon, Shin Tae-boem, and Cha Si-yoon threw in their own insults.
“…Seriously, of all things, why’d you have to be born a cockroach? You don’t even have anyone who loves you, huh? Yeah, you look like someone who’ll die a virgin.”
“Get that disgusting mug out of my face! I’m gonna hurl!”
“…You’re gross. Hideous.”
And finally, Cha Si-yoon—usually the quiet type—dropped the most impactful two words yet. Somehow, it felt like I was the one being cussed out.
They kept firing off all kinds of profanities, but I just let it wash over me. My ears deserved better.
—SHHHHHHKK, SHHHHHHHHHHHHHK—!
Everything was going according to plan.
The cockroach monster flared its wings in an absolute rage. It didn’t give a damn about the attacks anymore—just charged, hellbent on trampling the rookies.
It’s coming.
Right as the monster was about to swallow them whole—just like I instructed—
Cha Si-yoon, who had stopped attacking earlier and built up a new wind charge, grabbed the others, raised his right hand, and unleashed a massive blast.
Whoooosh!
—Shhk?!
Mister Roach monster, charging at full speed, tried to stop—but it was too late. With all that momentum, there was no turning back.
Cha Si-yoon’s side-blasting gust shoved the whole group off to the side just in time.
They tumbled across the sand, coughing and covered in dust.
I ran to them at once.
But I didn’t miss the monster’s glorious downfall.
—KIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!
Unable to stop itself, the cockroach monster crashed headfirst into the massive Antlion pit.
Gotcha.
Even if it had wings, the Antlion monster would seize this rare catch before it had the chance to fly away.
While those two monsters fought it out, we could finally catch our breath.
I reached the group and started brushing off the sand from them.
“Everyone okay?”
Ra Ho-yeon coughed as he responded.
“Cough… I’m fine. Not hurt.”
Shin Tae-boem and Seo Yoon-chae flopped straight onto the sand, totally spent from running since the moment we entered the simulator dungeon.
“Thought I was gonna die, for real.”
“Never seen a cockroach that big in my life. Goddamn, I’m way too precious to be going through this crap.”
Seo Yoon-chae kept whining about how thankful he was that he never became a Hunter—
And unexpectedly, Cha Si-yoon collapsed quietly beside them.
“I… I’m so tired.”
Right. Cha Si-yoon was the only underage one here—not even twenty yet. On top of that, he’d been constantly firing off wind blasts at just the right moments. That kind of strain couldn’t have been easy.
Feeling a little sorry for him, I gently patted his head.
And no, it wasn’t just for guiding. The kid genuinely looked pitiful.
“…You did well.”
“…Huh?”
Cha Si-yoon blinked in shock, staring at me like I was some alien. I awkwardly pulled my hand back.
“…If you don’t want me to touch you, I’ll stop. I figured you’d be tired after using your powers, so I thought I’d guide you…”
While I scratched the back of my head, Cha Si-yoon slowly nudged his head back toward my hand.
That caught me off guard.
“W-What’re you doing?”
“…It’s fine. Please, keep petting me.”
“O-Oh. Uh, sure.”
His deep blue hair, changed by his Awakening, was silky and smooth—not like regular bleached hair.
I stroked it gently, fingers gliding through. Cha Si-yoon closed his eyes with a contented sigh.
“That feels really nice…”
…I haven’t even started guiding yet.
Maybe it’s because he’s young, but he seemed to relax easily.
When I added actual guiding energy to my touch, he even started to purr like a cat.
Just then, Seo Yoon-chae suddenly sat up and yelled at me.
“Do it to me too!”
“…You want me to pet you? Seriously?”
“…Is that weird?”
“Uh. Yeah. Kinda.”
To be honest, Seo Yoon-chae’s face turned bright red.
“I used my powers too! You have to guide me, don’t you?!”
“I will. But you’re older than me, so it’s kinda gross. I can’t treat you like Cha Si-yoon.”
It was a flimsy excuse, since ‘Yeon Yu-jin’ is younger than him, but I really did find Seo Yoon-chae harder to deal with. The guy was way too high-maintenance.
“Y-You’re saying I’m gross just ‘cause I’m older than you…”
His eyes welled up with tears.
“I’ve never been so insulted in my life…”
Well. He probably meant it.
Objectively speaking, Seo Yoon-chae was prince-like in looks. The textbook definition of a flower boy. With his gentle features, he’d clearly grown up surrounded by love.
Didn’t do anything for me, though.
Compared to Seo Yoon-chae, Je-ha’s way more handsome and pretty.
After getting used to Hyun Je-ha’s face, Seo Yoon-chae looked plain in comparison.
I didn’t say anything, and Seo Yoon-chae, clearly sulking, flopped back down—this time with his back to me.
“Fine. Whatever. I don’t need your precious guiding.”
“Cool. Then I’ll skip you and move on to Shin Tae-boem—”
“ARGH! Do it! Do it, dammit! Don’t you have any basic decency?! You’re supposed to ask at least three times to be polite!”
Seo Yoon-chae barked like a yappy little dog. He was seriously starting to resemble a grumpy Pomeranian.
When his lips pouted and his eyes got watery, I sighed and patted the spot next to me.
“…What?”
“Come here.”
“I’m the one who played bait. Why’re you bossing me around…”
“Don’t want to? Then—”
“Ugh, fine! I’m coming!”
Seo Yoon-chae, now fully understanding what kind of person I was, huffed and stomped over to me—
Then plopped his head right into my lap.
That’s right. He unauthorized himself a lap pillow.
“What the hell are you doing, you bastard? Get off me.”
“Can’t you tell? I want guiding.”
“Move your damn head. You’re heavy.”
“My head’s tiny! Don’t act like it’s crushing you.”
“Shut up and move before I crush that tiny little skull of yours.”
“You asshole. Won’t even give me some elder respect just ‘cause I’m older—then has the nerve to say I’m gross…”
Seo Yoon-chae started sniffling again.
