When he opened his eyes, he was in Gangwon Province.
Huiyeong let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Seriously, did this make any sense?
Having arrived halfway up a mountain in the blink of an eye, Huiyeong dropped onto a broad, low boulder and stared at the enormous dungeon entrance, which shimmered ominously in shades of blue. People were moving busily in front of it.
Some were packing emergency rations and weapons to use inside the dungeon, while Shinyul checked over the overall preparations. Every time their eyes met, with Huiyeong sitting there blankly in shock from suddenly being thrown through a teleportation portal, Shinyul sent him a sly wink.
Huiyeong did not even have the energy to look disgusted. He sharply turned his head away and closed his eyes.
Strangely enough, now that the dungeon was right in front of him, his mind became calmer.
Feeling the weight of the knife inside his sling bag, Huiyeong steeled himself once more. Unlike the grimly determined Huiyeong, however, the Guides gathered around him in a small cluster all looked perfectly cheerful.
To begin with, no casualties had occurred in this dungeon for the past several years. On top of that, an S-rank pair had been added to the original team. There could hardly be a safer situation.
That was also why Haram had decided to hold lessons with Huiyeong in there, but Huiyeong, who knew none of this, stared at Haram leisurely going through the textbooks as though he were looking at a madman.
After finishing organizing the materials, Haram came over to Huiyeong and pointed toward the preparations being completed.
“Do you see it? That machine the employee is holding determines the danger rating of a dungeon. Even though there are 1,178 monsters inside, you can tell the danger level is low because the entrance has a bluish color and the energy density isn’t very high. Of course, when a dungeon first opens, no one knows what is inside, so an S-rank or A-rank usually enters as team leader to explore it, or, if possible, closes it immediately. Korea doesn’t have dungeons opening particularly often, and compared to the frequency of dungeon openings, the rate of Esper Awakening is quite high, so things are handled relatively safely here.”
“…That’s complicated.”
“Right? You can learn it slowly. For reference, the redder the entrance is, the more dangerous the dungeon. This one is dark blue, see? The gate opens periodically and complete elimination is difficult, but the danger level is extremely low, so you don’t need to worry too much.”
Haram smiled brightly as he soothed Huiyeong’s anxiety.
To be honest, Huiyeong and Shinyul alone would probably have been enough to clear Dungeon 1178. That was the extent of an S-rank Esper’s power.
However, considering that this was Huiyeong’s first dungeon, that his mental state was unstable, and Haram’s forceful insistence that they could not show a completely abnormal raid team to Huiyeong, who lacked even the most basic common sense, an absurdly overstaffed team had been created by adding an S-rank pair to the original personnel.
As he listened to Haram’s explanation, Huiyeong gripped the strap of his bag tightly.
Being told that the danger level was low did nothing to reassure him.
No matter what, this was the first time in his life he was about to face a monster, and he had never lived while relying on someone else to protect him. He had always dealt with every danger that came his way with his own hands.
His head understood that he would not have to fight the monsters himself, but his pounding heart beat as violently as it had right before ambushing an enemy faction.
“We’re entering the dungeon!”
At the booming announcement, the Guides clustered together, and the Espers formed up in front and behind them.
One defensive-type Esper spoke lightly.
“Ah- at this point, it’s basically a picnic. A picnic. Everyone packed their lunch, right?”
At his cheerful words, everyone burst into laughter.
The only ones who did not laugh were Huiyeong, who still looked grimly determined, and Shinyul, who was watching Huiyeong from a distance.
***
I’m fucked.
Panting heavily, Huiyeong sank down again.
Forget monsters or whatever. His goddamn body was already the problem before they had even met one.
“What should we do? Shall we rest a little longer?”
Haram asked while looking at him.
Huiyeong clenched his teeth and firmly shook his head. Then he staggered back to his feet.
When they first entered the dungeon, Huiyeong had felt somewhat deflated because the environment looked no different from outside.
Both outside and inside the dungeon took the form of a vast forest. The only difference was that the trees were unimaginably huge and tall, while even ordinary grasses grew well past the height of an adult man.
It felt as though they had entered a land of giants.
Fortunately, the A-rank Esper who usually handled this dungeon and had originally been its team leader knew the route and guided them along an easy path, so the enormous forest terrain itself was not much of a problem.
The real problem was Huiyeong’s stamina.
While everyone else carried necessary supplies, Huiyeong had nothing but his small bag on his back, yet his strength was completely depleted after only thirty minutes.
Even after several breaks, he had not recovered at all. Because of that, their marching speed had slowed dramatically, and the group had yet to reach even the first base camp.
In truth, the team members were not especially worried about the march slowing down.
What was there to worry about?
Han Shinyul was with them.
They had no doubt that once they reached the first base camp and left their equipment there, they could eliminate around a third of the monsters in a single day.
What worried them more was the fact that even though his pair Guide was struggling that badly, Shinyul was merely leaving Huiyeong alone.
Normally, when a pair Guide became so exhausted, the Esper would step in first, carrying him or helping him move.
Shinyul, however, continued leading the team from the front as team leader, while Huiyeong walked in the middle of the formation for protection.
Only silence passed between them.
Shinyul merely showed small considerations, such as slowing down or stopping whenever Huiyeong struggled.
Since it was a matter between a pair, everyone felt uncomfortable interfering. They simply exchanged uneasy glances between Huiyeong, who staggered as he walked, and Shinyul, who silently watched him.
Shinyul focused every one of his senses on Huiyeong as he started walking again.
For some reason, his lovely Guide had been ignoring him all day.
After entering the dungeon, Huiyeong would not even meet his eyes.
Shinyul had left him alone to figure out the cause, but even after Huiyeong began sweating profusely, stumbling, and barely managing to control his own body, he still did not call for him.
Huiyeong was not particularly stubborn.
His mouth might be foul, but he was actually the type to give in when Shinyul threw a tantrum. He got angry quickly, but also forgot quickly. Even when he flew into a rage, if the other person apologized or it turned out to be a misunderstanding, he had the easygoing personality not to drag it out.
His lovely Guide, who pretended otherwise but was affectionate, rather meddlesome, and never gave in or ran away even when things were difficult.
Why was he avoiding him now?
If Huiyeong was afraid of the dungeon, he should have stayed closer to Shinyul instead of turning away.
If he was angry at Shinyul, he would have cursed him out and fought with him, not avoided him.
Among the chaotic sound of footsteps, Shinyul sensitively picked out Huiyeong’s light steps with perfect accuracy and used his ability to catch him every time he was about to fall.
Each time Huiyeong staggered, Shinyul wanted to rush over immediately, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.
Shinyul wanted to know everything about Huiyeong.
Every time Huiyeong showed him a new side, his possessiveness surged.
There could not be a Huiyeong he did not know.
Huiyeong was almost out of his mind as he continued walking.
It felt similar to the old days when he had marched in the military after going several days without sleep, falling asleep even as he walked.
He merely swung his legs one after the other, and somehow that carried him forward.
He nearly called for Shinyul without realizing it, but quickly pulled himself together.
Nothing was messier or dirtier than a fight between gangsters.
There were no stylish fights.
It was always a dogfight.
No one could tell friend from foe, and every kind of weapon flew through the air.
Trusting someone else with your life in the middle of that kind of chaos?
There was no bigger idiot.
When he was young, Huiyeong had not known that. He had been struck by stray blades and betrayed more than once.
After that, he never trusted anyone else in a crisis.
That was how he survived.
He knew it clearly.
An Esper’s ability was on an entirely different level.
He had heard until his ears nearly fell off that the great Espers would deal with all the monsters, and that Huiyeong only needed to take care of Shinyul.
But Huiyeong, who had spent his life rolling through the mud, found nothing more frightening than entrusting his life to someone else.
That was why he tried not to be conscious of Shinyul.
People were weak and deceitful creatures. The fact that he was paired with the greatest among all those mighty Espers kept making him lower his guard.
He wanted to rely on Shinyul.
He wanted Shinyul to solve everything for him.
Faced with meeting frightening monsters, it was only natural to search for somewhere to hide.
But he could not allow that.
An ordinary man like him would probably be torn apart before he could even resist a monster.
The very thought that he might trust Shinyul, let his guard down, and die helplessly made him even more anxious and tense.
He deliberately ignored Shinyul.
After endless difficulties, they finally arrived at a broad clearing that spread out in a wide circle.
The people at the base camp moved in perfect order, setting up tents and organizing equipment.
Huiyeong staggered to a spot not far from the others and sat down with his back against a tree.
A sigh escaped him on its own, and the situation before him felt hopeless.
What the hell was he supposed to do with a body that could not even walk for long?
His exhausted body made even the single knife inside his bag feel unbearably heavy.
It was despairing.
“Princess, was it hard? You should’ve asked me to carry you. Why didn’t you?”
Shinyul approached and gently wiped away the beads of sweat on Huiyeong’s forehead with his hand.
Despite his soft voice, his gaze was thick with possessiveness as it swept over Huiyeong’s entire body.
“Are my legs fucking broken…? What for…?”
“I can carry my Princess. Hm? Why didn’t you ask me to hold you, and why didn’t you even look at me? Are you angry with me about something?”
“Quit your bullshit and go away. This old man’s tired, so I’m gonna rest….”
“…….”
Shinyul looked down at Huiyeong for a moment as he refused to meet his eyes and only pushed him away.
Then Shinyul slowly stroked Huiyeong’s soft cheek, leaned his face in until they were almost touching, and whispered.
“Princess, kiss me.”
“…? What the hell are you talking about? You haven’t even killed any monsters.”
When Huiyeong questioned him, Shinyul nodded in understanding.
“Ah.”
His golden eyes flashed for an instant.
Kiiiaaaah-!
Boom-!
A deafening, tearing roar rang out nearby.
Everyone looked horrified.
Shinyul smiled brightly at the startled Huiyeong.
“Now kiss me.”
Has he lost his fucking mind?