Despite Ha-ram’s expression being clearly warm and smiling, Hee-young found himself backing away step by step at the unsettling force radiating off him. He could practically see a dark aura rising behind Ha-ram’s back. Sensing danger, Hee-young instinctively shot a desperate look at Shin-yul. Catching that glance, Shin-yul smiled and quickly tucked Hee-young behind his body — but Ha-ram, advancing with overwhelming momentum, simply walked right past Shin-yul and planted himself in front of Hee-young.
“Hee-young?”
“Oh — hey, teach. What are you doing here?”
“I’m asking why you didn’t come.”
The gentle tone of Ha-ram’s voice sent a chill down Hee-young’s spine, and he found himself unable to finish his sentence, looking over at Shin-yul again.
There wasn’t really any particular reason. He’d been informed that lessons were held every other day, but Hee-young had been so mentally tangled up over Shin-yul that he’d simply forgotten the lessons existed at all — and after that, the whole Dungeon situation had been weighing on him so heavily that attending hadn’t even crossed his mind. In other words, he’d just… forgotten.
But he didn’t have the nerve to admit that to Ha-ram in his current terrifying state, so Hee-young darted anxious glances back and forth between Ha-ram and Shin-yul. Reading the plea for help in his eyes, Shin-yul smiled contentedly and pulled Hee-young into his arms.
“He was busy spending time with me.”
“When was I?”
“Then why didn’t you come?”
“…….”
The peculiar three-way standoff had even the people gathered at a distance holding their breath and zeroing in on the scene. What looked at first glance like a love triangle drama was, on closer inspection, an educator scolding a truant student and said student’s delinquent guardian — a realization that created a profound sense of cognitive dissonance in everyone watching.
The Guiding lessons were optional, so Ha-ram fixating so intensely on one absence was strange in itself — and it was equally bizarre to see Hee-young, who had a well-known reputation for a temper unlike anyone else’s, whimpering like a frightened dog. Shin-yul, meanwhile, looked like he was enjoying every second of it. Still a madman, as ever.
“It’s all right, Hee-young. I’m not trying to scold you — I genuinely just wanted to know.”
“…That doesn’t look like ‘all right’ to me. Anyone can see you’re angry. Your eyes are a little unhinged right now.”
“Haha, me? No, no. You came to class without any notice and I waited three hours each session without eating — but I was just asking because I was genuinely worried. Your body is so fragile, after all.”
“…You’re definitely angry.”
“I told you, I’m fine. Because, you see, I’ll be joining you in the Dungeon this time. I was planning to make up the lessons we missed — inside the Dungeon. I even brought the textbooks.”
“……?”
Ha-ram smiled brightly and pulled two thick textbooks out of his bag. Hee-young instinctively took a step back, and his hand shot out to grab the hem of Shin-yul’s clothes in a panic.
Can’t you do something about him? Seriously — tutoring sessions inside a Dungeon full of monsters? Maybe the real lunatic here isn’t you or me, it’s that teacher.
As Hee-young’s grip on Shin-yul’s hem tightened more and more, Shin-yul smiled and gently patted Hee-young’s cheek.
“It’s okay, princess. The teacher says he’s not angry. He’ll do make-up lessons too. Don’t be scared.”
“That’s right. Make-up lessons are all we need.”
Ha-ram chimed in with a cheerful smile of his own. Only Hee-young’s face contorted.
Wow, are these guys actually insane?
Once the conversation had wound down to some kind of conclusion, a Dungeon management staff member who had been hovering awkwardly nearby stepped forward and said quietly, We should start moving soon.
“The Dungeon we’ll be entering this time is a permanent Dungeon located in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province — a creature-type Dungeon designated as Dungeon No. 211. It’s also commonly known as the 1178 Dungeon. I’ll now confirm the roster.”
The staff member began calling out the names of Espers and Guides one by one, and Hee-young tilted his head, listening.
What on earth is he talking about.
“Dungeons are divided into permanent Dungeons and vanishing Dungeons. As a general rule, Dungeons disappear once their clear conditions are met — but Dungeons whose clear conditions haven’t been identified yet are classified as permanent Dungeons, since they remain open until they’re closed. Usually there’s a specific method for closing a Dungeon — like defeating the Dungeon boss or clearing a maze — but Dungeon No. 211 is one where that condition hasn’t been found yet.”
“…Ah.”
“‘Creature-type’ means creatures appear inside that Dungeon. The reason it’s called the 1178 Dungeon is because exactly 1,178 creatures are generated inside it every time. All 1,178 creatures must be eliminated before an exit appears — until then, the exit remains sealed. The Dungeon is fairly large, and the 1,178 creatures are scattered and hidden throughout every corner of it, so clearing it is quite tricky and time-consuming. On the upside, Dungeon No. 211’s entrance won’t open again until all 1,178 creatures have fully regenerated, and the creatures themselves aren’t particularly dangerous — so it’s classified as a safety-tier Dungeon.”
The moment Ha-ram caught Hee-young’s bewildered expression, he stuck close to his side and rattled everything off in a rapid-fire stream. Hee-young nodded along lightly while understanding less than half of it. He kept thinking what? — but the sight of Ha-ram’s eyes gleaming with passionate enthusiasm for teaching was frankly terrifying, so he kept his mouth shut. Shin-yul, noticing Hee-young’s state, lightly brushed the hair out of his face and said:
“Princess doesn’t need to know any of this. I’ll take care of everything — our princess just has to give me a victory kiss when it’s done.”
“…….”
Both Hee-young and Ha-ram looked at Shin-yul with identical expressions of disbelief. Hee-young’s reaction was closer to an outright convulsion at the mention of kissing — but Ha-ram was furious at the statement itself.
Not that Shin-yul was wrong. He was an S-rank Esper, and most Dungeons were no obstacle to him whatsoever. No matter the Dungeon, clearing it was ultimately the Esper’s job — and Guides were there primarily to assist them under the Esper’s protection. But cutting off learning entirely was a different matter.
Espers fundamentally want their Guides to depend on them completely, and become obsessive over every aspect of their Guide’s existence. The feelings themselves were too pure and too desperate to blame — but they expressed themselves in twisted ways, gradually tightening around the Guide’s throat.
Ha-ram hated that. And on top of everything, Hee-young was lacking even the most basic foundational knowledge. For someone like that to be pushed around without understanding anything, purely because of an Esper’s possessiveness — that was unreasonable.
Ha-ram felt sorry for Hee-young, adrift in a situation he didn’t understand. He wanted Hee-young to be able to choose everything with his own will. That was precisely why Ha-ram was so obsessively invested in Hee-young’s education. Guides who entered Dungeons usually waited at the camp anyway — Ha-ram resolved, once more, to seize this opportunity and teach Hee-young everything.
Hee-young stared at Ha-ram’s hands gripping the textbooks so tightly his knuckles had gone white, his own face pale.
There is not a single sane person around me.
“Team Leader Esper Han Shin-yul, Paired Guide Yoo Hee-young. Confirmed. All 25 personnel accounted for. We will now proceed.”
At the staff member’s announcement, people began clustering together and converging on one spot. Ha-ram offered a parting word — see you inside the Dungeon — and disappeared into the crowd. Hee-young looked on with curiosity, wondering how on earth they planned to transport this many people all the way to Gangwon Province.
The staff member placed a call somewhere, and moments later a tall young man appeared from inside headquarters, beaming from ear to ear.
What is it with this place, everyone’s always grinning. Is everyone here insane?
Hee-young was standing there looking thoroughly disgusted when the young man spotted him and came walking over quickly.
“Shin-yul! Long time no see! Is this the Guide right here? Hey there!”
“Hey there my ass — where are your manners?”
“…Pardon?”
The young man who had been waving and smiling brightly froze, his expression going awkward. At Hee-young’s words, Shin-yul laughed with evident delight.
“Good job, princess. Don’t bother greeting other Espers. You only need to welcome me.”
Hee-young, who had already been on edge because of the Dungeon entry, felt his mood sour even further at Shin-yul’s words.
What am I, a dog?
Hee-young irritably swatted away Shin-yul’s hand that had been tickling his cheek. Shin-yul received the sharp smack loud and clear, yet rather than minding his own stinging hand, he looked at the hand that had swatted him with even more concern and care. Hee-young brushed off even that worry as though it was a nuisance, and turned to look at the young man standing there awkwardly.
“Introduce yourself again.”
“Pardon?”
“Were you not taught how to greet people? ‘My name is so-and-so! How do you do! Bow your head! Go on!”
“…My name is Kim Yun-jae…. How do you do….”
“That’s more like it! And bow!”
Under Hee-young’s sharp scolding, Yun-jae fumbled and started bending at the waist. Lower! Lower, lower! At the shrill voice, Yun-jae found himself bowing even more deeply without thinking. When he’d gotten close to a full ninety degrees, Hee-young gave a satisfied good. Hello back. At that response, Yun-jae snapped back to his senses, hastily straightened up, and looked at Shin-yul.
“So… so anyway, Shin-yul. It’s been a while and I had a lot to say, but — let’s just, let’s do it next time. Next time.”
Yun-jae finished his rambling, looking thoroughly drained, and trudged back over to the staff member to resume their conversation. Hee-young watched Yun-jae’s half-vacant expression and clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
“Kids these days, honestly….”
Whether he’d heard it or not, Yun-jae’s body gave a visible flinch. He hurriedly extended a hand — and suddenly, a rippling white light spilled through the air, and a rectangular curtain of light materialized before them.
“Please proceed in a single-file line!”
The staff member announced loudly, and without any hesitation, people began walking straight through the white curtain of light. Hee-young stood there, mouth hanging open, staring at the scene in disbelief.
Their abilities never stop being astonishing, no matter how many times I see them. But wait — what even is that?
Just as Hee-young was about to ask Shin-yul standing beside him, Shin-yul grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the light.
“Hey! Wait just a—!”
Before Hee-young could finish, the silhouettes of the two of them vanished into the light.
