# Chapter 116
Suhyun had anticipated that since this was Riska’s domain, his wavelength would become tangled at a faster rate than before.
‘It’s worse than the Riska dungeon.’
However, his stability dropped much more steeply than Suhyun had expected. From the moment he set foot in this space, it felt as though his flow had been completely blocked.
Boom! Crash!
Without even a moment to catch his breath, attacks from tightly clustered Riskas poured down as soon as Suhyun entered the lair.
Suhyun countered their attacks using only physical strength to minimize the impact on his stability, reminding himself that his goal wasn’t to attack the Riskas.
But the recovery speed of the Riskas, which had almost merged into one mass, was too fast. Cutting them was pointless as they quickly returned to their original state—like trying to cut water with a blade—which meant he had to use more strength than expected.
“Haa, ha…”
Moreover, no matter how much he relied on physical strength, he couldn’t completely avoid using his wavelength. As proof of this, his body was rapidly becoming exhausted.
Suhyun looked around with a grimaced face. Just as Jiwon had said, the reddish-black ore formed mountains.
It was such a vast quantity that it could never be handled by just one or two ability users.
‘Can all of this be taken outside?’
Suhyun realized it was practically impossible for him alone.
Should he then postpone it for later? But when would “later” be?
‘If guiding doesn’t work, there won’t be a later.’
Suhyun had already been attacked by Riska and had become a medium. Like other Espers, he would eventually go berserk and die. It was only a matter of when.
‘There’s no time to waste.’
Whatever the outcome, it was clear that this wasn’t the time to be dealing with endlessly regenerating Riskas.
Suhyun evaded the Riskas’ attacks to achieve his original goal.
‘I need to take at least some of the ore outside.’
Getting even a portion of it outside was the top priority. His current attacks weren’t making any impact on Riska. Meaningful results would only come if he could extract Riska’s power to the outside.
‘Even preparing for the worst…’
He might reach his limit before being able to take all of Riska’s power, this ore, outside. But if he could transfer as much as possible to the outside, someone in the future would surely benefit.
If he couldn’t resolve it himself, he’d have to rely on someone else. He needed to provide materials for more research and preparation so that person could handle Riska more safely and definitively.
‘Maybe an Esper will find a way to eliminate Riska’s power.’
Or perhaps find a way to open this passage.
‘I shouldn’t be planning for “later” already.’
After pondering for a while, Suhyun shook his head slightly at the sudden image of Jiwon’s face.
He would definitely be angry if he knew what Suhyun was thinking. He was probably already upset about being left behind, and here Suhyun was, naturally having such weak thoughts.
“Ha…”
Suhyun let out a dry laugh, tightening his lips. Then, without delay, he forcefully struck the nearby ore.
Bang!
The instantly shattered ore scattered in all directions. Using his ability to gather the ore, Suhyun immediately moved toward the entrance.
Later is later. Right now, Suhyun’s job was to get outside as quickly as possible.
And he needed to show Jiwon he was alright. That it was fine for him to enter and exit alone like this. That there was no problem at all.
Even if it were a lie, just to reassure him for now.
─Human.
It was at that moment when a strange sound—not in human language, yet understandable—echoed in his mind.
Thanks to Jiwon’s prior experience, Suhyun immediately recognized that Riska was speaking to him.
─Where are you trying to steal our power to?
As if it was their power to begin with—saying it was being stolen was absurd. Suhyun didn’t respond to such a preposterous claim.
─Our power cannot be taken anywhere.
Consistently ignoring Riska’s words, Suhyun finally stepped into the entrance he had come through.
For some unknown reason, Riska had stopped attacking, so there was no interference.
“Huk, ugh…!”
But Suhyun couldn’t pass through the entrance.
It wasn’t that the entrance was blocked. Suhyun’s toes had clearly attempted to pass through the entrance. If it had been blocked from the start, Choi Young wouldn’t have been able to leave either.
The reason Suhyun instinctively stepped back was because the moment he tried to go outside, an unbearable pain surged through him, and his power drained all at once like an ebbing tide.
He had been prepared for some wavelength disruption. But his power dropped at a level incomparable to when he entered, causing Suhyun to stagger greatly.
‘My stability…’
As if to confirm it wasn’t just his imagination, his stability had plummeted.
The stability that had been at 98 when entering the dungeon had already fallen below 40. It seemed unbelievable that it had still been in the 60s until just before he stepped into the entrance again.
─All actions have consequences.
─We take back as much as was taken from us.
Suhyun stood straight, taking deep breaths. The power that had drained in an instant didn’t return.
─Your power, which takes our power, will create new power.
Suhyun blankly stared at the ore he had dropped due to the sensation of his power draining away.
Considering the fact that his power drained the moment he tried to pass through the entrance, and Riska’s words, a simple answer emerged.
It meant they were filling the empty space of the ore he was trying to take outside by draining Suhyun’s power.
“Huh…”
Even if he took the ore outside and eliminated it, Riska wouldn’t be affected. Because they would take the power of the Esper who tried to take it.
To protect his power, he shouldn’t take the ore outside. But if he were to go out empty-handed, there would have been no point in becoming Riska’s medium.
Had he risked death just to enter this place?
‘There’s nothing I can do…’
Feeling a sense of helplessness that there was nothing he could do immediately, Suhyun slowly looked around the space he stood in. Then he checked his stability through his watch.
A stability still in the 40s. Normally, this was a level that could be quickly recovered with guiding from Jiwon.
But not now. Even if recovery was possible, it would only be once or twice. After that, he would eventually reach the point of going berserk.
He would follow the same path as the Espers who had died as mediums without knowing anything.
‘And I might cause the Guide to lose his power.’
Jiwon wouldn’t hesitate to perform excessive guiding for Suhyun’s sake. He was the type who would never give up, even if he ended up losing his ability like Jo Wooyeon.
‘…That can’t happen.’
Jiwon getting hurt was something that absolutely shouldn’t happen. It was the last thing Suhyun wanted.
Then, the best he could do without hurting Jiwon was here and now…
‘Is it okay to hurt his heart?’
The moment he thought there was nothing he could do immediately and that his very existence might hurt Jiwon, a self-mocking voice echoed within Suhyun as he was about to make the choice to sacrifice his life as if it were natural.
It was a reproach asking if that was really the only option.
‘But…’
Suhyun’s pitch-black pupils wavered. Right now, he had two immediate choices before him.
One was to give up on moving the ore and leave empty-handed. If he wanted to preserve his life, this was obviously the choice to make, but he wasn’t sure what meaning it would have.
Even if he survived for now, would he be given enough time to find another solution and enter this place again?
Was there a way to find a solution?
The only thing worth researching intensively was those ores. Even if it took time, research might lead to finding some other method.
But there was no more ore outside. The ore that Choi Young had taken out had long since crumbled.
‘He carried it out despite having his power drained to stop Riska.’
Suhyun understood what Choi Young must have felt because he harbored the same feelings.
‘To research methods to capture Riska, not just guiding, I need to take as much as possible.’
This was the second choice available to Suhyun.
Gathering and taking out as much ore as possible. It would drain his power accordingly, likely leading him to go berserk in one go, but it would at least help pave the way for the future.
‘If I’m going to die anyway…’
He had to provide all the information that could help someone in the future handle Riska carefully, not foolishly like himself.
So that those remaining would be safe.
“I said I’d be back…”
In truth, Suhyun’s heart was already leaning to one side. But he couldn’t move easily because of Jiwon’s face that refused to leave his mind.
From the beginning, Jiwon hadn’t wanted him to become a medium. It was because Suhyun wanted it that Jiwon had endured even the fear of losing his partner.
Jiwon had always strived to be together. Leaving him behind, entering the lair alone, and choosing death without giving him a chance to do anything was an extremely selfish act.
“……”
It would deeply hurt Jiwon. But Suhyun, knowing this, still drew his blade. He had chosen the latter option.
Facing the Riskas that seemed to be standing still, as if watching what choice he would make, Suhyun took a deep breath.
‘If he resents and hates me, maybe he’ll forget more easily.’
With that wishful thought, Suhyun’s expression darkened. The reddish-black ores reflected in his pitch-black eyes.
