# Chapter 19
The surroundings were eerie. The musty air was heavily mixed with the smell of mold. Jiwon shook his body as his skin itched all over. But that didn’t make things any better.
“What’s wrong?”
As Jiwon was looking around with furrowed brows, Suhyun suddenly spoke to him.
For the first time in a full two hours since they entered the dungeon.
“Nothing. The air is just stale.”
Though his skin felt not just itchy but almost painful, Jiwon shook his head, not wanting to sound weak.
“…Ah.”
But Suhyun was particularly perceptive at times like this. The air around Jiwon suddenly changed, and the mustiness he had been feeling all along disappeared.
Taking a deep breath, he couldn’t believe how refreshing it felt. It was as if he had entered a cypress forest rather than a dungeon.
“…Um, you don’t have to go this far.”
While he was grateful, it was somewhat embarrassing. After all, Suhyun was using his precious ability as nothing more than an air purifier.
“No. This is obviously necessary for Guide Jiwon.”
Just then, Won Jungyeom suddenly popped out from somewhere. He had definitely been up ahead…
“Esper skin and Guide skin are different. The air here is difficult for ordinary people to endure.”
Absolutely, no doubt about it.
Won Jungyeom nodded vigorously as if impressed by his own words.
“I think there might be some mild poison mixed in too.”
He inhaled sharply and then exhaled, making no effort to hide his discomfort.
“Poison?”
“That’s what I sense… What do you think, Esper Seo Suhyun?”
“…I think the same.”
“Mmhmm, right?”
Won Jungyeom looked at Jiwon and smiled triumphantly. His expression changed remarkably quickly in a short time.
Still, his intentions were clear enough. He was telling Jiwon not to worry too much about Suhyun using his ability.
“Ah, I see.”
He was really such a good person. Jiwon had wondered why he’d come from the front to the back, but it seemed he’d come to check on him because of the stale air.
“My goodness, look how red your skin has gotten already.”
Being a good person also meant, in other words, that he was quite meddlesome.
“I’m fine.”
“Fine, my foot.”
Jiwon had felt the itching, but he hadn’t known his skin had become visibly red. Embarrassed, he tried to hide his arms.
“It’ll go down soon.”
He felt self-conscious around Suhyun. It hurt his pride to show weakness even to this stale air.
Though it was foolish to begin with to put himself on the same level as an Esper.
“You’re quite talented, Esper-nim.”
Jiwon quickly changed the unwanted topic of conversation.
“To think you could become an air purifier.”
Could he do anything related to air?
“By the way, this ant nest is really wide today.”
Jiwon was curious about what else Suhyun could do, but Won Jungyeom took the lead again and spoke, so Jiwon closed his mouth.
It was just a comment he’d made to change the subject anyway.
“There aren’t many rooms, but the corridors are long.”
“This kind of place would be cleared much faster if we split into teams.”
The Espers responded one after another. Their voices were full of boredom.
“We’ve only got one life, so we should cherish it.”
Won Jungyeom made a gesture of cutting his throat while giving a good-natured smile.
No Esper was unaware of why Jiwon had entered this dungeon. So the suggestion of splitting up was probably just a throwaway remark.
“That’s just a figure of speech.”
One Esper shrugged, and as if rehearsed, everyone glanced at Jiwon. The previously bored people had disappeared somewhere, and a sense of fear subtly blossomed among them.
“Haah…”
With someone’s exaggerated sigh, the Espers resumed walking into the dungeon. Jiwon followed them, taking note of their backs.
Since the Espers who entered dungeons together were often similar, their faces had become familiar.
There are still far more Espers who refuse to enter dungeons. As a result, the few Espers who agreed with the Association’s opinion are repeatedly entering dungeons after only brief periods of recuperation.
Though they say it’s to prevent major accidents, ultimately, they’re placing their trust in Jiwon alone.
“But why is it called an ant nest? There aren’t any ant monsters.”
His shoulders felt heavy with responsibility.
Ignoring that weight for a moment, Jiwon asked in a casual tone.
“It’s because of the terrain. There are multiple corridors, and when you follow them, you find rooms at the end. All dungeons with this structure are called ant nests.”
A B-class Esper explained kindly.
“That’s why we’re always on edge, not knowing what might be at the end of the corridors, right?”
Won Jungyeom joined in. He had seemed to be going forward, but suddenly he was right in front of Jiwon.
“What if we encounter something terrifying…”
Jiwon’s pupils trembled slightly. Won Jungyeom wouldn’t miss that.
“What’s this?”
“Pardon?”
“Why has our Guide suddenly become so innocent?”
It was an unexpected question. When Jiwon frowned, Won Jungyeom burst out laughing with a “Hahaha!”
“No, they briefed us at the Association earlier. About what monsters would appear.”
“…”
“I thought you’d say ‘They’re just the same dirt clumps, right?’ but you’re actually surprised? Huh? Well, you learn something new every day!”
Jiwon had fallen for an obvious prank and scrunched his face, sighing. Finding his reaction amusing for some reason, Won Jungyeom laughed loudly again.
“Oh my, so that’s what you were worried about. Were you scared that super strong monsters would appear and overwhelm us?”
“It’s not like that.”
“Anyway… our Guide Jiwon, huh? He’s often misunderstood, but he’s actually this kind and gentle!”
“Haah…”
Won Jungyeom spoke loudly as if wanting the other Espers to hear. They all had small smiles at the corners of their mouths.
It wasn’t a matter of being innocent or anything; he was simply unfamiliar with dungeons, which made him easily frightened and worried. But understanding Won Jungyeom’s intentions, Jiwon decided not to explain himself.
Well, it was foolish to begin with for a Guide to worry about Espers inside a dungeon…
“This is just a low-level dungeon. The environment might harm Guide Jiwon’s skin, but it doesn’t affect us at all. Even the lowest-ranked Esper would be fine here, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”
After repeating the same thing for quite some time, Won Jungyeom seemed to feel he had teased enough and tried to soothe Jiwon.
Jiwon narrowed his eyes and then shook his head.
“I’m sure you know best.”
It was Won Jungyeom who was worried about him. Jiwon could easily see through his intentions. He was trying to reassure Jiwon with this kind of joke.
“Shall we continue then?”
Yes, it is laughable for a Guide to worry about Espers inside a dungeon. Jiwon’s job is to do his best when that dungeon appears. For now, he just needed to follow along quietly.
“Let’s go.”
Won Jungyeom energetically walked to the front row. The formation naturally returned to its original state. It was obvious they had worked together quite a few times.
Some of them must be participating in dungeons due to Won Jungyeom’s persuasion. It was clear without even looking.
“Esper-nim. Use your power moderately.”
Jiwon spoke to Suhyun. While his role in the dungeon was to follow along well, as Suhyun’s Guide, he had a duty to manage his wavelength.
Actually, if it was too much strain on Suhyun, they could do without this air purification…
“I’m completely fine.”
“…Hmm.”
…that’s what he had thought.
Before he could properly say anything, Suhyun cut him off as if he had already understood the meaning. Jiwon shrugged.
“Yes… still, let’s be careful.”
The dungeon rapidly distorts an Esper’s wavelength. Even if it was nothing to Suhyun now, no one knew what would happen when they faced that dungeon.
“I’ll handle it.”
As always, Suhyun had a talent for turning what could end with a simple “Yes” into a longer statement.
Jiwon checked Suhyun’s wavelength. Usually, it would get cut off when Suhyun entered a dungeon, but perhaps because he was right beside him, Jiwon could now check Suhyun’s wavelength stability as a numerical value.
76.
The number was still not satisfactory. No matter how much Guiding he did, the stability always ended at 79, recording an ambiguous value.
It should rise to at least 80, but they couldn’t rest because they had to keep entering dungeons…
Still, it was fortunate that the number didn’t drop suddenly. But then, what had he been doing in dungeons before that made his value drop to the 40s?
“If Esper Suhyun had been on the attack team, we would have finished faster, right?”
The answer came from the other Espers walking ahead. As Won Jungyeom had said, it must be a low-level dungeon since the formation was well-maintained, but the casual chatter continued.
“I suppose so. By now, he would have swept through everything by himself and would be waiting at the exit.”
Hearing the amused laughter, Jiwon’s gaze naturally turned to Suhyun. Suhyun wasn’t looking at him.
In each room Jiwon had seen at the ends of corridors, monsters were teeming. At least twenty to thirty, sometimes more.
And he would have handled all that by himself and be waiting at the exit? Jiwon instantly understood why his wavelength had become so disrupted even in low-level dungeons.
“Yes, please handle it well on your own.”
Jiwon spoke very deliberately.
“It seems using your ability for things like this doesn’t even register for you.”
As he spoke, he poked the slightly opaque barrier that served as both a shield and air purifier, then quickly turned his head away.
He thought there was no reason to refuse when Suhyun was offering protection.
“…?”
But despite turning his head, Jiwon’s gaze returned to its original position.
Because he heard a soft, “Pfft,” a sound of laughter from Suhyun.
“Did you just laugh?”
Jiwon asked loudly as if something incredibly shocking had happened. But what he got in return was Suhyun’s expressionless face.
