# Chapter 26
Wow…
Jiwon was walking inside the dungeon. More accurately, he felt like he was floating around.
An opaque barrier had been created around him. At first, he hadn’t felt anything unusual, but when he walked or made sounds, its presence was clearly revealed.
‘I’ll hide both our traces and scents…’
Not even Jiwon’s footprints remained in the dungeon. His sounds were completely blocked as well. The interesting thing was that he could still hear sounds from outside.
‘I’ll also block the monsters’ line of sight.’
Jiwon looked at his surroundings, filled with a hazy mist. It was so foggy that he couldn’t see even an inch ahead. This wasn’t a characteristic of the dungeon. It was all created by Suhyun.
‘Can you see anything at all?’
The monsters’ vision would be well blocked. But Jiwon was concerned whether Suhyun could see. At the very least, Jiwon couldn’t see or sense anything nearby.
Of course, it was unnecessary worry. Suhyun and Jiwon had completely different sensory systems.
In the dungeon terrain that was essentially a vast open field, Suhyun moved with agility as if he could see the monsters.
As a result, the two of them hadn’t encountered a single monster so far. Jiwon’s job here was to follow Suhyun and focus on his eyes.
With the intention of grabbing him immediately if his eyes became clouded.
“…There’s nothing here.”
After walking for who knows how long.
Suhyun, who had been exploring various parts of the dungeon with amazing speed and accuracy, nodded as if he had finished his task.
Simultaneously, the thick fog lifted, but the barrier surrounding Jiwon remained.
“…Have you checked everything?”
Even after wandering around together for so long, Jiwon found it hard to believe and asked, to which Suhyun nodded with certainty.
“Wow…”
Jiwon looked around quickly. The terrain here was completely different from their starting point. Monsters could be seen in the distance, but they didn’t seem to notice Jiwon and Suhyun’s presence at all.
“We can… check like this too.”
Moreover, Suhyun’s wavelength hadn’t changed much. Despite using his abilities continuously while taking care of Jiwon and exploring the dungeon, it remained remarkably stable.
“…Is it safe here?”
“Unless we deliberately attract monsters…”
“Good. Give me your hand.”
Jiwon smiled and extended his hand. Suhyun stared at his hand blankly.
“It’ll take time for the second team to get here. Let’s do some guiding in the meantime.”
The second team would depart an hour later. It would take quite some time for them to hunt the monsters in the dungeon and reach this place.
Apparently finding Jiwon’s idea reasonable, Suhyun extended his hand without a word.
Despite being inside a dungeon, it was a peaceful and relaxed guiding session.
***
“Hmm… you’re looking for that energy, right?”
“Yes.”
Exploring dungeons is boring. If he had said this to his former self just a short while ago, he would have retorted that it was nonsense.
But these days, Jiwon was realizing how incredibly boring dungeons could be. At least as long as he was with Suhyun, and as long as ‘that thing’ didn’t appear.
“But back then, no one except you noticed anything strange.”
He’d been told that other Espers, including Won Jungyeom, hadn’t thought that something strange had happened in the dungeon at the time.
When Jiwon asked Won Jungyeom why he hadn’t followed:
‘It felt like someone ordered me to stay put. I didn’t know it then. I just stopped because I had a feeling I shouldn’t follow. I think everyone else felt something similar. Well, we couldn’t have imagined that it was the dungeon controlling all of us.’
That’s how he had answered.
‘I really have no idea what Esper Seo Suhyun sensed alone back then. I wish I had known too.’
It was truly unfortunate news.
“Only you can detect it…”
If even one more person could recognize ‘that thing,’ Suhyun wouldn’t have to suffer alone like this.
Jiwon had been feeling very sorry for Suhyun lately. Of course, he felt sorry for himself too. The number of times the two of them went in and out of dungeons had increased to an absurd level.
“Haah…”
Rationally, he knew there was no other way. Suhyun, with his ability to minimize combat with monsters inside the dungeon, was very suitable for this mission.
But it was just minimizing combat, not avoiding it entirely. They couldn’t avoid all monsters. Occasionally, when they encountered particularly sensitive monsters, Suhyun inevitably had to fight them.
“Doing guiding inside a dungeon is quite novel…”
They had just finished one such battle. As soon as the fight ended, they had hidden in a place where their presence couldn’t be felt and were now guiding.
Well, the infrequent battles themselves didn’t have much impact on Suhyun’s wavelength. It helped greatly that Jiwon was continuously by his side, providing guiding.
Moreover, most weren’t strong monsters. Fortunately or unfortunately, the rank of dungeons appearing recently wasn’t very high.
‘If a high-rank dungeon appears…’
Jiwon shook his head. Words can become reality. He shouldn’t even think about it.
“It’s both comfortable… and not.”
Jiwon’s voice sounded somewhat tired. Although he was worried about Suhyun’s wavelength, the problem was arising with Jiwon first. His fatigue was continuously accumulating.
His physical stamina was much better than the average person his age. Objectively speaking. But when he had to enter dungeons multiple times a day and traverse every corner inside, it was inevitable that fatigue would build up.
Suhyun, being an Esper, could maintain his body refreshed just through guiding, but Jiwon as a Guide had no such luxury. All he could do was consume vitamins or health supplements before leaving.
‘How many dungeons have we explored…’
His entire body felt like it weighed tons, and his mind was hazy. As his condition worsened, guiding was becoming increasingly slow.
It was a warning sign more dangerous than death from overwork.
“Hmm, what about holding hands the whole time? Rather than stopping in the middle to rest…”
Maybe it would be better if they didn’t waste time while moving. And if they could finish checking quickly, they could rest more comfortably in a safe place at the end of the dungeon.
“…Who am I talking to?”
He thought it was a pretty good idea, but Suhyun didn’t respond.
He knew Suhyun wasn’t talkative. But the fact that he still wouldn’t open up even after spending so much time together was impressive in its own way.
Still…
“……”
Jiwon stood up, holding the hand that had briefly pulled away before returning to him. Despite his fatigue, he couldn’t help but smile.
Though Suhyun didn’t speak, the distance between them had grown much closer. Jiwon was certain that Suhyun didn’t dislike him now. Whatever it was like before, it wasn’t the case now. Quite fortunately.
“Will it be cumbersome?”
Jiwon asked with a smile.
“It’s the same as being dragged around in any way.”
As if his lips had been sealed until now, Suhyun, whose voice was rarely heard, answered very kindly this time.
He wasn’t wrong. Since Jiwon couldn’t keep up if Suhyun increased his speed even slightly, he had been getting dragged along from the beginning.
If that was going to happen anyway, they should have been moving while guiding from the start.
He regretted it somewhat, but he was glad he’d thought of it now.
“If this weren’t a dungeon, people would think we’re on a date.”
Jiwon joked while straightening his tired, slumping body. It was such a nonsensical remark that he expected to be ignored. It was also the right timing to close his mouth if they were going to explore the dungeon again.
“What are you talking about?”
However, contrary to his expectation, Suhyun responded very seriously and irritably. He even stopped walking, suggesting he found the remark quite uncomfortable to hear.
“Why so serious? It’s a thought that could come to mind.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Who else walks around holding hands tightly like this if not people on a date?”
“I wonder. Parents also hold their children’s hands tightly when they’re out.”
Even knowing it was a pointless conversation, Jiwon smiled as he replied.
“Don’t tell me I’m the child in this scenario?”
“Since you’re the one who becomes endangered if we let go of hands, I guess that’s the case.”
“Wow… Then does that make you my father?”
It wasn’t something to say about Suhyun, who was a full-grown adult and an S-class Esper, but in Jiwon’s eyes, he seemed like a child. Being treated like a child by someone like that gave Jiwon quite a novel feeling.
“Hmm. A father like Esper Suhyun…”
Jiwon, who had briefly indulged in an unnecessary imagination, smiled slightly.
“Not bad.”
He might be somewhat blunt, but he would still be a good father. In some sense, from the perspective of Jiwon who had a terrible father, Suhyun represented a good father figure.
“……”
Suhyun briefly stared at Jiwon, who was seriously imagining based on a casual remark.
There was no further conversation. Now it was time to get back to work.
