# Chapter 91
“How would I know something like that…”
“What? You’re saying that? As expected, we only have our Guide Jiwon. I’ll finally get to rest my head on our Guide-nim’s thighs after so long!”
“Excuse me…?”
Jiwon looked at Won Jungyeom with an astonished face. He was supposed to give a hint, but this sudden behavior made no sense.
Plus, he was lying. Jiwon swore he had never given Won Jungyeom a lap pillow before.
“…Riska?”
Jiwon was so bewildered that he thought Won Jungyeom might be under Riska’s control. Even though he knew Riska wouldn’t do something like this if it was trying to imitate Won Jungyeom more convincingly.
“Ugh, my whole body aches…!”
Regardless, Won Jungyeom was being forceful. For someone claiming to be in pain, he was moving rather slowly to lie down, but Jiwon didn’t have time to think about that.
What worried him in that instant was whether Suhyun might believe Won Jungyeom’s words.
Jiwon turned his head toward Suhyun, reaching out to push Won Jungyeom away while trying to come up with an explanation.
“Stay seated.”
That’s when Suhyun’s voice, which had been coming from a distance away, suddenly sounded right next to him.
With a somewhat emotionless voice, Suhyun grabbed Won Jungyeom’s face. From what Jiwon glimpsed, Suhyun’s face was frozen in an almost frightening expression, and his grip on Won Jungyeom was extremely tight.
“Aaaagh! That hurts!”
Won Jungyeom shrieked and pulled back. Though Suhyun’s hand had only touched him for a moment, a bright red handprint remained on his face.
“Wow, it really hurts! Did you break my facial bones?”
“You look fine to me.”
“I would have understood if you just said something, why use your hand? And an S-class Esper at that, how careless!”
“For someone who was about to lie down in front of a dungeon, you have a lot to say.”
“You didn’t care before whether I laid down or not, did you?”
“Back then…”
Suhyun’s words trailed off as if blocked, his eyebrows twitching as he glanced at Jiwon.
Then he turned away sharply without any particular comeback.
“I was just trying to give a hint and almost got my face crushed.”
Once Suhyun had moved away, Won Jungyeom muttered in a low voice.
“Be thankful for my self-sacrifice. If you still don’t get it after this, Guide Jiwon is just… Ah, never mind. Esper Suhyun and Guide Jiwon both…”
Won Jungyeom let out heavy sighs. However, Jiwon couldn’t respond. His gaze was fixed on Suhyun.
There was something strange about that face still full of undisguised irritation.
‘Is this something that would make Esper-nim so angry?’
Suhyun was genuinely angry. Because Won Jungyeom tried to lie down in front of the dungeon? But in the past, he hadn’t cared what Won Jungyeom did.
The difference was that this time, Won Jungyeom had tried to use Jiwon’s thigh as a pillow…
‘To say he doesn’t want to lose his Guide seems…’
In the first place, stopping Won Jungyeom should have been Jiwon’s responsibility. Despite that, if Won Jungyeom had been persistent, Suhyun could have helped.
But Suhyun approached and got angry with him before Jiwon could say anything. It meant that he already disliked Won Jungyeom’s behavior itself.
Why?
Jiwon furrowed his brow. If he thought a little more about what Suhyun might be thinking, he felt he could almost understand.
“Huk…!”
“G-Guide Jiwon! What’s wrong?”
“Guide-nim!”
However, Jiwon wasn’t given the luxury to think more deeply.
With a headache that felt like his head was splitting open, his vision flickered to black.
“…Jiwon…!”
Suhyun’s voice was faintly heard before it suddenly cut off. Jiwon felt his body falling forward.
“…Huk…, kkeuk…. Ha, what is this…?”
When he opened his eyes after squeezing them shut, his surroundings had completely changed.
Jiwon faced a mine covered with dark red jewels. Suhyun and Won Jungyeom were nowhere to be seen.
He had suddenly fallen into this strange place all by himself.
“Where is this…”
Jiwon muttered, pressing down on his still-throbbing head as he looked around.
But everywhere he looked was the same dark red mine. It was so enormous that it felt intimidating, making him breathless in such a space.
“…Why am I here?”
The confusion at this incomprehensible situation didn’t last long.
‘If Esper Jungyeom gets controlled by Riska now…’
Jiwon quickly faced reality.
Whatever the reason, he was now unable to guide Won Jungyeom. If Won Jungyeom were to fall under Riska’s mental control in the meantime, and if the dungeon opened and monsters came out, it was obvious that Suhyun would be in trouble.
‘I need to get out of here.’
Jiwon pressed his temple and started walking. It was virtually impossible to easily find an exit in this unknown space, but walking was the only option for now.
-It’s a human. A human has come.
-Here? How can a human…?
-The door is closed though…
After walking for some time, that’s when voices from somewhere echoed as if in response.
“Who’s there?”
-An illusion.
-It’s an illusion.
-It didn’t really enter.
Regardless of Jiwon’s confusion, the conversation between them continued.
It wasn’t human language. Yet Jiwon could understand all of the sounds that seemed to resonate in his brain.
That’s what made it even more chilling.
-Go back.
-Return immediately.
-Get out of here.
“I want to get out of here too.”
Jiwon muttered, trying to suppress his confusion. They had said the door was closed. There was a high possibility that this meant a world separate from reality.
Was this a dungeon then? But Jiwon hadn’t even approached the entrance. Suddenly a headache had come over him, and when he opened his eyes after closing them, he was here.
‘An illusion, they say?’
Jiwon, mulling over their words, nodded slightly.
‘Perhaps I connected with Riska during guiding.’
That thought came to him because of the Riska that appeared just then.
Not just one or two. There were at least several hundred Riska crawling toward Jiwon.
Jiwon, who had instinctively backed away, stood up straight.
‘They said I’m an illusion, right?’
If he was an illusion, they couldn’t harm him. That’s what an illusion is, after all. Something that’s just visible to the eye but can’t do anything.
‘My body must be unconscious back there.’
There was also the possibility that Riska might take over his body and move it, but it was easier to believe that wasn’t the case.
“Where is this? Do you all stay here?”
Putting aside worries he couldn’t immediately resolve, Jiwon asked. His gaze kept returning to the dark red mine.
Rather than beautiful, the dark red energy gave off an eerie feeling. Looking at it made him feel almost breathless.
‘I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere…’
Yet he couldn’t take his eyes off it, due to the sense of déjà vu that he had seen jewels containing that light before.
-Isn’t it beautiful? Such beautiful jewels.
Perhaps because Jiwon couldn’t take his eyes off them, Riska spoke without being asked.
-Such beautiful power.
Beautiful… power, it said.
-Power for us, accumulated layer upon layer over a long time.
-Noble sacrifices make us stronger.
Jiwon frowned at the sense of pride filling their words.
‘Do they have emotions?’
It’s extremely rare for monsters to display emotions. Even when they do, they’re limited to primitive emotions like anger or fear.
But Jiwon was certain these creatures were feeling pride. And also that they wanted to show off the dark red mine spread out before his eyes.
“…This is, the power you possess.”
-Ah, yes. This is our power.
-Power that we possess. We are continually evolving.
That was what Won Jungyeom had said when he was under mental control.
“Evolution…”
-With the power of humans who expected destruction.
-With the wishes of humans who desired rest.
-Beautiful jewels created over a long time.
Jiwon flinched.
He didn’t know how to interpret those strange words about being created by human power and wishes.
“Humans… created it?”
Jiwon asked in disbelief.
But the only response was bizarre, chilling laughter.
The laughter of beings—whether human, monster, or something else—mixed together, making his head spin.
“Huk…”
Suddenly staggering, Jiwon grabbed his knee to barely stay standing.
He couldn’t simply believe what these creatures were saying. However, if there was anything that could provide even a small hint, Jiwon needed to draw it out.
“Your, ha, creator is… human? These, minerals…, your power, huff… if humans created it, then ultimately, they created you too…”
-RIDICULOUS!!!
As his breathing became increasingly labored and his headache worsened, an angry voice responded to his painfully voiced question.
Jiwon dropped to one knee with a thud. He felt nauseous and was struggling to maintain consciousness.
-As if humans could create us!
-Humans are merely byproducts. Materials for our power.
His vision grew dim. Jiwon groaned in pain.
-All of you…
Bizarre voices continued to echo in Jiwon’s mind as he closed his eyes.
