* * *
“Ask if they’ve identified our current location. Nam Taegeon’s esper ability should make tracking possible.”
“Ah, understood.”
Taegeon’s ability covered a wide range, so even from a distance, tracking should be possible.
Besides, Minjae was with the guide team, making the search even easier.
But Minjae’s answer wasn’t exactly satisfying.
“They say the signal interference is too strong. They can’t pinpoint the location.”
“I see.”
At those words, Raon glanced upward.
The towering heights above were already shrouded in thick fog, making it hard to see anything.
He quietly swallowed a sigh and turned his head.
“It can’t be helped. I’ll scout a way up. Tell the combat team to conserve their strength and move toward the expected route.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Fortunately, the espers in the combat team were high-ranked, so it seemed they hadn’t been caught in the explosion too badly.
There were medics as well, so injuries could be handled.
The real problem was the guiding.
Considering the journey ahead, they had to find a route quickly and reunite with the combat team.
With a serious expression, Raon scanned the surroundings.
“Let’s form ranks and look for a path. Minjae, use your ability to find the direction.”
“Yes.”
Minjae, who had just ended his telepathy with Taegeon, looked strangely drained.
Juwon, thinking it was due to a lack of guiding, approached him, but Minjae just smiled awkwardly and shook his head.
Most likely, only Raon and Hamin, who were part of Alpha Team 1 like Taegeon, could properly guide Minjae here.
“My detection ability isn’t great, but… It seems there’s a path upward this way.”
A moment later, Minjae cautiously pointed out a direction.
Raon nodded and led the team.
“Let’s head that way for now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Luckily, the wind direction was favorable.
Siwoo and Yeojoon took the lead, escorting the group.
Even the guides followed closely behind, gripping their weapons with tense expressions.
“…But doesn’t it feel a little different here? Compared to above.”
“Hmm.”
From behind Raon, Dasom whispered.
Raon could also faintly sense the unsettling energy that Dasom was referring to.
Maybe because they were further down from the original cliff, the air was noticeably warmer.
And yet, for some reason, there was a chilling undertone to the atmosphere.
“The wind barely blows here.”
Raon muttered softly to himself.
Even if they were under the cliff, they were still at a high elevation, yet the wind was eerily still.
Perhaps because of that, there were hardly any monsters visible.
Tilting his head, Raon caught sight of a vague silhouette beyond the fog.
“What is that…?”
Raon blinked.
For a moment, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but they weren’t.
Startled, Raon continued walking with the team toward the figure.
“There’s a building here?”
“At this scale… isn’t it practically a tower? It just keeps going up and up.”
Hamin and Dasom marveled as they looked up at the structure.
The massive, ivory-colored stone building gave off an ancient, majestic vibe, like the ruins of ancient Greece.
While the team members were impressed, only Raon looked horrified.
‘Why… is this building here too?’
That structure was supposed to be at the top of the cliff.
It served as the gateway to the next phase.
Raon was baffled by how identical it was to the building from his memories.
But upon closer inspection, there were slight differences from the building he had entered before his regression.
This one was much taller.
‘Don’t tell me… it’s connected to that one?’
Raon tilted his head, considering the theory.
Maybe this building extended through the cliff itself.
‘Come to think of it… the building I entered before my regression descended downward.’
Given its height, this building likely led upwards.
The more Raon thought about it, the more plausible the idea became.
“Team Leader, what should we do? Should we go inside?”
“Isn’t it dangerous to go in alone?”
The guides looked uneasy.
Raon stroked his chin, deep in thought.
If this building was identical to the one from before his regression, there shouldn’t be many monsters inside.
Creatures rarely appeared within that structure.
After a brief pause, Raon spoke.
“Let’s go in.”
“Uh, really?”
“And Minjae…”
Raon called Minjae over and whispered something to him.
Minjae nodded and used his ability on the team.
“Would this be enough?”
“Yes, good job.”
“But I’m not sure how much help my ability will be…”
“It’s fine. It’s enough.”
Calming the anxious team members, Raon entered the building.
It was made of stone, without even a proper door.
The moment they stepped inside, the interior faintly trembled.
Fwoosh.
“Ugh… The torches just… lit up on their own.”
Along the walls, torches ignited one by one as they passed.
Dasom, disgusted by the eerie sight, gripped her hands tightly.
‘As expected.’
Though the details were slightly different, the structure was identical to the building Raon had entered before regressing.
Sharp-eyed, Raon scanned his surroundings and spotted a staircase.
He halted in his tracks.
“Stop.”
At his command, the team froze and stood alert.
Raon fell into brief contemplation.
There were stairs leading both upward and downward.
Raon frowned at the sight.
‘Back then… there were only stairs going down.’
In the building Raon had entered before his regression, only downward stairs existed.
But here, both options were present.
If it was the same structure, going up should lead them to the combat team.
But for some reason, he couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.
“Wouldn’t going up be the right call, Team Leader?”
“Hmm…”
Taehyuk voiced the same thoughts cautiously, but Raon didn’t answer immediately.
Logically, going up made sense.
Even Raon thought so, yet he couldn’t bring himself to say it.
“Hyung.”
“Hm?”
“I’ll go down and check. You go up with the team.”
“Uh…”
Siwoo’s words left Raon blinking slowly.
It was as if Siwoo had read his mind, leaving him speechless.
“Isn’t it strange for there to be stairs leading down in a place like this? Someone should check it out.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“I’ll take a quick look and catch up. You go first.”
With a calm voice, Siwoo walked ahead.
Snapping out of his daze, Raon grabbed his arm.
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
“I’ll go with you.”
“But…”
Uneasy, Raon couldn’t bring himself to send Siwoo alone.
He turned to the team and instructed:
“Juwon, guide the others upstairs. Yeojoon and Minjae, keep them safe.”
“Team Leader…”
“We’ll join you shortly.”
“…Understood.”
Though flustered, Juwon obeyed Raon’s firm command without further protest.
The other team members glanced nervously at Raon and Siwoo, but reassured by the fact that both were S-Rank espers, they started ascending the stairs.
“We’re going down.”
“Yes.”
Raon and Siwoo cautiously descended the steps.
Unlike the hallway where torches blazed, the stairway was pitch dark, making it hard to see.
‘Come to think of it… does he even have enough guiding?’
Left alone with Siwoo, Raon belatedly worried about his condition.
He remembered they hadn’t done proper guiding for days now.
A glance at his wristwatch revealed Siwoo’s guiding sync had dropped to 56%.
Not terrible considering the use of abilities, but it was nearing the point where guiding would be preferable.
‘Hmm…’
As Raon absentmindedly wiggled his fingers, the image of Siwoo refusing his guiding and running away flashed through his mind.
Maybe that’s why he couldn’t easily reach out his hand now.
While he was hesitating, they reached a dead end.
The staircase had come to an end.
Upon closer look, it wasn’t a wall—it was a door.
“Shall we go inside?”
“I’ll open it.”
Siwoo, his face tense, placed his hand on the door.
It wasn’t a modern door, rough and without even a handle.
Creak—
The thick stone door let out a long, grinding noise as it slowly pushed backward.
Raon peeked over Siwoo’s shoulder to glance inside.
“It’s pitch dark in there.”
“Siwoo.”
“Yes?”
The inside was so dark, he couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Raon barely managed to gather his courage and spoke.
“Before we go in… would you guide me, just a little?”
“Ah.”
Raon took off his gloves and extended his hand.
Siwoo stared at that hand for a moment, then raised his own arm.
“Okay.”
Unexpectedly, Siwoo answered obediently and grabbed Raon’s hand.
It was such a natural action that Raon’s earlier tension felt almost silly.
‘Was it just my imagination?’
Did that mean Siwoo didn’t refuse the guiding because he disliked it?
Raon was puzzled but began guiding him.
He could feel Siwoo’s mental stability slowly rising again.
They didn’t know what might be inside, so they should guide properly before entering.
“Huh?”
That’s what Raon was thinking as he looked up, but maybe because it was so dark, Siwoo’s face was hard to see.
Raon blinked a few times.
On top of that, there were murmuring voices nearby.
It was impossible for that kind of noise to exist in a space where only Siwoo and him were present.
“Ugh.”
Startled, Raon tried to pull his hand away from Siwoo.
But a large hand tightly gripped Raon’s arm.
“Wake up, Min Raon. You wanna embarrass yourself in a place like this?”
“…!”
A familiar voice stabbed into Raon’s ear like a sharp needle.
His eyes trembling, Raon lifted his head.
* * *
