* * *
Joo Youngha pulled Seo Jaewon’s hand toward his own face.
Before Jaewon could react, startled and hesitant, he felt sharp, sculpted features beneath his fingertips.
Just the firm bridge of the nose and the straight brow bone were enough to tell that this face was beautifully handsome.
Joo Youngha’s eyes fluttered closed as he savored the touch.
He could feel the soft skin under his palm, the gentle fluttering of eyelashes like a butterfly’s wings.
Was this ticklish feeling because of the Guiding?
For some unknown reason, Jaewon’s face flushed hot.
He quickly pulled his hand away from Joo Youngha’s.
“Pretty? You have to act pretty to be pretty.”
“Hmm, act pretty, huh…”
Lost in thought for some reason, Joo Youngha tilted his head.
Just then, from in front of them, Ji Myunghoon suddenly shouted.
“Whoa, shit!”
He pointed straight ahead—then slowly turned his finger to the side… then behind them.
“…!”
Dozens of mannequins were staring at them.
“Uhhhhhhaaaaahh!”
Min Yoomin let out a weird, deflating scream and darted behind Seo Jaewon.
His silent, rapid retreat was impressively dungeon-ready.
“Wha-wha-wha-what…?!”
Yoomin’s fingers dug painfully into Jaewon’s forearm.
Gritting his teeth, Jaewon calmly surveyed the area.
…Quiet.
Only the eyeless gazes of the vine-entangled mannequins glared from beneath the shadows of the trees.
“We don’t know what they are yet. Guide Min Yoomin, please stay behind us. Saul hyung?”
Before he could finish, Hwi Saul responded, brows furrowed as if deep in thought.
“Still nothing coming off the mannequins. But… something feels off.”
A piercing screech tore through the air, and a sharp pain grazed Jaewon’s ear.
At first, he thought he’d been hit by something.
But he quickly realized it had only brushed past—a heavy, sharp object barely missing him.
Just the gust of air from its passage made his eardrums feel like they might burst.
With a heavy thud, something struck the ground—a massive spear.
Its rough, stone tip buried deep into the earth, clearly thrown with immense force.
Adrenaline surged alongside the pain.
His survival instincts, honed through training, ignited instantly.
Jaewon’s hand flew to the sword at his waist, his legs bending slightly to ground himself.
Behind the mannequins and the twisted, rope-like trees, yellow eyes glinted.
Not just one.
Several strange figures were slowly lifting long, spear-like weapons.
Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.
“Saul hyung, behind you!”
Even before Jaewon’s shout finished, something lunged forward—right in front of him.
It was Hwi Sara.
“Out of the way, Hwi Saul!”
She roared, throwing out her chest.
Her eyes glowed with fierce light.
Muscles from her shoulders down began to bulge, swelling to the point of nearly bursting.
Over them, a thick black fur rapidly spread.
Her Esper energy surged, making the bristling fur crackle like lightning tearing through darkness.
In an instant, she transformed into a 3-meter-tall bear, rearing up on her hind legs and letting out a thunderous roar.
The raging bear swung her claws toward the mannequins and trees.
Her mighty blow was strong enough to shatter the skull of any mid-tier monster, breaking through the thick forest growth like it was nothing.
“KEEEEEEEE!”
The enemies shrieked in response, high and shrill, startled by the sudden appearance of a powerful threat.
The sound was strange—like something from underwater, an eerie tone that didn’t belong in the open air.
Black shadows darted between the trees.
Saul called out in dismay toward the rampaging bear.
“Seriously? Just like that? ‘Hwi Saul’ has one more syllable than ‘Oppa,’ you know!”
Sara cast him a sideways glance, snorted hard through her nose, then charged straight into the dense forest.
Shapeshifters like her often had trouble maintaining their sense of self after transforming—but her firm grip on identity was proof she was truly an A-rank Esper.
As Hwi Sara tore through the woods in full assault, the things hiding in the darkness burst into the light all at once.
Only then could Seo Jaewon see the enemies clearly.
Their bluish-gray, fishlike faces glistened with slime.
They were Mermen—humanoid monsters.
Their skulls were flatter and broader than a human’s, and their huge disc-shaped eyes had no lids, left wide and glaring.
Below the head, though, they were oddly human-shaped—long-limbed and upright.
Like mermaids turned upside down.
Or more accurately, like mermaids gone very, very wrong.
Jaewon instinctively began counting.
Six were clearly visible out front.
But there was no telling how many more might be lying in wait.
Forests… were always such a pain to fight in from the inside.
The mermen raised weapons—swords, axes, spears—in their webbed hands and let out inhuman cries.
“Screee! Skreeeek!”
The shrill sound tore through their ears.
Their barely fleshed jaws opened unnaturally wide, revealing two jagged rows of sharp teeth.
“So gross!”
And just like that, Min Yoomin summed it all up in one word. Gross.
Yeah—disgusting.
That scream must have been some kind of signal, because the weapon-wielding monsters began charging at the Espers.
“SKREEEEE!”
One of the larger mermen lunged first. Its stone blade slammed into Hwi Sara’s bear pelt.
“Grrraaagh!”
The bear howled and twisted her body, but the merman clung on relentlessly, stabbing again and again.
With each withdrawal of the blade, blood sprayed out.
Hwi Sara didn’t look so much in pain as just… annoyed.
The bear flung the merman off and body-slammed him with her massive frame.
The merman, half-crushed, let out a strangled scream and flailed desperately.
The bear didn’t flinch. Instead, she clamped down on the arm that was reaching for her eye and yanked it off like it was a toy.
Dark blue blood and scales splattered across the grass.
From behind, another merman raised a harpoon toward the bear—
—but before it could throw, its face was engulfed in flames and melted in an instant.
It collapsed on the spot.
The fire had burst from Ji Myunghoon’s palm.
“Did you see that?”
He snorted and glanced at Seo Jaewon like he was fishing for praise.
‘What’s he doing in the middle of a fight…?’
Was he seriously asking to be complimented?
Still, giving feedback—even in battle—was the leader’s job.
Seo Jaewon gave him a thumbs up.
Ji Myunghoon’s expression shifted oddly at that.
Meanwhile, Hwi Sara had already taken down another merman that had aimed a bow at her.
She let out a long roar in Myunghun’s direction.
It was hard to tell whether she was celebrating or protesting the singed fur.
The charging monsters hesitated, intimidated by Hwi Sara’s brutal aura and the flames that scorched the ground.
At the same time, Hwi Saul’s thorny vines rose up, forming a tall barrier between the guides and the enemies.
‘Good. Everyone’s holding up well.’
Contrary to his worries, the team wasn’t being pushed back at all—even without Seo Jaewon actively in the fight.
Surprisingly, even the coordination with Ji Myunghoon wasn’t bad.
The guy was a jerk, but at least he had some shred of professionalism.
If they could keep up this pace and reach the dungeon core…
But just as he thought that, something changed.
A dark purple light shimmered over the collapsing merman corpses.
“Grrrrhh…”
The one with the melted face twitched, then staggered to its feet in jerky, unnatural movements.
Still burning, with bones exposed, it swung its blade like nothing had happened.
It was grotesque.
The one Hwi Sara had crushed also rose and lunged at her again.
“Sara!”
Hwi Saul quickly bound the fallen mermen with thorny vines, but they stubbornly pushed themselves back up.
Even as their flesh tore on the thorns, even as their scales peeled off—they showed no sign of pain.
One even ripped its own joints apart to escape the wooden prison.
The confidence on the team’s faces began to fade. Seo Jaewon’s expression darkened, too.
‘They’re regenerating. Again and again.’
If this turned into a battle of attrition, they’d be at a disadvantage.
They were a small, elite unit—even with guides, they were still human and had their limits.
Ji Myunghoon lit another flame, grinding his teeth.
“This is nuts! What the hell are we supposed to do?!”
It was alarming, sure—but not unheard of.
Once you had enough experience, things like this didn’t surprise you anymore.
But the team members were still clearly unaccustomed.
Situations like this usually came down to one of two types:
Either there’s something causing the corpses to revive—which you can eliminate.
Or, you have to completely destroy the bodies to stop them—which is a major pain.
If it was the latter, that would be bad news.
A small assault team like theirs would be in over their heads.
They might have to retreat and regroup—if they could even get out safely.
‘Where the hell is Joo Youngha?’
Seo Jaewon glanced around, but the bastard was nowhere to be seen.
He hadn’t expected much, but still—this was worse than expected.
“Zombies? Are they zombies?!”
Min Yoomin shrieked and clung to Seo Jaewon, his voice trembling.
He looked like he might cry at any moment.
Seo Jaewon calmly patted his shoulder.
“It’s okay. They’re just fish.”
“Liar! If you’re going to lie, at least try harder!”
Just then, a heavy crunch—stone shifting under weight—sounded behind them.
It wasn’t a normal human’s weight.
A chill ran down his spine.
“Shit…!”
Seo Jaewon swiftly grabbed Min Yoomin and hurled him behind his back.
Caught off guard, Min Yoomin yelped as he hit the ground.
Two more mermen emerged fully from the shadows of the trees.
Their glistening eyes swept over Seo Jaewon—then locked onto Min Yoomin beside him.
The monsters took stock of the Espers’ positions, then hunched down and whispered to each other in a hissing language.
‘…We’re screwed.’
They’d figured something out—something different about him and Min Yoomin.
That was the trouble with humanoid monsters—they were too damn smart.
Aside from their regeneration, they weren’t a serious threat to Espers.
But to a guide?
That was a whole other story.
Even just throwing a spear—way too strong for a normal human to handle.
Min Yoomin turned to Seo Jaewon, face pale.
“Wh-why are they looking at us? It’s not like guides have anything worth eating… right?”
* * *
