The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 33: Unusual Readings

Throughout the day, Damien continued to avoid Lane’s gaze. Naturally, he still threw reserved glances every now and then, trying to keep an eye on the man, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep Lane in check. Used to this unwanted surveillance, Lane knew exactly when and how was the best to lag behind, and get the Fertilizer planted.

’...Alright, this is the last one for today,’ he thought to himself, as he finished burying yet another capsule - already eighteenth since they’d entered the dungeon. He canceled his enhanced hearing ability and lifted his arms in a deep stretch, sighing with satisfaction. Finally things were going his way again.

Taking advantage of being alone, away from Damien’s watchful eyes, Lane pulled out a pack of fizzy strawberry belts from his spatial bag. He chewed on them, slowly making his way back to reunite with the rest of the team...

Until all of a sudden, after coming out of the forest into a large clearing, he came face to face with Damien.

Damien glanced at the snack hanging from Lane’s mouth, then at the pack in his hand, but in the end, he refrained from commenting. He just walked over to Lane in big strides.

"Greene. Straying away again?"

"Hahah, well," Lane laughed, casually swallowing the candy and hiding the rest in his pocket. So what if he was caught? They’ve already established that he was fond of sweets, and it’s been quite a while since lunch, so it wasn’t unusual to crave a snack. This proved nothing. "And Team Leader seems to have forgotten my name again?"

Instead of responding, Damien just stared at Lane. His expression was so serious that it was almost unbearable.

Lane shrugged his shoulders, holding back a sigh. "I’m sorry, Team Leader, I just couldn’t help myself. When would be the next time I might have a chance to enter such a beautiful dungeon? So, I wanted to do some-"

"Sightseeing, yes, I get it," Damien interrupted Lane, his brows drawn together in a deep frown. "But now it’s not the time. We’ve got some unusual Mana fluctuation readings. So, at least for now, you shouldn’t wander around."

"Unusual readings?"

"Close to 1 percent."

"Huh." Lane lifted his brows. That was indeed unusual... He didn’t remember exactly what the number should be like in an inactive Gate, but most certainly it was supposed to be far, far lower than that. "So, what does that mean?"

"We don’t know yet." Damien shook his head. "The Trailblazer Guild’s member that’s with us claims it must be caused by their Esper tour guides showing off their abilities to the visitors. However, we haven’t been able to confirm it so far."

Lane couldn’t help but roll his eyes, lightly clicking his tongue. "If they say that’s the case, they’re probably right. They’ve managed this dungeon for years now, surely they understand it the best."

"We didn’t get any such readings on the last inspection though."

"That’s just the last one. What about all of the inspections conducted before?"

"That..." Damien hesitated, before admitting, "That I’m not sure of, as I haven’t been in charge of them."

"Exactly. So, we should carry on right now, and maybe return to check this place again later, perhaps early in the morning, when there’ll be no tourists around."

Damien remained silent for a moment. Lane’s words made sense. And it was exactly the same thing Elena Harris said, when Damien wanted to order the evacuation... Then, was he really overreacting? But according to the rules...

"Either way, you should stay by my side for the rest of the inspection," he eventually said. "Just in case there is something wrong."

Now that was inconvenient. Lane was so happy just a moment ago, with how well his work was going, but now Damien wanted to ruin it again for him. Lane wasn’t going to accept it and give up though. He still had a lot of Fertilizer left, and he intended to plant it all, no matter what got in his way. Since the Association wanted to increase the frequency of the inspections, then it was only natural that he would match them and increase his work as well.

So, he put on a playful smile, and took a few steps closer, coming right up to Damien, so close they almost touched. "Team Leader, you want me to stay by your side? How close? Should I hold your hand? Or should I cling to your arm? Could it be that Team Leader enjoyed cuddling in bed with me so much that now you can’t get enough?"

Damien’s emerald eyes that stared down at Lane had never before seemed so dark. The man didn’t even answer, just clenched his jaw tight, standing stiffly in place as if paralyzed.

Yeah, he enjoyed it, despite trying his best to mute all such feelings. He liked Lane clinging to him. Lane knew it, Damien knew he knew, and Lane knew Damien knew he knew... Those questions were never asked seriously. Damien was too stiff and prudent to be able to easily admit his improper desires in the first place, and even if he did, Lane wasn’t going to satisfy them anyway, not with the way they were right now. The purpose of Lane’s actions right now was not to flirt, but to try to make Damien distance himself out of shame.

Lane maintained the gaze, his eyes calm and cold, which made his previously playful smile look sarcastic. Whatever inkling of guilt he might have felt upon seeing Damien’s expression was quickly dismissed. There was no reason for him to feel bad, or so he thought. After all, he never intended to go that far, it was Damien’s insistence on keeping an eye on him that pushed him to do so.

"That’s not what I meant," Damien finally uttered in a strained voice. "You don’t need to stick close to me... Just stay together with the team. You can stick to... Ross, or whomever you prefer. Just so you’re safe."

Lane’s eyes twitched. He was so taken aback by Damien’s unexpected words, that he didn’t even know how to react at first. He was just about to come up with some retort...

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He straightened up, looking around. "Just now... Team Leader, did you feel something?"

"Feel what?" Damien’s frown eased slightly, as he looked at Lane with confusion.

Lane wasn’t even paying attention to him anymore though. He continued to scan the surroundings, but he didn’t notice anything unusual. But he was certain that he felt it. Some sort of Mana pulse he had never experienced before. It was very faint and short, disappearing in the blink, but he couldn’t have imagined it.

Eventually, he paused in front of the Wall.

The Wall. That’s what the tall, milky white, faintly glowing barrier at the edge of the dungeons was called. It could be found in every dungeon, regardless of the rank, surrounding the whole territory, reaching so high up that no one could see where it ended. Not much was known about it, aside from the fact that no tool or ability could damage it in any way. It was just an impenetrable, indestructible barrier that no one could even guess what it was made of, as it didn’t resemble any other material found in dungeons or emit any Mana.

"Greene? What’s wrong?" Damien asked, concerned, but Lane didn’t respond, not even to correct the name Damien had called. He just continued staring at the Wall with narrowed eyes.

"This!" A surprised gasp escaped Damien’s throat.

The pulse happened again, this time more intense. Damien felt it as well.

"It moved," Lane muttered under his nose, his eyes practically glued to the Wall.

"What?"

"The Wall... moved. When the pulse happened, it seemed to... contract a bit? Or stir? Falter? I don’t really know how to describe it well."

Hearing Lane’s explanation, Damien also turned his eyes to the Wall. They stood in silence, until a moment later, the pulse happened again. And again. And again. The intensity and frequency were quickly increasing.

Until, at one point, the Wall truly started moving. This time, it wasn’t some enigmatic movement that was impossible to put into words, but a much simpler phenomenon, although not any less puzzling.

The Wall started withdrawing, moving further and further away from Lane and Damien, uncovering previously unknown territory of the dungeon...

A territory that was still inhabited by monsters.