The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 34: This Is Not a Drill

Lane and Damien stood both rooted in place, staring at the Wall as it continued withdrawing - Damien with shock and apprehension, while Lane with a spark of excitement shining in his eyes. Such a phenomenon was unheard of, at least as far as the public was concerned, therefore Damien was so surprised he didn’t even know how to react at first.

The time waits for no one, however. As more and more of the unexplored terrain was being uncovered, the Wall soon passed over a small pack of monsters resting by a small pond in the previously unseen part of the clearing.

The monsters were quite peculiar. They resembled a weird mix of a deer and a hyena, with sharp antlers and snouts full of long teeth. Their paws were even odder, more like those of a mouse, except that longer, and somewhat skeletal. With their short bluish-grey fur and ghastly appearance, they looked somewhat out of place in this fairytale-like forest.

Considering their build and size, they were most likely among the top predators in this dungeon. Although Lane had never seen these exact monsters before, his broad dungeon experience had told him so. Taking advantage of the fact they were yet to be noticed, he quickly pulled out his phone and took some shots.

Under any normal circumstances, Damien would most likely scold him, saying that it was not the time for taking photos. Right now, though, Damien was too absorbed in his own thoughts, trying to decide how to deal with it all. The protocol never specified what to do in such a situation!

Before he could come up with a solution, however, one of the monsters raised its head, its bright red eyes focusing on Damien and Lane. It only lasted a second or two, until the monster jumped onto its paws, charging straight at the two men, the rest of the pack following.

"Evan!" Damien called out in panic, snapping right out of his thoughts. In a blink, he was right in front of Lane, making a big motion with his whole arm while activating his power. He didn’t hold back at all. With this one move, everything in front of them, from the monsters to the trees and the pond, was covered up in ice.

"Wow."

As expected, an S-ranker’s abilities were extraordinary. Not that Lane was all that impressed - he had seen and done similar things before - but it still was a great sight. In just a few seconds, Damien got the situation under control, albeit temporarily.

It was only their surroundings and the monsters in front of them though. Damien was still completely at a loss for what to do with the sudden change in the dungeon. His eyes wandered around, trying to assess the situation. The Wall continued moving. Was it only here? Or perhaps the same thing happened all around the Eldenveil? If so, the place might soon be flooded with monsters. But there were civilians scattered all over, relaxing and exploring the place...

Lane observed Damien in silence, feeling slightly amused all of a sudden. It was kind of unusual and funny to see his Team Leader so perturbed. However, if he thought about it, didn’t it actually make a lot of sense? With how serious, stern, calm, and collected Damien usually was, it was all too easy to forget it, but the man was actually younger than Lane. Not by much, just two years, but still.

Not to mention, while Lane awakened at the age of 15 and has been active as an Esper since he was 17, Damien was a late-bloomer.

That’s not to say that Damien wasn’t qualified for his position. He was very knowledgeable, perceptive, and diligent, without a doubt a Team Leader with a lot of potential. Some things, however, only came with enough experience - and that was the only thing Damien currently lacked. Furthermore, their current case was pretty much unprecedented. Even some leaders with far more dungeon raids and dungeon breaks under their belts could struggle with how to tackle it well.

Naturally, Lane wasn’t one of them. He had a few ideas... But why would he step up to help? He liked chaos.

Besides, he had a feeling that his help wasn’t really needed anyway.

And sure enough, it didn’t take long before Damien’s disoriented expression transformed into a determined one. "Alright, we need to act fast. First, let’s go back to the team," he said, lifting Lane in his arms.

"Team Leader?!"

"I’m sorry about that, but we don’t have time," Damien briefly apologized, charging forward.

It was all about the speed. Damien was an S-ranking Esper, after all. Although he was more of a strength rather than speed type, he could still run incomparably faster than Lane in his current body. Thanks to that, they reunited with the team in a blink of an eye.

"We have an emergency," Damien announced to the startled group, placing Lane down. "The dungeon started expanding, and we have monsters coming. We need to start the evacuation right this instant."

"What?" Elena Harris furrowed her brows. "What does it mean that the dungeon-"

"We don’t have time for this now. The scale is currently unknown. In the worst-case scenario, we might have monsters attacking us from all sides. Does the resort have any announcement system?"

"Yes, there are speakers installed in various parts for emergencies..."

"Then please announce for all the visitors to gather... Let’s make it Emerald Manor, Blue Pine Inn, Verdant restaurant, and Sylvaris Tavern, whichever they are the closest to. We need skilled teams to defend all of those places, as we work to evacuate the civilians through the Gate. Then we also need as many two- or three-member teams as we can to patrol the place, looking for any guests that might need assistance in getting to the gathering points. And, of course, send someone out of the Gate to request backup."

The corners of Lane’s lips lifted up in a proud smile. Yes, it was a good plan.

Just a second later though, he covered up his mouth, his eyes widening. What the hell he was smiling for? Feeling proud of Damien? Who were they to each other for Lane to feel proud? What a ridiculous reaction!

Luckily, no one noticed anything, because they all had their eyes on Damien, who was dividing them into teams.

"Webb, Jones. You two go ahead to scout the edges of the dungeon to look for all the places where the monsters are coming from. Lee, Shaw, and Bradley go guard the Blue Pine Inn, Barnes, Wood, and Brown Sylvaris Tavern, Willis, Campbell, and Peters Verdant restaurant, while Fisher, Scott, and Murray guard Emerald Manor and the Gate. Ross and Grant will come with me, and we will work on escorting civilians from the gathering points to the Gate. Any questions?"

’Huh, we’re not together?’ Lane lifted his brows in surprise. With how much Damien had been trying to keep an eye on him, it was unexpected to be assigned to a different team.

But then again, perhaps it wasn’t because Damien wanted to arrange it this way, but rather that he knew it was the right thing to do as the Team Leader. After all, he took the most dangerous task, where a Guide wouldn’t be all too helpful. Meanwhile, he placed Lane at the safest place - by the Gate in the center of the dungeon, where the monsters would be last to arrive, while the backups would come the soonest. And he even placed Tina Fisher, perhaps the best and definitely the most trusted Esper specializing in defense on the team with Lane...

"If everyone knows what to do, then let’s move on. Good luck... and please stay safe." Damien swept his eyes over the whole team, pausing for a bit longer on Lane.

There was no time to exchange any other words, however, as in a situation like that, every second mattered. Everyone split up, running in different directions, Lane going with Tina and Ana.

"Should we get a jeep?" Tina suggested, as they made their way toward the Gate. "Blue Pine Inn is very close, we can just make a small detour."

"Won’t they need them for the guests?"

"Yeah, but... Will you be able to make it to the Gate otherwise?" Tina gave Lane a doubtful glance.

She had a point. Lane’s current body was very weak. It wasn’t something that could be fixed with just a few days of training. And the distance to the Gate from where they currently were was roughly ten miles... It would be tough for him to run all this way. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Although Lane could feel a prickling annoyance rising up in himself, he had to agree with Tina. The body he possessed was kind of useless, aside from looking decent. "Alright, let’s do that then. When backup arrives, they will just have one extra jeep waiting for them, so it should be fine either way."

They took a turn, following after Tyler’s team going to the inn. As they ran, they could hear the announcement playing in the distance,

"Attention all visitors! This is an emergency. There might be monsters on the loose. Please head immediately to the nearest restaurant or hotel, where our Guild members are waiting to assist you in evacuating out of the dungeon. Please remain calm and follow their instructions. This is not a drill. I repeat, this is not a drill!"

Listening to the announcement, Lane had to bit hard on his lips not to burst out laughing. ’Monsters on the loose’? ’Remain calm’? Seriously? He didn’t know who came up with this announcement... But he hardly doubted it would work as intended.

If anything, it would only cause more chaos, as everyone would fight to get out of the Gate.