Beyond The Control

Chapter 8

Raising my hand with a straight face turned out to be a good decision in the end.

The estimated dungeon level on the display board was C-class, but the actual difficulty was even lower. Still, it was indeed a wetland type, so I used my skills diligently while leading the vanguard.

For reference, my combat attribute is wind. As the name suggests, I use skills that harness the power of wind, which is perfect for blocking swarm-type insect monsters or those that spew poison.

Thanks to the low dungeon level, I performed brilliantly like a fish in water after a long time. While I blocked the incoming poison mist with wind, Gitae hyung turned monsters into charcoal with a single strike.

But we couldn’t let our guard down. Occasionally, a strong mutant-like creature might appear, so everyone advanced quickly while remaining vigilant.

“There it is!”

After about an hour of moving, we discovered the boss mob. My eyes sparkled as soon as I saw it.

Come on, poison type.

“Su-hyeon!”

“Yes, I’m going!”

As soon as the toad-like creature opened its mouth, I put my hands together to create wind. Being a boss mob, I felt a bit more resistance compared to earlier.

Still, I wasn’t worried at all. That’s because Gitae hyung, a B-class fire attribute Esper, was firmly guarding my side.

“—–!!”

The monster that took a fire bomb directly to its left eye let out a horrible scream like a horn trumpet. Oh my, my ears hurt.

“Hyung, quickly!”

“Yessir.”

At my urgent cry, Gitae hyung created another fireball in his hand. His expression looked nothing short of villainous.

“Here I go!”

Wow, look at that power.

A fireball that looked twice as big shot through the cracks in the ground towards the monster. The result was even more tremendous than expected. The flame, which transformed into a spear-like shape as it flew, tore the monster’s thick neck to shreds. Then, a shock like an earthquake was felt with a ‘thud’. It was the sound of the body below the neck falling backward.

“Keep maintaining it!”

“I know!”

With its head blown off, it’s definitely dead. But my task wasn’t over yet. I calmly counted down while staring at where the monster’s head had been. As the main body died, the poison faintly spread in the air was also disappearing quickly.

‘Ten, nine, eight, seven…’

Still, I only stopped using my skill after safely counting ten more numbers. When the wind barrier disappeared, the acrid smell of burning flesh rushed in.

Gitae hyung approached with heavy steps and sliced open the boss mob’s belly with a dagger. Disgusting entrails spilled out, but no one flinched. Instead, everyone was busy chattering.

“Oh, I’m hungry. I’ll grill some meat when I get home.”

“You want to eat meat after seeing that?”

“Yeah. I’ll cook it nice and crispy.”

“You’re crazy. Count me in too.”

Meanwhile, Gitae hyung extracted the core buried deep in the monster’s belly. It was too ethereal a purple to have been harbored by a monster.

“Let’s all withdraw now.”

“Yes, sir!”

No casualties. No injuries. Loot: monster core, three D-class crocodile teeth, one rooster sand pouch, and other miscellaneous items.

Although the loot was modest, it was a satisfying end to the battle.

***

No matter how low the battle difficulty, one’s physical condition can’t be exactly the same as before entering the dungeon.

Someone says they’re the same? That person just breathed.

After using my skill every time a poison-spraying monster appeared, I felt a bit heavy. Since it’s right to take care of my own body, I requested guiding as soon as we returned to the guild.

As soon as I sat down in the waiting room chair, a staff member called my name.

“Esper Lee Su-hyeon, please go to room 5-3.”

The first digit of the guiding room number indicates the team of the guide. In other words, room 5-3 has a guide from Team 5.

For reference, the office I’m assigned to is room 3-4. There’s a saying that the second digit represents the guiding rank within the team, which seems somewhat true, though not 100%. That’s because noona Jung Hee-seon, who is the team leader’s pair guide, uses room 3-1.

Anyway, I have the best compatibility with Kim Young-joo, but it seemed she was with another Esper. Still, thinking it’s better than nothing to receive guiding without waiting, I headed straight to room 5-3.

Guiding through hand-holding ended in about 20 minutes. It would have ended faster if we had deeper contact, but the guide didn’t seem particularly inclined to do so, and I wasn’t in a rush either, so it ended uneventfully.

Looking at the clock, it was just past 1:30 PM. Since I had been feeling hungry since the car ride back, I went straight down to the cafeteria.

The main lunch menu was bulgogi. When it was my turn, I scooped up a heap of meat with the ladle and piled it high on my tray.

After eating, I took a short nap in the break room. It was a privilege only those who had been to the field could enjoy. After efficiently catching some sleep, I returned to the office to find it unusually noisy.

“No, I’m telling you, it should have been burned here!”

“What are you talking about? Can’t you see the wind blowing towards our side?”

“…Oh, you’re right.”

“Nice team kill.”

Three Espers were arguing while staring at a monitor side by side.

“We did a good job today too. It was totally easy.”

Gitae hyung was talking loudly on the phone with his feet up on the desk. Judging by his twitching lips, it seemed to be his girlfriend whom he’s crazy about.

They must have formed teams based on abilities, but looking at this, it seems like they gathered only extroverts. All of them high-tension at that.

Passing by them, I entered the pantry. As they say, you need a potion to get through the afternoon well. I diligently prepared a full cup of coffee and some snacks, then sat down in front of the computer. And I logged into the guild-exclusive program that I access at least once a day.

‘Let’s see…’

While recollecting the battle from the morning, I enthusiastically typed with both index fingers.

After returning from a dungeon conquest, at least one person must document the process. After the leader and team leader check it in turn, most of the report is shared with all guild members. In other words, anyone can access it through the exclusive program if they want to.

I can guarantee that few people scrutinize reports as diligently as I do. People with powerful abilities can just sweep away any monster they encounter with their attribute skills, but for a mediocre person like me, having related knowledge is a big help.

Today’s incident is a prime example. If I hadn’t known that poison-spraying monsters inhabit wetlands, if I hadn’t known that wind attribute skills are effective, I wouldn’t have been able to request to join the dungeon party.

[Do you want to send?]

Yes.

After sending it to Gitae hyung, who was the leader, I closed the program. I took another sip of the coffee that had cooled slightly and checked my wristwatch.

2:28 PM. Now I should head down to the guiding room…

Beep beep- Beep beep-

That’s when it happened. The device notification sound, more familiar than a ringtone, went off simultaneously throughout the office. Everyone checked their devices with animal-like reflexes at that sound. Their expressions were tense, as if they had never been laughing and chatting.

Guild-wide alerts are very rare, and most of them are not good news. I too quickly checked my device with a grim face.

[Emergency notice. As of now, the use of Skill Training Room No. 2 is suspended indefinitely. Those with existing reservations are requested to change their training room.]

Contrary to our concerns, it wasn’t an emergency, which was a relief. …It was a relief, but it also felt somewhat out of the blue.

It wasn’t just me who thought so, as Gitae hyung said with a puzzled expression:

“What’s this? Did it break or something?”

The answer came from Kim Young-joo’s lips.

“That’s impossible. How could anyone break that place?”

That’s right.

Befitting a major guild, we have over twenty in-house skill training rooms. As the name suggests, skill training rooms are places where individuals voluntarily hone their attribute skills, where they can engage in vivid mock battles comparable to real combat by selecting their desired virtual combat situation and opponent.

Anyway, Skill Training Rooms 1-4 are special. Only A-class or higher Espers can use them, and they only have A-class or higher monster types to choose from.

The internal facilities are also extraordinary, with the entire space as large as a soccer field reportedly built with special minerals found only in upper-level dungeons.

Since its completion, there has been only one instance of a crack forming, which was when the Guild Master fired a lightning ball with all his might to test its safety.

For such a place to suddenly be out of service. It was certainly a bit strange.

“Or did the Guild Master do something again?”

“If he did, the Vice Guild Master would kill him.”

That’s right too. The moonstone used as bulletproof material is extremely expensive and hard to obtain.

Did A-class Espers have a fight? Is it just routine maintenance?

Amidst all sorts of speculation, the device notification sound rang again.

Beep beep- Beep beep-

This time, only mine rang. Since it was a call, not a message, I answered immediately.

“Yes, Lee Su…”

I didn’t even have time to state my name. My words were cut off as an urgent voice hit my ear.

– This is the New Employee Training Team. Are you available to guide Esper Song Ji-hyeok right now?