The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]

After Lane stopped bothering Damien and withdrew himself more to the back of the group, Damien made sure to look back from time to time, checking how the new Guide was doing. As Lane remained well-behaved, however, sticking close to the team and only chatting with others a bit, slowly Damien started to check on him less and less, and focus solely on his work. By the time they finally arrived at their last destination, a B-rank dungeon, Damien hardly paid any attention to Lane.

Which was exactly what Lane needed.

Even the terrain worked to his advantage - they were in some sort of mountains, with narrow, winding paths and massive rocks everywhere. At most times, it was impossible for anyone to have a clear view of the whole group. 

It had been a long day, and everyone was absorbed in the work, wanting to finish it soon so that they could finally go home. That was why even if Lane disappeared for a while, no one really took notice. Inspecting an inactive Gate, only Damien was truly on his guard anyway.

Lane waited until they walked a bit further away from the entrance, before he finally started with his plans for the day. He was already walking at the end of the group, and has been staying quiet for a good while, as if he got tired of talking. Once he was sure that no one was paying attention to him, he slowed down his pace, lagging behind.

When the team disappeared from his sight, he activated one of his scouting abilities, which improved his hearing. Although using Esper's abilities in a civilian's body came at a price, it was simply a necessity - a little bit of pain was better than being caught. No matter how careless he usually was, even for him there were times when he wouldn't risk making any mistakes.

Once he was certain there was no one nearby, he pulled out a small bag from underneath his uniform jacket. It was the highest-grade type of spacial bag, typically only manufactured on request. Despite its small size, its capacity was unmatched. On top of that, it was made from leather from S-rank monsters, was extremely durable, fire-proof, water-resistant, and had a tracking option powered by Mana. Its most unique property, however, was its locking mechanism - it could only be opened with the owner's wavelengths. 

Because of all these features, the price of a single one could get quite insane. It was the type of item that generally only big-shots could afford to have. Naturally, rich as he might be, it wasn't easy to obtain for Lane as well…

But it was worth it. The stuff that Lane kept inside couldn't get into anyone else's hands - it was the extremely rare material secretly developed in the Forbidden Zones, the Fertilizer.

If he messed up and let the Association get a hold of even a sample of the Fertilizer, then, well… Lane wouldn't exactly get in trouble, as he could simply switch identities again. But once the material was investigated, his plans were bound to get derailed, or perhaps even completely ruined.

And that obviously was something Lane wouldn't want to see, even if that meant he had to move with a bit more caution.

'Here should be good.'

Lane paused, stopping several steps away from the main trail. With a wave of his hand, he lifted one of the smaller rocks, then proceeded to dig a shallow pit with tiny crescent wind blades. He took out one of the capsules with the Fertilizer, broke out the outer shell, and placed it in the hole, before covering it all up again.

The Fertilizer at this moment was still protected by the inner shell. Now that the outer shell was gone, it would slowly dissolve, but it would still take somewhere between 20 to 100 hours, depending on the environment. Before that happened, even if someone were to measure Mana fluctuations right next to the capsule, there would be no change. Lane only had to ensure that it couldn't be seen, and everything should be okay.

Satisfied with his work, Lane stuffed the spacial bag into his jacket again, and quickly caught up with the team. Even if no one seemed to pay any attention to him, if he disappeared for too long, his absence could still be noticed.

The B-rank dungeon was spacious, containing not only a mountain range, but also several small lakes. They walked around for several hours, stopping only once to take a small lunch - if you could still call it lunch at that hour - break. During that time, Lane 'lagged behind' several more times, successfully burying a few more capsules at secluded places.

It was during his eight attempt. He had just taken out another capsule, ready to break the outer shell, when his ears, their hearing heightened with one of his abilities, picked up on footsteps, moving quickly in his direction. 

Alarmed, Lane quickly hid the capsule and the spacial bag, and waved his hand, covering up the hole he dug. Just in time, as a few seconds later, a tall, muscular man came into view.

"Murray," he said, his tone dripping with seriousness. "What are you doing here?"

"Hm? Team Leader." Lane smiled innocently at the man. "Just sightseeing a bit, I guess?"

Damien's brows furrowed. "Sightseeing?"

"Well, yes. Team Leader, don't you think the view is simply stunning here?"

Damien paused, following Lane's eyes. They were standing in front of one of the bigger mountain lakes, surrounded by tall and sharp mountain ranges. Its dark surface shined brightly, reflecting the countless stars and the colorful lights resembling aurora borealis dancing in the sky. It was such a serene and stunning scenery, that it truly could take one's breath away…

However.

"There was a time when this place was more like Hell. This is a dungeon that used to be filled with terrifying monsters," Damien pointed out.

Lane held back the desire to roll his eyes. "Did Team Leader fight them himself?"

"No, not this one," Damien shook his head. "I did, however, help clear different B-rank dungeons before. It is not… a nice experience. Once you've taken part in a raid in a high-ranking dungeon, you won't be able to look at the Gates the same way ever again."

Lane remained silent. He had to - he was worried that if he tried to open his mouth, he would no longer be able to contain himself, and he'd just burst out laughing.

It was just too funny! Hearing Damien talk about a B-rank dungeon as if it were some kind of terrifying place.

It just so happened that Lane had visited plenty of them before. Even the one they were currently in - he was a part of the team that cleared this Gate. It was one of the rare times when Lane found an Esper suitable for him to possess long-term, so he could actively participate in the fight. If he remembered correctly, the lake they were standing in front of now had a particularly tough monster that liked to dive into the bottom to heal itself… It was a long fight, but how much fun it brought!

Besides, dungeon sightseeing wasn't anything new as well. There were several dungeons that were open to the public for touring, and there was a whole group of non-Awakened people, so-called 'dungeon explorers', that liked to break into inactive Gates!

Damien, however, seemed to have misunderstood his silence, because his tone softened slightly. "If you understand now, don't stray away from the team. The dungeon might seem safe now, but who knows what might happen…"

"Yes, yes…" Lane let out a quiet sigh. Of course, he had no intention to actually listen, but perhaps he should end things here for the day. He had already planted seven Fertilizers, which was almost as much as he planned. And with Damien's attention on him, it was better to stay obedient for the time being anyway.

He passed by the man, and was about to go to catch up with the rest, when all of a sudden, Damien caught his arm.

"Wait!"