Beyond The Control

Chapter 14

“Tell me what you can discern here.”

“Yes.”

I took a step forward and quickly scanned the entrance area. A brief look was enough, as low-level dungeons had very straightforward surroundings.

“There are salamanders on the left and stigoponners on the right. They’ll likely converge again at the end.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Lee Seong-min discreetly raised his hand.

“How do you know that?”

“You can tell by the condition of the ground. See how the right side is more moist and redder? That means there’s likely a fairly warm lake nearby. The steam from it is why we’re sweating so much right now.”

Oh, they look completely smitten with me. Maybe I should apply to the New Employee Training Team instead of becoming a trainer when I retire as an Awakened.

Receiving the admiring gazes of the new recruits made my shoulders rise involuntarily. Song Ji-hyeok didn’t seem much different. After seeing his face almost daily for 3 weeks, I could now somewhat gauge his mood just by looking at his eyes and mouth.

“Well then.”

Gitae hyung, who had deliberately elevated my status, spoke again.

“Shall we split into two teams and then regroup?”

“That sounds good. It’s beneficial for them to use their skills even one more time.”

Dividing the teams was also my role. I grouped Song Ji-hyeok and two others with me, while Gitae hyung would lead the rest. Considering the new recruits’ skill attributes, we entered the right passage.

It was my first time as a leader, so I was a bit nervous, but I wasn’t worried. I could handle the D-grade dungeon’s minions alone, and we’d regroup with Gitae hyung in about an hour at most. Moreover…

“Is there something on my face?”

“…No. I was looking because you’re handsome.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere.”

We had an S-grade Esper who hadn’t shown his claws yet on our side. Even if he was a bit rude.

“Anyway, can you finish what you were saying earlier?”

“What was I saying?”

“You said you’re a dual Awakened. Does that mean you can do self-guiding?”

“Hmm, good question.”

“Wow. Is that really possible?”

Looking at him as he widened his eyes in interest, I gave a slight smile. It was actually a half-resigned smile.

“No, I tried but it doesn’t work. As they say, a monk can’t shave his own head.”

“……”

“Instead, I can pour my share into you spectacularly. You know our compatibility is amazing, right?”

“Ah, yes…”

I almost felt bad seeing his expression cool off, but the second mission arrived before that. As soon as we turned the corner, hot air and steam like smoke blocked our view. Immediately, my voice rang out.

“Esper Kang Ha-na, I’ll secure our vision, so use your skill to shake up the bottom of the lake. Espers Lee Da-hoon and Song Ji-hyeok, pierce the heads of anything that jumps up.”

Oh, right.

“Be careful not to collapse the cave. Especially you, Esper Song Ji-hyeok – imagine pulling out just a chopstick’s worth of power. Absolutely no more than that.”

Then I summoned the wind. As expected, there was a fairly large cave lake where I cleared the steam.

“Esper Kang Ha-na.”

“Yes!”

As expected, an Esper’s adaptability was beyond imagination. As if she had never been pale-faced, Kang Ha-na, now looking quite robust, fired condensed energy at the blue lake like throwing a grenade. It was the start of our second joint attack.

Splash!

The energy Song Ji-hyeok fired rushed sharply like a spear, precisely piercing the eye of a stigoponner that had jumped out of the water. The creature that suddenly lost its head thrashed its tail wildly before falling back into the lake.

Splash-!

‘Ugh, that’s hot.’

The one that just died was particularly large, so the splash was no joke. Fortunately, our combat suits were waterproof, otherwise we’d have been showered while fully clothed.

“I think that’s all of them.”

Kang Ha-na, who had been stirring up the water with increasingly good timing, looked at me and spoke. I agreed, so I nodded and fired powerful energy into the water like Kang Ha-na had done. Since nothing else jumped out, it seemed the one Song Ji-hyeok just killed was the last.

“Good work, everyone. Let’s get out of here quickly.”

I wiped away the sweat pouring down and took the lead again. Only then did I realize there had been a better method. I should have brought Lee Seong-min to our side and had him freeze the lake surface. Or at least a cold shower…

My gaze involuntarily turned to Song Ji-hyeok, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. The image of him piercing shrimp heads with a bored expression, far from being tense, was vivid in my mind, and I couldn’t guarantee my head wouldn’t meet the same fate.

I withdrew my gaze with a bright smile.

‘I’ll take a shower as soon as we get back.’

I’ll douse myself from head to toe with cold water.

To do that, clearing the dungeon quickly was the top priority. Whenever minor minions appeared after that, I gave appropriate instructions to the new recruits, and as expected, we were able to regroup with Gitae hyung’s party in just under an hour.

“Everything okay?”

“Of course.”

There was no need to ask how things went on hyung’s side, so we reorganized our formation and continued forward.

As we went deeper inside, the path gradually narrowed. As we walked silently down a path so narrow that we’d be squeezed if someone came from the opposite direction, at some point a fishy smell was detected.

Then, Gitae hyung, who had suddenly stopped, held up his palm to halt our movement. Soon, he continued in a voice so quiet it was barely audible.

“Everyone, be quiet and listen. The boss mob we’re about to encounter is a centipede, so its ground-crawling speed will be tremendous.”

“C-centipede?”

Kang Ha-na let out a shrill scream. Gitae hyung quickly gestured for her to be quiet, but unfortunately, it seemed to be too late.

The faint foul smell suddenly intensified, as if about to pierce our noses. It meant the intruders had been noticed and it was on alert.

“It’s not a difficult one to handle, so don’t be nervous. Just be careful of the toxic secretions from its antennae, and attack its underside by flipping it over. It’s the last one, so let’s finish strong.”

It was a moment when Gitae hyung’s leadership shone. As hyung took the lead again, everyone followed with a highly disciplined look. Only one person, Kang Ha-na, remained frozen in place like a statue.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“C-centipede… I can’t do it. I hate bugs with lots of legs more than death.”

That can happen. Even I get goosebumps sometimes when facing creatures with extremely unpleasant visuals.

But I couldn’t just exclude her outright, so I decided to try reasoning with her first.

Meanwhile, it seemed the battle had already begun up ahead, with loud noises erupting. Naturally, I spoke faster.

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a real centipede, just a monster that looks similar. Try facing it, and if you really can’t handle it, you can retreat behind me.”

Fortunately, Kang Ha-na didn’t disappoint my expectations. Despite her fear-stricken face, she answered like this:

“…I’ll try.”

“Good.”

Indeed, this batch of new recruits seems to have exceptional grit. I gave Kang Ha-na an appreciative smile and quickly ran to join the battle.

The situation had already progressed significantly. Yellowish secretions were splattered all over the vast cave walls and floor, and the monster’s gigantic body looked like it was about to break off at the lower third.

Seeing the antennae waving, I shouted loudly to Kang Ha-na.

“It looks like the secretions are about to burst, can you block them?”

“I-I’ll try!”

“Go big in one shot!”

Despite looking like she might faint at any moment, Kang Ha-na managed to activate her skill. Seeing the energy she had gathered fly as instructed, I also focused power in my hands. As soon as the bent antennae burst with secretions, I attacked secondarily, practically smashing its head.

Right on cue, the centipede’s body flipped over, revealing its pitch-black underbelly as large as its back. Countless legs wriggled disgustingly as if begging for life, but Gitae hyung ordered the final strike without blinking.

“Song Ji-hyeok!”

Hearing his name called, Song Ji-hyeok mercilessly unleashed his skill. Energy that felt terrifying no matter how many times I saw it surged forward like an arrow, and with a thunderous noise, shattered the huge centipede’s body into pieces.

I quickly spread a barrier in response. Thanks to that, I was able to prevent flesh and debris from flying and slapping us.

A moment later, as I withdrew my skill, a quiet stillness descended. It created a strange contrast with the chaotic surroundings left in the battle’s wake.

Gitae hyung, who had been quickly surveying the interior, walked steadily towards somewhere. He crouched down in front of a piece of flesh as large as a human torso and thrust his hand inside.