The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 349: Terrible Team-Up

Chapter 349: Terrible Team-Up

It was still dark when Lane and Clara embarked on their scouting mission. Waiting for the dawn to inspect an inactive dungeon when they couldn’t leave anyway was one thing, but with the potential reactivation, the stakes had changed. Now, the sooner this terrible two-person team left, the better.

Even if that meant they had to wander around in the dark. They couldn’t even turn on the headlights, as they might end up attracting monsters this way.

Lane had been put in charge, to Clara’s endless disgruntlement and offense. How could that frivolous man, who had only recently passed his license exams, lead the two of them? Sure, she wasn’t all that experienced either, but he had been the Association’s member for over five years, even if just as a part-time member!

To be honest, Damien was also unsure about this decision. For a different reason, though - that is, Lane’s dedicated disregard for all the protocols! However, since he trusted in the man’s overall capabilities, he decided that he was still a better choice.

Even if his decision puzzled everyone else. Well, perhaps aside from Ethan, who followed Lane with narrowed eyes, until he and Clara disappeared into the night.

"There should be a river not far away from here, if we go to the left," Lane said, checking the map once again. "It crosses the whole dungeon. We will follow the riverbank to the Wall."

That was the best option for them. Although the river might also contain monsters, it was a good way to navigate. Dungeons had no GPS, and compasses didn’t work there either - they were different worlds, after all. It was unknown whether the magnetic field of the planets (because the dungeons were most likely located on different planets, or so the majority of the scientists currently assumed) was too weak, or it was the Wall that created disturbances, disabling the compasses, but whatever it was, the point was that people could only navigate the terrain by matching their surroundings to the maps. There were, of course, some markings - stone slabs, sometimes wooden signs, occasionally small statues - left to help the visitors find the way... But they were too little, too far between, to be reliable.

Especially in a dungeon such as this one, where there was only grass, grass everywhere. Even if the terrain wasn’t entirely flat, all the elevations and depressions were so minimal, that standing on the ground, they were too hard to properly assess.

It was only the river crossing the grasslands that was a reliable navigation point.

Clara only nodded her head in response, a bit absentminded. Damien might have explained his reasoning to Lane well, but when it came to Clara, his arguments behind this terrible team-up were rather ambiguous... Could it be that Damien had sent her to keep an eye on Lane? But if that was the case, then he wouldn’t put Lane in charge. It seemed that her brother trusted this pink-haired disaster of a man way more than he should...

All of a sudden, she faltered in her steps, as something had been thrust right in her face, almost causing her to bump her nose into it.

"What is this?" she furrowed her brows, subconsciously rubbing her nose, even though it (barely) avoided getting hurt.

"Night vision goggles," Lane said curtly, without any further explanations.

Not that explanations were needed - it was dark, and they couldn’t use any lights, so it was obvious what Lane wanted to use them for. If there was anything that Clara was confused about, then that was,

"Why are you taking them out now?"

"Hmm?" Lane lifted his brows, looking down at Clara as if she were an idiot. "There’s still a long while before the dawn. How do you want to walk around without any light? Is your night vision good enough?"

Of course it wasn’t. Even Lane didn’t see too well, despite being two ranks above Clara. In such deep darkness, it would be too easy for Clara to trip on a stone or something. She was an A-rank Esper, so that wouldn’t be a big deal... But since Lane was in charge, and she was Damien’s younger sister, he wanted to return her in one piece. Preferably with no injuries, not even scratches. Not because he cared about her - he most certainly didn’t - but simply out of consideration for his boyfriend.

But Clara still didn’t understand. "No, what I mean... If you have something like that, why didn’t you put them on before we left the camp?"

That was... a valid question. They’ve been walking for a good ten minutes or more already. In a darkness just as deep as they were in now. Why didn’t Lane take the night vision goggles out then?

She wouldn’t get an answer to this question, though, as Lane only waved the goggles in front of her face. "Are you taking them or not? I don’t want Damien to blame me if you trip and fall to your death!"

Clara lifted her brows. How was she going to die from falling on the grass? Even if she hit her head on some hidden stone, with her A-rank Esper’s physique, he would have to be really unlucky to end up seriously hurt, let alone die!

She still snatched the goggles from Lane and put them on, though. It DID get easier to trek through the dungeon with the night vision, and they were on a mission. No matter what she thought about Lane, she wasn’t so stubborn as to refuse the equipment he was willing to lend her, when it was essential to complete the task well.

But those goggles... There were unlike any equipment she had ever had a chance to use, and worked wonders. Although the surroundings were still dark, she could see well enough to notice any pits or stones on the ground, which she might trip on. With this, she would be able to pick up the pace. It was, without a doubt, high-quality equipment. It shouldn’t be much of a surprise, since she already knew that Lane was rich... But still, somehow she didn’t expect him to spend money on such practical things for the job.

...Of course, that still wasn’t enough to change her perception of him. But it was a (positive) surprise nonetheless.