The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 353: Crossing the River

Chapter 353: Crossing the River

The monster eagle dived, speeding straight their way...

Clara gasped, jumping out of her seat, completely forgetting about the lunchbox on her lap, open, and with food still in it - because she had been so busy arguing with Lane, she barely had a chance to eat anything - and prepared for the upcoming fight. Since avoiding it was no longer possible, the best they could do was to end it as quickly as possible. Her fingers lit with a golden glow, as she activated her ability...

But before she could use it, something swished in the air. In the blink of an eye, the monster was hit by several consecutive Wind Blades, aimed straight at its neck. They immediately severed its throat, disabling it from making any final call, and cutting its neck so deeply, that it died instantly. Its body fell limply on the ground...

It didn’t smash, though. Instead, it stopped a foot or so above the ground for a moment, before finally dropping down on the grass. Thanks to that, it made no loud noise with its crash.

Clara looked up at Lane, surprised. The man instantly defeated the monster, in the quickest and quietest way possible, before she could even make a move. And not only that - it seemed that he had also taken care of their lunchboxes. Clara’s lunchbox should have been flipped over on the grass, but instead, it looked carefully set, with no food having spilled out of it.

Was this man really a newbie? Yes, she had heard that he had some previous experience... But that was years ago, when he was still a teen. And while he might have been comfortable with his abilities, having used them on a daily basis (illegally!)... It was different to use them at home or in training, and different when facing real monsters.

Clara would have never admitted it, but... She was a bit impressed with how fast and well Lane could act in a moment of danger. Perhaps the man wasn’t as useless as she originally thought.

...Not that she was going to accept him as her brother’s boyfriend. Being an acceptable teammate, and being a good partner were two completely different things.

"Let’s go," Lane said, packing up their lunchboxes. "We should get away from here. The blood might attract more monsters."

"Where are we going?"

"The other side of the river." Lane commanded. He stepped toward the riverbank...

"But check the monster first. Observe its features," he suddenly ordered Clara.

Clara just nodded her head. His order made sense...

But actually, Lane just wanted to divert her attention for a moment. He had already assessed the monster himself, there was no need for Clara to do that. Unless Clara was some sort of hidden monster expert with comprehensible knowledge going far beyond what was required at the Basic Esper Training, it was unlikely that she could do the job better than him. After all, Lane had learned a lot through his years of experience, fighting countless monsters... He knew exactly what to pay attention to. The only reason why he had asked her to take a look...

Was so that he could use his Mana Scan ability. As the woman leaned over the monster’s carcass, Lane’s eyes flashed with an azure glow.

...As expected, now that they were so close to the Wall, the river was already populated. There were monster fishes swimming around. Whether they were dangerous, Lane couldn’t tell - there were no details about them in the dungeon’s description, and his Mana Scan didn’t allow him to assess whether they were aggressive or not - but it was better not to provoke them. Based on what he had been able to observe, their ability was related to toxicity... If they turned out to be carnivorous and bit them, it would be troublesome.

Well, troublesome for Clara, at least. A little C-rank toxicity wouldn’t hurt Lane, but Clara didn’t have any toxic resistance. It wouldn’t kill her, but it might slow her down a lot.

So, Lane could only let out a sigh. Swimming in the river was no longer an option. Once Clara returned to his side, ready to report her findings - it seemed that she had temporarily forgot her hostility toward Lane, and accepted him as the leader of their team - he grabbed her under his arm, and jumped up.

"Hey, what are you-!" Clara raised her voice, momentarily forgetting herself out of surprise.

But Lane just ran in the air, crossing the river a few feet above the water’s surface.

"There are monsters in the river," he briefly explained, as he landed softly on the other side, dropping Clara straight on the ground.

"Auch!" Clara protested. Even though the fall wasn’t painful - she landed on the soft grass. But she soon nodded her head, "Is that so? I understand..."

Only for her brows to furrow a second later. "Huh? How do you know that?"

The river looked just like earlier. No matter how hard Clara stared, she couldn’t see the presence of any monsters.

"My senses are better than yours," Lane said nonchalantly.

Which could hardly count as a good explanation. They were supposed to be around the same rank. Even if his senses were slightly better, how much better could they really be? And looking at the dark water, Clara doubted that even her brother would be able to see anything! At most he might sense some suspicious wavelengths... She wanted to ask more...

But Lane wouldn’t give her a chance.

"Roll around in the grass," he said. "It should help conceal our scent."

Clara grumbled inwardly... But in the end, she still did as ordered.

With the appearance of the monsters, they no longer had time to sit down and take a break. They quickly swallowed the rest of the food, rubbed the grass over their hands, cheeks, and necks. Luckily, the scent of the blood was much more intense than the food that their had. Although the monsters indeed quickly came, as the sounds coming from the other side of the river suggested, none of them came Lane and Clara’s way. Soon, they were up on their feet, following the river and leaving the sounds of the monsters tearing the eagle’s carcass apart behind them...