The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 356: The Way Back

Chapter 356: The Way Back

Not long after they had finished their makeshift meal - which was most certainly not a five-star restaurant’s quality. The meat was tough, stringy, and with a musky flavor, and they didn’t even have any spices to make it taste a bit better! However, while not the most palatable, it was at least filling - and gone on their way, they finally came across the river again.

The good thing was that they could refill their water bottles...

The bad thing was that by then, the sky had turned completely dark once again.

And they still had a long way to go. They were only just over halfway done...

But their speed didn’t drop. Although Clara’s nerves got tight like overtightened strings, she just put her (or, well, Lane’s) night vision goggles on, clenched her teeth, and marched ahead. Even though the trek was even more nerve-wrecking now, with Lane making occasional trips up, to scout their surroundings from above, and leaving Clara alone on the ground (of course, only when he was certain that there were no monsters around, but still), she still endured her anxiety, and pushed forward.

The reason was simple. Now that she had seen how capable Lane was when it came to scouting and dungeon survival tactics, how could she possibly allow herself to slow them down? Her pride wouldn’t be able to take it!

Especially after she saw the map updates. Somehow even now, in the pitch blackness, his scouting ability didn’t decrease at all. After each of his trips up, he returned with the new section of the map expansion drawn just as before, with unbearably ugly scribbles, but with the amount of detail that left Clara completely baffled.

How could he even see so much in the dark? Yes, he had the night vision goggles, but still! As far as she could tell, the goggles that Lane wore were the same model as he had given her...

Which wasn’t the case, actually. The model that Lane had given Clara was... a newer version of the night vision goggles he himself used. That’s because he had purchased them only recently, to have a spare goggles to share with Damien if needed... As for why he had lent them to Clara instead of giving her the older pair, that was simply because she needed them more than him, as his sight was much better thanks to his higher rank. He had concluded that the better she could see, the less she would slow him down, thus that was a reasonable sacrifice.

Thanks to the night vision goggles, Lane’s bird’s eye view scouting with Mana Scan, and Clara’s newfound resolve, their mission proceeded smoothly, even at night. They traveled the remaining arc of the dungeon’s former edge, following the curve of the Wall, until eventually, they had reached the river once again.

From there on, their mission was complete. All that they had to do was to return, following the trail of the river. Lane made a few trips up into the air along the way, just to check how far the monsters had traveled, but other than that, all they had to do was march forward. They reached the spear Lane had previously left, and turned into the fields...

That was the part of their trek that Clara was the most unsure of. Although it was currently the safest part of the dungeon, as they were near the Gate, and the monsters hadn’t traveled that far yet, they had no navigation point there. No Wall or river to follow...

However, to her surprise, Lane confidently marched forward. Every now and then, he waved his hand, and items lying in the cold, damp grass would fly up into his hands, before disappearing into his spatial bag.

Only then did she realize that from the moment they had left the camp by the Gate, until they had reached the river, Lane had been leaving behind a trail they could use to find their way back.

Her expression instantly grew more complicated. It seemed like such an obvious thing to do. And yet, somehow, when they had first departed on their mission, Clara hadn’t even considered it. She had just marched ahead, in the direction where the river should be.

She hated to admit it, but this good-for-nothing (well, perhaps that was no longer an accurate term) pink-haired man, who had failed to pass the theory test... How many times exactly? Was it ten? Was actually more competent than her when it came to fighting monsters, scouting, and survival. It seemed that she had misjudged him greatly.

...Of course, that didn’t mean she was suddenly going to accept him as her potential future brother-in-law or anything. Being good at one’s job didn’t necessarily make one a good partner. However, from now on, she would at least think twice before mocking him.

She would just continue to observe him carefully, to find whether he would be honest, loyal, and faithful to her brother. If it turned out that he wasn’t as much of a player as he seemed...

Well, that was still too early to say, it all remained to be seen.

With the reassurance brought by the trail they could follow, the final part of the trek passed by much quicker than it originally took them to get to the river. Before long, they could see the faint lights of camp flashlights that their teammates lit up, probably to guide them like a lighthouse...

"Give me the goggles back," Lane said, stopping all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Clara blinked, confused. "Why?"

"Just because," Lane didn’t bother explaining. In fact, the truth was that he didn’t want to show too much of his equipment, unless necessary... Because of Ethan, of course. The Guide was too damn observant for his (or rather Lane’s) own good. There was a chance that he might notice that some of Lane’s equipment was an older model, from more than a few months ago, which might come off as suspicious... Such as his own goggles, of course. It could be easily solved by replacing the equipment, but Lane didn’t think about it beforehand, so he could only hide it for now. Of course, he could always just hide his own goggles, and allow Clara to wear hers until they had reached the camp...

But since when was he so nice? He had already been considerate enough for the woman throughout their mission!

And he was really not in the mood right now. Just like Clara had been absorbed in her own thoughts earlier, reevaluating her views on Lane, Lane had also been busy with his own concerns. He had already had his suspicions earlier, but now after circling around the dungeon, he was almost certain.

He had never been in this dungeon before.

Of course, he could be wrong. Without the monsters, this dungeon was way too boring to be memorable. After all, what was there to remember? The endless fields of grass? The long, slow, wide river? The long nights? There was nothing particularly unique about this dungeon that might stick in his mind. It wasn’t the only grassland dungeon either. Lane had been in a few similar ones before.

But not this one.

Or, rather, even if he had happened to come on the inspection here before... He most certainly hadn’t planted any Fertilizer here. He could be mistaken about his visit, but not about that.

Because unlike a regular inspection, planting Fertilizer in this kind of dungeon WOULD be memorable.

Why? Because there’s nowhere to hide!

Planting Fertilizer requires the utmost caution and secrecy. If caught, not only would the person planting get in trouble, but the Association would obtain a sample of undissolved Fertilizer. If they had researched it... Perhaps not alone, but with the help of better scientists, it could complicate the secret organization’s plans.

Which is why Lane had taken the mission of planting Fertilizer upon himself. He was better than anyone else, with his countless abilities, which allowed him to act sneakily, and keep a good eye (or ear) on his surroundings, to notice in time when someone approached. On top of that, he was the most ’dispensable’ member... As he had always acted in his possessed bodies, which could be discarded at will!

Either way, the point was, in a dungeon like this, where there was nothing but a flat terrain, it would be difficult to plant the Fertilizer, even for him. If he tried to trail behind the team, it wouldn’t escape his teammates’ attention easily. Even at night - with the Gate inactive, they would be using headlights, and keeping an eye on each other for safety. If one headlight suddenly went off, they would pick up on it, and help him ’replace the batteries’. And if he didn’t turn it off, but tried to lag behind anyway, it also would be noticed!

Of course, that didn’t mean that there weren’t any ways to still successfully do it... But it would be far more complicated. Definitely a mission that would stuck in his mind.

Which is why Lane could be sure of it. He hadn’t planted any Fertilizer there.

But... If he hadn’t done it... Then why had the Gate still reactivated?