The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 359: It’s Raining Eagles

Chapter 359: It’s Raining Eagles

Although the Smokeless Campfire didn’t release any smoke, like a normal campfire would, helping the Awakened in the dungeon to conceal their location better, the meat roasted over it still filled the air with its smell. And with the wind blowing, this scent naturally spread around. As long as there were monsters near enough with a good enough sense of smell, they would end up getting attracted by the scent...

And following it, they would arrive at the camp.

As they did.

Just as Ethan had taken a bite out of his portion of the meat, the monsters’ cries sounded out in the sky above them.

The monster eagles had arrived.

Ethan swore inwardly. It just had to be flying monsters! If it were normal monsters moving on the ground, they would be stopped by their line of defense, and he would still be able to finish his meal. He was a Guide, after all, while he was trained in combat and could help during the fight using Mana weapons, when surrounded by so many A-rank Espers, his fighting ability was meager in comparison, and wouldn’t be needed so much. No one would complain if he took a few minutes to eat first before joining in.

But with the flying monsters, it was different. Even if his teammates didn’t expect him to join... He might be forced to combat at any moment! It all depended on where those ugly eagles might decide to take a dive!

And with the fresh and fragrant roasted meat in his hand, Ethan was kind of an obvious target. The first eagle that had attacked the group didn’t take a fancy to him...

But the second did. One of the Espers nearby tried to defend, but because their visibility was lowered, as it was still dark, their reaction was also slower. By the time his ability activated, the eagle was already among them. In the end, when the wounded eagle escaped back to the air, no one was hurt... The eagle still had managed to snatch something before it flew up.

Ethan’s meal.

Ethan stared at his empty hand for a moment. It was reddened from the friction, as the eagle forcefully snatched the piece of meat he had been trying to hold on to.

It was... disappointing, really. Heartbreaking, even. As unpalatable as the meat had tasted, at least it would have filled his stomach. Now that it was gone, he would have to endure the hunger until they had dealt with this wave of monsters... After all, it would be hard to roast more meat with the eagles attacking. And taking his own rations wasn’t really an option either - they might also end up getting snatched, which would be even more of a waste than if he had shared it with the rest of the team...

His shoulders slumped, Ethan looked around helplessly, searching for... He didn’t know what himself.

Until he met Lane’s eyes. They stared at each other for a moment...

And then, Lane snickered.

Yes, he had let out a short laugh, mocking Ethan. He had obviously seen this whole incident. And he could have easily stopped it, even just with his ’air manipulation’ ability, by killing the eagle with his Wind Blades before it snatched the food. He was experienced, could see in the dark better than anyone else, and his reflexes were also superior.

But he didn’t do anything, because why would he? Ethan’s misfortune was his reason to celebrate! In fact, he was hoping that the monsters would snatch the Guide together with his meal...

Unfortunately, it seemed that the monster eagles had a better taste in food. They had left the Guide untouched.

At least for now. There was still some hope for later.

Ethan gasped, as he had grasped the meaning behind Lane’s snicker. Was it surprising? No, at least it shouldn’t have been, considering how their relationship was like ever since Ethan had joined the Association as a spy for the Allens. But somehow, the Guide still seemed to be shocked.

And even more so by the fact that after this short laughter, Lane had turned his eyes away. He no longer paid any attention to Ethan, as if he didn’t care whether the Guide was dead or alive. Of course, he actually cared... But with so many people around, it would be too risky to try to get rid of him, even just by helping the monsters get to the Guide.

So, instead, he played the part of a good boyfriend, and helped Damien get rid of the monster eagles.

Which... wasn’t exactly hard. Or, to be precise, it wasn’t difficult for the members of the team to defeat the monsters. They were all high-rankers, while the eagles were just the monsters from a C-rank dungeon. They were far weaker when it came to their speed and strength. As for their ability, their cries had some sort of paralyzing effect... However, due to the rank difference, it didn’t have any effect on the team members, aside from perhaps slowing some of them down a little bit. Even if the eagles had an advantage in numbers - which was still unclear, as no one could even estimate their numbers in the dark - they shouldn’t pose that much of a challenge...

The problem was that they were aerial monsters. Which on its own was a bit more tricky - not many people had aerial combat abilities, so they were limited to long-distance attacks. That, on its own, wouldn’t be an issue just yet...

If it wasn’t for the fact that the sky was dark. And the monster eagles flew high enough to hide from the camp lights, and blend in completely. With the naked eye, the members of the team couldn’t possibly locate them.

What else could they do, then? Attack randomly, and hope to hit the monsters? It might have worked...

Except that Lane had already used his Sky Step to climb up to the sky, and was now fighting the monsters all the way up in the air. If the team members on the ground were to attack randomly, they might accidentally end up hitting him!

Of course, that wouldn’t happen, since Lane would be able to dodge in time easily, but no one knew it. Except for Damien, who naturally wouldn’t take such a ’risk’ even knowing that Lane would be fine no matter what!

Because of all those factors, the team’s first fight in this dungeon looked extremely... odd. They were all standing around like idiots, stretching their necks and staring up at the shrouded in blackness sky. They weren’t just staring blankly, of course, they were looking attentively, their weapons and abilities ready for when the monster eagles would take another dive...

But in the end, when the eagles did appear in their view, they were falling down limply, leaving behind a trail of blood, like a tail of a comet. They were all dead, or on the verge of death. All that the members of the team had left to do was to catch the falling carcasses, to make sure that they didn’t crash into any equipment lying around. They caught them, and set them aside, to use them as another source of food potentially.

About five or six carcasses in, Damien decided he couldn’t stay still anymore. Although he didn’t have an aerial ability per se... He had been able to use his ability in a way that came close enough to it. By creating a path of ice, he could technically move in the air. He used it sometimes when he needed to travel fast, by gliding on the thin ice path...

But now, he used it a bit differently. He created an ice platform for himself, and then, he turned it into a pillar, which rose higher and higher, lifting Damien high up into the air, until he finally disappeared in the darkness above. It was a far more graceful way to move up than running in circles as Lane had done, but the disadvantage was that it had left behind a high pillar of ice, which now just stood on the edge of the camp, threatening to fall over at any moment.

No one really paid the attention to this pillar, though. Because the moment later, the number of falling carcasses intensified. With the two elite Espers fighting the monsters together, the camp suddenly encountered unusual weather conditions - it was raining eagles...

Or, well, eagle pieces, as some of the eagles had been slashed through. Which was rather inconvenient, all things considered, as it gave the remaining members of the team more things to catch! Not to mention, all the blood that ended up getting spilled all over the camp... Both Lane and Damien primarily fought using their weapons - Lane twin daggers, Damien a heavy longsword - which led to a lot of bloodshed...

Which so much ’rain’ falling on them, it was only natural that everyone was paying more attention to what was above them, rather than next to them. Thus, it was no wonder that when one of the carcasses hit the ice pillar, causing it to sway, no one noticed.

Until the pillar finally toppled over, falling straight at them, quiet but deadly.

Or, to be precise, falling straight at Ethan. The Guide truly had no luck that day!

"Eeek!" a shrill shriek escaped the Guide’s throat, as he rushed to dodge, rolling on the ground, in the puddles of muddy blood...

Only to notice the pillar hanging above the ground, wrapped in golden threads.

...There was no need for him to throw himself on the ground. The pillar had been caught in time by Clara!