The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]
Chapter 87: Well Hello There

Chapter 87: Well Hello There

The daggers were slipping in Lane’s hands, slimy and sticky from all the sweat, goo, and the monsters’ bodily fluids dripping off them. However, he only tightened the grip, gritting his teeth as he lifted his arms, blocking the lizard monkey jumping onto him from the palm. There was no time to wipe the daggers, not when they were under attack from the main predator residing in the oases.

It’s been over a week since they’ve entered the dungeon. A week spent mostly on fighting, with only six hours of rest at night, when they slept all for four hours while keeping guard over the camp in shifts. And now, they finally arrived at their last oasis. They were almost done. Some critters still remained here and there, but they were all herbivores, and rather than attack them, they were hiding in their nests, so they could be left to the mining and gathering team to take care of.

Everyone was exhausted, even Lane. He had been tense all this time, ever since he saw Damien play with his ooze, and couldn’t wait to get out so that he could consult it with Ava...

But now that they were at the finish line, he couldn’t help but feel regretful. Despite the oppressive heat and the tingling and nauseating stench of all sorts of venoms and toxins both the monsters and the vegetation had, he would really miss this place. In here, he could at least let off some steam and have some fun. It’d be really nice if they could go on the raids more often...

Actually, that could be done.

Lane momentarily halted, a flash of inspiration glimmering in his eyes, before swinging his dagger and slashing the monkey’s neck, the tip of the dagger sliding right through the gap between the greenish scales, a stream of blood spreading in the air like a crescent wave, following its trajectory.

Yes, with just a bit of planning - and some of Lane’s money spent - they could go on raids from time to time, as a break from the boring - though important - inspections.

***

The first thing Lane did after getting in the car - the minibus driven by Damien, since it still had more space, but not wanting to raise any more suspicions, he sat in the back with the rest - was to log in to one of his backup mail accounts to copy Ava’s number. He usually avoided contacting his real acquaintances with his fake identities’ phones, just to be safe, but it was fine with Ava. And he wanted to check when he’d be able to meet her, so that he wouldn’t have to go through all the trouble of switching the bodies in vain.

[Hey, have any time? I need you to check something for me. FS.] he quickly typed.

As he waited for the answer, he checked all of his other notifications, which had all piled up over the time he was out of range. There were bills, messages from Xavier’s family and friends, reminders from the Association about several matching rate tests waiting to be confirmed...

He accepted the tests - two of which instantly got scheduled for the same afternoon - while ignoring everything else. The bills were all set on direct debit anyway, as for the rest... He’d deal with it later. At the moment, he was simply too tired for that, barely stifling a yawn...

And the next thing he knew, his shoulders were being shaken.

"Xavier. Xavier!"

"Hmm... What?" Scrunching his face, Lane struggled to open up his eyes, sticky with sleepiness.

"Wake up, we’re here!" Cora shook him harder.

"Fine, fine, I get it!" Lane pushed her hands. "Thanks." Massaging his cheek, numb from resting on the cold window, he blinked a few times, trying to chase the sleepiness away...

"You were talking in your sleep, by the way."

"What?" Lane’s eyes snapped open, his mind instantly clearing up. He glanced at Cora, almost holding his breath...

"Pfft! I’m just messing with you!" Laughter burst out of Cora’s mouth, bringing her to tears. "Why are you so scared though? Do you have something to hide? Hmm?"

"Doesn’t everyone?" Lane grumbled, his brows wrinkling in a frown. Inwardly, however, he let out a sigh of relief.

She really scared him there for a minute. Although he had never used to talk in his sleep before, if that were to change... He would never be able to catch even a wink of sleep around other people, especially not Damien. If he accidentally said a wrong thing while asleep, for example something that could connect to his real identity...

A shudder shook his body at the mere thought.

Perhaps he should be more careful from now on, just in case.

Damien’s gaze tingled his nape as he got out of the minibus, but Lane ignored it. He just threw a quick, "Bye everyone!" and went on his way, rushing back to Xavier’s apartment. Ava texted him back, saying she was in the lab and he could drop by if it was urgent, so he wanted to get it done before his appointments in the afternoon.

She was already waiting for him at the front, when Lane arrived at the ManaTech an hour later.

"So? What’s so important that you contacted me from an unknown number?" She glanced at Lane, leading the way through the sterile clean white hallways.

"I need you to take a look at something. My new ability, Toxic Ooze... I wonder if you can find out something in it."

"Something in it?" she repeated with a light scoff. "I’m sure there’s a lot I can find in it. But you need to be more specific as to what EXACTLY you are looking for."

"Well, I’m not sure. Maybe Mana, or traces of my guiding, or..."

His voice trailed off, and he faltered in his steps, as the door on the side opened, and a researcher walked out, followed by a tall, blonde woman dressed in a tight, black leather costume that stuck closely to all of her curves.

Nyla.

Their eyes briefly met, causing her to freeze as well. It only lasted for a second or two, soon interrupted by Lane tossing her a smirk while lifting his brows. He was about to walk away, but...

"Lane."

Lane’s shoulders instantly tensed up, his eyes twitching ominously at the sound of the cold voice coming from further down the hallway. He unconsciously took a moment to breathe in deeply, before turning around on the spot with the fakest of all his fake smiles plastered all over his face.

"Well hello there, Mr. Allen."