Chapter 18: Ch 18: Trapped in a Dungeon

’Why did this happen? Alan was not supposed to drag me around. I am not even his partner. This sucks.’

Noah followed Alan around inside the dungeon while keeping a close watch on the esper. Alan was acting normal, but Noah knew that he had not been taking proper guiding sessions.

And Noah was not a stalker or anything, but his sources had told him that the last time Alan got any guidance was months ago before he came to the academy. (That accidental brush of guiding did not count!)

’How is Alan still alive and looking so fresh? Any other esper would have lost his mind by now.’

Espers needed constant guiding to keep themselves sane and healthy, and Alan was no different. But the difference was that he needed much more guiding and much more frequently...or that should have been the case.

But not only was Alan looking far too happy, he was hyper as well. He was running ahead of Noah and dragging him along.

It was starting to tire Noah out, and after another half an hour of walking, Noah decided to put his foot down.

"Maybe we should rest for a short while. We have been walking for a long while...what was our objective here?"

Noah did not recall their teacher ever giving them an objective while inside the dungeon. But there must be one if this was an assignment...maybe he could get a better grade if he completed it.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even notice Alan looking at him with a searching gaze.

So Alan’s question took him by surprise, and he blinked when he found himself being cornered against a tree by the esper.

"My dear guide, aren’t you even a little bit afraid right now? You are stuck in a dungeon with a highly volatile esper. Who knows what can happen, right? Would you like to make a mistake with me?"

Alan asked, pressing more of his weight against Noah.

This situation would have been dangerous had anyone other than Alan done this to Noah. But because it was this esper, Noah knew that he was not serious.

In fact, this was not even the first time Alan had done something like this to him. He constantly tried to push Noah’s buttons while they were in the labs, and Daniel used to come to his rescue.

But there was no Daniel around right now, and Noah was also not a little kid who did not know what to do.

So he pushed against Alan’s chest to push him away, and Alan instantly let him go, showing that he was not serious about threatening Noah.

"Hey, I would like you to know that I am currently terrified. This is my first time in a dungeon, so I have no idea what I am doing. Cut me some slack here."

Even though Noah said that, he could not muster enough strength to act. He was sure that Alan was even more suspicious of him now, but he could not bring himself to care at this point.

But Alan decided not to pursue the matter. Instead, he pressed even closer to Noah, making Noah feel even tenser.

’Should I hit this man and make a run for it? Alan likely won’t be hurt, but he might get pissed off and...’

Noah was looking for options to run away when he felt a sudden shift in the dungeon.

He was rather sensitive to dungeon energies, so he noticed the change immediately. And he was not the only one to feel it either.

Alan, who had been goofing around until now, suddenly had a serious look in his eyes.

[A new event is being created.]

[Event details: The Dungeon Upgrading Incident. Please help the targets get closer through this incident.]

[Event details: Due to unknown reasons, the dungeon is no longer able to sustain itself. So it has decided to evolve in rank. This new risk will deepen the feelings of our targets.]

The system decided to throw this situation in Noah’s face out of nowhere, and he felt like cursing.

Honestly speaking, even if the dungeon turned into an A-class dungeon, it likely would not be much of a problem for him or Alan. But the others were a different matter.

"Alan, this is—"

"I know. I sensed this as well. And I bet our instructor did too. We should get out of here before the dungeon door collapses as well. Otherwise, we will be stuck here."

Alan grabbed Noah’s hand to tug him outside, and Noah’s mind went blank for a second. He lost control of his powers, but he caught himself within seconds and locked them back up.

However, he knew that he could not leave this dungeon like this. There was a chance that Daniel was still stuck somewhere inside.

’I have a feeling that a lazy bum will only be a hindrance to Daniel’s safety. I should go and find him.’

Noah was not suicidal, so there was no way he was going to leave his ticket to freedom inside this dungeon. As for Alan...

"Head toward the exit! I will go and grab Daniel and bring him back with me. Now, hurry up—!"

Alan decided not to listen to Noah. Instead, he quickly rushed back and grabbed Noah’s arm.

"Have you lost your mind? We need to get out of here right now. Daniel is a precious high-class guide, so the academy will take care of him. But you, on the other hand, are expendable. The academy will not think twice about chewing you up and leaving you for dead. Do you want to die?"

Alan’s eyes looked unfocused, and his temperament had worsened. It was clear that the unstable energy inside the dungeon had started to affect him as well.

Noah wanted to complain and reassure him that he would be just fine. In fact, he would be better than fine since he was trained for these situations.

Unfortunately, Noah could not say those words without blowing his cover. And he especially could not allow anyone to know that he was a high-class guide.

"I—"

Guilt was starting to consume him, but Alan did not care about his feelings.

Instead, he decided to grab Noah and pull him out of the dungeon.

"We are heading back out, and I won’t hear a single complaint about it—"

The door collapsed.

And just like that, the only way out for them was no longer available. This was not supposed to happen.

"Darn it! Why did you not listen to me when I told you to leave? What are we going to do now?"

Noah asked, finally feeling a little panicked.