DPGR 142

The next morning.

Dojin blinked awake, squinting against the faint morning light falling over his eyelids.

Where…

He saw a familiar ceiling. Realizing he was in his own bedroom, he tried to piece things together through his groggy mind.

When did I fall asleep?

He instinctively tried to sit up, but then heard a soft whimpering noise above him.

Only then did he realize that Jiho was sprawled across his body, fast asleep. No wonder the blanket had felt oddly heavy.

Jiho had one cheek resting against his chest, breathing softly in his sleep, looking completely at peace.

Dojin stared at him dazedly for a while, then gently tried to shift him aside without waking him. Jiho twitched and frowned at the movement.

And then… something felt strange under the blanket.

“……!”

He didn’t need to look. He could tell, they were still connected.

W-what the…

His mind snapped back to full clarity, and the memories of last night came rushing in.

Right. They had sex out of nowhere, and he’d been overwhelmed by Jiho’s Guiding, so much that he passed out.

He’d fainted before even cleaning up. Before Jiho. Shame prickled through him.

His face went pale as he quickly checked Jiho and their surroundings.

Thankfully, both their bodies had been cleaned of the fluids that had been smeared all over them.

It seemed that, at some point during the night, Jiho had pulled out, cleaned everything up despite how uncomfortable he must’ve been…

…And then what, climbed back on top of me and stuck it back in?

At that realization, blood flushed into Dojin’s face. Actually, no– it flared so hot it felt like his whole head might combust.

The image of Jiho curling up and falling asleep after swallowing him inside made blood rush straight back down below.

And sure enough, Dojin’s cock, still nestled inside Jiho, started to swell again.

“Mmmngh…”

As if he felt it even in his sleep, Jiho scrunched up his brows and whimpered.

Dojin carefully, gently soothed him as he slowly pulled himself out.

“There we go… Guide Jiho. Just hold still.”

“Hnn… mmgh…”

“Good boy.”

Thankfully, Jiho only shivered once, then settled back into sleep with a peaceful expression. Dojin let out a quiet sigh and lowered himself to check between Jiho’s cheeks.

The warmth of morning heat radiated off the soft curve of his rear. Dojin spread him gently.

And there it was, his swollen, reddened entrance.

It twitched open and pushed out the thick semen Dojin had poured into him through the night.

“……!”

Dojin’s eyes trembled faintly at the obscene sight. His cock twitched again, hardening between his legs.

But he had no intention of doing anything more. He had gone far too hard last night without even realizing it. Jiho’s raw, puffy entrance bothered him.

“…Tch.”

Clicking his tongue, he grabbed a towel from beside the bed and carefully wiped the semen leaking from Jiho’s rear, then wiped himself off.

After that hasty cleanup, he slipped into his underwear and pants, then stretched out his limbs.

He rolled his shoulders, leaned side to side, waking each muscle group one by one.

Strangely, his body felt light.

When he checked the time, he realized it was already time to head to work. Jiho had slept through it all, and so had he. Even more surprising, he hadn’t dreamed at all.

It had been ages since he’d slept this long without even a nightmare.

Or maybe it wasn’t sleep but unconsciousness…

Tilting his head, Dojin checked his body. Even ignoring the sleep, something about him felt different. Energized.

Guiding really works, huh…

Out of habit, he glanced at his watch. The number surprised him, but after a moment, he nodded in acceptance.

Considering what happened last night, it made sense he’d gotten a lot of Guiding.

Dojin, still unaware of the true significance of a 100% Guiding level, just thought that was normal.

Still, he definitely felt lighter. Almost without thinking, he tested his ability, his weakest one, the shadow manipulation.

Fwoosh

His shadow shot out immediately. He flicked his fingers toward the window, intending just to draw the curtains. But instead–

His shadow surged forward with a power he had never seen before. It tore the curtains to shreds and smashed through the window with a loud crash.

“……!”

“Hyaaah!”

Jiho bolted upright with a terrified yelp.

“Wh-what?! A dungeon?!”

“……”

“The window…? Hyung…?”

“……”

Dojin stared down at his own hand, face rigid. He could feel it. Something had changed in him.

***

Dojin’s ability had exploded in power.

He immediately filed a self-report and underwent reclassification.

In the process, he destroyed two of the latest-model testing machines and temporarily shut down the lab systems.

“Ahhh! That was a brand new unit…!”

“Still! He’s definitely above S-rank now! Just like Esper So Yulchan, we should classify this as a reawakening!”

Despite the damage, the lab staff were genuinely thrilled about Dojin’s sudden growth. They reported it to Center Director Kwak Jiheon immediately.

And as a result, Dojin had to head to the training room with Director Kwak to confirm the changes in his abilities.

“…SS-rank, huh.”

“SS-rank? Is that even possible?”

“Well…”

Kwak Jiheon rubbed his chin as he glanced around the half-destroyed training room.

“In theory, it’s possible. As you know, the final gate is projected to be at least SS-rank as well.”

There had long been speculation overseas that some Espers or Guides might exceed S-rank.

And now, Dojin had become living proof of that theory.

“So, what does it feel like when you use your powers? How is it different?”

“Well…”

Dojin looked down at his own hand, clenching and unclenching it as he answered, unable to hide his dazed tone.

“…My telekinesis and shadow manipulation feel much more free. I can control them better, and the range has increased too.”

With his telekinesis, he could now move much heavier and more numerous objects with ease.

His shadow control had also evolved beyond mere manipulation, he could now use it like dark energy, similar to the former Esper Director’s abilities.

And it wasn’t just those two.

“My fire… the explosive power has increased too.”

He no longer needed to shoot to cause a detonation. Just conjuring a flame with intent was enough to trigger an explosion.

As Dojin spoke, Kwak Jiheon smiled, nodding in satisfaction.

“Yes, this is definitely a reawakening. Congratulations.”

“……!”

Only then did the reality of it hit Dojin. The machines had been destroyed, so his exact rank hadn’t been officially recorded, but it didn’t matter.

I’ve gotten stronger. So much stronger than before.

Stronger than in his first life, and even more than in his second. Now, he was confident, at the very least, he’d be able to protect that one small Guide.

“…Thank you.”

Dojin murmured, his voice raspy and hoarse. Jiheon simply shrugged.

“Don’t thank me. Thank your Guide.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Hm? Didn’t the kid explain it? The mechanism behind your reawakening.”

Jiheon explained it as if it were nothing. Dojin’s face shifted with each passing second.

Guiding… Ah. That explains it.

A grin tugged at his lips, and then he broke into a full, amused laugh.

Suddenly, everything from the night before made sense. Jiho tying him up, climbing on top, struggling and grunting, it all clicked.

Ah… cute.

Absolutely adorable.

“Hmm? Where are you going?”

As Dojin abruptly turned on his heel and left the training room, Jiheon called after him.

Without so much as a glance back, Dojin called out briskly:

“I’m going to thank my Guide!”

“Hah… really now…”

Jiheon shook his head as he watched Dojin disappear down the hall.

It’s a good time to be alive. A very good time.

He clucked his tongue, but even so, a fond smile crept to his lips.

***

Baek Dojin had reawakened.

Kwak Jiheon informed the World Esper Organization and other international centers, and strongly encouraged the use of advanced Guiding.

Thanks to that, a global Guiding boom soon began, targeting 100% and beyond.

At first, Espers and Guides alike were hesitant. But faced with the looming Final Dungeon, they couldn’t afford not to at least try.

Naturally, cases of reawakening began to rise around the world.

“You mean the number of S-rank Espers is increasing?”

Jiho heard the news a few days later.

Dojin, who had insisted Jiho sit on his lap, was feeding him snacks as he spoke.

“Yes. And that’s not counting rank, the number of reawakened Espers overall has grown. Roughly a 10% increase.”

“Wow… Guiding really must be effective.”

Jiho said in amazement as he took the snack Dojin offered. Then he looked over to see Jihye playing a game on the sofa with Kijoon.

“Esper Jihye reawakened too, didn’t she?”

“Mhm.”

Just as Jiho said, Jihye had recently reawakened, jumping from A-rank to S-rank.

The Alpha Team had all participated in the reawakening initiative through Guiding, but Jihye had been the only successful case.

For reference, Sehun and Kijoon had failed to reawaken.

Was it because they didn’t have a Pair?

Having a Pair meant there was a Guide with a high match rate.

Neither of the two who failed had Pair Guides. Jiho mulled over whether that might’ve been the reason.

But even so…

Just having a good match didn’t guarantee success. The criteria for reawakening still remained a mystery.

Still, Dojin-hyung succeeded.

Whatever the cause, Dojin had made tremendous progress. It seemed he had gained confidence in his abilities, his condition had visibly stabilized.

And now, with the appearance of an unofficial SS-rank Esper and the overall rise in Esper ability worldwide, many felt a sense of relief.

Even Alpha Team’s Jihye, and Beta Team’s original S-rank leader Yoon, had gained new movement-related abilities, albeit in a limited form.

On top of that, Beta Team’s deputy leader had reawakened from A-rank to S-rank. All good news.

Everything’s going so smoothly. All that’s left is to clear the Final Dungeon.

Everything felt like it was progressing at a steady pace.

The wind was blowing in Jiho’s favor.