DPGR 16

• About one year later, in the summer. Underwater dungeon in the sea off Incheon? Injury and retirement of Alpha Team Esper Yulchan.
• That fall. An S-rank medium dungeon erupts over Japan. The Japanese Esper military retreats. Korean Espers are dispatched to assist: Alpha and Beta Teams mobilized. Beta Team leader dies.
• A-rank large-scale underwater dungeon break in the sea off Taean > Massive casualties. Dojin’s parents die.
• The following spring. The first dual dungeon appears in Nevada, USA.
• Dual dungeons begin to appear around the world.

Dual dungeon.

Jiho frowned as he wrote those words. The cause of Dojin’s death had been one of those dungeons.

About two years from now, the world would begin to undergo a drastic upheaval. The appearance of dual dungeons was the start of it all.

The destruction of dimensions…

Clearing a dual dungeon would reward you with rare potions, weapons, and support artifacts.

But more important than any of those was a small, tattered scrap of paper.

According to researchers’ analyses, the paper turned out to be a record from another dimension.

Other dimensions that had once resembled Earth. Now, they were ruined worlds where not a single living creature other than monsters could be found.

Hesitating for a moment, Jiho finally wrote down the next line with a grim expression.

According to the message on the note, each dimension had a fixed total number of dungeons.

The acceleration of dungeon creation and the emergence of dual dungeons were only the beginning.

Jiho could never forget the expression on the face of the lead researcher when the results were announced.

“Eventually, once the final dungeon is cleared, all dungeons on Earth will vanish completely. However… if that final dungeon is not subdued, it will trigger a monster break.”

Monster break. Or dungeon break.

It referred to the phenomenon in which all monsters inside a dungeon poured out into the world.

“…The final dungeon will likely be of a difficulty and scale we’ve never seen before. At minimum, SS-rank, and an extra-large dungeon.”

An SS-rank, extra-large dungeon—and even that was considered the lowest possible estimate. Sighs rippled through the room.

Close that? How? Was that even possible?

But there was no time to sit around worrying. New dungeons—especially the mutated dual dungeons—were still appearing across the globe.

Now, dungeons were erupting practically every day. It didn’t matter whether it was the capital, the provinces, the mountains, or the sea—they showed no pattern.

Espers grew exhausted from repeated subjugation missions, and Guides became overwhelmed trying to keep up.

Eventually, when a C-rank Esper was injured and went berserk inside a dungeon, the Center scrapped all its previous protocols.

“Even unpaired Guides must be required to enter the field according to their ranks.”

Unpaired Guides—those who weren’t paired with any particular Esper—were originally stationed safely within the Center to provide remote guidance.

But in the end, calls grew louder to deploy even high-ranking unpaired Guides to the field to cover the manpower shortage.

To Jiho, guiding in the Center or inside a dangerous dungeon felt the same.

After dealing with all sorts of difficult Espers, he didn’t find the Center to be particularly safe either.

But other Guides didn’t feel the same.

In particular, the members of Unpaired Guide Team 1, where many high-ranking Guides were gathered, expressed dissatisfaction at the idea of being dispatched to the field.

Jiho’s return had landed him right in the middle of this transition period.

A time when no one yet knew the exact date or location of the final dungeon’s appearance.

A time when Espers were dying, and Guides, even while pitying them, scrambled to protect their own safety and positions.

…Making sure Baek Dojin doesn’t die is important, but more than that… I want him to live a happy life.

To make that happen, every member of Alpha Team had to survive. And the impending destruction of Earth would have to be prevented.

Jiho didn’t know what he could accomplish with his own strength, but—

“Hm…”

Letting out a small sigh, Jiho hesitated, then began scribbling again in his notebook.

First, become Dojin’s Guide.

If he could become his Pair Guide, he’d naturally form ties with the other members of Alpha Team as well.

That way, he might be able to prevent Yulchan’s injury, and perhaps avoid other dangers that would come afterward.

Dojin was incredibly strong, so as long as the guiding issue could be resolved, he might be able to wipe out even the dual dungeons—or the final dungeon itself.

Just as Jiho nodded to himself at the thought—

“Guide Jiho?”

Dojin’s voice called from outside the room. Jiho flinched and hastily checked over what he’d written.

It was perfectly legible to him, but to anyone else, it would look like nothing more than a jumble of scribbles.

Good. Dojin shouldn’t be able to make anything out of it.

Tucking the notebook under his arm, Jiho stepped out of the utility room. Dojin, who had been lingering nearby, greeted him.

“There you are.”

“…?”

Even though Jiho had just emerged from the utility room, Dojin didn’t look the least bit surprised.

Jiho quickly realized—Dojin had known exactly where he was the whole time, and had called out to him on purpose to let his presence be known.

“It’s cold over there. I turned on the heater, so go sit in the living room.”

He didn’t ask Jiho what he’d been doing. He simply led him to the couch, sat him down, and turned on the TV.

The channel Dojin chose was a children’s one. A man in a blue suit—some Lightning Man or Thunder Man—was on screen, along with a goblin puppet called something like Ttukttak or Ttungttang.

Does he not realize I’m an adult?

Jiho stared at Dojin. Setting aside the fact that he had regressed, Jiho was currently twenty years old.

“Hm? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“……”

“Ah.”

When Jiho just stared at him silently, Dojin let out a soft sound like he’d realized something.

Then he walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and came back with something in hand.

…Orange juice?

It was a palm-sized pack of orange juice. Dojin had even inserted the straw, making it easy to drink, and placed it into Jiho’s hand.

“Watch TV for a bit. I’ll be making lunch. Bulgogi’s okay, right?”

…Nod.

At Jiho’s small nod, Dojin smiled faintly and patted his head before heading into the kitchen.

Jiho sipped the orange juice and turned back to the TV.

Before long, he found himself gradually drawn into the ridiculously childish program.

Dojin had said his vacation would last a total of ten days.

“When it ends, I have to return to the Center. If a dungeon opens, I’ll be deployed to the scene.”

Nod.

“You…”

After thinking for a while, Dojin spoke with a hesitant tone.

“Since you’re a Guide, you’ll need to complete Guide registration first. After that, becoming an Unpaired Guide is the usual procedure, but I’ll explain the details later.”

Jiho frowned slightly. If he became an Unpaired Guide, he would end up living a life no different from his previous one.

He didn’t mind being passed around from Esper to Esper at the Center. It was a familiar kind of pain—something he could endure.

But the thought of Dojin dying again in that cold bunker…

That can’t happen.

Jiho’s lips parted. He picked up his notebook, set it down, then picked it up again—unable to settle on what to say. But nothing suitable came to mind.

I want to be your Pair. I’m the only one who can guide you. If I’m not there, you’ll die.

None of those were things he could say easily. Death and regression? Who would believe that?

Dojin was kind, but he wasn’t gullible enough to believe such far-fetched things. If anything, he might worry for Jiho’s mental health and drag him to a hospital.

In the end, Jiho couldn’t find the words and fell into silence. While he brooded, Dojin seemed to notice and changed the subject.

“There’s something more important.”

More important?

Jiho tilted his head. Dojin carefully smoothed Jiho’s messy hair and continued.

“You adjusted better than I expected when we went to the supermarket. So you’re not afraid of unfamiliar places?”

Nod.

“Then let’s spend the rest of my vacation exploring different places together. Once you finish your Guide registration in ten days, you’ll have to start living as part of society too.”

And so began Dojin’s “socialization training” for Jiho.

Since Jiho had likely spent most of his life confined in a facility, mistreated and isolated, Dojin must have believed that helping him adapt quickly to society was the best course of action.

Of course, with the memories of his previous life, Jiho didn’t actually need such training. But he pretended not to know anything and went along with Dojin’s intentions.

One day, they went to a department store to buy casual clothes. Another day, they took a walk around the neighborhood.

Some days they visited outpatient clinics, and on others, they finally went to a salon to trim Jiho’s hair.

And just like that, a week passed.

“How about eating lunch out today?”

Nod, nod.

Daily outings had become routine by now.

Exploring the world was surprisingly fun, and Dojin would always treat him to sweet snacks on their way out, which Jiho had come to enjoy.

That day was no different from the others—at least until Dojin’s phone rang.

“I’ll just step out to take this call.”

Jiho caught a glimpse of the caller ID flashing on Dojin’s phone screen.

[Chief Esper]

It was clearly someone Dojin didn’t want to talk to in front of Jiho. Jiho nodded in understanding.

Soon, Dojin’s voice began to filter out from the room he’d gone into.