“The tower’s collapsing—what do you mean—huh?!”Rumble—!Before the question was even finished, the entire tower began to shake violently. The tremor was far stronger than anything they’d felt even during the height of battle.“It’s coming down from below! Move, now!”The Guides who’d «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» been below came scrambling up, shouting, and that was all it took for everyone to believe it. The Espers, exhausted from the fight, forced their bodies to move again and sprinted upward with everything they had left.“Hyung!”“Siwoo.”Even in the chaos, Raon felt relief at seeing him. Siwoo’s face was pale and drawn—he hadn’t even realized Raon had fallen while saving Dasom.“Are you okay? You fell from the—”“Ah.”Siwoo grabbed Raon’s shoulders, scanning him up and down. When had he even seen him fall, amid all that fighting? Raon opened his mouth to reassure him—Rumble, rumble—!“Ugh!”“...!”But there was no time. The tower was collapsing in earnest now. Raon seized Siwoo’s arm.“We’ll talk later—just go!”“Got it.”Siwoo nodded and immediately lifted him. No Guide could scale a tower like this alone, so the Espers carried their partners one after another, bounding up the tilting floors.Thud, crash, crack!They reached the top just in time. Raon confirmed that every last person had made it out, then exhaled a long breath.“Phew.”This Gate was one unpredictable nightmare after another. He’d expected Dasom to reawaken—but not Hamin, and not the tower itself collapsing under monster assault.What now?He forced himself to stay calm and organize his thoughts.Normally, they’d need to descend to find the next-stage portal hidden among the tower’s many rooms. But the tower was gone. That path no longer existed.Wait.To clear a Gate, all they needed was the core. And the core was almost always deeper—below the origin point where the tower had risen. Just like the alternate entrance where the Guides had fallen earlier.The problem was how to reach it.The Guide team had gotten lucky surviving their descent, but one wrong step from here could be fatal.Raon scanned the area. His eyes landed on Taegun among the Espers, looking sour after the chaos.“Hey, Nam Taegun.”“What?”As expected, his tone was prickly. But when he realized it was Raon calling him, his eyes went wide.“Can you track the core from here?”“What…? No, of course not.”“Figured.”Gate cores emitted a unique wavelength that Taegun’s ability could trace once within range—but they were still too far. That meant only one route remained: descend the same way the Guide team had.“Our team fell off the cliff earlier. We ended up entering the tower through another entrance.”“What? Are you serious?”“Yeah.”Taegun’s eyes widened. Since they’d met halfway through the tower, the claim made sense; he quickly accepted it.“So you want me to find a safe way down.”“Exactly.”“And how the hell are we supposed to get all these people down there?”“Hmm.”True—his team had been small enough to react quickly. The combat unit was another matter. If Espers of mismatched abilities tried to descend a cliff, someone was bound to die.Raon turned again, his gaze settling on Hamin—still fidgeting, uncertain of his place.“Guide Ha… min.”“Huh? Me?”He still wasn’t sure whether to call him Guide or Esper—but officially, Hamin was still a Guide, so Raon stuck with it.“Getting used to your ability yet?”“Um… not really.”“Think you can use it on other people?”“I—I’m not sure. I’d have to try…”He was clearly unsure, newly awakened and untested. Raon hesitated, thinking it through.But there were other Espers with similar telekinetic-type powers, and Dojin’s psychokinesis could supplement them. It might work.“If you split the load with the others, it should be manageable, right?”“Uh… maybe?”Hamin gave an awkward little smile. Taegun, overhearing, frowned sharply.“Hold up. What the hell are you talking about? Why’re you asking him that?”“Because I think Guide Hamin just reawakened as an Esper.”“What?”Taegun blinked, dumbfounded. Raon continued evenly.“Start looking for a descent route.”“Wait—”Ignoring him, Raon turned away. Even as someone who’d once read this world as fiction, he still found Hamin’s reawakening absurd—but the combat team’s confusion was none of his concern.The real problem was Dojin.In practice, command authority rested with the combat team’s leader. Dojin was the one who’d decide their next move. Whether he’d actually listen was the question.Determined, Raon brought Hamin along to report—but what he found instead was a shouting match.“Damn it! I told you we should’ve found the Guides first! What now, huh?!”Inho was yelling at Dojin. Yoonchae’s face was pale—she must’ve argued with him too. The team was in complete disarray.“What if something worse had happened while searching for them? Would you have taken responsibility?”“What?”“You followed orders without complaint back then—funny how that changes when things go south.”“You little—!”The air was about to ignite. Raon stepped forward quickly.“Excuse me, Team Leaders.”“Team Leader Han Raon.”Every head turned. Dojin’s teal eyes trembled—he’d clearly thought Raon was dead.Meeting his stare calmly, Raon spoke.“Arguing won’t help anyone. We need to focus on resolving this first.”“You have a plan, then?” Inho asked, already regaining composure.“Yes. When our Guide team fell from the cliff…”Raon explained everything. Inho and Yoonchae both nodded as understanding dawned.“I see. If the tower extended downward, the core might be beneath it.”“I agree.”Both of them seemed on board. All that remained was Dojin’s approval.But his face was hard as stone. Raon’s gut tightened.“Why didn’t you report to me the moment you returned?”“…What?”Of all times to nitpick that.Still, Raon swallowed his irritation. There was no time to argue. He bowed his head slightly.“My apologies. It won’t happen again.”And to be fair, Dojin wasn’t entirely wrong. The combat team must’ve split between continuing the offensive and searching for them. In a crisis, failure to report could’ve caused major disruption.That realization dulled his anger. What mattered was getting a decision.“Now that you’re back, have the Guide team begin immediate guiding. A lot of people’s levels have dropped.”“What’s your next move, then?”“As for your proposal—it’s too risky to approve.”“Risky?”Raon frowned. Dojin’s gaze shifted—toward Hamin, still fidgeting nearby.“A Guide using Esper powers? Never heard of that. You sure you didn’t hallucinate it after falling off the tower?”Raon let out a sharp laugh.So he wasn’t going to believe a word of it. He thought the whole thing was some illusion from the tower’s psychic field.Fine, then. He’d show him.“Guide Hamin.”“Y-yes?”“Use your ability here.”“H-here?”“Yes.”Hamin swallowed hard, nerves written all over his face. He couldn’t even look at Dojin. Closing his eyes tightly, he tried to focus.“Guide Hamin?”“T-the thing is…”Even after a long moment, nothing happened. When Raon finally called out again, Hamin opened his eyes, flustered.“I—I don’t think it’s working…”“What?”Raon stared at him, just as stunned.

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