Chapter 186: Ch 186: Rift in the Sky - Part 1

"You are going to depart for the mission in 1 hour. Please make preparations for the same."

The command came from HQ, causing Alan and Daniel to nod absent-mindedly. The others were looking at them with envy and jealousy, regretting the fact that they were not the ones who were being put forward for this mission.

Or perhaps, they wanted to partner up with them during this mission. It was hard for Daniel to be able to tell other people’s emotions apart, nor did he wish to do so.

So he diverted his eyes away from the others and gave a bow to his commanding officer.

"We shall do as we have been ordered to."

Alan did not say anything as he stood beside him, and the command centre cut the connection off.

With this, their departure time had been set, and the final preparations were over.

However, just when Daniel was sure he would be left all alone, he felt the presence of other espers crowding him. Someone even tried to reach out and grab his hand, which disgusted him to no end.

He managed to dodge that assault by taking a step back, but his expression was anything but kind when he looked at the offending esper.

"Can I help you with anything?"

Daniel maintained a professional smile as he looked at the startled esper in front of him.

The esper coughed to regain his composure before he flashed Daniel a smile that he thought was charming.

"I am here to invite you to spend the next hour with me. You will be leaving soon, so don’t you want to have some fun before that—"

"Oh! What’s this? Is someone hitting on my guide already? Can I join the fun as well? I am bored as well."

Alan joined their side, and his presence standing behind Daniel discouraged the other espers. Even those that wanted to come closer ran away with their tails tucked away between their legs.

It was a familiar sight, but it never seemed to make Daniel feel tired.

"You scared them away."

Daniel complained, causing Alan to turn his blank eyes towards him. There was no light within those eyes, and the esper looked ready to lose it at any second.

"Would you rather have gone with those people over heading out? You can still leave. I don’t need you for this mission."

Alan pointed out, and Daniel almost took him up on this offer.

Truthfully, he wanted to stay back as well since working with Alan was mind-numbing. And it was not like Alan was eager to get guiding from anyone either. He had been managing on his own until now...

"Tsk, I cannot let you go alone. Noah would not want that. As much as I loathe spending time with you, this is something Noah had wanted, so I will do it for his sake. Just close your eyes and pretend I am not here."

Daniel was serious, and his eyes looked at Alan, challenging him to do something about him.

But Alan only turned around and gave up. He was too tired to argue with Daniel over this topic.

"Tsk, do what you want. But stop using Noah’s name for everything. One of these days, it won’t work with me."

He warned, but Daniel knew that it was not true. Noah’s name was something that was always going to work. With both of them.

Daniel looked outside with anxious eyes and clutched his chest. He did not know why, but he suddenly felt uneasy thinking about Noah.

’Noah, please be alright wherever you are. And I hope we get to meet again soon.’

For some reason, thinking about Noah made him feel thirsty. His throat felt parched, and Daniel wanted to sink his teeth into Noah’s neck and suck...

’Ugh, I am far too tired these days. I hope this mission finishes quickly and without trouble.’

...

"Doctor, the rift in the sky is getting bigger. Do you know what is happening?"

Noah looked unhappily at the rift in the sky before he let out a sigh. A dungeon was about to open in this village, and a large-scale one at that.

From the energy he felt around this space, it was surely going to be at least an A-grade dungeon.

None of the espers here would be able to handle it, and the casualty count would be large.

This was a crisis that was in the National Esper-Guide Association’s hands. He was sure that they wouldn’t ignore such a huge problem...

But a part of him still felt doubtful whether help would arrive in time or not.

After all, those people from the Esper-Guide Association were not the best when it came to public security or satisfaction. All they did was fulfil their work quota and not care a thing about their surroundings.

Noah knew that relying on the association would be the sensible thing to do.

He had spent enough time around espers and guides to understand that large-scale dungeons were not something a single person should attempt to handle, especially when the dungeon had yet to fully stabilise.

But there was something wrong with the rift.

He could feel it.

The energy gathering around the village was not simply overflowing from the dungeon. It was moving in a strange pattern, almost as if the rift itself was searching for something.

’Is it...even a real rift? It feels artificial...’

"Doctor, should we evacuate the village?"

The young guide standing beside him looked terrified, and Noah could not blame him. The other villagers had already begun gathering outside their homes, staring at the sky with confusion and fear.

Noah looked towards the distant rift again before shaking his head.

"Yes. Start moving everyone towards the western fields. Keep them together and do not let anyone wander off alone."

"But what about you?"

"I will stay here for now."

The guide looked like he wanted to argue, but one glance at Noah’s expression was enough to stop him.