The Guide is Actually a Body-Switching Esper [BL]-Chapter 205: Recycled and Used

Not long after that, the whole world was swept by waves of unexpected, drastic changes.

First, people realized that the Gates and the spaces behind them - which people started calling ’dungeons’ - couldn’t be left untouched. If they were, that led to the monsters escaping them, in what was referred to as ’dungeon breaks’. Why and how this happened was still unknown, the timings of the dungeon breaks after the Gates’ appearances varied greatly, but the conclusion was one: the monsters in the dungeons had to be hunted down.

And so, the Awakened with combat abilities ventured into the dungeons to fight, frequently supported by military units armed with guns, at least in the early days, due to their low numbers. Through their enormous effort and sacrifice, they managed to bring the Gates under control, albeit fragile... And despite the countless casualties, the number of Awakened only grew, thanks to mass awakenings.

With the increased use of their abilities, however, some of the Awakened, or ’Espers’, started experiencing some side effects. That’s when the supporters - or ’Guides’, as they were now called, because of the effect their ability had on Espers - finally got their chance to shine. Thanks to their help, the rampaging Espers were brought under control (or, well, at least some of them...), and they could use their abilities once again, even more smoothly than before!

Naturally, the governments around the world quickly recognized their importance. How else were they going to control those immensely powerful Espers, some of which could literally rival an army, if not through the Guides? After all, what could the Espers do without them, other than to self-destruct? Thus, all the Guides were forced to enlist in the newly created Awakened Association, becoming a leash that kept the Espers under strict control.

While the government was plotting against the Espers, the Espers didn’t remain idle either. They started joining forces, creating so-called ’Guilds’. The largest of which was the Allen Guild, created by the Allen family. Thanks to their vast resources, which allowed them to quickly recruit a lot of Espers, as well as their own innate source of high-rankers - two S-rankers with fire abilities, one S-ranker with a powerful psychic ability that could make the monsters (and not only) cower before him, an A-rank healer, and the youngest ’high-ranker’ in the world, the heiress Nyla Allen, they grew in power at an overwhelming rate, leaving all the other Guilds in the dust. They also recruited scientists from various fields, trying to solve the mysteries of the dungeons...

And soon enough, it was discovered that the dungeons were true gold mines, with plenty of Mana stones and other materials that could not only be used to improve the efficiency of dungeon raids, but even in other areas, such as construction, agriculture, or healthcare... Which led to the Awakened businesses experiencing a boom.

***

’Even seemingly useless things could be recycled and used.’

It’s not like Lane had any other path left in life, right?

So he was ’allowed’ to join the new family business. ’For his own good,’ or so they claimed.

Perhaps so that he could finally end his miserable life.

Unlike what the Allens must have expected, though, Lane wouldn’t just die so easily. Despite being send to the dungeons, forced to fight monsters far too strong for someone with just some stupid physical enhancement, and with the rest of the team promptly ignoring him even when he was in danger, he somehow managed to crawl back alive.

Heh. That’s what they get for listening to his request once, and allowing him to train martial arts since he was a kid! They only did it so that Lane would learn some self-control, and stop getting in fights (even though it wasn’t exactly his fault. He had never hit anyone unprovoked!), but thanks to that, now he knew how to defend himself! Armed with two daggers, he desperately slashed his way through the dungeons.

And survived. Somehow. freeweɓnøvel.com

He had plenty of close calls, of course, and frequently returned with deep wounds, with his improved physique, and the guiding he received (which was something his parents couldn’t prevent, since all the Guides were sent by the government, to attend to every Esper taking part in a raid!), he was able to recover, so that hardly any scars remained.

Of course, he wasn’t the only one sent on the dungeon raids. His older cousin, Gia, who awakened as a B-rank Esper not long after, went as well, and so did Nyla. They rarely were on the same team though, as their parents didn’t want to risk Nyla taking pity on Lane, and helping him out. Both she and Gia were only there to train, and improve their strength, rise in ranks if possible. Surrounded by large, powerful teams to support them, their dungeon experience was vastly different than Lane’s.

Not that Lane cared. He was too preoccupied with his own survival to be concerned about the girls, too tired to even feel envious of their abilities.

He no longer cared about Diana either. While the woman ’visited’ the Allens a good few more times again, barging in like a sudden storm, only to vanish without a trace a moment later, it no longer had anything to do with Lane. He could never be like her, not with his powerlessness, and he wasn’t naive enough to try to seek her out and ask for her help. After all, what could he possibly offer her in return?

So, he just lived his life day by day, skipping school, going on dungeon raids, hanging out with Ava and his other friends (when he wasn’t too injured to get out of bed), and flirting with some random guys and girls...

How long could he go on like that, though? Lane didn’t know. Nor did he want to think about it. He just tried to enjoy his life to the fullest...

Since he was all too well aware that it could be extinguished at any moment. It was only a matter of time.