The X Guide-Chapter 149: The Horror Under The Sea (11)

When Ayen woke up, he could already see the sky. He blinked, adjusting his mind. He rubbed his eyes, sat up, and yawned slightly.

He was still a bit sleepy, his eyes half-lidded and hair messy.

"Oh? Awake already?" Devion was the first person he saw and who greeted him. "Sleep some more if you’re still sleepy."

Ayen did not respond immediately. He blinked at Devion, who chuckled and pinched his cheeks.

"Khal?" he asked, not completing any sentence. Ayen was often lazy when sleepy, and that included not wanting to speak.

Devion could understand it.

"He just checked something." Devion brushed Ayen’s hair. He also began to fill in what happened over almost a day that Ayen was asleep.

Khal woke up an hour earlier than Devion, which was three hours after Ayen fell asleep. After sensing the situation outside, they decided to open the dome.

Sure enough, no vortexes or waves were bothering them. The other half of the sea was peaceful enough that they began to float around. The monster had not disturbed them yet.

The aftermath of their battle remained visible if one looked at the other side of the sea.

Ayen turned to it, expression devoid of any emotion.

"Grumpy, are we?" Devion was about to pinch his cheeks, but Ayen pursed his lips and slapped his hand. It was too gentle, though.

Devion laughed and stopped bothering Ayen, who was obviously still in dreamland. Ayen hugged the cover to himself and yawned.

"Ayen’s awake?" The water moved, and a head popped out. It was Khal. He swam and propped his arm at the glacier, looking at Ayen.

Ayen blinked at him, not giving a greeting. Or maybe it was already considered a greeting.

Khal smiled. "Only half awake then."

Both were familiar with this and so stopped bothering Ayen.

"What did you see?" Devion inquired. Ayen watched them, listening. His mind was actually awake, but he was still recharging.

His body refused to move.

"It’s deeper than I thought. I haven’t encountered anything yet."

Khal planned to gauge the depth of the sea and also find where the monster was hiding. Devion was left behind to protect Ayen.

The monster had not sent any of its minions, which were the vortex and waves. It seemed the fight had critically injured it and had gone into hiding.

"It’ll be troublesome if we let it recover." Devion had a bad feeling about this dungeon. It was best to clear it quickly.

The monster was obviously intelligent and even targeted Ayen for reasons unknown.

"I thought the same." Khal brushed his hair; water trickled down to his neck, then chest.

Ayen watched him, his eyes focused on the droplets that traveled to Khal’s chest. He merely blinked, not saying anything. Yet, he was so focused.

Lucky for him. Devion and Khal did not notice his hungry gaze.

Khal soon got into the glacier and dried himself soon after. He glanced at Ayen, seeing he still appeared listless, and sat by his side.

"What’s the plan then?" Devion asked. He opened a lunchbox and offered it to Ayen. It was preserved in the space artifact, so it was still hot.

Devion still preferred it to be freshly cooked, but inside dungeons, this was already a luxury. He had only prepared a few of these.

Ayen wordlessly accepted it and began to eat. The two knew that it would only need some time before Ayen fully became awake, at least, able to communicate with them.

"We searched for it. That monster is different from the ones we encountered. It’s best to eliminate it as soon as possible."

This was not a matter of dungeon break, either. The monster clearly showed interest to Ayen, and its appearance might have something to do with Ayen as well.

This dungeon emitted SS-class mana but was quite different from the dungeons they usually cleared. It lacked monsters, but more so, it had different rules.

Khal and Devion fought and cleared countless dungeons and continued doing so for over a decade; they were very familiar with certain rules.

Some was common knowledge to the world, while others they only found out for themselves. There were some unique cases, but none compared to this dungeon.

"This dungeon only contains one monster."

The SS-class monster.

They both realized this point. It meant that one monster controlled the whole dungeon. They were not certain if killing the monster would also completely clear this dungeon.

They only had to try. Otherwise, Khal needed to station some cleanup group here. Khal stopped worrying about that and focused on the present.

While the two were discussing, Ayen finished eating and cleanly put the cover of the lunch box.

"I can go inside Aegi’s paradise."

They called it as such; Aegi also never cared and agreed.

"I think I can activate it again." Ayen finally became awake after a meal. Of course, moving too much was not an option yet. He just wanted to lie down.

The two looked at him.

"Don’t worry. I’ll wait for you."

His presence would only hold them back. The battle might have even taken place underwater; Ayen was not too stubborn to insist on being with them if that was the case.

Furthermore, the monster seemed to have no use for him, and to not give it an opportunity, Ayen chose to step back. Also, there was one more reason.

The two stared at him and saw that he had already decided.

If Ayen did not suggest it, then Khal and Devion would persuade him instead. There was no way they would let Ayen appear in front of that monster again.

"We’ll finish it quickly," Devion assured him. Then, he narrowed his eyes as if he noticed something. "The reason you don’t want to come is that you’re lazy, or am I tripping?" This happened before.

Ayen averted his gaze.

Actually, more than holding them back, Ayen’s main reason was that he wanted to lie down and sleep.

"I’m right, aren’t I?" Devbion poked his cheek.

Ayen glared at him.

"I’m recovering so I can guide you again," Ayen reasoned, which made absolute sense, leaving Devion speechless.

The fact remained, though.

Khal, who already saw it through the first time, chuckled. There were times like this that reminded him Ayen had not truly changed much.

He was still the adorable but listless guide they met.