Free Web NovelChapter 486: Late Night Call
The day might have ended without any incident, but that didn’t lower Lane’s guard. Quite the opposite. As he returned to the Emerald Mansion after dinner at the restaurant to retire for the night, he was more on edge than ever.
They must have been assigned single rooms for a reason, after all. Something was almost guaranteed to happen at night. If not this one, then the next.
And for that reason, Lane decided not to sleep. In case there was an accident and the alarm ’malfunctioned’, with no one remembering that he was also in the hotel and had to be alerted to the situation. Or something along those lines. Skipping sleep for a few days wasn’t a big deal for an SS-rank Esper, so that seemed like the safest choice.
After a shower, he just threw himself on the bed and grabbed his phone. There was no Wi-Fi connection in the dungeon, not even in the Eldenveil, but he could still play offline games. It was enough to kill some time.
Not that he had all that much time to kill, as soon enough, he heard a knocking on his door.
’...Should I pretend to sleep?’ Lane glanced at the door, not moving an inch from the bed. Whatever it was, it was more likely to be a trap than anything else, so if he just ignored it...
But the knocking came again.
And again.
Each time louder.
The person on the other side seemed determined to drag him out. At this rate, Lane wouldn’t be surprised if they soon ended up breaking into his room with a spare key card...
So, eventually, he let out a sigh, turned off his phone, and dragged himself to open the door.
There was a member of the Allen Guild standing in front of his door. Eric was his name, if Lane remembered correctly.
Or maybe Travis, he wasn’t sure. He had gone through the list of all the Allen Guild members assigned to the Eldenveil, but he had only bothered to memorize the important ones.
And the guy in front of him clearly wasn’t anyone special.
"What is it?" he asked, lifting his brows. "I’m off duty now."
"Actually, everyone in the dungeon is supposed to be on stand-by at all times," Gavin, or whatever his name was, corrected him.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If that’s all, I’m going back to sleep." Lane attempted to shut his door, but as he did, he noticed that Tanner’s foot was lodged in the doorway.
It seems that the man had expected Lane might try to do that, and had stuck his foot in ahead of time. He gulped nervously as his eyes met Lane’s dark glare, but he still said (even if in a slightly shaky voice), "I need your assistance."
Lane clicked his tongue. "Can’t you find someone else?"
"I’m afraid I can’t."
"And why’s that?"
"Because there’s no other A-rank Esper who is available at the moment."
Lane went silent for a moment, looking the man up and down. Based on the badge hanging from his neck, he was an A-rank Guide. (And his name was Brian, so Lane hadn’t guessed correctly, as it turned out.) If what he was saying was correct - and it probably was. If it were a part of the Allens’ plan, they would make sure that there was no other A-rank Esper available, so that Lane wouldn’t be able to push the task onto them - then indeed it made sense for him to seek out Lane...
As a Guide, Brian wasn’t much different from a civilian in terms of strength, so if there was any task that required more strength, it made sense for him to ask an Esper for assistance. And depending on the task, a lower-ranking Esper might not be enough.
However, just because Lane was almost certain that everything had been set up in a way that would make it impossible for him to weasel himself out of this (other than straight out pushing Brian out and ignoring his request, which would likely lead to him getting punished afterwards), that didn’t mean he was going to follow the man without checking a few things first.
"And where are the other A-rank Espers supposed to be?" he asked, crossing his arms as he looked down at the man, his eyes cold. "As far as I remember, there were quite a lot of Espers from the Allen Guild assigned to the Eldenveil."
Brian shuddered under Lane’s gaze, feeling enormous pressure on his shoulders. If he had any other option, he would have turned back and asked someone from his Guild for help instead, but...
"They are on duty."
"All of them?"
"Yes. There was an alarm triggered near the Pine Inn, and they departed to scout the situation." freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Lane couldn’t help but roll his eyes.
A coincidence? He didn’t think so! It was practically screaming: ’It’s a trap!’
Not the alarm, of course. The fact that it set off not long before this Brian guy needed an Esper to assist him with something. It was nothing but a convenient way to make Lane the only person available.
Well, at least as far as A-rank Espers were considered. Which brought the second question,
"Does it have to be an A-rank Esper? Surely there are other B-rankers available, no?"
However, Brian shook his head. "B-rankers won’t do."
"And why’s that?"
"Because it concerns the monsters from the Lapis Lake. I’ve noticed unusual Mana fluctuations at the lake where they are currently held, and I need help in inspecting the cages."
Lane pressed his lips, drumming his fingers on the door.
So it was the Lapis Lake monsters. If so, then anyone below A-rank would be pretty much useless... Although the monsters were in the special cages that reduced the effects of their hypnosis ability, it wasn’t canceled entirely. B-rankers wouldn’t be able to withstand it for too long. If Brian brought a B-ranker with him, they would only become a burden rather than help him with anything...
But...
Lane’s eyes focused on the Guide in front of him.
If he were right about it, Brian would also end up being in trouble.
Still, knowing what the issue was, he had no way to refuse Brian’s request. Technically, it was a part of his duties. It was precisely for situations like this one that he was forced to stay in the dungeon overnight.
"Alright," eventually, he let out a sigh. "I’ll come with you. Let me just alert others first..."
"There’s no need to. I’ve already radioed our supervisor to inform him of the situation," Brian tried to protest, but Lane was stubborn.
"That’s nice and all, but I want to inform my teammates. Just in case."
"There’s no need for that. We’ll only be wasting time..."
"I insist. It won’t be long."
Brian hesitated for a moment. In the end, though, he said with a heavy sigh, "Fine. Just... do it quickly. I want to see you downstairs in five minutes."
"Sure thing." Lane nodded, his shoulders relaxing a bit. It seemed that whatever plan the Allens had made, the Guide wasn’t in on it. He was just a pawn who could be easily discarded, following the orders from his superiors.
That should make it a bit easier for him.
For now, though, he sprinted down the hallway, looking for Arlo and Cora’s rooms. He needed to at least tell the two where he was going, so that they would know to call for help if he didn’t return...
Also, if the Allens wanted to frame him later, saying that Lane had left the room on his own accord, they wouldn’t be able to.
