By Zephyria 
Gi-dam stood in the middle of a swarm of monsters, facing them down.
He plunged his blade into the neck of a monster lunging at him with its mouth wide open, and when another monster attacked from behind, he spun around instantly and kicked it away.
He had worried that it might be a bit too early to bring him to a Gate… but it seems that was an unnecessary concern.
Gi-dam, who until just a day ago had been unable to move due to muscle pain, dealt with the monsters nimbly, as if that had never happened. It was enough to make the worry that it might still be too much for him feel pointless.
“You fight well.”
“Huff… don’t just watch, huff… please help me a bit.”
“It’s only an E-Class Gate; do you really need my help?”
“You’re an S-Class, and you’re going to dump the Gate conquest on a Guide?”
“Alright. I’ll help out next time.”
Gi-dam sounded weak, but Vasily knew very well that he was more than capable of handling it alone, even without stepping in.
Having finished spectating, Vasily approached Gi-dam. Spotting a monster that was still breathing, he created a sharp shard of ice at his fingertips and cut its throat.
“It was going to die anyway, why bother using your ability?”
“The sound of its breathing was annoying.”
“Honestly, that personality…”
While Gi-dam clicked his tongue, Vasily looked down at him, scanning for any injuries.
Gi-dam was covered in smelly monster’s blood. Vasily knew it was inevitable since he fought relying on weapons without any abilities, but he didn’t like how the scent of monster’s blood masked Gi-dam’s own scent.
Suddenly, a drop of green blood on the corner of Gi-dam’s mouth caught his eye. Vasily spoke as he wiped the monster’s blood away.
“Be careful. It might get in your mouth.”
“Ah, thank you.”
A little bit on the skin would be fine, but if he ingested it or if it entered through a wound, there was no way Gi-dam’s body could withstand it. Moreover, Gi-dam was still in the process of recovering, so he had to be even more careful.
Catching his breath and wiping the sweat from his chin, Gi-dam looked quite exhausted. Just as Vasily thought it would be good to take a short break, he sensed a presence from deeper inside the Gate.
It was a new swarm of monsters that had appeared, drawn by the scent of blood. Seeing Gi-dam’s expression sour as he confirmed the ever-increasing numbers, Vasily spoke.
“I’ll handle those, so take a break for a moment.”
“Understood.”
Gi-dam snatched up Vasily’s offer and plopped down onto the ground.
A chuckle escaped Vasily at the sight of him lacking any tension even with monsters right in front of him. He wanted to strike up a conversation to probe how familiar Gi-dam was with Gates, but… to ensure his time with his Guide wasn’t interrupted, dealing with the monsters first was the priority.
Vasily slowly turned his head.
The four-legged black beasts prowling around to surround them had a very familiar appearance. They resembled the monster that had been attacking him on the day he first met Gi-dam. Though, of course, they were much smaller than that one.
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, doesn’t this bring back old memories?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t really…”
At the sign that he seemed to have forgotten even their first meeting, Vasily let out a regretful sigh. Since he lost his memories, there was no way he would know this.
Seeing the piles of corpses surrounding Vasily and Gi-dam, the monsters grew wary and hesitated to approach. It looked as though a long standoff would ensue, but fortunately, Vasily didn’t need to wait for the monsters to come to him.
A chilling frost mixed into the breath Vasily exhaled.
A faint wind starting from beneath Vasily’s feet spread in all directions. Small ice shards mixed into the air and began to flow among the monsters. The subtle current soon became a powerful blizzard that engulfed the monsters.
Beyond the sharply raging ice storm, the screams of the monsters echoed. As the gruesome sound of flesh being sliced and cries of pain grew louder, the white blizzard was gradually stained red.
“….”
Soon, the cries of the monsters vanished, and silence descended upon the Gate once again.
As the blizzard cleared, the corpses were revealed. Every single monster’s corpse was frozen white, with deep gashes left across their bodies.
Withdrawing his ability, Vasily looked down at his hands, which had turned cold, to check his condition.
The chill that had subsided after using his ability for a moment began to rise again. Brushing off the frost that had formed on his suit, he soon walked over and sat down beside Gi-dam.
“Are you alright?”
“With what?”
“Don’t you usually dislike sitting on the ground?”
Gi-dam spoke while glancing at the monster corpses scattered around.
Certainly, the soil tangled with blood and flesh was far from clean. Normally, he would never have sat in such a filthy place. But if it was beside Gi-dam, it didn’t matter at all.
“Haa…”
Vasily leaned his head on Gi-dam’s shoulder and let out a long sigh. Gi-dam flinched as he felt the silver hair brushing against his shoulder, but soon realizing that Vasily was receiving guiding, he quietly held his breath.
The moment he touched Gi-dam, the chill that had been leaking from inside his body vanished instantly. Instead, a warm wavelength flowed in, swirling through his entire body.
But it was still not enough. He wanted to touch him more. He wanted to pull Gi-dam into an embrace, swallow those soft lips, and lock even his breath completely inside himself.
Feeling the insufficiency, Vasily leaned in with more weight, prompting Gi-dam to push him away, feeling the heaviness.
“Ugh, stop… you’re heavy.”
“Just a moment… I’ll stay like this for a little longer.”
Vasily murmured, refusing to let go of the arm wrapped around Gi-dam’s waist.
To be able to receive guiding immediately after using his ability. In an environment like this, he felt he would gladly accept conquering Gates without rest all year round.
He was envious of the version of himself who had spent six years with Gi-dam.
If Gi-dam hadn’t regressed, the current Vasily would have been able to enjoy these same moments. He could have received proper guiding from the start, entered and exited Gates with Gi-dam, and received guiding whenever he wanted.
But the current Vasily could not. Because the regressed Gi-dam had implanted a suppression chip in the back of his neck, it had taken a long time for Vasily to even realize who his Guide was.
He almost felt angry at Gi-dam for hiding everything, but whenever he received guiding from him, the anger vanished in an instant. It couldn’t be helped. In the face of such warm heat, who could possibly keep their thorns up?
“Guide Kwon Gi-dam, when do you think your memories will return?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Try to remember quickly. There are so many things I want to ask you.”
He whispered, rubbing his head against Gi-dam’s shoulder. Gi-dam’s gaze wavered as if he wasn’t used to Vasily’s behavior, and this time, he pushed him away firmly.
“Please get up now. Your condition doesn’t seem that bad, so this should be enough guiding.”
“A little more.”
“If we linger here any longer, it’ll take more than a day to conquer the Gate. Just get up quickly.”
At Gi-dam’s urging, Vasily had no choice but to detach himself and stand up.
After that, there were a couple more short battles. Since both were small in scale and the monsters were weak, Vasily simply watched from behind, leaving them to Gi-dam.
As if proving that they had gone to Gates together for six years, Gi-dam dealt with the monsters perfectly. He knew exactly where to stab to pierce through thick hide and how to cut off a monster’s breath in one go.
Of course, it might have felt that way because the monsters of a low-rank E-Class Gate were essentially just oversized beasts. In that case, perhaps he should take him to a higher rank next time to verify.
The smile on his lips didn’t disappear throughout the conquest. It wasn’t a face he put on to break down Gi-dam’s guard, but a smile that came from the heart.
“Is it over already…”
Vasily murmured in a regretful voice.
Now, only the final monster of the Gate remained. He was genuinely disappointed that the scale was small because it was a low-rank Gate. This was the first time he had hoped that the conquest would not end.
Regardless of his regret, today’s Gate conquest was very satisfying. If he could go to Gates alone with Gi-dam like this every time in the future, he might actually look forward to the time that used to be nothing but boring.
Despite the short conquest time, his body felt heated. Watching Gi-dam defeat the monsters one by one, he had been feeling an inexplicable thirst for a while.
Ah, I can’t stand it any longer. Should I try to receive guiding first thing as soon as we return?
He recalled Gi-dam trembling in fear when he had attempted guiding last time, but that alone could no longer stop Vasily.