By Zephyria 
The thumping sound grew louder and louder.
I instinctively moved my legs and ran wildly.
‘I need to find a place to hide!’
Judging by the sound, it was a monster.
It would be too much for me, a Guide, to deal with a monster alone. Besides, I was in the middle of a test to prove that I was a C-Class Guide, so it was right to avoid it first.
‘Damn it. I wish I had a weapon.’
I had fought with only a jackknife in the front lines, so I was very sorry that I didn’t have a weapon.
‘Did they give weapons to the Esper kids?’
Surely they wouldn’t be so heartless as to not give them weapons? Just because they handle natural abilities doesn’t mean they wouldn’t give them anything, right? Right?
‘If they had weapons, I could at least ask them for one to use.’
Damn it. Is a Guide supposed to live like this?
As I ran, making all sorts of calculations in my head, I saw a crack in the rock and hid in it. Then, I heard a scream from over there.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Get away, just get away!”
“What kind of Simulator Dungeon is this?!”
“Where is Yeon Yu-jin? What’s with this test site activating even though the test subject hasn’t entered?!”
…Huh?
“This voice…?”
I peeked my head out and saw four people running at full speed.
In order, Shin Tae-beom, Cha Si-yoon, Ra Ho-yeon, and Seo Yun-chae were running away, sweating profusely.
“Oh….”
Were they always such good runners?
Their legs were so fast that they were invisible. They must be running away desperately.
I shifted my gaze and saw a huge monster with a disgusting shape drooling and crawling at an insane speed.
I wondered why those A-Class Espers were so terrified and running away.
-Sheeeeeek! Sheeeek!
Was it because of that?
‘Oh, my eyes.’
The monster resembled a cockroach. I could see even the spiky hairs on its legs, and I almost threw up as soon as I saw it.
Even for me, who had been through thick and thin, this was a bit much.
‘Who designed this Simulator Dungeon monster?’
Did a developer have a grudge against cockroaches?
Who created such a vivid 4D representation?
‘Those evil Management Bureau bastards. I didn’t know they would create a monster that terrorizes the eyes.’
Even the fluttering of its wings was too perfect, making it horrifying.
I knew it was an artificial monster in the Simulator, but it was so disgusting that I wanted to give up the test and leave.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to ignore it for a moment.
-Sheeeeeek?
Oh, no.
The giant cockroach monster, which had been enthusiastically chasing the four chick Espers, stopped abruptly.
Then, it turned its head sharply in the direction I was in.
‘Ah… fuck.’
[I think it noticed you were here.]
Potato peeked its head out of my shirt pocket and muttered.
“Yeah. I think so too.”
-Sheeeeeeeeeek!
The cockroach monster chased me at full speed, as if not wanting to miss its delicious prey.
I ran without looking back.
Where to? Of course, to my current partners and fellow Secrety members.
As soon as they found me, their eyes widened.
“What! Where have you been?!”
Seo Yun-chae yelled as soon as he saw me.
“Be quiet. You’re just provoking that disgusting cockroach monster behind us.”
“Re… really?”
“Would I lie in this situation? The same goes for the others. Shut your mouths if you want to live.”
“Ah, okay.”
Seo Yun-chae and the other four Espers fell silent.
But I didn’t mean for them to go into complete silence.
I asked Ra Ho-yeon a question to gather information.
“When did you get in here?”
“When you went to room 1, we were immediately put into this Simulator Dungeon in room 5.”
Shin Tae-beom added, breathing heavily.
“They said that if we went in here in advance, you would come soon, and then the test would proceed. Damn it. That employee activated the Simulator Gate as soon as we entered.”
“What?”
Was he crazy? I was the one being tested, not these Esper guys who came along as extras?
‘If a mere employee of the Management Bureau did such a thing arbitrarily, it would be grounds for at least disciplinary action.’
If he was unlucky, he would be forced to rotate Dungeon Gates.
I couldn’t understand what he was thinking to cause such a mess. Was he making such a fuss just to catch me? That would be an overestimation of my importance, right?
While I was feeling puzzled, Seo Yun-chae next to me gritted his teeth, saying that he wouldn’t let that employee who activated the Dungeon go if he got out of here.
“I’m going to kill him. How dare he make me go through such hardship? I’ll never let him go, even if I have to use my family’s power.”
His burning desire for revenge was a good attitude. It was much better than being scared and running away.
“But why are you just saying you won’t let him go? You can just cooperate and defeat it now.”
Seo Yun-chae, who had been like an avatar of anger, shrank rapidly. It was pathetic.
“We tried… but it didn’t budge.”
“What?”
“Ra Ho-yeon used lightning, I used a pillar of fire, Shin Tae-beom used ice spikes, and Cha Si-yoon used a tornado, but it deflected them all with one solid wing.”
“…That’s strange.”
“What is?”
“The place where the employee from test room 5 sent me was a green Gate, a C-Class Gate.”
If it was a monster corresponding to a C-Class Gate, the Secrety members should have been able to handle it easily.
But the reality was.
-Sheeeeeeeeeek!
The enraged giant cockroach monster (rank: unknown) was chasing us at a terrifying speed.
Seo Yun-chae was surprised to hear my words.
I thought he would pay attention to the fact that the rank of the ferocious cockroach monster trying to eat us wasn’t C.
But that wasn’t the case.
“What? You only got a C rank?!”
“…Is that what you’re surprised about?”
“Of course! Leader Hyung, Shin Tae-beom, and Cha Si-yoon all expected you to get at least an A rank.”
So they weren’t blind.
I was about to praise them for their good judgment, but I stopped. What was the point when they were running away like crazy?
‘More than that, we need to deal with that monster.’
I could roughly guess its rank. If the A-Class Esper Secrety members couldn’t defeat it… then the only thing left was S-Class.
‘I’m really not going to let that employee go if I see him again.’
How dare a Management Bureau employee mess around with a test that’s supposed to prevent people from lying about their abilities?
This was an incident that needed to be formally protested to the Management Bureau.
‘Just you wait.’
[That’s the kind of line a villain would say.]
I was annoyed by Potato’s chattering above my head.
‘Shut up.’
While running, I asked the Secrety members, being careful not to bite my tongue.
“Weapons?”
“What?”
“Didn’t that damn employee give you weapons when you came in here?”
“He didn’t give us anything like that, Hyung.”
Cha Si-yoon answered, panting.
“…I guess the answer is already out since you’re still here. Did you ask them to let us out because the Gate settings seem to be wrong?”
Shin Tae-beom frowned.
“We tried. Of course, we did. But there was no response. We didn’t hear any answer.”
“What a crazy bastard.”
This was driving me crazy.
Did he have a grudge against Secrety? You son of a bitch. I’m really going to kill him if I get out of here safely.
He was supposed to be watching us during the test, but he didn’t give us any answers.
‘He’s definitely ignoring us on purpose. Crazy bastard.’
It meant that he had no intention of letting us out unless we cleared this Gate by any means possible. You son of a bitch.
‘What should I do?’
The opponent is an S-Class monster. On our side, there are four A-Class Espers and one SSS-Class Guide trying to hide his power.
To get out, I have no choice but to inject energy into the young Esper through Guiding.
But if I did Guiding like last time, it would be revealed that I’m not a C-Class. The situation was too bad to imitate a C-Class Guide and do Guiding. It wouldn’t make a difference to pour a spoonful of energy into a bathtub.
‘Ah, damn it. Should I change the plan to an A-Class Guide, even if it’s too much?’
…But I’ve already come too far. I kept adjusting the previous tests to show that I was a C-Class. If I suddenly got an A rank at the end, the Management Bureau would definitely become suspicious.
As I was worrying and running, Potato shouted at me.
[The terrain! Let’s use the terrain!]
‘What? What kind of terrain is there to use here!’
It’s a desert full of sand. All there is are a few worn-out rocks.
Despite my scolding, Potato insisted.
[No, there is! There’s more than one monster here!]