99 Percent Love

Even someone as oblivious as Rion couldn’t help but feel hurt at this point.

When Rion lowered his head silently without saying anything, Yuwon covered his face with a hand and spoke.

“I respect you, Rion.”

But it was already too late – an empty gesture that was worse than saying nothing at all. After several failed attempts at conversation, all of which ended the same way, even Rion couldn’t suppress his anger anymore.

Without bothering to hide his expression, Rion stood up and walked to his tent. He was both angry and embarrassed after being rejected so many times, making it unbearable to be around Yuwon any longer.

“Um, Yuwon…”

The rest of the group exchanged awkward glances, unsure of what to do. Even Yuwon seemed a bit surprised.

“Just to ask seriously… You don’t dislike Rion, do you?”

“No.”

The answer came without a moment’s hesitation. Of course, it would be strange if he openly said that he disliked him, but then why did he act like that?

“Maybe you’re just shy? Are you nervous or something?” 

Seoha suggested, trying to give Yuwon the benefit of the doubt and calm him down.

After a short hesitation Yuwon nodded.

“Yes.”

“There’s no reason to be so nervous. Our centre has a pretty good atmosphere and Rion is really a great person, you know? He might be a bit upset right now, but he’ll probably forget all about it after a good night’s sleep.”

“If you just apologise for being nervous and explain that it’s not because you don’t like him or feel uncomfortable around him, he’ll cheer up in no time and act like it never happened”.

Rion had quite a temper, but the speed at which his anger subsided was just as fast.

Almost everyone had been scolded by Rion at some point, but he never got angry for unreasonable reasons, and he always made up with them quickly, maintaining good relations afterward.

“I was once scolded by Rion for letting a monster pass by because I wasn’t paying attention. I cried my eyes out, but he didn’t hold a grudge. He even apologized later, saying he’d been too harsh, and everything was fine after that.”

“I got yelled at once, too. I left the shelter without thinking of getting some water and it almost turned into a disaster. But Rion acted as if nothing had happened and started talking to me normally soon after. It’ll be the same this time.

Everyone told their stories of being scolded by Rion to calm Yuwon down.

Yuwon listened to their stories, neither laughing at their anecdotes nor worrying about what to do. He just stayed calm and listened to them.

That night, after the night watch had been assigned, everyone except the first watch took turns to finish their conversations and finally returned to their respective tents.

***

“Rion, are you still upset?”

“I don’t know.”

Juchan cautiously tested the waters as Rion walked towards the cave to face the boss. Rion’s face was still visibly upset.

“I asked him about it last night and he said it was because he was nervous. Don’t take it too hard, Rion.”

“Who said I was taking it too hard?” 

Rion snapped, glaring at Joochan.

To be honest, he was annoyed, but he didn’t want to admit it. Still, after being rebuffed several times, he couldn’t help but show his frustration.

That was why he had gone back to his tent last night, afraid he might lose his temper if he stayed any longer. But it wasn’t long before Rion began to regret his actions.

I should have held back.

It was ridiculous to think that he’d reacted so petulantly just because a rookie guide, who’d been with the team for less than a week, was a little shy and a little aloof.

Though he managed to swallow his frustration and avoid exploding, the simple fact that he had left the scene in silence had been enough for everyone to realise that he was upset.

“Do you think I’m a child? Or a fresh recruit who just joined the centre? As if I’d sulk over something like that.” 

Rion said, trying to brush it off with a forced laugh.

Yeah, what’s the point of getting angry? Sure, Yuwon seemed to be avoiding him a bit, but it wasn’t like he was being outright rude. Things would probably improve in time.

Rion forced himself to think positively as he went deeper into the cave. Even though Juchan had used his abilities to light a fire, the place was still dark and damp.

“Still, why is the Gate Chief in a place like this? Ugh… It’s so dark and damp – it’s disgusting.”

“When have monsters ever chosen nice places for us? Remember the last time? We even had to go to an underground dungeon.”

“Yes, but I still hate it. I can’t help it-oh!”

Fwoosh!

With a short gasp from Joochan, flames flared behind Rion. A small monster that had lurked in the darkness and targeted Rion let out a shriek as it burned.

“You missed that one, huh? Still distracted, aren’t you?”

“I told you, I’m not. Light it up a bit more – I can’t see clearly.”

“Got it.”

As Joochan increased the number of flames, the cave became slightly brighter.

At that moment, Seoha screamed.

“What is that?”

“See? There’s always a reason for strange places like this.” 

Rion said as he looked around and quickly switched to battle mode. What they had thought were parts of the cave walls were actually clusters of small monsters clinging to the surface.

“It’s going to be hard to burn them all down. Seoha, can you handle it?”

“I can, but I’ll probably collapse from exhaustion right after…”

“Then forget it. I’ll take care of the boss. You take care of these things. And Joochan, you’re with me.”

Rion’s well-rehearsed commands made Seoha and Joochan nod in agreement.

“Look for any stragglers Seoha missed.”

“Yes, yes!”

After assigning roles even to the B-rank Esper, Rion took a deep breath.

Normally, just entering this cramped, damp and filthy room would have been enough to drain his energy, but with proper guidance, this time was different.

“Let’s go.”

Rion turned his back on Seoha and began to run. At his signal, Seoha began to freeze the clusters of small monsters that covered the walls.

Even though she had only been in the role for six months, Seoha was experienced enough to trust his back. Confident in her abilities, Rion ran further into the cave without hesitation.

“I knew it would be like this…”

“Yes, caves are basically the perfect environment for this kind of thing.”

Finally, they arrived at the boss’s lair. The two of them exchanged a few words as they looked at the boss, a huge bat-like creature hanging upside down.

In the world within the gate, the environment was often affected by the boss. Even though they had expected something like this, it was still an unpleasant sight.

“I’ll tear off its wings first, so burn it immediately.”

“Understood.”

As if understanding their words, the boss monster that had been resting with its eyes closed suddenly opened its blood red eyes.

Rion, who had jumped from Joochan’s shoulder, leapt into the air. As the boss spread its wings, Rion used the wind to rip them from its body.

“Kiieeeek!”

The deafening scream echoed through the cave, loud enough to make their ears feel like they were about to burst. But Joochan remained unfazed, calmly following Rion’s instructions.

With its wings burned, the creature’s movements were effectively restricted. Removing the wings of a flying monster made the rest much easier. It stung a little to admit it, but Rion, in his optimal state, truly felt like he was soaring as he dealt with the boss.

Although he used his abilities more extravagantly than usual, which made him a bit tired, he thought he could just get more guidance from Yuwon later…

“Ah!”

“Rion!”

“I’m fine! Just concentrate on your side!”

Momentarily distracted, Rion let a sudden spike graze his cheek, snapping him back to attention. He quickly reminded himself that killing this creature was the priority – he could deal with everything else, including talking to Yuwon, later.

“Damn, its neck is tough!”

Not long after, Rion managed to cut the boss’s neck. Knowing that some monsters moved even after being decapitated, he carefully confirmed its death before finally breathing a sigh of relief.

“How long has it been – about a day longer than expected?”

“Yeah. If we’d pushed through without sleeping, we might have broken the record.”

“Forget it. Records will be broken eventually if we just keep at it.” 

Rion said, wiping the blood from his cheek. He briefly worried if the spike had been poisoned, but was relieved when it didn’t seem to be.

“Are you all right?”

“Seoha’s collapsed from exhaustion, but otherwise we’re fine.” 

B-rank Esper Yejin said as she patted the exhausted Seoha who was sprawled on the dirty ground.

“I feel like I’m going to die…” 

“Let’s go. With an S-rank guide, you’ll recover in no time, so don’t worry.” 

Rion said, picking up the limp Seoha effortlessly. Seoha, dangling in the air, mumbled weakly.

“Right… Still, having an S-rank guide is a godsend. A saviour, really. So, Rion, let it go and stop being angry.”

“I’m not angry. What would I gain by being angry with a twenty year old rookie who hasn’t even been here a week?”

“Good to hear.” 

The four of them quickly made their way back to the campsite. The first to come out was Jisoo, her face full of worry.

“What happened to Seoha?”

“She pushed herself to the limit, trusting the S-rank guide to take care of the recovery…”

“Ah, Yuwon! Yuwon! We need your help here!”

Jisoo ran into the tent to call for Yuwon and a short time later Yuwon appeared, being pulled along by her.

“…”

Yuwon’s eyes widened slightly before his expression hardened into a frown.

“Sit her down for now.”

Yuwon took Seoha’s hand and began to lead her. Feeling the effects of S-rank guiding for the first time, Seoha visibly relaxed, her body going limp as her face softened with relief.

“Was the situation inside complicated?”

“No. I just wanted to get things done quickly, so I left the rear to Seoha. Still, it was my first gate with my matching guide, so I thought we should finish it quickly and make a grand return.” 

Rion said with a laugh, as if nothing had happened the day before.

“Now you see why they call this guy the strongest esper in Korea, right?” 

The cut on his cheek stung a little, but it was hardly worth mentioning.

Yuwon, quietly concentrating on transferring the guiding energy to Seoha, glanced at Rion before lowering his head again.

“…Not much to it.”

“What?”

Did I hear that wrong?

Rion blinked and looked around. But when he saw the others – even Seoha, who was being guided – sitting up and staring at Yuwon in shock, it became clear that he hadn’t misheard.

“If being so focused on killing the boss that you don’t even realise you’re hurt and coming back injured makes someone the strongest Esper, then being the strongest Esper doesn’t seem like much.” 

At that moment, Rion’s last shred of hope, his attempt to see Yuwon as a decent human being, was completely shattered.