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The F-rank stamped on Mydei’s ID card might as well treated like a biohazard symbol. While normal guide awakened could soothe distressed mind with a touch, his energy triggered madness. Just one tap of his supposed healing mana and the esper became thirsty for blood and fight until they perished.
So naturally, nobody called him for therapy.
Fortunately, Mydei had a good combat affinity. He was strong, could use many types of weapons and known to go on-par with B-class physical esper. And for a guide, he had insanely fast regeneration rate. His wound healed in matter of second, made him harder to kill. It made him suited more in battle than behind the scene.
So, that was Mydei did.
He went into dungeon after dungeon as a fighter to get enough money for his family. He lived with his mother, Gorgo. They were never starving but surviving in a society run by superpowered elites meant constantly scraping to get by. Thus why, Mydei did everything necessary to keep his mother safe and comfortable.
Even if it meant he had to use his almost indestructible body as a meatshield.
That day, Mydei went on a B-rank dungeon raid. By the moment he crossed the police line to gather in front of the ripped air, he started to hear the usual scorn.
"Is that the infamous guide? The freak who drives people crazy?"
"Yeah. He's the broken battery."
"Haha, broken battery. But seriously, how does a support fail at the one thing he’s built and still strutting like peacock?"
"He's shameless, that's why. I heard he's a good fodder so let him open the way for us."
Mydei ignored it all. He used to it already. He only there for the cash, not to find friends. And importantly, Mydei already had team that always watch after his back.
Hephaestion who looked vulnerable with his lean figure was actually the A-rank physical esper.
Ptolemy who remembered a lot of dungeon characteristics and dubbed as monster encyclopedia was A-rank guide who spent his time in the rear than the front.
Peucesta was also A-rank esper who always the calm one but upon enraged, he could easily break someone's spirit with a single pluck of string.
Leonnius, the fastest despite his big muscles, was A-rank guide who easily ease someone down with a tap in shoulder.
Perdikkas, who was always fussing over others like a dedicated guide was actually another A-rank esper with high earth elemental affinity.
And of course, Mydei himself, the center of the team for his calm demeanor but fast decision making.
They were all from Kremnos and had been friends long before the awakening. Thus why, Mydei could only smile when he reached his circle, who already waited near the gate.
Perdikkas was first to approach Mydei and adjusted the straps on Mydei’s chest guard.
"Hold still, your armor is crooked. And if that loudmouth over there doesn't shut up, I’m splitting the earth under his feet and burying him to the chin," Perdikkas grumbled, already feeling angry for his taciturn friend. "Did you eat breakfast? You look pale, Mydei."
"I'm fine. And don't do anything. Not worth it."
"Nah, the reaction will worth all the trouble. Let me at 'em," Hephaestion chimed in. "I’ll just poke him. Gently. Just a little spine-shattering nudge."
"Don't," Mydei warned, "we need the number, Heph."
"But statistically speaking, eighty-four percent of idiots who talk trash outside a portal end up as monster chow within twenty minutes," Ptolemy muttered without looking up from his tablet. He shoved his glasses up his nose, scrolling through pages of data. "Also, according to the report, the dungeon boss is a Flame-Spine Boar. It has a blind spot right under its left tusk. I'll get you guys fire resistant potion so drink it before the final area."
"Can you buy a muzzle for Heph from the equipment store while you're at it?" Leonnius grinned, peeking into Ptolemy's tablet. "I think we'll need it before he starts to throw venomous words everywhere. Broken morale is much harder to heal than cracked legs."
Before Hephaestion could snap at him, Leonnius casually pressed his palm onto the shorter's shoulder. A wave of soothing energy washed over Hephaestion, wiping the murder lust from his eyes.
"Hey! Stop doping me with your guiding, Leo! I want to be angry!"
"Keep your anger for the monsters, Heph," Leonnius smirked. "Look, learn from Peucesta."
Off to the side, Peucesta sat on a crate, calmly tuning a lyre in silence. He only looked up when his name wad called, smiling serenely which somehow just dropped the temperature lower.
"That smile is suspicious." Hephaestion whispered, earned a meek nod from Leonnius.
"Yeah, let's stop poking the sleeping lion."
Mydei sighed, clapped his hands to get the team's attention.
"Alright, chit-chat is over," Mydei said. "we're here for the paychecks so let's not stir any problem and focus on eliminating the boss. Let's move in."
Inside the gate, the Kremnos crew moved with perfect coordination.
Hephaestion blurred into the vanguard, his deceptively thin fists hitting with the force of artillery shells. Whenever a stray monster bypassed him, Perdikkas slammed his palms into the ground, invoking earthen walls to box and crush them. From the rear, Ptolemy didn't even look up from his data pad, barking out coordinates.
Leonnius was a guide but he knew how to use bow, protecting the rear where he and Ptolemy held the last defense while Peucesta’s strings hummed a deadly vibration that paralysed the enemies.
At the center of the chaos, Mydei redirected the flow with a simple tilt of his spear or a curt shout. It was tough battling against the horde of monsters. Most of the other teams retreated after losing one or two members while the Kremnos kept pushes forward until they were the only one reaching the last area. They didn't lose the momentum and continued to lead the carnage until the dungeon boss collapsed into a mountain of dissolving ash.
"Easiest paycheck of the month," Leonnius said, already holding hands with Hephaestion and Perdikkas to ease their mana flow. The team was resting, already talking about what to eat for dinner.
But suddenly, they heard a noise. The sky was torn wide open, black fissures across empty space. A suffocating gravity dropped the entire team to their knees, the pressure crushing the oxygen right out of their lungs.
A holographic window glitched into existence before Mydei’s eyes, flashing in bloody red than the usual blue.
[CRITICAL ERROR: SYSTEM MALFUNCTION]
[Spatial Interface Ruptured. Anomalous Entity Entering Zone.]
[Recalibrating Dungeon Tier... B-Rank —> SS-Rank]
[Warning: Escape is locked until termination of the Calamity.]
From the tear, a nightmare flew out to the light. Thick, obsidian scales with deep purple eyes and metallic wings spread wide. It was a dragon, a gigantic one.
"You've got to be kidding me," Ptolemy choked out, his glasses cracking from the pressure.
"We can't let it punch through the portal," Mydei gritted his teeth as he forced himself to stand. "If this thing hits the surface, the civilian sectors will be a graveyard before the Association can even deploy an defense squad. We hold it here!"
And they tried.
They gave their everything.
Perdikkas conjured a fortress of solid rock, but the beast exhaled a white-hot plasma melting the stone into liquid. The blowback sent Perdikkas flying into a tree, his body going limp as he hit the ground.
"Perdikkas!" Hephaestion went full output, veins bulging on his temples as he launched himself at the beast's snout, throwing a punch that should have shattered a mountain.
Crack.
But the dragon didn't even blink.
Hephaestion’s knuckles only left a small dent against the scales. With a swipe of tail, the dragon batted him away like a fly, sending him crashing beside Ptolemy, who was already unconscious from the suffocating beastly aura.
Peucesta tried to play a defensive chord, but the dragon let out a deafening roar that shattered the instrument strings, the sonic backlash knocking the musician out cold.
Leonnius charged through the smoke, trying to drag his teammates away from danger, but the heat radiating from the beast burned through his armor, dropping him to his knees before he could even reach any.
Within minutes, Mydei was the only one left on his feet.
The dragon's claws tore through his torso, spilling crimson across the stone. But Mydei’s regeneration worked immediately. His flesh was torn and burnt but his cells multiplying at hyper-speed rate and his skin knit back together almost instantly, bones snapping back into alignment before the blood could even dry.
Mydei's breathing was ragged, his hands trembling around the hilt of his spear. His body kept healing, but his stamina was scraping the bottom of the barrel and the pain made tears streamed down his cheeks uncontrollably. He looked at his battered, unconscious friends then up at the towering destruction looming over him.
His spear felt impossibly heavy. For the first time in his life, Mydei realised the huge gap of power and felt the icy grip of despair. He couldn't win. He couldn't protect his precious friends. But he couldn't just give up here. At least, he could buy some times before the wounds were catching up to his healing rate.
So, Mydei gripped on his spear, tightly, silently begging the universe for a miracle as he struck more pointless attack.
And miracle did came.
When the dragon lunged at Mydei, a blinding flash of golden light intercepted the beast's fangs and throwing the dragon across the area, breaking trees and ground along.
Standing between Mydei and death was a man with stark silver hair and cyan oculi that brighter than sky. He smiled after effortlessly holding back primordial strength with a single greatsword.
Mydei knew him. In fact, no one in the world unaware of his identity. He was Kephale. One of S-rankers who could enter a locked dungeon at ease. He was also known as the strongest esper, a famous VIP that Mydei ever saw on the TV than in person.
With his left hand casually resting on his hip, the newcomer swiped his fingers through the air, bringing up a floating blue status screen. His eyes skimmed the data, stopping on Mydei’s profile.
"An F-rank... guide?" Kephale murmured. He looked over his shoulder at Mydei, who was currently spitting out a mouthful of blood as his shredded stomach hastily knit itself back together. "Well, aren't you a tough little cookie? Hanging onto life against an SS-tier calamity. Good boy. You did great holding the line."
Mydei clenched his jaw. With the smirk on Kephale's lips, the praise felt less like a compliment and more like someone patting a stray dog on the head for not dying in a ditch.
"Drop that empty praise," Mydei wiped blood off his chin and forcing himself up. "Unless you came here just to read my resume."
Kephale released a bark of laughter. "I'm saving your life, Mydeimos. Try saying thank-you next time."
"Then try to actually save me. The lizard is getting annoyed."
The moment the beast roared back to its feet, the bickering dissolved into perfect rhythm.
Mydei used his durability to become the ultimate decoy. He sprinted directly into the danger zone, drawing the monster's aggro. A massive claw slammed into him, breaking three ribs, but as he stumbled back, his hyper-regeneration already snapped the bones back into place.
"Left flank is wide open!" Mydei yelled.
"Already there," Kephale answered with ease.
The S-ranker used Mydei's distraction to blur into the blind spot. The glowing greatsword cut a deep, burning arc across the dragon's neck. Black blood splattered from the wound.
When the monster whipped its tail in frenzy to crush Kephale, Mydei was already there. He was ready to throw his entire weight into the path of the blow, absorbing the brunt of the shock so Kephale didn't have to break his offensive stance.
It was seamless. They moved in total sync. One tanking the impossible damage, the other delivering fatal attack in that small margin of chance.
Finally, Kephale leaped high into the air. His blade gathering a blinding vortex of golden energy and he brought the weapon down, splitting the dragon's skull cleanly in two.
The colossal beast grunted before it crashed onto the cavern floor, kicking up a cloud of dust as final retaliation.
Mydei let out a deep sigh as the dragon didn't show any sign of movement and slowly dissolved into black ash. He turned on his heel, about to sprinting over to the rubble where his team lay on the dirt. But before his boots could ever reach anywhere close, a painful groan halted the steps.
A heavy thud then echoed behind him. Kephale had dropped to his knees. The brilliant golden light that had previously cut through the monster didn't fade but began to bleed out of his skin. The S-ranker’s chest heaved violently, his fingers clawing deep into the ground as his own power turned on him.
He suffered mana overload, a dangereous overexertion that turned an esper into a nuclear bomb.
And Kephale was not ordinary esper. If the core of his immense power detonated, the spatial shockwave would easily tear the dungeon to shreds and the sector outside the rift would easily collapsed into a sinkhole.
Mydei threw a frantic glance toward the rear, to Leonnius and Ptolemy. However, neither of the high-tier guides were waking up in time to defuse any rampaging mana flow.
That left him. An F-rank glitch whose energy sent espers into a homicidal frenzy.
It was a gamble.
But a rampaging, bloodthirsty S-ranker was something he could theoretically outrun or fight. Meanwhile, an extinction-level mana bomb wasn't.
Mydei changed his direction and stepped straight into the swirling vortex of Kephale’s power. It was heavy, the aura alone made it so tough to keep forward.
But Mydei didn't stop there, even when the heat from the uncontrolled aura hissed violently against his skin. His armor warped at the edges, his exposed flesh literally began to sizzle. His hyper-regeneration fought back, peeling away the dead tissue and weaving new cells in a frantic cycle of excruciating repair.
Ignoring the agonising pain, Mydei lunged forward and grabbed Kephale's shoulder. He tried to force his own chaotic mana, attempting a standard physical contact.
Nothing happened.
The skin-to-skin channel was too weak. The manic golden energy repelled his efforts, throwing off sparks that sliced clean through Mydei’s cheeks.
"HKS," Mydei grunted.
If the standard pathways were blocked, he needed a direct, high-absorption shortcut. Mucous membranes.
Yanking the silver-haired man’s head back, Mydei slammed his mouth down onto Kephale's, forcing a deep connection by pushing his tongue past the trembling lips.
Mydei poured his defective energy straight into the elite esper's mouth. He braced his legs, waiting for the backlash or worse, pain from a violent esper looking for fresh blood to spill.
But the expected rejection never came.
Instead, the wild golden aura around them calmed down. The pressurized dome cracked and the heat slowly dropping into a comforting chill. Kephale’s frantic breathing hitched against Mydei’s lips.
The core stabilized and what followed was something out of Mydei's calculation. Kephale’s cyan eyes dropped into a half-lidded one, almost like he was intoxicated. The hands that had been digging into the dirt suddenly shot upward, wrapping around Mydei’s waist. Before Mydei could even think about pulling away to check the vitals, the dynamic flipped. The silver-haired man threw his weight forward, driving Mydei flat onto his back against the ground.
Kephale hadn't gone berserk. He had gone ravenous.
He grabbed Mydei's chin and tilted the blond head back, crushing their lips back together. Kephale’s tongue slid inside, tracing the roof of Mydei's mouth. Mydei let it happened, pouring his mana whilst meeting the lick with his own, tangling together to deepen the connection. Every slide of their tongues felt dizzying, sending a foreign heat straight down Mydei's spine. It didn't make it easier with how Kephale started to grind his hips against Mydei. The friction was too stimulating that desire started to corrupt the mind.
Kephale broke the kiss, panting into Mydei's face as he entangled his fingers deep into Mydei’s hair.
"What... what did you just do to me?" Kephale muttered before he went low, pressing a kiss on Mydei's throat. He peppered kisses along Mydei's neck, his teeth caught the skin in a desperate attempt to draw more energy. "You taste soo sweet. I need more. Please, open up again. Give me more of it."
Mydei wedged his forearms against Kephale’s broad chest, slightly pushing him away. The pleasure was tempting but his mind steered back to the reality.
"You’re stabilising, so stop." Mydei said. He tilted his chin away from the oncoming onslaught of kisses. Kephale looked at him like he was banned from the treat he liked. The cyan eyes, which looked smug earlier turned droopy with lips protruding childishly, almost pathetic and shoving away all the charisma the elite esper was exuding dozen minutes ago.
"But I still need more. Please? Guide me."
Mydei was this close to lose against the kicked puppy-like expression but his rationality pulled him back.
"Look around." Mydei said as he gestured to Kephale's back with his chin. "We're still in dungeon and my crew is literally bleeding out in the dirt. Start the evacuation so you'll get a proper guiding."
Kephale let out a heavy sigh, burying his face into the crook of Mydei's neck and inhaling deeply before he finally relented.
"Fine." He dragged himself up and reluctantly opened his dimensional inventory and pulled out a communication item.
"This is Kephale," he said into the device, sounded calm and professional, "SS-class anomaly eliminated. Send in the medical vanguards and clean-up crews immediately. We have casualties."
Within ten minutes, a swarm of white-uniformed medics flooded the area. They immediately evacuating the Kremnos team. Mydei stood to the side, his shredded shirt showing the last traces of his skin healing over from the burns.
Kephale walked closer to Mydei. He leaned in close, his voice dropping so low that the surrounding personnel couldn't overhear.
"You better keep your promise, Mydeimos. I'm picking you up tomorrow so rest well." With a smile, the S-ranker turned on his heel and strolled out of the area.
Mydei ran a thumb over his bottom lip, feeling a cut he didn’t remember getting. He didn't dwell on whatever vague promise the guy was delusional about but his mind had one question lingered in his mind:
(Why did my power work properly on Kephale?)
The soundproof doors of the penthouse clicked shut behind Kephale's back. He sighed deeply, running a hand through his damp silver hair as he kicked off his combat shoes.
From the open kitchen, a blond haired man with identical facial feature with Kephale looked up, setting down a steaming porcelain cup on the counter.
"Welcome back, Phainon."
"I'm home, Khaslana." Phainon dragged his steps further in, sat on the stool and flopped his upper torso on the counter.
"Saw the news about the SS-class rupture. Rough, huh?" Khaslana asked, ruffled Phainon’s silvery hair gently.
"Yeah. So tired," Phainon murmured, took a sip of the warm tea. He let the taste seeped in before a grin spread across his face. "But it was worth it. I found him. Our fated guide."
A mocking snort echoed from the living room couch.
Another identical face, with a shade of hair that looked paler even compared to Phainon's. He leaned back against the leather cushions, tossing a throwing dagger casually in the air and catching it by the hilt.
"Give it a rest, Phainon. That’s your fifth 'miracle match' this year alone. Let's review, shall we? Number three coughed up blood then went on comatose state and number four is still in a specialized psych ward because your wavelength nearly liquefied his brain. No one can guide us."
"This one is different, Neikos!" Phainon insisted, slamming his teacup onto the counter. "I went into a mana overload state. I was a second away from detonating. But he stepped straight into the barrier and made the connection."
The flipping of Neikos’s dagger abruptly stopped and Khaslana also turned his attention to their youngest.
"And?" Khaslana asked. "What happened to his nervous system?"
"Nothing," Phainon's smile turning triumphant. "He didn't bleed out. His internal didn't shatter into dust. He didn't even foam at the mouth or pass out. He just took in my overflowing mana, stabilising me, and then told me to get off him. Even after minutes passed, he was still fine and could help the evacuation as if nothing happened."
Neikos swung his legs off the couch. "But your barrier is sizzling hot. Didn’t he get burned?"
"Nope! That's the amazing part. I've noticed it when we fought the dragon but he had this fast healing process! He literally threw himself to get chewed and still could stand to fight back."
"That's—something..." Khaslana winced, couldn't even find a better word for it. "Why we never heard of this guide? A new awakened?"
"Nope. Based on the data, he had been active for almost three years. His name is Mydeimos, an F-ranker."
Phainon's answer only made the confusion deepened on his older siblings.
"I see. We never look below B-rank so that's why we never heard of him before." Khaslana hummed.
"But still," Neikos held his distrust forward, "F-rank who could stop S-rank from exploding. You sure there's no side effect at all?"
"Really. I checked in with the association afterwards but Mydei got discharged from hospital rightaway because he had no injury, both mentally and physically." Phainon pushed a grin forward. "Eitherway, he promised to guide me properly so I'll be taking him here tomorrow. You guys okay with that, right?"
Neither of his older siblings answered, uncertainty was so clear in the atmosphere. Phainon took a deep breath and looked at the almost identical faces alternately.
"Look, if he really is what I think he is, then we can finally stop this charade. No more playing Russian roulette every single morning to decide which one of us has to wear the public mask. We can finally exist as ourselves. We can finally use our full power, together."
The weight of their shared burden filled the space. Public knew Kephale as a singular, god-like S-rank Esper. Only the higher-ups at the association that was aware of fact that Kephale was daily rotation between three identical brothers whose collective power was too big for the world to handle without a guide.
And the brothers had been dream of it, to stand side by side and together becoming 'heroes' they once adored as child. However, years of disappointment and watching their potential support breaking apart under their unstable power had gradually hollowed them out.
"But... if it’s just another fluke? If his system rejects the other two of us tomorrow?" Thus, Khaslana voiced out the most possible reality. "That’s another life at stake, Phainon."
"I know but we already learned the sign and we can stop before anything bad happened."
"And then what?" Neikos raised his eyebrows. "We can stop?"
"No, we will keep looking," and Phainon answered without losing the hope in his eyes. "Every S-class elite gets their guide, Nei. The system is ruthless but it's always fair. It wouldn't design our awakening without a lock to match the key. So, let's try again, okay?"
Phainon kept darting his gaze between his brothers, as if trying to appeal with his adorable pleading gaze alone.
And it worked. Surprisingly.
"Fine." Neikos sighed. "We'll humor your scouting project. But if he screams the second Khaslana touches him, I'm not helping you burying the body."
"He won't scream. Trust me, Mydeimos is different," Phainon leaned against the counter. "Aside from being hella strong and gorgeous even in dust and blood, his energy... feels so good. I never taste anything like that before."
Khaslana raised an eyebrow, curious. "Oh? Like what?"
"I could taste his mana in my tongue and my nose. It's like fresh pomegranate drowned in honeyed milk," Phainon murmured, his tongue tracing his bottom lip as if he could still catch the lingering taste. "Sweet, but with aggressive tang that bites back."
"That's unique..." Khaslana said, unable to imagine the taste.
Neikos scoffed. "Just call it weird, Khas. No need to sugarcoat."
"It’s not weird," Phainon huffed, "you guys will know tomorrow so look forward to it!"
No one wouldn't say it aloud but the three brothers knew by heart that each one of them started to impatiently count every second for the day to change. After all, despite all the failure, they still held out one fragile hope that they could finally find their own tranquiliser.
**