There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 89

Chapter 89: Chapter 86. Trial Run

There was interesting scenery that the cameras caught from afar. It was slightly covered by the congregation of the espers and guild staff, but the keen reporters could see four figures somewhere near the gate.

Three guides in pristine-looking black uniforms with different colored lining and buttons in each person--red, blue, and green--stood in attention, hands behind their back, eyes focused on the rather tall masked man in front of them. Rather than guides, they looked more like privates in front of their drill sergeant.

"Mask."

The three moved in trained discipline, putting the choker-like device on their neck and pressing the button on the side. Now they were all protected by the filtering mask, and the guide captain told them to inhale and adjust their breathing.

"Shield."

This time, they put out their arms, clenched their fists, and shimmering mana shield deployed over their forearms.

"Potions."

The shields were deactivated and they took out regeneration ampoules from the small utility belt attached to their waist.

"Good. Always check on them before entry," the tall guide nodded in satisfaction as the three put the potions back inside their belt. There was also a small emergency flare and mini flash bomb there.

Unfortunately, the captain deemed they weren’t proficient enough to wield any additional equipment like weapons. He said it was more dangerous for a newbie to hold a weapon before they knew how to use it.

The guide captain clapped his hand, and the three immediately stood in attention again, like an instinctual reaction. It was quite fascinating to watch.

"Look at me," the tall guide stared at the three with deep blue eyes. "What are you going to do today?"

People might expect them to answer with ’guiding’, but the three guides replied with something else in a firm tone and steady gaze. "Survive!"

"Good. Remember that. You can only guide people if you survive."

"Yes, Sir!"

To the side, the espers watched them with curiosity and amusement. They had taken guides inside the dungeons with them before, but nothing like this.

The guides used to fidget uncomfortably near the gate because of the leaking miasma and eerie feeling. Some of the more obnoxious ones would even whine nonstop. They’d wince at the sight of the swirling ominous gate, and their palpable nervousness would make the squad feel uncomfortable too. The espers who were delegated to guard the guides especially hated it.

It wasn’t like they dislike the guides. They were actually pretty close with them, especially with the guides that usually got paired for their cleansing in the clinic. But inside the dungeons, the guides could become annoying, and their reactions might lower the group’s morale in dire situations.

Seeing the guides act steady and firm, looking prepared to face danger...it was actually quite a boost for them.

"Feels like a boot camp or something," they chuckled lightly, but there was no mockery in their comment. It still didn’t guarantee that the guides would be able to function inside the dungeon, but at least they didn’t fill the gate area with whining sounds and nervous fidgeting.

Florence, the squad captain, finally clapped her hands and announced the beginning of their raid. The three guides swiftly positioned themselves inside the formation, behind the support mages and in front of the rear guard tanker.

Zein, meanwhile, walked to the back, where Bassena was waiting for him with a smile. They were observers, overseers, and trainers, so they would be watching the raid from behind. Zein would give his instruction through the earpiece lodged in the guides’ ears, and Bassena wouldn’t move unless he needed to.

"It’s been a while," he muttered, as the gate rippled with the beginning of people’s entry.

The last gate he entered would be in the red-zone, almost five years ago. There were no gates in the borderland, just straight-up outbreaks filling out of the blackfield.

"Miss it?" Bassena asked playfully. But the guide tilted his head, and the blue eyes glint sharply along with a hidden smirk.

"Actually, yeah..."

Compared to the brutality of the Deathzone, dungeons were like an amusement park. Zein realized after living a month of peaceful life, that the calm and quiet made him quite restless. It might be the hard case of adjustment, but he couldn’t lie that this kind of thing, the thrill from dungeons, made him feel a bit more alive.

Bassena chuckled softly, before circling his arm around the guide’s shoulder. "Well...welcome back?"

With the increasing beat of his heart, Zein stepped into the swirling sunset-colored gate.

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