I didn’t have an answer, hadn’t come up with an understanding, but at the very least, it helped distract me.Even The Pitt didn’t feel quite so overwhelming.
Maybe because I’m not alone…
And, boy, didn’t that feel like the most dangerous thought I’d had?
Chapter Thirty
Carter
Having to sit here and listen to someone tell me about The Pitt annoyed me more than I wanted to admit.It didn’t dim my false smile, of course.No, nothing could shake that.It was easy to sit back, my hands folded over my stomach, my legs kicked forward beneath the table and pretend that none of this mattered to me.
The person up front was Inlan Price, the mouthpiece of the Guild, at least for the espers.He liked the spotlight, loved being up there telling everyone what to do even though the asshole didn’t know anything from the last time The Pitt had opened—he’d been way too far back to see shit.
He’d enjoyed his spot at the back, telling others what to do, sending better espers off to their deaths so he could take the glory on television the next day.
My only benefit was that it was also his job to stand there and apologize formybehavior.
“The Pitt is one of the most dangerous stable dungeons currently active,” Inlan explained, the screen behind him showing images from The Pitt.
Funny how it appeared like most other dungeons, yet I’d have recognized it anytime.That place had tattooed itself onto my mind, the place where everything had changed.
I’d walked into that dungeon a fucking hero, the cover model of half the damn magazines out there, and by the time I exited?
I peered around, noting the way no one sat too close to us, the looks we got, the snide little comments, and that showed what had happened when we’d come out.
We’d lost everything.
And here I am, ready to go in again.
“One of the most dangerous things about this dungeon is the corruption gain.It causes corruption levels to rise at five times that of other similarly ranked dungeons.This means that the presence of guides is going to be instrumental to this mission.We will have both squad specific guides located in well-protected areas near the portal, along with many floating guides to fill in the blanks.The most important thing is that we keep sessions short to ensure espers remain at optimal levels.”
“It can’t be that bad, can it?”someone asked from the peanut gallery.I didn’t recognize the voice, but I didn’t bother myself with learning anything about new espers.There were so many of them coming in each year, and it would be a full-time job trying to keep track of them.
I wasn’t the HR department for the Guild—no reason for me to worry about that.
Inlan at least had the decency to put the esper in place with a sharp look that shut him up.“Do you know how many espers we lost to corruption last time The Pitt opened?”
The esper huffed.
“I’m serious.Answer.”
“Two?”the esper guessed, but his tone suggested he saw it as the trap it was.
“Fifteen.”
The esper at least appeared properly scolded.“A stable dungeon will have casualties, of course—”
Inland cut him off as though he weren’t speaking at all.“Fifteen tocorruption.Another thirty died or were declared missing in action when the portal closed, but fifteen turned.”
The gravity of that rushed through the crowd, silencing everyone.It was normal to lose espers, but to have them turn during a mission?To have so many killed by corruption rather than actual damage?
The truth was that most espers would happily take a bloody death rather than losing themselves, instead of becoming shadows of the people they used to be.
Inlan took the silence as understanding, because he released the mouthy esper by looking away.“Since we are on that topic, I would like to introduce Kaiden Phillips, one of our top guides.He will share his insights, so pay attention.”
Kaiden stepped onto the stage from a table to the left, looking different from earlier.When he’d run up to Yun, when he’d wrapped his arms around her as though he had every right, he’d seemed younger, carefree.Now, however, he seemed like the high-ranking guide I knew him to be.
Kaiden was the sort of guide thateveryoneknew.He was likely the most powerful guide, and despite some of his personal life getting in the way for him, no one would doubt his knowledge or place in our world.
