Chapter 242: A Short Break (1)
‘This is not good… Ah…’
Of course, a shitty person like me had no right to say this, but Jung Hayan had a more meticulous and trickier side than I had initially thought.
Unlike the innocent Jung Hayan from the past, she didn’t immediately act whenever she wanted to kill. Of course, the schemes that she had shown so far were of a cute level.
Though it was not apparent to everyone else, I knew something about her was different.
She understood the difference in power and strength and could realize when she was in a relatively weaker position.
That was why she had become obsessed with magic after meeting Cha Hee-ra for the first time, for a chance to gradually become stronger than her.
Of course, it could be said that it was because she got the ability to discern whether a person was important to me or not, but it was also because she knew she was stronger that she turned Han Sora into a mess back at the training camp.
It was just speculation, but I understood Jung Hayan’s behavior pattern.
‘This isn’t good.’
On the one hand, I was happy at the fact that she was getting stronger. On the other, I felt anxious because I couldn’t predict what kind of trouble she might cause.
‘And now, her magic power is at 97…’
Entering the late 90s with major stats was the minimum condition necessary to become a strong player on the continent, considering that Cha Hee-ra had a 97 strength stat.
Ito Souta also had agility in the late 90s, and Park Yeon-joo, who was now talking eagerly to her members, also had specs in the late 90s.
Of course, one could not measure the power simply by their stats, but in Jung Hayan’s case, she could become one of the top players in the entire Empire after gaining a little more experience. She must be aware of this fact now.
It was common knowledge that the existence of an item that could increase one’s stats existed, so she grabbed such an item while everyone was distracted by Kim Hyunsung.
After she got her stats, she dumped the artifact itself, and once more, I was able to confirm that I was right.
In the past, compared to Cha Hee-ra and Yuno Kasugano, she was relatively in the position of the weak, but now she seemed to think that she was fast approaching their level.
I couldn’t help but laugh at my suspicions being proven right. Though we had no problem right now, I knew I had to control her early on. I would have to retrain Hayan once we got out of this dungeon.
It was very annoying that I had to take care of her mentality regularly, but it was a low price in exchange for having the Supreme Archmage as my pet. Though I worried about her causing any trouble…
‘She won’t do that.’
As I looked at Jung Hayan, still holding my arm and guarding me against the Black Swan’s female group, a sigh came out of me once more.
It was then that Park Deokgu called out to us.
“Hyung-nim! Hayan! Come and eat!”
“Oppa! I think the meal is ready!”
“Oh? That was fast.”
“Yes. Hehehe.”
“Phew… I’m telling you the food is delicious! Yeon-joo prepared it, and my eyes almost popped out at how delicious it was!”
“Really?”
“This is just my opinion, but it seems that Yeon-joo likes our Guild Master, Hyung-ssi! So, I think she was trying to show her skills. This is the message of Gangwon-do’s dating expert, Park Deokgu. I smell something. I really can!”
He sat down on the floor, spitting out what everyone already knew.
When I glanced over towards Hyunsung, I could see Yeon-joo all over him. Cho Hyejin looked sullen.
‘So she gets jealous, too.’
This was such a contrasting expression to the stiff one she always showed me.
“We’re still on an expedition, Deokgu-ssi. Such a personal story…”
“Hyejin doesn’t look so good, either… Hyung-ssi and Park Yeon-joo are giving off good vibes together, so why would she look that way? Hm?”
“What…”
“Ahem. If you don’t want to reveal it, I can’t help it, but nothing gets past the dating expert.”
“P-Please refrain from saying useless things…”
“If you don’t want your guy getting stolen by other guild people, you better go there now. It looks like the vibe over there is good… Of course, I’m still cheering you on! Look, even if it looks like they’re just having a simple meal together, that in itself is already a pretty big deal.”
“Ah…”
“Even the Black Swan members are rooting for them. You need to do something.”
“Then…”
“It would be better to get over there before they become sweethearts.”
“It’s not because of that reason, but… Suddenly, I just remembered I have something to report to the Guild Master, so I’ll get up first, Vice Guild Master.”
“Yes. Hyejin-ssi. Cheer up.”
“I already told you I’m not going over there for that reason!”
As I saw her blushing while getting up from her seat, I couldn’t help but laugh. She even forgot to bring along the spear that she always carried around.
Her flustered expression showed how she felt for Kim Hyunsung.
‘Cute.’
A relationship should be fresh and pretty like that.
It was different from Jung Hayan and Sun Hee-young, who looked around everywhere as if warning the others not to approach me.
What was a little surprising was that Sun Hee-young didn’t seem to be very close with the Black Swan guild members.
As a priest, it seemed that she did not fit well with them, who were free-minded. In fact, it appeared as if she didn’t like them at all.
‘I have to have an interview with this one, too…’
Although she had been neglected so far, Sun Hee-young was also one of the targets that needed major management. I did not care for her much because, unlike Jung Hayan, she seemed capable of taking care of herself.
Just as Kim Hyunsung trusted Cho Hyejin as an aide, I also trusted Sun Hee-young.
‘She does her job pretty well… she is rational…’
It is a completely different topic, but in fact, she was also pretty. Even with her strict sister-uniform and sacred vibes, Sun Hee-young could very well be my type.
As I gazed at Sun Hee-young for a while, I felt Jung Hayan grasping my arm.
‘It’s not that, Hayan. Don’t get angered…’
After gently patting Jung Hayan’s hair, Park Deokgu continued to speak once more.
“Hey, Hyung-nim. This is a slightly different story, but…”
“Yes?”
“It’s nice that we’re taking a break now, but I don’t know if we really can be here like this.”
“What?”
“Ahem. Aren’t we a bit too relaxed?”
“Ohhhh.”
It did seem that way. Since we had to classify heroic-grade items anyway, we went and set up camp, and after preparing a meal, we decided for all expedition members to rest.
Of course, the Rangers had to search the surroundings by rotation, but it would be no exaggeration to say that they were really resting too freely in the time after that.
Some people were sleeping, and some of the other members were sitting and reading books.
‘How Alchemists and Genius Prosecutors Love? Volume 3?’
I caught sight of one of the books they were reading. It certainly seemed to be a hit within Lindel.
‘I have to read that one.’
I didn’t know what it was about, but it seemed to be a big hit.
Anyway, since everyone was resting like that, it would make sense for Deokgu to feel unsettled. It was like everyone was pretending to be unaware of what had happened to us.
“It’s because there is nothing we can do right now.” It was Sun Hee-young who said this.
“Ah…”
Of course, I had no choice but to agree with her.
“Hee-young-ssi is right. It doesn’t make sense to go back there now, so it’s better to rest. I don’t know if it’s unfortunate or fortunate, but it looks like the Fragment of Ancient God, or whatever it is, is quiet, so you can relax. Just to you know, I intend to camp here today. Of course, it will only be for a short time…”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
‘For now, it’s only right to take a break.’
It was not that I wasn’t uneasy.
If the museum were to collapse, then we would have to find a way to get out of here. However, nothing could be done about it as of now.
Dialugia had stayed quiet this whole time, focusing on her recovery. Kim Hyunsung and Park Yeon-joo, who were the strongest in the expedition, were also in terrible condition.
‘They look to be fine on the outside, but…’
I knew they were also quite a mess on the inside.
Of course, it was true that we had big expectations for Kim Hyunsung, who had obtained a mythic-grade item, but he could only be of use once he recovered.
He pretended to be okay in front of all the expedition members, but I could see how much damage he had taken with my Mind’s Eye.
Above everything else, I was anxious about this worst-case scenario to happen.
I also had to keep in mind that the manager, Max, might consider me a removal target.
“So don’t worry, take a rest, for now, Deokgu. Rangers are looking around, and once they check the position, we’ll move right away and start fixing everything from scratch.”
“I am fine. I’m more worried about you than me. Even now, your pale complexion doesn’t look so good.”
“It’s okay. I can recover, given enough time.”
Park Deokgu, who originally had no sense of crisis, saying that made me feel more anxious.
I also wanted to focus on recovery, but I also felt like we should be on the move now.
I had no choice but to look at Dialugia quietly.
‘Fragment of the Ancient God.’
Dialugia was the only one that had any useful information.
Seeing that she had opened her eyes, it seemed that she had successfully recovered.
I had finished my meal. As I stood up quietly and sent a signal to her, I saw her getting up as well. Park Deokgu didn’t follow, realizing we would be talking about something important, and Jung Hayan glanced at me, wondering if she should come with me or not.
I didn’t say anything, so she decided to wait. It bothered me a little that she surprisingly stayed without saying anything.
‘I have to listen to Dialugia first.’
It would be better for me to be the only one allowed to hear about what Dialugia had to say. If I were to make a selfish choice, it had to be me who would have to be responsible for pulling the trigger.
As our distance from the expedition members became somewhat distant, Dialugia began to speak. Considering how urgently she spoke, I knew our situation did not look good.
“You can speak, Dialugia.”
“The continent will be destroyed.”
“I knew it. If so… how can it be fixed?”
“In the next 30,000 years… The continent will collapse.”
“But how do we fix it?”
“It will disappear without a trace. Don’t you have any idea as to how we can solve this?”
“So, we don’t need to fix it.”
It was a little reassuring. I was trembling at the news of the world falling or collapsing, but I didn’t expect it to happen after my death.
Dialugia looked somewhat perplexed with my answer. However, my mood had already brightened.
‘In 30,000 years! Fuck! I can just leave it alone!’
I knew I was being selfish, but I couldn’t help it.
‘I’m sorry for the descendants of these bad ancestors…’
I was not interested in whether the world would perish after I died, which I knew made me sound like an even shittier person.
However, I couldn’t find it in myself to feel guilty at this point.
“Yes!”