Regressor bus
To summarize, both the kid Kim Ye-ri and the priest Sun Hee-young ended up joining our party.
In all honesty, only the authorization of Kim Hyunsung was needed for the two people to join our team. However, the guild’s higher-ups seemed to want to dispute this because we did not consult with the administrative team beforehand.
For other parties, this would have posed little problem. However, our party was new, and Kim Hyunsung had been a member for less than a year.
However, apart from this negative outlook, the fact that we had gotten someone like Sun Hee-young – someone who the other guilds and clans desperately wanted for themselves – had more than made up for their misgivings.
‘We’d also gotten her for a low bargain.’
It was no wonder her valuation within the guild shot up when Sun Hee-young announced that she would not join any other clan or guild.
Kim Hyunsung’s party, which was admittedly still in the spotlight, once more became the subject of the Free City of Lindel’s attention. I admittedly did not know the history of every survivor that had reached Lindel, but I was fairly certain no one had received as much attention in the past as our party.
“Hyung! It’s time to eat.”
“I know.”
While I was still immersed in my experiments within my workshop, Park Deokgu slipped through the door after knocking.
Recently, the party had made it a point to eat together during every meal. This was to become more acquainted with Sun Hee-young and Kim Ye-ri and discuss plans for our party. Compared to the four of us, who had been close since the start, it took some time for Kim Ye-ri and Sun Hee-young to warm up to the gang.
Surprisingly, Jung Hayan and Sun Hee-young seemed well-matched, and the two became close friends. Meanwhile, I hadn’t had the chance to converse with Kim Ye-ri, for she was always hiding her face and shying away.
‘She’s such a quick-witted kid, though…’
Although she was freakishly quiet, she dutifully stuck to Kim Hyunsung, almost as if she could sense security within Hyunsung’s power. I knew that it would take some time for her to warm up to us, but it also felt frustrating to see her being so unresponsive to me.
Wanting to ease the slight awkwardness, Park Deokgu opened his mouth to speak.
“By the way, what’s Hyung so busy with? I hardly get to see you outside of meals.”
“I’ve had a lot to do. I’m doing so much at once, so I can’t really focus on one.”
“Can you tell me just one of them? My curiosity is driving me crazy. It’s been so long since you started, don’t you think it’s time to tell me one of your secrets?”
“Well…”
“Oh, don’t do that suspense thing. Just tell me.”
“The most recent thing I was doing was a potion to control my emotions…”
“Is that even possible?”
“It was only a theory, but you can think of it as virtually impossible. I just thought I’d try and see if I can touch the basic human needs…”
“For example?”
“Something like sex, sleep, or appetite. In fact, if I get it correctly, it won’t ever hurt your emotions. It’s all about simply making you drowsy or feeling tired of your body…”
“So… It’s technically not controlling your emotions?”
“This is why touching emotions is fun. For example, suppose you created a potion that relaxes your muscles as well as your body. If you say you added something magical to it, the affected human would feel drowsy. This is because the brain interprets the body’s signals at will.”
“Ah…”
“It is the same in other cases, like applying heat to the body or making the heart beat a little faster. You just need a little stimulus or plant a seed of thought in someone to make it work.”
“It sounds scary for some reason…”
“If you have low intelligence, it will work a little better on you. Or…”
“Or…”
“Or if you’re a little unsafe or unstable.”
“Well…” Park Deokgu hesitated, an expression similar to fear crossing his features. It might have been quite unsettling to hear about the possible creation of a potion that could control people’s emotions.
It had been pretty fun trying to make it, but it wasn’t suitable for us. There were a lot of dramatic situations, and different materials were required for its creation.
In short, it was a situation that did not yet seem to be viable.
The one I had now was only a prototype for the final version of my desired product. Nevertheless, I couldn’t say that this was useless.
“It’s just a joke.”
“Huh?”
“It’s a joke. There’s no way a potion like that could exist.”
“Ah, hyung!”
“I’m just trying to imagine it. Originally, all experiments start with one’s imagination. It means that every idea matters.”
“So, is it possible to visualize even the wrong type of idea?”
“Only if the situation fits.”
“You mean like the idea of a love potion?”
“That’s an extension to the potion I said before.”
“Then how about a potion that increases your stats when you drink? Or something like a potion that makes the user invisible?”
“…”
“Oh, a potion to become a monster! Is that possible?”
I didn’t know if he was babbling or not, but the potions Park Deokgu had been mentioning were the ones I’d been studying.
As I looked at him with an expression of surprise, he smiled and began giving out more ideas. Some of them were things that I’ve never even thought about, so I began to see him in a new light.
For now, I only had theories I wanted to bring into reality, so I also ended up taking mental notes of unique ideas that came out of Park Deokgu’s mouth.
As I slowly went down to the guild house’s basement, those who were gathered came into sight.
“Oppa, are you here?”
“Kiyoung-nim.”
“Let’s all sit down.”
Jung Hayan looked up at me as she sat, and Sun Hee-young was also sitting in front of the table. Meanwhile, Kim Hyunsung nodded and welcomed me, and Kim Ye-ri, the youngest, was still looking around warily.
“Good morning.”
“Yes, good morning.”
As I sat down, Jung Hayan brought my meal over to me. Sun Hee-young handed me my water.
Interestingly, Sun Hee-young’s propensity had not changed. She still saw herself as the ideal volunteer, embarrassingly enough.
Perhaps it was possible because I thought I could change her with the course of events that had happened, but it seemed that the inclination to become the ideal volunteer would still stay with her.
Instead, her job had changed.
[Dark Priest – Hero Grade]
The current job of being a priest of the sun was changed into being a dark priest. I thought it was probably the effect of what happened at that time, but there had been no difference in abilities or spells upon observation. Sun Hee-young was still able to memorize divine magic, and even Kim Hyunsung felt surprised by her ability.
Of course, even the growth in Jung Hayan’s case was distinguishable. In the case of the lovely returner Kim Hyunsung, there was no need for other explanations in the first place.
Rather, it was with Park Deokgu that the growth rate had been a little slow. His endurance level continuously rose, but his muscle strength and stamina’s growth rate were slower in comparison. His agility stats seemed to be the slowest out of everything.
Although he seemed to be frustrated about it, I knew he understood why his growth had been like this, even with immense training. He and I had low growth potentials, and we just had to make do with what we had.
Once everyone had settled in, Kim Hyunsung began to speak.
“Let’s start eating.”
“Enjoy your meal.”
Since Kim Hyunsung was the designated leader of our party, it was natural to show him respect before the meal. After his signaling nod, we began to eat in silence. However, after a few moments, some of them had started striking up a conversation with each other.
They covered the most random topics, but I couldn’t say I objected. This was my only break from my work, so it proved to be a pleasant distraction.
However, one look at Kim Hyunsung informed me that an important announcement would be coming soon.
“I have something important to tell everyone.”
The atmosphere became quiet in a second.
“Yeah?”
“I got an offer from the Vice Guild Master this morning.”
“What’s the offer about?”
“It’s for a dungeon strategy. It seems that not only our party, but also parties of nearby large guilds will enter. I’d love to hear what you think.”
This was a little unexpected.
Of course, I expected that we would be going hunting or dungeon-exploring someday. However, our party was still considered as a newcomer and would need some time to grow. We currently had six people, and if the little kid Kim Ye-ri went with him, it wouldn’t be called bad timing because Kim Hyunsung had managed to get enough members in time.
What came as a surprise to us was the fact that we would be joining another guild.
Sometimes, dangerous and unexpected events could occur within dungeon explorations, so one needed to go with people they trusted. This was why the thought of joining up with other guilds hadn’t crossed my mind.
I couldn’t help it. “Can you tell us more?”
Kim Hyunsung smiled slightly and answered. “Of course. I haven’t gotten a lot of details, but one of the mid-sized parties has found a new dungeon in the area near the tutorial dungeon.”
“But that…”
“The problem is the members of the party. It was a dungeon that was discovered during a gathering of several guilds and not by a singular party, so the discussion about which guild will own it has become a little ambiguous.”
‘Ah…’
With this, I could understand just what was going on.
“Aren’t they directly involved in the attack?”
“Yeah. It seems that there is no need to attack the dungeon, as the results of the investigation reveal it to be a normal grade type. However, this is still considered as a rare discovery. They probably want to separate the rewards within instead. We also decided to share some of the stakes in the dungeon where the attack was completed.”
“Rather than attacking directly…”
“It must have been decided to be used as an investment which will be supported by each guild and clan.”
To put it simply, it meant that the fellowship party of each guild member had accidentally discovered a rare dungeon. The problem was that the dungeon level felt a bit low for the members of this social gathering to enter. Therefore, they probably thought it prudent to give the dungeon exploration to those who could use it for their growth.
‘I guess Kim Hyunsung has made good relations with whoever’s in charge.’
It felt a little strange that guilds were able to discuss without undergoing disputes over ownership. In fact, for the guys who discovered the dungeon, it would be a favorable situation for them because they could receive rewards from each guild and even receive some of the dungeon’s shares.
“One party from our Blue Guild, one from the Red Mercenary Guild, one from the Magic Guild, and finally, one from the Black Swan Guild will come together. Although it is a rare dungeon, it is said that there is no problem with all parties moving together because the dungeon is a bit large. The end rewards would probably be distributed according to the contribution of each party, but…”
“By the degree of contribution?”
“Yeah. However, the purpose of this dungeon line is not to gain items or goods. It’s to gain experience.”
I knew what Kim Hyunsung was trying to say. We would just be using this opportunity for our growths, and not for any other purpose. Any extra rewards would just be considered a bonus.
Because of this line of reasoning, there was no reason to refuse.
‘Thank you, Hyunsung.’
It was time to board the regressor bus and take action.