I just wanted to rest while traveling.

‘Hoo…’

I was physically comfortable, but the problem was that I had a lot to think about. I wasn’t sure why Mind Eye’s rank suddenly increased, but I did have an idea. Although it was only an assumption, I think it was because of Kim Hyun-Sung.

‘Status window...’

[Checking Player Lee Ki-Young’s Status Window and Stats.]

[Name - Lee Ki-Young]

[Title - Mercenary Queen’s Lover, Benigoa Holy Empire’s Honorary Bishop]

[Age - 25]

[Nature - Cautious Strategist]

[Job - Bioalchemist - Unique Epic Rank]

[Job Effect - Acquired basic magic knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired basic alchemy knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired intermediate alchemy knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired special summoning knowledge]

[Stats]

[Strength - 21/Below average growth limit]

[Agility - 22/Below average growth limit]

[Stamina - 30/Below average growth limit]

[Intelligence - 72/Above epic growth limit]

[Endurance - 22/Below average growth limit]

[Luck - 60/Above epic growth limit]

[Magic - 33/Below average growth limit]

[Gear]

[Juliena, the Cursed Sword - Legendary Rank - Senses Owner]

[Ramus Tucker's Introduction to Alchemy - Epic Rank - Alchemist Exclusive]

[Magic Shield Ring - Rare Rank]

[Attribute - Mind’s Eye - Legendary Rank]

[Overall Review - You’ve grown enough where you can save people. Your somewhat high intelligence and luck are impressive. Your other stats are so trash that I won’t bother mentioning them, but the fact that your magic stat is over 30 points is worthy of praise. Naturally, your epic-ranked job and legendary-ranked item stand out the most. There’s a limit, but keep trying your best. I’ll cheer you on quietly.]

‘It became a little friendly.’

It could be just my misunderstanding, but I feel like the overall review had become a bit friendlier. Unlike the first time when it told me not to do anything and just die, it felt like the system was cheering me on. Of course, I didn’t know how exactly this system worked, but when I pledged my loyalty to Kim Hyun-Sung, I thought it was then that Mind’s Eye’s rank increased.

‘At least that’s what happened when I did it...’

It could be a coincidence, but when considering the fact that Kim Hyun-Sung was a regressor, it didn’t feel like a coincidence. One couldn’t go back in time just because they wanted to and one of Kim Hyun-Sung’s titles was Regressor or Altanus. I thought that maybe he had gotten help from someone while traveling back in time. A supernatural being? A transcendental being? It could even be god. It could also be the bastard that created this system, gave powers to ordinary humans, and was watching over us. Only someone with that much power could help him time travel…

‘The problem was…’

Why did they pick Kim Hyun-Sung? The answer was simple, though. There was something they wanted and even though I didn’t know what they wanted, I was certain that our regressor was loved by the transcendental being. I thought that maybe my attribute rank increase was a gift from his existence. It was like Kim Hyun-Sung was telling me that I had done well and that I must continue helping him.

[Attribute]

[Mind’s Eye - Legendary Rank]

[You can view yours and others’ status window and hidden potential rank. It may be a legendary-ranked attribute, but the majority of its features are locked due to an unknown force.]

[Extra - You can view yours and others' unique habits. A unique habit is a type of stat the player can’t see and can only be seen by Lee Ki-Young who possesses the legendary-ranked Mind’s Eye.]

The description said the majority of Mind’s Eye’s features were locked due to an unknown force. I thought the features were going to unlock one by one if I worked harder. Of course, this was just an assumption, but it wouldn’t really matter even if I said, “Of course! I’ll always be loyal! Thank you! God!” The important thing was that I had obtained a new skill. I thought about the difference between a unique habit and an attribute and why I needed to see it, but I realized that it was more useful than I thought. An attribute was a power given to the player by the system, but a unique habit was a power each person possessed based on their personality. The majority of attributes possessed positive effects, but that wasn’t the case for unique habits. It could have a very negative effect.

[Checking Player Lee Ki-Young’s Unique Habit.]

[The Temptation of a Liar]

[You seduce the other person and make them listen to you. Increases the chance of being loved by a dangerous member of the opposite sex.]

Something like mine for example and there was this too…

[Checking Player Jung Ha-Yan’s Unique Habit.]

[Love Overflowing with Blood]

[You lay down everything for the person you love. Even your life and conscience. Increases the chance of awakening in certain situations that involves the target of your love. Beware of side effects.]

Basically, it made it easier for me to handle the people around me, and even though I didn’t know how much this unique habit affected a person, I had an idea just by looking at Jung Ha-Yan’s unique habit and mine. It was pretty spot on. The fact that Jung Ha-Yan could release an immense amount of power when I was involved and the fact that I kept getting tangled in strange relationships could be categorized as a skill. I was a bit mentally exhausted since I kept analyzing my new skill and it was natural for me to feel this way because I wasn’t going to rest without thinking or doing anything.

‘It’s still good though…’

Naturally, I thought about how I could know everything about a person once all of Mind Eye’s features were unlocked. It could even have the ability to read their minds, which would allow me to obtain almost all information.

‘Benigoa goddess! Altanus! I’ll be forever loyal to our regressor! You can give me more! Please give me more!’

I yelled in my mind, but nothing happened and I heard Jung Ha-Yan’s voice instead of the goddess’ voice. Jung Ha-Yan started talking as she looked at me. “Oppa, you look tired.”

“It’s probably because I haven’t been able to sleep well recently… I’m a bit tired. How long until we reach Castle Rock?” I asked.

“I heard that we still have a way to go. Actually… we’re almost there,” she answered.

“That’s a relief…”

“O-Oppa,” she called.

“Yeah?”

“Um… Castle Rock… is where Lady Marilyn is, right?” she asked.

“Oh… yeah,” I answered.

“I heard from someone… that… men like caucasian women…” she said in a low voice.

‘Park Deok-Gu, that bastard…’

For some reason, I had a feeling it was Park Deok-Gu who said that. She had a few days to herself and I guess something must have been bothering her. I wasn’t sure why Jung Ha-Yan was wary of Lady Marilyn, but there was one reason I could think of.

‘Did she… read the letter?’

Thinking about it now, I left Jung Ha-Yan in my room after reading the letter and if she had read Lady Marilyn’s letter, then it would lead to an unnecessary misunderstanding. To make things worse, if she visited Park Deok-Gu to consult with him and he said something strange, then it would make the situation even worse. I was already having a headache and I wasn’t exactly happy about Jung Ha-Yan making a fuss.

‘That pig’s really…’

I guess he still wanted to use the boat in the room. It was important to reassure her from the start. Since Kim Hyun-Sung must’ve felt that Jo Hye-Jin would be very useful, I had no choice but to talk while patting Jung Ha-Yan.

“Lady Marilyn and I have nothing going on, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Oh!”

Jung Ha-Yan didn’t cause as much trouble anymore after we returned from the Cursed Shrine, but she was still Jung Ha-Yan, so I had to constantly manage her mentality. I knew I had to keep doing this even without knowing her unique habit.

“Hyung-nim! Come outside. You too, noonim!” Park Deok-Gu yelled.

“Huh?”

“I think we’re almost at Castle Rock. Wow…” he commented.

“Okay...”

After heading outside while holding Jung Ha-Yan’s hand, I saw a large fortress built out of rocks.

“Wow…”

“Don’t you think it’s ridiculous?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“I think you mean it’s quite the scenery,” I said, correcting him.

It definitely was a sight to behold. The fortress had hard, solid walls and the tall walls looked like they wouldn’t break no matter what attacked them. It was a bit annoying that we couldn’t see inside because of the tall walls, but this scene alone already pleased me. If Lindel was slowly becoming modernized and the Holy Empire capital was extremely flashy, then the fortress in front of me was the same fortress I imagined would be in a fantasy world. I was so shocked that my mouth unknowingly went agape.

“It’s amazing,” I commented.

“So you feel the same way,” Kim Hyun-Sung said with a smile.

“Oh, Mr. Hyun-Sung,”

“I’ve heard stories about this place, but in the past, Castle Rock was the most strategically important area in all of Benigoa,” he explained.

“Hmm...”

“The tall walls were designed to stop the monsters, but it ended up stopping the Republic from invading. Naturally, the monsters stopped appearing in the area, but the citizens of Castle Rock are proud of their walls,” he added.

“It’s understandable since they’re close to the border and there’s a large forest next to them… Oh! Does that mean the forest nearby has been strange recently?” I asked.

“Yes. We’ll have to check the details, but I heard the survival rate of the mercenaries and free citizens living in Castle Rock has been going down and they sometimes see monsters coming out from the forest. I’m not sure what’s going on, but it’s not a good sign,” Kim Hyun-Sung remarked.

‘I’m sure you know what’s going on, though…’

It was funny how he said that when he requested that we bring all these supplies.

‘How cute…’

Even while patting Jung Ha-Ya’s head, the carriage continued to head toward Castle Rock and the closer we got, the taller the walls became. All of a sudden, I saw a familiar figure.

‘Oh…’

Lady Marilyn came to see me with numerous knights behind her. Despite the fact that I hadn't decided when I was going to visit her, she came to see me on her own and it worried me a lot. After all, I didn’t want to put Jung Ha-Yan in a bad mood.

Kim Hyun-Sung quietly glanced at us and it was as if he was asking me whether they came out here to greet us. I wanted to prove my competency to our regressor, but I also wanted to take care of Jung Ha-Yan’s mental health at the same time. If I picked one, then I would have to give up the other, but the answer was already there...

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young!” Lady Marilyn called out.

I saw her running toward me while crying.

‘Shit… Ha-Yan, this isn’t what you think.’

I looked at Kim Hyun-Sung and spoke loud enough that Jung Ha-Yan could hear me.

“I never said I was going to visit… she must’ve seen us coming from afar.”

“I see,” Kim Hyun-Sung said, nodding.

“Ahem. I think it would be best to introduce everyone.” I suggested.

“Sure…”

Naturally, I waved toward her after getting off the carriage.

“Oh! Lady Marilyn!”

I was going to shake her hand, but she kept running toward me without slowing down.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young!” She called out.

I panicked when she hugged me as if we were a long-distance couple who hadn’t met each other for a long time. I was trying to decide whether to push her away or just let her be while her knights observed us from the side.

‘Sigh…’

Jung Ha-Yan bit her lips. Jo Hye-Jin and Kim Hyun-Sung looked surprised. Even Kim Ye-Ri’s voice sounded loud even though it had been a long time since I heard her speak.

“Cheater.”