Park Deok-Gu’s reaction was totally different from what I had imagined. I thought he would run over to me excitedly, but I felt a sense of frustration from him that I couldn’t understand. Naturally, I felt disappointed because I had spent a lot of time creating this Enhancement Serum. It was an item I had to research anyway, but I had made it especially for Park Deok-Gu.

‘This pig…’

I couldn’t understand why he was declining it, but I had an idea. It was a pretty insignificant reason, though. It was probably something like he wanted to get stronger on his own, or that he didn’t want to borrow the power of this potion to become stronger.

‘This bastard…’

I thought that maybe he wasn’t desperate enough because if he had an idea about the situation he was in, he would have never said something like that. The only reason he was able to get this far was because he had received help from others. His close-minded thinking was ridiculous. If Park Deok-Gu were in a mid-sized guild instead of the Blue Guild, then I was sure he would have accepted this serum right away. If this serum was sold to the public, I was pretty sure it was going to sell like hotcakes. I didn’t want to be the one to say this, but this serum was like an elixir to people like him.

I started glaring at him because I felt like he had betrayed me. I wasn’t angry, but I did feel kind of upset.

“What?” I asked.

“I appreciate the thought, but I’m not going to take this. Is this really the reason why you called me here?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Yeah, this is the reason,” I replied.

“I’m thankful that you are being considerate of me, but you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not a kid, and I’ll be fine without this,” he explained.

He looked really uncomfortable. This was the first time he looked at me like that since the first time we met. I felt like I had done something I shouldn’t have, but maybe it was just an inferiority complex. He had been working hard and had been moving forward on his own, so being offered a serum like this might make him think that I was pitying him. I was sure there were various reasons, but from my point of view, I had no choice but to pressure him.

“Your stubbornness is unnecessary.”

“I’m not being stubborn,” he argued.

“You should think about the fact that this isn’t just for you, but for the party as well,” I added.

“Stop sugarcoating it. You just need a stronger vanguard.” He pointed out.

I could neither acknowledge nor deny it.

“Then just get someone else because I’m not going to accept it,” he added.

“You!” I yelled.

“I told you I’m not going to accept it!” Park Deok-Gu screamed.

I grabbed one of his hands when he was about to turn around, but Park Deok-Gu angrily pushed my hand away. My stats had increased by a lot, but my frail body was still pushed back. He looked surprised at that moment; he had realized his mistake, but my body was still staggering over to a nearby desk.

‘Shi—’

I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but I was able to protect the serum in my arms as my body rolled on the ground. I felt a small shock on my back and after checking the condition of the serum, I looked over at him.

“You! Crazy pig…!”

I was about to unknowingly yell at him in fury, but then I felt a large flow of mana.

‘Oh.’

“What… are you doing?”

When I turned my head, I saw Jung Ha-Yan reaching out toward Park Deok-Gu. I guess she succeeded in unlocking a legendary-ranked attribute because the amount of mana I was feeling was beyond my imagination. I couldn’t help but gulp when I felt the enormous amount of mana. Jung Ha-Yan wasn’t using ordinary magic to oppress him. I wasn’t sure what kind of spell she was using, but the ground Park Deok-Gu was standing on started to crack as it gradually opened up into a hole. He was enduring her magic while trembling, but I guess he couldn’t resist the pressure of her magic boring down on him. When he laid flat on the ground like a frog, I pitied him.

“Ugggh…’

He was trying to get up, but he couldn’t because having high endurance stats to endure attacks was different from moving while enduring the pressure of a magic spell. Since his strength and magic stats were low, resisting that unknown magic was impossible. I knew Jung Ha-Yan was sensitive about my safety, but I had never imagined that she would act like this toward Park Deok-Gu.

“Apologize…” Jung Ha-Yan ordered.

“Heuuuk!”

“Apologize!” she screamed.

Craaaaaack!

“Ugh!”

When Jung Ha-Yan increased the spell’s intensity, Park Deok-Gu started to get buried into the ground even more. I was worried that she might actually hurt him, so I had no choice but to stop her. Even though he was pretty strong, I was sure that directly receiving that spell would leave some scars, at the least.

“Jung Ha-Yan, stop,” I ordered.

“Ah…”

“I didn’t get hurt and he didn’t do it on purpose,” I added.

“I-I’m sorry…” she stuttered.

“Apologize to Deok-Gu later,” I told her.

“...”

When Jung Ha-Yan lowered her hand, the pressure slowly disappeared, and just the disappearance of the mana boring down on this place made it easier to breathe. I guess 45 points in magic wasn’t enough to endure Jung Ha-Yan’s magic.

When I walked toward Park Deok-Gu, I saw him quietly getting up from the ground so naturally, I extended my hand out. I used Mind’s Eye to see if he had gotten hurt, but he didn’t have any serious injuries.

It seemed like he had some minor internal injuries from overexerting his magic to try and resist Jung Ha-Yan’s magic, but they were injuries he could recover on his own. There were traces on his body that showed he had been trying his best to resist her.

I waited for him to grab my hand, but the pig didn’t look so good. A terrible defeat was written all over his face.

‘Ah…’

I had to acknowledge the fact that the situation had gotten worse, and it would make even more sense under the assumption that Park Deok-Gu really had an inferiority complex. He must have somewhat realized the gap between himself and Kim Hyun-Sung’s party through Kim Ye-Ri, but this incident should strengthen that notion even more.

‘At my current state, even I…’

Even I couldn’t catch up to a party of talented monsters. As a non-combatant, I was trying my best to keep up, but even from my point of view, the people around me were like monsters and because Park Deok-Gu had actually fought on the battlefield with them, I was sure he felt even more desperate than me.

In the end, he didn’t grab my hand. He felt defeated from being unable to escape from Jung Ha-Yan’s magic, so he got up and started walking out of the nest quietly.

“I-I’m sorry about that, hyung-nim…” Park Deok-Gu apologized.

“It’s fine. You just seemed a bit worked up. I’m sorry too, Deok-Gu. I think I had been a bit hasty… Let’s talk about this later and take our time,” I suggested.

“No, you didn’t do anything wrong, hyung-nim,” he said.

I couldn’t stop him as he slowly walked away.

‘How annoying…’

I wanted to be straightforward and tell him to just shut up and take it because he was at his limit and if this continued, the gap between him and the other members would only get bigger. But after considering his feelings, I couldn’t tell him that.

Jung Ha-Yan must have realized that she had made a mistake because she was quietly reading my expression and Dialugia looked like she was trying to figure out what was going on from afar. I also wanted to know exactly why the situation had suddenly turned out this way, as this wasn’t the situation I had imagined.

‘Shit, it’s really frustrating…’

I thought maybe he was having some ridiculous thoughts like, ‘power obtained through someone else isn’t my power,’ but no matter what he was thinking, I was undeniably worried about him.

In the end, I couldn’t help but start walking.

“I’m going to visit the guild,” I announced.

“Okay… oppa…” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

It didn’t matter whether I was going to visit Park Deok-Gu or Kim Hyun-Sung, I had to come up with another solution.

‘This will really be the last time that I’ll take care of him.’

As I made my way to the Blue Guild, I made a promise to myself that after helping him increase his stats just this once, I wouldn't hold his hands again if he fell behind. I didn’t ride Whitefall, as I wanted to check Park Deok-Gu’s condition. If I rode my griffon and announced that I had arrived, he might lock himself up in his room.

Since the guild wasn’t far from the nest, it didn’t take me long to arrive. He looked like he was going to drink to his heart’s content at the underground pub, so I thought maybe that was what he was doing, but he probably wasn’t there. I thought maybe he was at the same place where he had trained with Kim Ye-Ri. When I arrived at the spot where Jung Ha-Yan and I had spied on Park Deok-Gu, I saw him and Kim Ye-Ri. It seemed like Park Deok-Gu hadn’t noticed my presence, but Kim Ye-Ri must have seen me because she surreptitiously rolled her eyes and quietly looked at me. When I saw that she didn’t snitch on me, I was sure that she must have somewhat realized our situation.

Kim Ye-Ri turned her attention away from me and started talking to Park Deok-Gu. I immediately heard him replying to her.

“Your expression. Doesn’t look good, mister. Forceful training. Isn’t. That effective. You need to rest, too,” Kim Ye-Ri said.

“No, I’m not here to train today,” he told her.

“Then what is it?” she asked.

“Sparring,” he replied.

“That’s what we do everyday. That’s training.” She pointed out.

“No, not that,” he said.

“Then what?” she asked.

“I’m asking you to fight as if we’re in an actual battle,” he answered.

“Are you telling me not to hold back? You’re going to get hurt, mister.” She pointed out.

“It’s fine,” he replied.

Park Deok-Gu looked anxious. I guess the fact that he had been helpless against Jung Ha-Yan must have really shocked him. Considering that, I thought that he must have finally realized his current status.

Instead of answering him, Kim Ye-Ri discreetly looked at me and it was as if she was asking me if it was okay to not hold back. I wasn’t sure why she was asking for my opinion, but I nodded slightly, as he needed to know exactly what his current status was.

Park Deok-Gu got into his stance and Kim Ye-Ri immediately charged at him.

‘Kim Hyun-Sung?’

I immediately realized who she considered her role model in close combat. Kim Hyun-Sung’s steps were a bit lighter and stylish, but I could see his shadow from some of her movements. I guess he must have influenced her a lot.

Park Deok-Gu straightened his sword as if he was surprised, but Kim Ye-Ri was already close to him and blood instantly splattered nearby.

I somewhat felt it when we fought against Cha Hee-Ra, but the kid’s combat skills were almost equal to Jo Hye-Jin’s.

Park Deok-Gu was getting pushed back to the point that it was embarrassing to even call this a fight, and it broke my heart. He was enduring it with his innate endurance stats, but he could neither attack nor block Kim Ye-Ri. However, it wasn’t that Park Deok-Gu was weak…

‘The kid’s just a monster.’

It seemed like she already knew how he was going to move, so she was moving half a step faster than Park Deok-Gu. After moving far from him, she threw daggers that landed on his body, and then she started attacking him all over his body with her dagger. It was ridiculous how fast Park Deok-Gu was instantly covered in blood. Now, I understood why she had never considered him as her opponent.

“I want to stop,” Kim Ye-Ri suddenly said.

“What?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“No more. If you keep going. It’ll be dangerous. I’ll call for a priest,” she suggested.

“A little more… huff… puff…” he mumbled.

“I don’t want to. I don’t understand. I don’t understand why you’re trying to fight me,” she said.

“...”

“Your job isn’t to fight me. Do you. Agree?” she asked.

“...”

“You won’t be like Miss Jo Hye-Jin or Hyun-Sung oppa anyway, so just accept it,” she added.

The kid quietly looked at him before turning around. She must have left to call a priest.

Park Deok-Gu sat on the ground and buried his head between his legs. I watched him, thinking that he was going to immediately get up and start swinging his sword, but he didn’t do that. Instead, I heard him sob quietly.