Kim Hyun-Sung probably felt the same way, and even though he couldn’t express it openly, he looked happy. It was nice seeing each other like this since we had been busy, and this may not be the best example, but it was like a busy married couple was finally able to relax after a very long time. We were living under the same roof, but since we were both busy, the only time we could see each other was when we arrived home and left work for the day. I was busy myself, but Kim Hyun-Sung kept himself busy by running around. I didn’t know exactly what he was up to, but I was certain he was preparing for the future because he worked diligently without doing anything stupid. I was sure he would tell me the details when the time came, but I was still curious as to what he had been up to.

I spoke up first.

“You’re here.”

Kim Hyun-Sung must have realized we were waiting for him because he spoke quietly.

“I’m sorry for being late. Something came up…” Kim Hyun-Sung apologized.

“It’s fine, Mr. Hyun-Sung,” I said.

“I was thinking about bringing them with me…” he informed me.

“You did say you had business with the Black Swan Guild,” I mentioned.

“I don’t think it’s something I should talk about here, but…” he started.

“Yes?”

“Actually, I think it’s best if I talk about it after the party. Let’s just enjoy the party for now since our task today is to welcome the new recruits,” he suggested.

“All right...”

‘He seems kind of serious…’

Spending a lot of time together with someone would make you tend to catch onto things faster involving them. Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t look good. I was sure there was something on his mind because he seemed like he was frustrated. Of course, that only lasted for a moment because he immediately looked happy after mentioning the new recruits. However, he was still awkward.

‘There’s something on his mind…’

I couldn’t guess what it was because nothing had been revealed just yet, but I started to recall how Park Yeon-Joo of the Black Swan Guild had kept on talking to Kim Hyun-Sung. At the time, I thought she was just showing interest in him, but now that I thought about it, it had to be something serious.

‘Is he in trouble or something?’

I couldn’t imagine the Red Mercenary Guild and the Black Swan Guild being in danger. Park Yeon-Joo was healthy, and nothing seemed off after talking to Lee Ji-Hye.

I didn’t need to worry about it right now since nothing would come out of it even if I thought about it. Still, I couldn’t help but be bothered by it.

After Kim Hyun-Sung tapped my shoulder, he started walking, and obviously, the guild members looked at him. When he sat down after joining the party, I thought it would be appropriate for him to say something, so I encouraged him a bit.

“Please say a word, Guild Master.”

“Yes. Since we have gathered, you should say something, bro!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“Ah…”

Kim Hyun-Sung looked surprised, but he didn’t seem uncomfortable. There was a strong feeling that he stood up only because Park Deok-Gu had urged him to rather than because of what I had said. When he stood up, everyone focused on him.

“You’re right. First of all, I’m sorry for being late. I tried to get here as soon as possible, but the conversation lasted longer than I expected,” Kim Hyun-Sung apologized.

“You were late because of work, so no need to apologize. You’re busy running around to take care of us,” Park Deok-Gu commented.

“Haha. I appreciate you saying that. I did plan today’s meeting, but I didn’t do the preparations, so I feel kind of uncomfortable saying a congratulatory message. Miss Yoo Ah-Young, Mr. Lee Chang-Ryeol, Miss Han Sora, and Mr. Ahn Ki-Mo… Since I wasn’t at the training camp, I wasn’t able to talk to all of you, but I know all of you are good people…” he started.

‘How…’

To be honest, I picked them based on their stats, not their nature.

“I’m sure you have skills as well, and I personally checked Mr. Chang-Ryeol’s skills. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you all. It may sound cliche, but the Blue Guild aims to have a family-like guild, and I’m sure I’m not the only one who supports that,” he continued.

“You’re right…” Park Deok-Gu chimed in.

“The same goes for Miss Lee Sang-Hee, who established the Blue Guild in the beginning, and Miss Hwang Jung-Yeon. Even Mr. Ki-Young, Miss Ha-Yan, and Mr. Deok-Gu, who first joined, and Ye-Ri, Miss Hee-Young, and Miss Hye-Jin, who joined later, all agree with me. It’s probably the same for Dialugia as well,” he added.

Kim Hyun-Sung had the tendency to be very friendly at times, but I welcomed this kind of friendliness.

“I want to thank the guild members who helped create this kind of guild, and I would also like to thank the new members. You won’t regret choosing the Blue Guild. Lastly—” Kim Hyun-Sung paused.

“...”

“Welcome to the Blue Guild,” he ended.

‘Nice! They just might fall for you, you punk.’

When I saw a small smile on his face, I had no choice but to acknowledge the fact that he was good-looking, and after seeing Jo Hye-Jin and Kim Ye-Ri blushing, I knew I wasn’t the only one who thought of that. If he hadn’t entered this world, he might have lived on Earth as a celebrity or model.

“Let’s drink…” he suggested.

When he said that, Park Deok-Gu’s voice was the loudest.

“Let’s drink!”

The party started, and the fancy food in front of us caught Yoo Ah-Young’s attention since she surely wasn’t able to eat this kind of food as a trainee. Jung Ha-Yan and Sun Hee-Young were eating quietly in front of me, and Kim Hyun-Sung was talking to Lee Sang-Hee. Even though we were having dinner together, there were more than ten people, so they all started talking amongst themselves. Naturally, Park Deok-Gu stood out the most during events like this, and it was to the point that I could hear his loud voice all the way from here.

“By the way, bro, why do you keep wearing a mask, Mr. Chang-Ryeol?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“...”

“Mr. Chang-Ryeol has that thing in his mouth… Poison,” Kim Ye-Ri informed him.

“Huh?”

“I… fought him… last time. It was an entrance test… It was kind of dirty, but it wasn’t bad. He has talent,” Kim Ye-Ri added.

Before I could think about Kim Ye-Ri’s manner of talking to Lee Chang-Ryeol, she moved from her spot and started talking to other people.

“Miss Han Sora, is your leg really that badly injured? Hey, don’t worry. Our hyung-nim and Hee-Young noonim once made a cripple walk! I’m sure once you start treatment, you’ll start walking normally within three days. Isn’t that right? Hee-Young noonim?” he asked.

“I’ll have to try, but… I’m not sure. I’ve treated her once already, but there are still aftereffects. If she continues to exercise, I’m sure her condition will become better than today,” Sun Hee-Young replied.

“Of course, she’ll get better! If she drinks that miracle potion hyung-nim had made, I’m sure her eyes will regenerate as well. Don’t worry about your eye either. If that doesn’t work, he’ll insert a prosthetic eye. I’m sure of it!” he shouted.

“Th-Thank you…” Han Sora stuttered.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the ability to make a cripple walk. Letting a cripple walk would be a useful skill, but letting Han Sora’s body perfectly recover was beyond my powers.

“I heard what happened… That noonim got mad when you went into her magic lab. But don’t worry! Our Ha-Yan noonim is the symbol of forgiveness! No one is as angelic as her!” he continued.

“Hiccup…”

“Don’t you agree, noonim?” he asked.

“Yes, b-but I made a mistake, too. D-Don’t do that again…” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

“Ah… ahh…”

“Don’t worry! Your urinary incontinence can be treated as well!” Park Deok-Gu added.

The way he was jumping around from place to place reminded me of Hong Gil-Dong.[1]

“Now, about this noonim, you may not have seen it since you’re new, but she’s actually a dragon,” he continued.

Well, it was obvious because of her horns.

“I’ve seen her true form once during the Castle Rock defense war, and an evil mage was controlling our dragon noonim from a dungeon! And then… Our hyung-nim was the one who gave her a helping hand! What did he say back then—” he paused.

“...”

“Stop the attack! Stop the attack! Stop attacking! That was what he shouted as he stood in front of the dragon noonim. If hyung-nim were a woman, I would have fallen for him! Not only that, but noonim’s daughter! He was protecting her by holding her with one hand!” he exclaimed.

I was embarrassed.

“Honestly, it was a good thing we didn’t fight back then. If she attacked us with her claw, we would have died right there and then. If she had swallowed us, we would have died without having the chance to resist. Anyway, that’s the reason why our dragon noonim chose our hyung-nim. Oh yeah, I also heard the dragon noonim can release energy waves,” Park Deok-Gu added.

“It’s called Breath,” Dialugia corrected him.

“Breath, energy wave, same thing! Another interesting thing is that hyung-nim turned the same Breath into a potion!” he yelled.

‘This bastard…’

He was speaking loudly as if to relieve all the stress he had received recently, and it wasn’t really that bad. Thanks to him, the atmosphere lightened up a bit, and people were laughing as well. However, when I heard him spreading unorganized information, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable and embarrassed to the point that I wanted to hide somewhere. Especially, when he started talking about Dialugia and me. Aside from me, the majority were focused and were enjoying the stories Park Deok-Gu was telling them. If he weren’t here, I was sure the atmosphere wouldn’t have been this lively, but most of all, I was happy that I didn’t have to say anything.

‘In a way, it’s emotional labor.’

Obviously, Park Deok-Gu didn’t think of it that way, and it didn’t take him long to start talking about unnecessary things.

“You have no idea how hard I tried to stop him from becoming an alchemist. I did trust him back then, but I didn’t want him to become an alchemist when he had an offer for a cool job like Black Mage… Right now, he had proven that he made the right choice, but back then, even I looked down on production-type jobs,” he started.

“I see...”

“Basically, production-type jobs have endless possibilities! It all depends on your hard work. I learned that from hyung-nim,” he informed.

“Are you talking about production-type jobs, Deok-Gu oppa?” Yoo Ah-Young asked.

“Are you interested in production-type jobs too, Miss Ah-Young?” he asked.

“Oh… yes. At first, I didn’t think about getting a combat-type job and was thinking about taking a different path. Mr. Lee Ki-Young said that he saw my potential, so I decided to seriously devote myself to this path,” she replied.

“Ahhh, I see!” he commented.

“Also—” she paused.

“Huh?”

“To be honest, I unlocked a second job, although I haven’t picked one yet… you see—” she paused again.

“Yeah?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Blacksmith is one of the choices,” she continued.

“...”

“...”

“...”

The room suddenly became quiet, and I quickly looked at Kim Hyun-Sung’s expression. He seemed a bit shocked looking at Park Deok-Gu, and I was sure he was recalling his past. Sure enough, I heard Park Deok-Gu mumbling.

“I think… a Blacksmith is good…”

‘You crazy pig…’

His voice sounded deep in this quiet atmosphere. Of course, it was surprising, and Kim Hyun-Sung must have felt that something was off because he quickly started talking.

“Miss Ah-Young, what about your other job…”

“There were two choices. One was Blacksmith, and the other was Defense Warrior,” she replied.

“Not bad. It’s surprising that there are only two choices, but I’m sure it’s a side-effect of growing without going out for a hunt. With Defense Warrior, you’ll be able to fulfill your position just fine,” Kim Hyun-Sung explained.

“Defense Warrior… It does sound nice, but the basic shield knowledge that comes with the job effect is something I can teach her,” Park Deok-Gu chimed in.

'Don’t start this again… you pig.'

I noticed Park Deok-Gu looking around, and then he started his argument.

“Think about it. Hyung-nim picked Alchemist, but his firepower right now is better than other mages.”

It was all because I was special.

“If I were to give you my opinion… Hm, people who walk on the special path that no one else walks on will receive attention! Isn’t it pretty powerful being able to create a weapon that can kill monsters while holding up a shield?” he asked.

“That… makes sense, but the more she grows, the wider her growth gap will be. Since Miss Ah-Young has talent, I’m sure she’ll be able to unlock rare-ranked or even legendary-ranked jobs,” Kim Hyun-Sung explained.

“Hey, a legendary-ranked blacksmith could use their hammer to kill a monster with one attack,” Park Deok-Gu added.

“Wait… that’s…”

Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t know what to say to Park Deok-Gu’s ridiculous comment.

“It’s up to Miss Ah-Young to make the choice, but if you think about hyung-nim’s case, Blacksmith is the answer! Change is coming! Yoo Ah-Young, the genius Blacksmith who can make anything! Yeah… just thinking about it makes my heart beat fast,” he said.

“I’m not saying that a production-type job is bad, and as you said about Mr. Ki-Young’s case, the potential is there. Miss Ah-Young’s talent ensures that she’ll bring in good results by taking the standard path. So, when you think about it as a whole, it would be ideal for her to choose Defense Warrior,” Kim Hyun-Sung stated.

His argument was actually reasonable. We definitely needed a blacksmith, but using Yoo Ah-Young as a blacksmith was wasting her talent.

“When you think about Miss Ah-Young’s talent, she can grow stronger even if she doesn’t take the standard path! Lindel needs something new! I definitely recommend Blacksmith!” Park Deok-Gu yelled.

“She should pick Defense Warrior. If she chooses that job, then I’ll give her this shield as a gift,” Kim Hyun-Sung offered.

It was similar to the time when he tempted me to choose Alchemist. If there was one thing Kim Hyun-Sung had been ignoring, it was the fact that Park Deok-Gu was no longer a novice.

“If she chooses to be a Blacksmith, not only will I pass her the shield skills that I have, but I’ll give her this hammer as a gift!” Park Deok-Gu offered.

It was a heavy hammer he had obtained from a dungeon exploration.

It was only for a moment, but Kim Hyun-Sung looked shocked.

“Blacksmith! People who are warm-hearted are supposed to use a hammer!” he added.

“Defense Warrior. Her talent will go to waste,” Kim Hyun-Sung argued.

“She can use that talent elsewhere! Blacksmith!” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Defense Warrior!”

“Blacksmith!”

“Defense!”

“Blaaaaacksmiiiith!”

‘C-Crazy pig…’

What was even more surprising was the fact that I was actually convinced by what Park Deok-Gu had said. I guess Yoo Ah-Young didn’t expect them to get so heated up by the topic she had brought up because she seemed shocked at what was going on.

“Defense Warrior!”

“Blacksmith! Blacksmith no matter what!”

“Defense Warrior is better. I’m sure of it.”

“Defense!”

“Blacksmith!”

“Defense Warrior!”

“Blaaacksmith! Here comes the hammer!”

What was that?

I noticed Yoo Ah-Young looking at me as if asking what she should do.

“Here comes the hammer!”

1. Hong Gildong, an illegitimate son of a nobleman and his lowborn concubine, is the main character of the story. Gifted with supreme intelligence and supernatural abilities, he steals from rich and corrupt aristocrats, which has drawn him comparisons to famous bandits like the English folk hero Robin Hood and Australia’s Ned Kelly. ☜