‘This is not good…’

After spending a long time with Jung Ha-Yan, I realized that she was more meticulous and cunning than I thought. I didn’t have the right to say this since I was trash myself, but the current Jung Ha-Yan was unlike the innocent Jung Ha-Yan in the past; she didn’t immediately kill someone just because she wanted to do so. Her plots so far had been pretty cute because what she had really done was tell me about her rival’s flaws and use her tears against me because she knew I was weak to them, but it was undeniable that she had significantly changed compared to when I first met her.

‘But she still becomes blind once she turns crazy…’

Jung Ha-Yan was strong toward the weak and vice versa. She knew her strength and power more than anyone, and she knew that she was weak compared to others. She realized the sheer difference in strength and how weak she was when she first met Cha Hee-Ra and that was why she was so focused on her magic, but it could also be the reason why she wasn’t aggressive toward the strong. Of course, she also had the ability to differentiate who was important to me, but she definitely knew that she was a predator even before she thought about the consequences of crippling Han Sora. It was just an assumption, but that was how I understood Jung Ha-Yan’s actions.

‘It’s not good…’

I was happy that she was getting stronger, but on the other hand, I was bothered by it because I had no idea what trouble she might cause.

‘Her magic stat is 97…’

Having one’s main stat go over the mid-90s was the minimum requirement to become an influential figure on this continent. It made sense because even before the strengthening effect of Cha Hee-Ra’s attribute, her strength stat was already 97. Ito Sota’s agility was also in the high-90s, and even Park Yeon-Joo, who was currently talking with the others, had a stat in the high-90s as well.

Obviously, one’s power couldn’t be measured by stats alone, but in Jung Ha-Yan’s case, she just needed a little more experience, and she could become one of the top 10 influential figures of the empire. She definitely knew that fact, no, she knew it from the start. She had known long ago that what she needed was time and an item that would massively increase her stats. As such, while everyone was focused on Kim Hyun-Sung, she took an item for herself. I knew my assumption was correct because she directly threw the weapon aside after she had acquired the stats from the staff.

She had been quite weak compared to Cha Hee-Ra or Kasugano Yuno, but now, I believe she was catching up to them.

“Hehe.”

Jung Ha-Yan was probably giggling about her stats more than the legendary item she had acquired and although she wasn’t causing any trouble now, I had to set her straight from the start. I would have to educate her again someday after we leave the dungeon.

‘She really…’

She really needed someone to periodically check up on her mental health and even though it was really bothersome, it was a cheap price to pay for the ability to summon a supreme archmage. However, I was starting to get really worried that she might cause trouble.

‘I’m sure she won’t.’

I sighed once again when she put her guard up toward the female members of the Black Swan Guild while holding my arm. Meanwhile, Park Deok-Gu approached us while talking loudly.

“Hey, hyung-nim! Noonim! It’s time to eat!”

“Oppa! The food must be ready!” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Looks like it’s already time to eat,” I commented.

“Yeah, hehehe.”

“Wow… the food is really amazing! Yeon-Joo noonim cooked it herself and it’s so good my eyes almost popped out!” Park Deok-Gu complimented.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked.

“I have a feeling that Yeon-Joo noonim likes our guild master bro and she wanted to show him her cooking skills! That’s my hunch as Gwangwon Province’s Love Doctor, I can definitely smell something.” Park Deok-Gu pointed out.

It was amusing how he explained a fact everyone knew as if he was the only one who knew about it.

When I glanced over at Kim Hyun-Sung, I noticed he was busy with Park Yeon-Joo, which made it hard for him to approach us. Meanwhile, Jo Hye-Jin eating next to us seemed annoyed.

‘She’s jealous.’

As far as I could recall, she had always been stern around me, but I guess even she could make such an expression.

“We’re in the middle of an expedition, Mr. Deok-Gu. Please refrain from having personal conversations…”

“You don’t seem to be in a good mood either, Hye-Jin noonim… Are you feeling sad because our bro and Park Yeon-Joo noonim are getting along well?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“What…”

“Ahem. It can’t be helped if you don’t want to talk about it, but as the love doctor, I can see everything,” he added.

“S-Stop talking nonsense…” Jo Hye-Jin stuttered.

“If you don’t want someone from another guild to take him, you better go to him now because they look like they’re enjoying themselves… As the preacher of love, I prefer that someone close gets into a relationship with our bro. You see, eating together may not seem like a big deal, but it actually is a pretty big deal,” he continued.

“Ah…”

“Usually when you’re eating, a noona can become your darling and she can end up being your wife. You should hurry and go to him since it looks like the noonim from the Black Swan Guild are trying to set them up. Otherwise, you’ll regret it,” he suggested.

“That’s…”

“Run over there before she becomes his wife,” he told her.

“Th-This isn’t really the reason why I’m going over there… I’m heading over to the guild master because I just remembered something I had to report to him, Sub Guild Master,” Jo Hye-Jin informed me.

“Okay, Miss Hye-Jin. Good luck,” I said.

“That’s really not the reason why I’m going over there,” she repeated.

I guess she was in a hurry because she even forgot to take her spear with her when she stood up while blushing. The sight made me chuckle. She stood up clumsily with her food tray and ran toward Kim Hyun-Sung and Park Yeon-Joo. The way her hair swayed back and forth felt as if it represented her feelings.

‘How cute.’

Now, that was what you call young love.

She was different from Jung Ha-Yan and Sun Hee-Young openly expressing to the others that they shouldn’t come near them, but what was kind of surprising was that Sun Hee-Young wasn’t that close to the Black Swan Guild members. She was a priest, but in addition to not getting along with the carefree members, it seemed like she didn’t like them as well. She didn’t express that, but that was what it looked like to me.

‘I need to talk to her, too…’

I had been neglecting it, but Sun Hee-Young was a person who also had to be looked after. The only reason why I wasn’t as worried about her as I was with Jung Ha-Yan was that she knew how to discipline herself, unlike Jung Ha-Yan. Just like how Kim Hyun-Sung trusted Jo Hye-Jin as an adjutant, I trusted Sun Hee-Young as well.

‘She’s good at her job, and she’s rational…’

This was off-topic, but her appearance was my ideal type. In addition, there was no man alive who disliked a church noona-style woman giving off a holy vibe.

I was definitely thinking about useless things because I was physically tired and when I focused on Sun Hee-Young for a moment, I felt Jung Ha-Yan squeezing my arm.

‘It’s nothing like that, Ha-Yan. Don’t get all worked up…’

When I gently stroked her head, Park Deok-Gu spoke up.

“Hey, hyung-nim. This is a different topic, but.”

“Yeah?” I asked.

“I know we’re enjoying our break, but… I’m not sure if we should be doing this,” he replied.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Ahem. I think we’re too relaxed. At least, that’s what I think…” he added.

“Ahhh.”

It did seem like that. Since we had to distribute the epic-ranked items, we decided to set up camp and after preparing the meal, we decided to let all the members rest and be comfortable. Of course, the members with ranged jobs were taking turns surveying the surroundings, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that everyone was really relaxed. The people eating their food quietly were the smart ones, but there were some who went into a tent to sleep, and even a few Black Swan Guild members were reading a book together.

‘How the Genius Swordsman and Alchemist Loves? Volume Three?’

When I unknowingly looked at the title of the book, I recall seeing that title before. I guess it really was a best-seller in Lindel.

‘I should try reading it.’

I had no idea what it was about, but I guess it had to be a really enjoyable book because they were reading it together.

Anyway, it was understandable for Park Deok-Gu to feel uneasy since everyone was so relaxed. It felt as if they were pretending to ignore what happened earlier. However…

“There’s nothing we can do right now.”

“Ah…”

Sun Hee-Young chimed in quietly and obviously, I agreed with her.

“Miss Hee-Young is right. Right now, there’s nothing we can do other than rest and there’s no point in going back there as well… It’s better to rest properly than take short breaks. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing, but that Fragment of the Ancient God or whatever seems to have calmed down, so we can rest easy for now. By the way, we’re going to be camping here today, and even though it’s going to be short…” I explained.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

‘Resting is the right thing to do right now.’

Naturally, I was anxious because the museum could suddenly collapse or the Fragment of the Ancient God could suddenly run rampant, which meant I would have to come up with a way to resolve it. To be honest, the situation we were in right now was pretty close to the worst situation I had imagined, but there really wasn’t anything we could do right now. I guess Dialugia was silent because she wanted to focus on recovering since she had overused her powers to block the tentacles earlier. Moreover, Kim Hyun-Sung and Park Yeon-Joo—the most powerful among us—were in really bad conditions.

‘They look fine on the outside…’

But I was sure they were struggling inside. Obviously, I had high expectations for Kim Hyun-Sung since he had obtained a mythic-ranked item and his stats had definitely increased as well, but that was only when his physical condition was normal. He was pretending to be fine, but I could tell how much damage he had taken for us through Mind’s Eye. Since he had forced himself to use mana beyond his limits within that explosion, it wasn’t strange to take that much damage. He told the expedition members that he would be fine while smiling, but overall, his body was in critical condition. The most nervous part was that we had no idea when this out-of-this-world being was going to run rampant again, and we also had to consider the possibility that Manager Max might try to kill us.

“So don’t worry and rest for now, Deok-Gu. The rangers have been keeping an eye out and once we confirm its location, we’ll immediately move and start fixing this situation,” I told him.

“I’m fine, but I’m more worried about you, hyung-nim. Your face looks pale right now,” he pointed out.

“It’ll recover over time,” I said.

I became even more anxious when Park Deok-Gu said that because he didn’t really have a sense of crisis. I wanted to focus on recovering as well, but I felt like we should slowly move.

I couldn’t help but glance over at Dialugia.

‘Fragment of the Ancient God.’

Dialugia was the only one with information about the monster. I guess she was satisfied with her recovery because she opened her eyes just in time. I was done eating, so when I signaled her while standing up quietly, she also stood up. Park Deok-Gu must have realized that it was something important because he didn’t follow and Jung Ha-Yan was trying to decide whether to follow me or not by reading my expression. I guess she had decided to wait for me since I didn’t say anything and although it worried me that she had decided to stay put without making a fuss, it would make talking to Dialugia much easier for me.

‘I should listen to her first.’

Since it was related to the destruction of the world, it would be helpful if I excluded some of the information and if the time came when I had to make a selfish decision, I would have to be the one to pull the trigger.

When we were somewhat far from the expedition party, Dialugia spoke just as I expected. I guess the situation was quite serious because she looked really anxious.

“You can talk now, Dialugia,” I told her.

“The continent will crumble…” Dialugia started.

“I see. Then… how can we fix…”

“30,000 years from now… the continent will collapse,” she added.

“Then how do we fix…”

“It’ll disappear without a trace. How can I face my ancestors… Do you have a plan to resolve this?” she asked.

“I guess there’s no need to fix all this,” I said.

I felt kind of relieved. I did feel scared at the news of the world crumbling, but I had never imagined it would happen after my death.

Dialugia was surprised by my answer, but I couldn’t help but feel happy about it.

‘30,000 years! Shit! I don’t have to do anything!’

It was a very selfish thought.

‘I do feel bad for the future generations since they have such a foolish ancestor…’

I didn’t care if the world ended after I died. It was a shitty thought, but I joyfully clenched my fists.

‘YOLO!’