“O-Oppa! I-I did it!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

“Ah… that’s great…” I mumbled.

“I-I finally did it!!” she stuttered.

Jung Ha-Yan’s face was flushed red, and her voice was filled with excitement. The way she ran toward me with open arms as if she were asking me for a hug caught me off guard, as this was the first time she was acting this way. When I cautiously opened my arms and rubbed her back, she took a deep breath and dug her face deeper into my chest.

‘She’s still the same...’

Nothing really changed about her, but the mana vibrating within her body bothered me a lot.

‘Her magic stat is 99…’

I couldn’t help but think about her even more, and although it was ridiculous, the information before me was real. I was so shocked I started coughing. Of course, I knew she was going to grow, but I had never imagined she would grow this quickly because when a specific stat was in the 90s, its growth would become noticeably slower. If the growth limit of a stat was above epic rank, then going above that was almost impossible. As such, increasing stats above legendary rank was difficult.

In Jung Ha-Yan’s case, her magic stat was at 90, and since she had succeeded in assimilating a legendary-ranked item, her stat was amplified. Even though the increase in her magic stats had been instantaneous, it was definitely an unusual route, so I was sure there would be side effects. She had decided to increase her stat because she wanted to become strong as soon as possible; however, she ended up in a situation where she had to study her skills. At the end of it, her magic stat reached 98 points. However, if she wanted another one-point increase, she had to spend about three to four years to achieve it.

Even Kim Hyun-Sung believed it would take Jung Ha-Yan a long time to digest and assimilate all the knowledge she had received, and he expected her to take at least a year to learn to master the spells from the legendary item, Anemone.

‘She completely proved him wrong…’

The fact that Jung Ha-Yan’s magic stat was now 99 meant she had absorbed all the magic stat from the Blood-Stained Red Jewel Anemone, and as if that wasn’t enough, it seemed that she was breaking her limits as well.

I hadn’t really seen her use her magic nowadays, so I had never imagined she would grow this much all of a sudden.

‘So, this was what she had been doing...’

Even though it wasn’t my business, she had to have restricted herself until she achieved her goal. To clap in joy for her was just the right thing to do, but after thinking about how this unpredictable rugby ball had become a superhuman, I couldn’t be happy for her.

‘Just how much has she grown?’

I couldn’t measure her combat strength.

‘Shit… I hope she’s not stronger than Kim Hyun-Sung.’

That probably wasn’t the case. Jung Ha-Yan’s growth was particularly in magic and intelligence. Moreover, a mage’s duel couldn’t be compared to a swordsman’s or a warrior’s duel. However, I believe that when it came to firepower, mages were just as strong as them. I wanted to use the combat power meter called Park Deok-Gu, but he would be roasted in an instant if he received one of Jung Ha-Yan’s spells, regardless of his strength.

When it came to pure firepower, Jung Ha-Yan could be within the top three within Lindel; no, within the country. Even after considering her low combat proficiency and the various side effects of her speedy growth, the impact of 99 magic points was still there.

Naturally, I was both happy and anxious, but it was the priority to congratulate her on her growth.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Ah! M-My magic stat increased. It’s 99 now! I can now use the spells I couldn’t use before, and I think I can t-test out the spells I have been thinking about!” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“Oh, yeah?” I asked.

“Yes!”

“That’s really amazing. Even Mr. Hyun-Sung said it would take you a few years,” I mentioned.

“I-I did my best. I-I still did my best while thinking about you and another reason is that I-I haven’t been able to take care of you in many ways, oppa,” she said.

Even though Jung Ha-Yan said that she hadn’t been taking care of me, we had spent quite a lot of time together.

“We can now spend a little more time together, oppa. Hehe,” she added.

“That’s great. All this time, I thought you wanted to be by yourself,” I told her.

“No! That’s not true! Never! Whenever I’m with you, I keep having other thoughts…” she explained.

“Ah… got it…”

I had an idea as to what those other thoughts were, but I didn’t ask her for the details.

“You’re tired, right? You seem like you haven’t been sleeping…” I pointed out.

“Yes, I… kind of am,” she answered.

“It’s probably best if I go to Laios alone, right?” I asked.

“Of course not! I-I’m perfectly fine! I’m not tired at all! L-Let’s sleep together.[1] I mean, let’s go together, oppa. I’m almost done packing up!” she yelled.

I didn’t think I could go without her anyway.

Jung Ha-Yan’s room looked like some kind of ruin, and she still hadn’t even packed my bag, let alone hers. An unknown nervousness filled me up, and it made me want to go without her; however, leaving her in this state bothered me as well. I was conflicted, but taking her with me was the right choice.

Jung Ha-Yan quickly ran into her room and started packing in case I changed my mind. She had to be in a good mood because she was humming while smiling, and she seemed really confident in herself.

She was probably planning on buying all the necessities in Laios because she only packed a few clothes along with her makeup, and naturally, I went into my room and started packing as well. Moments later, Jung Ha-Yan and I walked downstairs, and I saw Park Deok-Gu and Han Sora waiting for us. Han Sora flinched a bit as soon as Jung Ha-Yan walked down, but she remained calm, and Park Deok-Gu was relieved when he saw how happy Jung Ha-Yan looked because he realized that she was in a good mood.

“You’re not going to say anything to the guild master bro?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“I told him yesterday, and he said he wouldn’t be able to see us out because he has something to take care of today. Let’s hurry. We’ll be late,” I replied.

“We’re late because you two came down late, but if we hurry, we’ll arrive on time. Worst-case scenario, I’ll run while carrying all three of you,” he offered.

“No thanks… Anyway, let’s go. It should be fine as long as we’re not too late,” I said.

“Fine…”

We headed out after saying goodbye to the people who came to see us out. And I even saw Kim Hyun-Sung even though he had said he may not be able to see us out. I was happy to see him, but I didn’t bother to talk sweetly to him. He seemed anxious lately, so I extended my hand out with a smile, and he did the same.

“I’m leaving now,” I told him.

“I’ll contact you if something happens,” Kim Hyun-Sung replied.

“Okay…”

I wouldn’t be gone long, so I kept the conversation short, and since I didn’t want to make the mistake of making the Red Mercenary Guild wait, I had to leave quickly.

Jung Ha-Yan looked proud while she was tightly holding my arm, Park Deok-Gu looked worried that we would be late, and Han Sora was keeping her distance from Jung Ha-Yan. During all of this, Jung Ha-Yan looked as if she was expecting a reward for being away from me because she started moving closer to me. Obviously, I felt kind of uneasy, but giving her what she wanted right now was the right thing to do, as putting her in a bad mood would never be good.

‘Does she think I like it the faster she becomes stronger?’

That was probably one of the reasons, but there was probably another reason as well. Thinking about it now, the first time Jung Ha-Yan became obsessed with power was when she saw a really strong person with her own eyes. After that, she experienced situations where she needed power, and those moments became the driving force that accelerated her growth. If my assumption were correct, then I would probably end up in a difficult situation.

After exchanging various conversations, I saw a few people waiting for us at the rendezvous point. She was wearing provocative clothes, just like the first time we met, which definitely made her attractive, and her hair fluttered in the wind. She was the guild master of the Red Mercenary Guild as well as one of the assembly members of the country. Worthy of the name, Lindel’s Number One, she was the Mercenary Queen Cha Hee-Ra. It was like her to run toward me and talk with her arm around my shoulders.

Jung Ha-Yan flinched for a moment, but all she could do was stare at Cha Hee-Ra.

“You’re kind of late, darling.” Cha Hee-Ra pointed out.

“Ah, my work finished kind of late…” I said.

“Your lies don’t work on me… I’m sure you were late because you were dilly-dallying at the Guild House. Anyway, let’s go. Ah, it has been a while, second girlfriend,” she greeted.

“It has…” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

“How have you been?” she asked.

“Fine…” she replied.

Jung Ha-Yan’s expression looked strange. She wasn’t doing it openly, but she looked as if she was testing Cha Hee-Ra. Jung Ha-Yan didn’t consider Cha Hee-Ra an enemy, but she looked as if she was about to start something.

‘Shit… What’s wrong with her?’

I wasn’t sure how to describe it, but Jung Ha-Yan was slowly looking up and down at Cha Hee-Ra while waving her finger. Cha Hee-Ra, who was taking me to the carriage, obviously stopped walking at that gesture. She turned her head and looked straight at Jung Ha-Yan, who was looking at her, and even though they weren’t saying anything, I felt like I was caught in the middle of it. The Jung Ha-Yan danger meter Han Sora limped behind the combat power meter Park Deok Gu. And the sudden situation silenced Park Deok-Gu as well.

It felt like a bomb was about to explode, and this wasn’t the right time for me to intervene. After all, the two were just looking at each other, and Jung Ha-Yan wasn’t doing anything rude to Cha Hee-Ra.

“What? Got something you want to say to me?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

“N-Not… really…” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

“So, why are you staring at me like that, huh?” Cha Hee-Ra asked.

“H-How was I staring at you?” Jung Ha-Yan questioned.

‘Shit. Please don’t do this…’

Our surroundings and the people who had gathered to go to Laios with us suddenly became quiet. And I had the urge to pray to the Goddess of Benigoa.

I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing, but when Jung Ha-Yan slightly lowered her head, the corner of Cha Hee-Ra’s lips went up, and she started talking to me again. Obviously, she placed her arm back on my shoulders and stuck her breasts close to me.

“Let’s go in, darling,” Cha Hee-Ra suggested.

That was when Jung Ha-Yan muttered…

“I think… you should remove your arm…”

Even though she had said it in a low voice, it was loud enough for us to hear.

“I-It’s making oppa uncomfortable…” Jung Ha-Yan continued.

“...”

“...”

“What?” Cha Hee-Ra questioned.

‘Shit guys, please don’t do this…’

A small smile appeared on Jung Ha-Yan’s face, and Cha Hee-Ra’s expression was indescribable.

1. In Korean, “sleep” and “go” almost sound the same, so that's why JHY made that mistake ☜