I saw Park Deok-Gu snickering, so I had an idea what that guy was thinking about. He was probably thinking that I was on edge and it was his intention to help me shake off the gloomy feeling by using my dear Jung Ha-Yan, but I wasn’t exactly happy about it. It was because she was breathing heavily in my arms.

“Oppa…” she said.

Even if her crying was irrelevant to the situation, it felt like she was taking a deep breath. It was as if she was smelling my body odor because she buried her face into my chest and wasn’t moving away. If Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t arrive on time, she probably would have stayed like this for a few hours at least.

“You’re all here,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

He came a little later than I thought.

I honestly thought Kim Hyun-Sung would finish a little bit sooner than Jung Ha-Yan, but that wasn’t the case. He looked clean on the outside, but there were small burn marks on his clothes and small cuts on his cheeks, so I knew that his fight with Jung Jin-Ho wasn’t easy.

Kim Hyun-Sung had monster-like stats as the regressor, but Jung Jin-Ho wasn’t an easy opponent either.

‘They’re monsters.’

But the fight was probably one-sided though because even if Jung Jin-Ho was a skilled fighter, there was a gap between him and Kim Hyun-Sung’s basic stats and experience. At most, he probably used magic in order to create a variable.

After seeing his carefree expression, I assumed that Jung Jin-Ho was no longer alive.

“The others…..”

It was a sensitive question.

I quickly answered before Jung Ha-Yan said something strange. “I killed him.”

“Oh.”

It was obvious, but I was sure that Kim Hyun-Sung wasn’t going to criticize me by calling me a killer because it was better to get rid of the source of the threat now than to deal with it later. Even though his nature was a kind-hearted mediator, he knew better than me that we shouldn’t spare people like them.

“About Jung Jin-Ho…”

When I carefully mentioned his name, Kim Hyun-Sung simply nodded quietly.

Overall, the party seemed discouraged because Park Deok-Gu looked kind of gloomy, I was on edge and Jung Ha-Yan was crying. Of course, it was a bit different with Jung Ha- Yan, it could be said that the party’s morale was low due to the shock after our first murder.

In the end, Kim Hyun-Sung nodded and spoke. “It was something that had to be done.”

The trustworthy party leader was starting to take care of his comrades’ mental states.

“I’m sure…”

“I’m sure that this was their plan from the beginning. I’m not sure how they recruited Mr. Seok-Woo, but while we are out on a hunt, it seems like he agreed to participate in their plan. If we got attacked and their plan succeeded, then the people back at the shelter would’ve been in danger,” he explained.

“...”

“I’m sure it’s difficult, but think of it as you doing the right thing,” he added.

“Hm…”

“You did the right thing and it’s possible that we may experience this kind of situation often in the future. The place that we’re in is nothing more than a tutorial, so the world outside may be harsher. I’m sure it was difficult, but I’m certain no one will criticize you for your decisions. This doesn’t apply only to the current situation, but also to the future. I’m not sure if this will make you feel better, but…please overcome it,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said.

“Thank you…I guess,” Park Deok-Gu said.

It was a pretty great speech and he was right. Everything that he said was right.

If those guys were still alive, then not only would the shelter be in danger, but even after getting out of this tutorial, I’m sure they would kill a lot of people. Even if Yoo Seok-Woo simply became a stepping stone for my experience, I couldn’t deny the things that Kim Hyun-Sung had said.

‘It was nothing more than taking out the trash.’

There was no reason for me to feel guilty about it.

“Mr. Ki-Young, are you feeling better?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“Yes, I’m fine. If it wasn’t for the ring that you gave to me…I might’ve died. It looks like you saved me twice now. I’m in your debt,” I said.

“Your wound…”

“It’s fine. It’s completely healed,” I answered.

After finishing his speech, Kim Hyun-Sung looked like he was feeling better. Since the situation had worked out the way he wanted, there was no reason for him to frown. I didn’t know exactly what he was thinking, but for some reason, he seemed proud.

We got rid of Jung Jin-Ho’s party like we planned and not only that, but we were indebted to him. I was sure that he already thought of us as comrades that he was going to stick with, but it seemed like he was thinking that we had become closer through this incident. Of course, I thought the same. We suffered together, experienced a crisis together, and overcame it together.

I was certain that the four of us would be able to maintain a good relationship even after the tutorial.

Kim Hyun-Sung was like a bus that was stable and comfortable to ride in and just imagining myself riding that bus made me feel sleepy, no, it was more like the tension was gradually disappearing.

I did think that I was safe just by being with Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan but having our regressor here definitely made things better.

“You seem a bit tired, so I think it would be best to rest somewhere nearby,” Kim Hyun-Sung suggested.

“I think that’s a good idea, dude. Both hyung-nim and…noonim look a bit tired,” Park Deok-Gu said in agreement.

“Okay.”

As for Jung Ha-Yan, I was sure that she still had some mana left.

I nodded and then spoke to Kim Hyun-Sung who started walking because I wanted to get his opinion about my job. In the end, I would still be the one responsible for my choice, but I thought that it would be best to get Kim Hyun-Sung’s opinion since he knew about the future.

“Mr. Hyun-Sung.”

“Yes, how can I help?” he asked.

“A new job opened up for me,” I replied.

“Oh.”

It was obvious, but he seemed really happy.

“That was fast,” he commented.

“Yes, it’s probably because I used my magic to kill the monsters…”

“Do you mind telling me which jobs opened up?” he asked.

“Of course.”

Both Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan seemed interested because they were looking at me. I thought it was a good topic to discuss while searching for a place to stay for the night. It was also a good way to improve the party’s mood since everyone was interested in this topic.

“There’s a lot of choices for me, but they are summoner, magic lancer, black mage, alchemist, and fire mage,” I said.

“Yes, there’s definitely a lot,” Kim Hyun-Sung said in agreement.

Since there wasn’t a decent place nearby, we first discussed the disadvantages of the jobs and the jobs I could choose later on. We discussed things like how a black mage required a lot of mana and that a magic lancer didn’t have any other jobs it could branch out to. Even though I had never revealed my exact stats, I was sure that Kim Hyun-Sung somewhat had an idea about my stats.

“I’m sorry, but…your mana is a bit…”

“Yes, I don’t exactly know the details since I haven’t met another mage before, but my mana stat is pretty low and even after comparing myself to Ha-Yan, I don’t think it’s very high,” I explained.

“Hm…”

Revealing some of my personal details were required to receive detailed advice. In addition, there was no need to hide the things that I was lacking because I still had many strong points that I could show to him.

“I think it would be best to think about the fire mage a bit more. I think your compatibility with fire magic isn’t all that bad, but since it demands a large amount of mana, it could become a problem later on,” Kim Hyun-Sung explained.

“Oh, I agree with you,” I said.

Seeing him trying his best to give me hints was cute. I didn’t know his real age but based on his outer appearance, he looked younger than me.

“The magic lancer is…”

He couldn’t outright say it, but it seemed like this was what he wanted to say.

‘You’re not a skilled lancer.’

I thought I did more than enough for my part, but I guessed in his eyes, I looked clumsy. I wasn’t planning on choosing this job anyways, but after seeing his expression, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

I couldn’t help but think to myself. ‘Was I that bad…’ 

“Personally, I think choosing from summoner, alchemist, and black mage is the best, but it’s difficult for me to recommend black mage. I can’t say it with certainty, but you could end up being in a dangerous situation because the status window never lies to us,” he explained.

“Hm…”

“You need mana in order to maintain your summons, but I have no idea how much mana is required to do that. I think the alchemist job isn’t all that bad. It should be a good fit for you since your intelligence stat is high, Mr. Ki-Young,” he said.

“I was actually thinking the same thing because it seems like spells are activated through a catalyst…”

“Not only that, but you’ll be able to create potions and all kinds of medicine. If we need summons later on, then there are alternative ways to summon a homunculus. This will make the job even more advantageous for you. After all, the creature will be created instead of summoned. As a result, mana consumption shouldn’t be that high,” he said.

It seemed like Kim Hyun-Sung’s excitement was causing him to get carried away.

Unlike the first time when he lacked information about me, he somewhat had an idea about my stats now, so I thought I would trust his recommendations. Not only that but seeing his slightly happy expression caused me to open myself up a bit.

‘It’s rare.’

People that had the alchemist job were rare. It was possible that the job itself was rarely offered to people, or it could be because not a lot of people had chosen to become an alchemist. But anyway, the alchemist job was very rare.

If we also assumed that the priest job was rare, then the value of potions should be high. But after I considered how a priest’s holy power had its limits, I realized that high-quality potions would become a required item in anyone’s arsenal sooner or later.

The summoner job was also tempting, but if two people in the same party had similar jobs then it was possible that our summons would differ later on.

While I was thinking about different things…

Park Deok-Gu, who was listening to our conversation, shook his head and participated in the conversation. “What are you talking about? Hyung-nim should definitely go for the black mage,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“...”

“After thinking about how a black mage destroys monsters by spreading the power of darkness, I think this job fits hyung-nim the most…no matter how you look at it, hyung-nim is definitely a black mage, right?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

I had no idea why, but I felt tired listening to his words. I guess he forgot about how he reacted when the leader job opened up last time. Now, he was set on making me choose the black mage job.

“I mean, who cares what the public thinks. If anyone comes after you hyung-nim, I’ll send all of them flying, so you don’t have to worry about that…your personality and the black mage don't exactly go well together, but hyung-nim, imagine yourself in a black robe…I think you’ll look great…” Park Deok-Gu said.

“I think the alchemist job is better,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

I think Kim Hyun-Sung was starting to feel agitated because he noticed the strange conviction in Park Deok-Gu's voice whenever he shouted.

“No! Hyung-nim needs to choose the black mage no matter what!”

Back then, Park Deok-Gu had once turned into a parrot that repeatedly shouted the leader job. But now, he changed into a parrot that was now repeatedly shouting black mage.

“The alchemist job is way better,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Black mage!” Park Deok-Gu shouted.

“The alchemist is…”

“Black mage! I want to see hyung-nim spread the power of darkness,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Alchemist!”

“Black mage!”

“Alchemy!”

“Black!”

“Al!”

‘I shouldn’t have asked.’

I imagined that this might happen again, but seeing them react more intensely than before made me feel embarrassed. I guess Park Deok-Gu was really set on the power of darkness.

When I glanced over at Jung Ha-Yan, she must have thought that I was asking for her opinion because she shook her head violently.

“I-I can’t choose between an intelligent oppa that knows alchemy and an o-oppa that uses the power of darkness…” she said.

Of course, I wasn’t asking about her opinion. While I was distracted, the strange debate was starting to get heated.

In the end, Kim Hyun-Sung quietly looked through his bag and spoke.

“Coincidentally…I coincidentally…obtained this item. It looks like an alchemist exclusive item. If you choose to become an alchemist, I’ll give you this as a present,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

‘Where in the world did he get that?’

The leather bag that Kim Hyun-Sung carried around with him must be a magic bag or something.

I never imagined that he would make such an impulsive decision.

Thanks to him, I became certain that people’s perception of black mages wasn’t great, but apart from that, the moment I saw the item that he took out, I had no choice but to abandon the opinion of the party’s black mage parrot.