“...”

“I-I just want you to create an opportunity for me to meet him. I honestly wasn’t expecting anything in return, but since you said I could ask…” Hwang Jung-Yeon said.

I was sure I wasn’t imagining it when she looked like there was something she wanted. To be honest, I didn’t really want to get involved in Hwang Jung-Yeon and Park Deok-Gu’s love affair, but if I could get help just by saying one thing, then it would be considered very beneficial to me. Naturally, I wanted to listen to her reasoning, not because I was worried about Park Deok-Gu, but because I was simply curious.

“Since when…”

“I-I don’t really have a reason, but… the image of Mr. Park Deok-Gu won’t leave my head…” she said, stuttering.

Maybe it was because of the attribute she had?

“We met by chance at the cafeteria… and the way he looked at me indifferently… for some strange reason… it’s stuck in my head…” she explained.

‘Is he a homme fatale or something?’

I was a bit surprised by Park Deok-Gu’s unexpected personality, wait, this woman said from the start that she liked cozy men with large frames, so I understood why she liked Park Deok-Gu, but I couldn’t believe the fact that she fell for him just because of the way he looked at her. 

Objectively speaking, Hwang Jung-Yeon was pretty and the calm demeanor she had made her give off the good wife and wise mother vibe. Her hair was tied to one side and was sitting on her shoulders. Her shy smile was also suitable for her appearance. 

I wasn’t belittling my precious Deok-Gu, but it was to the point that he seemed like he was a part of a different race. It only took him 10 seconds to make a woman whose intelligence stat was 90 to fall for him. Unlike me who wasted a few days trying to get Jung Ha-Yan to join me, the result was incomparable. I was a bit surprised, but naturally, I had to accept her request.

“It shouldn’t be difficult for me to arrange something,” I told her.

“Oh… if you could also tell him that I’m a good person… or that I’m trustworthy… and maybe that we would look good together… or just say good things in any way…” she requested.

“...”

“I’ll do my best to help you and I’ll make sure that I don’t get in the way of your research,” she added.

“Okay, I’ll do that as well, but you’re going to have a lot of work,” I warned her.

“Thank you.”

I obtained a very competent assistant by simply promising that I would say a few words to Park Deok-Gu. It didn’t really matter to me whether the two became a couple or not, but I thought that there was a good chance of that happening. If I gave enough compliments about this woman, then she would start off with an advantage since Park Deok-Gu had his full trust in me. As such, this strange deal made more sense.

Anyway, Hwang Jung-Yeon wouldn’t influence me in a bad way, and her presence would actually be better since I would be able to fully focus on my research.

“Let’s get started, Doctor Lee,” she said.

“Sounds good, Assistant Hwang,” I replied.

I was able to start a full-scale research with the assistant that I expectedly obtained.

After some time…

“Have you found anything?” she asked.

“Nothing yet, but it’s not like I don’t see anything at all,” I answered.

The purpose of this research was to re-establish the results of Jung Ha-Yan’s research. I wasn’t trying to create a new theory or do something revolutionary because the most important thing was increasing my stats and changing my job.

I was able to increase my stats pretty easily in the beginning, but as time passed, the growth became slow. Just like before, the effectiveness of using catalysts to increase my stats started to decrease.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Rather than focusing on specific knowledge, what you saw before was all of it. Like I mentioned before, my main research is whether I can compress the magic that’s contained inside a catalyst and maintain it and if there’s a way I can utilize genetic information along with it. That’s all,” I explained.

“Ohhh.”

“I guess it’s best for me to say that I’m starting to see the spell’s composition and design although the information isn’t all that useful to me. I can see why you called Ha-Yan a genius,” I added.

During the time when I couldn’t understand things, I thought that Hwang Jung-Yeon’s words didn’t make any sense, but I was starting to understand it little by little. I started to understand why she called Jung Ha-Yan a genius, why the spells she used on me were worthy enough to write a thesis about, and why she could create an entirely new school of magic with the spell that she had stored inside a catalyst.

‘It’s unique.’

The way she arranged her spells, the order, and the methods in which she stacked her mana were very refined. Unlike Hwang Jung-Yeon’s intelligence that developed her memory, Jung Ha-Yan’s intelligence must have developed her magic. Even now, her magic must still be developing. I was able to feel that just by looking closely at the completed spell.

‘Brilliant.’

I was able to realize once again why Kim Hyun-Sung was so obsessed with Jung Ha-Yan. 

I continued my research. If I got stuck on something, sleepless days became more frequent and I skipped meals more often. It was also the same for my assistant Hwang Jung-Yeon. Honestly, there wasn’t much that she had to do, but her presence was more than enough when it came to explaining magical things that I found difficult to comprehend.

~

[Intelligence will increase by 1.]

[Intelligence will increase by 1.]

~

It was only a little bit, but hearing the alarm that told me about my slowly increasing intelligence sounded nice. When my intelligence stat reached the 50s, I somewhat understood the mechanism for increasing my intelligence. First, I had to acquire or comprehend new knowledge. The next part involved deep thinking. I imagined it in my head, tested it, re-developed the theory, and read books. All these helped in increasing my intelligence.

Just like how Park Deok-Gu did weight training to increase his strength, I started nourishing myself to fatten my brain.

“I’ll start cleaning the room, Mr. Ki-Young,” Hwang Jung-Yeon offered.

“I appreciate it. Please don’t clean up the area near me since I still have some documents I haven’t organized yet,” I told her.

“Of course. More than that, how about getting some sleep?” she suggested.

“No, it’ll interrupt my flow,” I responded.

My room had become really messy. The stack of documents and theories that I had been organizing kept on getting higher and higher. It reached the point that there was barely any room for us to move in. With the bed as the center, seeing all the documents lined up was an exciting sight, but studying wasn’t fun at all.

‘It’s boring.’

It was definitely boring. No matter how much I studied, I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. As such, my stress levels were high. But of course, I had no choice but to bear with it because the party members that were out with Kim Hyun-Sung right now must be growing as well. I would be kicked out if I didn’t fulfill my goal. I didn’t mean that Kim Hyun-Sung was going to kick me out, but if I couldn’t keep up with the party, then they would naturally exclude me in future expeditions. 

I honestly didn’t want to be reduced to a mere potion-making machine, so I had no choice but to force myself.

“Excuse me, Mr. Ki-Young. How are you using a magic circle for your spells?” Hwang Jung-Yeon asked.

“Well, every person has different ways of casting a spell, but I often cast spells by creating a tower. For Ha-Yan, it seemed like she designed hers to resemble a clock that’s rotating with precision… it’s like she took out all the parts and placed them in one place…” I said, describing it to her.

“I understand what you’re saying,” she said.

“It’s more complicated than interpreting my magic. I don’t know about everything else, but matching the genetic information was probably the most difficult,” I told her.

“Interpreting a spell is already difficult enough… I’m sure it’s even more stressful trying to turn a complete spell into a magic circle,” she said.

“Yes, but it’s a pretty simple task… and all I need is time,” I responded.

All I did was draw a magic circle, but there was definitely a difference. It wasn’t like there weren't any results at all, but I did feel impatient.

Just like that, one month passed. Luckily, Kim Hyun-Sung’s party still hadn’t returned.

‘I’m sure they’re suffering.’

I was certain of it.

The consumables they took were either useless or weren't enough and the atmosphere of the party was a mess. Jung Ha-Yan probably cried every night and I was sure that Kim Ye-Ri was probably shooting the wrong arrows since Kim Hyun-Sung wouldn’t tell her what to do. It was also possible that Park Deok-Gu returned to being the coward he was before and although Sun Hee-Young was probably the only normal one, leading a party had never been her strong suit, so I was sure that the party felt like they were lost.

More time passed. Actually, it was only a little bit. At this point, I understood the majority of Jung Ha-Yan’s magic and my intelligence stat was already close to 60. Personally, it was a result that I could only be satisfied with.

“Looks like there are results,” Hwang Jung-Yeon said

“Since my actual intelligence stat increased, there has to be a result. In fact, I’m close to reaching my goal,” I told her.

“Oh, congratulations! How about resting today?” she suggested.

“No, I think it’ll be best to finish up first and then rest,” I replied.

I couldn’t rest knowing that I wasn’t the only one fighting. I was able to ask myself more basic questions when I started living without distinguishing between night and day. It wasn’t a question about the truth that was hidden inside the magic. It was a question regarding my goal, which was my growth.

How was Jung Ha-Yan able to move on to the next step without gaining experience? I already knew the answer.

‘Because of her comprehension.’

Despite the fact that Jung Ha-Yan never hunted once, she obtained a job. Even though I didn’t ask her exactly how she obtained it, it was probably because she must have realized what magic was. She was able to understand and put it into practice. Basically, she comprehended a small truth and it was the same for me.

‘It needs to be understood.’

Besides interpreting, depicting, and organizing the documents, I had to understand everything that was in my head. This was the right path.

After that, I could remember constantly asking myself questions.

I started becoming obsessed with asking ‘Why?’ instead of ‘How come?’

I was interested in the truth that I couldn’t see more than the results I was able to see. I would imagine, put it into practice and try to find the reason why I failed. Fortunately, testing had never been difficult because I had a very competent assistant.

“You’ve lost some weight.”

“But I don’t feel all that bad.”

There wasn’t anything grand like reaching the truth or taking a layer off.

All I cared about was the ‘why’ and I didn’t want a grand answer. I was satisfied with a small piece. Like how to change genetic traits, information values, how magic influenced an individual, and whether the individual that was changed through magic was complete or incomplete. Regarding the twisted DNA we were familiar with, there had been continuous research regarding which virus was lethal to which monsters and why this DNA couldn’t accept the virus. Out of the magic circle, magic, genetics, information, and the small fragments, I didn’t really understand any of it, but there was one thing I was certain of—the fact that I was growing.

“What do you need?” Hwang Jung-Yeon asked.

“Please hand me the catalysts that I brought from the Garden of Horror,” I answered.

There wasn’t anything amazing. I wasn’t good at studying and I wasn’t smart either. I wasn’t a scientist and I had no knowledge about genetics, but at this point, I was enjoying the process of finding the answer.

“You look like you’re having fun,” she commented.

“That’s not true,” I shrugged.

[Intelligence will increase by 1.]

“I know you’re having fun. I was like that too,” she said.

“No, I’m actually bored,” I responded.

[Intelligence will increase by 1.]

“Lies,” she commented.

[Intelligence will increase by 1.]

The moment I grabbed the small fragments that I couldn’t see with my own eyes, I was able to grow just a little bit more.

[You’ve discovered a new job.]

With the result, I can be satisfied with.

“Haha.”