‘Not bad.’

Showing them my magic wasn’t a bad choice. Kim Hyun-Sung and Park Deok-Gu were definitely strong, but it was difficult to tell whether their power came from the system or if they were originally strong.

Even if I told them that they would be able to obtain new powers right away, it was obvious they wouldn’t really feel it even if Park Deok-Gu held up a shield. Compared to that, magic was a bit different.

A ball of flame appeared in the air. It completely destroyed all common sense and even after seeing with their own eyes, it was a sight that was difficult to believe. This was the best method to try and pull them out from the cave they were curled up in.

Kim Hyun-Sung mumbled while looking at the people that were quietly expressing their excitement.

“It’s a success.’

“I’m sure it’s just a small change. People that don’t want to fight will still be afraid…there may even be people that’ll push themselves to their limits at the thought of obtaining new power,” I explained.

“Still, it’s better than dying from starvation, hyung-nim,” Park Deok-Gu commented.

“Yeah, probably,” I said.

I saw Park Hye-Young walking up to the podium and getting congratulated by the other survivors.

“If Miss Hye-Young and Miss Ha-Yan return successfully, I’m sure their development will accelerate,” I told them.

That's how important this expedition was to Kim Hyun-Sung. We still didn’t know how to proceed with attacking this dungeon, but it was right to think that Kim Hyun-Sung’s power alone wasn’t enough. His current stats were a little bit better than Park Deok-Gu’s. Kim Hyun-Sung’s magic stats were high, but he wasn’t strong enough to go up against a group of monsters.

Since Kim Hyun-Sung was responsible for many things, I’m sure he wanted the others to at least take care of the monsters that were around the shelter.

‘It’s all thanks to his unnecessary sense of responsibility.’

If it wasn’t for that, he would have been able to take a step forward long ago.

While I was thinking about something else, Park Hye-Young grabbed Kim Hyun-Sung, Park Deok-Gu, and my hand in order.

“I look forward to working with you,” she said.

“Likewise,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

I admit that she was a friendly person. As I looked at her while she displayed a fake smile, Park Hye-Young touched the back of my hand and sent me a signal. Of course, Jung Ha-Yan was more important than her.

When I turned my head, I saw Jung Ha-Yan quietly staring at me.

‘What.’

Her expression was a bit different from the expressions I saw from her before. The moment I saw Jung Ha-Yan look at Park Hye-Young in a calm way, it was only for a moment, but I felt goosebumps on my back.

‘Damn it.’

In an instant, I had goosebumps all over my body.

‘What was that just now?’

“Hyung-nim, are you not feeling well? You’re sweating…” Park Deok-Gu pointed out.

“I’m not feeling well…” I said.

“We’re going out on a hunt tomorrow, so you should rest today. It’s because you’ve been studying every day,” he said

“I got it,” I told him.

“Tsk, as if people don’t already know that you’re a teacher…have you not been eating enough food lately? I-I’m not particularly worried about you, hyung-nim, but…you can take my share…” Park Deok-Gu offered.

I wasn’t interested in his mumbling. I quickly turned my head and looked at Jung Ha-Yan again. She now had the same eyes that she usually had.

‘Am I hallucinating?’ was what I thought, but I was certain that I didn’t imagine just imagine what I saw just now. Jung Ha-Yan smiled like a fool as she looked in my way.

‘What the…’

Something was wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt uneasy that I had to gulp.

* * *

“I’ll say it once more. Mr. Deok-Gu will be in the front and behind him will be Mr. Hyun-Sung and Miss Hye-Young. Miss Ha-Yan and I will follow behind. The fight is simple. The shield will be used to block the front and I’ll guard the back. Currently, there aren’t a lot of monsters around the shelter, so after we walk forward a bit, we’ll begin the hunt. Any questions?” I asked.

“No,” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“Nothing.”

“Same here.”

“No, nothing…” Jung Ha-Yan said.

I felt like I went over the plan a few times already. The plan was different compared to when it was just me, Park Deok-Gu, and Kim Hyun-Sung.

This hunt will determine how important the expedition was to Kim Hyun-Sung.

Adding two members to the group wasn’t the only thing we did. Depending on how successful this hunt was, it would change the mindset of the group that was inside the shelter. If everyone returned alive, then the survivors inside the shelter would have more confidence in going outside to hunt. But if something untoward happens, it may complicate things.

There was also a hidden plan involved in gathering more members.

‘I’m sure Kim Hyun-Sung wants to get some brownie points.’

His goal and my goal were pretty similar. It was to obtain Jung Ha-Yan. Of course, I wasn’t approaching her because I had feelings for her. His goal was to become friends with strong people for the predetermined future.

‘Jung Ha-Yan.’

To sum things up, it was returning back to base safely and being friends with the mage that had the legendary rank talent.

There was really no reason to oppose the arrangement and no reason to feel nervous.

‘I need to keep an eye on the situation.’

Jung Ha-Yan’s eyes that I saw back then. It would have been great if I was hallucinating, but I felt like there was a need for me to watch her from afar.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have Miss Ha-Yan stand on the inner side? Being in the same position as you hyung-nim is…” Park Deok-Gu suggested.

“No, we’ll stay like this. This is the best position,” I said, cutting him off.

“Well, if you say so hyung-nim…” Park Deok-Gu said.

“Mr. Hyun-Sung is stronger than we think. It’s ideal to hunt the monsters from the front, so we’ll have Ha-Yan in the back and leave Mr. Hyun-Sung as insurance. As long as we’re not surrounded, this will be the most effective formation for us to use,” I explained.

“Yes, he’s right,” Kim Hyun-Sung said in agreement. I felt like I got some brownie points, and it felt good.

Kim Hyun-Sung spoke quietly while looking at Jung Ha-Yan, who looked slightly down.

“You don’t have to worry so much,” he said, comforting her.

“Excuse me? Oh…thank you,” she said.

“So, I can just have a nice time with Mr. Ki-Young, right?” Park Hye-Young asked.

“You just need to support Mr. Ki-Young, so I think a spear will be a good weapon,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered.

“Okay, got it,” she said.

“Then let’s head out. We’ll be taking the path we mentioned earlier…”

“W-Which way was that…” Park Deok-Gu said.

“I’ll tell him,” I said.

I had the geography of this place in my head.

Park Deok-Gu looked at me with a thankful look. I wasn’t sure if he didn’t have an interest in the surroundings in the first place or if he relied on me too much, but he seemed like he was too lazy to use his head. Seeing him stand up while holding up a huge wooden shield made him look very reliable. To the point that if I were to only look at their outer appearance, I would give more points to Park Deok-Gu than Kim Hyun-Sung, despite the fact that his only gear was the loose leather armor that I made for him and the shield he picked up from the starting point.

“Shall we head out then?” I asked.

“Let’s go,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered.

All of us gave a brief nod.

Both Park Hye-Young and Jung Ha-Yan looked a bit nervous. It was only natural for them to feel that way since they were going to encounter the same monsters they saw at the starting point. I spoke words of comfort to Park Hye-Young, who was next to me.

“There’s no need to worry so much.”

“Was it obvious?” she asked.

“The monsters won’t charge in all at once as they did back at the starting point. We also cleaned up this area recently and since Deok-Gu will be blocking the monsters from the front, all we have to do is attack them with our spears. It might be a little bit scary, but I’m sure you can do it,” I explained.

“You’re more caring than I thought,” she commented.

I had no choice but to care.

‘If you start panicking, then we’ll all die.’

No one knew what was going to happen during a fight. I may even get blindly stabbed by that woman.

When I slightly turned my head, I saw Kim Hyun-Sung talking to Jung Ha-Yan. It seemed like he was helping her with different things, but Jung Ha-Yan looked like she wasn’t interested in him. She either had her head down and ignored him or gave him short answers, making the communication between them difficult. It reminded me of the time when I had to be patient in order to become closer to Jung Ha-Yan.

When I smiled as our eyes met, Jung Ha-Yan nodded with a very happy expression. Thinking that I at least had the upper hand when it came to my relationship with her, I felt good.

“Oh my, are you cheating on me? I thought I was your partner,” Park Hye-Young said.

“I was just checking the back. Please refrain from small talk while we’re moving…” I warned her.

“Yes, I know,” she answered.

Then…

“It’s a monster, please be ready,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Got it,” Park Deok-Gu answered.

I heard Kim Hyun-Sung’s voice from behind me and Park Deok-Gu, who was in the front, mumbled. He must still be nervous because I saw his body becoming tense.

“While Mr. Deok-Gu is blocking the monster, you can kill the monster, Miss Hye-Young. Mr. Ki-Young will prepare for anything that can happen,” I told them.

They nodded. Park Hye-Young, who looked relaxed, was now filled with a bit of fear and anxiety. Even though we were there with her, Park Hye-Young was the one that had to deal the killing blow. It would be strange if she didn’t feel any fear.

I heard a voice from our left.

“Deok-Gu, there’s going to be a monster on the left side,” I said.

“I know hyung-nim,” he said.

Park Deok-Gu jumped in. He immediately turned into a corner and pushed the monster using his shield.

Crack!

With that sound, the monster became stuck between a wall and his shield. Park Hye-Young did follow me inside, but she still looked like she was panicking.

“Kyahhh!”

“Damn it…its face looks annoying as usual,” Park Deok-Gu commented.

“What are you doing?” I asked Park Hye-Young.

Her arms and legs were shaking and I knew exactly the type of situation she was in. It was already a good thing that she didn’t pee on herself.

“H-How,” she said.

“Stab it,” I told her.

“Hey, hurry up and kill it. I can’t hold it for much longer,” Park Deok-Gu warned.

“Oh…”

The relaxed side that she had been showing so far was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes looked determined, but it seemed like her body wasn’t listening to her. She probably didn’t know why she was acting this way.

‘You’re stupid…acting all tough.’

I lightly grabbed Park Hye-Young’s arm from behind her. When I grabbed her trembling hands that were holding onto the spear, her trembling died down. And then, I whispered into her ear. We weren’t in a situation where I could yell at her and I thought that quietly talking to her was more effective than yelling at her.

“If you do this again next time, then we’re all dead. Got it?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“Put your strength into your arms,” I instructed her.

“…….”

I felt her put her strength into her arms.

When she slowly stabbed the body of the monster that Park Deok-Gu was blocking, her arm followed the spear. Even though I was the one that was stabbing it, she could probably feel the movement.

Rip!

With that sound, unknown liquids squirted out. The shock and disgust must’ve caught on to Park Hye-Young because she tried to let go of the spear, but I tightened my grip around her arms.

“It’s not dead yet, so don’t let go,” I told her.

“Gahhhh!”

The monster was struggling, and I wasn’t sure whether it was in pain or if it was mad, but it was trying to scratch Park Deok-Gu, who was blocking it.

While holding Park Hye-Young’s hands from above again, I stabbed the monster. As always, the feedback wasn’t that great.

“Think of it as meat,” I said.

“Okay, okay,” she said.

Rip!

Crack!

We continued to stab it. The monster had already stopped moving, but this was the best method to get someone to adapt to the brutality of killings. Moments later, Park Deok-Gu slightly moved his shield and the monster fell on the ground. I also let go of Park Hye-Young’s hands.

The monster naturally fell apart, but despite that, Park Hye-Young kept stabbing the monster. I didn’t know if she did it in order to escape from her fear, but while biting her lips, she tightened her grip around the spear.

‘I understand that feeling.’

The feeling of taking a life would certainly be unfamiliar to anyone. It didn’t matter whether their opponent was a monster or not.

The horrifying sound continued for a long time. Eventually, I heard the sound of Park Hye-Young panting in exhaustion. It was natural for her to have all sorts of thoughts at this moment. As I approached Park Hye-Young who had collapsed to the ground, I carefully opened my mouth.

“Good job.”

I didn’t hear her answer.