chapter 82

I awoke to a loud atmosphere.

The last thing I could remember the day before was choosing my third job, testing some things with it, and then collapsing in bed.

As if I had just gotten out of a comatose state, I felt nauseatingly groggy.

‘How much time has passed?’

The problem was that I had hardly slept the whole time I had been working. My room had not yet been cleaned up, so I had chosen to spend the night in my workshop.

‘I still feel so tired…’

If I had known that my condition wouldn’t have improved even after getting some rest, I would have cleaned up after myself the night before. In that way, I could have used the bed that Jung Hayan had infused with magic.

As I turned my head, I caught sight of Hwang Jeong-yeon sitting on the far side of the sofa.

‘You must be tired as well…’

She had tried her hardest to follow my schedule. Therefore, she must have also felt exhausted.

Although I had not expected her to stay here, I did not feel alert. I felt pleased to know that I was not so wary of people anymore. The more I could trust, the better.

It was then that I began to realize where all the noise was coming from.

“Gosh… My hyung seems to have done a lot of work, too. The whole second floor is a mess. Oh, Hayan! If you keep running like that, you’ll fall. Hee-young, please do something.”

“…”

“First, we should organize our luggage. Hee-young, pass me the white one…”

“Yes, of course.”

I knew what this meant. My fellow party members were back.

I had begun to smile at this realization. However, upon seeing Hwang Jeong-yeon groggily stretching, I began to panic.

‘Fuck.’

I could hear the sound of footsteps frantically making their way up to the second floor. I knew who that was.

‘Jung Hayan.’

Even though Jeong-yeon and I had never indulged in any physical contact, it would still be bad for Hayan to see her here. It would not be beneficial for Hwang Jeong-yeon either, for she counted on me to introduce Park Deokgu.

“Oppa… Oppa…” Jung Hayan’s voice floated through the workshop’s door. I knew the location-tracking magic was still working, so I couldn’t pretend that I wasn’t here.

I felt like a protagonist in a horror movie.

Rattle!

“Oppa… Are you there? Are you there?”

Rattle!

“Are you there? Oppa?”

Rattle!

“You didn’t even sleep? Maybe you were still researching… Perhaps we should quiet down, for now, Hayan. It’s still so early in the morning…”

‘Nice save, Park Deokgu.’

“Or maybe there’s something wrong with my hyung… Perhaps he fell down?”

‘…I take that back.’

Thump-thump.

At this, Jung Hayan resumed her relentless knocking on the door. It was natural for Hwang Jeong-yeon to wake up from all the commotion.

It only took her a few seconds to grasp what was happening. Her eyes widened.

“Oppa! Oh, are you still sleeping?”

I almost snorted at the question. If I were asleep, then she most certainly would not receive a reply.

“What’s going on?”

‘Ugh, what a situation…’

As I gestured towards the window, I saw Hwang Jeong-yeon nodding desperately.

“Ah… Deokgu. I slept late and only woke up now.”

“Oppa…”

“Ah! We’re sorry to have disturbed you.”

“You came a little later than expected. I’ll open the door now. Wait.”

As I spoke, Hwang Jeong-yeon dashed to the window. I could have said we were studying together, but even that would look suspicious. The fact that we were alone together at this time of day would not sit well with Jung Hayan.

“Ah!”

Hwang Jeong-yeon, who intended to jump from the second floor, let out a short scream.

Rattle, rattle, rattle.

Jung Hayan, who by now sensed that something was amiss, began to shake the door relentlessly.

After making sure there were no telltale signs that Hwang Jeong-yeon had been here, I opened the door slightly, and the faces I hadn’t seen in a long time reflected in my view.

First, I saw Park Deokgu, whose simple smile I had missed.

I didn’t know why, but somehow, the guy’s eyes were red. Looking at the wounds on his body, it seemed that the expedition was not easy.

Of course, Jung Hayan looked the happiest. She first looked around the room to see if she could pinpoint where the scream had come from, but soon, she redirected her attention to me.

In an instant, tears filled her large eyes. I, too, felt the same way. It felt great having her back.

“Oh uh… Oppa…”

With this unfamiliar feeling bubbling up inside me, I began to stroke her head affectionately. Jung Hayan then began to sob.

“Oh, Oppa…”

“Was the expedition hard?”

“Oh…” As she couldn’t speak properly, Jung Hayan resorted to nodding her head vigorously.

I tried to wipe all the tears from her face, but I couldn’t. Instead, I opened my arms out wide, and Jung Hayan rushed in at once. Her face rubbed against my chest.

“I missed you…”

“I’ve missed you too, Hayan…”

I was half-sincere in my words.

Pretty soon, both Kim Hyunsung and Sun Hee-young appeared in my line of sight. Seeing as Hayan wouldn’t let me go, I had to settle for waving at them as a form of greeting.

I didn’t even need to ask them. Assessing the atmosphere was enough.

‘The expedition was successful.’

“It’s been a long time, Kiyoung.”

“Yep, Hyunsung. Did the expedition go okay?”

“It wasn’t satisfactory, but it worked. Ye-ri had only managed to change to her second job since she was only on her first one, but Hee-young, Deokgu, and Hayan all finished their jobs. All of their stats also rose considerably.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

I knew Kim Hyunsung’s role as their nanny wasn’t easy, either.

Upon seeing Hyunsung’s curious stare, I knew what was coming my way.

“How about you, Kiyoung?”

“The same is true of me. I’ve raised my stats and have gotten a new job.”

“What did you get this time?”

“Oh? Hyung also got a new job?”

“Yes, I did. I’ll go down and explain what it is.”

“Ah.”

“It’s because it would be difficult for me to explain what kind of job I got. It will be quicker to show you in person.”

“Is this a high-grade alchemist job?”

“Yes. The status window says it’s a newly-discovered job.”

“You mean it doesn’t stem from your existing job?”

“It probably doesn’t.”

“That’s… I’m a little surprised.”

“Thanks to that, I had no choice. If several jobs appeared at the same time, I would have postponed choosing until you guys came back. However, there was no option. I don’t regret getting it, however.”

“Hearing you say that makes me feel a little more curious.”

Jung Hayan was still clinging onto me, but I could see that Park Deokgu also looked intrigued.

“Aw… I should have been with you in that glorious moment… It’s a shame my hyung couldn’t have helped me choose my third job…”

“You will also like mine.”

“Oh, really?”

I didn’t know how Kim Hyunsung would react to my new job, but I knew Park Deokgu would like it for sure.

“It’s really amazing that you managed to get a job on your own.”

“Sun Hee-young, however…”

“Yes. For me, this is my fourth job change.”

“I see.”

I could now understand why the atmosphere felt warmer. Everyone’s relationships had improved. It felt like the new members had mixed well with the old ones.

Park Deok-gu and Kim Ye-ri seemed to be highly attentive to Sun Hee-young’s every move.

‘Hmm.’

It seemed that she was now the third in command, right after Kim Hyunsung and I. Since she was the one with the highest specs during the expedition, it was natural for her to achieve this position.

‘Not bad.’

Although she considers it a new service to beat indolent people useless to society, I knew she was still a competent person.

She was different from Jung Hayan, and in that sense, she had gained such a position. However, I was hoping that it would be Park Deokgu, who would act more proactively.

‘I don’t think he’s on that level yet…’

Putting that aside, the overall atmosphere felt cheerful. We kept up a steady stream of conversation as we made our way to the training center for a demonstration.

Demonstrations were necessary for the sole purpose of showing that the time spent in training was not for naught. I was always the one who garnered the least amount of attention. However…

This time, things were different.

It was only natural that they should recognize my true value. I wasn’t just an alchemist who rode off on their money. I knew their valuation of me would rise today.

“I want you to watch me properly. The magic power itself isn’t that bad, but I haven’t been able to determine its efficiency yet…”

“Yes, of course.”

“Hayan, can you step away for a moment?”

“Ah… Yes. Oppa.”

At this, I slowly began to memorize my intended spell. My prepared catalyst reacted as soon as I applied my magic to it.

Since I didn’t have that much magic power, I felt it was only right to use this amount of mana.

There were two things that I had prepared.

One was a catalyst depicting a magic circle with various magic types, and another was a catalyst that could receive spells. I also had materials with the same information value and materials that could interact with each other if needed.

The quality of said materials was also important for the conjuring of the magic circle, but their information value took precedence.

‘All of this was based off on Jung Hayan’s application of magic to my teeth and other objects.’

As my thoughts began to scatter, I found myself getting a little distracted. However, it wasn’t much of a struggle completing the rest of the spell. After all, this was a simple incantation.

That was when the tiny monster cells that had been flying towards the spell began to expand. Watching the transition from cells to the flesh was grotesque, but it was intriguing to watch.

Kwajijijik, kujik, kadedeuk.

Incoherent sounds began to fill up the venue. It sounded like a cacophony of bones twisting and cells exploding.

Although this was a sound that was familiar to me, it was not to the others. I saw Kim Ye-ri covering her ears and grimacing.

Eventually, the huge flesh that I had conjured began to form into the shape I desired.

The giant lump of flesh soon transformed into a giant monster hand.

Quad-de-deuk!

Even before all this happened, I could feel everyone’s gazes directed my way, almost as if asking for an explanation.

“Huh… Hyung…”

“This… How did you manage this?” Even Kim Hyunsung was shocked.

Upon seeing his reaction, pleasure began to crawl down my spine.

“It’s a characteristic that comes with my new job.”