“Wake up, Oppa.”
“Ugh…”
“We’ll be leaving soon.”
“Okay…”
I slowly opened my eyes, only to see Jung Hayan right in front of my face, just a few millimeters away. However, I did not stir, for I had already gotten used to her. Having her look into me with her large, unblinking eyes had become a routine.
As I sat up, I gave us a little distance and began to rub at my eyes.
‘I feel strangely tired…’
Even though I had a pretty good sleep, my fatigue remained.
Of course, I wasn’t just tired. The magical power that was on the verge of exhaustion had also been somewhat filled.
Seeing Jung Hayan with a healthier complexion, it seemed that, if one’s magic stat was high, the recovery rate was also higher.
“How many hours did I sleep?”
“About 3 hours and 40 minutes.”
“You should’ve woken me up a little faster.”
“Y-You were sleeping so well that I didn’t notice… I’m sorry.”
“No. You don’t have to apologize.”
“May I wash you?”
“Ah… Yes. Please.”
Of course, this didn’t mean that she would wash me by hand. As Hayan chanted a spell, my face started to feel moist. Magic proved to be convenient, even for the daily necessities of one’s life. Of course, since it felt like someone else had been washing me, I felt a little uncomfortable, but this was something to be thankful for in the dungeon.
As soon as they packed their luggage, the expedition members were already starting to clear up the camp.
No dictating was needed. Everyone already knew what they had to do.
At this, I could confirm that most of the Black Swan members here were veterans from the slow yet sure movements that they exhibited.
Nevertheless, some of their other members moved in a relatively quick and panicked manner, informing me that not all of them were experienced when it came to expeditions.
The smoothness in the way they moved was surprising, considering that they were all women. At least, they were all aware of how dangerous this place was.
One could lose their life with just the tiniest mistake.
As I mulled this over, a voice called out to me.
“Kiyoung-ssi, you’re up.”
It was the lovely Kim Hyunsung.
“Ah… Yes. I’m a little late.”
“No, no. Actually, I was going to wake you up just before the departure, but I saw Hayan-ssi in the tent… Are you feeling well?”
Strangely, I felt flattered that he was looking out for me. He probably knew that my body had not yet fully recovered.
In fact, Park Yeon-joo and Kim Hyunsung were the ones who suffered real damage, but as my body was weak, I felt extremely tired just by being drained of my magic power.
“Can I hold your hand for a minute?”
“Ah… Yes. Of course.”
As soon as he finished talking, some of the members’ gazes focused on us. The Black Swan members who had been busy cleaning up stopped and turned to watch what we were doing.
‘I think I know what they’re thinking…’
Something similar had already happened once.
I could see them swooning at the sight of the two of us standing close together, with Hyunsung clasping my hand and closing his eyes.
‘This bastard…’
Although I knew that he was only doing his best to check the condition of my magic power, it may have looked affectionate for the rest of the members.
“You seem to be okay.”
“Yes. I’m not fully recovered, but thanks to your consideration, I was able to rest.”
“That’s good, Kiyoung-ssi.”
‘Don’t smile like that, you bastard.’
He was showing me a smile he hadn’t ever shown, even to Park Yeon-joo. My anxiety spiked, as this only seemed to empower the members’ misunderstanding.
Come to think of it. I began to be suspicious of ‘How Alchemists and Genius Prosecutors Love.’
I knew it was just a fictional novel, but I had slowly grown to be suspicious of the story it contained.
‘Fuck…’
When I get back to Lindel, I would have to read it once to figure out the situation.
Besides this, our expedition appeared to be sailing smoothly. The Black Swan expedition began to move faster and faster. They reminded me of veteran soldiers expertly packing up after listening to a charity ball.
Strangely, they all seemed to be full of spirit.
I think this expedition was different for them because there were men around.
“We’ll be leaving in a bit. As we said in the briefing, the destination is the administration office. We will follow the tentacles of the Fragments of the Ancient God. Make a last check for anything missing, and be careful not to touch the tentacles during the march. There may be an accident, so wizards, please cast defensive magic in rotation.”
“Okay.”
“We will move as fast as possible as long as we are fully recovered. Hyunsung-ssi said that he would be in the lead, so it would be nice if you can follow us as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
Immediately after the short briefing, we stood up and started walking.
The only difference from the previous one was that Kim Hyunsung had begun to walk at a very fast pace. Usually, those who lead this kind of march were the archers.
Among them, it was common sense to leave the task to rangers, who specialized in reconnaissance and trap dismantling.
In Blue, the pursuer Kim Ye-ri was included in this position, and of course, the number of rangers who joined this expedition was more than three. The fact that they all followed behind meant they had placed complete trust in the de facto leader in front.
One would think that everything was possible just because they were strong, but this was not the case at all. Such was the exquisiteness of jobs.
For example, in Cha Hee-ra’s case, she could never do what a Ranger could.
She wouldn’t be able to dismantle a trap, only to destroy it, and even then, she wouldn’t be able to sense where it was located.
When the Rangers who, at first, looked at Kim Hyunsung unwelcomely began their march, the surprise soon showed on their faces as he expertly led us around.
‘Was he a Ranger in the first round?’
It is natural to think that even in the first round, he would be a swordsman.
Perhaps he had chosen a ranger-type class.
‘Did he take a growth route like Kim Ye-ri?’
Perhaps his experience stemmed from the past. At this point, what did it matter? Amidst my curiosity, only one thing was for sure—Kim Hyunsung was the most comfortable when he was the one in front and leading.
“There seems to be no trap. I’ll speed it up a little more.”
“Yes. Check.”
“I see some golems in front. We cleared them up.”
“Yes. Check.”
“I see monsters of heroic-grade or higher. They seem to be out of the influence of the system.”
“We cleared them up.”
The most beautiful part was that we were able to move at such a fast pace.
Named monsters with a lower level of heroic-grade were cleared immediately.
Luckily, we didn’t see a legendary-grade monster, but it was hard to tell whether Kim Hyunsung avoided it on purpose or if he really didn’t come across it.
In fact, he didn’t even give us a chance to see the monsters that came our way, slashing them apart the moment his eyes settled upon them.
Seeing that even the monsters which seemed quite large had had their heads blown away, the mythic-grade sword had really helped Hyunsung a lot.
Seeing his efficiency, the Rangers had begun to bow their heads in shame.
‘He’s fast!’
The speed at which the expedition advanced was higher than expected. It felt as if we were in a race rather than a dungeon exploration.
Instead of large rooms, broken pavilions, or broken items, narrow streets or golems began to appear. Meanwhile, the tentacles stuck to the floor or wrapped around the pillars were getting thinner. This meant that we were approaching the end.
Shortly after that, the tentacles’ end began to appear, yet Kim Hyunsung did not stop.
Although the road seemed to be cut off, he continued moving to a place where the flow of magical power was still being felt.
Arriving here in less than six hours would not have been expected by Max, who was moving around while watching a large video.
-N-No!
[Error]
[The main program is not operating.]
-Why isn’t the main program operating? Is he already being eroded? No, no… this can’t happen.
[Error]
[The main program is not operating.]
-Even a preliminary program needs to be reinforced. If this is pierced, it’s over. I need to put all the reserve magic power into the main program. That’s the right thing to do. The museum will be destroyed, but… I have to protect the continent, the continent. The Crack Guardian entrusted it to me. I can’t give up like this. Grunt…
[Injecting magic power into the preliminary program.]
While preparing for the battle, we had entered quite confidently, but what was unfolding in front of me proved to be quite the spectacle.
A little boy with blonde hair was moving around and controlling a device made of magic circles.
He didn’t even notice we had arrived, or perhaps, he couldn’t afford to.
The Ancient God’s Fragment shown in the large hologram of magical power seemed to be held by blue magical power, but anyone could see that it would not be enough to seal him back in.
As expected, the preliminary program and the Fragment of the Ancient God were fighting. It looked terrible, even by watching the video. We were fortunate not to have gotten stuck in that battle room.
-No matter what it costs, I have to seal it again.
As I took another step, Max whirled around, apparently not expecting us to find him.
-How… did you…
I thought he was a machine-like guy, but the original body certainly harbored emotions.
The expression “Why?” was seen first, followed by surprise.
Then, fear etched onto his expression.
Surprisingly, the last emotion that he showed was a sense of responsibility.
While holding a device made of a magic circle tightly, he began to shout.
-No, no! You… you… trash! You filthy Ancient God, minions! Do you think I’ll let you destroy the continent?!
‘We’re not the bad guys, you bastard.’
I knew that, at this point, the situation had completely changed.