An Ominous Feeling 3
Yoo Ahyoung…
She was, naturally, the top priority recruit.
She still had no class and her trait had not yet awakened, but the fact that her potential for strength was Heroic and her potential for stamina was Legendary was undeniably attractive.
I wasn’t all that fond of her temperament for a front line role, but if I brought her to Blue and put her through intensive training, I felt confident I could cover for that in time.
She is a little passive, though…
With so many trainees, their dispositions varied wildly. Broadly speaking, there were about three kinds.
1. Those who moved on their own.
Most of the assault teams fell into this category.
These were the people who understood best what they had to do and what was coming next, so this type didn’t need to be told twice; they would work hard on their own. Even outside lectures and scheduled training, they would carve out time however they could and move proactively.
2. Those who only did what they were told.
By numbers alone, this was the largest group. They attended lectures and training diligently, and they worried about the future, but once the training period was over, they did not show much initiative.
3. Those who only ate.
The last group was trash not even worth mentioning. No passion, no results, just pieces of garbage clogging up the training grounds and eating for free.
Most of them, I was certain, would end up in the slums after training was over, or in a position where they would be forced to worry about how to survive from one day to the next.
Hmm…
Strictly speaking, Yoo Ahyoung fell somewhere between the second and third categories.
She looked as if she was only eating for free, yet somehow kept up with the curriculum, and her training results were not bad at all, as if proving that Legendary stamina potential for what it was worth.
Honestly, if she had been talentless, I would not have paid her any particular attention.
Because she has talent…
What mattered was that she had talent, in whatever form it took.
It had been a year since I took up residence in Kim Hyunsung’s party.
During that time, while looking at the potential and status windows of many people, I had occasionally found myself thinking one thing.
Strangely common, isn’t it?
I had started to think that Legendary potential was surprisingly common.
That was only natural, really.
In Kim Hyunsung’s party, Park Deokgu and I were the only ones without any potential at all, and everyone we met or saw seemed to have at least one exceptional quality somewhere.
And if their potential wasn’t especially remarkable, then their trait or class was often unusual, so it made sense that my standards had grown higher.
Once I actually arrived at the training center and dug into things properly, though, there weren’t nearly as many people with Legendary-grade talent as I had expected.
Come to think of it, Cho Hyejin didn’t have Legendary-grade talent either.
Even with Heroic-grade potential, someone could still become sufficiently strong. There was a gap between Heroic and anything below it, but Heroic-grade at least meant the ability to reach 90 in a stat.
If I think of it that way, maybe I’m not so bad after all.
In any case, the important thing was that she was a talent.
She lacked a little passion, but just keeping up without falling behind during training and classes made me feel like praising her.
Perhaps the environment around her had helped somewhat. In Class C, she occupied a strangely solitary position.
It’s because of me, probably.
Jealousy makes people ugly.
Besides, until I opened my mouth about her, she probably had not drawn much attention, so it was only natural that she would have earned everyone’s resentment.
While I was lost in thought, Sun Heeyoung’s voice came from beside me.
“The recruitment will probably go through.”
“Ah, you mean Yoo Ahyoung?”
“No. Someone else.”
“Lee Changryeol?”
“Yes. Hyunsung also seemed to have made up his mind. Of course, at first he seemed a little uncertain…”
“Come to think of it, didn’t he spar with Yeri too?”
“Yes. The result was rather good. He said he liked the fact that he was aiming to become an assassin, and that his combat sense was innate.”
“Did you see it too, Heeyoung?”
“Yes. We needed a witness, and also had to prepare for any unforeseen situation…. I don’t really know much about the combat of close-quarters classes, but he certainly seemed desperate. He threw the sand he’d been holding in his hand the moment it started, and he didn’t hesitate to go for vital points. Yeri was a little taken aback. It looked like he had hidden a poison needle in his mouth as well… which may be why he was wearing a mask… In any case, it was impressive.”
“Ahhh….”
Besides Yoo Ahyoung, there was another recruit I had in mind: Lee Changryeol, an archer.
His potential looked a little underwhelming, though…
Agility potential: Heroic or higher. Strength potential: below Heroic. Intelligence: Heroic or higher.
The rest of his stats were generally mediocre.
Even so, the reason I had used one of my priority recruitment slots on him was that he had trained specifically for close-range combat.
That was after he had already completed his advancement as an archer.
What stood out was that he was thinking about growing into the assassin branch, an advanced class above archers.
Having a clear goal helped.
I couldn’t say for certain whether his combat sense was truly exceptional, since I hadn’t seen it myself, but…
He must have some guts. He practically showed his whole hand while the guild master was watching.
On a stage meant to test himself, throwing sand and fighting dirty in every possible way was not the sort of line a normal person would think of crossing.
It even made me wonder whether we had been testing him, or whether he had been testing us as well.
This is my style. How about it?
That was probably what he wanted to say.
Of course, Kim Hyunsung was not the type to care about that sort of thing. In fact, he had described the man’s behavior as innate combat sense, which meant he and Lee Changryeol probably got along well.
They had not signed an official contract yet, but if anything, he was basically a semi-member of the guild.
I had heard he had even eaten a meal with Kim Hyunsung, so the contract was all but certain.
“Things are going well.”
“Yes. So we’re down to three recruitment rights now?”
“Yes. To be honest, aside from those two, there aren’t many people who catch my eye, so I’ve been putting the rest on hold for now…”
“Thinking about how little time is left before the demonstration…”
“It is definitely making this difficult.”
Part of the reason for this round of recruitment was to create a second party for the guild apart from Kim Hyunsung’s party.
The immediate issue was how to build that party aside from Yoo Ahyoung and Lee Changryeol.
If we included An Gimo, who was classified as a battle priest, into the second party as well, the front line would at least become sturdier, but as things stood, the back line was far too weak.
We can’t just recruit randomly.
Quality over size.
As befit the beloved regressor’s instructions, I had no choice but to keep thinking carefully about what kind of party to assemble.
There were some with promising signs, but many more who made me think, Do we really need to recruit this person?
Joining Blue was no different from receiving overwhelming support, so even just from a resource standpoint, I had to be careful.
That was the reason Sun Heeyoung and I had been so busy lately. As for Jung Hayan, she had never been involved in guild affairs to begin with.
“Heeyoung, I’d like to read the assault team documents one more time… ah. You can read them first, if you’d like.”
“No, no. Please go ahead. I was just about to leave anyway… I have something else to take care of today.”
“All right.”
After handing over the papers she had been reading, Sun Heeyoung bowed her head slightly and headed outside.
After I returned the greeting, I naturally started reading the document containing the assault team’s brief profiles and results.
It wasn’t enough for me to rely only on what I saw with Mind's Eye; I also needed some measure of how much growth they had achieved at the training center.
As I turned the next page absentmindedly, a name that felt somewhat familiar caught my eye.
Han Sora.
It made sense that I had not paid much attention to her after I had casually mentioned her to Jung Hayan.
Her results are better than I expected. She’s keeping up in class too…
I had felt it during class as well: she did have something going for her.
I may have spoken rather harshly at the time, but if she had managed to make it into the assault team, then she must have some kind of quality to her.
Even so, she would likely hit her limit eventually. Still, with the shortage of usable mages, she was the kind of talent a mid-sized guild or a large guild would want to take in.
It looked as though the Red Mercenaries were keeping an eye on her too, but I had no particular intention of stopping them.
Unlike with Ito Souta or that old bastard Lee Seolho, I saw no reason to go out of my way and tangle with this woman.
She’s going to fall apart soon enough anyway…
That was when there came a sudden knock from outside.
“Come in.”
As soon as I spoke, the door slowly opened, and the face of the person who had come to my temporary office came into view.
“What the hell?”
The question I had meant to ask in my head slipped straight out of my mouth.
I thought that made perfect sense. Standing there looking back at me was Han Sora, wearing a slight smile.
Speak of the devil…
The sight of her staring at me with such self-assured confidence was pretty hard to look at.
I had no idea what she was thinking, but she looked as though she had come here with some fairly shameless idea in mind, and her expression showed that she was expecting something.
“I take it you’re wondering why I’m here?”
I wasn’t particularly curious. There was only one reason a trainee could be here.
“Did the Red Mercenaries have a meeting with you?”
“Correct.”
“Trainees aren’t allowed in here casually. I think it’d be best if you left.”
I waved my hand dismissively without even looking at her, but when I heard what she said next, I had no choice but to lift my head in silence.
“I came because I have something I want to say. More precisely, an offer I want to make. A trade would be the better word for it. Ah! Of course, before that, I’d like to apologize for my earlier rudeness.”
“…….”
I flicked my finger, and Yuliena rose quietly into the air. Han Sora flinched.
“You’d do well not to threaten me. It’s pointless anyway, isn’t it? Aren’t instructors not supposed to lay a hand on trainees?”
“It’s not absolute. So it would be best if you quietly retraced your steps.”
“I said I had something that might help you.”
“Hoo…”
“I want to join the Blue Guild.”
And what am I supposed to do with that?
“It’ll be something that helps you, I promise. I’ve thought about it a lot, and starting in Blue doesn’t seem so bad. If you offer me favorable terms, I’m willing to join.”
I had no idea where that confidence came from, but her nose seemed to be pointing skyward.
She apparently thought I would laugh and say, “Ho ho ho, what a bold one,” and sign her up.
“I don’t think it’d be a bad offer for Blue either. Mage manpower is rather valuable, after all.”
“You’re unqualified. And a trade only becomes a trade when both sides have something to give… I like the word trade, but no matter how you look at it, you don’t seem to have anything to offer me.”
“Well, I’m not sure who exactly is unqualified here… but since you’re tucked away under Instructor Jung Hayan’s wing, do you really think you’re all that special?”
This crazy bitch.
“And your assumption is completely wrong. I came here to strike a bargain, and this is the kind of story that would appeal to you too.”
“What can you offer?”
“Your reputation. And everything else.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
The moment I finished speaking, she suddenly started tearing off the clothes she was wearing right there in front of me.
It was, admittedly, a pretty good show, though I couldn’t say I didn’t understand why she was doing it.
This one’s really insane…
I didn’t know whether Cha Heera had felt the same way when I had first gone to meet her, but the woman in front of me looked utterly incapable of making any sensible distinction.
“Now we can finally start talking, can’t we? What do you think?”
She lifted her chin and looked down at me, and the sight was absurd beyond words. I had no idea how she had arrived at that conclusion, but to think the whole point of her effort was a sex scandal…
Should I kill her?
It would be a little troublesome, but I was confident I could handle it.
After all, she was only a trainee with nothing to her name, and manipulating public opinion seemed simple enough.
Of course, with the demonstration looming, it wouldn’t be easy to cover up the fact that an instructor had killed a trainee, but her face was so irritating I could barely stand it.
Just then, I heard a voice from outside as someone knocked on the door.
“Oppa? Can I come in?”
At the perfect moment, Jung Hayan had appeared. No, I thought bitterly, maybe it wasn’t perfect timing at all. Maybe that woman had calculated it.
It felt like a rather shrewd move.
That victorious expression appeared in my vision again.
“I don’t particularly want to make a scene about this either, you know? Jung Hayan’s instructor is going to barge in any second now. Are you sure this is fine?”
If Jung Hayan came in, the one in danger would not be me but this woman.
“You don’t want to lose everything you’ve built up, do you? An instructor with a lover getting dragged into a sexual harassment scandal involving a trainee isn’t exactly a pretty picture… and if you end up having trouble with Instructor Jung Hayan, that would be a serious problem, wouldn’t it?”
“You lunatic.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Instructor. I hear that a lot.”
It felt as if she didn’t even understand what I was trying to imply.
All at once, I lost the will to continue.
The very fact that I had thought about wrestling with someone like this, even for a moment, gave me a kind of secondhand shame.
What am I even doing with a kid like this…?
“Hoo…”
“You don’t need to worry. Once the admission matter is handled, it’ll be as if nothing ever happened.”
“There should be a cloak in the cabinet next to the desk. Just throw it on and leave quietly. Then nothing will happen.”
“Pardon?”
“You arrogant idiot who thinks she’s smart. I’m starting to feel pathetic for even thinking of playing along with you for a second. Just go already… then maybe you’ll still have something left to salvage.”
“Are you really just going to let me go? You’ll regret it. Can’t you hear Instructor Jung Hayan’s voice outside?”
“Talking to you any longer is annoying. Just go. I’m busy.”
“I did give you a chance.”
“I gave you one too. You’re the one who chose.”
I saw her face with her lip bitten hard between her teeth.
She still seemed to think I was bluffing, and she had yet to come to her senses.
She hesitated, as if now that it was time to do it she had started to waver, but she did not put on the cloak in the cabinet as I had advised.
To be honest, telling her to throw on the cloak and leave had been almost impulsive.
For some reason, it made me feel as though I was becoming pathetic by association, and that sudden bout of self-loathing had changed my mind.
I don’t want to see Hayan crying either…
That was honestly a pretty significant reason as well.
I wasn’t totally trash, after all.
In any case, after ignoring the consideration I had shown by telling her to go out and live like a human being, she opened the door and stepped out in a state that was frankly ridiculous.
“Ah… Oppa!”
What Jung Hayan met there was surely the sight of Han Sora with her clothes nearly half off.
“…….”
For the first time in a long while, Jung Hayan’s expression twisted properly before my eyes.