Crack Museum (3)
The expedition members who had finished the mock battle were all gasping for breath, and yet every one of them seemed to be swept up in a strange, unaccountable exhilaration.
Some were shouting in admiration, others nodding as if they’d just witnessed something profound.
It made sense, really. They were all filled with a thrill they couldn’t quite explain.
Even Park Deokgu and Kim Hyunsung were clenching their fists.
Yeah, I can understand that.
Of course I could understand it.
Even I, the one who had personally taken part in this training, was feeling a curious kind of pleasure.
Most of them probably thought it was fun.
Whether it was a sport or a game, that was how it was supposed to feel.
Sure, this was a different kind of training, but to the orchestra members themselves, it had probably felt like they’d pulled off a perfect ensemble performance. It was only natural they’d look like that.
If I were to compare it to soccer, it was as if ten players had combined to create a flawless goal. In an AOS game, it would be the equivalent of five players pulling off the perfect team fight.
There hadn’t been a single snag from beginning to end. The training had ended smoothly, and the expedition force of nearly thirty people had moved as though they were one body.
Their paths hadn’t tangled. Their swaps and timing had been perfect.
Even I, the one who had formed this expedition myself, had been startled, so there was no need for any more explanation than that.
Of course, the ones who reacted most intensely were Black Swan’s strategy team and their guild master, Park Yeonju.
I remembered their expressions had been rather lukewarm when I first proposed a formation that was somewhat unfamiliar to them.
“It’s a little unfamiliar to us. Some of our guild’s first-rank members are missing too…”
In particular, Black Swan’s strategy team had been subtly cold about it.
Which I could understand.
I’d thought of the first run as a trial myself, and from their perspective, it must have seemed unfortunate that several of their key first-rank members were absent.
“Still, I think it would be best to try it once.”
That training, which began with the lovable regressor’s one remark and Park Yeonju’s approval, had elevated the temporary expedition force to the status of a proper one in less than thirty minutes.
As I nodded at the fairly satisfying result, Park Yeonju brushed dust from her equipment and spoke again.
“This is really… unexpected. Honestly, I never trusted the support strategy team all that much, but this… of course, the real thing might be different, but the feeling is completely different.”
What was a little amusing was that Kim Hyunsung seemed more pleased than I was.
There was a strange look of pride on his face.
The kid…
That expression was proof that he trusted me, so there was no way I could dislike it.
On the contrary, it was gratifying that I’d once again proven my usefulness.
“Kiyoung, you’ve shown outstanding ability in so many areas… This was actually the first time I’d ever entrusted someone with forming and organizing a thirty-person expedition, so I was a bit worried, but I’m glad it turned out well.”
“The first time?”
“Yes. Ah, of course, during the Castle Rock siege I did command a large force, but organizing a thirty-person expedition was a first.”
“Ha…”
“I always think this, but you really do seem to have so much talent, Kiyoung.”
“No, Hyunsung. This isn’t something you can explain by saying someone has talent or doesn’t. If I told you this was the most perfect thing I’ve ever experienced among all the hunts, expeditions, and trainings I’ve been through, would you understand? This is truly… this is absurd. You only got information about our guild members the other day, and you probably still didn’t even know all the members’ names…”
“Hahaha.”
“Forming a large force and forming an expedition are completely different things to begin with. By common sense, this is just too strange. And even with the restriction that the average luck stat had to be sixty or higher…”
Seeing the anxious look on Kim Hyunsung’s face loosen a little made me think he was, in fact, pleased.
Why are you the one looking prouder?
And he wasn’t the only one.
Park Deokgu and Jung Hayan, who had both joined this expedition, were openly looking smug too.
Judging by the way they kept being bombarded with questions from the other Black Swan members, they were clearly interested as well.
“Our hyung’s a genius! A real genius, I tell you! Genius!”
I could hear Park Deokgu’s voice faintly.
Don’t praise me like that, you idiot.
Of course, it was nice to be praised, but his problem was always that he went too far.
While the expedition members were building their own little rapport, Park Yeonju was still looking at me.
Her expression was still one of confusion, and somehow that made me more bewildered than she was.
“How did you do it? This is…”
“It’s simple. It was just statistics.”
“I know that much. Turning reports from exploration logs into numbers and building data from them… our guild’s dungeon strategy team does that too.”
“I received a lot of help from Jihye.”
“Jihye? Ah, yes, Jihye is certainly capable and intelligent, but…”
To be honest, it wasn’t entirely my own work.
The troop formation had been almost entirely my responsibility, but I’d been able to reach the result using data that Lee Jihye had prepared in advance.
I’d relied on her help a great deal, especially for things like the expedition members’ movement routes and their swaps.
In fact, the data she had was the kind she didn’t even share with her own guild, so it was fair to say I’d gotten a tremendous amount of help from it.
And besides, Lee Jihye was…
A commander.
Her chosen class was Commander, so in this sort of thing she was naturally a little more perceptive than I was.
You could say the system itself had acknowledged the synergy.
Even I was surprised by how good the result was.
We got lucky.
What should have been a process of trial, revision, and repeat had hit the jackpot on the very first try.
It was like a half-hearted golf shot that somehow turned into a hole-in-one.
A formation I’d expected to need at least three days of tinkering with had succeeded in one go.
Probably if someone told me to do the exact same thing again, I wouldn’t be able to.
“You’re certainly capable, but this is just too absurd, no, impossible. Kiyoung, if you’re free, would you possibly consider joining Black Swan—”
It seemed to have been quite a shock, because she looked like she was about to say something she absolutely shouldn’t have in front of Kim Hyunsung.
When Kim Hyunsung let out a small cough, she seemed to realize her mistake, and her face flushed red.
“Ah. I’m sorry, Hyunsung. I was a little…”
“It’s all right. Guild Master of Black Swan. It’s only natural to covet talent when you’re the head of a group.”
“Ah! I wasn’t making a recruitment offer. I was just really surprised… If it’s not too rude, could you tell me whether there was some other method you used? It doesn’t have to be today…”
“Hmm…”
Come to think of it, I did owe Park Yeonju a personal debt because of the Deokgu matter.
It seemed only right to give her some kind of tip.
Of course, if I were to explain it from beginning to end, I’d also have to talk about my own trait, so I had no choice but to come up with a convenient explanation.
It might have sounded a little unfair to Black Swan’s strategy team, but…
I should say what needs to be said.
If that was a tip, then it was still a tip.
“It was really just luck. I had originally expected to spend three days on it myself…”
“Three days would already be amazing.”
“Ahem… In any case, there are some reasons I can’t really go into, but one thing I can say for certain is that the reason I was able to achieve these results with such an unfamiliar formation is probably because I’m an outsider.”
“Pardon?”
“Any formation or organization made by an internal strategy team is bound to be influenced by internal factors. From what I’ve heard, the strategy team is made up of people who had no choice but to retire…”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“Those people are still influenced by their relationships, too. Even if two people have the same ability, reality dictates that they’ll still favor the side they feel more drawn to. I’m sure there are people in Black Swan’s second tier who are wasting their talent. The ones I discovered were mostly like that. It’s difficult for guilds like ours, which are centered on a small elite force, to run into that problem, but… Black Swan or Red Mercenary are different.”
“Ah… I see.”
“If we can resolve problems like that, things will improve even further than they are now.”
“Yes. Thank you for the advice.”
“Not at all. It was a good experience for me too, and more than anything, the reason this result came out was probably because you’re well trained as a matter of course. This is certainly Black Swan.”
For a brief moment, amidst the rather warm and friendly atmosphere, I felt as though her expression had gone a little cold.
That was when I remembered something Lee Jihye had once said.
There’s a lot of factionalism here. It’s not just because it’s women gathering or anything like that… it’s just obvious that people are splitting into sides and fighting. Honestly.
I remembered Lee Jihye lamenting it as one of Black Swan’s flaws.
Judging from Park Yeonju’s expression, she was probably under stress from a similar kind of problem.
I couldn’t be sure, but after this expedition ended, I had a feeling there would be some internal reshuffling in the guild.
Now I almost feel bad…
It had little to do with me, but I found myself wondering about the fate of the dungeon strategy team, who had been struggling in their own way.
This might actually be good for Lee Jihye.
Maybe she had been waiting for me to say something like this.
When I casually turned my head, I saw the corners of her mouth lift at once, so it seemed my guess had been right.
Shaking off the random thoughts piling up in my head, I heard Kim Hyunsung’s voice addressing me.
“You worked hard, Kiyoung.”
“No. It’s not enough to call it hard work. This time I really did get a lot of help from Jihye, and, as I keep saying, I was lucky. Even I was shocked by the result.”
“There’s no need to be so modest.”
I’m serious, so why won’t you believe me, you bastard?
I got the feeling that no amount of further explanation would matter. It was best to change the subject.
“When do we depart, then…?”
“The schedule will probably be moved up a little. We’d originally planned to allow more time for preparations, but Black Swan probably didn’t expect the expedition force to be organized this quickly. As you’d imagine, there will be some changes to the schedule.”
“So it’s good news for Black Swan.”
“Yes. Even if she acts like nothing’s wrong, Yeonju is quite anxious. I’ve heard there are many members she treasures among those who are currently isolated. It’s only natural that she’d want to rescue them as quickly as possible.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
When I lifted my gaze and looked at Kim Hyunsung, an anxious expression stood out on his face, unlike before.
He had been making that kind of face a lot lately, but today he looked more unsettled than usual.
It wasn’t a phrase that suited Kim Hyunsung, but he looked a bit like a puppy that needed to pee.
The expression he’d been wearing just moments ago, proud and pleased, felt like a lie.
His lips kept moving as if he had something to say, but it never quite came out.
The kid… got something else to worry about again?
I couldn’t be the answer to everything, but taking care of his mental state was still part of my job.
Since he seemed to find it hard to speak, I had no choice but to open the door for him first.
“Do you perhaps have something you’d like to say?”
“Ah… I suppose I was showing it too much.”
“Not at all.”
He looked embarrassed for a moment, but then seemed to gather his courage and slowly opened his mouth again. I thought he was probably going to talk about the expedition, but what came out of his mouth was something completely different.
“I…”
“Yes?”
“About that… earlier, the Black Swan master said it wasn’t a recruitment offer, but… um…”
“Ah, you mean what was just said.”
“Yes. Just in case, I mean…”
His lips were twisting awkwardly, and his eyes were uneasy.
I could tell at a glance what he was thinking.
I’m not going anywhere, you idiot.