Raise the Price (2)
It was getting to the point where I honestly couldn’t even tell what the hell was going on anymore.
The idea that the performance would exceed imagination by this much apparently wasn’t mine alone.
It was only natural that the quiet around us would erupt into chaos all at once.
“Did you get her profile?”
“How’s the negotiation with Blue Guild going?”
“They said acquisition is absolute. What about the guild master?”
“They said the signing bonus doesn’t matter. Permission has already been granted.”
“What the hell were the personnel people inside the guild doing? Don’t we have more detailed data? Blue Guild didn’t give us anything?”
“S-sorry.”
“Shit. You think this is something that ends with an apology? Useless bastards… worthless pieces of crap….”
Apparently, they’d also set up a system that could communicate with people far away.
This was basically the exact reaction I’d expected. No—actually, it was even more than that.
You could tell from the way the guild executives, who’d been trying so hard to keep their composure, were now practically tripping over one another to get their hands on the data.
Just looking at Jung Hayan’s profile was one thing, but they were already gearing up for a full-on recruitment war.
Even the major guilds were moving in on Blue Guild.
Since they’d held first negotiation rights, they’d obviously already been thinking ahead about dealing with Blue Guild as well.
Lee Sanghee and the executives of Blue Guild were naturally panicking.
They must’ve realized she was a lottery ticket that hadn’t been scratched yet, but they clearly hadn’t expected her to be this good.
They were at a complete loss, unable to figure out how to respond to this sudden turn of events.
When I lifted the corners of my mouth and turned my head, I saw Jung Hayan looking absolutely thrilled.
She knew she’d succeeded.
With both hands clenched tight, staring at me like that, she looked almost adorable.
I was curious just how far she’d grown, so I used Mind's Eye to inspect her status window, and it appeared in my vision at once.
[Player Jung Hayan's status window and latent potential are being checked.]
[Name - Jung Hayan]
[Title - None. You’ll have to work a little harder.]
[Age - 21]
[Disposition - Pure Advocate]
[Class - Elemental Mage - Rare grade]
[Class Effect - Basic magical knowledge acquired]
[Class Effect - Intermediate magical knowledge acquired]
[Stats]
[Strength - 11 / Growth limit: Rare or below]
[Agility - 11 / Growth limit: Rare or below]
[Stamina - 16 / Growth limit: Heroic or below]
[Intelligence - 29 / Growth limit: Heroic or higher]
[Endurance - 14 / Growth limit: Rare or below]
[Luck - 25 / Growth limit: Heroic or higher]
[Mana - 31 / Growth limit: Legendary or higher]
[Equipment - Sacred Healing - Rare grade]
[Trait - The Way to Become a Mage - Heroic grade]
[Overall Evaluation - Very excellent. The growth in mana is especially remarkable. She’s showing a growth rate that’s frankly hard to comprehend, though there is one flaw—if you can call it that—namely that her stats haven’t grown evenly. Player Lee Kiyoung is a lucky one. Make absolutely sure you never fall behind her. If you want to survive, that’s the correct answer. Just be careful not to climb onto a high-quality boat.]
Mana 31?
What an absurd number.
Honestly, I couldn’t even tell whether that was high or low. The mana stats of people who looked like mages varied all over the place.
At the low end, they were in the 60s; at the high end, the 80s.
I didn’t know how long those people had been here, but judging by how shocked they were, Jung Hayan’s growth speed really did seem abnormal.
No, more than that…
Is it even possible to produce output like that with a mana stat of 31?
Considering how long her incantation had been, it was probably safe to assume Jung Hayan had customized the spell.
She looked a little drained, so the mana cost must have been pretty steep.
Even so, judging by the atmosphere around us, what Jung Hayan had just shown was something that was hard to explain by common sense.
-Th… the demonstration has now concluded…
Before the emcee could even finish speaking, Jung Hayan was already hurrying toward us.
The crowd swarmed around her the moment she stepped out of the practice arena, but apparently none of that even registered for her.
If she’d only taken a business card or two…
She was practically sprinting up to the second floor, and I couldn’t help but be stunned by the sight.
“Oppa!”
She must have known she was about to receive a reward, because she looked unbelievably excited.
She hadn’t properly seen me for a full week to begin with, so it wasn’t strange that she was acting like this.
“Good work, Hayan.”
“O-oh… Oppa….”
“It was hard for you, wasn’t it?”
“N-no. It wasn’t h-hard….”
Tears were even gathering in her eyes.
I was a little worried about whether it was really okay to show this kind of thing in such a public place, but both the Blue Guild leadership and the major guild executives were watching from here.
Not bad. Actually, this is good.
There was nothing wrong with showing off that we were close. I spread my arms a little, and she came rushing in and hugged me tightly.
She was staring up at me with an expectant look, but there wasn’t much I could do for her right away.
As time went by, the eyes fixed on us became more and more burdensome.
Apparently, she was asking for her reward this instant, and that made me feel awkward for no real reason.
Ah….
Of course, I didn’t have the face thick enough to go around publicly making out with her.
“Hey, hyung! Give her a proper kiss, nice and hot!”
Shut it, you pig….
Park Deokgu was watching us with the pleased expression of a man enjoying a drama.
“Hyung! Hyung! Hyung! Be a man and go for it!”
He was even cheering us on. It was ridiculous.
With Deokgu fanning the flames, Jung Hayan was now looking at me with an expression that seemed to be expecting even more.
Jung Hayan….
As I always said, she was absolutely not stupid. She wasn’t saying it directly, but she was definitely thinking it.
I’ve done this much, so I should receive a proper reward. I held myself back for a whole week. Right.
Or rather, it felt like she wanted to leave her mark in this public place.
She wanted everyone to see her say, You’re mine.
I didn’t especially want to, but this was clearly the moment to do something.
After a moment’s thought, I gently cupped her face with both hands, and she pursed her lips in a little pout.
I hesitated for a second, but being too quick about this wasn’t ideal either.
So I lightly pressed my lips to her forehead.
And immediately felt her tremble violently.
It had only been a kiss on the forehead.
But the effect was greater than I’d ever imagined.
Ouch….
She was holding on so tightly that my back actually hurt, and her legs were beginning to wobble.
When I glanced at her face, it was red beyond belief.
The way her mouth had gone slack looked a little dangerous, but I decided this much wasn’t a big deal.
Naturally, I could feel the stares directed at Jung Hayan and me.
We looked exactly like a pair of lovers who cared only for each other.
It was a very beautiful sight.
By then, even the emcee seemed flustered. The Blue Guild leadership also looked like they’d realized something had gone very wrong.
-Th… Jung Hayan’s demonstration has concluded. Distinguished guests, please do not leave your seats and, following the completion of all scheduled events, we ask that you proceed according to the proper order. Likewise, the next demonstration will be by Kim Hyunsung, who participated in the first Tutorial Dungeon raiding team. The demonstration will take the form of a duel….
“Hayan, now we should watch Hyunsung do his thing.”
“Ah… yes? Y-yes… Oppa.”
Still clinging to me like she refused to let go for even a second, she turned her head toward the arena.
It was a little uncomfortable, to be honest, but not enough to be unbearable. If anything, this was a fitting reward for Jung Hayan.
She kept trying to bury her face in my chest, which was burdensome, but then Kim Hyunsung came out into the center of the arena with his sword, and I caught her sneaking glances downward, little by little.
“Man, I’m starting to feel left out here… Maybe I should go get myself a girlfriend too….”
“Focus on the duel, Deokgu. This is probably going to be worth watching.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice, hyung. I’m not taking my eyes off it. Kim Hyunsung, that guy… well….”
-If you are ready, please signal us.
Kim Hyunsung slowly raised his hand.
-Then. We shall begin.
I already knew that martial classes were supposed to demonstrate through duels and mage classes through magic, but his opponent didn’t look easy to handle.
For one thing, his stats were higher than Kim Hyunsung’s.
Calling this a duel was probably generous; “instructional sparring” would be the more accurate term.
Of course, Kim Hyunsung probably didn’t think of it that way.
The opponent’s expression stiffened as he watched Kim Hyunsung slowly grip his sword.
He must have expected that a normal party wouldn’t include someone like Jung Hayan, but now he seemed to be sensing something he couldn’t quite identify.
The two of them vanished from sight in an instant.
A flurry of attacks unfolded so fast I couldn’t even track it properly with my eyes.
Second after Jung Hayan.
Today’s distinguished guests were apparently in for a lot of surprises.
As the duel went on, I could see their eyes widening.
They thought it was because of Jung Hayan, huh.
They’d assumed Jung Hayan was the real power in our party.
The real one was someone else entirely.
Pfft!
Watching the guests’ mouths slowly drop open made laughter burst out inside me before I could stop it.
All I could hear was the clash of sword against sword.
It wasn’t just two blades grinding together.
He’s good!
I already knew our lovely regressor would be strong, but this was the first time I’d actually seen him fight properly.
It wasn’t a one-sided domination.
And yet if you looked at the face of the opponent trading blows with him, the answer was obvious.
He was sweating buckets.
I could even see the way he was drawing out mana in a fluster.
Honestly, I didn’t know the first thing about swordsmanship.
Even so, there was one thing I could tell.
He’s strong.
Not long after, the sword of Kim Hyunsung’s sparring partner went flying into the air.
Just as I started to wonder whether he might be showing too much, Kim Hyunsung let go of his own sword too.
The other man, refusing to give up, swung a fist at him—but the moment his opponent used the arm that had been holding the sword to shove Kim Hyunsung back, a thunderous impact rang out.
Kim Hyunsung was naturally knocked flying in the opposite direction.
“Ah.”
He smashed into the wall with a loud crash, and anyone would have thought something had gone wrong, but when I saw him casually dust himself off like nothing had happened, it was clear he’d wanted to show that his endurance stat wasn’t bad either.
“I lost.”
Clean. You sly bastard!
He’d shown all of his strengths.
The important thing was that he hadn’t revealed everything.
And regardless of stats, the fact that he’d occasionally shown a truly overwhelming side of himself was something I also wanted to praise.
If a newcomer had casually beaten a veteran in front of everyone, the guests here would have thought that was weird too.
Short or long, that duel had been the best Kim Hyunsung could show them.
Applause began to spread through the hall.
Naturally, the executives of the major guilds looked even more urgent than before.
If I had to talk about impact alone, I’d say Jung Hayan had the edge, but what Kim Hyunsung showed was definitely strange.
I couldn’t see it properly with my own eyes, but the melee types who held weapons seemed genuinely shocked by what he’d done.
“Huh….”
“A genius….”
You could tell from the voices drifting through the air.
-Th… Kim Hyunsung’s demonstration has concluded… Distinguished guests, please… p-please proceed according to the proper procedure….
The emcee’s voice didn’t reach our guests anymore.
As soon as Kim Hyunsung’s duel ended, people were already moving toward him.
Of course.
Kim Hyunsung wasn’t the only one who’d become a star.
“Would it be all right if I had a word with you?”
“…….”
“Lee Kiyoung-nim? And Jung Hayan-nim. If it’s not a bother, could I have a little of your time? I’m Cha Heera of the Red Mercenary Guild.”
The same was true for me, the live-in husband of a talented genius mage.
This is it….
I couldn’t hide the grin tugging at my lips.
The one extending her hand was a woman with striking red hair.
I didn’t know whether she believed exposure was directly proportional to defense, but her outfit was a little bold, and my eyes drifted there before I even realized it.
Ah….