Regressor Bus
To put it simply, the young Kim Yeri that Kim Hyunsung had brought with him, and Sun Heeyoung, whom I had brought in, both ended up joining Kim Hyunsung’s party.
The decision over who belonged in the party was entirely within Kim Hyunsung’s authority as the seventh branch’s party leader, but a few of the administrative staff were looking at us with thinly veiled displeasure.
That was because there had been no proper consultation with the administrative team beforehand.
In other words, we had gone ahead and done things on our own. Of course, beneath those hostile looks, the biggest reason was probably the reality that Kim Hyunsung was only in his first year.
Setting that aside, they were obviously stunned by the result we’d produced, but those crazy old men still didn’t bother saying so out loud.
Recruiting Sun Heeyoung, who had once made every clan and guild in sight salivate, was enough to shut their mouths.
And at a very cheap price, too.
Since she’d said she would never join any clan or guild, the moment word spread that she was going to Blue, Blue’s stock shot up. That much was only natural.
Kim Hyunsung’s party, which had already been drawing attention, had now become the center of attention in the Free City of Lindel.
I had no way of knowing the history of all the summoners who had arrived here, but in Lindel, there had probably never been a newly formed party that received this much attention.
“Hyung! It’s time to eat.”
“Got it.”
While I was still holed up in my room, buried in experiments, Park Deokgu had knocked softly and come in.
Lately, the party had been eating together three times a day without fail.
It was partly to get closer to the newcomers—Sun Heeyoung and Kim Yeri—and partly to discuss the party’s overall situation and future schedule.
Compared to the four of us who were already tightly knit, the two new members still felt a little distant.
Strangely enough, Jung Hayan and Sun Heeyoung seemed to get along well, but it was still too early to say they were actually close.
As for Kim Yeri, who was naturally shy, I hadn’t even had a single proper conversation with her yet.
A sharp little brat.
Whether she was using some kind of magic or simply had an excellent nose for power, the way she clung only to Kim Hyunsung was ridiculous.
It seemed like it would take some time before we grew closer, but the fact that there was still no progress at all was honestly frustrating.
As I was tidying up the scattered mess while thinking through all that, Park Deokgu spoke up.
“By the way, hyung, what exactly are you always experimenting on?”
“A lot of things. I’ve got so many projects going at once that it’s hard to explain just one.”
“Can’t you at least tell me one of them? I’m dying of curiosity here. You lock yourself in your room every day and experiment—surely you can tell me at least one thing by now.”
“Well…”
“Come on, just one thing.”
“The most recent thing I was working on was a potion that could stir up emotions, but…”
“Something like that’s possible?”
“Only in theory. In practice, it’s basically impossible. I thought it might be possible to target the basic desires humans have, but…”
“Like what?”
“Things like sexual desire, sleep, and appetite. If I’m being precise, it wouldn’t really be affecting emotions. At best, it would just make someone feel sluggish, or like their body was tired…”
“Hah… then that’s not really messing with emotions, is it?”
“That’s what makes humans so interesting. We’re animals that even believe what they’re feeling is their emotions. For example, let’s say I made a potion that relaxed the muscles and made the body feel at ease. If I added some magical ingredient to it, the human body would really and truly feel sluggish. That’s because the brain interprets the body’s signals however it pleases.”
“Aaaah…”
“It works the same way in other cases too. If you heat the body up, or make the heart beat a little faster. Just a slight nudge, and people get aroused easily, or annoyed easily.”
“That sounds kind of terrifying…”
“If someone’s intelligence is low, it’d probably work even better. Or…”
“Or?”
“If the target is a little mentally unstable.”
“Ugh…”
A somewhat frightened expression appeared in my field of vision.
The idea that a single potion could toy with a person’s emotions seemed to have left him genuinely rattled.
It had been producing some interesting results lately, but in truth, it wasn’t something suitable for practical use.
It needed dramatic circumstances, along with a whole list of different ingredients.
It still wasn’t at a stage where it could be fully put to use.
Really, it was nothing more than a prototype for the potion I actually wanted to make, but I couldn’t say it was completely useless.
“I’m kidding.”
“Huh?”
“I said I’m kidding. How could something like that even be possible?”
“Aaaah, hyung!”
“I’m only imagining it. All experiments begin with imagination, after all. In other words, ideas are important.”
“Oh! Then that means even absurd ideas can be made real?”
“If the situation lines up.”
“Like a love potion?”
“That’s just an extension of the potion I mentioned earlier.”
“Then what about a potion that raises your stats when you drink it? Or a potion that makes you invisible? Or maybe…”
“……”
“A potion that turns you into a monster. Could something like that be possible?”
I couldn’t tell whether he knew what he was saying or had no idea at all, but the potions Park Deokgu mentioned one after another were things I had actually been researching.
When I looked at him, a little startled, he just kept grinning and tossing out ideas, which was ridiculous to watch.
Some of them were things I hadn’t even considered, so for a moment I found myself seeing him in a new light.
Is this bastard an idiot, or a genius?
For all I knew, he might eventually start spitting out ideas I’d never even dreamed of.
He was just blurting out things that seemed fun, with no regard for theory or feasibility, but every now and then he hit so close to the mark that I had no choice but to keep his words in the back of my mind.
As I slowly headed down into the guild house’s basement, the others, already gathered there, came into view.
“Oppa, you’re here?”
“Kiyoung-nim.”
“Please, sit down.”
Jung Hayan greeted me with obvious delight, while Sun Heeyoung sat quietly at the table, her posture neat and composed.
Kim Hyunsung nodded in welcome, and Kim Yeri, the youngest of them all, still seemed wary of me.
“Good morning.”
“Yes.”
The moment I sat down, Jung Hayan immediately brought my meal over.
Sun Heeyoung, meanwhile, quietly poured water and set it before me.
Interestingly enough, her nature had not changed.
She still retained the disposition of an ideal servant, which was almost unsettling.
Perhaps it was because, following my advice, she had come to accept the act itself as service, but I thought the role of an ideal servant might no longer suit her.
Instead, her class had changed.
[Dark Priest - Heroic Grade]
The previous class, Priest of the Sun, had been changed into Dark Priest.
I assumed it had something to do with what happened back then, but after observing her several times, I couldn’t see any real change in her abilities or overall specs.
She could still cast holy magic, and Kim Hyunsung had looked genuinely surprised by her capabilities as well.
Of course, even Jung Hayan, who was focused on training, had grown noticeably stronger.
Her mana had climbed into the forties, and as for our lovely regressor Kim Hyunsung, there was no need to explain his progress in the first place.
If anything, the one whose growth had been a little slower was Park Deokgu.
Unlike his steadily rising endurance, his strength and stamina were developing more slowly.
The real problem was his agility, which had barely improved at all.
He seemed to be the most frustrated about it, but in truth, I understood his feelings better than anyone.
My own stat growth had been disappointing too.
Once everyone had settled in, Kim Hyunsung spoke quietly.
“Let’s begin the meal.”
“Well then, dig in.”
“Enjoy your food.”
The leader of the party was Kim Hyunsung.
It was only proper to show him respect, so I gave a slight nod, and in the quiet atmosphere the meal began, with low conversation gradually starting to rise around the table.
Everyone was chatting about one thing or another.
That was when, amid the flow of conversation, he quietly turned to me and opened his mouth.
“I have something I’d like to discuss for a moment.”
Of course, I could feel the surrounding noise die down.
“Yes?”
“This morning, the vice-guild master made a proposal.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“A dungeon raid. Not just our party, but some of the nearby large guilds’ parties will apparently be joining as well. I wanted to hear your thoughts on it.”
It was a somewhat abrupt development.
Of course, I had expected that we would eventually go hunting or enter a dungeon.
Our party had only just arrived here, and rapid growth was absolutely necessary.
There were six of us now, and if you included little Kim Yeri, we could just about form the shape of a proper party, so in terms of timing, it wasn’t bad.
What was a little surprising was the fact that we’d be going in together with parties from other guilds.
If we were heading into a dungeon, I had thought we’d go to one known only to regressors and enjoy the delicious privilege of stripping away the best benefits only regressors knew about.
There was no reason for some random outsiders to come along and ruin the fun.
“Could you explain the circumstances?”
I had no choice but to ask.
Kim Hyunsung smiled faintly at the question and continued.
“Of course. I haven’t heard the full details either, but apparently a mid-level party discovered a new dungeon in the region near the Tutorial Dungeon.”
“But that means…”
“The problem is the makeup of the party. Since it was discovered by an informal party made up of people gathered from different guilds and clans, rather than one formed within a single guild, things got a bit complicated regarding who should actually own the dungeon.”
Ah…
I roughly understood the situation.
“They didn’t take part in the conquest themselves?”
“No. The investigation results said it was only a Normal or, at best, Rare Grade dungeon, so I think they decided it wasn’t worth the trouble of clearing it themselves. They probably received compensation from their respective guilds as well. They also agreed to share part of the dungeon’s completed raid rights.”
“Rather than raiding it themselves…”
“They must have decided it would be better to invest in the growth party that each guild and clan was backing.”
To put it simply, a social party made up of members from various guilds had accidentally discovered a Rare Grade dungeon.
The problem was that, for the people in that social gathering, the dungeon’s rank seemed a little too low to justify going in themselves.
Rather than personally entering and wrestling over it, they judged that it would be better to hand it over to a party that actually needed the experience right now.
So they’re on good terms, huh?
It was a little surprising that they could divide it up so peacefully without any ownership dispute.
From the perspective of the people who discovered the dungeon, though, they’d receive both compensation from their guilds and a portion of the dungeon’s rights, so it was fair to call it a pretty good deal.
Seeing that they weren’t desperate over a Rare Grade dungeon made it feel as if they occupied a fairly decent social position.
If they had been fixated on gold or items, they never would have handed the dungeon over in the first place.
“One party from Blue Guild, one from the Red Mercenary Guild, one from the Magic Guild, and one from the Black Swan Guild will be going. It’s a Rare Grade dungeon, but the scale is a little large, so there shouldn’t be any problem with all the parties moving together. After the raid, I imagine the items will be distributed according to each party’s contribution, but…”
“Based on contribution?”
“Yes. But the purpose of this dungeon trip isn’t items or wealth. It’s experience.”
Kim Hyunsung’s plan was becoming clear to me.
His explanation had gone on for a while, but the objective was simple.
Party growth.
There was, naturally, no reason to refuse.
Our regressor had judged that this was the right direction, after all.
Thanks, Hyunsung.
It was time for the whole crew to board the regressor bus.