The Third Class (10)

I could roughly guess why Park Deokgu had lied.

He’d probably gone to Kim Hyunsung or Sun Heeyoung at some point during the expedition, asking for advice that wasn’t really advice at all, and had likely been told that everyone else had obtained Heroic-grade classes. I couldn’t say exactly how badly he’d performed out there, but it was obvious enough that he’d been nursing some kind of inferiority complex.

Above all, I figured Kim Yeri—the girl I’d already classified as a genius—must have been a pretty brutal shock to him.

Potential: Legendary or higher.

That wasn’t limited to raw stats, either.

If my Mind’s Eye ever ranked up, I might be able to tell more, but I didn’t need to look to know that Kim Yeri was carrying absurdly monstrous potential. Considering how well she’d performed in the Garden of Terror, it was only natural that she’d grown to a degree I couldn’t even imagine in this dungeon. Park Deokgu had been standing right next to prodigies the whole time.

Geniuses are, by nature, a different species of human.

The kind of people who accomplish in a breath what ordinary people spend decades trying to do.

I hadn’t lived all that long, but I’d seen plenty of the sort already.

And not just on Earth…

It was the same here.

People with abilities that made no sense by common standards were literally scattered all around me.

Jung Hayan, who casually unleashed high-level magic and wielded spells I couldn’t even begin to understand. Sun Heeyoung, who hadn’t fully shown her colors yet but possessed legendary-level potential in holy power, and whose natural composure made her the center of the party. Kim Yeri, whom Kim Hyunsung had personally dragged out of the slums, and the regressor himself—who was beginning to feel like a man who made the word genius seem insufficient.

…….

Honestly, it was an absurd lineup.

Kim Hyunsung’s party was packed with members whose potential was high enough that calling them geniuses would be no exaggeration.

Of course, Park Deokgu was also the sort of man who could rise far higher than most, but I figured he must have felt all sorts of things during the expedition.

Monster.

Even Hwang Jeongyeon had said she felt self-loathing after seeing Jung Hayan, so that was saying something.

But even so, this choice of his was a little unexpected.

Knowing Deokgu’s personality, it would’ve been more natural to assume he’d panicked after being cornered and blurted out a lie without thinking. But more than the lie itself, I was a bit more worried about his mental state.

That was probably why he’d looked a little pitiful after I obtained a Unique Heroic-grade class.

He felt like he was the only one falling behind in the party.

“The class I got this time is Archmage.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. It boosts my mana a lot and increases my affinity with every kind of element. Not just elemental magic, but… every other kind of magic too. Hehe. I can use magic more efficiently now, and I’ve also gained advanced magical knowledge. It’s not really all that amazing yet, but….”

“That’s good.”

“Oh, and my mana stat is sixty-nine now, Oppa!”

“That’s impressive, Hayan. It went up a lot more than I expected.”

“My intelligence is sixty-two, too.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Hyunsung says stats tend to climb nicely up to seventy. Like how Heeyoung unnie had high stats even though she didn’t go out hunting that often.”

That’s probably only true for people like you.

In reality, both my and Park Deokgu’s main stats had settled in the low sixties.

Watching her spill out every detail of how much she’d grown made me a little embarrassed, as if she were asking for a reward for all the suffering she’d endured, but there was certainly reason to nod along. The stronger she became, the safer I became.

Of course, the opposite could happen too, but for now, her growth direction wasn’t bad. As if out of habit, I looked at Jung Hayan, and information about her class flooded in.

Good.

I could clearly see what direction her growth was heading in.

It was a class with a rather plain name, but it suited Jung Hayan perfectly.

Much better than being promoted into something like Blood Mage, Slaughter Mage, or Great Mage of Madness.

In that sense, Jung Hayan was taking the orthodox path.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Kim Hyunsung was the same.

I couldn’t know exactly where his growth would lead from here, but at the very least, he seemed to be avoiding the most purely orthodox form of the swordmaster path.

There was no need to read the rest of the explanation. Just the fact that he’d chosen a class that served as a stepping stone through the Heroic tier was answer enough.

For Kim Hyunsung, even that grade of class was nothing more than a gate he had to pass through.

There was no need to mention again how important classes were in this world.

If he were just some ordinary adventurer, he would never have made that choice.

As we kept talking and mechanically shoving food down our throats, Kim Hyunsung’s voice sounded again.

“Yeri has obtained the class Tracker.”

“Tracker?”

“Yes.”

“I thought it would be a good fit for her, since it’s a type of archer class that can also handle short weapons like daggers or swords. Yeri’s stats are fairly well-rounded. Since her focus is on agility and mana, her options will continue to broaden in the future.”

Because she doesn’t have a single stat below Heroic-level standards.

“Then we don’t have to worry about getting lost.”

“Yes. That was one of our party’s chronic problems. Ah, and as for Heeyoung, she advanced to the class High Justiciar… and her divine power has increased noticeably. Deokgu, too, apparently obtained a front-line class related to tanking.”

At Kim Hyunsung’s words, I glanced at Sun Heeyoung and immediately saw her class name floating in my vision.

It looked like she hadn’t given Kim Hyunsung the full details. When I gave her a slight nod, Sun Heeyoung immediately nodded back.

It was essentially an evolved version of her previous class, Dark Priest, and it didn’t seem too bad. Though aside from standard holy spells, she still hadn’t said anything about attack magic.

Either way, the party was growing at a very decent pace.

Except for Park Deokgu’s somewhat awkward expression, there really wasn’t a problem.

No, even Deokgu couldn’t really be called a problem. The people around him were simply exceptional, while his own growth was still more than enough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to count as impressive.

He was the sort of man with the specs and potential to be welcomed anywhere he went.

I should talk to him about it sometime.

Of course, I had no intention of bringing it up while the whole team was together.

I didn’t want my teammates to know I could see their stats, and besides, it would be wrong to keep poking at Deokgu’s inferiority complex in a place like this.

Nothing’s more stupid than comparing yourself to a genius.

It might have been a cruel thing to say, but I wanted him to realize that much.

Accepting the difference would help him more than anything else.

The conversation continued in a somewhat heavy atmosphere, but little by little, the topic lightened.

We started talking about the embarrassing mistakes we’d made on the dungeon expedition, or about how I’d been holed up in my room the whole time.

When I heard that Jung Hayan had been sniffling every day, I just nodded. When I heard that Kim Hyunsung had saved the party during a crisis, I let out a hearty laugh as if I’d expected no less. Even Kim Yeri, who rarely showed emotion, quietly smiled, and just as our voices were gradually rising—

—the guild door opened with a heavy clatter.

The stars of the show were the mad old bastard Lee Seolho and the Blue Guild’s vice guild master, Lee Sanghee.

They were entering the guild with terribly grave expressions, and I could see it plain as day.

“Please prepare a meeting at once. Summon every executive still remaining in the guild.”

“All of them?”

“Yes. No exceptions. Summon everyone for now. We’ll hold the meeting in my private office. How many parties are still in the guild right now?”

“As far as I know, all of Party Two are here.”

“Party Seven returned this morning as well, Madam Lee Sanghee, Mr. Lee Seolho.”

“Then please send Hyunsung and Kiyoung up as well.”

“Those two as well…?”

“No. Summon everyone. This concerns the guild.”

“Yes. Understood.”

What the hell?

Even from a quick glance, I could tell the atmosphere had turned serious.

Lee Sanghee, who always wore such a benevolent expression that she seemed like everyone’s mother, had gone deathly pale, and even the mad old bastard had worry written all over his face.

I didn’t know exactly what had happened, but the mere sight of the guild’s senior officials looking like that was enough to tell me this was bad.

“Please go on up first. I’ll make sure to come with you shortly.”

“Yes. Then I’ll leave it to you, Seolho.”

“Understood.”

The ordinary guild members who weren’t attached to a party hurried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up toward the upper floors.

They were probably on their way to call Hwang Jeongyeon, since Party Two occupied the fourth floor.

“Has something happened?”

“Kiyoung, please come up.”

“Ah… yes.”

“Yes.”

The fairly cheerful mood had been wrecked in an instant.

Lee Seolho shot a furtive glance in my direction. I didn’t like the way he was crooking his finger at me, but hearing what was going on came first.

“The others can use the time for their own affairs until Mr. Kiyoung and I return. No, just in case, it would be better for them to get some proper rest.”

“Yes.”

“R-right.”

What is it?

In truth, all sorts of possibilities flashed through my mind.

That was even more true once I saw the people around us hastily collecting their things.

The murmurs from the ordinary guild members grew louder and louder, and many of them began arming themselves in silence.

I could hear a lot of voices, but none of them seemed to actually know what was going on.

“Kim Hyunsung-nim, Lee Kiyoung-nim. The vice guild master is holding a meeting right no—”

“I know. We’ll head up now.”

“What’s happening?”

“Ah, I-I don’t know the details….”

Even the guild receptionist, who was only now relaying the news to us, quickly bowed her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠head and ran out of the guild building.

When we hurried upstairs to Lee Sanghee’s office, I saw armed guards opening the door, and Kim Hyunsung and I were able to go inside a little faster than the rest.

“Has everyone gathered?”

“Yes. I believe so.”

What stood before me was Lee Sanghee.

And Hwang Jeongyeon, the mad old bastard, and his three lackeys—those were the only ones there.

The two administrative executives I’d only ever seen in passing were also present, but….

That’s it? Seriously?

For the senior leadership of what had once represented the Free City of Lindel, the number was laughably small.

“Kiyoung, Hyunsung. Please take your seats. I’m afraid I have some rather unpleasant ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠news to share.”

I still didn’t know what the situation was. Being faced with a group of executives wearing such grave expressions made me feel a little shriveled up for no reason, but Kim Hyunsung, who seemed strangely calm, looked as though he’d already guessed at least part of it.

He knows.

The calculation was instant. Once I thought about why we’d come to Blue in the first place, I found my answer almost immediately.

He knows.

Kim Hyunsung knew why this situation had come about.

Why he had chosen Blue after turning down offers from so many other major guilds.

Lee Sanghee, the vice guild master, looked like she was about to speak up and explain exactly that reason.