Pure Things Are Easy to Taint

“A mage.”

“Uuumm….”

“C-commanding officer….”

Both reactions were oddly similar.

Park Deokgu looked genuinely disappointed, while Kim Hyunsung seemed only a little regretful, as if he could live with it either way.

An archer would have been more appealing on the surface, since she could use a bow, but the catch was that an archer’s strength ultimately rested on agility, and my agility stat was pathetic. If I had any reason to believe it would climb later, that would be one thing, but my agility ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠potential was at rock bottom.

No, even before that, relying on my body had never really suited me.

Even if I had taken archer as my class and later advanced into thief, I had no doubt I’d end up worrying over the same sort of thing. That was only natural.

In truth, mage wasn’t much different. I already knew my mana aptitude was low, but….

I have to make the most of what I do have.

That seemed to be the only way to use my relatively high intelligence. If I thought about what classes I could grow into later, there had to be something out there that could still be efficient even with low mana.

“May I ask why you chose mage?”

I shook my head slightly and answered.

“Just a feeling.”

It was the only option I had.

Even if I chose commander, the stat points I’d gain would only be +1. That was all.

For me, the fact that mage would raise a stat I’d always thought of as alien to me—mana—by as much as 3 was a tremendous benefit.

“I see.”

He sounded like he’d accepted it.

I couldn’t exactly say, straight out, that my talent was so low there was no hope for me. That made the whole thing feel a little bitter.

That bastard….

For some reason, the overall evaluation that had somehow caught my eye didn’t seem all that bad.

It was still hurling abuse at me, but even so, the fact that I’d gained mana was definitely something worth nodding at.

There was a clear change in the status window as well.

I could vaguely understand what it meant to acquire basic magical knowledge.

Completely new knowledge was pouring into my head.

Since it was basic, the information wasn’t exactly a complex formula, but I now understood the very concept of mana, how to move it, how to manifest magic with it, and even the ideas behind hand signs and incantations.

“Not bad.”

It was a little different from what I’d imagined.

I couldn’t quite put it into words, but it felt like I was solving an unknown formula, or like I was stacking a tower out of mana. Incantations and hand signs were the tools helping me build that construction site, and those completely unfamiliar concepts kept piling up in my mind.

This will be useful right away.

Unlike commander, this power would become usable as combat strength the moment I adapted to it.

Slowly closing my eyes and feeling the mana inside me, I immediately sensed a response.

It was only a sliver of mana, barely enough to clip a fingernail, but the fact that it moved according to my will was strangely gratifying.

I kept manipulating the mana in my head when Hyunsung looked over and spoke.

“Then let’s head back. We’ve delayed things for quite a while. As for the food….”

“Two bags will be enough.”

“Understood.”

Park Deokgu took two bags and handed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the rest to Kim Hyunsung.

The man nodded once, then looked at us with an expression that was faintly grateful.

He must have thought we were making allowances for him.

There were about twelve leather bags at the Start Point. Considering Park Deokgu’s contribution in drawing the monsters’ aggro, two bags was a pretty cheap price.

“I appreciate your consideration.”

“No, there’s no need to thank us. If you weren’t here, we wouldn’t have gotten these in the first place, and considering everything you’ve helped us with, it’s only natural.”

“Still….”

“Come on, go feed the people.”

“Yes. I understand.”

“By the way, what do you plan to do with the others? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You can’t just keep leaving them like that.”

“People who have no will to fight at all will only end up getting in the way. We can’t afford needless casualties, so… once they’ve finished their adjustment training, I think it would be best to bring them along for monster hunting in stages.”

“Not sure that’ll work.”

Come to think of it, Park Deokgu had already finished a kind of adjustment training himself.

But I didn’t bother saying that out loud.

“It probably won’t be useless. For now, I think it would be best to test things with one person. Of course, only if the two of you permit it. Would that be all right?”

“I don’t mind, but… what about you, Brother?”

“I’m fine with it too. Though, may I choose the person on this side?”

“Do you have someone in mind…?”

“If she’s willing, I was thinking of Jung Hayan.”

“Ah.”

I could see Hyunsung nodding as if that settled everything.

Jung Hayan was, frankly, little more than ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a winning lottery ticket already assigned a number.

I’d already checked her hidden potential with Mind's Eye, and Hyunsung probably already knew what she would become in the future.

Watching him openly brighten made me smile to myself.

The road back to Shelter was rather comfortable. Since we had to leave the place unattended a little longer in order to reach the other Start Point, the fact that things had already been organized in advance seemed to be paying off.

Sure enough, as we approached Shelter, several people—including Lee Jihye—ran out to greet Kim Hyunsung.

“Ah, Hyunsung! Deokgu oppa and Kiyoung oppa, you both worked so hard too. We’ll take the bags for….”

I could see them naturally taking the luggage Kim Hyunsung had brought back.

A man who looked like he had hurt his leg even tried to slyly reach out toward me as well, so I shoved his hand away and said,

“We’ll carry our own things ourselves.”

“Ah, yes….”

In other words, I was drawing a line: our things were ours to manage.

Amusingly, I caught a slightly irritated expression flickering across his face.

To put it bluntly, he seemed to be saying, Who do you think you are?

I let the corner of my mouth lift slightly, but apparently he didn’t notice. Regardless of me, Kim Hyunsung was quietly passing on the report to Lee Jihye.

“These are the supplies we recovered from the other Start Point. I’d appreciate it if you could distribute them to the people inside.”

“Yes! Leave it to me, Hyunsung. By the way, were there any other survivors over there…?”

“It didn’t seem like there were.”

“I-I see. That’s a shame.”

“There may still be a few alive nearby. We’ll probably need to search that area again soon.”

“Ah! Yes….”

The amount of food probably wasn’t generous. The bags Kim Hyunsung had brought were only ten.

Even if thirty people split that among themselves, it wouldn’t fill the hole in their stomachs.

They might survive for now, but they would still be hungry all the same.

Park Deokgu and I carried our two bags past the new swarm surrounding Kim Hyunsung and went inside.

Even then, strange glances kept following us.

As we walked, Park Deokgu spoke up with some unease.

“Brother, are you really not gonna share any of it?”

“We’re not volunteers.”

“Well, yeah, I know that, but… it still feels like I’m turning into a bad guy, and that doesn’t sit right with me. And the faces of those people who came outside earlier are bothering me too….”

“Why are you worrying about their faces?”

“I-I mean, the whole picture just looks a little off, you know….”

“It’s them who should be grateful to us for bringing back food after narrowly escaping death, Deokgu. It’s ridiculous that they just naturally reach out and take the bags. This place we’re staying in is Kim Hyunsung’s Shelter, not theirs. We already gave help where help was due, and on top of that, we even gave up part of the food we’d earned for ourselves. That’s more than enough courtesy in my book. Kim Hyunsung knows that too, which is why he isn’t saying anything to us….”

“Umm….”

“If they want better treatment, then they can pick up a sword too. Though I suppose they probably can’t. Maybe Hyunsung also hopes that, by looking at us, the others will feel stirred up enough to change. I can’t say how it’ll turn out, though.”

“Ah… so what you’re saying is, seeing us take a lot of food is part of the plan, right? That they’ll realize if you want to be treated well, you have to fight for it?”

“That effect is probably part of it.”

He wasn’t stupid. He’d probably wanted that result to some extent.

Even as we trudged toward the place where we stayed, Jung Hayan was nowhere to be seen.

I doubted there was anything for those who didn’t go hunting to do here, but apparently no one was allowed to sit idle.

I could see others cleaning the area or hauling heavy stones to reinforce the barricades.

Jung Hayan was probably doing some kind of work like that too. It was obvious enough who was managing the place while we were away.

Lee Jihye.

She was the one in charge of the people here.

Rations, reporting things to Kim Hyunsung, all of it was her job.

Including being the first to greet him.

Because I could roughly guess what she was thinking, the corner of my mouth rose again without me meaning to.

“Deokgu.”

“What is it?”

“You remember Jung Hayan, right?”

“You mean the young lady who was limping around and hanging off you?”

“That’s her.”

I took out a few things from one of the bags and held them out to Park Deokgu.

“Take these to her, and keep an eye on her for me, all right?”

“Brother, what’s gotten into you… ah….”

His expression looked strange all of a sudden.

“I get it. All right, leave this kind of thing to me!”

He understood immediately what I wanted.

We hadn’t spent that long together, but after being around me for a while, he seemed to have picked up on what I was after.

He understood that I was making a move to win her over.

Of course, calling it romantic feelings would be a stretch, but the method of getting a human being to lean on your side could be surprisingly simple.

Especially in a situation like this.

Jung Hayan. The nature I remembered in her was that of a pure supporter.

It was a little like Hyunsung’s disposition, a benevolent mediator, but the two were clearly different.

Purity and goodness are not the same thing.

“Because pure things are easy to taint.”

“What’re you talking about?”

“Nothing.”

If my little experiment went the way I expected, she would prove that line just now for me.