We Will Be Together Forever (5)
It was at that moment that Jung Hayan’s status window changed.
The words, “Please don’t turn tainted so suddenly...”, almost slipped out of my throat.
That wasn’t the answer.
It took no time at all to realize that saying I loved her hadn’t been the right answer.
The problem was that I couldn’t choose any of the other options, either.
By now, I couldn’t even guess what she would do the moment I said I didn’t love her anymore.
If both answers were wrong, then it was better to act in a way that could at least be anticipated.
At least in this case, I could predict the direction she would take.
I smiled as naturally as I could without showing it, and she smiled back at me in the same way.
I need to come up with a countermeasure.
As I’d said before, I needed to think of a way to control Jung Hayan beyond simply clearing the dungeon.
Several options came to mind, but the most effective method was obvious almost immediately.
I had thought about cutting her off entirely, or excluding her altogether, but that would only be the final resort.
“I’m going to step out and talk with the others for a bit, Hayan. Go get ready with Deokgu and Heeyoung.”
“Y-yes, Oppa.”
The only time I could really distance myself from her was while the senior members were talking.
By the time I reached them, Hwang Jeongyeon, Kim Hyunsung, and Lee Sanghee were already in conversation, which told me I was probably the last one to arrive.
“You mean those small statues?”
“Yes. The statues.”
“We confirmed that they’ve been set up at regular intervals, and even for a brief moment, I could feel the voice pounding inside my head disappear. Of course, it’s not a matter of dispelling the curse, only suppressing it for a little while….”
“I see. Then can we assume there’s a safe zone every so often?”
“I don’t know yet whether the same effect exists in other regions, but... at the very least, it should help keep a fraying mind intact. After being cursed, even divine power can’t do much anymore, so we should use it as much as possible.”
“That’s a relief. I’d actually started to feel like the intervals were getting shorter….”
“This place is a little farther away.”
When I nodded, I saw the others greeting me as well.
From the tone of the conversation, it seemed Kim Hyunsung had found something.
To summarize it roughly, he had located a safe zone that dampened the curse’s erosion.
Not bad.
Finding those safe zones was bound to happen eventually during the dungeon raid anyway, but discovering them this early was definitely worthy of praise.
“How are the members of Team Seven holding up?”
Kim Hyunsung glanced toward me.
It made sense that he wouldn’t know how our party was doing; we had been outside struggling for a while.
“They seem a little unsettled, but I think they’re still holding up. Heeyoung doesn’t seem to be affected much, and neither do I. The voice isn’t gone entirely, though….”
“I see.”
“I can’t know for sure, but I think it’s probably linked to our intelligence stat.”
“Ah.”
“What about Team Two?”
“Yes. In our party, too, it seems the frontliners with lower intelligence stats are being affected more than the rear. The erosion also seems a little faster. It’s not at the point where I’d call it serious yet, but if this went on for three days, or even a week….”
“Still, that’s a relief. At least now we know there are places where we can rest safely at regular intervals. Please tell the priests in each party to focus their divine power on the front line rather than the rear. It doesn’t seem like it helps much, but it’s better than nothing. If you learn anything else, no matter how small, tell me at once.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“Then once we finish organizing, we’ll set out immediately. As for positions, we’ll proceed just like yesterday, with Hyunsung leading the search.”
“Yes.”
Lee Sanghee spoke, and the rest of us nodded in agreement. Her business seemed to be finished, but mine was only beginning.
“Hyunsung, I’d like to speak with Jeongyeon for a moment before I return.”
“Ah... yes. Understood.”
Kim Hyunsung looked a little confused, and Hwang Jeongyeon, standing in front of me, looked surprised as well.
When she nodded back at me, it was clear she was curious what I wanted to talk about.
Soon after, Kim Hyunsung stepped away, and Hwang Jeongyeon opened her mouth with a questioning look.
“Are you feeling all right?”
“Yes. I’m fine. How about you, Jeongyeon?”
“I’m fine too. It definitely seems like having a high intelligence stat helped a lot. Though looking at Kiyoung, I can’t say it seems to matter much.”
“I only look unaffected on the surface.”
“No, but you woke up early even when the curse first fell. People probably see things differently, but that’s a little irritating, you know? Heh.”
“Did you happen to discover anything separately?”
“Ah... yes. I think it’s too early to talk about it officially, so I’ve been waiting, but I’ve been collecting data for now.”
“For example?”
“For example, the timing of when the voice comes back. To be precise, it’s appearing in intervals of 10 minutes and 46 seconds. Every hour, that interval shortens by about 38 seconds. If I’m doing nothing and just resting, the rate of erosion slows down. Of course, there are individual differences, so I can’t define it neatly, but for now, that’s the condition my body is in.”
“Ah. So having a good memory is helping.”
“Yes. Though I’m not exactly pleased that those bastards’ voices are getting more vivid, of course. Anyway, what is it? Are you perhaps trying to keep the promise you made last time?”
“No. The timing isn’t right for that now. Deokgu is already under a lot of strain, and... well, we’re inside a dungeon.”
“Heh-heh-heh. And yet, the way you and Hayan were leaning on each other made it look pretty romantic to me….”
“It’s not a particularly romantic situation, actually. It seems the curse is affecting her.”
“On the surface, though….”
“It looks fine.”
“So because you’ve spent a long time together, you can even tell those subtle differences?”
“Let’s leave it at that.”
“Hmm.... You didn’t bother telling either Lee Sanghee or Hyunsung because….”
“It’s something I have to handle alone.”
“Still, I think it’d be better to tell them. The dungeon raid can turn on even the tiniest variable, after all. If Hayan’s condition gets worse, then the two of you could always leave the dungeon first.”
“No. Even if we leave the dungeon, there’s no guarantee that this curse will be dispelled….”
And if we left, something even more dangerous might happen.
It was better to stay with everyone else.
“And at the very least, you know about it now, Jeongyeon. If something happens, you’ll be an extra line of insurance.”
“I appreciate being trusted, but I can’t exactly say I’m confident. I’m not saying it out loud, but I’m under a lot of stress too, so what exactly do you need me to do?”
There was no reason to drag this out. I looked straight at her and asked.
“Can you use illusion magic, hallucination magic, or mental magic?”
“Hmm….”
“....”
“Mental magic is impossible.”
Ah...
“Illusion and hallucination magic are possible. Mental magic isn’t completely impossible, technically, but there are complications in all sorts of ways. You know that already, Kiyoung, don’t you?”
“Yes. I understand it’s a difficult task.”
“I think I know what you’re thinking... but it’s not something that’s easy to do. Illusion and hallucination magic hardly work on people with high intelligence, and even people with low intelligence can resist if their mana is high. Mental magic is even worse. No matter how much a person tries to accept it, human beings naturally resist anything that intrudes on their minds.”
I had known from the start that it would be difficult.
Still, hearing that it was impossible from the beginning drained some of the momentum from me.
That said, I knew very well that Hwang Jeongyeon was exactly the kind of person who took pleasure in turning impossible into possible.
“Normally, yes, it would be impossible. Absolutely impossible, but….”
“If the target is already under a curse, doesn’t that change things?”
“Even then, it’ll be difficult.”
“Then what if we had the help of a drug? Or perhaps a catalyst….”
“You mean the way you use magic.”
“Yes. There was also a potion I’d been researching. I was experimenting with it for the purpose of interfering with human emotion. Of course, it didn’t produce any major results, but... it wasn’t a complete failure. It’s not really affecting emotion directly, but at the very least, I think I can make it produce something similar.”
“....”
“Would that be possible?”
“I’m not sure. More precisely, I’m not sure, but... that would mean combining potion treatment with illusion magic. Doing both at once might be even more effective. Removing the human barrier with a potion... and the mind’s resistance has already been weakened by the curse, so….”
Hwang Jeongyeon was already muttering to herself.
She seemed to be running the theory over in her head. Her expression was turning a little interested.
“If this succeeds, dungeon clearing might become much easier. Of course, we’d need all sorts of experiments first, but... even at the fastest, it would take at least a month….”
“Let’s skip all the trivial details and go straight into testing. We have a perfectly usable test subject.”
“Pardon?”
“I think it would be best if I did it myself. It won’t harm my body, and... I know the potion I made better than anyone else.”
“Ah….”
“Would that work?”
“I can’t promise anything. Still, it does sound interesting. We’ll discuss the theory as we go, and carry out the clinical tests whenever we stop for a short rest. If anything goes wrong with your mind….”
“That won’t happen.”
I couldn’t guarantee it with absolute certainty, but for now, yes.
We were already in a situation where some amount of gambling was unavoidable.
I thought this was something we absolutely needed to do if I wanted to preserve my relationship with Jung Hayan.
Of course, it was obvious that being seen with Hwang Jeongyeon would have a negative effect on Jung Hayan, but….
It’s part of the plan.
When I considered the bigger picture, this didn’t seem like a bad choice at all.
“I’ll go tell Hyunsung for a moment.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m going to say that I’ll be moving with Team Two for the time being.”
“Yes. That would be best. No, actually, it would be better to send one of our party members. We have a lot to do from here on out. It might also be a good idea to tell the others that we’re conducting research on the dungeon. We don’t know when the monsters will show up, so we should take advantage of whatever breathing room we have before then.”
“Yes.”
“Did you bring the catalysts?”
“Of course. I brought the alchemy kits as well, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Three days. Let’s solve it within three days.”
“Preferably sooner, please.”
“Ugh.... The request is difficult, but we do have the materials ready. If I fail to produce results, then the name of Magician Scholar will be a laughingstock. So this is our second experiment, then?”
“This time, Jeongyeon is the doctor.”
“Right. Assistant. I’ll be counting on you.”