All of a sudden, a change occurred to Jung Ha-Yan’s status window.
[Nature - Corrupted Supporter]
I was so close to saying, ‘Don’t become corrupted like this…’
‘That wasn’t the answer.’
I instantly realized that telling Jung Ha-Yan that I loved her wasn’t the answer, but the problem was that I couldn’t choose the other options. It was because I didn’t know what kind of reaction she would show the moment I told her that I didn’t love her anymore. If both weren’t the right answers, then going with the option that I knew the result would be a bit better because I could assume what was going to happen based on the current situation.
When I smiled while pretending like nothing was wrong, she smiled at me as well.
‘I need to come up with a plan.’
As I mentioned earlier, I needed to think of a way to control Jung Ha-Yan on top of taking control of the dungeon. I didn’t think about different options, but I instantly thought about the most effective method. I did consider staying away from her completely or excluding her from the party, but I believed that method should only be used as a last resort.
“I’m going to go to a meeting real quick, Ha-Yan. Make preparations with Deok-Gu and Miss Hee-Young,” I told her.
“Okay, oppa!” she said.
The only time I could stay away from her was when I talked to the executive members. I guess I really was the last person to arrive because I noticed Hwang Jung-Yeon, Kim Hyun-Sung, and Lee Sang-Hee talking.
“Are you talking about a small statue?”
“Yes, it’s a statue,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered.
“I confirmed that there were statues installed in certain areas and even though it was only for a moment, the ringing inside my head disappeared. It didn’t necessarily break the curse, but it was more like it had been suppressed for a moment…” he explained.
“I see, so does that mean certain areas are considered safe zones?”
“I’m not sure if the statues in the other areas have the same effect, but… I’m sure it’ll at least help calm our exhausted minds. Since it’s difficult for holy magic to have a big effect after being cursed, I think it’ll be best to utilize the statues as much as we can,” he suggested.
“That’s a relief. I was starting to feel that the cycle of the curse was getting shorter.”
“It’s a bit far from this place,” he told them.
When I nodded, I noticed the others greeting me. Based on their conversation, it seemed like Kim Hyun-Sung had found something. Basically, he found a safety zone that suppressed the effects of the curse.
‘Not bad.’
We would have eventually found the safety zone while taking control of the dungeon, but it was worth applauding him for finding one pretty early in the expedition.
“How’s party seven doing?”
I noticed Kim Hyun-Sung glancing at me. Since he had been out all this time, he wouldn’t know the condition of his party members.
“They do seem a bit unstable, but I think they’ll be fine for now. Miss Hee-Young doesn’t seem like she has been affected by the curse and it’s the same for me. It’s not that I don’t hear the voices at all though…” I answered.
“I see.”
“I’m not sure about this, but it seems like the effect of the curse is based on one’s intelligence stat,” I added.
“Oh…”
“How’s party two?”
“It seems like our vanguards have been affected more than the rearguards since their intelligence stats are lower and the cycle of the effects has been a bit quicker as well. I can’t say that we’re in a serious situation right now, but…if this condition lasts for three days to a week, I don’t know what will happen…” Hwang Jung-Yeon answered.
“Still, it’s a relief that we discovered certain areas that could be considered safe zones where we can safely rest. Please let the priests of each party know that they should focus their holy power on the vanguards more than the rearguards. It may not seem that effective, but it’ll be better than not having anything at all. If you happen to find any other information, please let me know right away. It doesn’t matter how trivial it is,” Lee Sang-Hee said.
“Got it.”
“We’ll leave after everyone is done with the preparations. We’ll do the same position as yesterday and have Mr. Hyun-Sung lead the search,” she added.
“Okay.”
Lee Sang-Hee explained our next course of action and we nodded in agreement. Her business was finished, but my business was just about to start.
“Mr. Hyun-Sung, I’m going to speak with Miss Jung-Yeon for a moment and then head back,” I told him.
“Oh… okay. I understand,” he said.
Kim Hyun-Sung looked kind of confused, but Hwang Jung-Yeon looked a bit surprised. When I saw her nodding in front of me, I assumed that she already knew what we were going to talk about since she seemed excited. A few moments later, Kim Hyun-Sung walked away and Hwang Jung-Yeon spoke with a curious expression. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. How about you, Miss Jung-Yeon?” I asked.
“I’m fine too. I think having a high intelligence stat definitely affected the curse although when I look at you, I don’t really think that’s the case, Mr. Ki-Young,” she said.
“I just look okay on the outside,” I told her.
“I don’t think so. When we got cursed, you broke out of it pretty early. Even though everyone was looking at different things, it still hurt my pride a bit, hehe,” she giggled.
“Have you discovered anything else?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. I’ve been waiting since I don’t think it’s really the right time to bring it up, but I’m currently gathering data,” she answered.
“For example?”
“Like the timing of when we hear the voices… to be exact, we hear the voices every 10 minutes and 46 seconds and for every hour that passes, it shortens by 38 seconds. But when we’re not doing anything and resting, the effect slows down. Of course, it’s not definite since there are differences individually, but my body seems to react that way,” she explained.
“Ah, I guess having a good memory helped,” I complimented.
“It did, but I can’t say that I’m happy about being able to hear those bastards’ voices more vividly. By the way, what’s going on? Are you trying to keep your promise from last time?” Hwang Jung-Yeon asked.
“No, right now isn’t the best time. Deok-Gu is having a hard time and… we’re also in a dungeon,” I answered.
“Hehehe, despite that, it seems like you and Miss Ha-Yan have been relying on each other… how romantic,” she said.
“It’s honestly not romantic at all. I think it’s because of the curse,” I told her.
“But on the outside…”
“She looks fine,” I said, finishing her sentence.
“Are you saying that you can recognize even the tiniest bit of change since you two had spent a lot of time together?” she asked.
“Let’s just say that’s the case,” I told her.
“Hm… and the reason why you’re not telling Miss Lee Sang-Hee or Mr. Hyun-Sung is that…”
“It’s a problem I need to solve on my own,” I answered.
“I still think it’ll be better to tell them since the smallest variable can change the situation in a dungeon control. If Miss Ha-Yan isn’t feeling well, you two can leave the dungeon first,” she suggested.
“No, even if we leave this dungeon, there’s no guarantee that the curse will break…” I refused.
It could be more dangerous if we left, so being together with everyone was the better choice.
“At least you know about it… It’s like having insurance in case something happens,” I told her.
“It’s nice that you trust me, but I can’t say that I’m confident about it. Even though I’m not expressing it, I’m pretty stressed out right now. So what do you want me to do?” Hwang Jung-Yeon asked.
There wasn’t a reason for me to hide in the bushes, so I immediately answered while looking at her.
“Are you able to cast an illusion spell, a hallucinogenic spell, or a spiritual spell?” I asked.
“Hm…”
“...”
“I can’t cast a spiritual spell,” she said.
‘Oh.’
“But I can cast an illusion or hallucinogenic spell. A spiritual spell isn’t impossible, but it’s pretty complicated. You already know that don’t you, Mr. Ki-Young?” she asked.
“Yes, I assumed it was a difficult spell,” I answered.
“I think I have an idea as to what you’re asking me to do… but it’s not a simple task. Illusion and hallucinogenic spells aren’t effective against people with high intelligence stats and even when a person has low intelligence stats, if their magic stats are high enough, they can resist it. It applies more to spiritual spells. No matter how hard a person tries to accept the spell, humans tend to instinctively try to push out anything that’s invading their mind,” she explained.
I knew it was going to be difficult, but hearing her say that it was impossible from the start made me lose a bit of hope. However, I knew very well that people like Hwang Jung-Yeon found joy in making the impossible, possible.
“It’s true that it’s impossible to do. It’s definitely impossible…” she said.
“Will it make a difference if the person is cursed?” I asked.
“It’ll still be difficult,” she answered.
“What if you had a potion that could help? Or a catalyst…”
“Are you saying that I should cast the spell based on how you use your magic?” she asked.
“Yes. I also have some potions that I’ve been researching. I’ve been testing out a potion that involves a person’s emotions. It didn’t really work out very well, but… it wasn’t bad. It doesn’t actually mess with a person’s emotions, but it’ll provide a similar reaction,” I explained.
“...”
“Is that possible?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m not really sure, but… I guess it’s a combination of potion treatment and illusion spell. Using them at the same time might be effective. The potion will get rid of any barriers that humans instinctively have and… we’re in a situation where the mind is already weak because of the curse…” Hwang Jung-Yeon explained.
I noticed how she kept mumbling. She looked excited as if she was thinking about the theory.
“If this ends up being successful, then dungeon control could become easier, but of course, we’ll need to do several tests… it’ll probably take at least a month…”
“I think it’ll be best if we skip all the trivial things and test it out immediately since we have a test subject already,” I said, interrupting her.
“Excuse me?” she asked.
“I think it’ll be best if it was done on me. It won’t harm my body… and since I created the potion, I know about it the best,” I answered.
“Oh…”
“What do you think?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, but I think it’ll be fun. We can talk about the theory while walking and we can do clinical trials whenever we’re resting. If any problems occur mentally…”
“That won’t happen,” I said, reassuring her.
I couldn’t guarantee it, but it was the right decision to lie because I was in a situation where I had to somewhat gamble. This test was necessary in order to maintain my relationship with Jung Ha-Yan, even though I knew very well that staying beside Hwang Jung-Yeon would create a bad influence on Jung Ha-Yan…
‘It’s part of the plan.’
After thinking about the bigger picture, this didn’t seem like such a bad choice.
“I’ll let Mr. Hyun-Sung know,” I told her.
“Excuse me?”
“That I’ll be moving with party two for the time being,” I answered.
“Yes, that’ll be best. Actually, I think it’ll be best to send one of my party members as your replacement since we have a lot to do right now. We should let the others know that we’re doing research about the dungeon. I’m not sure when the monsters will appear, but I’m sure we’ll be able to experiment freely until that time comes,” she explained.
“Okay.”
“Did you bring the catalyst?” she asked.
“Of course. I brought my alchemy kit, so don’t worry,” I answered.
“Three days. Let’s solve this within three days,” Hwang Jung-Yeon suggested.
“Let’s do it faster, if possible,” I requested.
“Ugh… the spell is difficult, but at least we have the supplies. If we don’t get a result through this, the magic scholars will probably start crying. I guess this would be our second experiment, right?” she asked.
“This time, you’ll be Dr. Hwang,” I told her.
“Okay, Assistant Lee. I look forward to your cooperation,” she said.
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