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Chapter 199: Dragon’s nest, Experiment, Change, Enhancement (7)

His reaction was different from what I had been expecting. I thought he would feel excited, but instead, it was as if he felt reluctant.

Of course, I was disappointed.

It was natural to feel this way, considering the time I spent making the Enhancement Serum. It was a research of my choice, but this was still made exclusively for Park Deokgu.

‘This… bastard…’

I didn’t understand why he would reject this. Of course, I knew there would be a reason why, but I didn’t think he would stick to that resolve so much.

This was probably because he wanted to get stronger with his own strength, and he didn’t want to borrow the power of these potions.

‘This bastard…’

Was he not desperate? If he were aware of the situation he was in right now, he would never say that. In the first place, he was only able to get this far because of my help.

I was dumbfounded by his narrow-minded way of thinking when it came to abilities.

If Park Deokgu were in a small or medium-sized guild that wasn’t Blue, he would have accepted this serum right away. If this potion were released on the market right now, a lot of people would immediately go and buy it.

It was embarrassing to say this, but this was an elixir for people like him.

My eyes were sparkling as I felt a little betrayed. I was not angry. I simply felt a little offended.

“What?”

“I appreciate this, but I will not drink it. Did you really call me just for this?”

“Yes, that’s why I called you.”

“I appreciate your concern, but you don’t have to worry about me. I am not a child, and I can do well enough without anything like this.”

Park Deokgu did look very uncomfortable. This was the first time he had looked at me like that ever since we had met.

It seems like I had hit his soft spot, but perhaps it was also because he felt inferior. He had been working hard to catch up with us, but with this potion, he might feel that I pitied him.

However, at this point, I had no choice but to urge him.

“Stop this useless stubbornness.”

“I am not being stubborn.”

“Remember that it’s not just for you. It’s also for the party.”

“You can just cut to the chase. Are you saying you need a stronger front liner?”

I could neither confirm nor deny this.

“Then you just have to use someone else. Anyway, I won’t take this.”

“You!”

“I said I’m not taking it!”

The moment I grabbed him, trying to pull him back, he got angry and struck my arm. Although my stats had increased quite a bit, obviously, my weak body bounced off.

Park Deokgu looked shocked, and his shock quickly gave way to guilt.

‘Motherf…’

Fortunately, I was able to protect the Enhancement Serum, but it didn’t change the fact that my fall had been a painful one due to this. After checking the serum’s safety, I immediately turned to look at him.

“You bastard!”

As I tried to scream in anger, I felt a huge flow of magical power.

‘Ah.’

“What… are you doing?”

As I turned my head, I saw Jung Hayan reaching for Park Deok-gu. It looked like her new legendary-grade attribute was a success because the magical power that I could feel from her was much more than I could imagine. I didn’t know what spell Hayan used, but the ground on which Park Deokgu had been stepping on began to crumble.

Deokgu tried to hold on while trembling, but he couldn’t resist the pressure of magical power felt from above. I felt sad seeing him lying flat on the ground like a frog.

“Ugh…”

He kept trying to get up, but this was not possible. It was a completely different thing to withstand attacks due to high endurance and to be able to move with the pressure of magic.

It was especially impossible for a guy with low strength and magic power to resist this unknown magic. I knew that Jung Hayan was sensitive to my safety, but I didn’t think she would treat Park Deokgu like this.

“I apologize.”

“Whoosh!”

“I apologize!”

Craaaaaaackkk!

“Argh!”

She exerted more strength once again, and Park Deokgu began to dig deeper. I had to rush to stop her. Although Deokgu was strong, there was no way he wouldn’t sustain any injuries from the spell.

“Jung Hayan, stop.”

“Ah…”

“I wasn’t hurt, and he didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Apologize to Deokgu later.”

“…”

As Jung Hayan lowered her hand, the intensity of her magic disappeared.

Even with 45 magic power, Jung Hayan’s magic power had been hard to bear.

As I moved towards Park Deokgu, I could see him quietly getting up. I checked him with Mind’s Eye and was relieved to see that he had not received any major damage. To resist Jung Hayan’s magic, he raised his magic power too much, so his innards were a little damaged, but he would be able to recover solely with his own power.

I quietly reached out and waited for him to hold my hand, but the bastard’s expression didn’t look very good. What blossomed on his face was a terrible look of defeat. He had not even been able to withstand Jung Hayan’s attack.

‘Ah…’

I had to admit that things had gotten a little more twisted. Now I was sure that Deokgu felt inferior.

‘Right now, even I…’

Even I had a hard time trying to catch up with such a party full of monstrous geniuses.

As a part of the noncombatant group, I was somehow getting by. This put Deokgu in a more desperate situation than me.

In the end, he didn’t reach out for my hand.

Feeling defeated that he couldn’t escape from the magic, he stood up by himself and started walking outside the nest, refusing to look at any of us.

“I… I’m sorry about earlier, Hyung-nim.”

“No. You seemed a little angry. I’m sorry too, Deokgu. I think I rushed things a little… Let’s talk about this slowly later.”

“No. Hyung-nim didn’t do anything wrong.”

‘This is so annoying…’

I wanted to just tell him that he didn’t have the talent, that he had bigger limitations, that he should just shut up and drink if he didn’t want the gap between him and the party to widen. However, I cared about his feelings, so I kept my mouth shut about it. I didn’t need to tell him, for I knew he already felt that way. In this regard, it would be better for me to act gently.

Jung Hayan was watching me quietly as if she knew she had made a mistake, and Dialugia, looking at me from a distance, seemed to know what the situation was right now.

I clearly was not expecting this.

‘It’s fucking frustrating, fuck…’

I didn’t know what Park Deokgu was thinking, but it didn’t mean my worry for him lessened.

In the end, I knew I had to head out.

“I’ll go to the guild for a minute.”

“Okay… Oppa.”

I had to find another solution to this problem.

‘This is the last time, really.’

This was the last time I would take care of him. If he fell again, I decided, while going back to Blue, that I wouldn’t protect him any longer.

I didn’t head back riding White Paul. I wanted to see how Park Deokgu was. If he saw me approaching him with my griffon, his sense of inferiority would only increase.

Anyway, the Guild House wasn’t that far, and I soon reached my destination.

Though I wondered if he would drink his sorrows away, I felt like I wouldn’t find him at the bar. Just in case, I headed to the place where he was with Kim Ye-ri last time.

When I arrived, I found Park Deokgu and Kim Ye-ri together, as I had expected. Kim Ye-ri rolled her eyes upon sensing my presence. Though she was aware that I was here, it seemed that Park Deokgu was not.

Seeing that she didn’t tell Park Deokgu, she must be aware of the situation here.

“This isn’t good, uncle. You shouldn’t forcibly train yourself. Give yourself time to rest.”

“No, it won’t be training today.”

“Then what will it be?”

“Sparring.”

“If it’s sparring, we do it every day. It’s also considered training.”

“No. Not that.”

“Then what?”

“I want to spar for real.”

“You mean you don’t want me to go easy on you? You’ll get hurt.”

“It’s okay.”

Park Deokgu looked nervous as he spoke. I knew he felt shaken at the fact that he couldn’t even resist a single attack from Hayan and thus wanted to know exactly how strong he currently was.

Instead of answering Park Deokgu, Kim Ye-ri slowly turned towards me.

It looked as if she was asking me if she would really be allowed to do this. Since I couldn’t find any other solution, I gave her a slight nod. Now would be the right time for Park Deokgu to face his harsh reality.

The moment Park Deokgu got into position, Kim Ye-ri immediately rushed towards him.

‘Kim Hyunsung?’

I instantly realized who the kid’s model for practicing close combat was. She was a bit lighter and more stylish than Kim Hyunsung, but the fact that they had the same stance was inevitable.

It seemed like Hyunsung had influenced her more than I had initially thought.

Park Deokgu corrected his sword as he felt startled, but Kim Ye-ri had already reached him. Blood spurted out, almost instantly.

When she fought Cha Hee-ra, I had felt it roughly, but that little kid’s fighting ability was almost comparable to Cho Hyejin’s. It really hurt to see Park Deokgu pushed down to the point of embarrassment. This wasn’t even a fair fight.

Although he was holding on with his innate endurance, he could not catch nor block Kim Ye-ri.

However, this did not mean that Park Deokgu was weak.

‘It simply means that Kim Ye-ri is too strong.’

It felt like she already knew how Deokgu usually moved. The fact that she moved faster than half a heartbeat should also be taken into account.

After she dashed away, one of her throwing knives got stuck in Deokgu’s body, and with her other dagger, she slashed through his body.

It was dazzling to see Park Deokgu’s bloody appearance in an instant. I now understood why she kept saying she had gone easy on Park Deokgu.

“I want to stop now.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s stop now. It’s too dangerous. If we continue… I’ll call the priest.”

“A little bit more… Please…”

“I don’t want to. I don’t know why you keep trying to fight with me.”

“…”

“Uncle cannot fight me. Do you finally admit defeat?”

“…”

“You can’t do it like Aunt Cho Hyejin or Hyunsung Oppa anyway. It’s better to accept this fact.”

The little kid looked at Park Deokgu quietly before immediately turning away, presumably to call a priest.

Park Deokgu sat on the ground and buried his head between his knees. I looked at him, thinking he would eventually get up and start swinging his sword just like last time. However, he did not get up again.

Instead, I could only hear the sound of him crying as quietly as he could.