The other parties' shock lasted for a longer time than I expected. Of course, I knew this was only natural. Kim Hyunsung had been quiet all this time, and now he was surprisingly showing off his leadership skills. He was proving that being a leader wasn't all about having high stats.
However, it could very well be that as well. Currently, Kim Hyunsung was showing a flurry of skills that were well over his current stats.
Watching him, and then observing Choi Young-ki and the others, I knew what they were all thinking.
'He's a monster.'
'What a genius...'
Their thoughts were all written on their faces.
Of course, it wasn't just Kim Hyunsung who was racking up all the attention. Jung Hayan and I were also getting our fair share from the magic power we were exhibiting.
The truth was that my alchemy relied heavily on Jung Hayan's magic capacity to let out spells that were as intense as hers. Still, these people didn't know anything about alchemy and were unaware of my secret, so they must have thought that I was doing spectacularly alone.
Added with Park Deokgu's determined defensive prowess, Kim Ye-ri's crazy accurate aim, and Sun Hee-young's clear and effective spells, we looked like the perfect team.
This expedition suddenly felt fun. I knew Kim Hyunsung's secret – that he was a regressor – so he probably secretly had ample knowledge of dungeons. It was great to have him lead the party.
'This feels different.'
Indeed, we felt more confident now. We were working efficiently with each other almost as if on instinct. Even Jung Yura's expression showed hostile confusion as she continued to watch us silently.
'Ha.'
I knew she planned to show herself off as the necessary villain that would, in turn, improve the expedition's results. She meant to show everyone that continually pushing us in a tough manner would be the key to our success.
However, I had thwarted those plans as early as now. Our team had also successfully shown everyone that we didn't need much coaxing to be the perfect, functioning team. In the end, Yura only succeeded in destroying her influential position over the group.
Just the thought of her ruined plans made me smile.
"Next!"
We continued to defeat monster after monster with efficient teamwork, and soon, there came the inevitable point where all our opponents were on the floor, either slashed or decimated. A strange silence hung over the group.
Looking back at our comrades, we found them staring at Kim Hyunsung with skeptical expressions, finding what had just happened hard to believe. It was Choi Young-ki who spoke first.
"Ah, it looks like we've witnessed a real genius."
"That's an exaggeration. I was just trying to imitate you."
"Haha, I don't think so. You went past just imitating me, you did even better. I definitely wasn't expecting this level of talent from you, or from Kiyoung and the others for that matter."
"Then..."
"Your party has improved greatly ever since entering the dungeon. I won't lie – when the Blue Guild paid such a high price for you, I really thought it was too much. However, seeing you all in action, I feel like their pricing was justified. It won't take long before Blue Guild reclaims its glory through all of you."
"I feel embarrassed to hear that, now."
"Hahaha. If it does happen later, don't say I didn't tell you!"
