How To Use Regressors

47 – Meeting

“So, how was it?”

Goo Yeonjeong’s office. There, Lee Jaehyo was giving a report on their recent dungeon expedition.

“… It was exceptionally splendid. To be honest… You wouldn’t know unless you saw it for yourself.”

“Jaehyo, when you say it like that, it makes me very curious.”

“… Honestly, I didn’t go to the training facility this time, so when Clan Master said we must recruit them at all costs, I thought he was overreacting.”

“Hmm…”

“After witnessing this dungeon expedition, I realized. It was the right decision to recruit them, even if it meant competing with other clans and staking everything on it.”

“Oh… Is it that serious?”

“Frankly, I even felt sympathy for Kang Seongjun, the Clan Master of the Hwajin Clan.”

“Huh… Well, they did us a favor by causing trouble on their end, so we could recruit them.”

“Did Joo Seung-hwa threaten Lee Yun-sung, Clan Master?”

“Oh, yes… That’s true. To be honest, Lee Yun-sung has quite a talent, you know. I just brought him in because I can bring in others as well.”

“… That was a wrong judgment, Clan Master.”

Guyeonjeong had a surprised expression when he heard Lee Jaehyo say it was a wrong judgment.

It wasn’t an expression of displeasure, but rather the first time he had seen Lee Jaehyo express himself so strongly.

“What happened?”

“Yes. Although he may be lacking in physical strength, his intelligence will definitely benefit the clan.”

“…. I’d like to hear more about it. Would you tell me?”

After hearing the detailed situation in the dungeon from Lee Jaehyo, Guyeonjeong sat down and, with his hand on his chin, opened his mouth.

“The idea of eliminating the shadows in that situation… It’s definitely ingenious.”

“Yes, he may lack physical strength, but his ability to assess situations and handle crises is outstanding.”

“Well… Yoon Yeon, he put in an offer for the leadership position at the education center just two days after dominating the base… There must be something to him.”

“…..”

“Alright. It seems we need to revise our evaluation of him a bit. How were the others?”

“For the most part, they were excellent. It was hard to believe that they were just newcomers fresh out of the education center.”

“…….”

“In the case of Yurim, she seemed to have a difficult time. It seems that it was not a normal grade dungeon, but a rare grade dungeon.”

“Is that so.”

“Of course, she is not bad, but her talent felt average.”

“Anyway, I have to bring Euihyun and his family along since they are family. If their talent is average, well, we can give them equipment or give them more experiences to grow.”

“You are right.”

“So, there is still one person left, right?”

After Gu Yeonjeong’s question, Lee Jaehyo remained silent for a while before slowly speaking up.

“…. In the case of Seo Yooju… it would be appropriate to say it’s beyond the standard. I know this expression is impolite, but her talent is definitely superior to clan masters or even clan masters of other large clans.”

“Ha….”

Guyeonjeong was amazed. The fact that Jaehyo said this means that his words are true. This man just expresses things as they are without exaggeration.

“This batch is really a bunch of gems.”

“Hiring clan masters like them is truly the best choice. In just 2 years… no, even after just 1 year, our clan will be incomparable to other clans.”

Of course, that would be natural. Not to mention others, just the presence of Seo Yooju alone will bring glory to the clan. With time, she will become even stronger than the current large clan masters.

“And such a person is our clan member, ahaha…!”

“……”

“If she grows enough, she should be put in a leadership position.”

Lee Jae-hyo couldn’t bring himself to oppose. Su Yoo-joo’s talent in Western magic was overwhelming.

To the point where it was doubtful if it was possible for her to be embraced by the clan.

******

After completing the dungeon raid, for three weeks, she practiced in the morning and afternoon, and after her mana settled, she repeatedly visited the library. In order to conduct experiments, she needed to know various information.

That’s why she’s ranting in her private laboratory right now.

“Ha… Why isn’t it working?”

What I am trying to do is to mix sorcery and chimera synthesis.

To be more precise, the goal is to create a chimera in a mental state similar to a lich.

If someone were to summon something in a mental state, they could ask me why I’m clinging to chimera synthesis instead of using sorcery…

“The reason is, damn it, sorcery consumes mana like crazy.”

The difference between sorcery and chimera synthesis is that sorcery uses mana to maintain the summon, and if all the mana is used up, the summoned entity disappears.

Chimera synthesis requires massive materials, time, mana, and ideas to create, but it exists permanently.

In addition, with sorcery, my mana is imbued in the summoned entity. There is a risk of getting caught.

However, the Chimera synthesis technique requires the infusion of magical power during production, but once completed, it exists as an independent entity. It only follows my commands without being connected to my magical power.

What I will create is a Chimera in the form of a spiritual entity, completely devoid of offensive abilities, stripped of both flesh and evil, quite literally existing for the sake of existing.

“The purpose of creating a Chimera is to gather information.”

For instance, let’s say I create a Chimera in the form of a spiritual entity and command it to monitor a certain player.

In that case, the Chimera, lacking both flesh and evil and devoid of any attack capabilities, will have almost no risk of being discovered by the player. It will simply follow and observe who the target is conversing with.

“And while gathering that information… as soon as the Chimera returns, all I need to do is listen to its contents.”

In other words, the Chimera’s purpose is not for combat but for information gathering.

I can confidently say that I am the only one who would have such thoughts. This is not arrogance.

“Because… most black magicians are obsessed with experiments, battles, and murder.”

If one were to summon a spiritual entity, they would summon it using necromancy for combat, not waste their time bottlenecking with Chimera synthesis for information collection.

Who would think of creating a spiritual entity devoid of offensive capabilities, while those black magicians confined to their corners or dungeons create creatures like Death Knights to build their own legions?

I invest everything in erasing any traces by removing offensive capabilities and flesh and evil.

The theory was perfect.

… Well, theory is just talk.

“Damn it, the problem is that the existence has a malignant inclination.”

Evil or good, self or other, I had to resolve that the very existence itself is wicked.

The danger of the Chimera getting exposed can be completely eradicated by using the Shadow Cube.

However, the risk of being detected exists when the entity itself is evil, if the opponent possesses the ability to sense evil entities.

“The problem is… I’m a black magician. How can I create something that is not evil?”

I have to create a non-evil entity, but I am a black magician.

“… I guess I should be satisfied with getting this far.”

The experiment is halted.

There will be a solution later. Rushing won’t help with anything. Take it slowly, slowly.

At that moment, a sudden commotion erupted within the clan.

******

Everyone except the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th parties that were on an expedition gathered in the clan house’s meeting room. Our party was no exception.

“… What’s going on?”

Everyone from the other parties, except ours, seemed to have serious expressions. Although we could hear them talking to each other, we couldn’t concentrate on what they were saying.

Looking at Seo Yujoo, she had the expression that something had come up. She looked quite flustered.

“Is it because the expedition failed, as I suspected last time?”

Guyeon’s expression was completely frozen. It was unclear exactly what was going on, but the situation seemed extremely serious.

“…. Everyone, please be quiet. I will explain the situation.”

The atmosphere, which had been loud and chaotic, quieted down at Guyeon’s words.

“…. I’m sure you all know that Parties 2, 3, and 4 have embarked on a large-scale expedition with another clan.”

“……”

“It’s been over three weeks since they left for the expedition, and there has been no news. It’s as if the Golden Wing Clan went on the expedition alone, just like before.”

Guyeon’s words caused a commotion among everyone.

“… I heard that the average time for an expedition is two to three weeks.”

While there are cases where expeditions can take over a month, the problem lies in the fact that the dungeon targeted for this expedition had a history of the Golden Wing Clan going in and no one coming out.

“… Are they all dead? Is their power not enough?”

“I… I believe there is a high possibility that clan members are still alive.”

It had been over three weeks since they left for the expedition. It hadn’t been over a month yet, so there was still a possibility that they were alive, as she said. However…

“But nobody who went on the expedition has come out of the dungeon.”

No one who went on the expedition to the dungeon has come out. It has been over four months.

“… How is this possible? Can they all fail?”

How is it possible that there isn’t a single person coming out of the dungeon?

Others tightly closed their eyes, trying to anticipate what words would come out of Gu Yeonjeong’s mouth next.

“…. After consulting with representatives from the other three clans, we have decided to embark on another expedition for the rescue mission. This time, we will mobilize all members from the three clans without exception.”

‘Even if they utilize the full power of the three clans, they still failed the expedition?’

Based on the reaction from the previous expedition, there was a suspicion that the three clans would fail even if they poured all their strength into the expedition.

Upon hearing the news that all members of the three clans would be deployed, others seemed relieved. They believed that with such a large number of people being involved, there would be no way for the expedition to fail.

“However, all members of Party 6 will remain in the clan, along with the newcomers.”

“… What?”

Lee Jaehyo seemed to have trouble understanding the decision to leave him in the clan.

While it was forbidden for our party members to participate in large-scale expeditions within a year of arriving on this continent, it seemed questionable why the important force like him was being excluded.

“It would be difficult for newcomers to manage the clan while we are absent. Jaehyo, you will be in charge of temporarily managing the clan as the acting clan master.”

“But… in this critical situation where the fate of the clan is at stake, it’s not right for me to be the only one to leave…”

“Don’t worry. With this many people being involved, do you think the strategy will fail? Please stay in the clan without any worries.”

“…. Understood, Clan Master.”

Although Lee Jaehyo seemed reluctant, he appeared to trust and accept the decision as the order of the clan master.

“Anyway, everyone except the newcomers and Party 6 will be participating in this expedition. Both the Divine Clan and Golden Wing Clan have decided to commit all their forces. I understand your concerns and anxiety, but I hope you won’t worry too much.”

A man raised his hand and asked a question.

“Clan Master, when are we leaving for the expedition?”

“We have decided to leave in 2 days. As time is pressing, there could be survivors who may die due to a day’s delay.”

‘Indeed… We are leaving quickly to rescue as many people as possible.’

Gu Yeon-jeong’s choice is understandable enough.

‘…It will be a journey to hell.’

Unfortunately, neither I nor Seo Yoo-ju, or anyone else, have a way to rescue them.

Even if the newcomers oppose the expedition, they will definitely go on the expedition to rescue their fellow clan members.

Unless Seo Yoo-ju herself declares herself a returnee, there is no way to explain the reason not to go.

Gu Yeon-jeong spoke, as if driving in a wedge.

“Anyway, we will depart for the expedition in 2 days. Please finish your preparations during that time.”