I Possess Too Many Characteristics

Chapter 45

“If you’re joining us because of Section Chief Cha Yerin’s recommendation, then you just hate Section Chief Cha, right? Honestly, if it were anyone else’s recommendation, you would’ve said it was okay even if he was an unregistered Hunter, right?”

Following Sua, Yeonghun also spoke with a tone full of animosity towards Jongu.

Considering they’re from the same Support Division, it would be strange if they weren’t like this.

When Jeonghyeon showed interest as if asking what was going on, Yeonghun excitedly started talking.

“That bastard Jongu has a huge inferiority complex towards Section Chief Cha. He always complains that she got promoted quickly just because she’s pretty, even though she joined later. Honestly, does that even make sense? A C-rank Hunter should be ashamed in front of an A-rank, shouldn’t he? And he didn’t even get here fairly. He’s the son of a director at the Association.”

It was truly absurd.

At this point, it wasn’t just an inferiority complex, it was at a level where one should suspect a mental illness.

It was undeniable that Yerin’s appearance was beautiful.

However, she had skills that couldn’t be compared to that.

Even if Jeonghyeon hadn’t seen it himself, wasn’t it proven just by her outwardly visible achievements?

The Association had a conservative atmosphere, so she was only a Section Chief, but if she had joined a guild that prioritized skills, she would have already been in a high-ranking position.

‘Plus, the director’s son? There was a reason everyone was just watching.’

Jeonghyeon finally realized the reason for Jongu’s reckless behavior and the atmosphere where no one tried to stop him.

Life never goes as planned, no matter how careful you are.

Crazy bastards have seizures when they see normal people, how can you stop that?

It’s like a bolt from the blue.

Especially if they’re showing off with a backer, it’s a natural disaster in the truest sense of the word.

Anyway, he understood the public’s circumstances.

Moreover, none of the party members seemed to particularly like Jongu.

Seeing even Kim Yeonghun, who was from a different team, nodding along, it seemed like it wasn’t just an internal matter within the Support Division.

‘Cha Yerin…… So that’s why she agreed to help me so readily, she pushed me into this kind of place?’

And his anger towards Yerin grew even stronger.

However, the others, who couldn’t possibly read Jeonghyeon’s inner thoughts, casually changed the subject.

“Before we came here, Section Chief Cha threatened us so much to ignore Hunter Han Jeonghyeon.”

“But are you really an unregistered Hunter?”

The new topic was none other than Jeonghyeon.

This time, it was Park Hajun, the Tanker, who asked.

Jeonghyeon readily nodded.

“Yes. Agility-type.”

“Huh, really. Well, since Section Chief Cha introduced you, I guess we don’t have to worry about your skills…… But are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’m quite confident.”

It wasn’t a hostile tone like Jongu’s.

It was a typical reaction when an unregistered Hunter said they were entering a 4-level Gate.

After exchanging glances with the others, Hajun spoke with a worried expression.

“I’m not saying this because I dislike you, Jeonghyeon-ssi. But for now, follow Section Chief’s words and stay in the back. It’s completely different from a 3-level Gate. You can participate once you get used to it.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

Creak━

“Everyone having a good chat? Well, it must have been awkward with Jeonghyeon here. Anyway, let’s go in now.”

At that moment, Jongu opened the door and entered, presumably finished with his smoke.

As if it were true that they were told to ignore Jeonghyeon, the people who had naturally gathered around him returned to their original positions.

‘By the way, that guy’s way of addressing me goes down a level every time I see him.’

Meanwhile, Jongu was now calling Jeonghyeon by his first name without even adding his surname.

A spark ignited in Jeonghyeon’s eyes as he looked at Jongu.

Even Park Sangjun’s behavior from their last encounter could be overlooked as a childish prank, but this time, Jongu had crossed the line.

Jongu, who happened to make eye contact with Jeonghyeon, flinched and took a step back.

“Wh, what?”

“What’s wrong, Section Chief?”

As the others looked back in confusion, Jeonghyeon quickly softened his gaze.

As a result, Jongu ended up looking like he was startled for no reason.

‘Stay in the back and play around? Fine, let’s see how long you can keep playing.’

Jeonghyeon was determined to really play along with Jongu’s words.

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

‘Tadan Orc’s Destroyed Encampment’, as the name suggested, was set in a ruined encampment.

The tents that the Orcs originally built were crude to begin with.

But seeing those tents in a state of disrepair, broken and partially burnt, it was like watching the final scene of a war movie.

“Wow……”

And Kim Yeonghun, a Hunter who hadn’t gained much experience yet, gasped at the sight.

It’s said that beginner Hunters often feel like they’ve stepped into a movie when they see the scenery beyond the Gate.

‘Come to think of it, I was like that too.’

The first Gate Jeonghyeon entered was ‘Corridor of Dried Corpses’.

The dark, stone corridors with thunder were like a movie set.

Although the genre was a bit different from now.

“How many hunts have you been on?”

When Jeonghyeon spoke to him, Yeonghun smiled awkwardly and replied.

“Ah, actually, this is my third. You must have a lot of experience, Jeonghyeon-nim?”

“Well…… I’m about the same.”

“Come on, if you were recommended by Section Chief Cha Yerin, you must be a veteran. Isn’t Section Chief Cha really cool?”

“That’s not true.”

It was an opinion that Jeonghyeon could never agree with, even if he died and came back to life.

Even seeing him draw the line so decisively, Yeonghun smiled brightly.

He probably thought that Jeonghyeon could say that because they were really close.

He didn’t seem to have the slightest idea that Jeonghyeon was being serious.

‘Anyway, I’m really leveling up fast.’

Even though he had just reached Level 3, he was still Level 3.

Technically, this was only Jeonghyeon’s sixth hunt.

The higher the rank of a trait, the faster the proficiency level increases, but even considering that, it was excessively fast.

‘Is EX-rank much higher than I thought?’

If there were statistics on S-rank Hunters, it would be easier to predict, but all information related to them was a national secret.

Not only their leveling speed, but even what traits they possessed wasn’t properly revealed.

Considering that even Yerin’s information, who was an A-rank and held a public position, was heavily controlled, it wasn’t strange.

Of course, Jeonghyeon didn’t have the slightest thought that it was undeserved, considering the hardships he had gone through.

“How did you get to know Section Chief Cha?”

“Uh…… well, naturally through work……?”

It was a quite tricky question to answer.

He couldn’t just blurt out that their ill-fated relationship started when he caught the villain duo ‘Masked Two’.

Hajun seemed like a good person, but also the talkative type.

‘I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.’

However, he seemed to be quite impressed.

“As expected…… There was a reason you were unregistered, right?”

“……Excuse me?”

“It’s okay. I’m the type who keeps secrets very well. By the way, that’s really cool.”

Hey, you. What in the world are you thinking?

Jeonghyeon desperately wanted to ask that, but he decided to hold back.

Judging by his expression, he seemed to think that Jeonghyeon was some kind of secret agent.

Well, sometimes, delusion can be beautiful.

“I also want to get close to Section Chief Cha. She’s so pretty, and also……”

Yeonghun, who had been muttering to himself since earlier.

As Jeonghyeon stared at his expression, a thought suddenly crossed his mind, and he was shocked.

“By, by any chance, do you like Section Chief Cha━”

“Oh no, how could I? She’s such an amazing person.”

Yeonghun blushed slightly as he said that.

This has to be stopped!

It was a senior’s duty to save the life of this young man with a bright future and a long life ahead of him.

He couldn’t let this innocent young man fall into the clutches of the devilish Cha Yerin.

“No, Section Chief Cha doesn’t think the way Yeonghun-ssi does━”

However, before Jeonghyeon could finish his stern warning, Jongu’s voice cut in without a care.

“What are you mumbling about in the front? Keep to your positions! Yeonghun-ssi, what did I tell you?”

“Ah…… I’m sorry, Section Chief.”

It seemed he didn’t like seeing Yeonghun talking to Jeonghyeon despite his order to keep his distance.

Yeonghun moved to the front line at Jongu’s roar.

‘You’ve just completely ruined that young man’s life!’

Jeonghyeon’s gaze became incomparably more menacing than before.

“H, hey, why do you keep glaring at me like that! Get back here quickly!”

Even if Jongu had done something terrible, Hunters couldn’t just start a brawl.

Jeonghyeon retreated to where Jongu was, his face full of hostility.

Jongu seemed quite flustered by Jeonghyeon’s sudden change, as he had been obediently following orders until now.

And at that moment,

“Three Orcs approaching from 3 o’clock.”

The presence of those approaching them caught Jeonghyeon’s senses.

Their identity was obvious in a Gate where only Orcs appeared.

Moreover, their overwhelmingly aggressive aura erased any doubt.

“Already? That’s a bit early.”

Jongu tilted his head.

Regardless of his team members’ evaluations, he was the party leader.

In this situation, it was natural to give battle orders first, regardless of whether it was early or not, but he didn’t show any signs of nervousness.

However, as if it wasn’t an unfamiliar situation, the party members started preparing for battle on their own.

The first thing to do was to change the direction of the formation that had been arranged based on 12 o’clock.

As the front line hurriedly moved to 3 o’clock and brushed past him,

“Your senses are really good, aren’t they?”

Sua said with a slightly surprised expression.

Her trait was D-rank 「Physical Enhancement」.

It was one rank higher than what Jeonghyeon had.

With that alone, she could sufficiently fulfill the role of a scout in most parties of the same rank.

It was natural for her to be surprised that he had noticed the Orcs’ approach before she did.

Of course, it was only natural for Jeonghyeon, as he had several Agility-type traits in addition to his Physical Enhancement trait.

Anyway, the battle preparations proceeded very smoothly.

Hajun and Sua, as a duo who had trained together several times, found their positions well, and Yeonghun also had decent sense, positioning himself appropriately.

And Dan Jongu……

‘Does this bastard really want to hunt?’

He was just watching with an indifferent expression.

And when Jeonghyeon tried to take out a dagger,

“Hey, hey, I told you to just be a porter, right? Here, take this.”

He stopped him and threw his bag instead.

It was such a powerful provocation that it momentarily confused Jeonghyeon about where he should throw the dagger.

Jeonghyeon wasn’t planning on participating in the battle that enthusiastically anyway.

He was the type of passenger who loved riding the bus more than anything.

However, when people were fighting Orcs in front of him, he had to at least make some motions.

Dayun, the Healer, who was watching the scene with Jeonghyeon, also had a sour expression.

‘Sigh, I’m only holding back because of the others.’

“Squeal!”

Finally, the Orcs’ peculiar, strange cries began to reach everyone’s ears.

Three Orcs came running over the hill.

‘First, there’s the defeated soldier concept, right?’

As befitting the destroyed encampment, the Tadan Orcs that appeared here were a weaker version of the typical Tadan Orcs.

Their movements themselves were somewhat slow due to fatigue, and it wasn’t uncommon to see some of them injured.

However, that was only in comparison to the Tadan Orcs from 5-level Gates.

Even the weaker versions had a sufficiently threatening destructive power and aggression.

Especially since there was talk that their aggression was similar or even higher due to their anger over the destruction of their encampment, they couldn’t be careless.

Meanwhile, Jeonghyeon couldn’t participate in the battle for now.

‘Well then, let’s see what both sides are capable of.’