I Possess Too Many Characteristics

Chapter 64

A building soared high, seemingly piercing the sky.

Jeonghyeon stood before it.

“Oh, so this is the Se-ah Guild?”

Despite its pure white exterior, one might expect to see some blemishes or dirt, but the building was impeccably clean.

The building itself served as a perfect symbol of the Se-ah Guild.

Jeonghyeon’s visit to the Se-ah Guild was none other than for a pre-meeting with the party members who would be joining him in the”Dragon’s Tomb”.

It is said that raid teams who conquer mission-type gates together usually gather for practice several times before entering the gate.

━ I apologize, but the other Hunters will be unable to attend the meeting due to personal reasons. This will be the first and last pre-meeting.

Suyeong had informed Jeonghyeon of the meeting schedule, saying this.

Presumably, while she called them”personal reasons,”it was likely a sugarcoated excuse.

In reality, it was probably closer to a boycott.

Judging from Suyeong’s words, it seemed that the other members had practiced together so much that they were practically a fixed party, so there was no need for separate practice.

It probably meant they didn’t want to bother practicing with an outsider they didn’t want to see.

‘Well, they can always rent a facility and practice without me.’

With that thought in mind, he entered the designated meeting room, where four Hunters were already gathered.

Their gazes momentarily focused on Jeonghyeon.

The largest man among them spoke first.

“Are you Hunter Han Jeonghyeon?”

“Yes, nice to meet you all.”

Jeonghyeon responded casually to the Hunter’s gruff greeting.

‘The Tanker, Cha Jin, was it? I expected it, but the reaction is quite negative.’

Even if the Se-ah Guild members had a good public image, there were limits.

A random pebble rolling in and taking a spot in a gold mine?

Frankly, the fact they weren’t outright cursing at him was enough to consider them decent people.

Tanker Cha Jin.

Healer Park Heejun.

Ranged Dealer Lee Hayul.

Jeonghyeon’s gaze, which had been scanning the faces of those gathered in the meeting room, finally landed on one person.

‘I never thought I’d be partying with her.’

Shin Jina was sitting there with an impassive expression.

The younger sister of Shin Se-ah, the Guild Leader of the Se-ah Guild.

When he received information about the party members from Suyeong beforehand, the one who surprised Jeonghyeon the most was Shin Jina.

After all, she was undeniably one of Korea’s representative young Hunters.

She was also one of the most famous Hunters from the Se-ah Guild.

Meanwhile, Jina, whose eyes met Jeonghyeon’s, spoke.

“Have a seat.”

“Ah, yes.”

Jeonghyeon immediately pulled out an empty chair and settled down.

Jina’s eyebrows twitched slightly as she watched him.

He was supposed to be an agility-type, and although it was just the act of sitting down, it felt like more than just an unregistered Hunter could manage.

‘Whatever, Shin Jina.’

Of course, it was just a fleeting thought.

She quickly dismissed the idea, thinking how could she judge anything from just sitting in a chair.

“Well then, let’s start the meeting, shall we? It’ll be brief.”

It was the Healer, Park Heejun, who led the conversation, not Cha Jin or Shin Jina.

He seemed to be the leader of this party.

‘He was said to have the most experience.’

Everyone gathered here was B-Rank.

Although Shin Jina had the highest level at 5, in terms of experience, Park Heejun was the senior.

The meeting was simple.

They shared information about each other’s traits and fighting styles, and then virtually practiced their coordination based on that.

In the case of the existing Se-ah Guild Hunters, they had already practiced together so much that they knew it by heart, so it was even more simplified.

Inevitably, the main topic of discussion revolved around Jeonghyeon.

Even the seemingly taciturn Archer Lee Hayul actively participated in the conversation at this point.

“…… Throwing weapons and a mace?”

“Yes. I mainly use throwing weapons, but I’m also proficient with a mace.”

“…… Proficient?”

“I can handle about four Tadan Orcs. I haven’t tried more than that.”

Of course, even her active participation was limited to communicating with just a few words.

‘It feels like I’m being interviewed.’

It wasn’t far from the truth.

The Hunters surrounded him with questions, and Jeonghyeon answered them all.

The Hunters’ expressions frowned as they listened to Jeonghyeon’s story.

They didn’t say it out loud, but they honestly couldn’t believe it.

Four Tadan Orcs?

‘He probably took them down with the help of his party members.’

Even if he was a skilled unregistered Hunter, how could he possibly take down four Tadan Orcs alone?

And a Hunter who hadn’t even been awakened for three months?

They had already hunted Tadan Orcs to the point of nausea, so it was even harder for them to believe.

“Alright. Let’s leave it at that. Next, let’s talk about distribution.”

Heejun, who had been lost in thought for a moment, changed the subject.

The issue of distribution was the most sensitive topic among Hunters.

Instead of bringing it up himself, Heejun looked at Jina.

His intention was clear to anyone.

“Hunter Han Jeonghyeon. We’ve also given it a lot of thought after hearing from the Sales Team.”

Jina started speaking cautiously.

‘As expected, it’ll be difficult to go with the proposal as it is.’

However, Jeonghyeon had already anticipated adjustments to the distribution.

He calmly nodded.

“First of all, since the Sales Team has spoken, we won’t argue about the general distribution. Honestly, I know it sounds arrogant, but we’re not the type to be stingy with the money that would go to Hunter Han Jeonghyeon.”

“Thank you.”

The distribution regarding monster compensation was fixed as equal.

Then there was only one thing left.

“However, we’ll need to discuss the artifact distribution. Although you’re the last in line, we’d like you to yield the artifact to us if possible.”

“Alright.”

The answer came without a moment’s hesitation.

Not only Jina but also the other Hunters seemed a bit surprised that the agreement was reached so easily.

But Jeonghyeon knew better than anyone.

That there was no point in being stubborn here.

‘The chances of the opportunity even reaching me, who’s last in line, are slim anyway. It’s better to enter amicably.’

Looking back on the hunts Jeonghyeon had participated in so far, most of them were cases where he joined pre-existing parties.

Of course, he had performed brilliantly in those hunts, but whether his teammates acknowledged that was another matter.

Through that process, Jeonghyeon had learned firsthand how tiring it was to hunt while being ignored.

“Thank you for your understanding. In return, I’ll personally guarantee your safety, Hunter Han Jeonghyeon. You probably won’t even have to participate in the hunt.”

Jina said with a faint smile.

While she called it a safety guarantee, it was essentially the same as saying that even if Jeonghyeon was a subpar Hunter and didn’t contribute to the hunt at all, they wouldn’t object.

But Jeonghyeon didn’t want to be treated as dead weight so easily.

It was nice to hunt effortlessly, but humans felt a sense of accomplishment when they did their part.

Jeonghyeon said with a smile.

“Thank you for your consideration. However, I’m not planning on just freeloading. How about we do this?”

“What?”

“If everyone here agrees that I’ve contributed enough to clearing the gate, my turn for the artifact will be reinstated.”

“Hey, wait a minute━”

Cha Jin, whose reaction had been uneasy from the moment Jeonghyeon’s words didn’t go his way, interrupted, placing his hand on the table.

He thought that Jeonghyeon at least knew his place since he readily gave up his turn, but now he was asking for his turn to be reinstated if he contributed enough?

Wasn’t that practically a provocation against the Se-ah Guild party, even if that turn was the last one?

In short, it was like suggesting a bet to see whose words were right.

But before Cha Jin could raise his voice, Jina cut him off.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course.”

Cha Jin glanced at Jina, and her expression wasn’t good.

She also considered Jeonghyeon’s proposal a provocation.

In a bad way, it was an unregistered Hunter, who was nothing more than a Human Resources parachute, not only taking a spot in a mission-type gate but also provoking the existing members?

But Jeonghyeon didn’t seem like he would back down easily.

Jina’s mind felt momentarily tangled.

‘What kind of confidence does he have to……’

Thinking about it, he had been a strangely unsettling man from the moment he entered the room.

To begin with, the people here, even if they weren’t the best in Korea, were top-tier Hunters for 5-level gates.

Wasn’t it strange that he wasn’t even nervous and spoke his mind confidently despite being surrounded by such Hunters?

Was it real, or just empty bravado?

Jina said with a fierce smile.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

“Jina!”

“But, since you’ve said that, you’ll have to take responsibility if you don’t do your part.”

Her tone was as calm as usual, but the weight behind her words was heavy.

Jeonghyeon nodded with a similar smile to Jina’s.

“Understood.”

Silence fell for a moment.

Only Jina and Jeonghyeon’s gazes clashed in the meeting room, as if engaged in a power struggle.

And it was Jina who stood up first.

“Since you’re so confident, I guess there’s no need to practice together. I hope you come prepared.”

“J, Jina!”

As Jina left the meeting room with those words, the others hurriedly followed.

Only Hayul remained seated for a moment, looking at Jeonghyeon.

“…… Strange.”

She left with just that one word.

Click━

Jeonghyeon, who had been sitting in the meeting room, slumped back in his chair as if his strength had drained away once he was alone.

“Whew. I did it, didn’t I?”

He hadn’t actually intended to go this far.

As for the artifact, he had considered it excessive luck and was willing to hand it over.

‘But telling me to just freeload and that you’ll take care of the artifact was crossing the line.’

He had only retorted because they had provoked his Daenong High Jeonghyeon pride.

Thinking about it now, it wasn’t really necessary.

He usually endured much worse insults and still managed to smile and get by.

“Why did I do that?”

Jeonghyeon was lost in thought.

For some reason, Jina’s face as she spoke to him, taking the lead, lingered in his mind.

Would he have reacted so sensitively if someone else had said it?

‘I don’t think so.’

Then was it because Jina was unique?

‘Thinking about it, I felt like our skills were a good match.’

B-Rank Level 5.

He could instinctively sense that she was a skilled Hunter, deserving of that level, or perhaps even exceeding it.

Just as he had instinctively felt that the Hunters he had hunted with so far were all less skilled than him.

He could laugh off the insults from those who were weaker than him.

After all, the more they did that, the worse they would look.

But he couldn’t tolerate being insulted by someone who was on par with him or slightly stronger.

Jeonghyeon, who finally understood the reason for his sensitive reaction, sighed.

“I can’t stand this kind of thing, can I……”

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

Meanwhile, Hayul, who was walking down the hallway with Jina, asked.

“…… Why?”

“Huh?”

She meant why was she acting so unusually sensitive.

This was because Jina was the type to always handle things calmly.

Even if Jeonghyeon’s words were close to a provocation, it was strange for Jina, not Cha Jin, to directly counter that provocation.

Jina, whose mind was as tangled as Jeonghyeon’s, replied with a faint smile.

“I don’t know. I just had this strange feeling that I couldn’t lose. He’s a strange person.”

“…… Seems like it.”