I Possess Too Many Characteristics

Chapter 61

“You’re not going to make it.”

Pug━ （sfx: stabbing sound）

“Kuaaack!”

Those words were like a death sentence.

Another dagger was plunged into Chaejun’s remaining leg.

Yerin’s order from the beginning was to just keep him alive.

And a C-Rank Hunter would never die from this much.

“Kuhh━ Why are you doing this to me……”

“Before you ask why I’m doing this to you, think about why you did it to others.”

It was then that Gangjun and Junhyeon, who had left at Jeonghyeon’s instructions, returned.

“Hunter Han Jeonghyeon-nim!”

“What is this!”

They had left Jeonghyeon’s side for a while, but returned as soon as they sensed the fight, only to find it already over.

‘I heard he was an unregistered Hunter!’

Moreover, wasn’t Kwak Chaejun, a C-Rank Level 4, lying on the ground?

Jeonghyeon, on the other hand, was fiercely grinning, seemingly eager to inflict as much pain as possible on Chaejun.

Did he find hope in a new person?

Chaejun crawled towards the two, pleading.

“P-Please, save me……”

Pug━ （sfx: stabbing sound）

“Kuaaack! Fuck, why are you doing this to me!”

This time, it was his right arm.

The dagger, even more vicious than before, pierced through his arm and into the ground.

“Hunter Han Jeonghyeon-nim. Please stop! He’s subdued.”

“We’ll take him into custody now.”

Thinking he might die, the two tried to stop Jeonghyeon.

However, Jeonghyeon had no intention of letting Chaejun go easily.

“It’s okay. He won’t die, he won’t die.”

“But……”

“Kuhh━ You, you’re not affiliated with the Association……?”

“Huh?”

Jeonghyeon tilted his head as if asking how Chaejun knew.

Soon, he was able to figure it out.

Since Junhyeon had called him”Hunter-nim”instead of his rank, he must have guessed that Jeonghyeon was an outsider.

‘He’s quite perceptive even while crying and whining. As expected, he still had some composure.’

Jeonghyeon chuckled and replied.

“Yeah, I’m just an unregistered Hunter. This is just an operation I was hired for.”

“Then…… Then you know how shitty it is to be looked down on! That’s why I did it, that’s why!”

He certainly had a quick mind.

He was desperate to create a sense of camaraderie between Jeonghyeon and himself, wasn’t he?

Of course, if Jeonghyeon was easily swayed by such a trick, he wouldn’t have stabbed daggers into his arms and legs after the fight was over.

“Yeah, I’ve been looked down on a lot. But so what?”

“……?”

Pug━ （sfx: stabbing sound）

If being looked down on meant becoming a Villain, Jeonghyeon would have become a murderer long ago.

It was absurd.

Finally, a dagger was plunged into Chaejun’s last remaining arm.

His pathetic scream echoed once again.

“Please. I was wrong! I was wrong about everything!”

An unexpected notification popped up in front of Jeonghyeon.

『Hidden Achievement, ‘Do I Still Look Like a Sucker to You?’ achieved. You have acquired 5 Coins.』

‘Huh?’

Was there room for a hidden achievement to be unlocked even in this situation?

『’Do I Still Look Like a Sucker to You?’

━ Completely deceive your opponent about your rank and drive them into utter despair. However, this only applies when the opponent is judged to be a Villain.

Reward: 5C』

It seemed the system judged that Chaejun, who was slumped over and crying, satisfied the conditions.

“Tsk, you think I spared you because I was in a good mood?”

Although it was thanks to unexpected Coins, Jeonghyeon smiled and spoke to Junhyeon and Gangjun, as if he felt refreshed.

“Alright, let’s report to Manager Cha now.”

“I-I’ll go and report to her.”

Gangjun, with a slightly pale face, ran off.

He didn’t know what had happened, but after seeing Chaejun crying and lying on the ground, he didn’t want to stay there any longer.

It was only as he was running out in a daze that he realized something strange.

‘But Hunter Han Jeonghyeon clearly said he was an unregistered Hunter.’

In fact, that was why he and Junhyeon were hesitant to leave in the first place.

Since Cha Yerin had personally put him on the operation, they were suspicious, but they thought they could at least buy enough time for them to return. However, they never imagined he would have finished the fight by the time they came back.

The opponent was a C-Rank Level 4 swordsman whom he and Junhyeon couldn’t guarantee victory against even if they attacked together.

They were even planning to stall for time and call in the support team outside, but Jeonghyeon easily shattered those plans.

Perhaps he was a secretly trained agent who was just pretending to be an unregistered Hunter.

The thought grew larger in Gangjun’s mind.

Somehow, he felt Yerin would be capable of deceiving him and Junhyeon, who were in the same department.

Anyway, they were able to reach the outside quickly since they were practically playing around while catching Pompo Slimes.

As soon as he found his phone, Gangjun called Yerin.

Fortunately, Yerin answered the phone after only a few rings.

━ Hello.

“Ah, Manager! This is Gangjun from the Response Team. The operation is complete!”

━ Really? Okay. Good work. How did you catch him?”

“Ah, well, about that……”

Gangjun hesitated, unlike his initial cheerful voice.

But there was nothing to hide.

He hadn’t seen anything in the first place.

“I don’t really know?”

━ What?

It was an answer that would make even Yerin tilt her head.

◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈◈

“Okay, I understand. Call the support team and make sure he’s arrested.”

━ Yes, I understand. I’m sorry, Manager.”

“Tsk, I need to retrain my staff.”

Yerin hung up with Gangjun and clicked her tongue lightly.

He didn’t know what had happened?

Was that something a Response Team member should say?

Of course, after roughly hearing the situation, she understood, but it was the Response Team’s job to prevent such situations from happening in the first place.

“Anyway, I should go and report.”

Yerin’s expression was quite bright considering she was slightly displeased with Gangjun’s lack of competence.

It didn’t seem to deviate much from her expectations in the overall framework.

She left Investigation Division 3, where she was stationed, and headed deeper into the Association.

And finally, she arrived at.

━ Head of the Investigation Department’s Office

It was the office of the Head of the Investigation Department, her superior and the head of the Association’s investigative capabilities.

“Hmm.”

Yerin meticulously checked her attire before entering the office.

She was someone who never cared about other people’s opinions, but the Head’s office was an exception.

━ Knock knock.

“Head-nim. It’s Division 3 Manager.”

“Come in.”

The voice that answered was deep and husky, unlike Yerin’s.

But the tone was as gentle and warm as could be.

When permission was granted, Yerin opened the door quietly and entered the room.

The office was not very spacious to begin with, but the bookshelves that filled the four walls and even acted as partitions made it seem even smaller.

Therefore, even after entering the office, one had to pass through a layer of bookshelves to meet its owner.

Beyond that was a desk piled high with all sorts of documents and books.

Go Minseok, the Head of the Investigation Department of the Association, was sitting there.

A large, bear-like physique, a tanned face, and short-cropped hair.

He had the appearance of a typical warrior, but his suit, which seemed about to burst from his muscles, and the glasses on his face hid his fierce aura to some extent.

“……You don’t have to be so stiff.”

“I’m comfortable like this, Head-nim.”

When Yerin stood at attention in front of him, Go Minseok chuckled and said,”You don’t have to do that.”

Even though he said it wasn’t necessary, Yerin kept treating him with an excessive amount of courtesy, as if she had been taught to do so.

“Head-nim, the apprehension of Kwak Chaejun has been completed. I’ve come to give you a preliminary report.”

“Ah, already? It ended sooner than I thought.”

Minseok raised his eyebrows at Yerin’s words.

Perhaps he had lost track of time while buried in work?

But even after checking the computer clock, his intuition was right.

It had only been an hour since he received the operation commencement report, yet the capture of a C-Rank Villain was completed this quickly?

“The agents deployed were Hunter Jeong Junhyeon and Hunter Park Gangjun, right? I was a bit worried because they’re rookies, but they seem to be quite skilled.”

Numerically, they were C-Rank Level 2 and Level 3.

And one of them was a Healer.

Even though the combination was good against a swordsman, Go Minseok thought it would be impossible for the two of them to subdue Kwak Chaejun.

The Response Team, which dealt with Villains, ultimately had to have combat capabilities against other people.

No matter how good they were at hunting monsters, dealing with fellow Hunters was a completely different matter.

Of course, Junhyeon and Gangjun were excellent Hunters, but they lacked experience in fighting other people, so he expected the operation to take longer.

However, Minseok’s eyes gleamed as he observed Yerin’s expression.

“Manager Cha. There’s something I don’t know, isn’t there?”

“That’s correct. Head-nim, it wasn’t the two of them who caught Kwak Chaejun, but one.”

“One? Don’t tell me……”

Was he saying that Park Gangjun, the Tanker, subdued Kwak Chaejun alone?

No, that’s impossible.

Then, it could only be that the one variable involved in the operation played a role, even though it was logically even more absurd.

“Don’t tell me you’re saying that Hunter Han Jeonghyeon, the unregistered Hunter, caught Kwak Chaejun?”

“Precisely.”

“Manager Cha Yerin. Jokes are prohibited during reports.”

The content was a warning, but his bewildered tone and tilted head were a different story.

Yerin never joked with him, even outside of work.

And why now of all times?

‘At first, I wondered what Manager Cha was talking about……’

Minseok recalled the time when Yerin first reported the operation plan to him.

━ You’re saying you’re deploying two rookie Response Team members and a civilian Hunter?

━ Yes. They are the only personnel currently available who Kwak Chaejun doesn’t know by face.

━ No, no, I’m not talking about them, I’m talking about the civilian Hunter. And he’s even unregistered? You’re entrusting such an important role to someone like that?

Deploying a civilian, and an unregistered one at that, to catch a C-Rank Level 4?

Moreover, the operation summary implied that he would not only be a decoy but also participate in the fight.

Didn’t that itself seem like a bad joke?

However, Yerin’s expression was firmer than ever.

━ First of all, considering Kwak Chaejun’s tendency to be motivated by money, we plan to have him pose as a Hunter with a lot of money but lacking in skill. He fits that purpose. And I will guarantee Hunter Han Jeonghyeon’s skills.

━ Huh…… Have you hunted with him before?

He asked just in case, but Yerin shook her head.

Go Minseok’s head was becoming increasingly dizzy.

The operations Yerin usually brought were so perfect that he had never pointed out any flaws, except for emergencies, but this one was an exception.

Even if Yerin guaranteed it, deploying an unregistered Hunter as the main force in such an operation?

Minseok, with a serious expression, spoke sternly.

━ No matter if it’s Manager Cha, this operation is not acceptable. If we have to get help from a civilian Hunter because we don’t have enough personnel, at least make sure he doesn’t get involved in direct combat.

━ ……

━ I’d like to ask for at least a C-Rank, but since it’s Manager Cha’s recommendation, I’ll let that slide. I’m just saying to be extra careful to avoid any casualties.

In the end, Jeonghyeon’s participation in the fight was removed, and the plan was revised to strengthen the support team’s power waiting outside the Gate.

━ Oh, and please pay the Hunter who’s helping us up to 5,000 as an allowance.

Along with the instructions on the allowance, which would have made Jeonghyeon foam at the mouth if he knew the true nature of the 50 million won.

Anyway, this operation was unlike Yerin’s usual style from the beginning.

Yerin’s style was to be bold, even eccentric, but to back it up with detailed planning. This time, however, the operation was just eccentric.

In the sense that it was highly uncertain rather than sloppy.

But Yerin had proven it with the results.

“I will submit a more detailed report in writing later, but for now, according to Hunter Park Gangjun’s verbal report, that’s how it is. It seems the two Association Hunters lured Kwak Chaejun’s attack by leaving their positions, and Hunter Han Jeonghyeon subdued him.”

“Huh, that’s unbelievable.”

Go Minseok tapped his desk lightly and expressed his disbelief several times.

However, Minseok had to distinguish between the surprising fact and what needed to be done.

“First of all, you will write a report on the deviation from the original operation plan as the person in charge.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“And……”

Even at the mention of writing a report, Yerin didn’t flinch and kept her eyes on Minseok.

Minseok felt his face flush as he had to give an additional instruction that contradicted his previous one, but he eventually spoke.

“Since you seem to know Hunter Han Jeonghyeon well, Manager Cha, let’s try to recruit him to the Association as much as possible. I’ll pull as much support as I can.”

And Yerin smiled as if she had expected such a reaction.

“I was already thinking about it.”

“Ahem! As expected, Manager Cha has a good eye for people.”

“……”

“Well, the stronger Hunters we have in the Association, the stronger our nation becomes! It’s in line with the Chairman’s will. Anyway, you can go now.”

“Understood. I’ll be going, Head-nim.”

Yerin, still smiling, turned around.

As the sound of her opening the office door was heard, Minseok hurriedly added,”Oh, good work, Manager Cha! Finish up today and get some rest!”