Another Choice (3)
I needed a plan. A way to escape from this witch who kept calling me our newbie and acting like joining her guild was already a done deal.
I'd seen her capricious nature far too many times in my previous life. I'd suffered enough because of it.
Right now she was interested, but the moment that cooled off, I'd be stuck doing menial chores. Barely allowed into any dungeons at all.
My trait would inevitably need a considerable amount of time before people acknowledged its worth.
But there was an even more important reason.
Han Yura doesn't let go once she sinks her teeth in. She won't stop attacking not just me, but Yoon Sera either.
False testimony had failed. That meant she'd cook up another scheme. The Saint Guild? A nobody guild like that would never get the chance to spread its wings before Taeseong's schemes crushed it. Just like in my previous life.
But what if I joined them?
I had already decided to join the Saint Guild.
I needed a guild to raid dungeons with while I regained my strength. And I wanted to repay my debt to Yoon Sera by protecting her from Han Yura's grasp.
The woman who used me versus the woman who sacrificed herself for me.
Any man with a sense of honor would naturally choose the latter.
Even if her sacrifice hadn't been made entirely for my sake, it was thanks to her that I'd been given this second chance.
So my response was this.
“You’re saying I have good eyes?”
“Yeah. You looked pretty shocked, but you still caught the end of my whip? That’s impressive. I’m interested now.”
“Then…”
I paused for a moment before continuing.
“Could I possibly join the main raid team? Go into A-class dungeons with you, Lady Yura, and all that?”
I threw out a condition she could never accept.
“What? The main team? Are you kidding me?”
I wasn’t actually joking, but the current me really didn’t have the skills to join Taeseong’s main raid force. Not yet, anyway.
Han Yura was shorter than me, but when she glared up like that, the atmosphere turned downright terrifying.
Hey, stop flicking that whip around. You’re making me nervous I’ll get chopped into a few hundred pieces. I’m still fragile, you know.
“Then… how about the secondary team? The secondary team would be fine too. Though… could I at least get A-class equipment?”
I brainwashed myself into acting like a clueless idiot who had just awakened a trash trait and was naive enough to submit a guild application to Taeseong. Then I poured everything into the performance.
I was fully immersed in the role.
Before I awakened, I had actually been preparing to become an actor. People kept hyping up my looks, so I gave it a shot. Turns out I had decent talent.
“Ha!”
Han Yura let out a stunned laugh.
“Look at this kid getting cocky just because I gave him a little compliment. What’s his trait?”
The staff member who received her gaze answered in a rigid tone.
“It is the Link trait. He awakened it today. Notably, he has not attempted to form a link yet.”
“What? Link? And he hasn’t even tried? Why?”
“Isn’t it obvious? He’s thinking he’ll join our guild while there’s still a sliver of possibility and try his luck. Before his value drops any further.”
“Ah! Like that guy from before?”
“Yes.”
Oh, so there had been another awakener who knocked on Taeseong’s door right after getting Link? I wondered what happened to that person.
Was it pointless to even think about? Most Link awakeners met similar ends anyway.
Through Han Yura’s mouth, I also got to hear her evaluation of that awakener.
“Ugh… The one who caught my eye has that garbage trait?”
Straight to the trash bin.
Still, saying something like that right in front of the person in question was…
Perfect!
But my expression automatically twisted. Deep immersion in the role. If Link really was trash, I could have become a great actor.
I was just hoping Han Yura would lose interest in me quickly when she spoke again.
“Forget it. Fine. The eyes and the guts. Those two things aren’t bad. I can specially put you in the tertiary raid team. Who knows? You might be the first to discover an actual use for Link.”
“…”
Can’t you just give up cleanly instead of dragging this out?
“Dear elder brothers, what traits did you all awaken?”
The hunters gathered for the Taeseong Guild entrance interview all wore tense expressions.
Among them, a rather young-looking man was amiably leading the conversation.
The trait received upon awakening.
They ranged from rare and useful ones to those judged completely worthless.
It was something you could find out immediately by checking the Hunter Association database, so everyone openly shared their traits.
“Whoa! Then you basically have a free pass, right? I’m so jealous. I really want to join Taeseong too…”
“Oh! Just the name of your trait sounds insane. What kind of ability is that?”
The young hunter kept exclaiming in admiration and flattering the others.
One person, now in a good mood, asked the young man a question. Since he looked young and kept calling everyone “elder brother,” it was natural to speak casually to him.
“So what trait did you get?”
“I awakened the Durability Check trait.”
“Durability Check?”
“Yes. When I looked it up, there was someone in Russia with the same trait. Apparently you can learn skills that let you determine equipment durability without needing precise inspection tools.”
While it was true that you could learn appropriate skills depending on your trait…
There was only one thought in all the hunters’ heads.
What a fucking useless trait! It doesn’t help at all!
But seeing his pure, innocent face, they couldn’t bring themselves to say it out loud.
One person barely managed to put a positive spin on it.
“W-well, maybe it could be useful to Taeseong. I mean… big guilds need all kinds of people. They probably have workshops they trade with too.”
“Oh, you think so too? Hearing you say that gives me hope. It’s got to be a hundred times better than something like Link, right?”
“Obviously! Link is the worst. Speaking of which, a guy I know who always acted so superior just awakened and got Link.”
“Really?”
“It was hilarious. Apparently he linked with some fisherman from another continent or something? Still, that guy’s in the top one percent. At the very least, he’ll be able to learn how to throw a net properly.”
Other hunters jumped into the entertaining topic.
“Only if he actually studies hard. If he doesn’t put in the effort, even good teaching is useless.”
“Still, that’s something. At least there’s something to learn. Oh, that reminds me of the guy from a while back who linked with a dragon and went around bragging to everyone.”
“Ah, that story! I saw it too. He was yelling about how he was going to become S-class, right?”
The young hunter couldn’t hold back his curiosity.
“Elder brothers, what happened to that person? A dragon? That sounds insane. Didn’t he actually become S-class?”
“You don’t actually know about the Link trait?”
The man scratched his head.
“Well… I don’t really know much. I only read some trait summary collections floating around on the internet. I didn’t expect to awaken so suddenly. And all it said about Link was that it was trash.”
“Hmm, that’s actually good advice. Memorize it. Link is trash.”
“…”
Killing time, the hunter began to explain.
A little while later.
“Wait, there’s a trait that trashy?”
The young hunter looked shocked.
And for good reason. To gain any useful ability through Link, you had to overcome an absurdly high difficulty.
First hurdle: While language was automatically translated, you had to link with an intelligent lifeform you could actually communicate with.
“It links with living things, but linking with a blade of grass is pushing it.”
Second hurdle: The species or physical conditions had to be compatible enough for you to learn their abilities.
“I heard someone linked with a bat. They could talk, I guess? Do they just communicate with ultrasound?”
“Even if they can talk, what’s the point? It’s not like you’re going to learn how to hang upside down from the ceiling or flap wings.”
Third hurdle: You had to have talent for the ability in question.
“The guy who linked with a dragon got stuck here. He tried to learn magic according to their contract, but his magic aptitude was zero. He can’t cast a single spell. He’s basically just a normal person now.”
“How could a human possibly learn a dragon’s magic in the first place? It’s like a pie in the sky.”
“…”
“See? Now you understand why the guy who linked with a fisherman is considered top one percent. He managed to connect with an intelligent being across countless dimensions, could actually learn what was taught, and even without any special talent could at least pick up net-making.”
“But you can learn net-making here too.”
“Exactly! That’s why Link is trash. The probability of learning something truly useful and working as a hunter is practically zero.”
Someone chimed in.
“You might as well say it doesn’t exist. Link is a pretty common trait, but not a single person has ever made a name for themselves with it.”
The young hunter looked relieved.
“I was a little disappointed at first, but compared to Link, my Durability Check is basically S-class.”
“By that standard, there aren’t many traits that aren’t S-class.”
One hunter who had been sitting quietly in the corner listening finally spoke up.
“By the way, did you know the person who just went into the interview room has the Link trait?”
“For real? How did you know?”
“We heard the results together at the Association. But why hasn’t he come out yet?”
“Well… he’s probably inside begging them to please accept him. It’s obvious. Damn, just give up and come out already. I’m a busy man too.”
That was when it happened.
Someone came walking out from the direction of the interview room.
He’s here! The owner of the trash trait!
Earlier they had simply been jealous of the handsome guy, but now that they knew he had Link, everyone prepared to enjoy themselves. After all, another person’s misfortune was one’s own joy.
Their expectations were completely shattered.
Because right behind the man, the Guild Master of Taeseong, Han Yura, came running out and shouted.
“Hey! I said I’d make the concession! You should know when to be satisfied with those conditions. What more are you demanding? If it wasn’t for my curiosity, do you think someone like you would ever receive treatment like this anywhere else?”
The hunters held their breath and only moved their eyes.
What the hell is going on? Why does it look like the Taeseong Guild Master is clinging to that guy?
It must have been some incredible trait other than Link. The guy who gave them the information must have been talking nonsense. They had just reached that conclusion when—
“At first, I really thought just being allowed to join would be enough. But… suddenly I realized that the possibility of Link isn’t evaluated this low for no reason. You even complimented me on having good eyes… My mind has changed, so I’m truly sorry.”
What? It really was Link! But then why was Han Yura clinging to him like that? Wasn’t it supposed to be a trash trait?
“Ha! Are you kidding me? Are you playing hard to get with me right now? You think you can act like this just because I gave you a little praise?”
“It’s not like that. I genuinely changed my mind. I… somehow feel like I’m going to become an amazing hunter.”
Shin Yuseong had only spoken the truth.
But Han Yura’s eyes turned dangerously sharp.
He had raised the conditions one step higher than what Han Yura could barely accept.
It was too big an investment to make out of simple curiosity. It would have been strange if the negotiation had succeeded.
In the end.
“Fine. Shin Yuseong, was it? Since you’ve made a fool out of this Han Yura, you’d better steel yourself. When the time comes, crying and begging won’t do you any good.”
After the long argument, the negotiation fell through.
Han Yura’s warning was a bonus.
“Of course, the responsibility for your choice lies with you.”
“Hmph. You know that much. Now get lost.”
With a cold gaze on his back, Yuseong turned around.
Steel myself? We’ll see who ends up regretting this.
While the waiting hunters trembled at Han Yura’s murderous aura, Shin Yuseong left the Taeseong Guild building.
I wonder how she’ll react now. Put me on a blacklist out of spite? Whatever. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all.