Oh, I was hoping you wouldn't talk to me.
Yoon Seo had sensed the presence for a while but pretended not to notice since the other person was using a stealth skill. Now that he had spoken first, Yoon Seo had to respond.
"Who are you?"
Turning around with wide eyes, the first thing Yoon Seo saw was red hair. The man, slightly taller than Yoon Seo, was squinting at him. Yoon Seo was a bit surprised, not because of the man's red hair and blue eyes, but because he was closer than expected. He was more skilled than Yoon Seo had anticipated.
"Your reaction is strange. You should be more surprised. You're a beat too slow."
"....."
Yoon Seo just stared at the man in silence.
"Well, you look weak, but you're a Hunter, right? What rank? What's your Hunter name?"
"I don't enter dungeons."
"Ah, office worker."
The man curled his lips into a smirk. His eyes and tone were dripping with arrogance. He took a step closer to Yoon Seo and extended his hand.
"I'm Hong Eui Yoon from the Endfire Guild."
Yoon Seo didn't particularly want to shake hands. He glanced at the hand briefly before looking back up at Hong Eui Yoon.
"I'm Yoon Seo."
"Hah..."
Hong Eui Yoon let out a deflated sound as if he couldn't believe it and withdrew his hand. Yoon Seo didn't dislike arrogant people. How many more arrogant people had he encountered in his life than Hong Eui Yoon? He just didn't want to shake hands.
'Hong Euiyoon' uses the skill [Eyes of Flame].
'Hong Euiyoon' is looking at your [False Memory] profile.
Oh well.
Yoon Seo hid his twitching lips and pretended to know nothing. After all, the profile Hong Eui Yoon was looking at was a fabricated one, created with Yoon Seo's unique skill.
Yoon Seo, 29 years old, male
Level: B
Trait: Survival
Skills: [Spark] B, [Protecting Veil] B, [Safe Zone] C
Unique Skills: (None)
It was a well-decorated profile through the unique skill [False Memory], and everything except his age and gender was a lie. Only someone with a skill surpassing S-rank could see through it, but Yoon Seo was confident such a person didn't exist. L-rank skills weren't something just anyone could have.
"What the hell. Just a boring guy."
Seeing that Yoon Seo had no divine blessing, unique skill, or even notable general skills, Hong Eui Yoon immediately lost interest. Yoon Seo watched the disappointed man and used his own skill.
Use the skill [Encyclopedia of People].
View the other person's system profile.
Humanity Guide: Hong Euiyoon, 27 years old, male
Level: A
(The flame resistance capability is advanced by the item 'Temper Band')
Trait: Blazing One
(Protected by the God of Flame)
(Protected by the God of Rocks)
(Protected by the God of Thunder)
Skills: [Eyes of Flame] A, [Magma Impact] A, [Ring of Fire] B, [Meteor] B, [Hellfire] S
Unique Skills: [Hadean] A, [Eternal Hunger] A
Other statuses can only be viewed in dungeons.
A-rank...
Yoon Seo was initially surprised at the higher-than-expected rank. With many skills, including one S-rank skill, Hong Eui Yoon was in the upper echelon of A-rank Hunters. While it was hard to compare directly since Park Soo-bin was a Healer and Hong Eui Yoon was attack-focused, in terms of raw ability, Hong Eui Yoon was above Park Soo-bin.
Not that it matters to me.
Yoon Seo nodded slightly and turned back to place his hand on the glass wall. If he delayed any longer, he'd face a barrage of nagging from his guild members.
Yoon Seo had skills to pass through the wall, fly into the sky, or even teleport to where his guild members were, but he chose to climb the wall with just his physical strength. Awakened beings were fundamentally stronger than you ordinary humans, so it was possible.
"Ugh, climbing like a bug."
When Yoon Seo had climbed to about the third floor, Hong Eui Yoon flew past him using an item.
Yoon Seo sighed inwardly. Now he was in the same guild as this guy who never missed the chance to pick a fight like a child. He wasn't worried about himself, but he did worry about how the kind and gentle members of the Nakyup Guild would handle it.
As soon as Yoon Seo arrived, Go Hee-won, who had been lingering at the entrance, rushed over and started nagging about why he was so late. After receiving his name tag, business card, and souvenirs, he entered the conference hall, which was bustling with people. Although the density was low compared to the hall's size, to Yoon Seo, it looked like a swarm of ants.
"I know you always cut it close to the meeting time, but doing it today is too much. Look, everyone else is already here."
Inside the hall, there were seven round tables, but only the one labeled 'Seokyeong' was completely empty.
"Why are there seven tables?"
"The table next to ours is for a one-person guild, so they combined them. Hwa Shim and Deep Blue. They're mercenaries."
The concept of mercenaries was relatively new. Although the Gaia System itself had only been around for 12 years, mercenaries had only existed for less than two years.
When someone received a divine blessing or acquired a skill or item, they gained the right to form a guild. If that person gathered like-minded individuals to establish a guild, the Gaia System would create a 'Guild' category. This category included useful skills that could only be used within dungeons, such as 'Guild Stone Teleportation', 'Guild Member Tracking', 'Guild Chat', and 'Guild Subspace'. The effectiveness of these skills increased with the guild's experience points. In the case of Nakyup, they only had the 'Guild Chat' skill. Since Yoon Seo didn't enter dungeons, he had never used it.
Joining a guild was optional, but having one was advantageous for dungeon battles, so many Hunters joined. However, as with any gathering of people, various evils emerged. Some guilds enslaved ignorant Awakened, monopolized dungeon by-products, or engaged in power struggles to become Guild Executives.
Two years ago, an American S-rank Hunter who disliked such practices established a guild under his own name and declared himself a mercenary. He accepted requests from other guilds to raid dungeons together and received fair compensation. Since then, one-person guilds, or mercenary Hunters, had gradually appeared.
Currently, at the one-person guild table, a large, taciturn man was sitting. His Hunter name was Deep Blue. The seat next to him was empty, but the nameplate indicated it was reserved for someone named Hwa Shim.
"Yoon Seo, you jerk. Why are you so late?"
"I'm not late."
"How many times do I have to tell you not to arrive exactly on time? Especially on a day like today, you should be here 30 minutes early. Are you even Korean?"
As soon as Yoon Seo reached the Nakyup Guild table, the Guild Leader started scolding him. Yoon Seo let the nagging go in one ear and out the other as he casually observed the scene. The seats next to the Guild Leader and Park Young-beom were empty. He greeted his guild members and quickly sat down next to Park Young-beom, where it was clear Go Hee-won had been sitting.
"Yah, that's my seat!"
"That seat over there is empty."
"Ugh, seriously."
Go Hee-won grumbled as she sat down next to the Guild Leader. Yoon Seo flashed a victorious smile, while the Guild Leader gave him a look that said, "We'll talk later." Park Young-beom was busy stuffing his face with cookies and pudding.
"Our ace, Yoon Seo, this stuff is delicious. Have some more."
"You should eat more, Team Leader."
Yoon Seo offered the cookies he had picked up earlier, and Park Young-beom grinned in thanks.
"Yoon Seo, I was wondering when you'd show up."
Though he had hurried to sit down, it wasn't the perfect spot. Park Soo-bin was sitting to his left. As always, Soo-bin looked radiant, sporting a suspicious smile.
"I'm used to seeing you in your work clothes, but you look amazing today. Yoon Seo, I knew you'd look good in anything with your great looks, but seeing you in a suit... Your physique and posture are impressive. Do you work out?"
"Thank you. You look great too, Soo-bin. Do you work out?"
"I wasn't fishing for compliments. I genuinely meant it. Your outfit really impressed me."
"Same here."
Soo-bin smiled wryly at Yeon Seo's curt reply.
"Why were you so late today?"
"I'm not late."
"True, you never are. You always cut it close. I'm curious what hobby you were indulging in this time. Watching dramas?"
"No. I went fishing at dawn and then hiking. What about you, Soo-bin?"
"Wow," Soo-bin exclaimed.
"I always think this but you really have a wide range of hobbies, Yoon Seo. You seem indifferent and aloof, but you go fishing and hiking..."
"Yoon Seo Oppa is super diligent. He watches dramas, plays games, reads books, and even plays Go. I think he's a 3-tier."
"Yoon Seo, didn't you take piano lessons a few years ago?"
"Yeah, and then he randomly started taking programming classes. He has a lot of hobbies, but they're all pretty shallow and broad."
The guild members chatted away about Yoon Seo. He started to regret not keeping more things to himself.
Just then, a wave of admiration and murmuring swept through the room. The lively chatter came to a halt as everyone turned to look at one spot. Following their gaze, Yoon Seo saw a man with a solid build. He had curly black hair, cold eyes, and a tightly set mouth. He wasn't wearing a suit but a Hunter's outfit. It was neat and well-fitted, but not appropriate for this kind of event.
"Wow, someone actually arrived later than Yoon Seo today."
"He looks incredibly strong. Is he an A-rank?"