Protagonist Knows Everything

No one knows that my favorite drink is Soju.

I haven’t drank more than half a bottle at a dinner party. If one gets drunk then one make mistakes right?

Therefore, the hangover I feel right now is a very strange thing.

“Ugh. My head……”

As soon as I opened my eyes, the first thing I heard was the sound of someone bashing the door.

Bang bang.

“Tay! Taylor Mason!”

“……”

“You know what time it is! Wake up now! It’s your first day of work !”

Quite ridiculously, I reacted dramatically to the word “work”.

Beep.

I got up like a spring bouncing off the bed, and first I looked for a wall clock.

But I couldn’t see the clock.

To be precise, I couldn’t see my room.

What I could see was an unfamiliar surroundings that I had never seen before. Not only the structure and furniture of the room, but the very layout of the room was unfamiliar.

“What, what is this?”

And even more strange was the voice coming out of my mouth.

This ain’t my voice.

Bang bang.

“Tay! If you don’t wake up right away, I’ll break the door. I’ll break it and charge you for the repair!”

The middle-aged woman-like voice stopped.

I stumbled toward the door.

Let’s see. First, we start with the chain lock… right?

I couldn’t do it, I turned the doorknob just a little, but suddenly the whole door swung open.

The person who appeared was an auntie with a warm impression, wearing very old and ragged clothes.

“……”

“You must feel so relaxed now that you have a place to work. Don’t forget. Half of your first salary is to be paid off as the rent!”

“……”

“Come out quickly. Anyway, you’re not a child, why should I take care of this? Ugh!”

Ajumma angered herself and went downstairs while thumping.

What? Downstairs?

I still raised my hand and pinched my cheek.

I didn’t know I’d be doing this ridiculous thing all my life.

By the way……

“I didn’t wake up.”

How did this happen?

I sat blankly at a table in the corner of the first floor.

The clothes I am wearing, the structure of the building, the utensils and ingredients placed in front of me all shout out two facts in harmony.

-This is not Korea.

-This is not the 21st century.

Anyone can reach that conclusion.

“Hahahaha. Anyway, you’re really weak.”

First of all, this man who’s talking to me is not Korean.

His words aren’t Korean either… and ‘I’, who understands those words, is probably not Korean either.

“Did you pass out just because you drank a little? That’s why you couldn’t wake up early?”

“……”

“Oops. I guess you’re really crazy. Man, if someone asks you something, you have to answer.”

The guy lightly bumps my legs under the table.

I was just convinced.

‘I don’t know who it is, but… I guess now I’m the owner of this body.’

He’s pretending to be close, but this guy sees me as below him

While serving as the HR team leader, I have experiences with so many people. There is no chance that I won’t notice this much.

I ran through all the information in my head.

First of all, it would be better not to report my current abnormal state. To do that, I have to give the most acceptable answer.

“What is it?”

“What else. I came to pick you up because I thought you might be sleeping.”

“Pick up?”

“Yeah, dude. I introduced you myself, so if you’re late on the first day, I’ll look bad too. Go and wash your face. Let’s go to work right away.”

A little while ago, I thought I would only have to say plain words to hide my abnormal condition.

But I can’t help but ask this.

“Go to work? Where?”

As expected, he stares at me blankly.

And soon he laughed and replied.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

“……”

“Where, you ask? Hagnut guild. You’re working as a receptionist there from today.”

****

The road to whether it was a donut or a Hagnut was really impressive.

Dirty, narrow, and unpaved old western-style streets. Once again, I was convinced that this was not 21st century Korea.

First, the man who seemed to be friends on the outside led me and guided me somewhere.

“You seem completely clueless, so I’ll explain again…”

His explanation was quite helpful.

There are guilds in this country.

It seems like a kind of job brokerage.

The guild gives out quests suitable for mercenaries, adventurers, or free adventurers who want to work. Of course, they pay the commission.

“We need more men in the office.”

“Huh? what?”

“No. nothing.”

“…… Anyway, I have been working there for three years already. So I was able to introduce you to the guild because you make it every day and live every day. You have to do it right. Understand?”

I nodded roughly.

After a while, we stood side by side in front of the largest building I’ve ever seen.

The man opens the door confidently and enters first.

Inside was a big clock.

“Gosh. Sorry. Is it a little late?”

The guy pointed his head towards a place that resembled a vintage reception desk. Soon I heard a clear and high-pitched female voice.

“Ah. Mr. Hans. You are a little late today.”

“Haha. Sorry. Because this guy is a bit lazy.”

The man grabs my shoulder as if it was my fault. His name is Hans.

The woman looked me up and down as if she didn’t like me a bit and said…

“You are late for your first job. It’s difficult to do this from the beginning, right?”

Then Hans answered on my behalf.

“I apologize instead. Even if this guy is annoying, I have to take care of him as a friend.”

Uh.

So he’s that kind of guy. The ones who show off their generosity and gentleness while belittling the person next to them.

Anyone is good. I need time to think now.

The woman said

“I am busy today because there have been many quests incoming this morning. I’ll teach you the details in the afternoon, so first of all, sit there. So your name is…”

“His name is Taylor Mason. Just call him Tay.”

For reference, this was not my answer.

Hans was giving my introduction. I was about to laugh.

I giggled a little and the woman noticed it but she went back to her seat.

Hans put his arm around my shoulder and whispered.

“First of all, all you have to do is be quiet. Watch carefully what your seniors do.”

“……”

“Understood? Pay attention. I have to go to work now, so I can’t take care of you…”

I tried to listen, but I couldn’t because it was annoying.

“Hans.”

“That woman isn’t here and not listening.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“You don’t have to pretend to take care of me to look good.”

At my words, Hans looked dumbfounded for a moment.

Did you think I wouldn’t get it?

Soon he blushed and said, shouting.

“Tay, what are you talking about!!?”

“You told me to sit here? I’ll be quiet, so don’t worry.”

“Hey. Wait a minute!”

“Will you be okay? If you scream like that? I think the image you have built until now will collapse.”

I said so and pointed at the woman.

Even though she was busy, she looked this way with her surprised eyes.

Hans wet his lips and whispered.

“See you later.”

“Okay. See you later.”

After my calm answer, he walked away.

Now it’s a little quiet.

I slowly pulled a chair and sat down. Two Hours after waking up, I had time to think alone.

‘Focus. Let’s summarize. So…’

……

Can this be organized?

To some extent, you need common sense to organize yourself. When I opened my eyes, I woke up in a different body in a different world. Where do you start?

So my last memory was that I was hit by a car and flew away, and I fell asleep while holding the USB tightly in my hands.

“USB!”

It’s not a joke. I was about to tear up.

This was the first time I felt such a great loss. When I was introduced to Kang Chun-woo by that raccoon, I was less fazed than this.

‘That’s how precious it was to me. It was my life’s work.’

It was hard work, but it’s more about losing your weapon.

Well, I won’t even have a chance to use that weapon in this world.

I looked at the counter in vain.

The lady at the reception desk was dealing with an enormous man.

I muttered without knowing, while just capturing his image in my eyes.

“My Personnel Records……”

It was then.

Suddenly, something translucent obscured my view.

I almost fell off the chair, but I managed to endure it.

‘What’s this?’

A holographic window that you would see in a movie appeared before me… I remembered the personnel record file I had made and refined for 12 years!

This form. I remember everything.

The one difference is that most of the pages were blank.

Manager Choi Jin-ho, Assistant Manager Park Hyun-min, and Jung Ji-min the other employees… All the places that should be densely packed with these names are empty.

But then I noticed an unexpected name among them.

“Hans Laime?”

Hans? Isn’t Hans the name of the guy who brought me here?

I accidentally rolled my eyes. Then the screen went down as if rolling my eyes acted as a mouse scroll.

The screen contained information about Hans Laime.

[Gender: Male.]

[Age: 26]

[Title: General Receptionist.]

[Equipment: None.]

This is general information.

Next to it… a question mark?

There are countless categories next to general information?

‘This is exactly the same as when I first created the personnel register.’

Of course, the personnel records I created for over 12 years was the result of being updated step by step.

The first file I created after joining the company had nothing to fill in except general information that could’ve been easily deciphered by the HR-team.

The hologram window in front of me now, resembled the initial version of my HR records.

At that time, the lady at the reception desk… According to the information in the personnel records, the woman named Sain Jenel was talking to a giant man.

“Calm down a little. Mr. Gale.”

“I can’t do anything. It’s because you’re talking too one-sidedly.”

“It’s not one-sided. You know our guild policies.”

“Haha. That rule of giving loaded quests only to the good guys?”

I could see the wrinkles on Sain’s eyebrows from here.

“I just want you to enter the quest with the highest probability of success.”

“I am already out of money.”

“That’s…”

Isn’t it natural? That’s because he is not good enough.

The guild… In this case, should it entrust this important job to a stupid guy who can’t even do a single job properly? If quest failures accumulate, the guild’s reputation will plummet.

For some reason, I was stunned as I watched their story unfold.

It was then.

[A new person has been registered.]

****

I heard a machine-like voice. At the next moment, a person named Gale Valk was registered in the holographic personnel register.

I silently read his information.

[Name: Gale Valk]

[Gender: Male]

[Age: 32]

[Occupation: Adventurer]

[Level: Class D]

[Equipment: One-handed ax (1% durability)……]

“Class D!!?”

What.

I read it out loud.

At the wrong timing, my voice projected over to Sain and Gale, who were haggling.

They turned towards me.

Gale’s face was embarrassed, and Sain looked frustrated.

“Hey. You!! Are you talking to me?”

Gale spoke fiercely in a rather upsetting voice.

Sain stopped him as if she was trying to fix the situation.

“Don’t mind him. He’s just talking to himself.”

“The timing is too good to talk to yourself. You think I’m a D-class adventurer?”

“Is it because I am the first person to come in today? Or maybe you want to ridicule me?”

“Hey!!! In front of so many people you try to accuse me of being class D? I’m not going to tolerate something like this. Damn you!”

The turmoil grew.

Perhaps Gale’s voice was too loud, he began to draw the attention of the other receptionists around.

Sain bit her lips tightly and glared at me.

This is a familiar feeling. As soon as I first joined the company, the feeling was of frustration shown by my team leader.

‘How did I overcome it back then?’

I proved I was right.

I slowly got up from my seat.

And leisurely approached Gale.

“Mr.Gale.”

“What, what do you want?”

“Would you like to go on the quest right after this?”

My question was outrageous and didn’t fit the situation.

Naturally, Gale got angry.

“Why does that matter now…”

“To prove that you are only a D-class adventurer. So answer the question.”

“What? Ha! Yes, I was going to do that. What the hell is the problem!”

“Then show me your weapon.”

By that time, people started to gather around.

Sain pulled my collar with her somewhat rough hand. But I didn’t care.

If I step back now, I won’t be able to sleep tonight.

“Weapon? Why?”

“There are so many questions. I would like to have explained.

“But for now just show me your weapon.

“It’s to prove that Mr.Gale is a D-class.”

Gale’s face twisted grimly.

He put the ax on the counter to make a thumping sound to see if I wanted to continue.

And he said as if growling, “OK. Do it right here. If you are ready to suffer the consequences.”

I ignored his words and looked closely at the ax.

The expression of Sain, who was looking at the weapon next to me,suddenly changed.

“This…”

Maybe you noticed.

I picked up his ax before he said more… and immediately struck it against the counter.

Clank.

And the ax broke down. The ax’s blade shattered and fell to the floor.

Gale’s pupils expanded to the edges.

The ax was already on the verge of breaking.

‘My Personnel Records were right.’

The durability was obviously 1%.

Tuk.

I threw the ax handle on the counter and said,

“I think you said you were going out on the quest right after this.”

“……”

“How can we entrust such a dangerous job to someone who doesn’t even know the current state of their weapons? If the Hagnut Guild were to assign you such a dangerous mission, you would’ve been dead by now.”

“……”

“If you have nothing more to say, you can go. You’ll need to buy a new weapon, so you’ll be busy.”

He was crying at my words, but soon he realized that he had a lot of eyes around him.

It’s like a company here. In a crowded place, you can’t openly be angry.

He turned and left with thumping footsteps.

I looked back at Sain and shrugged at her once.

“Sorry for making a fuss on the first day.”

“……”

“I will go back to my seat.”

It looked as if Sain wanted to ask something.

But she soon shook her head and said to the receptionists gathered nearby.

“Everyone go back to their seats. we’re still within working hours.”

Oh, that girl is similar to me.

She sent the receptionists back and refreshed her mood.

Sitting at a distance, I muttered once again.

“Human Resources”

Then, the same window came up.

I have no idea what it is, this will come in handy for sure.

It was then.

[You earned 10 HR evaluation points from Sain.]

[Kim Il-do’s status window has been activated. Would you like to proceed?]

I nodded inadvertently.

Then the screen changed as if I had flipped the tab…my “old” face came up.

Various texts are lined up under the picture.

[Level: Trainee / Next level: Employee 1st year]

[Personnel points required until promotion: 10/100]

[Newly available information: Family relations.]

What is this? How?

The morning passed by with me simply rummaging through the personnel records.

“Mr. Taylor.”

“……”

“Mr. Tay.”

Ah. I was being called.

“Yeah?”

“It’s lunchtime. Let’s eat together.”

It was Sain.

The way she looked at me had become much softer compared to this morning. Is it because of the HR evaluation point?

As I nodded, I heard Hans’ voice.

“Sain. What are you having for lunch today? Let’s eat together.”

“I will eat with Mr. Tay.”

“Oh, then, everyone…”

“Sorry. Today I’m only eating with Mr. Tay. As a senior, there are many things I need to teach him.”

Hans smiled nicely, but he didn’t back off.

“Ah. I mean it. I vouched for Mr. Tay.”

My mouth was wide open.

Hans seemed like the return of the CEO and Kang for a moment.

Did the man come to my funeral?

‘Damn it.’

I had an unpleasant imagination.

But when Sain looked back at me, I was already smiling softly.

Like I always say. Facial expression management. Facial expression management.

“Mr. Tay.”

“Ah yes.”

“Be ready. I will finish my work and come soon.”

With that, she disappeared behind the counter.

Meanwhile, Hans approached me. Then he grabbed my shoulder pretending to be close and opened his mouth with a pompous tone.

“Since when did you become that good with girls?”

“Huh?”

“How did you get this close to Sain? Today’s your first day?”

“Because you vouched for me.”

Hans’ face was distorted at the light answer.

He said with a firm smile, “Even I couldn’t accomplish that on my first day.”

“Okay? Maybe because Sain hates you.”

It seemed that he didn’t understand my answer right away.

But before long, his face became twisted with anger.

“You, you, imbecile…”

“Mr.Tay. Shall we go now?”

However, he couldn’t do anything in front of Sain, so he just squeezed his fist against the bar station where we spoke.

Originally, I was careful to make as few enemies and as many allies as possible.

However, there are types of people who become more of a liability if they are left friendly. Like this guy named Hans Laime.

In that case, it’s better to make them an enemy.

I glanced at Sain,opened my mouth and said, “Yeah. Let’s go.”

“What would you like to eat?”

“Why don’t you recommend something.”

So we left the roaring Hans behind and left the guild.

****

The meal with Sain wasn’t as soft or sweet as Hans imagined.

Rather, it was more of a conversation between the interviewer and the applicant.

“What have you been doing so far? Although I heard roughly from Mr. Hans.”

“It ‘s exactly as you heard. I earned a day and ate a day.”

“What about family relationships…?”

“I am living alone because of some circumstances.”

There is one thing all HR managers should keep in mind, that the interview is not just the time for the company to evaluate applicants.

Applicants must also determine if the company is worth working in. Like now.

‘Whether the pay is enough, If the boss is capable or not.’

Anyway, I seemed pretty useful to her.

I have done and conducted many interviews up until now.

The problem is, I don’t have much to say in my answers.

I don’t know anything about this body.

“Then my age…”

More than this, my ability to access personal information. No way I am revealing that.

I cut off her words midway and asked.

“Can I answer while eating?”

“Ah yes. I’m sorry. I was dominating the conversation.”

Saying so, Sain smiled freshly.

She spoke in a relaxed tone as if she was releasing the reins.

“By the way, I was surprised before.”

“……”

“You noticed that the ax was rotten even though it was in the bag. How amazing. Really.”

She was smiling on the outside, but her eyes were piercing into me.

It sounded like she was saying, “If you don’t want trouble, tell me immediately how you noticed it…”

If I talk for a long time, the foundation of my business may be revealed.

You turned the topic earlier, right? I’ll do that too.

There is a topic that is just right for you.

“But can I ask one question?”

“Yeah? Ah yes. Anything.”

I opened my mouth with a kind smile similar to hers.

“Your last name is Jenel right?”

Sain’s face hardened.

But soon she, who took care of her expression, asked softly, “I don’t know the intention of the question. Didn’t you hear my full name from Mr. Hans?”

“I heard. I am just confirming it.”

At that moment I could see clearly.

Sain’s neck is a little swaying. Are you swallowing saliva?

“……What have you heard about me?”

After all, it was kept a secret. Yes, I think that’s the case with this woman’s personality.

I tilted my head with an innocent face.

“Yeah?”

“Oh, no. it’s nothing.”

“……”

“Anyway, my name is Sain Jenel.”

“Yeah. I asked a useless question. Please forget it.”

I replied and focused on food again.

Very softly…… It was barely audible, but I heard Sain exhaling her light sigh of relief.

Perhaps this woman was a little worried inside.

I remembered the personnel records that I was messing with in the morning.

After my status window was activated, new information and family relationships that were previously hidden by ‘???’ became accessible.

Of course, the first person I checked was Sain. She seemed to be my boss.

‘It said that she had a father.’

And her father’s name was Norten Rhime.

Her full name is Sain Jenel.

There seems to be a story behind her father’s and her last name, so I changed the topic and poked a little, but the reaction was bigger than I expected.

Now I will no longer be able to ask any more questions related to that.

“By the way, it’s late.”

“Yeah. I just finished eating.”

“I’ve had enough.”

She got up from her seat a little abruptly.

Sain opened her mouth on the way back to the guild after making her calculations.

“I’ll be honest. When we first met, Mr. Tay didn’t seem capable of much.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“Yeah?”

“Because the way you are speaking would mean that I seem more capable now.”

At that moment, Sain lightly burst into laughter.

But she soon changed her face and spoke with a stern attitude, maybe because she was a little embarrassed about the fact that she laughed.

“It’s just the beginning.”

“……”

“Frankly speaking, the Hagnut Guild isn’t that big yet. However, it means that our growth potential is high. I hope you can keep up.”

“Okay. Take good care of me.”

She nodded and smiled.

Her smile reflecting the sparkling sunlight looked quite beautiful.