Chapter 76

# 76

Guide for the Reincarnated 076

Third Job (2)

Of course, it's a happy thing to earn the trust of a reincarnated person.

However, this kind of trust is not to my liking.

I don't know how much they evaluate me, but to put it mildly, I'm still a child who needs Kim Hyun-sung's warm attention and love.

Especially when it comes to this kind of growth direction.

Of course, if someone asks what's so important about changing jobs and raising stats, I wouldn't have a proper answer, but this level of overestimation is hard to adapt to.

'You should distrust me a little, you brat.'

While I've cultivated an image of being able to handle things on my own, I'm not satisfied with this situation.

Still, I can understand why Kim Hyun-sung made this decision.

'This expedition is likely to end in failure.'

It's because I somewhat realized that the existing party members have been hunting safely due to the psychological stability I provide.

"I, I won't go. I don't want to go. I absolutely won't go."

"......"

The problem was Jeong Hae-yeon.

The closer the expedition date approached, the more absurd it felt to hear various excuses about not going.

On the first day when it was mentioned, she moved to achieve the stats and job change that Kim Hyun-sung set as a goal.

She thought that if she could achieve a job change or reach the stats in the few days before the expedition, she wouldn't have to go.

Of course, even if Jeong Hae-yeon reached the goal, the expedition was already a confirmed fact, but she probably planned to use it as leverage.

'Of course.'

Even with legendary talent, it's impossible to show significant results in a short period.

While her stats did rise explosively in a short time, which was shocking, she didn't reach the goal.

In the end, Jeong Hae-yeon showed a very unstable appearance, which felt very similar to the stages a terminally ill patient goes through before accepting death.

The five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

It didn't take long for the first stage to arrive.

She started to deny the fact that she would be separated for a month.

She thought it couldn't really happen or that it was definitely a joke.

It seemed like she couldn't even imagine being separated.

She looked at Park Deok-gu and Seon Hee-young, who were packing their bags diligently, as if they were someone else, and acted as if the meeting had never happened.

However, as time passed and the expedition date approached, she began to face reality.

The next stage that came was anger.

'......'

She started to hate Kim Hyun-sung for suddenly creating the expedition schedule.

It was a situation that could be considered fortunate, but it didn't seem like she harbored any murderous intent.

It seems she still had a sense of camaraderie with those who had shared life and death.

She spent more time shouting in her room and showed a very irritable demeanor.

She didn't forget to direct her anger at Kim Ye-ri, who could be considered the weakest besides me.

She seemed to be looking for her own reasons for this expedition.

She thought that because the young archer was lacking, she had to solve this problem, but she didn't directly vent her frustration or shout at Kim Ye-ri.

Jeong Hae-yeon was pure.

Instead, she would curse someone as a fool, stupid, or cute.

According to Park Deok-gu, she once approached him and gossiped about Kim Ye-ri.

Considering Jeong Hae-yeon's character, this was a completely uncharacteristic action.

When she entered the next stage, she became very talkative.

'Bargaining?'

She started to propose various conditions as if possessed by me.

"I can really work hard. I can raise my stats more by staying here instead of going on the expedition, and I can work even harder. So, please. Please. Huh."

Or,

"How about we go together for a week? That would be more effective."

Or,

"Brother, you should go with us, but watching like Hyun-sung would be the best way."

She started to pour out such words.

Because her goals and numbers were quite specific, it made me think that staying here might actually be more effective.

When she presented a statistical analysis of the changes in her stats when hunting versus staying here, I couldn't help but be impressed.

Of course, I know she also proposed various conditions to Kim Hyun-sung.

The same with Park Deok-gu and Seon Hee-young.

She strangely incited a formal protest, but ultimately, this kind of incitement became the catalyst for Park Deok-gu's decision.

It was just a simple guess, but I also thought that Park Deok-gu might have entered the bargaining stage.

He actually came to me.

He saw himself in Jeong Hae-yeon.

The most difficult part was the next stage, depression.

'Depression...'

She started to lose weight noticeably and often spent nights crying.

She often said she couldn't go because she was sick, and it felt like she had become a severe depressive.

She often stared blankly at the sky.

"I really don't like it. I really don't..."

Her muttering to herself became shorter.

This was a difficult period for me as well as for her.

I spent a lot of time comforting and soothing her.

Of course, I tried to calm her down by mentioning rewards or giving her all the accumulated rewards at once, but the fact that she had to be separated for more than a month was so shocking that it erased all the happy times.

While she enjoyed the situation where I comforted her, ultimately, her depressive emotions seemed to grow even more.

The sweeter the time spent together, the more she felt the fear of being apart.

In the end, the fourth stage was completed by crying even during physical contact.

The biggest problem was that the final stage, acceptance, was not fully achieved.

Having witnessed all the previous four stages, I thought the final stage would be acceptance, but unfortunately, Jeong Hae-yeon did not become detached from the separation.

It was more like forced acceptance.

She denied reality until the end and even until the day before the departure, she didn't want to believe it.

She cried and made a fuss, but it was futile.

However, it was also the party's decision and my decision.

From Jeong Hae-yeon's perspective, she had no choice but to follow.

In short, she prepared for the month-long separation through the stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and forced acceptance.

If it had been a year or a lifetime of separation, it's hard to imagine the impact.

Apart from the strange tendencies she developed by meeting me, she was not used to separation.

I thought that the long period of living alone after being abandoned by her family, including her sisters, contributed to forming this kind of personality.

Anyway, despite Jeong Hae-yeon showing such behavior, time continued to flow, and the expedition date kept approaching.

Honestly, the expedition preparation couldn't have been good.

Jeong Hae-yeon seemed to struggle to maintain her mental state, and while I didn't understand, Park Deok-gu also seemed a bit off.

Seon Hee-young seemed to be calmly thinking about the future, but she was stressed because she hadn't been able to do volunteer work for a while.

Honestly, I don't even know what Kim Ye-ri is thinking.

Watching the party members' expedition preparation, excluding me, was honestly very difficult.

Of course, it wasn't because I was afraid of being abandoned.

It was because I thought, "Is it really this chaotic?"

Of course, with the strange Park Deok-gu and Jeong Hae-yeon, and Seon Hee-young, who was not used to expeditions, and even the young archer, I thought the preparation would be inadequate, but I didn't imagine it would be this bad.

As I mentioned earlier, Kim Hyun-sung also lost his way in this process, not knowing what to do.

It's not unreasonable for me to be worried.

"Are you really going to start in this state?"

"Yes, it's right not to help at all. Our party members are very accustomed to receiving orders. I'm sure you can feel that too."

"Yes..."

"During the expedition, they will realize something."

"......"

"Approaching the expedition with a psychologically comfortable state has this meaning. Of course, it will be more evident during hunting... Deok-gu and Hee-young will definitely have high growth rates. As for Hae-yeon, there's no need to say, but honestly, I can't say everyone is problem-free. Of course, if both of us are there, there won't be any accidents, but if we assume that neither of us is there..."

The current situation will arise.

I understood what Kim Hyun-sung was saying.

It's not just about hunting. He clearly thinks there's a problem with the command structure of the Kim Hyun-sung party.

While there is Kim Hyun-sung as the leader and I as a backup, there is no one behind us in our party.

If someone steps forward to find a direction for the expedition, the preparation process will naturally be smoother, whether it's Seon Hee-young, Jeong Hae-yeon, or Park Deok-gu.

However, no one is finding proper questions or answers.

This will do.

This is enough.

They are undoubtedly thinking too complacently. To put it more simply, this expedition is not only training but also a process to find our backup within the group.

'Will it go well?'

Honestly, I feel a bit skeptical.

Given their current state, it's hard not to think so.

The supplies for a month-long expedition were woefully inadequate, and it seemed that no one had properly gathered the necessary equipment or tools.

To put it extremely, it felt like children preparing for a trip.

The only things Kim Ye-ri had were arrows and a bow.

Jeong Hae-yeon, who seemed to not understand the meaning of going far, was busy packing items that held memories of me.

'This...'

To be frank, it's as chaotic as it gets.

If the many guilds and groups that invested in our party saw this, they would immediately struggle to recover their investment.

"Even so... at least prepare the basics..."

"Really, the basics are somewhat prepared. At least Deok-gu and Hee-young have prepared something. I'm also anxious, but this is the right way. There's a clear difference between what they feel and what they don't feel."

"I see."

"Then let's start."

"Yes..."

As I went outside with Kim Hyun-sung, the party members waiting for us came into view.

They were carrying large bags, but I already knew that they were all empty.

Looking at Park Deok-gu, who thought he had perfectly prepared for the expedition, I couldn't help but sigh.

Whether they understood my frustration or not, they started to talk to me one by one.

"Don't worry, sir. It won't take a month, you know!"

There's a more than sufficient possibility that it will take more than a month.

"Please take care while I'm gone, Ki-yeong. I'm a bit worried about not being able to do volunteer work..."

Thinking that she might have to do volunteer work after not even a month of being outside.

"Brother... Brother..."

Seeing Jeong Hae-yeon, who clung to me with tears in her eyes, made my heart ache.

"Take care of yourself during this time. And..."

"Okay. Don't worry, Hae-yeon."

I'm more worried about you.

It seems she's more concerned that I might meet someone else while she's gone, but the pain of separation is greater.

Hearing Kim Hyun-sung's voice to start, I slightly pushed Jeong Hae-yeon away, but she didn't want to let go.

She clung on with all her might.

She eventually fell, but seeing her face covered in tears and snot was not easy.

"Then I'll be back."

"Don't worry."

'Trial by fire.'

This expedition is not a bus trip with Kim Hyun-sung.

I can confidently say that it will be a more painful trial than any path a monk has walked.

'It might be fortunate that I'm not going with them.'

Half of it is true.