The training continued the next night as well.
On the first day, Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon had been awkward and overwhelmed, but after two days they began to show their real abilities. They seemed to have gotten somewhat used to it. Or maybe they’d simply given up.
Sometimes I even tried the trick of pretending to be in pain to see how they’d react, and while they fell for it the first time, after that the three of them attacked me unflinchingly.
Thanks to that, I stopped fooling around and focused properly on training. Each of them had different skills and completely different fighting styles, which helped me a great deal.
Among them, the most unexpectedly troublesome opponent was Song Jiwoon.
Every time I tried to close the distance to swing my sword, a biting chill froze my skin. Sharp shards and spikes of ice flying from unexpected angles made my hair stand on end.
'As I thought.'
Through the scattering ice fragments splitting against my blade, I locked eyes with Song Jiwoon’s pale green gaze and was convinced.
'He’s definitely grown since then.'
Eight days ago, when the meteorite fell in front of the hotel—
In that terrible blaze, Song Jiwoon had used his skill to save not only himself, but also the surrounding Hunters.
I clearly remembered the strengthened aura radiating from the frost spreading around his body.
It wasn’t impossible. Even in the previous timeline, Ryu Sunghyun had been stronger than other S-ranks.
'My ~Nоvеlight~ own skill level rose as well, after all.'
The skill [Bond of the Guardian] had recently risen from S-rank to SS-rank.
Because I had a status window, that change was immediately visible to me, but Song Jiwoon didn’t. Still, he must have felt it himself.
'Maybe not SS-rank, but he’s certainly stronger than the average S-rank.'
Even so, he was still weaker than Ryu Sunghyun had been before regression. It reminded me just how strong Sunghyun-hyung really was.
Kwa-gagak!
“...!”
The moment I thought of Ryu Sunghyun, my focus slipped. And my opponent didn’t miss that opening, striking sharply.
I twisted belatedly to avoid the hail of ice spikes raining from the sky, but I couldn’t dodge them all. In the end, I rolled across the ground with the ice.
“Hunter Cha Seohu!”
I hadn’t been able to avoid them completely—my shoulder and arm were cut.
The final ice spike grazed my cheek and slammed into the ground right beside my head, and Song Jiwoon, the skill’s caster, cried out in alarm.
“A-are you okay?”
“You’re pretty vicious, Mountain Keeper.”
I lay spread-eagled on the ground, deliberately groaning “ow, ow,” and Song Jiwoon grew even more flustered.
It was amusing, so I feigned injury for a while longer, until King Seohwa clicked her tongue and spoke coldly.
“You have an S-rank body and yet pretend to be so frail? I can see perfectly well you’re unharmed—get up at once. Don’t torment my precious disciple.”
“Aw, come on. It was just a joke. Even with an S-rank body, it still stings, you know?”
“Who told you to daydream during practice?”
“You’re like a ghost, seriously.”
I sat up and smiled at Song Jiwoon, who was still worried.
“I’m really fine. Just a scratch. You know wounds like this won’t even leave a mark after a day.”
I added as I reassured him.
“You too, kid—wipe that look off your face.”
Cha Sahyeon, wearing a choker and glaring sharply at Song Jiwoon, pouted at my rebuke. Behind him, Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun let out sighs of relief.
After a late dinner, I went out alone to the backyard.
Cha Sahyeon, unaffected by the mountain’s chill, had gone scouting, while Ryu Sunghyun went inside to wash up.
Song Jiwoon and King Seohwa were in the kitchen chatting as they peeled fruit, so I stood outside, enjoying the rare quiet, staring up at the night sky.
I listened to the chirping of insects for a while, admiring the stars, when I sensed someone behind me.
Turning my head, I saw Kwon Taehyuk walking toward me with an awkward look on his face.
“...Hunter Cha Seohu. Do you have a moment?”
“Yes.”
Why does he look so uncomfortable, like he’s working up the courage to say something?
When I nodded without resistance, Kwon Taehyuk cleared his throat and came to stand beside me.
Even then, he hesitated for a long time before finally speaking again.
“About your injury earlier...”
“I’m fine. Honestly, it’s not even worth calling an injury.”
I’d thought about waiting for it to heal with my S-rank body, but I’d just returned to my normal body instead.
I’d applied medicine and a bandage. The bleeding had stopped long ago, so it would heal quickly enough.
“You still... don’t intend to go down the mountain tomorrow, do you.”
“Since we’ve come this far, I plan to train for a few more days. You can head back first, Guildmaster. You must have a lot to do.”
“No. I have free time until next week.”
“Okay...”
The conversation circled around the subject instead of getting to the point.
My patience was running thin.
It wasn’t like I’d get angry—after all, I owed Kwon Taehyuk quite a bit. But what on earth was he trying to say that he had to dance around like this?
Just as I was about to tell him to spit it out already—
“...About, at the hotel last time.”
“Yes.”
“When I received your buff... do you remember?”
“What?”
When I gave him a buff?
The sudden, oddly phrased question made me roll my eyes in thought.
'Is he talking about what happened in the hotel lobby?'
Yeah... I vaguely remembered him making a fuss about me taking off my clothes before I buffed him. But it had all been so hectic that I barely recalled the details.
As I hesitated, Kwon Taehyuk continued.
“I... while receiving that buff, I...”
He stammered, cheeks reddening, gaze dropping to the ground.
“I committed a grave discourtesy to you.”
“Huh?”
Seeing his face clouded with self-reproach, embarrassment, and shame, I finally realized.
'Oh right, the buff side-effect made me kiss him, didn’t it?'
Digging through my hazy memory, the image surfaced—Kwon Taehyuk grabbing my collar and smashing his lips against mine.
And then immediately afterward, Ryu Sunghyun socking him and sending him rolling across the hotel floor.
'Wow, I’d completely forgotten. I was too blinded by the buff efficiency.'
As I stayed silent, brushing off the dust of that memory, Kwon Taehyuk swallowed nervously and stood squarely before me.
“I’ll... take responsibility.”
“...Excuse me?”
Responsibility? For what?
I stared at him in disbelief. His entire face flushed crimson as he steeled himself.
“I’ll take responsibility. I’ve never dated before... but if it’s you, I’d like to.”
“No...”
“After training ends and we descend the mountain... let’s pick out rings first. If you want to make it public, I’ll have the secretary team draft an official statement immediately—”
“No, no!”
What on earth is this guy saying?
Forcing a smile, I gripped his shoulder firmly. I wasn’t in my S-rank body, so it probably didn’t even feel like much, but his fingers still twitched.
“Guildmaster, please calm down. Don’t just throw around words like ‘dating.’”
Seriously, even from a hundred meters away it’s obvious you’ve never been in a relationship.
“That whole thing was just a buff side-effect accident.”
“...An accident?”
“Yes, an accident. A simple accident. You could even call it a silly mishap. Do you understand? You don’t need to ‘take responsibility’ for it.”
At my words, Kwon Taehyuk’s expression twisted as though something had struck a nerve.
“How can you dismiss it as just a common accident? And even if it was, once something happens, responsibility must be taken.”
“I’m telling you, I don’t need that responsibility.”
“But I...”
His lips parted and closed several times, before he finally forced out the words, eyes brimming with emotions.
“I... want to take responsibility.”
“...”
An unfamiliar silence fell.
I blinked blankly. For a moment, I thought I must have misheard—but Kwon Taehyuk’s face, blazing red in front of me, wasn’t an illusion.
'Wait, so right now...'
Was that... a confession? From Kwon Taehuk? The Guildmaster of Yesung?
It was so absurd and unexpected that I was at a loss for words.
While I sat stunned, Kwon Taehyuk continued in a trembling voice.
“Of course, I’m not saying this out of responsibility alone. On the contrary...”
The ears peeking through his hair were burning red.
“I’ve sometimes imagined it—myself making such a proposal to you. That time, when I forced the kiss... yes, it was a side-effect, but also because I couldn’t hold back my desire. That’s why, toward you...”
I raised a hand to stop him.
“That’s enough. I understand well enough already.”
If I let him go on, he’d write an entire book of confessions.
A wave of fatigue washed over me, and I pressed my forehead.
I had a rough idea of how Kwon Taehyuk saw me. I hadn’t expected him to blurt out a confession like this, though.
When I cut him off, silence descended once again. He only stood there, watching me anxiously.
'Haa... I’d better reject him clearly now, or this will just get messier later.'
That way, Kwon Taehyuk could either sort out his feelings, or stop helping me and leave.
“Well, Guildmaster.”
“Yes.”
But when it came time to actually reject him, I was at a loss for words.
It wasn’t like he was some stranger I’d casually hooked up with. We’d fought side by side, shared secrets. That made it harder.
I tried to carefully choose words that would hurt him the least—when suddenly his face stiffened. His head snapped around.
“Guildmaster? Ugh!”
The moment I opened my mouth, a bad premonition struck—then my shoulder was suddenly yanked. I stumbled, dragged helplessly into Kwon Taehyuk’s arms, as something flew from the darkness and slammed into the ground.
A chain glowing bright white.

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