Following the instructions of the hotel staff, the guests quickly evacuated outside.
The front of the hotel was soon a chaotic mix of cars trying to exit the parking lot and Hunters and association staff who had been summoned under the emergency call.
“Director!”
Pushing through the crowd from a distance, Secretary Kim came rushing over in a hurry.
“I’ve assembled the guild members who were on standby, just like you instructed earlier.”
Yesung Guild had only been able to mobilize this quickly thanks to Cha Seohu.
He had shared the intel he received from J, warning that a second Royal Palace incident might occur and that preparations should be made in advance.
The fact that there were no casualties in the Royal Palace incident was entirely thanks to Cha Seohu, who had taken on the risk and used a wide-area skill. They couldn’t afford to repeat that mistake.
“What about the healer team?”
“They’re on their way now. The Association is mobilizing as well. Apparently, Vice President Choi Gyeonghui is coming in person, which is... unexpected.”
Choi Gyeonghui, a former B-rank dealer, had taken the vice president role at the Association after retiring from active duty, and rarely appeared in the field.
There had been plenty of rumors and complaints about that, but she’d never moved—so why was she showing up now?
'Is it because of the Royal Palace incident?'
Maybe it had rattled her enough that she wanted to oversee the situation personally. Still, that alone didn’t sit right.
As Kwon Taehyuk was deep in thought, trying to parse the Association’s motives, the voice of someone who had been waiting for a while called out from behind him.
“Guildmaster!”
Cha Seohu and Ryu Sunghyun, who had gone to inspect the hotel, had returned.
Seohu jogged over with long strides, scanning the surroundings before asking,
“What’s the Association saying?”
Both of them had received the emergency disaster text while ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) heading back. But since the message only contained evacuation instructions, it hadn’t explained the situation clearly.
The Association monitored spontaneous rifts and dungeon breaks around the clock, so they surely had data by now.
As expected, Kwon Taehyuk nodded.
“They say the levels are abnormally high. They’ve never recorded numbers this high before.”
At his signal, Secretary Kim quickly handed the data to Cha Seohu.
Among a series of short blue bar graphs, one red graph stood tall at the end. Right beside it, a yellow bar reached about halfway up.
“The yellow one is from the Royal Palace incident. The red one is the current reading in Gangnam. We received this report about ten minutes ago—so it’s likely even higher now.”
Cha Seohu’s expression hardened at the added explanation.
“Does the rift or dungeon grade increase according to this reading?”
“Not always, but... it’s highly likely. Most areas with high readings have turned out to be high-grade rifts or dungeons.”
Seohu stared grimly at the chart, then lifted his head with determined eyes.
“You two, I—”
“Hunter Cha Seohu!”
Before he could finish, Song Jiwoon returned from checking in on the Circle Guild support team.
“Are you alright? Nothing happened?”
“There was something. I’ll fill you in later.”
The cultist’s cryptic final words before he exploded needed to be analyzed carefully.
Seohu turned to Song Jiwoon.
“Have you seen where Hunter Yoon Jeha went? She definitely evacuated with the others.”
“Not sure. Things were pretty chaotic...”
Seohu clicked his tongue. They needed her now more than ever—where the hell did she go?
'If what I told her was true, she agreed to help. I doubt she went far.'
Just then, Secretary Kim returned from a brief absence.
“Director, the Association’s support team has arrived. Vice President Choi Gyeonghui is with them, as expected.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than several Association vehicles came to a halt on the far side.
Hunters from the Association poured out, efficiently ushering civilians away and planting glowing blue stones throughout the area.
Those stones accelerated the regeneration of nearby Awakeners’ energy. They were expensive and rarely used, which only underscored the gravity of the current situation.
“It’s been a while, Guildmaster Kwon. I see all the Circle people are here as well.”
Choi Gyeonghui approached, flanked by three or four Association staff.
Kwon Taehyuk responded with a nod. Song Jiwoon and Ryu Sunghyun quietly shook her extended hand.
“Let’s keep this short—time’s tight. I’m Choi Gyeonghui. I’ve seen Guildmaster Kwon often enough, but this is my first time meeting you two. And...”
She turned toward Cha Seohu.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s an honor, Supporter Cha Seohu.”
“...Likewise.”
After shaking his hand as well, Choi Gyeonghui gave a quick glance to the three S-ranks and then to Seohu.
“There’ll be a formal briefing soon, but I thought you deserved a heads-up. You’ve probably seen the numbers. Just before getting out of the car, we received the latest reading: 1,120.”
“Did you say... 1,120?”
Kwon Taehyuk repeated the number in disbelief, but Choi Gyeonghui affirmed it with no hesitation.
The report Kim had handed over showed a value of 850. That meant the reading had jumped by nearly 270 in just a few minutes.
“Usually, an A-grade rift peaks around 300. So yes, this is an unprecedented number. We may be facing a rift the likes of which we’ve never encountered before.”
Choi Gyeonghui exhaled a short sigh after her calm explanation.
“We’ve requested assistance from as many guilds as possible. Thankfully, Yesung and Circle moved quickly. We’ll have to hold out until the others arrive.”
“Seems like the Association brought a sizable team too.”
“Well, we’re at a point where we need to salvage our image.”
A crooked smile twisted across her lips.
“Funny, isn’t it? The president screws up, and now the rest of us have to fix the damage. Tell me, Supporter Cha—don’t you think that’s ridiculous?”
It was a provocatively phrased comment—especially toward Cha Seohu, who had multiple run-ins with the Association. But he simply looked her in the eye and answered calmly.
“Whatever the intent, Association support is a huge help.”
“...Hm.”
Choi Gyeonghui’s blue eyes flickered as she paused, then continued.
“There’s one more thing. It matters to all of you dealers, but especially to Supporter Cha—I need you to remember this.”
“What is it?”
“We’re going to set up a treatment facility nearby. Not just for Association Supporters, but also those from the assisting guilds. They’ll all be protected there.”
She said it was for everyone, but her gaze never left Cha Seohu.
“I know your skill is incredible. I heard you personally treated the wounded during the Royal Palace incident. I agree—that kind of courage deserves praise.”
“...”
“But we can’t allow that to continue. Not just for safety reasons. As an SS-rank and, effectively, the representative of all Supporters, if you keep putting yourself in danger, others will feel they must do the same.”
“...”
“Supporters without a means of defense must be stationed in the rear. They must provide buffs and heals from a protected location. That needs to become the norm. And I don’t want that to get distorted just because of you.”
Seohu didn’t argue—because she was right.
In fact, it was something he had already acknowledged himself. That’s why he had prepared an alternative.
He nodded without hesitation.
“I understand. I don’t plan to overextend this time.”
His unexpected agreement caught Choi Gyeonghui slightly off guard.
“Thank you for understanding. Those who need healing will be transferred to the treatment center as quickly as possible. There’s no need for you to run around the field. Once the facility is set up, I’ll send someone to fetch you.”
“I’d appreciate that. Until then, I’d like to talk with these folks for a moment.”
“Just don’t take too long—we don’t have much time.”
Apparently pleased with his compliance, Choi Gyeonghui turned and walked away with a much softer expression than when she’d arrived.
Only once she was far enough did Seohu motion the three of them over.
“This way, please.”
He led them to a corner café inside the hotel lobby. The entire building was deserted now, all staff having been evacuated. The interior was dark and utterly silent.
There, with a serious face, Seohu declared,
“I’m giving you buffs.”
Before any of the three S-ranks could respond, he added,
“Everyone, take off your clothes.”

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