Today was the day of the B-rank dungeon organized by the Yesung Guild. Because of the main quest, I had no choice but to bring Cha Sahyeon with me to the gathering location.
“Alright, let’s go over this again.”
Before heading to the registration desk, I pulled Sahyeon aside into a corner, crouched down, and placed my hands gently on his shoulders. Then I asked seriously:
“What’s the first thing to watch out for?”
“...”
“No answer? I’ll leave you here.”
Of course, I couldn’t actually leave him behind because of the quest, but I shamelessly bluffed. After a long pause, Sahyeon parted his lips and answered softly.
“...Never leave your side.”
“Whose side?”
“Yours.”
“Good. Second?”
“If anyone talks to me, I ignore them.”
“Great. Now the third.”
“Don’t draw attention to myself.”
“That’s right.”
Since he actually answered all three properly, I gave him a gentle pat on the head. His hair felt soft beneath my palm.
‘I only threw in the third one for effect...’
Since meeting Cha Sahyeon, he hadn’t used his skills even once.
Just because we were heading into a dungeon didn’t mean he’d suddenly go wild with them, but I reminded him just in case.
Even if the other hunters sensed something from him, the last thing I needed was a scenario where he had to use a skill mid-fight.
‘If his mental state takes a hit from that, it’s going to be a serious problem.’
That was one thing I couldn’t afford.
Sahyeon and I would be staying at the very back. If anything, we’d just top up the stamina of some groaning hunters here and there.
It was only a B-rank dungeon, after all, and with the powerful Yesung Guild at the helm, the raid would be a breeze. All we had to do was keep our heads down and get through it quietly.
‘Hopefully the rewards aren’t crap this time.’
Speaking of which, the last quest’s reward had been among the worst.
After all that effort to beat Kwon Taehyuk and take the Rank 1 spot, what did I get? “Kwon Taehyuk’s interest increased”? Really? That was just infuriating.
Getting your rank stolen and still having your interest in that person increase—what kind of twisted psychology was that?
Even if I could understand the weirdo’s mentality, the fact that the reward was absolute trash just pissed me off. I’d been expecting something decent, only to get sucker-punched in the heart.
Grumbling to myself, I reopened the quest window to check again.
[Main Quest: Successfully clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain. (Time remaining: 4 days, 5 hours, 12 minutes)]
I had to enter and clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain, Sahyeon, within the week.
And now the system didn’t even bother telling me what the reward or penalty was.
I clicked my tongue in irritation and got up. If they were going to give me nothing, I just hoped the penalty wasn’t brutal.
Holding Sahyeon’s hand, I walked us over to the registration area in front of the dungeon. A surprising number of hunters had already arrived ahead of us—it seemed the raid party was larger than I’d expected.
“Welcome! Would you like to register?”
A staff member greeted me as we approached. I filled out the form with our guild name, my name, and Sahyeon’s, then followed the staffer’s instructions.
We passed through a guarded checkpoint that blocked off civilian access and moved further in, where even more hunters were waiting around than before.
A shimmering portal, presumably the dungeon entrance, pulsed in the background among groups of hunters chatting in small clusters.
Most dungeon entrances were like that—an oval-shaped portal. Its base color was usually blue, and the closer it shifted toward orange and red, the more likely it was to experience a dungeon break.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
The portal’s color was a rough gauge of how saturated the dungeon was with monsters.
Of course, not all portals showed this, and the ones that didn’t were usually A-rank or above. In this case, it was a B-rank dungeon with low risk, so the color shift was visible.
‘That looks a bit darker than orange? So this isn’t just a random-schedule raid after all.’
As I was studying the portal, I spotted a familiar figure nearby and murmured to myself.
“...Sunghyun-hyung?”
The brown-haired man in the black combat jacket was definitely Ryu Sunghyun.
Standing beside him were ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) three other hunters—all familiar faces.
‘Looks like the Circle Guild was invited too.’
That made sense. This was a raid organized by the Yesung Guild. A wide mix of hunters would’ve been recruited, and the difficulty was low enough that smaller guilds would definitely have jumped at the chance.
I stood at a distance, quietly observing Ryu Sunghyun and the others.
Seeing those familiar faces made it feel like I’d stepped back into the timeline before regression.
‘I used to be with them back then...’
Since our guild was small and didn’t own any dungeons, we always had to join parties like this hosted by bigger guilds.
We were sneered at by arrogant hunters and pitied by insiders who knew our circumstances, but when I was with my guildmates, it didn’t matter.
My chest tightened with a rush of nameless anxiety. I wanted to run over and talk to them. To be part of their circle again.
Tug.
At that moment, a pull on my hand snapped me back. I looked down to see Sahyeon holding my hand tightly, gazing up at me.
His deep green eyes cleared the fog from my head.
Right. This wasn’t the time to be lost in memories.
Why did I leave the Circle Guild behind and run off with Sahyeon? Because this time, I’d promised myself that I’d protect everyone.
There was no point clinging to the past. What mattered was making things better in the present.
“...Let’s hang back a bit.”
I guided Sahyeon to a more secluded spot, away from where the Circle Guild stood.
Even though no one here knew me in this life, I didn’t want to face Ryu Sunghyun and the others and be treated like a stranger. Especially Sunghyun—he’d already done enough by helping me during the lab incident.
“Guildmaster, you’re here!”
“This way, please.”
Just then, the main figure of today’s operation arrived—Kwon Taehyuk. Trailed by Yesung hunters, he walked through the crowd and straight to the front.
After receiving confirmation from his secretary that all participating guilds had arrived, Kwon Taehyuk stood at the head of the group and spoke smoothly:
“Thank you for joining our guild’s raid. We’ll proceed in standard formation, so please take your assigned positions. Departure is in five minutes. Make sure your gear is checked and ready.”
With the briefing finished, Kwon Taehyuk scanned the crowd—like he was looking for someone.
His black eyes landed squarely on me.
Realizing he was staring this way, I turned my head and pretended not to notice. No way I was returning that look and inviting unnecessary drama.
‘So he did send that cooperation request to draw me out.’
I’d expected as much, but having it confirmed still gave me mixed feelings.
Why me? There was no way he knew I was the Rank 1 hunter, “Cover.”
Sure, I’d acted a bit suspicious during the lab raid and fled with Sahyeon, but was that alone enough to justify alerting every nearby guild?
“The raid party will now depart!”
While I was caught up in thought, the five minutes passed and the portal opened. The hunters began to move in. Walking slowly from the rear, I continued mulling things over.
The raid would take around three days, and during that time, I’d likely cross paths with Kwon Taehyuk at least once. If the opportunity arose, I wouldn’t mind figuring out why he was interested in me.
And if we happened to get closer during that process—even better. After all, the quest’s goal was to become an ally to the main cast. Partnering with someone like Kwon Taehyuk would benefit me immensely.
[Main Quest: Successfully clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain. (Time remaining: 4 days, 4 hours, 38 minutes)]

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