"Hey, kid."
The moment the meeting ended, I ran straight over to where the Circle Guild members were gathered and called out to the child. As if she'd been waiting for it, Cha Sahyeon, who had been standing exactly where I left her, immediately looked my way.
"Oh, there you are, kiddo. Hyung’s back."
"No matter how you look at it, she seems angry. How can a kid stay so quiet?"
The Circle Guild members, who had taken care of Cha Sahyeon while I was away, exchanged curious glances as they watched her run into my arms.
Only then did Ryu Sunghyun realize that I had left Cha Sahyeon in the care of his guild members, and his face twisted in disbelief.
What? In dangerous places like this, we all need to help each other out.
I patted Cha Sahyeon’s back as she nestled into my chest and said,
"As you probably heard, I’ll be sticking with you until we clear the dungeon. I’m Cha Seohu, your support. My skill is stamina recovery, so tell me if you’re tired."
"Haha, yes. We look forward to working with you."
"Today’s manageable, but starting tomorrow it’s going to get rough. Having a supporter will definitely help us out."
"Please take care of us!"
Ko Taeseong, Yoo Harin, and Kim Suho each greeted me in turn. All three were Circle Guild members: Ko Taeseong and Yoo Harin were B-rank dealers, and Kim Suho was a C-rank dealer.
They were the ones who usually teamed up with Ryu Sunghyun whenever there was a dungeon run. Before regression, I used to be with them too, making us a group of five.
'All that effort to avoid them, and here we are together again.'
Smiling bitterly, I turned to look at Ryu Sunghyun. Just like before regression, he was carefully warning his members not to overuse their skills now that they had a supporter.
As I watched Ryu Sunghyun, I felt a prickling gaze at the back of my head.
Sure enough, Ronik Guildmaster and his guild members were glaring openly at us.
Ronik Guild... Even before regression, they relentlessly harassed the Circle Guild.
Not only the guildmaster, Choi Jonghun, but most of their guild members acted like the Circle Guild had stolen money from them, always grinding their teeth and itching to pick a fight.
And their favorite target was Ryu Sunghyun.
The reason was simple: Ryu Sunghyun had rejected Ronik Guild’s scouting offer.
It must have infuriated them that one of the few S-rank Awakeners in the country refused them to join a "weak" guild like Circle.
At first, Ryu Sunghyun protested and ignored them, but the more he resisted, the more persistent their harassment became.
Eventually, Ryu Sunghyun gave up on dealing with them altogether. After all, Ronik Guild was so much larger than Circle that there was no comparison.
'Maybe because I fought Ronik Guild so much on his behalf before regression... I stepped in again without even thinking.'
Well, spilled water can’t be scooped back up.
In the end, this wasn’t a bad outcome for me. If the raid progress slowed down because they had to accommodate the Circle Guild, it could have endangered everything.
[Main Quest: Successfully clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain. (Remaining Time: 4 days, 1 hour, 6 minutes)]
'Clearing this dungeon will take about three days. If we fall behind, I’ll fail the quest.'
Since it had come to this, I needed to take care of the Circle Guild properly—earn Ryu Sunghyun’s favor and succeed in the quest.
Screech, screech, scree!
A mantis-like monster was skewered by a golden spear of light and crumpled to the ground.
Crack!
Gurgle—following close behind, the other monsters were swept away by the downpour of spears of light. Dozens of light spears that crushed the monsters disappeared with a sweep of Ryu Sunghyun’s hand.
"Phew..."
An S-rank Embodiment of Light skill.
With its power, Ryu Sunghyun wiped out the tough-skinned monsters in an instant and let out a slow breath.
The number of monsters was still overwhelming. In fact, the deeper we went, the more numerous they became.
After fighting nonstop for hours and leading the charge the entire day, even someone like Ryu Sunghyun was starting to tire.
"Let’s rest here for a bit."
Even Kwon Taehyuk, showing signs of fatigue, declared a break.
At that, the hunters scattered to rest or receive support.
But unlike the others, Ryu Sunghyun didn’t seek out a supporter. He silently wiped the blood from his skin.
Even though we were working together now, he didn't want to be the first to ask for help.
Despite his warm and easygoing impression, he built walls against strangers.
'Every time... so frustrating.'
After leaving Cha Sahyeon with the Circle Guild members again, I walked boldly toward Ryu Sunghyun.
"Give me your hand."
Ryu Sunghyun squinted briefly at me, then awkwardly smiled and shook his head.
"It’s fine. You can help me starting tomorrow."
"No, it has to be now. If you miss this break, you'll be fighting for at least another five hours without sleep. Can you really hold out?"
"I can hold out. But thank you for your concern."
His continued refusal made my mood sour.
Before regression... he would have smiled shyly and reached out his hand right away.
Seeing the difference between then and now stirred complicated emotions inside me.
"Vice Guildmaster Ryu, I understand you’re uncomfortable with me, but isn’t this a time when you should put that aside?"
"It’s not discomfort, it’s just..."
"As you can see, even Guildmaster Kwon is receiving support. You two are fighting side by side at the front. The less you let me help you, the more burden you place on Guildmaster Kwon."
"......"
Hearing that, Ryu Sunghyun’s eyes wavered slightly.
'Dammit.'
I had spoken more forcefully than I intended out of impatience.
Comparing him to Kwon Taehyuk and pressuring him like this—when I should be slowly building trust—was a mistake.
I clicked my tongue inwardly, wondering if I should apologize, but then Ryu Sunghyun opened his mouth first.
"You’re right. I was being stubborn."
"Ah, well..."
"My hand’s dirty with blood, but if you don’t mind..."
After wiping his hand several times with a towel, he finally offered it to me.
Seeing him still so considerate even now filled me with a strange sadness.
'This is why...'
I liked him. I respected and cherished him like an older brother.
He was always thinking of others first, so I felt like I had to take care of him.
I wouldn’t be able to stay by his side as I did before. With a bitter heart, I slowly took his hand.
Flash!
"...!"
《Skill: Bond of the Guardian (S-rank) activated!》
《Increases representative skill damage. (Target: Ryu Sunghyun) (Duration: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》
《Increases base speed. (Target: Ryu Sunghyun) (Duration: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》
《Applies stability effect. (Target: Ryu Sunghyun) (Duration: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》
At the point where our skin touched, a brief white light flashed, and Ryu Sunghyun’s stamina recovered at an astonishing speed.
He seemed to notice it too, widening his eyes.
"This is..."
He stared at our clasped hands in shock, then lifted his gaze to meet mine.
I also realized I had made a mistake—the recovery effect was far stronger than I had anticipated.
[Representative Skill: Bond of the Guardian (S-rank)]
Through physical contact, rapidly restores the target’s stamina while enhancing their basic stats. (Buff Duration: 05:00)
└ Buff: Increased representative skill damage
└ Buff: Increased base speed
└ Buff: Stability effect
After clearing a quest previously, my representative skill had evolved from B-rank to S-rank. I had wanted to test it here...
'Even if it’s S-rank, just holding hands restored that much...?'
This was bad for me.
Still dazed, Ryu Sunghyun stared blankly at me, and I awkwardly pulled my hand away.
"Haha, how is it? I’m pretty useful, right?"
"Huh? Ah..."
"Please come find me again if you need more."
Grinning as brightly as I could, I bowed slightly and hurried away before he could ask questions.
Luckily, he was still too stunned by the stamina recovery to chase after me.
From now on, I’d need to minimize physical contact when using my skill—maybe just a finger touch would do.
After receiving support from me, Ryu Sunghyun performed far better than before.
Naturally, the other hunters started hovering around me.
They had clearly witnessed the scene of me restoring Ryu Sunghyun’s stamina and were pretending not to notice.
Since support-type Awakeners capable of true stamina recovery were rare, it was inevitable.
I had already declared I would only support the Circle Guild, so they didn’t approach openly—but there are always shameless ones.
Rumor must have spread fast that I was a capable supporter, because even the Ronik Guild members started creeping closer.
Given how much they looked down on the Circle Guild, they would seize any opening.
'No way I’m letting that happen.'
Even as a B-rank, my skill was precious—and now that it had evolved to S-rank, I wasn’t about to waste it on ➤ NоvеIight ➤ (Read more on our source) those bastards.
Feigning exhaustion, I staggered over to the only person the Ronik Guild members were wary of and threw myself against him.
"Ahh, I pushed myself too hard... I'm getting dizzy...!"
"......"
Reflexively catching me, Kwon Taehyuk raised an eyebrow.
[Main Quest: Successfully clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain. (Remaining Time: 3 days, 11 hours, 57 minutes)]

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