“Really? Is it really that Cover?”
“What does it mean that they want to fight with us? Don’t tell me they’re entering the competition?”
“Shit, are we seriously supposed to believe this? What if Ronik’s pulling something again?”
“It’s real! Look—every portal site is blowing up with news about Cover!”
As a guild member pulled up a news site on their phone to show the others, the guild members huddled around it broke into loud cheers.
“No way! It’s real, it’s really happening! Wait—why would they help us?”
“Maybe we just looked that pitiful. I mean, objectively speaking, we are kinda pitiful.”
“Hold on—if the media’s putting out breaking news like that, doesn’t it mean the guild and Cover already reached an agreement? But Vice-Guildmaster’s reaction...”
“Uh, yeah...”
Ryu Sunghyun, who had been blinking blankly, finally came to his senses as he noticed everyone’s eyes on him.
“Cover? That Hunter? Why all of a sudden?”
Not even the Guildmaster had said anything about this. With no idea what was going on, he couldn’t even feel happy about it.
Troubled, Ryu Sunghyun stood up abruptly from his seat.
“...I need to speak to the Guildmaster.”
The other guild members, sensing his unsettled response, started to pick up on the fact that something was off.
Just as Ryu Sunghyun turned to leave the conference room with hurried steps—
“Hyung! Sunghyun-hyung!”
This time, Kim Suho burst into the room.
His face was covered in bruises, and he was panting heavily as he ran in. Ryu Sunghyun stopped in his tracks at the sight.
“There’s a guest on the first floor—hah—a guest...!”
“A guest?”
Ryu Sunghyun repeated the word back, a strange feeling stirring in his chest.
Something about what Kim Suho was bringing made him feel like it would cause a huge commotion in the guild—a sharp, almost animalistic hunch that all S-rankers possessed. And those instincts weren’t often wrong.
“Cover’s here!”
“...”
One shocking situation after another—it was enough to overload the brain. Ryu Sunghyun stood frozen, stunned, while the rest of the guild members in the room exploded into a frenzy.
“What? They actually came here?!”
“Hey, Suho! Are you sure it was Cover? How do you know?!”
“Huh? W-Well, he said he was Cover... and asked for the person in charge...”
“No way... seriously? I want to see for myself!”
“Do we even know what Cover looks like? No one does, right?”
“I heard even the Administration Bureau doesn’t know Cover’s identity. And that person just walked into our guild? At this time of night?”
“Yeah, the more I hear, the fishier it sounds. What if it’s a scam?”
Everyone murmured with confused expressions.
Between Kim Suho’s uncertainty and the members who were starting to doubt the visitor’s identity, only Ryu Sunghyun seemed to regain his composure. He rubbed his temples with a deep frown.
This can’t go on like this.
It was absurd enough that the media posted breaking news without any confirmation—now Cover had shown up? At nearly 10 PM?
Even if this really was Cover, as some members suggested, this approach was completely unacceptable.
Still... I’d better go check, just in case.
There was a chance it was a scammer, so it had to be him who went. And if it was truly Cover... then as Vice-Guildmaster, it was his responsibility to respond.
He’d meet them and send them away—say the guild wasn’t prepared for visitors right now. That should be reasonable enough.
Just as Ryu Sunghyun began to calm the excited guild members and prepare to head downstairs, a smooth voice cut through the noise.
“Looks like we’ve got a visitor.”
Ryu Sunghyun immediately recognized the voice and sighed, turning around. When their eyes met, the other man smiled faintly.
“What’s the guest’s name?”
With the sudden arrival of the Circle Guild’s leader, Song Jiwoon, the noisy room instantly quieted. Kim Suho tensed up even more, and Ryu Sunghyun stepped forward, replying calmly.
“Apparently, the number one ranked Hunter is here.”
It must have been so noisy that the commotion reached the representative’s office down the hall.
The situation kept escalating, and Ryu Sunghyun couldn’t hide his growing fatigue. Song Jiwoon tilted his head slightly, as if surprised by it.
“At this hour?”
“Yes. The breaking news says Cover is going to join the competition as our ally... Did you know anything about this?”
“Hm.”
Song Jiwoon touched the corner of his mouth without offering much of a response. After a moment of quiet blinking, he murmured,
“I see. So that’s how it is.”
“...Guildmaster?”
“Sunghyun.”
With a faint upward curve of his lips, Song Jiwoon gently patted Ryu Sunghyun on the shoulder twice.
“Go downstairs and take a look...”
For a brief second, the greenish eyes under his golden hair gleamed strangely.
“If it’s really Cover, bring him to the representative’s office.”
“But...”
“They came all this way. The least we can do is offer a cup of tea. We can discuss the competition later.”
“...”
There was a certainty in Song Jiwoon’s smiling face that made it clear—he wouldn’t change his mind. ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) Ryu Sunghyun exhaled a long breath and nodded.
“...Understood.”
After confirming Cover’s location with Kim Suho, Ryu Sunghyun made his way down to the first floor.
Given the hour, the lobby was dimly lit, making it hard to see clearly. Still, Ryu Sunghyun quickly spotted a dark silhouette leaning against the hallway wall. Judging by the figure, it was definitely a man.
As he approached, he felt the unmistakable energy of an Awakened being. He couldn’t be sure of the exact rank, but the strength radiating from the figure was unmistakably high.
Is it really... Cover?
The man seemed to have sensed him approaching from the start and looked directly his way.
He was deliberately standing where the light didn’t reach, and even then, wore a black cap and mask to obscure his face.
Instead of the familiar blue jacket seen in ranking broadcasts or Uidong news videos, he wore a light gray hoodie, a black T-shirt, and jeans. Without the cap and mask, he would’ve looked like any average guy stepping outside for a walk.
Facing Cover for the first time—or someone claiming to be—Ryu Sunghyun noted the man seemed younger than himself.
Suppressing his distaste, he cleared his throat and opened with a polite question.
“Are you the Hunter known as Cover?”
The man pressed the brim of his cap down and answered.
“...Yes.”
It was a voice so forced and low that it sounded awkward, like he was deliberately altering it.
Apparently, he really didn’t want to reveal his identity—going as far as to mask his voice. Ryu Sunghyun found it odd, but let it slide.
“Can you prove that you are Cover?”
At that, the man quietly pulled something out from his inventory.
A longsword adorned with a golden tassel. Without hesitation, he held it out to Ryu Sunghyun.
“This is the weapon I’ve used many times. It’s been captured in video footage more than once—I believe it’s sufficient proof.”
“May I take a look?”
“Yes.”
Ryu Sunghyun carefully accepted the weapon and partially unsheathed the blade.
He recognized it immediately—Cover’s signature sword. It had drawn just as much attention as its user. One TV program had even brought in item specialists to analyze the blade in depth.
Judging by the aura... S-rank? At the very least, A-rank.
He weighed the odds: was this man crazy enough to bring a high-grade, valuable weapon just to scam a fringe guild? Or was he really Cover?
Faced with that choice, Ryu Sunghyun had to admit the truth he didn’t want to face. The man was Cover.
“...Confirmed. Please, follow me.”
He returned the sword and began walking ahead. Cover quickly stashed the weapon into his inventory and followed behind.
God, I’m nervous.
Pressing a palm to his chest, he could feel his heart pounding violently.
He glanced up at Ryu Sunghyun walking in front of him. Just as he expected, Sunghyun didn’t look too thrilled.
And rightly so—he’d shown up out of nowhere and dumped this mess on their laps.
It was intentional, meant to keep Sunghyun and the Guildmaster from thinking too much—but now, seeing how frazzled Sunghyun looked, guilt was starting to gnaw at him.
I’ll apologize later, hyung...
Whenever later might be.
He reached up to adjust his mask, head bowed slightly. Even though this appearance changed his voice, he’d instinctively lowered his tone even more, out of anxiety.
Some part of him irrationally feared Ryu Sunghyun would still recognize him. He knew that was impossible—but still.
Get it together. You haven’t been accepted yet.
The real challenge wasn’t Ryu Sunghyun. It was the Circle Guild’s leader, Song Jiwoon.
Where did Sunghyun learn to be so cold and composed? From Jiwoon himself—whose gentle face belied an even icier core.
As they arrived at the representative’s office, Ryu Sunghyun came to a stop. As he reached for the doorknob, Cover took a deep breath in silence.

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