Ranking matches were normally managed by the Guild Association, so to formally request a match with another Hunter, you had to go through them.
Of course, I had zero intention of doing it the official way. I stood up and walked to the window with my phone pressed to my ear. Time was tight, but luckily the call connected quickly.
— “What now?”
The voice on the other end didn’t bother with greetings, just sounded fed up.
“My one and only friend, Dowoon! You busy right now?”
I asked in a ridiculously cheerful tone. As expected, he groaned in disgust.
— “Fuck off...”
“Hey, don’t curse at me. That hurts, you know.”
— “Shut it. What the hell do you want now? I already did everything you asked.”
Hyun Dowoon clearly had enough of my shit. But I expected this, so I kept my tone relaxed.
“Just one more thing. It’s urgent. And it’s not something I can do on my own.”
— “Haa...”
He sighed heavily, then after a long pause, finally replied.
— “What is it?”
“Submit a ranking match request to Yesung Guild’s leader. Sometime within the next week. Nighttime is fine for the time slot.”
— “You mean Kwon Taehyuk?”
“Yeah.”
— “He’s Rank 1 right now, isn’t he? And you want to fight him? Just like that?”
“You think I want to?”
— “What kind of bullshit is that? You’re saying you don’t want to, but you’re doing it anyway?”
“There’s a reason.”
— “What kind of reason would make a support-type think he can take on an S-rank damage dealer in a ranking match?”
Yep. That’s the reaction I expected.
And there was no way I could actually tell him the truth.
“I’ll explain everything later. Just do it for now.”
— “I’ll do it since you’re asking, but...”
He trailed off, clearly perplexed.
— “Why’d you even come to me for this? You’ve got your own guild now. You could’ve just submitted it yourself.”
“How’d you know I made a guild already? It’s not even been an hour since I sent that message. Are you stalking me or something?”
— “Stalking my ass. I’m the one who made it possible for you to register a guild in the first place! And that name you picked is trash.”
“What’s wrong with the name? Thought it sounded cool.”
I was serious, but he just laughed at me outright.
— “Your naming sense is garbage.”
“Coming from you, that stings.”
— “Keep talking shit and I’ll hang up.”
“Relax. If I was gonna apply under my own name, I wouldn’t need your help. Do it anonymously.”
Obviously, there was no such thing as anonymous applications. That’s why I needed Hyun Dowoon’s skills.
Whether he hacked into the Guild Association system or poked around Yesung Guild’s internals, I didn’t care. I just needed the request to get to Kwon Taehyuk.
Dowoon understood immediately and groaned.
— “So let me get this straight... You want me to anonymously submit a ranking match request to Kwon Taehyuk, within the week, and it has to be at night?”
“Exactly. Has to be at night.”
— “You’re seriously driving me insane.”
“Don’t make it sound romantic. So you’ll do it?”
— “Fuck!”
I heard rapid typing on the keyboard mixed with his swearing. As I listened, I retraced my situation.
When I use the hidden skill I got after regression, my appearance changes—body type, hair color, everything. I look so different, no one would recognize me.
Still, some of the researchers from the lab had seen me in that form. So I had to hide the fact that the blond S-rank Hunter was actually me.
‘If they were running a lab that size, there’s definitely some of them still out there.’
If they found out who I really was, and worse, if Cha Sahyeon’s info got leaked to them again—
“....”
The mere thought sent a chill through my chest.
That must never happen. That place was full of lunatics who wouldn’t even hesitate to stab a child full of pain-inducing drugs.
‘...Wait, pain-inducing drug?’
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
I glanced toward the dining table where Cha Sahyeon was eating her lunch.
Almost as if confirming my suspicions, a new system window popped up.
[User Info: Sahyeon (Villain)]
Special Trait▼
└Seed of Catastrophe (35% Progress)
[Seed of Catastrophe]
A being implanted with this seed will one day become the Catastrophe.
Fear, pain, and rage are the best nutrients for the seed.
Once the seed blooms, the host awakens as the Catastrophe.
Even if the host is killed, the seed does not disappear—it transfers.
Fear, pain, and rage are the best nutrients for the seed.
That meant... the more the child was forced into a bad environment, the faster the seed’s progression would be. It would only hasten her awakening.
In the chaos of my thoughts, I heard the voice of the Director from the lab echo back.
[This is perfect. I just finished this version yesterday. It’ll cause pain, but the body won’t move—like they’re asleep.]
That syringe filled with a red drug. A substance {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} created for the sole purpose of inflicting pain.
They abducted Awakeners like me and experimented on us to create it. The one it was made for was Cha Sahyeon.
[This test subject doesn’t respond to even the strongest sedatives. If you’re going to take her, this is the only way.]
Even when the Hunters were moments away from storming the lab, the Director refused to give her up. She was ready to use that drug just to escape with her.
A bad feeling stirred inside me. It wasn’t just paranoia—too many things lined up.
‘I need to confirm it, just in case.’
If they were still after her and moving as an organized force, I couldn’t protect her alone. My hidden skill only worked in darkness, and that made it unreliable in a fight.
— “Hello? You still there?”
“I’m listening.”
— “Okay, I put in the request like you asked. But you know, right? It’s up to him to accept. I can’t make him do that.”
“Just putting it in is enough.”
If Kwon Taehyuk ignored it, then I’d have no choice but to track him down and beg him in person like some desperate idiot.
At least the guy was a public figure. I’d be able to track his whereabouts.
— “You disappear for months, then show up with some kid in tow, and now you’re setting yourself up to be humiliated? You hit your head or something?”
“Unfortunately, my brain’s fine. Also—one more thing.”
— “You really wanna die, don’t you?”
“Just one more! You can take your time with this one.”
— “Swear to God, this is the last time. Next time, I’m charging a million won per call!”
A million won? That’s all? He really said a million won like it was a big deal.
‘Is he dumb?’
For someone with his skills, charging just a million was laughable. What is this, the “friends and family discount”? Not that I was complaining.
“I’ll text you the details.”
It’d be easier to explain over the phone, but since Cha Sahyeon was sitting right here, I didn’t want to talk about it aloud. I wasn’t so tactless that I’d blurt out lab stuff in front of the person most hurt by it.
‘And if there really are remnants of that organization out there... she can’t know.’
If she found out the people who tortured her were still alive and possibly coming back, she’d spiral. And a mentally unstable child with the Seed of Catastrophe was dangerous in every possible way.
As soon as I ended the call, I looked up to see Cha Sahyeon finishing her lunch and cleaning up. I watched her quietly while texting Hyun Dowoon.
A research lab was raided last week by Yesung Guild along with other guilds.
It wasn’t publicized, but some data should be circulating behind the scenes.
Look into whether any related organizations are still active.
Hyun Dowoon:
Random much...
Seriously, what the hell are you even up to?
If you find anything useful, let me know.
Hyun Dowoon:
Sigh... Fine. Got it.
Even though he grumbled the whole time, he still did everything I asked. That made me smile a little. But just then, a small pale hand suddenly covered my phone screen.
Cha Sahyeon, now standing right next to me, had reached out and blocked the display with a blank look on her face. What’s she doing?
“You finished eating?”
I asked, wondering if she just wanted attention. She nodded immediately. She’d been approaching me more and more on her own lately. Was she getting used to me?
“Good job.”
I patted her head and started thinking again about the ranking match.
If Kwon Taehyuk rejected it, that was bad. But if he accepted—that was also bad. I’d have to leave this place and fight, and that meant leaving her alone.
I didn’t have anyone I could trust to watch over her.
Times like this really made me feel the weight of doing everything alone.
‘Well... I’ll just have to finish it as quickly as possible and get back.’
[Main Quest: Defeat the current Rank 1 Hunter “Kwon Taehyuk” and claim Rank 1 (Remaining Time: 6 days 23 hours 12 minutes)]

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