The dealers who had listened to Cha Seohu's words to the end stared at him with looks that screamed, Is this guy insane?
In contrast, the supporters—though they too looked at him like he’d lost his mind—couldn’t hide the hint of gratitude in their eyes. They must have assumed he was taking their side.
But Cha Seohu wasn’t speaking out of any empathy for the supporters’ position.
I have to complete the quest. And I need the S-rank healer.
If there were no quest, and Dan Yeoun were just a stranger whose life didn’t matter to him, Cha Seohu would have sided with the “abandon them” argument without hesitation.
It was only logical. Dungeon raids weren’t a joke—and someone had already died right before their eyes. They couldn’t afford to provoke anything that might increase the number of casualties.
Cold as it was, the rational choice was to abandon the kidnapped and proceed through the log house door.
Still, mocking those who wanted to help—what trash behavior.
This was a situation where they’d be clearing a Great Dungeon together, possibly for a long time.
Just as someone had been kidnapped this time, anyone could be next.
Besides, as dealers, they'd need the support of the backline constantly throughout the raid.
Doing something to damage their own reputation like that would inevitably come back to haunt them.
“So there are no objections, right? Just to clarify, I’ll be the only one dealing with the monsters.”
“Absolutely not!”
Whoa—what the hell?
As the booming voice rang in his ears, Cha Seohu turned his head. Kwon Taehyuk was glaring at him, his face pale.
“Are you insane? That monster twisted and killed an A-rank dealer in an instant!”
“But we can communicate with them. As long as you don’t suddenly attack or emit killing intent like that dead hunter did, talking seems totally fine.”
Cha Seohu replied calmly, and this time Ryu Sunghyun cut in with a sharp voice.
“If you make a single mistake, you’ll die instantly. I understand your intention, Hunter Cha Seohu, but this is far too dangerous. We should consider other options.”
“But the only ones who know where the kidnapped were taken are the monsters. We’ll have to confront them head-on.”
Cha Seohu added with clarity.
“We’ve already interacted with them multiple times while getting here. Guildmaster Kwon even managed to get them to hold off on erasing the exit just by asking. Aside from the moment the dead hunter attacked first, they’ve behaved calmly the whole time.”
“...That’s not enough to go on.”
“They also recognized when we were happy or angry. That means they’re intelligent enough to read emotion. And they referred to the dead hunter as a ‘bad human.’ Which suggests that unless you’re identified as one, they won’t harm you.”
“That’s all still conjecture. This is life or death. We can’t act based on guesses.”
“We have no choice. If we want to find out where the kidnapped are, this is the only way. And I’m going to take that route.”
Cha Seohu smiled and looked at Kwon Taehyuk.
“Guildmaster, you said earlier that some things must be done. I believe you’ll understand my choice.”
“....”
Kwon Taehyuk rubbed his forehead, his expression conflicted.
“...Then I’ll go instead.”
“No. I’m doing it. Please don’t interfere with my decision any further.”
Cha Seohu refused him with an intentionally cold, detached tone. He needed to draw a line—otherwise, Kwon Taehyuk and the other S-ranks might try to step in.
According to Cha Sahyeon, the fairies were SS-rank monsters.
Only two people here were truly safe in front of those fairies: L-rank Cha Sahyeon, and Cha Seohu, who was under his protection.
Might as well put my Catastrophe privilege to use now.
He had already confirmed with Cha Sahyeon that the latter could protect him from the fairies—there was nothing to worry about.
Without hesitation, Cha Seohu began walking toward the cluster of fairies. Cha Sahyeon followed closely at his side.
“Is this what you had in mind when you asked, hyung? To save the humans?”
Cha Sahyeon’s low voice held a trace of irritation.
“You can just protect me.”
“Well, obviously....”
Cha Sahyeon let out a long sigh.
Still, unlike the S-ranks, he didn’t try to grab Cha Seohu or stop him. There was no need—he was overwhelmingly strong. He didn’t feel threatened.
“Wait, Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Kwon Taehyuk rushed after him.
“I’m coming with you.”
Not just Kwon Taehyuk—Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon followed as well. Cha Seohu, ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) indifferent, simply shrugged and kept walking.
The hunters watching from a distance began to murmur in confusion.
“What the hell? Are they seriously going?”
“Isn’t that guy a supporter?”
“Guess one more supporter’s gonna die.”
“Isn’t this just suicide?”
“Hey, watch your mouth.”
Leaving behind the murmurs of anxiety and confusion, Cha Seohu approached the fairies clustered together. Cha Sahyeon stood beside him, glaring at the fairies in his place.
“Hey.”
A human!
The humans are done with their meeting?
You’re leaving now?
The fairies, who had been chattering among themselves, welcomed Cha Seohu enthusiastically. The S-ranks following him tensed.
“Before we go, I have something to ask.”
Like Kwon Taehyuk earlier, Cha Seohu casually used informal speech, unfazed.
Ask us?
What is it?
“You said it yourselves—you took the humans in exchange for fulfilling a request.”
That’s right!
We told the humans where the exit was. So we needed compensation!
We’re nice, so we only took a little!
The number of people kidnapped was ten.
From their perspective, maybe taking only ten out of a hundred humans had been their idea of a generous trade.
These little bastards have a full scammer’s mindset.
They hadn’t even told them upfront that there’d be a price.
Twisting his lips, Cha Seohu spoke in a tone that sounded genuinely regretful.
“Hm. That’s a problem. Honestly, we didn’t expect you to just snatch the payment like that. So now things are kind of awkward.”
“...Hunter Cha Seohu.”
Ryu Sunghyun murmured behind him, sensing the provocation in his words. Cha Seohu smiled to reassure him and continued.
“Even if you fulfilled a request, you’re being really rude about the compensation, don’t you think?”
Rude?
That must be a human rule...!
But we have to get compensation...
“I’m not saying we won’t give anything. I’m saying we should renegotiate. That payment—does it just have to be a human? Ten humans?”
The fairies tilted their heads, then responded.
Yeah! Ten humans!
As long as it’s a human, it’s fine!
“Then can we exchange them? You said it just has to be a human.”
A sharp intake of breath sounded from behind.
Exchange? The word itself sent a chill through the three S-ranks. Their faces instantly went pale.
While their hearts plummeted, the fairies chirped happily.
We can trade! We like trades!
You’ll come? You’ll trade yourself?
Pretty! We like pretty humans!
Their reactions were much better than expected. Cha Seohu smiled leisurely.
“Thanks for the answer. I’ll come back for the trade later.”
Okay, okay!
We’ll wait right here!
Come back! Don’t forget to trade!
The fairies, glowing with delight, spun through the air with bright white light trailing behind them. Leaving the gleeful creatures behind, Cha Seohu turned and led Cha Sahyeon and the S-ranks to a secluded spot.
“Hunter Cha Seohu, what the hell was that? Trade? Don’t tell me you planned—”
“Yes. You can scold me later. Just listen for now.”
Interrupting Kwon Taehyuk’s scolding, which began the moment they were out of earshot, Cha Seohu spoke calmly.
“As you just heard, I’ll be traded for one of the kidnapped people. The rest of you will have to defeat the fairies, then come find me and rescue the others.”
He grabbed Cha Sahyeon’s arm and pulled him close.
“My little brother’s skill is shadow manipulation. If he attaches a shadow to me, he can track my location from anywhere. Normally there’s a range limit... but if he gets a buff from me, that range should increase enough.”
He added a plausible explanation, considering the pearl effect currently made Cha Sahyeon’s aura seem about A-rank.
“The problem is, you’ll need to take care of those monsters before you can come after me.”
The monsters looked like small, delicate fairies—but their grade was SS-rank. And there were six of them.
If Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and Song Jiwoon all received buffs, they should be able to handle it. Add Cha Sahyeon into the mix—
But even with all of them, they were still short by two.
To fight SS-ranks, you needed at least S-rank strength. And only three S-ranks remained in the raid team.
Park Minhyuk. J. And lastly... Kang Haeil.
J would cooperate if Cha Sahyeon ordered him, even if begrudgingly. The problem was Park Minhyuk and Kang Haeil.
Whether to risk exposing his buff rank to a government hunter like Park Minhyuk—or reveal to everyone that Kang Haeil had secretly followed them in and was now receiving an S-rank buff.
There wasn’t even a choice to make.
Better to bring in a government hunter than reveal I’m buffing that bastard Kang Haeil to S-rank.
On top of his Catastrophe connections, he also had the backing of Kwon Taehyuk, the head of the number one guild in the country.
Cha Seohu made his decision.
“Let’s ask Team Leader Park Minhyuk for help.”
Then he turned to Cha Sahyeon.
“Go bring J.”

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