Guru had just reached into her inventory to pull out a fork in defense when she suddenly froze.
The film crew was pouring out of the van, carrying cameras, mics, and reflectors.
Guru quickly shoved the fork back in and ducked behind the car.
'What’s going on?'
The Chase Guildmaster walked over to the basketball court with a few staff members and waved to Taemin.
Taemin’s face stiffened.
Serhi glanced between Taemin and the Guildmaster, then stepped forward to stand slightly closer to Taemin.
The Guildmaster flinched at the sight of Serhi, but quickly masked it and turned to speak to Taemin.
"Taemin-ah, say hello."
"Hello. I’m Lee Taemin, Hunter. I run the Hunter Channel, name’s BJ Chabu. Don’t know if you’ve heard of me."
"I know. You’re famous. I watch your videos on YouTube all the time. It’s great to meet you."
"Haha! What an honor to be recognized by such a promising rookie!"
Chabu made a show of bowing deeply, and Taemin laughed and waved him off.
Serhi scowled at their mutual ass-kissing.
The kids playing basketball with Taemin started chattering about how many subscribers Chabu’s channel had.
The channel’s main content was like a reality show, capturing Hunters freely tackling raids in casual settings. It had gained massive popularity for showcasing a variety of Hunter lifestyles and even becoming a discovery platform for rising stars.
Bringing in a BJ from a channel like that—it couldn’t be more obvious what they were trying to do.
They were clearly trying to use Taemin to promote the guild. And though it was transparent as hell, Taemin’s friends were stuck repeating the same phrase with their pitiful vocabulary.
“Dude, that’s fucking insane.”
“But Lee Taemin Hunter-nim, what made you decide to solo-play an A-Rank dungeon? Were you inspired by Hunter Gidan? That time—Korea—no, the whole world was flipping out.”
“What? Solo play? Me?”
Taemin blinked, like he had no clue what they were talking about.
“Eh?”
Chabu also looked surprised. Chase Guildmaster Choi Hyeonwoo cut in between them.
“Hey, Taemin. I told you about this a few days ago, didn’t I? Don’t you remember?”
“Oh... Ohh, right. Yeah. I remember...”
Taemin nodded like he was recalling something, but it was obvious the agreement hadn’t been mutual.
Chabu also seemed flustered by the unexpected response.
“Uh... sounds like there was a miscommunication... PD Gong, hold on.”
Just as Chabu turned to consult the PD about whether filming could even proceed, Choi Hyeonwoo pulled Taemin in close by the shoulder.
“It’s fine. Our Taemin was super motivated about this. He’s totally up for it. Right?”
“Yeah... I can do it.”
Chabu exchanged glances with the PD.
They’d already brought the entire staff here, and Taemin was saying he’d do it. Turning them down now just because something felt off didn’t sit right either.
“Then shall we head to the van?”
“Yes. I’m just gonna say bye to my friends real quick. Guys, I’ve got something to do, so I’m heading out first! And go wash up, you stink!”
“Hey! Screw off!”
“Come back a star, you S-Class rookie!”
Taemin exchanged high-fives with his friends and turned his head.
Bright blue eyes were staring straight at him.
"Fucking idiot."
Serhi muttered under his breath and turned away.
Taemin opened his mouth slightly but ended up moving along as Choi Hyeonwoo guided him away.
As they walked toward the parking lot, Serhi watched his back for a moment before shaking his head.
'It’s not even my damn business. Who cares what that dumbass does.'
“Hey, Serhi! Let’s play basketball again next time!”
“Serhjjing! See ya tomowwow!”
“Later!”
As voices called after him one after another, Serhi’s brow furrowed tightly.
All this damn hassle because of Taemin.
'Can I even go back to being a foreigner tomorrow?'
No way. Not now. Damn it.
He barely managed to hold back the irritation bubbling up inside.
“Wet’s go too!”
Grab!
Two tiny hands caught his wrist.
When he looked down, Guru was beaming up at him.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Serhi grumbled, pulling free and clasping her hand properly.
“Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be home? Want me to take you?”
“Gwuu’s manajin Oppaw now.”
“Not stalking?”
“Stawking?”
The girl blinked her big eyes, and Serhi shook his head.
“Forget it.”
“Ser Oppaw. Wet’s fowwow Taemin Oppaw.”
“Why the hell do you keep saying we should go there?”
“Cuz Taemin Oppaw gonna get huwt. You wowwied.”
“Just leave him be. He’s a dumbass, he brought it on himself.”
“Gee-paw-gee-kkung?”
Serhi bit his lip.
“Dummy. I mean when someone acts like a dumbass, there’s no fixing them, so don’t bother worrying.”
Guru stared straight into Serhi’s eyes. Her golden eyes were covered with blue lenses to avoid drawing attention.
“Dummy. Wyah.”
“What?”
Guru puffed her cheeks.
Guru knew everything. The quest had popped up like this:
[Caregiver Quest]
[Caregiver ‘Serhi’ is worried because a friend is in trouble. Let’s help the caregiver work through their concerns!]
[Reward: 5,000 Filial Piety Points]
Grinning, Guru gripped Serhi’s hand tighter.
'No choice. If he still won’t be honest, Gwuu just hasta hewp a wittow bit.'
“Gwuu got somedin’ she wanna do. Seh-seh-sew Oppaw hasta hewp.”
“No. You’re just trying to go rescue him again, aren’t you? I told you to leave him alone.”
“Nu-uh. Not dat.”
'Shake shake.'
“Then what?”
Guru pulled out three chick drones, each the size of her tiny fist.
“Pwomotion.”
“Fucking idiot.”
That single line Serhi muttered kept echoing through Taemin’s mind as he changed clothes.
'Fucking Serhi. Even when I try to be nice, he always acts like an ass...'
Taemin yanked his belt on a little too harshly.
'You don’t know anything.'
After pulling out his twin swords from inventory, he forced down the words rising in his throat.
Entering the dungeon, Taemin focused on the staff filming him live, on Chabu chattering away for the camera, and on Choi Hyeonwoo grinning and waving beside him.
Choi Hyeonwoo.
A relative on Taemin’s mother’s side—the one who kept him from being sent to an orphanage.
“Hyeonwoo, no matter how pitiful he is, you can’t ruin your marriage prospects raising a child that isn’t even yours. You understand, right?”
An E-Rank, just a porter, yet Choi Hyeonwoo never let go of Taemin.
“I told you he’s doing fine! I’m not just scraping by—I’m saving up, okay? Can you not? He’ll hear you.”
Even those hushed whispers, trying not to let Taemin hear, had choked him up.
That was back when he’d wipe away tears with the back of his hand.
“Hyung... I Awakened...!”
God, how happy he’d been.
He wanted to be someone Hyeonwoo ★ Novelight ★ could lean on. The joy of no longer being an obstacle to his hyung’s future made him take on reckless challenges.
And Hyeonwoo had been so proud of him. Seeing his brother beaming with pride always gave Taemin strength.
He’d wanted to do more and more for him.
Eventually, Choi Hyeonwoo created a guild just for Taemin. And Taemin proudly became its face.
But running a guild wasn’t easy—especially for an E-Rank porter.
Even if his hyung was overworking himself for the guild, it didn’t matter. Not if it helped.
'Yeah. Just like hyung said, it’s for our future. I just need to endure a little longer.'
As he reaffirmed his resolve, the ground of the ash-gray field—blanketed in volcanic ash—began to rumble.
Rumble rumble rumble—
Boom!
Boom!
Two massive hands slammed into the earth as something rose up from below.
[Pyroclasto (AA)]
The boss of the volcanic ash dungeon. A spirit born from molten cinders.
Its long, ash-covered body twisted upward with a grotesque wail.
"GRRAAAAAAARGH!"

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