RG 23

“Kid.”

As soon as the meeting ended, I ran straight to where the Circle Guild members were gathered and called the child. Cha Sahyeon, who had remained standing exactly where I left him, immediately turned around toward the call.

“Oh, little one. Your brother is back.”

“Looks pretty mad no matter how you see it. Why isn’t the kid saying a word?”

The Circle Guild members who had taken care of Cha Sahyeon in my absence during the meeting rushed to me, exchanging conversations while looking at the child in my arms with curious eyes.

Ryu Seonghyeon, who belatedly learned that I had entrusted Cha Sahyeon to his guild members, wore a bewildered expression. Well, why not? In dangerous places like this, people are supposed to help each other.

I patted Cha Sahyeon’s back as he nestled in my arms and spoke, “You probably heard the conversation, but starting now until the end of the raid, I, Cha Seohu, will be acting as your support. If you find it tough, just let me know since replenishing energy is my skill.”

“Haha, sure. I’m counting on you.”

“Today might be manageable, but it seems like it’ll be tough from tomorrow onwards. Having a support with us will make things easier.”

“We’re counting on you!”

Go Taeseong, Yu Harin, and Kim Suho greeted me in order as guild members of Circle. Go Taeseong and Yu Harin were B-class, while Kim Suho was a C-class DPS Hunter.

Before my regression, five of us—the three people who often accompanied Ryu Seonghyeon, including me—used to gather like this when there was a need to go into dungeons. 

‘And we ended up coming back together like this.’

I turned my head towards Ryu Seonghyeon with a wry smile. Ryu Seonghyeon, who was cautioning his members not to overuse skills just because a support appeared, remained just as stern as before my regression.

As I gazed at Ryu Seonghyeon, I felt a gaze on the back of my head as if someone was trying to bore a hole through it. Sure enough, the Guildmaster of Ronic and his guild members were glaring at us blatantly.

Ronic Guild. Even before my regression, they were a guild that persistently harassed the Circle Guild.

Not to mention Guildmaster Choi Jonghun, most of the guild members under him would grumble and complain as if the Circle Guild had robbed them. Among them, the most harassed individual was none other than Ryu Seonghyeon, and the reason was trivial. It was because Ryu Seonghyeon had rejected Ronic Guild’s scout proposal.

It seemed quite irksome that one of the few S-class Hunters in the country had rejected their proposal and joined a weaker guild like Circle.

At first, Ryu Seonghyeon did express some objections and even ignored Ronic Guild, but the more he did, the more persistent the harassment became.

So, Ryu Seonghyeon had now reached a point where he had somewhat given up. After all, the Ronic Guild was a guild of such scale that it couldn’t be compared to the Circle Guild.

‘Maybe because I often fought with Ronic Guild in Seonghyeon’s stead before the regression, I unknowingly got involved.’

Well, there was no helping it now that the spilled water had already flowed.

Ultimately, it wasn’t a bad result for me either. I couldn’t afford to delay the progress of the raid for the sake of the Circle Guild.

[Main Quest: Successfully conquer a dungeon of B-class or higher with the antagonist. (Remaining time: 4 days 1 hour 6 minutes)]

‘The time it takes to clear this dungeon is about three days. I can’t afford any further delays here to succeed in the quest.’

Since it had come to this, I needed to take care of the Circle Guild as much as possible, build up Ryu Seonghyeon’s favorability, and successfully complete the quest.

***

Kyiiik! Kyaek! Kiik!

A monster with an appearance resembling a praying mantis collapsed with a thud, pierced through by a shining golden spear.

Kwagak!

The monsters that followed suit were all swept away by the pouring light from the spear. Dozens of spears made the monsters crumble into nothingness, disappearing with a wave of Ryu Seonghyeon’s hand.

“Whew…”

S-class light manifestation skill.

Ryu Seonghyeon, who dealt with monsters with tough skin in one go, slowly exhaled. The number of monsters appearing was still substantial. If anything, the deeper we went, the more it seemed to increase.

Ryu Seonghyeon, who had been fighting at the forefront all day in the ongoing battle for hours, couldn’t help but feel a bit tired.

“We’ll take a short break here.”

Kwon Taehyeok, showing signs of fatigue like Ryu Seonghyeon, declared a break. Hunters, upon hearing this, either took a break or received care from the supports.

However, unlike other Hunters, Ryu Seonghyeon merely wiped the blood splattered on his skin without seeking out a support.

It was clear he had something on his mind.

Even though we were now cooperating, he probably wouldn’t want to ask for help first. Despite his gentle and seemingly relaxed demeanor, he had endlessly built walls against strangers.

‘It’s frustrating every time this happens.’

Having entrusted Cha Sahyeon to the Circle Guild members again, I confidently approached Ryu Seonghyeon. “Give me your hand.”

He narrowed his eyes slightly but soon awkwardly smiled and lowered his head. “It’s okay. You can do it from tomorrow.”

“No, it has to be done now. If you miss this break time, you’ll have to fight without sleep for at least five hours. Can you endure that?”

“I can endure. Thanks for your concern.”

Ryu Seonghyeon’s persistent refusal made me feel a bit down.

If it were before the regression… He would have smoothly offered his hand with a charming smile. The image from back then and the one now overlapped, creating a complex emotion that couldn’t be easily explained.

“Vicemaster, I know it might be embarrassing, but isn’t this a situation where you shouldn’t just keep refusing?”

“Rather than embarrassing…”

“As you can see, the Guildmaster of Yesung is receiving energy recovery from his support. If both of you have to fight side by side at the front, it’ll be burdensome for him if you can’t fulfill your role.”

“…” Ryu Seonghyeon’s eyes shook slightly upon hearing my words.

‘Oh no.’

Driven by my anxious feelings, my words came out harsher than intended. I debated internally whether I should apologize now or later, but Ryu Seonghyeon spoke first, “You’re right. I’ve been stubborn for no reason.”

“No, um…”

“I’m stained with blood and messy, if you’re okay with it…” Ryu Seonghyeon carefully extended his hand after wiping it several times with a towel. Somehow, the considerate gesture he showed until the end made me feel a bit melancholic.

‘This is why…’

I liked him. We follow and take care of each other like family. He always thought of others first, so I felt that I needed to take care of him too.

Now, I won’t always be able to help him by his side like before. With a bittersweet feeling, I slowly held his hand.

Clang!

“…!”

《Skill: Guardian’s Bond (Class S) activated!》

《Primary Skill damage increases. (Target: Ryu Seonghyeon) (Duration: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》

《Base Speed increases. (Target: Ryu Seonghyeon) (Duration: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》

《Stability Effect applied. (Target: Ryu Seonghyeon) (Duration: 4 minutes 59 seconds)》

At the point where our skins touched, a brief flash of white light occurred, and Ryu Seonghyeon’s energy was replenished at an incredible speed.

Seeing his energy, which had been nearly depleted, fill up in an instant, Ryu Seonghyeon widened his eyes in surprise.

“This is…”

Looking at our clasped hands in astonishment, Ryu Seonghyeon raised his head and met my gaze. I, too, realized that the power was much stronger than I had expected.

[Primary Skill: Guardian’s Bond (Class S)]

Replenishes the opponent’s energy through physical contact while enhancing existing stats. (Buff duration: 05:00)

ㄴ Buff: Primary Skill damage increase

ㄴ Buff: Base Speed increase

ㄴ Buff: Stability Effect

During the previous quest, my primary skill had upgraded from B-class to S-class. So, I decided to experiment with it this time.

‘Even if it’s an S-class, can energy recover this quickly with just holding hands?’

It put me in a bit of a dilemma. I quickly withdrew my hand with an awkward smile towards Ryu Seonghyeon, who was still standing with a dazed expression. “Haha, how was it? Useful, right?”

“Huh? Uh…”

“Well, then, please come find me when you need it again.” I gave a bright smile as I hurriedly said goodbye before Ryu Seonghyeon could ask anything. Fortunately, he still seemed to be captivated by the rapid recovery of his energy and didn’t grab hold of me while lost in thought.

It seemed like I would have to minimize physical contact as much as possible when using the skill in the future. Maybe just touch with a finger for energy recovery.

***

After replenishing his energy, Ryu Seonghyeon flew around in much better condition than before.

As a result, other Hunters started casting glances around me. They were those who had been pretending not to watch the scene where I restored Ryu Seonghyeon’s energy.

It was a natural outcome since the supports who could replenish energy were limited. While I explicitly declared that I would only help the Circle Guild, most didn’t come openly, but there were always those bold enough to approach.

In that short time, rumors seemed to have spread that I was a decent support. Ronic Guild members kept subtly closing in. Especially those who looked down on the Circle Guild; they couldn’t resist approaching whenever there was an opening.

‘I can’t let them do that.’

I didn’t have the slightest desire to use my newly upgraded S-class skill on those guys.

I approached the only person who seemed to be cautiously observing and, feigning exhaustion, leaned on him as if I had run out of strength. “Oh, I overexerted myself a bit and got dizzy…”

“…”

Kwon Taehyeok, who reflexively embraced my swaying body, raised one eyebrow.

[Main Quest: Successfully conquer a dungeon of B-class or higher with the antagonist. (Remaining time: 3 days 11 hours 57 minutes)]