RG 68

As the clock approached 7 p.m., the sky, once red with the sunset, began to darken rapidly.

The Circle Guild members, who had been anxiously pacing around the waiting room or peering out into the hallway, turned their attention to Ryu Seonghyeon.

“There’s still no contact, right?”

“Bro, what do we do?” Kim Suho asked with a worried expression, but Ryu Seonghyeon had no clear answer either. In truth, he was also struggling to suppress his own anxiousness. Time was slipping away mercilessly, and they had no means to contact the person they needed the most right now.

About ten more minutes passed, and the outside was completely enveloped in darkness. Just as Ryu Seonghyeon was looking up at the full moon that had risen in the clear, cloudless sky, a visitor arrived at the waiting room.

“Guildmaster, you’re here?” Han Go-eun, who had been watching the Circle Guild members with a worried expression, quickly approached Kwon Taehyeok, who had entered the waiting room.

Kwon Taehyeok gave a simple nod as a greeting and then turned to Ryu Seonghyeon, who had followed behind. “Is everything going well with the preparations?”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

If not for the support of Han Go-eun, an A-class Support from Yesung, the atmosphere here would be much worse. Ryu Seonghyeon spoke sincerely and offered Kwon Taehyeok a drink that had been prepared in one corner of the waiting room. Kwon Taehyeok accepted it without refusal, took a sip, and then glanced around the room before speaking again.

“And that person?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m talking about Cover. Has he arrived yet?” With Han Go-eun standing beside him, Kwon Taehyeok added another remark, “I heard he hasn’t even participated in the practice.”

Ryu Seonghyeon was at a loss for words in response to the straightforward question and could only muster an awkward smile. Kwon Taehyeok raised an eyebrow, sensing the answer without needing to hear it.

“So, no one has contacted you either?”

“Well…”

“Ha, what on earth is he doing?” Kwon Taehyeok clicked his tongue in disbelief. Ryu Seonghyeon, unable to disagree, found himself inwardly sympathizing with him at that moment.

A calm voice suddenly interrupted their conversation, “It’s because I don’t have a phone.”

“…!”

Startled, they looked up to see a tall man walking leisurely toward the waiting room from the opposite side of the hallway. It was Cover, the person Ryu Seonghyeon had been waiting for so desperately.

There were so many questions—why had he only just arrived, why hadn’t he reached out even once—but upon seeing Cover, all Ryu Seonghyeon felt was relief.

“Cov—” Just as Ryu Seonghyeon was about to call out to him, he noticed the mask on Cover’s face and shuddered. 

Kwon Taehyeok, who had previously faced Cover in a ranking match, frowned instead of greeting him and voiced his displeasure, “Why are you wearing that ridiculous thing again?” Noticing Kwon Taehyeok’s disdain, Cover touched his mask and replied indifferently.

“I don’t want to wear it either, but there are so many eyes on me. Hats just fall off during fights, so what choice do I have?”

“I don’t understand why you go to such lengths to hide that supposedly great face of yours.”

“…It seems your manner of speaking has gotten more petty since last time. Anyway, I take it you’re here just to watch?”

“Yes. I also have something to say to you.”

“To me? Hmm, I don’t have time right now. Let’s talk after the competition.”

While Ryu Seonghyeon was still flustered, Kwon Taehyeok and Cover conversed as if they were familiar with each other. To an outsider, they might have seemed like acquaintances.

The atmosphere was such that Ryu Seonghyeon felt he couldn’t easily join in, so he hesitated, looking between the two. Just then, a bright voice called out from behind, “Ah! Is that Hunter Cover?” It was Han Go-eun, who had come out after hearing the commotion at the entrance to the waiting room. Seeing Cover, she exclaimed with wide eyes, and the Circle Guild members, who had been going about their tasks, all turned their attention to the entrance.

“No way, it’s really Cover?”

“Cover’s here? Wow, look at that mask. It must really be him.”

“Can you really recognize him just by the mask?”

“There can’t be that many people walking around with a mask like that…”

“That’s true.”

“Wow, I honestly thought he wasn’t going to show up.”

As the guild members whispered to each other, their eyes sparkling as they looked in his direction, Ryu Seonghyeon felt a bit embarrassed.

Cover, observing Ryu Seonghyeon and the guild members through the open door, raised his hand and gave a casual wave. “Hello. Sorry for being late.” It was a surprisingly normal greeting, delivered in a much more friendly and soft tone than the indifferent attitude he had shown just moments before. “Are you Hunter Han Go-eun? I heard you’re a Support from the Yesung Guild. I look forward to working with you today.” He even politely offered a handshake to Han Go-eun, who was practically a special guest.

“Yes, I look forward to working with you too!” Han Go-eun smiled brightly as she shook the delicate, white hand extended to her.

Kwon Taehyeok, who had been watching Cover shake hands with his guild member with his arms crossed and a displeased expression, said again, “So.”

“Hmm?”

“What exactly are you planning to do? I heard you skipped all the practice sessions. With only about 40 minutes left until the start, it’s hardly enough time to even check your equipment.”

“You seem to have heard a lot.” Cover let out a small laugh and turned to Ryu Seonghyeon. “Vicemaster, catch this.” Cover pulled something out of his inventory and tossed it to him. 

Reflexively catching the dark object flying toward him, Ryu Seonghyeon soon realized it was a pair of leather gloves.

“These are…”

“I noticed you didn’t have a specific item you use, so I prepared these.” Hearing this, Ryu Seonghyeon’s eyes widened as he looked down at the gloves. Cover continued his explanation, leaving Ryu Seonghyeon frozen in shock at the unexpected gift, “It’s an item that assists with using intangible skills. If you wear those while using your skills, it’ll help you form shapes more quickly. It should be useful for your materialization skills, Vicemaster.”

The gloves emitted a strong aura. As a Hunter who had seen many items, Ryu Seonghyeon immediately recognized that these were A-class items. Intangible skill-assist items were notoriously difficult to obtain and were known for their high price. Ryu Seonghyeon himself had once looked into acquiring one and was well aware of the cost. But an A-class item?

Ryu Seonghyeon, who had turned pale, quickly shook his head. “I-I can’t accept something like this.”

“Why not?”

His confident response left Ryu Seonghyeon completely bewildered. “…I appreciate the thought, but this is too much. Just having you here as a mercenary is more than enough.”

“Enough, you say?” Cover laughed again, but this time it was closer to a scoff. “Who says it’s enough?” His laughter quickly faded as he tilted his head slowly. “If you don’t use that, you’ll lose.”

“…”

“Sorry, but I don’t want to lose. I’m not the kind of person who’s satisfied just by showing up. I’m not suggesting anything illegal, just offering you some equipment.”

“No matter how you put it, this is still too much…”

“If it really bothers you, then return it after you’ve used it. Think of it as a loan, not a gift. Is that better?”

Cover’s firm response left Ryu Seonghyeon at a loss for words. As he stood there, unsure of what to do with the gloves in his hand, a Circle Guild member hesitantly spoke up from behind him, “Um, but… can we really win? We haven’t had a chance to practice together, so I’m a bit worried…”

Cover answered without hesitation, cutting off the guild member’s anxious question, “We can win.” There was a confident assurance in his clear voice, leaving no room for doubt. “Because we have the vicemaster.”

“…What?” Ryu Seonghyeon blinked in confusion. Was Cover really referring to him as the “vicemaster”?

Cover looked directly at the dazed Ryu Seonghyeon and reaffirmed his statement as if to drive the point home. “As long as we have you, we can win.”

“…”

“Of course, I’ll need to help you out with a few things to make that happen.” Cover added in a playful tone, then glanced at the clock on the wall of the waiting room before gently placing a hand on Ryu Seonghyeon’s shoulder. “If you don’t mind, could we have a quick chat in private?”

“Right now?”

“It’ll only take about 10 minutes.”

It was 7:30 p.m., so 10 minutes wouldn’t be a big deal. Plus, they needed to wrap up the matter of the gloves Cover had given him.

After a brief moment of consideration, Ryu Seonghyeon nodded. Seeing this, Cover removed his hand from Ryu Seonghyeon’s shoulder and led the way out. Kwon Taehyeok watched the two of them walk down the hallway with a curious expression.

“I’m surprised. Hunter Cover is much kinder than I expected.”

“…”

“Guildmaster?” Han Go-eun, finding it odd that Kwon Taehyeok was silently staring after the two, asked him, “Is something wrong?”

“It just feels… like I’ve seen this before somewhere…”

There was something familiar about the way Cover interacted with Ryu Seonghyeon. As Kwon Taehyeok wracked his brain trying to recall where he’d seen it, someone came to mind.

‘Cha Seohu…’

The way Cover was taking care of Ryu Seonghyeon with such concern reminded him of Cha Seohu. Thinking this, Kwon Taehyeok let out a sigh. Of all people, comparing the free-spirited Cover to Cha Seohu? It was an absurd thought.

“…Forget it.”