Regression Guidelines For the Supporting Character-Chapter 29

"Oh my God, Guildmaster!"

"All four of them came back alive!"

The raid team, who had been waiting for us in the empty boss room, greeted us with shocked faces as we returned, looking a bit battered.

Behind the Yesung Guild member who rushed over first, the Circle Guild members also came running, almost tripping over themselves.

"Hyung!"

"Are you all okay?"

"Cha Seohu Hunter, are you hurt anywhere? And your sister?"

"We’re fine."

Hearing not just Ryu Sunghyun but also the other Circle Guild members checking up on me filled my chest with warmth.

"But seriously, what happened out there?"

Kim Suho, sneaking glances at Kwon Taehyuk talking with the Yesung Guild members, lowered his voice and asked me.

"There were a ton of monsters, and even an ogre. Did you guys really take them all down?"

"Well..."

Ryu Sunghyun, flashing a slightly awkward smile, briefly glanced at me. Then he answered with a completely calm face.

"We took down the ogre. The other monsters must have run off, we didn’t see them.

Cha Seohu Hunter was hiding in a room until we arrived."

Hearing that, I was a little surprised inside.

Ryu Sunghyun, who had received my support skill twice, had surely realized I was S-rank.

And yet he was willing to hide my true ability even from his own guildmates.

"Wow, I see."

"Seriously, that’s such a relief. There were so many monsters, it was really dangerous. Cha Seohu Hunter, make sure you get checked and treated after leaving the dungeon, okay? Even if you feel fine now, aftereffects can show up later."

"I will. Thanks for worrying about me."

I couldn't help but smile at Yoo Harin’s earnest concern, a deep sense of nostalgia welling up inside me.

It felt almost like I had gone back to before regression.

"The exit portal has opened! Please go through two at a time!"

A Yesung Guild member up ahead announced that the portal had activated.

Finally, finally I could leave this hellhole of a dungeon.

Blinking back hot tears, I looked down.

Still clinging to my waist under the excuse of helping me walk, Cha Sahyeon wore her usual blank expression.

'I really need to reconsider bringing her into dungeons from now on.'

I couldn’t keep running into situations like this.

Besides, it was dangerous to attract unnecessary attention to me and Cha Sahyeon.

"Um, Cha Seohu Hunter."

As we lined up to exit through the portal, Kim Suho quietly approached me.

"I wasn’t sure if I should say anything, but I figured you should know."

"Yeah?"

"The Ronik Guild."

Watching the Ronik Guild members stepping through the portal, Kim Suho lowered his voice even further.

"Actually... before you came to the room, it was the Ronik Guild members who closed the door."

"Ahh."

Well, that was expected.

I already knew they were selfish bastards.

I was planning to run elsewhere anyway, so it didn’t really matter if they shut the door.

It wasn’t shocking news, but I nodded lightly.

"I see."

"But after you came back unharmed, the mood over at the Ronik Guild got really weird."

"Weird?"

"I don’t know why exactly. Maybe they're embarrassed.

But it’s definitely not a good vibe."

"......."

I stared at Kim Suho for a moment.

With his tousled brown hair, he gave off a puppy-like impression — but despite his looks, he was surprisingly sharp.

Maybe it was because he had three older sisters and was the youngest in the guild?

Anyway, if it was Kim Suho telling me, it was worth trusting.

"Thanks for telling me."

"Hehe, I doubt they’ll pick a fight openly. But still, I thought you should know. Sorry if it made you uncomfortable."

"No, really. Thank you.

I’m not exactly on good terms with the Ronik Guild anyway."

Kim Suho grinned awkwardly, a bit embarrassed by my genuine thanks.

'The Ronik Guild, huh...'

It was kind of him to warn me, but honestly, I wasn’t too concerned.

Even if I had had a few unpleasant run-ins with Ronik Guild before, it wasn't to the point where they'd seriously bear a grudge.

Besides, Ronik was a pretty big guild.

There was no way they'd waste energy obsessing over a tiny newborn guild like ours.

'The real problem is the Circle Guild.'

I turned my head and looked at the Circle Guild members and Ryu Sunghyun following behind.

Ronik Guild was always trying to mess with Ryu Sunghyun and the Circle Guild.

Before regression, I had occasionally intervened, but now there was no one to do that — it was only going to get worse.

I would have to figure out some countermeasures.

'Stopping the Catastrophe... is for the sake of people like them and their happiness.'

***

The moment we stepped out of the portal, a loud notification rang in my ears.

Ding!

《Main Quest: Successfully clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain — Clear!》

《Main Quest Clear Rewards granted.》

《Trait Level Up!》

《Soaked Cat (F-rank) → Soaked Cat (E-rank)》

"......."

You've got to be kidding me.

After all that hell, all that suffering, the reward is... a trait level-up?

And not even a useful trait — just the dumb Soaked Cat trait?

And barely upgraded to E-rank?

My body trembled in silent fury as I stared at the status window.

Cha Sahyeon, still holding onto my waist, looked up with a worried expression.

"Are you... are you hurt again?"

"......Yeah. My heart hurts."

God, I needed a cigarette.

I had quit for the kid's sake, but if not cigarettes, then at least booze...

"Cha Seohu Hunter."

As I struggled to figure out how to calm this raging feeling, a familiar voice called out to me.

Turning my head, I saw Kwon Taehyuk approaching, his secretary trailing behind.

'Ah, I know that secretary.'

It was the same secretary I’d met during the last ranking match.

They must have come to greet us after hearing the dungeon had been cleared.

"You worked hard today."

"Huh? Oh, uh, thank you."

What’s with the sudden kindness?

Caught off guard, I smiled awkwardly as Kwon Taehyuk immediately continued.

"Are you heading to rest now?"

"I should."

"If you don’t mind, would you like to come to our guild?

Since you were among those most affected by the dungeon shift, we’d like to offer compensation and treatment."

Compensation and treatment?

I smirked slightly.

'He must have a lot he wants to ask me.'

It made sense.

Kwon Taehyuk had seen firsthand my not-at-all B-rank support skills and my strange behavior during the monster attack.

After clearing up his suspicions, he would definitely start trying to recruit me.

S-rank supporters were rare — even the mighty Yesung Guild lacked enough.

It was only natural he would make a move.

"I’m sorry.

I’m still not feeling well, and both my sister and I are a bit traumatized from the experience.

We really need to rest."

I had no intention of following him back right away.

Especially since I hadn’t yet come up with a good enough excuse to satisfy Kwon Taehyuk’s sharp instincts.

"I understand."

As if he had expected my refusal, Kwon Taehyuk nodded calmly.

The secretary beside him stepped forward and handed me something.

"Then we’ll formally invite you at a later date."

"Huh? Invite? No, I—"

"This is my business card.

If you have anything to discuss regarding today's incident, please contact the number listed."

Before I could even properly refuse, Kwon Taehyuk shoved the card into my hand and turned away.

Left standing there holding the card, I finally looked down.

'Wait... is this his personal number?'

The sleek black card simply had "Kwon Taehyuk" and a phone number on it — nothing else.

Clearly not an official guild card.

That bastard... he’s seriously putting effort into this.

Not exactly the kind of heartfelt sincerity I wanted from a man, but whatever.

With a sour face, I tucked the card away inside my jacket.

I would have loved to crumple it and throw it out, but there were too many eyes around.

'I'll deal with Kwon Taehyuk later.'

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I reached out and ruffled Cha Sahyeon’s head, the kid who had quietly waited by my side the whole time.

"Thanks for waiting."

"......."

"Let’s go home. I’m dead tired."

Through the mess of black hair, those bright green eyes gleamed, unable to hide their happiness.

Chuckling softly, I took her hand as we began walking away.

I briefly thought about going over to say goodbye to the Circle Guild members... but in the end, decided against it.

I had only gotten involved with them this time ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ because of the Ronik Guild.

The dungeon was over —

Now it was time to go back to my own path.