Regression Guidelines For the Supporting Character

I felt nauseated, like something was stuck in my gut.
No, seriously—what kind of scumbag am I?

It wasn’t even a love confession, but thinking about the Seed’s progression while some kid was telling me I was special?
Still… it’s a good opportunity.
Honestly, even after hearing everything Cha Sahyeon said, I still wasn’t sure what I’d supposedly done so well. I wasn’t exactly a great guardian or anything.

But I understood what he meant by “first.” Because I’d experienced it too.
Even if I hadn’t done anything grand, if he saw me as a benefactor—if he wanted to treat me with that kind of gratitude...
Wouldn’t it be a waste not to use that?

I quietly looked down at Cha Sahyeon, who was still nuzzling his face against my palm. All he needed were ears and a tail to complete the puppy look.
“……”
Every time the Seed nearly progressed until now, I’d managed to suppress it with hugs and praise.

How was this any different? The only thing that had changed was his size.
In the end, it was still my responsibility to do whatever it took to keep Cha Sahyeon from awakening as the Catastrophe.
After organizing the chaos in my mind, I asked,

“So. What’s your point?”
“Huh?”
“I get that I’m important to you. So what is it you actually want?”

I pulled my hand away as I continued.
“You didn’t bring all this up just to say I’m special. You clearly wanted something—that’s why you explained so much.”
“Ah…”

“If it really was just to clear up my misunderstanding, then sorry.”
Cha Sahyeon stood up straight, looked around nervously, and finally answered.
“There’s… nothing.”
“Don’t ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) give me that shit.”

Now he was lying with a straight face? At least learn how to hide your expression if you’re gonna lie.
I stared at him in disbelief. Apparently even he couldn’t deny it, because he opened his mouth again.
“Well… the kiss—”

“Yeah, that’s enough.”
I turned around before he could finish.
“Let’s drop this pointless conversation and go.”

“Ah, hyung!”
Kissing? Really?
I could maybe stomach a hug if I braced myself, but this?

Cha Sahyeon chased after me in a panic, his voice full of protest.
“You could at least give me a kiss!”
“A ‘kiss,’ huh? Have you even kissed anyone before?”

“No! Who else would I kiss besides you? Just imagining rubbing lips with some other bastard is disgusting—it gives me the creeps.”
“You’ve never done it, and yet you’re demanding one like it’s your right?”
I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“No way. I’m not into kissing guys.”
The bigger issue wasn’t even his gender—it was that I was used to seeing him as a kid.
Honestly, if kissing really would stop the Seed’s progression, I’d do it as many times as necessary…

But for now, I didn’t want to allow it.
Kissing Cha Sahyeon? I’d rather delay that for as long as humanly possible—until I absolutely had no other choice.
“What’s gender got to do with it?”

“Maybe nothing to some people. But it does to me.”
Saying it out loud left a weird taste in my mouth.
Cha Sahyeon had always been touchy-feely, but I never imagined he’d go as far as wanting a kiss.

Sure, there had been guys who came at me sexually before. But I never expected Cha Sahyeon to end up in that list.
This wasn’t just about gender—it was a moral issue. I was his guardian.
A kid begging his guardian for a kiss out of sexual desire?

Well, if you wanted to get technical, he’d lived hundreds of lives and was probably way older than me mentally. Still, as a guardian…
Did I raise him wrong?
Maybe hugging him every time he was upset wasn’t the best strategy after all?

I only did it because the Seed was at stake, but if this was the result, maybe I needed to reflect on it.
Hyung Sunghyun never had to deal with this kind of shit...
I guess I really wasn’t cut out to be a proper guardian. Sighing, I turned and gave Cha Sahyeon a warning.

“Enough. We’re going back to where we left off, so put your mask back on. No time to dawdle anymore.”
“Okay…”
Cha Sahyeon’s shoulders slumped at my sharp tone, but he obediently conjured a mask from shadow and put it on.

***
When we emerged from the dungeon, the portal that had been red before was now glowing blue.
The entrance portal gradually changes from orange to red as the chance of a dungeon break increases—so if it had turned blue again...

That means the break’s been resolved.
The reason was obvious.
The flower—the “source of energy” we pulled from the dungeon. So it was definitely the cause of the dungeon break.

From the front gate of the Royal Palace rift to King Seohwa’s rampage, and now this.
Wait.
Come to think of it, the rift in Uidong wasn’t normal either.
Could that one have also been the cult’s doing?

I needed to look into it properly. As soon as morning came, I had to go straight to Circle Guild and confront the fake.
Grinding my teeth, I walked over to where the three S-ranks were still unconscious.
That’s when I saw it—standing by their heads, where the giant monster had once loomed, was a familiar figure.

“You…”
A swirling cloud of particles had formed the shape of a small child. In the spot that was probably its head, faint red eyes gleamed—unlike before, when they had been bright green.
So that green glow was from the flower, too?

Just like when it entered my dream to wake me up, the monster had shrunk its form. Its presence was weak—probably only A-rank at this point.
This all but confirmed my theory:
The “source of energy” triggered the break and forcibly enraged the monster that had otherwise stayed dormant.

I didn’t sense any hostility, so I slowly approached. The monster handed me something—a flower with yellow leaves.
After staring at me for a moment longer, it dissolved into fine particles. It shifted into a spherical shape, eyes at the center, and floated off toward the dungeon entrance.
Holding the flower, I watched it disappear and suddenly realized something.

Did it come into my dream to wake me… because I was the only one who could help it?
Seeing that Cha Sahyeon—who resisted the mind-type skill—was only sticking close to me, maybe the monster thought I was the solution.
I thought of the place where the flower had been planted. That peaceful, quiet burial ground that didn’t feel like it belonged inside a dungeon.

If that had been the monster’s hiding place, then maybe… It wasn’t such a dangerous being after all.
“Ugh…”
As soon as the monster left, the three unconscious S-ranks groaned and furrowed their brows. The mind-type skill must’ve ended.

“Vice-Guildmaster, are you awake?”
I tapped Ryu Sunghyun’s chest gently to wake him. A jealous glare stabbed into my back. The source was obvious—Cha Sahyeon.
Now that I know, it’s so obvious.

If it were anyone else acting like that, I’d have noticed it immediately. But since it was Cha Sahyeon, I never even considered it.
Cut it out, you brat.
Ignoring his stare completely, I called Ryu Sunghyun’s name—and finally, his eyes opened.

“Where…?”
“You were hit with a mind-type skill. Do you remember?”
“Ah!”

Ryu Sunghyun shot upright. Kwon Taehyuk and Eun Woojeong sat up right after, both clutching their heads and looking around.
“What happened? That monster we saw before we passed out, and the dungeon break—”
“Hmm…”

I rolled my eyes at Kwon Taehyuk’s question.
All I did was enter the dungeon, pull out the flower, and that was it. But explaining that meant I’d have to talk about the ‘source of energy,’ the cultists, and everything else.
Sunghyun hyung had experienced the incident on the snowy mountain, so he’d understand to some extent. But that had been with “Cha Seohu,” not “Cover.”

Dumping all that info right now, in this situation, wasn’t a smart move. There was no telling how Kwon Taehyuk and Eun Woojeong would react.
I judged the situation and casually shrugged.
“I handled it.”

“What?”
“Oh, and the dungeon break’s over. There are no more monsters outside either, so you don’t need to worry.”
“What did you say?”

Kwon Taehyuk looked shocked, his lips parting. His finger trembled as he pointed at me.
“You handled it—alone? That monster was stronger than S-rank!”
“Yes.”

“That’s impossible. I saw you get hit by the mind-type skill first, clear as day.”
“For some reason, I woke up right away. Not sure why myself. Ah, and I didn’t do it completely alone. I had some help.”
I motioned casually toward Cha Sahyeon, who was just standing there blankly.

They’d been unconscious the whole time, so they had no clue what really happened. Even if my explanation was half-assed, what could they do? They didn’t have any proof.
“No way…”
Kwon Taehyuk looked around, confirming again and again that the monster was gone, then slumped his head in disbelief.

“Unbelievable…”
“……”
I narrowed my eyes at his reaction.

What’s so unbelievable, huh? Why is it such a shock that I handled the monster?
Just how much of a joke did you think I was until now?