Regression Guidelines for the Supporting Character

Chapter 22

It was at that moment when Ryu Sunghyun froze in place, shocked by the intense killing intent that seemed unbelievable coming from such a small frame.

“Hyung!”

A guild member who had followed him grabbed his shoulder with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong? Why are you like this?”

“…Nothing.”

Ryu Sunghyun, barely regaining his senses, looked at the guild member and then turned his gaze back to the child.

But the child had already turned away from him and was resting their forehead on the shoulder of the man holding them. The killing intent had completely vanished.

It felt like a dream. As Ryu Sunghyun stood dazed, the guild member pulled his arm.

“The Yeseong Guild leader is calling for you. Seems like there’s something to discuss.”

After hesitating for a moment, looking back and forth between the man and the guild members, Ryu Sunghyun finally followed the guild member.

As he walked towards where Kwon Tae-hyuk was, he saw representatives from each guild who had arrived before him. As the last to arrive, Ryu Sunghyun was met with simultaneous glances from the representatives. Among them, one hunter with a particularly annoyed expression twisted his lips when his eyes met Ryu Sunghyun’s.

“Now that everyone’s here, we’ll begin our discussion.”

Kwon Tae-hyuk, confirming Ryu Sunghyun’s arrival, began speaking as he looked around at the gathered representatives.

“As you’ve all probably noticed, the number of monsters discovered inside is much higher than previous records. So we’re here to establish countermeasures.”

“Has the cause not been identified yet?”

“This is the first time we’ve encountered such a situation, and without a dungeon expert, it’s difficult to make an accurate analysis.”

“This is troublesome. If the number of monsters fluctuates like this, everyone’s fatigue levels will be considerable.”

“It’s fortunate that it’s a B-rank and not a long dungeon, but still…”

The representatives all expressed concern about the dungeon’s changes.

Even though the dungeon rank wasn’t high, a small mistake could cost lives, so as leaders, they couldn’t help but be sensitive to the situation.

Their reaction was relatively mild only because they were dealing with Yeseong Guild, the number one guild in the country. If it had been a raid team from a guild of similar standing, the protests would have been stronger.

Although they knew it wasn’t the organizer’s fault, they were secretly setting up someone to blame in case the problem escalated.

“With myself and the Circle Vice Guild Leader present, clearing shouldn’t be an issue.”

Kwon Tae-hyuk calmly responded, pretending not to notice the representatives’ intentions.

After all, it was true that the raid had become more dangerous than planned, and he was willing to take responsibility for that. There was no need to painfully point it out.

Right now, it was more important to gather opinions on how to safely clear the dungeon.

“We’ll maintain the overall positions, but the Circle Vice Guild Leader and I will take the lead. If we handle as many as possible at the front, it should lessen the burden on the other hunters. Hunter Ryu Sunghyun, do you agree?”

When Kwon Tae-hyuk asked him, Ryu Sunghyun nodded and said,

“I’m fine with that. But I’d like to request longer rest periods. The other DPS hunters at the front line are struggling a lot.”

“Of course, that’s understandable…”

“You want to increase rest time?”

A sharp voice interrupted the conversation between Kwon Tae-hyuk and Ryu Sunghyun.

It was the same hunter who had sneered at Ryu Sunghyun earlier. The man stood with one leg crossed, smirking.

“The speed is already slow because of the increased number of monsters, and now you want to extend rest times too?”

“…No matter what, we can’t force exhausted DPS hunters to maintain speed.”

“Really? Our guild members don’t seem to be struggling much. Hunter Ryu Sunghyun, is it only your guild members who are having a hard time?”

Ryu Sunghyun, who had been trying to respond without emotion even to the blatant provocation, narrowed his eyes, unable to refute this statement.

“Even if it’s a B-rank dungeon, how can you bring low-ranked guild members to a raid team with other guilds participating?”

“…”

“If you want to use low-ranked guild members, you should go to a guild-owned dungeon.”

Knowing full well that Circle Guild was too small to own a dungeon, the man deliberately brought up this point. Ryu Sunghyun could only press his lips together in response.

Watching this scene, the other hunters wore uncomfortable expressions but didn’t readily take Ryu Sunghyun’s side. They too wanted to reduce clearing time rather than extend rest periods, as they weren’t struggling as much as Circle Guild.

As Kwon Tae-hyuk was about to sigh and mediate the tense atmosphere and Ryu Sunghyun’s silent endurance of humiliation, suddenly—

“How about this, everyone? Rather than reducing rest time, why don’t we tighten the schedule and—”

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

The hunter who had been excitedly speaking, sensing the atmosphere shifting in his favor, suddenly fell forward with a striking sound.

“Hello, everyone?”

The representatives, who had involuntarily flinched at the sight of the falling hunter, looked up at the bright voice that followed.

Beneath the flowing jet-black hair, pale skin stood in stark contrast.

A gentle smile appeared on the handsome face that seemed to brighten the gloomy dungeon in an instant.

Both Kwon Tae-hyuk and Ryu Sunghyun were surprised by the man’s appearance. Ryu Sunghyun, in particular, couldn’t help but be shocked to encounter in this way the person he had failed to greet earlier.

“I’ve been asking you to move aside for a while now, but you kept ignoring me. So I had no choice but to push you a liiiittle bit roughly.”

At those nonchalant words, the other representatives’ gazes shifted from the man to the fallen hunter.

‘A little roughly…?’

‘He practically kicked the man’s back…’

The hunter, who had suddenly found himself sprawled on the floor in front of everyone, flushed red with shame and jumped up, shouting.

“What the fuck? Who the hell are you to…!”

“Guild Leader Ronic.”

As Kwon Tae-hyuk frowned at the blatant curse and tried to intervene, the man responded even faster.

“Me? I’m a guild representative.”

“What?”

“I said, I’m a guild representative. Isn’t this a meeting for guild representatives? I don’t understand why I was left out.”

The man smiled brightly at Kwon Tae-hyuk. Only then did Kwon Tae-hyuk remember that, although there were only two of them, he was indeed a proper guild leader. He inwardly clicked his tongue.

“A guild representative?”

The man introduced himself to Guild Leader Ronic, who was glaring at him with suspicious eyes.

“Yes. I’m Cha Seo-hu, representative of One Guild. B-rank, and my position is supporter.”

“B-rank?”

“Getting kicked by a supporter…”

Other representatives started whispering upon hearing Cha Seo-hu’s words. Guild Leader Ronic’s face turned even redder as he seemed to grasp the situation.

“Anyway, I’m quite interested in the conversation you were just having.”

Completely ignoring Guild Leader Ronic glaring at him, Cha Seo-hu addressed Kwon Tae-hyuk and Ryu Sunghyun.

“I agree with increasing the clearing speed. It’s burdensome to stay in such a gloomy dungeon for more than three days, isn’t it?”

“…Hunter Cha Seo-hu. We appreciate your input, but we can’t decide on speed for such reasons. Some hunters will struggle to keep up and…”

“What if we could replenish the energy of those struggling hunters?”

Cha Seo-hu interrupted Kwon Tae-hyuk with a refreshing smile.

“Circle Vice Guild Leader. You said your guild members are struggling, right? Wouldn’t it be easier if they had a supporter with them?”

“Well, that’s…”

Circle Guild had been having a hard time without a supporter. But it wasn’t easy to readily accept help from an unfamiliar stranger.

While Ryu Sunghyun hesitated, Cha Seo-hu made the decision on his own.

“I’ll help the Circle Guild members. The other guilds said they don’t have anyone struggling, so this solves the problem.”

“It will be difficult for a single B-rank supporter to handle four people.”

“Even if it’s difficult, it has to be done, right? It’s not like I’ll be suffering alone.”

At this nonchalant reply, Kwon Tae-hyuk turned to Ryu Sunghyun with a wry look.

“Do you agree, Hunter Ryu Sunghyun?”

“…Alright.”

“Problem solved then. I look forward to working with you during the dungeon raid, Circle Vice Guild Leader.”

Amidst the ambiguous atmosphere, Cha Seo-hu alone smiled brightly and confidently offered a handshake to Ryu Sunghyun. Looking down at the neat hand extended to him with an awkward expression, Ryu Sunghyun reluctantly shook it.

“Yes, I look forward to working with you too.”

He had wanted to greet him earlier out of gratitude, but he never imagined they’d end up working together like this.

‘Is he trying to forcibly repay the debt because I helped him last time?’

If that was the case, it felt even more burdensome.

But since it was already decided, it would be ridiculous to refuse now, saying it wasn’t necessary. It was a fact that only Circle Guild was struggling to keep up with the pace.

‘If only our guild had a bit more strength… No, if we just had one officially affiliated supporter…’

It was a thought that crossed his mind every time he faced a similar situation. Ryu Sunghyun bit his lip, trying to swallow his frustration.

[Main Quest: Successfully clear a B-rank or higher dungeon with the villain. (Time remaining: 4 days 1 hour 12 minutes)]