The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 18. Guild Office (2)
“Well, it’s a decent property, but… it’s cramped, crowded, and outrageously expensive.”
At Song Jihoo’s comment that a Grade-A Zone—the kind every guild in Korea dreamed of occupying—was cramped and crowded, Yoon Youngsu’s finger froze mid-air.
“Surely you understand that a smaller space is inevitable when you rent in an expensive area. At the same price, wouldn’t a larger, more flexible location be preferable?”
“However, a guild office also serves as a public face. Simply having a foothold near the Hunter Association makes a difference in sponsorships and operational efficiency…”
It made sense that other guilds paid premium rent for offices near the Hunter Association building. Location alone elevated a guild’s prestige.
But this man seemed utterly indifferent to such considerations.
Just as Yoon Youngsu was about to say something, Song Jihoo dragged his finger across the map.
He moved away from Gangnam, where the Hunter Association stood, and swiped toward the outskirts of Seoul. Then he stopped at a point marked by no landmarks whatsoever.
“Can we acquire this area?”
Yoon Youngsu adjusted his glasses and peered at the map. His brow deepened into a furrow.
The location Song Jihoo had indicated was near the old Gasan Digital Complex—now classified as a redevelopment zone, effectively a slum.
“Ah… honestly, sir, this isn’t appropriate for a guild office. The environment is poor, infrastructure is nonexistent, and the security situation is quite serious.”
“Let’s go see it. Direct observation will be faster.”
At Song Jihoo’s words, Yoon Youngsu fell silent.
His gaze drifted naturally toward Eun Seojin, but he was staring out the window without comment.
Yoon Youngsu forced his uneasy expression into composure and turned the car around.
***
The moment they stepped out of the car, damp air greeted them.
Gone was the bustling energy of Gangnam; instead, the sound of peeling paint and the cries of stray cats filled the air.
Shuttered storefronts with rust-stained metal gates of unclear vintage, empty lots choked with weeds, crumbling buildings—human presence was sparse.
The few pedestrians they passed, upon recognizing them as Hunters, merely lowered their heads and quickened their pace. No one lingered here by choice.
“…Is this the right location?”
Yoon Youngsu brushed mud from his shoes, his expression growing uncomfortable.
His elite composure visibly wavered. No matter which way he looked, this was nothing but a crumbling ruin.
Eun Seojin, too, instinctively remained vigilant, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
“Hmm… which one was it again…?”
Song Jihoo walked with casual ease, as though taking a stroll through a neighborhood he’d known for years.
He assessed the condition of buildings, gauged the area of empty lots by eye, and committed the width and direction of alleys to memory.
“Here it is.”
Finally, he stopped before a building. A five-story, dilapidated commercial structure.
All ground-floor storefronts had their shutters down; upper-floor windows were shattered. By any measure, it was abandoned.
The Mana Concentration Phenomenon.
A natural occurrence that appeared intermittently after Gates emerged—regions where atmospheric Mana concentration rose abnormally high.
The cause remained unknown, but one thing was certain: a Hunter trained in a Mana-concentrated zone showed efficiency several times greater than one trained elsewhere.
Because of this, such areas fell under state management once discovered, and surrounding land values skyrocketed.
‘In a few months, this vicinity will become the most expensive land in South Korea—no, in the entire world. Who could have guessed?’
Song Jihoo, having looked up at the building, turned back to Yoon Youngsu.
“This place.”
“With the amount we’d spend on an office in that Grade-A Zone, could we purchase this building, the surrounding buildings, and the nearby land as well?”
Yoon Youngsu, who had been staring blankly at Song Jihoo, began tapping his tablet.
Public land values, actual transaction prices, current listings—after reviewing the numbers, Yoon Youngsu gave a small nod.
“It’s possible. In fact, we’d have money left over. The property owners are desperate to divest; they’re dumping everything at fire-sale prices. Add in what the government has already purchased, and with our allocated budget, we could own this entire block.”
At that, Song Jihoo nodded with satisfaction.
“Excellent. Then, with this building as the center, acquire as much land and property as possible. This will be Zero Point’s headquarters.”
“…Pardon?”
Yoon Youngsu repeated the word, bewildered.
They came to find a single guild office, and now he suddenly wanted to purchase this entire district?
“But… Hunter Song, regardless, a guild’s standing…”
“As much as possible. Include my personal loans if needed. Focus the acquisition on land rather than buildings.”
Eun Seojin, having surveyed the surroundings, slowly spoke.
“…Why here?”
He agreed, but this was pure curiosity.
Since this would be the headquarters of the guild he was joining, he wanted to understand the reasoning.
“No interference, quiet, and perfect for training, wouldn’t you say?”
Song Jihoo glanced around once more. Empty streets. Open space.
Silence without noise, without eyes, without intrusion.
Yet even this tranquility was only a brief glimpse of what was to come.
“In the end, people will flock wherever I am. Location means nothing.”
It was a statement that might sound arrogant to the ear, yet undeniably true.
If there exists in the world a single place where Mental Contamination can be healed, hunters from across the globe would seek it out without hesitation — whether it lay in a muddy field or a garbage dump.
“Understood. I’ll compile the acquisition proposal by tomorrow and report back.”
Yoon Youngsu added the bulk land purchase to his task list even as his expression betrayed incomprehension.
‘What could he possibly have seen in this ramshackle slum… even if we set up offices in the heart of Gangnam….’
Yet inwardly, he could do nothing but tilt his head in confusion.
“I’ll also look into the personal loan for Song Jihoo as you mentioned.”
“Same here. Thank you.”
At that, Eun Seojin turned his gaze toward Yoon Youngsu.
“You as well, Eun Seojin?”
“If the guild master has chosen it.”
Song Jihoo nodded and checked his watch.
“I’m counting on you for the acquisition. We have dungeon preparations tomorrow.”
“Understood. I’ll proceed accordingly.”
That was Yoon Youngsu’s way.
Whether he understood or not, he finished his assigned tasks cleanly.
***
The next day, at the C-Grade Gate known as the Twilight Underground Tomb.
Unlike before, this was a straightforward extermination dungeon.
The underground tomb had no special clear conditions, no traps, no intricate boss mechanics — just a linear structure where clearing required eliminating a set number of Undead monsters that inhabited the space.
There was only one reason for choosing such a place.
‘Mental Connection. I need to test it in actual combat.’
He had to grasp the true capabilities and limits of his new skill before relying on it in real battle.
Upon arriving at the Gate, three other hunters assigned to the party were already waiting.
“S-Song Jihoo, is it really you?!”
The first to rush over was a female hunter in her early twenties, her eyes shining brightly with excitement.
“It’s an honor! I’m so grateful to be running this with you!”
“I saw everything on the community forums! The Mental Contamination really does decrease, right?”
“The story about you clearing that B-Grade Gate — our guild chat went absolutely wild!”
The other two bowed their heads repeatedly in greeting.
Their eyes were filled with reverence. Running a dungeon with Song Jihoo had begun to rival winning the lottery among hunters — a privilege beyond measure.
“Thank you. I look forward to working with you.”
Song Jihoo accepted their greetings with calm composure.
Eun Seojin stood half a step behind, one hand resting on the hilt of his Dual Swords with an expressionless face, and the hunters’ eyes wavered once more.
“Then let’s enter.”
The blue light of the Gate swallowed the party whole.
***
Inside the dungeon, the air was cold and damp.
The reek of mold and rotting flesh assaulted their nostrils. The floor was coated in some unknown viscous substance, and each footfall produced a nauseating squelch.
“Mental Barrier.”
Song Jihoo raised his hand lightly, and a soft silver barrier enveloped the entire party.
“Whoa… is this…”
“It’s incredible. It’s like your mind becomes clearer, if you know what I mean….”
The hunters’ expressions brightened noticeably.
Though the debuff was minor for a C-Grade dungeon, the difference was unmistakable.
“Eun Seojin, wait a moment.”
“Yes.”
As Eun Seojin stopped, Song Jihoo approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
‘Mental Connection’
Hum—
The moment it activated, the world unfurled one layer deeper. Simultaneously, Song Jihoo’s temples began to throb as if crying out in pain.
“Hngh….”
Eun Seojin’s vision overlapped with his own. The sensation of a transparent monitor flashing into existence.
The darkness of the left corridor that Eun Seojin was observing flowed vividly into Song Jihoo’s mind.
But that was not all.
The tactile sensations, auditory information, and countless other sensory data that Eun Seojin perceived — vast, ineffable information that words could never convey — came flooding in like waves.
Eun Seojin’s eyes widened as well.
“What is this… exactly?”
“Hold on. Mental Detection.”
As he activated the skill, the information Song Jihoo’s ability read was transmitted to Eun Seojin without filtration.
Enemy locations, numbers, movement vectors. Information detailed enough to map the entire battlefield with his eyes closed.
“This is….”
Eun Seojin trailed off, unable to find words. He’d never heard of a skill like this, let alone seen one.
Two yet one—a strange sensation, as if they stood apart while their backs pressed together, a steadiness that defied separation.
“Revolutionary,” he murmured.
“It’s a new skill I picked up. Let’s test it,” Song Jihoo said.
Eun Seojin nodded in agreement.
The moment he drew the Dual Swords, a sharp chill rippled across the blades.
“I’m engaging.”
Whoosh—!
Eun Seojin’s form blurred. Using the Frost Step, he collapsed the hundred-meter distance in a heartbeat and cleaved through the frontmost rank of the Undead column.
“Wow… truly S-rank….”
Normally, hunting Undead meant dismembering them piece by piece, searching for the core, then destroying it shard by shard.
But just before Eun Seojin could swing again, Song Jihoo’s information seeped into his mind.
‘Between the third and fourth ribs on the left.’
Not words—something closer to instinct rendered as pure image.
Eun Seojin’s blade twisted mid-arc.
Instead of bisecting the body, his edge found the exact weakness Song Jihoo had transmitted.
Crack—!
The core shattered. The Undead dissolved in a single stroke.
“Ah…! Truly S-rank! The core destroyed in one blow….”
The second came next. The weakness Song Jihoo sensed flowed into Eun Seojin’s blade with perfect precision.
The third. The fourth.
Not a word was spoken between them, yet their coordination exceeded anything born of mere training.
“Wait—isn’t Song Jihoo a Mental-type supporter?”
A hunter trailing behind spoke up, bewilderment coloring his voice.
“Well, yes—that’s what everyone thought, but… seems the rumors floating around online were true after all.”
“So he can fight and lead orders both?”
The other hunters exchanged shrugs. There was no denying what unfolded before their eyes.
“Is he using telepathy or something? He doesn’t say a word, yet their attacks align perfectly every single time.”
“…Did we really need to come?”
The Undead horde was being swept away at an abnormal pace.
With S-rank combat power augmented by information sharing, the monsters of a Grade-C Zone were little more than paper dolls.
“Ugh….”
Song Jihoo read the battlefield through Mental Detection, channeling information endlessly to Eun Seojin.
Enemy positions, weaknesses, movement patterns.
‘Good. Better than I expected.’
Satisfied with the effect of the Connection, Song Jihoo moved toward the next corridor. That’s when it struck.
Zing—
His skull blazed with a sharp, searing pain.
“Ugh….”
He maintained the Connection while absorbing Eun Seojin’s sensory data, simultaneously reading the battlefield with Mental Detection, all while fighting himself.
His temples throbbed as if ready to burst under the strain of processing three streams of information at once.
‘Hnn…!’
Warmth trickled from his nose, and his vision swam.
An Undead lunged from behind the corner, its claws raking toward Song Jihoo’s shoulder, but Eun Seojin split it clean in half before impact.
Snap—!
“Don’t overexert yourself,” Eun Seojin’s voice reached him through the Connection, sharp with concern.
Song Jihoo wiped away the nosebleed and grinned.
“I’m just not used to processing multiple streams yet. I’m fine. I’ll adapt.”
Eun Seojin doubted it would be that simple, but Song Jihoo was already recalibrating.
“Mm… if I adjust it like this, it should work better.”
During combat, he reduced the Connection’s bandwidth—like turning down the volume on a speaker.
“There. Much easier now.”
By ten minutes, simultaneous processing had become natural. By twenty, his skill flowed as if he’d wielded it from the start.
‘Adapting to a brand-new skill during actual combat, mid-fight no less….’
Eun Seojin shuddered. Any hunter worth their salt understood how difficult that truly was.
Mastering new techniques in combat usually took weeks, sometimes months—and only in the safety of a training room.
‘This man truly is….’
Eun Seojin’s gaze lingered on Song Jihoo’s silhouette.
From their first meeting, he’d sensed it: Song Jihoo’s capacity for adaptation far transcended the ordinary human realm.
The 7th-Cycle Regressor Collects Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Publication Date
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: ACIS Media Co., Ltd.
Editor-in-Chief
: ACIS Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by ACIS Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder,
and no part of its contents may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260709064

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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