The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 17

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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 17
I called Lim Captain.
“Are you following me?”
“Yes.”
“You said the contract would be terminated if surveillance, tailing, or wiretapping were discovered. Did you forget?”
“I’m aware.”
“Then why…?”
“Eun-sung, we’re not conducting surveillance or tailing. We’re providing protection.”
“Protection?”
“You’ve been designated as a special protection target, so we have no choice but to provide close-range security.”
Ugh.
So because getting caught doing it secretly would void the contract, they’re just going to openly stalk me instead?
“I understand what you’re saying, but I’m fine without it.”
“I apologize. It’s the Minister’s direct order, so we have no choice either. We’ll do our best to minimize any inconvenience.”
“…”
Frustration surged through me, but I couldn’t very well take it out on the innocent Lim Captain.
‘Did I really need to sign this contract?’
For a moment, the thought crossed my mind that operating as an unregistered awakener would have been better.
But I had my reasons for seeking out the Defense Strategy Department myself, so I decided to accept this minor inconvenience.
Nothing in this world is perfect.
Where there are advantages, there are always disadvantages.
I’d need to discuss this matter separately with the Minister later.
Since it was past rush hour, traffic wasn’t bad, and I arrived at Sindorim Station quickly.
Choi Yu-ra was sitting on the hood of a Lamborghini, waiting for me.
“What are those shabby things?”
Choi Yu-ra glanced at Lim Captain’s unit following behind me and asked.
“My stalkers.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“Surveillance masquerading as protection.”
“You’re something else.”
Choi Yu-ra shook her head in disbelief.
“Isn’t that just going to be exhausting?”
Choi Yu-ra was a hunter who operated independently without a contract with the Defense Strategy Department, so she looked uncomfortable with the situation.
Of course, she would have registered as an awakener.
“And you’re not even an unregistered awakener.”
“Fair point.”
“Just ignore them and focus on what we need to do.”
“Will do. Let’s go.”
Choi Yu-ra started walking.
I headed toward Technomart with Choi Yu-ra, the landmark that once defined Sindorim Station in the past.
The building had long since become an eyesore—a derelict structure—and before it loitered hunters of every conceivable variety.
The reason was simple.
Technomart was now a sprawling shopping complex for hunters.
Why?
Because Gates came in different varieties.
One-time, transient, fixed, rotating—and more.
Technomart housed dozens of fixed Gates crammed densely into a single building, forming a cluster.
No wonder hunters loitered about.
“Where should we take our 1-star newbie?”
“The 8th Floor.”
“That’s going to be a headache, isn’t it?”
Choi Yu-ra furrowed her brow.
The 8th Floor housed only a single Gate.
That Gate led to a dungeon called the Cursed Fortress—and despite being a 3-star dungeon, its conquest difficulty was notoriously treacherous, a place even veteran hunters avoided.
But the returns were guaranteed.
With luck, one could hit the jackpot.
“I don’t care.”
“Hmm.”
“What, getting cold feet?”
“Hardly.”
Choi Yu-ra snorted dismissively.
“Then let’s go.”
“Right.”
Upon reaching the 8th Floor, I saw a space warped and distorted.
“Eun-sung! Eun-sung!”
Behind me, Lim Captain’s urgent voice rang out.
“Yes?”
“Surely you’re not planning to enter here?”
“As you can see.”
“It’s dangerous. This is one of the most perilous 3-star dungeons. And you haven’t even completed basic training yet.”
“That’s why I brought a bus driver along.”
I gestured toward Choi Yu-ra and smiled at Lim Captain.
“Choi Yu-ra is certainly formidable, but….”
Lim Captain’s anxiety was palpable.
Well.
From the Defense Strategy Department’s perspective, Choi Yu-ra would be viewed as a person of concern.
And that was the truth.
“It’s fine. We’ve grown rather close, after all.”
“Even so, this is far too dangerous.”
“Yes, yes.”
I casually responded while methodically donning my gear.
What’s so remarkable about a Hunter willingly crawling into danger?
That’s just the nature of a Hunter’s life—like a moth drawn to flame.
“Well then, I’m heading in. Let’s go.”
“I’ll enter first.”
“Of course you should.”
I waited about three seconds before stepping through the Gate.
“We’re coming too.”
“Yes, sir.”
Apparently deciding they had no choice, Lim Captain and five soldiers followed us in.
* * *
【Cursed Fortress】
★★★
NO. 331721
The notification window that materialized before me didn’t require my attention.
The number 331721 was equally irrelevant.
Dungeons connected to fixed Gates generate infinite duplicates—identical except for the entrance.
In other words, that number is merely the unique identifier for one of countless dungeons.
Unless I intended to summon external Awakeners through HunterLink, there was no need to concern myself with it now.
The dungeon connected to the Gate on the 8th Floor of Technomart at Sindorim Station—the [Cursed Fortress]—begins in a vast meadow.
A sunset stained blood-red.
Dark shadows cast by dimly shrouded vegetation.
A chill in the air, not from cold but from something far more sinister.
The atmosphere was desolate, like a late autumn evening in medieval Europe.
“Bonding first.”
The moment we entered the dungeon, we synchronized our ether around Choi Yu-ra as the focal point.
We called it bonding—essentially the formation of a party.
“What are you doing? Come on.”
“I’m coming, I’m coming.”
Choi Yu-ra, who had been waiting, urged me forward.
That temperament of hers never ceased to amaze me.
I couldn’t fathom why her personality was always so impatient.
We moved toward the massive fortress visible in the distance.
I wished we’d brought a motorcycle, but the true challenge of the [Cursed Fortress] lay in the battles fought within the fortress itself, so transportation wasn’t necessary.
“Grab your shotguns.”
“Confirmed.”
I picked up my shotgun at Choi Yu-ra’s command.
Lim Captain and the five soldiers also readied their shotguns as if they’d been waiting, their eyes sweeping the surroundings vigilantly.
Soon, the assault began.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
With an unpleasant fluttering of wings, a swarm of blood-red bats descended upon us.
We simply called them vampire bats, but they were creatures of an entirely different caliber than ordinary bloodsuckers.
A bite from them induced paralysis and uncontrolled hemorrhaging.
After just three or four bites, the entire body would be paralyzed, and you’d be devoured alive by hundreds of the creatures.
Moreover, their small size and incredible flight speed made them extraordinarily difficult to combat.
This was precisely when a shotgun proved invaluable.
Buckshot—tiny steel pellets scattered in a spray—was remarkably effective against the vampire bats’ weak defenses.
Of course, having a mage would make this far easier.
Click!
I was chambering a round and reaching for the trigger when Lim Captain’s unit formed a protective circle around me, turned outward, and opened fire on the vampire bats.
“Huh?”
Caught slightly off guard, I decided to observe the situation.
Lim Captain’s unit moved with exceptional tactical precision.
Maintaining formation was absolutely critical when facing vampire bats.
If we descended into chaos, we’d risk shooting our own allies instead of the creatures.
Whoooosh!
Meanwhile, Choi Yu-ra wielded chains like a spinning windmill, grinding the vampire bats to dust as if they were caught in a blender.
Shhhhh!
The corpses of the dead bats decomposed into fine particles, then seeped into all of us like magical powder.
Ether absorbed!
Ether absorbed!
Ether absorbed!
This was the growth mechanism of Awakened ones.
All monsters, upon death, transformed into ether and dispersed, which then flowed into the surrounding Awakened ones.
We accumulated this ether within our bodies, using it as an energy resource and as a means of self-enhancement.
To use a game analogy, ether was experience points, energy resources, and stat points all in one.
By gathering ether in this manner, an Awakened one’s rank would gradually increase.
Reaching higher ranks required accumulating correspondingly larger amounts of ether.
Of course, ether had its own hierarchy.
Once you reached higher ranks, the ether from small fry like vampire bats became utterly worthless.
That’s why higher-ranked Awakened ones had to absorb ether of both greater concentration and purity, making the hunting of powerful monsters essential.
“Are you alright? Were you bitten anywhere?”
“I’m fine.”
“Thank goodness.”
Lim Captain wiped his chest in profound relief.
“There will be more combat ahead, so please stay back. We’ll handle the monsters.”
“….”
I wasn’t entirely sure who was protecting whom, but I decided to remain silent for now.
There was no point in revealing my worn hunter credentials and inviting suspicion.
“Stop chatting and regroup. More monsters will attack as we advance.”
Just as Choi Yu-ra had said, after walking a bit further, a pack of dozens of wolves lunged toward us.
I was about to draw the [Full Moon] card from the [Infinite Deck] to conserve ammunition, but Lim Captain and his team blocked me once again.
“Protect Eun-sung thoroughly!”
“Yes, sir!”
Lim Captain and his team members drew their spirit blades and began slaughtering the wolves.
Ah, that’s right.
These people were all Hunters.
“Yelp!”
“Yelp-yelp!”
Thanks to Choi Yu-ra and Lim Captain’s team stepping forward to beat down the wolves, I watched the entire battle without lifting a finger.
“All you need to do is deliver the finishing blow, Eun-sung!”
“Huh?”
“Kill that one over there!”
Lim Captain pointed to a wolf on the verge of its last breath.
So he was telling me to land the killing blow?
Feeling somewhat bewildered, I drew a Bren 2 carbine instead of my shotgun.
Bang!
The bullet pierced through the wolf’s skull.
Ether absorbed!
The wolf’s corpse transformed into ether and seeped into each of us.
And I received the greatest amount of ether.
Ether is automatically distributed among nearby Awakeners, with the characteristic that more flows to those who dealt the most damage and those who delivered the killing blow.
In other words, Lim Captain’s words meant he was going to feed me large quantities of ether.
“Eun-sung! Please handle that one too!”
“There’s one here as well!”
The team members shouted at me while pointing to the dying wolves.
“Ahahaha.”
I pulled the trigger toward the dying wolves with an awkward smile.
Each time, a relatively larger amount of ether flowed into me compared to the others.
Ah, so this is what they call being carried.

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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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