The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 5
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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 5
“I’ll handle them. Get the wounded out of here first.”
Choi Yu-ra spoke tersely before swinging the chain.
Whoooooosh!
Shhhhhhh!
The chain’s destructive power was brutal.
“Screech!”
“Kyaaaagh!”
The monsters melted away like ketchup.
With each swing of the chain, she ensnared and pulverized three creatures simultaneously—it was so devastatingly satisfying to watch.
‘That’s a true dealer.’
My eyes grew distant as I watched Choi Yu-ra.
That overwhelming offensive power—the way she swept through enemies with such ferocity—was exactly what I’d yearned for in my previous life.
Because I’d awakened to a non-combat class in my past life, I’d never once experienced the thrill of obliterating enemies like that.
Non-combat hunters’ attack skills were nearly useless against monsters of 3-star rank or higher, so I’d never even dared to dream of such carnage.
I could only watch dealers like Choi Yu-ra sweep through the enemies while I quietly did my part.
“Cough! Cough cough!”
The Security Guard’s coughing pierced my ears.
I snapped back to attention and moved toward him.
“Stay conscious. Keep your eyes open. Understand?”
He nodded weakly.
“I’m going to stop the bleeding and apply potions now. You won’t die, so don’t worry. I’ll get you out of here no matter what—just grit your teeth and hold on. Got it?”
I kept talking to him to prevent him from losing consciousness while pulling medical supplies from the first aid kit.
I put on medical latex gloves and disinfected his wounds with hydrogen peroxide.
Then I poured a solution made from refined monster blood and a vitality recovery potion crafted from the essence of plants that inhabited the dungeons within the gate, accelerating the rapid healing of his external injuries.
Finally, I stitched the wound closed and helped him up.
Huh?
His eyes slowly closed.
I tapped his cheeks repeatedly to jolt him awake.
“You can’t lose consciousness. Stay with me. We’re almost there.”
“Ugh…”
“You bastard! Do you want to die here? What’s your name?”
“Ugh…”
“I said, what’s your name?”
“Kim… Doo… hyun…”
“Doo what?”
“Doo-hyun…”
“Right, Doo-hyun. Open your mouth. Say ‘ah’.”
“But…”
“…?”
“How old are you… and you’ve been speaking informally this whole time….”
This guy’s ridiculous.
Does age really matter right now?
“I’m thirty-four.”
Wait, wasn’t I twenty-four at this point in time?
Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.
“Speak… informally.”
“….”
I stared at him for a moment, then grabbed his jaw and forced his mouth open.
“Ah, come on. Ah.”
“Ah.”
“Swallow. It’s an antibiotic.”
I shoved the pill deep down his throat and poured a vitality potion after it.
I gave him the antibiotic because of the risk of infection.
Fortunately, monsters didn’t carry novel viruses, but they were essentially walking colonies of bacteria.
Even if I could treat the external wounds somehow, people often died from bacterial infections or sepsis, so administering antibiotics was a necessity, not an option.
“Ugh!”
He struggled, but his survival instinct was strong enough that he forced the antibiotic and potion down his throat.
“Cough.”
I let out a chuckle.
Kim Doo-hyun, was it?
I had to admit—his survival instinct was as sharp as his fighting spirit.
“Are you coming to your senses?”
“Yes, I feel better.”
Thanks to the vitality potion, his complexion had improved noticeably.
Just moments ago, he’d been slipping into unconsciousness.
“Now that you’re lucid, get up. Come on.”
“Thank you.”
He grabbed my outstretched hand and pulled himself up.
He seemed dizzy from blood loss, but a transfusion was impossible in this situation, so he’d have to bear it.
“You fight well, and you’re skilled with first aid too. Are you active duty?”
Choi Yu-ra, who had already swept away all the monsters, approached me and asked.
“No, I’m a civilian.”
I smiled and answered.
Meeting my savior again after so long felt genuinely good.
And since she’d saved me not once but twice, I felt deeply grateful.
“Isn’t your tone a bit short for someone who saved your life? And you seem younger than me too.”
Choi Yu-ra spoke in a cold voice.
You’re the one who started speaking informally first.
“I’m thirty-four. How old are you?”
“….”
Choi Yu-ra closed her mouth.
* * *
It had been touch and go, but I could say without exaggeration that things were proceeding according to plan so far.
I’d saved a couple living in the same apartment building who’d never once crossed paths, and I’d kept Kim Doo-hyun alive too, though truthfully that wasn’t particularly important.
What mattered was meeting Choi Yu-ra.
Would I have come home knowing a Gate Transition would occur if I were insane?
Choi Yu-ra was the most crucial puzzle piece in recreating a situation as similar as possible to when I’d awakened my hunter powers.
Of course, I could have induced my awakening in a different location through different means, but that would have been far too risky.
Whether I could predict variables or not.
Whether I could control the situation to some degree or not—that was the difference between heaven and earth.
After finally returning to the past, I had no intention of dying pathetically without even experiencing my awakening.
If I collapsed the moment I awakened, I’d be so bitter I wouldn’t even be able to close my eyes.
“The bombardment will start soon. Move quickly.”
“Understood.”
Kim Doo-hyun supported the injured man and followed Choi Yu-ra.
“Dear, is that lady the one we’re thinking of?”
“I think so.”
“My goodness. How can such a young and beautiful lady be so strong?”
“She must be a hunter.”
I could hear the couple whispering about Choi Yu-ra.
Choi Yu-ra was classified as roughly a fourth-generation hunter—not a ranker, but she belonged to the tier of hunters whose names were reasonably well-known.
Beyond her strength, her distinctive decadent charm, the unique tattoos covering her entire body, and her impressive callsign [Bloody Mary] had all contributed significantly to her fame, or so I remembered.
“We’re almost there. Everyone, just hold on a bit longer.”
Whoooosh!
Choi Yu-ra swung the chains wrapped around both her hands, carving a path forward without hesitation.
When we were about fifty meters away from exiting the Gate Transition Site.
This is too fast.
“Wait.”
I called Choi Yu-ra to a stop.
“Let’s rest for a moment before we go.”
“Why? Are you exhausted?”
“A little?”
I’d deliberately moved slowly, but Choi Yu-ra’s pace was too quick.
“Endure it.”
Choi Yu-ra spoke in a stern voice.
“I told you. The bombardment will start soon.”
“About that….”
Whoooosh!
Choi Yu-ra’s chain flew toward me and tore open the ground right in front of my feet.
“If you don’t want to die, move.”
“….”
“Hurry.”
Geez, what a temperament.
‘Moving too quickly will only make things more dangerous. Sigh.’
The problem was that I had no way to stop Choi Yu-ra’s advance in my current state.
It would have been the same before I returned to the past.
Choi Yu-ra was a dealer, and I was a supporter with virtually no offensive skills.
‘Should I just point a gun at her?’
I was quietly raising my gun to aim at Choi Yu-ra when suddenly a chain flew at me.
What the—
“…!”
Whoooosh!
Before I could even react, the chain grazed past my temple.
I was too startled to even ask how she knew.
Was Choi Yu-ra really that skilled?
I’d only meant to aim at her as a threat, yet she could sense killing intent to that degree?
“Come out while I’m being nice. Before I tear you apart.”
“…?”
“Not you.”
Choi Yu-ra signaled with her chin for me to move aside.
As I instinctively stepped back, the grass rustled, and figures wearing frog masks began crawling out one by one.
The frog masks they wore were of Pepe the Frog, a rather famous character—Joker Pepe, Sad Pepe, Angry Pepe, Laughing Pepe, and so on.
Various frogs emerged from the grass and surrounded us.
Each one wore a different expression.
“Why, isn’t breaking into empty houses enough for you anymore? You disgusting Recka bastards?”
Choi Yu-ra smiled coldly.
Recka.
A new breed of criminals that began appearing about eight to nine years before this point in time.
Their primary habitat was the urban landscape.
When idle, they’d park motorcycles and eavesdrop on military and police radio frequencies, hack CCTV systems, or launch drones to observe Gate Transition Sites.
And when a transition occurred?
They’d immediately ride their motorcycles to the area, looting empty houses or committing all manner of crimes—murder, rape, arson.
For example, their typical method was to assault and threaten victims, extort their valuables, or transfer money through proxy bank accounts.
Modern-day bandits created by the times, you might say.
Hyenas dwelling in the forest of buildings—that was the most fitting description for these Recka scum.
“Kekeke!”
The one wearing the Joker Pepe mask flashed a sinister grin.
“Look at this bitch talking big about being 4-star rank.”
“Bitch?”
“That’s right, you bitch.”
Joker Pepe cackled.
“Do we look like small-time thugs to you? You think a little thing like you should be scared? Guhehehehe!”
“Kyahahaha!”
The frogs brimmed with confidence.
And this Recka gang had every reason to feel that way.
They weren’t a group of unawakened rabble.
Out of nearly ten frogs, seventeen or eighteen of them were Awakened—a formidable force by any measure.
Even if Choi Yu-ra was a 4-star Hunter, she couldn’t guarantee her survival against odds like these.
And my assessment wasn’t mere speculation—it was born from experience.
In my past life, Choi Yu-ra had suffered fatal wounds severe enough to bring her to death’s door.
If I hadn’t carried her and fled after Awakening, she would have been reduced to ash alongside the corpses of the Recka gang members she’d killed when the bombardment came.
A sinister smile crept across Choi Yu-ra’s lips.
“This is fun.”
Choi Yu-ra advanced toward the frogs.
“Fine, good. If that’s what you want, I’ll oblige.”
“Huh? Oblige? With what?”
“I’ll cut yours off and shove it down your throat….”
Bang!
“Argh!”
A gunshot rang out, and one of the frogs went flying.
“Who the hell is it!”
It’s me, obviously.
“Aaaah!”
“You crazy bastard!”
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!
My answer came in the form of full-auto carbine fire.
“Get down and run!”
Kim Doo-hyun shouted, dragging her behind a nearby boulder to take cover.
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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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