The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 50

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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 50
‘How did you get here?’
I was honestly taken aback.
Just before the dimensional rift erupted.
I’d reached out to Choi Yu-ra through HunterLink for assistance.
But after the rift actually opened, I’d abandoned all hope.
I truly hadn’t believed she could possibly traverse the sea shrouded in the Fog Maze to reach this place.
“Not going to answer? Am I your handmaiden?”
Whoooosh—!
Choi Yu-ra swung her chain without even turning her head.
Splurch!
Two sea mist entities that had been drifting about, scattering their tentacles, were shredded to pieces.
It was the caliber of skill befitting Choi Yu-ra, who ranked among the elite of four-star Hunters.
“Why are you taking it so hard? Just because I asked for help.”
“If I help you twice, I’ll probably die first.”
Choi Yu-ra spoke with exasperation.
I could guess why she was in such a foul mood.
She must have endured considerable hardship.
She’d likely brushed past death several times over.
“Once this is over, keep your promise. If you back out, I’ll really kill you.”
“Of course I will.”
Choi Yu-ra’s objective was to exact vengeance on the one who killed her former lover.
She must have been consumed by that thirst for revenge to traverse the Fog Maze—a living hell—and arrive here.
Yes, it was time I told her.
She’d come to rescue me at a critical moment, so naturally I owed her a reward.
Screeeech—!
“Hey there, little brother! How’ve you been?”
A middle-aged man riding a bicycle and speaking in a southeastern dialect greeted me familiarly.
Ugh, my eyes.
His lower half was clad in black tights made from reptilian monster hide.
His upper body wore a t-shirt, over which he’d donned a plate carrier.
And on top of that, dark sunglasses and a hood….
Kim Young-nam.
Not a bicycle enthusiast club… but rather.
The Clan Master of the Boramae Clan.
“This Kim Young-nam came to rescue our Eun-sung, little brother! Hahahaha!”
“Th-thank you so much.”
I was grateful, though I couldn’t quite understand why my face was burning.
“I rode a board for the first time in 30 years to come rescue our Eun-sung! A board!”
A bo… what?
“Lai-lai chai-chai-chai—!”
Please, please stop.
I was so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear.
“Shut up already!”
Choi Yu-ra swung her chain and let out a sharp cry.
“Stop wasting time with useless noise and get to work!”
“Yes, yes! Understood, boss!”
Kim Young-nam didn’t even dismount from his bicycle as he drew out a club-shaped spirit blade and swung it indiscriminately.
Boom!
Splurch!
The fog wraiths burst apart explosively, spraying acidic fluid everywhere.
Rank never lies.
Though his appearance and behavior were embarrassing no matter where he went, he wielded the overwhelming destructive power befitting a 5-star Hunter.
There were more reinforcements.
They appeared to be 3-star Hunters, and they seemed to be members of the Boramae Clan.
“Here we go! It’s hot!”
Whoooooosh!
A bear-like, massive Hunter unleashed a flamethrower at the fog wraiths.
Crimson flames engulfed the fog wraiths.
The other two Boramae Clan members each wielded their spirit blades, methodically dispatching the fog wraiths one by one.
Clang, clang!
Secret coins scattered across the ground.
No one paid attention to the secret coins.
Especially the veteran Hunters like Choi Yu-ra and Kim Young-nam—they kicked the secret coins aside as if they were spent shell casings.
“Gold coins?”
“So monsters drop gold coins too.”
Only a handful of clueless trainee Hunters picked up a single coin out of curiosity.
Unaware of how precious they truly were….
With Choi Yu-ra’s group joining the fray, the battle ended in swift victory.
Shing!
I swung my axe and cleaved the last remaining fog wraith in two.
But then….
Glimmer!
“…Huh?”
Something caught my eye.
A crimson crystal.
A mineral pulsing with a deep red glow, like a beating heart.
As if entranced, I picked up the red mineral and counted the facets within the crystal.
One, two, three, four, and five.
‘A 5-star again???’
This time, a 5-star Red Etherium had dropped.
* * *
The drop of a 5-star Red Etherium came as quite a shock to the seasoned hunters.
“Lucky bastard.”
Choi Yu-ra spoke in a tone that suggested she could hardly believe it.
“Silver, did you have some good dream last night? Seriously. You’re eating all the good stuff.”
Kim Young-nam pushed his sunglasses up and stared at the 5-star Red Etherium in my hand with his bare eyes.
“I’m… jealous.”
“Ugh.”
“I’ve never even won third prize in the lottery, and here you are consuming a 5-star Red. Sigh.”
Everyone marveled at it.
The value of a 5-star Red Etherium was that high.
So much so that I couldn’t openly celebrate it.
“Brother, congratulations! Today… anyway, congratulations!”
Ra Si-hyun started to say something, then caught sight of my expression and hastily changed the subject.
If word got out that I’d consumed not just a 5-star Green Etherium but also a 5-star Red Etherium… I might actually get stoned to death.
“Say…”
“Hmm?”
“Would you sell that to me?”
“If I sell it, you’ll buy it?”
“N-no, just asking. I don’t have that kind of money.”
Embarrassed, Choi Yu-ra quickly looked away.
Kim Young-nam, on the other hand, was shameless.
“Silver.”
“Yes?”
“Is installment possible? I think I could pay it back in about five years.”
“Aren’t you a man?”
“W-well, that’s…”
“Shouldn’t a man pay in full? From what I saw earlier, you look like you served in the Marines…”
“Oof.”
Kim Young-nam’s expression showed he’d taken a direct hit.
“What are you going to use it for?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
“Hmm.”
Choi Yu-ra thought for a moment before speaking.
“Just use it now.”
“Use it now?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“Carrying something like that around in a situation like this will cause trouble.”
The surroundings fell silent in an instant.
A five-star Red Ethereal Stone.
A treasure that anyone would covet.
Certainly, as Choi Yu-ra had said, carrying something like this openly was a recipe for getting stabbed in the back when you least expected it.
After all, humans are creatures who sometimes fall prey to their own greed….
I knew that.
How could I not?
I was the one who had warned Kim Seung-hye to remain suspicious until the very end.
Yet the reason I hesitated was because I couldn’t be certain how to use it for maximum efficiency.
Should I consume it directly, embed it in a weapon, or strengthen a card instead?
I still didn’t know my role class well enough, nor my profession.
‘What would be best….’
With a soft whoosh, the [Full Moon] card slipped from my deck as if it had been waiting, floating before me.
As if pleading to be chosen.
‘Alright, I’ll trust you.’
I reached out my hand.
The card came into my grasp.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I brought the five-star Red Ethereal Stone to the card.
Shhhhh!
The five-star Red Ethereal Stone seeped into the card.
Flash!
A brilliant light burst forth from the card.
[Card enhancement successful!]
Fortunately, it succeeded.
If it had failed, I would have wept tears of blood.
I reached out to examine the enhanced card.
The name of the enhanced [Full Moon] card was….
[Crimson Moon]
★★★★
Fragments of the crimson moon shall become a tempest of blood and devastation, sweeping all before it.
※ Attack power, attack speed, cutting force, and critical strike probability increase explosively.
The text inscribed on the card was extraordinary.
‘A spirit of the night….’
Beneath the crimson moon.
A man in antiquated garments gripped multiple crescent-shaped blades in his hands.
Blades as red as blood.
“All done?”
“Yeah, finished.”
I answered Choi Yu-ra’s question and placed the [Crimson Moon] card into my deck.
Though I was eager to test it immediately, I held back—we had a long road ahead.
I could always use it in the next engagement anyway.
“Let’s move.”
I shifted to the front position.
“I really envy you….”
“Tch, what a filthy world.”
“So the capable ones just keep rising. Sigh.”
Words tinged with envy and jealousy drifted from behind me.
“Did you save a nation in your past life?”
At someone’s thoughtless remark, I nearly burst out laughing despite myself.
Save a nation, they said….
I’m sorry, but it’s the opposite.
Blinded by personal vengeance, I hastened the extinction of Earth itself.
* * *
Thanks to Choi Yu-ra’s group joining us, we arrived safely at the Transport Station.
“Aaahhh! Ahhhhhhh!”
“Ugggghhh!”
The people who had been struck by the tentacles writhed in agony, groaning.
Unable to bear it, I called for Undina.
“The toxin is far too potent for me to neutralize. I’m terribly sorry, Master.”
“Don’t apologize for that.”
I understood that trauma healing and detoxification were entirely different disciplines, so I didn’t dwell on it.
“P-please, save us. It hurts so much. Ughhhh, ahhhhhhh!”
“Here, bite down on this for now. Just hold on a bit longer. We’ll get you treatment soon.”
I retrieved fentanyl lozenges from the emergency medical kit stored in the vehicle and placed them in the injured’s mouths.
The groans of the injured began to subside.
The fact that they only calmed down after the potent opioid fentanyl took effect spoke volumes about how vicious the Fog Maze Phantom’s toxin truly was.
“I’ll ride in the truck at the rear and follow. You take the lead on the bike, Eun-sung.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
I mounted the bike equipped with an etherium battery and started the engine when a minor scuffle broke out behind me.
“Who are you?”
“I’m on Eun-sung’s team.”
Ra Si-hyun answered Choi Yu-ra’s question.
“Move aside.”
“Why?”
“Why~?”
“You can just take a different bike, can’t you?”
Ra Si-hyun pointed to a bike parked nearby.
“No. I don’t feel like driving myself.”
“I can’t ride a bike.”
“Then you can ride in the truck.”
“You just need to get in the truck, unnie.”
“This is ridiculous.”
Choi Yu-ra approached Ra Si-hyun.
“You don’t know who I am?”
“I do.”
Ra Si-hyun shot back without blinking an eye.
“So what?”
“What?!”
Choi Yu-ra was taken aback.
She never imagined that some greenhorn would dare to be so bold and cheeky to her face.
I understood.
I would’ve been shocked too.
The kid had some nerve, I had to admit.
“Sigh.”
I exhaled and spoke.
“Ra Si-hyun.”
“Yes, oppa.”
“Get in the truck.”
“…Okay.”
Ra Si-hyun headed toward the truck without complaint.
“What’s with that girl? Why is she so rude? No fear at all?”
“That’s just how she is.”
“You know her?”
“First time seeing her today.”
“Then how do you talk like you know her so well?”
“That’s the impression I get.”
“Ah, fair enough.”
Choi Yu-ra nodded knowingly and climbed onto the back of my bike.
“But…”
“Hmm?”
“You still haven’t learned to ride a motorcycle?”
“W-well, that’s…”
“Learn already. I told you last time. How can you be a Hunter and not know how to ride a bike?”
“J-just shut up and let’s go!”
“Ow!”
Choi Yu-ra pinched my thigh.
‘Never giving her a ride again.’
Making a silent vow never to let Choi Yu-ra ride behind me again, I swung my arm in circular motions to signal the convoy.
Flash, flash!
The vehicles lined up behind us flashed their hazard lights twice in response.
‘Let’s go.’
I eased the throttle open gradually.
Leading the way, a procession of vehicles—motorcycles, four-wheeled ATVs, tactical trucks bristling with heavy weapons, military cargo trucks—filed out of the Transport Station in orderly succession.
No one switched on their headlights.
Engine noise was suppressed to a minimum.
In low gear, eschewing unnecessary acceleration, the entire convoy crept forward in hushed silence.
I checked the time.
Roughly five minutes remained until the tidal shift.
The seawater hadn’t fully receded yet, but it wouldn’t impede our movement significantly.
As dawn threatened to break, the thick fog that had blanketed the Fog Maze gradually began to thin.
Just as we carefully entered the Jebu Road.
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter!
Countless man-eating crabs erupted from the mudflats on both sides, surging toward us.
“Step on it―!”
At Choi Yu-ra’s cry, I wrenched the throttle wide open.
Vroooooooom!
The bike shot forward like a bullet.

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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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