The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 54

—————

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

—————

#Episode 54
Keeping my distance from someone like Wi Tae-woong would be the wisest course of action.
Eventually, I’d be used and discarded, left with a knife in my back.
But that’s only true when you don’t know the other person well.
If I maintain proper distance and exchange what we both need, there’s no harm in knowing him.
After all, I’d be connected to one of South Korea’s top five Clan Masters.
“You want my business card?”
“Yes.”
“Of course I should give it to you.”
Wi Tae-woong flashed a grin and handed me a business card made of pure gold.
“I’m Wi Tae-woong. As you might know, I’m the Master of the Abyss Clan.”
“I’m Cha Eun-sung.”
“You’re a wise young man.”
As I smiled and accepted the card, Wi Tae-woong’s grin widened, clearly pleased.
“At your age, I wasted my life devoted to serving the nation and its people. Ha ha!”
Wi Tae-woong had served as a special forces operator before growing disillusioned with poor treatment and leaving the military.
In many ways, he stood in direct opposition to my father and Instructor Kim Sang-eung.
“We’re in the same boat.”
“Hmm?”
“I’m here because I signed a contract with the Defense Strategy Department.”
“Ah, I see what you mean.”
Wi Tae-woong nodded knowingly.
Enrolling in the Special Armed Forces Training Institute meant I’d completed hunter registration with the Defense Strategy Department and signed an official contract.
“How long is your contract?”
“I can’t disclose that. There’s a confidentiality clause in the contract.”
“Ha ha ha! I like that. Your refusal is sharp and clean—I really appreciate it.”
Wi Tae-woong seemed delighted, grinning continuously.
“So you won’t tell me what you just consumed either.”
“Obviously not.”
“Fair enough. Contact me anytime—the sooner the better. By the way, our clan’s legal team is quite competent. We’ve hired plenty of expensive lawyers.”
He was offering to help me break my contract with the Defense Strategy Department if I wanted.
One might wonder why a hunter clan would have a legal team, but this was standard nowadays.
The days of hunters casually forming small groups among acquaintances were long gone.
That was merely a relic of the early hunter era.
Hunter clans had already become fully corporatized.
Clans of significant scale like the Abyss Clan purchased private land to build training facilities and stockpiled helicopters and heavy weapons.
Naturally, they hired office staff and maintained legal teams to handle various incidents, accidents, and legal disputes.
Some clans had even expanded their business ventures to include franchises and offline stores in an octopus-like expansion.
In contrast, Kim Young-nam, who operated his clan more like a hobby group or social club, was an extremely rare exception.
“Thank you for the offer. I’ll reach out if I need assistance.”
“Whenever you’re comfortable. Then, I’ll assume we’ll meet again soon and be on my way.”
Wi Tae-woong leaped skyward with all his strength and boarded the helicopter.
Watching him vault twenty meters in a single bound confirmed that a 6-star hunter was indeed a 6-star hunter.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
The Abyss Clan’s helicopters lifted off.
“Hey! Are you seriously insane?! Do you know who that guy is?!”
Choi Yu-ra rushed over and unleashed her fury upon me.
Kim Sang-eung went further.
“Eun-sung, I understand why you’d be tempted when they say he’s the Abyss Clan Master. But listen here. Associating with that type of person is inherently dangerous. One misstep, and it won’t just be you at risk—it could endanger your senior, your sister-in-law, and even your younger brother.”
Since he was my father’s junior and had crossed paths with Wi Tae-woong before, Kim Sang-eung’s words carried grave weight.
“You don’t need to worry. I didn’t ask for his business card with any ulterior motive.”
“Hmm?”
“I took it just to tell him to get lost, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“If that’s the case, then I’m relieved…”
Whoosh!
The pure gold business card traced a golden arc through the air before embedding itself in the mudflats.
“You saw that, right?”
“Yes, now I’m at ease.”
Kim Sang-eung smiled.
‘I’m sorry.’
A twinge of guilt stirred within me.
Since I’d already memorized the number, throwing away the business card was utterly meaningless.
* * *
Just before leaving the mudflats.
“Then…”
“Let’s go.”
“Wait a moment.”
Still mounted on the ATV, I drew out the [Salvage] card.
‘Collect everything.’
Snow-white ferrets elongated like serpents, scurrying across the battlefield to gather the spirit blades scattered throughout and other valuable items like Etherium.
[You have obtained 【Death’s Gambit】!]
[You have obtained 【Blue Etherium (2-Star)】!]
[You have obtained 【Secret Coin (Silver)】!]
[You have obtained 【Secret Coin (Gold)】!]
.
.
[You have obtained 【Piercing Arrow】!]
“W-what is that? Where did those ferrets come from…?”
Kim Sang-eung flinched in surprise.
“It’d be wasteful to leave them behind.”
“But why bother collecting the Spirit Blade?”
In the world of Hunters, it was customary to leave Spirit Blades at the Battlefield.
When a Hunter died, their Spirit Blade would soon vanish anyway.
Occasionally, Spirit Blades were cremated or placed in coffins alongside their owners, but it was a meaningless gesture.
The Spirit Blade would disappear without a trace regardless.
“It has use for me.”
“Dead blades could have use…?”
Hunters referred to Spirit Blades belonging to deceased Hunters as [Dead Blades].
Since Spirit Blades shared their master’s fate, it was a fitting term.
“Other Hunters might not find use in them, but I do.”
“I simply….”
Kim Sang-eung, unable to comprehend my reasoning, asked me directly.
“Cha Eun-sung, what exactly is your role?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Is it a secret even from your uncle? Come on, tell me. I’m just curious personally. I won’t report it to the higher-ups.”
“I’d like to tell you, but there’s nothing I can definitively explain. I’m still in the process of understanding it myself, so it’s difficult to define precisely….”
“Is that so?”
“Half and half. Half hiding, half genuinely not knowing.”
“You brat….”
Kim Sang-eung’s eyes narrowed.
“Fine, that’s personal information, so I won’t ask further.”
“I appreciate that.”
“Enough. Get on already. I’m sick of this. Let’s go.”
Kim Sang-eung pointed to the ATV right beside us.
“Right.”
Vroom!
The moment I climbed onto the ATV and started the engine, Ra Si-hyun quickly hopped on behind me.
“This is really….”
Choi Yu-ra gritted her teeth, but this time she couldn’t bring herself to tell her to get off.
Unlike a motorcycle, an ATV was easy to operate, so there was no need for someone to ride behind the driver.
Vrooooom!
Soon, the ATVs raced across the Mudflats.
* * *
“Minister, the field commander reports that we’ve secured Cha Eun-sung’s body.”
“That’s welcome news indeed.”
Minister An, who had been focused on other matters, visibly relaxed.
The Defense Strategy Department Minister of South Korea could never afford to fixate on a single crisis.
Even now, major and minor incidents were unfolding across the nation, and intelligence reports on various anomalies continued to arrive.
Moreover, there was the constant threat of a coup attempt by certain factions….
“What are the follow-up measures?”
“The injured will receive emergency treatment and then be transported to the nearest general hospital. Those without serious injuries will be brought to the Defense Strategy Department for now.”
“Good. Make sure to notify the families of the survivors. And…”
Minister An’s gaze turned toward the massive screen.
Though the Mudflats crisis had been resolved, Jebu Island remained shrouded in the Fog Maze.
The Gate phenomenon had originally begun three kilometers west of Jebu Island.
Since the Gate had manifested over the sea, in the waters themselves…
“I authorize the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Yield: 5 kilotons. Strike the target location with precision, and once the blast wave subsides, deploy the Abyss Clan to assault the Gate.”
“Tactical nuclear strike authorized. Yield: 5 kilotons. Target strike followed by Abyss Clan deployment. Yes, confirmed.”
Lim Captain swiftly recorded Minister An’s orders and relayed them.
5 kilotons.
The “Little Boy” that America had dropped on Hiroshima in the past had a yield of approximately 15 kilotons, making this one-third of that magnitude.
In this era, the use of 5-kiloton tactical nuclear weapons was hardly uncommon.
In the past, it had been a privilege reserved for a select few nations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but now virtually every developed nation operated tactical nuclear arsenals.
Immediately after the order was issued.
A South Korean Navy submarine lurking beneath the West Sea surfaced and launched a ballistic missile armed with a tactical warhead.
Shhhhhhhhhhh!
Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missile.
The so-called SLBM streaked toward the location where the Gate had materialized.
* * *
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump!
Aboard a Chinook helicopter en route to the Defense Strategy Department.
BOOOOOOM!
A deafening roar echoed from far to the west.
The aircraft shook violently before gradually settling.
“Ugh!”
“Ahhhhh!”
The terrified rookies flailed about, but I sat calmly with my arms crossed, gazing out the window.
It was a personal preference of mine—I never tired of watching a nuclear detonation.
The way the sun seemed to multiply into two, followed by the world igniting in brilliant white light.
Beyond the horizon, a crimson pillar surged skyward, forming a mushroom cloud of fire.
In about an hour, the Abyss Clan would be deployed.
Even after the blast wave dissipated, radiation would remain a hazard, but for Hunters, radiation posed no threat whatsoever.
Once blessed by Ether, we became immune to radiation.
‘If that bastard stays beside Wi Tae-woong, he’ll continue growing stronger. Should I separate them, or should I kill him?’
As I pondered these possibilities while recalling Lee Hyun, who had been watching me from atop the helicopter, the Chinook touched down at the Gwacheon Defense Strategy Department Building.
“Eun-sung!”
“My son!”
“Big brother!”
The moment I stepped off the helicopter, my family rushed toward me.
The others were no different.
Not only the trainees but also the families of the active instructors were waiting at the airfield.
“Honey!”
“Dad!”
Kim Sang-eung’s wife and daughter rushed forward and threw themselves into his arms.
‘Thank you.’
Kim Sang-eung gave me a meaningful look.
‘Don’t mention it.’
I responded with a subtle bow, then turned my steps toward my own family.
“I’m home.”
I smiled broadly.
For the family who had spent the night in anguish.

—————

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

—————