The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 82

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

#Episode 82
Wang Yong-sik clutched the back of his neck and groaned because appraisal certificates were equally difficult items to procure.
Most items rated 5-star and above required appraisals.
There weren’t many runes and items that hunters could directly verify the options for with their own eyes.
Excluding runes and items obtainable from specific monsters or locations….
“I’m out of stock at the moment. Not many hunters are looking for appraisal certificates anyway. As you know, they’re expensive and in high demand, so there’s barely anything on the market.”
“That’s true.”
“I’ll put in an order for them anyway.”
“Understood.”
“Is there anything else you need? Speak up if there is.”
Wang Hyo-eun then quietly pulled out a pen and notepad, handing them to Eun-sung.
“Write it down here.”
“Yes.”
Eun-sung jotted down the items he needed in the notepad and handed it to Wang Yong-sik.
“Etherium grenades, smoke grenades, flash grenades. These are nothing serious. But why do you need the Desert Eagle blueprints?”
“I’m not sure.”
“You’re not trying to manufacture a gun, are you?”
Wang Yong-sik eyed Eun-sung with suspicion.
“You’d better not attempt such madness. Many hunters have lost their wrists trying to craft guns that fire Etherium ammunition.”
There had been countless attempts to create guns using Etherium ammunition.
Yet no one had ever succeeded, and most often the barrel would rupture or the gun itself would explode, shattering not just the wrist but the face as well.
“I’m not that reckless, so don’t worry.”
“Then I’ll procure them for you. However, this will also take several days.”
“It’s not urgent, so take your time.”
“Is there anything else you need?”
“Nothing for me, but I’d like to purchase some equipment for my friend here.”
Eun-sung pointed to Doo-hyun.
“Me, me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why me….”
“You never know. We could end up in combat again like this time, and I should cover the equipment costs.”
“Thank you, hyung.”
Doo-hyun broke into a bright smile.
* * *
Several days later.
Thirty minutes later.
Rooftop.
Gear packed.
Upon receiving Eun-sung’s text, Ra Si-hyun headed straight to the rooftop helipad.
There, Kim Doo-hyun awaited her in full combat gear.
“You’re Doo-hyun, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m Kim Doo-hyun.”
“And Eun-sung?”
“He should be here soon. Just wait a moment.”
About five minutes passed.
Whirrrrrrr—!
A black Little Bird helicopter descended toward the landing pad, its distinctive rotor blades cutting through the air.
Eun-sung sat in the cockpit, wearing a pilot’s headset.
“Get in.”
“Yes, sir!”
Doo-hyun quickly loaded the luggage onto the helicopter, fastened the harness, and climbed aboard.
“What are you doing? Get in.”
“You can pilot a helicopter too, sir?”
“Yeah.”
“Where on earth did you get a helicopter….”
“Get in and we’ll talk.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Doo-hyun, help her out.”
At Eun-sung’s words, Kim Doo-hyun showed Ra Si-hyun how to fasten the harness and put on the headset.
Whirrrrrrr—!
The Little Bird helicopter lifted off.
“When did you learn to pilot a helicopter?”
“A while back.”
“A while back…?”
Eun-sung answered silently to himself.
‘Back when you were still cleaning up after us.’
The reason Eun-sung could pilot not just helicopters but trains and ships as well was purely because he was a Support class Hunter.
Fundamentally, Support class Hunters are versatile.
They must support their teammates with vast knowledge and diverse skills….
High-level Support class Hunters serve as guides within Gates, craft items, and synthesize collected information to provide strategic direction for the team’s future endeavors.
The fact that Eun-sung’s team had become humanity’s strongest was perhaps entirely due to his support capabilities.
“Doo-hyun.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“I’ll pilot for now, but eventually you’ll need to take over.”
“…Me?”
Kim Doo-hyun blinked, pointing at himself as if asking what that meant.
“Should I do it instead? I’m a Hunter, not a manager.”
“Well, that’s not it, but….”
“I’ll register you at the Aviation Academy. Go and learn. Even if not from me, it’s a skill worth having—you’ll find plenty of uses for it.”
“Thank you so much, hyung!”
Kim Doo-hyun’s mouth stretched wide in a grin.
In a world like this, what employer would burn through their own pocket to send an employee to Aviation Academy?
It was a level of benefits that even major corporations couldn’t afford to offer.
Of course, working alongside Eun-sung, a Hunter, meant life-threatening situations weren’t rare, so it was fair to call this a kind of hazard allowance.
“But where are we going?”
“Bucheon.”
“Bucheon…?”
“You’re entering the Special Operations Bureau soon, aren’t you?”
Eun-sung had received an official document from the Defense Strategy Department exempting him from Special Armed Forces Training Center education.
But Ra Si-hyun hadn’t.
She still had much to learn.
During the Jebu Island incident, she was clumsy with firearms, and she didn’t even know how to sit in a helicopter while wearing a harness.
“I’m going in ten days.”
“Before then, it’d be good to gain practical experience and grow.”
“You’re going to teach me?”
“Why, do you dislike it?”
“No, I like it.”
“Then that’s settled.”
“But, oppa.”
“Yeah.”
“Why are you being so kind to me?”
Eun-sung answered silently once more.
‘If she goes astray, I’ll have to kill her with my own hands again.’
Someone I’d already killed once—there was nothing stopping me from killing them a second time.
My hands were already stained with blood beyond redemption; a little more wouldn’t make any difference.
‘But I can at least give her a chance.’
Still, I held Ra Si-hyun’s talent in high regard.
She was one of only three Mage Hunters who would eventually reach 10-Star.
Knowing her value better than anyone, I intended to keep her close and observe her for now.
“Oppa…?”
“Do you need a reason?”
“Huh?”
“Does it seem like our mother expects something from you and is being kind for that reason?”
“That’s… not it.”
“Judge for yourself and act accordingly. Don’t ask me.”
“Yes….”
Ra Si-hyun answered in a meek voice.
“But where exactly are we going? From the direction, it looks like we’re heading west.”
“Bucheon Station.”
“Ugh.”
At Eun-sung’s response, Kim Doo-hyun’s face turned pale as if he might vomit.
The events he’d experienced in Bucheon were still vivid in his mind—vivid enough that he’d suffered nightmares last night.
* * *
Contrary to Kim Doo-hyun’s expectations, significant changes were unfolding throughout the Bucheon Station area.
Beep, beep.
Whoosh.
Heavy construction equipment operated across the district, demolishing collapsed buildings, while armed soldiers and armored vehicles stood guard on every street, and surveillance drones circled overhead, monitoring for any potential violence or incidents.
Even in the distance near City Hall, security personnel were deployed as thickly as if National Assembly members had arrived.
“Hyung-nim, it seems what you did is having an effect.”
“We did it.”
“Pardon?”
“You were part of it too.”
“Hehe.”
Kim Doo-hyun scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“Now that an incident has occurred, the government is at least making a show of paying attention for a while.”
Of course, deploying recovery personnel and security forces to Bucheon would inevitably create gaps in other regions—that much was obvious.
Given the times, manpower and resources were limited.
But considering the suffering and hardship the citizens of Bucheon had endured, they deserved the government’s support.
Even if only temporarily.
“In the end, a city’s fate rests in the hands of its citizens. The government can only provide minimal assistance. If that’s not enough, the citizens themselves need to form vigilante groups and take action.”
The Little Bird descended onto an empty lot about a kilometer away from Bucheon Station.
“Sir, if you leave the helicopter here…”
“What helicopter?”
As soldiers approached to speak, Eun-sung casually stored the helicopter in a card and played innocent.
“Huh?”
“W-what was that just now?”
The soldiers exchanged confused glances, looking around as if something had malfunctioned.
“Well then, thank you for your hard work. Let’s go.”
“Yes, hyung-nim.”
“Yes.”
Eun-sung led Ra Si-hyun and Kim Doo-hyun toward Bucheon Station.
“This bastard’s showing off his tattoos everywhere!”
“You punk! So what if you have tattoos? Huh? You want to get beaten?”
Thwack, thwack! Thwack, thwack, thwack!
“I’m s-sorry! Aaah!”
Along the way, masked vigilantes were mercilessly beating a tattooed thug wearing neon shorts and an Under Armour shirt with clubs.
Thwack, thwack! Crack! Thwack, thwack, thwack!
“Aaah! Aaaaaaaah!”
They were pounding him so indiscriminately that he looked like a pork cutlet being tenderized for schnitzel.
“Sirs, please take it easy.”
“Please don’t kill him. If this bastard dies, it’ll just be a headache for us. I’m begging you.”
The soldiers patrolling to maintain order seemed utterly uninterested in intervening with the masked mob, offering only a cursory warning.
“Things are progressing well. Perhaps Bucheon might have hope after all.”
Eun-sung spoke as though the future was worth anticipating.
“Absolutely, hyung.”
Kim Doo-hyun nodded in complete agreement.
“Why can’t they just make it law? Thugs like that should be locked up on some island and forced into labor. That would be perfect.”
Ra Si-hyun furrowed her brow as she spoke.
“If it were possible, they would’ve done it long ago.”
“It’s not possible?”
“All sorts of problems would arise. People would abuse it. If simply removing thugs could solve everything, the world wouldn’t be like this.”
“Is that how it works…?”
“Since humanity’s emergence, gangsters have existed regardless of era.”
“But…”
“And those who catch gangsters have always existed too. Then and now.”
“Ah.”
“It’s a struggle that will never end as long as humanity persists. The struggle between those who take and those who protect. Whatever form it takes.”
“Then which side are you on, oppa?”
“It depends on the moment.”
Eun-sung answered briefly and continued walking.
After walking a bit further, a barrier of steel fencing and barbed wire, marked with a sign reading [RESTRICTED ZONE], blocked our path.
The outskirts of Bucheon Station.
We had arrived near the Gate.
No construction equipment or civilians were visible anymore.
Instead, fully armed soldiers were positioned at regular intervals, and surveillance drones circled overhead in systematic patterns.
“We’ll need to conduct a brief inspection. May I see your identification?”
After passing through the checkpoint, an open plaza came into view.
The plaza was equipped with paid shower facilities, restrooms, food trucks, sleeping quarters, and a field emergency room capable of performing emergency surgery.
Dozens of Hunters were scattered about in small groups throughout the area.
Some sat on the ground maintaining their weapons, while others filled their stomachs with tacos from the food trucks.
“Does anyone here have healing abilities?”
“We welcome skilled shooters!”
The voices of Hunters searching for companions echoed throughout the plaza.
“This is the Bucheon Rice Eater, right?”
“Heh!”
At Ra Si-hyun’s words, Eun-sung let out a quiet laugh.
“Rice Eater. Whoever came up with that name was brilliant. Yeah, this is the Bucheon Rice Eater.”
Eun-sung suppressed his laughter and nodded.

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