Regression Guidelines For the Supporting Character - Chapter 44

“We’ve cleared the last monster of the fourth wave!”

“Injured, move back! Team 1 and 2, switch!”

“Guildmaster, the rift level has significantly dropped.”

Kwon Taehyeok, who had just spun his sword to shake off the blood, asked, “What percentage are we at now?”

“14%. The fifth wave will be the last one.”

“Don’t get complacent just because it’s the last wave. Be thorough until the end. Deploy more guild members outside to ensure no monsters escape…”

Just as they were about to change formation before the final wave of monsters appeared, a guild member ran up in a panic, shouting, “Guildmaster!”

“A-another rift… another rift has appeared!”

“What?” 

Gasping for breath, the guild member continued desperately, “It was just reported to the Bureau, and they contacted us right away…”

Kwon Taehyeok’s face turned cold. The other guild member who had been reporting earlier was equally shocked, covering their mouth.

“But… the Bureau only detected one rift initially!”

“I-I don’t know. Another one just appeared out of nowhere.”

Regaining his composure quicker than the two panicked Hunters, Kwon Taehyeok urgently asked, “Where is it? What’s the location?”

“Well…” The guild member’s face grew even paler. Hesitating briefly, they squeezed their eyes shut and blurted out, “It’s not far from here… just above the subway station.”

“…”

“Fortunately, there haven’t been any casualties reported yet. An unidentified Hunter is dealing with the monsters…”

Kwon Taehyeok didn’t hear the rest of the report. With the final wave still pending in the first rift and the sudden appearance of a second rift, Kwon Taehyeok quickly assessed the situation and issued orders, “Teams 2 and 3 will handle the final wave. Team 1, follow me. We’re going to deal with the second rift.”

“Understood!”

“Share the location of the second rift and, as soon as we’re done here, move all guild members there immediately. Also, contact the Support team.”

“Yes!”

The guild members, shaken by his stern voice, quickly sprang into action. 

Leaving them behind, Kwon Taehyeok took something out of his inventory. In his hand was a toy-sized model of a bike. Compared to his large hand, it looked even smaller. He lightly tossed the model to the ground, and with a series of clicking sounds, it instantly grew in size. The tiny model transformed into a sleek, black sports bike. As Kwon Taehyeok mounted the bike, his assistant quickly approached.

“All the orders have been carried out. Are you leaving right away?”

“Yes.”

“Please check this before you go.” The secretary handed over a tablet PC. Kwon Taehyeok took it and frowned. “This is CCTV footage we obtained as soon as we heard the news. The Hunter captured on it is…” he trailed off, but it was obvious. Blonde hair flowed from under a deeply pulled-down hat and the blue jacket was familiar.

Cover, the Hunter who had overtaken Kwon Taehyeok to become the number one ranked hunter, was single-handedly managing the rift.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Kwon Taehyeok returned the tablet PC and started his bike immediately. The blades floating behind him followed, slicing through the air as they moved.

‘Why is that guy in a place like this?’

He thought Cover was connected to the research lab, but maybe he wasn’t. Or perhaps he was simply caught up in a rift that suddenly appeared nearby.

Whatever the case, it was the first time Kwon Taehyeok had encountered Cover since their suspicious ranking match. Despite all efforts to locate him, Cover had vanished without a trace until now, showing up at such a critical moment.

He remained a deeply unsettling rival. Kwon Taehyeok’s dark eyes turned cold.

***

Just as I severed the giant head of a snake-like monster, I leaped back and kicked off the ground. Arriving just ahead of the monster, I grabbed a civilian around the waist and narrowly avoided the monster’s snapping jaws.

“Eek!”

Screeeeech! The monster screeched sharply, having missed its prey by inches. I quickly set the civilian down on a less-damaged sidewalk and slashed my sword horizontally.

Blood sprayed as the monster’s upper body was cleaved. The civilian, who had been trembling behind me, gagged at the sight and stumbled away in a panic.

“Gasp…”

Panting heavily, I lifted my head. Around me were crumbled buildings and roads, littered with monster corpses, and the still-open rift.

“When are they getting here?”

By now, the message should have reached them.

Fighting alone and exhausted, time seemed to drag on more slowly than usual. Though I knew logically that it would take some time for help to arrive given the distance, my heart couldn’t help but feel stifled.

Sighing deeply, I glanced at the new monsters emerging from the rift.

‘…Fine. It’s not Kwon Taehyeok’s fault. It’s my own weakness.’

If Kwon Taehyeok were here instead of me, this wouldn’t be so difficult. He can control multiple blades at will, unlike me who has to run around everywhere. Even if it were someone like Ryu Seonghyeon or Eun Woojeong, they wouldn’t tire so easily. They have their own skills, after all.

“This is why I wanted a decent attack skill.”

Swallowing my frustration, I steadied my trembling hands and raised my sword again.

Grrrraargh! A monstrous roar shook the ground. A monster with a long neck and spiky mane emerged from the rift, baring its teeth.

The first wave had consisted of snake-like monsters led by two gargoyles. The second wave brought forth Inog, creatures resembling hyenas. Inogs had faces and necks like hyenas, but below that, they were over 2 meters tall with massive, human-like bodies. They looked similar to werewolves but were far more vicious.

Rrrrrr.

Five Inogs emerged from the rift, scattering across the area.

Thud! One Inog, facing me directly, had massive hands with long claws. Those claws were long enough to pierce my heart instantly if I let my guard down. One of them stood directly opposite me while the other four slowly closed in from all sides, like wolves cornering their prey. Swallowing a curse, I lunged toward the Inog standing in the center.

In a one-versus-many fight, making the first move was often the safest strategy. If I waited for the Inogs to fully surround and charge at me, I wouldn’t even get a chance to counterattack before being torn apart.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Black, hardened claws clashed violently against my blade. The force was so intense my hand trembled from the impact. I gritted my teeth, deflected the claws, and swung my sword again, but it only managed to slice through the Inog’s mane.

My exhausted body couldn’t muster enough strength to wield the sword effectively. To make matters worse, another Inog suddenly charged in from the side.

“Ah, damn…!”

The Inog grabbed my thigh and bit down hard before leaping high into the air. Helplessly dragged along, I was thrown onto the rooftop of a nearby building.

Boom! A deafening crash echoed as my vision went black for a moment. The impact of being tossed through the air knocked me out briefly. When I regained some consciousness, I barely managed to open my eyes.

The growls of the Inogs grew closer. I groped for a piece of debris to help me stand, but my body refused to cooperate, unlike when I fought the gargoyles earlier.

“Ugh…”

If I didn’t get it together, I’d die right here. A primal fear surged through me.

Gasping for breath, I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword. No matter how many bites I had to endure, I needed to escape.

I focused my blurry vision and prepared to slash at the nearest Inog’s neck. Just then, I heard a sharp, slicing sound.

In a flash, a white streak cut through the air, piercing the Inog rushing toward me.

Screeeech! Screeeech!

Multiple blades flew in at high speed, slicing through the Inogs before they could react, turning them into chunks of meat. The one closest to me had its head severed, its massive body collapsing at my feet.

As the Inog fell, revealing my savior, I finally saw who had been standing there, watching me.

With wind-tousled dark blue hair and an annoyingly handsome face, it was Kwon Taehyeok, the one I had been waiting for.

[Main Quest: Survive the second rift. (Time remaining: 7 hours 34 minutes)]