Chapter 8

By the time Eunseong returned to headquarters, the inside of his suit was damp with cold sweat.

He had put on a bold front in front of Seo Taehwan, but the truth was that his heart felt as though it might burst from the sheer responsibility of volunteering to lead the charge into an S-rank dungeon.

But there was no time to relax.

Now that Zenith had been assigned to lead the assault on Black Thorn Valley, which had been upgraded to S-rank, the first thing Eunseong needed to do was replace the equipment currently used by Zenith’s hunters.

The higher-ranked hunters were fine.

They were likely to be deployed to dungeons in the first place and also received plenty of rewards after completing raids.

The lower-ranked hunters, however, had fewer opportunities to enter dungeons, and unless they acquired equipment themselves, they probably had nothing beyond the basic gear issued by the guild.

With such shoddy equipment, it was obvious they would be wiped out the moment they entered the dungeon.

Eunseong kicked open the conference room door.

The guild executives, who had been summoned in an emergency and were talking amongst themselves, immediately fell silent.

Eunseong sat at the head of the table and surveyed everyone gathered there.

“We don’t have much time, so let’s get straight to the point. At 8 a.m. today, we will be leading the assault on Black Thorn Valley.”

Silence descended over the room.

Everyone had already been informed, but hearing it directly from the guild master carried a completely different weight.

“Provide every guild member with equipment and recovery and enhancement items of at least B-rank. Release everything. Don’t hold anything back.”

The first person to jump at the bombshell announcement was Executive Director Park, who was in charge of finances.

“Representative! That’s absurd! Every single guild member?”

“So?”

“We’re about to distribute enormous amounts of supplies in preparation for the S-rank dungeon raid! And now you’re telling us to give equipment and items of B-rank or higher even to hunters who aren’t going in? That’s an outrageous waste of resources!”

“Waste?”

One of Eunseong’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“Yes! Waste! Our policy at Zenith has always been to concentrate our support on the rankers. Even then, the costs were substantial! If we provide equipment to every other hunter as well, we’re talking astronomical sums!”

There wasn’t anything technically wrong with Executive Director Park’s argument.

It was exactly the sort of logic the original Baek Eunseong would have supported.

No, the original Baek Eunseong wouldn’t have even made this kind of proposal in the first place.

But Eunseong now had a very clear reason for equipping the members of Zenith.

In the original story, three guilds entered Black Thorn Valley.

The first two were completely wiped out.

Later, Zenith entered and successfully cleared the dungeon.

But Zenith suffered devastating casualties as well.

Many hunters were poisoned by the deadly venom, their nerves melting until their limbs became paralyzed.

Others suffered destroyed magic circuits and were forced to abandon their careers as hunters.

The original story focused primarily on its protagonist, Kang Mujin, but this had been a fairly significant episode.

Moreover, even the guild members who wouldn’t be going to Black Thorn Valley would eventually be deployed to other dungeons.

Eunseong needed to make sure as many of them as possible survived without injury.

‘Zenith is going to become Mujin’s strongest support in the future. I have to build it up properly somehow.’

But that wasn’t his only reason.

Now that Eunseong had become Baek Eunseong, these people were no longer words printed on pages.

They were living, breathing beings who moved and acted on their own.

Suppressing the anger boiling inside him, Eunseong spoke.

“Executive Director Park.”

“Yes, Representative.”

“Did you just say protecting guild members is a waste?”

Eunseong rested his chin on his interlocked fingers and calmly stared at him.

“You don’t seem to know what constitutes waste because you don’t work in the field.”

“If hunters with inadequate equipment all die at the entrance of a dungeon, what happens afterward? The elite hunters will have to bear the full burden of everything that follows. Do you really think losing one of Zenith’s valuable rankers would cost us less than giving them some B-rank or higher equipment and potions?”

“Th-That….”

“Dead people can’t earn money.”

Eunseong drove the point home.

“Neither can injured people whose magic circuits have been destroyed.”

He added firmly,

“Especially for this Black Thorn Valley raid, provide the entire team with the highest level of supplies available. If the budget isn’t enough, then open my personal vault and make up the difference.”

Once he declared that he was willing to open his personal vault, no one dared say another word.

In the corner of the conference room, Chief Choi briefly lowered his gaze before adjusting his glasses and returning to his usual impassive expression.

After the meeting ended, the area in front of Zenith Guild’s hunter supply center was packed with hunters, leaving barely enough room to stand.

Despite the early hour, no one looked particularly tired.

An S-rank dungeon raid would normally create an extremely tense atmosphere, but this time there was a strangely excited energy in the air.

The reason was simple.

An unexpected amount of supplies had been distributed all at once.

“Whoa… They’re giving us this many B-rank recovery potions?”

“The antidote is A-rank!”

“Hey, look at the options on this armor. Are we really allowed to wear something like this? I guess it’s true that the representative ordered them to open his personal vault if necessary.”

The hunters couldn’t stop staring at the high-quality equipment and potions in their hands.

For B-rank and higher hunters, such supplies were familiar.

But to the C-rank and lower hunters, even these items seemed like something from another world.

They had always been given low-grade supplies of C-rank or below.

And now, out of nowhere, the representative had ordered an unprecedented level of support.

The hunters were confused, but they were also filled with a strange mixture of gratitude and determination.

Of course, these items wouldn’t dramatically increase their chances of surviving an S-rank dungeon.

But their mindset was completely different from going in with nothing.

Among the bustling crowd at the supply center, Kang Mujin was also waiting his turn.

While the other hunters cheered over their supplies, Black Lord (S) glowed faintly at Mujin’s waist, while Paladin’s Blessing (A) shimmered around his wrist.

‘Full support for everyone.’

Kang Mujin’s black eyes swept across the long line.

When Eunseong had given him the items the previous night, Mujin had assumed he intended to use him as a disposable pawn.

He had even personally come to tell him to rest.

Mujin had spent the entire time wondering what Eunseong’s purpose was, but he couldn’t reach a conclusion.

Then, in the early morning, an announcement had been made.

Black Thorn Valley had been upgraded to S-rank, and the raid had been approved.

At the same time, everyone was instructed to collect their supplies.

Eunseong’s bizarre decision to provide high-quality supplies to every guild member only made Kang Mujin’s thoughts more complicated.

‘Can someone really change overnight? There wasn’t any sign of this when we entered Shadow Swamp. Even the supplies were the same as usual.’

The face of Baek Eunseong looking down at him with disgust before his regression and the face of Eunseong yesterday, handing him an elixir with what seemed like an anxious expression, repeatedly crossed through his mind.

“Hey, Kang Mujin.”

A mocking voice broke through his thoughts.

Several men, including the B-rank hunter Jeong Gicheol, surrounded him.

Their eyes were blatantly fixed on Mujin’s wrist and waist.

“I heard the representative personally gave you an S-rank Dawn Elixir yesterday.”

Jeong Gicheol gave a nasty grin and lightly tapped Mujin’s shoulder.

“Hunters Blind was going crazy over it. They were saying you’re the representative’s secret blood relative or some kind of golden parachute. But looking at your weapon, I guess you’re not actually skilled—you just got decked out with the representative’s personal money. Isn’t that right?”

Several hunters nearby snickered in agreement.

Kang Mujin, carrying S-rank equipment thanks to the representative’s favor, was more than enough to provoke their jealousy.

Just as Jeong Gicheol, blinded by envy, reached out to shove Kang Mujin hard by the shoulder—

“That’s enough.”

A clear, melodious voice interrupted them.

Han Jia had somehow approached without anyone noticing and was now standing between them.

Her usually gentle eyes were shining with unusual firmness.

“We’re about to enter an S-rank dungeon. What kind of disgrace is it for members of the same guild to behave like this?”

“I don’t think this is a situation you need to get involved in.”

“Why don’t you spend this time checking your own equipment one more time?”

Ignoring Jeong Gicheol’s sarcasm, Han Jia looked at Kang Mujin’s equipment.

“How did you know these were given to him by the representative?”

“Hah. Isn’t it obvious? It’s on a completely different level from the crap he used to wear! Anyone can tell that’s the Black Lord! Everyone saw him go to the representative’s office and come back with it! And what’s that bracelet? You think he bought this himself? Or maybe he got it as a reward….”

The moment Jeong Gicheol said the word reward, he hesitated.

Everyone knew Kang Mujin had been the one to kill the boss of Shadow Swamp.

Their gazes briefly met, but Jeong Gicheol quickly forced out another accusation.

“Yeah. There’s no way a B-rank boss would drop something like that. Did you kill some sponsor or something? Who was it? Was it really our representative?”

“Hunter Jeong Gicheol!”

Han Jia stared at him in shock at the word sponsor.

If he had merely been making snide remarks, she could have ignored it.

But that comment had crossed a line.

Not only was it insulting Kang Mujin, it was also insulting the guild representative she served.

Even the group seemed to realize that the comment had gone too far.

They cautiously looked around.

It might have been fine if they’d been alone, but many hunters had gathered here to receive supplies.

There was no doubt the remark would eventually reach the representative’s ears.

Jeong Gicheol also seemed to realize that he’d gone too far.

His eyes trembled slightly.

But apparently, he had no intention of taking back what he’d said.

Even though he was visibly nervous, he raised his chin defiantly.

The actual target of all this commotion, Kang Mujin, hadn’t moved an inch.

His indifference seemed to irritate Jeong Gicheol even more.

In the end, he shoved Kang Mujin hard in the shoulder.

“You’ve pissed me off from the start. Who the hell do you think you are? Don’t get so full of yourself!”

“Excuse me! When has Hunter Kang Mujin ever acted arrogant? If the representative gave him this equipment, there must be a reason. Stop ruining the atmosphere!”

When Han Jia stepped between them, Jeong Gicheol’s face turned bright red.

“Ha! Seriously…! Hey, Kang Mujin, don’t you have a mouth?”

Jeong Gicheol raised his voice, veins standing out on his forehead.

Kang Mujin merely swept his eyes over him once.

His detached, cold gaze was as though he were looking at something completely beneath his notice.

A chill ran across Jeong Gicheol’s entire body.

Overwhelmed by the pressure radiating from Mujin, he couldn’t bring himself to approach any closer.

“Ugh… Just wait and see. I’ll see how well you do in this dungeon!”

Jeong Gicheol turned around with a huff and dragged his group away.

Han Jia let out a small sigh before turning toward Kang Mujin.

“Don’t worry too much about what he said. He’s just jealous. And he’s probably worried about going into an S-rank dungeon too.”

“You don’t need to make excuses for him.”

“Did it sound like I was making excuses? Still, it’s better for members of the same guild to get along. And those really do look like good pieces of equipment. I don’t know much about swords, but I’ve heard of the Black series. Thanks to Hunter Kang Mujin, we’ll be a little safer.”

“…….”

“I’ll get going. Finish getting ready.”

Han Jia smiled warmly before walking away to continue preparing for the raid.

Kang Mujin watched her retreating figure and tightly gripped the bracelet around his wrist.

She was still clumsy and weak, but she possessed the same unwavering resolve and fierce gaze.

‘She’s still the same.’

Even just now, she had stepped forward to defend someone who had nothing to do with her.

Kang Mujin thought of the comrades who had fought and suffered alongside him on countless battlefields before his regression, yet had never once given up on him.

He didn’t know why, but thanks to Eunseong’s whim, he had obtained powerful equipment, and the other hunters had also been fully equipped.

‘I don’t know why Baek Eunseong is providing all these supplies, but this time… I’ll protect them.’

Kang Mujin tightly gripped the Black Lord.

A firm resolve settled into his pitch-black eyes.