By the time Eunseong returned to headquarters, the inside of his suit was damp with cold sweat. He’d put on a bold front in front of Seo Taehwan, but the reality of having volunteered to lead the vanguard into an S-rank Dungeon made him feel like his heart was about to burst.
But there was no time to breathe easy. Now that Zenith would be standing at the front line of Black Thorn Valley — newly upgraded to S-rank — the first order of business was overhauling the equipment of every Hunter under Zenith’s banner.
The high-ranking Hunters would be fine. They had a higher chance of being deployed in Dungeons to begin with, and they tended to bring back substantial rewards from raids. But the lower-ranking Hunters had far fewer deployment opportunities, and unless they’d gone out of their way to acquire gear on their own, they’d have nothing beyond what was issued to them as standard supplies. With equipment that poor, walking into a Dungeon would mean instant annihilation.
Eunseong kicked the conference room door open and strode in. The guild executives who had been urgently summoned and murmuring among themselves went silent all at once. Eunseong settled into the head seat and swept his gaze over the assembled group.
“No time to waste — straight to the point. At eight o’clock this morning, we take the vanguard at Black Thorn Valley.”
Silence fell. The news had already been relayed, but hearing it directly from the guild leader’s own mouth carried a different weight entirely.
“Every guild member will be issued B-rank or higher equipment, along with recovery and enhancement items — across the board. Don’t hold anything back. Open it all up.”
The first to leap to his feet at the bombshell declaration was Managing Director Park from finance.
“Sir! That’s an unreasonable order. Every single guild member?!”
“And?”
“We’re already slated to distribute a massive amount of supplies in preparation for the S-rank Dungeon raid! And on top of that, you want to issue B-rank or higher equipment and items to Hunters who won’t even be entering the Dungeon? That’s a serious waste of funds!”
“A waste?”
One of Eunseong’s eyebrows ticked upward.
“Yes! A waste. Concentrating resources on the rankers has always been Zenith Guild’s way of doing things. And even then, the costs have been no small matter! Issuing supplies to every single Hunter will run into astronomical figures!”
Managing Director Park’s objection wasn’t wrong. It was exactly the kind of logic the real Baek Eunseong would have championed — or rather, this was the sort of declaration he never would have made in the first place.
But Eunseong had a clear reason to arm every one of Zenith’s guild members. In the original work, three guilds entered Black Thorn Valley in total. The first two to go in were wiped out entirely, and it was only when Zenith stepped up afterward that the raid was finally cleared.
But even Zenith had suffered devastating losses. Many were paralyzed — nerves dissolved by lethal venom, their limbs no longer responding — or had their mana circuits destroyed beyond repair, leaving them unable to continue life as a Hunter.
It was an episode given considerable weight in the original story, even if the narrative focus remained on the protagonist, Kang Mujin.
And beyond that, even the guild members who weren’t going to Black Thorn Valley would be deployed to other Dungeons someday. He had to do everything in his power to keep all of them from getting hurt.
Zenith Guild is going to be Mujin’s most solid backing going forward. I need to build it up properly, no matter what.
But it wasn’t only for that reason. Now that he was Baek Eunseong, they were no longer characters on a page — they were living, breathing people who moved and existed in the world.
Eunseong suppressed the anger simmering beneath the surface and spoke.
“Managing Director Park.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did you just say that protecting our guild members is a waste? It seems Managing Director Park doesn’t know what waste actually looks like, not having been out in the field yourself.”
Eunseong rested his chin on his interlaced fingers and regarded Managing Director Park steadily.
“If the Hunters with inadequate equipment all die at the entrance to the Dungeon — what then? Everything that comes after falls entirely on the elite to handle on their own. Do you really think the cost of losing even one of Zenith’s precious rankers to injury is less than the cost of handing out a few B-rank items and potions?”
“W-well, that is…”
“The dead don’t earn money. Neither do the injured with destroyed mana circuits.”
Eunseong drove the point home with a final addition.
“In particular, issue the highest-grade supplies possible to every member of the Black Thorn Valley raid team. If the budget falls short, then open my personal vault and make up the difference.”
Once the declaration about opening his personal vault was made, no one had another word to say. Chief Choi, standing in the corner of the conference room, dropped his gaze for just a moment before adjusting his glasses and returning to his usual impassive expression.
After the meeting ended, the area in front of Zenith Guild’s Hunter-exclusive supply depot was packed so tightly with Hunters that there was hardly room to stand. Despite the early hour, no one looked tired.
An S-rank Dungeon raid would normally put everyone on edge — but this time, there was a strange undercurrent of excitement. It was because an unexpected quantity of supplies had been issued all at once.
“Wait… they’re giving us this many B-rank recovery potions?”
“The antidotes are A-rank?”
“Hey, look at the options on this armor. Are we really allowed to have this? Guess what they said about the boss opening his personal vault was true.”
The Hunters couldn’t close their mouths as they took in the high-quality equipment and potions in their hands. For B-rank and above Hunters, this kind of supply was familiar enough — but for those C-rank and below, even that was an entirely new world. They had always only ever received low-grade supplies of C-rank or lower.
And now, out of nowhere, support they had never imagined had arrived at the direct order of their leader. The Hunters were bewildered — but swept up in a strange wave of emotion and fighting spirit all the same. These supplies wouldn’t dramatically increase their odds of surviving an S-rank Dungeon, of course. But there was a world of difference between walking in with something and walking in with nothing at all.
Off to one side of the bustling supply depot, Kang Mujin was waiting his turn among the rest. While the other Hunters cheered over their supplies, the Lord of Darkness (S) at his waist and the Paladin’s Blessing (A) at his wrist gleamed with a quiet light.
Full supply distribution, hm.
Kang Mujin’s dark eyes swept across the long line. Last night, when Eunseong had given him the items, he’d assumed he was being set up as a playing piece. Going out of his way to come find him, even telling him to rest. He’d kept turning it over in his mind, trying to figure out what Eunseong’s angle was — and hadn’t been able to reach a conclusion.
Then the announcement had come in the early hours. Black Thorn Valley had been upgraded to S-rank, and the raid had been confirmed. At the same time, everyone was told to come collect their supplies.
Eunseong’s uncharacteristic move to issue quality supplies to every guild member only tangled Kang Mujin’s thoughts further.
Can a person really change overnight? There was no sign of this when we went into Shadow Swamp. The supplies then were the same as always.
The image of Baek Eunseong from before the regression — looking down at him with eyes full of contempt — and the image of Eunseong from yesterday — pressing an Elixir into his hands with an expression that seemed somehow rushed — swirled and crossed each other in his mind.
“Hey. Kang Mujin.”
What broke Kang Mujin out of his thoughts was a sneering voice. B-rank Hunter Jeong Gicheol and a handful of other men had formed a loose circle around him. Their gazes were pointedly fixed on the items at Kang Mujin’s wrist and waist.
“I heard the boss personally gave you an S-rank Elixir of Dawn yesterday, yeah?”
Jeong Gicheol gave Kang Mujin’s shoulder a light smack with a sly grin.
“Blind was going absolutely crazy about it. Saying you’re the boss’s secret kid, or that you’re a planted hire. But looking at that weapon of yours, I’m thinking it wasn’t skill at all — just gear bought with the boss’s personal money. Am I wrong?”
A few of the surrounding Hunters snickered in agreement. The sight of Kang Mujin carrying S-rank equipment, clearly favored by the guild leader, was more than enough to prick at their jealousy.
Blinded by envy, Jeong Gicheol reached out to shove Kang Mujin hard — and at that exact moment —
“That’s enough.”
A clear, bright voice cut in. Han Jia had stepped between them, appearing seemingly from nowhere. The usually quiet light in her eyes was burning with an unusual steadiness.
“We’re about to raid an S-rank Dungeon, and this is how fellow guild members are carrying on?”
“Pretty sure this isn’t the time for you to be sticking your nose in.”
“If you have the time for this, use it to check your own gear one more time.”
Han Jia ignored Jeong Gicheol’s snide remark and turned to look at Kang Mujin’s equipment.
“How did you know this gear was given to him by the guild leader?”
“Ha. Isn’t it obvious? It’s on a completely different level from what he’s been wearing until now! Anyone can tell this is the Lord of Darkness! Plenty of people saw him coming out of the leader’s office! And that bracelet — you think he bought that himself? Or wait, don’t tell me it was a reward…”
The moment the word reward slipped out, Jeong Gicheol faltered. Everyone knew it was Kang Mujin who had taken down the Shadow Swamp Dungeon boss. There was a brief exchange of glances, but Jeong Gicheol pushed forward with his bluster regardless.
“Right. No way a B-rank boss drops something like that. Did you make some kind of deal then? With who? Our boss, for real?”
“Hunter Jeong Gicheol!”
Han Jia’s face went white with shock at the implication, and she cried out his name. Ordinary mouthing off was one thing — but what he’d just said had crossed a line. It wasn’t only a degrading insinuation about Kang Mujin; it dragged the guild leader himself through the mud right along with him.
The others around him seemed to realize this one had gone too far as well, and their eyes began darting around uneasily. Between themselves it might not have mattered — but there were many Hunters gathered here to collect supplies, and it was obvious a remark like this would find its way to the leader’s ears.
Jeong Gicheol seemed to register that he’d crossed a line this time too, his eyes flickering with small, rapid movements. But he showed no sign of intending to take the words back — trembling as he was, he kept his chin raised.
The actual subject of all this commotion, Kang Mujin, hadn’t moved a muscle. That indifference seemed to grate on Jeong Gicheol even more, and he finally shoved Kang Mujin hard on the shoulder.
“I’ve had a problem with you from the start. Just who the hell do you think you are! Act like you’re all that in moderation!”
“Excuse me! When has Hunter Kang Mujin ever acted like he’s all that? If the guild leader gave him that equipment, there’s obviously a reason. Stop poisoning the atmosphere and cut it out!”
With Han Jia blocking his way, Jeong Gicheol’s face flushed a mottled red.
“Ha! This is seriously — hey, Kang Mujin, do you not have a mouth?!”
Jeong Gicheol raised his voice, veins standing out on his neck — but Kang Mujin simply gave him one slow, dispassionate sweep of his gaze, as though looking at something utterly beneath consideration. The cold, vacant quality of that look sent a crawl of goosebumps across Jeong Gicheol’s entire body. Pressed down by the aura rolling off him, Jeong Gicheol couldn’t step any closer.
“Hng… just you wait — I’ll be watching to see how well you actually do in this Dungeon!”
Jeong Gicheol huffed, rounded up his group, and stormed off. Han Jia let out a small sigh and turned back to Kang Mujin.
“Don’t let that kind of talk get to you. He’s just jealous. He’s probably anxious about the S-rank Dungeon on top of that.”
“You don’t have to make excuses for me.”
“That’s how it came across? Still, it’s better to get along with fellow guild members. Anyway — your equipment looks really impressive. I don’t know much about weapons, but I’ve heard of the Lord of Darkness series. With Hunter Kang Mujin around, we’ll all be a little safer.”
“……”
“I should get going. Finish getting ready.”
Han Jia flashed him an easy, warm smile and moved off to finish her own raid preparations. Kang Mujin watched her retreating figure and closed his hand around the bracelet at his wrist. Han Jia — still rough around the edges, still not yet strong enough, but carrying the same unyielding will and iron-steady gaze she always had.
Still the same.
Hadn’t she just stepped up for him, someone who had nothing to do with her?
Kang Mujin thought of the comrades who had never given up on him through countless battlefields before the regression — even as they were ground down and wounded. He didn’t know why, but thanks to Eunseong’s capricious whim, he’d ended up with formidable equipment. And the other Hunters were fully equipped as well.
Whatever Baek Eunseong’s reason is for issuing these supplies, this time… I will protect them.
A firm resolve settled into Kang Mujin’s dark eyes as he gripped the Lord of Darkness tightly.
