Regression Guidelines For the Supporting Character-Chapter 34

If it was about main characters, that would mean Cha Sahyeon, categorized as a villain, and Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and the man in front of me, categorized as protagonists — three people in total?

So, I could randomly use one skill from among four people?

'Wait, if it’s those four, then...'

Thinking that far, I hurriedly called out a name in my mind.

'Please, Ryu Sunghyun, Ryu Sunghyun, Ryu Sunghyun!'

If I could use one skill from among the four, my choice was, of course, Ryu Sunghyun.

Honestly, there was no other good option.

Kwon Taehyuk’s skill, Blade Rush — sure, it was incredibly powerful, but for someone like me who only had a longsword in hand, it wasn’t that useful.

In that case, Cha Sahyeon's Living Shadow skill had better versatility, but since it was only B-rank, it wasn’t enough to fight an S-rank opponent.

Not to mention it could only be used once — the difference in power would be too big.

Which left Ryu Sunghyun and the man in front of me.

If I copied the Chain Summoning and Manipulation skill, there was no way it would work well against the original owner.

On top of that, it might cause misunderstandings — like my skills were some kind of copy ability.

'...Well, maybe that could be useful too?'

Getting some payback against this annoying bastard wasn’t a bad idea, but I didn’t want to waste such a precious chance just for that.

Anyway, for all those reasons, the only real choice was Ryu Sunghyun.

The skill — Embodiment of Light — just hearing the name sounded cool as hell.

It was a brilliant skill that could be used as long as there was even a single point of light, no matter how dark it was.

Even though it was a dark rooftop with just the two of us, there was plenty of light around — the distant glow of the shopping district buildings, the streetlights, the headlights of cars — light sources everywhere.

So, please...

《Selecting the target for skill acquisition.》

《Loading......》

Please work...!

《Selection complete.》

《Skill automatically acquired!》

《Acquired Skill: Embodiment of Light (S-rank)》

[Embodiment of Light (S-rank)]

Amplify and transform light into a desired form.

*Warning! Single-use skill.

"This is it!"

Unable to hold it in, I let out a victorious laugh, almost like a scream.

"What is it?"

The man, puzzled by my sudden laughter in the middle of battle, asked.

I ignored him and immediately activated the skill.

I had already thought through exactly how I was going to use Embodiment of Light.

It was a little disappointing to use Ryu Sunghyun’s amazing skill on someone I wasn’t even supposed to kill, but I had no choice.

《Activating Skill: Embodiment of Light (S-rank)》

As the status window popped up, golden light burst from my body.

"What the...!"

The gentle light quickly grew, expanding explosively.

Even through the mask, the man couldn’t endure the blinding brightness, reflexively raising his arm to shield his face.

I didn’t miss the chance — I kept the light blazing and kicked off the ground, sprinting forward.

As I closed the distance, a countdown began flashing beside me.

《Embodiment of Light (S-rank) Active (Remaining time: 10 seconds)》

《Embodiment of Light (S-rank) Active (Remaining time: 9 seconds)》

'Even if it’s single-use, only «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» ten seconds? That's harsh!'

Just when I thought the system was finally helping me, it had to pull this kind of crap.

Grinding my teeth, I barely managed to reach him before time ran out.

I reached out with the hand not holding the sword.

"Urgh!"

Grabbing him by the collar before he could react to the overwhelming brightness, I slammed him straight to the ground.

《Embodiment of Light (S-rank) Active (Remaining time: 3 seconds)》

《Embodiment of Light (S-rank) Active (Remaining time: 2 seconds)》

《Embodiment of Light (S-rank) Active (Remaining time: 1 second)》

Boom!

I pinned him to the ground, placing the blade of my sword against his throat, just as the countdown ended and the light vanished.

《Time's up. New Hidden Skill deleted.》

"Hah."

Finally realizing what had happened, the man let out a hollow laugh. Looking down at him, I smirked and said,

"Told you not to be so full of yourself."

I tapped the blade lightly against his neck twice, almost teasingly.

"I’ll spare you just this once."

No matter how shady and annoying he was, since the status window labeled him as a 'Main Character,' I couldn't kill him.

Forget killing — if I wanted him to become an ally later, I couldn’t push him too hard.

Clicking my tongue, I withdrew the sword and got up from where I had been straddling his body.

There was no time to waste — even now, Cha Sahyeon’s condition could be getting worse.

"...You’re really just going to leave?"

Still staring up at me, the man slowly raised his upper body and asked.

"I understand not wanting to kill, but shouldn’t you at least vent your anger a little? You're just going to walk away?"

I frowned at the pointless question.

"What, you want me to beat you into the ground?"

"......."

At my openly annoyed reaction, the man tilted his head, falling silent for a moment, then said,

"No. I admit it. You really are the number-one Hunter, 'Cover.' Sorry for doubting you."

The strange vibe he had been giving off earlier vanished instantly, replaced by a polite and relaxed tone.

Receiving an apology now meant nothing, so I turned away without replying.

As I turned my back to leave, he shouted behind me,

"I’ll accept the deal we talked about earlier! You agree too, right?"

"Do whatever you want."

Leaving those words behind, I didn’t hesitate — I hurled myself over the edge of the building.

Whoosh—

The wind whipped my hair wildly as I plunged down, grabbing onto steel pipes and railings attached to the building’s walls, landing safely on the ground.

"This is insane..."

I fixed my crooked mask and started walking briskly.

The thought of having left a ticking time bomb back home made my mouth go dry.

Luckily, the status window hadn’t sent any warnings about Cha Sahyeon yet, but I couldn’t relax.

The Seed of Catastrophe's progression was linked to Cha Sahyeon’s emotions — the worse the mood, the faster the progression.

'It’s definitely been long enough for them to have come out of the bathroom...'

I ran frantically, imagining what Cha Sahyeon might be doing.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.

Would they be sitting quietly on the sofa like last time after the ranking match, waiting for me with an expressionless face, alone in the darkness? That thought sent a chill down my spine.

Unlike before, this time it was entirely my fault.

I had no idea how I was supposed to make it up to them.

If I failed and only ended up making them angrier, I was screwed for real.

'Ways to calm the kid down, ways to calm them down...'

I was sprinting through the busy shopping district — the fastest route home — when something caught my eye.

"Huh?"

A familiar shop sign came into view.

'Maybe... this could work?'

I stopped in the street, hesitating briefly, then made a quick decision and headed toward the sign.

If I was doomed either way, I might as well try something.

All I could do was pray that our mighty little villain would be merciful.

***

"Ahem."

Standing in front of the office door, I cleared my throat nervously.

I could feel Cha Sahyeon’s energy clearly from beyond the door.

I had to go in — but I couldn’t bring myself to open it.

I was terrified to face whatever disaster might be waiting inside.

'Maybe they smashed all the furniture?'

Imagining the place wrecked like a typhoon had hit, I nodded to myself.

If Cha Sahyeon’s anger ended with just some broken furniture, I’d honestly be grateful.

"Huu..."

After running through about ten worst-case scenarios in my head, I finally gathered the courage to grab the door handle.

Well — if you could call it courage.

It felt closer to resignation.

Why was I always facing these trials?

Honestly, I just wanted to give up and run away.

Swallowing my tears inside, I cautiously turned the handle and pushed the door open.

It would have been too pathetic to run away after making it this far.

"So... uh, kiddo? I’m back— huh?"

Clutching the paper bag tightly in my hand, I greeted awkwardly — but I couldn’t finish the sentence.

"What... the hell?"

Beyond the door was pitch-black darkness, so complete that nothing was visible.

Seeing that blackness filling the entire room, a chill ran down my spine.

"This is..."

Frozen in place, unable to step inside, that was when it happened.

Shhhhk!

Something black — something unknown — shot out from the darkness like a tentacle and wrapped around my ankle.

The hideous, cold touch sent goosebumps crawling down my back.

"H-hold on...!"

Before I could tear it off, a powerful force yanked my leg hard — and I was helplessly dragged into the dark room without even a chance to grab onto anything.