The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 3

3. My Brother is Strange (1)

I was sitting on a bed, not amidst a dragon’s corpse. The awful stench of blood had vanished completely. Even the clothes I was wearing had changed.

‘…Did I really return to the past?’

For starters, the status window wasn’t opening. No inventory either. Five years ago, I hadn’t even awakened yet.

‘Yoo-hyun was already a successful guild leader back then.’

The Guild Haeyeon. A guild that showed rapid growth focusing on a small elite, eventually establishing itself as the best in Korea, both in name and reality.

Of course, I couldn’t get in. …There were a lot of guys who hated me among the guild members.

‘I heard them telling me to get lost and not hang around the Guild Leader about a hundred times.’

Ugh, so petty. Fine, I’ll live quietly this time.

I rummaged through my pockets and found my phone. The date was… oh, it really is 5 years ago. The most recent message—

‘Wait, this is an Awakening Broker?’

The content of my contact with the Awakening Broker from this morning remained. Seeing it, the events of the past flashed back.

‘I’ve returned to that time.’

It was three years since dungeons appeared in the world and awakened hunters emerged. A time when the rapidly changing society was gradually stabilizing.

I was just staring at the back of my successful younger brother, an S-Class Awakened, writhing in inferiority. And I had contacted an Awakening Broker with the vain hope that I could become like him if I just awakened.

Awakening Broker. Simply put, a scammer.

A broker who says that even non-awakened can awaken if they clear a dungeon, takes a huge sum of money, and illegally lets them into the dungeon. But most of them either take the money and disappear or, even if they take you to the dungeon, they don’t provide protection.

‘In the first place, awakening doesn’t happen by clearing a dungeon.’

There is a high possibility of awakening in response to the dangerous environment of a dungeon, but it has nothing to do with clearing it. That fact will be revealed to the public in half a year when the Korean Hunter Association creates a safe awakening facility, and the brokers will disappear completely.

Anyway, I was about to go meet that broker with a wad of cash when—

‘I was caught by my brother’s subordinate and dragged back here.’

Yes, I remember clearly. This was one of the guest rooms in the Haeyeon Guild building.

Soon, my brother will come and nag me with a face that says he’s utterly displeased. As soon as I thought that, the door burst open. Han Yoo-hyun stepped inside.

He’s no saint either.

“Hyung.”

My living brother called me. The face looking at me is very young. Even after 5 years, he wasn’t old, but now he was really young.

He was twenty years old now.

Barely labeled as an adult, an age when he would still be a student if it were a peaceful world. Or just enlisted in the army. Of course, the military still existed.

‘He’s an S-Rank Awakened, so he got an exemption.’

I went and came back. So many guys awaken in the military and get discharged early, but I couldn’t awaken. I would have been discharged after my full term with just an F-Rank. Exemption starts from E-Rank.

Anyway, that guy is so successful that he didn’t even go to the military… Ah, I’m about to explode with inferiority again.

Let’s abandon greed. Let’s abandon煩惱 [bonnō – earthly desires]. Namu Amitabha Buddha [homage to Amitabha Buddha, a common Buddhist invocation].

I got up from my seat and walked towards Yoo-hyun, who was making a sulky face. Seeing him up close, I felt the 5 years even more intensely.

I didn’t think much of it at this time before the regression, but looking back now, I thought the young guy must have suffered a lot. No matter how S-Class he was, creating and growing his own guild wouldn’t have been easy.

And the only brother he had was causing trouble.

…I was wrong.

“The dungeon brokers—”

“I’m sorry.”

I apologized first. My brother, who was about to rattle off a lecture, shut his mouth.

He looked at me as if I were some creature he was seeing for the first time.

“I won’t do that again.”

Everything. I’ll just live quietly according to my station. Yoo-hyun made a confused expression and carefully opened his mouth.

“If, by any chance, you’ve caused some big accident…”

“It’s nothing like that.”

This kid doesn’t trust his brother. But he has a point.

I smiled and nudged his arm.

“I was just sitting and thinking, and I realized I was immature.”

The dragon’s back was cool and perfect for clearing my head.

My brother was embarrassed by my words and was flustered.

“No, it’s not that you’re immature…”

“What do you mean, no? Hey, can I give you a hug?”

“Huh, uh?”

“It’s been a while.”

It’s been a while for him, but not for me. The sensation of his body growing cold was vivid under my palms.

“…Do as you please.”

Yoo-hyun hesitated but nodded. Geez, what’s with being shy when your brother wants to hug you?

I’m getting goosebumps too, though.

I reached out and hugged my brother, who had grown so much. He was smaller than this before I awakened.

“My brother, Han Yoo-hyun.”

The body in my arms was warm. I could hear his slightly quickened heartbeat and breathing.

With deep relief and something welling up inside, I said something I would never normally say.

“I love you.”

His body flinched. Hey, I’m embarrassed too, so don’t say anything. Just—

[Awakener ‘Han Yoo-jin’ registration complete.]

…Huh?

[Legendary title ‘Perfect Nurturer’ granted!]

Uh, uh?

[The effect of the title ‘Perfect Nurturer’ is activated.

Perfect Nurturer Additional Skill – My Baby is the Best

Awakener ‘Han Yoo-hyun’s growth rate is doubled.

Duration – 3 days]

Ugh?!?!

Crazy. What is this cheat skill?

The Nurturer title was common. Parents and siblings who cared for and raised awakeners could easily obtain it. It was possible even if they weren’t blood relatives.

If the nurtured person’s awakening rank was C-Class or higher and the relationship was amicable, the title appeared eighty or ninety percent of the time. Nurtured person’s rank C-Class to B-Class was ‘Clumsy Nurturer’. A-Class was ‘Mediocre Nurturer’. Finally, S-Class was just ‘Nurturer’.

Since there were no awakeners above S-Class, I thought the ‘Nurturer’ title was the highest rank.

‘Perfect Nurturer? What the heck is this?’

Moreover, the growth rate buff is doubled.!

My previous title, ‘Nurturer,’ gave a maximum of 10 percent additional growth buff. The duration was only one day. But doubled? That means you can raise a level in half a year that would normally take a year?

‘No, it’s not about levels, it’s about skills. The higher the rank of the skill, the slower the growth rate!’

Wow, this is totally a cheat. If you give me a buff before entering the dungeon, I’ll grow at lightning speed and come out.

“…Hyung?”

“Uh, yeah. No.”

I was so surprised that I kept hugging him.

When I let go and quickly stepped back, Yoo-hyun coughed with a slightly reddened face.

“…I know I’ve been overbearing at times, but thank you for saying that, Hyung.”

“No, no need to thank me.”

“…….”

“…….”

An awkward silence fell. Um. Hmm, hmm.

Just when I couldn’t stand the subtle atmosphere and wanted to break the window and jump out, Yoo-hyun spoke first.

“…Do you want to have dinner together later? It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, I’d love to.”

“Okay. Then, I have some work to do.”

“Okay, good work.”

My brother left and the door closed. I grabbed my hair.

‘Wow, damn it. So awkward.’

Is it going to be like this when we have dinner? It’s been 3 years for Yoo-hyun, but 8 years for me. Should I have said yes? Should I cancel now—

Bang.

“I almost forgot.”

Yoo-hyun, who I thought had left, opened the door again. You scared me.

“Delete the Awakening Broker’s contact information.”

He said, looking at the phone on the bed.

“I’m going to make it so they can’t answer even if you call anyway.”

“…What?”

I must be mistaken to hear that he’s going to catch the broker and beat them up.

Yoo-hyun didn’t leave even after he finished speaking and kept staring at me. …Does he want me to delete it right now? When I picked up the phone and showed him that I was deleting the broker’s contact information, he left with a satisfied expression.

My brother’s attitude felt a bit unsettling, but more than that.

‘My status window!’

I quickly opened the status window.

[Awakener Han Yoo-jin

Title – Dragon Slayer (L), Perfect Nurturer (L)]

Wait a minute. Dragon Slayer?

‘Why are you here?’