The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 63

I returned straight home. It wasn’t appropriate to discuss the details in the workshop with so many people just a door away.

– Peep – chirp!

Bbyak, perched on the table, stared intently at Myungwoo. For some reason, it seemed deeply impressed. I wondered what it was thinking in that tiny head.

“It’s getting late, what do you want for dinner?”

Myungwoo asked casually, as if he hadn’t just seen an SS-class skill. But it wasn’t quite the same as before.

The anxiety that used to be so visible had completely disappeared. His expression was brighter, and there was a sense of ease in his demeanor and voice.

It was like he was a completely different person with the same appearance. It made sense, but still.

“Is dinner the problem right now?”

I grumbled, hugging Piece and plopping down on the sofa. Why wouldn’t he explain the skill? I was curious since I only saw the skill’s name. I thought he’d be excited to tell me as soon as we got home, but he was being too nonchalant.

“Sit down and explain it to me.”

At my urging, Myungwoo gave a smug smile. Was he deliberately holding back?

“Sorry. I know you must have been curious.”

It was the least sincere apology I’d ever heard. He sat down next to me on the sofa.

“The skill is called ‘Owner of the Golden Forge.’ As I said, it’s an SS-class skill.”

“Forge? Judging by the name, it seems like a special crafting skill, right?”

“Yeah.”

Myungwoo nodded proudly. It was a crafting skill. The name made it seem like a hundred percent certainty, but I was slightly worried something strange might come out.

“As the name suggests, it’s a skill that allows you to create items. Weapons and armor, of course, and even accessories if they contain even a little metal.”

He could make anything as long as it contained metal. It was even more amazing than I expected.

Myungwoo moved his gaze towards the air, as if he had opened the skill description window.

“There are no restrictions on the grade of items I can create.”

“No restrictions?!”

Wasn’t that too overpowered? I thought at best, an SS-class skill would only produce SS-class items.

“There are no restrictions, but at my current level, I think I can only produce low-grade items. There’s something called proficiency here.”

“Proficiency?”

“Yeah. The higher the proficiency level, the higher the probability of producing high-grade items. And the grade of the materials is also important. There’s a ‘Crafting Encyclopedia for Novice Blacksmiths,’ but it only contains… up to A-grade items. It says, ‘Use it only for reference, and unleash your own power for full-fledged item crafting.'”

Instead of restricting the grade of crafted items, the Awakener’s skill seemed to be the key factor. He made me grind for the acquisition, and it seemed like I’d have to keep grinding afterward.

But.

“…The skill description window seems quite detailed?”

Even just listening, the explanation was long, and what was that about a crafting encyclopedia? Wasn’t it too kind?

“I know, right? Unlike Sharpening Stone, it’s very detailed. Is it because it’s an SS-class skill?”

…I wanted to show them my L-class skills with only a single line of description. Hey, System people? Isn’t this a bit too much favoritism? Even if we set aside the resistance skills, the descriptions for my baby skills are too lacking.

“As far as I know, the grade and the length of the skill description aren’t really related.”

Just look at Yoohyun. The Blue Willow Leaf skill had a single line: ‘Creates numerous willow leaves to confuse the enemy.’ That was the end of the explanation.

“Then is it because it’s a special skill? The basic description page is five pages long. And the crafting encyclopedia is over three hundred pages.”

Wow, this is really too much. They made me clutch my neck and chest because of the lack of skill descriptions, and now they’re giving Myungwoo a whole book!

Did the System people pretend to be interested in me, but Myungwoo was the real target all along? Was I just needed to acquire the SS-class crafting skill? They acted all friendly for nothing. This is a complete betrayal, a betrayal!

“…It’s good if the explanation is detailed, I guess.”

“And a bundle of materials came into my inventory too.”

What, what! Hey, System people! You’re being too obvious with your favoritism! You’re just showering him with gifts. Myungwoo took out a pouch from his inventory. It was a small size, good enough to be used as an auxiliary bag. At least they didn’t give him too much.

“It’s a subspace pouch.”

“…Subspace?”

“It can hold up to 1 ton? Amazing.”

Myungwoo was impressed. 1 ton in that small thing… Was it like an auxiliary inventory? There were spatial items, but this was the first time I’d heard of this.

“Look at this. It’s a millennium unicorn horn, an S-grade material. And this is called a hidden star fragment, an SS-grade ore. I’m too precious to use it right now. It all seems to be S-grade or higher?”

“That’s… amazing…….”

It was good that high-grade materials were rolling in for free, it was good, but… No, it was a good thing. It’s better than not giving anything. If he had 1 ton of S-grade or higher materials, he could quickly build up proficiency and churn out S-grade or higher items. It was a good thing.

It was a good thing, but the System people still annoyed me. Their blatant favoritism was too much.

– Peep peep!

Bbyak on the table suddenly ran towards Myungwoo and fell to the floor. No, it seemed to be aiming for the pouch rather than Myungwoo.

“By any chance, are there mana stones in there too?”

“Mana stones? I don’t know…….”

Myungwoo rummaged through the pouch and took out something that looked like a transparent crystal. It was a jewel slightly larger than a child’s head.

– Beep beep beep! Chirp! Beep beep! Chirp chirp!!!

“Put it back, quickly!”

“Oh, okay.”

As soon as the jewel disappeared, Bbyak, who had been going crazy, slumped to the floor in a daze. Its expression was beyond disappointment, as if it had lost its country. It was amazing that such complex emotions could be contained in such tiny eyes.

– Peep… eee…….

“Bbyak, come here.”

– Peep… peep…….

Oh, this little guy, when I picked it up, it was limp like a wet cotton doll.

“What was that anyway?”

“Just an SS-grade mana stone.”

I was sure SS-grade mana stones were supposed to be white. Was he just calling the transparent one white? I’d never actually seen one, so I didn’t know.

“Bbyak, give up your greed. You got a D-grade mana stone today, didn’t you?”

– Peeeee…….

“I’ll raise the grade of your mana stones as you get bigger.”

If it ever grows properly, that is.

Perhaps due to a bug, I had also failed to tame Bbyak. Keyword application was possible, but the status window still only showed □□. The growth conditions were naturally unreadable, and my baby skill couldn’t be used like a taming skill.

Well, it didn’t matter if it stayed F-grade. It’s not like I couldn’t afford its food. Of course, if it tried to eat an SS-grade mana stone like before, even the world’s richest person would go bankrupt.

“Oh, and my stats went up too.”

Myungwoo said, putting the pouch back into his inventory.

“Stats? Without leveling up? No stat increase effects from skills or titles either?”

“Yeah. They just went up when I got the skill, without anything else.”

The grade of stats is determined by the value relative to the level. If the stats increased without leveling up, it meant the grade had increased.

“…Let’s calculate a bit. What’s the average stat? Excluding magic power.”

“The average is… about 21?”

21 meant, relative to the level…….

“That’s E-grade. And on the higher end of E-grade.”

It was close to D-grade. A level where it was highly possible to reach D-grade depending on growth. It was the first time I’d heard of stat grades increasing just by acquiring a skill.

“So am I E-grade now?”

Myungwoo said with a beaming smile. Why did he have so many exceptions?

“Only the stats are E-grade, and the Hunter grade would be at least B or higher. If you increase your proficiency, you’ll definitely be recognized up to A. S-grade is difficult because the basic requirement is the ability to participate in S-grade dungeon raids.”

It was an unreasonable condition. It was practically saying that only combat aptitude could be S-grade.

Anyway, now.

“Myungwoo, what do you want to do?”

It was time to think about the future.

“Currently, you’re the only one with an item crafting skill. And it’s an SS-grade skill with no restrictions on the grade of crafted items, so you can be said to be a truly unique existence in the Hunter world.”

“It’s embarrassing to hear you say that.”

Myungwoo gave an awkward expression.

“It’s just a simple fact. S-grade or higher items are rare. Even if you raid an S-grade dungeon, you usually get S-grade byproducts, including mana stones, but not really items. Weapons and armor are especially rare, so it’s hard to even see them unless you get a first-clear bonus.”

“They only come out during the first raid?”

“They do come out during normal raids, but usually not. To date, only fifteen S-grade weapons have been found in the country, and there are no SS-grade weapons at all.”

Sung Hyunjae’s weapon was said to be SS-grade, but its origin was unknown. SS-grade equipment would increase much more in 5 years. Because the number and difficulty of S-grade dungeons had increased. Nevertheless, the known SS-grade weapons were less than thirty. The last time I saw the news was when the twenty-eighth SS-grade weapon was found. There were more armors than that, and there were hundreds of miscellaneous equipment, but still.

“Even if you only stably produce S-grade weapons, it will be easy to establish yourself. It’s not irreplaceable, but the rarity is high enough. If you even make SS-grade weapons, you’ll receive more attention than me? Giseungsoo [a type of healing item] is only an auxiliary, but weapons increase the Hunter’s ability itself.”

Unless it was a special case like Kang Soyoung, if you had to choose between Giseungsoo and a weapon, everyone would choose the latter. Shortening the dungeon raid time and becoming stronger and safer, was there any need to think long and hard about it?

“And if you create an SSS-grade or higher weapon. You, Yoo Myungwoo, will be the only one who can raise the grade of an S-grade Hunter.”

On average, if you were fully equipped with equipment two or more grades higher, your actual Hunter grade could be considered to have increased by one grade. However, there was a limit to the grade supplementation due to equipment, so even if an F-grade was covered in S-grade equipment, the limit was around the upper D-grade. The same was true for other grades.

A B-grade could become A-grade level by covering themselves in S-grade equipment. If an A-grade was covered in SS-grade equipment, it was theoretically possible to have the ability of an S-grade.

That was it. SSS-grade equipment had never been released.

“No one in the world will be able to surpass your status. All S-grade Hunters will be desperate for you. Because if you are chosen by Yoo Myungwoo, you can become the strongest Hunter in the world. The first-ever Hunter with SS-grade stats! Isn’t it cool, isn’t it amazing. Isn’t it the best?”

Talking about it made me think it was worth giving Myungwoo special treatment. Since there were no restrictions on the grade of crafted items, an L-grade item could come out. Besides, there was the Wish Stone, a mythical item.

Mythical equipment. It might not be just SSS-grade, but an L-grade stat Hunter. The Hunter grade increase compared to the equipment grade was only theoretical from S-grade onwards.

“Aren’t you exaggerating too much?”

“It’s an objective fact. But I don’t think it’s possible to be independent right now. The top priority is safety, and then there’s the problem of material procurement. You’ll need a lot of practice to build up proficiency.”

You could buy materials and make items to sell. But that buying and selling time was a waste. In the beginning, only low-grade items would come out, and low-grade items didn’t sell well. Because the purchasing power of low-grade Hunters was relatively low. There weren’t many Hunters yet because the Awakening Center hadn’t been established.

So it was much more efficient to receive support, get a lot of materials, and churn out a lot of practice items.

“The easiest way is to join a large guild. If they confirm your skill, they won’t spare any support and you’ll be able to grow quickly. They’ll take care of everything else too. You just have to make items without worrying about trivial things.”

That might be better for Myungwoo. It would be easier on his body and mind.

“But if you don’t want to belong to a guild and want to set up an independent item workshop without interference, I can help you. No, I want to invest in you.”

It wasn’t like helping him like before. Yoo Myungwoo could go anywhere and be welcomed.

“Invest?”

“Yeah. You know I’m leaving Haeyeon soon. So… I’m inviting you to come with me. It’s just an invitation, you don’t have to feel pressured. Being affiliated with a guild is definitely easier.”

If possible, I didn’t want Myungwoo to belong to any particular guild. If he joined a specific guild, they would definitely try to monopolize the items, especially S-grade or higher equipment. Unless the increase in dungeon difficulty and number increased slowly over 5 years like before, monopolization in the current situation was not good. Above all, there was a high possibility that they would try to control the number of equipment produced. Because it was easier to maintain the premium if the quantity didn’t exceed a certain level.

“If you’re going to join a guild, please make it Haeyeon if possible. For my sake.”

Even if it was Haeyeon Guild, I could interfere somehow. I could include a clause in the contract prohibiting excessive monopolization or quantity restrictions.

“If I become independent, even if I get help from you, Yoojin, there will be many things I have to handle myself.”

Myungwoo said calmly.

“That’s probably true. All I can provide is a safe place, materials, funds, and connections with the Hunters who come to me. But if you make a few high-grade items, word will spread quickly. If an S-grade or higher comes out, you’re the boss, so you can do whatever you want… but that itself might be tiring.”

Lining up famous Hunters and wielding them as hostages for items also required the right aptitude. If you were timid, that situation itself would be stressful. And if you were seen as easy to take advantage of, there would definitely be some empty-headed guys who would look down on you and act arrogantly.

Should I tell him to join Haeyeon Guild after all?

“Just choose whatever is comfortable for you.”

He had already suffered a lot. I couldn’t make him suffer more.

“Honestly, I didn’t think such a good skill would come out.”

Myungwoo scratched the back of his head and continued.

“But according to you, if I just work hard, I can become more than a giant guild. Right?”

“Of course.”

“Then there’s no need to think long and hard. Being stupidly cooped up at home is enough for once.”

My heart twinged at his words as he got up. I hadn’t let him out much, was he blaming me? He must be talking about the kidnapping.

“If something like that happens again. Then…….”

He didn’t finish his sentence and smiled brightly.

“Want to see my forge?”