The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 102

102. Ancient Dragonkin (1)

“Curse fighting! I’ll give you a set with a custom-made prosthetic arm of the highest quality and an eye patch, all tied up with a pretty ribbon!”

Liete shouted excitedly. *Please don’t.* I had an ominous feeling that my remaining life might be mortgaged. Even Noah was restless, looking like a mother cow being sold off at a market. He looked like he was about to cry.

“It’s been a while since I’ve gambled, so I’m nervous.”

Sung Hyunjae said with a face that didn’t show even an ant’s worth of tension. I’d feel sorry if he *were* really nervous. He really takes care of my conscience better than anyone else in the world.

“You’re going to take everything you can get, no matter the outcome, so stop being so dramatic.”

“You’ll wrap it up for me, right?”

“I’ll even give you a receipt.”

Of course, the best thing for both of us would be a successful cure. But even if things go wrong, we still have the hill to lean on called the Elixir and the system creators. I don’t know if it will work on L-class curse sequelae [after-effects], though.

I took a breath and held out my hand.

“Give me the contract. I’m going to tear it up.”

Sung Hyunjae took out the contract from his inventory. A thin, black plate the size of an A4 sheet of paper had unreadable characters engraved on it. He held it out, casting an interested gaze as if to say, ‘Go ahead and try to tear it.’ *Ah, really.*

As expected, no matter how much I strained my grip, the thin plate didn’t budge. I took out a knife and stabbed it, but not even a scratch appeared. Is the durability of an L-class contract also L-class?

“…Let’s go with breaking the contract. I don’t know exactly how far the curse resistance goes, so bend over a little. Or sit down somewhere.”

I had to stick to it like I was using poison resistance. It’s a relief it’s just my eyes and arm; it would have been ridiculous if the contract included my legs. Sung Hyunjae sat down on the rubble of the building, using it as a chair. He was about to break a contract that risked a part of his body, but he still had a nonchalant expression. Doesn’t he have any worries?

‘If Sung Hyunjae is safe, I can release Yoohyun’s contract too.’

It’s probably a contract with similar conditions by the same person.

“You’re thinking about your brother again.”

“…Excuse me?”

Sung Hyunjae tilted his head and looked up at me, continuing.

“If I’m safe, you’ll run off to release Han Yoohyun’s contract, right?”

“Don’t read my mind as you please.”

“I can’t help it if it’s all over your face.”

What’s on my face? I reached out and placed my hand on Sung Hyunjae’s right shoulder. I had a slight urge to grab the back of his head under the guise of needing to make contact and tear it off by mistake. I wonder if S-classes have strong hair follicles too.

“I don’t really like being a test subject for someone else.”

“Yoohyun doesn’t know much anyway. He seemed to have washed his hands of it early on.”

“That’s right. The young master cut ties quickly. It wasn’t like Liete, who ignored it completely; his ambiguous attitude was strange. Thinking about it now, it was because of Han Yoojin.”

It’s my fault again? Yeah, I was always the problem.

“Did I make a mistake?”

“No, please continue.”

Sung Hyunjae, glancing at my expression, opened his mouth again.

“The way they approach is simple. They first present information about items or skills. They say things like, ‘If you attack a certain dungeon in a certain way, you can get this,'”

It was similar to what I heard from Liete. Do they know the system well, like the system creators? But they don’t seem to know about me, so their intelligence is lacking.

Unlike the system creators, who can only send convenience messages outside the dungeon, they seemed to be able to directly interfere with our world.

“The first time is a bait, and then they offer a contract. The content is simple: to keep silent about their identity and the information you learn. Of course, I adjusted the conditions a bit more meticulously. To the extent that I can tell this much.”

“So, you can keep getting advantageous information if you just keep your mouth shut? That’s too generous of a condition, isn’t it?”

“There’s a reason why the conditions are light. Those self-proclaimed filial piety addicts…”

The moment his low, laughing voice spoke, I felt a strong repulsion, and a message window popped up.

[All skill effects are doubled when facing the owner of the Cursed Poison Dragon King, □□□□□!]

Owner of the Cursed Poison Dragon King. I unconsciously chuckled. So it was you.

I didn’t even know it had an owner and just thought I was unlucky. Your miserable lizard bit my brother, so I need to meet you face to face and get compensation. Don’t you think?

“So, how can I meet that bastard?”

“There were definitely no criminal records. It’s certain that he’s lived a normal life without dirtying his hands, but he occasionally has eyes that look like he’s killed a person or two.”

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I mean I like it.”

Sung Hyunjae jumped up from his seat. A large hand grabbed me as I staggered, unable to prepare. It was his healthy right hand. His eyes were, of course, also fine. The 2x skill effect had appeared, so it was a natural result.

“The reason they set light conditions is simple. It’s because you can’t escape this world without their help.”

He straightened me up and continued.

“This world that will soon disappear. In short, it’s like, ‘If you don’t want to die, do as you’re told.’ It’s boring and uninteresting.”

“What does that mean?”

Liete, who was still sitting on the pile of stones at a distance, interjected.

“Is Earth going to be destroyed? When? If I had known, I would have lived a little more recklessly.”

I think you’ve lived recklessly enough.

“So, if you help those filial piety addicts, they’ll let you escape?”

“That’s about it. But it can’t be just anyone. You need to be at least an S-class stat, and even then, you need to be in the upper ranks to withstand the shock of leaving the world. The young master probably gave up after hearing that. The possibility of his precious brother awakening to an S-class stat seemed nonexistent. I can’t know exactly like with Han Yoojin’s skill, but mid-to-high stat people show some talent even before awakening. Like how all famous athletes are at least mid-level or higher.”

I was ordinary, and the result was an ordinary F-class. Yoohyun, that bastard, really…….

“The thing they want you to help with is destroying this neighborhood?”

“It’s already collapsing without needing to touch it. It’ll end when more dungeons appear and monsters get stronger, making it impossible to hold on.”

“Then what are those strange groups trying to do? Surely, they’re not some kind of rescue team.”

If they’re really some kind of rescue team, should I somehow persuade Yoohyun to join hands again?

“Letting it collapse according to the natural order. The goal is to eliminate certain factors that can interfere with that. As for why they want that, well, I haven’t heard that far. Since they’re filial piety addicts, maybe their parents want the world to end or something.”

I’m curious about their parents’ faces.

Anyway, it seemed that the system creators wanted our world to be intact for now. If the world isn’t going to collapse, we need to keep attacking the dungeons so they don’t keep exploding, and to do that, we need a lot of strong hunters.

That’s probably why they told me to gather S-classes.

“Does the ‘certain factor that can interfere’ mean particularly strong hunters?”

“Probably. Just looking at the people they approached, they’re not ordinary S-classes. If they succeed in attracting them, they get rid of an obstacle and the certain factor itself disappears, killing two birds with one stone. That’s why they put so much effort into 영업 [sales/business development], right?”

“What were they planning to do if someone betrayed them like Sung Hyunjae after giving them information and raising them?”

“Just contracting with them means you can’t be a certain factor, or so they say.”

That reminded me of Yoohyun being attacked in the snow-covered dungeon. If you get involved with the filial piety addicts, you’ll be ostracized by the system creators. Maybe that’s why, but without the help of the system creators, you can’t become that certain factor or whatever.

Anyway, Yoohyun has already contracted, so he wouldn’t be that certain factor or whatever anymore.

But why were those bastards trying to kill Yoohyun?

“The way to contact them is—”

*Thud.*

Sung Hyunjae’s hand pushed my chest. I was pushed back hard, and I heard the rough sound of the ground scraping against my ear.

My head was in chaos, but I reflexively used Teacher Skill. First, on Noah, the safest target. Immediately after, I saw the situation.

A large wound had appeared on Sung Hyunjae’s chest, who was now far away. His appearance, soaked in his own blood, felt unfamiliar.

And in front of me, someone was taking the place where Sung Hyunjae had been standing, but even before I could properly recognize it.

*Crack!*

“Yoojin-ssi!”

A burning pain ran through my entire body. My vision went dizzy for a moment. It wasn’t so much an attack as someone’s hand gripping my leg. In the midst of that, my leg was pierced by a nail. I swallowed a scream and hurriedly shouted.

“Don’t come, Noah!”

If Sung Hyunjae had failed to dodge the attack properly, Noah would naturally be no match. I then used Teacher Skill on Sung Hyunjae and Liete as well. I immediately felt Sung Hyunjae’s Combat Prediction Skill.

“…What is that?”

Liete, who had received Sung Hyunjae’s skill, muttered in confusion. It wasn’t that she was questioning the skill. She was surprised by the dragonkin who grabbed me… a monster with no openings to exploit.

While the three of them couldn’t move easily, the dragonkin raised the hand that was holding me.

“…Keuh.”

The pierced wound was pulled, and a groan escaped from my tightly closed teeth. Wait, Noah. Endure.

I somehow supported my trembling upper body with my arms and turned my head to look at the dragonkin. Horns, a tail, scales covering his entire body. A shape that was a moderate mix of human and dragon, but without wings. I used Seedling Skill on him.

[Ancient Dragonkin of 2nd Class Poison and Curse – Vikus

Current Stat Grade: SS

Awakening Possible Stat Grade: S

Optimized Initial Skills

Acquired Dragon Scales (SS)

Acquired Melted City (SS)

Failed to Acquire Full Dragon Transformation (SS)

Acquired Shadow Magic (S)

Acquired Combat Enhancement (S)]

…With those stats and skills, he’s only 2nd class. Impressive. It’s surprising that the awakening possible stat grade is S. I reached out and grabbed Shalos’ bead hanging on my necklace. Even if I use it now, it won’t heal the wound, so should I save it? Even combined with Noah’s, it’s only 30 minutes.

‘If he wanted to kill me, he would have already done it.’

Sung Hyunjae clearly said that those filial piety addicts wanted to capture me. Liete also said it was a kidnapping. More than that, why didn’t they send a guy like this from the beginning? Did they overdo it because they knew Sung Hyunjae’s contract was broken?

Then the dragonkin opened his mouth.

“□□□□□□□□□□.”

…He spoke? I can’t understand him, though. The translation item didn’t work either.

Sung Hyunjae and Liete, who had healed their wounds, were slowly approaching. Noah wasn’t rashly stepping forward and was giving the two of them support skills. But it was still disadvantageous. The Combat Prediction Skill was telling me that there was no answer. It wasn’t that we couldn’t fight at all, but even if the two of them skillfully coordinated their attacks, the damage to both sides would be about 70 to 30. We’re the 70.

In the air, taut with tension, the dragonkin bared his teeth and smiled. He was confident. Poisonous energy began to ripple around him.

‘This won’t do.’

The Rauchitas skill message popped up earlier, and the status window description was the same. This guy was also a Cursed Poison Dragonkin. The skill effect is doubled.

‘…Teacher Skill.’

If I could unilaterally receive the dragonkin’s senses in addition to Combat Prediction. Then we would definitely be at an advantage. Noah and Liete had no resistance to Teacher Skill. That dragonkin would reject it, but if the skill effect was doubled, he could endure it somehow, right?

There’s no other way. As soon as I came to a conclusion, I used Teacher Skill on the dragonkin. I unilaterally transmitted his senses to the three of them and used Shalos’ bead. I felt a headache, but maybe it was because I didn’t know much about the skill, but the resistance was weaker than I thought.

Sung Hyunjae and Liete, both of whom had received the dragonkin’s senses, reversed their passive stance.

*Clatter!*

A chain with electricity pierced the dragonkin’s feet. Liete’s blade deflected the movement to block the chain.

*Fizz!*

The electricity, narrowed to a local area to increase its power, temporarily paralyzed the dragonkin,

*Clang!*

Liete cut off the nail that had pierced my leg. Before the pain from the impact could reach my brain, Sung Hyunjae, who had come as if he had planned it, snatched me up and retreated. Liete barely managed to stop the dragonkin from chasing after us.

“Are you okay?”

“…I’m barely alive.”

First, I stopped using Shalos’ bead. The bead that had lost its light had a slight crack, but it was still okay. To use the time accurately, I took out a new bead and hung it around my neck and looked down at my leg. The cut-off nail was still embedded in it. Blood continued to flow along the metallic gray tip of the nail.

…I need to heal it to stop the bleeding. Remove the foreign object first and then the potion… *Damn it.* That damn lizard human is spreading poison, so I can’t even turn off poison resistance. I cursed inwardly and said to Sung Hyunjae.

“If I lose consciousness, do whatever it takes to wake me up immediately.”

If the skill turns off, Liete is in danger. Even now, she’s barely holding on with Noah’s healing skill, but if Teacher Skill is gone, she’ll be defeated.

“The young master will be furious if he finds out.”

“Let’s keep it a secret for each other.”

Sung Hyunjae held me up again. And then, with a chilling sound, the nail embedded in my leg was pulled out. I think I screamed. But I didn’t lose consciousness. The skill was still maintained. A sweet taste lingered in my mouth.

In the brief moment of dizziness, the potion soaked my leg, and the wound healed. Damn lizard bastard, if you’re going to catch me, catch me gently. My stat is F, I’ll die from excessive bleeding. Why did the owner send such a stupid lizard? Is the owner’s brain also at the lizard level?

“Two 10-minute invincibility beads, and one was used for a moment, so let’s say it’s about 17 minutes. If I get one more from Noah, it’s 27 minutes. Plenty of time, right? Or you can use one yourself and ignore the attack for 10 minutes and beat him up.”

That’s a good idea. I said, grinding my teeth, but Sung Hyunjae was staring at me intently.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I feel like I’m going to fall for you.”

“I thought you already fell for me.”

“I might fall for you again.”

“Is it fun to die, huh? Your eyes and arms are fine, so isn’t this enough of a price to pay?”

“You value me so lowly, it’s sad.”

“Enough, let’s just catch that bastard and kill him.”

I’ll catch and kill your two pet lizards. So let’s see your face, you damn owner.