The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 157

Han Yoohyun, disguised as Kim Min-yi, exited the car. He had arrived at a large mansion, isolated from any other signs of life. The nearby houses weren’t just empty of residents; they were completely uninhabited. It appeared the surrounding properties had been acquired to create a secure perimeter.

Han Yoohyun approached the front door and pressed the doorbell. Instead of an audible response, a surveillance camera focused on his face. He looked directly into the lens without hesitation, confident that the glasses he wore would blur and distort his image on the monitor. To any non-living observer, the image would appear as a mosaic.

After a moment, a man emerged from inside to open the door himself. This man, clearly a high-ranking Hunter, confirmed Han Yoohyun’s identity—or rather, Kim Min-yi’s.

“Come in.”

Han Yoohyun moved deliberately, his hesitation growing as he walked through the garden and into the mansion.

The reception room was dimly lit and smelled faintly of new furniture, suggesting the mansion was rarely used.

Soon, Choi Seokwon appeared. Han Yoohyun feigned surprise, though he was genuinely taken aback. He hadn’t expected the MKC Guild Leader to reveal himself so quickly.

‘Does he want to finalize the recruitment before I finish the dungeon raid?’ he wondered.

Given the speed of his last dungeon raid, Choi Seokwon’s impatience was understandable. The Guild Leader approached Han Yoohyun with a disarming smile.

“Hunter Kim Min-yi, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”

“The pleasure is mine, Guild Leader Choi Seokwon. It’s my first time meeting you.”

“Let’s get straight to the point. I need your help to kidnap Han Yoojin.”

Choi Seokwon’s tone carried an undercurrent of arrogance.

“That’s unexpected. I assumed we would be discussing my recruitment.”

“Recruitment? Everyone’s making a fuss about a supposed new S-Rank Hunter, but I’m not buying it. If you were a genuine S-Rank, Seok Simyeong, that sly fox, wouldn’t have let me get anywhere near you. Since you’re stuck babysitting Han Yoojin, you can’t be a B-Rank support. At best, you’re an A-Rank combat type, am I right?”

Choi Seokwon smiled, clearly pleased with his deduction.

“By spreading rumors of an S-Rank and assigning you to protect Han Yoojin, they create the illusion of having a real S-Rank Hunter by his side. It’s an effective deterrent against rash attacks.”

“Are you so certain of your assumptions?”

Choi Seokwon frowned at the calm, almost cold tone of Han Yoohyun’s voice.

“Even if I’m wrong, you’re still an unproven S-Rank. Just answer the question.”

Choi Seokwon produced a contract.

“Cooperate willingly, and you’ll be handsomely compensated. Judging by the fact that you turned down other offers to come here, you’re not entirely opposed to changing affiliations, are you?”

“Why are you rushing into this so carelessly? Who are you planning to kidnap Han Yoojin for? Who are you going to trade him to?”

“That’s none of your concern! Let’s make this mutually beneficial. What do you want?”

Han Yoohyun stared at Choi Seokwon. Despite the Guild Leader’s arrogance, his underlying unease was palpable. He seemed like a prey animal cornered by a predator, an impression that didn’t suit an S-Rank Hunter.

‘Is it because of the Filial Piety Addict’s contract?’ Han Yoohyun wondered.

‘In any case, if he doesn’t intend to answer while alive, I can always ask his corpse.’

“Capture him.”

The moment the command was given, Choi Seokwon sensed something was wrong. There was another presence in the room. But it was too late.

The venomous claws reached the back of his neck. Simultaneously, a sharp blade aimed for his Adam’s apple. Even if he reacted to the attack from behind, he couldn’t keep up with the movements in front of him.

Not an A-Rank, nor a rookie.

“You…”

Choi Seokwon gritted his teeth. The sword pointed at him looked familiar.

“Han Yoo- Ugh!”

The venom spread instantly, ensnaring his entire body like a spiderweb, and Choi Seokwon’s knees buckled. Noah, venom dripping from her fingertips, glared coldly at Han Yoohyun.

“Do not command me. I am only cooperating for Han Yoojin’s safety.”

Han Yoohyun didn’t reply, instead looking down at Choi Seokwon. Noah’s poison, while not particularly lethal for an S-Rank skill, excelled at paralyzing the body and restricting movement. Once it took hold, escape was difficult even with significant detoxification abilities.

“Terminate the contract with the Filial Piety Addict. Then I’ll spare your life.”

Han Yoohyun said. Of course, it was a lie. He had no intention of letting someone who was targeting his brother live. But killing him immediately risked his corpse being used, as had happened with Yoon Gyeongsoo.

Han Yoohyun bent down and picked up the contract that had fallen to the floor. The parchment, made from monster hide, fluttered lightly at the end of his long fingers.

“I’ll even write up the contract for you.”

It was an illegal contract that was effective even on S-Ranks, but with my brother’s power, it could be easily nullified.

Choi Seokwon raised his head, which kept drooping, and looked up at the still somewhat youthful face. Kim Min-yi’s disguise had vanished, and Han Yoohyun stood in his place. One of his coolly cold eyes was red.

The moment he met that gaze, he was certain he wouldn’t survive. Choi Seokwon’s face contorted. It was highly likely that this guy had killed Yoon Gyeongsoo as well, all because he had tried to harm his brother. He had been aware of this and had been cautious.

Until the Filial Piety Addict, Diarma’s successor, had appeared.

[The task Yongyong entrusted to you has failed, and you’re useless. Is there any reason I should keep you alive?]

Choi Seokwon couldn’t respond to the mocking voice.

[But I still need a pawn, so I’ll give you exactly one month. Within a month, reorganize your guild and make it useful. If it doesn’t meet my standards, I’ll have to use you as material~.]

One month. It was too short a time to reorganize a guild that had already fallen into disarray. Having been rescued from imprisonment as a criminal, Choi Seokwon’s position had plummeted. He had tried to maintain MKC’s prestige by joining hands with the Association, but all that came back was a reshuffle of the Hunter Association.

The high-ranking officials he was connected to disappeared one after another, and he was left to face other guilds without any help: Se-song, which he couldn’t even dream of surpassing from the start; Hae-yeon, which had gained two more S-Rank Hunters; and Breaker, which had remained stable, unlike MKC.

The miserable sight of the nation’s second-ranked guild sliding down to fourth place was vivid in his mind. Even Han-shin couldn’t be ignored.

Driven into a corner, Choi Seokwon turned his attention overseas.

‘If you hand over Han Yoojin, we will lend you an S-Rank Hunter.’

It was China’s proposal. He was tempted by the condition of contracting a combat-type S-Rank Hunter with two years of experience for five years, as well as allocating a certain percentage of the mythical creatures and Hunters that Han Yoojin would raise.

Even if Hae-yeon had gained two more S-Rank Hunters, they were both newly minted S-Ranks. If he could bring in an experienced combat-type S-Rank Hunter, MKC could once again establish itself as a solid second-ranked guild. Furthermore, it would be possible to monopolize high-level mythical creatures in the country afterward. It was a bonus that the guilds responsible for protecting Han Yoojin would suffer due to his disappearance. MKC had become unable to interfere with Han Yoojin directly, so it had no responsibility.

The only and surest way out. That’s how it felt, so Choi Seokwon acted hastily, and the result was his current state.

“…Damn it, Han Yoohyun. Spare my life? You’re so good at saying things you don’t mean.”

“The contract doesn’t lie.”

“Even if I’m called a figurehead, I’m still a guild leader. At your level, I know you can afford to break the contract. You could even go and coax the Saintess.”

“I don’t have the luxury of going overseas with my brother at stake. If you don’t trust the contract, are you going to end it here?”

Clack.

The sword, spinning around, pierced the floor right next to Choi Seokwon’s hand, which was supporting himself. Thin cracks spread across the glossy marble.

“Choi Seokwon, I only need your corpse.”

“Then why don’t you just kill me?”

“I’d feel a little bad about framing the person whose appearance I borrowed for murder.”

“Spare me the bullshit.”

A twisted laugh escaped Choi Seokwon’s lips. If it was going to end anyway, he had to at least grab the ankle of this arrogant brat and twist it.

“Han Yoohyun, I’ve disliked you since the first time I saw you. That nasty brat who acted like there wasn’t a single person above or beside him is now clinging to his brother and fidgeting. Isn’t that ridiculous? Is it real? Huh? Damn, a guy who seemed like he wouldn’t bat an eye even if his brother and parents were torn apart in front of him.”

“Are you asking me to kill you?”

“I’ll take care of my own life, you crazy brat.”

Choi Seokwon chuckled and recalled the voice of the woman he had recently contracted with.

[I’ll give you one choice, even as a loser. Suicide or homicide. I like burning things to the end, so there’s also a special perk.]

“…A special perk is good. I refuse the contract with Lord Ruga.”

Immediately after uttering the designated words, Choi Seokwon’s body, which had barely been holding on, completely collapsed. Following that…

Swoosh-

A faded, dull blue mist began to envelop the surroundings in an instant.

* * *

As soon as I got into the van, I borrowed a phone and called the Hae-yeon Guild. I got treated like a peddler for asking to be connected to the HR team leader, but I managed to get through to Seok Simyeong.

[Weren’t you at the Se-song Guild?]

“I was feeling suffocated, so I went for a walk. By the way, where is Hunter Kim Min-yi right now? This traffic restriction and evacuation order aren’t related, are they?”

[Of course not. As you know, he’s sound asleep.]

‘As if I called because I was really curious about Kim Min-yi.’ You know very well, but you’re obviously dodging the question.

“Team Leader Seok Simyeong, you need to prioritize Hae-yeon above all else. I’m not saying you should abandon your family, but you should think of Hae-yeon before an outsider like me. Don’t you agree?”

It would be nice if I could ask Do Hamin to find him, but Yoohyun doesn’t have anything with a serial number that’s been used for more than a year.

“And I’m not going back until I see his face. I’m currently with four unfamiliar Hunters I’ve never met before.”

[…It must be related to Hunter Kim Min-yi.]

Seok Simyeong confessed as if he couldn’t help it.

[He went to meet with MKC.]

MKC. Choi Seokwon is under contract with the Filial Piety Addict. If I just kill him, it’ll be like last time, and I need to be there to terminate the contract, so why is he trying to handle it alone, my little brother?

“Can you contact Noah for me?”

[Hunter Noah went with him.]

“Yoo, Min-yi is with Noah?”

The corners of my lips lifted inappropriately for the situation when I heard that. They’re hanging out together without me. I worked hard to get them together, and it seems they’ve become a little closer. It’s rewarding, really great. I don’t want to butt in like a busybody when the two of them are working, but I can’t help it since it’s the other party.

“Contact Chief Song Taewon and tell him to bring Riette if possible. No, he’s probably already moving. I’ll have to ask the Association. If I tell Riette that I took Bellare out, she’ll come out quietly. And let Se-song know my location as well.”

If it were just Choi Seokwon, Yoohyun and Noah would be more than enough to handle him, but if that jellyfish bastard gets involved, things will be different. Even in the last dungeon, it would have been difficult to clear safely if the Mermaid Queen hadn’t given me the skill.

So, I had Riette and Seong Hyunjae brought in as a precaution. Should I have asked Kang Soyoung to come too? But she’s an A-Rank Hunter, so I hesitated to ask her to come easily.

“We’re low-level Hunters, so we can’t enter the restricted area.”

The E-Rank Hunter who was driving said. There was no need to drag these people in, so I had him stop the car. Then I took out a card.

“Use this to buy a new car.”

“What…”

“A fancy one. Choose whatever you want, whether it’s a foreign car or a sports car. You can even buy one for each of you. Spend it all, spend it all. Pay in full instead of installments.”

It’s not my card anyway. I handed Seong Hyunjae’s card to the bewildered C-Rank Hunter. Then I had all four of them get out of the car and moved to the driver’s seat.

‘It’s a manual [stick shift].’

I did get a Class 1 license, but it’s been a while. I stalled once, but managed to start safely.

“I wanted to live a law-abiding life with a new mindset.”

-Shhh.

Bellare wrapped around my wrist and flicked its tongue. It’s like it’s scolding me. But I haven’t exactly broken the law openly yet… have I? The arrest was also acquitted, and other than that, well, I only talked.

After putting Bellare on my shoulder and sharing my vision with the Teacher skill, I stepped on the accelerator, following the navigator’s guidance while searching for situation articles on my phone. Normal people should never drive while looking at their phones.

Fortunately, Bellare is a snake, but it has better eyesight than me. Since it’s also detecting heat at the same time, I can tell the movement of the vehicles behind me without looking at the rearview mirror. The heat detection range is quite wide.

At first, the car was a bit congested, but the road became deserted as I went on. Soon, the surrounding vehicles completely disappeared, and I saw a barricade blocking the road ahead.

‘I’m sorry, I’m going through.’

There’s no time to stop and explain the situation at length. I used Grace and accelerated to the fullest.

Bang-!

The barricade, which had been sparkling, flew away with a loud noise. The impact was quite large, but the car continued to drive down the road at a steady speed.

The car is sturdy. Did they modify it a little? Hunter vehicles could be modified to a level appropriate for their rank with permission in preparation for dungeon breaks.

I think I heard someone shouting from behind, but I ignored it. I’ll pay the fine. Wait, if I get caught driving without a license, will there be restrictions on getting a driver’s license? That’s a bit of a problem.

“…Fog?”

How much further did I drive? Suddenly, the surroundings became hazy and blurred. A thick, dull blue mist was spreading.