The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 275

273. Rewind (1)

It was a bizarre sight. Overall, it resembled a human form. The body and head, clad in impeccably white, seamless, loose-fitting clothes, certainly did.

Where hands should have been, slender tentacles were surrounded by translucent fins, like a calla lily in bloom. The clothes widened towards the bottom, ending near the knees, and below that, a thick fog wavered. The swaying long hair, the tentacles, and the fog that replaced feet all slowly changed color.

Like artificial jellyfish in a long aquarium with LED lighting.

I felt an instinctive revulsion, yet strangely, I also found it beautiful. Jellyfish in tanks were pretty, after all, in a somewhat dreamlike way. But still.

“…Why tentacles again?”

Is it a trend? At my murmur, the jellyfish waved its hand… tentacle strands and smiled.

“It’s so convenient. Tentacles are the best for delicate work.”

The newbie was like that too. Myungwoo, you mustn’t become like that. Don’t give in to temptation.

I took a long breath. Bright thoughts, bright thoughts. It’s a guy who manipulates memories. I need to get my mind right.

“Even the most insensitive judge would grant a restraining order with this, you stalker.”

At my question about what he was doing, the King of No Harm smiled again, beaming.

“It means I value you that much. I even paved a road to extract you as completely as possible~”

“And in doing so, my world is ruined?”

“Don’t be too attached. It was a world that would have had a hard time staying safe anyway. Once they learn more about you, even the Filial Unpiety [likely a mistranslation, should be ‘Unfilial Piety’] bastards will commit similar acts. Even the kid Crescent Moon is putting effort into was there. I thought it was strange, but that human was Little Moon.”

He once worked with Crescent Moon, so he knew about Sung Hyunjae.

“The Filial Unpiety bastards will commit similar acts, you say with such confidence. Aren’t you supposed to be on the side of protecting the world?”

“Their motto is to accept small sacrifices, you know~ They think it’s okay to sacrifice one world to save countless others. If you’re unlucky, you become the sacrifice, and if you’re lucky, you get saved.”

A lottery-style salvation was ridiculous. It wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed that the Filial Unpiety bastards had such tendencies. Even the newbie, who seemed the most human among them, was indifferent to Yoohyun and Bbyak.

The jellyfish gathered its tentacles neatly in front of its chest.

“I don’t want to damage you. Won’t you come along willingly? There’s no hope left for you anyway. I only paved a ‘road’ to extract you, but once a hole is made, it keeps getting bigger, and soon this world will become a battlefield.”

“…A battlefield?”

“Yes. It’s a world that has lost the power to prevent external invasion, so many Transcenders will try to visit. Before it’s eaten by the Source, they’ll fight to take even a piece of this world. Most of us have lost our worlds, you see. We’ve made our homes in the gaps between worlds, but it’s not as good as a natural one, or rather, one from the Source. It’s much smaller and simpler, and unless you’re a System Main Creator, it’s crude.”

So, worlds that can be touched are popular, the King of No Harm explained. The Changeling on my shoulder glanced at me. *Is it okay to talk a little more? What’s the situation outside?* As if it noticed my thoughts with just a blink, the silver dragon nodded.

“System Main Creators must be amazing.”

“Ah, they are! Of course. Even though I can clearly see you’re stalling for time, my mouth is itching to talk.”

“You don’t have to hold back. The newbie isn’t showing any signs. If you tell me an interesting story, who knows, I might want to follow you.”

“You’re just flattering me. The newbie is talented, but Chatterbox has lived much longer, so the difference in experience is unavoidable. In fact, the Filial Unpiety side currently has a vacancy for a Main Creator. It’s inevitable that they’re having a hard time responding to this. If the newbie grows up safely, they’ll become the 11th Main Creator.”

So there have been ten System Main Creators so far. They probably didn’t have short lifespans, so how long ago was the system created? I wanted to ask more, but the jellyfish stopped gossiping about the system.

“I’ll tell you the details when we get to my place. Are you still hesitating? What should I do, grab one of them? Unfortunately, we haven’t found your brother’s body yet. But bringing a living brother might be good too. Yes, let’s do that!”

The jellyfish clapped its hands… tangled its tentacles together cheerfully.

“That’s quite a good subject, being a sibling and the longest-cared-for foster child, so we can experiment in various ways.”

“Don’t even think about touching my brother.”

“Why? Don’t you want to be with him? If you cooperate, I won’t do anything too harsh to your brother. I’ll have to tame him because my power will weaken, but… You have a scary face. Right now-”

“Changeling.”

Quietly, the air itself changed. The King of No Harm’s ever-relaxed expression hardened. And he immediately tried to escape. He’s lived a long time, so he’s quick to assess the situation.

Fog spread, and the jellyfish’s body seemed to blur,

“…Ugh!”

Only to bounce back to its original position. The blurred body became clear again. It was good to see him staggering. When would that bastard have experienced something like this? Ten thousand years ago?

– I blocked the road.

The Changeling said. The King of No Harm, who had been scattering fog everywhere, glared at us with fierce eyes. He didn’t dare to attack first but remained wary like a wounded beast.

“What is that dragon? Blocking a road that’s already been opened is impossible. Once a hole is made, it can only get bigger, never be blocked!”

– So I created a new shield. Now you can’t get out. You’re trapped. I’ve secured this area too. This is my territory.

“You, created it?”

– Yeah.

The Changeling rubbed its small, horned head against my shoulder as if asking if I did well. The King of No Harm trembled. After a moment of being very embarrassed and flustered, he growled coldly.

“I used a lot of power to make the road, but I’m not weak at all, Foster Parent. I congratulate you on delaying the destruction of your world. But antagonizing me here is not beneficial to either of us-”

“Shut up.”

I stroked the silver dragon’s head with my fingertips. The Changeling sparkled its eyes and whispered that everything was okay. Its tail wagged. It spoke in a voice only I could hear.

[I don’t have combat abilities, but I can materialize illusions. If I materialize Dad’s mental stats, we can win easily. I have a little power left even after putting up the shield, so I can maintain it for over an hour.]

Okay.

“Give me back my brother’s memories, now.”

If he didn’t spit them out willingly, I’d carve up that damn tentacle into 0.1mm pieces and dig through it. At my words, the King of No Harm slowly retreated and narrowed his eyes.

“It was just about the watch.”

“So you did have it.”

“It’s still safe. But I can melt it down and swallow it at any time. Your brother’s insignificant little memory, how precious is it?”

A small bead appeared between the King of No Harm’s tentacles. It was about half the size of my thumbnail, pure white. The jellyfish bastard smiled as if he had caught my weakness.

“It’s the first proper gift he’s preparing for his brother, whom he loves so much. He even wrapped it himself, how cute. He couldn’t give anything decent before because he was still young. I didn’t even let him get a part-time job. He’s excited. He’s also nervous.”

“…Hand it over, you boneless jelly bastard.”

My teeth ground together involuntarily. I couldn’t recklessly attack, but I had no intention of letting that bastard go.

“Let’s make a deal not to touch each other. How about it? You don’t touch me, and I don’t touch your brother. If I can just get out of here, I’ll ask Chatterbox to leave quietly right away.”

It seemed that even if someone who didn’t belong to the world had a hard time entering, taking them out wasn’t difficult. Well, I had heard that SS-class individuals close to S-class could be taken out. Still, judging from the fact that he was asking for a favor, he couldn’t get out with his own power alone. Was it like the difference between someone who fell into a well having a hard time climbing out on their own, but it being easy to pull them out from the outside?

“Why should I?”

“Accept the deal if you want to get back your precious brother’s memories.”

“Of course I’ll get them back, but I have no intention of letting you go. You want us not to touch each other? What ridiculous nonsense. If you were going to give up easily, you wouldn’t have taken such risks and paid such a price, would you? I can see you trying to seduce other Transcenders as soon as you get out.”

More than anything, I couldn’t let that bastard go around talking about me. The newbie couldn’t properly see through the fake world, but the King of No Harm was different. He had a direct contract with Horsehead, so he would have received much more information.

If the fact that my value is worth taking risks is known, not only I but also the people around me will be in danger. So I could never just let the King of No Harm go.

“…Are you giving up on your brother? How heartless.”

“Look at the thief blaming the victim. I thought you only lacked bones, but it seems you’ve lost your brain somewhere too. Ah, is that why you steal other people’s memories? Because there’s nothing in your head.”

“Foster Parent, the way you talk is annoying.”

The silver dragon crouched slightly and spread its wings wide. Even though the mana imprints were paralyzed, I could faintly feel the fluctuating magic power. The King of No Harm retreated further, but he couldn’t escape from here.

“It’ll be a little more advantageous for you to keep my brother’s memories safe until the end. Because I won’t be able to destroy them with my own hands. So clutch them and struggle. But even if I can’t get them back.”

Still.

“The future is more important. If the world is safe, I can create more, better, happier memories for my brother.”

I didn’t want to lose Yoohyun’s memories. But I couldn’t give up the present and the future for that. I will give Yoohyun a watch as a gift. Even if he doesn’t receive the watch, we will continue to give and receive other things.

The King of No Harm smiled thinly.

“Pretending to be okay.”

“It’s not pretending, I am okay.”

“Really? In my eyes, you’re a complete mess. Then, shall we struggle as you say!”

Whoosh, the fog spread strongly. I was already using Grace. The Changeling’s magic power enveloped me, and I felt my stats, which had been hitting rock bottom, rise sharply.

Lauchitas’s nemesis was not applied, but I had twice my brother’s stats from before the regression, plus Alpha, Delta, Mu, Lambda’s skills, and even a veteran F-class. What was unexpected was.

‘Yoohyun’s stats before the regression were slightly better than an SS-class guard.’

Pure stats that were not subject to dual application. It was said that S-class was the maximum potential ability of each race in each world, so even if we looked like the same humans, our world might have better overall abilities.

The attack skill effects alone easily surpassed SSS-class. Perhaps because my stats had increased, the mana imprints were released from paralysis, and I could clearly feel the magic power swirling around me. There were no side effects, and my senses were definitely duller than when I was F-class.

The fog obscured my vision and senses, so I couldn’t properly detect the jellyfish bastard, but as the Changeling said, I was more dominant. But I had no intention of moving hastily.

I had to get my brother’s memories back. Since that bastard couldn’t escape anyway, it was okay to postpone giving up until the very end.

‘If I could properly use Mu’s space movement skill, it wouldn’t be difficult to take them back.’

But the space movement skill was much more difficult than Yerim’s teleportation skill. If I devoted myself to the space movement skill for the given hour… Thinking that, I flicked my fingertips. The crimson flames that bloomed consumed the fog.

“This is not a monster! Hey!”

“Are you saying it’s a real monster? Not a cat? There are no reports of dungeon breaks in that area, so you should contact the Dungeon Special Countermeasures Headquarters, not the police station.”

“We can’t help you here, and the temporary Hunter Association number is… Hello?”

A noisy police box appeared even though it was the middle of the night. Dungeon Special Countermeasures Headquarters, temporary Hunter Association. It had been less than half a year since dungeons had appeared. Next to a drunkard who had been dragged in for wandering around drunk in a world where monsters appeared, a pale-faced young man pushed open the glass door.

It was me.

I grabbed a police officer, filled with anxiety, and opened my mouth. My voice was parched and trembling.

“My brother hasn’t come home yet.”

This had never happened before, and at my words that there had been no news until this late, the police officer asked for details. His expression turned sour in an instant when I said he was a male high school student. He lost even more interest when I said my parents weren’t around.

“It hasn’t even been a day, so wait a little longer and file a missing person report. Bring your family relationship certificate.”

“It’s not a runaway! Yoohyun has never been late without saying anything!”

“It’s a common occurrence. He may have made bad friends, so contact the school when it gets light.”

I shrank under his gaze that suggested it was an environment where it was easy to go astray. I shrank even more at his question of whether I knew my brother’s friends’ contact information.

“St, still, what if he encountered a monster…….”

“These days, they’re immediately taken care of and you’re contacted, so if there’s been no notification, he’s safe.”

Or, he said curtly, check the list of unidentified casualties on the Dungeon Special Countermeasures Headquarters website. With an attitude that there was no reason to deal with me any further, I hesitated and turned away powerlessly. Muttering, it’s not like that, Yoohyun wouldn’t do that.

“…What is this.”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips.

“You said you couldn’t rummage through my memories.”

– This is a landscape Dad is creating. Originally, Dad’s abilities would have made it easy to escape, but his skill has been strengthened by my power.

The Changeling said that our compatibility was bad. The power to materialize the illusions applied to me was mixed with the King of No Harm’s fog, which showed painful memories to the opponent. But I couldn’t withdraw the Changeling’s power.

I tried spreading the flames wide, striking with lightning, and sweeping away with water, but the illusion did not disappear.

“Stop with the petty tricks and come out now!”

[Why should I?]

The jellyfish bastard’s voice was very far away, faintly audible.

[Don’t worry. It’s a skill that can’t last very long. If you resist, it will end even sooner. So, shall we make a deal? If you endure quietly, I’ll return your brother’s memories. Without a single flaw.]

I nodded at his words that I couldn’t win by force. If it was right after the regression. No, even if it was just a month ago, it would have been difficult to recall the past. It was still difficult now, but I was confident that I could somehow endure it.

I signed the contract that appeared. And the scenery changed.

“Hyung.”

A young Yoohyun, even younger than now, looked at me. A youthful face that hadn’t been long since he had awakened.