The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 290

288. I’m Leaving After Eating Well (1)

With a sickening squelch, the spear was pulled from Shishio’s leg. Then, as if its purpose was fulfilled, it melted away and disappeared.

“It would be nice if it could stay in weapon form longer.”

Because the spear that just vanished was a whopping SS-grade. But if it remained a weapon permanently, it would be a completely broken skill. ‘We could create SS-grade weapons by combining a couple of S-grade swords and a few A-grade swords!’ If that were the case, S-grade Hunters from all over the world would come running with their weapons. It even means you could gather A-grade swords to make an S-grade weapon.

It’s balanced that it disappears after a certain amount of time, but it’s still a shame.

‘Wouldn’t it be more efficient if the skill grade went up?’

It’s tricky to develop, given the nature of the skill. Skills basically grow by using them a lot and getting used to them. Even if I give my babies a buff, they won’t grow without using the skill. Should I buff them and have them melt a bunch of low to mid-grade weapons?

“Ugh, I won’t back down like this.”

Shishio made a villainous remark like a third-rate bad guy and poured a potion on his leg.

“That’s such a cliché, childish, and pathetic thing to do.”

“…What?”

“As the self-proclaimed best Hunter in Japan and the Lion King, you should act accordingly. It would look cooler to admit defeat cleanly and laugh it off.”

Shishio, looking dumbfounded, staggered to his feet.

“Laugh it off?”

“Don’t be so narrow-minded. You should at least pretend to be okay on the outside. Then people will say, ‘Wow, he’s still so relaxed even after being torn apart like that. He must have some hidden power. Amaterasu [Shishio’s Guild] is amazing!’ Don’t you think?”

“No, that’s…”

“Smi~le. Quickly. Cool and generous! Okay, repeat after me. This is nothing to me! I am the great Guild Leader of Amaterasu! Say it.”

“…What are you making me do!”

What am I making you do? You need to be energetic to be efficient and diligently run dungeons so I have more to take. It’s much better to have the mindset of ‘It’s okay to lose a little!’ than ‘I’m just making money to get ripped off!’ for exploiting him.

“Don’t look so gloomy and cheer up to clean up quickly. Make a big fuss about solving Japan’s crisis on TV. I’ll let you get away with some TV fabrication. You’ve always done it anyway.”

As I patted him on the back, saying that the cheers for Shishio-nim would resound, he moved to take care of his guild members with a disgruntled expression. It’s easier to keep the contracted guy in place than to have some random guy take over the Japanese Hunter scene. So do well.

Not long after, the helicopter that had dropped off Shishio’s group and taken refuge returned. Newly deployed healers treated the injured. They asked if they should send a helicopter for us, but I said we’d take care of it ourselves since Peace was here. It would be awkward to sit face to face right now.

“It’s surprising that the Seseong Guild Leader didn’t stop it. He couldn’t have not known, was he deliberately standing by?”

Since I kindly revealed the duration of our child’s skill, he must have expected them to attack after 30 minutes. But I thought our side had four S-grade Hunters gathered, so they would block it appropriately. Otherwise, he would have stuck to Yoohyun to double the duration of the attack skill.

“In the end, it’s beneficial, so I sent those guys off well. Yoohyun, get as many S-grade swords as possible. You don’t have a single S-grade sword right now.”

“Yeah. It feels a bit empty.”

Yoohyun said slightly dejectedly. S-grade weapons aren’t common, and it’s a sword he’s been using since he first got it, so it must be a shame. Can’t I get an SS-grade sword with my points? I want him to have several S-grade or higher swords in case of emergencies. It’s troublesome if he ends up empty-handed after using a skill like now.

“Oh, did your level go up a bit? You caught five SS-grade monsters, didn’t you get any titles or anything?”

“My level did go up, but nothing else.”

That can’t be. I need to squeeze something out of the new recruits. An S-grade Hunter, even with a buff, defeated five SS-grade monsters alone, and they didn’t give him anything? That’s ridiculous. He should have gotten at least an SSS-grade title!

“I’ll take good care of you.”

And the Azure Flame. Irin said it was dangerous, but that’s because she doesn’t know my skills. She doesn’t know that I can handle the power I experienced and felt directly in the mental world. In reality, I’m so weak that I can’t even touch Yoohyun, but it’s different in the mental realm. No matter how great my brother is, he won’t be able to swallow me easily.

But to show that side, I need to talk to him beforehand. About what happened before the regression.

‘…I absolutely can’t tell him about the Requital Skill.’

That, really, absolutely must not get into Yoohyun’s ears. If he knows that he has to die for me to gain the power of the Seed… I can’t say I don’t know what choice Yoohyun would make if something like what happened with Choi Seokwon happened again.

I have no intention of getting caught, but if he notices even by chance, I will reveal the keyword to nullify it. It’s a shame that I can’t give him the growth buff, but I can’t let Yoohyun have a way to protect me by risking his life.

‘How much should I say… I need to organize my thoughts in advance…’

Suddenly, my throat felt dry. How much, how detailed? …Maybe I should just say that I regressed. But I need to tell Yoohyun that you protected me, and still, you…. I have to say it. But I didn’t want to.

I felt the Fear Resistance skill activating.

“Hyung. Shouldn’t we leave too?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

I came to my senses and looked up to see that almost all the injured had been moved to the helicopter.

“Let’s just find the remaining three SS-grade magic stones and go.”

Saying that, I took out the magic stone detector and started walking. There were three left.

“Hyung! Are you hurt?”

Yoohyun suddenly grabbed me. Peace was also surprised by Yoohyun’s shout and approached me.

“There’s no way. I’m fine.”

“But you were limping just now!”

“…What?”

For a moment, my mind went blank. Limping. There’s no way.

“You must have seen wrong. Look. I’m fine.”

I took a few steps as if to show him. Of course, I was fine. Yoohyun tilted his head.

“…You’re not hiding that you’re in pain, are you?”

“No. Why would I hide it? If I’m hurt, I can just use a potion. Maybe you mistook my fatigue for something else. My stats are F-grade, so it’s about time my legs gave out. Ah, now that I say it, I feel even more tired.”

“I should have forced you to rest at the hotel. Peace.”

At Yoohyun’s call, Peace, who had been in his spirit form, grew back to his full size. I climbed onto Peace, who nudged me slightly with his nose, growling.

“Hyung, give me the detection item too. I’ll find the rest.”

I nodded and handed the item to my brother.

-Kkuwoong

“Are you hurting anywhere, Peace?”

I really wasn’t in pain. I looked down at my right leg. There wasn’t a single scratch, it was a perfectly fine leg. But unlike my excuses, there was almost no chance that Yoohyun had seen wrong.

Unconsciously, my jaw tightened. My teeth clenched.

‘Is it because I accepted that it wasn’t something that didn’t happen?’

My body is fine, so if there’s a problem, it must be mental. In a way, it’s not strange. It would be stranger if I hadn’t shown any signs of limping, when it could have become a habit, overnight. The thought of the pain I had forgotten was being replayed made my eyes narrow slightly.

If I turned off Fear Resistance now, I would surely be terrified. Even the past that the jellyfish showed me came to mind, and my stomach stung. I want to pretend that everything is as it has been until now.

‘Let’s take it slow, slowly.’

There’s no one around me who will blame me for being in bad shape. They’re people who will quietly take care of anyone who blames me.

Still, my leg has no scars and there’s no past injury, so it’s difficult to explain. I won’t limp if I’m conscious of it.

Yoohyun returned after collecting the remaining three SS-grade magic stones. In the meantime, Shishio’s group was retreating. Helicopters took off into the air with a loud noise.

“Hyung, here.”

Yoohyun handed me all the magic stones and climbed onto my back. Peace spread his wings wide.

“Don’t you have any greed?”

“You said you’d take good care of me.”

Of course I will.

We headed straight to the shelter where people would be. Even without using the Dash skill, Peace’s flight speed was quite fast. We arrived at the shelter a little earlier than Shishio’s helicopter.

“They’re not here.”

Only traces of the shelter remained. A Japanese Hunter standing on the muddy ground where the building had disappeared and water had swept through saw us and shouted, trembling.

“T-the group went to Tokyo!”

Tokyo? I hope nothing happened to Myungwoo.

“What, what happened!”

Shishio, who arrived late, shouted. A Hunter with bruises on his face quickly replied.

“The Korean Hunters belatedly realized that Shishio-nim had left with the Hunters and, unable to tolerate it, seized the shelter, took the hostages, and headed to the Amaterasu Guild headquarters in Tokyo!”

Belatedly, my foot. I felt a little sorry for Shishio. By now, the Amaterasu Guild building must have been completely looted.

“E-eek! Leave immediately!”

The helicopters, unable to land, hurriedly began to fly away again. As the lights of the helicopters faded away and we were about to leave again, the Japanese Hunter called out to me.

“Um, Han Yoojin Hunter-nim, please tell him that it’s okay to come slowly since he must be tired.”

“Who?”

“The Seseong Guild Leader-nim said he would take care of it. There’s a decent hotel nearby.”

He seems to have predicted how things would turn out. If Seong Hyunjae says he’ll take care of it, it’s reliable.

“No, I’ll go right away.”

“Ah, then go to the nearby airport. He said he had a private plane waiting.”

Already? It hasn’t even been two hours since he attracted the monsters. If it’s around here, the Japanese planes wouldn’t be intact because it’s within the monster’s path, so did he contact Korea?

I was about to say it was okay, but Yoohyun said it would be easier to go by plane and turned towards the place the Hunter had told us. Well, I’ll have to take that plane when I go home anyway, so it’s better to move it to Tokyo.

“Oh my, look at that.”

And the Amaterasu Guild headquarters building that we arrived at was half gone. The central building, which was made like a Japanese castle, had completely disappeared, and the building behind it wasn’t intact either. The Amaterasu Guild members were lined up in the empty lot where the central building had been cleanly blown away, watching the situation. Shishio’s group didn’t seem to have arrived yet.

“Uncle! They didn’t touch the item storage room!”

Yerim flew towards us, shouting energetically.

“Good job.”

Noah and Hyunah-ssi, of course, seemed to be without a single scratch. Seong Hyunjae was fine too, of course.

“Thanks to you, I came comfortably.”

“It’s late at night, why didn’t you rest and come?”

“You knew I was coming right away and even had a plane waiting, so why are you saying something new?”

At that moment, the sound of a helicopter was heard. Then, thump, someone jumped out in a hurry. I knew who it was without looking.

“What is this!”

It was Shishio-ssi. He was so angry that his face, as well as his neck, were red with blood.

“My Lion Palace!”

…Oh, um, yes.

“My Golden Lion Statue!”

I think I heard that it was made entirely of gold. Because of the rare minerals that come out of the dungeon, the value of other gems has fallen quite a bit, but the price of gold is still being maintained. It must be expensive.

“Guild Leader Han Yoohyun-nim, why is he so fine?”

Yerim glanced at Shishio and asked. He received treatment, so he’s like that, but his limbs weren’t safe and sound.

“Hyung told me to keep him alive.”

“Uncle, you don’t need to be lenient with a guy like that.”

That’s not it, Yerim. Farming and raising livestock is more profitable than hunting and gathering. He’s even a guy who grows on his own and offers up the harvest.

“Even after doing this, safe-!”

“Did you forget what I said so soon?”

Seong Hyunjae’s low voice cut off Shishio’s shout. Shishio flinched and closed his mouth. It’s certain that something happened between the two of them in the past. I don’t know the details, but it must have been an unfortunate event for the Lion King-ssi.

“Please be moderate. If you step on him too much, there won’t be anything to eat.”

“There are other Japanese guilds that cooperated in this matter.”

“Oh, that-”

“I’ll let you know the list tomorrow. After resting.”

He already dug that up again. I’m curious. Are they somewhat large guilds? We headed to the hotel, leaving Shishio, who was suppressing his anger, behind.