The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 354

352. Cao Hou Special District (1)

“Gee, if you put it like that, I feel bad. I’ve heard ‘I love you’ so much I’m sick of it, but it feels new coming from you, Hyung [older brother or close male friend],” Park Ha-yul chattered on, completely oblivious to my embarrassment. I quickly turned my head forward.

‘What is it? Another similar skill?’

I was startled enough that my heart skipped a beat, but thinking calmly, it wasn’t that strange. There were several others besides me with the Caregiver title series. Could one of Park Ha-yul’s parents or relatives be an Awakened [person with supernatural abilities]? So it got applied first?

Maybe it’s someone from the Chinese side, or that ‘older sister’ person.

‘…Still, the grade would be much lower than my title. First come, first served, huh.’

Well, it would be stranger if it transferred completely just because a higher-grade Caregiver appeared, when it wasn’t even a different kind of skill. If you wanted to override a pre-applied keyword and reapply it, trust would have to take precedence over grade, or something like that. That made more sense.

“Ha-yul, you seem to trust that ‘older sister’ a lot.”

“Yes, of course~”

“You said you only had two skills when you first Awakened, right? But now you have three. Did that older sister help you?”

“Yes? Ah, no.”

She did help. If it wasn’t true, she wouldn’t have understood me and would have asked what I was talking about. How could someone else help you gain a skill? Or she would have just said it came out when she leveled up.

‘…Then maybe it’s not the Caregiver series.’

As far as I remember, the other Caregiver titles didn’t have skills that gave you optimization skills. Except for the Perfect Caregiver alone. So there was a possibility it was a skill or title obtained under completely new conditions that I didn’t know about.

Should I ask the newbie? When will the dungeon connect?

‘It’s certain that she can give optimization skills, but can she also cause optimized Awakening? Even just the former is useful.’

She might have used that to get not only Park Ha-yul but also several other Hunters [Awakened individuals who fight monsters] into her hands. Who the hell is she? The fact that I didn’t know until after the regression meant she was moving quietly behind the scenes until the end. I had no idea who it could be.

‘…Should I somehow try to sweet-talk Park Ha-yul?’

I don’t know who she is, but if we could bring her to our side, it would definitely be helpful. I don’t know what her ulterior motive was for kidnapping me and sending me to China, but if she found out that the world was going to end, wouldn’t she cooperate? Of course, I’d have to find out what kind of person she is and exactly what abilities she has before revealing that.

“We’re here, Hyung! I can see land over there!”

Park Ha-yul, who has better eyesight than me, pointed. When I used Teacher Skill on Blue, I could also see a wide plaza by the sea. People were coming and going in the plaza. They seemed to be civilians.

“Blue, stop.”

Blue changed the direction of his wings and hovered.

“What’s wrong?”

“There are too many people, and Blue is too conspicuous. They might try to eliminate witnesses to hide the route I was kidnapped on.”

What crime did those people commit? I instructed Blue to fly high enough that he wouldn’t be easily seen from below.

“We’re going to transfer through the airport again anyway, right? Let’s go to the airport and jump off.”

“My stats are B-grade, so I’m not confident.”

“I thought you said they were C-grade.”

“They went up a grade.”

Besides optimization skills, can she also adjust grades?

“If you’re B-grade, you can jump off perfectly fine even with me. Does your phone work? Call the airport and tell them to clear it and wait.”

Park Ha-yul said okay, took out his phone, and switched the SIM card. Then he talked to someone.

“Blue, you’re going straight home. Home! Got it?”

– Kkyaa.

Reaching the airport, Park Ha-yul held me, looking anxious. He said he hadn’t even cleared a dungeon a few times, so I was worried too, and I had Blue go down a little further. Then Park Ha-yul jumped off Blue’s back.

“Go quickly! Home!”

At my shout, Blue circled greatly in the air and turned towards Korea. Thud! With a heavy sound, Park Ha-yul landed on the airfield.

“Wow, you’re really okay!”

“…Put me down.”

The impact of jumping off was transmitted to me to a considerable extent, and my head was throbbing. Everyone around me, even Yerim, who Awakened the latest, carried me without causing me any harm. The difference in grade is a difference, but Ha-yul is not careful.

Yoo-hyun and Sung Hyun-jae had the best ride. Chief Song also lifted me up with stability. Of course, Noah couldn’t be left out. Yerim was a little unstable because she was small.

While loosening my stiff body from the hours of flight and putting my scarf and cardigan in my inventory, a group of people approached. I quickly took out the translation item and hung it around my neck.

“Are you Special Agent Park Ha-yul, 2nd grade?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Park Ha-yul answered cheerfully to the man in uniform. And handcuffs were put on one of my wrists next to him.

“Too much for a weak F-grade, hey! Wait a minute!”

Why are you taking off my clothes! Is it a body search? But it’s outdoors in broad daylight. What about my human rights!

“Don’t take off my earring! It’s just a B-grade barrier and magic stat. Ha-yul, if I don’t get additional magic stats, I can’t use my skills properly! No, that’s a translation item, translation!”

They took away my shoes and even my socks. In Hong Kong, I spent my vacation in a luxury hotel, but here they make me stand barefoot on the dirt! Isn’t the difference too big?

“Treat Hyung gently!”

“His body will catch a cold if he’s exposed to the cold wind and he’ll be bedridden!”

Not that it’s really true. But I’ve gotten so much weaker lately that it might be possible.

“Do you think the higher-ups will like it if I’m sick? Potions don’t work for colds!”

When the words ‘higher-ups’ came out, the guys finally stopped moving. It was a great relief that my pants were safe.

“Move him.”

With a command in a rough accent, one of the big men picked me up like a piece of luggage. As soon as I went inside, they took off the rest of my clothes and gave me new clothes. I was able to get the translation item and earring back after inspection. They looked like they wanted to confiscate the earring, but I barely managed to keep it by threatening that I wouldn’t be able to handle it without it because of the lack of mana and the high skill grade compared to my stats.

Then I was hastily dragged onto a prepared plane and thrown into a small room.

“Look at the treatment, really.”

Instead of handcuffs, an inventory sealing device was put on my arm. It didn’t work on me, but there was no reason to reveal that. It was better to hide it as much as possible.

The room had a narrow bed and a table with rounded corners attached to the wall. All the windows were covered. Even if I looked outside, I wouldn’t know where I was going. I’d have to know Chinese geography. I don’t even know how many airports there are in China. It’s much bigger than our country, so are there about forty or fifty?

Sitting on the bed, I looked at the two men who came in to watch me. They were wearing drab uniforms and had stiff faces. They were probably Awakeners.

“Hello, what are your grades [power level]?”

The guys completely ignored me. I narrowed my eyes and pretended to observe them, then said again.

“About… C-grade?”

“B-grade.”

There are a lot of Awakeners who don’t like being seen as low-grade. The other one seemed to be B-grade or lower. If he was A-grade, he would have opened his mouth first.

“Hey, aren’t you going to give me food?”

The guys were silent again.

“I haven’t had a sip of water for hours. Even though I’m being taken care of with regular meals and medicine these days, I’m going to pass out before the plane even takes off. You can’t give me medicine, but you should give me food.”

I kindly told them that if they didn’t take good care of me, I would die. Are you going to kill me, huh? You kidnapped me and you’re going to kill me.

The guy, as if he couldn’t help it, contacted someone, and soon food was delivered. It was a rice bowl with something like meat on top. The seasoning was so strong that I couldn’t eat more than a few spoonfuls and put down the spoon. I opened the water bottle that came with it, drank it, and looked at the two Hunters. B-grade, right?

“It looks like we’ll have to face each other for a while, so let’s at least introduce ourselves.”

As expected, I was ignored. Are they wearing their mouths as decorations? It was a desirable attitude as a member of the military or special forces, though.

“I want to get along comfortably if possible. Besides important information, can’t I hear things that I can learn through experience? Which S-grade [highest power level] has a bad personality, which area you shouldn’t go to, which restaurant has good food. Things like that.”

Still silent, I sighed heavily. Then I took out a small pill that I had taken out of my inventory in advance and put in my pocket. At the same time, the Hunter pounced.

“Ack, my wrist!”

The pill rolled on the floor. The other Hunter pressed the pill with his toe and examined it.

“Ramatty flower fruit. D-grade poison.”

“Where did you get it?”

“I secretly hid it right before I put on the inventory sealing bracelet. Anyway, there’s no one here that it works on.”

They already knew that I had poison resistance. It’s information that went into the hospital, so it would be strange if they didn’t know.

“I’m going to teach you something good. It’s a bribe, a bribe.”

I glanced around and picked up the poison pill. The two Hunters stared at me without letting their guard down.

“Do you know that I’m sponsoring the research institute? It would have been a worldwide sensation, so you should know. So I have a lot of information that hasn’t been released to the outside yet. That includes this Ramatty flower fruit. It’s D-grade and common, so it doesn’t cost much, but if you combine it with other ingredients, it becomes a much more useful item.”

If you’re a Hunter, you’d be interested, right? To be exact, it’s information that only I know right now. Because I found out about it two years later.

“You can sell the information, earn extra income directly, or report it to the top and get a reward.”

Wouldn’t you be tempted? Honestly, who doesn’t like money? Except for Chief Song. Besides, Chief Song would be interested in the new item information itself. As expected, the hand that was holding my wrist fell off.

“Do you have a C-grade or higher Concealment Veil item? The higher the grade, the better.”

It’s a good item for blocking the monster’s view or hiding your body, so people commonly carry it around. It’s not very useful in high-level dungeons, but if it’s B-grade, you’ll have it. One of them hesitated and held out a black stick about two knuckles long. It’s B-grade.

Then I received a low-grade potion bottle and sleeping powder. They didn’t guard against it because they were all ineffective against B-grade Hunters. I emptied the contents of the potion and spread the sleeping powder on the floor, then snapped the Concealment Veil stick and finally pushed in the pill.

“Did you remember the order? Look closely, come a little closer. This is the important part now.”

The two Hunters leaned their heads towards the potion bottle. This distance is enough. I slowly moved the magic power inside the potion bottle.

It was impossible to combine this with the magic power ability of F-grade stats. But now I was able to control the magic power more delicately with the help of the Mana Engraving. The sleeping powder sparkled slightly. The Hunters focused even more and tried to feel the magic power I was moving.

The Concealment Veil stick melted, and the pill also melted on top of it, covering it like a coating. Heat soared throughout the bottle.

Bang!

With a small explosion, the potion bottle burst. At the same time, thick smoke covered the Hunters’ faces. The guys inhaled the smoke defenselessly.

“Mu─”

Before they could react, the Hunters collapsed to the floor. A-grade paralysis smoke. The disadvantage is that the range is narrow, but the effect is so excellent that even stats up to A-grade can be easily knocked out if the poison resistance is below B-grade. That’s the theory, and in reality, it’s hard to see the effect even on B-grade Hunters because they avoid it before it touches them, but if they come at me like now, they’ll fall without making a sound.

Just in case, I listened to the outside of the door for a while, but the explosion seemed to be buried in the noise of the plane preparing for takeoff. No one will come for a while. I started searching the fallen Hunters. ID card… I don’t know what it says. Wallet, should I take it? Will they try to take it back? Car keys and weapons, C-grade. Never mind, cell phone.

“They’re both locked.”

They’re thorough. I held the phone’s protective film up to the light. It was hard to check if one was a password. But the other one had a clear N-shaped trace left. Thank you.

After unlocking the phone, I sent a text message. I shouldn’t be doing this, but whatever. There seems to be an A-grade Hunter, so they’ll save me if I’m about to crash.

[Yoo-hyun, Hyung is in China. I’m safe and sound and the plane has taken off.]

[Yerim, Uncle is doing well. I’m in China.]

[Chief Song, I’m in China~ I’m sorry.]

[Myung-woo, I’m sorry. I’m in China, but I’m really okay.]

[Noah, I’m fine, so don’t worry too much.]

What was Hyun-ah’s number? And Sung Hyun-jae’s. Hmm. After sending the texts, I called my brother.

[Hyung! Is that really you? Are you okay?]

“Yeah, it’s Hyung. I’m not hurt and I’m eating well. Are you tracking my location?”

[Yeah. It was blocked, but because it’s directly connected, they broke through it right away. You’re at Dalian Airport now, right?]

“That’s right. I’ll keep my phone on, so check it. Is everything okay in Korea?”

[Yeah. You be careful. I already miss you……]

“It’s only been a few hours. Don’t overdo it, I love you, my brother.”

[I love you too, Hyung.]

I felt like I was on a business trip far away, leaving my child alone. Even though it hasn’t been a day. Then I called Yerim.

[Uncle! Are you okay?]

“I’m okay, I’m okay. Except the food here is bad.”

[Should I pack you a lunch when I go? Even if you don’t have an appetite, please eat well.]

Our Yerim is so kind.

[Peace seems a little depressed, can I take him with me?]

“Oh, Peace. Of course you can come with me. Is he next to you?”

[Kkiuung, kkyang!]

“Dad is sorry, Dad is okay. I’m safe.”

Our Peace, was he very surprised that I disappeared? I was wondering whether to hide the phone after cutting off the call with Yerim, or to put it back in its original place as if nothing had happened, when the phone rang. It was Chief Song’s number. Is the Monitoring Division also trying to track my location? I answered the phone.

“Chief Song─”

[Han Yoo-jin.]

Ack! I was so surprised! What, why is Sung Hyun-jae coming out! I was so flustered that I almost threw my phone. Did this human even take Chief Song’s phone?

‘…Now is not a good time to talk.’

We didn’t break up on good terms. I was also slightly sorry. He’s not the kind of person who would be hurt by the words ‘I don’t trust you’, but still. Anyway, it was awkward in many ways.

“Uh, where’s Chief Song?”

[He’s next to me.]

“Ah… yes……. Um, I’m fine.”

[That’s a relief. Other than finding a way to get out of the mental skill, refrain from reckless acts. I guess you won’t listen to me when I say stay put.]

“…You know me well.”

Sung Hyun-jae didn’t bring up the events of a few hours ago at all. Not even the words that he was keeping the favor. I quickly grabbed him when he said he would pass the phone to Song Tae-won after telling me to be careful.

“Wait a minute, so, an entertainer.”

I couldn’t bring up the name Park Ha-yul. But if it’s Sung Hyun-jae, he would have already found out his identity.

“In more detail.”

[Are you talking about an investigation?]

“Overseas, a woman.”

When I tried to talk about the older sister, or the person Park Ha-yul trusts, or the person who saved him, I felt a strong sense of rejection. In the end, these two words were all I could say. Nevertheless, Sung Hyun-jae answered that he understood.

He said he had a wide network overseas, so if Seseong comes forward, they might be able to get a clue about the older sister.

“Chief Song… I’m sorry for increasing your workload. You must be very busy, right?”

As soon as Sung Hyun-jae switched the phone, an apology flowed out. Even if Park Ha-yul raised his vigilance against the S-grades, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Chief Song. Maybe it’s because it’s a phone call rather than a face-to-face meeting. Anyway, I was sorry.

[It’s okay. Take care of yourself.]

“Chief Song, take it easy… I guess you can’t work.”

[I’ve submitted a vacation request.]

“…Yes?!”

Oh my gosh! To hear this in China is unfair. No, did you take a vacation because I was dragged to China?

The Monitoring Division and Seseong Guild also said they would continue to track my location. I tore the end of the pillow slightly and hid the phone inside. How long has it been, the door burst open.

“Hello~”

I greeted the face that was flustered at the sight of the fallen Hunters. Aigoo, his expression looks like he’s chewing on a bitter melon.