The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 405

403. The Road Not Taken (1)

Noah blinked. The quiet cityscape was visible through the dense trees. It was Seoul, a sight that was now quite familiar.

‘Dungeon.’

The system message window informed him that this was inside a dungeon. He had never seen a dungeon with such a modern appearance before, but the dungeon in Japan last time had also been unusual. Therefore, Noah calmly activated his stealth skill first.

Even though he was a support class, Noah’s number of dungeon raids was no less than that of most S-class hunters in both quantity and quality. From his time as an A-class hunter, he had been dragged to all sorts of dungeons in various countries by the powerful S-class hunter Liete. Even after rising to S-class and creating his own guild, he had consistently received requests for raid support from other guilds.

So, there was no reason to panic just because he had suddenly fallen into an unfamiliar dungeon. In fact, Noah was more skilled at survival than any other S-class hunter. He might lack brute force, but he possessed skills optimized for survival.

He could hide himself with stealth and escape easily with flight. With high poison resistance, he could easily consume creatures within the dungeon, and he could set up various traps using poison and curses. With self-healing on top of that, surviving anywhere wasn’t difficult.

‘If it were Yujin, he would have headed to the Breeding Center or Haeyeon Guild.’

Golden wings spread from Noah’s back. His body floated up lightly without a sound. Since he didn’t know the grade of the monsters here, he moved as cautiously as possible even with the stealth skill activated. He deliberately transformed into a dragonewt [a humanoid dragon], which was relatively smaller than his full dragon form, and flapped his wings, hiding in the shadows of the buildings.

Brushing past the glass windows that lined up like scales, Noah’s gaze scanned below. He checked every alley in detail, but there were no monsters in sight. Instead…

‘…Hunters?’

Two armed hunters loitering around came into his view. Noah quietly landed on an apartment railing.

‘Are they raiders?’

Even if raiders had entered the dungeon first, the gate didn’t close immediately. So, other raid teams occasionally joined in.

However, this dungeon should have originated in China, and they didn’t look Chinese. Noah turned off the translation item and listened.

“It feels a bit cold.”

“It’s chilly for autumn.”

It was Korean. He hadn’t fully mastered Korean yet, but he could understand the words for autumn and cold. What was going on? Moreover, the hunters’ movements were suspicious. Their relaxed attitude as they walked down the street didn’t suggest they were in the middle of a dungeon raid.

Noah carefully observed the hunters for a while longer, then picked up a small flowerpot and threw it at them.

“Oh! What is it?”

“Did someone drop it?”

The hunters quickly dodged the falling flowerpot. Noah’s eyes clearly captured their movements.

‘Probably B-class, or lower A-class.’

Their reaction speed was fast for a mid-level hunter, but lacking for a high-level one. There were no other hunters or monsters nearby. The folded wings spread out, and Noah’s body dropped straight down from the apartment. The wings caught the wind, carrying Noah silently above the two hunters.

The hunters were still defenseless. Noah released his poison towards them as they exchanged meaningless small talk. The poison, which slowly dulled the body, spread through the air, and just before the hunters realized something was wrong, Noah’s hand reached out.

“Cough!”

A scaled, hard hand gripped the hunter’s neck. The hunter next to him quickly tried to draw his weapon, but,

Thwack!

A thick, golden tail roughly struck the hunter’s side. Noah grabbed the relatively weaker hunter and stomped on the neck of the hunter rolling on the ground. The hunter on the ground tried to swing his weapon, but the tip of Noah’s tail knocked it away.

“Sa, save me……”

“What were you doing here?”

The hunter held in Noah’s hand quickly answered Noah’s question after Noah released his stealth.

“Just, taking a walk!”

“A walk? In a dungeon?”

“…Huh?”

The hunter looked bewildered at Noah’s words.

“Th, this is Seoul. Seoul, Korea. Korea.”

The hunter under his feet also nodded with difficulty. Noah blinked, looking at the two hunters. They didn’t realize that this was a dungeon.

‘…Is it not a dungeon?’

But it was too quiet to be real Seoul. Besides.

“I am Noah Ruhierda.”

“O, oh, I see.”

Neither of the two hunters recognized Noah, even though they were Korean hunters. With his distinctive appearance and extremely rare dragonewt skill, plus his fight against Liete during the A-class ranking match had been broadcast on TV, there was almost no chance that a mid-level hunter, not even an unawakened person, wouldn’t know Noah.

Something was wrong.

Noah threw the hunter away and took off, using his stealth skill.

‘It’s Seoul, but is it not Seoul?’

The dungeon in Japan came to mind. That place was also a dungeon, but people were living normally. Was this a similar situation?

It seemed like finding Han Yujin was the top priority. He would know something. Noah quickly navigated through the building forest, checking the way. He occasionally saw hunters but ignored them and passed by. Turning around a tall building, at that moment…

“What is this.”

A familiar voice was heard. Noah’s body reflexively froze.

Kwaang!

Someone smashed the asphalt and leaped up. The figure, which soared in an instant, stepped on the outer wall of the building and rushed straight towards Noah. Belatedly, Noah’s wings fluttered greatly, and his claws sharply emerged, swinging towards the enemy. But the opponent raised his forearm and easily blocked the claws. With a sound like scraping an iron plate, a hard hand gripped Noah’s neck.

“That’s a face I’ve seen somewhere.”

A fierce laugh erupted right in front of Noah’s nose. Blue-tinged black eyes. Reddish-blond hair.

“……!”

Noah’s eyes widened. She, Liete, grabbed Noah’s neck and slammed him straight into the ground.

Thud! The already ruined asphalt floor vibrated again. Black fragments flew around. Noah habitually used a healing skill on himself and emitted poison.

“Wings, and different eyes. Poison?”

“Kuh, what……”

Liete’s lips curled up tightly.

“Did my dead little brother mutate strangely and pop out?”

“…Excuse me?”

Noah’s struggle stopped for a moment. What did she just say?

“Dea, ugh!”

“Strange. It seems like Pebble, though.”

Liete dragged Noah like a hunted beast as she moved. Noah’s hands and claws scratched at the hand and arm gripping his neck, but they didn’t budge. Only the hem of his clothes tore, leaving not even a scratch on the skin underneath.

“This place is weird too. Why am I in Seoul? I haven’t been here since Hyun-ah left.”

Liete said, humming.

“It’s quiet. There are no people. Was it always like this? I’m confused.”

“Sister!”

“Yeah, Pebble.”

“I’m not Pebble, I’m Noah!”

“Shut up.”

Liete said, sounding slightly annoyed. Hunters approached her as she walked aimlessly.

“What the─”

There was no sound. The body of the hunter who was talking was cut in half and collapsed. The other hunters were the same. They didn’t even realize that their bodies were being cut off, and they scattered into pieces. In the thick stench of blood, Liete paused for a moment.

“I’ll ask.”

She glanced down at the gathering pool of blood and slung Noah, whom she had been dragging, over her shoulder.

“Which way is the airport? I wonder if the planes will take off.”

“What, what are you talking about!”

“I have to go home.”

Noah punched Liete’s back and shouted.

“My home is here!”

“Huh? Pebble, you’ve never even been to Korea, have you?”

Something was wrong. It was definitely Liete, but she was saying things he couldn’t understand.

“I belong to the Giseungsu Breeding Center!”

“Giseungsu Breeding Center?”

“And you’re currently staying at the Breaker Guild!”

“What are you talking about, Pebble? Breaker is ruined.”

Noah’s voice stopped abruptly. His mouth closed, and his brow furrowed. Liete said that her brother, Noah, was dead. The Breaker Guild was ruined, and she didn’t know about the Giseungsu Breeding Center. Also, her hair and eye color were from before she had earned the title of Dio Valshesis’s Twin.

Noah recalled the contents of the system message window. Christmas Carol. Past, future, present. Judging by Liete’s appearance alone, it was the past, but…

‘…The future?’

A hypothetical future where the Giseungsu Breeding Center didn’t exist and Dio Valshesis’s Twins hadn’t been raided. Could that be it?

“Sister! Don’t you have the Dragonification skill?”

“Dragonification?”

“I mean Dio Valshesis’s Twins. No, what’s the age, what year is it?”

“It’s been two years since you died.”

Liete said lightly.

“Yeah, you definitely died. How did this happen? You even became dragonified. Is that lizard bastard responsible? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. Let’s not die this time, Pebble.”

“Sister!”

“Of course, if you’re a fake, I’ll tear you apart myself.”

Then, thud, Liete bumped into an invisible barrier. Her eyes narrowed.

“This is.”

A transparent hemispherical barrier. Unlike the bewildered Liete, Noah easily understood its meaning. A dungeon zone. Noah took a deep breath.

‘Monster.’

Liete, and the hunters from earlier, were monsters in this dungeon.

Liete frowned and kicked the barrier roughly, but nothing changed. She swept her bangs back, looking displeased.

“Which bastard made something like this.”

“That’s not…….”

Noah’s words trailed off. What would happen if he told Liete that she was a monster? Noah could only imagine a violent reaction. She might even try to kill him, determined to fulfill her role as a monster.

‘If it’s Sister, she would do that and more.’

So, he had to get out before Liete realized it.

“Sister, put me down.”

“No way.”

“We can’t escape anyway because we’re blocked.”

“The guy who made that barrier might be nearby. You’re too weak.”

“I’m not weak! I am!”

Taking a deep breath, Noah shouted.

“I fought and won against Sister!”

Even though Han Yujin’s help was significant, it was still a fact. Liete’s steps stopped abruptly.

“What nonsense are you talking about? Pebble, you?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“I am…….”

He shouldn’t say the word dungeon.

“I’m Noah, but I’m different from the Noah that Sister knows. I obtained the Dragonification skill with Sister, came to Korea, fought, and won. The Sister I know isn’t the Sister you are now either.”

“I’m not?”

“My Sister is a Black Dragon with the Dragonification skill.”

“Then.”

Liete continued in a low voice.

“My brother is really dead?”

“…I don’t know. Because I’m alive.”

Noah looked down at Liete’s back. He couldn’t see her face, her expression. Was she perhaps sad? Was she feeling even a little bit of regret that he had died? But.

“You said that it’s natural to die if you’re weak.”

Noah said, gritting his teeth.

“So, he probably died. Because he’s *faible* [French for weak]!”

Why was she muttering sadly, as if it was something new? It had only turned out as she had said.

“But I am Noah!”

Whirr, his wings spread out roughly. Noah transformed into a dragonewt as large as possible. There was no way Liete could withstand that weight. But if the volume suddenly increased, there would be a gap for the relatively small human who was holding it.

As expected, Liete’s arm loosened for a moment. He could have pressed down and grabbed her tightly, but that would have caused Noah to suffer a major injury. As the bulk thickened, Liete’s arm widened, and Noah slipped out, slightly reducing his size to take advantage of the gap.

Then, he quickly flew into the sky. Liete’s eyes looked up at her dragonewt brother.

“It wasn’t enough.”

“Yes?”

“I should have made you stronger. I thought that even if you were a support class, if you were around S-class, you wouldn’t die.”

Noah’s expression twisted greatly.

“There are strong people even if their grade is low! And even if they are S-class, even if they are combat types, they die too!”

“But Pebble. You can’t beat me now. If I wanted to, you would die here.”

“It won’t be easy.”

Noah growled lowly. Liete smiled, showing her teeth, as she watched him slowly flap his wings and create distance.

“Really? You definitely seem a bit different. Come at me, Pebble.”

“Yes, Sister!”

Noah answered loudly and turned his body around as it was. Liete’s eyes widened.

“Huh? Pebble?”

“Yujin would have done this too!”

Of course, he couldn’t win. In fact, Liete seemed even stronger than the current Liete, perhaps because it was a future point in time. Since he was already near the barrier, Noah quickly slipped out beyond the barrier before Liete could do anything. Now to find Han Yujin and the others,

“Ugh?!”

Noah’s body was suddenly pulled sharply downwards. His ankle had been pulled by something. Liete smiled brightly as she looked down at Noah, who had been dragged back inside the barrier.

“You’ve changed a lot! But you’re still Pebble. You couldn’t beat me, could you?”

The transparent string that had been tying Noah’s ankle had already been released. Noah gritted his teeth and glared at his sister.