The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 443

The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning. It was just an invisible odor, yet it felt like a dense mass enveloping my entire body.

The military buildings and facilities that had once stood shoulder to shoulder were now reduced to mere remnants: collapsed concrete debris and scattered shards of glass. A charred tire lay discarded next to a pillar that was now just a stump.

Screech! A skeletal hand pushed aside a mangled sheet of metal. A corpse that was once a high-ranking Hunter staggered to its feet. No living person remained. The dead were constantly resurrecting.

However.

Crackle!

A surge of electricity engulfed the newly risen corpse. The body, shattered as if hit by a bomb, twitched slowly. The regeneration speed was definitely slower than before.

There was a limit to the power of resurrection.

“Is this what an A-rank is like?”

Sung Hyunjae muttered quietly, casting a cold, observing gaze at the corpse. The undead’s resurrection ability varied depending on the stats of the original body. Lower-ranked Hunters were finished off after being smashed three or four times. Mid-ranks required at least ten times, and often close to fifty times, of being torn to pieces.

And A-ranks and above were so tenacious that it seemed like they would resurrect forever. Finally, S-ranks…

– Grrr.

The corpse, with only tattered clothes, regenerated almost unchanged from its living state and raised its shield. Its expressionless, pale face emitted an unintelligible growl. But its movements were swift. Though lacking strategy, its combat instincts remained, and it lunged at the only living being here, even using skills.

Blood-caked boots kicked up a scattered piece of rebar [steel reinforcing bar]. The golden current flowed through the metal bar spinning in the air, and then, thwack, it forcefully kicked towards the corpse. The rebar, flying like an arrow, pierced the undead’s leg. Almost simultaneously, the second rebar pierced the remaining leg,

Boom!

Lightning struck, using the two metal bars as lightning rods. The charred body collapsed and quickly began to regenerate. Light exploded over it in rapid succession. The relentlessly thrashing current inflicted dozens, hundreds of attacks in a short time. The sharp light, which would be hard for an ordinary person to even look at, focused intensely on a single target.

At least thousands of times. Perhaps more than ten thousand deaths.

The violent light subsided, and the remains, closer to debris than a corpse, twitched faintly. It seemed that some regenerative power remained, but not enough to raise the body again.

Sung Hyunjae moved closer to the corpse. A barely formed finger bone tapped his shoe and scratched against it.

“If you could talk, I’d like to hear your impressions.”

If there was any ego left, about the immortality forcibly granted. But this was just a moving mass.

‘Even if you break free from the crescent moon.’

That dawn, the young Chaos had said.

‘Your existence itself will remain the same.’

What has been accumulated does not disappear. It was already part of what made up the existence of Sung Hyunjae.

‘You can take some of it away. The two guys next to you did it too. But there are limits to that.’

What was accumulated was also him. Like mixed water, if you scoop out too much, it would inevitably affect the current Sung Hyunjae. Even just taking out a little without overdoing it caused some loss.

‘So you’ll have to keep living. Unlike the Transcenders, if you stay in one world, you’ll have to be prepared to fall into an even deeper sense of ennui [a feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement] than you have been until now.’

The day will come when you will first let everything around you flow away, and then those who come back will also pass by, and you will have to stand alone in the empty wasteland. Even if sprouts grow, forests are created, and something new comes beyond the flowing water, life will disappear again first.

The reason why Transcenders only mingle with each other and distance themselves from the beings of the worlds they manage is also to protect themselves. If they become friends with someone right next to them, not just a character in a book, it would be hard to endure the countless partings that would follow.

‘You’re a guy who will last a long time, so you’ll be in more pain. It would be easier if you put up a wall or just let go altogether.’

He wasn’t the type to try to protect himself in that way. Perhaps it was greed, not trying to give up anything about himself, like a self-love close to strictness. Advantages as well as weaknesses were all part of him.

Scrape, scrape, the bone scraped the floor. A few A-ranks staggered closer before being swept away by golden chains.

Han Yoojin will not live long. Even if his lifespan is extended to that of an ordinary person, it will not be a hundred years. Watching over that end, tidying up, and a few things will remain in Sung Hyunjae’s hands.

‘I’m lending it to you, so bring it back in good condition. Don’t even think about going somewhere else.’

Sung Hyunjae’s gaze briefly touched the black-red coat. This would also be among the few things that would remain. Even though he says it’s his, Han Yoojin will eventually return it. Maybe with a smile.

Should I ask him not to forget me, or should I ask him to forget me?

Song Taewon will be able to live much longer. But it was impossible to know if he could endure a long time. A hundred years, two hundred years at most. Living and aging around that time would be a happy thing for him.

It was hard to imagine Song Taewon living for a long time of over a thousand years. Instead, the last 모습 [Korean: appearance, figure] for someone was vivid as if he had experienced it several times.

“It will be lonely.”

Because enjoyable times are not eternal, they are even more valuable.

‘I hope you don’t try to catch those two.’

Just before the dawn light brightened, the young Chaos said for the last time. It would be hard to give up. So keep the contract until the end.

Sung Hyunjae walked past the pile of bones that had almost stopped moving. The moon in the sky was almost setting. Even though he had relentlessly poured power into the constantly resurrecting undead for a long time, his body was still light.

It was thanks to drawing out some of the accumulated things.

It wasn’t a materialized skill. The simple mass of power itself was able to move slightly. Of course, there was a possibility that it could get out of control, so the young Chaos had warned him firmly.

Only try it in a place where it’s okay to go crazy for a while.

‘It’s not time for you to gain new abilities. You’ll be stuck digesting it for years.’

Very slowly, little by little. As the young Chaos had confirmed, Sung Hyunjae’s self-control was very good. So it was worth trying to carefully accept the accumulated powers. However, the act of drawing out skills was forbidden because of the risk of shaking the ego. He should only touch the mass of power itself.

And the result was not bad. It was still more about strengthening durability than increasing ability itself.

Should I go back now? Sung Hyunjae looked around the desolate surroundings. Then, he slightly raised the end of his eyebrows as if troubled.

‘…I want to draw out skills like flight or teleportation.’

Since there was nothing left, he had no choice but to walk. No matter how versatile he was, it was impossible to create a car or helicopter out of the melted scrap metal. Even the communicator given by the Murim Alliance [a fictional martial arts alliance] was damaged by the undead Hunter’s wide-area skill.

Of course, there were people waiting, but they were more than a few kilometers away. Reluctantly, he set a direction and tried to move his steps.

Dududududu─

The sound of helicopter blades was heard. Sung Hyunjae stopped moving and looked up at the sky. He couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe, but he waited quietly for the helicopter to land safely because the helicopter had to be safe. The helicopter, having confirmed his location, landed a few dozen meters away.

‘Two S-rank Hunters.’

Because the opponent did not hide their presence, it was not difficult to feel even from a distance. There seemed to be other high-ranking Hunters as well.

Unfortunately, only one of the S-rank Hunters got off the helicopter. Sung Hyunjae gave up hijacking the helicopter for now. It was close to impossible to suppress the S-rank Hunter without destroying the helicopter.

“I can be a surprisingly quiet passenger today, enough to surprise even the tired public official.”

Whether the opponent was the military or another force, two people walked towards Sung Hyunjae in the helicopter’s searchlight. One was an S-rank Hunter, and the other felt like a mid-rank or lower. Also, both were wearing dark robes.

“Nice to meet you, Guild Leader Sesung.”

The smaller of the two opened his mouth. It was a fairly clear male voice, in English. The color of his eyes, revealed under the hood of the robe, was also greenish. It didn’t seem like the Chinese military for sure.

“The interview fee is replaced by the helicopter. Please keep the purpose short and clear. I’m quite tired.”

“I can’t say it’s expensive since the opponent is who they are.”

The man smiled slightly and continued.

“I heard you already know about the existence outside the world.”

“That was fast.”

When he heard Han Yoojin’s words, he expected someone to approach. Although the contract was broken, Sung Hyunjae had once joined hands with the Filial Unpiety side. Since there had already been one connection, it would be relatively easy to interfere.

Even so, it was a faster move than expected, even though only a day had passed.

“I have known for a long time.”

The man smiled gently.

“The appearance of dungeons in this world is all God’s will.”

“I refuse religious proselytization [the act of attempting to convert people to another religion or belief]. Come to think of it, it’s not a bad day for a walk.”

Walking leisurely seemed like a pretty good option. There had been groups claiming that the creation of dungeons and the phenomenon of monsters pouring out were God’s will. Sung Hyunjae had also encountered them a few times overseas, and concluded that it was better not to deal with fanatics.

As he turned away without regret, the man said.

“I can see the future.”

“…Oh my.”

A fanatic and a prophet. It was a type that was quite different from Sung Hyunjae’s taste.

“What I started to recall accurately was from a month ago. Most of the futures I recall were accurate. Except for one place, Korea.”

Sung Hyunjae’s movement, who was about to walk away, stopped, ignoring his words. Not the future.

‘…Is it the memory before regression?’

Then only Korea would have to be different. Due to Han Yoojin’s influence.

“It would be even more useless to me. As you know, I’m Korean.”

“But Guild Leader Sesung has more frequent overseas activities. Also.”

The man lowered his voice.

“The being outside the world contacted me directly a week ago.”

“God is talking. That’s amazing.”

“No. He serves God and said that God’s will is the manifestation of the dungeon. He answered that our beliefs are right.”

If it was a week ago, it was before the Transcenders’ negotiations were over. Then it was highly likely that it was Chatterbox, who was already intervening in this world with the King of No Harm.

Sung Hyunjae slowly turned his body and looked at the man. Would it be better to deal with him here? Noticing his mood, the man quickly said.

“We must not harm each other now. Didn’t you receive such contact?”

“I was banned from traveling abroad. I’m curious what will happen if I break it. I’m quite curious.”

The S-rank Hunter standing next to the man drew his weapon. The white-bladed sword emitted a faint light.

“I came to offer Guild Leader Sesung a proposal. Those who oppose God will not give you anything. But those who serve God are different.”

“It’s so obvious that I’m already getting bored.”

“Don’t you have something you want? You’re human, after all.”

If there was something he wanted, Sung Hyunjae’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Unfortunately, the two next to me are stubborn. If it’s something I received in exchange for strange religious proselytization, they will both refuse. I might even hear that I’m crazy.”

He would be grabbed by the collar enough. Song Taewon’s absurd expression would be worth watching.

“…Excuse me?”

“I’m living well these days, so try to find someone else.”

As soon as Sung Hyunjae finished speaking, light spread out. The S-rank Hunter responded as if he had been waiting for the sharply rising electricity. White mist formed on the blade, freezing the electricity as if solidifying it. Then, the tip of the sword flew towards Sung Hyunjae. His head tilted slightly, and a long line was drawn on his smooth cheek.

Immediately after.

Kaboom!

The helicopter exploded. Amidst the continuous explosions, the golden chains flew to their owner.

“Have a good night walk.”

Sung Hyunjae, who bowed exaggeratedly, spread a wide range of non-lethal currents for the last time. Then, he turned his body and walked away. Watching his back, the man sighed briefly.

“As expected, he doesn’t listen at all. Greeting was the purpose, but.”

A troubled cry was heard from behind him, regretting that he couldn’t help it.

“All the communicators are broken!”

“…Yes?”

They also had to walk all the way.