The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 108

I took the Cracked Mana Stone out of my inventory. As if sensing something, Peace growled softly, expressing wariness. Bbyong also stared with wide eyes, though his eyes are always round.

“Mana Stone… is it?”

Yoohyun frowned slightly as he spoke. I wondered if some unpleasant energy that I couldn’t feel was leaking from the Cracked Mana Stone, making him feel uneasy like Peace.

“It’s from the guy who made a contract with you.”

“…What?”

The expression that had been merely displeased twisted fiercely. He seemed both surprised and angry. Judging by the grinding of his teeth, it was the latter.

“Why do you have that, hyung [older brother]? You didn’t happen to run into someone capable of an L-Rank Curse Contract… Damn it!”

“Whether I ran into him or not, calm down and listen.”

“Sung Hyunjae, that son of a bitch, can’t even protect you properly—!”

He growled as if he would charge into the Sesung Guild at any moment, but he didn’t actually rush out. Instead, he turned to me with eyes mixed with worry and anxiety.

“…Are you really just hurt in the leg? Tell me honestly, hyung.”

Yoohyun grabbed my wrist as he spoke. To his questioning about whether I had been hit by a curse or some other skill, I answered that I was fine because my body was really only hurt in the leg.

Soothing my brother, I told him what had happened. I omitted the sudden kidnapping incident and explained that after defeating the MKC and Sudam’s attacks and releasing Sung Hyunjae’s contract, a Dragonkin appeared.

“The owner of the Curse Poison Dragon King used mental skills and got captured, but the System Creator appeared and saved me. Touching me was a kind of rule violation, so he killed that lizard’s owner and gave me the Mana Stone.”

Being saved was also true. I continued speaking, facing his still stiff face.

“It was almost dangerous, but thanks to that, I caught the lizard bastard. It’s a good thing. Loosen up your face.”

“Almost?”

“It wasn’t my real body, and the System side came right away. They’re paying a lot of attention, you know?”

*In case, I should silence Waterdrop and Newbie if I meet them.*

“It’s already over without any problems. More than that, you knew that our world wouldn’t last long, right?”

“…I heard roughly.”

“You also heard that even among the top-tier S-Ranks, there’s a way to escape, right?”

“I heard, but it’s not related to me, so I don’t remember well.”

You’re kidding me. I know your grades inside and out. There’s no way a smart guy like you would forget such important information.

“What do you mean you don’t remember! Just pretend to cooperate like Sung Hyunjae; why refuse so rashly?”

Yoohyun looked at me with a slightly sulky expression.

“If I were going to accept that, I wouldn’t have kept you at a distance in the first place. There would have been no need to keep you away.”

“Still, if you were alone, you could have been safe.”

Back then, if I hadn’t taken care of me… Unconsciously, my molars clenched tightly. My stomach hurt a little.

“…He was a nasty guy even without you. There was no way I would have kept holding hands with him.”

“He was talkative and even stupid. He certainly wasn’t someone to associate with for long.”

I smiled lightly and continued speaking.

“Thanks to him, I also learned how to save the world. No, not completely save it, but if we manage the dungeons well and hold out, it’ll be safe for about a hundred years, they say.”

“A hundred years?”

“Yeah. The dungeon difficulty will increase in the future, so holding out won’t be easy. But if we endure for about five years, a hundred years of peace will come~ I don’t know what will happen after a hundred years, and will I even be alive then?”

But Yoohyun will be alive, and he might be able to leave this world. I just need to set the stage for that to happen.

Well, maybe the people in our world can endure well again after a hundred years. They’ll already have accumulated experience and information.

“That guy said the chances were low, but you’re saying we just have to hold out?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. The obstacle, the lizard’s owner, is gone, and the System Creators said they’d help, so it won’t be that difficult. More than anything, we have Gi Seungsoo. He’ll raise the monsters well, and Myungwoo will make weapons. We’ll also find special skill aptitude holders; I heard it was Seok Hayan? If that team’s research comes out, it’ll be a big help in managing the dungeons.”

Even to my ears, my voice sounded light and cheerful.

“Just suffer for five more years. Then, comfortably, what should we do? Is there anything you want to do?”

The stiffness in his eyes finally softened.

“Um, what about you, hyung?”

“Me? I don’t know.”

White trees and white birds came to mind.

“Should we go on a trip? I’ve never been on one except for school trips.”

“That would be nice too.”

I looked at my brother’s smiling face. Right now, I should only think about the work here. There’s a lot to do. Stacked up and stacked up.

“Give your spirit a name. You haven’t named it yet, have you?”

The fire lizard was circling around Yoohyun’s shoulder. It’s still a young spirit, but it’s the purest flame born from an egg. Thanks to being a sorcerer from a world without a System, the lizard’s owner knew quite a bit about spirits.

The hatching conditions were good, and the compatibility was so good that it immediately contracted with Yoohyun. If we can break away from the framework of the System, he’ll be able to grow much faster than before the regression.

“Don’t name it carelessly; put some thought into it, and ask for its opinion too.”

“Do I have to go that far?”

“Hey, how precious is it? It’ll be a big help in the future, so raise it well.”

“It’s already eating well. It ate billions of won [Korean currency] worth of equipment in the equipment storage while I wasn’t looking.”

…It must have swallowed a few high-grade equipment. A high-grade Mana Stone would have been better, but items? What a dangerous fire lizard. Just then, a text message came to my phone. Checking it, it was from Seok Simyeong.

[I would appreciate it if you could tell the Guild Leader to answer the phone.]

“Team Leader Seok says you should answer the phone.”

There wasn’t even a vibration sound. Did he turn it off completely? At my words, Yoohyun reluctantly took out his phone and made a call. From what I could gather, there were complaints about sweeping away an A-Rank dungeon building and its surroundings. Moreover, he just turned around and left after causing such a commotion, so there were various complaints.

“Go for a bit.”

“It’s okay.”

“For the sake of peace in five years, don’t make unnecessary enemies. We’ll need the strength of many people, so we should try to go smoothly if possible. Showing your face once isn’t that difficult, is it?”

Even while making an unwilling expression, he gets up from his seat. Seeing him, I wondered if Yoohyun, like Riet, wasn’t suited to moving alone. If I hadn’t been there, maybe he would have been. I’ve held him back in many ways.

After Yoohyun left, I put Peace and Bbyong down on the sofa and stood up. The two of them followed me, toddling, as I headed to the bathroom. When I closed the door to prevent them from entering, I heard dissatisfied whimpering and Bbyong sounds.

“Wait a moment.”

I reassured them and stood in front of the sink. The Cracked Mana Stone, and one more. I took out another Mana Stone from my inventory. It was an SS-Rank Mana Stone that came from the Dragonkin.

The owner of the Curse Poison Dragons. Diarma combined Mana Stones to create new Curse Poison Dragons. I know the method because I saw his skills. I don’t know if I can use it.

‘The foundation isn’t bad.’

Dragon Slayer and Perfect Caregiver. If I think only of those traits, apart from the skill effects that the System tells me, they are suitable for raising a Dragonkin.

‘The oppressive power to suppress even while holding the Curse Poison Dragonkin’s Mana Stone. The power to grow it. Lastly, the combination… I can probably do it with Teacher’s Skill.’

It’s a skill that can connect two different things. Since I have these three things, I can be said to have potential.

Can’t I fill the remaining lacking parts with Diarma’s Mana Stone? Just like Diarma also received help from a teacher of the same race when he was young.

‘The center is the Dragonkin’s Mana Stone.’

The stats of the Dragonkin that will be born depend on the average of the Mana Stones and the sorcerer’s ability. So there’s no difference which one is mainly used, but I didn’t want to combine it mainly with Diarma’s. It’s just a dead Mana Stone, but I’ll use the bastard who touched my brother as a material.

The closer the area to hold the Mana Stone is to the heart, the better the effect. I unbuttoned my shirt and took out a short knife. The body reflected in the mirror is smooth without any scars. After the regression, I could receive as many healing skills as I wanted with potions. But the wound I’m going to make now is unhealable. Diarma was also covered in scars even at that rank.

I lightly stabbed the area above my beating heart with the tip of the knife. When I brought the Cracked Mana Stone to the wound, it absorbed the blood, widened the wound, and settled inside. There wasn’t much pain. As if smelling the blood, Peace scratched at the door.

“It’s okay, Peace.”

It’s still going smoothly so far. I moved my magic power, recalling Diarma’s memories. Consuming several Mana Potions, I pressed the white Mana Stone onto the blackened wound. The black Mana Stone swallowed the white Mana Stone as if enveloping it. Then the wound closed, leaving only a small scar.

I let out a soft sigh. It’s a success for now. I don’t know what kind of Dragonkin will be born yet. Suddenly, I took out a glass bottle from my inventory. The red Mana Stone in the bottle rattled softly.

“Hello, Blackie.”

If you’re born safely, I’ll take you out soon too.

– Kkuung.

As soon as I finished cleaning up and opened the bathroom door, Peace clung to me. Bbyong, with its low stats, didn’t seem to smell the blood and looked bewildered.

“I told you I’m okay. It’s nothing. Bbyong, you come here too.”

Hugging the two of them, I went back to the sofa in the living room.

I told Yoohyun that holding out wouldn’t be that difficult, but of course, that’s not true. About 50 S-Rank Hunters aren’t enough. What’s important is quality over quantity.

Fortunately, I have the ability to raise Hunters. In addition, I now have some knowledge. So there’s enough potential.

‘Why did the filial sons only tell me to gather 50 people instead of raising them?’

Wondering, I opened the status window. The trivial words like arrows or fighting had disappeared, as if someone had touched it again. Among the skills, I checked the last skill, Last Repayment.

[Last Repayment (L) – Upon the death of the keyword-affected target, receive the target’s skills and stats with twice the efficiency.

Duration: 7 days

※ Cannot be duplicated]

Twice, and since it’s a Curse Poison Dragonkin, twice again. I touched the scar under my clothes. It’s still not a method I want to use much. But I need to have one last resort. A means to protect my brother and go find him.

“I’ll be busier from tomorrow, so should I rest well today?”

Hugging Peace and Bbyong, I lay down on the sofa.

* * *

The next day, I couldn’t return to the breeding facility until evening. It was because I had to be held up all day dealing with the aftermath of MKC and Sudam.

Two S-Rank Hunters conspired to kill another S-Rank Hunter.

Of course, it wasn’t a normal matter. It hasn’t been announced outside yet, but it’s an incident that would be talked about on the 9 o’clock news for days. Thanks to that, even though he was an S-Rank Hunter, Song Taewon had a tired face all day. It seemed like he couldn’t help but be mentally exhausted.

I finished the interview with Sung Hyunjae yesterday, so today was my turn. Excluding the story about Sung Hyunjae’s contract and the Filial Piety Addicts, I explained it similarly to what I told Yoohyun yesterday. In Riet’s case, it was handled as if she had been hired by MKC but quit after learning the truth.

“Sudam will probably take most of the blame as the mastermind.”

Song Taewon said with a sigh.

“MKC still has strong backing, so even if it takes a hit, it won’t collapse.”

“They live so comfortably. Is the Sesung Guild Leader just going to let it go?”

When Sung Hyunjae’s story came up, Song Taewon’s expression darkened even more. He must have been tormented quite a bit.

“Of course not. They’ll be waging a war behind the scenes for a while. He was already scratching at MKC over Han Yoojin’s kidnapping, and now he’s caught an even bigger case…….”

The sigh he let out was so heavy that it would sink the ground. Looking at Song Taewon like that, I casually threw out a word.

“The Association side is also in a position to let it go, right?”

“Yes. They don’t like the balance of the giant Guilds collapsing. They want them to keep competing.”

“Even so, they’re going to turn a blind eye to clear criminal acts. It can’t be helped that the Hunters’ trust in the Association is collapsing.”

“…I can’t say anything other than apologize for that point.”

The heavy voice was bitter as if it were burning. Certainly, leaving the current Association alone would be disadvantageous in many ways. At a time when Hunters need to become stronger and unite, they’ll just grab their ankles and hold them back.

‘If Sung Hyunjae from before the regression chose the path of blocking and enduring the dungeons, then he might have been the one who killed Song Taewon.’

It would have been a waste of an S-Rank Hunter, but it would have been more advantageous to destroy the Association, have Haeyeon take over Korea, and create a Hunter-centered society. He could have told him the inside story and tried to persuade him, but did it not work? Or was there another reason?

“The fact that the Association President is an unawakened person is honestly not trustworthy either. I think it would be reassuring if Director Song Taewon was the Association President instead.”

At the words mixed with laughter, Song Taewon’s brow furrowed. Without answering, he moved on to a detailed story about compensation.

The reaction was so lukewarm that I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be easy to bring him in.

* * *

And when I returned home, Myungwoo was lying on the living room floor.