The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 138

138. Snowing (2)

A tree where snow falls. The fifth Source.

The place where the Star-Counting Bird, which took Yoohyun’s corpse, resides.

However, the white-feathered bird was nowhere to be seen. Instead, what caught my eye was my brother, lying quietly on the snowy field.

Between the tree roots as thick as frozen mountain ranges, a human body that felt so small it was a wonder I found it. It must be a dream for it to appear so clearly.

‘…Isn’t he cold?’

That was the first thought that came to mind. I know the dead can’t feel the cold. But this is a dream. In a dream, he might still be alive.

Besides, his face, though slightly pale, looked as if he were merely asleep. There were no signs of injury. The snowflakes lightly covering his body were impeccably white.

So, if I wake him, won’t he open his eyes?

‘Yoohyun.’

But I couldn’t approach. No sound came out either. There’s no need to act like such a typical nightmare. I’ve experienced being able to do nothing but watch enough in reality. So, at least in a dream, let me move a little.

I never asked for much anyway.

Blinking stupidly, my insides ached. The snow was falling incessantly. It swam through the air, slow as if it would last forever.

Among them, a particularly large snowflake floated gently.

– Peep!

…Huh.

– Peep peep!

Not a snowflake… it’s Piupiu. Flapping its small wings with all its might, it floated towards me. Come to think of it, it is a white bird.

A white bird is flying through the white snow.

– Peep!

‘Piupiu.’

Piupiu, who had come right in front of me, chirped. I can’t hug you because I can’t move. What’s wrong with my body right now? Am I just watching without form, like in a common dream?

Piupiu, who was spinning around in front of me, flew away again. After shaking off the snowflakes that kept falling on its small body, it slowly descended. The place where it plopped down on the accumulated snow and then jumped up and walked to was where Yoohyun was.

-Peep! -Peep!

The little bird jumped over the piled-up snow and gasped for breath. Why isn’t it flying? Did it already use up all the mana stones in the item?

There were two types of items with special effects: those that used the user’s mana and those that consumed the mana stones in the item. The latter was for people with no or low mana stats. The flight skill consumed a lot of mana, so Piupiu’s item was the latter.

Seeing it use the space movement skill, Piupiu’s mana stat seems higher than I thought. No, before that, it’s a dream, right.

– Peep, peep!

Piupiu, who was walking diligently, finally arrived next to Yoohyun. Flap, flap, it climbed onto his outstretched arm, then flap, flap, it climbed onto his chest again.

My heart momentarily dropped as the black hair swayed, brushing against his pale forehead. But that was it. It must have been the wind.

– Peep!

Piupiu looked up at me from Yoohyun’s chest. Yes, Piupiu. I know. I know he won’t wake up.

I closed my eyes. Amidst the chirping sounds of Piupiu ringing in my ears, I opened my eyes again.

– Peep peep.

“Piupiu.”

I raised my upper body and held Piupiu, who was sitting next to the pillow. Why is its fur wet? Come to think of it, the light from the screen that replaced the window is dim. Rain was falling in the garden, and the sound of rain was faintly heard through the speakers.

“You, don’t tell me you used the space movement skill again to go out.”

– Peep.

The tip of its small beak dug into my palm as if it was hungry. Judging by how weak it looks, it must have used the skill again. What if something bad happens if you go out on your own?

“You can’t go outside alone. Bad people will catch you.”

I took out a mana stone and fed it, reminding it. It probably doesn’t understand. Even if it gets caught, it will come back if it has enough mana. The space movement skill is good.

‘But how far can this guy move?’

It came all the way to Hong Kong, so it can’t be short. Of course, there’s a possibility it didn’t come all at once. I wiped the wet Piupiu with a blanket for now. It’s cold, I might catch a cold… no, it’s summer.

Because of the dream, I momentarily mistook it for winter. Why does it have to be a place where it snows? It’s lonely and cold. So, just let me move once. Let me hug him once.

“Even in summer, you never know, so let’s dry you completely.”

– Peep!

Hugging Piupiu, I took out a dry towel. After carefully wiping its white downy feathers, I dried it with a pet dryer.

“Are you awake?”

No sooner had the dryer stopped than my brother’s voice was heard. At the same time, yesterday’s events came to mind. I had completely forgotten. I unplugged the dryer cord, put it away in the drawer, then picked up Piupiu and turned around. I turned on the poison resistance skill again.

“Did Seong Hyunjae tell you?”

“Yeah.”

He still seems to be watching my reaction a bit. You shouldn’t give sleeping pills to other people without permission. But.

“Why do you carry sleeping pills around? Do you have trouble sleeping?”

“I don’t use them. I just sleep a little lightly, but I can sleep.”

“You slept well in Hong Kong, though. Even S-Ranks need to get enough sleep.”

Yoohyun was briefly silent at my words.

“…Aren’t you angry?”

“Well, I wish you had told me before giving it to me next time. It seems to work well.”

I had a bad dream, but I think I slept well. I was able to relieve a lot of the fatigue I had.

“Hyung.”

“So, what exactly did he say? That guy probably doesn’t know the details either.”

“Why do you keep avoiding my gaze?”

Did I? I haven’t been able to look Yoohyun in the face properly.

“You’re angry after all.”

“I’m not. I don’t get angry about things like that.”

“Then?”

I raised my head and looked at my brother. He’s still young. Twenty-five isn’t that old, but he’s even younger than that. I smiled, seeing his sulky yet anxious face.

“I’m just a little sorry. I promised to tell you everything, but I clammed up again. Come here, Yoohyun.”

I lightly hugged my approaching brother with one arm and then let him go.

“What time is it now? Let’s talk while eating breakfast.”

* * *

I made a simple breakfast. Yoohyun said he would help, but I told him to just sit down. I’m not that great, but I’ve been doing housework for years. Besides, all I had to do was transfer the side dishes from the refrigerator, so all I made was fried eggs. All I had to do for the rice was wash the rice and press the button on the electric rice cooker.

“You’re so quick-witted. To even notice that mana stones are in it.”

I clicked my tongue after hearing what Seong Hyunjae had told Yoohyun.

“It’s Diarma’s cracked mana stone and an SS-Rank Dragonkin’s mana stone.”

“…Is it okay? To put something like that in your body.”

“It’s a kind of skill, and you can fuse mana stones to create a new Dragonkin. If the skill is properly applied, it will follow me, and the rank will be S-Rank or higher.”

However, I was a little anxious because there was still no news. The time required for fusion varies depending on the rank, so it will take quite a while, but there is too little change.

“The side effect of monsters gathering has also occurred, which I didn’t expect.”

“If a Dragonkin is born, will the wounds disappear too?”

“No. The wounds remain the same.”

“Don’t use that skill anymore.”

Yoohyun said firmly.

“But it’s a waste. It’s not like having scars will hinder my life.”

“I want to pull that out right now if I could.”

My brother grumbled, telling me to take care of my body, and picked up a braised shishito pepper [small, sweet peppers] with the end of his chopsticks. That’s delicious. As I stared at him with a little expectation, Yoohyun, who bit into the shishito pepper, stiffened.

“Isn’t it delicious?”

“Y… Yeah.”

“Myungwoo made it.”

“…Oh.”

Yoohyun said awkwardly. I tried to bring him the side dishes Myungwoo made before, but he refused, saying it wasn’t necessary. I wonder if his mind has changed now.

“Try the other ones and tell me if they suit your taste. I’ll pack them for you.”

“…No, it’s okay.”

His voice sounded sulky as he answered. He didn’t even touch the other side dishes after the shishito pepper and only ate fried eggs. Why! Eat something delicious!

“Eat a variety.”

I pushed my share of the egg over to him. The egg alone won’t be enough. Should I take out some seaweed?

“And my fear resistance rank is C now.”

“…What?”

“Song Taewon has a skill that can lower the skill rank of the opponent.”

I’m sorry to Song Taewon, but I have to tell Yoohyun. He shouldn’t get caught and have his skill rank drop. If A-Rank lasts for half a day, S-Rank should last for at least an hour.

Even if it’s someone else, if resistance skills like that drop in rank, they could be in danger.

“To think there was such a skill. And even the drop in rank is significant.”

“Ah, that’s because I shared the double effect of my attack skill. Usually, it drops by about 3 ranks. Even with that alone, S-Rank becomes C-Rank, so be careful. It can only be applied if you have prolonged contact, so you won’t be affected during battle.”

“Don’t share that skill anymore. You know it’s dangerous.”

“I’m going to share it with a contract from now on.”

I need to revise it, though.

My brother did the dishes after the meal. He’s still admirable and kind. Why doesn’t he date? Is it because he’s too perfect?

[Last night, the dungeon break that occurred near □□ Mountain in Gangseo-gu, Seoul—]

When I turned on the TV, a special broadcast about the dungeon break that occurred last night was playing. No matter how much I changed the channel, all the regular broadcasts were about the dungeon break. The broadcasts related to me had completely disappeared.

It was understandable since it was a dungeon break after a long time.

‘They shouldn’t think that this will end well with just this.’

They deliberately blew up the dungeon. If that fact is revealed, it’s like carrying firewood and jumping into the fire [committing a self-destructive act]. Why would they hang themselves with the rope they were given [seal their own fate] when they could have just retired quietly?

‘Trace the honey that came out on the market and filter out the guys who didn’t answer me.’

If they were smart, they might have deliberately told me they would retire. Anyway, tracing the honey sales route is the most urgent thing, but sadly, Seong Hyunjae keeps coming to mind.

‘There must be hunters in Sesung who have the skill to obtain information from people or corpses.’

They even took the corpse from Hong Kong, so there’s no doubt. I don’t want to make Yerim do it, and it will take at least a week to ten days to get out of the dungeon, so it will be too late.

What should I throw at him? Should I tell him about the mana stone combination? If I throw it out there that I can make a custom-made ride later, he will definitely bite.

‘It’s hard to find an electric resistance high-level monster.’

The Sesung Guild Leader should have at least an S-Rank ride to save face. Of course, I’m not saying I’ll make it in exchange for tracing the honey trading route. It’s just providing information that this might be possible. The skill’s success isn’t certain yet, and I don’t know to what extent I can combine monsters as I want.

It feels a bit like a scam, but oh well. If you have that much [power/influence], you can get scammed.

Yoohyun, who came out of the kitchen, glanced at the TV and sat on the sofa.

“Aren’t you going to the guild? It must be noisy because a dungeon broke out after a long time.”

“I’m still in the dungeon. It’s not good to be known that I came out using a gate stone [item for quick dungeon exit], so I’ll stay quiet until the raid is over. Hyung, you’ll be at home until your fear resistance rank is restored, right?”

I slightly avoided the gaze that contained the conviction that I would definitely do that.

“No, I have to move busily. It’s clear that they blew up the dungeon break yesterday to bury my work, so how can I sit still? And everyday life is naturally fine even without fear resistance. Even C-Rank is good. Ordinary people don’t live with fear resistance.”

I’ll probably hear that C-Rank is very bold. My brother’s expression turned sulky at my words. I feel bad for making him stay home, but take a good rest this time.

“Then I’ll come with you.”

“Wasn’t the Haeyeon Guild Leader raiding a dungeon?”

Instead of answering, Yoohyun made a phone call somewhere. And after a while, a young man in his early twenties appeared, dragged by Seok Simyeong’s hand.

“Huh, weren’t you in the dungeon, Guild Leader?”

Kim Minui, a B-Rank hunter from Haeyeon who had recommended a bar to Kim Sunghan before, looked at Yoohyun with a bewildered expression. Yoohyun smiled kindly at him.

“Lend me your identity for a week.”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have anything to do since it’s vacation anyway. I even took a vacation.”

“No, I took a vacation to go on a trip to Europe…….”

As he hesitated and stepped back, Yoohyun took out his glasses. Then Seok Simyeong handed him a pill.

“Just sleep well and wake up.”

“I’ve already booked the plane and accommodation!”

“We will compensate you three times and extend your vacation period.”

Kim Minui grumbled but eventually took the pill. Minui, I’m sorry. I’ll try to make sure my brother doesn’t cause any accidents, so don’t worry too much.