The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 156

156. I Ran Away (2)

I pulled my mask up as high as it would go, called a cab from a quiet spot, and headed to Sadang Station. Fortunately, that E-Rank Dungeon wasn’t too far from Sadang Station. Since it was a crowded place, I got out in a secluded spot as much as possible, used my Stealth skill again, went to the station, and put my phone in a locker.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been to a subway station.’

Before the regression [time travel/reincarnation], I had my own car, and now I had even less reason to take the subway. I had some time to spare before the appointment, so I stood for a moment and watched the people passing by.

If the dungeons hadn’t appeared, I’d still be among them. Yoo-hyun would have been taking Line 2 and passing through Sadang Station too. Though now he drives a fancy custom car.

‘It’s okay now, it’s okay.’

It’s better in terms of success. Actually, Yoo-hyun probably didn’t enjoy studying that much either. Still, I wish he’d attend school at least a little bit. …Should I try to persuade him to go to school with me? Are the classes different depending on the year in university?

‘Those kids are Yoo-hyun’s age.’

Did they go somewhere for vacation? They’re loaded with luggage. I stared at the kids as if possessed. They look happy. Travel is good.

I was spacing out, and in an instant, the appointment time was approaching. I was careful not to bump into pedestrians as I left the subway station and headed to the dungeon. There were four people standing in front of the dungeon building.

One D-Rank and three E-Ranks. There weren’t any particularly noteworthy initial skills. But there might be dangerous types among the skills they acquired later, so I used Grace [a skill or item that provides protection or insight].

‘It doesn’t look like there’s anyone else.’

I only hid my face with a mask, so I had to be careful. These people might be ordinary or even good people, but if a gold nugget is rolling around without any protection, greed can arise even if it wasn’t there before. And the TV was blaring about how Han Yoo-jin’s value is super high!

‘At that level, they could switch careers to human trafficking and still handle it.’

Of course, I can’t handle it, but Bellareda will step in instead. The small jewel snake wrapped around my wrist sparkles its golden eyes and quietly flicks its tongue. It seemed to like the night outing.

‘Take care of me, Bell.’

Low-level hunters wouldn’t have decent poison resistance skills or items, and an A-Rank poison skill would be more than enough to steam them. Still, the best thing is to get through it without any problems.

“You’re working hard late into the night.”

I released the Stealth skill and stepped forward, saying, “Oh, it’s good to see you.” The leader, the D-Rank hunter, scanned me up and down. Since I was wearing short sleeves, I couldn’t hide the bracelet, so I changed Grace to a necklace. I’ve been on TV a few times, so they might recognize me. Instead, Bellare took over my wrist like a bracelet. Since it’s a jewel snake made of minerals, it just looks like a unique and fancy accessory when it stays still.

Other than that, I had no accessories other than earrings. I was dressed casually and lightly.

“That voice sounds familiar.”

“Really? I get told I have a good voice quite often.”

I brushed off the comment and took out a wad of cash. I put 100 50,000 won bills [Korean currency, approximately $40 USD] into each envelope, the same kind I used for the mask. I handed two envelopes of money to the D-Rank hunter.

“Please check it.”

He quickly checked the amount in the envelope and nodded.

“You said you were going in right away, but are you alone?”

“Yes. Something came up. So I won’t be doing a full run, and I’ll be back out in about twenty or thirty minutes. I’d appreciate it if you could do the full run as planned tomorrow.”

“That’s a complete waste of money.”

“I know, right? But what I need is near the entrance… Ah, I shouldn’t say that.”

I deliberately shrugged my shoulders.

“It’s urgent, so could you let me in quickly?”

The D-Rank hunter looked at me suspiciously, but without saying much, he opened the door with the card key.

I went inside the building, stood in front of the gate, and took out my coat. As I put on winter clothes in the middle of summer, Bellare widened her eyes and moved onto my hand, avoiding the attacking sleeve.

-Sssik, sssht!

“It’s cold inside.”

I knocked three times and stepped into the gate. As always, a snowy forest unfolded before my eyes. When a snowflake fell on my nose, Bellare startled and shrank her neck.

-Sssht sssht!

“Have you never seen snow before?”

She’s still a baby, and the dungeon where jewel snakes come from was probably a humid jungle. Bellare, seemingly upset, flicked the tip of her tail and bit down on a snowflake. When it melted into water in her mouth, she tilted her head in confusion, as if embarrassed.

-Sshiiit.

The jewel snake belatedly felt the cold and turned around, burrowing into the inside of my sleeve. She put her body completely inside the clothes and peeked out, looking around. What she’s doing is kind of cute.

[Heo-eo-eo~ Nii~]

A volleyball bounced from far away.

[You’re alone today? What’s the matter?]

Bellare is here too.

“I snuck out.”

[Honey! It’s dangerous to walk around alone!]

Even the volleyball is nagging me now. I took out Grace, the necklace, and showed it to the newbie. A bluebird fluttered out of the simple blue jewel. Grace chirped and landed on the volleyball.

“It’s okay because I have Grace…”

[Ah, Mr. Shallos!]

The volleyball jumped.

[Did you make an item with Mr. Shallos’s magic stone? You look just like Mr. Shallos when he was young! I’m younger than Mr. Shallos, so I’ve never actually seen him.]

“The same as when he was young? Wasn’t he a dragon?”

The item description clearly said Dragon Lord.

[In that world, all creatures become dragons when they grow up to a certain extent. Do they ascend to dragons? Mr. Shallos was originally a bird. That’s why he often hung out with the White Bird.]

“…The Star-Counting Bird?”

I unconsciously grabbed the volleyball and said. The bluebird fluttered up and landed on my shoulder.

[I still haven’t found him! I don’t know where he is!]

“…Are you even looking for him?”

[Of course, I’m looking for him. But if he hides, there’s nothing we can do. He’s even a future-predicting species. In fact, we can’t find him unless he comes forward first.]

…You took my brother and where is he? Scolding the newbie won’t change anything, so I suppressed the rising emotions.

“That, Diarma’s successor came to see me.”

[Really? Was everything okay?]

“He offered me a deal. He said he would save my precious people if I made a contract with him.”

At my words, the volleyball trembled.

[No! Absolutely not, Honey! You’re not going to make a contract, are you? Right?]

“Well, what if it gets too hard? I have to save our kids.”

I deliberately spoke in a weak tone. The face drawn on the volleyball frowned and looked like it was about to cry.

[How can you believe that? No, you can’t make that kind of contract!]

“Even if you say no, honestly, I’m anxious. Even before the regression, there were many places where dungeon management was too much and they exploded, but this time, you said the difficulty will increase even faster. Can we really stop the dungeons until the end? Honestly, I’m not confident.”

[We’re helping you, Honey! It’s different from before the regression.]

“Then give me something. Show me with actions so I can feel at ease.”

Especially give me skills or weapons that my brother can use. Items for rapid growth are also good. Is there a fire-attribute unfilial son [a rebellious or ungrateful person]? Anyway, give me anything. Don’t just talk.

[Um… even if you tell me to give you something……]

“Ah, should I just make a contract with that jellyfish? What does it matter if the world is a little ruined? I’m satisfied as long as our kids are safe.”

[Honey! 8ㅂ8]

“The side that will definitely pay the price is much more trustworthy than the guys who just talk.”

[ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

Don’t spam the message window unnecessarily. I’m getting dizzy. The newbie, who was restless, was silent for a moment and then started talking again.

[I need to prepare! I’ll try to give you the items or skills you want, um… uh, about a month? Please come back then!]

“That takes too long. I don’t think the jellyfish will wait that long.”

[Th, then three weeks!]

I pretended to hesitate and nodded. I wonder if I can negotiate with the jellyfish with this. I’ll have to ask if you have anything more to offer when the unfilial sons bribe you not to make a contract.

“How long will it take for the jellyfish to move in earnest?”

[That depends on the lizard owner. If there are few contract targets, it will take a long time because you have to create connections from the beginning. Still, I’m glad the chain was terminated.]

Speaking of contracts, Choi Seok-won from MKC came to mind. That guy is still under contract, but I’ve been too busy to pay attention. Now that I think about it, I should at least get the contract terminated. How do I meet him?

“By the way, the jellyfish seemed to know Crescent Moon. Is Crescent Moon still asleep?”

[Yes. Um, I don’t know much about Crescent Moon. Just a moment, I’ll call Tree Senior.]

After a while, green letters appeared in the message window.

[Hello, Honey. Don’t bully the newbie too much.]

“I haven’t bullied him.”

[What, what, what, are you spinning around saying? Should I call Crescent Moon and the successor, the jellyfish? The two of them know each other. They have similar attributes, so they used to work together. They’re separated now, though.]

“Then I can hear about the jellyfish’s weaknesses or skills in detail.”

[If Crescent Moon wakes up? I don’t know much about the jellyfish either. However… I’m worried that he’s interested in Honey. Honey, please think carefully. No contracts.]

“I’ll see what you guys do.”

[Don’t be like that. The newbie will cry~.]

What do I care if he cries? This is a matter of life and death. If a few buckets of tears will solve the problem, I can fill them up.

“And Sung Hyun-jae, about the chain. Did he reject his past self when he regressed? So it seems like he still has memories left.”

I didn’t mention the fragments. There’s no need to reveal everything.

[Chain? It’s usually hard to get to that point. Even feeling strange is rare… Maybe it has something to do with Crescent Moon. When will that Crescent Moon wake up?]

I wish he would wake up soon too. From what I’ve heard so far, the most active unfilial son before the regression seems to be none other than Crescent Moon. If Crescent Moon wakes up, there will be a lot of information to gain.

[I’ll investigate for now. Honey, please don’t get involved with the jellyfish and always be careful.]

I asked a few more questions and said I would leave. Soon the surrounding environment changed. It was a slightly humid, dry forest. I took off my coat, put it in my inventory, and turned back towards the gate.

Not much time has passed, so it must be around nine o’clock. If I go back right away, I can arrive well before ten o’clock. I haven’t been caught yet, right?

“Oh, dear.”

When I went out of the gate, I saw people surrounding me. It was the D-Rank and E-Rank hunters I saw earlier.

“What are you all waiting for? I can go home on my own without you worrying about me.”

As I said that, telling them not to worry since I didn’t get a single scratch, the D-Rank hunter strode towards me.

“I wasn’t sure, but it’s Han Yoo-jin, right?”

Then he snatched off my mask. This has become troublesome.

“What time is it exactly now?”

“To think you’d wander around alone without fear.”

Our Bell, following the volleyball, was ignored again. I heard murmurs of, “It’s really Han Yoo-jin.” I also felt gazes as if they were looking at something amazing. Yes, yes, the admission fee is 10,000 won for adults and 5,000 won for teenagers. National merit recipients are free.

“I don’t know why you’re blocking me like this, but I hope for a peaceful and quick resolution. You’re not thinking of doing something bad like selling me off, are you?”

“You came out hiding your face, so it seems like it’s something you shouldn’t be caught doing. We can come to a reasonable agreement.”

At that level, well, there won’t be a need to clean up the body. I was about to ask how much they wanted when suddenly a loud alarm started ringing. The guys all took out their phones.

“Is it a dungeon break?”

“…It doesn’t say it exploded. Is it a hunter-related accident?”

At the words they reflexively answered, my brother came to mind for a moment. The disaster alert came even though it wasn’t a dungeon break, so it’s an accident related to a high-ranking hunter. The S-Rank hunter at Sesung just finished a raid, so it could be a problem there.

I had a feeling that Yoo-hyun was involved. He had been foreshadowing that he would do something for the past few days. He must have finally done something.

I reached out and grabbed the D-Rank hunter’s wrist. Knowing that my stats are F, he just stared at me as if asking what I wanted.

“Do you have a car?”

“What?”

“I don’t have a license, so you’ll have to drive me.”

“What suddenly……”

Swiftly, Bellare instantly moved to the man’s wrist and bared her teeth. Then I quickly said.

“It’s a snake with an A-Rank poison skill.”

A-Rank poison. The man froze. The other E-Rank hunters also panicked and stepped back. They might catch me and force me to detoxify, but I also have a B-Rank barrier skill item. It’s enough to withstand the D~E rank hunters melting from the poison.

“Wa, wait a minute……”

“If you quietly act as my driver, I’ll spare your life and give you plenty of fare.”

So please take me to my brother. At the request I gave with a smile, the D-Rank hunter nodded with a stiff expression. Thank you very much.