The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 16

16. HR Team Leader (1)

[Mr. Han Yoojin? Can you hear me well?]

When I didn’t answer, Seok Simyeong spoke again. I just wanted to pretend I couldn’t hear and hang up.

Seok Simyeong, the HR Team Leader of Haeyeon Guild. He was a unique man, a B-grade Awakener who hardly ever entered dungeons, preferring to stick to office work. There were even rumors that he possessed skills specifically related to HR.

As one of the founding members of the Haeyeon Guild, along with Kim Hayeon, the head of the legal team, he was a key figure who oversaw most of the guild’s affairs, except for dungeon raids. He was a pillar who firmly supported the young Guild Leader, but…

…We didn’t get along well, not at all.

He was a master of verbal sparring, capable of shredding people to pieces with his words. Damn it, back then, I was so wronged, angry, and frustrated that I couldn’t sleep. I even considered ending it all.

[If you can’t hear me, I’ll come up myself.]

“Ah, no. I can hear you.”

What do you mean, come up! I don’t even want to see your face. Your voice alone is creepy enough; don’t bother coming!

[That’s a relief. Since you didn’t seem to hear me properly, I’ll introduce myself again. I’m Seok Simyeong, the HR Team Leader of Haeyeon Guild.]

“…Han Yoojin.”

Why did he call? Is it about Yerim? He could contact Yerim directly tomorrow… Ah, I’m her guardian. Damn it, I shouldn’t have agreed to be her guardian.

Why do I keep doing things I regret almost every day? I hate this guy; I really hate him. I should have left Haeyeon Guild in the first place. Why didn’t I consider avoiding this bastard? If you’re a team leader, just delegate to your subordinates. Is it because she’s an S-grade? Damn it, should I run away now?

[First of all, I look forward to working with you.]

“Ah, yes, I… look forward to working with you too.”

Contrary to my traumatic memories, Seok Simyeong’s voice was calm and elegant. He sounded like a middle-aged gentleman who would grace the cover of a prestigious business magazine. My first impression of him was actually quite good. He seemed capable and benevolent.

…Benevolent, my ass.

[I heard about Park Yerim from the Guild Leader a little while ago. As the HR Team Leader of the guild, I would like to express my gratitude and admiration to Mr. Han Yoojin.]

“Yes, uh. Thank you.”

Seok Simyeong’s demeanor was still polite. Well, I haven’t caused any major incidents yet this time. …So, is it okay? Can I relax? He’s not going to stab me in the back again, is he?

[I’d even like to bring you to the HR team if I could.]

Are you crazy!

“No! No, thank you. This was just, just a coincidence.”

No matter how different the situation is from before my regression [reincarnation or time travel], I don’t want to work face-to-face with Seok Simyeong. I’ll get chronic indigestion from the stress.

[Even if it was a coincidence, I don’t think that diminishes the achievement. It will be a great help to Haeyeon Guild in many ways in the future.]

“Oh, I see.”

To think I’m hearing praise from this guy; regression is worth it. It feels like something is tickling next to my ear.

[We have contacted Park Yerim’s school. I heard that her stat adaptation will be completed by this afternoon at the latest. If you actively use the equipment in the training room, it may be possible by this morning.]

“Yes. I’m planning to go down early tomorrow morning to check the situation.”

[You’re diligent. The Guild Leader expressed concern, but I think Mr. Han Yoojin can be a good guardian.]

…Why is this guy being so friendly? Is he that happy that an S-grade rookie has joined? Well, he has a reason to be. Unless an Awakening Center is established and the number of Awakeners increases dramatically, there are still no guilds in Korea with two S-grades.

Perhaps Haeyeon Guild will overwhelm the top three guilds much faster than in my previous life.

[I’ll discuss the details of Park Yerim’s contract with you in person when we meet.]

“Yes…….”

I don’t want to meet him, but I can’t help it since I’m Yerim’s guardian. Still, it’ll be okay if he’s as nice as he is now.

[Do you have any other questions?]

“No, I don’t.”

[Then, I look forward to working with you again, and I’ll contact you tomorrow morning.]

“Yes, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As soon as the call ended, a sigh escaped my lips. It’s okay; the atmosphere was good. Don’t tremble.

– Kkiang?

Peace tilted its head as if asking what was wrong and placed the belt it was holding on my lap. I reached out and stroked the soft fur around its horn.

“Seok Simyeong, and the others too. It’s okay because they don’t remember the old me.”

The current me is still clean. Not a drop of blood on my fingertips.

It was all nothing.

Regression is so convenient.

“Peace, should we sleep together tonight?”

– Growl.

“Okay, come here.”

Hugging Peace, I got up from my seat. I should go to bed early instead of thinking useless thoughts.

‘Was she under a lot of stress?’

I muttered inwardly, looking at the perfect scene of devastation. There wasn’t a single piece of equipment left in the training room that had been ordinary just last night.

It wasn’t just broken; it was beyond recognition. These were made for Awakeners, so the durability of the equipment wouldn’t have been ordinary. How could it be to this extent… Did she make origami?

“Didn’t you say your Strength stat was 61?”

I asked, looking at the paper… crane made of an unknown material. It’s not paper, but I can’t think of anything else to call it.

“Wouldn’t that not be enough to do this?”

Yerim smiled proudly at my question.

“I used a skill. Of course, not an attack skill, but a buff skill.”

“Buff skill? What… is it?”

I almost said the skill name without thinking. I was too flustered yesterday to ask about the skills. In the car, while I was calculating the average stats, the headrest of the front seat was smashed. As soon as I heard she was an S-grade, I was happy and waved my hand, and that happened.

“Shadowless Day. It’s an SS-grade skill.”

Yerim said proudly. I was curious anyway, so Shadowless Day was a buff skill.

“SS-grade, that’s amazing. What kind of skill is it?”

“It’s a wide-area buff with special effects. It increases the specified stat by 30%, increases the effect of the specified attribute skill by 20%, and can stop or slow down the enemy’s movements by swallowing their shadows. It also provides a buff depending on the quality and quantity of the swallowed shadows.”

A wide-area stat skill buff, enemy debuff, and additional buff. It was indeed worthy of being called an SS-grade skill. If it’s a debuff that stops movement, the effect usually varies depending on the difference between the caster’s grade and the opponent’s grade. Since an S-grade stat user is using an SS-grade skill, monsters in B-grade or lower dungeons will just become scarecrows.

…My useless L-grade skills, learn from this. Even though it’s SS-grade, the efficiency is amazing.

I clapped with a very impressed expression.

“That’s really amazing! What about the other skills? Do you have more?”

“Yes! Hermes’s Shoes, White Corpse, and Cold Sigh. The first two are S-grade, and Sigh is A-grade.”

Cold Sigh was one of Park Yerim’s initial skills, famous as the Ice Witch. At least one of them came out.

“Cold Sigh overlaps with Shadowless Day. It also freezes and stops them.”

Yerim said regretfully. Usually, if there are skills with the same effect, one becomes useless.

“Can the effects overlap?”

“I don’t know because I haven’t checked, but it says that similar and identical skills don’t overlap… Just a moment. Shadowless Day.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the skill was activated. Yerim’s feet were dyed white, and the shadows, which were short under the light, stretched two or three times longer. When she stepped on the shadow of the round iron ball, the shadow disappeared as if it were melting.

That’s how you use it.

Then, a faint mist was emitted, freezing the iron ball.

“It overlaps!”

“It overlaps after all. Cold Sigh solidifies it physically, and Shadowless Day seems closer to a curse or magic, so I thought it might.”

“So, even if the effects are similar, they’re not similar skills?”

“That’s right. For example, crossing a cliff with magic or throwing something hard to cross it, the results are similar, but they’re completely different actions, right? It’s like that.”

The skill descriptions only provide the most basic information, so Awakeners have to try various things to find efficient ways to use them.

“Cold Sigh is better to use, so you can use it first, and then use Shadowless Day to solidify the ones that can’t be handled with Sigh. The synergy between the two skills seems pretty good?”

“Really?”

“Of course. If you step on the shadow first, there’s a risk of being countered. But if you use Sigh first and then the shadow, you can easily turn the opponent into a scarecrow, right? Is it only applied by stepping on the shadow?”

“No. The skill description says touch and absorb.”

Touch, huh. It doesn’t say melee attack. I picked up a piece of scrap metal lying on the floor and handed it to Yerim.

“Throw this and hit it.”

“Throw it?”

Thud!

The flying scrap metal hit the shadow of the triangular object. At the same time, the shadow disappeared.

“It works like this too?”

Yerim looked back at me in surprise.

“It said just touch it. Do you have any attack skills?”

It would be perfect if she had a wide-area damage skill. But she shook her head with a disappointed expression.

“Neither Hermes’s Shoes nor White Corpse are attack skills.”

“Then?”

“Hermes’s Shoes increases agility, flight, and short-range teleportation, and White Corpse is…….”

Park Yerim trailed off. What kind of skill is it that she’s hesitating about?

“It’s a skill that extracts information from corpses….”

It’s understandable that she’s uncomfortable. Still, it’s a good skill with high utility. It’ll be hard for a fifteen-year-old girl to use it yet, though.

“Let’s hide White Corpse for now.”

“Hide it?”

“Yeah. It’s advantageous to hide and use those kinds of special skills. You don’t have to reveal all your skills when you register as an Awakener. Just write down Shadowless Day, Hermes’s Shoes, and Cold Sigh, and shorten the descriptions of these skills too.”

It’s better to hide one or, if possible, a few cards. Usually, they reveal the effects that are easily revealed during combat and hide the ones that aren’t.

“Let’s just write down the buff and debuff for Shadowless Day. Don’t write down the additional buff you get. Hermes’s Shoes only has flight, and Cold Sigh only has one effect, so write it all down. Usually, a single flight skill is around A~B grade, so write Hermes as A too.”

One SS and two A’s is an appropriate number of skills for an S-grade.

“You really know a lot, Mister! You seem like a real expert!”

Yerim admired my explanation, and her eyes sparkled. I’ve been rolling around in this industry for five years, so this is basic, but it’s embarrassing.

“It’s nothing much.”

“But you haven’t been Awakened for many days, have you? But you still know all the tips for using and combining skills, and even hiding them. Did you study separately?”

“I didn’t study… It’s just that my younger brother is an S-grade, so I know a little more than others.”

If you live for another five years and regress, this kind of thing will become common sense.

“It’s a shame you don’t have an attack skill, but you’ll get a new skill as you level up.”

Skills usually appear about one per 10 levels. However, there are cases where they only appear when certain conditions are met, so if you’re unlucky, there are cases where you only have initial skills even after level 50.

“What if I only get support skills again?”

“Don’t worry. I think your next skill will definitely be an attack type.”

The fact that Cold Sigh came out means that there’s a high probability that other ice-type skills will come out. It would be perfect if Ice Witch Park Yerim’s representative wide-area skill, Pale Rain, came out.

I definitely said that it’s possible to acquire skills other than the initial skills with my chick, right? The duration is only 3 days, so it’s a waste to use it now, and I should use it when we go into practical training during education.

“The stat adaptation is over, right?”

“Yes! I didn’t sleep much and wrecked the exercise equipment!”

She’s energetic despite not sleeping. Is it because she’s an S-grade or because she’s young? Well, it wasn’t a big deal for me to stay up all night when I was young too. It started getting hard when I hit 30.

“Then let’s go sign the contract now.”

I said, taking out my phone. Even if it’s my younger brother’s guild, business is business. I have to be clear.