The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 219

콰르르르─ A massive wave of water crashed across the land, swallowing everything in its path – soil, sand, and trees alike.

Upon hearing Yerim’s declaration, the Amaterasu Guild Leader swiftly issued a further evacuation order. He promised the Amaterasu Guild would compensate for the damages after clearing the coastal houses, which I found surprisingly generous. I wondered if that was all he intended to do.

‘Well, even an S-Class combat Hunter wouldn’t want to miss this spectacle, even if they’re on your side.’

Unless he truly valued Kakuto. Judging by the evacuation order and how he was setting things up, it seemed Kakuto was just another guild member to him. Or perhaps he believed Kakuto could last about an hour.

[Ah, the water is erupting again! Hunter Iwahata Kakuto is dodging with incredible speed. Truly remarkable!]

The Japanese commentators were clearly biased towards Kakuto. Their disappointment was palpable, their commentary laced with lament. I wondered if the broadcast was airing in Korea as well.

I pulled out my phone and searched for a Korean internet live stream.

[A barrage of water! Hunter Park Yerim is summoning water pillars one after another! One, two, three! It’s a dragon! A water dragon!]

[Hunter Kakuto is barely visible now! This is truly an overwhelming display of nature versus human! Even by the sea, manipulating that much water must consume a tremendous amount of mana. Director Song Taewon, what are your thoughts?]

…Huh? Director Song Taewon? The camera panned to the side, revealing Song Taewon, calm and collected, a stark contrast to the two excitable commentators. How did he end up there?

[Hunter Park Yerim has an exceptionally high magic stat, and she’s set a time limit, so it shouldn’t be too taxing for her.]

Song Taewon replied in a businesslike tone. There had been talks of having Director Song commentate during the last A-Class ranking match, but he declined, citing the need to be prepared for accidents in the arena. This time, with the stage overseas, they’d apparently dragged him along.

It was true that there weren’t many other suitable S-Class Hunters available for commentary in Korea. Riet and Evelyn were foreigners, and Kim Sunghan wasn’t the type to leave the guild just to appear on TV when everyone else was away. Did Park Minkyu from Hanshin decline?

Still, why not just have an A-Class Hunter commentate instead of pulling him away from a peaceful break? That seemed excessive.

[Steam is rising from the water that just erupted! Is it a hot spring?]

[It’s a hot spring! A hot spring has burst forth! It’s a Park Yerim hot spring!]

I looked up at those words and saw streams of water with a hazy mist rising from them. I knew Japan had many hot springs, but one erupting during a fight? Was this going to become the Park Yerim Hot Spring?

The original arena had transformed into a large puddle, and Kakuto was running along the coast, Yerim chasing him at a leisurely but relentless pace.

Aside from me and Myungwoo, only Awakened with A-Class stats or higher remained nearby. Some A-Classes were repeatedly swept away by the water and washed out to sea before managing to return. Even though I was floating high in the air, thanks to my younger brother’s Blue Willow Leaf skill, I was still getting splashed and soaked.

“Here it comes again! Get ready!”

With Yerim’s helpful warning, a stream of water erupted. The water pressure was immense, but when Kakuto swung his sword at the wall of water blocking his path,

Bang!

The water exploded, instantly turning into a shower of ice shards – like hundreds of ice arrows. This was caused by Kakuto’s own power.

Sizzling, he used his Volcanic Heat skill to the maximum, steam rising around him as the ice arrows melted. However, it was impossible to boil away all the constantly flowing water, not just the surrounding air.

Eventually, as the heat subsided, the towering wall of water froze solid, becoming a menacing wall of spikes lunging towards Kakuto.

“Damn it!”

I think that was probably ‘Chikusho’ [a Japanese expression of frustration].

Thump, the massive ice spike wall crashed down. Unable to avoid it due to its size, Kakuto pierced through the wall instead of running. He focused his heat to melt the ice and used his terrifying power and swordsmanship skills, befitting an S-Class, to destroy the thick ice in an instant.

Even though he was the hunted, he was still an S-Class. With a loud noise, the ice wall split in half. Fragments scattered in all directions, emitting a dazzling light, and as Kakuto’s body soared upward from between the walls,

“Cough!”

A tsunami surged in from the sea. As if a giant had slapped him with a palm, Kakuto was slammed by the wave.

[An incredible tsunami! A tsunami!]

Both the Japanese and Korean broadcasts erupted, exclaiming, “That height!” The water swept across the land once more. Trees snapped, and an unlucky car nearby flipped over. Kakuto combined heat and another skill to block the oncoming water, but he was barely managing to protect himself, looking pathetic.

“The difference is too great.”

“Because it’s the seaside.”

Yoohyun replied as if it were obvious.

“Conversely, it would have been disadvantageous in the middle of the desert.”

Now, she only needed to draw water, but in the desert, she would have to create it, which would consume much more mana and yield less water. Here, it was like having an unlimited supply of ammunition – she just had to shoot to her heart’s content.

“She should have fought in the middle of summer, it’s a shame. Don’t you think?”

Yerim raised her spear, saying she would have given the viewers a refreshing chill. Magos’s shawl fluttered, and her earrings jingled. Streams of water rose around her. About ten streams of water writhed around their master like the heads of a hydra.

[Yamata no Orochi! It’s like Yamata no Orochi!]

What’s that again? Thick streams of water, like five telephone poles bundled together, flew towards Kakuto like spears. Even in the middle.

Crack─

They froze solid, becoming literally giant ice spears. They slammed into the ground with a bang! Bang! Bang! Kakuto couldn’t even think of blocking the relentless barrage of attacks, only dodging them.

It wasn’t an amount of water that could be melted with mere heat. There were too many to counter with a sword. Unless one was sturdy enough to withstand the attacks or could deal with them all at once with a wide-area skill, there was no choice but to run.

The Japanese broadcast lamented in despair, while the Korean broadcast cheered excitedly.

[Park Yerim! Park Yerim! Park Yeriim!!]

They’re going to lose their voices. I should have made a placard and waved it too. The general audience members who were occasionally shown were also in a festive mood, caught up in the excitement. They were drumming and clanging gongs, making a fuss.

“How many minutes have passed?”

She said she would catch him within an hour. I had to check the time on my phone since I didn’t have a watch. A watch……. She hasn’t said anything yet, could she have really forgotten? It’s possible to forget, but still. It’s possible to forget when you live.

“Why?”

“No, nothing.”

My younger brother looked at me with a puzzled expression. Why? Should I just ask her outright?

Anyway, it seemed like about thirty minutes had passed. The broadcast even announced the time.

[34 minutes have passed since Hunter Park Yerim’s one-hour declaration! Now there are 26, 25 minutes left. Shouldn’t she catch him soon?]

[Her mana consumption must be high too. But if we say Hunter Kakuto won because he lasted an hour even after seeing this situation, that would be really absurd!]

[In reality, isn’t Hunter Park Yerim already the victor?]

Originally, Kakuto would be defeated the moment he left the arena. But Yerim set the conditions first. She seemed confident, but it wouldn’t be easy to catch him since he was so fast. It seemed difficult to hold him down since he could block her with heat around him.

Will she use Shadowless Day at the end? If she adds attribute and magic buffs, even if they have cold resistance, they’d freeze unless they were around S-Class.

“Hoo, hah!”

Kakuto took a deep breath, jumping over a broken ice pillar that was stuck in the ground. He seemed exhausted from constantly dodging and blocking attacks, but his speed hadn’t decreased yet. Compared to Yerim, who was only manipulating the accumulated water and occasionally freezing it, his mana consumption must be higher, but he was holding out quite well.

Still, he can’t replenish with potions, so he won’t last long. At that moment.

“How many minutes are left?”

Yerim looked around and asked.

“19 minutes!”

I quickly shouted, looking at the timer at the top of the Korean broadcast. Yerim thanked me and made a heart with her fingers.

“Did you hear that? There’s still some time left, but let’s finish this since we’ve had our fun!”

“Not if I can help it! Catch me if you can!”

He must have thought he could last 19 minutes. Kakuto’s movements became even faster. Was he saving his strength without showing it?

Tap tap tap, Kakuto started running to create more distance. His figure quickly disappeared into the distance. Yerim, who had been staring intently at him, moved her fingertip. The sea rippled in the direction Kakuto was heading.

Whoosh, Yerim’s figure disappeared in an instant and reappeared directly above Kakuto. As if waiting for it, Kakuto swung his sword. Swish, the mass of water and the sword strike collided, and water droplets scattered. Just as Kakuto was about to create distance again, a huge mass of water rose from the sea.

It was as if a whale had jumped onto land. The enormous mass of water, like a small hill, blocked Kakuto’s path. He was allowed to leave the arena, but since it was limited to the seaside, he couldn’t go back. But breaking through or jumping over it was like throwing himself into enemy territory.

Because there was no way to know how that enormous amount of water would attack.

Almost simultaneously, a similar-sized mass of water blocked the path on the opposite side. Yerim was also struggling this time, letting out a small breath.

The two hills made of water shimmered under the sunlight. The Japanese and Korean broadcasts were silent for a moment at the surreal sight.

“Surrender?”

“I-I’m just blocked!”

Kakuto shouted stubbornly, even though he was flustered. Frankly, it didn’t seem like there was a way out. Even Yoohyun, who handles flames much hotter than simple heat, couldn’t do anything with that much water. Of course, Yoohyun could escape with the Willow Leaf skill.

But that guy doesn’t even have a skill similar to flight.

Park Yerim smiled as she looked down at Kakuto, who was trapped and unable to move, even though he had made a big noise.

“Okay, then.”

A part of the water mass moved. It lunged towards Kakuto at a not-so-fast speed. Heat flared up again, and steam overflowed. Sword strikes that pushed away the water also poured out, but it was literally like cutting water with a knife.

How could he possibly fight water itself, not ice? No matter how strong he was, he could only push it away for a brief moment with simple physical force. And only a part of the water.

He had the sea right next to him, not a lake. Even if he was an SS-Class Hunter, not just an S-Class, it would be impossible to dry up the sea.

“Ugh!”

Eventually, the mass of water swallowed Kakuto. The mountain of water also merged around Kakuto, forming a giant sphere. Even so, it was just simple water, he could swim out.

Crack.

A part of the inside of the mass froze. With Kakuto in the center, an ice sphere was created, forming a partial layer around him. Most of the outer wall was still water.

Thump, the sound of hitting the ice wall faintly leaked out from inside the mass of water. But when the ice broke, water quickly filled the space and froze again. At a speed that left no room to escape.

Melting, breaking, and freezing again. If it were a simple stone or iron wall, it would be over the moment it was broken. It would be difficult to quickly restore it. But water and ice could repeat endlessly. Ceaselessly, continuously.

Kakuto’s movements gradually slowed down. The water was also blocking the air. He must have thought he could evaporate it as much as he wanted since the place was limited to the arena, so he didn’t have underwater equipment.

No matter how much the physical abilities of an S-Class Hunter exceeded the human realm, they couldn’t last long without oxygen. Eventually, Kakuto lost consciousness, and the broadcast hastily announced Hunter Park Yerim’s victory, after which the mass of water burst open.

Splash!

Kakuto staggered to his feet in the middle of the drained water. Park Yerim descended in front of him as he coughed.

“Thank you for your hard work. It was fun. I really got to swing around as much as I wanted.”

Yerim took out a potion and drank it, saying she had a headache and was about to run out of mana. Kakuto’s expression twisted, but he obediently lowered his head.

“I admit defeat, Hunter Park Yerim. I am satisfied with having drawn out all of your power, and I will further hone my skills for a fair match in the future.”

…’All’ is a bit much, she didn’t use Shadowless Day. She left out the SS-Class skill that adds attribute and stat buffs, binds the opponent’s feet, and adds additional buffs, so it was actually about two-thirds of Yerim’s true strength. Kakuto, I almost feel sorry for him.

Kakuto stood up and bowed to Yerim once more.

“You were worthy of being called the Goddess of Water.”

“Goddess, what goddess.”

Yerim said to the approaching camera.

“The Ruler of Water! I won’t accept anything else!”

Yerim smiled brightly, shaking the spear with the Ruler of Water skill gem embedded in it.