The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 237

235. Fishing (1)

“I guess I can relax a bit now.”

The man yawned widely as he spoke. The woman walking beside him nodded, fiddling with something that looked like a tablet PC.

“Sigma is scheduled to arrive soon, and there’s a new guard. I don’t know if he’s trustworthy, though.”

“They said he’s definitely C-grade. With those stats, there’s no need to trust or distrust him. Plus, he’s from Medesang.”

“A Medesang guard with high skill levels and plenty of money wouldn’t move to another city unless there was something fishy. I heard he has a shady past.”

“Maybe he wanted better treatment. Medesang is a good place to live, but some say it’s excessively egalitarian. Is it socialist? Anyway, if he has a shady past, it’ll be easier to exploit his weaknesses, so I welcome it.”

“That’s true.”

The path split, and the woman stopped. She checked the time on her tablet PC and said,

“Sunrise is about four hours away. I’m heading back to the dorms. What about you?”

“I have to relieve Alpha in an hour. The bonus is great, but I’m tired. I’m going out for a smoke.”

“You’ll attract monsters.”

The man brushed off her concern, saying there wouldn’t be any problems in the Defense Agency filled with high-level guards. He parted ways with her and walked off alone. The long corridor was quiet. It was on the outer edge, so there was little surveillance and hardly anyone passing through. The man took out a cigarette made from a plant-type monster from his inventory. He put it in his mouth, then suddenly stopped.

“…I have a strange feeling.”

He looked around, but of course, there was nothing to see. Only the surveillance cameras were moving slightly in the silence. He started walking again. I quietly lowered a transparent string and held it.

Around the middle of the corridor, the surveillance camera moved to the left, creating a blind spot. At that moment.

*Swoosh*, I dropped the string like a noose. The transparent string quickly wrapped around the man’s neck and pulled him up, giving him no chance to struggle. He was hoisted to the ceiling.

“Cough.”

The sticky monster web attached his limbs to the ceiling. The surveillance camera was angled slightly downward, so it couldn’t see the ceiling. I muffled the man’s mouth and loosened the string around his neck slightly, whispering softly.

“If you scream, you’re dead.”

The man rolled his eyes as if trying to find me and nodded. It was futile since it was impossible for a mere D-grade to see through my stealth skill. I took my hand off his mouth and warned him again.

“Since my identity hasn’t been exposed, there’s no need to kill you. So, act wisely.”

“…Yes, yes.”

“First, hand over all the keys in your inventory. Don’t try to deceive me. I’ve already checked what keys you have, given your grade and position.”

“But, as soon as I try to hand over the keys to someone else, a contract will cut off my hand.”

“What’s the contract grade?”

“A-grade.”

Fortunately, if it’s A-grade, my curse resistance, which has fallen to S-grade, should be able to undo it. If the contract is on his hand, the narrowed range of S-grade should be enough.

“I’ll put an S-grade curse resistance item on your hand.”

I cut a café latte straw in half, placed it on the man’s hands, and held them as if covering them with my own hands.

“Really……”

“It’s better to have your hand cut off than to die. You can go to a high-level healer with your severed hand and get it reattached, right?”

The man looked uneasy but agreed. Then, he tightly closed his eyes. After a moment, a card key appeared in his hand.

“I, I think it’s okay. Here it is. It’s the Defense Agency headquarters access key.”

Then, various keys were taken out of his inventory. He obediently handed over not only the Defense Agency key but also his house key and car key.

“This card key is…”

“It’s the key to the mana absorption room where Alpha is being held. But it changes every day, so it’ll be useless tomorrow night.”

How annoying. The elevator key to the underground area with the mana hole also changes once a week. Security was tighter than I thought. Still, with my stealth skill, I could just wait patiently for someone to pass by and get through.

“I absolutely won’t say anything. I’ll answer anything you ask.”

The man chattered on, his face much more relaxed, probably because his hands were safe. He also explained the keys in detail.

“If I don’t return the keys, I’ll get a pay cut and have to give up my promotion, but is that more important than my life? I guess I won’t be able to keep my job managing Alpha either, but I was already uneasy about it. I mean, why entrust a monster to a perfectly normal person? I value my life very much.”

“That’s too bad.”

“…Huh?”

“You’re already a dead man.”

Long ago. Maybe hundreds of years ago. I turned my gaze away from his bewildered face, not understanding what I meant, and ruthlessly tightened the loosened string. The man fainted, barely making a sound. After putting the string back into my inventory, I covered his face and body with the remaining spider web, like a spider-type monster suffocating its prey for storage.

Leaving the man to suffocate, I descended. The weakest D-grade among those connected to Yoo-hyun through imprints was eliminated. Now, there are two S-grades and two C-grades left.

‘Should I take out one more C-grade?’

Or should I observe the reaction after the D-grade’s body is discovered? I looked at the cards filling my inventory. It would take quite a while for the D-grade on the ceiling to be found. Few people look at the ceiling indoors, especially in a corridor.

‘There are many keys with time limits.’

As I pondered, a message came in. It was a sub-quest.

[Know Thyself and Know Thy Enemy

Let’s take a closer look at the Akates Defense Agency. If you check more than one-third of the Defense Agency’s main buildings, the remaining part is a bonus!

Reward: Detailed Map of the Akates Defense Agency]

I had already sensed it, but it was clear that the newbie was watching my current state. A detailed map, how kind. But the newbie seems to have a good sense.

It feels like they’re pushing me to thoroughly plunder and blow everything up! I thought they were a bit more reserved. It’s helpful, so whatever.

I started moving to get the map. I figured the man on the ceiling was probably dead by now, but since I didn’t ambush and kill him immediately, the murder penalty window didn’t pop up.

Mindyba was heavily drunk and wouldn’t wake up easily, but it would be safer to return before sunrise. I didn’t want to waste time waiting for another passerby, so I just swiped the card key at the guarded door.

“…What?”

The A-grade guard tilted his head, puzzled by the automatically opening door. Fortunately, the card keys didn’t have identification marks except for the central building with the Blue Hole. So, it would be treated as a machine error rather than a transparent corpse wandering around.

Avoiding the heavily guarded center, I diligently moved around, and soon the quest completion notification popped up.

[Detailed Map of the Akates Defense Agency]

The reward wasn’t a paper map but a square cube. When I used the cube, a list of each building’s name appeared. When I selected the central building, a three-dimensional screen appeared. I could zoom in on each area in detail, as well as see the shortest routes, checkpoints, and shift change times.

That’s really good. Are they telling me to rob it?

‘…Was the newbie’s taste always like this?’

It felt like they were pushing me to thoroughly plunder and blow everything up! I thought they were a bit more reserved. It’s helpful, so whatever.

There was still quite some time until sunrise. As dawn approached, I could feel the Defense Agency’s atmosphere gradually loosening. I put on the prepared mask and took out the fake ID. I approached the A-grade walking towards me and held the fake ID in front of his eyes.

“I’m Nuraun, in charge of Alpha.”

“Ah… yes.”

The A-grade blinked and looked at the ID, then raised his head. He made eye contact with me but didn’t show any particular suspicion. It seemed he completely believed the ID, probably because he didn’t have A-grade stats or special skills.

“Could you tell me where Moas and Hajibun from our team are? I left my communicator behind.”

“Yes, I’ll check for you.”

The A-grade contacted someone. In my neighborhood, it would be hard to see an A-grade being so polite to a C-grade, but here, rank was more important than grade. Being in charge of Alpha meant being in a higher position than a combat A-grade.

“Moas is in the mana absorption room, and Hajibun went to the second cafeteria.”

The second cafeteria. The ghost who eats well also looks good. I don’t know if they can become ghosts, but that’s just information.

I thanked him and turned the corner, then immediately used my stealth skill again. As I entered the cafeteria, I saw someone finishing their meal and leaving. I didn’t know their face, but the name “C-grade Hajibun” was floating above their head. It’s so convenient.

The second one was also easy to deal with. Just like with the D-grade, I purchased spider web items from the spider monster at the point store and made it look like they were attacked by a monster, sticking them in the corner of the ceiling.

‘That’s two down.’

There were three left. I needed to keep the remaining C-grade alive. That way, I could easily lure the S-grades out.

I had eliminated all the targets, but if I ended it here, I would likely arouse suspicion. After all, only those in charge of Alpha, specifically those connected to imprints, had died.

I dealt with a few more people, mainly those related to Alpha, in the same way. When I returned to the dorm, Mindyba was still passed out. There were no signs of anyone having entered.

“Mr. Mindyba, please go to bed.”

I gently supported him and roughly threw him onto the bed. I wasn’t sleepy, so I sat on the sofa and turned on the TV. I slouched and watched TV with my eyes half-closed for about three or four hours. Mindyba’s communicator rang, and soon someone knocked and rang the doorbell.

“Just a moment.”

Yawning widely, I opened the door.

“What’s the matter?”

“Mr. Mindyba is─”

“He’s still sleeping. He drank a bit too much yesterday.”

The Defense Agency employee’s face showed a slight relief. It seemed the body had been discovered.

“That’s… um.”

“It seems like something urgent. Come in.”

The Defense Agency employee shook Mindyba, who was still asleep. Mindyba looked around blankly.

“Uh… what……”

“You seem to have been too drunk yesterday. Do you remember drinking with me?”

“Ah, yes. I think so. I guess I overdid it.”

“You emptied more than half a bottle.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Mindyba apologized for drinking almost all of the expensive wine. When I said it was okay, the employee interjected.

“Last night, a spider-type monster invaded the Defense Agency, um……”

“Tell me. It’s okay.”

The wine effect was good. The employee hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“It even attacked mainly those who were in charge of Alpha. It seems it sensed the presence of an SS-grade Awakened and focused on hunting weaker opponents, although there was a faint scent on them. Smart ones attack the weak guards of the combat team first. It must have thought they were Alpha’s team.”

“Oh, no……. Did you catch the monster?”

“Not yet. It may have burned up since the sun has already risen.”

“If it invaded the Defense Agency, it must be at least A-grade, so it couldn’t have burned up!”

The employee said that there were orders not to go out alone, and A-grade or higher guards were thoroughly searching the Defense Agency. Mindyba sighed deeply, saying that all the S-grade guards had been mobilized, so they would be able to find it before sunset.

“I’ve shown you an unsightly side. I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. Accidents like this can happen anytime in this world. It’s good that the response was quick.”

Mindyba offered to assign me a bodyguard, but I politely declined. I *am* that spider.

“Oh, and we received a message that Sigma from Solemnis is scheduled to arrive this afternoon.”

…What? That’s too fast. Unlike me, who was startled, Mindyba’s face lit up.

“That’s good timing. High-level guards from the agency will be accompanying him, so there won’t be any problems with the Defense Agency’s security.”

*I* have many problems. I thought it would be okay until today, but the plan has gone awry.

‘Should I meet Sigma and try to persuade him?’

Damn it, I didn’t want to run into him again. He must have noticed that I ran away with the items. Does he suspect that I was the one who set off the bomb? …Honestly, if I were Sigma, I would grab him by the collar as soon as I saw him.

Still, like a knockoff of Sung Hyun-jae, he seems to become generous if you pique his interest.

“Then I’ll stay quietly in the dorm. It should be okay as long as I don’t leave the room, right?”

“Yes. It’s built sturdily, and if you try to forcibly break down the door or walls, the emergency bell will ring immediately, and the guards will come running, so you don’t have to worry. Rest comfortably and order anything you need by pressing the 0 button on the phone.”

Mindyba said he would excuse himself and left with the employee. Soon after, another Defense Agency employee and an A-grade guard appeared and guided me to a new room. I asked the Defense Agency employee when Sigma was scheduled to arrive and where he was coming from.

“He said he departed by transport helicopter. He took off before midnight, so if there are no problems with the distance… he should arrive at the Defense Agency rooftop helipad around three or four in the afternoon. Even if a monster attacks, there won’t be any problems with Sigma there.”

The employee laughed, saying that helicopters are usually too noisy and difficult to apply stealth to, so they are too dangerous to use. So, this neighborhood has helicopters too. Flying straight, it would be more than twice as fast as a car on an unpaved road, so it wouldn’t even take a day.

The employee and guard left, and I was left alone in the room. Originally, I was going to go out and prepare to lure out the S-grade guards, but now Sigma is the priority. If that guy interferes, nothing will work out.

‘…Please, he needs to be more interested in me.’

It would be terribly annoying if that guy showed interest in my brother, but there’s no way he wouldn’t be interested in a suddenly rampaging SS-grade Alpha. Has a report been made about the guard with the skill to calm Alpha? I’ll use this fact too, and then…

Time passed quickly as I sorted out what I had. After eating lunch and telling them I was going to take a nap, I used my stealth skill and went up to the roof.

How much time had passed? In the distance, the figure of a heavy military transport helicopter appeared.