The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 245

243. Lanchea’s Lambda (1)

“Hyung, is that Seong Hyeonjae?”

Yu-hyeon, who was hugging me, suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

“Seeing him take an unnecessary interest in Hyung, I guess it must be him.”

…He recognizes him not by his face, but by that?

“For now, no.”

Even as I said no, I couldn’t hide my unease. He’s different, yet similar. Can I chalk this up to mere coincidence? Honestly, no. Even if we ignore the appearance, his skills and weapon are completely the same. At least his personality seems a bit different, but it’s not like there are no similarities at all.

“Again, Seong Hyeonjae, huh.”

Sigma muttered, hearing Yu-hyeon’s words.

“Someone who looks like you, or rather, you look like him. He’s my partner.”

I told him, taking the opportunity to solve the quest.

“This is just my personal opinion, and objectively speaking, he’s handsome and disgustingly talented in many ways, but right now, he’s holed up in his room, staring at a monitor with a hot pink ball of yarn.”

Why isn’t the quest completing? Do I need to say more? How much do you want me to say?

“He seems to have taken up knitting these days, and he’s good at making scarves. He’s also good at making cocktails. He’s good at cooking, doesn’t eat the crust of bread, surprisingly eats shrimp tails, and Soyoung says he’s good at origami. He has a large fish tank at home. He broke it once, but he refilled it with water. He said he caught the fish himself and asked if I wanted to go fishing with him because there’s a good spot.”

“Fishing?”

“Yeah, do you want to go too? You’ve never been fishing, have you?”

I hadn’t until this point either. Before the regression, I occasionally did it in dungeons. Fish in dungeons without special abilities could be sold for a decent price as ornamental fish, depending on the species. In some F-grade dungeons, fishing was more profitable than hunting monsters.

After spewing out a few more useless personal details, the quest finally completed. Seriously, Seong Hyeonjae.

“…Anyway, there’s such a person. Judging from the situation, it’s the complete opposite of before, so why don’t you just run away quietly?”

Yu-hyeon is full of mana, but Sigma must have used up more than half of his. It’s obvious what the result will be if he attacks. Actually, it’s surprising that he chased Yu-hyeon all the way here. I didn’t think he was the type to step in knowing he had no chance of winning.

“I admit that I’m in a disadvantageous situation.”

With a light tap, Sigma stepped back. He jumped onto the rubble of the collapsed wall, looking down at us.

“Alpha, or Han Yu-hyeon, was it? First… let me apologize.”

For some reason, Sigma obediently lowered his head. I wondered why he was acting like this when he wasn’t usually like this.

“I mistook that C-grade for an unaffiliated wandering Awakened and marked him.”

He really said something unnecessary. Yu-hyeon frowned immediately, knowing about marking [a magical process of claiming someone].

“Hyung?”

“No, he stopped halfway through—”

Without listening to my excuses, Yu-hyeon pulled down my scarf and examined the back of my neck. Then, he clicked his tongue softly.

“He stopped marking halfway? …Is there a mark left?”

“…A little.”

I didn’t feel anything, so I didn’t know, but that damn bastard! This is my real body! I was curious, but I couldn’t see the back of my neck with my own eyes. Ah, Teacher’s skill. I quickly used it on Yu-hyeon, and I could see a faint pattern on the back of my neck. It looked like a stamp that had run out of ink.

The extinguished flames flared up again. Sigma raised the corner of his lips and took out a contract this time.

“Thanks to being revived, the contract is still in effect. Now it’s my turn to receive the price, C-grade.”

The guy dragged his fingertip along a part of the contract and continued.

“It says that if Alpha regains his freedom, the contract partner will pay a satisfactory price within 24 hours, right?”

“I’ll tell you, so come down right now!”

“What if I don’t receive the information and exceed 24 hours?”

“…What?”

“I can wait, C-grade.”

That, that son of a bitch! I never expected Sigma to refuse to receive the transaction price. I should have set the conditions more precisely!

“If you wait, the contract will be terminated due to non-compliance with the contract conditions, and you think I’ll tell you then! You’ll never hear it!”

“Then I’ll have both C-grade and Alpha. That’s not bad either.”

…Damn it, I should have excluded my brother from the price. No, before that, I can just buy an SS-grade item from the store. If it’s one-time use, it won’t be too expensive.

Kwarurung!

At that moment, the lower part of the rubble that Sigma was standing on melted. The pile of stones fell, and Sigma lightly jumped back further. Yu-hyeon glared at him with a cold gaze.

“Looks like you’re angry. But please stay in Akates City for a day.”

Saying that, Sigma’s figure completely disappeared. Yu-hyeon stepped down from my arms.

“Hyung, stay here, or is it dangerous here too.”

“Where are you trying to chase after! That’s what that guy is aiming for. You’re at a disadvantage if you move away from the mana hole [a place with high mana concentration]. That bastard brought several S-grade guards to his affiliated mana pool. Moreover, your stamina is greatly reduced.”

He had been constantly imprisoned. Even if he had SS-grade stats, it couldn’t be said that his physical condition was good. If he were an ordinary person, he would be so weakened that he would have difficulty standing properly.

“I can buy and use a release item from the point store. So.”

“Really, you can’t chase after him?”

– Rinnie is here too, Hyung!

The two kids looked at me earnestly at the same time. Uh, um, well.

“…Okay, well. He’s probably planning to capture you alive, so it won’t be too dangerous. Oh, did you see the message the newbie sent?”

Yu-hyeon shook his head. He didn’t have time to see the message. The content of the message Yu-hyeon received was the same as Seong Hyeonjae’s.

“Then, if I die, can I be revived like Hyung was earlier?”

“Uh, not exactly…”

I hesitated to tell him, but I opened my mouth honestly. We decided not to hide anything from each other if possible.

“I came into this world with my real body.”

“What? Then, Hyung is—!”

“Instead, I have five lives. I used one, so I have four left.”

I also told him about the disc. And that Seong Hyeonjae is somehow inside the system. Yu-hyeon frowned but nodded.

“…I’ll just stay by Hyung’s side. Even if you have four lives, you never know what might happen. I can’t leave Hyung behind. It’s more dangerous to go with Eunhye without any help.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s only for 30 minutes, though.”

I bought a MiniMini Cookie from the item store and ate it. Soon, my body size shrank. Yu-hyeon was flustered but carefully wrapped me up. Irin ran down Yu-hyeon’s arm and circled around me.

– Hyung! Hyung! Cute! Similar to Rinnie!

“If I’m this small, it’ll be easier to protect me without worrying too much. Your fire resistance will also be perfectly applied. Right now, my stats are C-grade and my equipment is S-grade, so it’s not like when I was F-grade, where even a scratch could be fatal.”

– Rinnie wants to hold you! Let me hold you!

Irin held me tightly with her front paws, saying she could protect me well. If she did that, she wouldn’t be able to help Yu-hyeon. Fortunately, Yu-hyeon had a shirt with a chest pocket in Alpha’s inventory, so I changed into that and went into the pocket. Irin circled around me, unable to let go of her attachment.

“Let’s hurry and catch him!”

I bought ‘Tail-Chasing Dog (C)’ from the point store. As soon as I placed the one-time tracking item with a 3km radius on the contract with Sigma, something like a firefly popped out and flickered as if telling us to follow. With the sound of Yu-hyeon kicking off the ground, his body soared into the air.

A short, blue willow leaf spread out, and he jumped continuously, stepping on the leaves, and climbed onto the building where darkness had fallen. As soon as his toes touched the rooftop of the building, his body moved forward again. In an instant, several buildings flashed beneath his feet.

“My point store and Hyung’s store are different.”

“Huh?”

“There are only skills and equipment in my store.”

Yu-hyeon said, looking at the status window and quest window while running. There were many types, but there were no master keys, mini cookies, or tracking items. Even the skills and equipment were much fewer than in my store.

“…Did the newbie take care of me?”

Or Seong Hyeonjae might have interfered. Thanks to that, I used it well.

– Krrrr.

A monster’s growl was heard in the distance. Sigma, that bastard, is heading to where the SS-grade monsters are. If he brings in the guards of Akates, it will be even more advantageous for him. How annoying.

“Yu-hyeon, don’t worry about mana.”

“But this world is—”

“Hyung has a lot of mana potions. You can also buy them from the point store. So, use your skills freely.”

I’ll pour out all the mana potions I’ve carefully saved. It would have been nice if I could have used the double sharing of attack skills, but I used it on that damn bastard for nothing.

He jumped over the building again. When he climbed to the top of the half-destroyed, precarious building, the bizarre giant of the monster was visible at a glance.

A monster with tough armor-like scales on its body of SS-grade. Not far away, a monster that looked like a giant snake and bear was surrounded by Akates guards. All three had almost no injuries. It seemed that the S-grade and lower guards could only stall for time and hold them back.

And over there, Sigma was standing on a building near the snake. He smiled as if telling us to come over. Is it because he resembles someone? He’s even more annoying.

“Hyung, be careful.”

“Wait a minute, Yu-hyeon.”

I stopped Yu-hyeon, who was about to run towards Sigma, and took out an item. Here it is (SS).

“Let’s start with a bang.”

It’ll be easier to clear out the surrounding Akates and Solemnis guards. I aimed the pistol, which was about twice my current body size, at where Sigma was. The muzzle flashed briefly. Nothing was fired from the gun. It was to designate a signal, a location, and after a while.

Gugeugeung—

Something appeared in the sky above Sigma and the giant snake monster. A round sphere that fell downward in an instant.

Kwaaaang—!!

It exploded. A dazzling light burst out as if an early sun had risen, and a tremendous explosion and firepower mixed and soared. Everything around was swept away in an instant. The wind and heat were fiercely transmitted even to this place, which was quite far away.

A three-use item that drops an SS-grade bomb when a location is specified.

– Shaaa!

– Kuwoooo!

The monsters roared. The snake, which was directly hit by the bombing, writhed its body, which was stained with burns. Each time, poison and venom overflowed from all directions. Before the flames from the explosion had completely subsided, Yu-hyeon jumped up. After all, it’s an attribute that can’t touch a single strand of my brother’s hair.

“My poison resistance has dropped, but it’s still S-grade! I can buy an antidote too!”

Fortunately, the location of the pocket is right near the heart. If poison spreads, my resistance will affect and detoxify it. With SS-grade stats, I’ll be better at resisting poison, and even with S-grade poison resistance, I could handle the SS-grade snake’s poison.

But Sigma wouldn’t be.

Stepping on the blue willow leaves, Yu-hyeon’s body quickly reached near Sigma. Hwareureuk, dark blue flames soared. Absorbing the heat of the bomb, it burned fiercely even with low mana consumption.

Sigma was not idle either. He must have replenished his mana in the meantime, as golden currents gorgeously enveloped him. The chain also circled around him for a long time at that moment.

“Irin!”

At the same time as Yu-hyeon’s command, a red giant attacked from behind Sigma. Irin, in the form of an Imugi [a lesser dragon], wrapped in blue flames, bared her fangs and claws at Sigma.

Kagagak, right after the chain blocked the Iryong’s attack, Yu-hyeon broke through to Sigma’s back without missing the gap.

The sword in Yu-hyeon’s hand was swung. Lightning and flames mixed, devouring each other. His clothes were torn long, and Sigma pulled his body out of the only gap between Irin and Yu-hyeon. But there was a snake there. An SS-grade monster with part of its body melted and full of poison.

– Shiik!

The snake licked its red tongue and opened its mouth wide. Sigma, wrapped in poison, frowned slightly, and the opposite side of the chain that blocked Irin stretched out long,

Kwadeuk!

Pierced the snake’s head. Sigma stepped on the chain with a smooth motion and stood on the snake’s head. Then, he pulled the chain as if he had been waiting for Yu-hyeon, who was chasing after him, to induce the snake to shoot poison.

– Kiik!

The snake vomited a particularly thick venom in agony. Before it touched Yu-hyeon’s body, Irin also opened her mouth and spewed fire.

Kwagaaa, the blue flame’s breath instantly burned the venom and swallowed the snake’s head. The snake died without even screaming in the terrifying high-temperature flames. The snake’s head, burned beyond recognition, fell to the floor with a thud, and points floated up.

“Yu-hyeon, get the points!”

The points I saw were much less than the previous SS-grade monster. Thanks for acknowledging the contribution of detonating the bomb.

Sigma had already evaded without a single piece of clothing burned. He’s quick. As expected, that guy must have combat prediction too. Still, his complexion turned slightly pale, probably because he was exposed to the poison.

Irin returned to the form of a red lizard, having used a lot of strength, and approached me. Just as she was about to attack Sigma again.

Thadadada!

A helicopter sound was heard. Is it Solemnis’s helicopter? It’s unfair to mobilize even helicopters!

“Yu-hyeon, be careful! There are large firearms that can produce attack power above S-grade if you consume a large amount of mana!”

Yu-hyeon nodded and took out a sniper rifle from the inventory with the hand that wasn’t holding the sword. It’s absurd to deal with a military helicopter with a rifle, but it’s a different story if it’s an item held in the hand of an SS-grade guard. The rifle was aimed at the helicopter.

Thump.

The side of the large helicopter opened. I wondered if a weapon would come out, but what appeared there was.

Buwaaaang—

A huge bike making a loud noise. Three bikes jumped out of the helicopter. A spear protruded from the front of the lead bike. Red hair fluttered in the moonlight.

“You bastards! Lanchea’s Lambda has arrived!”

With a hearty shout, the bike that landed on the ground instantly accelerated. The bike, which rushed in at an incredible speed that must have used a skill, collided with the monster in the form of a bear. As soon as the tip of the spear touched it, the tough leather like an iron plate was torn and swept away like paper.

And soon, with a sound like a water balloon bursting, the bear’s body literally shattered.

Squeak, the bike stopped, scratching the ground for a long time, and Lambda, who had instantly dealt with the SS-grade monster, raised the spear vertically. She smiled and waved her hand towards us.

“Hello, Young Master!”

There was no need to think long. It was Moon Hyeon-ah.