The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 250

248. The Real and the Fake (2)

“You heard about the minor details before, right? That he’s my partner.”

“It was just useless information.”

That’s true. How much can I tell him? Sung Hyunjae even sent a quest asking me to introduce him, so I don’t have to worry about personal information.

“First of all, he’s an S-Rank Awakener.”

“That’s all?”

…It’s okay for me to say ‘that’s all,’ but it’s a little annoying when someone else says it. He’s my business partner. I’m the only one who can beat him up.

“He’s about ten years older than you. He looks similar, but you can’t ignore experience. Sigma, you’re still young. Ah, you’re going to sulk again.”

“I didn’t.”

“He’s also the Guild Leader of Sesung Guild. Roughly in a similar position to you, Sigma. His skills are similar, and his weapon is probably the same, but can I see the item description window for a moment?”

Sigma sent me a suspicious look, as if I’m going to steal it… I’ve stolen a lot, haven’t I? I deserve to be suspected.

After I promised to only check it and hold onto the end, or else I’d write a contract, Sigma took out the chain.

[Chain of the Elegant Seeker – Contractor’s Rank +1 (Max. Mythic)

A chain forged from the darkest moonlight of the crescent moon. It looks like metal, but its essence is light.]

It was exactly the same as Sung Hyunjae’s chain status window I saw before, not a single letter different. What is this, really?

“The weapon is completely the same too. Where and how did you get this chain?”

“I’m the one asking the questions.”

“You can tell me that much, can’t you? Where are you from? I’d like you to tell me your real name too. What about your family? I’m very interested in you, Sigma, so how about we exchange personal information? I have a kind and cute younger brother, and my parents passed away a long time ago.”

I can’t know Sung Hyunjae’s past, and it’s hard to get an answer even if I ask, but if I coax Sigma well, he might spill the beans.

“Why should I tell you?”

“For smooth communication. Come on, don’t frown. Then tell me about your family. I told you about mine. Are your parents still alive?”

“Where is Sung Hyunjae now?”

Sigma ignored my question and asked. Should I count this as the second question? The location information isn’t included in the question of who he is.

“He’s with the system.”

“…What? I clearly said he was an S-Rank Awakener.”

“It’s a long story. That was the second question, so you have one left. Think carefully before you ask. Or exchange it for your personal information. I’ll give you a good price.”

Sigma’s eyebrows twitched.

“I don’t have to answer until I clearly say it’s the third question.”

He belatedly set a limit.

“And the information about Sung Hyunjae is insufficient.”

“What exactly do you want to know? Height? Weight? I think it’s similar to you. His birthday is August 30th, and he destroyed a cruise ship on his last birthday. I only know minor details too. The more I think about it, I really don’t know much. I don’t think he’s married, but you never know, and with that face and age, he must have dated. Do you have someone you’re seeing, Sigma?”

“No.”

“What a waste of a face. I told you to smile more. Smile~”

Sigma’s face hardened even more. Maybe I meddled too much. But he’d look much better if he smiled. He probably doesn’t have any friends either. Should I introduce him to Yoohyun? Or Noah? I thought the three of them would get along well, but then I suddenly came back to reality.

Hyeonah said this place is as good as real, but still…….

Then, I heard the sound of the chain moving, *charylleuk* [onomatopoeia for a slithering sound]. I stared without much thought at it crawling like a snake over the table. *Eugh.*

“Isn’t this a violation of the contract?”

“It would be if it injured your body. It’s not my responsibility if you get hurt trying to break free.”

Sigma said shamelessly. He’s similar to Sung Hyunjae at times like this. My body, bound by the chain, was pulled onto the table. What’s bothering him? Maybe…

“Just now, what were you thinking? While looking at me.”

A low, suppressed voice sent a chill down my spine. Did my inner thoughts show on my face? What kind of face was I making? Maybe I felt something like pity. That would be completely out of character.

I tried to lift my head to look at Sigma’s expression, but I was almost lying face down on the table, and he had already stood up, so it was impossible. I can only see his legs.

“I was thinking that my dear Sigma should make friends, date, and get married.”

“Liar.”

“I don’t have an obligation to answer. Use your last question. I wouldn’t recommend it, though. It’s a waste.”

Sigma bent down. His scarf came loose, and the tips of his fingers touched the back of my neck. Even though we had a contract guaranteeing each other’s physical safety, I felt a slight shiver.

“If you don’t meet the contract conditions, C-Rank, you become my property.”

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch [don’t assume something will happen before it does]. Ah, you wouldn’t know *kimchi* [traditional Korean fermented dish].”

“If I had known you wouldn’t die, I would have finished engraving the seal back then.”

“It’s not like I have dozens or hundreds of lives. I’ll die next time.”

“Liar. How many are left?”

“How many what? You usually only get one chance.”

“The main mana flow of the human body is connected not only to the back of the neck but also to the entire spine.”

The fingertips that lightly pressed the back of my neck slowly moved down. It was as if he was giving a lecture with a human body model.

“For safety reasons, the seal is only placed small on the back of the neck, but it’s not like I haven’t tried to engrave it on the entire spine.”

His hand stopped briefly above my waist.

“However, I heard that not a single person could withstand it.”

“Human experimentation, that’s the worst.”

“If all the main mana pathways are engraved with seals, theoretically, it becomes possible to perfectly manipulate even the detailed mana flow of the human body. You can handle your own mana more delicately, increasing skill efficiency, but at the same time…”

The stopped hand moved again.

“Depending on the settings, you could be completely controlled by others. There’s even talk of manipulating the brain with mana. Since mental skills exist, it’s not an absurd story.”

This time, it wasn’t Sigma’s pressure but my imagination that made the back of my neck feel cold. Theoretically, but if it’s Sigma, he seems capable of that level of manipulation. Just looking at how he handles electricity, his control ability is no joke.

“I’ll let you confirm it with your own body, C-Rank. You’ll have no choice but to be honest then.”

…Hearing that he’s in his twenties, I think I underestimated him too much. The way he acts out is worse than Sung Hyunjae. My dear partner enjoys quietly cornering and tightening the screws without being too excessive, rather than using methods that end it all at once like engraving a seal… This one doesn’t have a good personality either.

Come to think of it, he did pin me down before. He’s changed a lot now. Still, even if I’m considered an inanimate item, Sung Hyunjae wouldn’t engrave such a creepy seal. Young people are rough.

‘Speaking of which, Partner, aren’t you being too quiet?’

He’s not watching and eating popcorn, is he? A young guy who looks like you is oppressing me.

“Sorry, but I’m confident I can meet the contract conditions. Hug a doll instead of me.”

“You’re so confident. Speak.”

“Can you at least untie me?”

Sigma didn’t budge. Yeah, I didn’t really want to talk while looking at your face either.

Since Yoohyun was removed from the contract penalty, I wondered if it would be okay even if I didn’t meet the conditions. It might be easier to take him around if he belonged to Sigma, and he’d naturally be released when this dungeon raid is over anyway.

But that kind of seal, no way. I was a little short on points to buy a Haeju item [powerful artifact] right away. I can hunt to get points, but it’ll be a problem if I get dragged away and sealed before that. Should I have gone out with Yoohyun in the morning to hunt monsters?

I swallowed a sigh and opened my mouth. I was prepared to use one life.

“I’ll tell you the information that’s the price of the contract. This world has already been destroyed.”

There was no reply.

“The current world is just a record, and it’s a fake created based on that data. Sigma, you’re not real either. You’re just… remaining data. I don’t know if there’s a game here, but you’re like a character in a game. The information of a real human is entered as is, so you move, speak, and think like the real thing… an excellent virtual reality character.”

“A fake.”

Sigma’s voice was calmer than I expected.

“Yes.”

“Then C-Rank, you are…”

His hand touched my neck and head.

“For you, C-Rank, I was a fake from the beginning.”

“No, I…”

The chain was released. I stood up. Sigma was staring at me silently. It was an expression that was hard to guess his inner thoughts. He said coldly.

“The real one is Sung Hyunjae.”

“You didn’t have to say it like that!”

Of course, it’s true that I mistook Sigma for Sung Hyunjae. I even thought of him as a knockoff.

“He’s a different person from the start? Sung Hyunjae is just Sung Hyunjae, and you’re your, well, your own trace……”

I shouldn’t have said it. There was no need to tell him this fact. But this was the most reliable information to be the price of the contract. It’s deeply related to Sigma, and it’s information about this world itself that he didn’t know.

Unlike me, who felt guilty for no reason, Sigma seemed calm on the outside. He observed me and opened his mouth.

“Did you enter someone in this world too?”

“…No. This is my original body. At least I’m completely real.”

I’m definitely real. I unconsciously touched the back of my neck. There was nothing on my fingertips.

“You’ll take this with you as is. And at least to me… Whatever happened to the original Sigma, to me, Sigma is only you. The real one wouldn’t even know me. I don’t know him either.”

The more I talked, the stranger I felt. The Sigma I know is only this guy in front of me. Real or fake, I only know one person.

Moon Hyunah’s words also came to mind. She’s serious about this world, and to her, this world is real.

Damn it, what’s fake and what’s real? At least to me, it’s only the current Sigma in this world right now. There’s no real or anything. There’s only one person. Who cares about someone I haven’t even seen?

“Sigma.”

I met his golden eyes.

“I’ll take back the word fake. To me, you’re the only one, so of course you’re real. How can a person who’s the only one be fake? There’s only one person who kicked my stomach, only one person whose item storage I robbed, and only one person who followed me here.”

Sigma tilted his head slightly.

“Of course I’m real.”

…What is he saying?

“Hey! You said you were fake!”

“It was ‘to you, C-Rank.’ Not my position.”

“Yeah, you’re great. Good for you for being so confident!”

Ah really, I don’t need to worry about Sung Hyunjae or someone similar to Sung Hyunjae.

“But I don’t like that Sung Hyunjae guy.”

“That has nothing to do with me. You have one question left, so ask it.”

Let’s hurry up and finish it, I thought, plopping back down on the sofa, and Sigma looked down at me with a smiling face. What is it? He seems to be in a good mood. Is it because he heard he was real?

“In the end, the information you gave me was wrong.”

“…Huh?”

“You said I was fake and then you said I was real, so isn’t that false information?”

“What, wait, hey!”

Does, does it work like that? No, but it’s true that this world is data left over from the real thing, right? Sigma smiled even more deeply.

“I should give the doll to Han Yoohyun as a gift. He’ll need something to replace you.”

“You haven’t thrown that away yet! What gift!”

With a tearful face, I quickly checked the contract. Damn it, it really says I violated the contract. The contract details automatically changed to focus on the penalty conditions.

“Spare me the seal!”

“Why should I?”

“Because if you don’t, I’ll use a Haeju item and run away.”

Sung Hyunjae, are you watching? Please give me some minor quests. I only need 30,000 more points. Sigma made a displeased expression.

– Keeeeeek!

Suddenly, a monster’s screech was heard. The sound is close. We both reflexively looked at the living room window, but only the daytime cityscape came into view. Then is it on the other side? As we were about to head towards the door, someone shouted loudly from outside.

“Monsters have appeared from the mana hole!”

In broad daylight, from the mana hole. It seemed like this was the first time something like this had happened to Sigma too. We immediately ran outside.