The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 274

272. Changeling (2)

If Annyeong sounds like a jellyfish, what does Dad sound like?

Could one of our kids be here? …No way. Is that jellyfish trying to mess with my memories? Fog swirled, raging as if to swallow me whole, but it only circled around, blocked by an invisible barrier. Then, magic began to drain from my body, towards my chest, towards the scar on my chest.

Normally, I would have passed out, but for some reason, I was fine. Mana was flowing in endlessly from somewhere—no, wait a minute.

‘Grace.’

The power of Grace that had healed my body came to mind. Just in case, I checked Grace’s item description.

[Yoo-Eunhye – L-Grade

A sword born from the magic stone of Shalos, the Dragon Lord and great general. A young mana spring (linked only to the contractor).

Contractor – Han Yoojin]

Mana spring. There was a description added that definitely wasn’t there before. Myungwoo said it was a growth-type item, but does it gain abilities like this? It seemed to have swallowed some of the Mana Hole’s power.

Normally, that would be impossible, but Grace was born from Shalos, the original creator. Does that mean I’ll never run out of mana again?

Even in the midst of all this, the magic stone in my chest continued to absorb mana, as if it had been holding back all this time, with all its might. And then…

“…Here.”

The surrounding scenery changed. Familiar ceilings and wallpaper, sofas, and tables came into view. It was the house in the Care Center. Of course, it wasn’t real, but even the long scratch marks on the wall were perfectly recreated. There were many other traces as well. It was still a new house, but with so many kids, it looked like we had lived there for about three years at first glance.

Most of the marks were left by monsters, but some were the work of Yoohyun and Yerim. Just in case, I opened the drawers and found them full of new cell phones that hadn’t even been unwrapped. The top drawer was for Yoohyun, and the bottom drawer was for Yerim. Yerim had said she didn’t want to use the same phone as Han Yoohyun, and Yoohyun had agreed, so the spare phones were different models.

‘It feels so real.’

Is this an illusion created by the fog? Then, if I examine it any further, I’ll only fall deeper into the hallucination. I closed the drawer and looked around.

“It’s been a while; let’s talk. And don’t appear as Yoohyun again. The same goes for the others. Since we’re inside a dungeon, there should be fewer restrictions, right?”

Let’s see your face properly. All I saw back then was some strange jellyfish-like shape.

“Dad.”

“Dad is a muss… Wh-who are you?”

It was a child. A child with pinkish-silver hair and golden eyes, about four or five years old, was standing in front of me. Could that be the jellyfish’s original form? It’s unnecessarily cute. Did it notice that I’m weak against kids and deliberately do this….

“D-don’t call me Dad!”

Do you have any conscience? You’ve lived for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands of years longer than me. The child tilted its head. It’s as cute as a fairy, but don’t be fooled.

“Then, Yoojin-gun [a polite title, like Mr. Yoojin].”

“It doesn’t suit you!”

“Yoojin-ah [an informal, familiar way to call someone, like Yoojin-dear].”

“…Don’t act familiar.”

“Yoojin-ssi [a more formal title, like Ms./Mr. Yoojin].”

“Why don’t you just turn into an adult?”

It feels strange to be called that by a child, no matter what your true nature is.

“Or, Master?”

A chill ran down my spine. I felt like a criminal who deserved to be beaten to death. I mentally screamed, ‘Are you crazy?’ and frowned.

“Don’t say that in that form! Act your age, King of Innocence.”

“I’m not the King of Innocence.”

“…What?”

Really? I quickly used the Seedling Skill. The silver-haired child’s status window appeared before my eyes.

[Illusionary Fairy Dragonkin – Changeling

Current Stat Grade ?

Potential Stat Grade ?

Optimized Initial Skill

As You Wish (?)]

…What is this? Fairy Dragonkin, Changeling? Even the grade and skills had question marks. What’s ‘As You Wish’ supposed to mean? Why did that guy suddenly pop out?

Come to think of it, the magic stone in my chest wasn’t absorbing mana anymore. I placed my hand near the wound. Could it be?

“You, perhaps…”

The child, the Changeling, smiled brightly.

“No, wait a minute. It’s a Dragonkin, but… it’s too different!”

I mixed two Cursed Poison Dragonkin, so why a Fairy Dragon? It doesn’t resemble Diarma or the Dragonkin at all. Sung Hyunjae’s fragment was also included, but… wait. Does it resemble that human a little? You said you couldn’t influence it!

“I grew up as Master wished.”

“Don’t call me that! As I wished, I……”

I couldn’t finish my sentence. I, my purpose. Damn it, if it’s a Fairy Dragonkin, Rauchitas’s nemesis won’t work. The stats are also question marks.

“To bring back Han Yoohyun.”

My heart sank.

“Br-bring back…?”

“Yes.”

“H-how?”

My throat was parched. It was too sudden. I was almost afraid to be purely happy about those words.

“Because I was raised to be able to do that. Me.”

“I simply combined the magic stones with Diarma’s skill.”

“But Dad is a nurturer. A nurturer with the power to raise. Someone who can make their partner grow as they wish.”

“…If I really just wish for it.”

“Not everything. I can’t change the essence. I can grow a fish’s fins into wings, but I can’t turn it into a real bird. But I received the nature of a Changeling.”

The child’s appearance changed. It grew taller than me, and a familiar face appeared. Only the hair color was different; it was Sung Hyunjae.

“The nature of being switched into countless worlds, as if it were a being from that world. Also, because it didn’t start as a being born in a certain form, but grew from a magic stone, it could change as the nurturer wished.”

The Changeling returned to its child form. I tried to calm my rapidly beating heart and asked a random question.

“The appearance too, is it because that’s what I wanted? I wanted it to look more like Diarma or the Dragonkin.”

That’s definitely what I wanted. It would be easier to deal with that way.

“I can do that too. But Dad hates it. I don’t want to be hated. I can grant your wishes, so don’t hate me.”

“…I don’t hate you.”

I was just trying not to like you. I took a deep breath. The Perfect Nurturer title.

“I didn’t know I could do something like that at all.”

“It’s dangerous if you find out. That’s why the parricides [those who betrayed the system] don’t tell you the details about titles and skills. If transcendents [beings who have transcended the system] with memory-reading skills find out and spread it, everyone will target Dad.”

“Then it’s dangerous to know this too!”

The jellyfish is already targeting me, and it’s terrifying to imagine more people joining in. They might try to take my loved ones hostage. Should I erase my memories somehow?

“It’s okay because I’ve awakened. They can’t interfere.”

“Ah, come to think of it, the newbie had to bring me into the virtual world with a real body because of you. …I just need to make sure the parricides keep their mouths shut.”

“The parricides don’t know exactly either.”

The Changeling floated lightly into the air and approached me. A translucent wing-like thing seemed to flutter on its back.

“Open the title.”

As the Changeling said, I opened the status window.

[Perfect Nurturer (L)

Proof of a nurturer who has raised world-class powerhouses. It is even more perfect because their past stats are 100% or more of the nurtured person’s current stats.]

“The parricides guess and write the descriptions of titles and skills they see for the first time. This is the same.”

“…You, can you see my status window?”

“Yes. I can see Dad’s. I’ve been watching it all along.”

“What? Then the keywords too!”

“It’s okay because I already belong to Dad. I won’t be able to receive buffs though.”

It pointed to the title description, telling me not to worry because it would definitely not tell anyone.

“I can’t interfere with everything either; I’ll just take out the essence of this. It’s Dad’s, and it’s a title I’ve been directly influenced by, so it’s possible.”

As soon as the Changeling finished speaking, the nurturer’s description window blurred and then became clear again.

[Perfect Nurturer (L)

A nurturer loved by a natural S-class Awakener who sacrificed their life.]

I read that short description several times, repeatedly. The description window blurred again. I blinked a couple of times.

“You can bring him, back. But he’s already been cut off, an existence… you said it was impossible……”

“Because he’s become completely unrelated to this world, the backlash is so great that you wouldn’t be able to bring him back safely. But if you protect him with a force greater than that backlash, you can.”

A greater force. I couldn’t even imagine how much power that would be. Even transcendents lose most of their power if they enter another world directly without any preparation. So, I would have to protect Yoohyun with at least as much power as they have.

If that’s possible. Completely.

“Th-then, right now!”

“But Dad.”

The golden eyes stared straight at me.

“You can protect this world too.”

My trembling heart calmed down. I had been deliberately trying not to think about it. The fact that if I had enough power to bring back my brother, I could do other things as well.

“Chatterbox [nickname for the King of Innocence] is disrupting the system, and the King of Innocence is destroying the dungeon. If this continues, it will affect Dad’s world. Every world has the power to reject intrusions from other worlds, but there are limits to that. If the King of Innocence weakens the power of protection, transcendents will be able to interfere more easily.”

“…I see.”

The Changeling’s voice didn’t quite reach my ears, but I nodded vaguely.

“You’re saying I have to stop it.”

“There’s no reason why Dad should take responsibility.”

“It’s targeting me. Because of me. Why is it going so far? That jellyfish. Doesn’t it have to pay the price?”

“It will pay a very high price. It seems to have noticed. Sigma becoming real is also because of the nurturer’s power.”

“…What? Because I, who entered with a real body, acknowledged it, so.”

The Changeling shook its head.

“The influence of being acknowledged also exists. But Sigma also has the nature of a Changeling, though less than me, and Dad nurturing that was even greater. To allow it to be truly switched. I don’t know the exact reason, but the King of Innocence must have noticed that Dad is very special.”

That’s why it’s doing something that might put it to sleep for hundreds of years or cause it to lose a lot of power, the Changeling said.

“…It’s all because of me in the end. Why didn’t you just tell me to save the world from the beginning?”

A pointless complaint leaked out. A small hand touched my cheek. It was slightly cool and soft.

“It’s okay to do what Dad wants and end it. It’s a world that was going to be destroyed anyway. You don’t have to struggle any more.”

To bring my brother back, to hold him in my arms. I could end it like that. Yes, that’s how it should have ended in the first place. Returning to Yoohyun’s side, unable to escape the dungeon.

Like that.

“…There are too many people waiting.”

There shouldn’t have been anyone. If it were before the regression, there would be nothing to regret.

“You know too. There’s someone who promised me not to change because of a promise I made. He’ll refuse this time too. He’s a person who keeps his promises.”

He’ll keep waiting. As promised.

“Noah too. I can’t do much for him, but at least I don’t want to leave first. I want to be there for him.”

I don’t know how that young man will change. But when he takes a break and moves forward, I want to be a place where he can return, even if he makes mistakes and wrong choices. It’s okay, so do what you want.

“Yerim is still young too. I promised to raise a spirit too. She’s just starting to enjoy running around.”

I didn’t want to end it here. She’ll grow even more in the future, to the point where I can’t imagine how far she’ll go.

“Myungwoo will be safe, but he’ll worry about me. I keep making him worry; it’s unforgivable. He’ll be waiting outside. Bbyak and Bellare too. And other people and monsters.”

I have to show him how Grace has changed. Besides, the parricides aren’t trustworthy, so I’m reluctant to send Myungwoo.

“Peace too. He follows me so well. If I brought him as a ride, I have to take at least some responsibility. Right? And…”

Above all.

“…Yoohyun is my brother too.”

My brother who is happy to live with me like before. He’s been smiling so much lately, with a face I haven’t seen in years. He’s only twenty years old now, and before that, he was only twenty-five.

And, also.

“…It’s more, fun.”

Me too. Now. Even with a grave in my heart, still. Still, I want to live a little longer.

So, as you wish.

“As you wish.”

The Changeling said. A small silver dragon with fairy wings appeared before me.

The place I want to return to. My current home disappeared. Beyond the thick fog in an unknown space.

“I’ve been waiting!”

The King of Innocence smiled.