The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 300

298. Can’t Get in Touch (2)

The root fruit, an ingredient for stamina potions, was sent to D&L Bio through the Haeyeon Guild. There were three potion workshops in the country, but Haeyeon barely held any shares in any of them.

One belonged to the state, and the remaining two had their shares divided among the Hunter Association, Seseong, MKC, and Breaker. When MKC went under, Haeyeon managed to get a foot in, but its influence was minimal.

That’s why they decided to create a completely new potion workshop this time.

“Yes, lower-level healers are sufficient for stamina potions. Only purification skills need to be D-grade or higher. Other facilities can be set up the same as any other potion workshop.”

[That shouldn’t be too difficult. Getting healers is the hardest part of potion making.]

Song Eun-jin, the head of the D&L Bio lab, said that.

To make life force potions, healers suitable for each potion grade were needed. Healing, purification, and detoxification were essential, and other healer skills were a bonus.

So, those with low stats but high healer skill grades often ended up in potion workshops. It was a safe way to earn a lot of money.

Even so, awakeners with all three top-tier healer skills were rare, so not just anyone could set up a potion workshop.

On the other hand, mana potions were almost factory-made, as they only required refining magic stones, and their price was essentially the cost of the magic stones.

“Please make prototypes quickly. We’ll be bringing in more materials from Japan soon.”

It seemed like the Lion King would listen well, making it easier to manage the dungeon. He even asked if I had arrived safely yesterday.

…It’s unsettling in many ways, but let’s not think too deeply about it. I didn’t hear anything. Right before boarding the plane, I didn’t hear anything.

[A new type of potion, I’m excited to see the reaction.]

“It’s going to be a hit, no doubt.”

It would even be a monopoly for a while. I have no intention of abusing that, but guilds around the world won’t let their guard down.

‘I wish other stamina potion ingredient dungeons would appear soon.’

Even if I diligently cleared the dungeons every time they reset, the demand wouldn’t keep up with the supply. I should ask the newbie.

I ended the call with a thank you. Yawning widely, I took out one of the remaining root fruits from my inventory.

Did I sleep for only two hours? My body is tired, but I can’t seem to fall asleep. If I can’t sleep tomorrow either, I’ll have to get a prescription for sleeping pills.

‘The dungeon is scheduled for the afternoon.’

Yoohyun went to the guild with Yerim in the morning. Even though he said, ‘I’m tired from catching SS-grade monsters, so I’ll be resting,’ the whole country was in an uproar, so as the guild leader, he couldn’t avoid going to the guild. He came home later than expected yesterday too.

I chewed and swallowed the fruit and looked at my phone again.

I received many calls from various places from last night until this morning. Mostly from Haeyeon, and I also received visit requests from Japan, the Association, and Seok Hayan. But there was nothing from Sung Hyunjae. Is he really angry? If that’s the case, I’d rather feel relieved.

“Still, can’t you at least say a word whether you’re alive or dead?”

Should I contact Soyoung?

It’s only been a day, but since we’ve started making stamina potions, we need to discuss related matters. I might as well eat them all myself. Grumbling, I got up from my seat.

“Peace, let’s go to the building.”

– Kkyang!

As soon as I called, Peace jumped up and down. Bbyak and Bellare were sitting on the sofa watching TV.

Bellare… I need to make her grow. Once she’s fully grown, Riete will take her away immediately. If I have to send her away, I should make a new friend for Bbyak before that.

“Take care of the house, you two. Don’t cause any trouble.”

– Bbyak!

– Shii!

They answer well.

I went outside the breeding center building, but Noah wasn’t visible today. He didn’t say he was going anywhere, so is he inside?

I went to the building with Peace and headed to Seok Hayan’s lab. I had Peace wait outside and went inside, where zombies were sprawled out again today.

The windows were covered with blackout curtains, making it dim except for the areas where some lamps were turned on.

“…Hayan?”

“Aah! Professor!”

Seok Hayan, who was lying on the desk, screamed and jumped up. She looked around, met my eyes, and smiled sheepishly.

“I had a dream from my graduate school days. Welcome, Han So-ahhaam-nim [a playful, exaggerated title of respect].”

She yawned in the middle of her sentence, looking really tired. The field experiment for the gate exploration & measurement device is almost complete, so she shouldn’t have been overworked recently.

“Have some of this.”

I handed her a small piece of root fruit. Seok Hayan took it eagerly and her eyes widened.

“It wakes me right up! What is it, Master? Do you have more? It’s the most effective thing I’ve ever eaten!”

“You shouldn’t overuse it. More importantly, what’s going on?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Seok Hayan narrowed her brows and led me to the reception room attached separately inside. There were semi-corpses sprawled on the sofa in the reception room as well, so she woke them up and sent them out.

“The dungeon gates are strange.”

“Yes?”

“The measuring device is definitely fine, but the results are coming out strangely.”

…Could it be related to the jellyfish bastard’s rampage? My expression also became serious.

“Please tell me in detail.”

“Really? Then first, the chart…”

“In terms I can understand.”

Seok Hayan, who had been excited for a moment, became sullen. No, I won’t understand even if you tell me.

“The saturation speed of the dungeons has slowed down significantly.”

“Yes? Saturation speed?”

“Yes. In simple terms, dungeon breaks are less likely to occur. The data is still limited, so it’s not accurate, but based on the research I’ve done over the past day or two, it’s about three times slower. For example, a dungeon that needs to be cleared once a month now only needs to be cleared once every three months.”

…That can’t be. So that means.

“Does that mean it’s okay to neglect dungeon management a bit, that is, it’s become safer?”

“That’s right. For now, at least. I don’t know if the reset speed has also slowed down, but the saturation speed has definitely slowed down. That’s the result of calculating all night.”

I stared blankly at Seok Hayan’s face for a moment. What on earth is going on?

‘Could it be because of the changeling?’

Could the result of protecting Korea so strongly be manifesting in the state of the dungeons? Then are the overseas dungeons the same?

“…Please do a more thorough investigation.”

“Yes. I’m already diligently collecting data from the dungeon gates in Seoul.”

If the dungeons have really become more stable, that’s good news. First, let’s confirm with the newbie.

“By the way, do you know the Breaker Guild Leader?”

“Of course, I know her well. She’s come to visit a few times. But I refused. Trust with investors is important, you know. I can’t leak data.”

“…Don’t tell me Hyunah asked for data?”

“No. She only said that she would like to cooperate in the future if possible.”

“Please accept that.”

Seok Hayan tilted her head in confusion.

“With Breaker?”

“With Moon Hyunah… not Breaker.”

A brief silence flowed. Seok Hayan slowly opened her mouth.

“Guild Leader Moon Hyunah, she’s trying to become independent.”

“You know?”

“It’s a dungeon and hunter research institute, after all. Besides, there are many high-level hunters who come here thanks to Myungwoo, so there are many rumors. Ah, the cafe. There’s also an opinion that it would be a good idea to make it a place for hunters to meet. Make the place a bit wider and have several rooms where sound is blocked.”

Is it a kind of information exchange?

Dohamin used to run a similar place in the past, no, before the regression, so in the future. Anyway, it was mainly for low-level hunters, but even if they were low-level, they had ears, so surprisingly important information circulated.

“That’s not bad either. Since the cafe owner is Minui, there will be less trouble.”

For now, she’s a quasi-S-class hunter, so troublemakers who rely on their rank won’t be able to show up. The biggest headache for Dohamin was the fighting between hunters. Especially if a mid-level hunter caused a ruckus, he had to close shop for the day.

‘He really hated it when I went.’

He said I was prone to getting into fights. But he would also slip me some decent information if he had any.

Kim Minui wouldn’t have suggested that, it must be Dohamin. I wonder if he’s going to do something similar this time. I felt a little strange.

“Personally, I like Guild Leader Moon Hyunah and support her, but will she be successful?”

“It won’t be easy. One of the large corporations involved with Breaker is one of the top companies in the country and has high recognition overseas. They’ll try to grab her even more because of MKC’s collapse.”

Of course, they wouldn’t want to miss her. I heard that the companies sponsoring MKC are trying to create their own hunter guilds. To manage S-class dungeons, they need S-class hunters, so they’ve been contacting Yerim several times even though I’ve refused, and they’ve also been poking at Noah.

But I’m keeping a close eye on them to make sure they never recruit an S-class hunter.

If those guys create a guild with A-class or lower hunters, they’ll lobby to allow mid-sized guilds to obtain S-class dungeon management rights. It’s an opportunity to get someone else to do what I want, so I can’t miss it.

If they try to recruit overseas S-classes, I was planning to sabotage them by asking Giseungsu and Myungwoo for help.

There wouldn’t be any S-class hunters who would come to pioneer a new guild in a land already occupied by giant guilds. Unless they’re criminals.

“I wanted to actively help her too, but she refused. She also asked me to not involve myself in asking Seok Hayan for cooperation.”

“Ah, I see. We often have those kinds of problems too, now and then.”

Seok Hayan nodded in agreement without any further explanation. How did she understand right away?

“If you meet Guild Leader Moon Hyunah in person, you’ll see, but she has a lot of information that the research team would find tempting.”

“Information? I’m getting excited because Director Han is vouching for her. By the way, is there still no news from Dokkaebi [a mythical Korean goblin or sprite]? Dungeon gate detection and measurement were sufficient with domestic and Japanese data, but more data is needed to establish the laws of dungeon creation and internal environment.”

“I’m also curious, but there’s no way to contact him unless he contacts me first. The atmosphere in China is probably even worse now…….”

This mass monster outbreak happened simultaneously worldwide. Japan was hit the hardest, while Korea suffered the least damage. Other countries were inconsistent. Some places only had mid-level or lower monsters appear, but there were several places where up to S-class monsters popped out.

At my words, Seok Hayan frowned deeply and fiddled with her glasses.

“Why did monsters suddenly appear naturally outside of dungeons? It would be a disaster if this happened again.”

“Well, I don’t know. But it’ll be okay now. Probably.”

I know the reason, but it’s difficult to explain.

I left the lab and had lunch with Myungwoo, who had been tormented by the blacksmiths all night. He said that Mini Mana had exploded because he had been away for a few days. Myungwoo laughed, saying he had tried something new.

“You have to adjust your sense of feeling mana?”

“Yeah. I’m going to the dungeon later, so can you take a look at it tomorrow or after?”

The young Chaos Teacher had modified the mana engraving, but he said it would be good to have an item to control the senses.

My body… is too weak compared to the engraving’s performance. No, I think I’m stronger than the average adult male.

Myungwoo nodded, saying he was fine anytime. After looking at the engraving, that smiling face will instantly turn fierce.

“Ah, and this. It’s low grade, though.”

I took out E-grade and D-grade firearms. One was a pistol, and the other was a rifle.

The point shop was still the same, so I could still buy items. The weapons in my inventory were high-grade, so it was better to buy new low-grade firearms for disassembly and research.

“It looks similar to a regular gun. Does it consume mana instead of bullets?”

“It can fire pure mana bullets, but it can also use regular bullets. It’ll depend on the performance of the bullets then.”

“Yeah, it’ll definitely be good for low-level hunters. But the consumption of mana potions and bullets will be a problem. It’ll consume more than regular weapons.”

“I’m going to subsidize it to some extent.”

Now that money will be pouring in from overseas, what’s the point of hoarding it? I have to use it when I need to.

I looked after the kids at the breeding center until it was time to meet Yoohyun. Unlike my perception, I hadn’t been away for many days, so there weren’t any major problems. Blue, of course, and Comet were also patrolling to find the remaining monsters.

“Your dad hasn’t even given you a name yet.”

– Maae.

The Volcanic Black Sheep tapped its short tail. I can’t make it grow unless I give it a name. Is Director Song really not going to take it? I’ve already told Haeyeon everything. I guess the only way is to get him drunk and make him stamp the contract.

“Sorok, you seem to have gained weight. Don’t tell me you’ve been lying down all the time?”

– Bbyaeng.

“You have to move. Let’s see…….”

I checked Sorok’s breeding record. The amount it eats is increasing day by day. It’s natural to eat a lot when it gets bigger, but it’s been refusing to exercise all the time. Barely moving a little once a day. I was forcibly making Sorok get up and walk when my phone rang. My brother’s here.

“Please make Sorok walk around here once.”

“Yes. It’s too lazy to move.”

I left Sorok with the hunter in charge of the breeding center and went outside with Peace. The destination was not far away, an E-class dungeon. I asked the team that was scheduled to clear it for their understanding and took it over.

“Be careful, hyung [older brother or close male friend]. It’s not like accidents haven’t happened once or twice.”

“…You’re right. I have nothing to say.”

There weren’t many times when I went into a dungeon and didn’t cause problems. Feeling awkward, I knocked on the gate.

Yoohyun entered first, and I followed behind with Peace.

“Uh…….”

A murky swamp spread out before my eyes. Drooping branches and vines were visible. Did the newbie’s taste change in the meantime?

“Did you change the interior? Newbie? Mr. Newbie? Volleyball?”

Yoohyun, who was calmly looking around, opened his mouth.

“It’s an E-class dungeon.”

“What?”

“The dungeon we took over. The grade is low, so I only checked the information briefly, but it said it was a swamp. And there.”

Yoohyun snapped off a drooping branch and threw it at the bushes.

– Keck!

A toad the size of a human head was pierced by the branch and jumped up.

“The monsters are the same too.”

“Wait a minute, then…….”

That means I can’t get in touch with the newbie. I looked at the sky in panic. Seriously, why are you going silent again, newbie?