The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 360

358. Baby Water Dragon (2)

– Ptoo!

The creature that leaped from the water spat out a mouthful. Like a dolphin at play, it shot a water pistol from its mouth here and there before slipping back into the water. A translucent fin sliced through the surface and disappeared.

“That’s…”

“A Water Dragon.”

The soldier set me down and said,

“Aserna, a Rank 2 Water Dragon species with scales of water. It’s the final boss of an S-Rank dungeon, a monster that even S-Rank Hunters can’t raid without matching attributes and thorough preparation.”

His tone was quite proud. My stomach twisted slightly, but a Rank 2 Dragon species was indeed something. Dragon species are usually stronger than other monsters of the same rank. Comet and Thornwing Wyverns, which could grow to A- to S-Rank, were Rank 3 Wyvern species, so this Rank 2 Water Dragon was likely a confirmed S-Rank. Do they call monsters with confirmed S-Rank potential ‘naturally born S-Ranks’? But then again, considering that a guy like Babar had awakening potential stats of S- to SS-Rank, it seemed monsters were an exception.

Splash. The Water Dragon made a sound as it peeked its head out again. Its head, covered in light blue scales, had a pair of ears and a pair of still-growing horns. Perhaps because it was young, its round appearance was quite cute.

“Are there any records of its adult form? Even drawings would do.”

I had never seen the Water Dragon named Aserna before my regression. It seemed the dungeon hadn’t been properly managed and was left unattended after it burst. If you can’t catch more than two-thirds of the monsters that pour out after a dungeon break, the dungeon remains broken. Usually, they’re dealt with quickly for safety, but aquatic monsters are impossible to deal with once they go deep into the sea, like the Kraken in Hong Kong.

At my words that it would help with raising it, one of the soldiers brought a tablet PC and showed me Water Dragon raid data.

“Its activity must be weak on land.”

The pair of horns had increased to two pairs. One pair was long and sharp, and the other pair was about a third of the size. A long dorsal fin stretched from between its ears, and it had a pair of large fins instead of forelimbs. The fins replacing its hind legs were relatively small, and the two pairs of tail fins had elaborate patterns.

It was an elegant and traditional Water Dragon appearance.

‘It would be nice if it could fly.’

Why can’t it? I suddenly remembered the Changeling saying that it was born the way I wanted it to be. If the Caregiver skill could influence growth form… wouldn’t it be possible to make slight changes to a baby monster?

Like gaining a flight skill or having its dorsal fin turn into wings. If I could do that, it would be perfect as Yerim’s mount.

‘Even if it can’t fly, it’s still a necessary mount for Yerim.’

Even though Yerim is free to move in the water, her movements are still slower compared to a water-specialized monster. Using Blink [a teleportation skill] continuously is burdensome. Besides, there was also the problem that it was difficult to get support from teammates in underwater combat. There were few Hunters who could move freely in underwater combat like Yerim, and Hae Yeon didn’t have any yet.

So having a mount would be much more reassuring.

“Does that thing over there make phone calls?”

I asked, pointing to the communication device on the wall.

“It does.”

“Then I’ll just use it for a moment.”

As I approached the communication device with my crutches, a soldier grabbed me.

“What nonsense are you spouting!”

“Nonsense? You’ve already blocked tracking anyway. What’s wrong with making a phone call? If you overhear something problematic, you can just cut it off. Conversely, you might get some good information.”

“But, to contact the outside world as you please… There’s no way!”

“Get permission from your superiors then. You’re being awfully petty over just one phone call. I have something to confirm regarding monster breeding.”

At my words that it was really important, the soldier contacted someone through the communication device. After a while, permission to use the phone was granted. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a phone with a cord.

[Hello?]

Soon, a familiar voice came through.

“Yerim!”

[Huh? Uncle? How—]

“They’re eavesdropping, so keep your words to a minimum.”

There’s no need to give away information about Korea.

[Eavesdropping? They’re listening there? Are you okay, Uncle?]

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

I glanced down at my injured leg. Judging by Yerim’s lack of reaction, Yoohyun’s hand must be safe. Fortunately, a broken leg didn’t seem to qualify as a critical injury. It wasn’t a life-threatening injury, so I expected that, but I was still worried.

…I wonder if I can get it treated somehow before meeting the kids.

“Actually, could you name something for me?”

[Name?]

“Yeah. There’s a monster here that would be perfect as your mount, so I’m going to snat—”

Thud. The soldier standing next to me snatched the receiver away. I glared at him.

“What is this?”

“You’re going to snatch it away?”

“Yeah. I’m taking it, so what.”

The Chinese soldiers wore dumbfounded expressions at my brazen answer.

“How dare you—”

“How dare I what? Hey, you guys kidnapped a person. Do you think only you can kidnap? I can do it too. What goes around comes around. If you kidnap someone, you might get kidnapped too. That’s how the world works.”

It goes around and around. The Earth also spins.

“That, that Water Dragon is a valuable asset of the military!”

“It’s valuable, so I’m snatching it. Why would I snatch something common? I have a lot of money. I’m not so desperate that I’ll pick up just anything. I don’t deal with anything below S-Rank.”

“But it’s not possibl—”

“Yeah, yeah. Who doesn’t know it’s not possible? Kidnapping is illegal. But you guys are the last people who should be saying that to me. Unless you’re going to send me home right now, just leave me alone, no matter what I say. Honestly, kidnappers are so talkative. If I were you, I wouldn’t have anything to say, even if I had ten mouths.”

Isn’t the world supposed to value human rights more than monsters? At least on the surface. They’re being so fussy about someone covered in filth trying to get a little dirt on them. They have no conscience.

I held out my hand towards the soldier and waved it.

“Give it to me. If you don’t like that I’m trying to snatch the Water Dragon, then let me make the call and listen carefully. Who knows, I might accidentally leak the plan during the conversation.”

The soldier, hesitating whether to listen to me or not, reluctantly handed the receiver back. He grumbled that the intelligence or communications team was probably managing the eavesdropping anyway, and they would make the judgment, and continued the call.

“Hey, Yerim—”

[Hyung!]!

Yoohyun called me desperately. Were they together?

[Hey, Hanyu Hyun! Get away!]

[Hyung, are you okay? Are you really alright?]

[My phone! Peace, bite it!]

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Are you eating well, and sleeping well?”

[Yes, Hyung. Are you—]

[He’s lying! Hanyu Hyun hasn’t slept at all, hey! Give me the phone and go!]

Why isn’t that kid Yoohyun sleeping again? Still, I was relieved that neither of them seemed too worried about me. They must be thinking it’s about the same as Hong Kong. I reassured my brother and told Yerim to name something.

“Okay, I’ll call again. They’re probably tracking the location, so next time, call Hae Yeon Guild and ask them to connect me. Tell Team Leader Seok in advance.”

[Yes, Uncle. Take care!]

[It’s getting colder, Hyung. Be careful not to catch a cold. You need to take your medicine…….]

I ended the call with my brother’s regretful voice. I need to go home as soon as possible. I swallowed a sigh and looked at the baby Water Dragon, which was peeking around curiously.

“Give me the owner’s mark.”

At my words, the soldier took out the owner’s mark from a storage box on the wall. It was a small, round, flat badge with a green jewel embedded in it, with a lockable ring and a long, thin string attached. The end of the string was connected to the wall. It seemed to be a safety device to prevent me from putting it in my inventory and running away.

“An alarm will sound if you try to open the ring without a key or if a certain amount of force is applied to the safety line. Anyway, even if you’re C-Rank, let alone F-Rank, you won’t be able to cut it instantly.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

I took the owner’s mark and advised,

“You shouldn’t use the owner’s mark while taming a baby monster. Only I should use it. If someone else interferes, the kid will get confused, and it will take longer to tame, and there’s even a possibility that the Beast Taming skill won’t work at all.”

Actually, there’s no such thing. The soldiers took my lies seriously.

“Water Dragon, hello.”

I wrapped the string attached to the mark around my wrist a couple of times and approached the pool. The baby Water Dragon perked up its ears and looked up at me with light green eyes. It’s so cute.

“Good boy.”

– Grrr.

The Water Dragon vibrated its throat and came close to me. I slowly stroked its approaching head. It’s smooth and moist. The scales were slightly soft, perhaps because it was still a baby.

“I’ll introduce you to a really good older sister, or older brother.”

– Gurgle.

“But if it’s in the water, the training will be in the water too, hey, wait a minute!”

A long, blue tail popped out and wrapped around my leg. Fortunately, it was the good one. Then it pulled me in as if to say, ‘Let’s go into the water.’

“I’m not a good swimmer. The water’s not too cold.”

I pretended to be unable to resist its urging and entered the pool. As I entered, the baby Water Dragon shot water up with a ‘pfft.’ Is that what it does when it’s happy? The front part of the pool was a little over my waist in depth. Thanks to the buoyancy, it was easier to move without crutches.

“Okay, okay. Good boy.”

I stroked the Water Dragon, which was circling around me, and naturally turned my back to the soldiers. Then I opened the Point Store. Glutton’s auxiliary mud, which I had used once before. But this time, I don’t need to copy the performance, and the item’s duration is short. There should be an item that makes it look the same for a long time. Let’s see…….

Oh, there is.

[Miniature Frame of the Model Garden – D-Rank

A frame that replicates items smaller than 10cm in width and length. It does not replicate the item’s abilities.

Single use.]

The price is cheap too. Anyway, I’ve already told them not to use the mark except for me, so there’s no chance of getting caught. Even if I get caught, there’s no proof that I stole it.

I used the Multi-tool Key, which still had uses left, to remove the owner’s mark from the ring and then replicated it with the Miniature Frame of the Model Garden. Then I attached the replica to the ring and put the real thing in my inventory.

Let’s call this 0.1 percent of the revenge for the kidnapping paid back.

“Is this pool connected to the lake?”

There was no answer. I tasted the water a little. It’s fresh water, and it doesn’t seem to have been treated with chemicals. It’s lukewarm, so there must have been a heating process in the middle, but it’s likely that the lake water was brought in as is. The drainage is probably directly connected to the lake as well. That would make it easier to manage. I came down quite a few steps, and if I break through the wall, it might be right next to the lake.

‘If only Hayul’s skill worked, escaping would be easy.’

The Water Dragon is still small, so as soon as we get out of here, I can hug it and use the Stealth skill. And Noah will probably be nearby.

Unlike other S-Rank Hunters, Noah wasn’t affiliated with a guild. Even if he suddenly disappeared, it wouldn’t be a problem, and he could fly straight across the sea using his Stealth skill without having to use transportation. So it’s likely that Noah was sent for reconnaissance.

‘When I think about it, Noah is really well-suited for this kind of thing.’

Korea is relatively peaceful, but in neighborhoods where there’s a lot of infighting between guilds, it’s a very useful ability. However, I don’t think Noah likes doing things like espionage very much. More than anything, it’s lonely.

“What does it eat? Fish?”

At my words, the soldiers brought a large water container. It was full of fish covered in Mana Stone powder.

‘It’s from a dungeon, and it’s fresh.’

There were even fish that were still flapping their gills. That means there’s a dungeon nearby, including a lake, river, or sea. Hae Yeon needs to set up a fishing dungeon too.

“Okay, let’s eat. Oh, it eats well. So pretty, how can it be so cute and lovely? That’s right, let’s eat one more.”

– Guu!

Salt-free freshwater fish. Since the dungeon environment is affected by the location where it was created, is it the dungeon near this lake after all? If the newbie just connects the dungeon, I can make an excuse to go to the dungeon with that bastard…….

“…It’s Korean.”

…Huh?

“That’s right, it’s Kim.”

Very quietly, whispering voices were heard. I resisted the urge to look around and slowly rolled my eyes. Kim, I’ve heard that title a lot.

– Gyururu!

The baby Water Dragon went into the water and nudged something with its front fins. Two whitish objects were floating in the water. What are those?

“Ah, I told you I can’t swim.”

The baby Water Dragon spoke as if urging me and dove. The white things seemed to be waving at me as they looked at me. So…….

‘Goblins?’

I slowly mouthed the word. When I repeated the lip movements, the white things moved as if dancing. It doesn’t seem to be Yunyun, could it be the Goblin race that Yunyun said he would make? If Yunyun were here, getting out of here would be a piece of cake.

As I was wondering how to continue the conversation, the white things suddenly disappeared. I was starting to run out of breath, so I lifted my head out of the water for now.

“Is this the guy raising the monster? He’s tiny.”

Next to the pool, a strange man was squatting. Did the Goblins run away because of this person? I don’t know who he is, but he’s big.