The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 38

38. Dungeon + Water Mill

Peace’s training continued smoothly on the second day of skill application.

“Second-grade Unicorn sub-species Flame Horned Lion cub. Currently, it is 4:39 PM on the second day of applying the Beast Taming skill. Due to the reduced time required for growth through training, it has grown from a body length of 41cm and a weight of 2.8kg to a body length of 51cm and a weight of 5.6kg.”

I turned off the camcorder and looked at Peace, who was sitting with his chest puffed out.

The little guy, who was about the size of a small cat, had grown significantly in just one day. At this rate, if I finish all three days of training, wouldn’t he grow from an extra-large cat to about the size of a large dog?

‘I should find a separate place for Peace to stay soon.’

I can take him home until the end of this month, but it won’t be possible from next month. He’ll be at least the size of a tiger. I’m already sad.

‘I can’t suddenly show him grown up, so I’ll have to move him secretly.’

I’ll have to rent a crate, cover it with cloth, and move him. Since it’s a hassle to go back and forth, let’s just stay here for the remaining two days. As for theoretical education, well, is there any more need to receive it?

I told Yoo Myung-woo to rest well for two days while receiving education. Yerim said she’s going straight into the dungeon after class today, so I don’t need to worry about her.

She said she’s planning to attack a C-grade dungeon with a proper team this time. Hae Yeon Guild hunters are people who used to raid B-grade or higher dungeons, so they’ll clear it within two or three days.

‘The guild will continue to take good care of her… Yerim has left my hands now.’

After giving her some skill advice later, there’s nothing more I can help with. I feel a mix of relief and regret.

After organizing my thoughts, a yawn came out as if on cue. Ugh, I’m sleepy. My eyelids felt heavy as if they weighed a ton after staying up all night.

“Peace, aren’t you sleepy? Let’s just close our eyes for a bit.”

I picked up Peace, who had jumped over, and headed to the休息室 [resting room]. I’ll sleep for just one hour.

* * *

Yoo Myung-woo packed a lunch box and brought it over while I was taking a nap. His food was still delicious. He could sell it and make good money.

Immediately after that, Yerim stopped by to see me before entering the dungeon, and now it’s night.

“Waaaaah, I lost! Sniffle, sniffle!”

The Goblin sat down on the floor and wailed.

This time, he had prepared thoroughly, so it felt like watching a horror movie in realistic 4D. But all that happened was that the Fear Resistance skill displayed 威壓無效 [intimidation ineffective] and it was over.

It seemed that the message window for the Fear Resistance skill only appeared when a certain level of intimidation was felt. Usually, it only seemed to give a calming effect, and it seemed to be 100% nullified only when the message window appeared.

Well, if intimidation, fear, or anxiety were completely nullified even in normal times, I wouldn’t be able to feel normal emotions. Emotions are organically linked.

“I can’t go home! I won’t go!”

He screamed and lay down, wriggling. It seemed that he was more afraid of being scolded than upset about losing the bet. Is he really a kid? If that’s acting, he deserves an entertainment award.

I put Peace, who had become heavier than yesterday, on my lap and watched the scene before suddenly asking.

“Goblin, how old are you anyway?”

“Age? I haven’t counted since I turned a hundred.”

…A hundred years old? Not ten years old? Is he joking?

“If you don’t want to reveal it, just tell me if you’re a minor or not.”

“Okay! The bet is a bet, so you deserve to hear it! I’ll tell you even if I get scolded!”

The Goblin floated up from his seat. The Hahoe mask he was wearing on his face had changed to a smiling one. Was that a Yangban mask [mask representing an aristocrat]? It’s been a long time since I learned about it, so I don’t remember well.

“Does the Leader think there are Goblins?”

“…What?”

I mean.

“…Are you talking about real Goblins?”

“Then would it be fake?”

What are you talking about?

“How can there be such a thing as a Goblin in the world?”

The Goblin spun around in the air.

“There are dungeons and Awakened people, aren’t there? The Leader’s younger brother controls flames, and the Leader’s ward scatters ice mist!”

“That’s, that’s… the system…….”

“The system is what?”

The system is, um.

When I think about it, the existence of Goblins or ghosts in the world was more realistic than dungeons suddenly popping up and Awakened people being born.

There are at least stories passed down about Goblins, but the system is completely out of the blue.

Still, the idea that there are Goblins felt a bit absurd.

“…But you’re an Awakened person.”

It’s strange, but he clearly had a name too.

The Goblin laughed. It was a laughter that floated like bubbles.

“Leader Kim, my age is over a hundred, and my age is three years old!”

Three years. Three years.

It was three years ago that dungeons and Awakened people first appeared. Born with the system, huh? A sudden guess popped into my head.

“…Did you mix with the power of the dungeon?”

The Goblin perked up his ears at my murmur.

“You know? How? You know? Really?”

Of course, it wasn’t current knowledge. And even I don’t know it in detail.

The mixing phenomenon rarely appeared only after dungeon breaks became more frequent, so it wasn’t properly investigated even five years later.

But why already… No, three years ago was when the first dungeons were bursting out one after another. Since they were only low-level dungeons, the leaked power was weak, but it was an environment where one or two somethings mixed could appear.

“So, in the end, you’re not a real Goblin.”

The Goblin snarled at my words.

“I am a Goblin?!”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re like an old water mill from the Yoon family.”

Because it’s Yoon Yoon. The front is the surname, and the back might be the wheel character. A water mill or a cart. It could be literally a wheel.

“H-How did you know?!”

The Goblin froze in the air. He seemed incredibly surprised.

“Maybe the Leader is a shaman’s brass bell or something…….”

“I’m a hundred percent human.”

If a shaman’s brass bell mixed with the power of the dungeon and became an Awakened person, would they gain the ability to predict the future? …I’m a little tempted. There’s no way to artificially create something like a Goblin, though.

“Do you know anything about the system? Memories or information might have mixed in.”

“No, I don’t think so?”

I guess he doesn’t know either.

Anyway, I understood the Goblin’s unique personality and unprecedented special skills. As expected, the fraudulent skill of teleportation couldn’t be obtained with ordinary talent.

‘Since the power of the dungeon can be said to be a gate leading to another world and a space that confines that world, it’s possible to obtain such a special skill.’

So there was nothing related to teleportation in the optimization skill. Floating around and hiding is an optimization skill worthy of a self-proclaimed Goblin.

‘What exactly is a dungeon?’

Why do they create such things and spread them in this world, and why do they make us attack those dungeons with the Awakened system?

I didn’t think deeply about it before the regression.

But now I couldn’t just gloss over it. Above all, the system approached me first.

‘I should go into a dungeon once after all.’

I couldn’t keep pretending not to know and avoiding it. Now that I have a Goblin, I can go safely.

“Is teleportation possible in the dungeon too?”

“Huh?”

“I mean, outside the dungeon. Or it’s okay to apply stealth to me to avoid monsters. What grade of dungeon have you been in?”

“I haven’t been in one.”

What?

“You’ve never been in a dungeon? Not even once?”

“Yeah. I can’t go in.”

This is something I’m hearing for the first time.

“I tried to go in, but there was a reaction? I was bounced out with a bang!”

“Reaction? Is it because you have the power of the dungeon?”

Is it impossible to put a dungeon into a dungeon? Is he treated as a kind of dungeon…….

“What, why are you looking at me like that? Suspicious!”

“It’s a look that you are so precious and valuable.”

“That’s right, but!”

How do I investigate this? The problem is that there’s no way.

Wait a minute, if he’s similar to a dungeon.

I put Peace down from my lap and stood up. Then I spread my arms wide towards the Goblin.

“Goblin.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s hug tightly just once.”

Maybe the person who created the system will contact me through a pseudo-dungeon.

“Huh? Why?! No!”

The Goblin, who I thought would hug me without thinking, shook his head and jumped into the air. It’s a strangely oversensitive reaction. I held Seok Hahyan in my arms, though.

“I have something to check. I don’t have any ulterior motives towards someone whose race is uncertain.”

“Still no! I promised not to wrestle!”

Wrestling? Did he used to wrestle before scaring people? He’s really a Goblin faithful to Goblins.

“Then go behind me and hug me.”

“…Do I have to hug you?”

“It’s important.”

“But if I hug you, I’ll want to trip you and throw you.”

“Just bear with it.”

The Goblin hesitated and went behind me. Then he hugged me from behind.

“Is it done?”

“Just a moment.”

I quickly checked the status window, but there was no change.

“While hugging me, teleport to that side.”

“You’re already starting to boss me around.”

What are you talking about? It hasn’t even started yet. The Goblin grumbled and teleported me. This definitely felt similar to passing through the dungeon gate. It’s different from a mini-portal.

When I opened the status window, I saw a changed part.

[Dragon Slayer(L)←]

This time it was a simple arrow. Did he not have time to use emoticons? Following that,

[Poison Resistance(L)←]

And,

[Poison Resistance(L) – Completely immune to poisons below the legendary grade

Definitely detoxifies.

Poisons harmful to the human body.

Lastly, even drugs]

This time there was an explanation. But what is this?

Confirmation complete?

…Did he just confirm it himself and end it? Did he just want me to come to the dungeon to check it? Or was there not enough time? It seems like he wrote it in a hurry because he couldn’t finish it at the end.

“Is it done? I’m letting go? I can’t stand it anymore!”

“Just a moment. Teleport one more time, no, a few more times.”

“No! It’s hard to teleport people! The distance also decreases, and I can’t do it continuously!”

The Goblin shouted as he moved far away from me. He seemed to be able to teleport easily by himself any number of times, but it seemed difficult to teleport with other people.

“Can’t you make a portal yet?”

“Portal?”

I guess he doesn’t have it yet. It was three or four years later that he gained the long-distance portal skill. Since he can’t enter the dungeon, his growth must have been slow. To level up outside, he has to buy monsters to hunt or aim for dungeon breaks.

I can’t help it, I have no choice but to raise him by applying keywords.

“Goblin.”

“Huh?”

“My beloved subordinate, please take good care of me in the future.”

I will embrace Agape [unconditional love] for all people and sing about love. Diligently, steadily, every time I see you, I love you.

And the Goblin screamed and ran away. Why?

* * *

“Here is the camcorder with the recorded growth history.”

I handed the camcorder to Seok Si-myung, who couldn’t hide the corners of his raised mouth. Yoo-hyun was away preparing for the dungeon raid, so Seok Si-myung received and checked the record instead.

“I am sincerely impressed and moved beyond words, Mr. Han Yoo-jin.”

Seok Si-myung said in a voice as rich and smooth as dark chocolate. His voice is really good. I’m jealous. He could end up in a relationship from dating to marriage with a complete stranger just by talking on the phone.

“I want to bow my head and apologize for not having an eye for talent. I should have had you sign the contract a long time ago, three years ago.”

As he said that, he gave me a look that he wanted to grab my finger and stamp it right now [sign a contract immediately]. No, I’m not signing a contract.

“As you heard from Yoo-hyun, I plan to remain unaffiliated for a while.”

“Yes. You said you would sign a contract when Hae Yeon becomes the best guild in the country. May I ask you to confirm one more time?”

“That’s…….”

I stopped talking and closed my mouth. Something feels off.

“…Are you recording?”

“Oh, you’re not an easy person after all.”

Seok Si-myung laughed and didn’t turn off the recorder. This guy is for real. He’s trying to slip past it.

“Turn it off?”

“Isn’t recording essential when adjusting contract terms?”

Even as he said that, Seok Si-myung obediently turned off the recorder.

“Is there anything else?”

“There isn’t, even for the sake of Mr. Han Yoo-jin’s trust.”

Then he shouldn’t have recorded it in the first place. Anyway, this guy must have been a slippery black snake in his past life.

“Negotiations regarding the ride-on beasts will take place at a meeting of the three major guilds and the Hunter Association. I will accompany you, but the guild leader will be the main one. But you don’t have to worry. I taught him well.”

No, the fact that you taught him is more worrying. Don’t taint our kind Yoo-hyun, you slippery snake.

“Although it is a new dungeon raid with no information, it won’t take long as long as the guild leader participates. If it’s a slime dungeon, the raid will be over within three days.”

The weakness of slimes was fire. However, if you burn them, you won’t be able to use them as materials, but new dungeon raids focus on safety and information gathering rather than material procurement, so the raid will be over quickly.

“If the negotiations are successfully concluded, please appear on a broadcast once.”

“…Yes?”

Appear on what?