The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 382

380. What’s Scary (2)

“Did you hear that? This entire area has turned into a dungeon.”

In other words, we can’t leave until we catch the boss monster. The problem is that the boss monster is likely Yoon Yoon. Judging from what the goblins are saying, it’s almost a hundred percent.

“When Yoon Yoon, the goblin, became the Goblin King, the item used was the Nameless Demon King’s Spinning Wheel, an SS-grade item. At first, Yoon Yoon transformed into a first-class demon, an SS-grade Demon King. But he wanted to return to being a goblin, so he changed back.”

It seemed the influence from that time remained and affected the entire goblin race. What was the optimized skill when he transformed into a Demon King… I couldn’t quite remember. I could check again now, though.

“He wanted to change back, huh? I have a feeling my partner was involved. Was it when the hospital room was a mess?”

“You know it well. Let’s postpone the details for later. If he’s demonized, we might be able to turn him back. It won’t be easy, but I hope we prioritize rescuing him over defeating him.”

Rescuing an SS-grade monster with an S-grade hunter whose skills are mostly sealed is, frankly, an excessive request. Yet, no one protested. Thankfully.

‘Since it’s just mindless undead, I can’t use our kid [referring to Peace, his familiar], but there are still twice as many left.’

After checking the opponent’s skills and weaknesses, I just need to apply the double attack skill. At least, the chances of us losing are low… Rescuing him might fail, though.

“What about the pendant? My skill is the most advantageous, but…”

Still lacking in experience, Yerim asked.

“Does it activate just by touching the body?”

“Yes.”

“Hold it in your hand and touch Yoohyun with it.”

“Okay. What are you looking at? I don’t want to touch you either.”

Yerim grumbled and teleported to Yoohyun. Yerim’s hand, holding the pendant, touched Yoohyun’s shoulder. Immediately, Irin, who had been hiding, popped out and circled around as if feeling stuffy.

“It works!”

“Good. Then, Yerim, you can hand it over or touch him when needed. You can teleport and fly, after all.”

With Teacher Skill added to this, timing will be easier. I used Teacher Skill on Yerim and Peace as well. Even with the keyword applied, it was getting difficult as the number increased. It might be impossible to use it on Yoon Yoon. I also set up hand signals for applying the pendant.

“Yerim, if it’s difficult to approach, you can just throw it. You don’t need to touch him directly.”

“Don’t worry!”

“Don’t stray too far from Peace, and rejoin immediately if your skills get blocked.”

Due to Yerim’s abilities, she has almost no way to protect herself if her skills are blocked. So, it was safer to get help from Peace. As a unicorn subspecies, Peace was very fast for a beast-type monster. Even if he couldn’t use Flame Gallop, avoiding enemy attacks would be easy.

While replenishing mana, I gazed at the faintly glowing ice lake in the distance. After the explosion, it was quiet without any particular signs.

“…If this is really similar to a dungeon, stalling for time might work.”

If you enter a dungeon and survive for a certain amount of time without dying, a reset phenomenon occurs. As if the dungeon has been cleared, the dungeon saturation decreases and the gate opens. We used to handle monsters we couldn’t handle by enduring like that.

But if it’s an SS-grade boss monster dungeon, even a month or two might not be enough.

“Or, we might be able to use a Gate Stone. But Gate Stones… Chief Song?”

“I don’t have one.”

Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t have one. Sunghyunjae only had one, and Yoohyun had two, but Yerim and Noah didn’t have any. In the first place, there wasn’t even a gate to use it on.

“Then let’s go.”

Noah picked me up and flew into the air. Yerim also used her flight skill and took out an A-grade ice-attribute auxiliary magic staff that she had brought as a temporary replacement for her bow.

“Chief Song! I picked up a lot of weapons, can I break them [use their skills]!”

Except for Hwawoon’s sword. That’s Yoohyun’s. At my words, Sunghyunjae took out a battle hammer. Wow, it doesn’t suit him.

“It’s slightly cracked, but it should be usable.”

Song Taewon accepted the weapon without complaint. Seeing the wire wrapped around his hand, something suddenly came to mind.

“This too! I picked it up on the way, feel free to use it!”

I was about to throw Hwawoon’s handcuffs but handed them to Noah instead. It won’t reach if I throw it. Since it has high defense and additional defense against blades, it was perfect for Chief Song to use. Noah threw the black handcuffs instead, and Song Taewon caught them and put them on his hand.

‘Somehow, I feel pleased.’

How nice would it be if you accepted things so obediently usually. But you’ll return all of those immediately after the battle, right? Too bad. I wonder if I can’t pass on even the handcuffs. I should subtly ask Myeongwoo if it can be modified to be bound to the last wearer.

The island quickly approached. Undead swarmed the collapsed heliport, where even the original traces couldn’t be found. They discovered us approaching and rushed in, making bizarre noises. Yerim pointed her staff forward.

Grrr- Grrr-

Ice pillars soared as if a giant reptile was bristling its spines along its back. Then, they tilted towards the undead.

Crack, squish! The undead were crushed, and ice shards scattered everywhere.

“They keep regenerating! Yoohyun, submerge them!”

Looking at the regeneration speed, they might even regenerate from ashes if burned. But what about submerging them in water and covering them with ice? How would they come out? As ordinary humanoids.

At my words, Yerim quickly teleported to Yoohyun. The moment Yerim’s hand touched Yoohyun’s shoulder, flames soared. Irin’s figure was briefly visible among the flames that stretched out like whips. The dark blue flames that spread out along the ice expanded as soon as they touched the undead.

Whoosh!

The ice melted instantly, and the undead engulfed in flames sank below the lake. As the rising flames subsided, Yerim stepped forward again. Crack, crack, the water that swallowed the undead froze solid.

Crossing the smoothly paved ice road without any obstacles, we ascended onto the island.

“Don’t go too deep! It’s better to be close to the lake.”

Anyway, if we’ve come this far, it will react. As expected, the ground shook again. Not only did the entire island shake as if it would flip over, but cracks spread across the lake as well. It would be annoying if the buried zombies popped out.

Rumble- Crash!!

The air vibrated, and a heavy energy struck my entire body. With an earth-shattering explosion, the center of the island soared into the sky.

Building debris, rocks, and clods of earth floated high as if they had lost gravity, then rained down like a storm. Noah sharply tilted his wings, covering my head. The sound of the frozen surface of the lake and parts of the island colliding echoed loudly for a moment.

The rising dust settled, and a huge crater revealed itself. Dim fireflies floated in the sunken basin, as if a volcano had erupted. They looked like miniature versions of the fire that the goblins had transformed into.

“T-There…”

The red orb goblin on my shoulder said in a small voice. His voice was filled with fear.

“Yeah, I saw it too.”

He still looked almost human. With white hair and blue eyes, an androgynous face, just like before. But horns were sprouting from his white hair. The same horns he had given me, and his hands had also grown larger and menacing, with sharp, curved claws.

Beneath his baggy clothes, a tail similar to the one he had when he transformed into a Demon King was also stretched out.

“Yoon Yoon!”

Yoon Yoon didn’t react to my shout and kept his head down. I quickly used Sprout Skill.

[Awakened – Goblin King Yoon Yoon

Current Stat Grade S~SS

Awakening Possible Stat Grade S

Optimized Initial Skills

Acquisition of Goblin Ancestor (L)

Acquisition of Goblin Door (SS)

Guess Who? (S) Acquired

Cloud Steps (B) Acquired]

It’s the same as before. Except for one thing, the stat grade. The current stat grade, which was originally S, had changed to S~SS. Could this be a sign that he’s becoming a Demon King…….

[Whose Owner (SS)]

…For a moment, the skill name Guess Who? changed, then returned to normal. The Goblin Ancestor also repeatedly disappeared and reappeared. It seemed he wasn’t completely a Demon King yet.

“Don’t attack first, let’s try to talk to him. His current skills are mainly those of the original goblin. You already know about his teleportation and stealth skills, right? And he also has a transformation skill.”

They weren’t combat skills, but they were all tricky skills. Moreover, the goblin’s stealth skill was S-grade. Even for an S-grade hunter, it was difficult to quickly chase after someone who suddenly disappeared during battle.

If the Demon King’s combat skills were added to this, he might become a more difficult opponent than any SS-grade monster in my memory.

“Then─”

The moment I was about to say I would try to talk to him, my spine tingled. I felt warning lights flashing red in my head.

The first to move was Song Taewon. He leaped forward with a black shadow cast on his shield, and Yerim, who was in that spot, teleported back. Almost simultaneously, crimson claws suddenly appeared in the air and strongly scratched the shield.

Clang!

Due to the tremendous force, nearly half of the thick shield was dented. Song Taewon’s body fell towards the ground as if he had been struck. He quickly regained his posture even in that short gap, but he was buried deep in the ground up to his calves.

Yoon Yoon, who had attacked Song Taewon, disappeared immediately. It was a teleportation that could never be caught with the eyes. But.

Rumble─!

Before I knew it, Yerim’s hand had reached Sunghyunjae’s shoulder, and a chain wrapped in electricity stretched out. It was exactly where Yoon Yoon had reappeared. Yoon Yoon blocked the chain with his claws, but in that brief pause, a cold mist enveloped him. Some of the mist froze completely, forming a round ring around Yoon Yoon.

Fizz! A powerful current surged again. Sunghyunjae’s magic concentrated along the path created by Yerim’s magic. The ice ring glowed golden.

Crash!

It burst out dazzlingly. If he had taken that head-on, it would have greatly impacted Yoon Yoon, who was still fluctuating between S-grade and SS-grade. But Yoon Yoon teleported again.

At the same time, Yoohyun and Song Taewon kicked off the ground. Thanks to Combat Prediction [a skill that predicts enemy movements], Song Taewon leaped towards the place where Yoon Yoon would appear first. Clatter, claws dug into the shield again, and the hand wearing the handcuffs grabbed the tail that was bending and stabbing in.

Yoohyun, who was closely following Song Taewon, leaped high and spun above Yoon Yoon, wielding the Ruler’s Sword. The jet-black blade barely grazed the Demon King’s horns. Yoon Yoon bared his sharpened teeth and teleported to escape.

Whoosh!

This time, ice spears wrapped in electricity flew in.

‘Combat Prediction is completely broken.’

It’s really broken. Honestly, shouldn’t it be banned in ranking matches? Still, if you use it alone, there’s still room to overwhelm with speed, but sharing it with multiple people is truly broken.

But teleportation was also a broken skill that matched it. At least there was a short delay after teleporting, so attacks could reach, but if even that wasn’t there, Combat Prediction would be useless. Unlike instant movement, there’s no way to obstruct the path or hold him down, so what can you do?

“Yoon Yoon! Can’t you recognize me?!”

Fortunately, he wasn’t using the Demon King’s combat skills well yet, but I had a feeling that if more stimulation was added here, it would become dangerous. I shouted loudly, but Yoon Yoon didn’t answer. Instead, towards me.

Bang!

The tail flew in. An arm covered in golden scales blocked it, but the strength was insufficient. Noah flapped his wings and retreated, and Yoohyun took his place. Before I knew it, he was holding the pendant that Yerim had thrown and stepped on the blue willow leaves [a skill for enhanced mobility], striking Yoon Yoon’s tail.

This time, Yoon Yoon didn’t escape with teleportation and bared his teeth fiercely.

“Yoon Yoon!”

“Get away! Human!”

Yoon Yoon’s crimson claws turned bright red. Yoohyun spun greatly on the willow leaves, fiercely wielding the flexible sword. Clang! A loud noise rang out, and Yoon Yoon, with no place to stand, was pushed back. Yoon Yoon growled and disappeared again, and Yoohyun threw the pendant to Yerim, who was approaching on Peace.

Yerim, who received the pendant, immediately created and threw dozens of ice spears, and Sunghyunjae poured the uncontrollable current onto the ice spears that were approaching him. He had entrusted the concentration of power to Yerim.

It would be impossible with things like fire or wind, but ice made of magic could contain electricity as it was. The golden ice spears were poured towards Yoon Yoon again, and loud explosions burst out in succession.

“It seems like he has no intention of listening. What should we do, hyung [older brother/term of respect].”

Yoohyun, who had landed on the ground after the willow leaves disappeared, said. I frowned worriedly at his gaze waiting for my instructions.

“Um, I can see that he’s gradually getting used to combat, so it seems like we shouldn’t drag this out for too long.”

Should I apply double attack skill before it’s too late? But… I bit my lip. Isn’t there any way?

“Middle, Mr. Kim.”

At that moment, the red orb goblin tapped my shoulder.