The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 50

50. A Date, For Starters (1)

“Uh… um.”

His eyes were red, as if he’d been crying the whole time. His complexion was pale, and he looked so weak, like a paper doll that had been fished out of the water and haphazardly dried.

He looks more serious than I do, and I was the one who got kidnapped.

“…Are you okay?”

I should be the one hearing that question, but oh well.

No sooner had the words left my mouth than Myungwoo started shedding tears like a leaky faucet. Is it time for a hug? Well, he must have been worried, so I should accept it calmly. I owe him a lot, after all.

But Yooh Myungwoo just wept silently and didn’t approach me. What’s wrong with him? Was the shock too much? Should I send him to the hospital instead of myself?

“…I’m fine. I’m perfectly fine. I’m not hurt anywhere.”

I don’t know what to do, so I just say something. Should I just drop the pretense and hug him first to comfort him? I’m the victim here.

“…There was nothing I could do.”

Myungwoo finally spoke.

“I, really… nothing…”

His voice was strained, tinged with guilt.

It wasn’t hard to understand. The person he’d helped so many times was in danger, but he had to stay cooped up in his room.

But.

“It’s not your fault. You would have been stuck, unable to do anything.”

Yooh Myungwoo wasn’t a guild member, not even a regular employee. He was just staying with me in a hired capacity. So, when sensitive issues arose within the guild, like this one, his actions were naturally restricted.

No, it would have been a relief if it had just ended with house arrest. There was every possibility he could have been suspected and investigated.

“You’re just an outsider, so if you had interfered, it might have made the problem worse. So don’t worry about it.”

“But I…”

Myungwoo swallowed his words, bit his lip, and wiped away his tears. He raised his head, and a smile, of all things, was on his tear-stained face.

Uh, well, that’s even more worrying.

“Sorry. You must be tired, and I’m bothering you. Come on in.”

“No, I’m fine…”

That kind of reaction is what bothers me. What is it? If he had clung to me and burst into tears, I would have thought he was back to normal, but this atmosphere, like he’s sorted things out on his own, reached a conclusion, and steeled his heart, feels unsettling.

“I’m really okay. In the first place, it’s a problem that the guilds who contracted to protect me should be solving.”

I took off my shoes and stepped inside, saying it again. Myungwoo nodded vaguely and asked if I wanted something to eat.

I was planning to go to bed early, but I hadn’t had lunch or dinner, so it would be good to fill my stomach a little. Besides, with Myungwoo in that state, it was hard to refuse.

I hope he’s really okay. I hope he doesn’t suddenly leave, feeling sorry for not being able to help. I’ll have to keep an eye on him for a while.

* * *

– Grrr.

Peace jumped onto the bed and spun around. He seemed to be in a better mood after eating.

“You can’t get on without washing your paws. Come here.”

I picked up Peace and headed to the bathroom attached to the bedroom. He whined and acted pitiful.

“You have to wash since you went outside. Our insides weren’t clean either.”

– Kkuung.

“Yes, yes. Let’s just take a quick shower.”

Is it because he’s a feline with fire attributes? He hates washing so much. After coaxing him, showering together, wiping him down, and drying his fur, I felt tired even though my stats had increased. It’s probably more mental than physical, but if I went back to my original stats and had to take care of five of them, I might die from overwork.

“Let’s go to sleep now.”

I turned off the lights, lay down on the bed, closed my eyes, and then opened them again after a short while. In the dim light, I could see Peace curled up close to me. His red fur and the golden hairs mixed in with it were clearer than usual. His night vision must have improved too.

I watched Peace, who was breathing evenly in his sleep, and took out a glass bottle from my inventory. The red stone inside the bottle emitted a faint light.

‘Still, they’re all S-class or expected to be S-class.’

Yooh Myungwoo is F-class in stats, but he won’t be raiding dungeons, so he’ll be safe. Once he gets a skill, he’ll be almost as protected as I am.

I didn’t need to worry much about the other four. Even five years later, when the dungeon difficulty increased, only one S-class hunter in the world had died during a raid. …Two if you include Yoohyun. Anyway, it meant that unless they did something really stupid, they wouldn’t die.

There were quite a few cases of hunters getting into trouble while fighting each other outside of dungeons. But Korea was relatively peaceful.

The mortality rate for A-class hunters during raids was also very low. As for lower-level hunters, well, many died because there were so many of them, and surprisingly, the mortality rate for B-class hunters was higher than for C-class hunters. This was because, unlike C-class hunters, B-class hunters also participated in high-level dungeon raids.

‘For my mental health, it’s better to apply keywords only to S-class or at least A-class hunters.’

High-level ride-type skills are precious, so they’ll take good care of them.

If worst comes to worst, I’ll turn off poison resistance and borrow the power of modern medicine. When I was just drinking myself into a stupor before the regression, people suddenly appeared, dragged me to the hospital, and got me treated for alcohol addiction. They took good care of me.

‘…Was that Yoohyun’s doing, by any chance?’

I wasn’t in my right mind back then, so I didn’t think much of it, but it was strange that they broke into my house after I’d only been drunk for about a week. The facilities and counseling were too good, too. The counselor even gave me her business card and told me to contact her anytime if I was having a hard time. I wonder if she’s still working there.

Anyway, I hope the Last Favor skill won’t be activated again. It’s too precious to end in just seven days.

I put the glass bottle back into my inventory and closed my eyes again.

* * *

The next day, I stayed home all day. Peace didn’t seem to want to go out either, and Myungwoo didn’t go to sharpen his knives but made snacks for me instead. I didn’t know he had a talent for baking. I had to work hard to stop myself from blurting out that I wanted to live with him forever.

In the afternoon, Yoohyun visited with a locksmith. He said they had searched the entire building but couldn’t find the key to the inventory seal bracelet.

Of course, because I have it. I should have left it somewhere, but I forgot and brought it with me.

“And Hunter Park Yerim has been cursed with a stat-decreasing curse for violating her contract.”

Yoohyun said something startling as he fiddled with the wrist where the bracelet had been.

“What? Contract violation?”

Well… since it was a contract to protect me, it could be considered a violation.

From what I heard, the curse was cast not immediately after the kidnapping but some time later. Probably when I was getting beaten up. Since I had set a vague condition of protection, it seemed that the standard was whether the protected person was subjected to a certain level of violence. When I was kidnapped, I was just grabbed, and the fainting was due to mana exhaustion.

“You just need to contact the association and tell them that Hyung [older brother/male friend] didn’t violate the contract, and the curse can be lifted by the owner of the curse skill. The problem is that Hunter Park Yerim is refusing to do so.”

“No, why?”

“She says she’s paying the price because she didn’t keep the contract.”

That Yerim, she’s so stubborn.

“I’ll talk to her about it.”

“Please do. She listens to you.”

She doesn’t listen that well.

“Ah, wait a minute.”

I stopped Yoohyun as he was about to leave after finishing his business. He turned to me.

“So, about the gate stone. Do you have any to spare?”

My face felt hot asking for something so precious, which was rare even five years later and even rarer now. But I really needed one.

Right now, I was a combat hunter close to A-class. That meant I could raid a low-level dungeon alone.

Of course, the real purpose wasn’t to raid the dungeon but to contact the person who created the system.

If I used the Wall Lizard to its maximum potential, it wouldn’t be difficult to sneak out. If I bought an exclusive pass to an F-class dungeon, my secrecy would be guaranteed.

However, the problem was that another system error could occur, and a monster outside the grade might appear.

‘I could contact the person who created the system in front of the dungeon entrance, and if something happens, I can use the Wall Lizard and get out right away, but I don’t know if they’ll contact me before the entrance closes.’

I wanted to have a gate stone on hand in case of any unforeseen danger. If worst comes to worst, I could just wait until the entrance closes and come out if there’s no contact, but it would be a waste of money and opportunity. The Last Favor application time is only six days left.

“Why? Are you going into a dungeon?”

My brother frowned immediately.

“No, I can’t avoid going in altogether. I want to go in from time to time and raise my level to about 30. Who knows, I might get a defense skill or something.”

Of course, I don’t have anything like that. What is my aptitude anyway? Am I just an ordinary, unremarkable person A with no aptitude?

“But after this incident, and the monster that appeared last time, I’m getting anxious. Of course, I know it’s precious, but…”

Ah, damn it, it’s getting more pathetic the more I talk. Should I just do a few exclusive bids and go in and out? Is there a penalty for not raiding after an exclusive bid? I’ve never wasted money like that, nor have I ever thought of doing so, so I don’t remember.

“…It’s definitely not bad to raise it to level 30. The level 10 skill is S-class, and one of the initial skills is A-class, so there’s a high probability of getting a high-grade skill.”

Yoohyun nodded reluctantly.

“Instead, I’ll decide which dungeon to raid and which team to go with. Is that okay?”

“I’ll need your help anyway; I can’t raid even an F-class dungeon alone.”

As I joked, Yoohyun took out a gate stone. My conscience pricked. Still, I won’t do anything reckless when my stats are F-class.

“You have a spare, right?”

It would be better not to receive it if this is the only one.

“I do. It’s something that shouldn’t be used in the first place. Me using a gate stone is the same as losing most of the main raid team. It’s better than me dying too, but the guild will be in a terrible state.”

He’s smiling as he says something so chilling. As he said, it was something that was a hundred times better not to use. I nodded in agreement and put the gate stone into my inventory.

I need to find an F-class dungeon that I can bid on exclusively and that’s located as close as possible.

* * *

“Peace, we have to go out today. Huh?”

Normally, he would have been fussing to go out first, but Peace seemed reluctant to go out today as well. He didn’t even know the situation when he was asleep, but the aftereffects were too much.

I couldn’t leave him like this, so I forcibly picked him up and went outside. It would be nice if we could go outside instead of the underground training room.

I coaxed Peace, who was flapping his tail unhappily in my arms, and headed towards the elevator. The person who would be my escort today.

‘Huh? That face is…’

It’s a face I remember. A beautiful woman with bright blonde hair and deep blue eyes that were almost navy, like an elf. She smiled brightly at me.

“Hello! I’m Kang Soyoung from Sesung [one of the major guilds]!”

Kang Soyoung, an A-class hunter from Sesung. She wasn’t born in Korea, but the Sesung Guild Leader recruited her, and she also had Korean citizenship. Dual citizenship was unconditionally allowed for hunters B-class and above.

She was a hunter of outstanding talent, whom Sung Hyunjae had brought in himself, and later she even took on the role of deputy to the Sesung Guild Leader.

She’s 19 years old now…

‘She had a scandal with Yoohyun.’

It wasn’t confirmed that they were dating, but the rumors were quite widespread. Maybe that young lady could become my sister-in-law.

She’s even prettier in person. She still has a youthful air about her, so she’s also cute. Her expression is bright and lovely.

“Hello, I’m Han Yoojin. Please take good care of me today.”

“I’m the one who should be saying that!”

Yes, she’s cute. She seems to have a good personality too. Hearing her cheerful voice made me smile.

“This child is Peace, right? He’s much cuter than he looks on TV!”

Kang Soyoung said in a lively tone. Our Peace is cute, isn’t he? She’s a good young lady after all.

“You’re going to the training room, right?”

“Yes.”

She pressed the elevator button and gave me a sparkling look. It was like a fan looking at a celebrity, which made me a little embarrassed.

“I was so surprised when I heard the news. I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“I mean it. Really. Han Yoojin-nim [honorific title] is my only hope.”

“Hope?”

What hope? Kang Soyoung nodded eagerly as she got into the elevator.

“Actually, I have an SS-class skill.”

She said quietly, lowering her voice. An SS-class skill? I haven’t heard that Kang Soyoung has something like that. I want to use the Sprout skill, but she’s staring at me so intently right now, so I can’t. I’ll use it secretly later.

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me what kind of skill it is?”

“Well… you’ll find out anyway, Han Yoojin-nim.”

Kang Soyoung’s voice became even quieter. Then I heard a whisper.

“It’s Dragon Rider.”

Ah… I have reason to be her hope. Really.

The most difficult monster to tame was the dragon species. Moreover, Kang Soyoung is an A-class hunter, so finding a ride-type skill that matches her grade would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Since it’s hard to find a dragon-type ride in the first place, she can’t use it as a consumable, so she would have had to consider an SS-class skill as non-existent.

“You must have had a lot of worries.”

Kang Soyoung nodded with a desperate expression.

“Yes. I can’t explain it in detail, but this is a really, really good skill. If only I had a dragon-type ride that matches my grade. But how do I get a dragon-type ride, especially one that’s at least high-grade….”

Before she could finish speaking, she even teared up. An attack-type hunter couldn’t use an SS-class skill, so how frustrated must she have been all this time?

“Still, if it’s a dragon species, even the baby monsters would be hard to find.”

Even if I can raise a ride-type skill, I can’t create something from nothing. There has to be a high-grade dragon hatchling to raise.

“Don’t worry! There’s a place among the S-class dungeons under Sesung’s jurisdiction where dragon nests sometimes appear. However, the problem is that they only come out in the egg state, and it’s impossible to hatch them, but this time, we’re preparing thoroughly to wait until they hatch naturally.”

“…You must be going through a lot.”

“Still, if we do well, we can get a top-grade monster hatchling. It’s worth the trouble.”

Well, it was a dragon species. If they can get it, it will be the best ride-type skill. Even more so when combined with Kang Soyoung’s amazing SS-class skill… She’s only A-class in name; she’s as good as S-class.

Ah, I want to introduce her to my brother. He probably already knows her face. I wonder if they can meet a little earlier than in the regression. Even if they weren’t officially dating, they had some mutual interest, so there must have been rumors.

We arrived at the training room in a friendly atmosphere. But Peace had no intention of getting out of my arms. When I let go of my arms, he climbed onto my shoulder and clung to me.

– Kkiung.

“Oh dear……”

“Peace must have been very shocked by the kidnapping……”

Kang Soyoung said with a worried expression.

“He was asleep the whole time, but he must have felt something. I wish I could cheer him up, but we can’t go outside.”

“Ah, then how about going to our guild building? There’s a rooftop garden. It’s spacious and well-decorated!”

“A rooftop garden?”

I was drawn to it, but the problem was that my brother didn’t seem like he would let me out.

“Unfortunately, it’s a bit difficult to go out right now because of the kidnapping.”

At my words, Kang Soyoung confidently puffed out her chest.

“Don’t worry. We’ll add more people and protect you perfectly. Besides, the Guild Leader is at the guild right now. It’s safer than anywhere else!”

Hmm, I suddenly don’t want to go.