The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 533

Whoosh! Song Tae-won was pushed back, kicking up sand like waves. With the restriction of using only Predation and no mana-enhanced body, blocking attacks proved difficult, despite his diligent efforts.

He massaged his forearm, which had taken a direct hit from Little Chaos’s kick due to a mistimed skill application, and straightened his posture.

“I’ll ask again.”

“You’re cracking, you rascal. Pretty, heal him.”

Noah, who was waiting, used a healing skill on Song Tae-won. *Noah is pretty, but still, calling her that so openly is a bit much…* Thinking about it, the Old Man [referring to Chaos] has no tact at all. *If it’s the Old Man and Ha-min, I’m the best of the bunch.*

Song Tae-won lightly bowed his head to Noah in thanks and prepared to receive Chaos’s attack again.

Before leaving for America to attend Chatterbox’s party, I visited Little Chaos en masse for the last time. I had visited from time to time in between, but this was the first time we had all come together. Little Chaos frowned, asking what the crowd was for, but didn’t seem to dislike it that much. Then, he examined Yoo-hyun, Ye-rim, me, and then Song Tae-won.

“Still strange.”

Chaos said, kicking Song Tae-won’s shoulder as he turned and descended.

“No matter how much power exceeds his vessel, how can he be so unskilled with something he was born with?”

“Song, cough, Director Song hated it, you see. Yeah, Yoo-hyun, just a moment. So, wouldn’t it be because he unconsciously rejected it?”

According to the Old Man, Director Song was really, really bad at handling the Predation skill compared to his stats. The skill utilization itself was excellent, but the power of Predation was too weak. Originally, with Director Song’s body, an S-class combat type, he should be able to draw out enough Predation to cover at least one arm.

“He’s definitely suppressing it.”

Under Chaos’s gaze, Song Tae-won lowered his eyes slightly.

“…I don’t know.”

“It must have become such a long-standing habit that he doesn’t even realize it himself. At this point, probably since childhood. Was there anything that could have triggered it when you were young?”

“I don’t remember anything.”

“Director Song is, can’t trust, Ack!”
Yoo-hyun, please be gentle when your brother is talking. The newbie, who was watching Yoo-hyun massage my body from the side, quietly spoke.

[Honey, I can do better. Tentacles are the best. Much softer and less painful. They even have warming, vibration, and moisturizing effects! Low-frequency too!]

“I said no.”

“Hyung, turn to your side.”

[If you just experienced it once, you’d change your mind!]

The newbie had been preaching to me about the usefulness of tentacles every time we met recently. It seemed to be because Myung-woo had rejected the tentacles because I didn’t like them. Why do they keep trying to attach tentacles to perfectly normal people?

“You can’t trust what Director Song says about himself. It’s always ‘I’m fine,’ ‘It’s nothing,’ ‘Don’t worry.'”

“He’s similar to you, the First.”

“What do you mean? Director Song is worse.”

Song Tae-won’s eyes glanced at me. Why? It’s true. Still, I’m better than Director Song.

“Or are you afraid of yourself?”

The slender wooden stick in Chaos’s hand was swung with terrifying power. Bang—the sound of air exploding hit the ears. If it were a bare body without skill or mana protection, even an S-class would have their skin torn and flesh dug up. A black shadow wrapped around Song Tae-won’s forearm, blocking the wooden stick. The stick seemed to bounce off, but instantly changed direction and stabbed Song Tae-won’s waist.

“Divide the power!”

The Old Man shouted, mercilessly piercing Song Tae-won’s side. It made me want to groan, but Director Song didn’t even twitch an eyebrow and pulled out the stick stuck in his body as he stepped back.

“If you can’t keep up with the speed, split it! Why can’t a guy who skillfully handles his own body and mana even divide the shadows properly? That’s your power too.”

The Old Man clicked his tongue and looked back at me.

“When the First used his skill, he said the range also widened. That must have been a kind of placebo effect.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s strange that your skill works on a power that swallows everything, skills and all.”

Huh, it sounded plausible. Does that mean support skills don’t work on Predation targets?

[It’s possible, Honey. Giving double the effect of attack skills isn’t just increasing the skill’s power. It also helps you adapt to the doubled skill immediately. If your power suddenly doubles, it becomes difficult to control your own body, right? It also supports that, so maybe just with that support effect, Shadow was able to use the shadows better.]

It was an effect that was basically in other support skills as well. Director Song was silently listening to us.

“Still, usually, if you’re suppressing your own power, it bursts out when your body is in danger… Well, since even that doesn’t work, that’s probably why you’ve been safe until now.”

…Even if it meant losing his own life. Just like he didn’t swallow Sung Hyun-jae in the end. Song Tae-won looked down at Chaos, who was much smaller than him, with calmly lowered eyes.

“Then is it safer to leave it as it is now?”

“If you can remain an ordinary S-class Hunter, that is.”

The problem is, even if Director Song wanted to, those around him wouldn’t let him. Just like he became an Awakened [a person with supernatural abilities]. From the start, he wasn’t the type to step back and close his eyes.

“Whether it’s a mental issue or some other intervention, first, try to think broadly about the limits of your power and use it. Whether you like it or not, the shadows are yours.”

That’s right. But accepting yourself… was sometimes not as easy as you might think. If it were Sung Mo, who was kneeling down today, maybe. Sung Hyun-jae was on the floor again this time, probably because he was so disliked by the Old Man. But even in that state, he was elegantly drinking tea.

“I still don’t know if he resembles the Young Master.”

Moon Hyun-ah whispered to Ye-rim, who was sitting at the same table.

“The atmosphere is completely different.”

“The appearance itself is a bit similar, though.”

“That’s true, but the eye color is completely different. Anyway, just looking at how he handles Sung Hyun-jae, it’s clear he’s a good person.”

Hyun-ah even applauded when she saw Sung Hyun-jae kneeling obediently. And when she joked that she would become a fan of the Old Man, Little Chaos seemed to like her quite a bit.

Thud, Song Tae-won’s body was thrown onto the sand. Director Song’s martial arts are no joke, but he still can’t beat the Old Man. Moon Hyun-ah exclaimed softly, and Ye-rim let out a sound of envy.

“I still can’t keep up with Grandpa’s movements.”

Everyone was diligently observing the two. Except for Myung-woo and the newbie. The newbie was still hanging around me, and Myung-woo was finishing up the translation item. With a little help from the newbie, he succeeded in creating the translation item, but there were still some errors.

The translation item was welcome, but another item Myung-woo lent me also seemed very useful.

“Then shall we start the lottery?”

At my words, the newbie created a round container.

“Choose a color. Yoo-hyun, if you get picked, you’re going without saying a word.”

“…I think we should hear Peace’s opinion too.”

“You think Peace will want to go with you?”

“If Hyung goes alone, he’ll definitely want to go together.”

Hmm, that seemed likely.

“Anyway, let’s decide by lottery first. I’ll put Peace’s ball in too. Evelyn said she’s fine with anyone who’s left over. Liete decided to go with So-young. And Sung Hyun-jae…”

“Has a prior engagement.”

…Is Gyeol really okay? I was worried, but for now, I had the remaining people choose their colors.

“I’ll draw the lottery for you.”

S-classes are so sensitive. The newbie said the balls were perfectly identical, but you never know. He put his hand into the container and drew a ball. Yellow, it was Ye-rim.

“If Yoo-hyun comes out, we’ll redraw because of the attribute issue.”

We decided to decide by lottery, but we still had to match the basic compatibility. The second ball was black.

“It’s the civil servant ahjussi [a respectful Korean term for ‘mister’]! Please take care of me.”

“I look forward to working with you as well.”

It was a good combination. Director Song is reliable, so I can worry less about Ye-rim. The third ball was blue, Moon Hyun-ah. And the fourth ball was red, Noah.

“I’m on a team with our Pretty.”

“I look forward to working with you, Breaker Guild Leader.”

“Call me Noona [Korean term used by males to address older females] comfortably. Or Hyun-ah-ssi, like Hyung does.”

Moon Hyun-ah said with a pleasant smile. Now all that’s left is Yoo-hyun, Evelyn, and Peace.

“Yoo-hyun, why don’t you just go with Evelyn? It seems like it would be okay.”

“Peace is better.”

My brother said stubbornly.

“I’ve worked with him the most. Even if the other person is excellent at long-range and support abilities, it’s uncomfortable to be with someone I’ve never fought with properly.”

“Ahjussi, that’s just a bluff. Han Yoo-hyun always runs off on his own anyway, so he won’t care about that. He’s just saying that so he can move quickly with Peace. He wants to join Ahjussi quickly.”

Yoo-hyun’s words were right, but Ye-rim’s words also sounded plausible. Besides, Evelyn also needs a teammate. As if sensing my inner thoughts, Sung Hyun-jae opened his mouth.

“If you have an invitation, you can choose a Miller Hunter as you please, so don’t worry.”

“I guess that’s true. Does Evelyn have any close Hunters overseas?”

“If there are, there are.”

With that, Sung Hyun-jae turned his gaze to Moon Hyun-ah. Moon Hyun-ah, who was resting her chin on her hand, pouted her lips, asking why.

“If it really doesn’t work out, Sung Hyun-jae can go with you. If I can appease Gyeol, that is.”

“One of the conditions of Miller Hunter’s contract with Sesung is the refusal to accompany the Guild Leader on dungeon raids, except in absolutely necessary, truly unavoidable situations.”

‘Anyone left over’ probably meant anyone except Sung Hyun-jae, who already had a teammate.

“Or should I go too?”

Myung-woo, who had been watching us, said.

“It’s dangerous!”

[That’s right! Hoobae-nim [Korean term for a junior or underclassman] must take care of his body!]

The newbie and I screamed and stopped Myung-woo. Myung-woo smiled and twirled the metal rod he was holding between his fingers.

“You said safety is guaranteed. Besides, if they’re S-class Hunters, they won’t be able to touch me easily.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Moreover, the fact that Myung-woo upgraded his SS-class weapon was known to the S-classes attending the gathering. They seem to be keeping it quiet to reduce competitors, but by now, the rumors have probably spread among the S-classes. So, rather than antagonizing Myung-woo for the SS-class weapon they might be able to obtain, it would be more profitable to be kind and aim for a long-term deal.

[The filial piety addicts might target you! Blacksmith-ssi is a very advantageous key to protecting the world!]

A volleyball bounced and spun in front of Myung-woo. Even the colors changed, red, blue, and yellow. He said he would get Myung-woo out even if this world were to perish.

[Let’s have a fun and beneficial crafting session together! Shall I show you one of my workshops? It’s usually not allowed, but just a peek. There are many rare materials too. You can’t take them out, but you can handle them.]

The newbie is desperate. He’s eagerly coaxing Myung-woo, offering this and that. He says it’s because he’s needed to protect the world, but it’s obvious that he’s doing it out of purely personal feelings. It’s like a dog desperately trying to stop its owner from going out.

Anyway, for now, I decided to ask Evelyn her opinion. Evelyn might want to accompany another Hunter she knows besides Yoo-hyun.

[I’ll make it so you can visit Honey Dungeons in America too!]

“Yeah, thanks.”

“First.”

Little Chaos came to me and said.

“Don’t get hurt too much by people.”

“Well… there’s nothing more to receive.”

It’s not new now. At my words, the Old Man made a very displeased expression.

“Even if he’s a hero who has saved the world several times, there will inevitably be people who hate him. There are even people who treat him like an enemy for no reason, simply because he passed by them.”

“Well… is that perhaps a personal experience?”

“Not me. I heard a story about someone who was resented for deliberately showing off his good looks.”

That would be really unfair.

“No matter what anyone says, it’s not your fault. Even if you choose the people around you instead of the world.”

“…I think I’d get a lot of hate if I did that.”

“Then tell the guys who are hating to save the world! You get hate even if you save them. Just less of it.”

Well, there were people who hated Yoo-hyun, who cleared dungeons to protect the world, or rather, me.

“Old Man, weren’t you on the side of saving the world in your own way?”

“I’m doing it because I want to. That doesn’t mean you should live however you want. You have to live like a human being. But you don’t have to sacrifice yourself.”

Chaos patted my arm lightly and turned to Sung Hyun-jae.

“Conversely, you should live however you want.”

It seems like he’s already doing that. The Old Man approached Sung Hyun-jae.

“Always put yourself first. Just as you are now. Sacrifice is a luxury for you.”

Sung Hyun-jae tilted his head slightly and wore a faint smile.

“That’s a somewhat lonely story.”

“Stop exaggerating.”

The Old Man made a very faint, almost invisible, compassionate expression. He greeted Little Chaos and the newbie and went outside.