The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 56

56. Midnight Curse Poison Dragon (1)

Before entering the dungeon, I had already removed my earrings, so my only equipment was a sword. It was similar to the thin jungle knife I used to extract magic stones in the previous F-grade dungeon—more of an auxiliary tool than a weapon.

I wasn’t sure if there would be a limit of three this time, but I decided to save one spare. Since the equipment only increases stats anyway, potions would be better if I needed to use items. Yoo-hyun even gave me a high-grade life potion to use in case of an emergency, so I packed it carefully.

– Giggigik.

After walking into the dim cave for a while, I felt something slowly moving. Long antennae twitched under the light of the glowworms, and then they appeared.

“…Ugh.”

It was a huge, flat bug. A glossy, rounded shell—you know, that bug. A cockroach.

There was a reason why this dungeon, despite its good location and decent rewards for its difficulty, was avoided. The monsters that appeared in the so-called ‘Cockroach Nest’ weren’t actual cockroaches, but they looked very similar.

I’ve never been to this dungeon before the regression, but I really hate it. This time, I’m just going to clear it quickly and run away, magic stones or not.

– Giririk.

“Shit, don’t come near me. Get lost.”

I was horrified by the sight of the giant bug crawling up the wall and used a thorn trap. The sight of it flipping over and collapsing on the floor was so familiar, ugh.

[°⌓° ┒┷○┰┖馬 ○=∥￦━┖馬 ˆ‿ˆ]

…You get lost too. Don’t you have anything better to do? Why are you talking about fine horses? I was just glad I didn’t have to catch the cockroaches myself. Otherwise, I would never have come here, no matter what.

The black flat-backed beetles, the common monsters in this dungeon, were unintelligent and had a strong appetite. They were even dumber than cockroaches, readily eating poisoned bait. At the same time, their strong poison resistance was annoying.

But they’re just E-grade common monsters. They wouldn’t be able to withstand even Blackie’s regular poison, so if I give them four times that amount, they’ll melt away.

I took out a piece of monster meat from my inventory that I had prepared for bait. I wasn’t sure if this would count as an item, but even if it did, it would be the second one. I had deliberately prepared the largest piece. It was fresh meat, still dripping with blood.

“Cockroaches love poisoned bait.”

I cut off about a third of the meat and placed it in the middle of the path, then smeared the surrounding area with sticky poison. I covered the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling using my tentacles, leaving no gaps.

– Giggigi.

Squeak, squeak, squeak.

With a sound that instinctively sent shivers down my spine, a swarm of black beetles began to gather. Long antennae moving from side to side could be seen beyond the dim cave.

Ugh, I want to get out of here! I quickly retreated as the swarm of bugs charged towards the meat without hesitation.

– Giek!

– Kkiek!

The bugs that rushed in, focused only on the bait, stepped on the poison and flipped over. Whether their comrades died and fell over or not, the bugs stepped on the corpses and continued to advance.

Thump!

The giant cockroach bit into the meat without hesitation. Since the meat was also poisoned, it flipped over as soon as it took a bite. Six legs trembled in the air, ugh.

– Giggigik.

Crunch, crack, crunch.

The swarm of cockroaches devoured the meat in an instant. But the bugs’ meal didn’t stop there. Now that the meat was gone, they began to eat the corpses of their dead comrades.

The poisoned corpses created more corpses, piling up in layers. It was a sight that made me lose my appetite for at least three days.

‘If I make two or three more traps, they’ll all be wiped out quickly.’

I need to finish this quickly and go home to take a shower…….

* * *

“Ugh, I really hate it! I’m never going to look at a bug nest again!”

What glory am I going to see, coming to a place like this, of my own free will! What’s so great about that title!

And why do they lay eggs as they die? And why do the babies hatch right away! And they were eating each other. Ugh. The babies were just cockroach-sized, but there were so many of them… Let’s not think about it, let’s not think about it.

‘I can see why people avoid this place.’

To have to look for magic stones in that mess, shit. I really hate bugs the most among monsters. They’re disgusting, their fluids are dirty, they often have poison, parasites come out, and they reproduce quickly.

Ugh, I feel nauseous.

‘The boss was a spider.’

It had poison, but it was weak since it was E-grade, and it said to be careful of the spiderwebs. The number of appearances was three to four, and sometimes babies appeared.

I hope there are no babies, I hope there are no babies.

I prayed inwardly and entered the innermost part of the cave.

Moss spread bluishly on the damp walls. The ground was also slippery. Dim light and water droplets dripped down through the cracks in the high ceiling.

Below, there were giant spiderwebs, three giant spiders, and swarms of baby spiders.

‘Ah, damn it.’

There are so many. So many. Red and black stripes wriggling everywhere. I should have brought a lighter. I’d set it on fire. Normal fire wouldn’t work, though…….

I suddenly missed my brother. Yoo-hyun, are you doing well? Of course, you are. We were supposed to have dinner together tonight. Or if Yerim was here. She’d freeze them all. It would be nice to have someone with wide-area attack skills.

Grumbling, I smeared poison around the entrance. I blocked the escape route, but spiders rarely came out of their webs.

“If you’re stupid, your body suffers, but if your body is weak, both your body and your mind suffer.”

To be exact, if you don’t have skills. Since I don’t have any decent attack skills, I have no choice but to run around myself.

I picked up a stone from the ground, smeared it with poison, and threw it at the spiderweb with all my might.

Thud, thud.

The thrown stone emitted poison and cut down the spiderweb. But it didn’t last long and ended up dangling. A large part of the spiderweb was destroyed, but the spiders quickly spun new white threads and repaired it. They’re fast.

Damn it, I guess I have to go inside to some extent.

‘I don’t have enough mana to use thorn traps on the baby spiders.’

Do I have to kill all the baby spiders to clear it? I’ll use the Wall Lizard [skill that allows climbing walls] and approach… approach… and spray poison or step on them… I guess I have to.

I sighed and used the Wall Lizard skill. The king spider, which had been lurking in the middle of the spiderweb and watching me, was startled by the sudden disappearance of the intruder and rolled its eight eyes.

– Shiiii.

The other two large spiders also looked around. As I walked towards the giant spiderweb, I used thorn traps on the three of them in turn.

– Shick!

– Shiek!

The cursed spiders struggled and became entangled in their own webs. The surprised baby spiders scattered like a spray. Some of them were stepped on.

Pop, crackle.

Something large burst under the sole of my shoe. Ugh, disgusting. I shuddered and extended my tentacles towards the big spiders. Crunch, the tentacles pierced the spider’s shell and injected poison.

Since they were monsters with poison, they had poison resistance, but they didn’t last long and soon became quiet. I dealt with the other two in turn.

A magic stone fell from the melted belly of one of them. Thanks to the Miracle title, there were two. I picked up the magic stones with my tentacles and put them in my inventory. Tentacles are convenient.

Now, come on. Please let the achievement window pop up, let the escape gate appear, please…….

“…It’s not popping up. Do I have to kill all the baby spiders…….”

[٦·▾·┘☆π∈┃○★]

I thought it was quiet, but another system message popped up. I really can’t say anything out loud.

“If you have nothing to do, why don’t you supplement the contents of the crappy skill description window? Don’t stalk me.”

[Romgok…….]

…What are you saying?

I swallowed my curses and killed the baby spiders that were running around. Yoo-hyun, Yerim, I miss you. They could finish it in one shot.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to kill them all, and the escape gate appeared as the baby spiders became sparse. Following that.

[Amazing achievement! Successfully cleared an E-grade dungeon solo with F stats, F or lower attack skills, and using five or fewer items!]

The system message window appeared in front of me. This time, there was a limit of five items.

[S-grade title, ‘Veteran F-grade’ granted!]

Veteran F-grade, I don’t like that title. In the first place, no matter how experienced an F-grade is, they can’t clear an E-grade dungeon solo without much equipment…….

Even I, before the regression, was a pretty worn-out F-grade… No, never mind. What’s the point of complaining about something that’s gone? I opened the status window and checked the title.

[Veteran F-grade (S)

A superhuman with extreme skill as an F-grade hunter.

Doubles the effect of possessed attack skills]

…Wow, really, really, really, really.

I looked up at the sky—no, the cave ceiling—for a moment.

Damn it, I! Have no! Attack skills! At all!

I had two burdens.

‘No, really, it’s good, but… Miracle and Veteran both have effects comparable to S-grade…….’

What’s wrong with this?

The effect of attack skills is doubled. Dungeon rewards doubled are good, but this is really… even just B-grade would be OP [overpowered]. If it were S-grade, people would say the balance is broken.

The nemesis of the SS-grade skill, Rauchitas, doubles the skill effect limited to Curse Poison Dragon species, but this has no target restriction. It’s an S-grade title because only F-grades can get it, but if there were no such acquisition restrictions, it would be around L-grade.

But it’s useless to me.

I have ten skills, but only support and resistance! Yay! If Veteran and Miracle are counted as one skill each, that’s twelve, hahaha.

‘Since it has the condition ‘possessed,’ equipment skills won’t be included. It’ll only be useful when the Last Favor is applied.’

To check, I took out my tentacles. The length, um… It’s definitely over 4 meters. So, I’m at least A-grade in terms of skills right now.

‘The C-grade Sticky Poison won’t be able to withstand even S-grades unless they have S-grade poison resistance skills or items. The Thorn Trap is D-grade, so it might not work well.’

Up to A-grade, unless they have high curse resistance, I can immediately neutralize them. Even though my stats are a bit lacking, with this, I can easily win against an A-grade combat hunter in a head-on fight.

But that’s only for about two days.

Keyword application will only be possible for A-grade or higher hunters and monsters, so if an accident happens, you can be invincible for 7 days~ or something like that.

‘…Of course, it’s not like there’s no way…….’

It was a title that could be used very usefully if I made up my mind.

If I tamed a monster of a suitable grade, applied the keyword, and killed it every 7 days. Especially against Curse Poison Dragon species monsters like Blackie, C-grade could become A-grade or higher like now.

But still.

‘If I could do that, I wouldn’t have regressed.’

Curse Poison Dragon species aren’t common, and if it’s a normal monster, I’d have to coax it, appease it, feed it, and talk about love for days and days, then stab it and have to watch a flashback of how grateful I was for the magic stones it fed me every time—is that something a person should do?

If I could have done that without caring, even before the memory, I would have just wished for my brother’s soul to rest in peace, become the strongest with the wish stone, and lived happily ever after.

It’s something that would end in a mental hospital, so let’s give up cleanly.

I sighed and checked the dungeon reward items.

‘Oh, a high-grade life potion.’

And it was doubled, so there were two. Usually, you can only see them in A-grade dungeons or higher, and they sometimes come out as first-time clear rewards in B-grade dungeons. Surely an elixir won’t pop out as a D-grade solo clear reward.

‘If anyone other than an F-grade hunter came in and got this much reward, it would be worth clearing solo.’

If it’s just this dungeon, even a C-grade with decent attack skills could clear it alone. But I feel like there’s an F-grade hunter reward bonus. It’s too good to be a simple solo clear reward.

The other items were also at the C~B grade dungeon level. Of course, doubled. I didn’t pick up a single magic stone, but it’s not bad. Two C-grade equipment, or four with the bonus, came out. The Miracle title is really good. It would be amazing if I could only run high-grade dungeons. I felt regret again.

‘But this title, is it perhaps a double series?’

F-grade is double the reward, and E-grade is double the attack skill effect. Is D-grade perhaps double the stats? Even if it’s doubled, it won’t make much difference to me as usual. I wish it was double the support skill effect instead of stats. Then raising monsters would be twice as fast, and I could optimize awakening twice a month. Keyword application would also be twice as easy.

I hope the D-grade achievement title is double the support skills, please. Let’s get at least one good thing.

* * *

“When did you go out?”

Myung-woo asked in surprise when I returned home. I held up the bag I was carrying.

“I went to the convenience store for a bit. Didn’t you hear me go out?”

To have a solid alibi, I released the Wall Lizard in front of the door, went out again, and went to the convenience store on the first floor with the hunter guarding the entrance.

“I didn’t know at all. What did you buy?”

“…Cockroach repellent.”

“What? Are there cockroaches in the house?!”

“No, not really. It’s for my peace of mind.”

As soon as I saw the cockroach repellent on the shelf, I picked it up as if possessed. It even said it was effective against spiders. Insecticide is the best.

I went straight to the bathroom and took a shower. I’ve never heard of anyone getting germs from E-grade dungeon monsters, but I still used a ton of body wash. I wanted to pour disinfectant on myself.

After washing up, I took Peace and Ppiyak and prepared dinner for them.

“Ppiyak, I told you this isn’t for you.”

– Ppiyak!

I forcibly pulled Ppiyak away from the bottle containing C-grade magic stone powder. It’s so small, why is it so greedy for magic stones? When I gave it an F-grade magic stone, it chirped unhappily but still ate it well. I happened to pick up an E-grade magic stone, should I give it a try?

“Here, Ppiyak.”

– Ppiyakppiyakppiyak!!

It really likes it. It was about to dance when I gave it a finely chopped E-grade boss monster magic stone. Peace didn’t care after eating just the right amount, but this one is a bit unique. But I can’t let it overeat, so when I gave it one E-grade magic stone, it ate it in the blink of an eye and hugged the C-grade magic stone powder bottle with its wings again.

– Ppippippippi.

“It’s not yours.”

I forcibly pulled away the crying Ppiyak and gave Peace food. Ppiyak tried to steal Peace’s food without fear, but was hit by Peace’s paw and rolled away.

In the meantime, I got a call from Yoo-hyun to have dinner, and Yerim, who had already come over to this house, chimed in, me too. Myung-woo was reluctant to be among the S-grades, but you have to see them often to get close.

Ah, I really want to stay at home, take care of the kids, and laze around peacefully like this.

* * *

‘…What is it?’

Suddenly, my spine tingled.

I had to go into the dungeon again tomorrow, so I went to bed early, but in my sleep, I felt the Premonition of the Weak suddenly activate. Did Yerim come to raid the kitchen again… S-grade stats, poison skill… Huh? Curse skill? What?

My eyes snapped open. At the same time, I saw a message window pop up.

[All skill effects are doubled when facing Dio Valshesis!]

What?! Doubled? Curse Poison Dragon?! S-grade? Did an S-grade dungeon explode in my bedroom? It’s too quiet for that? My mind was terrified, but thanks to my fear resistance, my body didn’t freeze.

As soon as my mind cleared, the Premonition of the Weak began to pour out information. The premonition skill, with its effect doubled, identified the opponent’s location before my eyes could.

I jumped out of bed and immediately used a thorn trap.

“Hello— Ugh!”

…Why is a person collapsing?