The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 61

61. Preparation Complete (1)

The hunter sent by Seok Si-myung led me to a conference room with thorough soundproofing and security. It was slightly smaller than the one I went to for the breeding center incident, but it felt more frequently used.

‘Do they mainly discuss guild matters here? Where’s Yoohyun’s seat?’ I hesitated for a moment and sat in a chair that was set apart.

Seok Si-myung, who had waited for me to sit first, took a seat opposite me. The gaze he directed at me was eerily warm.

“Well, this might be an unexpected topic, but what do you think about the Awakening Center?”

“The Awakening Center, you say?”

Seok Si-myung narrowed his eyes as if he genuinely found it unexpected.

“Yes. The official announcement should be about three months away, I suppose. They must be busy with internal facility construction right now. If you happen to know anything, I’d like to hear a detailed explanation of the Awakening Center’s facilities.”

‘Of course, it’s not like I don’t know. How much detailed explanation have they given repeatedly on TV?’ At my words, Seok Si-myung readily nodded.

“The core of the Awakening Center is the A-rank item, the Illusion Labyrinth. It’s a mental-type item that shows the target an illusion that’s indistinguishable from reality. However, as is common with mental-type items or skills, it doesn’t work if the mental stat is even slightly high; even at E-rank level, they feel a sense of incongruity. But for non-awakened people, it can safely provide a realistic threat to awaken them.”

The Awakening Center’s awakening method was simple: it showed them an illusion of being attacked by monsters and awakened them. There were very few cases of mental trauma, but it was a relatively safe and reliable method.

And, of course, most of them awakened with combat skills or combat support skills because it was an awakening to survive from monsters.

“The time it takes for one person to awaken is, on average, within 17 minutes, and there’s a time limit of 30 minutes because mental problems can occur. The Association currently has a total of five Illusion Labyrinths, and each one can apply illusions to up to thirty people at a time.”

“So, roughly one hundred and fifty people will awaken every thirty minutes.”

“It’s not a hundred percent awakening rate, so the actual number will be a bit lower, but initially, they plan to awaken a thousand people a day and increase the number of awakened people to three thousand within half a year.”

Even if they only awakened a thousand people a day, that’s ten thousand in ten days, and thirty thousand in a month. If the future ratio remains the same, one percent of those thirty thousand—three hundred people—will obtain hunter qualifications.

In fact, did the initial thousand people last even two days? Due to public demand, it quickly increased to three thousand, four thousand people. They didn’t rest even on holidays. The news headline at the time: ‘Awakening Center’s first month of opening exceeds 100,000 awakened people!’

That meant a whopping thousand new hunters were pouring out in just one month. As the person at the center of that chaos, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.

“Don’t you think that’s too many? Dungeons are being managed safely enough as it is.”

At my words, Seok Si-myung hesitated a little before nodding.

“Certainly, there are concerns. It’ll be like a bunch of rookie hunters suddenly pouring out.”

“That’s right. Hundreds of people will be getting hunter licenses every month. Most of them will be low-rank hunters, and those hundreds of people will be flocking into dungeons.”

If someone with mediocre stats gives up on being a hunter, that would be fortunate. But the problem was when they didn’t. Especially in the early days of the Awakening Center, almost no one gave up. Everyone around them encouraged them, and TV kept talking about only success being left.

“The quality of education will naturally decline, and there will be a shortage of low-rank items.”

Awakening Center awakenings didn’t come with registration subsidies, and even the basic program was paid. At least initially, it was a week-long camp program like before, but it soon shortened to three days, and finally to one day.

“Yes. As Han Yoojin said, various problems will arise.”

But, Seok Si-myung continued.

“People want to become awakened. There are few people who can resist the temptation that anyone can easily become awakened.”

Clearly, that was the case. Just looking at the lines that never stopped in front of the Awakening Center, it was a story that everyone would find attractive.

Even I was the first to rush to the Awakening Center.

“If we restrict such a dream facility halfway, many people will be dissatisfied. Of course, for safety, about a hundred people a day is the right number. That would mean about thirty new hunters per month, so it could be managed stably. But if we limit a facility that can awaken up to three thousand people to only one-thirtieth of that, the soaring approval ratings will plummet.”

Approval ratings? Was it a political issue?

“There must be a lot of people involved, mainly in politics.”

“That’s probably right.”

Seok Si-myung smiled bitterly.

“We can’t even pretend that only a hundred people a day are possible. There are already many hunters who know the effect of the Illusion Labyrinth item. Moreover, even if the Awakening Center imposes restrictions, if the awakening method becomes known to the public, private awakening centers will definitely emerge. It’s been decided that the Association will manage C-rank or higher mental-type items and skills, but not everyone will faithfully abide by that. In the end, it’s realistically difficult to prevent unprepared low-rank hunters from pouring out.”

“But if so many people die or get hurt, the social repercussions will be significant. There’s a high possibility that even the giant guilds will get involved.”

That’s what actually happened.

“Yes, I know. So, ahem.”

Even though it was just the two of us, Seok Si-myung lowered his voice.

“MKC will be made a scapegoat.”

“A scapegoat?”

“Yes. We need a guild to take the hit for the other giant guilds. We plan to push them under the bus using the recent kidnapping incident as an excuse.”

Oh… um. Seok Si-myung, that was originally supposed to be HaeYeon Guild’s role, wasn’t it?

HaeYeon, along with maybe three other large guilds, was targeted as a representative. They monopolized easy dungeons, they were lucky to get favorable positions and didn’t support latecomers, look at how these guilds exploit low-rank hunters, etc. They blamed it on a few guilds instead of the government and the Association, and poured out other sensational articles.

I was too busy getting beaten up to remember exactly what happened besides my own work.

MKC would make an excellent punching bag.

“And even if it weren’t for the election issue, producing many awakened people at the Awakening Center is necessary.”

Seok Si-myung continued with a slightly reluctant yet firm voice.

“Dungeons are being managed safely, but we don’t know how long that will last. As Han Yoojin knows, the proportion of high-rank hunters is extremely low. To create a sufficient number of high-rank hunters within that low proportion, it’s inevitable that many low-rank hunters will emerge in the process.”

“Still, the sacrifice shouldn’t be too great, should it?”

“We plan to minimize it as much as possible. Even if it’s chaotic for a while, it will soon stabilize.”

Yeah, well. It was only chaotic for the first year or so, and then it started to stabilize. As the number of high-rank and mid-rank hunters increased significantly, the dungeon industry developed even further.

A sigh unconsciously escaped my lips.

As expected, it doesn’t work to just say, ‘It’s dangerous if you proceed that way~’ The people involved aren’t stupid, and they would have fully anticipated the risks.

“Han Yoojin, I fully understand your concerns, but—”

“If people voluntarily stop going to the Awakening Center, and if we find high-rank awakeners faster than the Awakening Center, then there won’t be a problem.”

“…Yes?”

Seok Si-myung’s eyes widened. His face, which had been filled with bewilderment, quickly brightened.

“Do you perhaps have some new method?”

“Yes, well…….”

I stopped talking, about to say something. If Yoohyun finds out that I revealed this, he’s going to make a fuss again.

“My younger brother, the HaeYeon Guild Leader, should know about this too.”

“Ah, yes! He happens to be in the guild right now.”

“I’ll call him.”

I called Yoohyun. The signal rang once, and he answered right away before it could even ring properly.

[What’s wrong, hyung? I heard you’re with Team Leader Seok.]

…When did he hear that? Is he getting reports on my every move? No way.

“Are you busy? There’s something important I need to talk about.”

[No, I’m not busy. I was checking the Seungsoo [a type of mythical creature] riding equipment. I’ll be right there.]

Not long after, Yoohyun entered the conference room. He’s my younger brother, but he’s strikingly handsome. He’s a different type of handsome than Park Hayul. Park Hayul is handsome too, but he’s a bit delicate, while Yoohyun has bolder lines and a more flamboyant feel.

Taller too. Better body too.

“Hyung.”

My younger brother looked at me and smiled brightly.

“Yeah, Yoohyun. It’s not about anything else, but about the Awakening Center.”

I smiled back and briefly told him the story I had shared with Seok Si-myung. My younger brother, who had been nodding as he listened, saying that he already knew the content, then said,

“No way.”

His expression hardened.

“I haven’t even brought up the main point yet.”

“No way, no matter what.”

Seok Si-myung was tapping his toes anxiously at Yoohyun’s serious demeanor. He was curious to death, but he couldn’t dare to speak because he was mindful of the Guild Leader’s mood.

“I know why you’re worried. But Yoohyun, I have to say it.”

“Hyung!”

My younger brother ended up jumping up from his seat. Just looking at his face, it looked like he was going to grab me by the scruff of the neck and drag me out right away. …He’s not really going to drag me out, is he? And then a life of confinement or something.

“Don’t get excited and sit down.”

“But!”

“Guild Leader, shouldn’t you at least listen to the story? I swear that I will never divulge what I have heard here today.”

Seok Si-myung cautiously interjected. Yoohyun looked back and forth between me and Seok Si-myung as he pondered. It didn’t seem like he would easily tell me to speak, so I just blurted it out.

“I’m thinking of creating a special Awakening Center.”

“A special Awakening Center?”

“Hyung, really!”

“I said sit down.”

My younger brother glared at me, but eventually sat back down in his seat. The way he tightly shut his mouth made him look sulky.

“It’s literally a specialized Awakening Center for awakeners with special skills. The Association’s Awakening Center can only handle combat-related awakenings for now.”

“…Is that possible?”

“Yes. With my skill, I can know the awakening potential stats and optimized initial skills of non-awakened people. Once you know the optimized initial skills, it’s not that difficult to match them and awaken them.”

“…Why, hyung, why would you do that.”

Yoohyun grumbled like a groan. I originally didn’t plan to reveal it as promised, but the situation is what it is.

“So…….”

Seok Si-myung continued with a dazed face.

“The expected awakening potential of non-awakened people, huh, that, can you perhaps know it without limit?”

“Of course, without limit, from F-rank to S-rank and above. However, I have to guess the effects of the skills just by looking at their names.”

“Such, such.”

Seok Si-myung’s expression calmed down. He took a deep breath and said, ah.

“Was Hunter Park Yerim also discovered with that skill?”

“Let’s just say it was a coincidence before I got the skill, for my credibility. In fact, isn’t the discovery of an S-rank hunter a matter of coincidence anyway?”

“Yes, yes. Of course, that’s probably right. So, you’re going to use that special Awakening Center to stop people from heading to the general Awakening Center?”

“Yes. The method is simple. We’ll limit the number of people the special Awakening Center can receive to about 100 per day. In addition to that, we’ll announce that if you awaken at the general Awakening Center, which is specialized in combat, you won’t be able to obtain the special skill that is your original aptitude.”

Of course, depending on how you do it, there was a possibility of obtaining it with a level 10 skill. But naturally, it’s not an easy task. To raise the level, you have to go through dungeons, and naturally, you’ll only focus on combat abilities. So usually, even level 10 skills were combat-related.

“Since there’s still plenty of time until the Awakening Center opens, I plan to gather special skill awakeners before then. If possible, it would be good if the stats are low and the special skills are high. Most awakeners are F-rank. These people would have become ordinary F-ranks if they had undergone general awakening. But by awakening special skills that suit their aptitude, they became C-rank, B-rank. That’s the story.”

‘General Awakening Center? It’s an act of burying your hidden talent! Maybe B-rank, or A-rank, and even higher! Look at this SS-rank skill-possessing blacksmith who was an F-rank hunter. Awakener, of course you want to become one. But with a hasty choice, you may permanently lose an SS-rank special skill that will be revered worldwide!’

Something like that.

“I see!”

Seok Si-myung clapped his hands. For some reason, he seemed much more impressed by my words than expected.

“As the number of awakened people is small, there will be people who lack patience, but we plan to announce that the special Awakening Center’s capacity will increase as data accumulates and the system is established. I’ll quickly check the skills and have other people provide counseling. Then they’ll be able to wait a little longer.”

Checking the status window takes less than ten seconds. If we computerize it and have other people handle the skill analysis and counseling after data input, we can check more than a hundred people per hour. After all, there are only about one or two special skills that need counseling out of a hundred.

“If we just prevent the initial rush, it won’t overheat in the future. And keep the number of Association Awakening Center personnel limited to a thousand. Tell them to keep all legal holidays and leave work at 5 PM sharp. No, let’s just make it 10 to 4 and give them a two-hour lunch break.”

What a sweet job.

“In the end, you’re saying that a large number of awakeners with various aptitudes, not just combat-related ones, will be born.”

“Yes, that’s what will happen.”

“Ah, but to do that, we’ll have to throw something to the Association too.”

“The Association?”

“Yes. There are quite a few people with dark intentions entangled in the Hunter Association. Unlike the early days, the water has become a bit tainted.”

Seok Si-myung clicked his tongue.

“Well, let’s set up shop in a place with a lot of foot traffic. We’ll say we’re finding high-rank hunters. You can also salvage special skills that might disappear if you go to the general Awakening Center. Just look at me, how tempting is that? This should be more than enough.”

‘Beast Taming skill. It doesn’t actually exist, but if something like that comes out again, it’ll be on par with a new S-rank. What about Myungwoo?’

There may be tremendous gems hidden among the F-ranks who are carelessly awakened and disappear in vain. I’m going to find them for you, even if it means suffering.

“If the government and the Association have their heads screwed on right, shouldn’t they be running public service announcements saying, ‘Visit the special Awakening Center first’?”

“That’s right.”

Seok Si-myung smiled pleasantly, and Yoohyun sighed as if the ground was sinking.

“Ah, and I’m planning to include support for low-rank hunters as one of the rewards for raising Seungsoo in the future. Both domestically and overseas.”

“Han Yoojin, you really…….”

Seok Si-myung looked at me with slightly touched eyes. I was embarrassed, but well, this time I’m really doing something good.

Yeah, let’s suffer a little more. There’s no reason not to do something that’s not difficult.

* * *

Regarding the Awakening Center, Seok Si-myung decided to convey the message to the Hunter Association. The story with HaeYeon is over, and I need to contact Seseong, Breaker, and Hanshin too.

MKC, just go bankrupt.

I was about to go to bed comfortably after removing one obstacle from my mind, but,

“Follow me back too, Captain!”

The Goblin popped out.

“This is a gift!”

Along with a cheerful voice, he held out a stuffed animal. Red fur, similar to a fox, with golden horns… Peace?

“That’s the 30cm regular edition, and mine is the 50cm limited edition!”

Regular edition or limited edition, what is this anyway? Looking at the tag, it seems like he bought it in Japan.

“This is, by any chance…….”

“Peace doll! Cute, right?”

“It’s cute, but why did you buy this in Japan? Making and selling dolls without permission, is that okay?”

“They were selling it as a Flame Horned Lion cub doll, it’s just covering their eyes and saying ‘aung’~”

If they insist it’s a monster doll, there’s nothing to say, but those Japanese guys, really… At this rate, they’ll make and sell Bbyak doll too.

At the Goblin’s nagging to follow him back, I went to his SNS account. On the first screen, there was a photo of him wearing a bear doll *tal* [mask] at D*isney Land.

“…D*isney Land?”

“I couldn’t go to U*niversal Studi*os!”

I wondered why he was late; he had a fulfilling sightseeing trip.

“Looks like you had fun.”

“Yeah! Of course, I worked hard too!”

The Goblin held out a tablet. Looking at SNS, it seems like he worked in between playing. Still, when I checked, the data was packed. The number of dungeons he investigated is quite large. Well, it’s good to do your job well and play well.

“That’s Bbyak! Mochi!”

– Bbyak!

“Gluttonous Mochi who’s dating Mana Stone! Ta-da, look at this!”

– Bbyak Bbyak Bbyak Bbyak!!

Huh? Why is Bbyak suddenly making a fuss… I took my eyes off the tablet and turned my head, and I saw the Goblin handing Bbyak a piece of mana stone. The color of that mana stone is silver. A-rank mana stone.

“Hey, wait a minute!”

– Bbeek!!

As soon as he heard my voice, Bbyak desperately tried to swallow the mana stone piece. That glutton!

“Don’t give it to him!”

“Why? He eats it well. Are you perhaps starving Captain Mochi?”

– Bbyak!

Bbyak cried as if answering and ate the remaining mana stone. That guy. I quickly picked up Bbyak and looked at him. The status window is the same and he looks fine on the outside, so that’s a relief.

“You’re an F-rank and you’re just eating A-rank mana stones. What if you get sick?”

– Bbyak!

“It’s not that I don’t want to give it to you. You may be dissatisfied, but I’m controlling it because I’m worried about you. Huh? Since nothing is properly known about monster ecology, we should be as careful as possible. We don’t even know a proper treatment method.”

– Bbyak!

As expected, he doesn’t understand at all. Well, what can I expect from a kid?

“Goblin, you shouldn’t just scatter A-rank mana stones around either. You shouldn’t give food to other people’s mana beasts without permission. You have to ask first and get permission before giving it. Got it? Not just Bbyak, but also other monsters, pets, or children.”

“You talk like my grandma.”

Grandma? What grandma. Could it be that if this guy’s keyword is applied, he’ll have to become a grandma after grandpa?

Anyway, with this, the preparation to hook Seok Hayan is complete.