The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 68

68. Blue (1)

[Don’t worry. Nothing to overdo.]

[Let’s just kill it and get out.]

[How about a little…]

[Then you haven’t even raised your level at all.]

[No way! Peace!]

[What nonsense are you spouting again? No.]

[Okay. Don’t tell me even if you sneak out. Anyway, I don’t have anything to do outside for a while.]

The red eyes, devoid of whites, quickly scanned the text floating on the window. Notification windows popped up intermittently.

[Awakened One, Narede Pasamuha, satisfies level 10 skill condition]

[First Clear of I-25 Dungeon]

[Achieved I-3 Dungeon Special Clear B-2]

The ‘Newbie’ manipulated the ends of its segmented tentacles to check Narede Pasamuha’s aptitude information while simultaneously processing the rewards for the first clear and special clear.

Since the rewards lacked any special features, the system automatically handled everything upon acceptance. However, for level 10 skills, it had to directly select and connect the ones that matched its aptitude and current state.

In the meantime, Han Yu-jin’s chat window disappeared. He had left the dungeon.

The Newbie completed a few more tasks before shaking its long, wide fins and heading to the lounge.

On the white chair that resembled a scooped-out moon, the ‘Waterdrop,’ once the source of water for a world, was caressing a broken deer antler. The antler, crafted from translucent crystal, emitted a faint light.

“I was so nervous.”

The Newbie sighed, gathering its fins and settling in front of it.

“I could only see snippets of Honey’s words, so I didn’t know exactly what was going on. The atmosphere was very unsettling. I’m glad it ended well this time, but isn’t Honey’s brother a bit dangerous after all?”

At the Newbie’s words, the Waterdrop offered an ambiguous smile.

“It’s unprecedented for a perfect caregiver to appear, so it’s hard for us to predict. But he’s already saved Honey’s life once. If we soothe him well, I think he’ll become the most reliable protector.”

Even with the Waterdrop’s reassurance, the Newbie’s expression didn’t brighten. Instead, the wrinkles between its brows deepened.

“I still think a typical hero is more comfortable. The system is also easier with the oracle than the game. Of course, the least hands-on is a world with virtual reality developed to that point.”

“Going to virtual reality is like being on the edge of a cliff.”

“That’s right! So, I like the demon king-hero story the best! Playing God is also fun. Next time, I want to be the god of chicken and beer. The food is usually bland in that neighborhood. Fried, seasoned, soy sauce, green onion chicken, spicy chicken…….”

The Newbie, rattling off chicken types, suddenly looked at the Waterdrop as if it had remembered something.

“But what about the blacksmith? Doesn’t that kid have potential too? Honestly, Honey makes me anxious and sorry, so can’t we change the target?”

“It’s different from Mr. Shalos’s case. That old man had been working as a blacksmith for hundreds of years, but Yoo Myung-woo has never even made a hoe. Thanks to Mr. Shalos’s gift, he’ll grow quickly, but it’ll take at least 30 years to create myth-grade equipment. Time is running out.”

The Waterdrop twirled the deer antler it was holding and continued.

“If Honey fails, we’ll smuggle the blacksmith to the next world. He just needs time.”

“What about Honey?”

“We want to take him out, but will Honey accept it? With that title.”

“That… well, probably not. He’ll refuse. If we forcibly take him out, it’ll become too dangerous…….”

The ends of the Newbie’s long, fluttering ears drooped. It was then.

“This team is a matter of time, right? Congratulations, congratulations!”

A translucent, ghost-like woman suddenly appeared. The ghost laughed cheerfully and stretched its neck towards the Newbie.

“But why is the youngest looking so gloomy?”

“It’s unsettling, the skill.”

“I heard. It’s unique. But that kid probably thinks it’s better.”

“Do you think so?”

“Of course! It’s much better than having no potential. More than that, our youngest, at this rate, will soon be shedding the newbie label, right?”

At those words, the Newbie clapped its fins together.

“That’s right! Yes! Ah, I’ll decorate Honey’s room. How should I decorate it? I heard the people in that world like Christmas the most! A big tree, reindeer, a red grandfather [Santa Claus]!”

“Yes, yes. We should live happily in our situation, not be gloomy. Should we have a toast in advance!”

A glass with clear liquor appeared in the ghost’s hand. Lifting the glass lightly, she smiled.

“For the imprisoned parricides!”

* * *

“Once a skill is applied, it can grow through training even normally.”

[Time Required for Adult Molting (71:01)]

After throwing the ball enthusiastically for thirty minutes, the time was reduced by about twenty minutes. The efficiency is much lower. Still, if I pay attention for two or three hours a day, I could finish the growth that would take two months in about a month.

But still.

‘Don’t make more work. Don’t make more work.’

Let’s pretend I didn’t know unless it’s really urgent. If this fact becomes known, I’ll be plagued with requests and power struggles to take better care of our kid. With bribes slipped between the children’s toys.

Still, should I tell Yu-hyun? I can’t have him going crazy again, saying I hid something.

“He wasn’t like this when he was young. I guess the hunter job isn’t good for his emotions. Peace, you mustn’t change.”

– Kkiang!

“But don’t not grow at all.”

I didn’t even realize he had already grown into a sub-adult. Wait, then were we actually useless? He was made to withstand up to C-grade, so he could have broken out if he was B-grade. But he stayed quietly trapped.

“Our Peace is so kind.”

– Grrr.

I don’t have to worry about Ppiyak attacking anymore.

Since I came to the training room, I played with Peace a little more and went upstairs. I opened the front door and heard the TV sound. Is Myung-woo back early for once?

But there was no one in the living room. Except for Ppiyak.

“…Ppiyak?”

– Ppiyak!

Ppiyak, sitting on the sofa with the remote next to it, turned to look at me. Huh, surely Ppiyak didn’t turn on the TV. And how did it get on the sofa? Looking around, I saw the basket I had put Ppiyak in was overturned and placed under the sofa.

Did it use that overturned basket as stairs? Unbelievable.

“…Our kid is actually a genius.”

Look at that, it’s even pressing the remote with its foot to control it. Shouldn’t I put it on TV? Is there no such thing as a prodigy discovery program for animals?

“Our Ppiyak, watching TV all by itself. What were you watching? Is it fun?”

– Ppi-bbi-bbi! Ppi-bbi!

It seemed to be explaining something, but of course, I couldn’t understand it. Is there no such thing as a monster language translation item?

“Yes, yes. You’re so smart.”

I put Peace down on the sofa and took out a mana stone from my inventory.

“Yu-hyun’s uncle caught a D-grade dungeon boss mana stone.”

As a high-level D-grade dungeon, it was quite large. It’s probably close to a C-grade normal mana stone. So, I thought it would definitely like it, but.

– Ppiyak.

For some reason, Ppiyak didn’t show much reaction.

“…Ppiyak? Are you perhaps not feeling well?”

One of the first symptoms that appears when an animal is not feeling well is not eating, but. Can I take a monster to an animal hospital?

“Really not going to eat—”

– Ppiyak!

Oh, it’s eating. As if it had been indifferent, it fiercely gobbles up the mana stone fragments with its small beak.

– Ppi-bbi-bbi!

Then, it flaps its wings happily,

– Bbi!

Thump, it slipped and fell under the sofa. Even with the basket next to it, it jumps up to the sofa right away.

…Does eating mana stones make it a little dumber?

* * *

The ship carrying the three monster hatchlings purchased by the Haeyeon Guild arrived at Incheon Port. One was top-grade, and two were high-grade.

Until the monsters were loaded onto the ship, they had only the value of being rare pets. Even then, the food costs were too expensive compared to their value. Moreover, it was difficult to manage even high-grade monsters without a resident high-grade hunter, so even wealthy people who collected rare animals usually only bought mid- to low-grade monsters.

But now the situation has completely changed. In particular, the top-grade monster hatchling was being targeted by giant guilds around the world, so even before the ship docked, Haeyeon’s hunters were spread out all over the pier. It seemed like everyone except the two teams currently clearing dungeons had come out.

“Shouldn’t Haeyeon increase the number of hunters?”

I stood on the pier, looking at the sea. The salty smell was thickly mixed in the wind. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sea outside, not inside a dungeon. There was no particular reason to come. I lived too hard.

“Yerim will have to clear an S-grade dungeon soon. Then we’ll have to form a new S-grade team.”

Moreover, we couldn’t maintain a small elite group forever. I had leeway before the regression, but not now.

The number of dungeons to manage will gradually increase, and we can’t handle it with the current staff. We’ll have to recruit widely from A-grade, as well as B-grade and C-grade.

“We’ll gradually increase it.”

Yu-hyun, who was looking at the same view as me, said.

“Hunter Park Yerim will make her own team anyway.”

“On her own? Not the guild matching her up?”

“S-grade teams are originally like that. S-grade hunters have to find their own team members. I did too. If the guild interferes, it becomes more difficult to make a proper team.”

“It’s not like there are many unaffiliated A-grades, and it’s obviously not easy to poach them from other teams or guilds. Our Yerim is going to have a hard time.”

If I find an A-grade, should I secretly poke Yerim first? If it’s an A-grade combat aptitude, Yerim can take them directly into the dungeon and awaken them without waiting for the awakening center to open. It’s easy to optimize combat skills and awaken them.

Or MKC could collapse and we could poach the A-grade hunters from there. That would be good too. Collapse a little faster this time.

“By the way, hyung. Take this.”

Yu-hyun took out a necklace from his inventory and handed it to me.

“What’s that?”

As soon as I saw the shape and pattern of the small metal ornament hanging at the end of the chain, I knew what it was, but I pretended not to know. It was still an extremely rare item.

“It’s a translation item. You’ll need it when the breeding facility opens soon and people from overseas come to visit.”

“I’m blocking people who are trying to contact me, but you’re giving me something like this…….”

How touching. The kid has changed. I’m so proud. I should have tried to talk to him better sooner.

“Where did you hear that?”

“I roughly overheard it when I went to the association before.”

To be exact, I heard it from Riet.

“Thanks. I’ll use it well.”

I was thinking of getting one anyway.

“Hyungnim, long time no see!”

Then I heard a familiar voice. Turning around, Breaker’s guild leader Moon Hyun-ah was striding towards me with her long legs. Her smiling face was as lively as a mischievous boy.

“Did the kids arrive safely?”

“The ship just docked. Judging from the lack of any special contact, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

Yu-hyun replied. Moon Hyun-ah glanced at Yu-hyun, turned around, and stood next to me.

“Nothing special happened in the meantime?”

“Nothing did.”

I just secretly went in and out of a few dungeons, got a few new titles, killed a few people, and almost got imprisoned by my brother. It’s been quite eventful in the past few days. But it’s all been resolved well, so it’s okay.

It can happen when you live. I’m even regressing.

“If you bring in three at once, wouldn’t one be left over?”

“There won’t be.”

Yu-hyun said firmly.

“I didn’t ask my brother.”

“You have no authority.”

“How cold. But the top-grade one will go to hyungnim, right? That’s what we decided.”

Was it decided already? Moon Hyun-ah wrapped her arm around mine and pressed her body even closer. It’s getting hotter, so stop clinging to me.

“How about it, hyungnim? Lending it out sometimes. It’s a waste to not take a top-grade monster into a dungeon a few times. It’s good for both of us if you let me go to the dungeon with you to gain experience. Isn’t that right?”

That’s true. Honestly, it’s a waste to just keep it by my side. Dungeon clearing is also essential to raise the level.

“That’s right, but there’s no need to send it to Breaker.”

“Ah, why? Anyway, Han Yu-hyun, Park Yerim, and that bastard Sung Hyun-jae all have attributes. But I don’t. It just needs to be fast and strong.”

“Do only S-grade hunters use mounts? S-grade clearing team members also need mounts to clear quickly.”

It might be different much later, but it’s difficult to give one mount per person even to A-grades right now.

“Besides, it can also be used as a substitute for an S-grade hunter.”

At my words, Moon Hyun-ah’s expression became sulky as if she was pouting.

“Don’t be picky and lend it to me even just once. I’m dying to know how much difference the attack with the top-grade mount’s rushing power makes. Let me at least confirm it!”

It’s common for high-level combat hunters to be obsessed with raising their stats, but is she so curious that she came all the way here to cling to me?

“I’ll lend it to you once or twice. But it’s not free.”

“Of course! I’m not such a shameless person. Above all, it’s my hyungnim, so I can’t do it carelessly. Just say anything.”

Then Yu-hyun, who was on the phone, hung up and said.

“They just unloaded the monster cage.”

“Really?”

I’ll finally be able to see them. I wonder what kind of kids they are.