The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 79

79. Don’t Cause Trouble

“Peace! You’re the best! Oh, you pretty thing! Won’t you come to me? Huh? Huh? Am I your older sister?”

Moon Hyun-ah, clinging to the Flame Horned Lion’s neck, shouted like a drunken reveler. Peace shook its neck as if annoyed, but she didn’t budge, laughing boisterously.

The air was hazy with the high-rising dust. Piles of stones were scattered around the corpse of the giant toad.

Among them, Han Yu-hyun and Park Ye-rim were giving each other awkward glances.

They were two people who instinctively disliked each other due to their incompatibility. But for the moment Han Yu-jin’s skill was applied, that discomfort completely disappeared.

What filled the void was a faint sense of connection and intimacy.

They could have felt repulsed, but they naturally accepted the emotion because the intermediary was none other than Han Yu-jin.

It was a kind of trick.

Both Han Yu-hyun and Park Ye-rim were used to receiving positive emotions from Han Yu-jin. So much so that they didn’t notice that the natural flow was slightly twisted.

“…Let’s not say anything, okay?”

Park Ye-rim said, slightly furrowing her brow.

The skill’s effect had disappeared, but the residue of the emotion still remained. The other person was starting to annoy her again, but the pleasant sense of camaraderie they had felt working together was still there. It was exciting, enjoyable, and thrilling. Even now, with the result under her feet, her heart was still pounding, and even Han Yu-hyun, who had been an eyesore, looked pretty. She didn’t want to admit it, and it annoyed her.

Although to a lesser extent, Han Yu-hyun was in a similar situation, so he nodded sullenly.

However, the one who was most affected was none other than Sung Hyun-jae, even more so than Moon Hyun-ah, who had perfectly synchronized with the top-tier ride, or Han Yu-hyun and Park Ye-rim, who had felt subtle emotions for their opposite.

The back of the giant toad’s neck, which had breathed its last, was completely torn open.

Despite the enormous size of the wound, no bodily fluids corresponding to blood flowed out. The wound, as well as the inside, had been cooked as if boiled.

A mark as if a very large beast, similar in size to Babar [likely a reference to a large, powerful creature], had bitten it, not a small human. Sung Hyun-jae stared at it before turning his gaze to the young man he was holding.

“Where did something like this pop out from?”

He muttered softly, as if amazed. It was as if he had discovered a very interesting new species.

He was well aware of Han Yu-jin’s usefulness. However, raising ride skills and finding out the expected rank of awakening were not fields that required him to reach out directly.

The target to receive was not Han Yu-jin, but his harvest.

Unless Haeyeon or another guild tried to monopolize it, it was enough to maintain a moderately good relationship as long as Han Yu-jin moved neutrally. There was no reason to bother a farmer who was already doing a good job. He had already signed a contract, so all he had to do was receive the excellent harvest.

But now the situation had changed.

Command system special skill. It was a skill that was not yet greatly needed for S-Class Hunters, except for exceptional cases like this one.

‘But the day it becomes important is not far off.’

Sung Hyun-jae knew better than anyone else that the difficulty of the dungeons was increasing. He also predicted that cooperation between S-Class Hunters would become essential before long.

When that time came, command skills that affected even S-Class Hunters would become all the more important. Furthermore, the fact that the skill user’s stats were low was also attractive.

No Hunter welcomes an opponent who could be a threat to them interfering directly, physically or mentally. But Han Yu-jin was weak enough not to be bothersome at all. Moreover, the skill could be easily broken if strongly resisted.

It was at a level where sensitive high-ranking Hunters would think, ‘It’s harmless and useful, so let’s be generous and accept it.’ It was so appropriate that it seemed like it was deliberately tailored.

And one more thing, the sharing of double the attack skill effect.

Sung Hyun-jae’s lips unconsciously formed a smile.

‘Hearing about it is definitely different from experiencing it.’

There is no one who would not feel attracted to wielding powerful force. Among them, force is something that one can’t help but fall into once they’ve stepped into it, as the results appear the fastest and most reliably.

Moreover, Hunters have the legally sanctioned target of monsters to wield violence against. Great rewards also follow.

They freely wield their inhuman power to crush and trample enemies, becoming even stronger.

The perfectly controlled powerful body and the high-purity magic that dominates the surroundings, and the extraordinary destructive power of skills created on that basis. It was only natural that high-ranking Hunters felt an even stronger sense of liberation and pleasure in battle.

For those standing at the top among such Hunters, the sensation of having the attack skill effect doubled was like a drug. It was different from just knowing it as the number ‘two times.’ They even felt anger at the fact that they had to abandon the power they had already tasted and return to normal.

Why is this a human? If it were a dungeon item, he would have obtained it by any means.

“Is hyung okay?”

At that moment, Han Yu-hyun and the other three approached.

“He’s not injured, of course, just asleep,” he said.

“That’s a relief. Give him to me.”

Han Yu-hyun held out his hand as if it were natural. Sung Hyun-jae unconsciously frowned. If he handed Han Yu-jin over like this, he couldn’t be sure when the next time would be. He knew very well how excessively the young brat in front of him protected his brother. Even if Han Yu-jin was okay, he would never willingly let him enter a high-level dungeon.

‘Should I kill them?’

Not only Han Yu-hyun but the others as well.

The title of ‘double attack skill effect’ was still being shared. Even if he annihilated the other S-Classes here, there would be enough excuses and evidence with the corpse of the Class 1 monster and its rewards.

If that happened, only MKC and Hanshin would be left with the ride skill-related contracts. MKC wouldn’t be able to step forward properly, and Hanshin could be easily crushed. The blacksmith wasn’t a big threat yet either.

“I said, give him back.”

Perhaps sensing the unusual atmosphere, Han Yu-hyun’s expression hardened. Park Ye-rim, who had been teasing Moon Hyun-ah while leaving Peace, also closed her mouth.

Clatter.

The Seeker’s Chains circled around Sung Hyun-jae as if to protect him. Han Yu-hyun’s eyes, watching it, sank darkly red.

“Quite a scary look. Are you going to attack, young master?”

“Aren’t you the one picking a fight?”

“How new. I’ve been sending signals since yesterday, haven’t I? I was curious to see how much the young master had grown.”

“I’d like to meet your expectations, but give me hyung back first.”

“I don’t want to.”

Sung Hyun-jae smiled. It was cute how they were growling. Park Ye-rim’s seemingly indifferent voice cut through the tense air.

“If you two go at it like that, mister will be in about 50 pieces.”

It was just a casual jab, but the eyes of the person speaking were icy. Next to her, Moon Hyun-ah said cheerfully on purpose.

“That’s right. So hand hyung over here and fight it out? I’ll keep my mouth shut, so you two can do well. I won’t snitch, I promise.”

“Unnie [older sister or female friend], that lie is too obvious, isn’t it? You’re just thinking about watching the fight and getting some crumbs.”

Park Ye-rim took out a mana potion, smiling only with her mouth. Moon Hyun-ah also stuck her Geochang [likely a specialized weapon], which she had put in her inventory, back into the ground next to her feet. Peace also slightly bared its fangs. Meanwhile, Kim Sung-han also arrived. He assessed the atmosphere and glared at Sung Hyun-jae without asking.

“Huh? My dear Hyun-jae, give me the glass bead here. It’ll break if we come to the very end.”

At Moon Hyun-ah’s words, Sung Hyun-jae’s gaze turned to Han Yu-jin, or rather, to his wrist. A cracked, rough bracelet came into view. It had been more than 10 minutes.

‘Moon Hyun-ah is the problem.’

The other three people, even the Flame Horned Lion, wouldn’t be able to launch a proper attack because they were worried about Han Yu-jin. But Moon Hyun-ah was different. The moment she realized that the double attack skill effect was still being applied, she would definitely target Han Yu-jin first.

‘If I want to use him properly in the future, I’ll need a special item.’

Thinking that, his head cooled down.

“There are too many eyes and mouths watching and gossiping, so I can’t help it.”

Saying it as if he was giving up because he didn’t want to be snitched on, Sung Hyun-jae handed Han Yu-jin over to Han Yu-hyun. He put on the coat he had received back and turned his eyes to the traces of destruction he had created, then immediately averted his gaze. Lingering would only hold him back.

“Alright, let’s finish quickly and get out of here.”

As the situation settled, Moon Hyun-ah waved her hand and said. Compared to the giant toad, only a tadpole, no, a toad egg level was left. There was no need to drag it out.

* * *

“It’s definitely him. He was aiming for Han Yu-jin.”

The newbie said anxiously. Next to him, Namu was restoring Dungeon G-15, the City of Black Golems. The monsters from 5 years in the future, which had been blocked by the distortion of space, had popped out. Since there were so many S-Class Hunters gathered, a dangerous one had appeared to match. If they didn’t restore it quickly, similar things could happen in other dungeons as well.

“Has he already noticed? What should we do, our Honey?”

“That’s not it, so calm down. He was trying to take Han Yu-jin, not kill him. Besides, the location was within Honey’s world. It must be that someone used a teleportation skill.”

The newbie’s expression brightened for a moment at Namu’s words, then darkened again.

“Then could it be them? The filial kids?”

“Well, it’s likely to be at least an SSS-Class skill or an L-Class skill. They won’t be able to interfere directly yet, but I need to check. Alright, done!”

Messages floated above the jet-black window.

“Ah, they’ve already caught Babar! That’s so fast!”

“I know. I thought it would be a bit difficult with the current forces. Honey’s contribution is high too. The capture time is fast with a team including an F-Class stat, and the achievement points will be considerable.”

The rewards for dungeon capture and monster hunting are determined by achievement points. Usually, the system calculates it automatically, but in exceptional cases, the administrators directly calculated and determined the rewards.

Namu tapped his fingers to connect the appropriate rewards.

“Lastly, our Honey won’t need ordinary equipment.”

“He seemed to need high-grade equipment to increase stats?”

“There’s a blacksmith. I don’t need it. Rather… this would be better.”

He pulled all the reward points and connected them to one special item, then closed the window.

* * *

– Bbi bbi bbi ya.

A small murmur tickled my ear. When I opened my eyes, I saw an unfamiliar ceiling. It seemed I had gotten out of the dungeon.

– Bbyak! Bbyak!

Piyak was flapping next to my head. Yeah, yeah. Stop hitting my face, it hurts.

“Ahjussi! [term of endearment, like ‘Mister’]”

“Yu-jin!”

It was Yerim and Myungwoo. I picked up Piyak and got up. Where was this? It was quite a large room with no windows. And the clothes… they looked like a patient gown. Was it a hospital?

When I turned to the side, Myungwoo was almost crying.

“Did I sleep for a long time?”

“Two days! The hospital said you’d be fine, but… no, four S-Class Hunters followed you, so why couldn’t they protect one person properly?!”

At Myungwoo’s angry shout, Yerim subtly avoided his gaze. I was tired, but I didn’t think I’d sleep for two days straight. Still, there seemed to be nothing wrong with my body. My head was clear too.

At that moment, the door opened and Kim Sung-han came in. He smiled brightly when he saw me.

“You’re awake!”

Then, at Myungwoo’s glare, he turned his head like Yerim.

Myungwoo was the boss, after all. Especially to these two fledgling S-Classes here. Yerim, as well as Kim Sung-han, who had quite a bit of experience, probably didn’t have many S-Class equipment. S-Class equipment wasn’t common yet, so S-Class Hunters took priority.

To quickly get all the equipment, it was best to borrow Myungwoo’s power.

“Don’t do that. There was no problem until a Class 1 monster suddenly appeared. Even if they’re S-Class Hunters, how could they have predicted and prevented such an abnormal event? Everyone cooperated well in hunting the Class 1 monster too.”

After that, they probably finished the capture well without any problems, right? Surely they didn’t pick a fight and argue again in the meantime.

“Where’s Blue?”

I asked, stroking Piyak.

“He was too hyperactive, so I couldn’t bring him to the hospital. He’s been a bit gloomy because he hasn’t seen you, but he’s healthy. He’s eating well too.”

“Piyak was crying all day from the second day, so I couldn’t leave him. I got permission from the hospital and the association to bring him.”

I see, our Piyak, you missed Daddy.

“Did Yu-hyun go into the dungeon?”

“Ah, yes.”

Yerim answered a bit awkwardly. She was avoiding my eyes, and it seemed like she was hiding something. Come to think of it, why was Kim Sung-han here?

“Weren’t you supposed to go with Sung-han too?”

“Ah… that’s…”

Kim Sung-han also avoided my gaze. What was going on?

“Where’s Peace?”

“Peace went with him, but, well…”

Yerim hesitated before continuing.

“The guild leader and Peace, they went in alone.”

“…Huh?”

For a moment, I couldn’t understand. So, the two of them, just the two of them… My heart sank, and the fear resistance skill message window popped up. Crazy, that younger brother of mine, he’s gone crazy.

“…An S-Class dungeon?”

“Yes. Other guild members followed them in, but they were all kicked out. The atmosphere was really rough. But they said it’s a dungeon with good compatibility, so even if they have a hard time, they’ll be safe…”

Even so, it’s an S-Class dungeon. It was essential for S-Class Hunters, so it was at least mid-level. He went in there with only Peace? What did Peace do to deserve that? No, he’s not the type to be dragged along… Even if it’s a manageable place, the capture period for an S-Class dungeon is long. If it’s just the two of them, they won’t be able to rest properly.

Really… that crazy bastard Yu-hyun. If you have a complaint, say it with words, you little brother.