The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 9

9. A Decade-Long Friendship Begins Today

That hunched-over man, looking worn down by the world, had failed to acquire an SS-grade skill!

Judging by the skill’s name, it was definitely a special crafting-related skill. Seriously, no one had obtained an equipment crafting skill even five years from now. And I’m seeing it here.

Special skills were rare to begin with, but they practically disappeared after the Awakening Centers were established. This was because the Awakening Centers’ method of awakening involved combat in virtual reality. Later, a virtual reality for healers was created, but that was it.

As a result, 70% of those who awakened at the Awakening Centers had combat skills, and 29% had healing skills. Most of the remaining 1% had combat support skills, and special skills appeared in about one in a million people.

‘Anyway, jackpot. A real jackpot!’

There was the problem that I had to say that damn keyword to nurture this person, but it was too good to give up. I thought I should at least exchange names, so I tried to chase after the man who was walking away in the opposite direction.

Thud.

I was grabbed by the back of my neck. That bastard Sung-han lightly lifted and pulled me like a puppy, saying in a displeased voice.

“Where are you going again? Without a word.”

Do I have to report everything? I feel like a five-year-old out shopping with my mom.

“I just… thought I saw someone I knew. I was just going to say hello.”

So let go of me. That bastard Sung-han told me to speak up beforehand and let me go, and in the meantime, the SS-skill acquisition failure man had walked far away. No, wait.

“Hey! Myung-woo!”

I shouted out. Yoo Myung-woo, who was about to turn the corner, stopped and turned his head.

I put on a delighted expression and strode towards him.

“Myung-woo, right? Yoo Myung-woo. It’s been a long time!”

As I made a fuss and acted like I knew him, Yoo Myung-woo looked at my face in embarrassment. Of course, he wouldn’t recognize me. We’re complete strangers.

“Uh… who were you again? Sorry, I don’t really remember…….”

It’s okay. I don’t remember you either.

“Don’t you know? Han Yoo-jin, Yoo-jin.”

“…Sorry. I really don’t remember.”

“It’s been so long, it’s understandable. I was also unsure. How have you been? Did you awaken too?”

I lightly tapped Yoo Myung-woo’s shoulder, and he gave me an awkward look.

“Yeah. But it’s F-grade.”

“Both stats and skills?”

“The skill is E-grade, but… it’s not enough to enter dungeons. I just came to get the subsidy.”

A weak smile flashed across Yoo Myung-woo’s face. He seemed to be in a tough situation.

“I’m FE too! But at least we get a Hunter’s license. It’s much better than FF.”

I whispered the last part quietly. Yoo Myung-woo showed a slightly brighter smile at my words.

“If you’re FE, you must have applied for the basic program, right?”

He shook his head at my question.

“No. I didn’t. The education is free, but I have to pay for a week’s accommodation……. The basic program doesn’t provide subsidies, and with my abilities, it’s going to be hard to raid dungeons, so I should just look for a job.”

I thought of myself before regression. If I didn’t have debt, I might have given up on being a Hunter and jumped into the job market. Going into dungeons with only an E-grade buff skill was really stupid.

So I… sold the Haeyeon Guild Leader to get party members. It was practically a scam, and of course, my reputation hit rock bottom. Back then, I cursed Yoo-hyun a lot for not helping me, but instead turning me away.

Let’s reflect. I shouldn’t do that again… but I’m still telling lies now. It’s for our mutual benefit, so it’s okay!

“But it’s a waste. Why don’t you get training with me at our guild?”

“Huh? Your guild—”

“Han Yoo-jin.”

Kim Sung-han, who had been standing silently a little distance away, frowned and interrupted. Yoo Myung-woo, who belatedly discovered him, shrank his neck like a frightened turtle.

“Rookie Hunter training is only available to guild members.”

“Hey, can’t you make an exception for one person? I’m not a formal guild member either. And he has a good personality. He’s kind and has great manual dexterity.”

If only they knew, he’s really amazing. He’s a real gem, but there’s no way to explain it.

“But—”

“Then I’ll ask Yoo-hyun, and if he says no, I’ll give up.”

As soon as I took out my phone, Kim Sung-han was flustered.

“He’ll be busy!”

“If he doesn’t answer, I’ll call again later—”

[What’s wrong? Is the Awakener registration finished?]

Yoo-hyun answered the phone after only two rings. Quick.

“Yeah. It’s finished. I also bought the contract. But I was wondering if my friend could participate in the Haeyeon Guild’s rookie Hunter training with me?”

[Friend? More importantly, you’re getting Hunter training?]

“It’s better to have it, just in case.”

[Hmm. Okay. I’ll let them know. You’re coming back right away, right?]

“Some bastard ransacked my house, where else would I go?”

That bastard Yoo-hyun laughed. Don’t laugh, you jerk. If even one cup is broken, I’m going to charge you for it… but I’ve already taken a billion from you.

“Is that okay?”

I looked up at Kim Sung-han after hanging up the phone. He looked very displeased, but he didn’t say anything and took a couple of steps back.

“So, what’s your relationship with the Haeyeon Guild Leader…….”

“He’s my brother.”

Yoo Myung-woo sent me a look full of admiration and envy. Our Yoo-hyun is pretty amazing, hehe.

“If you complete guild rookie training instead of the Association’s, it’s much easier to find party members. For F-grade beginner dungeons, stats and skills are all similar, so experience is the most important thing. What initial skill did you get?”

“Whetstone. It adds 2% sharpness to bladed weapons.”

“A weapon buff skill. It’s definitely ambiguous. But you can survive up to D-grade with equipment. Can I lend you one?”

Even if you’re decked out in C-grade equipment, it’s possible for an F-grade to raid an E-grade dungeon. I was also F-grade, but I went into D-grade dungeons. Then I almost died to Rauchitas [a type of monster].

However, from C-grade dungeons onwards, it becomes difficult to cover with equipment alone.

“Lend me… equipment?”

Yoo Myung-woo looked surprised. Hunters’ equipment is expensive; even F-grade equipment costs hundreds of thousands of won [Korean currency]. To get the equipment buff, you have to wear something higher than your grade, which can easily cost hundreds to thousands.

I spent hundreds of millions on equipment today alone.

It was natural for him to be surprised that I was willing to lend it to him. I put on the nicest smile I could.

“I can’t go to dungeons often anyway. But it’s too good to just leave it lying around? I’m just lending you something I’m not using, so don’t feel burdened.”

“But… I don’t even remember you properly…….”

“Don’t worry about it! And you’re a good guy. A very good guy.”

He’s an talent with a skill so good that it has a double S. If Yoo Myung-woo’s skill is revealed, it won’t be a matter of a few pieces of equipment; contracts filled with all sorts of amazing conditions will be waved around, and people from all over the world will rush in.

“At least I think you’re worth being treated like this, so accept it. There’s no harm in it, right?”

“Re-really…….”

Yoo Myung-woo’s eyes seemed to narrow,

Thud.

Big tears fell. Oh, oh?

“Really, am I… a valuable person?”

“Y-yes. I think so.”

“Hngh—!”

As if a dam had burst, Yoo Myung-woo began to cry. He was sobbing with hiccups.

Oh, what should I do? Should I comfort him?

“…You’ve been holding a lot in.”

I awkwardly patted his hunched back, and he made a sobbing sound and hugged me tightly.

Hey, hey. Calm down a bit. This is terribly embarrassing.

Tok, a paper cup falls from the vending machine. Then, coffee pours into the paper cup. I took out the coffee and looked at Yoo Myung-woo, who was sipping yulmu tea [a sweet, creamy tea made from Job’s tears, a type of grain].

His face is a mess.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his face and neck were flushed red. His face was covered in tear stains, looking like a beggar who had been beaten and chased away, but his expression looked much more relaxed.

“Are you feeling a little better now?”

Sitting on the bench next to the vending machine, he nodded shyly. I took a sip of coffee and sat next to him. Who cares what kind of beans they are, vending machine milk coffee is the best.

“I used to win a lot of awards when I was young.”

Yoo Myung-woo opened his mouth, looking at the people walking on the trail behind the Association building. The weather is really nice.

“Like you said, my manual dexterity was really good.”

“Yeah, I know. It was the best.”

If he has the talent to get an SS-grade crafting skill, of course he’s amazing.

“But it wasn’t useful in life. When I was young, they praised me, but as soon as I got a little older, they told me to stop playing around and study. I had to get good grades on exams, go to a good university, and get a good job. There was no room for the talent I was praised for.”
A calm voice continued.

“If my family was well-off, I might have found a way to use my talent. But there was no room for that. I had no talent for studying, and I graduated from a mediocre university with a lot of debt. Once I was branded with a university label and a GPA label, there was nowhere to go.”

With his sigh, my mouth also felt bitter.

I know it well, that. Even in the world before Awakeners and Hunters, there were grades. It wasn’t openly divided from S to F, but grades were assigned from birth.

The so-called gold spoons and dirt spoons [a Korean expression referring to people born into wealth or poverty, respectively]. Like Awakening stat grades, the starting point was different.

Of course, there are people who are born into poor families and become self-made. But most remained the same. Even if they tried, they often couldn’t rise much and stopped.

‘Is the initial skill like talent?’

A talent that can’t bloom if the circumstances don’t allow it.

They push everything into school studies and, like ranking, they push the Awakening Centers into combat and healing and set grades. In the end, SS-grade skills like Yoo Myung-woo’s are buried and disappear.

F-grade as a Hunter, F-grade in society.

Ah, I want to open a bottle of soju [a Korean distilled spirit]~.

“My parents divorced a long time ago, and I was a useless freeloader. Do you know how I awakened? I tried to commit suicide.”
Yoo Myung-woo chuckled. It was more serious than I thought.

“I was cutting my wrist with a knife when I awakened. Ah, I’ll get a million won [Korean currency]. That thought came to me, and I felt a little relieved.”

A million won. It’s not a small amount, but it’s not a large amount either. If you don’t have a decent job, it’s an amount that disappears in a couple of months for living expenses.

…What happened to Yoo Myung-woo before regression? After receiving a million won and being happy for a while, as an F-grade with a support skill that couldn’t properly raid dungeons, how much longer could he have lasted?

“I ate some decent food with a million won for the first time in a while. And… I didn’t really think about what would happen after that, I just let it be. But you told me.”

He crumpled the empty paper cup and said.

“That I have value. To keep living, to give me a path, that it’s okay because I’m worth reaching out to.”

…He’s going to cry again. I coughed for no reason. I was just trying to catch a jackpot, but I feel embarrassed.

“I don’t do that to just anyone. It’s because you’re a really good guy.”

“Thank you. Really.”

Yoo Myung-woo rubbed away the tears that had already formed with his fist. The atmosphere is pretty good. If it’s not now, it’s unlikely that I’ll have another chance.

Okay, let’s do it.

“Our lives have hit rock bottom. Mine wasn’t smooth either. My parents passed away, and I quit school to take care of my younger brother. But my brother was lucky enough to awaken as an S-grade, and I’m a rock-bottom F-grade. Honestly, I was very jealous of my brother.”

As I spoke, my true feelings slowly came out.

“But still. Even if everyone else laughs at you and says your life is ruined. There’s no need for us to put ourselves down, right? It’s a tough world to live in with confidence, but if you’re intimidated, you’ll just roll around in the mud even more.”

If life is a mess and your mind is a mess, you’ll see the bottom below the bottom. If I had just reduced my inferiority complex, my past life would have changed a lot.

“There’s no need to break your neck looking up. Just live thinking that I’m actually great, that others don’t know it. Have some affection for yourself. I love the great me!”

It’s better to have mental victory than digging the ground meaninglessly. I looked at Yoo Myung-woo with an exaggerated smile.

“Yoo Myung-woo. I love you too, my friend!”

He smiled, and I smiled. A message window popped up.

[The Awakener ‘Yoo Myung-woo’ has been moved by the keyword!]