The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 269: Scouter (1)

Silver chains and yarn were tightly entangled, pulling against each other. At a glance, the yarn looked far too thin to stand up to the chain. It seemed like it could snap at any moment. But instead, the yarn held strong and even began to slowly pull the chain backward.

“How did you get out!”

The sixth shard of Crescent Moon, the Centaur, shouted. His eyes were a stark white, indistinguishable from the whites around them, and glared fiercely. His right hand, adorned with heavy ornaments, extended forward. What appeared in his hand wasn’t a chain but a bow radiating black light.

At that moment, pink light violently split the sky. Hundreds of threads of yarn spread wide like a net, and a black crystal arrow was nocked on the Centaur’s bow. The taut bowstring released with a twang—and just that alone stirred up a gale.

Crackle! A powerful current surged along the yarn. The black whirlwind-wrapped arrow and the electric net tangled midair, and then—

Boom—!

It exploded. Another arrow flew through the sky, this time with thunder bursting alongside it. Not a single one of the black arrows raining down like shattered pieces of the dark sky slipped through—they were all consumed and burned away. The shockwaves from the collisions of lightning and arrows were entirely blocked by the yarn net. Not a single shard flew our way.

[Honey!]

I had been staring blankly at the scene when a message window appeared in front of me, snapping me back to my senses.

[It’s Rookie! We finally connected properly! That world, that dungeon, won’t hold much longer! It’s collapsing from too much interference!]

“Rookie, you! How do I get out of here?”

[We barely got a connection, so I’ll make a logout portal for you! Or Honey can log you out directly! Because Honey is your real body!]

“If I’m the one logging out…”

[You just have to kill the body you entered with.]

…What a load of crap.

“Give me the portal.”

Now. A message saying Just a moment popped up, followed by a quest window.

[It’s Time to Go Home Now!

The dungeon is collapsing. Unfortunately, you can’t proceed with the raid any further! Let’s hurry and open the portal to log out! Once inside the portal, your points and items will be calculated.

Would you like to open the portal?

Yes / No

Reward: Portal Open]

Why even ask. Of course I hit Yes. As soon as I selected the option, something like a compass appeared. One end of the needle sparkled as it pointed east.

[Please Log Out Your Party

Let’s send all party members out of the dungeon either through the portal or by direct logout.

Reward: Han Yujin’s Dungeon Escape]

So I can’t use the portal to log out myself. I looked up at the lightning-filled sky. Seong Hyunjae hadn’t shown up yet. I should send the others out first. What about Sigma?

“A portal has opened to escape this place!”

I shouted as I climbed onto Peace’s back. Thankfully, it was in the opposite direction from where the horse-headed one was standing. Seong Hyunjae would probably hold him off, so I could get everyone logged out in the meantime, and then log Seong Hyunjae out last… But Sigma—what do I do about him?

First things first, it was better to evacuate the party. If anyone died here, who knows what could happen. Judging by the fact that I had to be the one to log them out, being killed by someone else probably made a safe exit more difficult.

…If someone gets seriously wounded, I’ll have to finish them off first.

“This way!”

I gave Peace a direction.

— Krahh!

Peace paused before taking off and roared at Yuhyun. I wondered what was going on, but then Yuhyun got on behind me and enveloped me in flames. Then, he activated an acceleration skill and took off. His stats were only C-rank, but I wouldn’t have been able to hold on alone.

Everyone had replenished their mana, so they used their skills freely and followed Peace. Yerim used a teleportation skill, Noah used all kinds of support skills, and Moon Hyunah somehow managed to retrieve a bike parked near the Medsang Defense Bureau and had Sigma riding with her. She had vehicle or mount-related skills, so she was just as fast as Peace.

Rumble, boom!

A thunderous roar ripped through the sky behind us. Without even glancing back, I kept my eyes locked on the compass. The glow from the needle grew stronger.

“Is that it?”

Yerim shouted as she flew across the sky. Up ahead, in the middle of an eight-lane road, a blue portal was open.

“Mister, do you think I can bring the spirit egg out?”

“They said points and items will be settled inside. If it doesn’t work, I’ll tear it out of them myself, so don’t worry and just go in!”

Yerim nodded and teleported to the front of the portal. Her hand reached out and touched it.

“Just going in is enou—”

Her voice cut off, and her body—Delta’s body—collapsed, unconscious. I was startled for a moment, but it wasn’t her real body, so her consciousness must have left it. Her disheveled hair now glowed a vivid blue. Her face had changed slightly too.

“Noah, Hyunah—please go in too!”

Even at my urging, the two of them hesitated in front of the portal. Then Moon Hyunah let out a deep sigh and reached toward it.

“Hyung-nim, take care of Dall. Not sure if that volleyball or whatever can help… I can’t say you must bring him back, but… Dall, I won’t say goodbye.”

It seemed she’d grown quite attached in such a short time. The two of them did get along surprisingly well.

“I’m not planning to join your guild even if I go to that world, Moon Hyunah.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just come back safe. Noona will buy you something tasty.”

Grinning, Moon Hyunah placed her hand on the portal. Lambda’s body collapsed as well. It didn’t seem like Lambda or Delta had died, but even as we laid them down to the side, they didn’t wake up.

“I… should go back too, right?”

Noah said as he looked down at his own palm.

“Noah, this place…”

“It’s fine. It wasn’t mine to begin with. It’s not the time to complain anyway.”

As if trying to cut off any lingering attachment, Noah immediately reached out his hand. Myu’s body collapsed. I couldn’t check the color of the eyes, but her hair had changed to a shade close to light red-blond. He said it was fine, but of course it wasn’t. Looking down at the sleeping Myu, who didn’t resemble Noah as much as I expected, I patted Peace’s back.

“Alright, Peace, you go too.”

— Kkuung.

Peace shrank down slightly and looked up at me. He circled between my legs and brushed against me with his bushy tail.

“Time to go home.”

— Kkiang.

“Daddy will follow right behind.”

I nudged Peace’s rear toward the portal. Peace grunted as the tip of his nose touched the portal. The small monster’s body, similar in size to a large squirrel, collapsed with a thud.

Now only Yuhyun was left. The shrieking sound still rang out from afar, endlessly. My younger brother wore a slightly stiff expression. The moment I saw it, I realized—he had figured it out.

“Yuhyun.”

“Hyung.”

“They said once everyone who came here returns, I’ll be able to leave automatically. So don’t worry.”

“Including the Guild Leader of Sesung, right?”

Yuhyun looked up at the darkened sky as he spoke.

“How could I leave you behind, hyung.”

“Yuhyun.”

“I know. That I have to go. That it’s better that way.”

“That damn horse thing seems to have made a contract with the King of Harmless or whatever, so he probably won’t kill me. Once you push the Sesung Guild Leader into the portal, I’ll be able to go right away.”

“Okay.”

My brother nodded. He looked like he had a lot to say, but instead of speaking, he took out all the items from his inventory.

“Just in case.”

“Man, I should’ve asked the others to empty their inventories too.”

I gave his back a playful push with a light laugh. Hurry up before it gets dangerous. Yuhyun didn’t take his eyes off me as he reached for the portal. I caught his collapsing body in my arms. Hm, this one didn’t look that much like him either. I laid Alpha next to Delta and turned around. Sigma was looking at me.

“Reminds me of the first time I came here.”

He was the first one I met, and now he’s the last one remaining.

“Well then, shall we go together? I’ll introduce you to Seong Hyunjae. He probably knows about you too, Sigma.”

Rookie hadn’t been able to connect properly the whole time. Aside from the initial main quests and assisting subquests, the rest had probably been sent by Seong Hyunjae. Including the quest to protect Sigma.

“You mean the guy who uses that weird-colored thread.”

“…Weird-colored? I thought it looked nice.”

“Your taste is garbage.”

“Hey, it’s not that bad!”

Sigma looked at me like he couldn’t believe I was getting worked up. I mean, yeah, I dyed it hot pink thinking of giving him something flashy, but… still, why do I feel like I’m being insulted here. I was covered in hot pink the whole time in Drosia too—was it really that bad?

“Anyway, let’s go.”

I picked up the items Yuhyun had left and got on the bike Moon Hyunah had used. It was bulky—probably built for combat-type guards.

“Sigma, hop on.”

“You sure you can drive that?”

“I rode a bike while running from you, remember?”

“Bet it was a scooter.”

“Same difference.”

I started the bike. Just thinking about going back the way we came made my spine tingle. I still had extra lives, but if Sigma died, that was it. Would he be okay?

Kwaaarrrung!

With a deafening roar, the sky shook. Shredded yarn fell like snowflakes. A chain stretched diagonally across the ground, endlessly extending from the darkness, and the Centaur stood atop it. Each time he fiercely swung his black bow, violent winds surged and thunder boomed.

“How long are you going to hide! Come out right now!”

“Hiding? That’s a poor memory you have.”

A familiar voice answered the Centaur’s shout. The settled darkness began to twist and split open.

“You’re the one who seized system access and locked me away. It merely took me some time to escape.”

The gap widened. Moving toward the mana hole, I removed the item suppressing mana sensitivity from my wrist.

“Gasp…!”

“C-rank!”

As my vision spun, I lost hold of the bike. Sigma caught me and jumped off to the ground. The bike crashed into the wall of a collapsed building and came to a stop.

“This place is seriously no joke…”

It felt like standing in a storm raging without direction. No—if I went by the sensation, I was already being tossed around. The magic swirling from the Centaur was intense, but the power spilling from the widening gap—was beyond words.

I could feel a familiar mana signature as well. Around it, intricate and endlessly complex movements spread out, so intense that I couldn’t even bring myself to look directly at them.

So that’s the system?

“C-Can’t you feel that…?”

“It’s strong, I’ll give it that.”

Sigma slightly furrowed his brow as he looked at the gap, now nearly circular in shape. He was an SS-rank Awakener—was he not sensing it properly? Even from this distance, just looking at it made my body feel like it was heating up. The control bracelet… damn it, did I drop it earlier? Where did it go?

Kugugug—

With a deep spatial rumble, the system’s barrier that had been blocking the being beyond the rift was finally destroyed. The shockwave blurred my vision again. I felt nauseous. When was I supposed to get used to this? Was it even possible to adapt to it?

I think I’m gonna barf…

Suddenly, everything around me—the flow of mana—went quiet. Sigma’s hand, which had been supporting me, tightened. As my blurred vision began to clear, something that hadn’t been there before came into view at the lower edge of my sight. The tip of a shoe.

A gloved hand reached out in front of me.

“Would you accept the final special quest?”

“…You’ve prepared a decent amount of points, right?”

“I’ve saved up plenty. You won’t be disappointed.”

“I expect at least seven—no, eight zeroes. I won’t accept less.”

I took the outstretched hand and raised my head. It was a familiar face. But his hair was white. It had faded before, but not to this extent. Originally the color was… what was it again? I could’ve sworn it was…

“You forced your way through the system, so why are you conserving your power?!”

A fierce growl erupted from above. Seong Hyunjae turned his head toward the Centaur.

“It’s the result of a simple contract.”

A contract appeared in midair. Seong Hyunjae let go of my hand and gave the document a twirl, tapping one section with his finger.

“‘The White Tail shall bear minimal responsibility for their subordinate.’ You see this part? And that poor monster over there who ended up in such a pitiful state—that one is my subordinate under this contract. It was even tragically killed. If I don’t take revenge, it would be a breach of contract.”

Wouldn’t that be a problem? he added, curling his lips into a smile.

“So I’ll fulfill the contract.”

The contract vanished, and light appeared in Seong Hyunjae’s hand. A pure white spear extended out, and the Centaur stomped his hooves as he trampled the sky.

The thrown spear collided with a silver chain, and the entire world was dyed white.