The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 280: Stepping Outside (2)

‘…I’m sleepy.’

A yawn slipped out. Dozing off on and off only made me feel even more drowsy. As soon as we got out, I was heading straight to the hotel to sleep like a rock. Hopefully not too much time had passed.

‘Still no word from Rookie.’

Maybe he’s busy cleaning up. Anyway, I just want to sleep. There were a lot of things to think about, but my brain wasn’t functioning properly at the moment. I yawned again and climbed down from Peace’s back. Even though Peace had shrunk in size, he must’ve sensed how tired I was—he didn’t pester me to hold him, just gently rubbed his body against mine.

“Uuuhm, Mister.”

Yerim approached and studied my face. I felt bad for making her worry too much. I was going to tell her I was just sleepy now, but then I realized she was hesitating. She had something to say… ah.

“Did you get the Spirit Egg safely?”

“Yes!”

Yerim beamed as if she’d been waiting for the question, then lowered her voice again. She was clearly feeling guilty about being happy while I wasn’t feeling well. She didn’t have to, though. Once again, I was grateful that Hyunah had stepped in.

I didn’t want to leave Yerim out, but I didn’t want her to see that side of me either. She was still young. It’s never a good thing for kids to witness the unstable side of adults—especially their guardians. Yerim may be an S-Rank Hunter, but for ordinary children who can’t do anything, such experiences only intensify their anxiety.

It’s much better to grow up without learning to read the room and swallow your fear.

If I wanted to neither exclude her nor make her anxious, I’d have to do better. Still, I did feel lighter now.

“That’s a relief. Let me see. Does it look the same here too?”

There’d be too many eyes outside the dungeon, and we’d have to wait until we got to the hotel to look again, so I guess I was feeling impatient. When I asked curiously, Yerim lit up again and took the egg out from her inventory. The small, oval-shaped egg rested gently in both her hands. Its deep blue color rippled like waves.

Depending on how the sunlight hit it, it sparkled like a jewel made of water. It was truly beautiful.

“I had to use all my points, but I don’t regret it at all.”

She smiled brightly, saying she was glad she’d saved up diligently. I received the egg from her hands, her eyes full of excitement.

[Blue Egg ? SSS-Rank]

The egg’s description window was exactly the same as the red egg Iryn had hatched from.

“That rookie’s pretty stingy. He only helped transfer an item, and still took all your points.”

“Oh, the person who showed up in the point exchange area—it wasn’t the volleyball guy.”

“The one with the dog ears, right?”

“No. It was an older girl in a suit. She said this kind of transfer isn’t normally allowed, but she was making an exception. And then took all the points.”

“A woman in a suit? Who could that be?”

Which of those unfilial kids called me ‘unnie’ again? Was it the deer? Maybe Rookie was too busy and sent someone in his place.

“What kind of spirit do you want it to be?”

“As long as it’s sturdy and healthy, I’m happy! Even better if it’s strong. Spirits can disappear if they get hurt too much, you know. I’ll protect it well, but still.”

I remembered what Changeling said about growing just as I had hoped. Changeling had a property that allowed her element to change, and while most spirits couldn’t alter their fundamental nature, maybe I could still influence it positively—at least a little.

…Though I had no idea how to do that. Maybe if I pet it and said, “Be born strong, healthy, and sturdy,” it would work. I gently stroked the egg a few times and then put it in my inventory for now.

“Yuhyun, did you exchange your points well too?”

“Yeah. I traded them for a skill.”

He didn’t explain in detail, but from his expression, it looked like he was satisfied. If it had been a weapon, he might’ve said more, but a skill—especially with multiple S-Rank Hunters here—wasn’t something to openly talk about.

“But for me, only the system window popped up. There was no woman in a suit, or the volleyball guy either.”

“Really? Then maybe Yerim’s case was special, so someone came out in person.”

As Yuhyun talked about the point exchange too, somehow Peace seemed to understand. He proudly tapped me with his front paw—

-Kkiang!

—and spread his wings. It was the skill he used in the ruined world.

“Peace! Oh wow, you exchanged your points!”

-Grrr, kkiwoong

“You’re so smart. Amazing—great job!”

As expected, my kid’s a genius. He even took care of point exchange all on his own. Moon Hyunah said she exchanged hers for a skill too. She smiled, saying it was a good one, though her expression suggested she wished she’d gotten something flashier.

“Why can’t we bring any of those Lambda weapons over? They should throw in a few extras.”

On the other hand, Noah seemed hesitant to say anything.

“I got a skill too.”

But he glanced at Yuhyun instead of me… maybe he exchanged for a miniaturization skill? It wouldn’t be helpful in combat, of course, but if that’s what he truly wanted, something for himself, then it was the best choice.

“Would you show me sometime later?”

“Yes…”

He gave a faint, unsure smile, clearly thinking he’d picked a useless skill. Just telling him it was fine probably wouldn’t be enough. Maybe I should think of a way to utilize a miniaturization skill. If he showed me, we could brainstorm together.

“Why’s Seong Hyunjae so quiet? Didn’t bring anything?”

If you’ve got something good, let’s share. Hand it over—I said, and Seong Hyunjae gave me a troubled look.

“Didn’t Han Yujin take everything with him?”

“Sorry?”

“Even after giving you everything I had, it wasn’t enough? What more must I offer you?”

“Wait, hang on a second. What are you talking about…”

I hadn’t even exchanged my points yet? I quickly opened my status window and saw that the P marker at the bottom hadn’t disappeared.

[536,345,700P]

…What the hell. No, seriously—hold on, how much is that?

“Wh-why do I have so many points?!”

“For taking care of your partner.”

“He already left that place! I mean, if you squeezed Rookie dry… But why are they with me?”

“It was a reward for a successful hunt.”

What? Oh… is it from killing Seong Hyunjae at the end? So if you take down someone, the points get transferred to you? Still, this is insane. Over 500 million—this could probably get me an SS-rank weapon. I absolutely need to trick or beg Rookie somehow to get something out of this. I’d cry if I lost it all. I’d spend a week sleepless and miserable.

While I was at it, I opened my inventory too. I thought a good chunk of items would’ve disappeared—

‘Holy crap… almost everything’s here.’

My inventory was full. There were cookies and bombs I bought with points, along with items I bought or received in the ruined world. Even the wildcat series was there.

“…Did anyone else bring over items from the other world?”

“Me!”

Only Yerim raised her hand. She must be referring to the Spirit Egg. Was I the only one who brought everything out? For real? Like, physically? Either way, I was thankful and went to take out an item when—

[Points are required to apply items to reality.]

A message window popped up. Ugh, of course it’s not free. Items bought with points could be pulled out, but the ones from the ruined world required additional points to be used in reality. And quite a lot of points, too.

I decided to leave them for now and try negotiating with Rookie before using them.

“Alright, let’s head out. Everyone must be tired—let’s get some rest and head home.”

As soon as I heard the word “home,” I suddenly wanted to go back right away. Maybe I could rest completely for a week or so. I just wanted to sprawl out at home. Eat something delicious. Oh right, Chuseok isn’t far off either.

…For the first time in a while, I won’t be spending it alone. I don’t even really remember what people do for Chuseok. Should I get hanbok tailored? I could wear anything, but Yerim probably doesn’t have one. Oh, and Noah probably doesn’t either.

Thinking maybe I should just hop on a plane right away, I stepped through the dungeon gate. As I crossed, a bright blue sky filled my view.

Whoa. The surroundings were a wreck. A complete mess.

“…Did years pass while we were inside?”

“Not quite. See there? That part can’t be older than a day.”

Yerim mumbled in shock while Moon Hyunah stepped forward. She brushed a hand over the broken trunk of a roadside tree and nodded.

“Still damp.”

“Be careful, there’s venom splattered nearby. Definitely hasn’t been long.”

“That’s a monster claw mark over there. The claw size is at least ten centimeters. Bipedal—and maybe three of them?”

“Hyung, watch out. There could still be some left. The ground over there hasn’t dried yet. If that’s the case, they couldn’t have gotten far.”

Except for Yerim, who still lacked experience, everyone quickly assessed the situation. The conclusion: a mass outbreak of monsters had occurred in this area. And they were high-ranking ones, at that.

“We were told that A-Rank Hunters from the Amaterasu Guild would be on standby at the dungeon building when we entered. But now there’s not a single one left—this definitely wasn’t an ordinary situation.”

It meant they couldn’t wait for us to come out. S-Rank monsters must have appeared, and cleanup was still ongoing. If things had been resolved, someone would’ve been sent to greet us at the very least.

“Phones… probably didn’t survive either.”

Of course, we’d left them behind before entering. But the storage safe had vanished without a trace. It was probably buried somewhere, but even if we found it, chances were slim it would work.

“…Anyone forgetfully bring their wallet into the dungeon?”

Silence. Yeah, no wallet either. I thought we’d be able to rest the moment we came out—but what kind of disaster is this?

“Noah oppa and I will scout the area.”

Yerim said as she rose into the air.

“Yeah, please do. Please. Oh, Hunter Noah—don’t fully transform into a dragon. You might be mistaken for a monster.”

“Yes. Be careful, Yujin.”

Noah spread only his wings and took off into the sky. The two of them headed out in opposite directions while the rest of us decided to go forward. Peace grew larger again and let me ride on his back.

On the way, there was hardly a single intact building or stretch of asphalt. Looked like some giant monster had trampled through without restraint. And here and there—

“…Maybe I shouldn’t have let Yerim go.”

—there were corpses.

If a swarm of monsters had suddenly appeared, of course there’d be human casualties. Why hadn’t I considered that?

“Don’t worry too much. She didn’t just awaken yesterday, and Park Yerim’s sharp enough to know what she’s doing in this kind of situation. Plus, from the air, she won’t see as much detail as we do on the ground.”

“Yeah, I guess, but still…”

This area had a lot of wooden buildings, so most of them had completely collapsed. Finding a functional communication system seemed impossible.

“I actually went in with my body and ate all sorts of things, but everyone else basically ended up fasting for a few days, right? Yuhyun, aren’t you hungry?”

“My body’s in the same state as when I went in.”

How much time had passed? Wasn’t there a calendar or clock or something? I had Peace stop in front of what looked like the remains of a residential house.

“Mr. Seong Hyunjae. Try using that magnet thing again. On this house. There might be something inside that can tell us the date.”

Seong Hyunjae approached and pulled out the Seeker’s Chain.

“It really feels like we’re back.”

“Why on earth did you use yarn last time? Still ridiculous no matter how I think about it.”

Even if you didn’t have a chain, come on. The golden chain swirled and surged with electricity over the collapsed building. A powerful current struck the chain.

Tack, tadak! Tack!

All sorts of metal objects started sticking to the chain. A TV, an electric fan—oh, a cellphone. It was broken anyway, so it wouldn’t turn on. Among the clutter, a calendar came into view. The kind where you tear off one page each day. The hook must have been metal, so it got pulled in too.

“Looks like it’s been two days.”

Assuming the calendar owner didn’t forget to tear off the sheets. Just then, Yerim flew over.

“Mister! There’s a group of people over there. They’ve set up a barricade—it looked like they were Hunters.”

“Yeah? Good work, Yerim.”

I fired a signal flare to call Noah and started heading in the direction Yerim pointed. Before long, the barricade Yerim had mentioned came into view. There were Hunters present, but—

“What happened here?”

They all looked rough. Mostly A— to B-rank Hunters, most of them injured to varying degrees and completely exhausted. When I asked using a translation item, one of the Hunters replied.

“Monsters appeared. All over the country.”

“All over the country? Did dungeons break out at the same time?”

“Ah, no. They just… just appeared.”

What do you mean just? Don’t tell me this is some side effect of that jellyfish bastard invading the dungeon? …Korea… is it safe?