The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 317: Two Years Ago, England

Two years ago, Belgium.

The long-stretching sunlight seeped through the grain of the wooden floor. A photo of a spotted puppy hung on a dark and chipped brick wall. It was a small café with just a long bar and two mahogany tables.

Even so, only one person could be seen. The owner was away, and a lone customer was sitting, half-heartedly drinking coffee. The sliced baguette in the paper-lined basket hadn’t even been touched.

At that moment, the door opened and a woman with long, gold-brown hair braided down her back stepped inside. Evelyn Miller slightly curved her eyes behind her glasses as she looked toward the man at the table.

“You look bored, Mister.”

“I made time to come, only to end up empty-handed.”

Seong Hyunjae leaned back in his chair as he spoke. His long legs didn’t quite fit between the table and chair, making him awkwardly slanted—but even that gave the impression it was deliberately posed.

“False information seems to be even more rampant these days. Even someone like you wasted your time, Mister.”

“It means I’m getting used to it. To this changed world.”

It had already been well over a year since dungeons and awakeners first appeared.

“After moving on to London, maybe I’ll return home.”

“You’re just going to leave like this?”

“It’s been a while since I got duped—consider it the cost of experience.”

He took another sip of the remaining coffee.

“It’s been a while since you last returned to Korea. About a month, right?”

“I’ve been hearing some complaints about when I’ll come back. Ungrateful whining, really.”

They were nagging remarks about how an S-Rank Hunter shouldn’t be wandering overseas for so long. Yet even while grumbling, the Association worked hard to keep the fact that the Sesung Guild Leader wasn’t in the country under wraps. Because having even one more S-Rank Hunter in Korea gave the appearance of stability.

Of course, it was only the general public who didn’t know—among high-ranking Hunters, it was well-known that Seong Hyunjae often went abroad.

“They’re uneasy even with Song Taewon around.”

“Ah, that supposedly eccentric S-Rank Hunter?”

“Thanks to him, I no longer need to stay in Korea for long.”

Originally, he had planned to establish the Sesung Guild and stay rooted in Korea for at least a year. But with Song Taewon’s presence, that period was cut to just six months. As long as he held firm as a neutral public official, even if the S-Rank Guild Leader was absent, the guild wouldn’t suffer from violent attacks.

Most other matters could be handled overseas just fine. Unlike inside dungeons, communication was possible, and even from afar, he could return to Korea within a day. In that sense, entering Korean dungeons carried more risk than going abroad.

Besides, most dungeons were still low-ranked, so there was even less reason to remain in Korea. Instead, it was better to use that time to find useful Hunters and items abroad and establish connections here and there. Once each country’s guilds were firmly entrenched, it would be much harder to smuggle out Hunters and items. To expand influence easily, one had to act quickly.

“I still feel sorry for dragging you on that overseas trip last year.”

“You don’t look sorry at all, though.”

Seong Hyunjae wore a smile as if it were drawn onto his face. The baguette remained untouched, but his coffee cup was nearly empty. Evelyn picked up a piece of the baguette and bit off the end.

“Is the Haeyeon Guild Leader still staying in Korea?”

“Officially and unofficially, he hasn’t left even once. You were wrong, Mister. You said he’d be gone in three months at most.”

The chair scraped softly as Seong Hyunjae stood up.

“I’ve only seen him in person twice, so I may not have a full grasp. Still, it’s surprising. With Chief Song Taewon around, Korea isn’t exactly the best place to act recklessly. I thought he wouldn’t last long.”

“You said he was similar to you and Liette. That youngest-ever S-Rank.”

“Yeah. Though in terms of personality, Liette and I are more alike.”

“But even then, you don’t consider either of them to be your equals. They’re all beneath you.”

Seong Hyunjae smiled lightly with his eyes and began walking. A bill was quietly placed on the bar.

Even though they were all born as S-Ranks, as Evelyn said, neither Han Yuhyun nor Liette were seen as standing on the same level as Seong Hyunjae. The gap between them was too clearly insurmountable to stand side by side.

To him, even born S-Ranks were essentially no different from other S-Rank Hunters—or even from the non-awakened. They were just candidates to be evaluated for whether or not they were worth nurturing. If they didn’t spark his interest, a born S-Rank could be considered less than a low-tier awakener. In a way, it was a thoroughly impartial perspective.

“For my birthday this year, I’m planning to send invitations to S-Rank Hunters overseas. I’ll introduce S-Rank Hunter Evelyn Miller then.”

Evelyn had already awakened as an S-Rank, but she was still hiding that fact. By lightly applying a skill that concealed her presence, even to other S-Rank Hunters, she could appear like an ordinary non-awakened person.

“And to Sesung—”

“I’ll have to decline.”

Evelyn cut him off firmly.

“I want to remain a freelance Hunter for a while.”

“That’s disappointing.”

“If you get married, I’ll reconsider.”

The door opened, revealing a wide-open grassy field. A few sheep were huddled together beyond the fence.

“Didn’t expect to hear marriage talk even here.”

“More precisely, it means someone capable of handling you is needed, Mister. Right now, if things go wrong, I can just run—but once affiliated with a guild, it’s harder to make an escape.”

The street lined with dark brown, reddish-brown, and ash-gray brick houses was completely deserted. At first glance, the atmosphere seemed peaceful, but it wasn’t long before a wrecked car came into view. Around its shattered windows and crumbled wall, there were traces of bodily fluids having spilled. One side of the road was also deeply stained by something that had dried under the sun.

Then, a loud noise sounded from above.

Tatatatata─ A helicopter approached the two without warning and immediately opened fire with a machine gun. The pouring bullets shattered the road surface like muddy water splashing on a rainy day. At the same time, a golden chain clinked into place, blocking in front of its master.

It was enough firepower to tear through a human body like a rag, but not a single bullet made it past the chain. Not even a scratch appeared. Then, as if it were its turn, the chain shot toward the helicopter.

Crash! The Seeker’s Chain pierced through the underside of the helicopter, cutting straight through the ceiling and shattering its rotating blades. Losing its wings, the helicopter tilted and plummeted to the ground. Just before the deafening crash of the fall, five people jumped out of the chopper.

“In this respect, Korea is relatively peaceful.”

“Machine guns don’t work on you anyway. Unless they can somehow infuse bullets with magic.”

“My clothes got damaged.”

“That part is annoying. You can’t go around in dungeon items every day, after all.”

While the two chatted, the ones who had leapt from the helicopter approached them. The man in front was an S-Rank Hunter.

“I am—”

“Send your introduction through the secretary’s office.”

At the look like he was a door-to-door peddler, the S-Rank Hunter’s brow furrowed sharply. Since his awakening, and even before that, he had never been treated this way. Evelyn quietly stepped back, still pretending to be unawakened.

“I hear you’re in possession of an S-Rank weapon.”

“I’m more popular than I thought.”

Seong Hyunjae shrugged as he lightly caressed the golden chain swirling around him.

The elegant Seeker’s Chain was currently known as the only weapon above S-Rank in the world. Since S-Rank dungeons were still extremely rare, there were a few other pieces of S-Rank gear, but no weapons had emerged. That’s why several S-Rank Hunters coveted the Seeker’s Chain.

“That chain—”

Tack. A shoe struck the ground. In an instant, Seong Hyunjae’s body shot forward, closing the distance right up to the S-Rank Hunter’s face. It was an ambush fast enough to be hard to follow even with the eyes, but the opponent was also an S-Rank. As he quickly raised his blade to counter—

Bang! An abrupt gunshot rang out. Seong Hyunjae had, at some point, snatched a gun from one of the group with the chain and fired it directly at the S-Rank Hunter’s forehead.

“Urgh!”

Just like with monsters, intermediate or higher Hunters naturally protected themselves with their own mana, making them hard to injure with conventional weapons. However, caught completely off-guard, even an S-Rank Hunter would feel the impact of a point-blank shot to the forehead. Since it was the head, the jarring shock reverberating inside the skull was enough to leave him momentarily dizzy.

Before the S-Rank Hunter could even process the fact that Seong Hyunjae had used an ordinary gun, a powerful kick struck him hard in the abdomen.

Boom!

The S-Rank Hunter was sent flying and crashed through the wall of a building. At the same time, the golden chain let out a sharp metallic screech as it whipped through the air like a lash and struck the remaining four all at once. With screams, the four men tumbled and rolled across the ground like straw dolls. Though no blood spurted, surely a few bones were broken.

“Is he a rookie who just awakened?”

“Looks that way. Charging in blindly like that.”

“There’s no need to thin out the S-Ranks unnecessarily. No matter how stupid they are.”

The S-Rank Hunter crawled out from the gaping hole in the wall and glared, but Seong Hyunjae didn’t spare him a glance as he turned away.

Arriving in London, Seong Hyunjae met with the leader of the UK Hunter Guild, someone under his influence. There were some aspects of the man he didn’t find satisfactory, but for now, he seemed acceptable. After taking care of a few other matters, he headed for the airport.

Evelyn, who had briefly separated from him after arriving in England, also came to the airport to see him off.

“Please stay a bit longer this time. Or just don’t come at all.”

“I plan to head to India. Since the system is still in chaos there, I’m sure there’ll be plenty to gain.”

“There’ll be more dumb brutes charging in, too. Some poor civil servant will probably suffer again.”

“Guess I’ll have to prepare a decent birthday gift.”

While the two talked in the upscale, otherwise empty VIP lounge, someone entered. It was a woman who appeared to be around forty at first glance. But her hair was stark white, as if snow had fallen on her head.

Seong Hyunjae looked at her with a hint of surprise. Evelyn, noticing his reaction, also wore a startled and puzzled expression.

“Hello, Guild Leader Seong. I’m Marisa Moore, from the UK Hunter Association.”

She spoke fluent Korean.

“This is our first time meeting, I believe.”

“Yes. I recently awakened. Stat B-Rank, Grade B-Rank—an intermediate Hunter.”

Marisa introduced her rank first. Seong Hyunjae, who had been studying her, opened his mouth.

“If it’s not rude to ask, may I inquire about your age?”

“I’m sixty-four this year.”

“You look remarkably young.”

“Thank you.”

Marisa handed Seong Hyunjae a letter stamped with the seal of the UK Hunter Association.

“In addition, should you visit the UK, we will do our best to accommodate you.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll have to decline.”

Having finished her business, Marisa didn’t linger and left immediately. As soon as the door closed, Evelyn, who had been wearing a puzzled expression the whole time, spoke up.

“She was strangely polite, Mister.”

“I said that Liette was more similar to me in temperament than the Haeyeon Guild Leader, didn’t I.”

“Yes, you did.”

“She feels even more similar than that.”

Seong Hyunjae said as he looked down at the letter in his hand. Evelyn narrowed one eye slightly.

“She clearly said she was a B-Rank. From what I could feel, her stats did seem about B-Rank. Could she be hiding her stats?”

“No. She’s B-Rank, even to my eyes. But…”

After pausing in thought for a moment, Seong Hyunjae spoke again.

“Most current S-Rank Hunters are in their twenties. At most, mid-thirties. There’s not a single one over forty.”

“That is true.”

“But what if someone who could have awakened as an S-Rank missed their window—and ended up in their fifties or sixties? Then perhaps, they awaken at a lower rank than their inherent potential.”

Evelyn tilted her head.

“There’s no clear proof of that yet, but it’s true that younger people tend to awaken at higher ranks. So, are you saying Mrs. Moore was originally an S-Rank awakener?”

“It’s something even I can’t be sure of.”

“If it’s on your mind, why not try scouting her? She speaks Korean quite well too.”

“I doubt she’d accept. But I’ll have someone check in regularly.”

Seong Hyunjae’s gaze briefly touched the closed door, then drifted away.

“Guild Leader! You have to see this!”

Kang Soyeong thrust her phone in front of Seong Hyunjae. The screen was filled with screenshots. They showed Seong Hyunjae with silver hair tinged pink.

“He’s still trending. The Sesung Guild Leader’s new look!”

She pulled back the phone and brought up another photo. Once again, it was Seong Hyunjae—this time with the Changeling.

“I couldn’t get one in his dragon form because he refused. It was seriously adorable though. Ah, I’m so jealous of Chief Han~”

“Some people are saying it’s pathetic, like he’s gone senile early, but overall the reaction’s positive. It does suit you, after all.”

Evelyn asked if he wanted to respond. Seong Hyunjae gave a short shake of the head and asked about what had happened while he was away. Evelyn gave a brief summary of recent events.

“And there may be some developments overseas. Unlike Korea, a lot of regions suffered heavy losses due to monster outbreaks.”

“I’d prefer if I didn’t have to go abroad just yet.”

“Reminds me of old times. You never used to stay in Korea for long.”

“Hunter Miller once said she didn’t want to join the Sesung Guild, too.”

“Now, if things go wrong, we can just toss Chief Han in and run. If he’s not enough, there’s always Chief Song.”

“That’s right,” Kang Soyeong chimed in.

“He’s really reliable, Chief Han. But you can’t let him get hurt, okay? Who knows what kind of dragon he’ll end up raising next! Huh? What’s that on your hand?”

Kang Soyeong didn’t dare grab him directly and only pointed with her finger. Seong Hyunjae looked down at his palm. There was a faint mark, a pen stain that hadn’t completely washed off.

“My name.”

“…Wow, you’re seriously ag— mm. Ahem.”

Kang Soyeong stopped mid-sentence and quietly took a step back.

“Call Vantes. There’s going to be an important announcement tomorrow.”

It was news that would create a major ripple not only in Korea but abroad as well.