The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 327: Heart of the Black Dragon (2)

“Wh… what do you mean by that?”

I asked, forcing politeness into my voice. He was one of the few transcendents we could possibly count as allies. I still couldn’t say I trusted him completely, but he had given me a sword and checked my condition. He also didn’t seem to look kindly on the other transcendents using the system however they pleased.

So I had to make an effort to stay in his good graces. Even if I had cursed at him just a moment ago.

“It’s a long explanation.”

“If it’s long, even better. I can give you some points, too.”

Compared to the ones outside, we had almost no information. We had to scrounge up even a single crumb if we could.

Young Chaos furrowed his brows slightly and tapped one foot lightly against the ground. Then, a portion of the earth suddenly rose up. He sat atop the chunk of land, now like a large rock, and slowly began to speak.

“Did I tell you about the Source-Bearers?”

“You said they live long and are strong, but it’s harder for them to break past their limits than for normal people.”

“You know about the Origin, right?”

“Yes.”

“There are a lot of opinions, but it’s certain that the Origin is the entity that created our worlds. In other words, that means every being in the world contains a bit of the Origin’s power. Usually, though, it’s minuscule.”

Young Chaos tapped the surface of the risen earth with his fingertip.

“About the size of a single grain of dirt, mixed in here.”

“So basically nonexistent.”

“The popular theory is that the Origin scatters its power like grains of earth, and once those grains grow as large as a boulder, it harvests them. There are other opinions, though.”

So like free-range farming? I suddenly thought of Seong Hyunjae. He seemed more interested in the process than the harvest itself. The Origin, on the other hand, probably leaned more toward abandonment. You could even say they were opposites.

“But on very rare occasions, a being is born with far more of the Origin’s power than others. Those are the ones closest to the Source—Source-Bearers.”

I instinctively turned to Yuhyun. My brother, who had risen and was now standing by my side to shield me, met my gaze.

“If it’s a lot, are we talking half of that dirt clump?”

“More like three or four grains.”

“…Huh? That’s a lot?”

“That’s about three or four times the amount an average person has. Of course it’s a lot.”

I couldn’t help but make a face. A grain or two in that massive hunk of earth? That didn’t seem like much at all. Young Chaos looked supremely annoyed by my expression.

“This isn’t even my area of expertise. It’s the fundamental force that allows sentient life to exist. In your world’s terms… think of it like the first cell. Or a fertilized egg. Though it’s even more basic than that, just understand it like that.”

So it’s like a seed. An S-rank would be a tree seed, and an F-rank would be a grass seed. But unlike real seeds, these could surpass their innate limits, so even grass could grow into a towering tree—something like that?

“And that one-grain example is just for normal people. Source-Bearers are different.”

Chaos shifted one dangling leg to the side and lightly tapped the dirt mound. A crack split through the middle, and it split cleanly in two.

“The actual amount is only a few grains, but the ratio is just as you said.”

“…Half?”

“At least half or more. They already possess several times the presence of others, so there’s no need to stick on extra impurities. That’s why Source-Bearers are heavily influenced by the nature of the power they were born with. They also freely wield that power according to its core trait.”

Yuhyun’s was fire. Seong Hyunjae’s was electricity. Liette… I wasn’t sure—maybe cutting force? The Mermaid Queen was probably water, if she was a Source-Bearer. What about the rookie?

“In terms of skills, a normal person might have Fire Spear, Fire Sword, Arrows, Shield—things like that. But your brother would simply be fire.”

Strictly speaking, it was black flame, but as Chaos said, he wielded fire itself. Yerim, on the other hand, before she inherited the Mermaid Queen’s power, had only property-based abilities in fixed forms—like Pale Rain, which unleashed ice arrows, or Cold Sigh, which created an ice mist.

“Even so, Source-Bearers are still human. Compared to others of their kind, they may display many inhuman traits due to the nature of their power, but they’re still people. If you really wanted to categorize them, they could be considered their own race—Source-Bearers.”

“Then what about my brother?”

“Over 90%.”

Young Chaos hopped down from the dirt mound and lightly waved his right hand. His trailing sleeve fluttered in the breeze, and the split chunks of earth were all blown away—leaving behind a piece just slightly bigger than a fist.

“This is about the extent of your brother’s humanity. Maybe even less.”

“…What do you mean…”

“It happens sometimes. When the Origin’s power exerts too much influence, and instead of being a Source-Bearer, someone is merely a Source. In your brother’s case, he is fire. He wears the shell of a human, but he can’t act like one. His mind may be sharp, so he might pretend in order to survive—but he wouldn’t have emotions.”

“…There are people who are emotionally blunt by nature. Psychopaths, for example. And there are spirits, too. They’re said to be their elements.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Spirits are just another race. They’re not literally the element itself. In fact, they tend to be more emotional than most.”

Looking at Iryn, that did seem to be the case. The water spirits were pretty noisy too.

“But your brother likely has no interest in anything beyond acting according to his nature. If he’s fire, then all he’ll do is burn. So of course, he’d like to fight.”

I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t deny that Yuhyun didn’t show much interest in people around him. But in front of me, he was just a normal younger brother. When we were together, he enjoyed himself no matter what we did—he laughed, cried, got angry, and even whined sometimes.

That’s why I used to think it was just extreme shyness before he awakened. I did worry about how he couldn’t make friends easily, but how could I possibly think a little brother who smiled and said he liked being with his hyung more than anyone else was emotionless? If anything, it felt like the opposite.

“…He was such a sweet and gentle kid. I worried a lot while raising him. Right after he awakened, it felt like I was going insane. To me, he was really…”

“That’s why it’s fascinating.”

Chaos stepped forward. Instinctively, I moved to block him from reaching Yuhyun. Was he going to lay hands on him again?

“Talk. Just talk!”

“Even if I were to cut off my own arm right now, that guy wouldn’t feel resentment or sorrow. He’d just calmly look for a logical solution. He doesn’t react emotionally. On the other hand…”

A small hand suddenly grabbed my wrist. I felt Yuhyun tense up behind me.

“Look at that glare. That guy only shows reactions through you.”

Yuhyun wrapped his arms around me from behind. I could hear him grit his teeth. Even though he knew there was no comparison in power, he looked ready to lunge at Chaos at any moment. Chaos’s red eyes narrowed with amusement.

“Has he ever shown an emotional reaction to anything or anyone not related to you? Excluding fights.”

“Well…”

I glanced at Yuhyun. He had been stiff-faced a moment ago, but sensing my look, he turned to meet my eyes. His gaze was filled with concern. His emotions were written all over him.

“…None, right?”

“None.”

My brother answered like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You can think of every emotion he feels as being centered around you. I don’t know how that came to be either.”

He gave me a look as if asking, You sure you don’t know? I shook my head. I really had just done my best to raise him. I didn’t remember much from when he was a baby, but by the time he was five or six, he was showing reactions. He’d always been too calm for a child, but his emotional range definitely broadened with time.

“…Still, if he changed because of my care, then maybe as he spends more time with others, he’ll come to show emotions toward them too.”

“Maybe. But he’s lived, what, twenty years? Then it’ll take at least ten more.”

“As long as I have hyung, I’m fine.”

“At least a hundred.”

Chaos changed his answer.

“Why is it ten times more all of a sudden, not just double?!”

“He has no intention of trying, that’s why.”

Ten years felt doable, but a hundred was just cruel. And that was the minimum. Young Chaos looked up at me, then abruptly turned away.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a case like that. Never even heard of one. It’s not just a change—you created something that didn’t exist.”

I followed after the boy walking ahead. Yuhyun trailed closely beside me.

“Could that cause any problems? I mean, it’s a state that goes against his nature.”

“How would I know? It’s my first time seeing it.”

“But you must have a lot of life experience. If my influence brought negative effects on my brother, or something like that—ugh!”

My shin got kicked. Yuhyun caught me as I stumbled, glaring at Chaos.

“Don’t lay a hand on my hyung…”

“Stop worrying about pointless things. You don’t like that your brother became a person?”

“No, I mean… it’s not that.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Young Chaos started walking again. That geezer really hits hard for his size.

“I’m still worried! Even if Yuhyun says he’s fine… I mean, we just don’t know.”

“I don’t know either. But since you’re looking for an answer based on experience, I’ll say this—there’s no wrong way to live.”

His robe fluttered as his small body rose lightly up the tall cliff, as if freed from gravity.

“…Huh? No, I’m pretty sure there are people who live the wrong way.”

I climbed up after Chaos. The view that spread out below made me fall silent for a moment. It was the sea. The lake had vanished, and the ocean that had once been far off had taken its place.

A dark mass rose from the churning waves. The Black Dragon’s body, now without its head, wings, or tail.

“Living is just living. What standard decides what’s right or wrong? Some lives are smooth, some are rough, some twist in spirals, some run in straight lines—every one of them is still a path. For you, and for your brother.”

“So all we have to do is keep living?”

“You think you will?”

…Not when you say it like that. I didn’t plan on dying or anything, but don’t tell me he’d gone and spilled the beans to Yuhyun about my condition.

“From a moral standpoint, as long as you’re not going around ruining other people’s paths, you’re doing fine. That alone accounts for less than ten percent of people. Some entire species are messed up from the get-go.”

“You’re surprisingly generous.”

“More importantly—what are you going to do about that?”

Young Chaos pointed toward the dragon’s head, now being battered by waves.

What are you going to do about that?—that’s what he meant. But just then, the dragon’s once-closed eyes snapped open. Black eyes tinged with red gleamed wide, glaring at us. Even with fear resistance, my chest tightened—I grabbed onto Yuhyun’s arm.

“I-It’s still alive?!”

“If it dies, the Ruler’s Blade dies too. It won’t be able to grow beyond its current rank.”

It was already SS-rank, so it was still a great weapon—but that was a disappointment. I already had a method prepared to make it grow, so I really couldn’t give up on it.

“But will that thing really go along with us quietly? This skill can’t be released unless everyone present agrees to it.”

“That’s why I asked. Will you kill it, or try to persuade it?”

“…Do you think persuasion is possible?”

“I can’t do it.”

Chaos raised one of his palms. He was the one who had beaten the black dragon down and turned it into a sword—there was no way the dragon would listen to him. Then what do I do? Killing it and leaving would definitely be easiest. My eyes drifted to the sword hanging from Chaos’s waist.

“Um, could we maybe trade?”

“Huh?”

“That sword—for the Ruler’s Blade.”

Young Chaos looked at me like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I felt a little guilty, but this was my little brother’s sword—we couldn’t just give up like this.

“It hasn’t even been a month since we got it, so isn’t it still within the return window? It’s still in good condition. If it can’t be repaired, at least let us exchange it, please? There’s no warranty period or anything? Honestly, it was insanely expensive. Shouldn’t it come with at least two years of free service?”

“…It’s been a long time since I’ve been left speechless.”

“When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Where we’re from, warranty periods are long. Especially for high-end goods. I can even pay extra—just this once, please? I’m begging you, sir.”

“You little brat. You think you can buy a sword I made with those pitiful points? Besides, that sword’s way beyond what your brother can handle.”

…Tch. So it was a no, after all. I had no choice but to turn my eyes back to the dragon’s head, which was still glaring at us.

“Then I’ll at least try talking to it. You’ll help with that, right?”

“You said I had to give you after-sales service, didn’t you?”

Young Chaos nodded somewhat begrudgingly. Then he asked me,

“The Black Dragon’s Heart?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I have it with me.”

“Looks like you haven’t used it yet. Maybe you can use it to persuade it. But why haven’t you used it?”

Those red eyes flicked between Yuhyun and me. Yuhyun tilted his head in confusion, like he didn’t understand. No, I was going to explain it…