The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 328: Heart of the Black Dragon (3)

“My body wasn’t in great shape back then.”

“You were thrashing like you were trying to die.”

“…Hyung?”

“I meant your eyes not working, your vision. The old man was just exaggerating. Your eyesight’s improved a lot now, hasn’t it.”

Lord Chaos, Mister, please! Fortunately, Chaos didn’t say anything more and crossed his arms. But Yuhyun still looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“Helping the Sesung Guild Leader—was that too much for you?”

“No. I mean, it wasn’t easy, but it was just overwork. Like working overtime, nothing unusual.”

The black eyes narrowed. The red eyes narrowed too. Since Chaos looked like Yuhyun, it felt like I had two younger brothers scolding me.

“I-I had to save people, after all…”

“What kind of guy is this Sesung Guild Leader.”

“Ah, well…”

“He’s someone who bothers Hyung.”

“If you let him hang around, he must be a source-bearer too.”

“Yes. But he’s going overseas soon.”

Yuhyun spoke like he was clearing away a nuisance. I felt like I should make an excuse, but did I really need to defend Seong Hyeonje? Still, I opened my mouth.

“He’s actually useful. Kind of like a business partner or collaborator. His personality is a bit problematic, but his face—no, his ability is good. And… he makes good bread.”

Once I ruled out his looks, all I could think of was food. Maybe that’s why they say food is what lasts. He was unnecessarily good at knitting too.

“…Anyway, he’s… not a bad person. Not bad.”

Trying to compliment Seong Hyeonje made Chief Song’s face float in my mind. Chief Song, I’m sorry. Young Chaos looked at me with a strange expression.

“How long have you known that guy?”

“Me? About four months, I think. If you include the fake world time.”

“Four months? And yet you talk like that… Is it that you’re too quick to get attached, or is he not very source-bearer-like?”

“Hyung got fooled.”

Yuhyun answered coldly on my behalf and added.

“He gets attached to people too easily.”

“Too easily? I’ve never done that. It’s not like I have that many people around me.”

“You’ve always been like that, so there’s nothing to be done, but still, be careful. Even while I’m not looking, the number keeps going up. When did you get close to… that person?”

I felt a little wronged. It was actually the opposite. I’ve spent five years starting with suspicion whenever a stranger approached me. …Though I did fall for it a few times, so my brother isn’t entirely wrong. But what can you do when someone pretends to be a good person, pretends to understand you? It’s the ones who exploit your weaknesses and deceive you that are the bad ones.

“I’ve only met Chaos-sensei twice. We’re not close. And Mister, I’m not that close with Seong Hyeonje, the Sesung Guild Leader either. He himself said he doesn’t have a single friend. And from what I can tell, he’ll never have one. That ‘temporary friendship’ thing expired a long time ago.”

“Sure, sure. And yet you call a source-bearer you met four months ago a ‘not bad person.’ Do you even hear yourself? Were you born like that, or did raising that brat turn you into this?”

Young Chaos stepped to the edge of the cliff and continued.

“The guy seems like a pretty average human deep down, so what’s with him. Only thirty years lived, and already like that.”

“How did you know he’s thirty? Did the rookie tell you?”

“You can just tell by looking.”

Is it that obvious? Well, he did figure out my physical condition right away too. Even the jellyfish made a diagnosis once. Suddenly I got curious about Young Chaos. Even among transcendents, there seemed to be quite a variety.

“Um, judging by the way you treated the rookie, Mister, you must be… pretty high-ranking? Anyway, you said the others were just ‘recent types,’ so you must have been around much longer, right?”

“I’ve lived long enough.”

Chaos’s body floated lightly in the air. His feet dropped down below the cliff and touched the surface of the water. Splash, a round ripple spread out, and the sea instantly receded. It was like watching a timelapse of the tide going out. The full sea drained away with a loud noise, revealing the wet seabed and the severed dragon bodies.

It didn’t seem like he was manipulating water like Yerim, so how the hell did he make such a sight? Even seeing it up close, I didn’t understand. Even though both were transcendents, if I had fought Young Chaos instead of the King of Harmless, I wouldn’t have won. Even if my stats were higher.

I tried to follow him down, but Yuhyun grabbed my waist. With willow leaves fluttering, we stepped softly onto the now-dry ground like walking down steps.

“I can go down on my own now.”

“Still, there’s no need for you to move yourself. More importantly… be honest with me, Hyung. This mental-type skill—isn’t it a burden on you?”

Yuhyun asked with a mix of worry and suspicion in his eyes.

“To be totally honest, it would’ve been a burden in the past. Using the skill consumes mana, and my mana pool is small even with gear boosts. If I passed out, I couldn’t even drink a mana potion. But now, thanks to Grace, I’m fine.”

Unlike with Seong Hyeonje, I didn’t feel short on mana at all. I looked proudly at Chaos and said,

“Right? Mister.”

“If it weren’t for me and that lizard bastard, maybe.”

“What?”

“It’ll put you in bed for a day.”

He said it like I’d only be sick for a day, but the red eyes aimed at me were stern. It felt like he was downplaying it in front of Yuhyun. That alone was enough to make my brother flustered.

“Hyung…!”

“What can I do, it already happened. I’ll just be careful next time, like Mister said.”

While I was trying to calm Yuhyun down, Chaos approached the severed head of the black dragon. The dragon’s closed mouth opened wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth. A low growl leaked out between the massive pillar-like fangs.

“Noisy.”

Chaos kicked a stone. The flying stone hit the dragon’s snout, and its open mouth snapped shut as if slammed by a hammer.

“…You’re stronger than the King of Harmless, right, Mister?”

“I’m the strongest.”

“…Sorry?”

Uh, wait.

“Among the transcendents, you mean? The strongest? Even more than Crescent Moon?”

“Yes.”

He answered plainly, like stating an obvious fact. I wasn’t sure if I should believe him. He was clearly not normal, but the strongest? I glanced at the black dragon, then walked toward Chaos.

“Excuse me, Mister. Then, could you help us out? Please. If the transcendents just didn’t meddle for no reason, we could survive just fine on our own. We can’t offer a reward worthy of your help, but we’ll do anything you want. Just think of it as charity for some poor kids─”

“Hyung! ‘Anything’? I’ll do it instead!”

“What? What do you mean, instead?!”

“…Both of you, shut your mouths.”

Young Chaos spoke, frowning slightly. His voice was quiet, not even a scolding, but both Yuhyun and I froze and shut up. Neither of us dared to defy him.

“I can’t attack unless someone comes at me first. Besides, if I intervene now, it’ll just make a bigger mess.”

I hadn’t expected much, but still, I guess it’s a no. I mean, no matter how strong he is, he can’t take on all the other transcendents alone.

“For now, there’s no need to worry.”

Chaos clicked his tongue and said,

“Once the two groups finish negotiations, neither side will be able to directly interfere with this world. They’ll still try underhanded tricks, but hmm.”

Despite looking like a twelve-year-old boy, he crossed his arms with the air of someone much older, then glanced back at the black dragon’s head.

“First, let’s deal with this one.”

The black dragon growled lowly in frustration. How should I persuade it? Maybe introductions first.

“Hello, Mr. Black Dragon. I’m Han Yujin. This is my younger brother, Han Yuhyun.”

Thin, bright red pupils moved toward me. They looked like molten lava leaking from a black cliff face.

“I’m sure you’ve lived a long life, but still, wouldn’t living be better than dying here? My brother takes good care of his weapons. We can treat you well and give you some comfort. Inventory must be cramped—would you like us to let you stay out? We can even attach wireless earbuds so you can listen to music or audiobooks.”

I heard the sound quality is great with the wireless ones these days.

– You say living is better?

A rough, raspy voice scratched its way out. A wave of heat swept over us.

– You call it living, being trapped inside a sword made from my own body, with only my consciousness barely hanging on?

“Uh… I don’t really have a counter to that. Still, I’d suggest staying a few more years to prepare yourself instead of dying suddenly here. We’ll help you enjoy your final days as much as possible.”

– A few years? How can I believe that? Isn’t that just saying you’d throw away a powerful weapon that can’t be recovered?

The black dragon scoffed. Honestly, what kind of lunatic would willingly get rid of a weapon that could grow to L-rank? I wouldn’t believe it either. Then Yuhyun spoke up.

“I can promise you.”

– Empty words.

“I have a skill that can melt any sword taken out from my inventory. But because of the Sword of the Sovereign’s trait, which prevents it from melting under any fire below L-rank, my skill hasn’t worked on it.”

The Sword Devourer skill description said it could melt any weapon regardless of rank, but apparently the Sovereign Sword’s trait took precedence. Well, the Sword of the Sovereign was originally L-rank level, and the Sword Devourer skill was ranked lower than that.

“If the Sword Devourer skill or the flames grow stronger, they could consume the Sword of the Sovereign too.”

– So, you’ll melt it then?

“If it’s to protect my brother, I won’t hesitate even for a rare weapon.”

Yuhyun said calmly, as if he’d use it that way if needed. Personally, I wanted to shout, “You’d really melt an L-rank sword?!” but I stayed quiet.

“Even if you die here, the sword made from your flesh remains. Don’t you want to melt away cleanly instead? I would.”

“Hey! What do you mean, ‘if it were me’!”

“If I had no reason to live without you, Hyung. Iryn would handle it, I’m sure.”

The way he said it so naturally made me feel suffocated. Guess I really do need to live at least another hundred years somehow.

The black dragon was silent for a moment. Its mouth twitched slightly like it wanted to speak, then closed again. Young Chaos, who had been watching it, stepped forward.

“Seems like he doesn’t really want to die, now that it’s actually an option.”

– That…

“You’re right, Mister. Now that I think about it, if he really wanted to die, he could’ve just offed himself before you showed up. You wanted to live after all, didn’t you, Mr. Black Dragon.”

As I chimed in with Chaos and urged honesty, the black dragon growled.

– I just don’t want to live trapped in a sword, but if there were a way to escape, of course I’d take it!

“What if there were a way to get a new body?”

At Chaos’s words, the black dragon fell silent again. His dark eyes took on a suspicious glint.

– You’re just some old man who can make swords and break things.

“You’re five thousand years older than me.”

What a pointless age contest. Chaos reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me forward.

“And the one who’ll make you a body is this guy.”

“Excuse me?”

– What?

“Don’t drag my brother into this. It’s my sword and my responsibility.”

Yuhyun grabbed my other arm with a frown. The black dragon looked me over, puzzled.

– Unlike the source-bearer next to you, you’re just a normal human.

“He’s a nurturer. When it comes to raising things, he could put a proper gardener to shame. There’s only a single piece of your heart left, so it won’t be anywhere close to your original body, but you should still be able to move around freely. So, what’ll it be?”

Who’s the gardener now? Doesn’t sound like just a regular occupation. Young Chaos’s words made the black dragon hesitate before responding.

– Is that really possible? With just a fragment of my heart?

“There’s also that guy. A source-bearer whose nature is close to yours.”

“Close in nature? You mean the black dragon and Yuhyun?”

Chaos nodded at my question.

“Yeah. It’s obvious he’s a fire-type source-bearer. Unlike your brother, though, his origin ratio is just over half.”

I looked again at the black dragon in surprise. A fellow fire-type source-bearer, huh.

“Then he’s kind of like a relative to Yuhyun.”

“You’re much closer than he is.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Even if we’re blood relatives, we feel completely different.”

Right. I tilted my head and looked over at Yuhyun.

“Right now, you’re the same as me. Using exactly the same power.”

Same power? Because of that? I gave Chaos a brief explanation of the Perfect Nurturer skill. After hearing it, Young Chaos made a face like he’d seen something truly bizarre.

“Anyway, your brother is a highly pure source-bearer, so he can be used as material without much refinement.”

“M-Material?! Why would you use a perfectly healthy person as material?! Don’t tell me that’s why the transcendents are targeting Yuhyun?”

The jellyfish had shown interest too. I hugged Yuhyun in a panic, but Chaos told me not to make a fuss and continued explaining.

“It’s just less work, that’s all. He’s not inherently valuable or anything, so don’t worry. Even ordinary humans have the power of origin within them. A transcendent would rather refine ten thousand sapient beings than tear your brother apart. It’s easier than hunting down rare source-bearers. For an average one, maybe a hundred would do.”

“…Is there really that much of a difference?”

“When filtering out impurities, the power of origin gets reduced too. Those who can’t refine it would treat it as precious, but such people wouldn’t be able to capture a source-bearer anyway. And even if they did, they wouldn’t know how to handle one.”

Still, I’d heard there were some who tried to use source-bearers to brew elixirs of immortality. It was a relief that we lived in modern times, at least in that sense… Though even in modern society, plenty of people would lose their minds if they thought they could live forever. There were already some pretty wild superstitions circulating among awakened folks.

“The black dragon’s consciousness probably fully awakened because it was infused with a highly pure fire-type source similar to its own nature. So if you add some of that fire source into the heart fragment, it should be able to create a decent body.”

At Young Chaos’s prompting, the black dragon slowly blinked. Then it answered.

– Fine, I’ll accept it.