The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 329: Heart of the Black Dragon (4)

“If that’s settled, just get it over with.”

Young Chaos waved us off with an expression that screamed he couldn’t be more annoyed. Just get it over with, he said.

“What… how, exactly?”

“What have you been listening to this whole time.”

“Uh… should I turn off the skill first?”

Since this isn’t the real world, we’d probably need to do it outside. But Chaos shook his head.

“If you just leave, that lizard will fall asleep again. Even if it’s a mental skill, it’s still connected to reality, so we need to transfer his consciousness here first.”

– Take out my heart fragment.

Following Chaos, the black dragon spoke. I did as instructed and pulled the heart fragment from my inventory. It looked like a sharply shattered piece of obsidian, slightly smaller than my palm. A faint red glow shimmered on its pitch-black surface.

‘…Doesn’t this feel a lot like with Changeling?’

Back then, I’d entered Seong Hyeonje’s mental space and received a fragment. The rookie had said, “A regular human wouldn’t be affected~,” but Seong Hyeonje wasn’t a regular human, and in the end, Changeling was born.

“Originally this would be a beast combination skill, but does that mean instead of just growing the heart to evolve the sword, the black dragon will be born?”

“Just think of it as picking up a pet. With that fragment, you’ll probably only get an F-rank.”

– A pet, you say.

“What if I add an S-rank mana stone?”

“The rank would go up, but its ego would get mixed up.”

Still, if it’s F-rank, it’d be too much hassle for me. It’s already hard enough managing my own body, and now I’d be stuck taking care of an old dragon. I can’t just leave him be either, since it’s Yuhyun’s sword.

“Mr. Black Dragon, an F-rank would be inconvenient in many ways. Instead of struggling, how about we raise the rank with a mana stone? I’ll give you a free S-rank stone. I’ll even match the element properly.”

The black dragon hesitated for a moment, then answered.

– If it’s just an S-rank mana stone, it won’t have much effect anyway.

“That kind of carelessness is exactly what got you killed.”

– It’s not strange to underestimate a human who’s barely lived! And not even a source-bearer!

The black dragon shouted resentfully at Chaos’s words.

“You weren’t a source-bearer?”

“I told you before, source-bearers used to be rarer among transcendents. Ah, Crescent Moon was a source-bearer, I think.”

“Crescent Moon? Could you tell me what their attribute was?”

“I don’t know. I barely ever encountered them.”

So they weren’t close. Which honestly is a relief to me. Still, to think Young Chaos wasn’t a source-bearer. Even so, he must’ve been exceptional from the start. Maybe not born S-rank, but at least awakened at S-rank level. The black dragon let out a heated breath and grumbled.

– They called me the Disaster of the Central Continent, but to me, he was the real disaster. I went to all that trouble protecting the world, and then that damn guy popped out of nowhere!

“You protected the world? From the origin?”

– Every monster unleashed by the origin was weaker than me.

The black dragon said proudly. Well, with a monster like that guarding things, even the origin couldn’t overrun the world with monsters. It really does mean the world could be protected if just one L-rank awakener exists. As long as the transcendents don’t go on a rampage.

“What does it matter if you protected it. The world was still falling apart. That damn lizard just squatted on the Central Continent, melted mountains, filled rivers with molten metal, and caused endless droughts with all that heat.”

“A real disaster, then.”

So even if they escape the origin, there could still be side effects like that. A hero who saved the world becoming the next cause of destruction. Might be better with a team. At least there’d be checks and balances.

Anyway, since the black dragon saved the world, I put on a respectful face and asked gently,

“Were the monsters sent by the origin hard to deal with? Were you L-rank back then? What about the monsters’ ranks? You didn’t handle it all alone, did you?”

– I took down the strong ones myself.

As the black dragon bragged again, Young Chaos poured cold water on him.

“You won’t get anything useful out of him. He didn’t even know he was saving the world—he was just hunting.”

Since he was also fire attribute, maybe he went around burning everything down with no allies. Young Chaos whispered to me in a low voice, loud enough for the black dragon to hear anyway.

“He’s a bit dumb for a source-bearer. When a strong dragonkin also happens to be a source-bearer, sometimes you get cases like this. Their existence becomes too overwhelming, and they get consumed by their own ego, turning into mindless monsters.”

Now that he mentioned it, Diarma seemed a little dimmer than other transcendents too. The black dragon, having heard everything Chaos said, growled fiercely. But he didn’t argue back, and eventually just shut his eyes. At the same time, the heart fragment in my palm grew hot. The red glow flared up briefly, then vanished like it had been absorbed, leaving behind a pure black gleam.

“…Did it transfer?”

As soon as I asked, the black dragon’s head began to slowly collapse. The body that lay a distance away, its limbs and tail, all began to crumble too. Like snow melting under midsummer sun, it all dissolved away. Beyond the vast body, the open ground leading to the sea was revealed.

“When you embed the heart in your back, mix in some of his essence. A little blood should be enough.”

At Chaos’s words, Yuhyun’s already sullen expression hardened even more.

“Why is it always Hyung.”

“Yuhyun.”

“Can’t I do it instead?”

“Does it look like that’ll work? If you don’t want to, then just give up the sword.”

Give up?! I quickly stopped Yuhyun before he did something rash.

“It’s just me using one of my skills, that’s all. A skill. It might leave a bit of a scar, but I’m a Hunter too. Compared to risking my life raiding dungeons, this is nothing. If we’re talking career length, technically I’m more experienced than you—”

“Career?”

Yuhyun’s voice dropped noticeably colder.

“Career, you said, Hyung. Don’t tell me—you entered dungeons before regressing? You said you didn’t have many skills back then.”

“Of course I did.”

My heart skipped, but I answered calmly, casually.

“Come on, do you think I’d have just sat around with my personality? Even now I’m like this. So yeah, you had a hard time too.”

“…”

“But I didn’t die.”

At that, Yuhyun finally relaxed his expression, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I need to be more careful with my words.

“Please. You heard the black dragon earlier. If an L-rank could stop monsters alone, then it’d take multiple SSS-ranks to do the same. We can’t afford to throw away a weapon that can grow to L-rank.”

“…I know. If it weren’t for that, I would’ve given it up.”

Yuhyun muttered sullenly. Still, maybe because we already went through a fight, his resistance wasn’t as strong as I expected. Even if this isn’t the real world, he already stabbed a sword into my body, after all.

“Mister, thank you for everything.”

As I bowed politely, preparing to leave, Chaos looked at us with a flat stare before stepping forward. And then suddenly—

“Yuhyun?!”

My brother collapsed unconscious in an instant. Chaos, who had somehow gotten beside him, caught Yuhyun by the back of his neck with one hand before he hit the ground, then handed him to me. I barely managed to catch him and fell to the ground with him, staggering. Must be my stats dropped back to F-rank—my body felt weak.

“He’s just unconscious for a moment.”

“Why all of a sudden?!”

“He doesn’t like hearing this kind of thing, does he.”

Young Chaos replied curtly.

“You damn reckless brat. Do you actually have any intention of living a long life?”

“Yes.”

I looked up at him and answered. Chaos’s brow furrowed deeply.

“You talk a good game.”

“If the world becomes safe, I’m confident I can live quietly. I’ll even make the effort to live long. My goal is to hit a hundred years, so how much time would be left?”

Instead of answering, his small hand pressed down on my head as if to smother it. It hurt, but the touch was also warm.

“You damn fool, like a wild colt.”

“From cow to horse now? At this rate I’ll be a dog next.”

“Dogs at least listen when you talk. More importantly, once the first wild colt bolts, the second one follows right behind.”

“That’s my biggest concern.”

I looked down at Yuhyun in my arms. Because of this guy, my worries only keep piling up.

“There are some people who get along with him, though. We have a third in our house too.”

“What? Another one like you brats? The end really is near.”

“He’s a good kid!”

“You said the second one was good too.”

Well, Yuhyun is kind, in his own way… I suddenly felt guilty toward Yerim.

“Anyway, he gets along well with Peace too. Things will slowly change. You said there’s still a chance, right, Mister?”

“Even if he changes, his core stays the same. He’ll still only have eyes for you. That’s just how he is. Even if you threw him away, it’d be like an everlasting incense to a departed soul.”

“I’m not throwing him away…”

I muttered and changed the subject while gritting my teeth.

“Mister, your tone’s getting more and more old-fashioned. You’re even using classical Chinese idioms now. Come to think of it, you speak Korean fluently—do you have a language-related skill?”

“It’s not a skill, the system synchronizes it. And I’m getting old? Is that something the rabbit brat said?”

“If you mean the rookie, he’s more like a puppy. Just because his ears are long doesn’t mean he’s a rabbit. There are lop-eared rabbits, sure, but judging by the teeth, he’s either carnivorous or omnivorous.”

“What would a kid who’s never seen a carnivorous rabbit know.”

“Anyone can see he’s a puppy!”

“He’s a rabbit.”

A pointless debate broke out for a while. There was no conclusion. Putting the nonsense aside, I asked again about Yuhyun. I had to get as much information as possible—who knows when I’ll get to meet Chaos again.

“Mister, you’ve seen other source-bearers like Yuhyun before, right? Can you tell me a bit more? Someone said he looked like he’d die young, but there are those who lived long too, right?”

“Eighty percent die in childhood.”

“…That many?”

“Being a source-bearer is already something to be feared, but if they’re the source itself, most would throw them away even if they’re newborns. They only survive in societies where systems or ethics protect children well.”

…Even a naturally gifted S-rank couldn’t survive if they were abandoned before they could even walk. Thankfully, in modern times—at least in our country—it’s not so easy to discard a child. I was lucky he didn’t end up in an orphanage.

“Were there any cases where the guardian was also a source-bearer? I feel like source-bearers might get along with each other.”

“Most source-bearers act on their own desires. Those kinds of people wouldn’t bother raising a kid who doesn’t respond to them. Even if they’re curious at first, they’d abandon them soon enough.”

Well, even Seong Hyeonje showed brief interest when he noticed Yuhyun was unusual, then quickly lost it. …Thinking about it again just makes me mad. Don’t even think about messing with my kid again. Same goes for the rest of you. Don’t tell me he’s got his eyes on Yerim now. She’s not just an ordinary S-rank Hunter either. Maybe I should tell him to stay away from the Breeding Facility and Haeyeon Guild altogether.

“There were rare cases where a regular person recognized the talent and raised them with the intention to use it, but most of them were killed by the source-bearer. They’re not the type to be tamed. As far as I know, your brother is the first.”

And then Young Chaos added that all of them died before even reaching fifty, let alone a hundred.

“A being with only one instinctive nature and no desires can’t live long. Your brother is different, so cheer up. As long as you live long, that kid will too.”

“…Yes.”

With nothing positive in the stories I’d heard, I couldn’t help but look miserable. Chaos looked at me like I was giving him a headache.

“Every time you open your mouth, it’s all about your brother.”

“I could go on for three days and nights.”

“Talk about yourself.”

“Me?”

My story, huh. Well.

“I’m doing my best to live.”

I tried to live well while raising my brother, but I failed. So now I’m trying not to fail a second time. That’s all there is to it.

“I’m doing my best to live.”

“I see.”

“And you, Mister.”

I looked up from Yuhyun. A face similar to his entered my view. He looked indifferent, but he was still looking at me. It was only our third time meeting. And yet—

“Can I trust you?”

“That’s for you to decide.”

“Why are you helping us this much? You do care… don’t you?”

“It’s just so ridiculous watching a weak brat dragging himself along, not even noticing his own flesh getting torn.”

“You’re helping me because you pity me?”

Pity was fine. Getting hurt pride is a luxury for those who can afford to survive. If someone wants to offer a helping hand out of pity, I’ll take it with gratitude.

“You think you’re the only pitiful one in the world? You just happened to catch my eye, and I felt like doing it.”

Chaos gently patted my head again.

“That’s all.”

The hand resting on my head slipped down and tapped Yuhyun’s cheek. At that, my brother’s closed eyes opened.

“…Hyung?”

“When you leave, take your brother straight to the hospital.”

At Young Chaos’s words, Yuhyun jerked upright like he’d been doused with cold water.

“The hospital?”

“Yeah. Don’t use potions or healing skills—they’ll be poison instead. Use methods without mana or magical energy to help him recover.”

“Are there any other precautions?”

Yuhyun asked seriously. He didn’t show a shred of complaint even though he’d just been knocked out.

“Even normally, avoid relying on those things. Just feed him well and let him sleep properly. The first wild colt is hard to handle, and the second—”

Chaos stroked his smooth chin with narrowed eyes as he looked at Yuhyun.

“Want to learn from me?”