The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 347: I’ll Be Right Back for a Bit (3)

Korean cafés had a surprising number of people who let their guard down. That included high-rank Hunters. Since the building café hadn’t opened yet, high-rank Hunters occasionally visited nearby cafés, and it was common to see phones left unattended on tables. I swiped one of those phones. High-rank Hunters often broke their phones anyway, so I didn’t feel particularly guilty. They’d back things up like I did, surely.

I unlocked it using a pattern I had memorized and called Park Hayul.

“It’s me.”

[Hyung! You got out?]

“Yeah.”

[I’m nearby, where are you?]

When I told him the location, he said he’d come right away. I told him I couldn’t drop the stealth skill, so if he left the car door open, I’d get in and close it. Then I hung up and wiped off the fingerprints, tossing the phone onto the sidewalk across the street.

Not long after, a glossy, celebrity-looking van arrived. I saw the door open and got in. As I closed the door, a familiar voice asked,

“Hyung?”

“Yeah.”

I deactivated the stealth skill and turned to look at Park Hayul. He smiled brightly.

“Then you’re coming with me now.”

“What? I—”

“You don’t want to?”

“…No.”

If he asked me to come, I’d go. But.

“I have to get back before it’s too late.”

“Why?”

The question came with a light chuckle, and the car started moving. Besides Park Hayul, there was one person in the driver’s seat, one in the passenger seat, and one more in the back seat.

“Are you sure it’s okay to leave him like this? He might try to escape.”

The man in the back seat said. His Korean was a little clumsy.

“He won’t run. Right, hyung?”

“Why would I even…”

I had no reason to. But there was a subtle sense of discomfort, like a fine thorn pricking my fingertip. This wasn’t a strange situation, and yet I felt like I was supposed to think it was. A faint numbness spread through my head.

I came out to meet Park Hayul. There’s nothing strange about that. I slipped out quietly, sure, but it wasn’t the first time. I wasn’t in danger or anything. If I went back, everything would be fine.

“I do need to go back, though.”

“Hyung.”

“If they find out I snuck out, they’ll worry.”

“You don’t have to go back.”

Park Hayul said firmly.

“There’s no need for you to live locked up again. If you go back, you’ll just be watched by S-ranks.”

“Yeah, I was confined, but that’s because…”

It was my choice. I was the one who asked Myungwoo for the shackle. I had allowed them to check my phone records. Because someone with a mental-type skill seemed to be targeting me.

“I locked myself up. It seems like someone used a mental-type skill on me. So I tried to stop myself from walking out on my own.”

And now here I was, out alone. But it was Park Hayul who called me. He’s not a suspicious outsider, except… I frowned and looked at Park Hayul. The car continued moving and stopped at a traffic light. We hadn’t hit Olympic Highway yet, but we were heading toward Sapyeong-daero.

…Why am I assuming we’re going to get on Olympic Highway?

“…Shit, we can’t go toward Dongjak.”

“What?”

“If we get caught, you’re dead. If you’re going to take Olympic Highway, exit at Banpo. No, better yet, take Gangbyeonbuk-ro and avoid everything.”

Park Hayul looked flustered, and the guys in the front seats glanced back at me.

“They don’t know you’re out yet, right?”

“They didn’t say anything to me, but I bet they’re running checks all the time. Whether it’s Gimpo or Incheon, Olympic Highway is the usual route. Plus, it’s right near the Sesung Guild HQ, so it’s the perfect spot to post people. Head for Banpo Bridge.”

Any place high-rank Hunters frequented was dangerous. And on top of that, Kang Soyeong had delayed dungeon raids and was wandering around with Comet. Comet would likely detect me in the car. S-rank monsters had incredible senses of smell, and since Comet was nocturnal, her sense of smell was even more heightened, even during the day.

“If you’ve got any air freshener or perfume, spray it. Especially if it’s dungeon-use. Damn, but me, I—damn it.”

I knew what was happening. But I was pretending not to know.

“Park Hayul, you…”

So then, you—Park Hayul looked close to tears as he spoke.

“Hyung, you’re trying to help me, right? You have to help me.”

“Hey, you…”

“You can’t do anything to hurt me right now, so just take Banpo Bridge.”

The car changed course at his words. We were heading for the airport. I knew it, and yet my brain refused to accept it. I felt disgusting. It was like the answer was dangling right in front of me, but I couldn’t grab it. I grit my teeth and pulled a dagger from my inventory and stabbed it into my palm.

“Hyung!”

“Damn it, you, that mental-type…”

“You can’t do that!”

His voice had a hint of command, and my strength drained away. The dagger was pulled out and my hand was instantly healed. But the realization didn’t disappear.

“You really used a mental-type skill on me?”

“Yes, I did.”

Park Hayul gave me a remorseful look. As maddening as it was, even after realizing this guy was the culprit, I didn’t feel the slightest hostility. I still wanted to help him. Help him kidnap me. It was seriously driving me crazy.

“What the hell… This is way too strong. Even high-grade mental skills usually don’t work like this.”

“Oh, I’m an A-rank triple stack. They say the effect is practically SS-rank.”

He answered casually. A-rank triple stack, huh. What were they again.

“When people look at ‘Feels Comfortable to Watch’ and ‘Can’t Look Away’…”

“They relax when they look, and they can’t take their eyes off, right? You knew already, hyung. I heard you can assess people’s state even as a non-awakened.”

…Did that leak from the pre-reform Association? He got all three Optimized Awakening skills.

“What do they do exactly?”

“You’re not supposed to tell people, right?”

“I can’t share it with anyone anyway. I didn’t even tell my brother I met you.”

Park Hayul shrugged and said, “True.”

“‘Feels Comfortable to Watch’ makes people drop their guard when they look at me. They become defenseless, mentally or physically. But it only works if the person finds me attractive. Luckily, I’m good-looking, so it usually works~ Women of course, and even guys tend to feel some level of affection.”

I’ll admit he’s good-looking. That skill seemed to work as a kind of preconditioner before the real effect kicked in.

“‘Can’t Look Away’ is a skill that makes people heavily influenced by my actions. The first activation needs eye contact, but once it’s applied, it can be triggered through calls or texts. And ‘Perfect Finishing Touch’ enhances the other two.”

With ‘Perfect Finishing Touch,’ ‘Feels Comfortable to Watch’ probably gets boosted to S-rank level, and ‘Can’t Look Away’ with both buffs might hit SS-rank. Hayul only said it influences people strongly, but that’s basically brainwashing.

“And it works better on people who knew me before I awakened.”

“…No wonder it worked so well on me.”

Even if mental-type skills are said to have weak effects for their rank and are hard to apply, that combination is something an F-rank like me has no way of resisting. A single A-rank mental skill is already strong, but triple-stacked?

“Is there no way to break it or any weaknesses? Not that you’d tell me even if there were.”

“Of course not.”

So there is one. Obviously, Hayul wouldn’t be doing this alone. There had to be someone behind it, and no powerful backer would keep a mental-type awakener nearby without a countermeasure.

That’s also why Hunters with mental-type skills are rarely known. Even if their skill rank is low, they’re seen as dangerous. If Park Hayul was still walking around freely, that meant there was a reliable way to block his skill.

“Does it work on S-rank Hunters too?”

“If the conditions are right.”

That’s seriously dangerous. Maybe not as strong as with me, but still. The A-rank Hunter who let him into the breeding facility must have been under the skill too.

“But hyung, even though you’re F-rank, you were more resistant than most. You figured out I used a mental-type skill, right? Even mid-levels wouldn’t have sensed anything strange.”

Park Hayul said, sounding impressed. Despite how easily he could apply his skills, he hadn’t tried to take over the entire breeding facility. Maybe he was afraid of getting caught, or maybe the number of targets he could control was limited. If it worked without limits, it would be complete overkill. You could even call it L-rank.

At that moment, the guy in the back seat spoke up in a panic.

“The airport has been shut down!”

That was fast. Park Hayul turned to me in surprise.

“Did they catch you on the way out?”

“No. But they probably did something I didn’t know about. My people are smart. Hey, take off your clothes.”

I threw my shoes onto the passenger seat.

“Toss them out the window. They probably didn’t implant a tracker in my body, so shoes are the most likely place.”

Jacket and clothes too, just in case. I wore stuff I usually don’t, but no reason to leave a risk.

“Don’t throw everything at once. Drop them one by one so it looks like a trail. Make them think we’re heading for Gimpo or Incheon. Hey, I said take off your clothes.”

Give them here. I took the backseat guy’s clothes and put them on. Baggy.

“I doubt you’re the only ones involved. Are all of you awakened?”

“Yes. But our ranks are low. If we used high-rank Hunters, it would’ve been too easy to get caught, so it’s only Koreans or people who lived in Korea. Since hyung is F-rank.”

“Smart move. No wonder it was hard to trace. What about the rest?”

“They’re preparing at the airport…”

“They’ve all been caught already, guaranteed.”

The moment I disappeared, any plane about to leave would’ve been flagged. With high-rank Hunters watching too. Even if they weren’t sure, there was no way it wouldn’t look suspicious. Chief Song probably already deployed by now.

“Gimpo?”

Park Hayul nodded.

“That’s a TV, right? Turn on the news. They should be broadcasting about me right now. Turn up the volume and make sure it’s visible.”

“Huh?”

“People will be less suspicious that way. If we get stopped, say you saw the news and were keeping watch just in case. Got a camera? You’ve got money, right? Buy a camera and some filming gear. You’re a celebrity. Got sunglasses? The ones up front, act like celebrity managers. Actually, we should ditch this car first. Dump it in the water.”

“I—in the water?”

“They’ll trace it in no time. There’ll be fingerprints, hair, everything. Can’t just leave it. Or burn it. You said all three of you are awakened? Fine, do you have another vehicle ready?”

“Yes, we have more than just the airport team.”

“Find a place without CCTV, have everyone but one person get out, and have that one drive the car into the Han River. Somewhere along the road to Incheon. Make sure people see the car being dumped. Since the airport is blocked, they’ll assume we’re switching to sea route. Have the new car come looking flashy like a celebrity ride. Even better if it’s the same model. Most people think a switch means a totally different car, so it’ll look less suspicious. Oh, and get a map and a compass too.”

Park Hayul and the others scrambled, but moved quickly as instructed. I used my Stealth skill again and got out in a quiet alley. I walked to another location and got into the new car. Everyone had changed clothes and put on sunglasses. A tablet TV was running in the front seat.

“It’s coming on as breaking news.”

The screen changed, showing Gimpo Airport. A plane with a damaged tail and Song Taewon appeared. High-rank Hunters were being arrested. Chief Song’s face was tense. He was always stern, but now he looked downright cold.

“Destination was China? You said you were expanding there.”

That’s right, Park Hayul nodded.

“What’s the nearest Chinese airport? How long does it take?”

“Uh, Dalian Airport. It takes a little over an hour by plane. There’s also Dandong. But getting a plane airborne would be difficult now.”

“Can’t use planes. Boats won’t work either. Even if we launch in secret, there’s a high chance of getting caught at sea.”

“Then?”

“Let’s go to the Gyeonggi breeding facility.”

I took a breath and continued.

“If it’s the Golden Griffin, if it’s Blue, it’ll take maybe two hours to reach Dalian Airport. And they probably won’t think we’d go to a breeding facility. If we match Blue’s usual walk time, we can approach without drawing attention.”

Also, I usually kept Blue’s owner’s token. Even if we got spotted midway, she’d listen to me first, and in the air, no Hunter or beast could catch her.

“Once we arrive in China, we’ll send Blue right back. You weren’t planning on arriving through Dalian in the first place, right? So they won’t have any defenses there?”

“Yeah, probably not.”

“Don’t contact anyone until we arrive. Please. It’s not like I can run away anyway.”

Park Hayul nodded with a slightly regretful expression. If you feel sorry, just let me go. Soon after, we reached a checkpoint. Still under Stealth, I warned him.

“Don’t use your skill, Hayul.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“If we get through too easily, it’ll be suspicious. They’re looking for a mental-type skill user right now.”

Just then, the TV reported on a suspicious car dumped into the Han River. The timing was perfect. We were headed the opposite direction, so checks here would be looser. A Hunter moved across the Han River. …It was Yerim. Watching her cut through the water and lift the car to the bank made my mouth go a bit dry.

Maybe Yuhyun went toward Incheon. Seong Hyunjae could’ve gone too. If they confirmed the destination was China, they’d focus their inspections along the west coast.

“Hello, thank you for your hard work~”

Park Hayul greeted warmly, removing his sunglasses. We passed through the checkpoint without issue. The road grew more empty as we neared the breeding facility. At this time of day, Blue would be playing in the mountains. We stopped the car below the deserted mountain and got out. I deactivated Stealth and looked up at the sky.

“…Hayul, you can’t come with me from here.”

“Okay, hyung.”

Not long after.

-Kyaaou!

Blue spotted me and flew in fast. She flapped her wings wide as she landed, greeted me, and then tilted her head, looking curiously at Park Hayul.

“Blue.”

-Kyaa.

“Wanna go for a walk with Dad?”

I put Park Hayul on Blue’s back first. Blue was friendly even with strangers, so there was no resistance. I was about to climb up as well when—

Chak!

I heard the familiar sound of a chain.

“Fly!”

Cold energy wrapped around my leg at the same time that Blue, carrying only Park Hayul, soared into the air.