The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 424: Midnight Visitor (1)

The hotel’s front entrance was completely sealed. The revolving door sat firmly locked and covered with thick cloth. In front of it, in the center of the quiet lobby, two chairs had been placed side by side with a gap between them.

“You don’t have many skills, do you?”

Young Chaos, sitting upright in a large armchair, spoke suddenly. Seong Hyunjae, leaning completely back against his chair, nodded slightly.

“On the smaller side.”

“Probably the skills your original self had.”

“I don’t think so, at least not for combat premonition.”

“That would be accumulated experience. Not a skill, but I can do something similar.”

Prediction based on vast information. Under the system, it must have manifested as a skill.

“He said it’s been building up.”

“Seems that way.”

Seong Hyunjae spoke indifferently, as if discussing someone else’s business.

“I think it’s one of the defense mechanisms to prevent disconnected memories and lives from mixing together. Skills that have already been acquired and used probably can’t be obtained again. More precisely, they’re not utilized.”

The accumulated experiences were also part of Seong Hyunjae. In other words, they were skills he’d already obtained. He couldn’t gain abilities he already possessed.

Seong Hyunjae’s fingers were loosely intertwined.

“Can’t I use them?”

“It’s like pulling stones from a tower one by one. If you’re lucky, you’ll be fine. If you’re unlucky, it’ll collapse instantly.”

No, maybe explode would be better. And when that moment came, not just the surroundings but this entire world wouldn’t remain intact. Young Chaos looked with displeasure at the man precariously walking the line of humanity.

“If the nightmare is dealt with safely, this dungeon will close. No information will leak out.”

Even without that, it was an abnormal dungeon in too many ways to leave alone.

“The firstborn’s information is problematic, but you’re even more serious. If they discover the existence Crescent Moon created, the transcendent beings already split into factions will divide even further. Those who covet you, those who try to replicate it, those who try to eliminate you, those who doubt Crescent Moon, those who want to block the Source first, and so on.”

An overwhelmingly powerful force had suddenly appeared. The one who possessed that power was still human and couldn’t even control it himself. In other words, if someone could just hijack Crescent Moon’s contract, anyone could get their hands on that power.

“So Crescent Moon won’t be able to speak easily either.”

“What’s your opinion, Old Man?”

“There’s no reason to keep alive someone who has power he can’t control.”

Young Chaos spoke coldly.

“If you hadn’t been forcibly accumulated by Crescent Moon, if you’d become this way through your own greed, your own will—I would have dealt with you regardless of what the firstborn said.”

“Can you do it? Even if I don’t agree to come with you.”

“…This whole area would be ruined.”

Chaos made a reluctant face, as if he didn’t want to go that far.

“What the hell is wrong with that firstborn? Even with the secondborn, I wondered what kind of person this was, and now he’s brought an even more troublesome one. The thirdborn isn’t normal either. That dead-faced one is suspicious too.”

“Han Yujin is Han Yujin, isn’t he?”

“…That’s even stranger. If the firstborn had an unusual birth, I’d at least understand. He doesn’t have the aptitude to become S-Rank like the thirdborn either. That guy’s lived at most thirty years. He said it’s been about five years since he awakened.”

Young Chaos had also reached transcendent level from a low grade, but that was the result of a very long time.

“Anyway, as long as you’re trying to live as a human, I have no intention of touching you. Beings from outside shouldn’t go beyond being simple supporters. It’s completely backwards to get drunk on some mission of saving the world and use the masters of that world as tools.”

He could help those weaker than himself. That much was fine. But to blindly drag the weak toward goals the strong desired in the name of help was simple dogmatism and dictatorship.

“The problem is there are many who look down on the people of this world. They all grew up based on their own worlds. The recent ones who easily became transcendent after swallowing their own worlds are especially problematic. Because they grew easily, they think they’re special.”

“It seems it wasn’t like that in the past.”

“Not in my time. Oh, of course there are those who’ve changed like Crescent Moon. Because the system was originally designed to minimize interference and help the people belonging to each world protect themselves.”

But it had changed. Seong Hyunjae smiled gently, as if understanding the complaint.

“Crescent Moon is one thing, and I have some connection with those who made the system, so I feel a bit responsible, but I don’t really have a proper solution either.”

“Except death?”

“And it’s impossible for you to die as you are. The final image would be a mindless monster with all the accumulated power bursting out.”

“That would be quite miserable.”

“It’s not someone else’s story. The most moderate way is for this world to continue. If you can keep maintaining your current self without being pulled out by Crescent Moon, it would be possible to naturally digest the accumulated power.”

But Crescent Moon wouldn’t allow that. Besides, other transcendent beings were showing interest too. If asked whether he could hold out until the end amid all that, no one could guarantee it.

“It won’t be easy, and you’ll have to be prepared for failure. So.”

A thin, bluish panel floated in front of Young Chaos.

“It’s a contract stating I’ll move you to the first Source’s world if you wish.”

“An emergency exit just in case? I refuse.”

“If you survive, you can return.”

His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

“That’s a little tempting.”

“The chances are very low, but with your aptitude and accumulated power, it won’t be impossible.”

Administrator of the first Source. A long, arduous path of having to struggle for survival while being hunted by the most powerful transcendent being.

Seong Hyunjae accepted the contract. But he didn’t sign it, placing it directly into his inventory instead.

“I’ll contact you after reviewing it.”

“…Look at this guy.”

Though his brow furrowed, Young Chaos didn’t demand anything more. It was a matter for him to decide himself, and this was as far as Chaos’s consideration could extend.

“There’s something I’d like to ask.”

“Go ahead.”

“How much time does Han Yujin have left?”

Young Chaos’s eyebrow twitched upward.

“What did the firstborn say?”

“He left a will, thinking he would die. It was a situation that was easy to misunderstand, but before that.”

Han Yujin’s attitude.

“He acted as if he’d been expecting it.”

Like someone diagnosed with a terminal illness. Rather than being surprised by death, it looked as if what was meant to come had come.

It could be because his pre-regression life hadn’t been smooth. It was common for low-rank Hunters to teeter on the edge of life and death, so he might have always kept his own mortality in mind. But it was suspicious.

“I don’t know either.”

Young Chaos clicked his tongue.

“He might live about five more years, but the way he’s acting, it wouldn’t be strange if he died tomorrow.”

“Five years at most?”

“And that’s shrunk and expanded again. I don’t know what happened, but thanks to Crescent Moon, the mana imprinting has stabilized more than before. Don’t tell him. That troublemaker will overdo it again if he thinks he’s fine.”

It was mana imprinting that creaked as if forcibly fitted, too strong for an F-Rank body. But this time, thanks to having an S-Rank body even temporarily, it had managed to settle down. Even if not perfect, it wouldn’t gnaw at his body as severely as before.

“It’s short.”

“Are you concerned?”

Seong Hyunjae’s head tilted slightly. His gaze briefly went to the high ceiling.

“I’ve been bored for a long time.”

There was nothing new in the world, no difficulties either. The reason Seong Hyunjae had developed an interest in breeding, unfitting for a born S-Rank melee fighter, might have been his boredom. If existing things weren’t new, he’d have to create them.

“A death appeared for me, but it was difficult to completely shake off the boredom.”

Song Taewon. The final gift to him, who had no death. But Song Taewon didn’t want to be Seong Hyunjae’s death. He wanted to suppress himself rather than entangle with Seong Hyunjae.

“If my death had been more active, I would have at least played the villain.”

If Song Taewon had actively tried to protect the world without self-loathing. If he’d wanted to be a hero without shadows, Seong Hyunjae would have become a great villain. Or it could have been the reverse.

But Song Taewon wanted so desperately to be human.

“Han Yujin. Even with his ability to raise monster mounts, I didn’t feel that much interest.”

“There are those who raise magical beasts, though it’s not common. You must have encountered it a few times.”

“It was mildly amusing that an F-Rank wasn’t intimidated at all.”

If that was all, his interest would have faded in a month at most, or a week or two at shortest.

“Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim, and the Flame Horned Lion. It was quite something to see them follow him. When I discovered the ability he was hiding, I was tempted too.”

He’d become useful enough that Seong Hyunjae readily offered the SS-Rank coat, Cilekia’s Wing, as payment. But he was nothing more than a trading partner. No, Seong Hyunjae was confident he could obtain what he wanted without even trading if necessary. And after that.

Just today, the black and red coat had been placed in Han Yujin’s hands without any price.

Seong Hyunjae’s lips curved into a soft arc.

“It was fun.”

Those few months. Young Chaos understood that single phrase contained everything. The movement of various emotions, the feeling of stimulation, welcoming change. The sensation of being alive.

“You wouldn’t want to let go.”

His golden eyes slowly turned back to Young Chaos. They were faintly sharpened. There was a hint of what could be seen as madness.

“Until I finish it.”

“Don’t think about catching an innocent kid.”

“I want him to live longer.”

“Are you going to put a leash on him and lock him up? Look at that firstborn’s temperament. No one can change that.”

Even if he took a short break, he was the type who’d never stop. Seong Hyunjae let out an exaggerated sigh.

“It’s difficult.”

“And if he changes, you’ll just say he’s boring again.”

“I thought it wasn’t an untrustworthy face.”

“Leave him alone. Don’t give him any advice beyond taking care of his body. And feed him good food.”

Seong Hyunjae shrugged instead of answering. Young Chaos, looking disgruntled, turned his gaze toward the front door. It remained quiet. He could only faintly hear something like wind.

“The firstborn will come.”

“You mean Han Yujin?”

“And that uptight guy too. Crescent Moon has disappeared, so he won’t be able to come.”

The things that came at night were memories. The sun had set, time had passed, and it would soon be midnight.

“If there are others, tell me in advance. People important to you.”

“If it’s not just someone I know, then there are only two besides him.”

“I don’t have any memories this dungeon knows, so I’m fine. At most, the firstborn will come.”

But it wasn’t the same for others. Especially Han Yujin and Han Yuhyun would have a hard time enduring visits from memories if they were here. Park Yerim also had a high chance of being easily shaken, and Noah was at risk too. There was no need to make Song Taewon suffer more than necessary.

As for Yun Yun, if she got into trouble, it would be from curiosity.

After a while, he heard tapping on the glass.

“Mr. Seong Hyunjae.”

It was Han Yujin’s voice. The presence felt exactly the same as the real one. If he hadn’t heard the warnings, he would have been fooled. Seong Hyunjae looked at the cloth-covered door with interested eyes.

“Is it okay if I just don’t open the door?”

“For now, yes, but what are you trying to do?”

As Seong Hyunjae rose from his seat, another voice was heard.

“Please open the door.”

It was Song Taewon. He waited a moment to see if anyone else would appear, but it seemed to be just the two of them.

“It’s accurate.”

“It’s your memory, so of course.”

“If Han Yujin were here, there would have been many guests.”

Not just Han Yuhyun, but also Park Yerim, Myungwoo, Noah, the monsters, and others. Seong Hyunjae wondered if he would have appeared too, and in what form, as he walked toward the door. His fingertip touched the edge of the hanging cloth.

“Han Yujin.”

“Mr. Seong Hyunjae! Please let me in quickly!”

“There are monsters roaming outside. Hunter Seong Hyunjae, please let Hunter Han Yujin in.”

“Oh my.”

He was imitating Song Taewon’s manner well. If it had been Song Taewon alone, what would he have said? Seong Hyunjae smiled and spoke.

“Han Yujin, when did we first meet?”