The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 492



Chapter 492: I Don’t Have Much to Offer (3)


Crunch, the flaming wreck of the motorcycle was crushed beneath combat boots. Eric stowed his battle-axe into his inventory and instead drew a pair of daggers— a stiletto and a kukri— one in each hand. Unless Noah transformed fully into a dragon, a battle-axe wasn’t suitable for a swift, small target. The stiletto spun once atop Eric’s knuckles, twirling showily.


“I’ll peel your scales.”


Noah Luhir possessed a high-rank Dragonkin Transformation skill. Unlike an ordinary support-type, his combat capability would be enhanced. In particular, a dragon’s hide was practically armor.


But Eric was also a seasoned S-rank Hunter. Depending on the type of dragonkin, a scale-type like Noah had gaps that, if scraped at, could surprisingly lower his defense. Powerful dragonkin appeared now and then in S-rank dungeons managed by the Turschen Guild, and he had enough battle experience. He had even severed an S-rank monster— an Undead Dragon’s head— multiple times. What nagged at him more now was—


Eric flicked a glance toward the Haeyeon Guildmaster standing atop a pier piling.


“You weren’t on the list. Where’s Chohwaun?”


The Haeyeon Guildmaster was focused solely on talking to someone over comms. There was no sign of him butting in. In that case, there was nothing to worry about. Eric leveled the needle-slender stiletto like a big pin and activated a skill: Tail-Chase. It was a combat support skill that made it easier to track a specific target’s movements. Next, he pulled a small pill from his inventory and tucked it into one cheek. It was a potent antidote item that slowly dissolved and worked over about an hour. With that plus the poison-resistance ring he wore, he could endure even some S-rank poison skills.


And, true to a French Hunter famed for dealing with undead, he was also well equipped with curse-resistance gear. The two weapons in Eric’s hands carried a healing-reduction skill. The weapons themselves had options that slowed regeneration. Ideal for facing endlessly regenerating undead— and highly effective against Hunters with self-healing as well.


By contrast, Noah produced nothing besides his chain half-gauntlets. That light, almost casual guard made Eric’s brow crease.


“Now that you’ve tied yourself to a specific affiliation, I’ve no reason to be lenient!”


It wasn’t like the past, when he’d move by request from other guilds. Back then, even if he found support-types uppity, he swallowed it; if relations soured, he might not get help when needed. But now Noah belonged to some far-off country’s Breeding Facility— an absurd outfit.


Screee— Eric pressed down with his foot and a shard of metal that had been part of the bike warped. His toes twisted and— Tong!— he booted the metal scrap hard. It flew like a throwing star; Noah tilted his head the tiniest bit and let it whisper past. At the same time, Eric rushed Noah head-on.


Noah’s hand intercepted the stiletto’s stabbing lunge. A length of the gauntlet’s chains snaked out, and with a harsh rattle, wound around the razor point. Though the attack was stopped, Eric didn’t flinch— he withdrew the stiletto and, in the same motion, swept the kukri across. Though counted a dagger, it carried the weight of a longsword as it hewed the air— and Noah’s body flipped up into the sky.


If you dodge by jumping, it’s easy to get locked into a predictable landing point and disadvantaged. Flight, too, had hitches when starting. But instead of taking full wing—


Boom–!


—Noah flared his wings rough for an instant. Huge pinions burst from his back, shoved a mass of air, then vanished; with that thrust, Noah sailed clean over Eric’s head. The moment he landed behind the enemy— without even turning—


Thwack!


“Kh!”


—he whipped out a tail and struck. Eric staggered, driven back by the unguarded blow to his back. Even at the unexpected string of attacks, Eric didn’t panic— he kicked off and sprinted forward, opening distance before wheeling on Noah.


“So dragonkin transformation is, quite a nuisance.”


He’d fought bipedal dragonkin humanoids before. But an opponent who morphed parts of their body on the fly like this— that was a first. Noah retracted the long tail and stared at Eric in silence.


‘Certainly… it helps.’


A big part of how deftly he could partially transform on the fly now came from Han Yuhyun. Liette also had a dragonkin transformation skill, but she had little talent for teaching— the type to say, you’ll get it after your body goes through it a few times. Han Yuhyun, perhaps because he was a Guildmaster, or influenced by his protector Han Yujin, offered detailed tips and ran practice bouts that were genuinely instructive.


“But you don’t have any decent attack skills anyway!”


You couldn’t close the gap in stats and skills so easily. Drawing the tension taut, Eric sank deep at the knees, then sprang at Noah.


[Chief Song says he came to sell cigarettes.]


“…What?”


Han Yuhyun’s brows slashed up sharply. It was vexing enough that the man had handed his Hyung a cigarette— and now he’d come to peddle them?


[I know, it’s absurd… For now, looks like Chohwaun didn’t come with him.]


“Got it. I’ll handle it here.”


[No, hold on. ‘Handle’ how.]


“If he came on his own two feet, that’s asking to be killed.”


At Han Yuhyun’s matter-of-fact tone, Han Yujin let out a short sigh.


[He is on the list, and he’s got U.S. nationality. And officially, China cooperated in rescuing me, remember. Too many eyes are on this spot, so no.]


“Then should I have the helicopter change course? With only him aboard, to some nearby reef, say.”


[We can’t just let it slide, but— for today, let’s hold it, okay?]


Han Yujin soothed his brother. There were people who knew the inside story of what happened in China. So, to avoid being looked down on, they couldn’t send Hwang Rim back unscathed. They needed to pay him back properly— just not on day one. At his Hyung’s coaxing, Han Yuhyun nodded despite his displeasure.


“Okay.”


[What about that French Hunter?]


Han Yuhyun glanced sideways. Noah spun half a turn with an easy twist, slipping past an attack. Then he reached for Eric. As Eric tried to shave past at the very edge, sharp claws extended and raked his shoulder.


“No need to worry.”


Noah should be able to handle that much on his own— and he would.


Thoom! A heavy mace slammed into the sand. Sand geysered as if a bomb had gone off. Eric soon abandoned his daggers. Noah’s movement itself wasn’t hard to track. The problem was the irregular, partial morphs.


Claws, wings, tail— all popped out in instants and vanished just as fast. With feints mixed in, anticipating and responding became maddening. Better, then, to bulldoze with brute force.


“All you can do is scratch at me!”


Across Eric’s body, stone-like bulges stood out. Especially his arms— as if encased in a hard rockface. The skill slowed his movement but greatly raised defense. Thanks to that, he could block Noah’s claw swipes just by roughly interposing his arms.


“Without attack power, you’re half an S-rank!”


You couldn’t hunt boss monsters by dodging alone. Dungeons were only cleared by killing monsters. Of course combat-types were valued. Without support and healers, it was inconvenient— with them, raids were easier and safer, sure, but only to a point. Without combat-types, the clear was impossible.


“Support-types can’t do it alone!”


Rrrrrrrip! Wherever the mace swept, sand ripped open and the onrushing surf skittered back. Noah stepped onto the mace’s tip with his toes and rose, neatly balancing, riding the force’s line into a quick somersault to land.


“It isn’t wrong.”


Even if it was a bit of a shame. Noah looked around. A few newly arrived Hunters were watching the duel from a distance. Noah leapt skyward again, spread his wings, glided on the wind, and alighted before one of the Hunters.


“You’re an A-rank combat-type, correct?”


“Eh? Ah, yes.”


The A-rank Hunter blinked and nodded. Noah had seen him while helping Han Yujin sort the guest list. He was British. Noah smiled gently.


“Wouldn’t you like to press an S-rank, just once? A French one at that.”


The A-rank hesitated. His fellow Hunters egged him on.


“You’re A-rank— even if you lose, we’ll let it slide.”


“Yeah, and if you win, we’ll funnel you the next dungeon.”


A British S-rank Hunter laughed as he said it. Eric’s lip curled at their chatter.


“You’re going to drag in a mere A-rank and gang up on me?”


“I will only support. I’m a support-type, after all.”


Eric snorted; the A-rank looked awkward— but there was nothing to lose, so he stepped up. The A-rank briefly told Noah about his skills. Noah whispered something in return.


“You have a healing skill as well, then.”


Still not entirely confident, the A-rank advanced. As he drew his longsword, support skills unfolded for him. Mana in the area heaved mightily. The flow of mana— of magical power— became nearly twice as smooth as usual, and the A-rank’s eyes went round. Before he had time to savor it, Eric charged like a bull.


“Even with support, an A-rank! If you knock me down even once, I’ll call it your win!”


“Gah!”


The A-rank flinched back from the terrifyingly powered mace. Noah rose with wings spread and shouted:


“Activate all your skills!”


“Sir?”


“Don’t worry about mana.”


The A-rank’s movements clearly sped up. He lavishly maintained combat support skills he normally saved for only the necessary moments because of mana costs. Yet his mana refused to bottom out. The A-rank, lightly evading Eric’s mace, suddenly fell back and poured an attack skill into his weapon. Dense magic wrapped his longsword and flared over a meter long.


“Strong for an A-rank, but slow!”


What S-rank idiot would get hit by a telegraphed, stand-and-charge-up swing like that? Eric scoffed and moved to dodge. At that moment—


“Urk!”


His body suddenly turned sluggish. The defensive skill that sheathed him in stone armor abruptly thickened and grew heavier. His defense certainly rose— but his speed dropped further. At the same time—


Kra-k-k-k-k!


The A-rank swung. The concentrated magic, boosted by Noah’s support, slammed even harder into Eric’s chest.


KWAANG!


The crash resounded, but the reinforced stone armor didn’t crack a hair. Instead—


“Ugh!”


Splash! Eric’s body went flying backward and plunged into the sea. He scrambled up, but everyone had clearly seen him fall.


“An A-rank knocked you on your butt!”


The British S-rank Hunter doubled over laughing. The others’ scorn was obvious too.


“I knocked him down— that means I won, right?”


The A-rank, delighted yet wary of revenge, hurried back to his teammates. Face blazing red, Eric glared at Noah.


“You, what the hell did you do to me!”


“We’ll bill the Turschen Guild for the destroyed bike.”


“It’s not over yet!”


Eric looked ready to pounce again; Noah looked down at him, cold. His wings snapped— and he dropped straight toward Eric. Eric braced, bending his legs, ready to take it head-on. Just before they collided, Noah spread both hands, a meter apart.


Jangle— with a metallic chime, the gauntlet chains shot out and intertwined in long coils. At the same time, Noah’s tail lashed Eric’s mace. The mace didn’t budge— instead, Noah used the rebound to arc over Eric’s head and drop down behind his back.


Leaving the chains stretched forward where they were—


“Ghk!”


—those chains cinched Eric’s neck. Stone plates clamped around his throat at once to block the choke.


“This much is— urk.”


Unfazed, Noah shifted into full dragon form. Overborne by the weight, Eric pitched back hard and— splash— dragon and man vanished under the sea.


“…He’s not coming up?”


A good ten minutes later, the A-rank Hunter said, baffled. At that moment, a new helicopter arrived.


“Guildmaster Haeyeon! Hello~”


Kang Soyeong hopped down onto the sand and waved both arms to Han Yuhyun. Evelyn and Chloe also descended onto the beach. Han Yuhyun’s brow creased a touch when he saw Chloe.


“Looks like something happened. The bike’s smashed to bits.”


“Follow the path.”


Evelyn straightened her skirt, ruffled from the jump, and headed for the path. Chloe followed silently after her, but Kang Soyeong lingered and peered around.


“Hello, Mr. William! Sister Lucy!”


Spotting familiar faces among the British Hunters, Kang Soyeong greeted them brightly.


“Hey, sweetie! I hear brass rings are raining for you these days?”


“Dragon Rings! But why are you all standing here?”


“Ah, well—”


Just as the British Hunter began to explain, something golden burst out of the water. A golden dragon scattered droplets as it hauled Eric up and dumped him on the beach. Kang Soyeong cried out, face radiant.


“Mr. Noah!”


Eric coughed and pushed himself up. Without even a glance his way, Kang Soyeong skipped toward Noah.


“You’re the best! So cool! Please give me a ride just once! To the mansion! Just once!”


“Hello, Ms. Soyeong.”


Noah spoke as he shifted into dragon-human form.


“You’re wet. I think I had a towel… somewhere.”


“I’ll wash up at the mansion.”


“Then come with me! I happen to be headed there too!”


Even though everyone was a guest going to the mansion, she sparkled as if by great fortune, saying what a coincidence. Noah looked a little flustered— but not displeased.


“Then I’ll head out first.”


“Yes.”


Noah gave Han Yuhyun a short nod, then walked toward the path with Kang Soyeong. The spectators, figuring it was over, began to drift off as well. Left behind, Eric ground his teeth— then shouted up at Han Yuhyun.


“I’m going back!”


Han Yuhyun ignored him cleanly. After fuming a while, Eric asked the helicopter that had brought the next guests to lower a ladder— and actually left. Staying would only make him a target for endless mockery. Of course, even if he left, people would chatter everywhere about the S-rank Hunter who got tagged by an A-rank.


“Nothing’s happening on your end, right?”


[Yeah. Still quiet for now. I switched Hyun-ah and Yerim before Ms. Evelyn arrived. No, it’s not that I don’t trust Hyun-ah. I do, it’s just uncomfortable— ow, ow!]


“Hyung?”


[I’m fine— ah. Hwang Rim should be arriving any minute.]


No sooner had Han Yujin said it than another helicopter appeared. Han Yuhyun switched comm channels and contacted the pilot. The helicopter slowed and hovered— over the sea, not the beach. The door slid open, and Hwang Rim appeared in a fluttering Hawaiian shirt.


“He’s here.”


Han Yuhyun spoke briefly. Hovering the chopper over the water made it plain he wasn’t welcome, but Hwang Rim blithely popped open a parasol. He hopped down lightly; just before he touched the water, he flipped the parasol with a spin and perched on it like a little boat. Whether it was an item or not, the parasol bore Hwang Rim’s considerable weight and floated.


Han Yuhyun’s eyes sharpened, and the Sword of the Ruler filled his hand.


[Yuhyun, if you can, just—]


“I’ll only say hello.”


Rattle— the Sword of the Ruler stretched long like a dragon’s tail. Brimming with its master’s mana, the flexible blade swept wide and—


Shhhhhhh— riding the hammered water’s surface, a high wave surged up and charged straight at Hwang Rim.



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