The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 493: I Don’t Have Much to Offer (4)

“I should’ve brought a surfing board, maybe.”

Watching the surging wave bear down, Hwang Rim spoke lazily. A long strip of red cloth hung from his hand. He snapped his wrist hard and— pararak— the end of the cloth unfurled in a half-arc. At the same time, the wave crashed down.

Shwaaah— the wave and the red cloth collided. As if it were a solid steel plate, the cloth received the seawater without a single ripple out of place. The breaker shattered and spray flew everywhere— front and back, up and down, indiscriminately. The falling water split against the cloth, but he couldn’t stop the surface itself from heaving wildly.

The overturned parasol pitched so hard it looked ready to flip again. Hwang Rim pressed the near-vertical tip of the parasol down with one foot. Splash— the cloven water leapt high, trying to invade the parasol’s interior, but each time the opposite end of the cloth flicked, neatly batting the water aside.

After a long bout of turbulence, the sea at last calmed, and beyond the settling wave, green leaves danced in the air.

“No need to give me special treatment.”

Laughing, Hwang Rim looked up at Han Yuhyun, who stood on a willow leaf. The gaze staring down at him was nothing if not frigid.

“Why are you here.”

“I came to do business, but it’s not something I should sell to kids, so I can’t offer samples. I did, of course, get permission to attend. So, here.”

Hwang Rim raised his phone, saying he’d show the email from Dodam. The Sword of the Ruler whipped toward him. The curved tip tapped— neatly smacking the phone, grazing a long line across his hand. Splish— the batted phone sank straight into the sea. Watching it go, Hwang Rim put on a wronged expression.

“You shouldn’t break someone else’s property, Guildmaster Haeyeon.”

“You neither blocked nor dodged— and you missed it.”

Han Yuhyun answered coolly. There was no way an S-rank Hunter would fail to dodge a sword swung blatantly right in front of him. And with his limbs intact, snatching the phone before it hit water would’ve been trivial. At Han Yuhyun’s words, Hwang Rim rolled his shoulders in a big shrug.

“Harsh. I came because I was told I could. Did Director Dodam tell me not to set foot on the island?”

Han Yuhyun knit his brows a fraction, then— as if reluctant— tossed his in-ear and mic down to Hwang Rim. Catching it, Hwang Rim spoke into the mic.

“Greetings, Director Han.”

[No peddlers allowed.]

Han Yujin read the line out like a book, crisp and flat.

“They’re top-shelf goods.”

[Don’t care, no peddlers allowed.]

“During the event, on any contracts signed, ten percent of profit.”

[Fifty of gross.]

Hwang Rim’s face puckered.

“That’s daylight robbery.”

[Compared to the real robbery where you kidnapped a person whole? If you don’t like it, hand over all gross receipts.]

“I heard the Breaker Guildmaster just took a few samples and called it square. I even brought the very best to set a full cour—”

Mid-sentence, Hwang Rim tilted the parasol. The Sword of the Ruler skimmed past, right beside the wobbling parasol, and— pfoom— hammered the surface.

“Don’t offer my Hyung pointless things.”

“Touchy little brother.”

[Shut it, peddler.]

Han Yujin clicked his tongue and continued.

[I won’t block your visit. But if you turn back quietly as you are, I won’t chase you either. Not that I’ll ignore you forever— I hate leaving debts outstanding.]

“And if I don’t turn back?”

[Don’t expect to walk away with all your limbs.]

“Savage.”

Grumbling that they were too much, Hwang Rim’s smile thinned and his voice dipped.

“Don’t be like that, dear Xiaojin. We had something nice, didn’t we.”

[What the hell are you babbling— damn. That translation item works annoyingly well. How many languages are you mixing right now.]

“I missed you a lot, you know. You’re cold.”

[Yeah, sure, do as you please. Want me to leave you an arm or a leg.]

“Leaving half my limbs— is this love?”

[Enough. Hand the comm back to Guildmaster Haeyeon. I’ve said my piece.]

If he turned around immediately, they’d pretend not to have seen him— simply because they didn’t want to add a troublesome headache. At Han Yujin’s words, Hwang Rim handed the communicator back to Han Yuhyun with a put-out look.

“Hyung.”

[For now, let him step onto the island in one piece.]

“Okay.”

Han Yuhyun answered and cut the mic. If he could walk in on his own power, that counted as “in one piece.” Without hesitation, he swung his sword. At the same time, Hwang Rim whipped the slack red cloth into looping circles and hauled it up. Spray burst as the water-logged fabric surged up like a club.

Tong! Black blade met red cloth, and— chiiii— steam hissed up. But only for a moment. The seawater soaked into several meters of cloth flashed away in an instant, and the cloth began to burn.

“Not bad.”

It was at least A-rank— high-grade armor on him, and one end of the cloth continually dipped into the sea to replenish moisture. Even so, it couldn’t last; flames ate in fast.

Rrrrip!

At last the thickly braided cloth split, and the sable blade curved and slashed through the parasol. Shhhhaa! Centered where the blade struck, the sea split and geysered high to both sides. The water that soared— well over ten meters— fell back, and—

“…”

A faint crease formed between Han Yuhyun’s brows. Green willow leaves scattered before his eyes— not his own. Standing on leaves just like Han Yuhyun’s, Hwang Rim grinned wide.

“Don’t glare like that. This one’s trickier than it looks.”

“You steal other people’s skills.”

“I don’t steal— I copy, at most.”

Instead of answering, Han Yuhyun guided his Blue Willow Leaves and focused on the flow of mana. Two separate sets of leaves brushed past each other— and feeling the mana imbued in them, his expression grew even colder. It was unmistakably the same skill— and exactly the same state as his own, right now.

Sharing the same skill wasn’t rare. Especially with resistances or low-grade skills, hundreds, even thousands of Hunters might have the exact same entry. But except when a skill was newly obtained, how people used it diverged.

Even with an identical skill, it gradually changed as it grew with its user. Effects might be the same, but the flow of power, the distribution of mana— those inevitably differed. Like how everyone walks on two legs, but each person’s gait is a little different.

And yet Hwang Rim’s green willow leaves were a twin— identical to Han Yuhyun’s current Blue Willow Leaves. Even yesterday’s Han Yuhyun and today’s would differ. That sensation, that instinctive offense, tightened Han Yuhyun’s grip on his sword without thinking.

“So that flight skill was stolen too.”

“Hence this. And it’s a copy, I said. Copy product— common enough, isn’t it.”

Han Yuhyun drew a long breath. Han Yujin had used his skills— and those from before the regression— but the feeling was entirely different. Han Yujin was the same as Han Yuhyun— and at the same time, he was Han Yujin.

Kin. Closer still— twins. Simultaneously, clearly separate beings. But this thing— this was Han Yuhyun’s Blue Willow Leaves, itself, violating his uniqueness.

He wanted to erase it then and there.

He hesitated for only a heartbeat— then dashed forward. He remembered clearly that his Hyung had told him to just let the man pass. But Han Yujin would never tell his younger brother to swallow pure, visceral loathing unconditionally.

Han Yuhyun’s toes skimmed along the fluttering leaves as if sliding. Hwang Rim’s movements, by contrast, bore the obvious marks of inexperience.

Kang!

In the final step, using the acceleration of his ceremonial-garb skill, Han Yuhyun closed the distance in a blink. Hwang Rim barely caught his blade on the haft of a spear— but only for a moment.

Cra-ck-ck—

Fissures raced down the shaft. Using no technique, only force, Han Yuhyun drove him back and stared straight into him. In the midnight eyes, a chill flame burned; Hwang Rim’s lip curled.

‘So he is a bit dangerous, after all.’

He’d never thought Han Yuhyun would be easy. But the man’s raw strength was more than expected. His build was no small thing— if anything, large— but still not comparable to Hwang Rim’s. Yet the opposing pressure nearly matched his own.

A small nuisance. Hwang Rim’s expression cooled faintly. On top of that, the Blue Willow Leaves were a nightmare to use as a substitute for flight. Han Yuhyun danced along them like a man running flat ground— but controlling those unruly leaves to follow a path, then hitting exact spots with exact timing, was a circus trick.

Three-dimensional maneuvering, with both the platform and the user moving fast— and the stepping surface tiny.

Even a decent Hunter might hop them one-by-one like stepping stones; flowing across them naturally was another matter. Han Yuhyun was the outlier; the skill itself wasn’t meant as a flight substitute.

As Hwang Rim hesitated, finding even retreat difficult—

Crack!

The spear shaft shattered completely. Sturdy S-rank spear or not, half defense-type or not, it couldn’t withstand the Sword of the Ruler. The blade that split the shaft carried through and slashed Hwang Rim’s chest. He didn’t dodge— instead he poured defense into his chest and let himself be driven down.

Splash! Leaving beads of blood scattered in the air, Hwang Rim vanished beneath the surface. Only Han Yuhyun’s Blue Willow Leaves remained. Face impassive, he wreathed his blade in flame. Dark blue fire ran the length of the sword and burned every trace of blood away.

“Surrender, surrender!”

Having swum some distance underwater, Hwang Rim popped his head up and shouted.

“As penance, I’ll swim to the island like this~.”

Han Yuhyun turned away without reply. With a movement elegant to the point of flawless, he trod the leaves and slipped away toward the island in an instant.

“Seong Hyunjae, Han Yuhyun, and Liette. Those three, you said.”

Murmuring under his breath, Hwang Rim also began a leisurely swim toward the island.

Most of the guests had arrived at the mansion. Despite the crush of high-rank Hunters, fights hadn’t broken out yet— surprisingly. Partly because this was still the phase of gauging and checking one another, but largely because of the presence of Han Yuhyun holding the pier. In coming through him, they had, in effect, already bent once.

The French Hunter’s disgrace helped, too.

“Even with an S-rank support strapped on, how do you lose to an A-rank and go home?”

“And it was just one A-rank.”

“Sure, an A-rank team can tackle lower S-rank dungeons— but to face an S-rank Hunter, not a monster? You’d need multiple teams coordinating to perfection.”

At the same grade, a big monster was far easier to fight. A human-sized opponent was so small that, unless your teamwork was exquisite, the act of cooperating to attack became difficult by itself. In practice, A-ranks beating an S-rank Hunter was close to impossible. Worst case, the S-rank could just slip away, lure them out one by one, and pick them off.

Strictly speaking he’d only been knocked down once, so Eric might feel wronged— but the story had already flipped to he lost. The British Hunters, especially, were in high spirits, puffing it up. They bragged their guild’s A-rank had won, and in the spaces between, they brought up Noah as well.

“Imagine looking down on a support who can make an A-rank beat an S-rank. No wonder Hunter Noah ditched France for Korea!”

“I heard the Turschen Guildmaster even lodged a protest with Korea.”

“Idiot. That’s some weaponized patriotism.”

Not only foreign Hunters, but even the French didn’t look kindly on Eric’s protest. Noah leaving was a pity, but nobody wanted to set a precedent of shackling high-rank Hunters whose migration across borders was ordinarily free.

With fresh gossip on the table and the mood fairly convivial, the last helicopter landed in front of the mansion. Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon disembarked. Complaining that the indoors were stuffy, the Hunters congregated at the garden bar turned their attention to the two men. Both were famous— Seong Hyunjae, of course, and Song Taewon as well— and a mix of emotions filled their eyes.

“Won’t you go greet your Guildmaster, Hunter Soyeong?”

“It’s fine since Chief Song is here. Mr. Noah ran off, and Sister Liette dove into the sea.”

Grumbling, Kang Soyeong pretended not to see Seong Hyunjae. Unbothered by stares sharp enough to prickle, Seong Hyunjae walked toward the mansion interior. Song Taewon, in contrast, couldn’t conceal the shadow over his face. He was trying not to show it, but there were too many causes for concern.

“Try a smile, at least. Some of your fans must be here.”

“…I don’t have any.”

“And yet you accepted the bouquets.”

“I don’t need them.”

Seong Hyunjae cast a light glance around. He recognized a few faces. One Hunter glared at him viciously; Seong Hyunjae smiled, and a wineglass shattered.

“Please don’t.”

“Not even allowed to smile? Next you’ll be fitting me with a muzzle.”

“If you insist, I won’t stop you.”

If he kept his mouth shut, fewer people would pick fights. At the main hall entrance, Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim stood with the guest list. Han Yuhyun spoke mechanically.

“Only A-rank and above may enter. If you use a combat-type skill or draw a weapon, you will be removed immediately.”

“Hello, Chief Song— and Sesung— ah, Guildmaster!”

Checking the list, Park Yerim greeted them.

“Here’s a simple contract. If you’re the person recorded on the list, please sign. The contract penalty is that the tip of your right ear will flush red.”

Both signed and went in. Moon Hyunah, who’d arrived earlier, waved cheerfully.

“Chief Song! Thank you for working even here. And as for the Sesung Guildmaster—”

She stepped up to Seong Hyunjae and tapped his arm with an elbow.

“They’re saying after Hyung-nim, it’s Chloe. Looks like plenty of your old ‘connections’ showed up here too.”

“‘Connections,’ how dramatic.”

Seong Hyunjae made a face like he’d had enough. Moon Hyunah chuckled, amused, and handed him a wine glass.

“Do a little advertising. Chief Song, you too, please. Honestly, you’re better than Seong Hyunjae— rarer.”

“On duty— I mean, in a situation where anything could happen, I really shouldn’t—”

“It’s light, just light. Just once, okay?”

Even hesitating, Song Taewon accepted the glass. Moon Hyunah poured the wine herself. Then she tossed the bottle to Seong Hyunjae to serve himself. Meanwhile, the Hunters from outside also filtered in. Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim came in as well, closing the doors behind them.