The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 505: Seed (3)

With a thud, Hwang Rim was thrown to the floor. As Hwang Rim lay sprawled exaggerating his pain, Gyeol flew over fluttering. Then he struck Hwang Rim’s cheek hard with his front paw. Though Hwang Rim wasn’t even tickled by it.

“It is cute though. I want a dragon like this too.”

Gyeol raised both front legs high and repeatedly struck Hwang Rim’s cheeks with smacking sounds. He must have been extremely upset about having his head petted.

“I’ll return this.”

Song Taewon spoke as he removed the bracelet. His fingertips trembled faintly as he took off the equipment.

“…Chief Song?”

At my call, Song Taewon stopped moving and let out a short sigh. He tried to say something, then closed his mouth again. His expression was heavy, and.

He also seemed faintly frightened.

“Um, I’m perfectly fine.”

“Yes. I know.”

“Uh, let’s go inside first. There’s a place to rest, and we can’t keep standing outside. We need to dry your clothes too.”

Was there a fireplace in the reception room? I urged us to go in quickly and tapped the still-sprawled Hwang Rim with my foot. Your legs are fine, get up and walk.

‘He must be quite shocked in many ways.’

Both what Hwang Rim said and that soil or whatever it was, and coming to protect me only to be subdued instead… the positions had completely reversed. Given Chief Song’s personality, it must have been hard to bear. Thinking I should give him something to drink, I entered the mansion.

“Master, are these guests?”

Number 71 in Yuhyun’s form appeared. Huh, wait a moment. I forgot. As soon as 71 said “Master,” not only Gyeol and Hwang Rim but even Chief Song turned to look at me. Hwang Rim showed an extremely surprised expression.

“Wow, now I have nothing to say.”

“Wh-what!”

“Our Little Jin is really… amazing.”

That bastard Hwang Rim nodded vigorously and gave a thumbs up with his handcuffed hands. What on earth is he thinking?!

“This isn’t by my will! I mean, I didn’t do it, it’s a basic function here that reads my mind on its own—!”

“That seems even more amazing. It means it’s sincere. Deep in your heart, you wanted your younger brother in a suit to serve you as Master.”

That bastard Hwang Rim spouted insane nonsense.

“No!”

“It’s okay. There are as many diverse desires in the world as there are people. A brother who wants to boss his younger brother around would be quite common. But going as far as Master, hmm. Truly amazing. Likes being tied up, kidnapping as a hobby, and his younger brother…”

I wanted to grab the collar of Hwang Rim rambling nonsense, but since his clothes were all torn, I grabbed his neck instead. It’s damn thick. Though I wanted to shake him, in reality I just looked like I was clinging, so I just let go and backed away. Damn it.

“I like my brother the most, that’s why! That Master thing is just the default! It’s a helper system. I tried to change it to Seong Hyunjae but didn’t have enough ability!”

“So you wanted to hear Seong Hyunjae call you Master too.”

“No, that’s— …Honestly, there are lots of people besides me who’d want to hear it.”

And I’ve already heard it. At my words, Hwang Rim nodded saying that’s true.

“The Sesung Guild Leader is one thing, but what about the government official? Someone who seems like they’d absolutely never say such things is more thrilling.”

“That…”

I unconsciously turned my head and made eye contact with Chief Song.

“…”

“I was thinking of changing it to Seong Hyunjae, to Seong Hyunjae.”

“…Does it have to be in a person’s form?”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, I could have it change to a different form. Why didn’t I think of that? A puppy or cat, or even just a smart device would be fine.

“As expected, you’re serious about your brother.”

“Hey!”

“Didn’t you say you like your brother?”

“Of course I like him!”

“You’re just embarrassed. I’ll explain well to Guild Leader Haeyeon on your behalf. What your older brother—”

“Shut up.”

“Desperately wants. If it’s your brother, he’d die from happiness and would definitely call you Master.”

“Ah, fine. Go ahead and spout off. You think Yuhyun will just let it slide? Your head will roll off first!”

“Won’t he at least listen before cutting off my neck?”

…Yuhyun might actually do that. My brother is more innocent than he looks. I know it’s just teasing, but if this nonsense spreads outside, I won’t be able to show my face. Yuhyun would be purely sincere, Seong Hyunjae would sincerely tease, Hyunah would actively tease too, and Yerim would join in to tease Yuhyun.

“…Should I just bury you here?”

“Please spare me.”

“If it’s that level of mana, it would help maintain the space. If you wish, I’ll tell you where to bury him.”

Number 71 spoke calmly. Hwang Rim looked back and forth between 71 and me.

“He seems a bit similar to your brother in personality? Merciless.”

“Is he a guest or a living battery?”

“No, he’s a guest for now.”

I hurriedly waved my hands and answered.

“But no need to treat him well.”

I can’t stand the sight of someone with my brother’s face serving tea to that bastard Hwang Rim. Depending on the situation, I might just bury him. More than that, it’s also possible to recharge with living beings possessing mana. In this case, would it work without going through me? Would dominance not be needed either? Should I catch a few monsters and bury them if necessary? Though burying even monsters alive feels unpleasant.

I told him to shut up and follow, moving to the reception room. That bastard Hwang Rim barked from behind saying “You can use my name, I’ll allow it.” Still, thanks to him, Chief Song’s sunken atmosphere seemed to improve a bit. …I hope he didn’t misunderstand though.

“Please sit! Could you take off your clothes so they can dry?”

“Little Jin, my pants are damp too.”

“Stand in front of the fireplace. Or should I set you on fire?”

“I’m fine. The sofa will get wet, so I’ll stand.”

“It cleans automatically here!”

Probably. After forcibly seating Chief Song, I asked 71 to return the leftover items to their original places and boiled water. I don’t know what kind of tea this is, but it should be safe to drink.

“Merchant, kneel on the floor.”

When did you claim the sofa? I told him to get down immediately, but he didn’t even pretend to hear. That bastard.

“Where is Park Hayul? There’s no way that fake skill can copy multiple people’s skills at once, so he must have contacted Park Hayul after copying Yuhyun’s Blue Willow Leaves.”

If he could steal everyone’s skills, it would rival L-rank. Practically invincible. But Hwang Rim had neither used a flight skill nor Blue Willow Leaves when he fell in the water. In other words, one at a time. That seemed to be the limit.

“Though Park Hayul’s skill alone wouldn’t have much effect.”

“Stealing a skill used to attack me with hostility is one at a time, correct.”

Hwang Rim spilled readily.

“It’s possible to copy without mutual consent. But skills obtained by paying a price, up to three maximum.”

“…Is that skill’s name by any chance Fake Merchant?”

A shady merchant who trades but also makes knockoffs of others’ things to sell. Of course he’d have a skill just like him. Anyway, it seemed he couldn’t steal skills unless they were used aggressively toward Hwang Rim.

“There must be grade limits too.”

“You know well.”

“Around A-rank maximum? So who did Park Hayul disguise himself as?”

“He already fled.”

“…What?”

“My brother would never kill me, but he was scared of the surrounding S-ranks, so he made a deal with me. Asked to be released.”

What confidence, saying I’d absolutely never kill him.

“It gets released even though it’s not your skill?”

“Because we made the deal with that condition. Stolen skills last an hour, traded skills last 24 hours, so not much time left now.”

“Then release it right now! Using the skill I gave you to release, you fraud.”

Hwang Rim smiled and rolled his eyes as if opening his skill window.

“There, done.”

At those words, I immediately turned Fear Resistance back on. Then I looked at Hwang Rim. …His body really is goo—hmm. I can’t tell well just looking at this bastard, but Park Hayul, that damn bastard. Good, seeing how annoyed and heated I got, the skill was definitely released.

“Can you apply it to the same person again?”

“One month after release. So I recommend disposing of him before that. You, Little Jin, seem quite weak to that skill.”

Fear Resistance was the biggest problem. If it were a normal mental-type skill, it would block me from being caught, but with Park Hayul’s type, it made me even more susceptible.

“I was planning to do that without you saying.”

As soon as I left here, I’d issue a wanted order with the government and association’s cooperation. When I looked at Chief Song, he also nodded slightly.

“Since he’s the main culprit who kidnapped Han Yujin, cooperation is possible. He’s also a criminal we need to arrest first.”

I’ll make sure he can never show his face again. Then the possibility of being caught by the skill would decrease too.

I poured the boiled water into a teacup. Just in case, I drank some first. It was a slightly sweet and clean tea. I gave Chief Song a cup and sipped some more myself.

“What about me? Seems like there’s a lot of water left.”

“Oh, this is for torture. I’m about to interrogate you by pouring boiling water on your head, so please wait a moment.”

Though with an S-rank body, it would just be hot. I looked at Hwang Rim sitting obediently while finishing my tea. Since the restraints could only be used here, I’d have to extract everything before leaving. The SS-rank restraints had options preventing use of SS-rank and below attack skills and movement skills. On top of that, they reduced Strength and Agility stats by half. Even so, if you were an S-rank Hunter, you’d be stronger than a mid-rank Hunter, but even that was something.

…Should I take one? It is good. Even before regression, there weren’t restraint items this good. Such special items themselves were rare. However, if it got stolen, we could be in trouble too.

“Then, Mr. Hwang Rim. Your reasons for attending my gathering are: 1. Contact Park Hayul to trade skills and remove the mental-type skill cast on me. 2. Kidnap Chief Song. Are these the two?”

“Number 1 was just business.”

“Nothing else?”

“I’m a diligent merchant, you know.”

I approached Hwang Rim and pointed the kettle at him. Then Song Taewon stood up instead.

“Han Yujin could get hurt.”

“Government official, worry about me too.”

“Boiling water can’t harm an S-rank Hunter beyond slightly reddening the skin.”

I have Grace too. Still, I could sustain minor burns. I put the kettle down on the table and took out a contract instead.

“If you answer only the truth honestly, I’ll spare you. Sign here. The condition is that if you lie, your right pinky finger turns blue.”

“The sparing part isn’t in the contract?”

“Refuse if you don’t like it.”

Hwang Rim shrugged and took out a pen to sign the contract. As soon as the contract was made, I asked again.

“Who did you get that soil from? What exactly does it do?”

“Let’s call it soil that cultivated the seed to create Lunar Eclipse. I don’t know the details either.”

“Seed?”

“First of all, he’s a human of this world.”

Hwang Rim raised his handcuffed hands and pointed toward Song Taewon. Song Taewon’s shoulders flinched minutely.

“It’s a world where Transcendents can’t directly intervene. So they scattered seeds containing weak but certain growth direction. Since the source’s instinct alone is hard to lead to swallowing the moon, it’s like providing assistance.”

So…in other words.

“Some Transcendent helped Whitey and the source? To make Chief Song…”

I hesitated to say it outright in front of the person involved. Let me organize this.

Crescent Moon created the small moon, Seong Hyunjae, to eliminate the source. And Whitey requested help from another Transcendent to help the source create an antibody, Song Taewon.

And before regression, the small moon Seong Hyunjae was almost completed but was stopped by Song Taewon, and I regressed to reach the present.

“Then that Transcendent…”

Was trying to retrieve Chief Song? I unconsciously glanced at Chief Song. Though he sat quietly with a calm expression, it was still difficult to say. I lowered my voice as much as possible and asked Hwang Rim.

“The person who commissioned the kidnapping from you, is that the Transcendent?”

“Something like that.”

“…Why now of all times?”

“Who knows. Maybe they made a deal with Crescent Moon?”

“Who is that Transcendent? Even if not their real name, there’s a title, right?”

It might be a Transcendent I know. Even if it’s an unknown name, I could ask the Newcomer. Hwang Rim tilted his head slightly, then answered.

“Puppeteer.”

…I didn’t know who it was, but it wasn’t a very welcoming title.

“When, where, how did you make contact?”

“It’s hard to tell you all of that. But from my feeling, they didn’t seem to have bad feelings toward you, Little Jin. Rather the opposite, if anything.”

“What?”

“They seemed quite interested in you.”

Hwang Rim said with a grin. A favorable Transcendent would be welcome, but why me of all people?