The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 626: Unfilial Children Gathering

Newbie fussed with his clothes for no real reason. Most of them wouldn’t even see what he looked like, but he wanted to do it anyway. He ran a soft rubber comb over his hair and ears, then checked the gleam of his small, sharp fangs.

There were five Sources in existence. At least, as far as the Transcendents’ perception could reach, that was the case. At the first Source, Young Chaos was standing alone against it. The worlds belonging to that first Source were also placed under the System, but no Transcendents other than Young Chaos interfered there.

The worlds belonging to the remaining four Sources were being managed through the System by various Transcendents. How many of those Transcendents belonged to the Unfilial Children camp, and what kind of beings they were, Newbie didn’t know in detail. There were those who had disappeared over the long, long ages, those who’d grown tired and fallen asleep, and those who had completely cut off contact. Most Transcendents were old and worn down; only a small number still moved about actively.

Even among the administrators of the fifth Source, the one Newbie belonged to, only eight were still active. Of those, three almost never left their posts. Newbie only ran into them once in a great while.

In that situation, it was even harder to meet Unfilial Children from other regions. Unless they were one of the odd Transcendents who liked drifting around like a ghost, almost no one left their own sector or reached out first.

“…It’ll be fine.”

And yet, here they were at the third gathering already. Young Chaos had flipped the table on the first one; the second had been led by Chatterbox. This third was a meeting for Unfilial Children only.

Newbie took a tense breath and connected to the prepared channel. When a lot of powerful beings gathered in one place, it inevitably left a trace. That was why he sent a mental avatar instead of his main body.

A white volleyball went thunk as it passed through a blue window and into a white space. He could see Droplet, who had arrived first, shimmering and sloshing gently in midair.

Newbie: Hello!

Letters appeared above the volleyball’s head. A cluster of red, wavering light responded to the greeting.

Sunset: Hi. You’re Newbie, huh.

Mackerel: Kids these days really are different. They even know how to be polite.

Black Spider: Give it, oh, another three thousand years and you’ll naturally skip things like greetings.

Droplet: Newbie isn’t actually young. He just still feels young.

Ballmouse: That makes it even better. Our bodies might not age, but our minds do. After you get older and older, in the end all that’s left is falling asleep.

Sunset: And never waking up. They’re useful enough as a power source for the System, at least.

Yarnball: We have more than enough mana to keep the System running. What matters is manpower for System maintenance. System administrators are chronically understaffed.

Mackerel flapped his fin in agreement. In the meantime, participants trickled in one by one until the count was a little over twenty. It was only a fraction of the total, but most of the ones who still acted actively had shown up.

Mountain Shadow: We definitely outnumber the others overall, but in terms of actually active members, the Filial Duty Addicts and the Neutral side seem to have more.

Deer: They have way more they can actually do. We combat types are basically half unemployed!

Big Snake: Yeah. Since we don’t know how to handle the System, we don’t have much to do besides odd jobs most of the time.

Yarnball: Then learn. Basic Awakened management isn’t all that difficult.

Deer: If I start learning that stuff, my combat skills will dull.

Eagle: You never know when we’ll have another massive fight; you gotta keep your blade sharpened.

Yarnball cursed at them, very politely. Newbie silently cheered Yarnball on.

Those gathered there were System administrators, people on the administrator level, or at least those who could handle the System, plus a few combat types. There were no Creators present. Creators rarely left their workshops, so they were hard to see even on normal days.

Broom: So why exactly did we call this meeting? I heard Chatterbox was erased.

Sunset: It’s the first time three Transcendents have vanished in a single world.

Dawnflower: Diarma got help from Droplet, and Chatterbox brought it on themself, but it’s still a special case.

Droplet: In that world, there’s a high chance at least two new Transcendents will be born. One is someone we expect will be able to reset a Source, and the other is someone with talent as a System administrator.

If you gave a Source a shock past a certain threshold, it would cough up the worlds it had swallowed so far. This reset was something only the particularly strong among the Transcendents could accomplish. The combat types called themselves half unemployed now, but in the past they had done their part by resetting Sources.

On top of that, System administrator was a rare talent. There were plenty of Transcendents who could handle the System, but the ones you could call administrators could be counted on one hand at the moment.

Black Spider: That place is a complete jackpot.

Yarnball: I’ve heard about the Dragon Lord’s successor. You said you’re the one managing him, Newbie.

Newbie: Yes. He’s limited by the fact that he’s still human, but he’s already handling parts of the System.

Yarnball: I’m very much looking forward to him.

Newbie puffed up and smiled like he’d just been praised himself.

Moss: Who’s the other one? One of the five born S–class?

Dawnflower: Obviously. I watched a bit of Chatterbox’s broadcast and it looked like that sparkly kid. The one who uses chains.

At the question of who it was, Droplet rippled quietly instead of answering. Senior Tree spoke up in her place.

Senior Tree: We can’t reveal that. Any one of us could defect at any time. But it’s almost certain. And it’s a place where more Transcendents are likely to be born.

Droplet: There’s also a kid I passed my power to.

Broom: That kid?

Senior Tree: Anyway, the reason we called everyone here is the next Filial Duty Addict who’s going to get involved with that world. If everyone agrees, we’d like to try negotiating.

Droplet: The Awakened of that world have grown enough now. Enough that the Filial Duty Addicts will want to stop interfering and treat it like something they can just toss aside.

It was definitely a world with some interesting beings and curiosities, but it was also land where three Transcendents had been erased. On top of that, it had become harder to get the Source to swallow it. That made it very likely the Filial Duty Addicts would wash their hands of it early and turn their eyes to another world.

Droplet: Even if they keep intervening, they won’t jump in actively. But for the kids of that world to grow, they’ll need more threats.

Yarnball: What’s the dungeon situation?

Newbie: We expect them to strengthen more slowly than the growth rate of the major Awakened.

Droplet: But a Transcendent who’s too aggressive is dangerous too. The sprouts could be trampled before they grow into trees.

Senior Tree: That’s why we want to suggest something similar to what Chatterbox did to the Filial Duty Addicts’ side. A method that threatens them but leaves their lives intact. And to get an amicable agreement, we’ll have to put something on the table too.

Sunset: Then they’ll think it’s suspicious.

Droplet: We’ll just have to come up with a good excuse. There are at least two very handy chips there. It would be such a waste to give them up.

Various opinions were tossed back and forth. There were a few minor clashes, but most reactions were positive.

Turtle: It’s been a while since we had a new hire. Think this batch will try not to swallow their own world?

Eagle: They’ll still perish before we do someday. Even if the Source doesn’t swallow them, species and planets have their own lifespans.

Mountain Shadow: Not disappearing by force is what matters, sure. But in the end, it’s the same work on repeat.

Ballmouse: When you look at it, we’re just corporate wage slaves on a massive scale. The same everyday life on repeat.

Broom: We don’t have a boss, but that also means no benefits. So we’re closer to being self–employed, aren’t we? Even if System management is basically an office job.

Newbie quietly watched his seniors talk. There wasn’t much of a sense of a grand mission to save the world anywhere in that conversation. For them, destruction and birth were nothing special, just part of the daily routine. Maybe treating it like everyday work was better than clinging to some special sense of duty. If the target hadn’t been intelligent, independent living beings, anyway.

They chatted like that for a while, then people started leaving one by one. Deer and Senior Tree also headed out, until only Droplet and Newbie were left. Newbie worked the System and closed the channel. The white light dimmed and went out, and Droplet rippled with a soft bluish tint.

Droplet: You’re not ready yet?

Newbie: Uh… I’ve got a little left. It’ll be soon.

Newbie spoke after dialing down the emotional feedback tied to the avatar as far as he could. The expression drawn on the volleyball stayed fixed in a bright smile.

Droplet: Even if you’re delayed, it can’t be helped. Fortunately, Honey has grown more than before. The fact that he accepted Ru Ga Pheya’s power and his lifespan didn’t shorten – that’s really good news.

It meant the amount of power Han Yujin could accommodate had increased.

Droplet: It might be possible to do more than a simple reset.

Newbie: Yees, Honey is amazing.

Droplet: Next time you meet Honey, give him a contract. Something simple – basically, that he’ll lend a hand if we need it.

Droplet started to leave, then paused and turned back to Newbie.

Droplet: I heard Crescent Moon has fully awakened.

Newbie: Really?

Droplet: Aren’t you happy? You used to like Crescent Moon.

Newbie: That was when I was a kid.

Droplet laughed, saying he was still a kid even now. Newbie laughed back.

He had once liked Crescent Moon. It was only natural. She’d reached out a hand to him when he’d been lonely and guided him to the seat of a Transcendent.

But Crescent Moon was fair to everyone. At first he thought that was amazing, but soon he grew lonely again. Being fair to everyone meant, in the end, that no one could be special. However, to Han Yujin, Newbie was—

‘Honey likes me more than the other Transcendents, right?’

Maybe not more than Young Chaos, but still.

Newbie recalled his avatar. He tugged lightly on his own ears, then looked up at the painting hanging on the wall. A Christmas tree and Santa’s sleigh.

“…In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about Crescent Moon.”

Nor about Han Yujin’s other circumstances. He’d only told him that his life wasn’t in danger. What was he supposed to do now? He didn’t want to just sit still like this, but he had no idea what he should do either. Newbie had never once in his life done something purely on his own initiative. He had always just done the work he was told to do.

Newbie tugged his ear again and opened the System.

I dozed off and woke back up several times. People kept telling me to get some real sleep, but that was easier said than done. Still, maybe because I’d managed to close my eyes a little, my head felt a lot clearer by the time dawn started to break.

‘Yeah, there’s no answer to this. Seriously.’

Not like there ever was one. I was always like this. It was just harder this time because I felt bad for the others. Because I knew that even if they found out I’d decided to take the long, rough detour, they’d still kindly understand. That just made it worse.

I stared up at the dawn light seeping in through the ice ceiling and整理ed the situation.

Crescent Moon wanted to remove Seong Hyunjae’s ego and turn him into a new god. The one saving grace was that she wasn’t that proactive. The only times she’d reached out directly, both before the regression and today, had been because of Song Taewon – because of Eclipse’s existence. Unless Seong Hyunjae was in real danger of being lost to her forever, Crescent Moon was more likely to wait with patience than to move rashly. Just like she’d spent an absurdly long time stacking up one human being, layer upon layer.

‘But if Seong Hyunjae finds a sure way to escape her, she’ll do whatever it takes to stop him.’

Just like before the regression, when she had jumped in in defiance of the System’s rules. And even after that, she’d only dozed for a bit; there was no talk of her losing power or anything. That meant Crescent Moon’s rank was higher than Ru Ga Pheya’s or Chatterbox’s. If it came down to it, she’d probably be willing to break our world apart entirely to safely reclaim her little moon.

‘This is rough.’

All he wants is to live his own life, so why’s it gotta be this hard? For me, for Seong Hyunjae – it’s just hard, so hard. I was worried about what he might be doing now, after going out like I told him to. No matter how impressive a person is, it’s not like they never get tired. Even if his memories are wiped, if the traces of all his experiences are still there, then the suffocating feeling from the walls he’s slammed into over and over should be there too.

‘…Now I just feel bad.’

In the end, I basically shoved him away because I was having a hard time. But I couldn’t exactly go, I’m sorry, I was too hasty, could you come back? I had zero confidence I’d be able to hide how I felt. He was already quick on the uptake, so trying to conceal it would be tough. …So until I get a little stronger, just for a bit.

‘Setting Crescent Moon aside… is everything else more or less wrapped up?’

I’d have to meet Newbie to hear the exact details, but I didn’t think any Transcendents were going to come charging in to avenge Chatterbox. Hopefully. They hadn’t done that for Diarma either. The Filial Duty Addicts might send a new replacement, but they weren’t going to throw themselves at us with their lives on the line like Chatterbox did.

They’d probably just approach Chatterbox’s followers and use them to get in the way of us protecting the world. Cho Hwawoon, who was sharpening his knife for me and Yuhyun, and the S–class hunters who’d gotten Chatterbox’s power were a concern, but they were still opponents we could handle.

“Song–, ahem, Chief Song.”

My throat felt weirdly rough. At my call, Song Taewon, who’d been standing at the entrance like a statue, turned his head. I’d told him it was fine to rest, but he hadn’t listened and had stayed like that all night.

“Going straight back to Korea would be dangerous, right? I don’t think Cho Hwawoon’s group will just give up like this.”

I wanted to go home so badly I could scream, but if a fight broke out in the middle of Seoul, it would be chaos. And if people started saying, They were after Dodam and Haeyeon, weren’t they? and demanding compensation, we might actually go under. Damage caused by fights between hunters, not monsters, was obviously on us.

“…It would be safest to cooperate with the European Hunter Union, wipe them out in one go, then return to Korea. However, since you’re not a combat–type, Mister Han, I think it would be acceptable for you to quietly return ahead of us.”

“If I’m not there, you’re going to have the hardest time, Chief Song.”

To smuggle just me back, Yuhyun and Yerim would have to stay here. On top of that, Seong Hyunjae had left my side, not Chief Song’s. The odds of him slipping back in on that side were high. And the other European S–class hunters weren’t going to behave and only attack the prophet’s group, either. Chief Song’s stomach would not survive that.

“Besides, I’m tired, so doing a long–distance jump straight away is a bit much. Let’s rest for a couple days and watch how things play out. Ah, my hair is still white.”

“It’s technically silver.”

Yerim said it looked pretty. Silver, white – same difference. This better not be permanent. The moonlight from Crescent Moon that had seeped into my body had mostly vanished with sunrise, but my hair was still like this.

“Yuhyun, how are your eyes?”

“They’re not back to the original color, but they’re darker than before.”

“So my hair just completely bleached? Do I have to dye it?”

Dyeing out gray hair at my age already, huh. Do they sell black hair dye in France? Well, it’s better than never needing gray–cover dye in my life and then suddenly needing it now. …Crescent Moon didn’t shave off more of my lifespan again, did she?

“Let’s head out first.”

I stood up and stretched. Ugh, stiff. We could just go straight back up to the airship waiting above us, but—

“Since we came all this way, we should probably check the mansion before we go, right?”

We still hadn’t properly figured out what was up with Big Sis’s place. I tried contacting the airship, but there was no working comms equipment. Understandable, considering Seong Hyunjae had been tossing lightning everywhere.

“I’ll go up to the airship.”

Noah spread his wings as he spoke.

“I’ll get in touch with Noona as well. The dungeon clean–up in Korea should be finished by now, and there’s no way she would sit out a fight like this.”

If Liette came, things would get chaotic, but she’d be reassuring to have on our side. The Alps were huge; shaving a bit off the top wouldn’t even show. For all I knew, she’d already broken a few peaks.

“Mister Marcel must be exhausted. Go back with him first. There should be at least a car or two at this mansion, right?”

You couldn’t have a wedding and not provide some transportation for the guests.

“Yes, please be careful.”

Noah shot up into the sky. With a loud crash, the ice shattered and the sunlight that had been blocked off poured in all at once. His golden wings drank in the blinding light and soared higher and higher like a rising sun. I watched him for a moment, then took a step forward. I only wobbled a little, but Yuhyun and Gyeol rushed in to support me. Gyeol, Dad’s heavy.

–Be careful, Dad.

“Hyung, want me to carry you?”

“I’ve got arms too. I carried Chief Song just fine, you know!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Peace, go back to spirit form. You’ll scare people.”

A mansion this big was bound to have non–Awakened staff members. Hopefully they’d evacuated them, but who knew. Chief Song went in front, and Yuhyun and Yerim took their places at my sides. If Seong Hyunjae were here, he would have naturally taken the rear. My back felt a bit exposed.

We followed the path for a while, until the red carpet ended and white marble began. Sunlight streaming in through the windows picked out dark red stains here and there. …Are the bodies okay? Wait, there were other S–class hunters here too!

‘…Damn it, I should have asked Chief Song to go with me!’

They hadn’t gotten taken again, right? I hadn’t heard any huge commotion, but… Anxiety made my steps quicken. The hallway ended, and we opened the door leading into the mansion proper.

“Welcome.”

“Breakfast has been prepared.”

A middle–aged man and woman bowed deeply and greeted us politely. The woman was a stranger, but the man—

“…Mister Vantes?”

He was from Sesung Guild. Seong Hyunjae’s aide. Idel Vantes smiled gently at me.

Uh, did you, like… change jobs…?