The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 647: Fragments of the World (1)

“What a hassle~ Why do you people insist on taking your shoes off all the time?”

Liette sounded genuinely curious.

“I don’t get your side even more, okay? Last time you straight up climbed onto someone else’s bed with your shoes on!”

“That was clearly your fault, Liette– wait, Mister. Bed? Are we talking about your bed?”

Yerim looked between me and Liette with a “no way” expression. What are you even imagining right now.

“Back when she barged in saying she wanted to leave Belare with me. Did I never tell you about that? She just took the commission and left, that’s all, just the commission!”

Nothing actually happened. There was almost something, but in the end, nothing.

“Honey turned me down, tragically. I’m still up for it even now~”

As she spouted nonsense and tried to casually sit down right next to me, sparks flew at Liette. Flames wrapped around her arm with a whoosh, and she roughly swept them aside. Dark scales rose up along the back of her hand, catching the light and glinting.

“Honey’s little brother is way too prickly.”

Clicking her tongue, Liette backed away from the couch.

“He’s nice, okay? You’re the problem for stomping over here with your shoes still on.”

“My little brother is way better. He sparkles!”

“Sure, Noah does sparkle, but Yuhyun’s got fire, too. And do you know how good he is to me?”

I pulled Yuhyun into a hug and ruffled his hair like I was showing him off. See? He’s this docile and sweet with me! As long as I’m not recklessly throwing my body around, he never complains. At the sight of our warm little scene, Liette suddenly spun around to look at Noah, who’d been quietly keeping to the side. Oh no, Noah.

“My beloved little brother!”

“…”

Noah dodged Liette’s gaze. Now I felt kind of bad. For Noah, not for Liette. Whether he pretended not to notice or not, Liette pounced on him like lightning and yanked him into a hug.

“B–big sis!”

“See? Isn’t he sparkling even more than usual?”

Liette held onto Noah with the ease of long practice and planted kiss after kiss on her little brother’s pale cheeks. As expected of a French person, her affection knew no restraint. I used to kiss Yuhyun on the cheek all the time when we were kids, but now it’s a little… Still, it looked nice. Noah didn’t seem all that opposed, either. He just hated it when she swung him around like a tyrant; affectionate stuff like that was probably fine.

‘…Why do I feel like I just lost?’

It was only because of cultural differences that I didn’t do it, that was all. Cheek kisses? I could do those all day if I wanted.

“Just take your shoes off, your shoes! They’re items anyway, right? Stick them in your inventory!”

“Sweetie, more importantly, why did you call me here? And what’s with this affiliation thing?”

Letting go of Noah, Liette turned back to me. Thanks to her tall height, those sharp eyes of hers looked down from way above. She’d agreed to be affiliated and come all the way here, but she didn’t look like someone who was going to just meekly go along. Still, there were ways.

“Yerim, what did you just get from the settlement again?”

“An S–rank skill and this SS–rank bracelet~”

Yerim jingled her arm as she spoke. The fact that she left out the title made her feel much more like a seasoned Hunter compared to when we’d first met. Liette’s gaze slid to the black–and–white bracelet. A white gem like a full moon gave off a faint glow.

“Looks nice.”

“And Noah got his settlement too.”

“Yes. I got this veil. It’s SS–rank.”

Noah revealed the veil draped around his body with a soft whisper of fabric. Liette let out a low whistle.

“I thought so! It suits you! But, settlement?”

“It’s a privilege I get as temporary system administrator.”

I gave Liette a brief rundown of everything that had happened.

“You have stuff to claim too, Liette. The Chatterbox raid for one, and especially that time with Choi Seokwon. You and Soyeong did the most in taking down that SS–rank from a Transcendent’s clan.”

We hadn’t completely captured him, but the payout should be pretty decent.

“If you cooperate with us this time, I’ll process that as your reward. I can even pay some of it in advance.”

“So this is a commission? SS–rank items or S–rank skills… not bad.”

Liette gave a light nod.

“Fine! But depending on how things go, I might ask for more. This has to do with Transcendents. And don’t forget to secure Chatterbox’s legacy for me.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll bump you up the list for the items in Chatterbox’s vault too.”

Come to think of it, what were the Hunters doing, the ones I’d gathered using Chatterbox’s inheritance as bait? When the snake teleported us, Yuhyun went back first to tell them I’d be away and sort things out, but I was starting to worry. Chief Song was here now too… Peace is doing fine, right?

“Want to draw up a contract?”

“Don’t you have high curse resistance? I don’t have any high–grade contracts on hand anyway, so I’ll trust you for now.”

“For Noah’s sake if nothing else, I won’t betray you~”

Liette winked. Still, her love for her little brother was real, so she should be trustworthy. I was about to put in a request to settle Liette’s achievements when a message appeared.

[Temporary system administrator, you are being summoned.]

“They’re calling me over.”

I hurriedly submitted the achievement settlement request and got up from the couch. We’d brought all four of them, so was this where they told us what we were supposed to do? And Shishio… was he the backup?

“Don’t worry too much, and Yerim, you’re not allowed in my room.”

“Okaaay.”

Yerim answered, clearly dissatisfied.

“Liette, shoes off and stop picking fights with the kids.”

“I’ll do my best to keep things under control.”

“I’m counting on you, Noah.”

“Hyung, you have to be careful.”

“Nothing’s going to happen right away.”

At least for now. Who knew about later. I took the Lynx Boots back out of my inventory, put them on, and teleported to where I was being summoned using the system’s magic. The coordinates were already set, and I was moving within the system’s space, so it wasn’t very difficult. It was like taking the subway. One with tens of thousands of lines.

“You’ve adapted quickly.”

A low, slightly hoarse voice reached me. The red snake’s body came into view. The King of Predation. Still draped in gaudy ornaments, he was sitting on a wide, round chair. With no backrest, it looked like a basin with its top covered. The tip of the long tail that trailed all the way down to the floor flicked. The gold and silver ornaments jingled like a rattlesnake.

“…I’m supposed to be the representative for the Unfilial Children side. Are things going to stay switched around like this?”

“Because with direct contact, we could secretly lend you aid. We could raise your stats or slip you unauthorized information.”

“Or on the flip side, you could just not give me what you’re supposed to.”

“Isn’t that why you have your helper?”

He seemed to mean Myungwoo. So while I was temporary system administrator, I probably wouldn’t be able to meet Rookie either. I wanted to ask him about Yerim’s title.

“Sit.”

A round chair appeared, smaller and lower than the King of Predation’s. Even so, it was huge compared to my body. I could probably sprawl out on it. I climbed up onto the chair and looked up at the snake. He wasn’t in the overwhelming form from our first meeting, but even just the humanoid upper body was easily twice my size. Would it kill him to scale down a bit?

“Do you know what item is most valuable to Transcendents?”

“…No idea.”

An L–rank item probably wasn’t anything special to them. Would something like a wish stone finally count as valuable? Other than that… Ah. A story I’d heard before floated up in my mind.

“This world, right? Fragments of worlds that haven’t been swallowed by the Origin.”

“Correct. Most Transcendents have lost their own worlds. Some were swallowed by the Origin, some we swallowed ourselves, and some simply reached the end of their lifespans. Each world strongly rejects powerful outsiders, so you could say Transcendents are wanderers.”

“So instead, they create their own spaces.”

Myungwoo’s forge and the drawer I owned were some of those spaces.

“But they can never match the real thing, the ones created by the Origin. And to make a proper space, a place to dwell that resembles a world, you need real worlds as raw material. That is why, when they lose the power of protection, Transcendents hunger for fragments of worlds the Origin has not yet devoured.”

The snake’s eyes narrowed slightly. The killing intent that seeped out toward me was so thick that my shoulders flinched before I realized it.

“When a world is on the verge of destruction, when it’s reached the point where anyone can lay a hand on it, in that moment even the Unfilial Children help the Origin devour it. If Transcendents steal fragments of the world, it can no longer regenerate.”

“…Though you can make the Origin spit it back out.”

“Indeed. The Origin also creates new worlds. Though in recent times, production has almost ceased.”

If a Transcendent building their own space took a world’s fragments, that was the end of it. But if the Origin devoured it instead, there was a chance to get it back.

“It was an amusing war.”

The snake let out a low laugh. So that was when he’d fought the Mermaid Queen.

“Weren’t you on the Filial Duty Addicts’ side? You’re not supposed to steal worlds away from the Origin.”

“There are always predators that hunt other predators’ prey.”

Oh, sure. Following the laws of nature, are we. Why not strip naked and go live in the wilds while you’re at it.

“The system is also designed to send worlds on the verge of destruction back to the Origin, so in those moments, the Unfilial Children whom it normally restrains can go out and fight in person. Sleeping warriors all rise together, take up their weapons, and scatter blood.”

Maybe the Wolf or the Deer were some of those warriors. Compared to Rookie or the Tree, they didn’t seem to do much.

“Compared to some of the Filial Duty Addicts and the neutrals, the Unfilial Children are generally dominant in war. Since those who seek the fragments are also each other’s rivals, in the end they only ever manage to clutch a few crumbs.”

The King of Predation explained that large fragments were extremely rare and precious. As I listened, a bad feeling slowly grew in my chest.

‘Don’t tell me.’

The more I heard, the more it felt like there was only one possible answer.

“The Unfilial Children put up one of those fragments.”

The tip of his long claw pointed at me.

“A fragment of your world.”

“Those damn–!”

I barely swallowed the string of curses that wanted to burst out. Those rotten bastards had just tossed someone else’s world onto the table as betting money? I’d kept thinking, no way, no way, but they were insane! As I ground my teeth, the King of Predation’s eyes curved.

“Unlike at first, the more I see of you, the more I like you. If you were the type to shrink back just because you’re weak, that would be boring.”

“So what, they put me out there as their representative, and if they win they get to tear off a piece of our world?”

“Something like that. In return, if the Unfilial Children side wins, your world will remain unharmed.”

“That’s…”

Something felt off. Honestly, it wasn’t like we were at a particular disadvantage. To be precise, our world wasn’t. We couldn’t relax with Crescent Moon and shady Transcendents like the Puppeteer around, but still.

“Even without the Unfilial Children going so far as to make a bet and protect it, there isn’t much of a problem when it comes to defending our world.”

As long as they didn’t stick their noses in where they weren’t needed, the people of our world were enough. So why go out of their way to wager fragments of worlds on a bet? It wasn’t like the Unfilial Children were weak.

“Chatterbox was the weird one, and the other Filial Duty Addicts aren’t going to throw their own power around to meddle like that. In that case, we can handle things on our own. Yet you’re telling me you made a bet anyway? Just on leaving the world safe and sound?”

Suspicious as hell. There wasn’t much for them to gain, so why?

“What you gain is safety.”

The King of Predation spoke with a soft chuckle. So in the end, the Unfilial Children were getting something else out of this. Damn it.

“…Like we’re toys to play with.”

“For us, it’s only a moment’s amusement.”

The snake was relaxed. Even if they lost, it cost them nothing. Winning was nice, losing was a bit of a shame, that was all. In some ways, Chatterbox was better. At least that guy had wagered his own stuff.

“But if nothing at all were given to the victor, wouldn’t that also be dull?”

The King of Predation rose as he spoke. With a soft slither, snakes crawled toward me from all sides. I barely managed not to shake off the ones wrapping around my arms and legs.

“If you win, I’ll grant you one wish.”

“…Anything?”

“Do not try to claim a world after winning a mere game. As long as it is not excessive greed, anything.”

I shut my mouth. My head spun. In a way, this was a path to getting everything I wanted. If our world’s safety was guaranteed, Crescent Moon might not be able to interfere. No matter how strong she was, even she would struggle against multiple Transcendents. And with one wish, I might even be able to bring my brother over. It wouldn’t be easy, but still, maybe.

A road that had seemed to end in a blank wall suddenly stretched out before me again. And it didn’t even look as rough as I’d expected.

Which only made it more suspicious.

“…I’ll look forward to it.”

But I had no choice but to accept. I had to do something.

As I nodded, Seong Hyunjae came to mind. If things were like this, wasn’t it way better if I was the one who won? Could he have actually taken the Filial Duty Addicts’ side because he wanted to help us? With the contract, it wouldn’t be easy but… Well, I’d win even without his help.

‘Besides, Chief Song and Hyunah would only get in the way. He has no reason to help Seong Hyunjae.’

What was he thinking, seriously. I looked up at the snake and asked,

“Did you promise them the same thing, to grant their wish if they win?”

“Most likely. I cannot know the details. Changing sides was also to keep us from offering an excessive reward.”

“For that, you’re being pretty generous with me.”

I mean, sure, he’d addicted me and thrown me into a pile of snakes at the start, but still.

“I told you I like you.”

The golden snake coiled around my right arm suddenly went clink and turned into a gold ornament. What the hell!

“The fact that you’re so plain is a flaw, however.”

“This is normal in our world!”

“Gold and jewels are the mark of a victor.”

– Beep!

Grace, still hiding, let out a small chirp of agreement. No, Grace, you can’t be on the same side as the snake. You’re a bird! You used to be a dragon, sure, but still. Another snake wrapped around my neck, and one more climbed onto my head. Hold on a second!

“Only the weak, who do not trust their own scales, cover their bodies so excessively.”

“I’m a mammal! Humans barely have any hair!”

The silver snake mottled with red turned into a choker around my neck. Something metallic settled onto my head as well. Could he please respect other people’s cultures for once?

“Now you’re at least somewhat worth looking at. Let us go.”

Go wh– The scene suddenly changed. The chair disappeared and I plopped down onto the floor. Seong Hyunjae looked down at me. The corners of his lips quirked up slightly.

“Your tastes have changed quite a bit in the meantime.”

…This was so unfair. The Mermaid Queen, hovering slightly in the air, lightly moved her wings and turned toward us.