The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 659: Sweet Reward (1)

“This concludes your temporary system admin class.”

Myungwoo said as he worked the system, sending the piled–up harvest off somewhere.

“Use your one–day break to thoroughly practice what you’ve learned.”

“Um, Teacher Myungwoo. It’s basically our third day here already, so what’s it like outside?”

We’d pretty much vanished as a group out of nowhere. Shishio’s teammates said they’d explained things before coming here, but if we were gone too long, there was no way that wouldn’t cause problems.

“Only a single day has passed outside. Depending on the situation, I can widen the time difference even more.”

“Can’t I at least drop by home for a bit? I left my kid behind.”

“The Transcendents don’t want that.”

Myungwoo answered with a slight frown.

“Once you go back to our world, it’s hard to move you again unless you personally consent to the transfer. Yujin, you also had to get individual permission to bring your teammates here, remember?”

Come to think of it, when we came here, the message window asked for permission. Meanwhile, in this place, they could just teleport us around as they pleased.

“We could just make a contract saying we’ll return when they call, right?”

“You never know. And don’t you dare sign contracts carelessly. Even if it sounds like it’s in your favor, don’t accept it so lightly.”

Nagging me to be careful, Myungwoo started lecturing. I shut my mouth and just nodded hard. Then he glanced toward Seong Hyunjae’s window, closed the distance to me, and bent down to whisper quietly.

“Once class is over and the betting games start, I won’t be able to block system–type attacks for you. I can’t boost your proficiency to the level of Guild Leader Seong Hyunjae, so focus as much as you can on defense.”

“…I’m that far behind him, huh?”

“You do have high mana detection, but so do they, and on top of that they’re close to a veteran level. Once you’re back in your room, put in a request for system defense training. Then I can immediately set up a mock attack system for you.”

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Teacher.”

Myungwoo, who had been looking at me with clear worry, disappeared. Up to now it had been a practice game; from here on out was the real thing. I clenched my hands without realizing it from the tension.

[Calculating dungeon results!]

A message window popped up. The monster corpses piled high on the beach faded away.

“Oh? I leveled up, Mister. The reward– kyaaa!”

“Yerim?!”

Yerim suddenly jumped up.

“My Sigh skill rank! Cold Sigh became S–rank!”

“What? Seriously?”

“Yeah! Is it because I watered the fields? But I didn’t actually use Cold Sigh!”

“You did use that misting technique that gives moisture similar to Cold Sigh. Maybe that’s why the proficiency went up faster – because you didn’t lean on the skill itself.”

You couldn’t just blast them with water. But if she used Cold Sigh as–is, the crops would have frozen solid, so for sixteen hours straight Yerim had painstakingly controlled the moisture and scattered it like a fine mist. That kind of effort would raise proficiency. Even before this, Cold Sigh was one of the skills Yerim used often.

Even so, for a skill she hadn’t had for even a year to rank up already was an insane pace. Normally, for an A–rank skill to become S–rank, a year was considered fast, and the average was over three years. And if you barely used it, you could go your whole life without a rank–up.

“When a skill ranks up, it sometimes gets extra effects too. How is it?”

“The range increased, and it says the mist got stronger. And… sensory loss inside the mist!”

“Sensory loss?”

“That’s all it says.”

“Does it dull the enemy’s senses or something? Let’s test it later.”

“Okay!”

Yerim hopped around happily again. It was already a very useful support–type combat skill; if its range and power had increased and it weakened enemy senses on top of that, it would be even easier to use in all sorts of ways. The other three also got experience, but neither their levels nor their skill ranks went up. Yuhyun’s Black Flame was SS–rank, so it was that much harder to rank up.

I had leveled up too. It had been a while. Even if I leveled, my stats wouldn’t change that much…

[The skill Terrifying Chick Class Teacher has increased in rank!]

“…Huh?”

“Hyung?”

“No, one of my skills ranked up too. The teacher skill!”

I hurriedly checked the skill.

[Terrifying Chick Class Teacher (SSS)]

My teacher skill, which had been SS–rank, had gone up to SSS–rank. Whoa. I had been using that skill like my life depended on it, but I didn’t think it would actually rank up!

The skill’s range had expanded, and the target rank limit had risen from SS–rank to SSS–rank. There didn’t seem to be any other added effects, but I wasn’t about to complain. The strain it put on me and the backlash when it was resisted would probably decrease a bit too.

“Is it because I used something similar to the teacher skill on the whole island?”

“Mister, you’ve been spamming that teacher skill all this time. And mostly on S–rank or higher opponents.”

So all that suffering from backlash was worth it. A few smaller rewards came in as well. It seemed the dungeon itself wasn’t rated that high – most of the items were B– to A–rank. The crop sale rewards would probably be given out separately.

“What a waste.”

After the monster corpses, the fields also began turning back into the original forest. At Yerim’s mutter, I nodded as well. We’d worked so hard to grow those guys, only for them to get swept away in an instant. Thick watermelon vines and corn stalks that had made a little forest of their own rapidly vanished.

[The effect of the title ‘Nurturer’ is activated.]

A message popped up that made my heart plummet. Wait.

[Nurturer additional skill – Final Recompense

The skills and stats of the crop ‘Handsome Watermelon’ are transferred to you at twice their normal efficiency.

Duration – 7 days]

‘…A recompense skill? Here?’

It wasn’t just the watermelon. Message after message popped up in front of me as strawberries, melons, corn, and more all had Final Recompense applied in succession. The crops’ memories were faint – the pouring sunlight, the moisture soaking into their bodies. All of that rushed into me at once.

“Hyung! You okay?”

Yuhyun hurriedly supported me as I staggered. What the hell… is this?

“…No, it’s just, the fatigue hit me all at once.”

I panted heavily. There actually weren’t that many crops with keywords applied. Only a little under ten message windows had appeared. Probably only the ones I’d directly spoken to – calling them things like pretty strawberry, sturdy corn – and repeatedly showered with affection had been affected.

Even so, it was from crops…

“…Hyung.”

Yuhyun, half holding me up, leaned in and spoke.

“You smell kind of… like grass.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s true, Mister!”

Yerim grabbed my hand, sniffed it, and her eyes went wide.

“I think there’s a bit of sweetness too?”

What the… I quickly pulled up my status window. Skills I’d never seen before caught my eye.

[Fresh Leaves (F)

Ripe Fruit (F)

Photosynthesis (E)

Regeneration (E)

Forest Camouflage (E)]

…What even is all this. Maybe because they were ordinary crops, the skill ranks were low.

“Uh, so. Looks like I picked up a few skills as dungeon rewards.”

“Skills? That’s sick!”

“No, they’re limited to seven days…”

I checked the modestly ranked skills.

[Fresh Leaves (F) – Grows well and stays fresh. Gives off a pleasant grassy scent that herbivores find likable.]

[Ripe Fruit (F) – A fully ripened fruit. Your flavor improves and occasionally attracts animals.]

…Even if they only lasted seven days, they were truly useless skills. What am I supposed to do with becoming tastier!

“They’re plant–related skills… They make me smell like grass and taste good, apparently.”

Yerim and Noah both made awkward faces, and Liette looked me over with eyes full of curiosity.

“Let’s taste!”

“What? Are you out of your mind? No way!”

Eat what, exactly! Yuhyun wrapped me up like he was protecting me, and Noah blocked his sister’s path. Liette pouted, raising a finger as if to say just one bite. As if.

“And then there’s Photosynthesis, which lets me replenish energy from sunlight, Regeneration with a plant–type healing effect, and Forest Camouflage, which makes me harder to see in the woods. That’s it.”

“Photosynthesis and Regeneration sound pretty good though?”

“They’re low rank, so they won’t do much.”

Since Final Recompense doubled them, the actual effect would be at least D–rank, but they still wouldn’t beat a mid– to high–grade potion. Since I can’t freely use potions, they might come in handy, but they were still only seven–day limited.

Meanwhile, the fields disappeared completely and the scenery returned to how it looked when we first arrived. A message saying Please return to your rooms blinked in front of me.

“Still, it’s not a bad deal.”

“Yeah, true.”

My stats had gone up a bit too. I was probably getting close to D–rank. Acting like nothing was wrong, I opened the system management window to go back to my room. Next to it, my status window was still open. Final Recompense.

[Final Recompense (L) – When a keyword–affected target dies, you receive that target’s skills and stats at double efficiency.

Duration 7 days

※Cannot stack]

Cannot stack. It was clearly written there. But just now, I’d received Final Recompense from nearly ten crops at once. The message windows had kept popping up, and the number of skills and the stat gain were clearly more than what one crop could account for.

‘…When I checked my status window right after regression, did Final Recompense have that cannot stack note?’

I tried to recall. It already felt like ages ago, but I was pretty sure it hadn’t. At some point, though, cannot stack had been added into the skill description.

‘The ones who add explanations to the status window are the Transcendents – the Unfilial Children.’

They’d said it was manual work and they were short–staffed, so they’d had to hold back on Promising Talent skills before. They’d also used status descriptions to send me messages. If that was possible, then inserting false information was possible too.

‘Why would they go out of their way to lie about it not stacking?’

One of the things the Unfilial Children had demanded of me – to fill my list of keyword–affected targets with fifty S–ranks. I bit my lip without realizing it.

“Hyung, are you really okay?”

Yuhyun leaned in, saying I’d hurt my lips like that. I quickly shook my head.

“It’s just fatigue, just tired. Working the fields all day isn’t easy. My stats are F–rank, you know.”

“True, Mister, you were all over the place.”

“Get a good rest for the day, Yujin.”

“I wonder if your hair tastes good too.”

“…I’ll keep my sister under control.”

Forcing a smile, I moved us all back to the room. The house that had been a wreck was more or less fixed up.

“Let’s wash up and sleep, Hyung.”

“Don’t worry and just get some sleep~”

I said okay, but my head was still a mess.

‘Stackable and fifty people.’

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one thing that combination could mean.

‘…Still, no way. If I got the abilities of fifty S–ranks at once, I’d get strong, sure, but I doubt I’d reach a Transcendent. And even if I did reach Transcendent level, then what? The time limit is seven days.’

If they wanted to use my ability, they could just turn me into a tool. If they pulled something that insane, there’s no way I’d obey quietly. Rookie had clearly said they wouldn’t harm the people around me. …Rookie I could trust.

I stopped short of going into the bathroom and checked my status again, looking over the people with keywords applied. Most of them were precious to me…

[Liette (S)]

“…Huh.”

L–Liette? What, since when… No way!

‘When I said I loved her and gave her a kiss?!’

Did the keyword get applied back then? That easily? I had known Liette for quite a while and we were close, but still.

“Liette!”

“Yeah, my fruit!”

“…Did you, by any chance, start feeling something, uh, special about me?”

“I’m just curious what you taste like! Strawberry? Watermelon? Melon? Or maybe sweet potato?”

“Can I ask what you think about your parents – I mean, your guardians?”

I asked while sneaking a look at Noah. Liette answered casually, like it was nothing. No particular thoughts?

“When I was little they were annoying and got in the way, but now I don’t care~”

Since there was no one she really thought of as a guardian, I guess there wasn’t much of a reaction to me either. That was a relief, but did the keyword really have to get applied right when I was so hung up on Final Recompense?

‘I really need to watch what I say from now on.’

Once your trust level was high enough, it seemed the keyword could be applied pretty easily. After washing up, I changed into loungewear from the closet. Liette was sprawled out on the living room floor. Even S–ranks felt fatigue, so she probably wanted to get a solid nap in.

“Yerim, want to sleep in Yuhyun’s room? I’ll turn the desk into a bed for you.”

“It feels a little weird, but okay~”

“The sofa’s more than enough for me.”

Noah said, sitting down on the couch. I went to Yuhyun’s room with Yerim and transformed the desk into a bed. I still couldn’t create things that didn’t already exist, but changing forms like that was something I could manage pretty well now.

“Um, Mister.”

Yerim, testing out the new bed, lowered her voice.

“About the spirit egg… I think it’d be better if you held onto it again.”

“Huh? Why?”

“…I’ve been keeping it for quite a while now… but it still hasn’t hatched.”

Yerim fiddled gloomily with the spirit egg hanging from her neck. It was definitely late in hatching. I’d given it to her thinking it would wake up any day now.

“It really looks like a water droplet now, so I thought it’d be born soon.”

It was so clear and transparent you almost couldn’t tell there was an egg there at a glance. Anxiety crept into Yerim’s eyes.

“It hasn’t… gone wrong or anything, has it?”

“It shouldn’t have. It’s that clear. Let’s ask Myungwoo. Ismuar might know the reason.”

“Okay. Here.”

She held out the pendant with the water spirit egg. I took it and contacted Myungwoo right away.

[If it’s clear, it’s fine. There’s only a problem if it gets cloudy.]

“Then when will it hatch?”

[That I can’t know either. When the spirit feels like waking up? Ismuar did say before that it wouldn’t be much longer, though.]

In the end, we couldn’t find the cause. I soothed Yerim, saying it wouldn’t take that much longer, and handed the egg back.

“It might just be a little slow. Sorok was like that too. You saw the photos Hyunah sent of how big he suddenly got, right?”

“Yeah. …It’s really going to be okay, right?”

“It’s fine. If the egg ever gets cloudy, tell me right away, okay?”

Yerim nodded. The water spirit needed to be born soon so she could relax. The kid was just developing a bit late.

Before our one–day break was over, a summons arrived telling us to come collect the fruits of our harvest. I moved to the designated spot, and before long Seong Hyunjae appeared as well. As if he’d been waiting for this, he produced a needle and thread.

“Present your lips. I’ll sew them shut.”

Seong Hyunjae strode right up to me, bent down slightly, and smiled with his eyes.

“You offer your lips to others, yet try to steal them away from me.”

“…You saw all of that?”

“Of course.”

Of course he had. I’d suspected as much, but the back of my neck still burned.

“It’s for their proper growth! It’s all work, job stuff, business, you know?”

“My sweet, good strawberries–.”

“Quit it! I really will sew them shut, got it?!”

Seong Hyunjae trailed off mid–sentence and tilted his head. Then he leaned in even closer to me.

“Is that coming from your body, Mr. Han Yujin?”

“It’s perfume.”

“I don’t think so. It isn’t an artificial scent.”

“Our body lotion at home is all–natural.”

This damn skill wouldn’t shut off. I waved my hand to shoo him away, and then Myungwoo, the King of Predation, and the Mermaid Queen appeared. I stared at the Mermaid Queen, still holding the needle. Her eyes, calm to the point of chilliness, met mine.