The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 663: Sub Team (1)

High ramparts ringed the barren, bone–dry land. The walls were solid, thick stone, but parts had crumbled here and there, and the gate doors were completely gone. Inside, I could see monsters shambling around.

‘Within a certain area, both skills and items are banned.’

And supposedly, the monsters would not leave that zone.

[Please eliminate all monsters inside the fortress!

Bonus points will be awarded depending on time.]

Even at a glance, they weren’t insanely strong monsters. At best, somewhere around mid–grade A–rank. You couldn’t use skills, but that didn’t mean your stats dropped, so beating them down one by one wouldn’t be hard. Items were banned from taking effect, but you could still pull out a sword and swing it.

But that meant it would obviously take forever. How long was I supposed to sit there killing that many, one by one?

I put away the binoculars and started walking. What was banned were items – in other words, things imbued with mana. Which meant ordinary manufactured goods didn’t count.

“Hi, everyone. It’s your squishy little F–rank.”

A bear–like monster poked its head over the wall. When I waved, it bared its teeth and growled. Maybe it was set to mainly stay inside the fortress, because it didn’t recklessly charge out.

“I’ve even gotten especially tastier, you know.”

Since only ‘using’ skills was banned, passive skills like resistances stayed intact. In other words, I would still feel nice and appetizing to them. A huge boar started creeping out through the gaping fortress gate. A green lizard climbed down the wall. Flap, flap – I could hear the wingbeats of birds as well.

Even so, none of them made any really aggressive moves yet. The distance was still pretty big. Which meant that even if I threw a bomb with all my strength, it wouldn’t even reach the area near the wall. And that would not do.

I pulled out a grenade launcher. Technically it was a firearm, but it fired bombs instead of bullets. It didn’t do much to mid–high–grade monsters, but it had more punch than bullets and, more importantly, it really grabbed attention.

“All right then, my dear monster friends.”

I aimed the grenade launcher at the fortress. The monsters didn’t particularly react. With no mana to sense, they were probably wondering what the thing even was. I adjusted the angle and pulled the trigger. The heavy bomb traced an arc through the sky. And then–

Boom–!

– Grrrk!

An explosion went off right in front of the fortress gate. Dirt flew everywhere in a cloud of smoke. The second bomb I fired went all the way into the inside of the fortress. Another blast thundered, and excited growls echoed out from the monsters. That was enough bombs for now. Next up was–

Pfff–boom!

– Kyaaak!

– Kek!

This time, thick white smoke flooded the fortress and spread in an instant. It was a tear gas shell, well–loaded with nasty chemicals. Most monsters had sensitive noses. Which made tear gas perfect for annoying them. The bombs didn’t have real killing power anyway.

– Kyarrrk!

A wolf–type monster shook its head violently and bolted out of the fortress. The stench wasn’t so bad that they couldn’t endure it, but there was no reason to endure it either. Other monsters also started spilling out of the fortress all at once. I fired one more tear gas shell at the oncoming horde, then hurriedly pulled out my bike.

“Come on, guys, over here!”

I swung onto the bike and kicked the engine at the same time.

Tak.

I flipped the switch. The colorful bulbs and lights wrapped around the bike all began to shine at once. And then–

[Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells!]

A bold carol blasted out in chorus. What can I say, it was that season back when I set this thing up, so this was all I had loaded.

“It’s been a while, but Merry Christmas!”

Vroooom– The bike shot forward, flashing and roaring. Monsters wreathed in tear gas started sprinting after me.

– Kyaaaak!

– Kiiiiiik!

Already pissed off, they seemed to find the blinding lights and loud music extra aggravating. The sun was low and the light was dim, so the bike stood out even more clearly. I cranked the headlights up to max.

– Beep.

Grace, riding in the basket attached to the back of the bike, grabbed the small bombs in the basket and chucked them out. Every time a thrown bomb got stepped on by a monster’s foot–

Bang! Boom!

Flashes of fire burst out with the explosions. Their enraged roars rang out nonstop. Even after provoking them this much, would they still refuse to cross the boundary of the zone? Not that it really mattered.

A steep rock face came into view ahead. The distance between us and the monsters was just right. I pushed the speed even higher and closed in on the cliff in one rush.

“Grace!”

– Bwee!

Grace came back to me. Just before the bike smashed into the rock, I kicked off and leapt.

At the same time, from above–

Whiiish–!

A line shot straight down toward me. It spun around me in midair, wrapping around my body, and I quickly grabbed it. As soon as I wound the rope once around my hand and held tight, it jerked upward in a strong arc, like someone reeling in a fish.

Boom!

The bike slammed into the rock face and exploded together with the bombs it was carrying. A bit of a waste. Not that we didn’t have more. My body shot high up into the darkening sky. I could see monsters gathering below at the base of the rock face. I blinked. Through the Teacher Skill, the sight of someone waiting for us outside the zone was projected into my view.

Rumble–

It was an enormous mass of water. A gigantic water golem was crouched, packed tight, waiting for its moment. I sent a signal to the giant’s master. The water was released.

– Kraaa!

– Grrrrr!

The monsters below bared their teeth at me, still clueless about what was coming. My body, which had shot high up, began to fall. At the same time–

Rrrr–rumble!

The ground shuddered heavily as water crashed down. It wasn’t a skill. It was ordinary water poured in from outside the zone. There was just a ridiculous amount of it.

– Kyeek!

– Keng!

The water swept along the long stretch of rocky cliff, swallowing everything. The little ones, of course, and even the truck–sized ones couldn’t withstand it. They were swept away by the raging torrent. But–

“Ugh!”

Suddenly, something grabbed me as I fell. I heard frantic wingbeats.

– Kiiii.

It was a flying–type monster. Its feet, tipped with razor–sharp talons, clamped down hard around me. Maybe because of my crop skill, other flying–type monsters were showing interest too. Talons trying to steal the prey scraped across the rope, and it was about to snap.

Crunch!

A dagger flew up from below and pierced straight through the monster’s head. The monster died instantly and dropped, and a pair of arms safely caught me as I fell with it.

“You okay?”

It was Yuhyun, who had been waiting at the top of the cliff. He was the one who had thrown the rope too.

“Of course I’m okay. Perfectly fine.”

I focused on the two people who would be waiting downstream from the flood, outside the no–skills zone. Liette, already fully transformed into a dragon, was baring her fangs with her feet in the water, and Noah was hovering in the air, exuding killing intent. The expanded range on the Teacher Skill was really convenient.

“The two of them will take care of all the monsters that got washed away.”

Yuhyun nodded and set me down. Then he drew his bow. The item effects were gone, but the durability was unchanged. The sturdy bow bent, and with a sharp piiing– the arrow sliced through the air.

Thud!

The arrow struck a big bird right in the neck. No – it punched clean through, the neck unable to withstand the force. The arrow shattered its spine, and the monster’s life ended right there. Then a second, a third – in the blink of an eye, monsters were dropping out of the sky one after another.

– Kyaaaak!

– Krekk!

Through the Teacher Skill, I could also hear the screams of the monsters being swept out of the zone by the water. Kwham! A monster under Liette’s feet was crushed mercilessly, and Noah instantly caught up to those trying to run and snatched them up.

Thud.

The last flying–type monster dropped onto the wet ground. At the same moment, a message window popped up.

[All monsters have been eliminated.

The no–skills, no–items zone has disappeared!

Please come to the fortress.]

“It says to come to the fortress.”

“I’ll drive. You worked the hardest.”

“It wasn’t all that tough, really.”

Yuhyun grabbed me and jumped down the cliff. Yerim, Noah, and Liette must have seen the message too, because they were already moving toward the fortress. I pulled out the car, and we headed out as well.

“Strictly speaking, Blue Willow Leaves isn’t a movement skill, so it’s a bit of a shame. Normally we at least have Peace.”

It was useful in combat, but for simple travel – especially long distances – it was inconvenient compared to Noah’s wings or Yerim’s teleportation plus flight.

“…I want to know more details about my skills before regression.”

Yuhyun spoke quietly.

“If I choose the pre–regression reward, the reward skill will probably be similar, right?”

“Yeah. Most likely. But I don’t really know which of your skills came from achievement rewards either.”

I thought back. Like most S–rank Hunters, Yuhyun tended to hide his abilities. He didn’t even actively participate in S–rank rankings, so there was even less information on him. Unlike the current Yuhyun, he didn’t seem to enjoy fighting other Hunters.

It was like he’d repressed everything so hard that even he himself had dried out and burned away.

“Yuhyun.”

My little brother glanced over at me. He was driving, but, well, there was nothing to crash into around here anyway.

“If you choose the pre–regression reward, it’ll definitely help in the short term. But I think you’ll be able to get all of that back again.”

Even if he’d changed, he was still the same person. His core skills would all grow solidly again.

“So I don’t think you have to throw away everything you’ve done up to now.”

The time from my regression until now belonged only to this Yuhyun. He turned his eyes back to the front. A brief silence fell, then he spoke.

“But right now, I’m weak.”

“Hey, how are you weak? It’s just that you’re up against Transcendents. It’s like adults – pro–level fighters at that – barging into a kids’ fight!”

Those damn Transcendents kept jumping in personally, and it had crushed my kid’s confidence. I’d tried telling him my little brother was the best, but Yuhyun’s expression stayed dark. Was it because I’d almost been taken by Chatterbox? Back then, there was nothing Yuhyun could do.

“Mister!”

We pulled up in front of the fortress gate. Yerim shot up from a distance and flew over, smiling.

“How was it?”

“It was awesome. You did great, Yerim!”

“I wanted to see it myself! Mister, you’re safe and… did something happen? Han Yuhyun’s expression looks bad. You’re not hurt, as far as I can tell.”

Judging my condition based on how Yuhyun acted, huh. Accurate, sure, but still.

“I’m fine. We were just talking about the rewards.”

“He still hasn’t decided? Just take yours. That’s how it should be.”

Yerim said, puffing up a bit. The jewel hanging from her necklace glittered.

“I think it’s safe, Mister Yujin.”

Noah, who had flown in first to check the inside of the fortress, came out and reported. Liette waved down at us from the top of the wall.

As we stepped into the fortress, the Mermaid Queen appeared. Wasn’t this when Myungwoo was supposed to show up? And the King of Predation was nowhere to be seen either. I looked at her, not entirely pleased.

“Good job, Honey. The chain is almost finished too, but Honey’s side was faster.”

“…Figures.”

They probably hadn’t had any good way to drag the monsters out of the zone. So they must have just killed them directly.

“Soon, monsters will begin to appear here. Much stronger monsters. We’ll divert the Source’s assault on Honey’s world this way.”

If we did that, the danger level of the dungeons in our world would climb a little more slowly, the Mermaid Queen said. It wouldn’t be easy to block all of it, but now we could use skills again, and above all, everyone was strong. …Surely they weren’t planning to summon a freak like the Lautitars.

“And for the defense, we’ll be together with the sub team.”

“Huh?”

As soon as the Mermaid Queen finished speaking, Yuhyun, Yerim, Noah, and Liette vanished. Wait a second.

“What do you mean, sub team, as a group? Are you at least giving them practice time?”

They were all experienced high–rank Hunters, but they probably hadn’t fought all that much as a single unit. The only ones who had cooperated at all were a few who’d briefly worked together in Chatterbox’s party. And there was no way I could use the Teacher Skill on that many high–rank Hunters all at once without burning out…

“I’m thinking of giving Honey a bonus to your extra points. That’s why I came instead of the King of Predation this time.”

The bonus was welcome, but dread came first. The Mermaid Queen continued.

“Here, it’ll be much easier to apply Honey’s keyword.”

“…Excuse me?”

“For the Awakened who belong to Honey, you’ll be able to apply it without specifying targets, with just a single use of the keyword. In exchange, there will be no emotional effect.”

So… with one shout of “I love you,” the keyword would apply to all of them. And the side effect that made them see me as their nurturer wouldn’t be added.

Given the current situation, it was definitely a welcome bonus. However–

‘…Fifty people.’

If I registered the entire sub team for keywords, how many would that be. With every round of this bet, it felt like I was taking another step into a trap.

“Of course, the choice is Honey’s. But if you want to win this match, if you want more people to come out alive, it would be better to apply the keyword, don’t you think?”

“…You’re really blunt, you know that? You said I could take my time slowly collecting fifty people.”

“I won’t do anything that harms Honey’s people. That much, I promise.”

Leaving behind words I couldn’t bring myself to trust, the Mermaid Queen disappeared. A heavy sigh slipped out of me all on its own.