The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 668: I Lost It For a Bit (1)

“Except for a few of the rented pieces of equipment, take them with you and swap them around to see what fits you. There’ll be more rewards later anyway, so instead of getting greedy, focus on finding what suits you.”

We decided to leave Chatterbox’s gear with the sub–team, except for what the main team could actually use. We had no idea what might happen next, and I’d planned to hand over about half of it as rewards anyway. The sub–team’s rest area wasn’t going to disappear, so they could rotate the gear and get used to it there.

“Are you really going to be okay?”

Noah asked anxiously as he wrapped a bandage around my arm. Thanks to the healing skills the pain was gone, but seeing nothing below my elbow felt weird. It wasn’t like I’d lost a leg, too.

“Yeah. I think it’s better if I don’t use any more skills or potions. We should be holding the Transcendents responsible for this. Please keep it a secret from Yuhyun and Yerim for now.”

For now, anyway. Noah would be going back ahead of me, and if they found out, there’s no way they’d just sit still.

Noah nodded. A line of gazes followed him. The support–type Hunters were looking at him the most fervently, but the others were full of interest too.

“To be honest, I always thought Hunter Noah got a bit overshadowed. The S–class combat types around him are just too stacked.”

“He came off more like Hunter Liette’s little brother.”

Curious what they were saying, I quietly used Teacher skill on Peace. Through the sharp hearing of an S–class monster, I could pick up the Hunters’ muttering, faint but clear. They had no idea how amazing our Noah really was.

“Still, it’s not like we’ll ever do a group battle like this outside, right?”

“You never know. Either way, if a big fight happens outside, Hunter Noah’s side is almost guaranteed to win.”

“And that Teacher skill is no joke either.”

They brought me up too. I got a little embarrassed. Still, Teacher skill really was good. Except for the name. I’d used it ridiculously well.

“With Chief Han and Hunter Noah and the main team Hunters, not even that amazing Sesung guildmaster could handle them, right?”

“This time there was a place for him to dodge to, but otherwise Chief Han can’t join the fight. A stray shard could kill him.”

No, I can block that much, thank you very much. And I’ve got Grace. They’re not going to tell me not to use Grace again, right?

“He fought pretty well at the party, though.”

“Hey, I died to Chief Han too.”

Valerie elbowed the Hunter and said proudly. That was basically her letting me kill her, though.

“Even as a support, S–class really is on another level!”

One of the support–type Hunters who’d been hesitating finally spoke to Noah in an excited voice. Noah turned to him with a gentle smile.

“I didn’t have these skills from the beginning, either.”

His expression was kind, but his voice was a little businesslike. Honestly, his expression kind of was too.

“I didn’t obtain them by myself, either.”

“Oh, come on, you did all of it, Noah. You’re the one who worked for it and you’re the one who chose it.”

Even if Liette had forced him to grow into S–class, the one who went along with it was none other than Noah. Same after that. Give people the same environment and they don’t all end up the same. At my words, Noah’s lips curled into a faint, but this time natural smile.

“Yeah. This really is the path I chose.”

And he’d keep doing that. After dealing with Liette, who on earth could ever push Noah around again?

“Peace, Daddy’s okay.”

– Kkiwoong.

Peace let out a little groan and carefully rubbed his cheek against my leg. I wanted to take him with me, but I couldn’t. Our Peace, such a good boy.

“Don’t worry, Chief Han. I’ll take full responsibility and take good care of Peace.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll leave him to you.”

He sounded reliable, but somehow I still couldn’t trust him. Peace, don’t bite him, but at least pretend like you’re listening to Mister Shishio.

I sent Noah back first, then sent the sub–team Hunters to the rest area as well. Left alone, my gaze kept drifting down to my arm.

‘There wasn’t really a problem this time, but.’

I stared at my intact palm. At the faint scar where Byeol was. Gyeol had split off, and Seol was at least on my back, but Byeol’s location worried me. What would happen if my hand got cut off? The Seong Hyunjae fragment was above my elbow, too.

“Byeol, I mean, kiddo.”

He still didn’t recognize his name. When I called softly, the round furball popped into existence on my palm.

– Kkuiik.

Byeol let out a big yawn and scrubbed the fur on his head with his front paw, then froze.

– Kkyap!

He jolted, eyes going round as he stared at my left arm, tail sticking straight up. Oh boy.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s going to go back to normal.”

– Beep, piwik.

“More importantly, if this hand over here disappeared like that… would it affect you?”

– Pii?

“Mm, want to go ask your big brother?”

Byeol nodded, disappeared, then popped back. He hopped down and changed into a little kid as he answered.

“Big bro said he’ll take me with him.”

“Yeah? Can’t we just move you now? My back’s safer than my hand.”

“He says he’ll stay together for a bit, then send me back when Daddy’s hand is back.”

So they couldn’t stay together permanently. At least there was a countermeasure, but if I’d known, I would’ve given him a name and left him with Gyeol. Gyeol seemed to be running around busily doing something too, but it had to be safer than here… right? Just thinking about the tiny Seong Hyunjae made my head throb. What was I doing dragging a kid into this?

I sent Byeol back and moved as well. The empty space still had no Myungwoo, no Seong Hyunjae, no Transcendents. Hurry up and bring back my arm, Mermaid Queen. Myungwoo, this one is not my fault.

‘It’s not like I can hide it anyway, so I should quickly tell him they were the ones who cheated like cowards. That I was sitting quietly, very quietly, in a safe place. Even if my mana was getting sucked dry, on the outside I was fine! I’ll shout I was in a really safe place the moment Myungwoo came out–’

Tap, footsteps hit the floor. I whipped my head around.

“I–”

What the, it was Seong Hyunjae. Seong Hyunjae, but.

“Hey, your face!”

From near his right ear, a long wound ran down along his cheek to his nape. His clothes weren’t intact either. Part of the back of his hand where his glove had been torn was exposed, the skin there stained black. He’d been so confident, and now look at him!

“What the hell is this! You’re a wreck!”

Seong Hyunjae’s gaze turned to me.

“You’re the wreck here, Mister Han Yujin.”

“This is my body, and that one is someone else’s! If you’re going to steal someone else’s body, at least take care of it–”

“So you handled it that way because it’s your body, Yujin.”

…Chills ran straight down my back. I jumped and dodged behind Seong Hyunjae on reflex.

“The Unfilial Children cheated! I was really just sitting quietly inside!”

“Yeah. You couldn’t give up.”

Myungwoo spoke in a calm voice. Somehow that made my heart pound even more. Fear Resistance, do your job. It never worked right on Myungwoo. Maybe because it wasn’t just simple fear. Same with when Yuhyun got mad.

“I mean, in that situation… I couldn’t put my own skin first.”

I could have forfeited. But how could I? Myungwoo sighed, then gestured me over.

“Come here. The outside is one thing, how’s the inside?”

“I’m fine, really.”

I thanked the King of Predation and stepped confidently in front of Myungwoo. He touched the mark on the back of my neck and gave a small nod.

“Looks that way. I thought you’d have overdone it again.”

“My body’s gotta be intact if I want to hold out to the end.”

“Please keep doing that. If something happens to you, Yujin, it’s all over.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

It passed somehow. I wanted to take care of my body too, but those guys, seriously. More than that, I snapped my head around to glare at Seong Hyunjae again.

“I was wondering how it was a draw even after I lost an arm. You should be swimming in potions, so is that some recovery–reduction curse? Get over here and bow your head.”

“How considerate. Seems you’ve forgotten I’m technically an enemy right now.”

“It’s not like it’s stopping you from moving. I just don’t like looking at it.”

Seong Hyunjae came over and bent at the waist for me. Even though it wasn’t even his own body. This Seong Hyunjae was still Seong Hyunjae, but anyway.

“So even the great Sesung – I mean, former Sesung guildmaster – had trouble handling a swarm of SS–class monsters? Or did Cho Hwawoon’s crew just not help at all?”

“When you get a bunch of S–class Hunters together, the biggest threat is the enemy S–class Hunters.”

Even without the details, I could roughly picture it. Cho Hwawoon’s group were on the same side, so it’s not like their teamwork was atrocious, but once the monster ranks went up and the battle got frantic, that wouldn’t have meant much. No matter how great Seong Hyunjae was, it would be close to impossible to coordinate a pack of S–classes so they all worked together without getting in each other’s way.

“So you were alone?”

“Mostly, at the end. I used support items. It was fun, in its own way.”

There were bait–type items that drew monster hordes. He must have used those. To take on that last batch of dragonkin by himself… that was insane. A swarm of S–class dragonkin with SS–class mixed in could at least leave scratch marks on Seong Hyunjae’s face. Maybe some Venom and Curse Dragonkin were mixed in, too.

“No other reason?”

“Do I look like I’d have one?”

Beats me. How would I know what’s going on in his head?

“I’m planning to ask for my arm back as payment for that cheating, but just in case. Hey, Myungwoo, can you, uh… tie a ribbon on my arm?”

So the shock would be a little less when they saw it. Myungwoo narrowed his eyes at me, but still pulled out a multicolored ribbon from somewhere.

“Even then, cut off is still cut off.”

“Even a severed head looks a little better if you package it nicely.”

“…Want flowers with that too?”

“Should we?”

A big, bright ribbon fluttered over the bandages. Maybe I should add some frills, too.

“Especially your little brother’s going to be at least as bad as me, if not worse.”

“Mm, probably. I’m still going to tell him, even if the Mermaid Queen fixes my arm. He’ll get mad.”

Even if things went back to normal, I had to tell him. That’s what we’d decided.

“You’ve changed.”

Seong Hyunjae spoke suddenly. I looked over at him.

“The Han Yujin I knew would’ve tried to hide it somehow.”

“There are a bunch of things you don’t know about that happened. I still don’t want the people I care about to worry. But hiding everything isn’t always the right call. Even if it’s something they can’t handle, maybe it’s better for us to know everything and cling to each other.”

Above all, Yuhyun would never abandon me. When you hide things from someone you love, it’s not just because you don’t want them to worry – there’s always that fear they’ll start to hate you. There are plenty of people who turn their backs the moment you fall short of their expectations. But my little brother wouldn’t change, no matter what kind of person I was.

“People who live change.”

“You’re a person too, you know.”

“Yeah.”

For a moment, Seong Hyunjae smiled. A surprisingly soft, gentle warmth colored his golden eyes. …It was disconcerting even to look at.

“That’s why I’m here.”

His voice was just as gentle, like a warm spring breeze. …Did he eat something weird?

“I have nothing to receive, so I have no need to wait.”

That lasted only a moment before his gaze turned unpleasant.

“Even if I accepted the contract.”

His eyes dropped to my missing arm. A draw – my Hunters were alive, and yet I’d gotten hurt. He had probably already figured out exactly what had happened. For him, it had to be an infuriating outcome. …Don’t tell me he got himself hurt on purpose because he saw this coming. He couldn’t overturn the whole match outright because of the contract, but still, surely not.

“It’s impossible for you to win, Mister Han Yujin.”

“I got a draw, though. And it’s not a fight I’m allowed to lose.”

“That’s true.”

Seong Hyunjae opened a system window, like he was about to leave.

“I won’t tell you to break. But bending, at times, isn’t a bad option.”

His figure vanished. Breaking, bending. They were different, but right now…

“That guy always says things only he understands.”

I grumbled to Myungwoo. Explain it, man, explain.

“It’s true that it’s hard to take them head–on.”

“Well… I am trying to use my head as much as I can.”

Winning was impossible for me. …Not necessarily. But if they kept pulling things like this, it was going to be rough.

“Honey.”

That was when the Mermaid Queen appeared. I immediately glared and yelled.

“Give me back my arm!”

See this, see this! I shook the stump. The ribbon and frills fluttered.

“You think ‘sorry’ fixes everything after turning someone else’s arm into this mess? You don’t even make it sound good, do you even have a conscience? I’m F–rank! You won’t even let me use Grace and then what, three A–classes? Not even just one, three? What flows through that heart of yours – oh right, of course it’s cold, you’re a fish! Get me a lawyer! I’m too wronged to live like this! Let’s go by the contract, exactly by the contract! You’re the one who said I’d be safe!”

“If you had died, Honey, you would have been fully revived.”

“Wow, so now you’re basically praying for me to die?”

I sucked in a sharp breath. She wouldn’t bat an eye even if I wrapped a bandanna around my head and charged her with a megaphone. Hi, I’m the ant that was walking along your little promenade and you just stepped on my arm and broke it! You hearing me at all? Damn it.

“For starters, just reattach my arm.”

I forced down the boiling inside of me. I was holding back because it was a draw… We could have actually won. It was still unfair as hell.

“I wasn’t involved, Honey.”

…My teeth clenched on their own. I stepped closer to the Mermaid Queen. The pressure of a Transcendent pressed down on my whole body. She’d tuned it down to face us, but even so, the Fear Resistance message flickered.

“If you’re going to act like this, at least tell me what exactly you’re planning to do with me.”

“We–”

“Yeah, yeah, you won’t hurt the people around me, I get it. So then what. If you really want to protect the world, I’ll help. I’ve got to keep my kids alive.”

The Mermaid Queen looked down at me.

“Honey, you’re weak. If the other Transcendents wish it, it’s not hard for them to rummage through your mind. That is precisely why I cannot tell you.”

“Then I can’t keep trusting you either.”

The Mermaid Queen shut her mouth like she had nothing more to say. I stepped back as well.

“So what are you going to do about my arm.”

“I’ll set it so you can recover it during the next bet.”

“How ve–ry generous of you.”

“Honey.”

The Mermaid Queen’s mouth closed again before she could say whatever it was. Her figure faded away. Myungwoo lightly patted my shoulder.

“Go back and rest for now. Be careful with your brother.”

“…Yeah.”

If we won, would they really back off quietly? I didn’t have much faith in that, but all we could do was see it through to the end.

I straightened the askew ribbon and went back to my room.

“Mister–”

Yerim called out to me cheerfully and then froze. Yeah, it really was obvious right away.

“So you blew your arm off? You decorated it pretty nicely, though~.”

Liette said casually. She’d probably blown off plenty of limbs herself. Probably her own arm once or twice. And, of course, my little brother, who had also blown off someone else’s arm before, was—

“…Hyung.”

His eyes cooled, sinking as they fixed on where my arm used to be. I swallowed dryly without meaning to.