The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 697: Things Taken, Things Gained (1)

“Going down!”

Thud! The monster, each of its four legs tangled in several strands of special wire, lost its balance and toppled sideways. The SS-class giant bird that had tormented Hunters for so long finally came skimming down close to the water’s surface under Evelyn and Blue’s relentless luring. At the same time, a geyser of water shot up and froze solid around one of its wings.

–I’m really racking up the favors here, Saint sis~.

Once Liette found out Emily had joined them, she stopped holding back and went wild. She’d always been tough, but in her dragon form she was even harder to kill. With a healer who could fix her up as long as she was still breathing, nothing could really stop her.

She rammed monsters with her whole body until the ground was stained red, and even shoved her forepaws straight into their mouths on purpose to dump poison–laden blood down their throats. Thanks to that, she received more healing skills than anyone else here, but also took down the most monsters.

“The sun’s going down.”

I lifted my head and looked up. Around the clouds tinged red, a purple dusk was slowly crawling in. Another monster let out a dying screech. Tired breathing sounded from all around. Not just A–ranks but even S-classs were heaving deep breaths. But no one had died.

Unlike my team, the Hunters who’d never coordinated attacks before and had never received the Teacher skills were pretty clumsy at first. Especially the S-class Hunters hated the idea of having to adjust to other S-classs. But once my team, moving like a single body, began to take down SS-class monsters in no time, the ones watching started to change.

The fact that Paparazzi P kept the stream going to the end helped a lot too. The whole world was watching; if they fell behind, it would be beyond embarrassing – it would hurt their influence as S-class Hunters. P even pretended the stream was still live after the camera battery died halfway through.

“Ugh, I’m tired!”

Yun Yun rubbed her face with both hands and groaned. She hadn’t joined the fighting directly, but for goblins, just existing in a blood–soaked battlefield was exhausting.

“Are the goblins okay?”

“The ones left are all sturdy! And we’re helping you Kim Hubbies, and monsters are dangerous for goblins too, so everyone pushed themselves. They all just really want to go home quick!”

“Yeah. They can go now. Except you, Yun Yun.”

“Okay!”

Yun Yun swung both arms wide, calling the goblins in. Goblins who had flown in from all over London chattered as they left through a goblin door. In the meantime, the last SS-class monster fell. Silence fell over the city, a third of it left in ruins by dungeonization, everything frozen in place.

‘The last SSS-class monster.’

Most of the system windows in front of me had turned off. Only two remained: the full map of London and the notice for the SSS-class monster’s appearance. Mana began to gather at the center of London.

“Please gather in front of the goblin door.”

I sent an all–party message, then grabbed for Seong Hyunjae on my shoulder – and missed.

Where do you think you’re scampering off to!

“You can’t get far anyway, so get over here!”

“So I’ve become useless now, is that it. How sad.”

“No, because it’s dangerous.”

“Heartless.”

“Oh, come on!”

Why is he so fast! He hopped out of my reach, sprang up onto my thigh, then spun around behind my back; I almost threw out my back trying to catch him. Yun Yun jumped in, asking if we were playing tag, and with her help I barely managed to capture Seong Hyunjae. I looped a necklace cord around him and lifted; he dangled there, crackling with a little current full of dissatisfaction.

“It’s fine for you to be away from me for about thirty minutes, right? Stay with Yun Yun. We can’t risk anything happening. You could lose your body for good. Not that staying like this would be that bad.”

Honestly, seeing him caught so helplessly by me felt pretty nice. Maybe I should give him a little shake.

“You seem to like the way I look right now.”

“This form’s actually safer for you.”

What Crescent Moon wanted was Seong Hyunjae with all that accumulated power. A powerless little fragment like this would be left alone. Seong Hyunjae slowly rotated to face me.

“At the time when everything is settled and I walk the path I chose… it might be fun to be raised by you, Mr. Han Yujin. Will you treat me preciously?”

“I’ll fry up the crusts from sandwich bread and give them to you as snacks.”

“I’ll be the one cooking.”

“At that size?”

He was tiny, but somehow I felt like he’d still manage. Even with this silly nonsense, this Seong Hyunjae was talking about the future. He intended to keep on living, even if he stayed in this shape forever.

“…Sounds like you had fun.”

“Huh?”

“Having both you and Chief Song Taewon by my sides, it must have been quite entertaining.”

Seong Hyunjae sounded unusually sulky. His instincts were annoyingly sharp; he’d sensed something.

“Well, who told you to let your body get stolen. I even got married, you know.”

“Don’t tell me, in the end you…”

“To an octopus. You brought me the bouquet, remember? And you married a king crab.”

Whatever, we’ll count that as married. Seong Hyunjae’s expression turned even more downcast. He was probably dying of regret that he’d missed it.

“Congrats on the wedding, Kim Hubbies!”

Yun Yun clapped cheerfully beside us. She really had zero prejudices. Well, with all kinds of goblins around, figures.

Hunters scattered all over London quickly converged on the goblin door. I checked the system windows again. About ten minutes left.

“All right, Yun Yun. Hide him well and keep him with you. If it feels dangerous, get away with Mr. Seong and Noah.”

“Got it, don’t worry, Boss Kim Hubby!”

Yun Yun took Seong Hyunjae and tucked him into her wide sleeve. I worried she’d drop him like that. I’d have to ask Noah to keep an eye on them. I signaled Peace and descended. Hunters’ eyes all turned toward me.

–Sweetheart~.

With a boom, the massive black dragon surged up into the air. As its shadow fell and the Hunters beneath flinched and began to scatter, the black dragon shrank; Liette, in human form with Kang Soyeong on her back, landed lightly.

“That was fun!”

“Same for me!”

Some of the Hunters looked at the two excited women in horror, while others nodded in appreciation. Before I knew it, Yuhyun had come to stand beside Peace, and dirt–covered Shishio gave me a big grin.

Been a while since I saw the Hanshin Guild Leader. As a defense–type, his appearance was as rough as expected, but he didn’t seem injured. He was holding something like a shopping bag. A souvenir?

“Mister!”

Yerim also flew over lightly. She still looked full of energy. Comet and Evelyn, Blue and Emily, and Hwang Rim all approached. Everyone gathered in front of me.

“London will be taken.”

I opened my mouth to address them.

“But we’ll protect the United Kingdom. Even if another crisis falls on another country.”

Shattered chunks of collapsed buildings, the cracks splitting the roads. The scars of destruction were deep.

But.

“We haven’t lost anyone, and we’re not going to.”

We couldn’t completely defeat the beings from outside. We had to hand London over as it was. Even so, we survived. Every single person, without a single straggler. I smiled.

“Gates will open again and again, and we’ll fight together again and again, and someday we might even take it back. This is only the beginning.”

Starting is half the battle. The first time was the most important. People had seen it. The Hunters had felt it. That they could protect, and be helped. There would still be those who hesitated, and those who just wanted to take what they could and back out, but there would be more people who wanted to protect together than that.

Because we had proven we could.

“Okay then.”

Ahem, I cleared my throat.

“You all remember the skill from Japan, right? As soon as I use it, get out of London immediately. The goblin door connects to Korea, so if that’s closer for you or if your family evacuated there, go through the goblin door. Airports outside London are still operational, so those nearby can head to the closest airport. As for my team members… we’ve got about seventeen hours left. Take care of any business you have and wait on standby.”

I’d already given them the rundown on the SSS-class monster. Sticking around wouldn’t be much help, so everyone was to get clear. The last team would be me, Yuhyun, Noah, and Yun Yun. Since it wasn’t a flying–type monster, Noah and Yun Yun would be waiting in the air.

“I’m still full of energy! I’ll wait in the air too!”

Yerim shot her hand up and shouted.

“And there’s the river too. There’s still tons of water left!”

“No.”

“Misteeer, I can just support from the side.”

“Still no. Yerim, go on ahead and wait. We’ll be right behind you.”

At my words, Yerim grumbled, clearly unhappy. I trusted her a lot and found her reliable, but she was still young. On top of that, we’d taken down the SS-class monsters more easily than expected, so she was overflowing with confidence and still riding the high. Honestly, it would be hard for her to just sit and watch quietly. More than anything.

“Right now is the time to step back.”

You have to know where to draw the line as a Hunter. You shouldn’t force yourself into fights you don’t need to participate in. Even if you’ve got stamina to spare, you need to step back, save your strength, and wait. Because you never know what will happen inside a dungeon.

“And if we do end up needing your power, Yun Yun will pop over right away to call you. So please rest and wait.”

“…Okay.”

Her lips were still a bit pouty, but she nodded obediently. Too much energy was its own problem.

All right then. Ahem. This was going to be embarrassing again.

“S–so, um. My little brother is really cool, isn’t he.”

Yuhyun turned to look at me and smiled. Ah, this is mortifying. Even if I was just stating facts, saying it out loud on purpose was still embarrassing.

“No matter what anyone says, to me he’s really kind, reliable, and cute. You have no idea how much he thinks about me. Of course he’s the best as a Hunter too. It’s awkward saying this in front of so many Hunters, but to me, he’s number one in the world. My little brother, Yuhyun. I love you. Stay by your big brother’s side from now on too.”

“Yeah, hyung. Forever.”

…Shishio, don’t clap. Why are you moved by this. Because Shishio started clapping enthusiastically, a few nearby people clapped along without thinking. Don’t. Hwang Rim even whistled. I should sew his mouth shut.

“Please return safely! I shall await you in Korea!”

He probably had tons to do in Japan; he was free to head off first. Anyway.

“Everyone, disperse! Peace, you go with Yerim too! Noah!”

“Yes!”

Noah descended as he transformed into a dragon. The Hunters began to run out all at once.

“Stay safe, Chief Han!”

Emily, carried in Hwang Rim’s arms, waved at me. Yuhyun and I climbed onto Noah’s back. The mana distortion at the center of London had grown clear enough to see with the naked eye.

“As soon as the monster appears, please use Nest Where Light Falls.”

–What about Forced Blessing.

“It might change its target for no reason. Even with Yun Yun there, it’s better to be cautious. Please focus on healing and support. Yun Yun, stick right next to Noah.”

“Okay! I’ll stick to Angel–nim.”

“Oh, and the Sesung Guild Leader is inside Yun Yun’s sleeve.”

–…Excuse me?

Noah sounded flustered. Had he not seen yet? Well, he hadn’t come over to our side. Yun Yun moved closer to Noah’s head and shook her sleeve. From inside, Seong Hyunjae peeked out.

–G–Guild Leader Seong, I see.

“Yep. Please make sure he doesn’t fall. Yuhyun, let’s go.”

Yuhyun nodded, picked me up, and jumped down from Noah’s back. Blue willow leaves gently supported his feet. We landed on the ground, and in front of us a twisted space, like a giant dungeon gate, rippled in red.

I took a deep breath.

‘Yuhyun’s final achievement reward was overall L–rank.’

Higher than I’d expected. The current Han Yuhyun had built up considerable achievements, but he still fell short compared to the pre–regression Han Yuhyun. He had taken down many SS-class monsters, but I’d thought, at best, he’d come out around overall SSS-class.

[Sealed Black Dragon (L) – Resealing (SSS)]

Convincing the black dragon and implanting a piece of its heart into my body had also been counted as an achievement. Thanks to that, everything from S-class and SS-class had been dragged together and totaled up into L–rank.

“Give me your hand.”

Yuhyun extended his left hand to me. On the back of that hand, a small red shard was embedded. From the fragment, flame spread out, wrapping around his wrist and forearm. It was a trace that not only non–awakened people, but even high–rank awakeners would have trouble sensing – something you wouldn’t see at all if you hadn’t opened your mana imprint – yet I could see it clearly.

[Fragment of the First Flame ? L–Rank

A minuscule part of the fire said to have formed when the very first heat gathered under the first light.

Stats change according to assimilation rate.]

The Fragment of the First Flame. It wasn’t quite equipment, but an item you applied directly to the body.

“…You okay?”

“Yeah. I don’t feel anything. Still, rather than the hand—”

“No.”

Yuhyun had wanted to implant it in his torso, which was safer than a hand that could be cut off easily. But I had objected. The word “assimilation rate” bothered me. It was L–rank, with an outrageous description about the First Flame; there was a chance the fragment might try to swallow Yuhyun instead. So it was safer to keep it somewhere easy to remove, just in case.

“It’s powerful, but it still feels unsettling.”

Even though Yuhyun had fire attribute, and the assimilation rate shouldn’t be that high yet since he’d just implanted it, for an hour it boosted all fire–attribute skills by a full grade. On top of that, it could absorb fire and convert it into mana. For Yuhyun, it basically meant he could replenish his mana almost endlessly.

–Rin doesn’t like that thing either!

Iryn grumbled; he’d tried to chomp the fragment the moment it appeared and ended up burning the inside of his mouth. If even a fire spirit got burned, it clearly wasn’t ordinary flame.

“If it starts feeling dangerous, I’ll cut it off.”

Yuhyun said calmly, holding his hand out to me. I took his hand and ate a mini–mini cookie. As I shrank in an instant, Yuhyun placed me into the small pouch at his waist. Iryn trotted up next to me, grumbling again, with a hint of jealousy mixed in.

“One minute now.”

The severely warped space slowly began to open. Dark red flames flared up around Yuhyun. His magic power surged outward as the final melted gate unfolded. Then—

Tap, clack, thunk–

Blades pulled from his inventory stabbed into the ground all around. Among them was an SS-class katana. They were the lower–stat, less–useful SS-class weapons we’d brought from Chatterbox’s warehouse.

Flames billowed in every direction, melting everything. S-class and SS-class weapons glowed red–hot and began to liquefy. In one hand he held the Ruler’s Sword, while molten metal swirled at the fingertips of his other.

And then.

“Noah!”

From beneath golden wings, orbs of light rained down all at once.

–Grrrrr

Thud. A massive forepaw stamped down on the burning earth.