The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 706: Wolf Hunter (3)

Dark blue flames surged and rolled. Thin enough to seem see–through, yet holding a depth of heat that felt bottomless. It was like someone had peeled off a strip of dense night that glowed on its own and spread it wide. Fire couldn’t threaten me. So it was only beautiful.

No matter how expensive a jewel is, all it can do is reflect sunlight and glitter a bit. But fire carries its own light. Even under a sky with no sun, no moon, not a single star. Maybe it’s only natural that humans are instinctively drawn to it.

“Krgh–!”

A stifled groan rang out. Because I’d already drawn and aimed inside the Drawer, the arrow flew the instant I came out, and even SS–ranks couldn’t dodge completely. Clutching his pierced leg, Cho Hwawoon glared up at me. The powerful fire imbued in the wound was blocking his regeneration. Until that heat disappeared, nothing short of an elixir would heal it.

Next to him was the fanatic. I’d seen the name on the Promising Talent window – Je… something. Gérard. One arm was almost blown off and his side was sliced deep. The fanatic’s gaze on me was just as vicious. I didn’t even know the guy.

“Hey, Mister Cho. If your arms and legs grew back, shouldn’t you have just gone home and lived quietly in hiding? What are you doing chasing me all the way here?”

I asked while keeping the arrow aimed. Even with his plans wrecked, he was S–rank; he could’ve lived warm, full, and comfortable. Why go out of his way to chase me down and offer himself up as fuel? Cho Hwawoon ground his teeth and shouted.

“Don’t look down on me!”

“The one who should hold a grudge is me, not you. You kidnapped an innocent guy and snapped his leg in half.”

“That was, ? , your place.”

Even now, after all this, he was still saying it was only natural for me – the weak one – to kneel in front of him. People say anyone can change, but that bastard would probably stay like this right up to the final moment.

“I decide my own place.”

“If you’d been alone back then, could you have said that?”

Cho Hwawoon’s lips curled up. Pre–regression memories surfaced. He was poking right where it hurt.

“Either wa–”

“So what.”

I cut him off. He scowled, but why should I care.

“Victims don’t need to make excuses, you mutt.”

What, was I supposed to go, oh no, I’m so sorry for being too weak~? A guy who preys on the weak doesn’t deserve to call anyone a dog; he’s just a rotten beast I’d feel bad comparing to a real mutt.

“This time too, I’ll just go, guess I nearly got bit by a dog again and move on. Because that’s all you are.”

His pretty, smooth face twisted savage. Looking down at that expression, I let my fingers slip from the bowstring. Cho Hwawoon rolled across the ground to dodge the shot. The exploding heat turned his face bright red.

“Han Yujin!!”

“Man, you’re loud.”

I kept Gérard in my sights and fired again. Cho Hwawoon rolled over the dirt and ash once more. Good at dodging. If I closed the distance it’d be easier to land a hit, but they were still SS–rank and had that skill–distorting power. There were more than ten minutes left on Final Recompense; no need to risk getting close when I could take my time and kill them slow.

Just as I set another arrow to the string and started to draw—

Ssssss–

The flames all around suddenly sank down. Mana throughout the area surged, shoving the domain of Melted Last Gate away in an instant. The ground cooled, and the burning trees regained their green.

My heart slammed once. I thought I had to kill those two before it was too late, but my body wouldn’t move. Jaw tight, I stared toward the place where the mana was gathering. Space split open, and a foot covered in multicolored feather decorations stepped onto the chilled, hardened ground.

Thud. Even that light step made the ground quake. A tall, human–shaped man well over two meters. He wore fur and leather and metal ornaments, his chest bare. Beast tattoos sprawled over the armor–like muscle. Under roughly cut dark–gray hair, his eyes were much like those wolves’.

“My Lord!”

Gérard curled up and bowed his head to the ground like he was worshiping. Cho Hwawoon, on the other hand, glared openly. Without sparing either of them a glance, the newcomer looked up at me.

“Nice to meet you, Honey.”

“…Wolf?”

“That’s what they’re calling me.”

I swallowed dry. I’d vaguely thought the master of these “wolves” might interfere using his thralls as sacrifices. But I hadn’t expected him to show up this directly. I hurriedly sent Hyunjae back first.

“Showing up like this is–”

“We’re reserves.”

My arm was grabbed. Before I could even process it properly, I was yanked down to the ground. My chest tightened under the sudden tension and a Fear Resistance message flickered at the edge of my vision. As soon as I was freed from his huge hand, I scrambled back. Even after backing off, all I could see was his chest. I stepped back more and craned my neck.

“No need to be scared. Hard to believe that if I just say it, huh. Then…”

Whump! With a casual flick, the head of Gérard, who’d been prostrated in worship, exploded.

“You fucking bastard!”

The moment I saw it, my stomach lurched and flipped. The wolf, who’d just tried to kill Cho Hwawoon as well, froze mid–motion and looked at me like he didn’t get what my problem was. He was definitely my enemy – had been, anyway.

“Humans aren’t disposable parts you can just use up however the hell you want!”

“I’m called Wolf for now, but technically I’m a wolf hunter. They just shortened it.”

Ignoring my protest, he started talking about himself.

“I hunted a wolf–type Transcendent, pulled out its magic stone, ate it, and got the power of a wolf. That’s why they have wolf–type powers too. They were always meant to be used up, so they ended up as prey instead of hunters.”

Cho Hwawoon staggered to his feet. The look in his eyes was savage enough to rip apart this “wolf” who’d just labeled him prey. But Wolf didn’t spare him so much as a handful of attention.

“I handled him as a kindness, but I guess you still see him as one of your own.”

“…It’d be the same even if he were another race. If you took him on, show at least basic respect!”

Even with animals that can’t speak, you don’t get to just decide they’re useless and kill them. Not completely emotionless, like you’re tossing out a broken tool. Wolf let out a low hum.

“Emotional, aren’t you. So what should I do with him? I don’t know what the customs are in Honey’s neighborhood – do I make him kneel and apologize or something?”

Wolf glanced at Cho Hwawoon. With a little jerk of his chin, Cho Hwawoon lurched forward, like he’d been yanked by an invisible leash. His injured leg scraped and dragged, twitching like it was trying to resist, but actual disobedience was impossible.

…I didn’t have a single speck of fondness for Cho Hwawoon. But I didn’t want to see that. Might be better if I just killed him myself.

“You can control a thrall that much, huh.”

“Ah, depends on the contract. This one’s a low–level contract. Just a simple deal – hunt enough high–level prey, offer them up to me, receive power in return. Because the quality of the sacrifice was good this time, his bindings got stronger. He basically traded away his freedom.”

Even if it varied per contract, it really hammered home that you shouldn’t belong to a Transcendent. Cho Hwawoon stopped a bit away from us, shaking all over.

“…I’ll tear you apart.”

“Since it was a dumb contract, I could just reclaim what I gave him.”

The ferocious mana boiling off him weakened. His eyes, still wolf–like, flared wide. Then he collapsed forward and crawled on all fours like a dog.

“Should I turn him into an actual wolf? Want to finish the hunt yourself?”

…More than that wolf over there, I wanted to put an arrow straight through this wolf’s skull. Cho Hwawoon’s fingers scraped at the ground. He growled out a shout.

“The contract is void!”

“What brought thi–”

“I… Cho Hwawoon will return to Hwang Rim!”

Claaang– A sharp sound like shattering glass rang out, and Cho Hwawoon vanished. Wolf cocked his head, a bit surprised.

“A double contract?”

“…Double contract?”

“Means he’d already made a subordination contract with someone else first. Looks like that one’s looser than mine. Who is it, I wonder. If a lower–level later contract got overridden, that first partner isn’t ordinary.”

…Hwang Rim is S–rank, but there’s a Transcendent behind him. They said his dog ran away – so he’d put a contract on Cho Hwawoon too, huh.

“So with subordination contracts, the first one has the advantage?”

“If the contract and contractor’s ranks are similar or not that different, yeah. If the gap is big you can just crush and steal it with brute force. Between Transcendents, once someone stakes a claim, that’s usually it. Judging by that, his original contractor’s probably not a Transcendent, so there’ll be side effects.”

He won’t die, at least, Wolf said with a smile, turning back to me. I drew a long breath. With Cho Hwawoon gone and Gérard dead, I’d basically already won the game. But now I had a Transcendent in front of me.

“Your objective.”

“The way you stuck your arm out to Wolf and got away was pretty impressive.”

“You bragging about cheating now.”

“I saw how you defended London too. So I decided if you endured this time as well, I’d admit defeat cleanly and take your side, Honey.”

I wanted to tell him, thanks, now get lost. But one more Transcendent on our side would be–

“Though since I’ll be falling asleep soon, I won’t be much help. I interfered a bit too much.”

“Get out! Just get out right now!”

This damn wolf only ever gets in the way and now he’s talking bullshit about taking my side! I kicked a rock at him with everything I had. It slammed into his thick shin, left a little dirt, and that was it. He didn’t even look ticklish.

“It’s the Mermaid Queen, right? It’s gotta be the Mermaid Queen!”

“As I said, we’re reserves. Unlike Rookie, Tree, Droplet and the other managers, we usually sleep. In other words, we can afford to get punished a bit for breaking the rules.”

I cut off mid–yell. Wolf kept explaining.

“Weakening yourself and going to sleep is also paying part of your future price in advance.”

“…So you’re saying there are several Transcendents on standby who can ignore restrictions and rampage.”

“Unlike the Filial Duty Addicts side. They don’t follow the rules like we do, so they can’t relax and sleep. Most of them stay awake. So normally we look weaker, but once things really kick off, that’s not the case.”

…So if things went bad, a bunch of Unfilial Children could all wake up and trash our world. And the ones asleep are the combat types who didn’t become managers. Sure, they probably wouldn’t go that far, but my spine still went cold.

“But why is Droplet so fixated on you, Honey?”

‘I’d like to know that too.’ I wanted to say. “Aren’t you the one who should know?”

“Droplet’s done excellent work for a long time. That’s why I trust and follow her. But lately I’ve had a weird feeling. Like she’s a bit… anxious.”

I didn’t know the Mermaid Queen all that well either, but she did seem less relaxed than when we first met. Swallowing a sigh, I pressed my palms together respectfully toward Wolf. He tilted his head at me.

“Fork it over. Peel off your hide or something and fork it over.”

“…Huh?”

“You’re not broke just because you became a Transcendent, right? That bracelet looks nice. Lemme see the necklace too.”

Strip and leave everything here. I’ll even be generous and let you keep the shoes – they can only shrink so far. Everything else off.

“Even if I give it to you, the system won’t allow it and will just reclaim it. Most dungeon reward items are ones we used once or made ourselves. Very rarely, if there’s no suitable reward, the system auto–synthesizes something, but.”

“Completely useless, then.”

“I knew it already, but your nerve is something else, Honey.”

“You said you’ll be asleep soon anyway. I won’t see you again while I’m alive, so what’s there to hide. And if the Mermaid Queen is after me, she can’t kill me outright.”

I folded my hands back down, leaving just the middle finger up. Wolf chuckled and placed his hand on my head. His palm could completely cover my skull and then some. It was terrifying.

“I’ve broken enough restrictions that I can break a few more.”

…Maybe I should apologize. I’ve got three kids; I should really work on my temper.

“I’ll patch over my interference by helping the rest of your team and then hit the sack.”

Rrrrumble– Space vibrated. The hand mussing my hair slipped away. A massive thorn spear appeared in Wolf’s hand.

“The backlash will be big, so head back to your room. This game is your win, Honey.”

He declared it flatly, then thrust the hunter’s spear forward and tore open space. Watching the storm of mana rip open, I returned to my room. Silence dropped in an instant. Maybe because the game wasn’t quite over yet, Yuhyun was still asleep.

‘Final Recompense will end soon too.’

I took off my shoes, put them in my inventory, and headed to the master bedroom. Quietly opening the door, I saw my little brother asleep on the bed. Not a single wound or bloodstain – perfectly intact. After staring for a moment, I went closer.

“If you’re going to put him to bed, at least take his shoes off.”

You can’t just dump him and walk away. Even poking him lightly didn’t get a reaction, and my stomach dropped for a second. But his soft breathing was steady.

‘…Yuhyun, you.’

All the thoughts I’d been pushing off flooded my head at once. A twenty–five–year–old little brother. The way that gaze had looked at Yuhyun, so cold.

‘Why didn’t you say anything.’

I had no idea how they’d met or what had happened. Part of me thought I should ask. Another part wondered if I had the right.

…Because I was hiding things too.

I hadn’t told Yuhyun about pre–regression Han Yuhyun. The fact that my twenty–five–year–old brother had been cut off from the world and fallen into the hands of that white bird was something I’d kept buried. I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I couldn’t talk about wanting to get my brother back, not in front of my brother.

I sat at the edge of the bed. His body rocked slightly.

“You’re… different, Yuhyun.”

Even if you cloned a person perfectly, the moment their lives diverged, they became different people. If they were the same person, they’d make the same choices, have the same thoughts. But my brothers had changed a lot from each other now.

Suddenly I remembered the “me” I’d seen in the China dungeon. That Han Yujin was probably no longer the same as me either. If he kept living on there, he’d have changed a lot. He and I were like twins both born at twenty–nine. Exactly the same, but living completely different lives.

“…You’re clearly different.”

As different as you are. I now felt like I had two little brothers. But I couldn’t give up on either one. How could I let go? How.

Because I couldn’t choose just one, I wanted to hide it. The twenty–five–year–old brother couldn’t be brought back, which made it even harder. I’d planned to quietly bring him in, hold him close, and end it with just me.

“Should I tell you.”

If I tried to dig into what Yuhyun was keeping from me, didn’t I have to tell him everything too? A short time, that felt long, passed. In the silence, a system window appeared.

[Han Yujin Team Victory!]

At the same time, Yuhyun’s eyes opened. He shot upright and reached for me.

“Hyung!”

“I’m fine. Totally fine. We won.”

I hugged him back tight and spoke quickly. A sigh of relief brushed past my ear.

“But hey, Yuhyun.”

I pulled back out of his arms and opened my mouth. He looked at me.

“By any chance, have you… ever met your pre–regression self? In the China dungeon or something. I mean, pre–regression me was there too, right?”

I tried to keep my voice as light as I could. His black eyes, still tinged with flame, blinked once.

“No. Never.”

Yuhyun tilted his head slightly as he answered.