The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 730: City of Dreams (3)

The wolves’ shapes were sharp and clear. That meant they’d been burned deep into someone’s memory. They were low–rank monsters, but there were a lot of them, and taking on a pack with just a kitchen knife would be tough. It was better to avoid them as much as possible.

– Grrf.

– Krrrk.

Sniffing as if they were searching for something, the wolves pressed their noses to the asphalt and snorted around. They didn’t seem interested in me. Good. Hopefully there wasn’t anyone else…

‘Oh, crap!’

A man, probably on his way to work, was walking toward them in the distance. It was a dream, but I was still wondering if I should warn him it was dangerous when—

“I’m so damn tired.”

The man trudged right past the wolves. The wolves didn’t react at all, as if they couldn’t even perceive him. So other people’s dreams couldn’t interfere with one another? Well, if they all got mixed together it would be chaos.

‘I’d love it if they couldn’t perceive me either.’

Didn’t seem likely though. There was a phone shop right across the street, but it would probably be better to find another one and go around the wolves instead. There was no shortage of phone stores. I slowly backed into an alley and saw someone crouched behind a car.

‘…No way.’

The kid looked to be maybe ten, at best. The moment I saw them, I realized what the wolves were searching for. The child was holding their breath, eyes squeezed shut, then popping them open again. The blue wolves had appeared four years ago. In reality, that kid would be older now. But they still hadn’t escaped the past and were having the same dream. Maybe the same nightmare, dozens of times over.

‘It’s just a dream, but.’

I couldn’t save everyone who had nightmares. Still, I wanted to check something. I swept my eyes around quickly. The wolves kept combing the road. I spun around and hurried into the nearest big supermarket.

“Oh! Han Yujin!”

“Hello!”

I bowed to someone shopping for groceries and grabbed a cart, then headed for the meat section. Raw meat, raw meat. Anything with a good thick bloody smell? I tore open the packaging and tossed the meat into the cart. I could feel someone’s startled stare digging into my back. They were definitely going to think they had a weird dream tonight.

“It’s for the kids.”

“…Right.”

Pushing my cart piled with raw meat away under their dumbfounded gaze, I rolled out of the store. Clack–clatter, the wheels rattled noisily over the paving blocks. I rolled down onto the road and picked up speed. Just before I reached the section where the wolves were prowling, I gave the cart one last hard shove and let go. The cart clattered forward, meat wobbling, and shot past the wolves, racing straight through the intersection.

– Grrowl!

A moving object spraying the scent of blood and meat. The wolves, which had hesitated for a moment, all turned and sprinted after the cart. Soon, I heard the crash of the cart flipping and the scrape of teeth on metal. It wouldn’t keep them busy for long. I sprinted to where the kid was hiding.

“Hey there!”

The kid, who’d been curled up, snapped their eyes wide open to stare at me. I gave them my brightest smile.

“You know me, right? I’m Han Yujin, director of the Dodam Breeding Facility.”

“Uh, I know you.”

“What’s your name?”

“…Kim Jiho.”

“Okay, Jiho. Want to help Mister take down those wolves?”

“Huh?”

Jiho jerked back and almost fell on their butt. The wolves could come back any minute. I was starting to get a little anxious, but I didn’t let it show. Instead I pulled out my kitchen knife. If this didn’t work, I’d just throw the kid over my shoulder and run.

“You know Yu Myungwoo, right? My friend, the Golden Blacksmith.”

If they had a vivid memory of being attacked by monsters, odds were good they were interested in Hunters. Sure enough, Jiho nodded.

“This is a weapon Myungwoo made. It’s a kitchen knife right now, but it can transform into a gun.”

“T–the white gun? The one from the broadcast…”

“Yep. The one that blew away an S–rank Hunter.”

I put the knife into Jiho’s hand. This was Jiho’s dream. And in dreams, anything absurd could happen—so long as the dreamer believed it was real.

Jiho gripped the kitchen knife tight and slowly stood up. The knife changed shape. It turned stark white and shifted into a magic firearm.

– Grrrrr!

The wolves that had chewed up the meat and cart turned and ran toward us. I adjusted Jiho’s grip on the gun and braced their arm with mine.

“Those wolves are, at best, F– to E–rank. Compared to an S–rank, they’re nothing at all.”

Jiho’s body had somehow gotten bigger. Twelve, thirteen years old now. I wrapped myself around them a little and whispered. “Aim, like that.”

“And… fire.”

– Hrrang!

A wolf lunged. Jiho’s finger pulled the trigger. The bullet that flew, the wolf that leaped, they both magnified in slow motion and—

Boom!

The wolf that took the shot vanished like smoke. Then bang, bang, bang! Jiho fired in quick succession, wiping out the wolves one after another. Breathing a little hard, they stared at the now–empty road.

“That was amazing!”

Jiho, who still looked dazed, turned to me and smiled. Then they yawned. With the nightmare gone and the tension released, their figure started getting fuzzy. Looked like they were about to wake up, or fall into a dreamless sleep. Soon, Jiho disappeared completely and—

Thunk.

The kitchen knife dropped to the ground.

“So it doesn’t persist once the dreamer is gone.”

This fully formed background world stayed like reality, but individual dreams tied to specific people vanished when they woke up.

“The power was weak too.”

Maybe because it borrowed Jiho’s image of it, the bullets from the Lynx gun weren’t magic rounds, just regular ammunition. Still, it really could create all kinds of phenomena, just like a dream. Then maybe I could do it too? I glanced around. No one was there.

‘Belief. Belief is what matters.’

I picked up the kitchen knife and gripped it in both hands as hard as I could. Then I closed my eyes. This kitchen knife is actually… the Threefold God-Slaying Spear. An item with absurd destructive power. Believe it, Han Yujin.

“It’s the God-Slaying Spear. Transform into the God-Slaying Spear!”

What I’m holding is an unmeasurable–grade weapon! I cracked one eye open. I could see my own hand raised high, clutching a kitchen knife.

This was embarrassing.

“Ahem. Ahem. Guess not.”

No one saw that, right? I quickly sheathed the knife at my waist and headed for the phone store. From the display models, I grabbed a phone that was actually turned on. All the apps worked, and the internet worked fine. First I searched for places that sold large trucks or had a lot of trucks parked around. After that…

‘Oh, it must have a SIM in it already. Calls work too.’

But I had nowhere I could call from an unknown number, so I downloaded a social media app instead. It’s just a login, so it doesn’t matter if it’s my phone or not. Once I logged into my account, there were tons of comments asking why I wasn’t posting. I’ve been kind of busy, you know.

‘It really is exactly the same.’

There was even a brand–new photo from today that Kang Soyeong had uploaded of Gyeol. Plushies were piled up around him, probably gifts from her. Between the teddy bears, Byeol and the little black Seol were pretending to be stuffed animals too, their tails sticking out a bit. Gyeol was already publicly known, but Seol and Byeol weren’t, so Soyeong only mentioned Gyeol in the caption. Looked like all three of them were doing fine, playing around. That was a relief.

‘It must be updating based on the dreamers’ memories.’

Just in case, I checked Moon Hyunah’s account, but there weren’t any new posts yet. I stepped outside, angled the background so the surroundings would show clearly, and took a selfie. This felt a little embarrassing. I’d never posted just my own face on my account before…

[Leaving Busan soon! See you at home, guys♡]

I uploaded the photo and caption, acting like everything was perfectly normal. In reality, the comments would’ve started pouring in immediately, but this was a dream, so they didn’t. Still, I did see a couple of slow reactions, probably from people accessing my account from within their dreams.

‘Yerim’s the most likely to see it.’

Out of all of us, she’s the most active on social media and would put it together fast. As soon as she got her hands on a phone, she might contact me. Yuhyun… he’d had his private account that only followed me, and he hadn’t used it in a long time. Chief Song might actually check pretty quickly. Supposedly young Hunters sometimes post their screwups to social media in real time. I’d heard the Authority Monitoring Office even had a staffer dedicated to watching troublesome Hunters’ social media.

‘The problem’s Yuhyun.’

Still, he’d try to head home. For now, he was with Peace, who was probably the strongest one among us in this state, so I had less to worry about. …As long as the two of them didn’t fight. Peace, be nice to Yuhyun, okay?

I tucked the phone into my waistband and left the store. The big–truck dealer was too far to walk; I needed something to get me there first. Regular car dealerships were everywhere. The problem was whether the keys were accessible. At least there was a bike shop right out front. I quietly rolled one bike out.

“Everyone, I obey traffic signals in real life.”

This is just a dream, so don’t misunderstand. I pedaled straight down the road. As the night deepened, more and more people appeared on the streets. That meant more monsters would appear too, so I needed to hurry. I pumped the pedals, turned the corner. There was a car dealership right up—

Crash!

Something rammed into me and the bike. The bike toppled, and I rolled across the ground. Ow. I jumped to my feet and saw a big guy in front of me.

“Wow, it really is Han Yujin.”

There were several humanoid figures around the man who looked like Hunters. They were blurry, but I could tell they were the same type as him. Same guild, maybe, judging from the matching vests.

“What should we do?”

The man asked the Hunters around him. Those Hunters… were they creations of his dream too? If he could manifest monsters, of course he could manifest people around him too.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

One of the dream–Hunters asked. The man’s face twisted into a deep scowl.

“We can’t just let him go. So what should we do with him–”

In reality, they wouldn’t even dare think about laying a finger on me, but people get impulsive in dreams. I stepped back and looked at the man. Hm. Maybe this would work.

“You’re an idiot.”

“What?”

The man clenched his fists at my words. I calmly laughed in his face and kept talking.

“If you’ve got a brain, use it. You think I’d come here alone? You know how overprotective the Haeyeon Guild Leader is with me?”

“Well, that’s–”

“Ah, Yuhyun! Over here!”

I waved happily at the space behind the man’s back. Of course, there was nothing there. But as the man flinched and turned in alarm—

“What are you doing to my brother.”

Yuhyun appeared. Not the real one. Like the other Hunters, he was a dim dream figure. He looked at the man with an icy gaze. Somehow, he looked taller and broader than he did in reality.

“I–I’m sorry!”

The man dropped to the ground. The other Hunters followed suit.

“Please don’t kill us! Please!”

Aren’t they a little too scared? It’s not like Yuhyun goes around killing people in the middle of the city—

Whoosh! Flames burst up. Hey. What do you people think my brother is. I thought his public image was decent. Ordinary red flames, not his dark red ones, wrapped around the man and the Hunters.

“Aaaargh!”

“Seriously. Some imagination you’ve got.”

“Please don’t kill me! Hrk!”

The man, engulfed in flames, shook violently and then vanished. The flames, dream–Yuhyun, and the other Hunters all melted away without a trace.

“This…”

Just like with Jiho, ordinary people’s dreams weren’t that powerful. There was a limit to how much their dreams could manifest as reality. But as the mana in this world stabilized, and the dreamers with stronger abilities appeared, wouldn’t they be able to do far more?

And of them all, the one with the strongest power would be—

‘The Transcendent’s seed.’

The one who’d taken Mari’s place as the pillar of this world. My heart jumped for a moment.

‘It’s not Ms. Mari. But.’

Mari had called herself the materialization of dreams. The owner of that dream must have been the Transcendent’s seed. Think about it: there’s no way Crescent Moon had enough power to create Mari from scratch in our world. She must have used a Transcendent’s seed she’d already planted.

‘Someone close to Mari, someone with strong influence over her. That would be…’

Marisa Moore. It had to be her. She’d been connected to Crescent Moon even before the regression. So why had Marisa ended up creating the dream world instead of Mari?

‘She did care about Mari a little, maybe? And it was about saving our world too.’

Marisa was trying to save the world, one way or another. She used me, but she was someone you could at least talk to. I picked the bike back up. Pushing it alongside me, I walked toward the car dealership in the distance.

‘She might help me.’

I still didn’t know how I could meet her or what I should say to convince her. But a new possibility had appeared. Using the power of this world, maybe Marisa could help me reach Yuhyun, and bring my brother back.

At this point, there was no way Marisa would reject me. I’d saved the world, after all. Made it safe. I’d basically accomplished Marisa’s goal for her.

‘I can tell her I’ll do anything she wants in return.’

Maybe I’d offer to spend the rest of my life serving the world. It wouldn’t be so bad. I did want to help young Awakened anyway. And whatever else she asked for… Knowing Marisa’s personality, she wouldn’t demand anything too weird. It was worth trying.

‘…Then it really will be over.’

I’d be able to bring Yuhyun home. Go home with him. Finally. It was getting ahead of things, but my heart was pounding with excitement.

“Newbie! Hey!”

I wanted to ask if they knew how I could meet Marisa, but there was no reply. Come to think of it, it had been quiet for a while. Looked like the connection had been cut.

‘If Crescent Moon still can’t get involved, then Marisa should be able to move on her own for now.’

I had to meet her before Crescent Moon interfered. First, I needed to hurry back to Seoul. As soon as I reconnected with Newbie, I’d go after Marisa. I left the bike outside and walked into the car dealership. They only had display vehicles, but since they could power them on and show off the features, they should run just fine. As for the keys…

“Got ’em!”

They were hanging in neat rows on the display rack behind the counter. Not even locked. I grabbed one and opened a car door. With a chirp, it unlocked.

“Then, I’ll be borrowing this for a bit.”

I tossed my backpack onto the passenger seat, buckled my seatbelt, and started the engine.

“I’ve always wanted to try this at least once.”

I floored the gas pedal straight at the front glass. Crash! The glass shattered into glittering fragments as the car shot over the sidewalk and out onto the street. Screeching, I cranked the wheel and straightened out onto the road. Navigation, navigation… I pulled out the phone and brought the map up again. Just then, a notification popped up. Yerim. I rushed to open the app. A new post had appeared on her account.

[Somewhere in China! On the way to the airport. See you at home, Mister!]

You ended up all the way in China? In the picture, Yerim was smiling, completely unharmed. Noah, Liette, and Hwang Rim were there too. There was a leash looped around Hwang Rim’s neck, the other end in Liette’s hand. Cho Hwawoon must be thrilled, he’d just gotten a fellow mutt of a teammate.

‘Hopefully Yuhyun didn’t end up in another country too.’

He had to make it back safely. Seong Hyunjae would take care of himself somehow. Chief Song was the one I was worried about.

– Kyaaak!

A small leopard–like creature leaped into the road. Thud! I sped up and plowed right over it. That much was easy enou—

– Rrrrumble!

– Whinny!

“…Right, Busan had that Armored Cattle dungeon too.”

It was a pretty lucrative dungeon, popular back in the day. A herd of cows, each one with a body length of at least three meters and thick armored hide, turned to look at the oncoming car. I slammed on the brakes. Even without mana, those things were way too big. What kind of Hunter was dreaming this? I tried to quietly change direction and part ways, but—

– Snort!

Crunch, scrape. I heard hooves gouging the asphalt.

“Oh, come on!”

Thud–thud–thud–thud, the ground started to shake behind me. O–okay, the car’s still faster! I stomped on the gas, grabbed the phone in one hand, and snapped a picture of the view in the rearview mirror.

[Cutting it a little close, but moving safely! Yerim, be careful. There are more monsters than I expected!]