The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 732: Guarantee

“Are you really going?”

Rookie looked at Young Chaos with open concern. Young Chaos nodded.

“I’m just going to pass along a message this time.”

“You said you were only going to watch last time too.”

Those red eyes rested quietly on Rookie. Rookie’s drooping, rabbit-ear-like hair sagged even more.

“…I’ll get things ready.”

“Do that.”

“Senior Tree!”

Rookie vanished in a blink. Chaos stared out over the empty field after the commotion had swept through. A conversation with Seong Hyunjae from the day before surfaced in his mind.

‘You want me to guarantee you?’

Asked out of nowhere to stand surety, Chaos had shot the question back at him, and Seong Hyunjae had nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

‘If we find a way to stay safely inside the isolated world, then it won’t be necessary. I wouldn’t say that wraps everything up, but at least it should keep things safe for a while.’

A world completely sealed off from outside interference. Since the root of the problem had been the Transcendents’ excessive meddling, it was clearly a good solution. Even so, Chaos didn’t believe that would really be the end of it. More than anything, Han Yujin himself, the one who had severed the system’s connection, didn’t seem to believe that either.

Even if he entered a safe world like this, First would come back out again.

Chaos had that feeling.

‘But if he has to hold out for a month.’

‘That won’t be easy.’

‘No. We won’t be able to return so casually either. We’d be turning the world we finally recovered and protected into a war zone.’

For the month it would take for the last traces of the connection to disappear completely, Han Yujin and the others would choose to endure outside. But if the Transcendents truly began targeting them, keeping everyone safe without losses would become difficult.

‘So if he ends up unable to return immediately and loses that protection, I want you to guarantee me.’

‘Guarantee what, exactly.’

Moon-shaped eyes, slightly curved, looked down at Young Chaos.

‘The key anomaly in this incident is Chain, not Honey.’

‘What?’

One of Chaos’s brows twitched upward.

‘Are you saying you’d even step up as the sacrifice? You?’

‘Let’s call it that.’

‘Cut the nonsense.’

‘Crescent Moon will want all eyes on Han Yujin.’

Seong Hyunjae continued in a low voice.

‘Not a Transcendent, but mere awakened humans killed a Transcendent and damaged the system. There’s no way that gets brushed aside as if nothing happened. So Crescent Moon will place Han Yujin at the center of it. There’s a good chance she’s already started planting that narrative.’

‘Because you can’t let them discover you.’

Very few Transcendents possessed the ability to notice what Seong Hyunjae really was. Still, there was always the chance.

‘They could focus attention on First, stir up chaos, and quietly spirit you away in the middle of it. I see now. That’s what this is about. Once the Transcendents start reaching for you too, sneaking you out quietly becomes impossible.’

‘You really don’t appreciate how much I care about Han Yujin.’

Smack!

The switch that had somehow appeared in Chaos’s hand lashed across Seong Hyunjae’s shin. His body locked for an instant, then slowly crumpled. One hand rubbing the spot he’d been hit, he looked up at Young Chaos from where he sat in his chair, his eyes faintly damp.

‘…I think I might actually cry. You really don’t hold back.’

‘Once you get to high-rank awakened, dulling pain gets pretty easy. The magic power in your body naturally mutes pain receptors, so most pain becomes bearable.’

Chaos said it lightly, flicking the switch once in the air. Seong Hyunjae remained kneeling, lowering his head obediently.

‘And once you’re a Transcendent, you can shut it off entirely. Pain is still a sense, so blocking it completely can affect combat, but apparently you can make up for it with mana perception. But that doesn’t work on me.’

‘That does seem to be the case.’

‘That’s why so many of them flinch whenever they see me. Turns out even Transcendents hate getting hit when it actually hurts.’

Then, telling him to stop pulling cheap tricks with Honey, Chaos slashed the switch down again. Seong Hyunjae let out a small, aggrieved sigh.

‘The only two beings I love are Han Yujin and Song Taewon–’

‘With yourself sitting at the front of the line.’

Since that was simply true, Seong Hyunjae didn’t bother denying it. Chaos clicked his tongue.

‘Anyway, you want me to say you were the one who did it.’

‘Yes. Even if Crescent Moon tries to put Han Yujin at the center, your words will carry more weight, sir. You’re one of the few direct parties involved. Most of the others are gone.’

The King of Predation had vanished, and the Mermaid Queen slept. And officially, Chaos was neutral.

‘You think you can handle the fallout.’

‘An F-rank and an inborn S-rank are not the same. If an Original Stream Bearer with high potential to become a Transcendent built up achievements and accomplished something like this, people would take notice, certainly, but few would burn with enough greed to throw caution aside. But Han Yujin is F-rank.’

‘That’s true. If it were an Original Stream Bearer, at most they’d just want to mark their interest early. But First… he’s too extreme an anomaly. Still, if they discover your true body, all hell will break loose.’

‘That is Crescent Moon’s problem to solve.’

‘So you get to protect yourself, dump extra weight on Crescent Moon, and throw in protecting First as a bonus too.’

‘Protecting Han Yujin comes first–’

The tip of the switch twitched. Seong Hyunjae closed his mouth and looked at Chaos with wide, innocent eyes.

‘Fine. But remember this.’

Young Chaos looked down at him and went on.

‘Don’t die. You’ve hidden your identity almost perfectly, but not when it comes to resurrection. In the moment you die and return, the time you’ve accumulated will inevitably show.’

‘I’ll do my best to be careful.’

‘And if you do die, die somewhere no one can see you.’

‘Preferably with those two present as witnesses–’

‘Hand.’

‘…’

Seong Hyunjae obediently held out both palms. A light smack rang out, followed by a low groan.

‘Quit tormenting those poor kids. They’ve been through enough.’

‘Do you know how much… I treasure…’

‘Even at death’s door, that mouth of yours keeps going. They’re the kind who need time to look at themselves properly. If you’d just keep your mouth shut and stay at a reasonable distance, you might actually make a decent example. But you’re so desperate to influence them you can’t help yourself. First has gotten better, at least, but that frustrating one is frustrating beyond belief.’

Not that Seong Hyunjae would listen. Chaos looked at him with complicated feelings. In a way, he might have been the most pitiful of them all, but since the man was clearly enjoying life to the fullest, any sympathy Chaos might have felt refused to land. Seong Hyunjae himself would no doubt insist he was living quite happily.

‘First worries about someone like you too.’

‘Do you believe that comes from his pure nature.’

There had been the White Bird’s prophecy. There had been Crescent Moon’s long, long plan. So perhaps that too had been prepared long ago. At Seong Hyunjae’s words, Chaos gave him a look that plainly said, One of these days I ought to set aside time and beat the hell out of you.

‘You’ve already decided the answer, so why ask. If you were truly suspicious, you’d toss him aside without a second thought.’

‘Either way, it doesn’t matter. What’s certain is that Han Yujin came this far by his own will. I’m only a little worried.’

‘He’s still what he was in the beginning. A young, fragile human. But after everything that’s happened, I can’t say for sure anymore. If he’s really managed all this without anything special behind it, that’s extraordinary. And even if not.’

‘It makes little difference.’

‘First is still First.’

Seong Hyunjae had told Young Chaos he was counting on him. Then, the very next day, a method appeared that could create a barrier. It looked as if they might safely enter a secure world after all, and then Crescent Moon intervened.

“She said the Transcendents could interfere once the system finished applying.”

Chaos slowly rubbed the back of his neck. Han Yujin and his group wouldn’t be able to return to the original world until even the mana flow had stabilized. Rookie had said that even after the system finished applying, it would take another three or four days. Much shorter than a month, but still not something they could endure easily.

‘Though I was told it wouldn’t be completely impossible to interfere even before the application finished.’

Still, for now, the influence they could exert was limited, so it was supposedly safe. Young Chaos rose to his feet.

“You listening, rabbit? The Transcendents are taking an interest in First?”

[Yes! Because Honey was at the center of it!]

“How did you know that?”

[…Huh?]

Just as Seong Hyunjae had said. It really did seem like Crescent Moon.

Rookie said everything was ready and opened the passage. Chaos stepped through the open door. The air beyond was thick with every kind of energy mixed together. He shoved it aside in a single sweep and landed on soft grass.

Red eyes looked out over the vast expanse. Countless gazes poured down on him. He took one light step forward and spoke.

“This was the first time I had ever seen such a thing as well.”

The declaration of a Transcendent who had lived through incomprehensible ages made the air tremble. Curiosity and fascination converged on him at once. An ordinary human would have died instantly from the force of that gathered attention alone.

“He is a child more certain of himself than any ancient being.”

A faint smile touched Chaos’s lips. In every way, the boy was irritating, but impossible not to notice.

“So even if he pushed back a Transcendent and damaged the system, I did not find it strange. Because that child will surely…”

The oldest sword, the mightiest god of war, made the promise.

“He will become a Transcendent above the Transcendents.”

The one who would press down the heads of all gathered here and stand above them.

Silence fell. Then a heavy murmur began rising like a slow wave. Rookie looked around in alarm. That honest reaction only made the claim seem more credible.

[Do you truly believe that?]

Someone asked. Chaos nodded without hesitation.

“I swear it on my name. The future may change in ways no one can predict, but his talent is real.”

In truth, the power Seong Hyunjae carried had already surpassed the Transcendents. So staking his name on it posed no problem. He had only covered the truth and hidden it well enough. There was no lie in Young Chaos’s words. He had said it wouldn’t be strange for him to destroy the system, but he had never directly said Seong Hyunjae was the one who had done it.

[That F-rank stat–]

“F-rank? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Young Chaos cocked his head.

“He’s S-rank, obviously. An Original Stream Bearer. A fellow named Chain. The F-rank kid is so frail I’m not even sure he’ll make it through his natural lifespan. Weren’t you all gathered here because of Chain?”

His tone made it sound ridiculous to imagine an F-rank could have done such a thing, and the Transcendents stirred again. But Chaos was right. This was not something an ordinary F-rank human could accomplish.

[You’re saying someone who has only just stepped onto the path of Transcendence will become stronger than us.]

[He was already said to be capable of handling the system.]

[Chaos is bound, after all. But if there were a Transcendent stronger than him…]

[The F-rank also served as a system administrator.]

[We should secure a contract before he reaches the seat of Transcendence.]

[Since when have we interfered with those merely destined to become Transcendents–]

[Damaging the system alone is reason enough to impose restrictions in advance–]

There were voices that mentioned Han Yujin, but only a few. Most were already focused on the new Transcendent soon to be born. If he was already capable of damaging the system, then the moment he became a Transcendent, might he not be able to lay hands on the entire system?

Perhaps even on the Source.

In the middle of the shifting voices, Chaos could sense several Transcendents leaving their places. They had lost interest the moment they heard it was not an F-rank, but an Original Stream Bearer, just another Transcendent in the making. Young Chaos watched them silently.

‘Survive this.’

The bastard was irritating for no reason at all, but still.

Thud!

– Kuuugh!

A giant lizard, slammed by the truck, flew into the air. It hit the ground, rolled several times, then vanished like smoke. I opened the door and jumped down.

“Well, this is a problem. You can’t just sit in the middle of the road like that. Are you okay? Want me to take you home?”

The old man slumped by the roadside pushed himself up and stared at me blankly. Then he waved both hands and said he was fine.

“It startled me, sure, but I’m all right. So monsters die if a car hits them too.”

“Please be careful on your way back~.”

I climbed back into the truck and set off again. Following the Gyeongbu Expressway, I entered Bundang in Gyeonggi Province. I wasn’t far from Seocho now.

It would’ve been nice if the KTX were running, but the stations were empty too. Same with the highway. There were still some people driving, but not many. Even then, accidents broke out every so often.

‘Way more people dream about traffic accidents than you’d think.’

Maybe because it was a dream, but thankfully, even when cars got wrecked, people didn’t seem to get seriously hurt. I’d stopped to help whenever I could, so the trip had taken longer than it should have. Even so, I’d probably get there before Yerim’s group. I wondered about everyone else. It honestly felt like I was the only one in Korea. Where were Yuhyun and Peace? I missed them.

‘I hope my kids are asleep too.’

So maybe I’d get to see them, even in a dream.

Even if this was a dream world, just thinking that home was close gave me energy. I drove hard down the expressway again.

“No, hey–!”

Someone was jumping off a rooftop in the distance… except not jumping. Flying. Sort of. They wobbled through the air like they were still terrible at it.

“You’d think they’d have gotten used to it by now.”

There were plenty of dreamers who fell too. At least the more embarrassing kinds of dreams weren’t showing up much. Probably because most people stayed indoors rather than outside. I dreamed indoors more often too. Even when I was outside, it usually wasn’t just some random street. It was a specific place. I’d even dreamed about being at a baseball stadium once.

After a long stretch of driving, familiar streets finally started to appear.

Seocho-dong. Good to see you.

Just a little farther and…

“Huh?”

Manager Song?

I slammed on the brakes and got out. There was Manager Song, dressed in a suit, standing beside a sports car.

“Manager Song!”

Beep. The sports car door unlocked.

Hold on.

Manager Song got into the sports car like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Wait just a second. No, this…

‘…Whose dream is this?’

Looking closer, Manager Song was a little blurry. Yep. Definitely a dream. No one else was around. Then again, there are dreams where I don’t appear either.

Manager Song drove off in the sports car and disappeared down the road. No idea whose dream that was, but apparently somebody really wanted our Manager Song to have a nice car. Honestly, same here. A real dream, all right.

‘At this rate, other people are going to start showing up too.’

I’d already seen Yuhyun. …Could someone be dreaming about me too? If I run into them, I’m pretending I didn’t see anything. That would be way too embarrassing…

“Director Han!”

“…Yeah?”

“You made it all the way from Busan already?”

“…What?!”

A man holding his phone walked up to me with a bright smile.

Wait. Hold on.

“Um… did you see social media?”

“Of course! I check it every day. I saw Hunter Park Yerim’s social media too! The Sesung Guildmaster and Manager Song Taewon are in Japan.”

“…What? Japan? Manager Song posted something?”

“No, somebody said they saw them. They even uploaded photos.”

Then he showed me a Japanese social media post on his phone. The pictures showed Seong Hyunjae and Manager Song.

…Why do they look like that?

Not just Manager Song. Seong Hyunjae too. They were both wearing clothes that fit them terribly. I guess if you’re trying to match sleeve and pant length, off-the-rack clothes are bound to end up too baggy, but still.

“Could you tell me what it says?”

“Oh, someone translated it. It says Sesung’s guildmaster has a cold. Apparently they heard him sneeze!”

…A cold? A sneeze?

I stared at the screen, dumbfounded.

This had to be somebody’s dream too, right?