WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈
Chapter 109: Bluebird
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“Myeongu!”
The moment I saw him, my first thought was that the inevitable had finally happened. Every time we met, I told him to get proper sleep and take breaks, but he kept chanting that he was fine, and now look at him! Should I call emergency services? No, maybe a healer would be better.
I set Peace and Peep down, took out my phone, and hurried over to Myeongu.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
I couldn’t smell blood, at least. But he could have hurt himself falling over, so I took out a potion without rashly trying to get him up. Myeongu let out a dying groan and slightly turned his head, so he hadn’t lost consciousness.
“Mana... potion...”
Mana depletion. That was a relief, at least. I quickly gave him a mana potion, and some color returned to his pale face.
“Want me to get you some water? Or how about you check into a hospital for a few days and get some real rest?”
I even considered forcibly hospitalizing him. But even if I tied him securely to a bed, he’d just go back into the forge.
“...I’m fine. It just used far more mana than I expected... and I ran out of potions...”
“That damned ‘I’m fine’!”
I was sick to death of hearing it. I helped the still limp and weak Myeongu over to the sofa.
“Did you eat? When was the last time you slept?”
“I did sleep a little after passing out...?”
Myeongu drank another mana potion as he answered. Then he smiled as if he’d done something worth being proud of.
“This isn’t some ultra-black company where overtime is mandatory Monday through Friday, then Monday and Monday again. Why are you volunteering to work yourself to the bone? Make a schedule, leave work on time, and rest on weekends.”
“Okay.”
Unlike usual, he answered readily. Wondering what had brought on this change of heart, I studied his expression, only to see him grin again.
That face felt familiar. So...
“Did you finish what you said you were making?”
“Yeah.”
Maybe his recovery had improved with his rank increase, because Myeongu was already looking fine as he stood up. Then he took an item from his inventory.
What emerged was a beautiful sword. Its blade was transparent as if made of glass, with a faint blue glow drifting across it. It looked more decorative than practical, but as an item, the power within it could not possibly be weak.
“You made a weapon?”
“Ah, the Dragon Heart’s base form is a sword.”
“...What?”
“The design is its preference.”
I had no idea what he was talking about. Then, with a soft pling, a small bird appeared. It was a round little bird with blue feathers, small enough to fit in one hand.
- Chirp.
“Its preference.”
- Chirp chirp.
I understood even less. I reflexively accepted the sword Myeongu held out.
[Yu Eunhye, L-Class
A sword born from the mana stone of Shalos, Dragon Lord and master craftsman.
Contractor: Han Yujin]
Hmm... Hmmm...
Why did its name sound like a person’s name? L-Class... Excuse me? Dragon Lord? Master craftsman? Shalos, as in the material for that bead? Mana stone... Dragon Heart... And what was this contractor business? Why was it me? I didn’t remember making any contract.
“...That transparent mana stone you showed me before wasn’t SS-Class.”
Seeing the transparent sword blade reminded me. The SS-Class mana stone from the dragonkin had been opaque white.
“Yeah. It was an L-Class mana stone. More precisely, it’s a mana stone with a specific name, Shalos’s Dragon Heart. Apparently, it’s higher-ranked than ordinary L-Class mana stones.”
Wow... I see. I see. Wow, I learned something new.
“So... how does a rank get skipped like that? No, why is there suddenly an L-Class mana stone...?”
“It’s material of a rank I can’t handle with my current abilities, but Ismuar is a spirit made by Mister Shalos. It was hell, but I could complete it thanks to Ismuar! I still can’t handle even SS-Class materials well. Still, I gained a lot of proficiency this time, so I should be able to make low SS-Class items soon.”
Mister Shalos made us a spirit and gave us an L-Class mana stone. The forge probably belonged to him too. He really was The Giving Tree.
“It’ll be more convenient to transform it into something like a bracelet or ring normally. As a weapon, its only ability is that it’ll never break.”
Even though it was L-Class? I tried turning it into a bracelet. It transformed the moment I thought about it, but... Two transparent chains with blue gems dangling all over them. It was disgustingly flashy.
“This is a little...”
“That’s its preference.”
- Chirp.
The bluebird landed on the back of my hand and cocked its head. It was made from a Dragon Heart, so why was it a bird? Had Mister Shalos been a blue dragon?
“Um... Eunhye?”
- Chirp!
“Could you make it simpler?”
The bluebird chirped, and the dangling gems vanished, leaving only the chains. No, one remained. It chirped insistently, as though it absolutely could not get rid of that one. A ring felt a little awkward, so I tried changing it into a necklace. Sure enough, a necklace appeared, with a gem that glittered dazzlingly.
Was it not a bluebird, but a crow? Or was this Mister Shalos’s taste when he was alive? Dragons were famous for liking gems, but were dragons in other worlds the same?
Anyway, the bracelet was still the least bad option.
“...Its name really does sound like a person’s name.”
“I didn’t name it.”
Myeongu explained that it had simply decided on its own.
“For now, it only has one skill. It’s a damage nullification skill like the old Shalos’s Bead. But it isn’t single-use, and its rank can be adjusted. At full mana, or fully charged, L-Class-level damage nullification can last for about an hour at most. At the theoretically rank-unlimited level like before, it lasts around ten minutes. You can recharge its depleted mana by feeding it mana stones.”
Since Shalos’s Bead had probably been a Dragon Heart fragment, I had expected its skill effect to be similar. But L-Class damage nullification for an hour, and it could be replenished with mana stones? That was absurd.
“Still, it takes quite a while to absorb mana stones, and you need to feed it at least S-Class ones, so you should only use it when necessary.”
“S-Class mana stones aren’t hard to get, and how long does absorption take?”
“If it’s completely empty, about a week?”
“That’s not even that long! Wow, if an S-Class Hunter used this...”
“The skill only applies to the contractor.”
It was like someone had dumped cold water over me. Why? Myeongu scratched the back of his head at my aggrieved look and explained.
“Without restrictions like that, it couldn’t be made at L-Class... It isn’t single-use, and it’s a level above a simple barrier. It only nullifies damage beyond a certain threshold, so you can still move freely. And its maximum has no rank limit.”
That was true. Still... No, if it was limited to the contractor anyway, it was better that it applied to me. I had poison and curse resistance, plus my double skill.
What an incredible item. Now that its duration had increased too, maybe I should notify the Sesung Guildmaster that my value had gone up even more.
“It’s a growth-type item, so it might gain other skills or effects in the future...”
Myeongu suddenly looked serious. My expression grew heavy too. Did it have some kind of side effect?
“Flat stat point increases... were impossible.”
“...What?”
“Even S-Class items have separate skills, so flat numerical stat increases are either secondary, or only get added to items that barely qualify as S-Class. Flat numerical stat increases are kind of... cheap, I guess. Even among items of the same rank, items with flat numerical stat increases are lower quality. From SS-Class onward, you can basically say there are no items with flat numerical stat increases at all.”
“...I see.”
No wonder S-Class items with flat stat point increases had been hard to find. Few people even used them, so I had wondered why I never saw any. That stung a little.
“Still, this is already more than enough. No, the damage nullification skill is far more amazing! I only asked just in case, but I never expected you to make it this perfectly. The materials, the time...”
Once the shock of receiving such an unexpected item settled, I was overwhelmed with emotion. At the same time, the bracelet in my hand felt far too heavy.
“This could’ve been yours. It was left for you in the first place. You didn’t need to do this much for me...”
“There’s something else you should say.”
Myeongu firmly cut me off. I flinched and looked at him. His face was practically shining with pride. His expression and eyes showed that he was thoroughly satisfied.
The moment I saw that, I knew what I needed to say.
“Thank you. Really.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“I mean it. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Myeongu, you’re the best. You’re amazing.”
“I think I’m pretty amazing too. Ah, it really was hard, though.”
“Now take breaks while you work. Please.”
Myeongu smiled and nodded. He looked bright and light, as though he had put down a heavy burden he had been carrying.
“Still, don’t go around alone. You used it before, so you know, right? Even with the damage nullification skill active, normal everyday contact isn’t a problem. That’s only natural since we wanted defensive ability while remaining able to make contact.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Since people could handle me however they liked, I’d be easy to pick up and run off with. But I had no reason to go around alone, and more importantly, I liked that it meant I would no longer be in danger even if I entered dungeons freely. Yoohyun would worry less about me now too.
“Eunhye, I’m counting on you from now on.”
- Chirp.
The bluebird perched on my wrist and chirped as though answering. Then I noticed Peep sitting blankly at my feet. It looked as though it had suffered some kind of shock. Why? Had it realized that the mana stone it had been eyeing had turned into an item?
“Peep?”
- ...Peep.
Was it looking at the bracelet... no, the bird? Then Eunhye fluttered over to Peep. Peep sprang to its feet and cried out in a strangely combative tone.
- Peep!
- Chirp chirp chirp!
- Peep peep!
Then Peep began flapping its tiny wings. With heartbreaking effort. The bluebird watched Peep, then flew back onto my wrist. It then vanished as though sinking into the bracelet’s gem. Was that why it had left one gem behind?
- Peep... peep.
“Peep! Why are you crying?”
Drops of water bigger than its tiny black eyes fell sadly from them. I quickly picked it up and soothed it, but it kept crying.
“What’s wrong? Why?”
- Peep, peep.
It chirped while flapping its wings again. ...Was it crying because it couldn’t fly? It had never cared when Blue or Comet flew, so was it because it had seen another bird? But Peep’s wings were far too small for its body. They were mostly fluff, with no proper wing feathers.
“...Um, Myeongu.”
“Yeah?”
“When you have time, could you make one flying item for Peep? It only needs to float around slowly.”
“Okay. Something like that won’t take long.”
His ready answer was truly reassuring and appreciated. Seriously, how would I live without you?
* * *
“Now I need to properly set up an item workshop.”
After comforting Peep, I had dinner with Myeongu for the first time in a while. The side dishes he had made were delicious too, of course, but the freshly cooked food was incredible enough to make me sigh in admiration.
I naturally thought of Yoohyun and Yerim, but Myeongu did not really like either of them, so I held myself back. Yerim did come over for side dishes while watching his mood, but I felt bad pulling Yoohyun into it too. That punk could at least act warmer toward Myeongu. His first impression had been terrible, though.
“Making Eunhye this time made me realize something. The system seems to hold people back more than you’d think.”
“You realized that?”
“Using skills in the forge is different from outside, you know. The status window doesn’t even appear. You seemed like you already knew, Yujin.”
“Ah, I had an experience outside the system too.”
More than anything, the lizard owner’s memories had helped.
“Especially since you can’t blindly trust skill descriptions. How should I put it? If you have an ability that can make fire, it just says, ‘You can burn things.’ But you can cook food, ward off the cold, light up darkness, and more. Some descriptions aren’t accurate either.”
“More than that, skills are my abilities to begin with.”
Myeongu nodded as he spoke.
“There’s a skill window, and the skill activates when you use it, but with no window appearing, it feels completely different. More than anything, an L-Class item is something the version of me within the system could never make. But when I joined strength with Ismuar and figured out how to handle mana, I could do it. I guess you could say I went beyond the skill I was given?”
He had realized that already. Myeongu really was amazing. I had somehow managed to use Diarma’s ability too, but without both Diarma’s memories and his mana stone, it would have been impossible.
“So I’m thinking of raising people who have talent but no item-crafting skills.”
“Raising them?”
“Yeah. It’s better to form a team than make items alone, right? First, I’m going to make an offer to Mister Lee Minseok from Haeyeon. He only has a repair skill, but that’s still an ability to handle items. And he has far more real-world experience than I do.”
Teaching skills... In worlds without the system, that had been the standard method. Taking in gifted disciples and teaching them special abilities until they mastered them.
“It might be possible inside your forge. If I find people with related talent, I’ll send them to you.”
“It’s not certain, so only if I succeed.”
“Ah, and while we’re at it, let’s go raise your level.”
How many days had it been since I used My Kid? It had been a long time. Myeongu said he was free now and nodded.
Should I bring Yoohyun along while we were at it? Let the two of them get a little closer. I wondered whether he had named the spirit yet.
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