WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈
Chapter 190: Creator (3)
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“If Chain is human,” you mean?
“Does that mean it could affect the mana stone if he isn’t human?”
[Not necessarily. It’s just that a fragment alone affecting the mana stone Honey is raising would be impossible through a human presence. Ah, if he had a related special skill, even a human might be able to affect it? It would have to be at least SSS-Class, though. But as far as I know, Chain doesn’t have a skill like...]
Newbie abruptly shut his mouth. Hold on.
“You know Seong Hyeonje’s skills? Well, you know all my skills too. And Myeongu’s.”
[No, that’s...]
“Tell me.”
I grabbed the volleyball and shook it. Spit it out. Even if I used Sprout, only a few initial skills would show up, but this guy had to know everything.
[Honey, Honey! It’s not like we know everything! We only keep an eye on a few specific people or skills! Even that comes at a cost. System information only passes by us, and even when it doesn’t, there’s too much to remember one by one. Do you know how many people share the same name? If we could recognize all of them, we would have told you about the other natural S-Classes!]
“You really know who they all are, don’t you? You people have always been suspicious. You hide a lot too.”
[That’s...]
“Tell me everything about Seong Hyeonje, at least. What do you mean, ‘if Chain is human’? That’s needlessly ominous. Don’t tell me he isn’t human?”
[He is human! He came this far, so how could we not know? Even after the regression, traces of his connection to Crescent Moon remain, so he is a little unusual, but he is definitely human.]
So he was human. ...Could I trust that? Of the unfilial bastards I had met, Newbie seemed relatively honest, but not enough for me to trust everything he said.
“Then why does the mana stone keep absorbing Seong Hyeonje’s mana?”
[I don’t know either. It’s not my specialty. It wasn’t a normal mana stone to begin with, so there could be variables?]
“What do you know?”
The volleyball made a dejected face at my rebuke.
[I want to tell you, but Chain only met Crescent Moon. Still, I heard that Chain doesn’t seem to like Crescent Moon very much.]
“Tell me more.”
[That’s all.]
“What do you know, seriously?”
I shook the volleyball again. Given Seong Hyeonje’s personality, there was little chance he would like a Transcendent like an unfilial bastard, so this was not new information.
“Are Crescent Moon and the Mermaid Queen still asleep? Can’t you really tell me Chain’s skill information?”
[Yes. They’re still asleep. And privacy is important! Honey wouldn’t want someone else to know Honey’s skill information either. If you can easily learn someone else’s information, you should be prepared for your own information to be easily revealed too.]
That was true, but it was a shame. When would Crescent Moon wake up? At this rate, would Seong Hyeonje regain his memories first?
[We’re working hard on the dungeon for Honey~ It’s being designed so everyone can get exactly one item they want! From S-Class at the minimum, all the way up to L-Class!]
“Really? Even L-Class?”
[It won’t be easy, but SS-Class items should be manageable. You’ll be able to choose something you like!]
“How many people can enter?”
[About four for now, but I’ll try to increase that!]
How commendable. No matter what, Newbie really was the nicest. I reached out and patted the volleyball on the head.
“That’s amazing. You can make a dungeon like that.”
[It’s my specialty~]
“Thank you for putting so much thought into it.”
The volleyball’s face turned red. It looked as if it had been colored in with crayons.
[You’re welcome, Honey. But I think I’ll need just a little more time to increase the number of people. Could you give me two more weeks?]
“Sure. The more people who can enter, the better.”
The volleyball beamed and spun around. Looking at it, it was kind of cute. I had no idea what Newbie actually looked like, though.
“By the way, if you can make dungeons, then could the other dungeons too...?”
[Not me.]
Newbie suddenly changed tone, cutting me off so coldly it was almost sharp.
[We are system administrators. That’s all, Honey.]
The barrier surrounding me vanished, and the volleyball bounced away. Blue, who had been crouched in the snow, began hopping along too. Blue still could not catch the volleyball and kept getting bounced away, but she did not give up and continued pouncing at it.
[We’ll return to the original dungeon in three minutes!]
The volleyball spun widely as if teasing the young griffon, then disappeared without warning. Blue opened her beak wide and let out disappointed cries.
“...I want to ask what you were talking about, but I probably shouldn’t hear it, right?”
Myeongu approached with Peace and asked.
“There wasn’t much to it today, but... still.”
Besides, I had only vaguely answered questions about the dungeon.
“How did you realize that someone made this place, Myeongu? It just looks like a forest to me.”
“Hmm, how should I explain it? Since I keep making items, I’ve become better at understanding their structure. Items look no different from ordinary things in our world, right? But I can sense their rough structure.”
Myeongu stepped over to a snow-covered branch hanging low and reached for it. His fingers, looking darker against the white snow, slowly and delicately brushed over the branch.
“To be exact, I can understand the fundamental power making it up? Mana, I guess? The way it is put together. I can’t imitate something at this level, but I can interfere with it a little. If I slightly change the way it is arranged...”
Rustle.
The branch trembled, and tiny pink buds bloomed among the thin, snow-covered leaves. The sight was so out of season that it left me speechless. Flowers blooming on a winter tree.
“You can do that too?!”
“No, this is only possible because the original maker is amazing. I still can’t even imagine copying it...”
[You can’t do this! That’s rude! Maintain professional ethics!]
The volleyball suddenly reappeared and began shouting angrily. It bounced around furiously, its face drawn into an enraged expression. Myeongu hurriedly bowed his head.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know any better.”
[You can’t modify another creator’s work without permission! Unless you’re picking a fight, you need permission before touching it!]
“I’m truly sorry. I was thoughtless.”
[I’ll let it slide because you seem like a professional junior! Please be careful from now on.]
Newbie, still huffing, vanished again, and the scenery around us changed. A sweltering wasteland spread out before us, and I quickly took off my outerwear. Blue, who had been happily shaking snow off the branches, looked around in confusion and cried out.
“My work involves dismantling and recombining dungeon byproducts, so I touched it without thinking.”
Myeongu scratched his head awkwardly.
“It still feels more like an ordinary forest than someone’s work to me. Though I guess breaking branches however you want in someone else’s forest is wrong too.”
Grrr.
Then Peace suddenly sprang forward. They thrust a front paw into a gap between the rocks of the wasteland and pulled out a round ball of fur. Then, crunch, they tore through its neck in one bite. Peace’s catch was about the size of a medium dog. But the adult that came out after hearing its young cry was...
Screeech!
A huge monster as large as a calf. The beast, camouflaged to match the wasteland soil, bared its fangs. It looked like a cross between a wolf and a wild boar.
A Burrowing Oplo. It was a monster that dug underground burrows, cleverly concealed their entrances, and pounced when prey approached carelessly. They were fairly common monsters. I had fought them several times before.
Grrf.
Peace only looked at the charging monster as if it were ridiculous. The monster snorted and charged at the Flame-Horned Lion, who did not move an inch. But before it could reach Peace...
Gack!
Talons that plunged down from the sky pierced its dirt-colored hide. Dust flew everywhere, and with the sound of beating wings, the huge body was lifted into the air in an instant.
Yaa! Yaa!
Blue did a somersault while clutching the struggling monster. It looked less like hunting and more like playing with a toy. She even showed off by tossing it into the air, then catching it before it hit the ground.
Meanwhile, monsters began cautiously emerging around us. Why were the ones that had been waiting in hiding suddenly...?
‘Ah.’
My mana stone. They did not dare approach easily, perhaps because Peace was standing in front of me, but I could feel their glances. Their numbers steadily increased, as though they were signaling one another. It looked like every monster in this dungeon was about to gather here.
“I could leave them to Peace and Blue, but you need to raise your level a little. Can you catch them?”
Myeongu did not particularly like hunting monsters. He had struggled to kill them during rookie Hunter training, and he had hesitated a great deal during his first dungeon raid. I could not exactly ask Peace and Blue to bring them over half-dead. Should I step in? It was an E-Class dungeon, so I could handle them with equipment.
“Can I borrow Eunhye for a moment?”
Myeongu moved close beside me as he spoke. When I released Eunhye and offered it to him, he did not take it. Instead, he took my hand as if wrapping his own around it.
“Set Damage Nullification to A-Class or higher, then change it into a bow.”
“A bow?”
I changed Eunhye’s form as Myeongu instructed. A crystal bow appeared above my hand, its beautiful blue patterns looking as though sapphires had been ground into it. The ornaments hanging from each end of the bow gave off a clear sound as they swayed. Eunhye’s taste never changed.
“Ismuar.”
Myeongu held the bow and called softly. A rift in space opened, and a stream of flame flowed out and settled on the bow. The flame soon became an arrow.
“Peace should be fine, but have Blue fall back.”
“Okay.”
I gestured to Blue and called Peace back too. The moment Blue moved behind us, Myeongu drew the bowstring. The blazing arrow shot out and pierced the monster at the front.
Whoosh!
Without even time for a dying scream, the monster turned to ash in an instant. The flames continued spreading without losing any momentum. A wave of heat swept through the horde of monsters and wrapped around them. The smell of fire. The smell of ash.
Except for a few at the edge, most of the monsters collapsed into blackened heaps.
“...You can bring Ismuar outside?”
I asked in surprise, but Myeongu shook his head.
“It’s only a portion of Ismuar’s power. I’ve handled Ismuar’s flames so often that I can draw out a little of them now. It isn’t very strong either. It is probably only around the level of a B-Class to A-Class skill. It just looks impressive because these are E-Class monsters.”
“It’s still amazing. Doesn’t that mean you have an attack skill now too?”
“Actually, not really.”
Myeongu spoke with a slightly embarrassed look.
“I can only materialize the power through a weapon, but I can’t use it on ordinary weapons. Ismuar has the nature of melting and dismantling items, so it needs at least an SSS-Class weapon to settle in without damaging it.”
“Ah... Then it must be hard to use normally. What a shame. My younger brother’s spirit, Irin, is good at melting and swallowing all sorts of things too. Is every Spirit of Fire like that?”
“They’re probably a little different. Irin is a spirit born from nature, while Ismuar is a spirit made for a specific purpose. Oh? I got a new skill.”
Myeongu stared into the air as if checking his skill window. He must have gone up more than five levels. He had finally gotten it.
“What is it?”
“Master of Hammering. I think I can use this as an attack skill too, if I apply it right. It says it works on living targets as well.”
“Does it look good? Is it all right?”
I was not sure whether I had chosen well. Myeongu nodded with a satisfied expression.
“Yeah. It’ll make working much easier.”
I was glad he liked it. When I gestured, Blue dashed after the fleeing monsters like a hunting dog. Even though they had already gained a considerable lead, she caught up in an instant with only a few beats of her wings. Blue was so fast that my eyes could barely follow.
Noah was already more than enough for me, but I definitely would not be able to ride Blue. Blue would be even faster once fully grown. On top of that, Golden Arrow seemed to be a flight-related skill. Blue was already swift as an arrow. Add a skill to that, and she might become invisible.
Now that Myeongu had gained his skill and there did not seem to be many monsters left, I left things to the two of them and started walking slowly.
“Does this dungeon look like it was made by someone too?”
“Hmm, this place feels much more complicated than the previous one. I wouldn’t dare touch it.”
I remembered the messages that had appeared in dungeons before. No matter how I looked at it, Newbie seemed to have sent those messages. Newbie had also said they were the first to find me.
‘They said this was their specialty, and they called Myeongu a professional junior too.’
Was Newbie’s specialty making things? Were the toy soldiers and knights Newbie’s creations too? Was that why Newbie had primarily intervened with the dungeons?
If this dungeon was far more complicated, then the creator who made the dungeons appearing in the world was likely someone of a higher caliber than Newbie.
Who could it be? An Origin? Or perhaps a senior far above the unfilial bastards?
“Myeongu, don’t you think you might be able to make a dungeon like this someday too?”
At my murmur, Myeongu smiled bashfully.
“Yujin, you think too highly of me sometimes. Even the previous dungeon would take a hundred years of training before I could possibly make something like it.”
“So it isn’t impossible. That alone is amazing.”
“No, there’s no guarantee I could do it even after a hundred years.”
“You never know. I was so surprised when I saw you make those buds bloom.”
The more I saw, the more I could understand why the unfilial bastards might try to take Myeongu away. Would they not guarantee his safety without me even needing to ask? I would not let him go either.
After we had walked for a while, a monster that looked like the boss appeared in the distance. Blue became even more excited at the appearance of a monster larger than the others and flew in a wild zigzag. She also cried at Peace as if asking them not to interfere.
Then Blue began playing with the boss monster like a cat with a mouse. I really should find a Hunter to pair with Blue or something. She truly loved hunting.
“Could I ask you something? This might be a strange question.”
I glanced at Myeongu as I spoke.
“What is it?”
“Well, you know. When you get your first paycheck, people buy gifts for their family. That sort of thing.”
It was a bit awkward to ask Myeongu. But Myeongu nodded without much concern.
“I should have bought you something too.”
“I got Eunhye. What more could I want? That’s already more than enough.”
“But why? You, um...”
Myeongu trailed off. I did not really mind that my parents had passed away early.
“If someone gave it late, what way would they usually give the gift? After circumstances had kept them apart from their family, and then they became close again.”
It had been a long time. Three years now, but to me, it had been a full eight years. But if nothing had happened, the first paycheck gift would match the time I had experienced exactly. Even if Yoohyun got a job early, it would have happened before the regression, not now.
“...Usually at home. In the living room, maybe. Or if they put thought into it, they might give it at a nice restaurant.”
“A restaurant, then.”
But why had he not given it to me?
“...Are you talking about your younger brother?”
“Huh? No, well. Yeah. It seems like he has something prepared.”
We had become close again, and he had given me spending money and taken care of me in many ways, but the watch was the first gift Yoohyun had prepared himself. Even if it had been made from dungeon byproducts, it was an ordinary item I could use in daily life.
“But it seems like he keeps putting it off.”
“Why don’t you ask him?”
“Wouldn’t that be a little much? It’s a gift. Asking why he hasn’t given it to me yet...”
It could be his first and last gift of that kind. Was inviting him out to eat first the problem? Should I wait more quietly?
“...Want me to casually bring it up for you?”
“Hmm... I’ll wait a little longer.”
Last time, Yerim had sulked because he left her behind, then nearly tried to follow us even if it killed her. It would be difficult for the two of us to eat out alone normally. Should I wait until Yerim went on a dungeon raid? Then I could make it clear that I had nothing to do that evening...
“Tell me anytime. I’ll mention it for you.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
It would not take too long, right? Meanwhile, Blue finished playing and took down the boss monster. A gate soon appeared, and we left the dungeon.
Do Hamin contacted me the very next day.
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