WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 41: My Younger Brother… (1)

──────

“Of course, there’s no reason you have to meet them. You can refuse.”

Yoohyun said it firmly. It wasn’t that there was no reason I had to meet them. He just didn’t want me to meet them.

Seriously, I didn’t know how he was at other times, but around me, he completely lost any qualifications as a guildmaster. Even if I said I didn’t want to meet them, he should be persuading me. Instead, he was sitting there saying I didn’t need to.

“If I say I don’t want to, they won’t come, right?”

“Of course they won’t.”

“Hey, how do you think it’ll look to the public if the guildmasters of the Three Great Guilds come to Haeyeon in person? Obviously, they’ll think Haeyeon has the upper hand. So what do you mean, I don’t have to meet them? You should be saying, ‘Could you show your face just once, Hyung?’”

Of course, I didn’t want to meet them. It was a hassle. Still, I couldn’t just let it slide after hearing the guildmaster spout nonsense like that.

...He hadn’t deliberately said I could refuse because he wanted this reaction, right? My little brother couldn’t be that sly.

“But...”

“From now on, don’t start a sentence with ‘but’ around me.”

Yoohyun shut his mouth, then opened it again.

“Still...”

“No ‘still,’ no ‘however,’ no ‘even so.’ Don’t start your sentences with negative conjunctions.”

My little brother looked dejected. How had a guy like this ignored me for years? The successful man from five years later was still vivid in my mind, so this twenty-year-old brat occasionally felt unfamiliar.

I even had thirty years’ worth of memories, so there was effectively a ten-year age difference between me and this kid. Five years was already a lot, but ten years? When I was an adult, Yoohyun would still have been a tiny elementary schooler.

He was really young.

“What’s there to worry about? I’m just showing my face once. It’s going to be sold to the entire country soon anyway.”

“...Isn’t it burdensome? They’re S-Class Hunters. Hunters with lower ranks usually find S-Class Hunters difficult to deal with. You seem less affected by that, though.”

Because I had Fear Resistance. It was L-Class Fear Resistance. Why would I be intimidated by S-Classes?

“It’s not burdensome, just annoying. Still, they’re customers. I should introduce the product with the enthusiasm of a salesperson who landed a huge order.”

Their investments weren’t trivial, so I could understand wanting to check for themselves. I would be uneasy about signing off based on video footage alone. Besides, if it was a top-grade mount, it would become an excellent partner for those lofty S-Classes. Of course they would be eager.

“If you’re all right with it, I won’t try to stop you anymore. But they’ll probably bring an Awakened appraiser too.”

“An Awakened appraiser? What rank is their Appraisal skill?”

“A-Class.”

Oh, that was a high rank. Appraisal skills that examined someone else’s skills or stats could only inspect targets one rank below the user. So if it was an A-Class skill, I had nothing to worry about...

No, damn it. I had lied about having a C-Class skill.

“Hey, Yoohyun? I think it would be a problem if they found out about my C-Class skill.”

“It’s fine. The people coming this time know the Awakening Centers will be established soon. They won’t pay much attention to a skill that Awakens non-Awakened people. You said you can only check ranks once a month. Like I told you before, that much won’t draw much attention.”

No, the problem was that I didn’t have that skill.

“Still, it bothers me. Isn’t there an item that hides skills? You could easily conceal one C-Class skill.”

“No. It would be a problem if they noticed. They’re bringing an appraiser because even if they can’t appraise the magical beast rearing skill, they can infer things from your other skills. Your two E-Class skills and one C-Class skill are your initial skills, and you obtained magical beast rearing as your Level 10 skill. If you have other skills beyond that, or if you don’t, they might grow suspicious.”

“Did you tell them about the C-Class skill too?”

“Not yet, but if you use an item, there’s a chance the appraiser will notice... Hyung.”

Yoohyun stared straight into my eyes.

“Are you hiding something from me?”

“Well...”

Damn it, I had no choice now. If I got caught, I had planned to make excuses about the skill growing and increasing in rank. I never expected to run into an A-Class appraiser so soon.

It made no sense for a C-Class skill to have already become A-Class.

“Actually, that skill is A-Class.”

I just came clean. Awakened Appraisal skills had only reached A-Class even five years later, so there was no way I would be found out.

“Hyung!”

Yoohyun shouted. What? Why? Everyone hid their skills.

“A-Class? That changes everything!”

“No, the effect is roughly similar.”

“Roughly?”

“...I can accurately determine someone’s projected Awakening rank. Even their initial skills. There’s no limit to how many times I can check.”

I kept optimized Awakening hidden. My little brother let out a deep sigh, then looked at me with resentful eyes.

“Was it because you didn’t trust me, or...”

“I trusted that you were worrying about me excessively for no reason. If I had said, ‘Actually, I got an A-Class skill,’ back then, you would’ve made me shut myself in my room and wait for three years.”

“...So it wasn’t because you didn’t trust me?”

“If I didn’t trust you, I would’ve already run away.”

If Yoohyun had been normally calm and composed, I would’ve told him everything instead of hiding it. I just couldn’t say anything because something was wrong with the kid.

“I trust you. I trust that my little brother would risk his life for me.”

I had seen it and experienced it with my own eyes. How could I not?

At my words, Yoohyun looked awkward.

“...I didn’t think you trusted me that much.”

Neither did I, until you did something stupid.

“Since it’s A-Class, you won’t be found out this time. Being able to accurately and infinitely determine projected Awakening ranks is impressive, but seeing as you only brought Park Yerim, high-ranking Awakened must indeed be rare.”

Yoohyun said, calming down. He was still exactly right.

“That’s right. I’ve used it whenever I could, but I haven’t seen anyone with even A-Class stats, let alone S-Class. There were a few B-Classes, though.”

“I suppose their initial skills weren’t anything special?”

“They just had ordinary attack and defense skills. Want me to tell you about them? I can’t Awaken them for you because of the thirty-day restriction.”

“No. Unless they’re healers or have rare special skills, we don’t need ordinary B-Class combat types.”

Right, you’re so great.

“I’ll let you know if I find a decent A-Class.”

“Okay. But don’t ever let it show. Being able to check even the skills of prospective A-Class Awakened or above is an ability that gives you far too much of an advantage in securing high-ranking Hunters. If it were only once a month, like you originally said, it wouldn’t be very useful statistically. But unlimited use changes things.”

“Even if I find them, it doesn’t mean they’ll sign a contract one hundred percent of the time.”

“Of course not, but even getting the opportunity has great value. And if things go badly, someone might eliminate them before they Awaken. I’m not saying I would do that, but there are probably people who would want to.”

It was a chilling thing to say, but true.

“I won’t show anything. I’ll only tell you quietly.”

“Good. There’s nothing else you’re hiding, right?”

“Nothing.”

There was actually plenty. I had two titles and eight skills that came with them.

The lowest rank among them was S-Class. Unless an SS-Class appraiser appeared, there was no way I would be found out. There wasn’t even an S-Class one, so how could an SS-Class suddenly pop up?

“Really nothing?”

“I said there’s nothing. Common sense says there can’t be anything else. Even S-Classes can only get at most four initial skills, so what else could I be hiding?”

Unless I had regressed, that was.

Yoohyun nodded at my words.

“All right. I won’t ask how you gathered enough data to predict dungeon appearances.”

...You said you wouldn’t ask, so why were you looking at me like that?

When I stayed silent to the end, my little brother sulked and left. Well, look at that.

A custom car in somber colors was turning toward the Haeyeon Guild parking lot. It wasn’t the only vehicle.

I turned from the window to look at Seok Simyeong. Peace, who had been lying at my feet, perked up their ears.

“There have been no changes other than the addition of Hanshin Guild.”

Hanshin was a guild on roughly the same level as Haeyeon Guild. Its guildmaster was also S-Class. However, with Yerim and now me added to Haeyeon, the gap would soon become enormous.

So every domestic S-Class guildmaster except the one overseas was coming. What a lavish gathering.

“Nothing unusual will happen.”

Seok Simyeong continued with a reassuring expression.

“Answer questions as briefly as possible. If you speak at length, you may get drawn in and reveal unnecessary information.”

“I won’t say anything stupid, so don’t worry.”

I knew my life was valuable too.

“They may be people you find burdensome to face, but don’t be too nervous. Or would you like a sedative?”

“I’m fine.”

I didn’t feel nervous or anxious at all. If anything, I was worried because I felt too little tension.

Still, turning off Fear Resistance would be foolish, so I needed to force myself to stay alert. Everyone I was about to meet, except my little brother, was dangerous and crazy. To be honest, if someone asked whether my little brother was normal, the answer would probably be no.

Then again, how many Hunters who regularly entered dungeons were in their right minds? Once they had some experience, PTSD was practically a basic qualification.

“I’m more worried about Peace than myself.”

The still-young Flame-Horned Lion swayed their tail the moment our eyes met. Always adorable. I really didn’t want to bring Peace along.

“They won’t hurt Peace just to keep Haeyeon in check, right?”

Peace would be the first top-grade mount to mature. From the other guildmasters’ perspectives, Peace couldn’t help being an eyesore.

“They aren’t foolish enough to do something that stupid for a short-term gain right in front of them.”

That was true, but still. If they did anything stupid, I would crush that bastard’s guild by whatever means necessary. It wasn’t impossible if I didn’t spare the cards I held.

“Peace, come here.”

I picked Peace up to get ready to leave. They felt heavier than a few days ago. Had Peace gained weight because the house was too small for proper running around?

There were four guildmasters visiting Haeyeon today, the Three Great Guilds plus one more. The Hunter Association President had come as well. Other than the Association President, they were all S-Class Hunters.

‘This is my first time seeing them in person.’

I had only ever seen them on television. It felt strange that such impressive people were all coming to see me.

Part of me wanted to pull rank over them. Over people who would live as the powerful ones, no, the ultimate power players, for the rest of their lives. If you want a top-grade mount, you need to stay in my good graces, you ultimate power players.

Of course, I couldn’t do that. Until I became a building owner, I should pretend to be a meek cat.

I underwent a security check before meeting the ultimate power players. My stats were F-Class, meaning I would struggle against even a C-Class despite all the equipment I could use, yet they checked me thoroughly. Naturally, my inventory was sealed as well.

It wasn’t actually sealed, though.

“From here on, you’ll have to go alone.”

They were completely blocking anyone else from entering. Who would dare touch the people gathered inside?

“Peace, you need to behave. No growling or anything.”

Yip.

Did Peace even understand what they were answering?

At the end of the long hallway stood a large door. I didn’t hesitate and opened it at once. Curious gazes poured over me.

They had probably noticed my presence before I even touched the door. Then they could’ve opened it for me. Did they think it was easy to hold a child in one arm and open a heavy door? My kid weighed nearly ten kilograms, you inconsiderate bastards.

“Hello.”

Still, I smiled first. Smile.

The meeting room had a weighty design, but seeing the faces turned toward me made it feel like I’d visited an entertainment agency.

Except for the gray-haired Hunter Association President, all of them had sculpted faces and were young.

The Sesung Guildmaster, in his late thirties, was the oldest. The rest were around thirty or younger. The youngest was obviously twenty-year-old Yoohyun. Surrounded by them, he really did look fresh and young.

‘Four S-Classes.’

It would be nearly impossible to get those people into my waiting slots.

“It’s an honor to meet all of my beloved customers like this.”

Since I was here, I laid a little groundwork. Who knew? If I piled up zero-sincerity sales-pitch love talk ten thousand times, maybe they would suddenly bite. It might not work unless I designated a particular target, but saying I loved them wouldn’t wear out my tongue.

“If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.”

I’ll answer with all my heart and sincerity. Of course, I’d only add the sincerity, with a light seasoning of truth.

At my words, Yoohyun frowned faintly, and the Breaker Guildmaster gestured to a man standing to one side.

“Let’s start by appraising your skills.”

Yes, yes. Appraise away.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried