WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 47: Getting Stronger Sometimes (2)

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Kim Woojae paced anxiously.

‘That bastard Seo Minseong, why hasn’t he contacted me?’

They had agreed to send a signal every twenty minutes that everything was fine. Yet the signal that should have arrived five minutes ago had not come.

Could he have been caught already?

‘Damn it, I need to get the Owner’s Token.’

The reason Kim Woojae had gone out of his way to wake Han Yujin and threaten him was the Owner’s Token, the taming item for the Flame-Horned Lion cub. If Han Yujin boarded the ship with the token in his inventory, they would never get another chance at it. But if they took it beforehand, they could make a substantial extra profit from the token itself.

It was the cub of an S-Class dungeon boss monster. They could receive additional payment just for handing it over like this, but if they separated the taming token, they could sell it separately for a far higher price. It was worth far too much to ignore.

‘If I hide the fact that we’re short on time and threaten to leave him cursed for another hour or so...’

Wouldn’t he hand it over obediently? Han Yujin had acted bold, but he was practically an ordinary person with almost no dungeon experience. He must have been dazed by a curse he had never experienced before.

Bang!

“Did you have a nice time!”

Kim Woojae deliberately shouted in a confident voice as he threw open the door. Han Yujin was curled up against the wall, collapsed on the floor. He had heard the noise, yet he did not move at all.

It was a curse that did not even let him faint. Had he lost even the strength to flinch?

Without much thought, Kim Woojae walked over to Han Yujin. Then he lightly kicked his curled-up back with the tip of his foot.

“I know you’re awake...”

Whoosh!

Then black tentacles suddenly lashed out through the darkness.

“Urk!”

The tentacle wrapped around Kim Woojae’s ankle and began to release poison. As the poison melted through his sock and seeped into his skin, Kim Woojae recoiled in horror and yanked his leg back with all his strength.

Snap!

Unable to withstand the strength of a B-Class Hunter, the tentacle tore off, and Kim Woojae staggered. As he hastily turned around, he came face-to-face with a huge reptile waving its tentacles.

“I thought it was chained up...!”

“Grrr!”

Kreke charged at Kim Woojae, its dark body swaying. The chain that had been connected to its collar lay some distance away.

Poisonous fumes washed over him, and just as Kim Woojae frantically pulled a shield from his inventory,

Crunch!

“Argh!”

A blade stabbed into Kim Woojae’s ankle. It struck precisely where the poison had weakened him. At the same time, Kreke slammed its body into the shield with a bang!

“Urgh!”

Kim Woojae slid backward and fell. Seeing more tentacles flying at him, he quickly rolled across the floor instead of rising.

It was an unexpected ambush, but he was still an experienced B-Class Hunter. Kim Woojae swiftly assessed the situation, opened up some distance, sprayed a potion on his ankle, and stood.

“You little shits!”

Kim Woojae shouted, veins bulging in his neck.

He had noticed Han Yujin moving. But he had never imagined that someone with sealed inventory, no attack skills, and F-Class stats would come at him.

“You’re just a C-Class dungeon monster!”

He had suffered considerable damage, but it was only a C-Class monster and someone with F-Class stats. Even if he lost a leg, there was no way he could lose.

A greatsword appeared in Kim Woojae’s hand. Holding its sharp blade before him, he activated a skill.

Several poison-filled tentacles flew toward him. But beneath the widely swung greatsword, they were cut down in an instant.

Kim Woojae then leaped high toward the monster. The descending blade split the thick black hide in one stroke.

“Grr...”

With a weak groan, the black reptile’s body went limp. Kim Woojae exhaled furiously and turned to Han Yujin, who was sitting there blankly.

“Damn it!”

Kim Woojae growled as he put his sword into his inventory. If he kept a weapon in hand, he felt like he would lose his temper and hack that bastard to pieces.

“Damn it, you said Han Yujin could only make a tamed monster cub grow...”

Even if it was valuable merchandise, it only needed to stay alive. Just as he shouted that he would break all four of Han Yujin’s limbs,

“Guhk!”

Kim Woojae’s body pitched forward as excruciating pain battered him from head to toe.

* * *

“Grr...”

Blackie gave one final twitch.

I had hoped otherwise, but it ended this way after all.

Then, shortly afterward.

[The effect of the title ‘Perfect Caregiver’ activates.

Caregiver Bonus Skill: Final Grace

The skills and stats of the monster ‘Blackie’ are transferred at double efficiency.

Duration: 168:00]

A status window announcing the skill’s activation appeared. Then another followed.

[The effect of Final Grace (L) is doubled.]

A status window announcing the activation of Raucitas’s Natural Enemy also appeared. Before I could properly read it, Blackie’s memories came flooding in.

Just like Final Recompense, which I had possessed before, they were memories related to me.

They were brief memories, not even thirty minutes long.

Blackie had been afraid of me, curious about me, and delighted by the C-Class mana stone powder it tasted for the first time.

It liked hearing my voice tell it I loved it. It thought my touch was warm. It instinctively knew it could not defeat Kim Woojae, but it wanted to protect me.

Until the very end, it worried about me.

It really was a skill that would have been better off useless.

“...I’m sorry, Blackie.”

Muttering a meaningless apology, I opened my status window. Along with my noticeably increased stats, I saw the new skills I had acquired.

“Damn it, you said Han Yujin could only make a tamed monster cub grow...”

I used Thorn Trap on Kim Woojae, whose face was twisted in rage.

“Guhk!”

He collapsed to the floor with a strangled sound, trembling violently.

Thorn Trap (D). A curse skill that restrained its target and caused pain. However, it did not work if the target’s Mental Strength stat rank was two grades higher than the skill rank.

Normally, it would have been useless against B-Class Kim Woojae, but now it had received a double buff on top of another double buff. It should be around the level of a B-Class skill.

‘There are too few transferred memories. It’ll take some time to adjust.’

The more memories the other person had of me, the faster I adapted to the transferred stats and skills. That was why I could use Yoohyun’s abilities with almost the same proficiency as the man himself.

Still, with the doubled skill effect, it seemed that quite a lot of information had transferred for only thirty minutes.

I closed the status window and looked at the long black body.

“...This skill really isn’t great.”

Suppressing a sigh, I approached Blackie. Maybe it was just my imagination, but the hide against my palm felt even colder.

The doubled Mental Strength stat buff had made this skill bearable, but even after receiving double and then double again, I still felt awful.

‘Our Blackie... Its Mental Strength stat was pretty low.’

At least Final Grace lasted seven days. Final Recompense only lasted an hour. Because of it, there had been times when I spent days drowning myself in alcohol.

I swallowed a deep sigh and stood. When I turned my head, I saw Kim Woojae convulsing stiffly on the floor. As I approached, he rolled his eyes to glare at me. It seemed he still had some life in him.

“Doesn’t look like I have any particular reason to let you live, does it?”

More than anything, I had to silence him to keep Final Grace from being discovered. I could make him sign a contract to keep his mouth shut, but did I really need to go that far?

“Ah, my ankle hurts.”

Thanks to my increased stats, it did not hurt enough to keep me from walking, but it still hurt. Grumbling, I opened my status window again and checked the skills I had received from Blackie.

[Thorn Trap (D): A curse that paralyzes its target and inflicts pain.

Duration: 1 hour]

[Sticky Poison (C): Powerful poison that seeps from the skin.]

[Lizard on the Wall (D): Blends into the surroundings to conceal its appearance.]

[Scratch (D): A powerful claw attack.]

[Extending Tentacles (C): Poison-filled tentacles that extend.

Maximum Length: 1 meter]

[Weakling’s Premonition (C): Detects opponents stronger than oneself.]

Skin poison, scratching, tentacles... The first two were one thing, but could I even use tentacles? It had originally been a skill that extended and swung the tentacles on Blackie’s back.

There were parts of my body that could extend too, but... Hmm. With a maximum length of one meter, that meant four times as much, so four meters. Hmm.

...I was curious.

‘...Should I try it just a little?’

Just a little. Extending Tentacles.

“...Ugh.”

When I used the skill, a tentacle raised its head from my wrist. It was a pitch-black color unlike my skin, making it look as though a parasite had latched onto me.

Four-meter poisonous tentacles would certainly be useful, but I felt instinctively repulsed by the thought of using them.

‘The strongest skill is probably Sticky Poison.’

It was C-Class poison with a fourfold buff. Even most A-Class Hunters would have trouble blocking it. If they lacked poison-resistance equipment, perhaps I could even poison an S-Class Hunter. Of course, any A-Class, let alone an S-Class, would have poison and curse resistance items as standard equipment.

“Mr. Kim Woojae, I’m going to find my kid, so please stay here quietly.”

I had considered killing him immediately, but decided to keep him alive in case I could not find Peace. By his own account, thirty minutes was enough to make most people do anything. With four times the effect, even a B-Class Hunter should become obedient.

I searched his body and found the key to the inventory sealing bracelet. After removing the bracelet from my wrist, I put it on his. Then I took off his gloves and put them on. Leaving fingerprints everywhere would be a hassle.

“Well then, have a pleasant time.”

After tossing him that farewell, I went outside and locked the door.

How many people were in this building? It was a shame Weakling’s Premonition only detected stronger opponents. Its range was originally quite short, but it was fairly wide now. That meant I would not suddenly run into an A-Class Hunter and be caught off guard.

Though there was no way an A-Class Hunter would be in a place like this.

‘Even against an A-Class, I think I could handle them if I used Lizard on the Wall and ambushed them with poison.’

My current stats were somewhere between B-Class and A-Class at level 50. B-Class Hunters would be easy, but A-Class Hunters would be a little difficult. Still, my skills were quite good, so...

Crunch!

“Whoops.”

The doorknob in my hand tore right off. I was still clumsy at controlling my strength. I needed to adapt quickly, or people would find out my stats had increased.

‘To think I have to hide it for seven whole days.’

At least Haeyeon Guild did not have a status window appraiser. Should I hole up in my room for a week and blame it on trauma from the kidnapping? If I used Lizard on the Wall lightly to blur my presence, there probably would not be a problem.

But a week was far too long when I only wanted to hide for a day or so. That was a problem too.

‘What excuse will I give if I’m caught?’

If I said a passing Hunter rescued me and gave me an incredible buff, not even a passing dog would believe it. I had no suitable excuse. I would have no choice but to insist that they were mistaken, that it was a misunderstanding, and that I was weak!

‘Found them.’

Not Peace, but I sensed the presence of several people gathered together. Since Weakling’s Premonition was quiet, they all seemed to be B-Class or below.

Holding my breath, I used Lizard on the Wall.

Originally, it was only a skill that gave the user camouflage coloring. But with its effect increased fourfold, people would not be able to notice me easily.

Unless I was going to kill every person I met, I could not let them discover me. Though honestly, even if I killed them, it would be self-defense.

I silently approached the place where I sensed them. Fortunately, the door was half-open.

“We really can get out safely, right?”

A voice leaked through the door. I remembered it.

‘The D-Class guy I kicked.’

Peering through the gap, I saw all four people from the training room gathered together. Only the C-Class Hunter was missing.

Without dragging things out, I immediately used Thorn Trap.

“Argh!”

“What the... Urk!”

They fell like dominoes. Perhaps because their stats were low, they trembled violently before their eyes rolled back.

‘Having an attack skill really is nice.’

If only one of my L-Class skills had been an attack or defense type.

Carefully turning over the bodies sprawled on the floor in case they spotted me, I examined the room. Monitors covered one wall, showing footage from surveillance cameras.

It seemed there were no cameras aside from those at the entrance, stairwell, and part of the hallway. I unplugged all the cables, took the ring of keys hanging on the wall, and went back outside.

After leaving the basement and reaching the first floor, I finally saw the pen where Peace was locked up.

‘Peace!’

I could not shout in case someone heard, so I checked my surroundings and approached the pen. Its red-furred body rose and fell steadily. It did not seem injured, and it appeared to still be asleep.

‘There weren’t any aftereffects from Watchman’s Fruit.’

That ridiculously expensive powder was mainly used to capture monsters. It only worked on targets C-Class and below, making it too inefficient to use for clearing dungeons. Of course, it worked on people too. There had even been a time when I fell asleep while helping capture monsters.

‘Looks like the key for this pen isn’t here.’

It would have been strange for them to keep it together. None of the keys I had brought fit either. It was not as if I could not break the pen, but I was worried about losing control of my strength. Melting it with poison did not seem right either. Peace was sleeping defenselessly and could get hurt, so it would be better to find the key.

“Wait just a little longer.”

I’ll be back soon.

I could not search the whole place for one tiny key. I considered returning to the basement and questioning the men lying unconscious, but I went upstairs first. It was better to eliminate any possible seed of unease.

Fortunately, the building only had two floors, and I sensed just one presence on the second floor. It was probably the remaining C-Class Hunter.

‘That’s a small number for a large guild affiliate.’

It seemed only some members had taken part in this. Well, aside from security concerns, they would have to leave Korea entirely, so they had likely gathered only the smallest number of people they could trust.

‘The B-Class must be the guildmaster, and the C-Class is probably the vice guildmaster.’

If they were the vice guildmaster, they would know where the key was too.

Without hesitation, I kicked the closed door open with a bang! The door crumpled badly and flew inward with satisfying force.

“W-Who are you?!”

Who else would I be?

“I’m the victim you kidnapped.”

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