WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈
Chapter 82: Thorn-Winged Black Dragon
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“What on earth happened here?”
Yerim asked as she looked over the hospital room, which seemed as if a typhoon had swept through it.
“Nothing happened.”
“Nothing happened, yet the wall is cracked? Didn’t they say these were special reinforced walls?”
“Nothing happened because I’m fine. Peep, come here.”
- Cheep!
I smoothed over what had happened yesterday as best I could. I couldn’t exactly say an SS-Class Demon King had appeared and then vanished. So for now, only Kim Seonghan and I knew about the Goblin King.
“Then why does your face look so bad, mister? You look tired.”
“I just... didn’t sleep well.”
I had slept soundly for two whole days, so I thought one restless night would not show. Damn it, an S-Class dungeon would take a long time. With just the two of them, it would take at least ten days.
“...That one little brother of mine, seriously...”
“Geez, what are we going to do with our stressed-out mister? Want to have a drink tonight?”
“Alcohol is just... Yerim?!”
What had I just heard? I stared at Yerim in confusion, wondering if my ears were malfunctioning. She just smiled casually.
“Alcohol and water are basically the same. Unless I chug something incredibly strong because of my stats, I won’t get drunk.”
“Why are you drinking at all, you juvenile delinquent!”[1]
“I do fly pretty well~”
Not that kind of flying... I covered my face with my hand, and Yerim giggled as she patted my arm.
“I only tried a tiny bit because I was curious. It tasted bad.”
It was understandable to be curious about alcohol, but seriously, Yerim. Still, I was her guardian. Had I been paying too little attention?
“Still, wait until you’re an adult. And that goes for other things too. Even when you’re grown up, don’t smoke if you can help it. Have you been keeping up with your studies lately?”
“Uh...”
Yerim froze. One sentence had frozen an S-Class Hunter. It was practically a skill.
“You’ve been going into dungeons, so you probably haven’t attended class properly. Shouldn’t you study hard to catch up? You spent all day at the hospital yesterday, and you’ve been here since this morning today.”
“B-but you’re more important, mister! It’s fine, I told my teacher beforehand, and they said it was fine...”
Even if the tutor assigned to a high-grade Hunter was a low-grade Hunter receiving hazard pay or an ordinary person, how could they refuse an S-Class Hunter who said they needed time off?
“Someone is coming to pick me up today. They’ll show me around the rearing facility too.”
“Who is it?”
“The Director of the Awakened Management Office.”
Yerim tilted her head. She probably didn’t know him well.
“He belongs to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety. He’s the S-Class Hunter who made it possible for the Hunter Association to manage even S-Class dungeons, Song Taewon. He’s the only S-Class Hunter in Korea affiliated with the state rather than a guild. Our schedules haven’t lined up so far, but he contacted me about meeting while showing me around.”
Song Taewon was a former police officer who had Awakened. Even after becoming an S-Class Awakened, he had unusually remained a public servant. He could have risen through the civil service, but he wasn’t the sort of person to chase after that.
The Association had managed to hold its ground among the major guilds largely thanks to Song Taewon.
“You should meet him too. If an S-Class Hunter breaks the law, he’ll be the first person to come running.”
* * *
Yerim and I went down to the hospital parking lot. Maybe because it was the Hunter wing, it was quiet. Hunters rarely had reason to visit hospitals, since healers could treat injuries and they rarely got sick. F-Class Hunters, whose stats were only slightly better than ordinary people’s, would go to a regular hospital instead of coming somewhere their insurance didn’t cover.
“Looks like he isn’t here yet.”
“Yeah. Should we wait near the outdoor lot?”
We went outside and sat on a bench near the flower bed. After a while, an obviously old little red compact car rolled in. Yerim’s face flashed with shock when she saw it.
“M-mister, I think an S-Class Hunter is riding in that thing... Could my senses be wrong?”
“That’s just the kind of person he is.”
I stood as I spoke. I had heard rumors, but seeing it in person was still a little absurd.
The squat car parked perfectly within the lines. The man who got out was large enough that he didn’t suit the tiny car at all. Dressed in crisp, impeccably neat clothes, with a face like the lead in a serious action movie, he carefully shut the door as if afraid he might break it.
“...What is that?”
“He’s a civil servant.”
“No, plenty of civil servants live well, and he’s an S-Class Hunter...”
Yerim muttered as though she had witnessed something she shouldn’t have. It was hard to understand, admittedly. As far as I knew, he didn’t accept income as a Hunter, but he was still a high-ranking official. His salary couldn’t be that low.
The S-Class civil servant, Song Taewon, gave a slight bow. Just as Yerim and I bowed back, a sleek, expensive-looking large sedan glided into the parking lot. It turned without slowing down, as though it were still speeding along a highway.
Crash!
It slammed into the rear of the compact car. The poor little car was badly wrecked, while the sedan had only a slight scratch. Yerim muttered under her breath.
“Nice.”
Let’s pretend I didn’t hear that.
The person who stepped out of the driver’s seat was none other than Seong Hyeonje. That lunatic raised one hand toward Song Taewon with a refreshed smile. A piece of paper that looked like a business card rested between his fingers.
“Send the repair bill here. Or shall I give you the keys? Seeing you crammed into that thing with your size, I accidentally put my foot on the accelerator. It wasn’t intentional.”
“This time, I’m on the Sesung Guildmaster’s side.”
Yerim whispered. What was wrong with driving a compact car? As a former ordinary citizen myself, I was on Song Taewon’s side.
“Accepting money or valuables over a certain amount violates the law.”
Song Taewon spoke flatly. Still, the way he looked at Seong Hyeonje was anything but friendly. He and the major guildmasters had never gotten along. He viewed the major guilds, which legally received substantial tax exemptions, as little more than tax evasion organizations.
The guildmasters felt the same way about an S-Class Hunter with special investigative authority over Hunters. Seong Hyeonje could make a crazy provocation like that, but even the guildmaster of a fairly large guild would have to step back before Song Taewon.
“More importantly, why have you come all this way? I was supposed to guide Mr. Han Yujin.”
“I came to pick up the kid’s dad.”
Seong Hyeonje turned to me.
“I heard the Thorn-Winged Black Dragon dungeon was cleared this morning.”
He looked pleased, so they must have successfully captured the baby dragon.
* * *
Since Song Taewon’s car was no longer drivable, we ended up stopping by Sesung Guild. Song Taewon didn’t like it, but it was on the way, and the monster rearing had already been arranged by contract, so he couldn’t stop us.
During the drive, Seong Hyeonje sarcastically asked whether he had intended to transport someone so precious in a car as flimsy as paper, while Yerim eagerly joined in. Song Taewon listened silently like a stone Buddha, then apologized to me for not thinking things through and said he would rent a car next time. That just made me feel worse.
I was worried about how well Yerim got along with Seong Hyeonje in this regard...
“Hello, Mr. Han Yujin!”
Hunter Kang Soyoung greeted me with a face as bright as a flower in full bloom. She was obviously delighted to see me, but soon her expression turned worried.
“Are you all right? I should have gone myself, but since it was Director Song Taewon...”
“I’m fine. I’m perfectly okay.”
He seemed like someone I could communicate with well enough. Why hadn’t she come herself? Then the poor compact car might have been safe...
Actually, I couldn’t be sure of that. Judging by her skills, Kang Soyoung was probably pretty good at stepping on the accelerator too.
“Come this way!”
Kang Soyoung led us to a cage. Curled up asleep in the soft little nest inside was a small black creature.
[Class-3 Wyvern Species, Thorn-Winged Black Dragon (juvenile form)
Current Stat Grade D
Potential Stat Grade A through S
Optimized Initial Skills
Acid Breath (S-Class), acquired upon growth
Thorn Armor (A-Class), acquired upon growth
High-Speed Flight (A-Class), acquired upon growth
Poison Scales (A-Class), acquired upon growth
※ Cannot grow without the help of an adult form.]
This one had the same growth condition as the Flame-Horned Lion. I left Peep with Yerim and approached. They had said they would wait for the egg to hatch before capturing it, and it really did seem to have only just been born. It was exactly the size of a puppy. Was that why, unlike Peace and Blue, its stat grade was D-Class?
Maybe because it was young, it didn’t have any thorns yet. Its scales looked soft and tender rather than hard. Its round stomach rose and fell slightly, and the end of its tail twitched now and then. Around its slender neck, it wore a necklace like a silver ring.
“Isn’t it adorable? Isn’t it?”
Kang Soyoung whispered. It was cute, I supposed. Most things were cute when they were babies.
“Its name is Comet.”
“Is it female?”
“Does it matter?”
So she didn’t know.
“We’ll know when it grows. The females have larger wings and stronger poison, while the males have thorns that are longer in proportion to their wings.”
Would females be better as mounts, then?
Kang Soyoung took out the Owner’s Token. Clutching it tightly in both hands, she looked up at me with pleading eyes. From behind me, I heard Yerim mutter that Soyoung unnie was no joke when it came to acting coy, either.
“Please take good care of our Comet. I’ll come visit often. Whenever I’m not clearing dungeons, I’ll visit every day. Please contact me anytime if anything happens. And if you need anything, please just tell me.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of it.”
I accepted the token and put it into my inventory, then opened the cage door. The baby dragon didn’t seem likely to wake up yet.
“Its stat grade is higher than yours, Mr. Han Yujin. Will that be okay?”
“It’ll be fine.”
At worst, I would get my hand bitten a little. There was an A-Class Hunter right beside me and three S-Class Hunters behind me, so someone would help before anything serious happened.
I reached out and stroked the head with its tiny horn buds. It was a little cool and smooth. When I carefully cupped it in both hands, it gently swished its tail and slowly opened its eyes.
Its metallic eyes were dark gray with a tinge of silver. It blinked a few times, then...
- Prrr.
It snorted through its nose and opened its mouth wide in a yawn. Only a red tongue flicked out. It didn’t have any teeth yet. It looked up at me once, shook out its wings, and curled up again in my palms. It was just big enough to fill both hands, with its tail and wings sticking out a little.
It was amazing that something this small would grow large enough to ride.
“It’s asleep again. Our Comet is so cute.”
Kang Soyoung made a huge fuss, saying Comet was so cute that her heart was trembling. I kind of agreed. It was cute.
* * *
Kang Soyoung came along with us to the rearing facility. She wanted to see where Comet would be staying. I was starting to wish Seong Hyeonje would leave, but he didn’t look like he had any intention of doing so. He said that since the guildmasters of Haeyeon Guild and Breaker Guild were busy clearing dungeons, he had to stay behind and take responsibility for me. I could understand MKC, but why was Hanshin being treated as though it didn’t exist?
Kang Soyoung got on her motorcycle and left first. Yerim said she had accumulated a whole stack of speeding tickets. She was an A-Class combat Hunter, so she was unlikely to cause an accident, but she should still obey the law.
Since the two of them seemed closer than expected, I asked about it. Yerim said Moon Hyuna had joined them and they had gone out together a few times. Apparently, they had even gone to an escape room cafe.
“We set the fastest record!”
More like you smashed your way out.
The rearing facility we finally arrived at was a large round building, just like the bird’s-eye view I had seen before. Because the ceiling was so high, it looked like a huge indoor gymnasium from the outside.
A-Class Hunters were stationed at both the entrance connected to the building and the entrance to the main structure. They were from Haeyeon Guild and Sesung respectively. There would also be two more A-Class Hunters and around fifteen B-Class Hunters on guard.
It seemed excessive to use that many mid- to high-grade Hunters just to guard someone else’s building, but apparently many had volunteered due to the Myeongu effect. It was already known that Yu Myeongu would be coming here.
And most of that explanation came from Seong Hyeonje rather than Song Taewon. He was so skillful at cutting Song Taewon off and filling the conversation himself that even I found it irritating. If Song Taewon had been Yoohyun or Moon Hyuna, they probably would have already had a huge fight.
But Song Taewon looked like someone who had spent ten years cultivating himself in the mountains before returning to society. His eyes were fierce, at least.
‘Had it really been Seong Hyeonje who killed Song Taewon?’
Their relationship was nowhere near good, but it didn’t seem bad enough for that. It had only been a rumor, anyway. The official announcement said Song Taewon had died during a dungeon raid.
- Kyaa! Kyaa!
Once we entered the building, we came to a spacious lobby. Blue, who had arrived before us, was fluttering around inside. With the ceiling so high, Blue was flying happily, unlike at home.
A wide place really was better for raising kids. There was also less chance of breaking things.
- Kyaoo!
Blue spotted me and flew over at once. I wanted to hug the little one, whose eyes were shining with delight, but I had the baby dragon in one arm.
“Blue, wait a moment.”
- Kyoo?
“Ms. Kang Soyoung, we can either equip Comet with an item to keep it safe, like Peep, or we can try letting it become friendly with Blue without an item. What would you prefer? It could get hurt without an item.”
Their stat grades would eventually be similar, but Blue was stronger right now. Kang Soyoung looked back and forth between Blue and Comet.
“You said Blue’s stat grade is C-Class, right? Wouldn’t that be all right? That necklace raises its health stat, so at least its health should be similar. If it looks like Comet might be seriously hurt, we can stop them.”
If that was what she wanted. I gently woke Comet and showed it to Blue.
“Blue, this is your new younger sibling. It was only just born, so don’t be rough with it.”
- Kyaa.
Blue tilted its head, then fluttered up to my chest. Apparently startled, the baby dragon raised its head and spread its wings.
- Kyah! Kyah!
- Kyaoo!
Blue cried out loudly, opened its beak wide, grabbed the baby dragon by the wing, and then...
Whoosh!
It threw Comet away. Comet fluttered its wings, which were large for its body, and landed unsteadily on the floor. It cried out as if wronged. Blue looked at it with a strangely proud expression.
- Kyoo!
It puffed out its chest and cried proudly, then didn’t attack again.
Hmm, I wasn’t sure, but it seemed like Blue had accepted Comet?
Footnotes:
[1] The Korean words for delinquency and flight sound the same, which lets Yerim answer the rebuke as a comment on her flying.
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