WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 95: What Was Cut Off (1)

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After Seong Hyeonje left, I had a hard time consoling Noah, who was depressed because he thought he was useless. Technically, I was the one who had pulled Noah out and hired him, so it was my responsibility. I told him that over and over, but his miserable expression would not ease.

Only after I firmly told Noah it was really fine, went on at length about his value, and explained point by point how it was a beneficial deal for me did he finally look convinced.

It really was not a loss for me. If anything, Seong Hyeonje had backed down so readily that it felt suspicious.

‘He’s still an S-Class Hunter. How could he give up that easily?’

Just how incredible was the favor he planned to ask? Still, it was not compulsory. We had only exchanged words without any proof, and he had readily accepted that I would refuse if it was beyond my ability.

So far, the terms were far too favorable to me.

…He was not the kind of person to take a loss. What was he plotting? Could it really be goodwill? Just in case, I checked My Kid’s status window, but Seong Hyeonje’s name was not there.

‘Have I been too prejudiced?’

I did not know. I would be certain once I saw what he asked of me.

More importantly, should I keep it from Yoohyun or voluntarily report it to him? …Why was I even worrying about something like this? I was his older brother. I would not hide it, but there was no reason to report every little thing either.

I would tell him if he asked.

* * *

Yoohyun could not possibly have failed to hear that Seong Hyeonje had visited, but there had been no contact from him by evening. Then again, from afar, it probably looked like Seong Hyeonje had simply delivered a flower basket, exchanged a few words, and quietly left. It would be strange to interrogate me about that.

Instead, I received a pressing call from the Hunter Association. They asked whether it was not about time I started turning out special-skill Awakened, and when I would resume screening non-Awakened people.

I had volunteered for the job, but seeing them so eager to get a free share of the profits did not put me in a good mood.

If those people had managed the Awakening Center conscientiously in the first place, I would not have needed to step in.

‘If Song Taewon is alive, the Association will remain as it is. But I cannot exactly let him die, either.’

Would it not be better if Song Taewon simply swallowed up the Association? Why was an S-Class Hunter employed by the state not the Association president to begin with? Why did that man have no desire for power? Should I try persuading him to take over the Association for the country’s sake?

Aside from that, Yerim told me she was going into a dungeon and reminded me to hold Peace tight. After running hard through an S-Class dungeon with Yoohyun, Peace now had S-Class stats even in juvenile form. With Noah constantly on standby as well, I felt like I truly did not need to worry about my safety anymore.

Grrrr.

Peace made a pleased rumbling sound and rubbed their long body against my leg from head to tail. They seemed very happy Blue was not home. I thought the two had become fairly friendly.

Blue had settled atop the round pergola in the rooftop garden. As Blue grew larger, both the house and the rearing facility had become too cramped, and Blue did not want to come indoors much anymore. We planned to build a separate house in the rooftop garden modeled after a griffon nest. Blue had gathered snapped branches and cushions to make a nest of their own, but it was flimsy enough to blow away in wind and rain.

“Peace, it would be convenient if Blue could shrink like you.”

Unlike Peace, Blue had grown steadily throughout the training period, so Blue apparently could not return to a younger form. Comet was a wyvern species too. Would Comet want to go outside once they grew bigger?

I uploaded a video of the larger Blue acting cute to social media. Once fully grown, Blue would probably want to expand their flying range, and I was already worried. Thanks to the issue of Yoohyun shortening his dungeon-clear time last time, they said laws concerning monster rearing would soon be relaxed. Even so, many people would be concerned about a large monster flying around the city.

Should I make more broadcast appearances and let people know how sweet and gentle our Blue was? I had received plenty of requests to appear.

‘If nothing else works, should I buy land somewhere unpopulated and make something like a ranch?’

A place near the beach might be nice too.

Requests for monster rearing were beginning to come in from overseas, but I had put all of them off for now. Monsters Haeyeon Guild had purchased were also arriving one after another, but I was not in a position to bring them in yet. The unicorns had been registered under the Keyword, so after they and Comet finished their first round of training, I could bring in new ones.

“Peep, do you want a mana stone?”

Peep.

Peep, who had been taking flowers out of the basket on the table one by one and arranging them, gave a short reply. It meant no.

The more I looked, the more their personalities differed enough to make me think they really had split personalities. There was Peep, who loved mana stones and played by chirping and hopping about, and Peep, who did not eat mana stones and was calm and curious. Their personalities aside, why would calm Peep refuse mana stones?

* * *

Myeongu did not appear until quite late at night. Since I had turned off Fear Resistance, I could feel a faint intimidation from the heat radiating off them. It was only heat, but it felt like standing close to a roaring fire. If I faced Ismuar without Fear Resistance, I might find them rather frightening.

“Are you okay? Are you actually resting properly?”

“I’m okay.”

Myeongu scratched the back of their head as they spoke. They said that, but their face could not hide their exhaustion. Their stats had risen, but it was not like this had only been going on for a day or two. It was not something they could keep forcing themselves through.

“What on earth are you making that has you suffering so much? No matter how good the item is, take care of yourself first.”

Clicking my tongue, I opened one of the piled-up restorative tonics and poured it into a cup.

“What I’m making now is more difficult than I expected. I didn’t know it would take this long either.”

“You only just made an S-Class weapon. Are you already trying for SS-Class? If it’s not working, make something easier, raise your proficiency, then try again.”

“Since I started, I have to see it through.”

The way Myeongu smiled made it clear they had no intention of giving up. I had wanted to go to a dungeon together to raise our levels, but at this rate, it would take quite a while. I should have used My Kid’s skill growth on Myeongu. It would have helped raise their proficiency.

“Oh, right. You don’t have any more bracelets like the last one, do you?”

“That?”

Myeongu took five transparent beads, each about the size of a hundred-won coin, from their inventory.

“I made them from scraps left over after carving something down.”

“You carved something down? What?”

“I’ll tell you later. These are similar to the bracelet from last time.”

I only accepted two for now. If they nullified damage, Myeongu should keep some for emergencies too.

[Shalos’s Bead]

This time, it had a proper name. There was no effect description, though.

“Shalos? Is that the name of the material you carved down?”

“Yeah. Something like that. I’m busy, so I’m going.”

Myeongu set down the empty cup and disappeared as if fleeing. It was definitely suspicious. Frowning, I looked down at the bead in my palm. I felt like I had seen something similar somewhere before.

“…Whatever the material was, Myeongu made items like these out of scraps.”

Then what in the world would the main piece become?

‘That Myeongu…’

It was almost becoming frightening. Good items were welcome, but it had not been that long since Myeongu gained the skill. Were they not pushing themselves too hard?

* * *

“Hello, big bro. I’m glad you look healthy.”

The next afternoon, Moon Hyuna visited after finishing a dungeon clear. I had brought Blue indoors because Blue kept trying to play pranks on the people building their house, and I was in the middle of training Blue.

Kyaw! Kyaw!

“Oh, the griffon has grown a lot too. I need to get a baby monster and leave it with you soon. There’s a worldwide shortage because of you, big bro. Nothing comes up at auction. They’re completely dried up!”

I stared blankly at Moon Hyuna as she grumbled. What was going on with her hair? She had shaved about two-thirds of the hair on the right side of her head. The remaining hair on the left had been dyed a reddish dark brown, making the look even more striking.

“Your hairstyle has changed a little…”

“It burned that day. I decided to cut it all off while I was at it.”

Had it burned that badly? Moon Hyuna swept back her falling hair and smiled.

“What do you think? Does it suit me?”

“…It does suit you, but did no one try to stop you?”

“I got plenty of nagging! Especially from older people. They complained a lot, asking whether I was going to show up looking like that and call myself a guildmaster.”

Judging by the way she laughed happily, it was clear she did not care at all about the criticism around her. Still, it was definitely a somewhat problematic look for formal occasions.

It looked cool, though.

…It suited her. Personally, I thought this looked better. She looked cool.

“What is it, big bro? You keep sneaking looks at me. Have you fallen for me?”

“It is worth looking at. And if you really can’t find one, try offering the seller priority in having their monsters raised by me in exchange. I have turned down all the overseas rearing requests that came in recently.”

“Really? Could you keep refusing them for a while longer if possible? I think it would be easier to find one then. There are a few overseas guilds with several high-grade baby monsters.”

“I can’t take any more for a while anyway because I don’t have the capacity. They say Sesung is also very likely to bring out a baby monster from the A-Class dungeon they entered this time.”

It was fortunate enough that the other two guilds had remained quiet.

“Come to think of it, was the S-Class dungeon you just began managing not its first clear? Something good must have come out.”

I casually asked despite already knowing. It should have been the Festival White Whale’s Tear. It was a consumable item that could grant a skill to equipment, and because it was an ice-type skill that did not suit Moon Hyuna, she had put it up for auction. It had caused quite a commotion then. Originally, it had been bought by someone overseas, but Yerim was here now, so I wanted it. Would it not be perfect for the SS-Class Mermaid Queen’s Earrings?

“Of course something good came out! An elixir!”

“…An elixir?”

“Ah, you might not know, big bro. It’s incredibly rare. It’s such a good potion that calling it an extra life would not be an exaggeration. Only two have appeared so far, I think. This is the first one in Korea.”

No, I knew elixirs were rare… Why was it appearing now?

“What about anything else? Something like an item that grants skills, for example.”

“Grants skills? If something like that had appeared, I would have used it already and bragged about it excitedly. An S-Class pair of gloves came out too, but their performance is not that good for the rank.”

…Had it really not appeared? It was not as though only two people had rushed in like Yoohyun. An S-Class new dungeon clear required a long preparation period, so they entered with little time remaining. The conditions should have been the same as before my regression.

In my confusion, I took out my phone and searched through dungeon-clear results from the past month or so. I had looked up a lot of dungeon information when I was desperately trying to find a broker and awaken, but five years had passed, so there was little I remembered. Still, all the few things I did remember matched my memories. America’s White Sancross Shield, the Philippines’ Lullaby-Singing Book, and India’s Wind-Guiding Bow.

All the famous items and equipment had appeared properly, so why had the White Whale’s Tear vanished?

‘Was it because I regressed? Or was there another reason?’

The other three had appeared properly, which made it even more confusing. It would be fine if it was merely coincidence, but… Should I ask the system administrators about this too?

After talking a little more about mounts, Moon Hyuna left. Then I texted Yoohyun.

[I’m going into an F-Class dungeon tomorrow or the day after. With Peace. It isn’t for leveling up.]

[The system?]

His reply came quickly.

[Yeah.]

[I’ll go too.]

Was he not still busy? Even if something happened again, it should be fine as long as I brought one extra Gate Stone for Peace. I had the Shalos’s Bead Myeongu gave me too.

Still, this was a good opportunity to keep the promise to look over his skill. I hoped nothing happened this time.

* * *

Originally, I planned to bid on a suitable F-Class dungeon, but because Yoohyun joined us, our destination changed to a D-Class dungeon managed by Haeyeon Guild. If nothing unusual happened, there would not be much difference between an F-Class and D-Class dungeon anyway.

‘At this rate, my standards will rise for no reason.’

There were too many S-Classes around me. At the rearing facility, I barely saw anyone below high-grade Hunters, so my standards felt like they were becoming distorted. It had been the opposite before.

After soothing Peep, who wanted to come along, I picked up only Peace and headed for the parking lot near the building. I felt sorry leaving Peep behind, but how could I bring that fluffy ball of down that could not even wear a piece of equipment? Should I ask Myeongu whether they could make an item for Peep? First, though, Myeongu needed to finish whatever they were making now.

I almost felt sorry for the Hunters desperate to contact Myeongu. Plenty of people deliberately took security shifts at the rearing facility, but Myeongu never came out.

When I reached the parking lot, Yoohyun, who had been leaning against the car, turned toward me. He was just wearing a white summer shirt and comfortable pants, but he looked like he belonged in a fashion shoot. It was not only because of his S-Class stats. He had been handsome even before Awakening. Since he had been born S-Class, that probably had not had no effect.

“You still look tired, hyung. Are you okay?”

“I did not nap enough. Blue is out in the garden now, so it is fine.”

Once Comet grew too, I would be free… Though there was no way to know when another nocturnal baby monster might appear.

We got into the car and headed toward the dungeon building. Look at Yoohyun not wearing his seatbelt. He should take better care of himself normally. Should not those above set a good example for those below?

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