WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 99: Traditional Play (3)

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“The lake before us covers 9.3 km² and has a maximum depth of 25 meters. It is a freshwater lake, and its representative inhabitant is Abus, a Grade 3 freshwater salamander species. Its sticky brown skin, speckled with red, resembles that of a poison dragon species, but it is actually extremely vulnerable to poison. You could call it a form of camouflage.”

The tour guide explained.

The lake, nestled against a small mountain, was picturesque. With a fairly intact castle thrown in, it felt less like a dungeon and more like a European vacation spot.

“They even measured the lake’s area and depth. Sudam must have a lot of free time.”

“I just made it up.”

“And you still expect a tip?”

“What a demanding tourist. Is this the hardship of working in the service industry?”

“Hearing such nonsense makes me want to become the worst customer possible. Give me the Sesung customer service number.”

“You’re connected. How may I help you, customer?”

Here I was exchanging utterly worthless nonsense with a man decked out in labels proclaiming how absurdly amazing he was. I really had lived long enough to see it.

Not that I had lived that long.

“Will anything really show up? We’re leaving such an obvious opening. Unless they’re idiots, won’t they notice?”

I looked at the tower that rose particularly high in the middle of the castle. We weren’t really going to end this with nothing but sightseeing, were we?

“Of course they noticed. But neither side knows the other’s hand. If they think they have the advantage, they’ll attack. Otherwise, they’ll let it pass. The Gate should be deactivating soon, so we’ll know shortly.”

Seong Hyeonje spoke as he took a pocket watch from his inventory and checked it. It was not a dungeon item, but a watch specially made from dungeon byproducts so it could be stored in an inventory. That was a Vacheron Hunter Collection watch, numbered up to nine.

“The bait they’re dangling is attractive enough that Hunters would find it hard to refuse. If we came to the right place, they’ll jump in even if it means taking some risks.”

Attractive bait. If they were similar to the system creators, perhaps it was information of some sort. Plenty of Hunters would drool over merely being told how to acquire a good item or title.

“So did the Sesung Guildmaster accept that bait too?”

“There was no reason to refuse something offered freely.”

“It probably wasn’t free.”

“That’s the strange part.”

Seong Hyeonje tilted his head. It was an expression that said even he had no idea, which did not suit him at all.

“So far, it had been more or less a relationship where I only took what they gave, so I thought it would last another four or five years. Then their attitude suddenly changed. I was beginning to tire of it too, so it isn’t necessarily bad, but... Was I really that careless?”

It was vague, but it sounded like Seong Hyeonje had intended to get what he could from some cult or another before ditching them. But they had gotten hold of him earlier than expected.

Wait.

‘...The system creators remembered the world before my regression.’

Then that cult might know future information too. Including the fact that Seong Hyeonje would betray them. He said the relationship would have lasted four or five years, so perhaps that was exactly when he disappeared after betraying them.

‘Is that why they changed their attitude now that I returned to the past and want to get rid of Seong Hyeonje?’

I felt a little guilty. If not for me, he probably wouldn’t have been exposed. But if the cult hadn’t shown suspicious signs, Seong Hyeonje would have kept quiet around me too. He would have casually claimed not to know anything and moved on.

“Mr. Han Yujin!”

Noah, who had gone off to hunt monsters, flew rapidly toward us. He descended straight toward me, and I braced for the gust of wind, but he changed back into human form from about five meters up and landed lightly.

At first, he had trouble keeping his balance immediately after ending his beast transformation. Now, switching forms came naturally to him. Good job.

“People are coming this way.”

“How many? Did you recognize anyone?”

“Seventeen. The man we encountered before entering the dungeon was among them. So was the MKC Guildmaster.”

Yoon Gyeongsu of Sudam and Choi Seokwon of MKC. That made two S-Classes, at least.

I looked to Seong Hyeonje, asking what he intended to do. He met my gaze and curved his eyes.

“A tour route feels incomplete without some peddlers. Only two S-Class natural latex mattresses remain.”

“You said there were no options. I’m not buying latex.”

“You could at least get a souvenir for your younger brother.”

“Our Yoohyun doesn’t use mystery tourist-attraction add-ons.”

Though I would buy gifts if I were actually traveling. Amid all the tension-free nonsense, Noah alone looked anxiously back and forth between me and the far side of the meadow.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to move somewhere safe, Mr. Yujin?”

“Being separated would be more dangerous. Seventeen might not be all of them.”

Shalos’s Bead only nullified damage. It did not stop someone from touching me. Otherwise, I couldn’t use my sharing skill.

In other words, if I stood off alone, I would be no different from a gift box wrapped up for easy carrying.

Besides, I needed to be nearby to share the doubling skill if necessary. Could I use Our Kid Is the Best on Noah too? There were eighteen people besides Noah and me, so it would add 18%. That was an awkward number to embarrass myself over. If they were going to come, they should have brought a full hundred. Then Seong Hyeonje could double his attack skills, Noah could double everything, and we could have a fun party.

The entry limit made that impossible, though.

“Still, if things look like we should run, please take care of it, Noah. You can leave that man behind.”

“Yes. Leave it to me.”

Noah nodded and transformed back into a dragon. Then he moved up so close to my side that he was nearly pressed against me. He looked ready to grab me and flee rather than let me ride him if something happened.

“Leaving me behind is rather harsh, isn’t it?”

“It means I trust you that much. I firmly believe you’d return alive even if we tied up your hands and feet and rolled you into a fire pit. Fighting.”

It wasn’t a joke. He really would come back unharmed.

By then, I could see the approaching people too. As Noah said, there were seventeen in all, with Choi Seokwon and Yoon Gyeongsu at the front.

I wanted to use Sprout.

‘That man bothers me.’

It was the same in front of other S-Classes, but something about Seong Hyeonje made my instincts warn me that he was especially dangerous. The man in a white coat gently set his picnic basket on the ground and watched the group of Hunters with eyes carrying a hint of boredom.

As if they were more disappointing than expected.

“You seem to find that lot easy enough.”

“I had hoped they might have drawn in the young master. Just a little. That would have been truly entertaining.”

Why was Yoohyun coming up here?

“You said Haeyeon Guild definitely wasn’t involved.”

“That is true, but with Han Yujin here, they might have had room to persuade him temporarily. Were they not capable enough? If this is all they have, it is almost insulting.”

With an irritating degree of confidence, Seong Hyeonje took a couple of steps forward. We were standing atop a slightly raised hill to look at the lake, so we had the higher position. It made his gaze down at the cautious group seem even more arrogant.

Choi Seokwon and Yoon Gyeongsu’s group stopped about fifty meters away. Then Choi Seokwon took something from the inventory.

At the sight of a fist-sized blue crystal sphere, Noah spread one wing and half-covered me.

I couldn’t see well.

More importantly, that man, Seong Hyeonje, really had no intention of defending himself. He was going to get himself killed by being careless like that.

Crack!

The crystal sphere fractured, then shattered completely. A strange wave spread wide and fast before disappearing. It didn’t seem to affect me. What was that?

“An electric-attribute sealing item. I didn’t know such a thing existed.”

Seong Hyeonje muttered quietly.

Electric attribute? He probably meant electricity. I had never heard of an attribute-sealing item before.

“Come down, Seong Hyeonje! Or are you going to run?”

Choi Seokwon shouted boldly.

“Should I share a skill with you?”

“You shouldn’t start losing faith already. Besides, hadn’t I decided to be a good adult today? I’ll take care of minor trouble myself, like an adult.”

Seong Hyeonje turned and smiled at me.

“And I’ll teach you something even better. Especially for Han Yujin alone.”

“I don’t need it.”

“Really? Once you know, you may want to cling to me instead. Use that sensation-sharing skill.”

Uneasily, I used the teacher skill. Surely he wouldn’t refuse at a time like this.

Seong Hyeonje turned around. He walked toward the Hunters, who had finished preparing as if for a boss monster raid, with the light steps of someone out for a stroll.

Even with only one attribute sealed, the penalty should have been considerable. Yet he remained completely relaxed.

Rattle.

The Noble Seeker’s Chain, glowing with a duller light than before, coiled around him like a swimming snake.

After a brief silence.

Thump!

Choi Seokwon moved first. Their foot slammed powerfully into the ground. The body of an S-Class combat Hunter, already powerful to begin with and enhanced to the limit with buffs, charged forward like a tank.

It was an incredible speed I wouldn’t even have sensed without Seong Hyeonje’s sensations.

‘...Insane.’

I knew for certain.

And a step ahead of everyone else.

I knew how Choi Seokwon would rush in, which direction they would attack from, and what method they would use.

More clearly even than through the teacher skill’s sensation-sharing.

It was a form of precognition.

A combat precognition skill Seong Hyeonje possessed, allowing him to sense an opponent’s attacks before they came.

Seong Hyeonje deliberately dodged the fist charged with sharp blue mana by the narrowest margin. His hair stirred slightly in the blast of wind, and as the earth crushed beneath Choi Seokwon’s toes burst upward, the Seeker’s Chain burrowed into the ground out of everyone’s sight.

Kra-boom! Boom!

Attacks carrying terrifying power in every blow poured toward Seong Hyeonje like a storm. He continued dodging every attack by a hair’s breadth.

To someone who didn’t know better, Choi Seokwon would seem to have the upper hand. Seong Hyeonje was unable to properly counterattack with his attribute sealed and could only scramble away.

‘...That foul-tempered bastard really is.’

In truth, Seong Hyeonje was playing with Choi Seokwon. Even while dodging, he didn’t widen the distance, tying up the hands of the A-Class Hunters who likely had ranged skills. There was no opening for them to interfere.

A precognition-type skill? Was that not completely broken?

And even more incredible was this.

‘It’s a sensation skill... so it can be shared with the teacher skill...’

It was possible.

Just like I was doing now.

Holy shit. That was insane.

His confident voice, saying I might want to cling to him once I knew, echoed in my ears.

It really was incredible, you bastard.

‘That skill must be a major reason Seong Hyeonje stayed fixed at number one in the rankings.’

That meant his precognition could be shared with other people too.

A chill ran down my spine.

S-Class Hunters who worked in perfect harmony and had combat precognition. Add suitable mounts to the mix, and would there be any dungeon they couldn’t clear no matter how high the difficulty became? S-Class dungeons cleared in a single day...

Fuck, what should I do? It was so good. God, why did it have to be this man? I wanted to rip that skill away and give it to Yoohyun.

Boom! Kra-boom!

The ground beneath Choi Seokwon and below their missed attacks split apart as though an earthquake had struck. I could feel the tremors all the way here, enough to make me think we should move away.

Yoon Gyeongsu, who had been keeping watch on Noah and me, raised a long saber as he prepared to join in.

Then,

“Aaagh!”

“Urk!”

Screams rose from the back of the Hunter group.

The healer and the buff-support Hunters.

Chains pierced through their chests, spraying blood before vanishing back into the ground.

“What...”

Choi Seokwon felt the buffs disappear and looked startled. But before they could even hesitate, Seong Hyeonje’s hand seized their weakened wrist.

Crunch!

Even without buffs, it was the arm of an S-Class Hunter suited to close combat. Yet Seong Hyeonje lightly twisted and broke it, then smoothly followed through with a kick to Choi Seokwon’s abdomen that sent them flying backward.

“Ghk!”

Choi Seokwon landed properly despite staggering slightly, then quickly reset their dislocated arm. Seong Hyeonje did not continue his attack. Instead, he turned his head toward Yoon Gyeongsu.

“If this is all, I am disappointed.”

Rattle.

The Seeker’s Chain rose from the ground, one end curling around its owner’s wrist. I knew the Seeker’s Chain could move somewhat on its own, but I hadn’t realized it could show such power from that far away. The healers and support types would be weak, but even counting equipment, they should have had stats of at least B-Class.

‘Disappointed, my ass. You’re the broken one here.’

What were they supposed to do when their attacks couldn’t even land? He efficiently deflected everything, too, so there wasn’t even an opening created while he dodged. Unless it was a hard-to-avoid area attack, a precognition skill was a complete counter to close-combat fighters.

...Though he would probably notice an area attack beforehand and run away.

Yerim could still hold Seong Hyeonje down to some degree. If Yerim, at the same level, had been there instead of Yoon Gyeongsu, even Seong Hyeonje would have had some trouble. But as things stood, they were doomed.

“I do not recommend attacking together. It is not easy for two S-Classes to coordinate.”

As he said that, he looked up at me.

His eyes asked what I thought, so I raised my middle finger.

Your skill is amazing, but you are annoying.

“After giving you this much, you ought to be tempted to come over.”

I was already troubled enough, so shut up. If the teacher skill could be used over an extremely long distance outside a dungeon, then holy shit, no. Better not think about it.

I hadn’t checked, but its range probably wasn’t that broad. I was certain I needed to see the target to use it.

Ah, why was that man...

Oh.

“Noah!”

Seong Hyeonje shouted too, having sensed the same thing I had.

But it was already too late.

Thud!

The dragon, far larger than any human, took a powerful hit and tumbled across the ground.

Grrrr!

Noah dug his claws into the ground and stopped himself, baring his teeth. But his fierce momentum quickly died away.

Deep fear filled his pale gray eyes.

“Hello, darling~”

A woman wrapped an arm around my neck from behind and greeted me in a cheerful voice.

“...Riette.”

Why were you here?

I had expected her to be angry because of Noah, but surprisingly, Riette acted as though she had completely forgotten what happened then.

“Hello to the Sesung Guildmaster too, and hello, Pebble~”

“I did not expect Miss Riette to interfere. This is truly unexpected.”

Seong Hyeonje spoke without hiding his surprise.

Seriously, this was unexpected.

“What are you doing here? You’re not on their side, are you?”

Riette’s brow narrowed slightly at my question.

Of course, I couldn’t see it with my own eyes. I was seeing through Seong Hyeonje.

“Rather than being on their side, some obnoxious bastard ordered me to kill Seong Hyeonje and kidnap you... I suppose I followed it without realizing? But when I hugged you, my head cleared up! How strange. You still smell nice.”

Riette laughed and rubbed her cheek against my head.

An order, and her head clearing up. Was it a curse or brainwashing? But it worked on Riette?

It was strange, but that wasn’t what mattered right now.

“If you’re fine now, that means you won’t keep working with them, right?”

“Of course I won’t follow any orders!”

Just as I was about to relax,

“But how could I just pass by when such a fun scene has been set up? Right, darling?”

Riette beamed, her golden eyes gleaming.

Her body swelled in an instant, and in place of the arm around my neck, a huge hand gripped my body. I turned my head, and black scales filled my vision.

A jet-black dragon tinged with red.

It had sturdy four legs, a thick tail, and a large head bristling with terrifying horns. As if that weren’t enough, spear-like spines rose along its back with a harsh scraping sound.

Scrrrape.

It had no wings.

But it was several times larger than Noah. Its entire body had taken on a violent form, as though there were nowhere safe to touch it.

It was the ferocious, brutal appearance of a perfect cursed poison dragon.

“You said you were twins!”

I had expected something like inverted colors, but they were practically different species!

At my aggrieved shout, the black dragon, Riette, bared blade-like teeth in a smile.

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