S Classes that I Raised 152 I was Assigned (2)
Minyui Kim, the B class hunter of the Haeyeon Guild, was considered as an easy opponent by many. While he had a supporting skill useful enough for a large guild to scout him, a supporter was a supporter, and mid to high-class hunters tended to look down on skill boosts. Many voiced that for hunters to be truly hunters, dungeon conquests and classes should be appropriated by only stats. Many others placed attackers on the top and saw the rest as addendums.
While hunters with evidently low stats and useful high-class skills were actually treated well, that was only because they were not threats to other hunters. Other hunters would be nice to them because they could be easily dominated no matter how useful their skills were.
On the other hand, hunters were offended by those with moderate stats and high-class skills. Since Minyui Kim was one of low stat group, he was ignored by Haeyeon hunters, who were mostly high-class attackers, though Minyui Kim himself was satisfied with his position, saying that it was a safe and cushy job.
“Are his stats actually over A class?”
“I heard that he went against an S class hunter.”
Minyui Kim came into the Haeyeon Guild’s lobby amidst the rapidly spreading rumors. While the security employee held up his hand in greeting, as usual, Minyui Kim did not even glance at him. The employee awkwardly lowered his hand because his cold expression made him look like a completely different person, and others glanced at Minyui Kim’s back as he went straight for the elevator.
“…His aura is like the guild leader.”
“Has he really been hiding his stats? I have never seen him fight since he is a supporter.”
The A class hunter in the security room mumbled. While he had gone on a dungeon conquest with Minyui Kim, supporters mainly received protection from front, and he did not have the chance to check Minyui Kim’s stats directly.
Yoohyun Han, posing as Minyui Kim, walked straight to Simyeong Seok while being the center of attention.
“You have left Mr. Yoojin Han with Sesung?”
Simyeong Seok spoke in surprise after dismissing others.
“It would be more convenient for my brother.”
Yoohyun Han barely managed to speak indifferently. To be more specific, Hyunjae Sung was someone Yoojin Han did not need to feel burdened by since he did not have to take care of him and would not be all that sorry to put in danger. He was definitely not a young kid Yoojin Han wanted to embrace and protect even if it meant cutting his flesh.
“Rumors have spread about Hunter Minyui Kim by now.”
Yoohyun Han forcibly pushed away thoughts about his older brother and changed the subject.
“Please let it be secretly known that Minyui Kim wants to be treated in a way that someone with his abilities deserves to be, so that someone will take the bait.”
“Will it be from the people who have targeted Mr. Yoojin Han?”
While the Dongju Lottery Guild had hired the truck driver, the perpetrator who had commissioned the guild had not been revealed yet. While the Hunter Association had been suspected, they had not been the culprit.
“Since Mr. Yoojin Han is under the protection of Hunter Minyui Kim, they will approach him if they decide that Minyui Kim wants to get out of Haeyeon. It’s a nice opportunity since our guild leader is officially absent.”
Simyeong Seok nodded slightly and went on speaking.
“Since Minyui Kim had indeed been looked down on by other attackers because of his support role, we need to play that angle while also stressing the neglect the supporters suffer.”
“While the Sesung guild leader might overhear, please be careful not to let hyung know of this. He will try to involve himself though any way possible.”
Yoohyun Han could already see Yoojin say that things would go down much easier if he also played bait.
“While things will go more smoothly if Mr. Yoojin Han helped…he does need some rest.”
Simyeong Seok changed his words despite being sorry for it. While Yoojin Han would make things more convenient for them, the guild leader would never accept that after leaving him with Sesung. They finished discussions, and Yoohyun Han went to Yoojin’s house. He heard TV noises in an empty house and remembered his brother saying that he had a monster who turned on the TV to watch it by itself.
-Peep!
A white baby bird sitting in the middle of the sofa made sounds when it saw Yoohyun Han, and the baby dragon dozing hanging from artificial vines from the ceiling fluttered its wings. Yoohyun Han lightly grabbed Comet.
While the baby dragon writhed and bit the hand that grabbed it, the dragon could only make some teeth marks. Yoohyun also grabbed the chick and looked around the living room. He needed to leave the baby dragon in the breeding facility and bring the baby bird to Sesung. Was there anything else to take care of?
‘…Sesung would take care of most things.’
While that had been the reason Yoohyun had asked them, that fact was what bothered him even more. Yoohyun Han sat on the sofa, and Comet calmed down as if it caught Yoohyun’s mood. On the other hand, the baby bird still peeped sitting on Yoohyun’s palm.
Yoohyun thought about the monster breeding skill and the breeder title. He knew about the breeder title, and relevant information was easy to get since the title was a relatively common one for breeders above awakened C class. It was a title that gave minor growth boosts for a short time. While the growth stats and applied time increased by class, the best effect known at present was not all that valuable.
However, Yoojin Han may be a different story. Yoohyun Han knew that he was different from other people, and this difference became more explicit when he met Hyunjae Sung after being awakened. They looked like human beings but had a completely different capacity. Yoohyun Han thought that Yoojin Han gained that kind of breeding skill due to raising him, as he had already raised something inhuman instead of what an ordinary breeder would nurture.
‘However, he tries to embrace humans.’
Yoojin tried to take care of Yerim Park, Noah, and himself. Even if he could see why Yoojin wanted to take care of Yerim, he was much too affectionate to Noah. While Yoohyun knew the skill to be for monsters, maybe it went for humans too. Or perhaps Noah was recognized as a monster because he was a dragon.
No matter the reason, Yoohyun wanted to remove all of them from Yoojin’s sight.
Yoohyun Han coldly stared at the two monsters he held in his hands and stood up. While he wanted to remove all of them for Yoojin, his only family, was why he could not do so yet.
***
Someone came to prescribe me glasses and lenses, and while the thought of putting something in my eyes bothered me, I decided to try on lenses since glasses might break again.
“I understand that you and Yoohyun have an agreement of sorts.”
I spoke with irritation as I lifted a lens on the tip of my finger. Yoohyun had said that Sesung was a place I could go to before, and the two had tried to take MKC. Yoohyun could trust him to an extent since they would have formed a relationship during the past three years, but I hated the idea anyway.
“He was angry at me going through all that when I went to your house alone recently. Why did he leave me here all of a sudden?”
He went after leaving the chick to a Sesung guild member. I watched the chick move around the table and turned my gaze to Hyunjae Sung, whose face I could not see well because I was not wearing my lenses yet.
“Trust is the most important thing in transactions.”
Hyunjae Sung spoke as he held out a mirror in front of me. I was told that the lenses could be lightly pushed in, but my eyes closed instinctively, and I flinched even when I used my other hand to keep the eye open.
“Since Yoohyun and I have dealt with each other for a long time, we at least trust that the other will uphold what is written down in a contract.”
My intestines churned at Hyunjae Sung saying the word trust. Yoohyun had not trusted me to that extent and instead worried, probably because of my low stats.
“Also, I had helped out Yoohyun in various ways.”
“You had helped him?”
“He was at the age where being independent would cause problems, and I thought he would be more interesting if I helped him grow faster.”
Hyunjae Sung mentioned that he had removed some weeds for Yoohyun.
“Of course, Yoohyun was annoyed and tried to pay back whenever he noticed, and he succeeded in that. He is cute.”
“You’re saying that there’s still some leftover which Yoohyun didn’t catch. I’ll pay the debt back for him.”
Since Hyunjae Sung would exploit such favors, I should not leave them ignored.
“Yoohyun would not like it.”
“He would have been a minor at that time, and I was his guardian. So, it’s right for me to pay you back. Don’t think about bringing up the past to Yoohyun.”
I blinked as I put in a lens and felt upset that I had not done anything despite being an older brother and a guardian.
“You haven’t led him down the wrong path, right?”
“I did not need to.”
Hyunjae Sung’s answer irritated me, and he held out two books. They were A Guide for Parents for Raising Kids in the Right Way and How to Escape from the Empty Nest Syndrome. What was this?
“Reading is good for calming one’s mind.”
“What’s with the choices?”
Can he not give me self-development books, novels, or poetry? I picked the guide and thought about when I could leave. What was Yoohyun trying to do? Take me home. I want to escape.
‘I could get out of here if I used a stealth skill.”
Of course, the skill would not work for an S class hunter like Hyunjae Sung. I could get out if only he would leave, and I looked up at him while turning the pages of the book.
“Are you going to stay there all day? You’re too idle for a guild leader.”
“That guild leader is officially conquering a dungeon right now. What would you have for lunch? Say anything you want to eat.”
“I want to eat the rice cakes on a skewer that was sold at a snack bar in front of my elementary school. It closed ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry to say that time is too short to prepare it for lunch, but it will be ready for dinner.”
The guy was crazy.
“It’s alright. Don’t think about bothering innocents.”
He really did say anything, so maybe I should have requested raw fish caught by the Sesung Guild Leader. While I did not like raw fish much, I could escape while he went fishing. Of course, Hyunjae Sung would deny such an obvious request saying things about dungeon conquests.
Since the Sesung Guild Leader was much too idle, he took me here and there, and I saw how many convenient facilities the Sesung Building had as a result. What would I do with such knowledge?
High-class hunters found using outside facilities inconvenient, as they could not even cut their hair easily due to the difference in physical durability. While their hair was not hard as metal wires, it took more force to cut, so there was a specialized hair salon since they could not dye or curl their hair in the normal way.
I had heard that Yoohyun could not take care of his hair until he could control his fire resistance skills. Since his body was fireproof, he could not even straighten his slightly curly hair.
“Is it all right to go around like this?”
“I can control what goes out of this building, so don’t worry.”
I thought that over since many eyes watched us, but I did not need to worry about that. There was already a breeding area for Comet in preparation for its growth. It was wide enough for a fully grown female Thorn-Winged dragon to reside comfortably, and one entire side of it consisted of a window that could be opened for Comet to fly out.
Hyunjae Sung told me that moderate exercise was a must for health, and he found me a trainer and made me receive a simple physical check-up. I refused with all my heart at his offer of a specific examination, but they took my blood sample.
“I’m all right. You know I’m not that old.”
I had no health troubles until I was thirty, except for some physical injuries. To my surprise, the skewered rice cakes came out with other dishes for dinner.
“…You didn’t actually search the owner of that snack bar to make this, right?”
“Fortunately, the couple was still in good health.”
Hyunjae Sung spoke after taking a picture as evidence of me eating well, which he, then, sent to Yoohyun as promised. It was good to know that they were healthy, but…
“Why do all this when you know that I had not meant it literally.”
“There’s no reason not to do something I can. It wasn’t that difficult. Brighten up. He might renounce my contract.”
I did not care whether that happened, but I could not let Yoohyun worry. I fed the chick magic stones as I tried to compose my face. Could the chick not transport me with it? I hoped it might try.
“Is there any news regarding my brother?”
“I decided not to say a word regarding work.”
“I will have an upset stomach from curiosity and worry.”
“I’ll prepare some digestive medicine.”
“Let me at least phone him.”
I had my phone taken away from me when I tried to call Noah and Myeongwoo. I felt like I was in prison, and barely managed to get my phone back after complaining about being suffocated in here. Yoohyun took my call.
“Yoohyun, can’t you send me home if I promise to stay still? I’ll rest and postpone Noah’s affair as much as possible.”
[No. Stay there for a little while more.]
“Hey! You’re not trying to pull a dangerous stunt, right?”
My brother laughed softly at my question.
[Don’t worry, nothing endangers me outside a dungeon.]
That was true, as Yoohyun could not be harmed unless hunters at the level of Hyunjae Sung and Riette tried. While two others were born S class, they will not pop up without prior notice, and even if they did, Yoohyun would be able to protect himself.
“Don’t do anything foolish and eat well. Go home early. Are you outside?”
[Yes, I’ll go home soon.]
“All right. Get me out of here as fast as you can.”
[If you manage to behave yourself.]
Is that how you speak to your older brother? However, his voice comforted me, and Hyunjae Sung took my phone away after our conversation ended.
“Today’s schedule ends after a light walk, washing up, and making sure you sleep. He asked me that you should sleep before eleven, do you need a lullaby?”
“No.”
That was something that would keep me awake, and an uninvited visitor came that night.