The S-Classes That I Raised

"The person who came with me said that as long as I hide properly, it should be fine until the sun sets completely."

Song Taewon gently pushed me away from him.

"It seems to have noticed when I broke the bathtub just now."

"So if you use more than a certain amount of power, it detects you?"

"Probably because the mana fluctuated."

"The moonlight started attacking Chief Song specifically."

"It began shortly after I received word that the Sesung Guild had closed."

As the Sesung Guild closed, the moonlight must have abandoned the pre-regression Seong Hyunjae's body. Could it be that the moonlight—Crescent Moon's power—had escaped from the Sesung Guild and was now hunting Song Taewon?

To prevent him from killing Seong Hyunjae?

'If I were in its position, I'd want to eliminate the threat while I still could.'

If Song Taewon disappeared, the possibility of Seong Hyunjae's death would vanish with him. The water soaking my feet gradually turned cold. I grabbed a large towel and handed it to Chief Song.

"The moonlight is definitely targeting Chief Song specifically, right? Did he say the others were safe?"

"Yes. He said it probably doesn't have the power to target anyone else yet. He mentioned he'd explain everything in detail once he reached the hotel..."

Chief Song frowned slightly and studied me.

"Who exactly is that person?"

"You came with him without knowing?"

"He saved me and seemed genuinely worried about Han Yujin. It didn't feel like a lie. And his appearance..."

Song Taewon's words trailed off. He resembled Yuhyun—or rather, Yuhyun resembled him—but they were definitely similar.

"He's Yuhyun's teacher. A very powerful, long-lived person. For now, he's on our side."

How much should I reveal? Since Crescent Moon was directly targeting Chief Song, I should give him as much information as possible. Rookie had mentioned something about information sharing, but Chief Song was the one in immediate danger.

The half-open bathroom door suddenly swung wide.

"Your change of clothes has arrived, young master. Are you busy?"

The butler—no, Seong Hyunjae—appeared in the doorway with fresh clothes draped over his arm. When had he gotten here? Song Taewon examined the clothing carefully.

"So my house was still standing."

"It would be. If it were me handling it, anyway. They said it was kept in perfect condition."

I'd expected as much. Seong Hyunjae, who had arranged for Chief Song's grave in Seoul's National Cemetery, wouldn't have let the empty house deteriorate. He would have claimed it and maintained it exactly as it was when Chief Song was alive—without discarding even the smallest item.

Song Taewon reached out. Seong Hyunjae passed over the clothes with unusual formality. Chief Song turned away with the bundle, and we stepped out of the bathroom.

"Are the children safe?"

"They even raided a convenience store. Dumped a mountain of stuff in the lobby, and when that wasn't enough, they said they still had time and went exploring nearby shops."

They'd apparently developed a taste for looting empty stores. Honestly, it was enjoyable. If I had enough time, I'd want to raid the Hunter Market myself. They wouldn't have S-Rank or higher equipment on display, but there'd be plenty of other expensive items stacked up.

"Doesn't the Sesung Guild have an item warehouse or something?"

"The important stuff is stored in inventory space."

Right. Inventory was a secure vault only accessible to its owner. That's why some Awakened worked as living safes—you could earn rental fees without much effort, just by signing contracts and keeping secrets.

However, since inventory contents vanished if the Awakened died, valuables were rarely entrusted to low-rank Awakened. B-Rank or higher survival-focused defensive classes commanded the highest rates.

"The Old Man—ah, you don't know much about Mr. Seong Hyunjae yet. I'm talking about that red-eyed boy from earlier."

Though the pre-regression Seong Hyunjae had met and even fought with him.

"At first, I thought Han Yujin had finally gotten himself into serious trouble."

"What? Why would I suddenly be in trouble?"

"Because he wanted his little brother from childhood so desperately—"

"No."

What kind of person did he think I was?

"It felt like an S-Rank Awakened, but probably isn't one."

"He's a transcendent being. A very ancient one."

While Seong Hyunjae and I talked, Song Taewon emerged dressed in clean clothes. Yerim had excellent taste. I opened the refrigerator and looked at both men.

"Let's have a conversation. Soda, coffee, fruit juice, water—what would you like to drink?"

I gestured for them to sit and placed drink bottles on the table. What time was it? We still had a while left.

"I'll explain again. I returned to the past from five years in the future. Normally, when someone travels back in time, those past five years would be considered to have never happened. Unfortunately, that's not the case."

I pushed a bottle of orange juice to the center of the table and placed a coffee can beside it.

"Here we have Mr. Seong Hyunjae and Mr. Song Taewon. You two were quite close before I regressed, just like now."

Well, I didn't need to include myself in that relationship.

"But Mr. Song Taewon suddenly died."

Thud—the coffee can toppled over.

"The exact cause was never revealed. There were just suspicions that Mr. Seong Hyunjae had murdered him. I believed it too."

I righted the coffee can and pushed a water bottle between the two drinks.

"Then I regressed. Mr. Song Taewon came back to life. You both probably have a good sense of when I returned to. It was the day I reconciled with Yuhyun, shortly before Yerim awakened. You know what happened after that."

This time I knocked over the orange juice.

"After various events, Mr. Seong Hyunjae's condition deteriorated. Mr. Song Taewon, do you remember asking me to use the Plunder skill to help Mr. Seong °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Hyunjae?"

"Yes."

"And here's where Crescent Moon enters the picture."

I placed a soda can next to the orange juice.

"Crescent Moon—one of the transcendent beings who create and manage dungeons."

I briefly summarized dungeons, destruction, and the administrators again.

"A very long time ago, Crescent Moon became infatuated with a particular human. None other than this orange juice—Mr. Seong Hyunjae."

"Crescent Moon—is it the moonlight that attacked me?"

"Exactly right. Mr. Seong Hyunjae has been dragged through multiple worlds because of Crescent Moon. His memories were erased as worlds continued layering within his body. The reason Mr. Song Taewon feels a particular sense of discord when dealing with Mr. Seong Hyunjae is precisely because of this. He's fundamentally different from ordinary S-Ranks."

Different from S-Ranks, different from natural-born S-Ranks. Seong Hyunjae was simply Seong Hyunjae. Not a transcendent being from the outside—there was no one equal to him in this world.

"You could say Song Taewon was skilled at recognizing monsters."

"What do you mean, monster? Crescent Moon..." ThiscopywasgeneratedfromcontentatMV|LEMPYR.

I hesitated to discuss the Source. What would Chief Song think about this? Knowing him, wouldn't he agree to one person sacrificing themselves to stop the Source?

But he was also someone who couldn't easily sacrifice anyone other than himself. In the dungeon, it had been Song Taewon who died, not Seong Hyunjae. And it would be difficult for Crescent Moon to simply take Seong Hyunjae away without devastating this world. I swallowed hard and continued.

"It's trying to complete Mr. Seong Hyunjae and eliminate the Source. I don't know yet if its purpose is purely to prevent the world's destruction. It might want to become a new god."

"Complete him?"

"Yes. When experiences from all sorts of worlds are fully integrated, Mr. Seong Hyunjae will lose himself and be reborn as a transcendent being stronger than anyone else. The reason he was suffering before was precisely because he was too full of these experiences. Additionally, if Mr. Seong Hyunjae becomes a transcendent being, I don't think his surroundings will remain unaffected."

Song Taewon stared at the orange juice.

"With the Plunder skill, can you ease his burden? Those experiences?"

"Yes. And they even said it could bring an end to Mr. Seong Hyunjae, who has accumulated so much that he's escaped even death. So—"

I moved the coffee can next to the soda and tapped the coffee can against it. The fallen can rolled across the table and dropped to the floor.

"For Crescent Moon, he's an existence that must be eliminated. Mr. Song Taewon."

Brief silence fell. Seong Hyunjae reached out and retrieved the coffee can from the floor.

"It most likely already tried once before the regression."

"Yes. Honestly, I don't think Mr. Seong Hyunjae would have killed Mr. Song Taewon. Either an accident occurred while using the Plunder skill, or Crescent Moon interfered."

And now, with the moonlight pursuing Song Taewon like this, the latter seemed more probable.

"Transcendent beings have memories from before the regression, just like me. The reason Crescent Moon is targeting Mr. Song Taewon now is likely because of that. Fortunately, they have difficulty intervening directly in this world—except inside dungeons. You need to be careful in dungeons."

"It's fortunate Korean dungeons have stabilized. How about retiring this time?"

Chief Song didn't even pretend to acknowledge Seong Hyunjae's suggestion. A shadow crossed his expressionless face.

"I... Mr. Seong Hyunjae."

"Song Taewon is the only person who can kill Seong Hyunjae—that's what it comes down to."

Seong Hyunjae's words were blunt.

Song Taewon covered his face with his hand, shoulders trembling slightly. Had I told him too much at once? Should I have taken it slower? Song Taewon drew a deep breath.

"So what you want from me—no, what I have to do... I..."

Still covering his eyes, Song Taewon continued.

"Am I human?"

"What? Of course you're human."

"Could a person have such unique circumstances attached to them?"

"Well, if you put it that way, there's me too. I also regressed, and I've been in frequent contact with transcendent beings. Plus I've helped ease Mr. Seong Hyunjae's burden."

No response came. Anxiety slowly crept into my stomach. Should I not have said anything? But I couldn't have avoided it either.

"Chief Song."

"I'm fine."

"Damn it, covering your face doesn't make you fine! Your voice doesn't sound okay at all!"

"In the end, nothing changes, so it's fine."

"Chief Song!"

"Han Yujin."

Song Taewon's voice trembled. Seong Hyunjae reached out and gripped my shoulder as if to stop me.

"He needs time to process this."

I couldn't say anything more and hesitated before rising from my seat.

"Please come eat dinner before it gets too late. Please."

"Yes."

I left with Seong Hyunjae. Since we were in the hotel, nothing should happen, but... I pressed the elevator button and sighed.

"I didn't realize he'd be so troubled by that."

The story of my regression had passed without much reaction. Chief Song had calmly verified it against Moon Hyunah's words. He already knew about his own death and Seong Hyunjae's involvement.

He'd struggled with the Awakened Management Office people, but fortunately Ms. Hyunah had handled it well, and there were people alive and waiting outside. So I'd thought there would be no problem discussing Crescent Moon and Seong Hyunjae.

"Song Taewon's existence appeared too perfectly."

Seong Hyunjae spoke as we entered the elevator.

"It's as if he appeared at exactly the right moment, when I had little time remaining."

"It could be coincidence, couldn't it?"

"It could also be fate."

"Are you saying Chief Song isn't an ordinary person?"

"I wonder."

Seong Hyunjae shrugged, indicating he didn't know either.

"But he's human."

His golden eyes curved into crescents.

"Who on earth would look at Song Taewon and claim he's not human?"

"Chief Song himself."

"That's exactly why he's so very human, isn't it?"

The elevator reached the first floor. He kept worrying, trembling, and struggling. But as Seong Hyunjae said, if he were truly a monster, he wouldn't be so concerned.

"You're good with words—why don't you try persuading Chief Song?"

"It's been nearly four years since I've known Mr. Song Taewon."

So it was difficult even on an annual basis. Well, if he'd succeeded in persuading him, the pre-regression ending might have turned out differently. I stepped off the elevator and headed toward the restaurant.

"It was something I couldn't keep hidden, but still—would it have been better to conceal it a little longer?"

"Now that there's a threat is better. He's someone who values duty over his own pain."

So a situation forcing him to act was better than letting him dig himself into a hole back in safe Korea? I'd also had an easier time mentally when my body was constantly in motion—no leisure to dwell on unnecessary thoughts.

I should make sure he had a hearty dinner. Just to be safe, let's prepare the lobster too. No matter how much of an S-Rank he was, it was better to avoid hard-to-digest foods when someone's mind was troubled. Raw food might upset his stomach.

Entering the restaurant, I saw Young Chaos sitting formally on the table while the pre-regression me in the open kitchen kept glancing at him. As soon as he spotted me, he beckoned me over.

"Is he really not related to Yuhyun?"

The other me asked in a low voice as I approached.

"No. The Old Man has lived much longer, so Yuhyun was born to resemble him by chance."

He nodded at my words but never took his eyes off Young Chaos. Seeing his wistful expression, I could clearly read his thoughts. Yuhyun at that age had been truly kind, adorable, and precious.

We both turned to look at Yuhyun, who was setting out tableware.

"How did such a small child grow up to be so big?"

"It's amazing watching children grow."

"There was a time when I used to carry him around."

"I've held Yuhyun even when he was full-grown."

"What?"

The other me looked me up and down skeptically.

"I didn't just hug him—I mean I lifted him up."

"Right, I picked him up. With a heave."

"Does that even make sense? With those arms?"

"It's true. Right, Yuhyun?"

"Yeah, that's right. Besides, Hyung was the only one who ever held me."

Yuhyun replied with a smile that suddenly turned into a slight frown.

"Except for Park Yerim."

That incident seemed to have really bothered him. Right, that was my fault. I should have carried him even if my arm broke. At Yuhyun's words, the pre-regression me pouted.

"It's not like I can't lift him either. I'm probably stronger than you."

"I was C-Rank then, you know."

"As expected."

"What do you mean, 'as expected'? It's possible now too. Hey, I'm a grown man."

"With all your items removed?"

"All removed, of course. Yuhyun, come here."

"No, Hyung. You're injured right now."

My little brother began backing away slowly. He was heavy for his height due to his build and muscle mass, but it wasn't like I couldn't lift him. Come here.

"Do you want to die?"

Young Chaos's voice suddenly cut through our conversation. Wondering what he was talking about, I quickly turned to see Chaos and Seong Hyunjae facing each other. Young Chaos, still sitting formally on the table, tilted his head up slightly and continued.

"If you follow me, I'll kill you."

"Old Man?!"

Why did he keep trying to take him away?

"Why are you trying to kill a perfectly healthy person?!"

"If this guy disappears, Crescent Moon will back off. Chatterbox at least offered to negotiate, but Crescent Moon won't. It's much more dangerous."

"But you're not just taking him with you!"

"Then should I keep a guy like this alive and with me? And have a major battle with the Crescent Moon that would follow?"

"Well, no, but..."

Of course, as Young Chaos said, it would be difficult to face Crescent Moon in addition to Chatterbox. It would be convenient if even one of them backed down on their own, but still.

"I apologize."

Seong Hyunjae said, having listened quietly to our exchange.

"I can't—I have a prior engagement."