The S-Classes That I Raised

Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson open up about how their bond began

"Please explain in more detail. No, just connect me to the Amaterasu Guild and Tokyo."

I'm worried about Myungwoo and the kids. Even if they can escape to the forge, if monsters attack suddenly, it'll be hard to respond quickly. Myungwoo doesn't have much real combat experience, after all. And I left Chirp and Belare with him, so he wouldn't have tried to run alone either.

Maybe I should've insisted we do more dungeon raids for the experience. I hope they're okay. If those guild bastards didn't do their job protecting the guests, I'll personally drown them all in the Pacific Ocean.

"Um... We can't get in touch."

"Excuse me? Don't you have cell phones?"

"The communication base station was destroyed."

Damn it. Well, I guess it's hard to stay intact with all this chaos.

"Is radio out too? What about satellite phones?"

It took three hours by helicopter from Tokyo to here. Even with Noah's help, it'll take about the same.

It's not a long time, but I'm still anxious. It might all be a wasted trip, so I should confirm first before moving.

"Well, we have the equipment, but the battery..."

"Seong Hyunjae!"

I quickly turned to Seong Hyunjae.

"If I ever get stranded on a deserted island, I've always hoped it would be with my partner! Electricity is the best!"

"Hyung! What about me!"

"Mister, drinking water is essential!"

"I can get you out immediately!"

"Huh? Why would you all want to follow me to a deserted island? Just stay home and enjoy the AC. Same goes for you, Noah."

Why go looking for trouble? Not that I meant it seriously anyway. I took a satellite phone from a Japanese Hunter and politely handed it to Seong Hyunjae.

"This is the only one, so please take care not to damage it."

"I thought I told you it wouldn't be easy."

"But I didn't say it was impossible. Guild Leader Seoseong should check if his household is doing well too."

Just once, our wonderful Seong Hyunjae! This benefits everyone, doesn't it?

Seong Hyunjae accepted the satellite phone and checked the battery specifications. Then he began recharging it, carefully controlling his magic. Honestly, his skills really are impressive.

While he charged it, we got an explanation of the situation from the Japanese guard.

"So the monsters suddenly appeared around 10 a.m. today?"

"Y-Yes. We tried to keep contacting the Amaterasu Guild, but we didn't get a detailed explanation. They mentioned that even SS-rank monsters had shown up and that they were trying to divert the monsters' path toward the sea."

Surely they're not trying to send them toward our country. He said they'd used up the satellite phone battery while running and calling for help. So now they were holding out with barricades and trenches set up in a relatively visible area.

'How many hours did it take to get out of the Black Ox Forest Dungeon again? Around 10 a.m. would've been right around when that damn jellyfish showed up.'

It's probably because of that, damn jellyfish bastard.

"Have new monsters continued to appear since then?"

"It's not certain, but... I heard that monsters haven't reappeared in areas where they were lured away."

Looks like the new barrier Changeling set up worked. Thank goodness it ended with just one wave. If not, we wouldn't have even had a chance to react before the world went under. Japan already seems half-destroyed anyway.

Once the battery was sufficiently charged, Seong Hyunjae handed the satellite phone to me.

After expressing my immense, sincere gratitude, I got the number for the Amaterasu Guild and made the call. At first, the Amaterasu Guild member was indifferent, but they panicked once I identified myself.

[Yes! Hunter Yu Myungwoo is safe. Most of the monsters have been driven outside Tokyo.]

Driven off, not eliminated, huh. Then what about the people outside the capital? They're not planning to just push them all out of Japan and call it a day, are they?

"You're obviously driving the monsters toward the Pacific Ocean, right?"

"Uh... depending on the situation..."

These guys, seriously. What kind of vague answer is that?

"Please connect me to the Korean Awakened Management Office. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety."

Before long, the call was connected to Korea, and I heard the stiff voice of Chief Song Taewon. Just hearing it brought the image of his tired face to mind.

"Chief Song! It's been a long time!"

[...You contacted us just before entering the dungeon to confirm things.]

"Two days is long, come on."

It felt more like two weeks.

"How's the situation in Korea? Is everyone safe?"

[I can't say much over the phone, so I'll only tell you what's already been made public. The monsters that appeared domestically were mostly B-rank and were quickly dealt with. There were damages, but relatively minor given the suddenness of the incident.]

"That's really a relief."

[Blue played a particularly big role. Her hunting speed was incredible.]

Sounds like our Blue had a blast. If they were average B-rank monsters, she probably treated them like toys. With her amazing flight speed, she could hunt monsters faster than any S-rank Hunter in Korea.

[There were no damages to the Breeding Facility or Haeyeon Guild.]

"Oh, by the way, did you bring the lamb with you? Isn't it cute?"

[...]

"Chief Song?"

[A notable incident involved Hunter Liette and Hunter Kang Soyeong... who trampled over the ○○○ building and the surrounding area.]

His voice carried the tone of someone unsure how to explain it. Trampled, huh. Did they turn into dragons and dance or something?

[There were no casualties as the evacuation had been completed, but due to excessive response, we were planning to hold the Breaker Guild and Sesung Guild accountable. However, Hunter Kang Soyeong claimed that she instigated it and told us to bill only the Sesung Guild. She said our guild leader would be fine with it.]

"Ah..."

I don't know the truth, but Soyeong really is a good person. Since Moon Hyunah was the one who temporarily brought Liette in, she should take responsibility. Making a mistake like this right when they're trying to go independent is obviously not ideal. Still, for Sesung to take the entire blame...

Assuming Seong Hyunjae had heard everything, I glanced at him. He gave a helpless shrug.

"Our Soyeong believes in me a bit too much."

"She said she trusts the Sesung Guild Leader's face and ability completely. Said the rest should be thrown in the recycling bin."

Yerim said. Face included, huh. Well, that's understandable.

"Chief Song, how's the coastline? I mean the east coast. I'm sure you're also worried about the west coast, but..."

After a brief silence, Song Taewon replied.

[Depending on the situation, we are planning to issue an evacuation order for the entire east coast.]

That alone told me what they thought of Japan. They must be expecting that Japan can't properly handle the flood of monsters and that they'll cross over to Korea.

A sigh escaped me. Given that the west coast wasn't mentioned, the monsters appearing in Japan must be unusually high-ranked. I can't just leave it alone... what a pain. Of course, I'm not going to work for free.

"I was originally planning to return home right away, but I'll have to stay an extra day."

[The Hunter Association would prefer if at least Hunter Han Yujin and Hunter Yu Myungwoo returned first. Not by plane, since it's too dangerous—by ship, under the protection of Hunter Park Yerim.]

"Ah, I developed a fear of ships from the last cruise explosion incident. I also have a seawater allergy. Then, Chief Song, please be sure to pass my regards to our baby lamb. Please. And buy it some snacks. You can charge the snack costs to the breeding facility. You can even charge the transportation costs. Take a taxi, it's my request. Should I bring back a souvenir? How about some S-rank wire?"

[...I hope you return safely.]

"Have you thought of a name for the lamb? If nothing comes to mind, I can—Chief Song? Chief Song?"

Whew, he hung up on me coldly. Must be busy. Of course he is.

After finishing the call, I looked around at the group. Even if I didn't say anything, they must've all heard it.

"Let's head straight to Tokyo. Anyone want to return first?"

"I'm worried about the kids, but wouldn't the ship take forever? And ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) looks like flights aren't happening either. Hyung, let's go quickly, please."

Moon Hyunah said, looking concerned. Song Taewon had said there weren't any major damages, but she still seemed uneasy. The Liette situation, too.

Since we couldn't use cars, trains, or helicopters, we split up between Peace and Noah. Thankfully, Peace had just gained a flight skill.

The Japanese Hunters also wanted to come with us, but there was no helping it. I told them to hide well—it wouldn't take long to clean up the monsters.

"Mister, there's a monster swarm over there."

While flying toward Tokyo, Yerim pointed down. A group of monsters was running along the road. There had been dungeon breaks before, but the scene still gave me an eerie feeling.

A giant snake climbing up an old apartment, a beast chewing on a bus like a toy, and a black unicorn thundering down a ruined market street with heavy hooves. It all felt strangely surreal.

Even though we were flying high in the sky, not all the monsters ignored us. A few flying-type monsters emerged from the clouds, snapping their beaks and baring their fangs. Of course, they soon either burned black or froze solid and plummeted to the ground.

With a loud rumble, lightning struck, and yet another massive bird monster crashed downward. So far, only A-rank and below had appeared. Still, even those were terrifying threats outside of a dungeon. We're just used to being surrounded by S-ranks—it's not normal.

Following the tracks leading to Tokyo, we flew along as I calmly checked my inventory again.

'Thankfully, looks like we can handle this easily.'

As long as I negotiate the rewards well, we'll be good. My inventory was full, but unfortunately there weren't many weapons or gear. I'd handed most of them over to Sigma.

Since Sigma's inventory wasn't completely empty, I'd taken a few items back due to space issues, but they weren't anything special.

'The Wildcat Series was all from the newbie, except the shoes. I wonder if they'll try to take it back.'

They were items that were great regardless of stats, so it was hard to part with them. A gun that dealt S-rank or higher damage if you just poured in enough mana, a jacket that added stealth effects, shoes that let you walk on walls like flat ground—every one of them was extremely useful. Not to mention the gloves and the belt... huh?

'...What the, why are there two extra items?'

I wanted to take them out and check, but I needed Reality Points for that too. And now I can't even accumulate points anymore—how stingy.

We encountered a few more monsters before arriving in Tokyo. Given the high population density, there must've been a large number of monsters, and probably high-ranking ones too, but it was surprisingly intact. Maybe it's because they have a lot of S-rank Hunters.

Signs of battle remained everywhere—collapsed buildings, damaged roads, abandoned cars. The streets were eerily silent, as if everyone had evacuated.

"A monster!"

Just then, someone shouted. The non-awakened would've already evacuated, so it must be a Hunter. Yerim quickly used teleportation and approached the shouting Hunter.

"It's not a monster!"

"What?" YoursupportonM|V|L8EMPYRkeepsthisseriesgoing.

"Uh, I'm Hunter! We are Hunter! Korea!"

"Ah, uh, dragon!"

"Doragon? Uh, yes!"

Rough as it was, they seemed to understand each other. Yerim's good with foreign languages too. Judging by the situation, they were likely from the Amaterasu Guild, and they immediately contacted their guild. Before long, a group of Amaterasu Guild members came rushing over.

"Shishio is currently luring the SS-rank monster toward the coast. Please come to the hotel for now."

"Tell him to come here immediately. We can clean this mess up nicely."

"...Excuse me?"

"If he doesn't show up within an hour, we're leaving the country."

Of course, that's not something I could actually do. If a monster stronger than S-rank crosses into Korea, it'll be a huge disaster. It's much better if Japan handles it. The Amaterasu Guild member, flustered by my confident words, still nodded.

"Yujin!"

When we got back to the hotel, Myungwoo greeted me warmly. Both Belare and Chirp had returned safely, of course.

"Are you okay, Myungwoo? You're not hurt?"

"I'm fine. But this morning, Chirp went missing..."

"Ah, he came to find me. He can teleport into dungeons now."

At my words, Myungwoo let out a relieved smile. Then he glanced around quickly.

"Are you going straight back to Korea? Things feel off here. The situation is serious, so you should be careful, Yujin."

Lowering his voice, he said they might even try to take me hostage.

"There are four S-rank Hunters here right now. They're not going to let you go."

Just as Myungwoo said, in Japan's current state, every high-ranking Hunter was incredibly valuable. He told me the airport was already shut down and the ferries were suspended. Sounds like he's heard a lot.

"Don't worry. I have a good way to take care of this."

"...You're not going to do something dangerous again, are you?"

"Nope. Oh, and Grace got a new skill or something—take a look later."

"A new skill?"

Myungwoo's worried eyes quickly shifted to curiosity. This guy really does like this kind of thing. Still, no tentacles. I'm drawing the line there.

"Hey, you over there. Have you contacted Shishio?"

"Ah, we've requested it. Please wait just a moment."

"And gather a hundred Hunters. Only those with speed."

Whether it's an S-rank or SS-rank monster, I'll wipe it all out cleanly in one go. This is the ultimate premium service, freely and generously provided.