The S-Classes That I Raised

All three monsters that arrived first were ones I remembered. They had appeared in dungeons with increased difficulty after my regression. They were SS-rank, but back then, Hunters had higher overall capabilities than now, so all had been {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} cleared. Even Yuhyun was said to be near SS-rank back then.

"That black panther-looking one can teleport short distances, so be careful. It's naturally fast, too. The dragonkin weakens any weapons it touches with its teeth or claws—anything under S-rank will snap instantly. That big beetle-looking thing gives off smoke that explodes on contact, but with your current fire resistance, you should be able to ignore it."

With the Promising Talent skill, I could only see the names of their skills. I knew too much to pass it off as just that, but I'd be telling Yuhyun everything soon anyway.

"If you can keep up with its speed, the panther's the easiest target. The beetle's tough and fire-resistant, so it's annoying, but its attacks won't work on you."

Before I could finish, Yuhyun launched himself at the monsters with a smooth, gliding motion. The blade in his hand went, surprisingly, for the beetle. As the threatening figure approached, the beetle trembled violently.

Skkkk— Its hard shell scraped against itself, and smoke started seeping out. The smoke spread in an instant, catching not Yuhyun but the other two monsters off guard.

-Ghrrngh!

The panther swiped a paw—and boom! The smoke exploded. Unlike the dragonkin, which could endure it, the panther had relatively low defense and let out a cry of pain. The smoke spread so wide and fast that even short-range teleportation couldn't get it out in time.

It wasn't enough to fatally wound another SS-rank monster, but it was plenty to throw them off. Caught in the flames, the panther shook its head furiously, then suddenly opened its eyes wide, as if sensing something—but it was already too late.

Through the wall of fire, Han Yuhyun's blade pierced straight through the top of the panther's head. With the speed-boost skill from his ceremonial gear added in, the surprise attack struck true. The SS-rank monster, known for being so fast it was nearly impossible to hit, had exposed its critical point and taken a direct hit.

-Krrgh!

The panther let out a garbled cry and tried to resist. But the flames spreading along the embedded blade moved faster. The dark blue fire burned through its black fur, seared into its flesh and bone, and in an instant, the head—several times larger than a human's—turned to ash and scattered.

Thud! The panther's body collapsed to the ground. Without even glancing at it, Yuhyun stepped off a willow leaf and leapt into the air.

-Kyaaaah!

The dragonkin, and a new monster that looked like a cross between a monkey and a dog, lunged at the tiny human who could fit in a single paw. Seeing one of their own drop in an instant only made them more ferocious.

Realizing too late that its smoke had helped the enemy, the beetle stopped emitting it. The air cleared, and the sky above had already turned dark. Though the ground should have been just as dark with the power and people gone, the dark blue flames scattered a light brighter than moonlight.

Leaves wreathed in flame floated gently through the air. The shrieks of beasts, the scraping of claws on pavement, the clacking of fangs—none of it seemed to touch them. They drifted lazily, as if indifferent. It was a surreal sight.

Every place the leaves landed, flames flared up—and refused to go out. The ground was quickly swallowed in dark blue fire. The fur, the scales, the shells, even the flesh underneath—everything burned. The monsters thrashed wildly, chasing after Yuhyun with desperate fury, but they couldn't even graze the edge of his ceremonial robe.

-Kyaak!

-Kiirrk!

Under the sheer size of the SS-rank monsters, the lower ranks were trampled and burned alive. They looked like moths to a flame. The S-rank and below monsters, drawn in by the bait, were wiped out without Yuhyun even lifting a finger. The fire spread wider as it consumed their corpses.

It grew—like it was feeding off them, swallowing the entire city.

Whip! Yuhyun dodged a monster's attack with minimal movement and pulled out a wire. No matter how I looked at it, that wasn't from our world. He must've traded points for it.

'Did he exchange leftover points from buying skills?'

The wires from that world were excellent. Strong, durable, and without fancy add-ons, they weren't even that expensive.

The long wire shot out and wrapped around the dragonkin's snout.

-Ghhrrk!

At the same time, Yuhyun yanked the wire hard and brought his heel down on the dragonkin's mouth. Crack! Its scales dented deeply, and the dragonkin's head slammed into the ground.

-Kiiii!

While Yuhyun was focused on the dragonkin, the monkey-dog monster seized the opening and lunged. Its elongated front claw was sharper than most blades. Each claw held a different skill—basically a weapon on its own.

It wasn't just sharp. It carried poison, paralysis, healing suppression, defense reduction, and even vision disruption—five effects in one. If you got scratched even once, you were a goner without a top-tier healer. An SS-rank monster through and through. I had already explained all this to Yuhyun, so I figured he'd dodge—

Crack!

But instead of dodging, Han Yuhyun yanked the wire upward with brutal force. The dragonkin's snout twisted halfway up, and its exposed fang clashed against the monkey-dog's claw.

Clang! A harsh sound rang out as cracks formed along the monkey-dog's claw. The dragonkin's teeth had the power to weaken weapons. That effect had worked on the monkey-dog's claws too.

-Krrrk!

The monkey-dog recoiled in surprise, but Yuhyun was already diving in. Its main weapon, the right front claw, hadn't recovered in time, so it struck out with the left instead. But the left claw had no special ability—it was just a regular claw.

The blade sliced it clean off. Without losing momentum, Yuhyun plunged his sword upward under the monster's jaw. As the blade drove in, flames wrapped around it, burning the blood and seeping beneath the skin. Slash! The monkey-dog's skull split open lengthwise.

Yuhyun kicked the collapsing monster's body with force.

-Kirrik.

The flying corpse was batted aside by the beetle's thick horn. At the same time, the dragonkin's neck, still bound by the wire, was severed.

RUMBLE!

Then the ground trembled violently. The earth quaked, and a blast of heat shot upward.

"Latecomer's here. Remember that one needs its head cut off three times?"

"Yeah."

A new head rapidly grew from the severed stump of the dragonkin's neck. It was a monster that could only be killed in two ways—either by decapitating it three times or by completely shredding its entire body. The former was clearly the easier option.

The final monster was one I didn't recognize. It was relatively slow and clumsy, and according to observations in Japan, it had a tendency to dig through the ground—but that was all the information we had.

-Kuruk, kruk...

The long, earth-colored monster with four legs burst up from underground. A rocky-type monster, maybe? If so, fire wouldn't be very effective. Sure enough, it didn't seem much affected by the flames covering the ground.

"Kinda annoying."

"Not at all."

Yuhyun replied in a calm, almost indifferent tone. Like there wasn't even a need to concern himself with something like that.

"This is the last one, right?"

"Yeah. That's the last."

"Alright, then."

And then the flames surged up around Yuhyun. As if everything until now had just been a warm-up, the dark blue fire exploded outward with terrifying force. Packed with dense magic power, drawn up to its absolute limit.

The ground melted. The air distorted, and the sheer heat made it feel like even the sky might start dripping down. In an instant, the three remaining monsters—and all the lower-level monsters that had been lurking nearby—were swallowed by the dark blue wave.

That was the end.

-Kraaaah, kyaaa!

The dragonkin's head, and even its body, were consumed in flames, only to regenerate and burn all over again. Even if it could regenerate dozens of times instead of just three, the result would've been the same. The beetle, too, couldn't hold out. It had fire resistance, but that meant nothing here. A small flame might go out—but a bigger one swallows it whole.

The final rocky monster melted too. It writhed and tried to burrow back underground, but even the earth it dug into was melted and ablaze.

The fire touched and melted everything. Yet it showed no sign of weakening. That overwhelming heat spread across the city like a wildfire. Not a single monster drawn by the bait escaped. It was a land of flame where nothing survived.

No trace of the past remained. All of it melted together, equalized and scorched to ash.

A faint smile spread across Yuhyun's lips. I looked up at my satisfied little brother's face, then snapped back to my senses.

"Hey, wait—isn't that going to spread to other areas? It can't hit the mountains!"

"I can control it that much. You said the city itself didn't matter."

"...You can control even that kind of spread?"

"It's mine."

Just as Yuhyun said, the fire closest to us whooshed—then began to die down. The melted ground slowly cooled and hardened into smooth, rounded shapes. Where the flames had passed, nothing remained. Only blackened earth stretched endlessly.

A chill—not from fear, but something else entirely—ran down my spine.

"If it were allowed to spread outside the city... how far do you think—"

"Not sure exactly. But I think at least double what you just saw."

Yuhyun said it like he was having the time of his life. He looked really happy.

"That was the minimum? Still under thirty minutes, right? Be careful, the ground's hot. We should send Peace out first."

The heat had settled somewhat, but the scorched ground wouldn't cool quickly. I sent Peace out ahead. With a flap of his wings, he soared out of my pocket, and—ugh, he was just too cute. Should've asked for a phone. I needed to conserve the mini-mini cookies, so who knows when I'd get to feed one again. He looked like a literal fairy. A fairy dragon.

-Kkyaang!

Peace spun a mid-air somersault and then flitted back like he was calling me to follow. He grew his body to juvenile size and let out a low growl. I climbed up onto his back.

"Yuhyun, you look huge from up here!"

I'd seen him eat cookies a few times now, but I hadn't had the leisure to really take in how big he looked up close. Yuhyun laughed and reached out a hand—and Peace growled. I guess it felt threatening since he was trying to touch us while we were small. It was cute to me, but apparently not to Peace, who canceled the cookie's effect and returned to his full size.

"Waugh—Peace!" HelpusoutbyreadingonM|V|LEM5PYR.

I was immediately buried in red fur.

"Hyung?"

-Nngh.

"No, no, I'm fine."

I tried to push the fur away and stand, but then I just canceled my own cookie effect and returned to normal.

"Careful!"

The platform I was standing on had suddenly become too narrow, and I staggered—Yuhyun quickly caught me.

"I'm still using Grace."

"Still, there are spots that haven't fully hardened yet—you might sink."

Once I was properly seated on Peace's back, Yuhyun leaned against me slightly. He'd been doing that for a while now, and yeah, he definitely looked like he was in a good mood.

"Hyung, about that skill. I think it might have some additional effects."

"Huh? Like what?"

"I've always liked fighting monsters while clearing dungeons. Especially when I get to use attack skills to my heart's content—it always made me feel refreshed."

Yuhyun didn't really have many hobbies he personally enjoyed, but combat was the exception. For someone as calm as he usually was, he had quite the aggressive streak.

"But this time, I've never felt this good before. I don't think it's just the stat boost—maybe the skill itself has some kind of emotional effect."

He looked at me with this puppy-like expression, tail practically wagging. It was a different feeling from back in Hong Kong, he said. Hmm... I guess it's possible the skill had some kind of side effect. I mean, the name of the skill literally praised the target, right? And who wouldn't feel good after being praised?

"Maybe it's just because I said something nice to you. That alone might've made you feel better."

"Maybe."

Yuhyun tilted his head. Anyway, he looked totally refreshed and just a little giddy. Seemed like razing an entire city had really lifted his spirits.

It's a shame I can't gather a hundred people to use this skill inside a dungeon. He clearly enjoys it this much... Should I just buy a private island and let him go wild?

"We should collect the SS-rank magic stones. Someone might try to sneak one away, pretending it didn't drop."

"They're probably buried somewhere in the ground."

"That's why I brought a detection item."

With so many ways to use them, not a single stone could be wasted. I activated the high-grade mana stone detector I brought, and signals started popping up everywhere. Damn, how many are there? All five SS-rank stones showed up, and there were tons of S-rank ones too.

"The closest one's just up ahead. Looks like it flowed over here when the ground melted."

Yuhyun stabbed the spot I pointed to and dug it up with his sword. A still-soft chunk of earth flew up, revealing a gleaming mana stone. When we went for the second one, we heard the sound of a helicopter approaching. From above, people began jumping out.

All of them were Hunters—Japanese.

"You've done well."

Last to descend, Shishio landed with a face full of fake dignity.

"We will honor the contract. However, about the clause that says we must safely deliver—urk!"

Bang! A bullet whizzed right past his lion-like mane of hair. Fired by an F-rank, but with an S-rank magic bullet. I smiled while aiming the Lynx gun right at him.

"Didn't think you'd actually try something so obvious. And here I thought you were supposed to be the mighty Lion King."

Shishio's face turned beet red at my words. Well, look at that—he actually knows how to feel shame.

"My guild is more important than my honor! If necessary, a king must be willing to dive into the filthiest mud!"

"Oh, so you're not a lion. You're a pig. My bad. Want me to recommend a nice mud pit for you?"

"Y-You brat! I let you off the hook because of your skill, but now—!"

"I don't understand pig language."

The pig squealed. I ignored him and turned to Yuhyun.

"What do you think? Looks like he brought all the S-ranks he could. And it's been over thirty minutes now."

"Let's just watch from here."

With a smile in his eyes, Yuhyun reassured me like it was nothing.

Strong, dependable—yep, that's my little brother.