The S-Classes That I Raised

The massive battle-axe carved through the air with a howling wind before slamming into the undead. WHACK! The heavy impact sent the creature exploding apart.

'So that's how he uses it.'

Most people would attack with the blade's edge, but Noah was wielding the axe like a massive iron club, striking with the flat side instead. A simple blunt weapon would only tear off chunks of flesh, leaving the zombie still mobile. But when the wide axe blade connected, the undead burst across its entire surface area, making it much harder to reassemble.

Noah's body lifted gracefully into the air. Gripping the handle with both hands and aiming with the broad side again, he plummeted straight down onto another corpse.

BOOM!

Between the falling momentum and the crushing blow, the zombie flattened like it had been run through a hydraulic press.

– Kwooo!

Another dead Hunter charged at Noah. More corpses rushed in from both sides, making unintelligible sounds. The axe handle smoothly shifted from both hands to just his left, while a flanged mace appeared in his now-free right hand.

With a spinning motion, Noah hurled the double-bladed axe. It rotated half a turn before embedding itself directly in the path of the lunging zombie. A high-rank Hunter would have easily vaulted over such an obstacle, but the undead's dulled perception made it stumble right into the diagonally positioned blade, offering up its leg to the sharp edge.

At the same moment, the heavy mace head collided with a crash against the skull of the zombie approaching from the opposite direction.

"Mr. Noah is very skilled."

He'd claimed this was routine for him, but his technique clearly belonged to someone who'd faced zombies far more than once or twice. I'd been worried since these were undead high-rank Hunters, but he'd said they were similar to S-Rank undead dungeon monsters.

"Don't overdo it! You can't use skills either."

"It's fine," Noah replied with a bright smile, sending another zombie flying.

"I didn't have any attack skills to begin with!"

Fair point, but still.

"I spent a lot of time in undead dungeons even before I got my title."

Besides, he could still cast support and healing skills directly on himself. Dragon transformation was impossible due to the massive physical changes involved, but other abilities remained available.

"High-rank undead typically carry poison, so the Haeyeon Guild Leader should be careful. They're slow for their stats, but try not to let them get close. However..."

The corpse that had been smashed ten minutes ago was already getting back up. Noah's brow creased slightly.

"Their regeneration is fast. Regenerating undead are common in S-Rank dungeons, but unless they're amorphous like slimes, they're usually not this quick."

At this rate, we'd definitely be fighting forever.

'Did the military kidnap me with exactly this in mind?'

If they'd told an S-Rank Hunter, "Hey, become a zombie," he would have risked his life to escape China, no matter how loyal. The same would go for A-Rank and B-Rank Hunters. But by luring in Korean Hunters, they could obtain high-quality corpses with minimal resistance.

The undead would be somewhat weaker than in life, but they'd resurrect endlessly and never betray their controllers.

'Hwang Rim seemed to know, but did Cho Hwawoon really not?'

He'd appeared to understand the skill nullification aspect. But the Hunters here were under Cho Hwawoon's direct management. He probably had no idea his own subordinates would be turned into undead. Though maybe he did know and simply considered mid-rank Hunters no different from corpses anyway. Given that man's personality... it was possible.

Yuhyun leaped onto some debris while carrying me. What my brother held wasn't his usual sword, but one of the items I'd picked up earlier—a long-range weapon with large blades attached to both ends of a sturdy rope made from monster sinew.

Wielding a rope weapon was far from easy. It was also completely different from Yuhyun's typical fighting style. But thanks to his experience with the chain-sword, he skillfully cut down zombies with the bladed rope using just one hand while holding me with the other.

Unlike Noah's axe, this weapon lacked devastating power, so the blade targeted legs with surgical precision. The rapidly approaching zombie's ankle was cleanly severed. Yuhyun's wrist twisted, pulling the rope taut, and the retrieved blade spun wide above our heads before slicing through the air again.

The zombie collapsed instantly after losing both feet, though wounds like that would regenerate in no time.

'I can't even use skills... I'm really just dead weight.'

The words "I'm getting in your way, aren't I?" rose in my throat, but I forced them down. Both Yuhyun and Mr. Noah would deny it. Still, my heart couldn't help feeling heavy. Had the effect worn off somewhat? I wanted to chew on another cigarette.

"If you blast them with fire, they won't be able to regenerate. Still no good?"

Yuhyun shook his head while deflecting an undead's attack.

"It's too hard to control. I might hurt you, Hyung."

"Then we have no choice but to run. You said the heliport was closer to the mainland, right?"

"Yes! That's definitely the better route."

The undead probably couldn't swim, but you never knew for sure. And there was always the possibility of something else appearing.

'A Grade 1 demon.'

I'd never seen or heard of such a thing. Even before the regression, Grade 1 demons didn't exist. There were no demons at all, for that matter. Except for that one time.

'Yun Yun had transformed once.'

Into a demon king. I opened the skill window to check. Yun Yun (S). Still the same rank. And he'd said the Nameless Demon King had been completely annihilated, down to the last fragment.

So it shouldn't be Yun Yun, but I couldn't think of any Grade 1 demon that would suddenly appear now. It was true that Yun Yun had absorbed that spinning wheel or whatever... had he somehow managed to separate it? Damn it, he was okay, right? He was still on the Taming list, so his life was intact, but still.

"If what Hwang Rim said is true, there's a possibility an SS-Rank monster will appear. A high-rank one at that."

Then running was our only option. At least we weren't trapped inside a dungeon. As for China, the military could probably contain the situation, which was why they'd pulled this stunt in the first place.

"It seems the Grade 1 demon's skill is creating these undead right now, but since it's not appearing directly, there must be some restriction. So our priority is getting to a place where we can at least use our skills—"

RUMBLE–!!

A terrifying sound echoed across the island. Light shot high into the sky, cutting through the darkness. The flash spread out like the roots of an upturned ancient tree before disappearing instantly, and the smell of burning drifted all the way to our position.

Without even time to process what we'd seen, another BOOM! A series of deafening roars erupted. What the hell was happening!

"That doesn't look normal!"

Yuhyun agreed with my assessment.

"There's way too much waste in that attack."

"It's not the Sesung Guild Leader's usual style."

Noah chimed in as well. Had a Grade 1 demon appeared over there?

"Let's go check it out quickly!"

"It's dangerous, Hyung."

"I'll take point."

Though he lacked elemental resistance, Noah was S-Rank and could use healing skills, so he could handle any spreading electricity. He took off running. Yuhyun followed at a safe distance while carrying me. Soon, scorched black earth came into view. Scattered across the area, half-burnt corpses twitched as they attempted to regenerate.

At the center of it all stood Seong Hyunjae, wearing a clearly displeased expression. Damn it, that man was pissed. Well, he wouldn't be happy in a situation where his magic control wasn't working properly. The Seeker's Chain lay scattered at Seong Hyunjae's feet.

– Grrr.

An undead with its lower body burned away lifted itself using only its arms. Beyond it, another intact zombie was visible. Seong Hyunjae extended his fingertips toward the monsterized Hunters with a cold expression. Electricity sparked.

CRACKLE–!

A lightning storm spread out, sweeping across the ground. Normally, it would have struck the undead in precise lines. But now, the energy ran wild like an unbridled stallion. It carved into the ground, shot up toward the sky, and zigzagged unpredictably.

The unfocused power still burned the zombies. The targets were cleanly eliminated, but Seong Hyunjae's expression showed no satisfaction whatsoever. His cold gaze sent chills down my spine.

Was it annoyance at an opponent who could distort his magic? Or displeasure at being unable to properly control his own power due to such trivial interference?

"Mr. Seong Hyunjae!"

Only after I shouted did those golden eyes turn toward us. I deliberately made myself shrink back in an exaggerated manner.

"Why do you look ready to murder someone! You're scaring me to death. Honestly, I should be the one who's more pissed off, you know? I..."

I swallowed hard and continued shouting.

"I've become completely useless! I can't even protect myself!"

"Hyung," Yuhyun grumbled. It wasn't wrong, though.

"Even a tiny spark of your static electricity will hurt like hell, so calm down!"

Seong Hyunjae's eyes curved upward. His expressionless face relaxed slightly.

"My apologies. It feels like being tangled in a spider's web. It's more irritating when something gets on your nerves in such a half-hearted way."

"I get that. Do you happen to have a small boat or something in your inventory?"

"I have yarn."

"Still?"

Why did you keep that, Han Yujin? One basket would have been plenty.

"And the watch that Han Yujin rejected, and the spatula that Han Yujin gave me."

"Ah, I was wondering where that went!"

It was specially crafted from dungeon byproducts to be easy for the kids to use, but I'd lost it during Chuseok. So Seong Hyunjae had taken it.

"And... a helicopter."

"What?"

A helicopter in his inventory? Just as I was about to ask if that was even possible, the sound of helicopter blades reached my ears. A helicopter was flying unsteadily across the lake, wobbling precariously. We could catch that and escape.

"Who can pilot a helicopter?"

Seong Hyunjae and Noah raised their hands. Yuhyun said he'd learned as well. Everyone was so capable.

Meanwhile, swarms of undead were converging on our position. With the heliport—already at an elevated position—shooting out flashes of light, every zombie on the island would probably gather here. First, I approached Seong Hyunjae. His eyes drifted to my leg, but he didn't bother commenting. He just furrowed his brow slightly.

"You killed that many? There are so many of them."

At a glance, there were easily over a hundred. It seemed most of the soldiers on Nosan Island had become undead.

"No. Some became undead while still living. They probably had contracts or other arrangements made in advance."

"Living people... that's insane." Th*i-s* ver*s*ion was s^o@ur+c.e.d f#rom@ M|+V&|L+^E-MPYR.#

What did they think human lives were worth? Were they saying it was acceptable to sacrifice a few hundred people just because there were so many? Just then, the helicopter approached overhead. But something was wrong with it.

"Chief Song Taewon can't fly a helicopter."

What? The helicopter door, which seemed to be half-crashing, suddenly exploded open. No, it literally exploded. A corpse that had smashed through the helicopter door flailed in midair. It was a zombie. The helicopter pilot had turned into an undead.

Then a familiar face poked out from inside the doorway.

"Chief Song!"

I waved my arm at him.

"I heard you were on vacation!"

Instead of answering, Song Taewon grabbed the helicopter's side and pulled himself out. He threw a punch at the still-spinning helicopter blades. BANG! The main rotor crumpled like a paper pinwheel, and flying debris smashed the tail rotor as well.

The helicopter, having lost all its blades, crashed into the approaching zombie swarm. BOOM! An explosion erupted, and Song Taewon, who had landed on the ground just ahead of the crash, raised his foot toward the half-demolished aircraft. One leg planted firmly on the ground like it was nailed there, his weighted kick sent the helicopter forward like he was pushing a massive boulder.

RUMBLE– The large military helicopter, roughly shoved forward, sent zombies tumbling and crumbling like autumn leaves swept by a giant broom.

Come ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) to think of it, Chief Song primarily used skills that applied directly to his body. He could probably use Plunder on a physical form, not just weapons.

Song Taewon glanced at the remaining undead swarm, then turned his attention to the pile of building debris. It was the remains of a warehouse that had been attached to the heliport. Approaching the rubble, he confirmed the sloped stairs underneath and raised his fist. His thick shoulder pulled back, and Song Taewon's body lifted slightly off the ground. Then his knee bent.

BOOM!!

His fist struck the earth. CRACK—the ground split, and debris began pouring down like an avalanche. It was as if a landslide had been triggered. The heavy wave of rubble, which would have been difficult for even an intact mid-rank Hunter or lower to avoid, engulfed the undead. A cloud of dust rose high into the sky.

They wouldn't die from that—well, they were already dead—but they'd crawl out again eventually. Still, it would buy us time. Or maybe they'd stay quietly buried since they couldn't see.

"So, is everyone here? It's good that Yerim isn't. This is too gruesome."

"She went into the water."

"What?"

"And Peace came too."

My brother said casually. What? Peace?

"Into the water! Peace came too?"

"No need to worry. An S-Rank Flame Horned Lion is faster than an S-Rank Hunter."

Still! And Yerim was here? In the lake? My brother nonchalantly mentioned she might have already gotten out. Yerim! Peace! As I grabbed my head, wondering how to find the kids, Song Taewon approached.

"The range is estimated to be slightly larger than the lake. Physical abilities remain the same, so we can escape quickly using lotus leaves."

"You have those? Mid-rank and above don't usually use them."

The lotus leaves—each about the size of two palms—that often appeared in low-rank dungeon ponds had strong buoyancy that could easily support an adult. That's why low-rank Hunters frequently used them when hunting in lakes or rivers.

But for mid-rank and above, there would be better items and support skills available... was he short on budget?

Anyway, since they were creatures rather than items, they'd still be usable. Just as I was thinking how fortunate that was, the air rang with another BOOM–.

This felt exactly like it. Phase 2.