The S-Classes That I Raised

Silence stretched between the two Park Yerims. The older one studied her younger counterpart with careful eyes.

"You look like I did when I was young. Are you some kind of monster?"

"I'm not the monster–"

Park Yerim caught herself mid-sentence. She'd been thinking the people in this dungeon were probably monsters, but something held her back from saying it aloud. She scrambled for another explanation.

"I'm from another world."

"Another world?"

"Like a parallel universe. You and I are both Park Yerim, but we're a little different. You don't have any memories of looking like me, right?"

The smaller Park Yerim spread her arms wide. Even at fifteen, she was already Awakened. Her hair was cut short, and she stood taller than expected. The blue jewel earrings she wore were completely unfamiliar. Her weapon and countless other details had changed.

"There are too many differences for you to be a monster or Hunter copying my appearance."

"Exactly! If I were deliberately pretending to be Park Yerim, I would have made myself look exactly like you. But I'm different. I'm still me – I'm still Park Yerim – but there's a difference."

The older Park Yerim's brow furrowed deeply. A parallel universe version of herself appearing out of nowhere? It was an incredible story, but the world had already changed beyond recognition. Dungeons and the Awakened – once upon a time, they would have been dismissed as absurd fantasies.

"For now..."

The older Park Yerim glanced toward the guild building.

"Let's find somewhere quiet to talk. She's not an enemy! I'm going to investigate, so stay on standby!"

She called out loudly to the guild members before moving ahead.

"Cover your face again. We're going to my place."

"Your place? Where do you live?"

"Close by."

The smaller Park Yerim looked around with barely contained excitement. She was perfectly happy with her current home, but still – this Park Yerim's place would be something she'd created entirely on her own. A home Park Yerim had earned through independence and her own hard work. The thought made her heart race, and the figure walking ahead of her seemed like a real adult.

'She's probably living alone. A studio apartment, maybe? High-rank Hunters make good money, so it might be a pretty big place.'

"When I was about to start high school, I spent hours browsing real estate sites, planning to move out once I got a part-time job."

"He wouldn't let me, said the store was short-staffed."

"What? Uncle is so cheap! He didn't even pay you for part-time work! Did he at least give you something in high school?"

"A pittance."

"Unbelievable! He was exactly the same!"

Park Yerim grumbled extensively, and the older Park Yerim chuckled softly. The two walked side by side, crossing the street and turning a corner. They were almost at the crosswalk when–

THUD!

"...Huh?"

Park Yerim stopped dead, as if she'd hit an invisible wall. A transparent membrane flickered into view for just a moment before disappearing. The other Park Yerim, who had stepped through without any trouble, turned back.

"What's wrong?"

"There's something here."

Park Yerim reached out, her fingers probing the empty air. Where her hand touched, a hard membrane materialized. Both Park Yerims' eyes widened simultaneously.

"What is this? I can't feel it with my hands!"

"A barrier? Some kind of boundary?"

A spear materialized in the older Park Yerim's grip. She swung the cold spearhead hard against the membrane.

THUD!

The impact rang out, but the membrane didn't budge. Then the Park Yerim outside the barrier activated a skill. An ice thorn formed and shot toward the membrane – it passed straight through, freezing and shattering the sidewalk beyond.

"My attacks just go through... I've seen something like this before."

Park Yerim recalled the incident when she'd rescued the goblins. A transparent membrane had appeared then too, and only the goblins could pass through freely.

"This is from the dungeon..."

"It's like a dungeon membrane. No, it's exactly the same. And this type..."

The Park Yerim trapped inside clenched her teeth.

"This is the kind that traps monsters in a specific area."

"Um, well, that's..."

"Come to think of it, there are no people around."

Park Yerim surveyed the area with cold eyes. Empty streets stretched ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ in every direction.

"There's no way there wouldn't be cars or people at this time of day. This place – we're inside a dungeon."

She'd been found out. Park Yerim stared at the other Park Yerim, who was calmly trying to process the situation, not knowing what to say. 'What should I do? What excuse can I make?' Just then, Yun Yun popped up beside her.

"I've heard of dungeons like that too! That means the monster can't get out, right?"

"Yun Yun!"

At Park Yerim's scolding shout, Yun Yun tilted her head as if to say, 'what's wrong?' The Park Yerim inside the membrane looked at Yun Yun with curiosity.

"You're a goblin, right? I've never seen you before. Aren't goblins supposed to be unable to enter dungeons?"

"Right! She's a monster that looks like Little Kim Seobang turned into Big Kim Seobang. Originally, I couldn't enter."

"Stop calling me a monster! Don't say that!"

"Why not?"

"So I am a monster? As expected?"

The Park Yerim inside the membrane spoke with surprising calm. Her expression barely changed.

"I think that's probably the case... are you okay with that?"

"To be honest, it doesn't feel real."

Park Yerim took a couple of steps back, studying her flustered younger self.

"A doppelganger species? It feels strange, but not necessarily bad. Maybe because I seem perfectly fine."

The self who had awakened at fifteen and joined a major guild stood before her. If what she'd said earlier was true, she seemed to be on good terms with other high-rank Hunters as well. She'd called Kang Soyeong, Evelyn, Han Yuhyun, and even Seong Hyunjae without hesitation.

"You really joined the Haeyeon Guild? When I was fifteen, I think I would have joined the Breaker Guild."

"Because the Haeyeon Guild Leader is Mister's younger brother."

"Mister... right, what's a breeder?"

"That's Mister Han Yujin. Mister came to find me, said I had talent. That's how I awakened."

"Mister did?"

"You call him Mister too... huh? Wait a minute. Mister said he'd never met me before, right?"

He had definitely said he'd only seen her on TV, never met her in person. But the pre-regression Park Yerim was calling him 'Mister' quite familiarly. Park Yerim was about to question her in detail when she stopped and looked back at Yun Yun.

"What we're discussing now isn't for others to hear. I'm sorry, but could you step aside for a moment?"

"Okay! I won't eavesdrop, so don't worry, Little Kim Seobang!"

"Thanks."

Yun Yun disappeared, and Park Yerim continued.

"Do you know Mister Han Yujin? Have you actually met him?"

"Even if I have, it has nothing to do with you. I'm different from you."

"That's just it! I mean, that's the thing! Since we're inside a dungeon and this is before the regression anyway, it should be okay to explain. Actually, you're both my future and my past!"

"...What?"

"Mister Han Yujin came back to the past. He regressed. Originally, I would have become just like you, but Mister came to the past and found me, so things changed. This is a dungeon, but I think the people from the future and past who actually existed have appeared as, well, monsters."

Park Yerim looked on the verge of tears, saying she couldn't explain it well herself. The Park Yerim inside the membrane pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"So I'm not just some fantasy of the future created by the dungeon. I actually existed."

"Yes! Exactly!"

"To go back to the past... he could do something like that too. I know Mister Han Yujin. I've even met him several times in person."

"Really? But Mister didn't remember at all..."

Given Han Yujin's personality, there was no way he would pretend not to know. And hadn't he even confessed about the regression? There was no reason to hide the fact that he knew Park Yerim. The Park Yerim inside the membrane frowned deeply, looking at the bewildered Park Yerim.

"It's been a while since I've seen him. Mister said it wouldn't be good for me to know him, so he told me not to come around! But since a year ago, I haven't been able to contact him at all. Before that, he would at least reply to my HunterTalk messages. Did the Haeyeon Guild Leader do something?"

"If it's Han Yuhyun, it's entirely possible."

Park Yerim agreed seriously.

"Didn't he lock Mister up in his house and completely cut off all outside contact? Still, I don't think he would have gone as far as erasing his memories."

During the Choi Seokwon incident, many people had lost parts of their memories. So there was a high possibility that an item capable of manipulating others' memories had appeared. But she didn't think Han Yuhyun would have gone so far as to tamper with Han Yujin's memories.

At Park Yerim's words, the other Park Yerim looked completely baffled.

"What do you mean, locked up in his house? Han Yuhyun doesn't even look at his brother. He seemed to hate him. He never came to see Mister. I'm certain of it."

"That can't be right! That guy Han Yuhyun – he put his life on the line for Mister. When Mister was captured, he was crying and trying to go after him without even treating his wounds. Liette unni said she thought she'd have to clean up two corpses."

The Park Yerim inside the membrane asked back in amazement.

"Crying? The Haeyeon Guild Leader? For real?"

"Yes! And he's a total Mister-clinger. If he weren't the Guild Leader, he'd follow Mister around all day. When Mister is next to him, he has the most satisfied expression in the world – it's not even funny..."

Park Yerim's words trailed off. She remembered Han Yujin's words about how they hadn't reconciled as quickly this time around. T-h.i$s c^onten$t is pr.e-se-n!t%ed by M!4V+L@EM@P%Y*R.

"Could it be that the two of them haven't reconciled yet?"

This was a point in time when the Park Yerim who had awakened at eighteen had risen to deputy guild leader and established herself as a Hunter. She must have been active as a Hunter for at least a year – that meant a full four years had passed.

For the two of them to have been estranged for over seven years. Considering the Han Yujin and Han Yuhyun she'd observed over the past few months, it was almost impossible to believe.

"It seems they've reconciled now."

"Oh, yeah. They get along really well."

"Obviously Mister was the one who accepted him. Obviously."

Park Yerim grumbled, but still muttered that it was a relief.

"Anyway, since I'm the monster–"

"Don't call yourself a monster! For now, I'll be Tang Ye! You're older, so you're the unni. And I'm the one who came in, and I'm your junior as a Hunter – anyway!"

Park Yerim – Tang Ye – declared. They could be divided by past and future, or pre-regression and post-regression, but she didn't want that. It was better for Park Yerim to just be Park Yerim. Tang Ye let out a huge breath as if to sort through her complicated feelings.

"I don't know why Mister doesn't remember me, but could it have remained in his subconscious? Is that why he came to find me? Not just a simple coincidence."

'Could it be that he came to find me because he knew me?' At the words that held a hint of hope, Park Yerim shrugged.

"How would I know? What exactly did he say when he came to find you?"

"Just that he knew I would become an A-Rank Hunter in the future. He needed someone to protect him then."

"Then whether he had the memories or not, he came to find you – me."

"But!"

Tang Ye shook her head vigorously.

"There are so many A-Rank Hunters! Hundreds. More than a thousand? So if he didn't have the memories, it feels like it was just coincidence and luck... it's a bit – how should I put it – it makes me lose confidence. I received so much from Mister. Because Mister came to get me, I left my uncle's house early, and I met so many good people."

Tang Ye rambled on about what had happened. Park Yerim listened attentively to the jumbled story, mixed up in time and place.

"So the thought that I might not have been the Hunter Mister actually wanted – it makes me a little scared and sad."

"I don't think that's it."

Park Yerim said bluntly. Tang Ye's eyes widened.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm the best."

Her confident voice continued.

"Even if I had never met Mister, even if we were complete strangers, what A-Rank would catch his eye other than Park Yerim? I awakened, I worked hard, and I became an exceptionally outstanding Hunter."

She'd heard many times that she was on par with an S-Rank. It was also said that she wouldn't fall behind any A-Rank in terms of experience.

"Because I'm amazing, he came to find me."

"You are?"

"I am."

Park Yerim smiled.

"I am you."

Because it's Park Yerim. Because it's me, and no one else. Park Yerim also laughed, tears welling up in her eyes though her face was bright.

"So Mister came for me because it was me. Because I worked hard. Because I was good enough to be worth remembering."

'I made my own place. It was Park Yerim's place, created by Park Yerim.'

"Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me when you're me?"

"Still, to be honest, if Mister hadn't been there, I would have had a harder and lonelier time, and I thought I would be more... shabby than I am now. But you're really cool. I was living well."

"Of course."

"Because I was living so well, that's why I'm here."

To the brightly smiling Park Yerim, Tang Ye said with a grin. Park Yerim responded:

"So what are you going to do now?"

"Huh?"

"You can only clear the dungeon by defeating the monster, right?"

Oops. Tang Ye's expression instantly hardened.