The S-Classes That I Raised – Chapter 720

Chapter 720: Escape (2)

Kwoooooosh– The torrent writhed and pounded at various points along the passage. It was a fierce current that would make it hard for an ordinary person to even stay standing. It was strong enough to hinder even S–rank hunters. Cradling me in his arms, Yuhyun ran, stepping on willow leaves. Peace carried Chief Song and Liette, Noah carried Mari and Samir. Yerim and the freed Hwang Rim used flight skills, and Hyunah ran on the wind.

[To the right!]

Right after Newbie’s message, a large exit opened some distance away on the right side of the passage.

“Over there!”

As soon as I shouted, Peace at the front and everyone behind him all veered at once. The surging wave chased right up to our backs. Then, suddenly—

Splat!

The wave flattened, as if it were lying down. At the same time, it spread out along the floor under our feet and began racing ahead of us at a terrifying speed. A literal flash flood. The water that rushed to the exit in an instant—

Swoooosh–

Reared up in one go. The wave clenched like a giant’s fist and pounded on the exit. Kwaaang, the exit vanished as space warped and the water exploded outward in all directions. The wave that had slammed into the wall turned its body toward us, the ones who had been heading for the exit!

-Kyaruk!

Peace was swept away first. Yerim tried to control the water, but she couldn’t overcome the Mermaid Queen’s dominance. Hugging me tightly, Yuhyun turned his back to the wave. The water crashed down a heartbeat later.

‘Urgh!’

Even wrapped in Yuhyun’s arms, I could feel the violent current. My vision filled with water in an instant. Holding my breath, I was shoved all the way to the opposite wall. Thunk, I hit the wall and floated up.

Splat! The wave that had battered us settled back onto the ground. We hadn’t had time to use any underwater gear, so coughing sounded from all over. Grrrr, Peace shook his soaked body roughly, clearly displeased.

But there was no time to fix our drenched state.

“It’s coming again!”

Yerim, who’d taken the least damage thanks to the Earrings of the Mermaid Queen of Changlang, shouted. Kwarrrrung, with a sound like thunder, water filled the far end of the passage. At its terrifying charge, those who had been knocked into the water scrambled to their feet.

“Newbie! Put an exit, cough, nearby!”

[It’ll clash with Droplet–senior’s power, so I can’t! I have to make them at a distance or it’s not safe!]

Damn it. Another exit appeared. But it was still at a spot that would take several minutes of running to reach. The water was still violently churning. With no other options, we once again ran and flew for the exit like our lives depended on it.

But as expected—

Swooooosh–

We couldn’t outrun the water. The wave crashed over us again. Yerim used teleportation, but only ended up smashed straight into the water. Yuhyun tried to raise flames, but there was no way to vaporize that much water. Chiiiiik, steam hissed up as my whole body sank into the water. We were swept all the way to the end of the passage and spat up water, coughing.

[Honey! Hang in there!]

Easier said than done. We were slower. The exits always appeared at a distance. What do we do, how… If we couldn’t outrun it, we had to punch through before the wave broke the door.

“Liette! Can’t you cut the water?”

“I can cut it! But I can’t make a big enough gap to get through for long. It’s water, it just closes right back up!”

Still, that meant it wasn’t impossible. I took a short breath and used the Teacher skill. No one resisted it and most of them were already keyed in, but my body was in such bad shape that my vision swam. Yuhyun looked at me anxiously.

“I used the Teacher skill, so…”

“Yujin, what about me?”

“If anything happens, your master will come pick you up.”

The Puppeteer treated him well, anyway. Using Teacher also shared combat sense to some extent; there was no way I was giving that to Hwang Rim. He still wasn’t someone I could trust completely. Sharing Seong Hyunjae’s Battle Precognition skill, I opened the message window.

[Liette, get ready to cut the wave.]

If I said it out loud, the Mermaid Queen would hear it too. But she shouldn’t be able to snoop on the messages I sent. Unlike Newbie, the Mermaid Queen wasn’t at creator level.

Soon, a third exit appeared.

[Honey. Give up.]

I ignored the Mermaid Queen’s whispering message. Liette drew a greatsword as tall as she was and rose to stand on Peace’s back. Chief Song braced her from behind. Peace adjusted his speed and Yuhyun followed right on his tail. Yerim flew ahead to Moon Hyunah.

Kurururung, with a ground–shaking rumble, the water surged ahead of us. It was still moving at incredible speed. The instant the water, racing along the floor faster than we could reach the exit, reared up into a wave—

“Here we go!”

Liette’s blade extended in a long arc. At the same time, a bow that looked as if it was made of glass appeared in my hands. Yuhyun’s fire strung itself as an arrow, and Iryn circled at its tip, imbued within it.

Shraaak–! The tip of the sword sliced through space. Through the air, and the wave beyond. The severing power that cut everything traced a long line through the wave and, at the same moment, thump– Yuhyun’s fingers loosed the string. The flames shot into that brief opening without missing it, and, combined with the spirit’s power, flared violently.

Chiiiiiik! Steam exploded upward as fire writhed and shoved the water back. A huge hole opened where the water had been cut away, and Yerim teleported into it. Moon Hyunah’s wind wrapped around her, and she settled into place without resistance, almost like full–on spatial movement.

Jjajajak– she froze the circular rim of exposed water. Because it had been severed and boiled, laced through with others’ mana, Yerim’s magic could take hold. A path opened.

“Hurry!”

With Yerim urging us on, saying she couldn’t hold it long, we sprinted full–speed toward the round ice opening. The exit was clearly visible right in front of us. Just when it felt like we were finally getting out—

Crack, clank!

An even more intense chill swept through. The exit, soaked through with part of the severed wave, froze solid.

-Grrrr!

Peace’s forepaw scraped at the exit with a hard kadeuk, but it didn’t budge. Peace breathed fire and Yuhyun raised dark–blue flames as well. But faster than the heat could melt the exit—

Kwarururur, water began pouring in again. A steel–blue wave surged right up to our faces.

[Give up.]

My body sank. I watched air bubbles float upward. Splash, with his arms still wrapped around me, Yuhyun burst above the surface again. He stepped on willow leaves on the rolling water. Charging straight through was impossible.

“…We absolutely have to reach it before the water does.”

I said it, but how the hell. Maybe because we’d been soaked again and again, I was starting to feel a bit of the cold. Even as S–ranks, if we kept getting swept up in these waves, our stamina would run out eventually. Even so, we headed for the exit.

[We just need Honey to stay.]

[Everyone else can return safely.]

The Mermaid Queen’s messages continued. If only I stayed. It was a pretty tempting offer. The fourth exit shattered and a fifth appeared. Water pushed in. Endlessly.

“We really can’t block it somehow?”

Liette jumped down from Peace’s back, shaking her dripping hair irritably. A massive black dragon appeared and blocked the wave’s front. She slammed into it hard, thump—

-Kgh!

The water hesitated for a moment, then shoved forward, pushing even Liette back. The black dragon’s claws raked the ground. Kagagagak, the shrill scraping lasted only a moment before she was swept up in the wave and crashed loudly into the wall.

-…Ugh, that hurts!

The fifth exit broke apart. Fatigue slowly began to show on everyone’s faces.

[Honey!]

Newbie’s message felt like they were hopping from foot to foot. The sixth exit shimmered far away. The water surged ahead of us again, but we still moved.

“…Hyung.”

Just then, Yuhyun furrowed his brows. Yerim also faltered, then snapped.

“What bullshit is that! I’m not leaving Mister behind!”

…So the Mermaid Queen had messaged everyone. Telling them she’d let them go safely if they left me. Yuhyun’s arms tightened.

“If you stay, I’m staying.”

His steady voice said he would never leave me alone. Yerim and Noah shouted in agreement.

“Me too! I’ll stay with you, so don’t get any weird ideas!”

“That’s right, Yujin. You can’t give in!”

I blinked my eyes, still heavy from water, and gave an awkward smile. Even if I wanted to stay, I didn’t have the strength for it. How was I supposed to pry off Yuhyun’s arms.

“I’ve got too much to do to stay, but I’m not planning on leaving just you behind either.”

“I only have to look after Noah~ Noah, you’re not going, right?”

“…No.”

“Hear that!”

“Same here! This is when you say we all go together!”

Mari nodded like she knew exactly how this worked. I was grateful. But I still had no answer.

[We won’t harm Honey.]

[We care about Honey.]

[Honey]

[Honey]

[Honey]

[Give up]

[Honey]

[Honey]

[Honey]

Soundless messages mixed with the noise of the water and circled my ears. I felt like I was trapped inside a giant conch shell calling my name. Sticky droplets hung thick in the air. The humidity was so heavy it felt like breathing underwater. Newbie kept widening and lengthening the passage, creating exits, but the water was quickly expanding its territory too.

“Yuhyun.”

“No. You don’t even need to say it.”

He cut me off the moment I started speaking. Another exit shattered. From even farther away than before. The water was getting faster and faster compared to us.

No, we were slowing down.

How many potions did we have left. At this rate we’d eventually collapse from exhaustion. Better for just me to stay than for all of us to be caught.

[Honey! Droplet–senior’s hold is getting stronger and stronger!]

Newbie’s message was urgent.

[If it completely becomes the Mermaid Queen’s territoryIwon’tevenbeabletocreateexits!]

“Newbie, what if you take over the area–”

[I’mweakerandIcan’tstepawayfromthisbrokensystemrightnow!]

[Two or three more times at most]

[Anything more is impossible]

[It’s too hard!]

[Honey]

[It’s okay, Honey]

Even the exits would soon be gone. We had maybe two or three chances left. One of those vanished yet again. I gripped Yuhyun’s arms tightly and whispered so softly the others wouldn’t hear.

“Want to stay here with me?”

Because I knew you’d never let me go. Yuhyun looked down at me. His eyes under his wet, clinging hair curved slightly as he smiled. I knew his answer without hearing it. I reached for the pouch at my waist. I shoved the still–weak Seong Hyunjae further in so he couldn’t slip out and zipped the pouch closed.

“It’s dangerous, that’s all. Don’t worry about it and just sit tight, sir.”

Yuhyun drove the willow leaves hard underfoot. All we had to do was get close to Peace, hand the bag to Chief Song, then slip out the back when no one was looking.

[Newbie, this is the last one. Make that exit sturdy and I’m counting on you.]

I sent Newbie a message. I glanced back at the pursuing wave. If we didn’t want the others to realize, we had to pretend we were running too.

[I’ll stay, so don’t break the door, just keep acting threatening to the end. And you better keep your promise.]

I sent a message to the Mermaid Queen as well. The final exit opened. The water rumbled loudly. But this time, it misjudged its direction a little, hit the wall, and slowed down.

“Around two–thirds of the way.”

I unbuckled the waist pouch and lifted it as I murmured. If I did it too early, they’d find it suspicious. It had to be a moment when they had no time to think. Yuhyun gave a small nod. I quietly withdrew the Teacher skill. When Chief Song glanced back, I shook my head, putting on an exhausted expression. The water chased right up to our backs. It looked ready to snatch us up any second, but this time it didn’t overtake us.

We passed the halfway point, and the exit rushed closer. I tightened my grip on the pouch. I heard a faint thumping from inside. So he’d noticed, huh. At least he wasn’t returning to his original size. Now to toss the pouch to Chief Song–

“Han Yuhyun!”

Yerim’s voice rang out.

“Just keep running!”

Swoooosh– A wave crashed. A night wave steeped in darkness and moonlight. My mind snapped into focus. A chill ran down my spine. A rippling night sea, the SS–rank bracelet Yerim had obtained. The bracelet’s special effect: summoning the Night Wave once per day.

“Yerim!”

A dark–blue, silvery wave collided with the wave that had been chasing us. Kwarrrung! Water against water made a tremendous roar. In front of it, Yerim floated with her spear crossed before her.

“Park Yerim! You!”

“You really thought I wouldn’t notice? It was so obvious!”

Yerim laughed, saying she could tell just from Han Yuhyun’s expression. The exit drew right up close. Peace’s wings faltered. Moon Hyunah’s strides slowed. Even Yuhyun looked back. Even with teleportation, Yerim couldn’t make it to us.

My insides burned. Like they were charred black.

“We have to go back–!”

We couldn’t leave her. If someone stayed, it had to be me. But the moment I hesitated and slowed—

Splash! A wave struck beneath our feet. The rapidly rising current shoved us forward.

“I’ll come right after you!”

Yerim shouted. Over the towering dark–blue water, I could faintly see her turning toward us. The water pushed our bodies hard. Swaaah, with a roar pounding in my ears, we were hurled past the exit. The smell of wet grass rushed up.

“Cough, Yerim! Park Yerim!”

The inside of the door filled completely with water. The deep night–colored water rapidly cleared. Bluer and bluer. Before the last person could break free of that blue wall of water—

Bang.

The door closed.

–TL Notes–
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