The S-Classes That I Raised – Chapter 9

[From Today, We’re Old Friends]

The hunchbacked man who looked worn down by life had failed to acquire an SS-rank skill!

Judging by the skill’s name, it was clearly a crafting-related special skill. Unbelievable. Even five years from now, not a single equipment crafting skill would have been discovered. And here I am, seeing one right in front of me.

Special skills were already rare, but after the Awakening Centers were established, they became almost nonexistent. That’s because the Awakening method at the centers involved combat in virtual reality. Later on, they introduced a virtual reality setting for healers, but that was the extent of it.

As a result, 70% of those who awakened through the centers ended up with combat skills, 29% with healing skills, and the remaining 1% mostly with combat support skills. Special skills only appeared once in a million cases.

‘Anyway, this is huge. Absolutely huge!’

The problem was that to nurture this person, I’d have to say that damn keyword, but it felt too wasteful to give up. At the very least, I should introduce myself.

I decided to chase after the man, who was walking away in the opposite direction.

Thud.

Something grabbed the back of my neck. Seonghan lifted me lightly, like handling a puppy, and spoke in an irritated tone.

“Where do you think you’re going this time, without even saying anything?”

Do I really need to report every little thing? I feel like a five-year-old who’s gone grocery shopping with his mom.

“I just… thought I recognized someone. I was going to say hi.”

So let go of me. Seonghan grumbled that I should have said something first, but he released me. Meanwhile, the man who had failed to acquire the SS-rank skill was already far away. No, wait!

“Hey! Myungwoo!”

I shouted at the top of my lungs. Yu Myungwoo, who was just about to turn the corner, flinched and looked back.

I put on an exaggeratedly happy expression and walked briskly toward him.

“Myungwoo, right? Yu Myungwoo. It’s been so long!”

Acting like we were long-lost friends, I greeted him enthusiastically. Myungwoo looked confused and scrutinized my face. Of course, he wouldn’t recognize me. We’ve never met before.

“Uh… who was it again? Sorry, but I really can’t remember…”

It’s fine. I don’t remember you either.

“Don’t you remember? Han Yujin, Yujin.”

“…Sorry. I really don’t.”

“Well, it has been a long time. It’s understandable. I was also a bit unsure. How’ve you been? Did you awaken too?”

I lightly patted Myungwoo on the shoulder as I spoke. He gave me a sheepish smile.

“Yeah. I’m F-rank, though.”

“Both stats and skills?”

“My skill is E-rank, but… it’s not good enough to enter a dungeon. I just came here for the subsidy.”

A weak smile flitted across Myungwoo’s face. It was clear that life had been tough for him.

“I’m FE too! But hey, at least we get hunter licenses. That’s better than being double F.”

I whispered the last part. My comment made Myungwoo smile a little more brightly.

“If you’re FE, you must have signed up for the basic program, right?”

He shook his head at my question.

“No, I didn’t. The training is free, but I’d have to pay for the week-long lodging. The basic program doesn’t even come with a subsidy, and with my stats, I doubt I could clear any dungeons, so I’d rather spend that time job hunting.”

He reminded me of my pre-regression self. If it hadn’t been for my debts, I might have given up on being a hunter and just tried to find a regular job. Heading into a dungeon with only an E-rank buff skill was a really stupid idea.

So what did I do? I used my brother, the Haeyeon Guild Leader, to find party members. It was practically a scam, and naturally, my reputation was in the gutter. Back then, I cursed Yuhyun a lot for refusing to help and turning me away.

I should repent. I’ll never do that again… though I’m already lying through my teeth. But this is for mutual benefit, so it’s okay!

“Still, it’s a shame to waste it. How about training with my guild?”

“Huh? Your guild—”

“Mr. Han Yujin.”

Standing a short distance away, Kim Seonghan, who had been silently observing, frowned and interrupted. Myungwoo, who only just noticed him, shrank back like a scared turtle.

“Training for new hunters is only available to guild members.”

“Come on, can’t you just sneak in one more person? Plus, he’s got a great personality. He’s kind and has great dexterity.”

Not that they know it, but he’s actually a total jackpot. He’s the real deal, but how can I explain that?

“But—”

“Then I’ll ask Yuhyun. If he says no, I’ll drop it.”

I pulled out my phone, and Kim Seonghan looked flustered.

“He’s probably busy!”

“If he doesn’t pick up, I’ll try again later—”

[What’s up? Did you finish registering as an Awakened?]

Yuhyun picked up after only two rings. Quick, as usual.

“Yeah, I’m done. I bought the contract too. By the way, could my friend also join Haeyeon Guild’s new hunter training?”

[A friend? More importantly, you’re going to take the hunter training?]

“Wouldn’t it be better to do it, just in case?”

[Hmm. Okay, I’ll let them know. You’re coming back right away, right?]

“Where else would I go when some punk cleaned out my house?”

Yuhyun laughed. Don’t laugh, you little brat. If I find even one broken cup, I’ll—though I guess I already accepted a billion won, so maybe I won’t make him pay for it.

“Happy now?”

I hung up and looked up at Kim Seonghan. His expression showed clear disapproval, but he kept his mouth shut and took a few steps back.

“So, how do you know the Haeyeon Guild leader…?”

“He’s my brother.”

Myungwoo’s eyes filled with admiration and envy. Well, my brother is kind of impressive, isn’t he? Hehe.

“Completing guild training instead of the association’s program will make it much easier to find party members. In low-level F-rank dungeons, everyone’s stats and skills are pretty much the same, so experience is key. What’s your initial skill?”

“Whetstone. It sharpens bladed weapons by 2%.”

“A weapon buff skill, huh? Yeah, that’s a bit tricky. But you can still manage up to D-rank with good gear. Want me to lend you some?”

Even with just C-rank gear, an F-rank can handle an E-rank dungeon. I’m an F-rank myself, but I’ve entered D-rank dungeons before. Though I almost got killed by a Lautitar.

However, from C-rank dungeons onward, it becomes hard to manage with just gear alone.

“L-lend me gear…?”

Myungwoo looked shocked. Well, it’s no wonder, given that even F-rank hunter gear costs tens of thousands of won. To benefit from better gear, you need to wear something above your rank, which easily costs hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

I mean, I spent millions on gear today.

No wonder he’s surprised that I’m offering to lend it so easily. I flashed the friendliest smile I could muster.

“I don’t go to dungeons often anyway. It’d be a waste to let the gear just sit around, right? I’m just lending out something I’m not using, so don’t feel burdened.”

“But… I don’t even really remember you…”

“I told you, don’t worry about it! You’re a good guy. A really good one.”

He’s an asset so valuable they had to slap two S’s on his skill. If it ever got out that Yu Myungwoo had that skill, people would be swarming in with contracts full of outrageous offers from all over the world.

“I think you’re more than worthy of this kind of treatment, so just accept it. It won’t hurt, right?”

“R-really…”

Tears welled up in Myungwoo’s eyes,

Drop.

And they fell like big, fat raindrops. Huh, what?

“Am I really… worth anything?”

“Uh, yeah. I think so.”

“Waaah!”

Like a dam breaking, Myungwoo burst into tears. He was sobbing so hard it made hiccuping sounds.

Uh, what do I do? Should I try to comfort him?

“…You must have had a lot bottled up.”

I awkwardly patted his hunched back, and he made a choked sound before pulling me into a tight hug.

Hey, hey. Calm down. This is really embarrassing.

I grabbed a paper cup from the vending machine as it filled with coffee and glanced at Myungwoo, who was sipping yulmu tea.

He looks like a mess.

Not only were his eyes bloodshot, but his face and neck were flushed red. Tear tracks were streaked all over, making him look like a beggar who’d just been beaten up and thrown out. But at least his expression seemed a bit more relieved.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Sitting on the bench next to the vending machine, he nodded shyly. I took a sip of my coffee and sat beside him. Who cares about fancy blends—vending machine milk coffee is the best.

“When I was young, I won a lot of awards, you know?”

Myungwoo began, watching the people strolling along the path behind the association building. The weather was really nice.

“My hands were really skilled, just like you said.”

“Yeah, I know. You were the best.”

With the talent to acquire an SS-rank crafting skill, of course, he’d be amazing.

“But it turned out to be useless in life. When I was a kid, people praised me, but as soon as I got a little older, they told me to stop fooling around and focus on my studies. I had to get good grades, go to a good college, and get a good job. There was no room for the talent I was praised for.”

His voice was calm.

“If my family had been better off, maybe we could’ve found a way to nurture my talent. But we didn’t have that luxury. I wasn’t good at studying, so I ended up at a mediocre college, with nothing but a pile of debt. My grades and reputation were stamped with failure. After that, there was nowhere left for me to go.”

As he sighed, my mouth also filled with a bitter taste.

I know that all too well. Even before Awakened hunters appeared, the world had its own ranking system. It wasn’t as openly divided into S through F as it is now, but you were still graded right from birth.

The so-called “gold spoons” and “dirt spoons.” Just like the awakened stat rankings, the starting point was different from the beginning.

Sure, some people born into poor families manage to climb their way up. But the majority stay where they are. Even with effort, many can only rise so far before they stop.

‘Your initial skill might be akin to natural talent.’

If your circumstances don’t allow it, that talent might never bloom.

Just as schools crammed everything into academics and ranked students, the Awakening Centers crammed everything into combat and healing, setting their rankings. In the end, people like Yu Myungwoo, with an SS-rank skill, ended up buried and forgotten.

An F-rank hunter, an F-rank in society.

Ah, I feel like cracking open a bottle of soju~

“My parents divorced a long time ago, and I was just a useless freeloader. Do you know how I awakened? I tried to kill myself.”

Myungwoo let out a small laugh. I hadn’t realized things had been that bad for him.

“I was cutting my wrist when I awakened. My first thought was, ‘Oh, I’ll get a million won.’ That little thought gave me a bit of relief.”

A million won. It’s not a small amount, but it’s not a lot either. If you don’t have a proper job, that money will be gone in a couple of months for living expenses.

…What happened to Yu Myungwoo before I regressed? He might have been momentarily happy about getting that million won, but as an F-rank with a support skill that was useless in dungeons, how much longer could he have endured?

“I used the money to buy a decent meal for the first time in ages. And then… I didn’t think about anything else. I just let things go however they would. But then you came and told me…”

He crushed the empty paper cup as he spoke.

“You told me I was worth something. You told me to keep living, that there was a path ahead, and that it was okay because I was worth reaching out to.”

…He’s about to cry again. I cleared my throat awkwardly. I was just trying to hit the jackpot, but now I’m feeling embarrassed.

“I don’t say this to just anyone. I really mean it when I say you’re a good guy.”

“Thank you. Truly.”

Myungwoo wiped the fresh tears from his eyes with his fists. The atmosphere was nice. I don’t think I’ll get another chance like this.

Alright, let’s do this.

“Our lives might have hit rock bottom, but mine wasn’t exactly smooth either. After our parents died, I had to drop out of school to take care of my younger brother and make ends meet. Fortunately, my brother awakened as an S-rank, but I ended up a bottom-tier F-rank. To be honest, I was really jealous of him.”

As I spoke, my true feelings started to slip out.

“But still… Even if everyone else laughs at us and says our lives are ruined, we don’t need to tear ourselves down, right? Life’s hard enough as it is, but if we let ourselves get discouraged, we’ll end up wallowing in the mud.”

If life is a mess, and your mindset becomes a mess too, you’ll end up hitting rock bottom below rock bottom. My life would have been much different if I had managed to shed even a little bit of my inferiority complex.

“Is there any need to strain our necks looking up all the time? I just live thinking I’m actually great, and others just don’t see it. Love yourself a little too. I love the amazing me!”

It’s better to win a psychological victory than to dig yourself into a pit. I looked at Myungwoo with an exaggerated grin.

“Yu Myungwoo, I love you too, my friend!”

He laughed, and I laughed with him. A message window popped up.

[Awakened ‘Yu Myungwoo’ has been moved by the keyword!]

–TL Notes–
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