The S-Classes That I Raised - Chapter 449: Gift
The powder—no, seed-like things—were innumerable. Director Song was ill-suited to face so many.
“I’ll be fine, so go help Director Song—”
My mouth snapped shut. Wait—En’yeh grants me damage immunity, but that doesn’t stop things entering my mouth or nose. If I can’t breathe, I die. Any tentacled or void-type monster that swallows people is dangerous, even at low rank.
“It’s a tentacle-type monster. What’s its principle?”
“Yuhyun! Yerim!”
I need you two! I tossed Song Yi onto Seong Hyunjae’s head and clung to his shoulder.
“Don’t come down, stay put! They have electric resistance too!”
Thank goodness Seong Hyunjae is tall. He hoisted me fully onto his shoulder.
“You said you’d be all right.”
“I’m not! Tentacles are useless against me—no use at all. Tentacles and those void monsters that swallow people!”
En’yeh isn’t a shield, it’s damage-nullification. It can’t stop things entering my mouth or nose. If I can’t breathe, I die. Such monsters are dangerous even at low rank. With ear studs, I could handle up to mid-rank tentacles, though.
“Han Yujin’s weakness is tentacles and slime, huh.”
“I hate tentacles even more now!”
Meanwhile, pitch-black chitinous tentacles had fully grown, adhering to the ground like anemones and waving their strands.
“Their appearance is animal-like, but they’re actually plants called Kentnisis, ranking between B-Rank and A-Rank. With roots, they’re not very mobile, though they occasionally leap. They have at least B-Rank electric resistance, so it’s better not to use your skill, Seong Hyunjae.”
He pulled out his phone and tapped a speed dial. If we simply electrified them enough to burn them en masse here in the city center, the collateral damage would be severe. Since they’re slow, it’s better to issue an evacuation order and handle them methodically.
[Yeo…ng?]
“Yuhyun, did you hear me? Come right away.”
[On my way. I was going to call—are you okay?]
“Of course I’m fine.”
As expected, the Haeyeon Guild got the call first—they’re the nearest S-Rank guild. I briefly explained the situation and ended the call.
“Does the scratch on my face look bad?”
“There’s dried blood.”
“…Hm, it should heal quickly.”
I slipped on a cardigan. I’d tell Yuhyun about the sniper shot, but she didn’t need to know about my arm injury—after all, I’d treated it. Seong Hyunjae’s hand gripped a long, slender longsword.
“S-Rank?”
“A-Rank.”
“Does the Sesung Guild Leader carry an A-Rank weapon?”
“It’s handy for pruning branches.”
With anyone else, I’d have thought he was joking—but with Seong Hyunjae, you never know. He’d quite likely use an A-Rank blade to trim hedges.
“And cut the grass too.”
“Do you want us to cohabitate?”
“Buy shampoo on your way home—we’re out.”
Swish—the sword’s edge sliced the air in an arc. I counted over thirty tentacle plants clustered here.
“They’re few compared to the powder.”
“They’re spores, but not all will grow. The first to sprout absorbs neighbors’ spores and grows faster.”
“Have you fought them before?”
“On TV—my favorite show.”
But these Kentnisis shouldn’t appear this quickly, nor should someone scatter spores so blatantly. A Transcendent must be involved—a scumbag, as they said: ceasefire my foot!
“Let’s move. They’ll waste effort not knowing the properties.”
I tried calling the Hunter Association but got a busy signal—understandable with all this chaos.
“Hold on tight.”
Seong Hyunjae crouched slightly and cast Teacher’s Skill on me. I thought we’d leave, but he braced, swung the longsword in a wide arc, and drove it into the ground at an angle.
Rumble—the ground shook as cracks spidered outward from the blade. Electricity followed the weapon, burrowing into the earth.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion sent earth skyward. The tentacles were flung limp into the air. Golden chains shot out and wrapped them, rattling metallically.
The longsword vanished from Seong Hyunjae’s hand, replaced by the chain’s end. Whipping it like a lasso, he flung the bundled tentacles toward the Association parking area. Clods of earth clung to their roots as they slid over the wall.
“That should be all.”
“It seems so.”
“We can’t let Director Song’s child’s playground burn down.”
It was already a wreck, but at least this would be faster to repair than total incineration. Seong Hyunjae stamped on the cracked earth, and in an instant the scene shifted to the Hunter Association’s wide parking lot.
“Ugh.”
Seeing rows of black tentacles made me nauseous. Twisted cars lay everywhere, and hunters rushed about.
Song Yi tumbled off as Seong Hyunjae landed, and the Seeker’s chain scooped her up mid-fall.
“Director Song! Should we keep her here?”
Director Song, helping barricade incoming tentacles, turned to us.
“Yes. They haven’t spread further.”
“They regenerate quickly; ordinary attacks do little! You have to cut and chop for ages to kill them. Haeyeon Guild Leader will arrive soon—just keep them from breaking out!”
Despite their rank, these monsters weren’t terribly threatening. Aside from binding with tentacles, they lacked offensive skills. Their toughness, rapid regeneration, and high reproduction made them a nuisance, though. They were weak to heat and cold, so any hunter with an advanced area-of-effect skill could handle them easily.
At my shout, the hunters attacking the tentacles pulled back to form a defensive cordon around the center. Seong Hyunjae drew his longsword again and sliced off any stray tentacles at the perimeter.
“You seem experienced. Do you actually mow lawns? I need to tend my own garden.”
“Offering side work? If the terms suit me, I’ll do it.”
“No partner discount?”
“Only five stars on the review.”
“Oh my, the great Sesung Guild Leader demanding paid reviews. Want your face plastered on every portal homepage? Top search tag everywhere?”
“You’re already a regular customer.”
So arrogant. As we bickered, a red dot sped across the sky far above. Hunters backing off from Peace watched as a fiery horned lion flew in, pausing midair. From that height, Yuhyun leapt down lightly.
She didn’t use Willow Leaf. Her Thunderbird’s aegis fluttered as flames roared. Centered on Yuhyun, scarlet fire swirled in a vortex, shading into dark blue. Holding the blazing ring wide,
Kaboom!
She dropped into the tentacles’ midst. Like a bomb blast, heat and flame erupted. All I saw was deep indigo-blue fire. It consumed only the tentacles, soaring precisely—controlled as if hitting an invisible wall.
Crackle, the tentacles writhed and burned away in seconds, leaving black ash. The parking lot and unfortunate cars were the only casualties beyond melted pavement. As the flames subsided, my sister appeared within the drifting embers.
“Wait, Yuhyun!”
Yuhyun turned to me, frowning at the wound on my cheek. Then the remaining ash began to move.
“You have S-Rank or higher damage immunity now; don’t waste your strength!”
The ash converged into a sphere. Yuhyun stepped back and approached me.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, just a scratch. A little. What happened was—”
“How’s your clothing?”
“It got a bit chilly with Song Yi outside in her playground.”
Hearing my answer, Yuhyun looked at Seong Hyunjae, who merely smiled. Then she shifted her gaze to Director Song. Oh no.
“Someone fired a gun but missed! It just grazed me.”
“…A gun?”
Meanwhile, the ashes began to transform. From the ground sprouted a single tall, black stalk like a root. About four meters tall, a round fruit formed at its tip.
“It’ll explode soon—get ready.”
I said, and Yuhyun turned toward the black stalk.
“We only need to burn the spores clean.”
Kentnisis colonies, if all members die, try to reproduce. In that fruit stage, even S-Rank attacks barely work. But once it bursts at the spore stage, you can burn them easily. If they drift on the wind, it’s troublesome, but Yuhyun’s abilities will catch every speck.
Thin flames swirled around Yuhyun. The fruit swelled to two or three times her size, then suddenly—
Plop—
It burst, releasing spores… spores…
“Hyung, isn’t flower before fruit?”
“Oh… yeah, normally.”
But this hadn’t flowered. Instead of fruiting, a bud had burst into a cascade of pink petals. A massive pink blossom, several meters across, unfurled. Layers of petals were gorgeous, almost beautiful.
…Weird.
“I’m a non-Awakened!”
Suddenly someone yelled. I and the other hunters turned toward the shout. Beyond the barricade stood a middle-aged man with a terrified expression, shouting again:
“They said they’d spare me if I delivered the message, so don’t attack!”
He raised both hands. Coerced by someone?
“I heard Director Han Yujin likes pink flowers, so I prepared this.”
No!
“It’s just a light greeting gift for the Director—please, relax. It’s safe.”
Safe? Whoever he is, he’s crazy. Flames shot from Yuhyun like arrows, engulfing the giant bloom in an instant.
“I’ll return after the deadline.”
…Apparently linked to that ChatterBox group. A greeting? Meanwhile, those creeps barged in and cause chaos, but we can’t? Unfair!
“Director Song, I’m a fan.”
The man fell silent. Under all the staring eyes, he stammered:
“They said to convey the final message.”
All eyes turned to Director Song. He simply looked tired.
“…First, let’s begin cleanup.”
Director Song sighed and spoke.
The aftermath was handled swiftly. We officially declared no monster incursion—it hadn’t been long since the dungeon stabilized, so explaining a monster sighting served no purpose. Instead, we labeled the strange item among the dungeon loot.
Given the Association houses the Hunter Market, and the final phenomenon was a harmless giant flower, we could easily gloss it over as “an unusual seed item that bloomed a massive flower.”
“Upstairs, we reported this as the work of an anti–Hunter terrorist group targeting hunters.”
Director Song entered the conference room holding a bouquet—not pink, but red and white.
“The initial bomb, and the shot grazing Director Han Yujin, were not dungeon items. Several overseas anti–Hunter groups exist using modern weapons.”
“In Korea, they only started appearing much later.”
Surrounded by people who knew of my regression, I spoke freely.
“Their attacks weren’t too strong. Though there was damage, today was the first monster-style incident.”
Having never left Korea, this was entirely new to me. Anti–Hunter groups had targeted the Association and major guilds before, but I’d never encountered them. Major guilds felt like ants pinching you—annoying but trivial.
“What about the man who delivered the message?”
“He was an ordinary non-Awakened civilian, held hostage via family threats.”
Director Song placed the bouquet on the table, noting they couldn’t get more info on the blackmailer.
“…It was meant for me.”
Oh dear. Another Seong Hyunjae–type stuck to Director Song. When I glanced at Seong Hyunjae, he shrugged. [N O V E L I G H T] Most likely a foreigner—could he be a stalker trailing the Sesung Guild Leader?
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co