S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 1. The Axe You Trust Cleaves Your Head
“Again?”
Breath came in gasps, nearly choking me.
My vision had already turned half-red, and someone’s screams wouldn’t stop ringing in my ears.
I looked up at the sky.
The moon.
It should have hung in the night sky, but now it hung low enough to touch if I reached.
Squelch.
The surface writhed, and tentacle-like appendages poured down.
If this alone weren’t enough, the ground split open and Monsters rose endlessly.
“How the hell are we supposed to win this!”
Someone screamed. I agreed completely. This couldn’t be won.
“Hold on! It’s not over yet!”
I gritted my teeth and shouted. I raised my hand and cast a Buff.
My Mana scraped the very bottom.
The Hunters on their heels pushed back the moment they received my Buff, striking back instead.
But even that couldn’t last forever.
“…It’s over.”
At first, there were more of us.
Now? I saw nothing but Monsters.
The only survivors were those huddled behind me.
“Chae Mujin! One more Buff―!”
“I know!”
I forced down the blood rising in my throat.
If I showed composure, they’d find reassurance too.
The moment I stopped, everyone here would die.
‘This won’t do.’
The calculation was already complete.
We could hold on, but in the end, all would die.
Escape was the only answer.
Someone sacrifices to break through, and the rest slip away.
The problem was that “someone.”
“…If not me, who else?”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I was used to this role. Sacrifice. All of it had always been my burden.
I had no resentment.
If I were ground down a little more, if I suffered a little more, the world improved a little more.
I was content with that.
…Until now.
I raised my hand.
What I drew was not Mana, but life force itself.
“This will be the last time.”
That was when it happened.
A deafening roar―
Sound ceased. Monsters froze. Tentacles stilled. Everyone looked up at the sky, seized by déjà vu.
And there, the moon was smiling.
Crackle.
A voice carved itself into my mind.
―I shall acknowledge you.
My body went rigid. Surely not…….
“Is the moon… speaking?”
―Humans of Earth. You’ve persisted far better than expected.
Silence, then Hunters gasping with relief.
“It stopped…….”
“The attacks… they stopped……!”
I narrowed my eyes. The timing was uncanny—it spoke to me just as I prepared to sacrifice myself. Coincidence?
―I shall make you an offer.
Was I the only one who sensed something wrong?
I looked around.
Everyone’s eyes had changed.
Moments ago they’d been resigned to death.
Now? Their faces said they might live.
“Don’t listen.”
I spoke with certainty.
“That’s not a negotiation―”
“Wait.”
Someone cut me off.
I turned my head.
Korea’s number-one Hunter, Kim Jiwu, ignored my gaze.
“Hey, Jiwu, what are you―”
“I would ask you a question, moon.”
He’d interrupted me twice now.
This had never happened before. He wasn’t the rude type.
―Speak.
“What are your terms?”
―Simple.
Every eye turned skyward.
―One human life.
I could see how each word from the moon shook everyone’s emotions.
―Surrender that one life, and I shall depart.
For some reason, it felt as though the moon was looking directly at me.
* * *
“…One human life,” Jiwu muttered.
Kim Jiwu murmured.
I could tell immediately—he was pretending to think.
“Hey.”
I called out softly.
“Jiwu.”
“…Yes?”
He answered reluctantly, but wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“It’s a trap.”
When I stepped forward, he stepped back.
“That bastard is playing word games.”
“But what if…”
“Stop spouting nonsense.”
I cut it off sharply.
Silence hung in the air, but his expression didn’t change.
Jiwu sighed.
“You know what our situation is.”
“I do.”
I answered before he could speak.
“Which is exactly why we can’t.”
I looked around.
They were all listening in tense silence. They weren’t spectators. They were jurors.
“There’s something behind this. We can’t fall for it.”
He didn’t answer.
I turned to the others, urging them to respond, but everyone avoided my gaze.
Then someone spoke.
“Hunter Chae Mujin.”
Eyes turned. An A-Rank Hunter—one I’d raised from F-Rank.
A man who’d always called me his benefactor, claiming he’d give me his liver and heart.
“The moon is a Transcendent Being.”
“So?”
“Transcendent Beings cannot lie.”
I laughed. A genuine laugh burst out.
“You believe that?”
“Isn’t it possible?”
“Possible? We’re gambling with humanity’s extinction on the line?”
Another man opened his mouth.
I’d thought he’d take my side for certain.
“If only one person is sacrificed, then all of us…”
“Who’s that one person?”
Silence again.
Then a strange current swept through the air.
Their eyes. They were all looking at me.
“Surely not…?”
I’d never felt such revulsion from human eyes. Nausea roiled in my stomach.
“Are you seriously―”
My words caught.
“―handing me over?”
No one denied it. My head went white.
How could this be happening?
It wasn’t that I was chosen as a scapegoat. It was the very acceptance of the moon’s offer that was incomprehensible.
“You trust a monster’s word over me, who raised you all?”
That was when Jiwu spoke.
“Until now… you’ve always sacrificed for us.”
“Because I always sacrificed, I should sacrifice again?”
I looked up at the sky. A lifetime of moments flickered past like a lantern show.
How was I supposed to see this coming?
Even beasts know gratitude. That these monsters would betray me―
“Damn it. So when kindness continues, it becomes a right.”
Hot rage surged in my chest. But there was nothing I could do.
I was a damned support-type Hunter.
I could make others strong, but I could never make myself strong.
That was when Jiwu turned to the sky.
“…Moon.”
Jiwu turned and looked at the other Hunters.
No words passed between them, but I heard it.
The unspoken urgency. Hurry.
“I accept your offer.”
The irony was bitter.
I’d squeezed out my own life force to give him a Buff and keep him alive, and now he approached me wearing that very Buff, to kill me.
“I’m sorry, hyung.”
“Don’t. You don’t even mean it.”
Thunk.
His blade sank into my heart.
Though not my first wound, the pain was unbearable.
“Damn…”
I whispered. My vision swam.
That was when the moon spoke with satisfaction.
―The deal is complete. I shall depart as promised.
Jiwu looked down at me and spoke.
“…I was never wrong. You were.”
―I shall return in one week.
“…What?”
Jiwu’s whole body trembled. He screamed at the sky.
“That’s different from what you promised!”
―I said I would depart. I never said I wouldn’t return.
The traitors who’d played at being survivors collapsed. They shrieked and wept.
Even as I died, laughter came.
“…You idiots.”
I pushed myself up. I reached toward the sky.
If I squeezed my very soul, I could manage one final Buff.
But it wasn’t for those who’d survived.
It was for the moon, celebrating its victory, mocking me.
‘They betrayed me, but I won’t go quietly either.’
What I cast toward the moon wasn’t a Buff, though it was one.
「Awakening Skill―Returning Light and Reflecting Radiance」
• Transforms the target’s body to its peak condition. Explodes all latent potential to elevate the target’s Grade.
• After 60 seconds, the target dies. This effect is absolute and cannot be negated.
“Take it…!”
Even bearing my Buff, the moon could not attack us.
It had promised to depart, after all.
A Transcendent Being must keep its word. Perhaps that much was true.
And so I died.
Or did I not yet?
‘Dying so slowly.’
…How did it come to this?
No need to wonder—the root was clear. Ten years ago, when I foolishly revealed everything I could do.
From that day on, I lost all choice. I trained only Hunters others recommended.
That mistake then had led to this ruin now.
So if I could regress and return to that moment…
‘This time, I’ll choose.’
Just as that bitter vow faded and consciousness began to slip, the System Window cried out.
[Foreign Deity―’The Watcher’ has been vanquished!]
[Calculating clear rewards.]
[1st Place: Chae Mujin―100% Clear Share]
[Solo elimination grants 9-tier reward upgrade!]
[Reward Grade: Immeasurable!]
[The following rewards are granted to Player Chae Mujin.]
[EX-Rank Trait, Akashic Record]
[EX-Rank Skill, Zheng Shou]
[One-time Regression]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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