S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 13

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

Episode 13. Even Buffs Have Skill (2)
The Certified Hunter Examination Hall flaunted an overwhelming scale and luxury, as if to proclaim: “This is how certified hunters are treated.”
In the heart of Seoul—already expensive in its own right—the building offered private lodging for each applicant, and spectacularly, it was all free of charge.
Yet not everyone received the same room.
—The VIP Suite, Hwarang-chae.
This space came equipped with a courtyard and swimming pool, twelve private security guards, a personal chef, and a conditioning manager on call 24 hours a day—all functioning for a single person alone.
“Cheon I-hwa. The bracket for the third round has been released.”
Cheon I-hwa, sitting in a cross-legged position, moved only her lips.
“Leave it there.”
Each time she exhaled, the mist filling the room undulated with her breath.
It was no ordinary water vapor.
A mist of magical power, brewed from Spirit Medicine—with each breath she took, pure and unadulterated mana was absorbed evenly throughout her entire body.
“Haaaa…….”
As the magical mist faded completely, she opened her eyes and flexed and unflexed her fists.
“I think I’ve raised all my stats that Spirit Medicine can boost.”
Though her Level was officially 72, having consumed dozens of Spirit Medicines worth tens of billions of won, her combat power was easily comparable to someone in the 150 Level range.
Which made the bracket her assistant had left wholly uninteresting. Whoever her opponent was, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Tedious. Boring.
‘But if it were that man…’
There was a chance he might actually refuse her—the one who had dared to reject her once—so she picked up the printed bracket.
“Not here.”
The surname Chae was rare enough that one glance told her he wasn’t listed. She was about to tear the paper when—
“Kim Yeo-ul?”
She spotted a different, familiar name.
At first glance, she hadn’t remembered it, but looking closer, it came back.
That hunter Chae Mu-jin had personally recruited after she’d refused him.
She’d been so curious about what made this person so remarkable that she’d dug into their background, and found it laughable.
There was literally nothing to dig into.
No dungeon experience, just basic training at best—an F-Rank hunter. Traits and Skills that were barely D-Rank, and a Mage to boot.
“Why on earth would he choose someone like this?”
She’d even hired someone to investigate whether they were connected, only to find they weren’t.
Ding.
The Bell Bracelet on her wrist, which made no sound even when she moved violently, chimed softly of its own accord.
She’d never been disrespected like this in her life. So much so that she didn’t know how to respond.
If he’d simply hated or despised her, she could understand that. She’d grown tired of jealous people since childhood. But Chae Mu-jin didn’t hate her. He simply… ignored her.
“The fact that he just ignores me… I can’t accept it.”
Status, appearance, talent—she was top-tier in all of them across South Korea. And yet a mere support staff dared to dismiss her?
“It’s strange that Father hasn’t done anything.”
Surprisingly, Cheon Mu-jong had not touched Chae Mu-jin.
He who always retaliated whenever she begged him to keep still.
In truth, he had already met Chae Mu-jin and found him to his liking, so he left him alone—but Cheon Mu-jong kept this secret from her.
“This works out well. I was getting tired of him handling things behind my back anyway.”
She would show Chae Mu-jin exactly what she could do.
How incompetent and miserably defeated his chosen Kim Yeo-ul would become. Then Chae Mu-jin would finally understand and regret it.
Why had he rejected her offer back then?
Imagining Chae Mu-jin’s once-confident expression twist with regret, she felt a peculiar thrill wash over her.
“Ehehe. No need to wait—meeting right away feels good.”
The Third Round, starting in one hour. Cheon I-hwa and Kim Yeo-ul would face each other in the very first match.
* * *
“S-sir. Please stop. I won’t take the Wish Voucher.”
Kim Yeo-ul tried to stop Chae Mu-jin, who was drinking chocolate.
The problem with the chocolate was that there were already three empty cups on the table.
All chocolate. Chae Mu-jin was now on his fourth cup, with an utterly serious expression on his face.
“Phew, now my head’s starting to work.”
After finishing the fourth cup, Chae Mu-jin stopped ordering more and looked at Kim Yeo-ul.
“Sorry for dragging you to the café suddenly. When I think hard, my blood sugar drops.”
“If it’s because of the Wish Voucher, I’m fine with it. Really. How could I have known Cheon I-hwa would be drawn? And in the first round at that.”
“Huh? It doesn’t matter if it’s Cheon I-hwa.”
“Sorry?”
“I didn’t offer you the Wish Voucher out of charity. I did it because I’m confident I can win no matter who comes out against you. And that obviously includes Cheon I-hwa.”
“But… Cheon I-hwa is over 70 Levels, and I’m only 13 now.”
Cheon I-hwa had made her Level public, and it was 72. The physical gap from the stat difference was enormous in her favor, and she even had one more Skill.
Of course, Kim Yeo-ul trusts Chae Mu-jin. His Buff doesn’t just offset the Level difference—it overwhelms it.
But Cheon I-hwa is not someone you overcome with a Level advantage.
She’s not just a strong and fast hunter. She was trained by South Korea’s number-one hunter, the Hunters Association Chairman, and number two, the Greatest Swordsman of the Land.
That someone like that would lose to her, at mere Level 13? Even with incredibly favorable odds stacked in her favor, it would be impossible.
Chae Mu-jin knew exactly what Kim Yeo-ul was thinking.
‘Cheon I-hwa is far stronger than you imagine.’
Kim Yeo-ul was an ordinary hunter, so she only considered the stat difference from Levels, unaware of what Spirit Medicine could do.
Most hunters didn’t even know what Spirit Medicine was. It was a treasure that money couldn’t buy, even if you had it.
‘She’s probably been consuming Spirit Medicine since birth. In pure stats, she’d easily exceed 150.’
And that’s not all. She’d also mastered martial arts. Martial arts weren’t Traits or Skills. They were human-forged technique and miracle.
‘Bon Guk Geombeop is an S-Rank sword technique even Japan and China acknowledge, and her Heart Method, Mirror-Like Still Water, is also S-Rank.’
In other words, Cheon I-hwa was 164 times stronger than Kim Yeo-ul could imagine.
Yet understanding this gap, Chae Mu-jin judged it doable.
‘I’ll have to commit myself fully, of course, but beating Cheon I-hwa—that’s a given.’
Besides, this wasn’t real combat. It was a match with rules and regulations.
Every rule favored the weaker side—Kim Yeo-ul.
‘Crucially, Cheon I-hwa at this point in time is extremely conscious of public perception.’
Fighting earnestly against a weakling like Kim Yeo-ul? It would damage her image.
The fact that she doesn’t even think of Kim Yeo-ul as a real opponent.
Chae Mu-jin saw victory in that very thing.
He checked his watch. Roughly an hour. He couldn’t pass everything to Kim Yeo-ul in such a short time.
“Yeo-ul, if you can’t trust yourself, trust me. You can win. I’ll make it so.”
“…….”
Kim Yeo-ul removed her glasses and pressed gently at the corners of her eyes with her fingers.
No matter how she thought about it, it was impossible. Like trying to extinguish lava by pouring water on it.
But Chae Mu-jin was asking her to trust him. Was there any reason not to?
No. Trusting didn’t kill you. It was just the difference between forfeiting or facing him once.
Losing wasn’t shameful. If you lose, it’s natural; if you win, it’s a miracle.
Besides, wasn’t she still getting to know Chae Mu-jin?
‘This is a chance to see how much I can trust him.’
With her deliberation ended, Kim Yeo-ul put her glasses back on.
“I’ll do it. Everything you tell me to do.”
“If I told you to lie down, could you do it right now?”
Flop.
Kim Yeo-ul immediately lay face-down next to the table.
Chae Mu-jin was taken aback by this.
“Not right now…….”
“Oh no!”
Kim Yeo-ul quickly sat back in her chair, burying her face in her arms.
Her ears, which she hadn’t managed to hide, were red as apples.
Just then, four men in black suits entered the café.
“Excuse me, but would you mind leaving?”
They handed million-won checks to the customers in the café and asked for their understanding; no fool would refuse such a generous offer.
‘A drama shoot?’
Chae Mu-jin couldn’t figure out what was going on. He came to a café, and now he was getting a million won for free.
But the men in black suits didn’t approach him. They’d even sent away the café staff.
By now, Chae Mu-jin understood and stood up, his expression stern.
“If you’ve got business with me, shouldn’t that money go to me instead?”
The answer came not from the men in black suits, but from a newly arrived guest.
“If you love money so much, why are you acting like this here?”
Cheon I-hwa, wearing sunglasses, gestured, and only then did the men in black suits leave the café.
“I-hwa… what brings you here?”
“Did you just call me I-hwa?”
I-hwa was the pet name her father, Cheon Mu-jong, used when calling her.
Chae Mu-jin had called her that in his past life, and the habit had slipped out when Cheon I-hwa suddenly appeared.
“I said Cheon I-hwa, didn’t I?”
He played dumb smoothly, and though Cheon I-hwa felt something off about it, she let it slide.
Cheon Mu-jong never used pet names in public. It was a family-only name—how could Chae Mu-jin possibly know it?
“In any case… is that Kim Yeo-ul?”
Kim Yeo-ul only lifted her head slightly to look at Cheon I-hwa, then lowered it again.
She’d said she’d spar with her, but meeting like this in such a private space made her nervous and self-conscious.
“You won’t even look me in the eye properly.”
It was true, but Chae Mu-jin felt irritated by it for some reason.
“She’s just embarrassed; it has nothing to do with being afraid of you.”
“Are you planning to fight me?”
“Did you come here to tell me to forfeit?”
“No. Actually, I came to ask you not to forfeit. If all my opponents just give up, what will people say? That hunters are cowards, that Cheon I-hwa pulled strings behind the scenes because her father’s the Association Chairman…. It would be bad for my image.”
“Bare-handed?”
“Didn’t you say you’d fight earlier?”
“Hearing that makes me want to forfeit now.”
“Hehehehe.”
Cheon Mu-jong had told her that a woman shouldn’t laugh easily. Especially not in front of men.
But now she couldn’t help herself.
This man who’d ignored her so thoroughly was showing his weakness for money—so maybe he wasn’t so different after all.
“Here. Is this enough?”
She usually left money matters entirely to her secretary, but not this time.
She wanted to show off her wealth to this man.
So she pulled a Mana Stone from her inventory and handed it over.
Even at a glance, it was leagues apart from the lowest-grade Mana Stone she’d seen in the Goblin Dungeon.
Unlike the murky lowest-grade, this one was clear. Light like something cradling the universe itself. In its perfect elliptical form lay a beauty that surpassed any jewel on earth.
“Hmm.”
Chae Mu-jin accepted the Highest-Grade Mana Stone without changing his expression, but internally, he was shocked.
He’d thought he might get something worth ten million won at most, but a Highest-Grade Mana Stone?
Even on a quick resale, he could get a billion won. This practically secured the deposit for the management building.
“Well, if you put it that way, I suppose I have no choice. I won’t forfeit.”
A rich girl like Cheon I-hwa probably didn’t know it was worth a billion. He had to leave before she said anything else.
“It was good talking with you. I’ll be going now.”
Chae Mu-jin hooked his arm around Kim Yeo-ul, who was still bent over, and quickly left the café.
Cheon I-hwa sat smiling, thinking she’d won, but then her brow furrowed.
“He just left without talking to me more.”
It had ended with just business talk. She’d had so much she wanted to say.
Why had he rejected her? Why had he chosen Kim Yeo-ul? Did he have any regrets? She’d give him another chance right now if he’d just accept her, and so on.
She’d stopped him from forfeiting, so she’d gotten the better deal—yet somehow, it felt like she’d lost.
“Ugh, this is frustrating.”
The match would start soon anyway. If she knocked Kim Yeo-ul down in a single second, a natural conversation opening with Chae Mu-jin would arise.
“Hehehehe. By then, he won’t be able to ignore me.”
Time passed, and ten minutes before the match. In the Sparring Arena, Kim Yeo-ul and Cheon I-hwa met again.
A match that would end in a single second, yet quite a crowd had gathered.
Fans wanting to see her fight, even for just a moment.
Cheon I-hwa examined the spectators while pretending to look at Kim Yeo-ul, then smiled.
‘He came after all.’
She’d spotted Chae Mu-jin among the crowd.
But his expression bothered her.
‘Why does he look so serious?’
Her match with Kim Yeo-ul wasn’t even a real match. If she wanted, she could end it in 0.08 seconds from the start.
Just a show for the public. Nothing more, nothing less.
So why was Chae Mu-jin watching so intently?
“Hey, do you have some kind of secret technique or something?”
Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked her opponent Kim Yeo-ul directly.
“Yes, I do.”
“Are you an idiot? You’re supposed to hide that.”
“Oh, it’s fine. My manager said it’s okay to tell you.”
“Manager? What manager?”
“Chae Mu-jin, my manager.”
“Why is he a manager?”
“Um… I can’t tell you that.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s not included in the things I’m allowed to say.”
“…You’re strange too.”
Five minutes to start. When the referee entered, Cheon I-hwa stopped speaking.
Before a match begins, they should explain the precautions.
That when the light turns red, the match is over and you must stop immediately. That items cannot be worn—you must remove them. That predicted starts are only allowed within 0.5 seconds. And so on.
But the referee saw no need to explain. After all, the match would be over the moment it started.
“Please equip the Sparring Equipment from the table.”
The Mana Weapon, bonded to the wielder’s magical power, transforms into any shape the user desires, and the armor becomes a transparent barrier overlaid on their clothing.
“Stand at your designated positions, and you’ll see a monitor in the center. When the 60-second countdown ends, you may begin the match.”
Kim Yeo-ul and Cheon I-hwa moved apart.
Despite the distance between them, it was barely ten meters.
Only then did Cheon I-hwa look directly at Kim Yeo-ul’s face. It was serious. Like Chae Mu-jin’s. And she was looking straight back at her.
‘This is ridiculous.’
She could understand it slightly if Chae Mu-jin was ignoring her—his Buff was estimated S-Rank, after all.
But Kim Yeo-ul was nothing. Just another Mage among many.
‘Just because Chae Mu-jin ignored me doesn’t give you the right to do the same.’
The numbers on the monitor decreased rapidly. When they finally turned to 0.
Cheon I-hwa was standing before Kim Yeo-ul, her blade cutting through where the girl’s heart had been.

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