S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 35

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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 35. The Tortoise and the Hare (5)
Hwangrang Hotel, VIP Lounge.
After receiving full grooming services, Lee Min-ji sat with her lips pouting—the dress she wore was terribly uncomfortable.
Chae Mu-jin returned from taking a business call and asked what was wrong.
“Your mouth’s about to launch itself. What’s the problem?”
“Aren’t you uncomfortable in your clothes?”
“Uncomfortable? Sure. But it’s bearable.”
“I feel like my insides are being compressed. Just this belt—if I could just take it off.”
“Why didn’t you ask for comfortable clothes in the first place?”
“I didn’t know it would be this bad.”
“Come here.”
Chae Mu-jin drew Lee Min-ji close and deftly loosened the belt, making it slightly roomier.
Having been ordered around so much by his eldest sister at home, Chae Mu-jin had developed a fair eye for women’s clothing.
“Better? Easier to breathe now?”
“…I’m going to use the restroom.”
“Number one or number two?”
“Don’t ask me things like that, seriously!”
Watching Lee Min-ji run off in her high heels, Chae Mu-jin marveled.
“Running at that speed in heels. Her balance really has improved.”
Chae Mu-jin picked up a glass of champagne and surveyed the lounge.
For such a spacious venue, there were only ten attendees, but what a gathering they were.
The ruling party’s parliamentary floor leader, a defense contractor tycoon, a Villain Response Division commander, a Guild-ranked top-ten strategist—and more. The room held people of real influence, or capable of wielding it.
Kim Yeo-ul was conversing among them.
“Is it actually a conversation?”
Questions pelted down from all sides, and Kim Yeo-ul could only stammer, managing a yes or no.
Then their eyes met, and she looked at him like a pitiful puppy.
‘You’ve got this.’
Kim Yeo-ul hated talking to them. She didn’t like strangers. But Chae Mu-jin had pushed her forward and said:
“Social skills don’t require anything extraordinary. If you don’t want to talk, just listen.”
Lee Min-ji had scored higher in the Hunter Training Camp, but Kim Yeo-ul drew more attention.
She was Majohn’s unofficial disciple, after all.
Though Majohn had vanished long ago and lived like a recluse, many still remembered his strength.
“Is Cheon Yi-hwa deliberately running late? She’s really looking after these two properly.”
Cheon Yi-hwa was the party’s host. Yet the host herself was nowhere to be seen. Two hours had already passed since the party started.
Four hours earlier, a call had come from someone claiming to be Cheon Yi-hwa’s secretary.
They were throwing a party for Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji, and asked if Chae Mu-jin would attend as their guardian.
Frankly, Chae Mu-jin didn’t care much for these kinds of gatherings.
But the fact that Cheon Yi-hwa was hosting—and that it might teach Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji something about politics—made him decide to attend.
‘With Cheon Yi-hwa absent, all the attention is falling on Yeo-ul and Min-ji.’
Of course, the two girls unfamiliar with politics would find this uncomfortable and awkward, but that was precisely what Chae Mu-jin was aiming for.
‘That’s politics. Uncomfortable and awkward. But you can’t ignore it entirely. Once you reach a high rank, you inevitably get tangled up in it.’
Some Hunters become politicians. After all, Hunters already wield more influence than ordinary people.
What kind of pull would a Hunter have if they entered politics too? It’s said that reaching A-Rank Hunter status is basically a free pass to parliament.
Chae Mu-jin was giving them the experience. Once they became high-ranking Hunters, they’d find themselves entangled with people like this, and even a small connection could prove useful.
Of course, those connections didn’t always help—they could also trip you up.
About an hour passed. Suddenly the lights dimmed, and a spotlight struck the stage.
Cheon Yi-hwa was standing there, in a dress of mingled black and crimson—though when she’d arrived, no one could say.
At her entrance, everyone’s attention and gaze pivoted toward her, and in that opening, Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji fled to his side.
“How was the training camp?”
“You’re only asking now?”
“I thought it was good.”
The order was a bit jumbled, but Chae Mu-jin heard from Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji about the week they’d spent.
It was a long, rambling story told in whatever order came to mind, but still—he understood how hard they’d worked, how much they’d suffered.
“Don’t worry about my name being mentioned to Majohn. He can’t come to Seoul anyway.”
“Manager. About that—I have something to tell you. My master said he wants to meet you.”
“I’m sure he does. I’m not going.”
“He said that if you came, he’d hand over his personal secret manual.”
“…That’s actually tempting.”
A secret manual from Majohn would have the value of an S-Rank skill at minimum. But something felt off.
‘Majohn’s not the generous type. He’s got something brewing.’
His conclusion: he wasn’t going right now.
“Did you exchange contact information?”
“Yes.”
“Send him a text saying you’ll visit within a year.”
Majohn dies within a year. He doesn’t know why, but if that fate doesn’t change, he had to visit within that time.
“You worked hard, Yeo-ul. Take this.”
“Huh? I didn’t even break 90 points.”
“That’s not why I’m giving this to you.”
What Chae Mu-jin handed over was his own business card.
—Arc Hunter Management
CEO and Manager, Chae Mu-jin
“Oh, a business card. Thank you.”
“Look at the back.”
When Kim Yeo-ul looked at the back as instructed, a forgotten memory surfaced.
—Hope
No expiration date
The word “Hope” was handwritten in black ink at the center of white space, with small letters reading “No expiration date” at the bottom left.
“That wish token I promised to give you at the Official Hunter Examination—I’m giving it to you now.”
“Ah…”
“You can use it to pay for your sister’s treatment if you want.”
“…I won’t do that.”
“Your choice. Use it whenever you need to, freely.”
Then Lee Min-ji, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“Don’t I get a wish token?”
“I never said I’d give you one.”
“But you said you’d give a gift if we scored above 90 in the training camp.”
“Right, about that—I was meaning to ask you anyway.”
Whack!
Chae Mu-jin launched a surprise flick at Lee Min-ji’s head. But she dodged it.
Not close—she got out of the way easily.
“See? I’ve grown too, right?”
Lee Min-ji was proud of her dodge, but Chae Mu-jin’s face hardened.
“You’re hiding something from me, aren’t you?”
“Me? Hide something? What?”
“Lee Min-ji. Did you forget in one week? I’m on your side.”
Both Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji broke into a cold sweat as Chae Mu-jin’s atmosphere shifted, their shoulders growing heavy.
Over that week, they hadn’t been the only ones to grow. Chae Mu-jin had grown too. Far more than they had.
“A-are you angry?”
Overwhelmed by the pressure, Lee Min-ji’s voice faltered.
“Not yet.”
“N-no, it’s not that… It’s just… just…”
She’d wanted to surpass 90 points on her own strength alone, without his help.
She’d wanted his praise for that. But the words caught in her throat and wouldn’t come out for anything.
“Are you going to cry?”
“That comment made me shut up. I just… I don’t know. Why I hid it… I’m sorry.”
Lee Min-ji pulled out the secret manual she’d hidden at her waist and offered it up.
—《Daelyok Muhon》
The moment Chae Mu-jin saw the Daelyok Muhon Secret Manual, veins bulged on his forehead.
“Where did you get this?”
“Majohn gave it to me because he felt sorry for me.”
Chae Mu-jin read the manual. Every page, though covered in Chinese characters, he read from beginning to end. Then he walked to the balcony.
Whoooosh.
The wind was howling fiercely from the high floor, but Chae Mu-jin paid no mind and threw the Daelyok Muhon upward.
Then he slashed it to shreds with his Broad Sword.
Eeeiiiiaaaaaahhhhh!
A bone-chilling scream scattered on the wind from the tattered old paper.
“…”
Lee Min-ji and Kim Yeo-ul could barely breathe, their bodies shrinking like criminals.
“Yeo-ul.”
“Y-yes, yes?”
“Send Majohn one more text.”
“W-what should I say?”
“Never mind, I’ll do it.”
Taking Majohn’s contact from Kim Yeo-ul, Chae Mu-jin sent him a message:
—The day I come to find you will be your funeral.
* * *
Four days earlier, during the midterm evaluation.
Lee Min-ji desperately wanted to score 90 points, but Chung Gyo-gwan told her it was realistically impossible.
Then, something occurred to her: the Daelyok Muhon. She’d originally planned to show it to Chae Mu-jin and ask him to interpret it, but since he wasn’t around, she showed it to Chung Gyo-gwan instead.
“This… is a secret manual.”
“Majohn gave it to me. Could you possibly interpret it?”
“…Wait an hour.”
Chung Gyo-gwan was competent. He succeeded in decoding the Daelyok Muhon Secret Manual and shared its contents with her.
“Remarkable. This is a forbidden art that enhances physical and mental abilities either temporarily or permanently, to a tremendous degree.”
“What? That was possible through martial arts alone, not as a skill?”
“But using it is dangerous. According to this manual, it costs your lifespan.”
“How much of it?”
“For permanent enhancement, it costs half your lifespan. For temporary enhancement, one day’s lifespan per second of use, supposedly…”
“Lifespan, I understand. But lifeforce—if you just replenish it, it’s fine, isn’t it?”
“That’s exactly what’s strange. The price is far too cheap for what it offers. Even if it cost your lifespan or your very soul, it wouldn’t be unexpected… So I’d advise against it.”
According to Chung Gyo-gwan’s interpretation, the Daelyok Muhon was less martial art and more sorcery. And in his experience, sorcery was dangerous. It was better not to get involved at all.
“But if I really wanted to try it?”
“…If you’re going to do it no matter what I say, then I’d rather help you do it safely.”
So Lee Min-ji mastered the Daelyok Muhon. Both the permanent enhancement and the temporary method.
On the final evaluation day, she used the temporary enhancement as well, breaking through 90 points and reaching 92.
Lee Min-ji didn’t think she’d gotten power for free, of course. Even if her soul was being mortgaged, she didn’t care.
‘As long as I can catch Bahamut, nothing else matters.’
But Chae Mu-jin knew exactly what price the Daelyok Muhon demanded.
The Daelyok Muhon was not a secret manual. What was written here was a method of “contracting” with a Transcendent Being.
The lifeforce taken as payment meant control of the physical body.
In other words, someone who received permanent enhancement had offered half their bodily autonomy to a Transcendent Being as a sacrifice, and in return, that Being granted them physical and mental enhancement.
If she used temporary enhancement on top of that, bodily control would gradually slip toward the Transcendent Being, and in the end, she would lose all command of her own body.
‘The problem is not knowing what kind of entity the Transcendent Being connected to Daelyok Muhon is.’
Transcendent Beings were unknowns. As far as he knew, no one had ever properly revealed what one truly was.
But one thing was certain: they were monsters. When, and at what moment, that monster might seize bodily control and do who-knows-what—no one could say.
That was why Chae Mu-jin had sent that text to Majohn, the one about the day he visited being his funeral.
‘He exploited Min-ji’s desperation. That bastard!’
From now on, Lee Min-ji would have to live with the danger of suddenly losing control of her body and acting of her own accord.
The fact that no one knew when it would happen made it all the more terrifying.
“Min-ji. Prepare yourself.”
“P-prepare myself? Surely you’re not… abandoning me?”
“…No. Are you ready to listen?”
“N-no, I… wait, I forgot how to breathe, gasp…”
Chae Mu-jin took Lee Min-ji’s hand and steadied her with his Inner Force.
Then he told her all the secrets of the Daelyok Muhon.
That it wasn’t a secret manual but a sorcerous contract. That half her bodily control had already been taken by the Transcendent Being.
“So erase that temporary enhancement method from your mind. Even if death is staring you in the face, never think of Daelyok Muhon. That’s what the Transcendent Being wants.”
“…”
Lee Min-ji stared blankly into the void for a moment. She’d known there was no such thing as power without a price, but this was far more horrifying than she’d imagined.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her eyes wept, but she didn’t sob.
“You bastard…”
Harsh curses spilled from her lips.
“Majohn, you fucking bastard!”
Seeing her scream like that, Chae Mu-jin felt a small measure of relief.
The fact that she didn’t break even knowing about the Transcendent Being meant she could resist when it tried to seize her body.
“That’s very Min-ji of you.”
He was patting her shoulder when—
“What trouble have you caused now, sir?”
Cheon Yi-hwa approached with an unknowing smile, speaking in a friendly tone.

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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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