S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 39

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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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Chapter 39. Dungeon Drop (4)
Deep Dive holds no records. More than a hundred people have entered it, but only two have ever returned alive.
Even those two survivors’ accounts read like cosmic horror itself.
They felt they wandered the dungeon for ten years, yet only ten minutes had passed in the real world. A world where gravity inverted, forcing them to desperately cling to something to avoid being ejected into the void….
That place, where it’s more than understandable why the remaining ninety-eight never made it out—that is Deep Dive.
‘Being hit by a Dungeon Drop is already an extraordinarily rare case, but to have Deep Dive hidden inside it…’
Deep Dive is rarer than Dungeon Drop. It doesn’t exist permanently; it vanishes the moment it’s observed and enough time passes.
Being such a rare phenomenon, there’s even a religion built around Deep Dive.
They claim that inside Deep Dive is a dimensional gate leading to a fantasy otherworld, and that the ninety-eight who didn’t return simply didn’t want to.
‘A claim as meaningless as the existence of an afterlife.’
If what Cheon Ihwa found truly is Deep Dive, it’ll vanish within the hour.
Because I’ve observed it. Since I had no intention of entering Deep Dive anyway, I don’t feel much about it—just an unsettling unease.
‘In my past life, Hwararang Hotel never experienced a Dungeon Drop.’
Of course, I’m well aware that my actions have altered the future to some degree.
‘The future has changed enough for a Dungeon Drop that never existed to appear?’
If I think about it too hard, my head aches. Like trying to predict the Butterfly Effect—how a butterfly’s tiny wingbeat spawns a typhoon.
‘An unsettling coincidence. I’ll settle it at that and focus on escape.’
According to the information on one side of the map, the yeti I encountered in the blizzard and the yeti living in this cave are different species.
The cave yeti has no stealth ability, but its vitality and defense are exceptionally high, and it attacks with charges like a wild boar, the map noted.
“My party and I will venture deeper inside.”
“Your party, you say?”
“Me, Kim Yeoul, Lee Minji, and Bae Jita. Four of us.”
“Is this Bae Jita someone you trust?”
“Suspicious. That’s why I’m bringing him along.”
“…Understood. Take this map. We have spare copies.”
“Should’ve asked from the start—what’s your name?”
“Min Ganghyeok.”
Chae Mujin grabbed Min Ganghyeok’s hand and pulled him close, whispering near his ear.
“I’ve given you a Full Buff worth 500. It lasts three hours.”
“…!”
“If a villain shows up in front of you, trust the buff and fight.”
“…I’ll do my best.”
“You look older than me anyway—let’s see each other alive again.”
Chae Mujin collected the map and returned to his party.
“Kim Yeoul, Lee Minji, Bae Jita. You three follow me. The rest wait here.”
At the commanding tone, one of Bae Jita’s people stiffened.
“Why do you get to decide that….”
He didn’t finish. The guards occupying the cave fixed him with savage stares.
No warning was needed for him to understand: if he refused here, he’d be expelled from the cave.
“The rest of you survivors should wait here. Food and a fire are plentiful, and we guarantee your safety. However, any suspicious behavior will result in expulsion without warning.”
“B-but why are you letting that person go in?”
A hunter mustering his last courage pointed at Chae Mujin. The guards’ expressions asked why he’d ask something so obvious.
“You are merely a disaster survivor. But he is a hero.”
At the Certified Hunter Exam Venue, Chae Mujin had hidden the true power of his buff. He’d hidden it because he wanted to hide it.
But during the Dungeon Drop, Chae Mujin had revealed that hidden strength.
To save people. And for that, he had earned it—their praise and their trust.
Chae Mujin’s party departed deeper into the cave, receiving salutes from every guard as they went.
* * *
“What kind of position is this…?”
Bae Jita turned back to look at Chae Mujin, who stood at the very rear.
“I’m a Supporter, so I’m staying in the back. Problem with that?”
“I thought you were a swordsman since you’re carrying a sword.”
“There’s no rule saying Supporters can’t wield swords.”
“That’s fair, but why do I have to be at the front as an Archer?”
Bae Jita was a ranged Dealer—an archer. He held a bow but no quiver. The type that shoots Magic Arrows.
“Archers have good eyesight. Use it to spot the yeti early.”
“Why did you even bring me into the party in the first place?”
“You know why. You’re suspicious, so I’m keeping you close.”
“Does Minji also think I’m a villain?”
Lee Minji, a Great Hammer resting on her shoulder, scratched her cheek as she answered.
“I don’t know if you’re a villain, but you’re definitely suspicious.”
“I came here to help you people, and you repay kindness with suspicion?”
“Well, they say people with tattoos spend their whole lives proving they’re not gangsters. Same thing, really.”
Right behind her stood Lee Minji wielding the massive hammer, and behind her was Kim Yeoul, ready to fire Fireball at any moment.
Bae Jita heaved a heavy sigh and began advancing.
Of course, before entering the dungeon, Chae Mujin had cast Shadowless Incantation to grant Full Buff.
Naturally, only to Lee Minji and Kim Yeoul. He didn’t even grant Bae Jita an attack buff.
‘Why would I hand that guy Experience Points?’
His plan was to let Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji monopolize the experience.
Bae Jita served purpose enough as an aggro-draw.
After advancing some distance, Bae Jita stopped.
“Two of them ahead. We should hide.”
Bae Jita, unaware of how powerful Chae Mujin’s buff truly was, suggested they take cover.
“Yeoul. Use Flame Robe of Light and hit them once.”
“Understood.”
Flame Robe of Light adds light attribute to flame, creating a dual-element effect.
Whoosh!
A sphere of flame conjured from the air wraps in brilliant light. Beautiful to behold, but so dazzlingly bright that the yetis noticed.
Though hit by the sphere of radiant flame, the cave yeti didn’t dodge—it charged madly instead.
Their skin is stone-hard. Thus they fear fire not at all.
Boom!
Caught in the blast of the radiant sphere, both yetis wailed in agony.
The stone-skin they’d trusted shattered under the light attribute assault, and their rich fur caught fire, blazing fiercely.
Next came Lee Minji’s massive hammer swinging down on the writhing yetis.
Crunch! Bang! Crunch! Bang!
She brought the hammer down on their heads, stunning them completely, then unleashed full-power swings for follow-up damage.
The combo was flawless, but to Bae Jita, the damage seemed far too light to finish cave yetis.
‘Both of them are below Level 50. Even if the yetis look badly hurt, they must have considerable HP remaining.’
A monster’s assigned level represents the strength needed to defeat it one-on-one.
Which meant you’d need to be at least Level 200 to beat a yeti solo, though lower levels were acceptable for group hunts.
Yet even so, the consensus was that two Dealers under Level 50 defeating a Level 200 monster was impossible.
Thump.
Struck by Lee Minji’s finishing blow, the cave yetis collapsed without rising again, leaving Experience Points and items before vanishing.
“…?”
Bae Jita’s jaw hung slack in disbelief.
“Yeoul. That Fireball was perfect. Your casting speed, your destructive control—all excellent.”
“Hehe, I’ve practiced a lot.”
Having his worldview destroyed, Bae Jita reached an absurd conclusion.
“Are you two perhaps Level 300?”
“No. Level 30.”
“I’m Level 42.”
Bae Jita couldn’t believe it—not their levels below 50, nor the absolute certainty in their words.
He wondered if Han Yeoreum had done something, but that was impossible.
‘Han Yeoreum didn’t swing a sword.’
The claim of being a Supporter was obviously a lie. Even if she truly were a Supporter and buffed them, it made no sense.
‘What on earth is this?’
Chae Mujin pressed onward, indifferent to Bae Jita’s confusion.
When they encountered the next yeti, Bae Jita fired first. He wondered: were cave yetis here different from what he knew? Not Level 200—could they be Level 20?
Ting!
The Magic Arrow he fired didn’t even scratch the yeti’s skin.
Like firing a BB gun at an armored vehicle, the yeti didn’t even notice being hit.
But the moment Kim Yeoul’s Flame Robe of Light struck it—
“Screech!”
Its thick, hard stone-skin split wide. Two strikes of the Great Hammer that followed finished it without hesitation.
‘Why is hunting so easy?’
Bae Jita seemed the only one tense. The other three didn’t seem anxious at all—they were complaining the yetis were too few.
“Hunting yeti in the cave is nice because it’s not cold, and the experience is great too.”
“Yeah, lots of Experience Points. Hehe.”
“Cheon Ihwa must’ve cleared most of them—there aren’t many left.”
Chae Mujin was deliberately choosing paths Cheon Ihwa hadn’t checked.
There might be an exit there, and there would surely be more yetis.
Unfortunately, though yetis were found, no exit appeared anywhere.
“Let’s pick up the pace from here.”
Since Cheon Ihwa had cleared the yetis and moved forward, catching up to her took only moments.
* * *
Chae Mujin’s party didn’t immediately join Cheon Ihwa’s. She was in the middle of fighting five yetis.
But looking closer, only Cheon Ihwa was fighting, and all five yetis focused their attacks solely on her.
Boom! Crunch!
As if invisible platforms existed beneath her feet, she leaped through the air dodging every blow while unleashing Sword Slashes in rapid succession.
Whoosh!
Her blade moved faster than sight itself. By the time the afterimage appeared, blood was already fountaining.
Her strikes lacked the raw power to fell a yeti in one blow, but her blade found only vital points.
Nape of the neck, armpits, inner knees. As wounds and blood loss accumulated, the yetis slowed, then collapsed limply.
Crackle!
She finished them by driving her blade deep into the crown of the head or neck and twisting.
The entire sequence flowed naturally, swiftly.
Lee Minji’s mouth fell open at the sight.
“Wow…that’s possible.”
“Huh? What’s possible?”
“You don’t need to know, Yeoul. There exists such a realm.”
Two members of Cheon Ihwa’s party noticed Chae Mujin’s group and warned them.
“Who are you? We warned no one should enter—it’s dangerous.”
“Don’t come any closer.”
Jingle.
Then Cheon Ihwa stepped forward to mediate.
“These people are my acquaintances. All but one.”
“Are these two people you can trust, Cheon Ihwa?”
At Chae Mujin’s question, Cheon Ihwa’s expression showed confusion.
“I found two guards who were with you dead, with no signs of resistance. I believe this is the work of a villain.”
Cheon Ihwa’s pupils trembled for a moment at the mention of two deaths, but she quickly regained her composure.
“Those two were Level 70 with considerable experience. If they died without resisting, the villain must be high-level and trustworthy.”
She deduced the villain’s nature from only his statement, then introduced her own party instead.
“This is Choi Hun, a solo Tanker I’ve hunted with before, and Do Minwoo is a current physician and member of the Healer Union Guild.”
At Cheon Ihwa’s explanation, Do Minwoo showed the back of his hand. On it was inscribed a Caduceus Tattoo.
A tattoo only a physician who is simultaneously a Healer can bear.
In other words, neither Choi Hun nor Do Minwoo could be villains.
Naturally, all eyes turned to Bae Jita, who flinched.
“I-I’m also a Certified Hunter. And I saved people. I’m absolutely not a villain.”
“But there’s no one suspicious here except you.”
Choi Hun, his head shaved like a Viking and his beard braided, pressed Bae Jita, who gestured behind him.
“Why are you so sure the villain is here? There are far more people waiting at the entrance.”
“More people means higher odds it’s one of us. More people means standing out. But we’re few, and without flashlights, our vision’s limited. And you’re an archer, I see?”
“That makes it even less likely. No resistance marks means close-range assassination, doesn’t it?”
“You created that assumption to lower our guard. ‘An archer with a bow would be weak in melee,’ that prejudice.”
Choi Hun kept pressing, but Bae Jita didn’t buckle—he counterattacked instead.
“Sounds like a trap to frame me. And you’ve only hunted with Cheon Ihwa once. How do we know you didn’t turn villain?”
“I have a wife and kids. Would I go insane and become a villain?”
“Can you prove that here? You can’t call them now to confirm they’re safe, can you?”
As their emotions escalated, Chae Mujin, who’d been silent, stepped in.
“Stop.”
“Stop what? I’m certain this guy’s the villain.”
“Provide evidence instead of just saying so. Evidence!”
Even silenced, the two kept growling at each other. But Chae Mujin’s next words sealed their lips.
“I found it. The evidence.”
“…?!”
Even Cheon Ihwa, who’d stayed out of the deduction, joined in.
“You figured out who the villain is?”
“Yeah. First, these four aren’t it.”
Chae Mujin, Cheon Ihwa, Kim Yeoul, and Lee Minji were excluded.
Three remained: Bae Jita, Choi Hun, and Do Minwoo.
All three tried to object almost simultaneously, but Chae Mujin spoke faster.
“The villain is you.”
All eyes focused on his outstretched finger. He was pointing at Bae Jita.
“I knew it!”
“What evidence?”
“The guards’ blood isn’t ordinary. As a precaution, we inject Fluorescent Material so that when they’re murdered, the substance helps identify the killer.”
“…!”
“The villain’s clothes wouldn’t have blood—he’s a professional. But the soles of his shoes, he overlooked.”
All eyes shifted to Bae Jita’s shoes.
“You there. Take off your shoes right now and show me.”
“W-wait. I know nothing of this. Even if there really is a glow, it’s a misunderstanding!”
“I said take them off. Now!”
Bae Jita reluctantly removed his shoes. Everyone gathered to examine the sole, but it showed no Fluorescent Material, dirty though it was.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Chae Mujin, confused.
“It was a bluff, actually.”
“…?”
“But everyone believed it. So you checked Bae Jita’s shoes. Yet one person checked their own feet first.”
“…!”
Chae Mujin drew his Light Sword the moment he finished speaking.
Clang!
It clashed with a Surgical Scalpel.
Do Minwoo’s seemingly gentle expression twisted grotesquely, his mouth tearing upward.
The healer’s gaze vanished, replaced by the bloodlust of a butcher disassembling flesh.

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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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