S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 40

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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 40. Dungeon Drop (5)
Do Min-woo was born a psychopath. He found happiness only in dissecting living things.
But his parents, both doctors, discovered this early and tried to suppress it.
“Min-woo. From now on, you must learn to live like a normal person.”
“And if I refuse?”
“You die.”
Do Min-woo lived a false life in order to survive.
In the eyes of the world, he grew up as a timid but brilliant boy; by the time he entered medical school, he killed his father and mother. Using the acting skills and knowledge they had taught him.
His first murder, and his awakening. From that moment, Do Min-woo lived a double life.
By day, an emergency room doctor; by night, a villain.
Committing murder without being caught by police or hunters was an exquisite game to him.
Eight years. Do Min-woo had never been caught in eight years. Not a soul suspected him.
But right now, he was cornered by someone he’d never seen before.
With no clear evidence, brought down by psychological warfare alone. From here on, he had to choose.
‘Should I run, or hide and kill them one by one?’
Fighting everyone was never an option. Not with Cheon Yi-hwa there. He had no confidence in winning a direct confrontation, ambush or not.
‘I’ll take a hostage.’
The moment the thought crystallized, he acted.
Of the six people here, the one easiest to take hostage.
He threw his scalpel toward the mage with scraggly hair and glasses.
Cheon Yi-hwa drew her sword from behind, but I was faster.
‘Sword Link.’
Activating the A-grade skill that let him teleport to any weapon he owned, he vanished and reappeared directly in front of the mage.
He reached out to grab the mage by the collar, but—
Whoooosh!
A massive hammer hurtling toward him forced him to pull his hand back.
Lee Min-ji, after her first attack failed, didn’t follow up recklessly. She simply held her ground.
Had she attacked continuously, Do Min-woo would have slipped through and taken her as a hostage.
But she didn’t. Chae Moo-jin had ordered her to defend only.
Do Min-woo’s Sword Link was a threat, but nothing compared to Cheon Yi-hwa.
Swoosh!
He evaded the first attack with Sword Link, but the follow-up grazed his thigh.
Do Min-woo chose to fight Cheon Yi-hwa with his short scalpel.
Surprisingly, no winner emerged quickly. If anything, Cheon Yi-hwa seemed to be giving a little ground.
The two moved so fast and their exchanges were so intricate that no one else could intervene.
There was also faith—absolute faith that Cheon Yi-hwa would win.
But Chae Moo-jin had no intention of just watching.
“Min-ji, bring it down. Full power.”
At the command, Lee Min-ji jumped.
She slammed the ground with all her strength.
Crack!
A shockwave rippled across the ground. It couldn’t deal direct physical damage, but it had enough force to disrupt stance and balance.
Both Do Min-woo and Cheon Yi-hwa jumped to avoid the shockwave, but that was Do Min-woo’s mistake.
……!
While Do Min-woo couldn’t keep his balance in mid-air, Cheon Yi-hwa planted her feet on empty space and swung her blade.
Do Min-woo threw his scalpel backward—an attempt to escape using Sword Link. But—
“Fireball.”
Kim Yeo-ul threw a Fireball she’d pre-positioned in the direction Do Min-woo had thrown the scalpel.
An attack that wouldn’t hit if he just teleported away. But if he didn’t teleport, Cheon Yi-hwa’s blade would cleave him in two.
‘The lesser evil.’
Do Min-woo judged the mage to be far too low level. He calculated he could withstand one Fireball and escape, so he used Sword Link to teleport—
Boom!
“Cough!”
The power was nothing like what he’d expected. It felt like taking a Fireball from a level 200 mage.
Worse, the flames stuck to him stubbornly and wouldn’t go out. He had to roll across the ground in agony before they finally died down.
“Surrender.”
Cheon Yi-hwa wasn’t the type to wait for the flames to extinguish. She immediately pressed her blade to his neck and demanded his surrender.
‘Just a hothouse flower after all.’
Do Min-woo was certain she wouldn’t slice his throat. That’s why he’d hidden the venom needle he’d prepared earlier in his sleeve.
「Item—Basilisk Venom Needle」
•A basilisk venom needle imbued with the curse of petrification. The target struck by it will gradually turn to stone over the course of an hour.
Though single-use, even an A-grade hunter would have no choice but death if poisoned this way.
‘If I just deal with Cheon Yi-hwa, the rest will be easy.’
Clink.
He discarded his scalpel, feigning surrender.
“Please. Spare me.”
“Stand slowly. One wrong move and I’ll cut your throat.”
“Understood.”
Though her blade pressed against his neck, Do Min-woo felt no fear. Someone like him could never have survived eight years as a villain if he were capable of fear.
‘At least let’s die together, Cheon Yi-hwa.’
Just as Do Min-woo reached for the venom needle hidden in his sleeve—
“Cheon Yi-hwa, wait.”
Chae Moo-jin rushed forward and stopped her.
“What?”
“You don’t seem to know how to handle a villain.”
“What?”
“This is how you handle one.”
Slice.
Chae Moo-jin’s blade severed Do Min-woo’s right arm.
……!
The venom needle had been hidden in the right sleeve. When the arm came off, the needle fell to the ground with it.
Do Min-woo writhed in agony, but not from pain—he was trying to retrieve the needle with his left arm. But—
“As expected.”
Chae Moo-jin, having anticipated this, severed the left arm as well. Without even giving him a moment to process the shock, he then cut through both ankles. Not just Cheon Yi-hwa, but everyone present struggled to hide their reaction.
The sudden mutilation, Do Min-woo’s plan for mutual destruction—yet Chae Moo-jin remained utterly composed as he spoke.
“If you want to converse with a villain, you start by cutting off their limbs.”
But these words weren’t directed at Cheon Yi-hwa. They were for Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji.
* * *
Cheon Yi-hwa had no real intention of interrogating anyone. She’d never learned how. And truthfully, this was her first time fighting a villain.
She’d only ever sparred with people—always in a controlled, safe manner.
Even when she’d seen blood, it had been nothing worse than minor scrapes or nosebleeds. Watching Do Min-woo bleed out through severed limbs suddenly made her stomach lurch.
She tried to suppress it. She was the future greatest swordmaster of the realm, destined to lead the Hunter Association. She couldn’t afford to appear unsightly.
‘No, no, I can’t hold it in.’
Even as his limbs lay severed, Do Min-woo didn’t scream once. He just smiled, that eerie grin on his face, and the surreality of it all made her feel faint.
It was then that Chae Moo-jin suddenly grabbed her shoulder and pushed her back toward the cave entrance.
“You must be exhausted, Cheon Yi-hwa. Please rest. I’ll handle the interrogation as the support member.”
Chae Moo-jin’s thoughtfulness allowed Cheon Yi-hwa to distance herself from the others.
The remaining four stood dumbfounded. It had all happened in the blink of an eye.
Chae Moo-jin exposing the criminal, fighting Cheon Yi-hwa, severing limbs—barely five minutes had passed.
Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji, having followed Chae Moo-jin’s orders, were equally bewildered.
“Bae Ji-ta and Choi Hoon, could you keep watch at the rear?”
“…I doubt anything’s going to come from behind.”
“Is that your assessment too, Choi Hoon?”
The others didn’t realize it, but Choi Hoon understood exactly why Chae Moo-jin was clearing them out.
“…Will it take long?”
“Five minutes at most.”
“Guess I’ll take a piss while I wait.”
Choi Hoon dragged Bae Ji-ta away.
This left only Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji. They both understood why they alone had stayed.
‘Watch and learn.’
Having caught on to his intent, the two swallowed hard but kept their eyes fixed on Do Min-woo.
“Interrogating a villain, to me, seems fundamentally pointless.”
“Sure, there are villains less bad and villains really bad, but why should we be the ones to judge? A villain should have to convince us first—’I’m actually one of the less bad ones, please spare me.’ But these bastards don’t.”
“Look at this one. The moment his cover was blown, he tried to take the weakest person here—Kim Yeo-ul—as a hostage. When that failed, he went for Lee Min-ji. When that failed too, he tried to drag Cheon Yi-hwa off to the grave with him. He confessed everything through action, not words: ‘I’m hopeless garbage beyond saving.'”
The two reacted differently. Kim Yeo-ul nodded in agreement; Lee Min-ji looked uncertain.
“Do you think sparing his life would earn us gratitude? Or even an honest answer to our questions? Even if he answered, we’d never know if it was truth or lies. And cutting off his limbs doesn’t neutralize him—skills activate from the mind. We’re taking a real risk doing this.”
Then Lee Min-ji, who’d been quietly listening, raised her hand.
“Are you going to kill him?”
“Yes.”
“Without turning him over to the Hunter Association? No trial, no legal judgment?”
Sensing his chance, Do Min-woo began pleading toward Lee Min-ji.
“Please, let me live. I didn’t want to become a villain. I had no choice. I’m telling you the truth.”
Lee Min-ji, gripping her hammer tighter, fixed him with a cold stare.
“You’ve got it wrong. I was just curious whether killing you would cause legal trouble.”
Even Chae Moo-jin was slightly startled at that. Lee Min-ji clearly had no experience with killing.
He’d assumed she’d have a strong moral aversion to murder. This was quite unexpected.
‘Killing monsters is different from killing people. And she’s only twenty-one.’
Twenty-one years old.
If she’d lived an ordinary life, this would be the age to start a part-time job, to have her first taste of society, to fall into passionate love.
The age to strain her mind in university lectures, to worry about her future.
Not the age to stake her life on revenge or resolve to kill for its sake.
‘I was spared the trouble of persuading her, but it leaves a bitter taste.’
Chae Moo-jin answered her question.
“Private execution is illegal in every country. No matter how atrocious the villain, you can’t kill them.”
“Really?”
“But if you kill in self-defense, that’s different.”
“How do you prove that? Do we have to keep cameras rolling all the time?”
“Official hunters actually all wear body cameras. You and Yeo-ul will get yours the moment your training camp ends.”
“So the conclusion is we can kill him?”
“…Well, about that. Min-ji, Yeo-ul. This is personal.”
Chae Moo-jin knew even as he spoke that this was sophistry, but he needed to say it anyway.
“I’d rather neither of you killed anyone, or were killed yourselves. Killing a person, even a villain—it’s not something to take lightly.”
Chae Moo-jin outstretched both arms, easing Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji back slightly, then pointed his blade Ephilue at Do Min-woo.
“So if you really must kill, call me to do it.”
Then, cleanly as butchering, he severed Do Min-woo’s neck.
Slice.
“I won’t feel a thing.”
* * *
It was revealed that Do Min-woo had managed his healer act thanks to unique-grade equipment.
Everything else he carried was at least rare grade; by law, all villain equipment is subject to state seizure.
But Cheon Yi-hwa, despite being Hunter Association, understood pragmatism. She knew how to distinguish the people who absolutely deserved to be rewarded from the rest.
“Had it not been for Chae Moo-jin, we would never have discovered Do Min-woo was a villain. On behalf of the Hunter Association, please accept this reward.”
「Equipment—Life Breath Ring」
Rarity: Unique
Quality: F
•Absorbs and stores the life force of yourself or others. Can heal using the stored life force.
(Stored life force: 1,137)
Despite being the lowest quality, this rare unique-grade equipment was invaluable.
“I’ll accept.”
Chae Moo-jin didn’t refuse because he recognized the potential of the Life Breath Ring.
‘The word “healing” is broad. This means it can regenerate fatal wounds too.’
In other words, this item itself was a portable healer.
“But tell me, how did you figure out that Do Min-woo was a villain?”
Chae Moo-jin answered Choi Hoon’s question casually.
“I just made a guess. If it was wrong, only I’d look foolish. Though I did suspect Do Min-woo had the highest probability.”
“Wasn’t that our first meeting?”
“Exactly because it was. Saw it more clearly. A doctor and a healer. That meek demeanor. It felt like he was trying to broadcast how good of a person he was.”
“Ah.”
“Meanwhile, you and Bae Ji-ta seemed ambiguous. When I tried to gauge if you were good people, nothing stood out. If I were a villain, I wouldn’t have chosen such an ambiguous position.”
“You’re a scary one. I’m Choi Hoon. Thanks for the show.”
“Chae Moo-jin.”
As they shook hands, Chae Moo-jin felt Bae Ji-ta’s glare.
“Didn’t you say your name was Han Yeo-yeom?”
“Just a guess.”
I broke out in a cold sweat because of you. I’ve never felt this wronged in my life.”
“Being wrongly accused and walking away alive—that’s good fortune. Come on, let’s get a drink.”
“A drink? We haven’t even found the exit yet.”
“You’re worried about the Yeti now, with this lineup?”
Even without Cheon Yi-hwa, Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji had been handling the Yeti well enough.
With Cheon Yi-hwa and a solid tank like Choi Hoon now in the party, the Yeti posed no threat, even in large numbers.
Still, they didn’t let their guard down. There was no guarantee only Yetis would appear, no guarantee of no traps.
They pressed forward without hesitation but examined their surroundings meticulously. It took longer this way, but it kept them from danger.
Chae Moo-jin taught Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji the principles of hunting in his spare moments.
“No matter how urgent things get, you can’t rush. One mistake, and the time it takes multiplies twofold, threefold.”
⁝
“Everything we use is finite. Stamina, mental focus, mana. Even equipment durability. If you’re too absorbed in hunting, you won’t notice when one runs out. That’s when disaster strikes.”
⁝
“Develop the habit of thinking. Even when danger is closest. But if that feels impossible, don’t choose a middling option—trust your instincts instead. The survival rate is higher that way.”
Every word Chae Moo-jin spoke inspired and resonated with Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji. The same held true for Cheon Yi-hwa.
She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop; she’d simply been curious about what he was saying and focused her inner power to listen. But as she did, a moment of enlightenment arrived.
That moment she’d never reached despite all her effort and concentration.
Breaking through a barrier, Cheon Yi-hwa’s face flushed with euphoria. She felt as though she could even block the single strike of her master now.
‘What if I told him I blocked the One Strike of the Greatest Swordmaster? He’d be so shocked. Wait—’
Cheon Yi-hwa caught herself mid-thought and went red.
It sounded like she was trying to impress Chae Moo-jin by challenging her master. What was she thinking?
‘It was only because he helped me. Pure coincidence. But I’m grateful either way.’
She’d regretted not having exchanged more words at the lounge anyway.
Once they escaped the dungeon, she could arrange to spend time with him under various pretexts.
A few hours later, Chae Moo-jin’s party located a total of seventeen exits and returned, only to find the Hunter Association rescue squad already waiting.
“We’ll investigate the rest of the dungeon structure. Please exit first, Cheon Yi-hwa and your companions.”
To this dungeon named “Yeti’s Snowy Mountain,” the rescue squad wasn’t the only arrival. Dungeon Divers came with them. That was because of where this dungeon had manifested and what it had consumed.
Smack in the center of Seoul, it had swallowed the Galleria Hotel—a sixty-two-story ultra-luxury establishment.
The hotel belonged to Cheon Yi-hwa; Cheon Yi-hwa’s property was the Hunter Association chairman’s property.
To rescue the hotel consumed by the dungeon, the true masters had rushed in post-haste.
Thanks to this, both Cheon Yi-hwa and Chae Moo-jin could exit without worry, but there was no time to rest.
Click-click!
“It’s Cheon Yi-hwa! Cheon Yi-hwa is coming out!”
“Tell us about the dungeon drop!”
“We heard you caught a villain! How did you catch them, and who was it?”
Nearly three hundred reporters stood ready with their barrage of questions.

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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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