S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 51

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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 51. Knowing Alone Is Not Enough (2)
A dungeon, the Iron-armored Bee Nest. A place where murderous bees dwell, armored in a plating as hard and thick as any tank’s.
Lee Minji, who despised insects with a passion, had cycled through every expression of displeasure.
“Why bees, of all things?”
“Does it matter whether the monster is a bee or a person?”
“Bees are gross.”
“You haven’t met a gross person yet, then.”
“…Don’t make me imagine that.”
The two of them observed the swarm of iron-armored bees from behind a boulder. Five of them orbited a massive tree like satellites, hunting creatures that looked like ants.
“Do bees normally fly that fast?”
The iron-armored bee, each one as big as a watermelon, flew with a speed that belied its bulk.
“Only in a straight line. They can’t control momentum, so once they charge, they just lumber forward like an idiot.”
“But they’re still flying. How am I supposed to catch them with this giant Hammer?”
“Can’t Magic Girl catch them?”
Lee Minji shook her head without hesitation.
“She’d catch one in a single blow.”
“Wrong. You’re going to catch all five at the same time in a single blow.”
“I’m not Magic Girl.”
“Of course not. You need to be stronger than Magic Girl. She isn’t the peak you’re reaching for—just a ridge you have to cross.”
Tap-tap.
Chae Mujin tapped Lee Minji on the back. It looked like encouragement.
“What are you standing around for? I gave you a Buff. Go fight.”
“How am I supposed to fight? You haven’t shown me or anything?”
“I don’t have the strength to wield a large weapon, and it’s not my specialty. That’s why I showed you Magic Girl. Call on your instinct and intuition, and think back on her movements.”
When you first learn to ride a bike, you’ll never grow if fear of falling keeps you from putting your feet on the pedals.
You have to accept that falling is natural, put your feet on the pedals, and move forward. You only need to overcome that initial fear.
But alone, it’s difficult.
Whoosh, thud!
A stone Chae Mujin threw struck an iron-armored bee dead center.
Buzzzzzzzzzz!
All five iron-armored bees turned their gaze toward Chae Mujin at once.
“Imagination sends people to the moon, but imagination alone lands you on a phantom moon. Go see the real one.”
Chae Mujin fell back, and two of the iron-armored bees followed him.
The remaining three were Lee Minji’s responsibility. She gripped the Hammer tightly and called out boldly.
“Here goes nothing!”
* * *
Lee Minji, sitting on a tree stump, squeezed her eyes shut.
Pop!
“Ow ow! Be gentle, be gentle!”
Chae Mujin, pulling out the poisoned stinger embedded in her body, cast Healing Light and spoke.
“I told you Buff isn’t invincibility.”
“It’s not like I wanted to get hit! And now I’m in agony, and all you do is lecture me.”
“It’s not a lecture—I’m telling you to be careful. A Buff can’t give you poison resistance.”
“There’s no poison resistance Buff?”
“There is one. But I’m not going to learn it.”
“Why? Wouldn’t it be good to have it?”
“Poison resistance can be replaced by other means. So don’t worry. I’ll make you Immunity to All Poisons later.”
Pop.
Chae Mujin removed the last stinger and stood.
“Healing’s done. Let’s get back to hunting.”
“Wait. Could you give me another Buff? Movement speed and attack speed?”
What Lee Minji felt most keenly while fighting the iron-armored bees was speed—both movement and attack.
Magic Girl’s swift movements all come down to speed.
So if I increase my speed, wouldn’t that do the trick? A simple, straightforward thought.
But Chae Mujin shook his head.
“Minji. I killed an iron-armored bee without a Buff. You didn’t see? With my Buff, you’re already seven times faster than me.”
“You use a sword. I have this Hammer.”
“With my Buff, your speed matches a Level 200 Assassin. But the fact you think that’s insufficient means you’re relying on speed alone. You only think about moving faster than the bee. Is this a race? You win if you move faster than your opponent?”
Thud.
Chae Mujin tossed her the Camcorder this time.
“A recording of you hunting the bee. Watch it, and you’ll see how foolishly you moved.”
“Isn’t it against the rules to use electronics inside a Dungeon?”
“This was custom-made. By the way, it costs over 200 million won, so don’t break it.”
“200 million?!”
Startled by the figure, Lee Minji nearly dropped the Camcorder but caught it again, only to break into a cold sweat.
Then the video began playing, and Lee Minji was transfixed.
“Ugh, how embarrassing.”
From a third-person perspective, fighting the bee looked like she was a circus clown. Every movement was exaggerated and clumsy.
She’d raise the Hammer to swing, hesitate, wait for the bee to pass, then swing belatedly.
Chae Mujin hadn’t been wrong about anything.
She was faster than the bee. The problem was that by fixating on speed alone, she’d grown careless in actually striking the target.
The fight only ended thanks to a war of attrition, trusting in the Buff rather than true skill.
But in the process, the bee attacked her relentlessly.
Bitten by fangs, stung by stingers. This was a bee that could chew through steel.
Without the Buff, it wouldn’t have been the bee that was minced meat—it would have been her.
“If I’d just swung here, I think I’d have caught it…….”
“How did Magic Girl swing the Hammer?”
“Why couldn’t I keep my legs still?”
Chae Mujin watched Lee Minji pose questions to herself and grow, an satisfied smile crossing his face.
The expensive Camcorder custom-made for dungeons had been worth the investment.
Of course, even gaining objectivity about oneself doesn’t mean change happens immediately.
People aren’t machines. They go through trial and error. Finding out if they were right or wrong.
Chae Mujin offered advice in between.
“Don’t get overconfident after one success. You’re only truly successful when you succeed a hundred times out of a hundred attempts.”
“Pay attention to your breathing. Do you know how much your body moves when you inhale and exhale for the sake of breathing?”
“I’m not saying don’t breathe. I’m saying control it. Distinguish between times to breathe and times not to.”
Hunt and watch the video. Hunt and watch the video. Repeating this cycle—
“Oh!”
“You just hit Level 50, didn’t you?”
“Yes!”
Lee Minji smiled brightly, finally reaching Level 50 and able to learn a new Skill.
Stats gained through Level Up grow stronger through accumulation, but Skills make a Hunter instantly and noticeably stronger—at minimum one Rank higher.
Chae Mujin said the exact same thing to Lee Minji that he’d said to Kim Yeoul.
“You have any god you believe in?”
“No.”
“Believe in everything for now. Pray for a good Skill to appear.”
“I still won’t believe in god. My mom and dad believed in god. They went to church every week, did a lot of volunteer work, but they died anyway. Even if god exists, I won’t believe.”
With both hands clasped tightly, Lee Minji prayed not to god but to her father and mother.
For your revenge, grant me a powerful offensive Skill, she pleaded.
The Skill that appeared was…….
「Trait—Escape (F)」
•Movement speed increases by 10% when moving in the direction away from enemies.
(+0.1% increase per Level)
「Skill—Rejection (F)」
•You can selectively refuse beneficial Skills.
Chae Mujin could tell from Lee Minji’s expression alone. The Skill that appeared was the lowest Grade.
Still, what needed to be done had to be done.
“What came out?”
“…Escape and Rejection.”
“Then pick Escape. Rejection is useless.”
“No. I’m picking Rejection.”
Before Chae Mujin could even protest, Lee Minji had already selected the Skill.
“Lee Minji. What are you doing?”
“What? They’re just F-Grade Skills.”
“Whether it’s F-Grade or A-Grade, I know better what’s good and what’s not.”
“Are you angry?”
“Angry? You’ve got quite a story written all over your face.”
“Stop looking at me like that, will you? Stop it.”
“Fine. If you don’t want to talk, don’t. But there won’t be a next time.”
One F-Grade Skill chosen poorly doesn’t make much difference. Right now, caring for Lee Minji’s mental state seemed more important than the Skill itself.
“I understand. I won’t do it again.”
Watching Lee Minji acquiesce so readily, Chae Mujin clicked his tongue and held something out.
Lee Minji, taking it, let out a hollow laugh.
“Do you think I’m a child?”
Lee Minji waved the Chocolate. Chae Mujin unwrapped another piece and spoke.
“A bitter life needs sweet Chocolate to bear.”
“…Give me one more.”
“That’s all there is.”
“Keep more with you.”
Even as she grumbled, Lee Minji ate the Chocolate and recovered her spirits.
Hunting resumed. Though she gained no benefit from the Skill obtained at Level 50, Lee Minji wouldn’t rest even when Chae Mujin suggested it—she continued hunting and training.
How much time had passed like that?
“Let’s go.”
“I can still do more though?”
“I know. It’s time for the appointment.”
“The appointment… Magic Girl?”
“Yes.”
They hadn’t slept. A full day had passed. To meet Magic Girl at the appointed time, they had to leave now.
“This time I’ll actually fight her.”
“I’ll film it for you.”
Lee Minji crunched on the Chicken Breast Chae Mujin had prepared, readying herself for the decisive battle.
The moment they met Magic Girl, the sparring match began—
“Thank you. I look forward to tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, here.”
The sparring ended faster than the day before.
* * *
Lee Minji had been watching a two-second video for three hours straight.
The first time she fought Magic Girl, she couldn’t even draw her weapon and ended up pleading face-down. This time, she’d drawn it.
And that was where it ended.
Before she could even take a stance, Magic Girl’s Hammer stopped just a hair’s breadth above her head, exactly as before.
“Why didn’t I have the weapon ready beforehand, you idiot? I should have just held it from the start…….”
“…Even if I had, could I block her first swing? I can’t even see her move.”
“…Then what if I just move first…….”
After a reasonable amount of time passed, Chae Mujin put her in the car. The destination was, of course, a Dungeon.
Lee Minji didn’t complain. Rather, as if she’d been waiting, she entered the Dungeon first.
On the first day, she’d faced maybe five iron-armored bees at most, but this time she took on seven.
This wasn’t just two more bees. The combat difficulty more than doubled.
Managing all seven bees wore Lee Minji down quickly.
So another day passed, and came the third sparring match with Magic Girl.
Taking the previous loss as a lesson, she drew the Hammer in advance and tried predictive strikes, but the result remained unchanged.
“Thank you. I look forward to tomorrow.”
Fourth match with Magic Girl. She attacked the moment she stepped out of the car. She’d decided that letting the opponent strike first was unacceptable.
But somehow, Magic Girl’s delayed strike was faster than Lee Minji’s preemptive attack.
“Thank you. I look forward to tomorrow.”
Fifth match with Magic Girl. Same as before—she struck first. Only this time, she was faster.
Of course, being a little faster wasn’t going to let her overcome Magic Girl.
The Hammer stopped a hair’s breadth from her head, just like the first day. The match should have ended like that, but…….
Buzzzzzz!
Lee Minji swung her Hammer at Magic Girl. Even though defeat was already certain.
Tap.
The Hammer, brought down with all her weight behind it, stopped lamely.
Touched by Magic Girl’s index finger, the Hammer didn’t budge—as if it had struck a massive boulder.
Beyond a gap in strength lay a difference in existence itself.
“It’s not over yet. I’m still fine!”
Then Magic Girl spun the Hammer she was holding in one circle. As the enormous mass whirled like a twig, Lee Minji, unable to overcome the centrifugal force, flew through the air.
“Kyaaaaaaaa!”
Lee Minji soared for a long time before landing, then tumbled and rolled far away.
Chae Mujin shook his head and spoke to Magic Girl.
“Thank you. I look forward to tomorrow.”
There was no response. Magic Girl simply faded away in silence.
Chae Mujin’s brow furrowed.
‘No emotion showing.’
As for the sparring, it didn’t particularly matter. The sparring appointment had already been added to Magic Girl’s routine.
‘But the loss of reason is happening faster than I remember.’
In his previous life, Chae Mujin had a connection with Magic Girl. Because of that, he knew this place she frequented and that barley could awaken her mind.
‘She was functioning normally until January next year. Then in February she disappeared, and by April she caused problems. Eventually in September, she self-destructed in Gangwon Province.’
It was currently November. He’d calculated he had six months of leeway, but looking at Magic Girl’s current state, she wouldn’t last six months at all.
‘I need to prepare the Magic Girl Raid earlier.’
The problem was Lee Minji. Could she possibly keep up with this grueling training?
“Hey mister! Where’d that woman go?!”
Seeing her rush over covered in dirt, his worry seemed unfounded.

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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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