S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 56

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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 56. Knowing Alone Is Not Enough (7)
Chae Mujin’s training had no beginning and no end. It could start at any moment, and no one knew when it would finish.
“Not knowing what to do is not a sin. But knowing what to do and not doing it—that is a sin!”
Sleep was rationed to four hours a day, and strength training began the moment he woke.
“When’s mealtime, you ask? Why didn’t you eat while training? Humans are creatures of adaptation. Eat while you move. The trick is to eat small amounts, often.”
Once morning strength training ended, he’d sprint straight to the Dungeon for work.
Until now, Chae Mujin had always chosen safe Dungeons.
Even high-Level Dungeons became manageable if he received Buffs first.
But this Dungeon—Lava Mountain—terrified both Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji.
“Ahhhhh!”
Kim Yeoul screamed as lava erupted from a Level 250 Lava Golem, grazing her skin.
No amount of magical defense could eliminate the agony of burns.
Chae Mujin pulled Medical Tools from his Shadow Bag, administered emergency treatment, finished with Light of Healing, and spoke.
“If you have the strength to scream, use that time to throw one more Fireball.”
“Ah, sir. I’m so hot I’m getting dizzy. Please help me.”
“So you’ve finally hit your limit. Environmental damage from heat and cold can be neutralized by Mana. Use Visualization. Wrap the Mana from your body around the outside of your skin.”
Chae Mujin demonstrated it himself. But it was not a technique one could copy just by watching.
“Don’t understand? Then keep doing it until you do! Unless you want to be boiled alive!”
After environmental adaptation and Level Up in the high-Level Dungeon, night fell, and one-on-one sparring began.
“Slow. Weak!”
Chae Mujin showed no mercy to Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji, exhausted from training and hunting.
He struck them relentlessly with a hollow Wooden Sword, making it look less like sparring and more like violence.
“Come at me like you’re trying to kill me. I’m not weak enough to be taken down by brats like you.”
Even during this, Chae Mujin cast Buffs on Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji. Of course, he left out the attack power Buff—he wasn’t about to die.
Once evening sparring ended, came the final lesson: Meditation Review.
“Reflect on what you failed to do today and what you did well.”
At least this was a very quiet form of training. All they had to do was sit cross-legged and close their eyes.
‘Finally, I can rest.’
‘So sleepy.’
Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji immediately began blinking drowsily.
Tap!
“Ow!”
“Agh!”
Chae Mujin brought his Wooden Sword down on both their shoulders.
“I told you to meditate, not sleep.”
“Discover through meditation what you lack. Find it. Your weaknesses. Your strengths.”
“Knowing alone is not enough. Apply it. Test whether my thoughts were wrong or right. That’s how you increase the accuracy of your thinking.”
Once meditation ended, they could finally rest. Four and a half hours, including shower time.
“Wake up.”
“Ugghhh.”
After just one day, Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji were sore all over, hobbling like patients.
Two people in their early twenties limping and groaning looked like newborn calves.
It was pitiful and piteous.
Sympathy would have been natural.
Chae Mujin responded mercilessly by opening the window to let in cold air.
“It’s tough, I know. But that’s normal. If it didn’t hurt, you’d be shirking, so you’re doing just fine.”
Morning strength training resumed. Performance was, naturally, far worse than yesterday.
“Slow is fine. What matters is precision. Don’t give up.”
“Sir, sir. I can’t lift my arms.”
“Let me see. Hmm, not malingering, then. How about your legs?”
“Huh?”
“Can’t bend your legs?”
“…I think they bend.”
“Then start squats.”
Lee Minji raised her hand in a Flash, thinking she’d die at this rate.
“What is it.”
“Ah, sir. Everything’s fine, but I looked it up—muscle growth requires recovery time, right? A trainer and a doctor both said so.”
“That’s for ordinary people. Hunters are different.”
“Huh? Really?”
“A Hunter’s body is steel. The more you train, the stronger you become. And this training isn’t just for muscle work. It’s to break the biological limiter.”
“Biological limiter?”
“Most vehicles can go faster than their displayed speed. A 200 km/h car, for instance, can reach 300 km/h. But it’s restricted for safety. The human body is the same. It’s sealed so you can’t produce power beyond a certain threshold set for your own safety. This training is about breaking that seal.”
“Ah….”
“No need to understand it now. Your body will understand it soon enough.”
Chae Mujin’s words became reality in an instant.
Kim Yeoul, hunting while bearing the soreness, finally mistepped. Whether it was bad luck or fatigue that clouded her vision, a lava pit lay right beside her.
In that moment, Kim Yeoul turned her head. She believed Chae Mujin would save her.
But Chae Mujin didn’t move. He wasn’t even looking her way. The moment she realized he wouldn’t save her.
Slap!
She stretched out her own arm and avoided falling into the lava pit. An arm stiff from soreness that she’d struggled to extend at all.
“I… I did it… ughhhh.”
But the price was tremendous pain that shot through not just her arm but her entire body.
Training continued. Two days, four days, five days….
Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji couldn’t believe it.
On the first day, they’d felt like they were dying, but now they were enduring it, growing accustomed to it—they could see the change in themselves.
‘I’m actually holding up?’
‘The dumbbells that felt so heavy on day one now feel light.’
At first, they suspected Chae Mujin was just driving them mercilessly. But that wasn’t it.
Chae Mujin’s training was systematic and planned.
Still, there was one complaint.
“Sir, don’t we ever get a day off?”
It was an unexpected question, but good news came.
“We do.”
“When? Today? Tomorrow?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“You’ll understand soon enough.”
Whether by design or good fortune, on the fifth day, the rest day Chae Mujin had spoken of arrived.
Beep, beep, beep!
Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji’s phones rang loudly despite being on silent. It was the Official Hunter summons alert.
“We’re Official Hunters, aren’t we.”
“I’d forgotten.”
The eyes of both widened as they checked their phones.
―[E-Rank Crack detected near Gocheok Skydome. Emergency summons issued.]
―Accept summons.
―Decline summons.
―[If you don’t choose within 60 seconds, you will be marked as declining.]
A Crack. A dimensional rift spewing monsters.
“Sir, this….”
“Accept it.”
“Yes, sir!”
“You too, Minji.”
Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji hit the accept button simultaneously. A navigation map from their current location to Gocheok Skydome appeared.
“Resolving a Crack isn’t rest. That’s just work.”
“So, want to go hunt Lava Golems with me instead?”
“I’ll be back!”
Lee Minji bolted out.
* * *
At the center of Gocheok Skydome.
The smooth, egg-like Crack pulsed like a beating heart.
“Officer Kim.”
“Director Im, you’ve arrived.”
In the broadcast booth overlooking the stadium, a Hunter holding a Tablet instead of a weapon bowed respectfully.
The man called Director Im pointed to his chest with a finger.
“Identity Badge.”
“Ah, it’s in my pocket.”
“Go.”
“Yes, sir.”
―Crack Response Division Team 1, Officer Kim Hansoo.
“First time at an actual site, then.”
“Y-yes, sir. But I’ve prepared perfectly according to the manual.”
“Let’s see.”
Drum Tanks connected with steel cables had been positioned as a first layer around the Crack.
“What did you fill the Drum Tanks with?”
“Napalm and iron fragments.”
“What was your reasoning in positioning the Hunters and Anti-Magic Special Task Force?”
“I designed it to avoid close-range combat as much as possible. The focus was on using the elevated stands as high ground for long-range interception.”
“Do you think we have enough personnel?”
Officer Kim produced his Tablet in response.
―[Total Summons: 182]
―[Official Hunters: 145]
B-Rank: 8
C-Rank: 19
D-Rank: 116
E-Rank: 2
―[Solo Hunters: 12]
C-Rank: 10
D-Rank: 2
―[Anti-Magic Special Task Force: 25]
―[Fire Department: Standing by]
―[Medical Corps: Standing by]
Director Im alternated between studying the Tablet and surveying the site for a long moment.
Officer Kim, standing at attention, swallowed hard.
The Director before him was a veteran among veterans. The ace of Crack Response Division Team 1.
“Nothing to fault.”
“Ah, thank you, sir!”
“Nothing to fault if the goal is to kill us all.”
“…?”
Officer Kim, who’d thought it was a compliment, blinked rapidly. Had he made some mistake?
“Look at the Mana pattern of the Crack. This isn’t a normal E-Rank Crack. It’s a Mutant Crack that spawns Elite monsters.”
“As for the Mana pattern, I’ve examined it carefully myself. But no matter how I look at it, it appears to be a normal pattern….”
“Right. This Crack is disguising itself as normal to fool someone like you. You relaxed because the pattern was regular? That’s the trap. It’s too regular. You saw the trees but not the forest.”
“Then… what should we do now? We have less than 10 minutes before the Crack opens. Requesting reinforcements would….”
“Don’t panic.”
Director Im returned the Tablet and crossed his arms.
“I’ve already requested support. We just need to buy time.”
“How much time, sir?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Thirty… minutes? But that means casualties on our side are inevitable.”
“You’re talking shit.”
Director Im tore the high-end watch from Officer Kim’s wrist with brute force.
“Your entire high salary comes from taxpayers’ money. It’s your freedom to use that money to buy this pretty trash and brag about it, but earn your pay. Fight, don’t run. That’s why you were selected as an Official Hunter.”
“Where… where are you going, sir? The command….”
“Did you think the Crack Response Division was a desk job? If so, we wouldn’t have recruited a warrior class like you. Follow me. We command from the front lines.”
Officer Kim, dragged along forcibly, was a Level 102 D-Rank Hunter, but faced with the Crack, his entire body trembled.
‘This… is a Crack.’
Just as the heat is felt from a distance when a great fire erupts, Kim’s skin tingled despite being nearly 100 meters from the Crack.
“The Crack is opening!”
Director Im’s loud voice signaled the start of combat. Hunters positioned beforehand stood ready according to their assigned positions.
But then, two Hunters caught Director Im’s eye.
A slight young man who appeared to be a mage and a girl wielding a massive Hammer.
‘Two E-Rank Hunters?’
Hunter Ranks are generally divided by Level. E-Rank refers to Hunters aged 50 to 99 Levels.
‘Rookies with no Crack experience. I positioned them in the rear myself, but they’ve disobeyed orders.’
Director Im sighed as he saw the two who should have been in the rear lingering in the front lines.
‘There’s no time to rearrange the formation now. We have to proceed as is.’
Even if the two died, it would be their own doing. They’d disobeyed the Crack Response Division’s orders.
Crack!
The Crack shattered, and fog spread outward. The fog expanded exactly 50 meters before stopping.
Director Im fingered the Detonator in his hand, counting silently.
The fog from the Crack was not ordinary fog. It was a Respawn Swarm that spawned monsters.
Exactly 10 seconds after fully expanding.
“Detonate!”
Boom, boom, boom, bang!
The Drum Tanks, pre-installed, detonated the moment monsters spawned.
Eeeek!
Kyaaaaaah!
Monsters shrieked within the fog. The trap was clearly effective, though which monster had been summoned remained unknown.
Whoosh!
Then, a monster emerged from the fog. Not from the ground, but from the air.
It resembled a Goblin, but possessed bat-like wings and horns sprouted from its head.
“Flying Goblins!”
“Now goblins are flying? Are you kidding me?!”
“How disgusting!”
Goblins, the standard low-tier monster. But if they possessed wings and horns, everything changed.
“Damn it, they’re Demon Goblins! If you get hit with their Toxic Poison Ray, your insides melt within a minute! Evade, no matter what!”
At Director Im’s thunderous command, Hunters scattered in panic.
Fortunately, the Hunters gathered here were veterans with real combat experience.
The fact that they’d volunteered for the Crack response meant they were confident.
“Ice Spear!”
“Arrow Rain!”
“Instant Slash!”
All manner of ranged skills shot down the Demon Goblins in succession.
While Hunters recovered their Mana, soldiers specialized in monster combat—the Anti-Magic Special Task Force—provided covering fire.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
Boom, boom!
Even bullets and grenades the size of an adult’s forearm couldn’t kill Demon Goblins alone, but they bought precious seconds.
The accuracy and coordination surpassed that of Solo Hunters. They were individuals, yet they supported each other organically.
“Twelve o’clock, need one Tanker to support!”
“Coming from six!”
“Argh! Damn, I’m hit!”
“Fall back and get healed!”
“There’s a Healer who can detoxify, so wait!”
An endless tide of Demon Goblins poured in. Director Im felt something amiss.
‘Why are these bastards so aggressive?’
The Demon Goblins he knew were cunning and opportunistic. They didn’t press forward this actively.
Yet these Demon Goblins attacked ferociously, without restraint.
Because of it, Hunters had no time to catch their breath. They fought with injuries, fought with depleted Mana.
‘No deaths yet… wait.’
All Official Hunters carried Identity Badges that detected biometric signals.
Through them, he could tell if someone had suffered a fatal wound or died during combat.
Sensing something missing in the count, Director Im checked his Tablet, and sure enough.
―[Official Hunters: 143]
B-Rank: 8
(Minor injuries: 7, Serious injuries: 1)
C-Rank: 19
(Minor injuries: 16, Serious injuries: 3)
D-Rank: 116
(Minor injuries: 102, Serious injuries: 13, Fatal wounds: 1)
E-Rank: 0
(Deaths: 2)
“So they’re dead after all….”
A bitter taste filled his mouth. The male and female rookie Official Hunters who’d answered the Crack summons for the first time had perished.
“I thought they’d run once combat started, but they didn’t even manage that.”
Though it was their own doing, Director Im wanted to at least preserve their bodies.
As he manipulated the Tablet to locate them, his eyes widened.
“The location… is beyond the fog?”
The Identity Badge hadn’t detected their death in the normal area.
Their signal came from beyond the fog—the Demonic Realm, where monsters spawned directly.
Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji were right there.

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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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