S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 70

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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 70. The Lottery Dungeon (6)
Twenty loaves of bread and sandwiches, eight bottles of milk and water—the grand meal had come to an end.
Though unspoken, their wariness had visibly softened from their bearing alone.
“I’m Chae Mujin. And your names?”
He’d given them food freely and offered his name first. Hunters weren’t so stingy as to withhold theirs in return.
They introduced themselves in turn.
“Kim Da-yeon.”
“Moon Dong-hun. I’m grateful for the bread, but don’t ask me to back down.”
“Hunter name’s Spider.”
“Jang Deok-gu.”
“Now that we’ve exchanged names, I’ll get to the point. I’ll give you money. Leave this place.”
Chae Mujin dispensed with pleasantries and cut straight to business.
The four hunters wore the expression of people who’d expected exactly this.
“We said it already. Just because you gave us some bread—”
“I gave you the bread because I felt sorry for you. The money I’m offering is because I’d rather not have to kill you.”
“…….!”
At the word “kill,” the hunters stepped back in unison and drew their weapons.
Chae Mujin shrugged and likewise produced a Broad Sword and Handgun.
“Your options are simple. Take the money and walk away unharmed, or leave this world.”
“That’s a crude threat. We’re hunters over Level 100 ourselves. Unless you’re over 300, I don’t see how you expect to handle all of us alone.”
“Alone? There are two of us.”
Chae Mujin stood at Choi Gang-im’s back.
Choi Gang-im didn’t bother denying it. Chae Mujin had said he’d help her earn a reward; where her allegiance lay was clear.
Yet Jang Deok-gu let out a snort.
“Two handling four? Even if that were possible, you’d both end up half-crippled at best.”
“That’s only because you don’t know who I am.”
“And who are you?”
“If you ask me who I am, it’d be rude not to answer.”
Chae Mujin produced four business cards and tossed one to each of them.
The hunters who caught them all widened their eyes and swallowed hard.
Not because the cards read “Hunter Management Arc.” It was the mana infused into the cards themselves.
Weighty. Yet precise. The ability to control mana with such finesse meant they were no ordinary hunters.
“A martial artist……”
The hunters’ faces fell, though some among them didn’t even know what a martial artist was. The youngest-looking hunter, Kim Da-yeon, looked bewildered.
“What’s a martial artist that you’re all suddenly scared?”
“Idiot. How’d you hit Level 100 without knowing what a martial artist is? A martial artist isn’t someone with skills—it’s a hunter who’s honed their mana itself. You know about Sword Aura and Self-Defense Aura, right? Those are all techniques created by martial artists. To put it simply: if skills are automatic, a martial artist’s techniques are manual skills. You can use them like skills even without having learned them.”
Jang Deok-gu had considerable knowledge of martial artists. Chae Mujin decided he was worth talking to and demonstrated a Sword Aura.
“Tch, showing off with a Sword Aura now. No need to be scared, all of you. I was once a martial artist candidate myself—I know they’re not invincible.”
Even knowing their opponent was a martial artist, Jang Deok-gu and the hunters didn’t back down.
Chae Mujin hadn’t expected this to end easily. The stakes were simply too high.
“Hmm… you all look ready for a fight. I’m not sure how to convince you otherwise, so I’ll make one more offer and leave it at that.”
He pulled a 100 Million Won Check from his Shadow Bag and waved it.
“A clean, legal 100 million won check. If you leave now, I’ll give you five of them.”
“……….”
“Fool. Who’d give up here for just five hundred million? I spent 50 stat points getting this far and lost my right ear and one kidney. Any one of the rewards here would sell for at least 10 billion, and you offer 500 million? Don’t make me laugh!”
Moon Dong-hun, the most guarded of them, bellowed and slashed his weapon through the air.
Then Kim Da-yeon spoke up hesitantly.
“I also think 500 million is too little. We’d lose stat points backing out now. But 5 billion—I’d give it up for that.”
“I could let it go for 5 billion too.”
Jang Deok-gu joined in.
Spider and Moon Dong-hun cried out indignantly that 5 billion wasn’t nearly enough.
“I said 10 billion was easy money, not the maximum, you morons. If we sold the Skill Book and Legend Shield as a set, even 1 trillion isn’t a joke!”
“It’s not just about money increasing. Our whole lives would change. We could become nobility!”
Even four against two, victory wasn’t guaranteed. If two of them dropped out, their odds plummeted.
Kim Da-yeon and Jang Deok-gu looked at Chae Mujin with eyes that asked: 5 billion or not? Decide now.
At that, Chae Mujin laughed as if baffled.
“5 billion? 1 trillion? I’m laughing because it’s absurd—been a while since I’ve felt that.”
He covered his face with one hand, then removed it, his expression blank as he addressed Kim Da-yeon and Jang Deok-gu.
“Killing people isn’t exactly pleasant. I was offering 500 million as compensation for that feeling. But 5 billion? Now you’ve just made me irritated.”
He turned next to Moon Dong-hun and Spider.
“Why worry about how much to sell the Skill Book and shield for? You’re going to die anyway.”
There were no more negotiations. Chae Mujin stepped back from them, taking Choi Gang-im with him.
* * *
The four hunters naturally clustered together. They too understood: Chae Mujin and Choi Gang-im were strong.
“That bastard straight-up said he’d kill us.”
“So why isn’t he attacking?”
“Who knows. Last shred of conscience, or maybe attacking first gives him an advantage.”
“Why don’t we strike first? There are four of us and two of them. If we close in from all sides—”
“Don’t talk stupid. The moment we spread out to surround him in this open space, he divides and conquers us.”
“Then what do we do?”
They whispered their strategy, but no viable plan emerged.
“Do we even need to surround him? A direct frontal assault would work.”
“Good thinking. You’ll lead the charge?”
“……….”
Chae Mujin knew how to use Sword Aura and had a gun. Would a martial artist proficient in Sword Aura use ordinary ammunition?
Certainly not. Those mana rounds would turn anyone leading the charge into a sieve or leave them missing limbs.
“You’re the tanker, aren’t you? Tankers go up front.”
Spider pointed at Jang Deok-gu, and Jang Deok-gu snorted.
“Nonsense. I’ve got zero interest in tanking for you lot.”
No one volunteered for the lead. The strategy died before it could be born.
Fidget, fidget.
Moreover, they kept shifting their weight as they talked. They couldn’t stop thinking about the protective barrier surrounding the Altar.
Not knowing when it would disappear, their eyes darted constantly toward the Altar even as they spoke to each other.
Four of them, yet utterly alone. Chae Mujin and Choi Gang-im were not.
“Rest. I’ll keep watch.”
Chae Mujin urged Choi Gang-im to lie down, but she shook her head.
–I’ll fall too deep asleep if I close my eyes.
“Don’t worry. A splash of water wakes up even the unconscious. I’ll wake you if needed.”
–Then just one hour.
Choi Gang-im lay on the ground with worry in her eyes for a long moment before her breathing steadied at last.
“Scary way to sleep with your eyes open like that.”
Chae Mujin closed her eyes gently, then turned his gaze to the four-person party. They were now in far more uncomfortable positions.
Watching each other, watching the Altar, watching us. Three times the stress—they were falling apart.
Chae Mujin clasped his hands behind his back and observed them quietly.
“What, what are you staring at!”
Moon Dong-hun’s distant shout sounded like a frightened dog barking.
Chae Mujin didn’t bother responding.
He was busy. The hands behind his back weren’t a display of composure—he was arranging grenades.
He removed grenades from his Shadow Bag, sorted them by type, and fastened them to his belt.
From an angle hidden from their sight.
Thump.
Once that was done, he crossed his legs and closed his eyes.
“D-did he just close his eyes?”
“He thinks we’re easy prey? Wait till you regret it after you’re dead!”
Whether they complained or not, Chae Mujin began his Breathing Circulation Technique.
Any martial artist who works with Inner Power must master this.
Commonly known as a way to build Inner Power, in reality the Inner Power gained from Breathing Circulation is minimal.
Yet it’s practiced because it greatly aids recovery of both mental and physical stamina.
‘Recovery rate is scientifically proven to improve.’
Broken bones and torn organs heal faster with Breathing Circulation. A tiny increase in Inner Power is a bonus.
An hour passed.
Choi Gang-im woke of her own accord, without being roused. Chae Mujin was genuinely impressed.
Thirteen days without proper rest, yet she woke after exactly one hour.
‘Normal willpower couldn’t manage that.’
As he marveled, Choi Gang-im moved her pencil with a serious expression.
–Why do you keep your eyes closed? Shouldn’t you be watching for when the Altar’s barrier falls?
“There’s no need to watch.”
–What do you mean?
“I have a rough idea of when the Altar’s barrier will disappear.”
Choi Gang-im, who rarely changed expression, opened her eyes wide. Chae Mujin’s words were that shocking.
–You must be mistaken. I’ve observed constantly for 13 days and couldn’t determine when it would fall.
“I discovered it with a skill. That much explanation should suffice, yes? Regardless, the barrier will fall in 42 hours.”
The reason Chae Mujin could be so composed. He’d figured out when the Altar’s barrier would disappear.
It was all thanks to his Eyes that See All Things skill.
On impulse, he’d activated the skill and immediately saw thin lines wrapping around the barrier.
Watching closely, one line would vanish at regular intervals. Through this, Chae Mujin understood they were the barrier’s timer.
‘If Kim Young-han had arrived here before Choi Gang-im, he might have claimed this treasure.’
Eyes that See All Things was the key to unlocking the final trial’s secret.
By counting the lines and calculating the disappearance intervals, Chae Mujin determined it would take 42 hours.
Knowing when the barrier would fall meant there was no need to fret like the other hunters.
‘Doesn’t look like they’ll attack.’
Chae Mujin had seen many hunters. Individually, these four had the will to fight.
But they lacked conviction. Their alliance was thin as paper, fragile as thread.
‘It’ll collapse in a day.’
But that was Chae Mujin’s miscalculation. One of them gave up in half that time.
“I-I’ll take 500 million and leave. That’s okay, right?”
Kim Da-yeon’s voice wavered as she spoke. Her willpower had bottomed out.
When starving, the mind goes numb and endurance becomes possible. But Chae Mujin’s kindness had sapped all her fighting spirit instead.
Where that fighting spirit had been, reality now took root—the desire to live.
Chae Mujin withdrew five checks before the watching hunters as if to prove a point.
“This is the smartest choice you’ll make in your life.”
“Ah, ah-ah! Thank you! I quit!”
With five checks in hand, Kim Da-yeon made her declaration of surrender and escaped the competition.
Chae Mujin turned to the hunters, now a trio.
“Just one person left. The other two won’t get paid.”
“Damn you!”
At that, Jang Deok-gu cursed and rushed over. They thought he wanted to fight, but he extended his palm instead of drawing a weapon.
“Hand over 500 million, now!”
“Eager as they come. Here.”
Jang Deok-gu took the check and drew a deep breath.
“Phew… because of you, I’ve made my decision. I’m quitting this damn hunter work.”
“If you want to live long, you should.”
“Cursed bastard. I quit!”
With Jang Deok-gu gone as well, Moon Dong-hun and Spider truly had no one left.
“Don’t think we’re harmless just because we’re two. We absolutely won’t quit.”
“Suit yourselves.”
A day passed like that. The meaningless standoff continued, and Chae Mujin learned one thing about Choi Gang-im.
‘She’s really taciturn.’
She never initiated conversation.
Even Yeoul, naturally timid, occasionally started talking. Choi Gang-im never spoke unless spoken to.
‘She can’t speak physically, but she can write notes. Isn’t she curious about me?’
Chae Mujin refrained from speaking first, curious to see how long her silence would last.
When 42 hours had elapsed, only one thin line remained around the barrier. Chae Mujin poked Choi Gang-im’s shoulder.
“Focus from now. The barrier will open within the hour.”
She nodded.
Choi Gang-im spoke with gestures when a note wasn’t necessary.
“Once it opens, run straight for it. I’ve applied a Movement Speed Buff—you’ll definitely be faster than those two.”
–Are you a Supporter?
“Doesn’t it look like I am?”
–I thought you were a Dealer.
“I’m a Supporter. Specifically, the only one of my kind in the world. I’ve boosted your movement speed by 1,000—be prepared.”
Choi Gang-im’s eyes widened instead of answering. Chae Mujin smiled faintly.
“You don’t say much, but you’re honest.”
As Choi Gang-im reached for her note—
Zing.
The Altar’s protective barrier vanished. Choi Gang-im dropped her note and sprinted for the Altar.
Moon Dong-hun and Spider, eyes wide and alert, began their charge too.
Their movement speed was impressive for what seemed to be a Thief Class.
Still, they couldn’t match Choi Gang-im with her 1,000-point Movement Speed Buff.
They seemed to realize it—they began throwing short blades or telegraphed skill use.
Chae Mujin wouldn’t simply observe. He ran toward the Altar too, but didn’t climb it.
He stopped at a proper distance and drew his gun.
Rata-ta-ta-tat!
Bullets flew relentlessly toward the two hunters.

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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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