S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 80

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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 80. Healing That Isn’t Healing (2)
[Successfully confiscated Mana Overload (F-grade) from target Kang Chae-ah.]
The moment Chae Mujin confiscated Kang Chae-ah’s Mana Overload.
Boom!
The space that had been pressing down on Kang Chae-ah exploded outward.
An overwhelming blast wave swept across the room in all directions.
Chae Mujin’s body, and indeed the entire massive bedroom itself, was torn away wholesale. The mana, compressed to its breaking point, had detonated beyond its limit.
Whoosh, crack!
Wind screamed into the vacuum, and debris rained down like hail.
Shattered fragments showed no mercy. Sharp shards pierced down like daggers upon the unconscious body of Kang Chae-ah sprawled on the ground.
Two figures rushed forward like lightning to shield her.
Chae Mujin threw his body over hers, while beside him Kang In-yong swept his hand through the air.
With his graceful gesture, the debris spiraled inward, then slowly settled to the floor.
Thud!
Chae Mujin’s body went flying. Kang In-yong had kicked him.
The force of the kick sent Chae Mujin careening like a cannonball.
Only because he’d summoned a celestial barrier did he survive unscathed—without it, he wouldn’t have walked away.
Kang In-yong glanced back. Blood was visible at the corner of his granddaughter’s mouth—more precious to him than his own life.
“I’ll make you beg for death.”
An explosion had erupted while Chae Mujin was doing something. Because of it, his granddaughter had nearly died. Kang In-yong, his reason torn to shreds, aimed a hand blade at Chae Mujin.
“Heaven and earth stand supreme… I alone am worthy….”
Chae Mujin’s mind screamed with warnings. If he didn’t act, he was dead.
Right now Kang In-yong was reciting the incantation of his Awakening Ability. Could I block or evade Kang In-yong’s Awakening Ability?
‘Whether I can or not—I have to try.’
He was transforming Thousand Transformations into a World Tree bark shield and preparing his defense when—
“Cough.”
At the faint cough, both their gazes snapped toward the sound simultaneously.
Kang Chae-ah, who had been in a vegetative state, had coughed. Her eyes slowly opened.
Whoosh!
Kang In-yong abandoned any thought of using his Awakening Ability and rushed to his granddaughter’s side, trembling with emotion.
“Chae, Chae-ah. Can you hear me?”
“…Grandfather?”
“Yes, yes!”
Her eyes opened. She spoke. Kang Chae-ah’s consciousness had returned.
Tears rolled down.
The brutal, vicious Kang In-yong wept.
By contrast, Chae Mujin was sweating profusely.
The genuine killing intent of an S-rank Hunter. The murderous resolve channeled through an Awakening Ability. Even for a moment to have withstood that, every muscle in Chae Mujin’s body seemed to scream, and his mental fortitude was depleted.
Chae Mujin, still rigid in a shield-bearing stance, regulated his breathing with perfect composure, then approached the two of them.
“Surely you owe me a chance to explain before you try to kill me outright.”
At Chae Mujin’s blunt words, Kang In-yong wiped his tears and spoke.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know how to apologize. I naturally assumed you were trying to—”
“—save her. I didn’t expect things to escalate like this either.”
“We’ll hear the details later. For now, I need to check on my granddaughter’s condition.”
“Of course.”
Besides, Chae Mujin had no energy left for conversation anyway.
He left Kang In-yong to his diagnosis and collapsed into a chair that had miraculously remained intact.
He was pretending to be fine, but he was at his limit. His insides felt as though they were being torn to shreds, the pain spreading throughout his entire body.
It wasn’t because of Kang In-yong. It was because of the skill he’d obtained from Kang Chae-ah—Mana Overload.
‘Status Window.’
「Skill—Mana Overload (F-grade)」
In exchange for rendering Mana unstable, Mana output increases dramatically.
• Sensitivity +100%
• Affinity +100%
• Max capacity +100%
• Output +100%
A madness of a skill that had doubled his maximum Mana from 498 to 996 in one fell swoop.
But the price paid for such enormous mana was severe.
‘My insides are about to tear apart.’
The sensitized Mana had spun out of control, raging violently through his blood vessels. Without suppressing it through Inner Strength, he would have burst and died long ago.
Kang Chae-ah had endured this time bomb six times over. There was no explanation for it but miracle.
Chae Mujin cast Light of Healing to soothe his ruined insides.
But the healing speed of Light of Healing was noticeably faster than before.
‘The recovery speed is insane? Ah, right—output increased by 100%.’
Only then did he grasp the true value of the skill.
Each skill had a maximum threshold of Mana it could channel.
But Mana Overload shattered that limit, allowing him to pour in twice as much power.
His consumption doubled, but so did the potency.
‘If I control it properly, this isn’t an F-grade skill—it’s A-grade or higher.’
Having resolved to embrace Mana Overload, Chae Mujin looked up as Kang In-yong approached him.
“Are you alright?”
His gruff demeanor had softened considerably. Chae Mujin brushed himself off and stood.
“I feel like I’m dying. And whose fault is that?”
“…I apologize.”
“And your granddaughter?”
“She’s asleep again. I don’t know when she’ll wake.”
“I see.”
“Now tell me. What was the cause, and how did you treat it?”
“Isn’t that rather shameless of you?”
Chae Mujin had shown respect to Kang In-yong—his circumstances and his nature.
Yet Kang In-yong had remained stubborn to the end, and had tried to kill him outright without hesitation.
This was something Chae Mujin could no longer tolerate.
“I’ve been patient. Now make the Mandrake into a Spirit Elixir first. Then I’ll tell you.”
Kang In-yong nodded without protest. Not out of shame.
He had simply bent his nature for the sake of his granddaughter.
But Chae Mujin didn’t care. As long as he got the Spirit Elixir.
“I’ll make it. Right now.”
Watching Kang In-yong take the Mandrake and head toward the apothecary without hesitation, Chae Mujin let out a long breath he’d been holding.
* * *
Even while waiting for the Spirit Elixir to be made, Chae Mujin didn’t rest. Instead, he moved directly to practical training to master Mana Overload.
Crack-crack-crack!
Blade aura burst forth from the Sword of Light Efilui.
An ordinary swordsman would gape in awe at such magnificent aura. But a master would shake his head in disapproval.
“I can’t control it.”
He could calm the rampant Mana, but wielding that Mana was another challenge entirely.
“Breathe…”
He regulated his breathing and focused on controlling the aura. As time passed, the blade aura gradually took shape, dispersing less.
“Ugh!”
Chae Mujin clutched his chest and nearly collapsed. He barely kept his feet, but the aura dissolved.
“When I focus on the blade aura, the Mana raging through my body goes out of control.”
He had to suppress the Mana in his body while simultaneously fine-tuning the blade aura.
Chae Mujin likened it to the difficulty of wagging a tail.
Humans don’t have tails, though?
‘That’s why it’s so hard. I’ve never had one before, so it feels foreign.’
The solution was simple: keep failing.
After a long period of practice like this, Chae Mujin slipped into a state of complete immersion. The sun set, and Kang In-yong appeared beside him unnoticed.
Kang In-yong watched silently for a moment, then spoke.
“Mana is a living thing. Don’t try to control it—show it the way. Tell it where to go. Then it will move of its own accord, without you having to command it.”
“…!”
“You understand my meaning. Who is your master? A martial artist who raised someone like you—I should know of them.”
Since he had no true master to speak of, having picked up techniques here and there, Chae Mujin smiled awkwardly and changed the subject.
“Is the Spirit Elixir finished?”
“Come.”
Kang In-yong handed something to Chae Mujin as they entered the apothecary. It was a ten-thousand-year-old Mandrake, in its original state.
When Chae Mujin’s eyes asked what this was, Kang In-yong crossed his arms and spoke.
“This is the finest spirit herb I’ve ever seen. Top-grade Spirit Elixir will result from it. And given its size, I’ll get seven elixirs. But this is the best I can do—not the greatest. The materials are insufficient.”
“How much difference is there between ‘best’ and ‘greatest’?”
“In terms of grade, the best would be Legend-grade.”
“…!”
The greatest didn’t need to be stated. There was only one grade above Legend-grade.
“Are you saying that if we had the right materials, we could produce Mythology-grade Spirit Elixirs?”
“That’s right. The quantity would increase too—ten elixirs.”
He’d anticipated Legend-grade at most, but the possibility of Mythology-grade made his desire burn brighter.
Mythology-grade Spirit Elixirs were treasures among treasures—even the Hunter Association director might own only one or two.
“If you tell me what materials are needed, I’ll acquire them.”
“Of course you should. But before that.”
Kang In-yong gestured with a tilt of his chin toward another bedroom—where Kang Chae-ah was sleeping.
“You need to explain how you awakened our Chae-ah. This isn’t mere curiosity.”
“It seems the treatment wasn’t complete.”
“I won’t ask about your identity or where the Mandrake came from. I’m not curious where the Spirit Elixirs will go either. But don’t think to keep this secret. If our Chae-ah is to live, I must hear that secret of yours.”
Should he reveal the secret of the confiscation skill to him?
‘There’s no reason to take that risk.’
The Status Window could never be shown to anyone else. Using that rule, he could create any number of escape routes.
“It was a kind of Seal.”
“A…Seal?”
“Yes. Your granddaughter had six kinds of Seals placed upon her. I broke one of them.”
Seals were a real concept. But an unfamiliar and rare one.
Moreover, he hadn’t invented the term from nothing.
“Who placed Seals on my granddaughter?”
“I don’t know either. But I recognized those Seals, and I can break them. Only I can do it, I believe.”
“Then break the Seals at once.”
“I wish I could. But the Seals binding your granddaughter are so powerful that time is necessary.”
Since he was explaining something that genuinely existed—only with the concept renamed from “Overload” to “Seal”—Kang In-yong had no choice but to believe him.
“Why does it take time? You broke the first Seal immediately.”
“The six Seals are each of different types. The one I broke was the weakest. The next Seal is stronger and far more complex.”
In truth, his Debt Value was insufficient.
The next Overload, Five Elements Overload, was a D-grade skill.
Confiscating a D-grade skill required 3,000 Points.
‘Now that I think about it—it’s strange. Confiscating Mana Overload should have benefited her, but her Debt Value didn’t increase.’
From this, it seemed likely that the act of confiscation itself didn’t change the Debt Value.
‘If that’s the case, I’ll have to stay by her side and accumulate Debt Value through service.’
Another scheme occurred to Chae Mujin here.
“Master Apothecary. You said that using the finest materials would yield ten Spirit Elixirs.”
“Yes. My intuition is precise.”
“Then I will give one of them to your granddaughter.”
Kang In-yong couldn’t believe it. A Mythology-grade Spirit Elixir for free?
‘There must be some hidden agenda. Could he have romantic feelings for our Chae-ah? That I absolutely cannot allow.’
Kang In-yong’s brows narrowed, but Chae Mujin drove his point home regardless.
“So please craft not the finest Spirit Elixir, but the mightiest.”
“…Huh, heheheh.”
Kang In-yong felt the back of his head tingle. This was a perfect checkmate.
An elixir meant for others—no matter how hard one tries, one doesn’t pour one’s soul into it. But an elixir for one’s granddaughter?
‘I’ll pour my soul into it.’
Did Chae Mujin see through this, or was it mere greed for the mightiest Spirit Elixir?
Either way, Kang In-yong had to acknowledge it.
‘This man is remarkable.’
By nature, Kang In-yong was without curiosity, but Chae Mujin was an exception.
Kang In-yong extended his hand. Chae Mujin understood its meaning well.
Crack.
The two clasped hands. Firm, strong, and solid—with no gaps between them.
“Is the deal struck?”
At Chae Mujin’s words, Kang In-yong smiled for the first time and spoke.
“The deal is struck.”

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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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