Breaking Up with the #1 S-Class

After conquering the Astaroth-class gate, I headed straight home.

I live in an ordinary villa with two rooms, just with my younger sister.

Our parents passed away early, so they’re not with us.

“Si-eun~ Oppa’s home.”

“Oh, you’re back?”

I opened the door.

My sister, who was watching TV, came to the entrance to welcome me.

Lee Si-eun, a girl with short black hair and quite a cute impression.

This cute-looking girl, who turned 17 this year, is my only sister.

“How was today? Isn’t hunter work hard?”

“Hmm? Hehehe. Not hard at all.”

“Hmm? I see.”

Si-eun gave me a slightly worried look.

I smiled brightly in response to her concern.

Si-eun knows that I broke up with Eun-ha and started working as a hunter again.

Today I returned from working as a hunter, and it seems she was a bit worried about that.

From the beginning, Si-eun knows what gates are and what hunters do.

Until I left today, she had a constant worried expression.

But right now, I wasn’t struggling at all.

Normally I would have been, but today I encountered unexpected luck.

The incredible luck of obtaining an EX-class skill.

“Nothing unusual happened, right?”

“Nope. What could happen? And oppa, I’ve prepared dinner, so eat it before it gets cold.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

Si-eun looked at me a bit strangely, but she shrugged it off and pointed to the dining table.

At the spot Si-eun pointed to, there was a warm meal set up.

I gently patted Si-eun’s head and was about to go to the table when she called me again.

“By the way, oppa.”

“Yes?”

“Oppa. Were you always this physically fit? Somehow your body seems to have improved?”

“Huh? Why are you asking about my body? And I’ve always been in good shape, you know?”

“No… I know that, but somehow you seem different.”

She tilted her head and looked at my body with a slightly puzzled expression.

“And you seem much more handsome than before…? Well, you weren’t bad-looking before either.”

Also, Si-eun continued as she stared intently at my face.

I’ve become more handsome?

Hearing Si-eun’s words, I didn’t understand what had changed about me, and I didn’t know why she was saying such things…

Aha! So that’s it.

Soon after, I realized the reason.

“Si-eun. Seeing you talk like that. It seems you need some pocket money. Here you go.”

I smiled slightly at Si-eun and took out a 50,000 won bill from my wallet and handed it to her.

I guess Si-eun wanted some pocket money after a long time.

“Huh…?”

“Didn’t you need pocket money?”

“No. That’s not why I said that…”

“So you don’t need it?”

Si-eun was initially flustered and tried to refuse the 50,000 won I gave her, but when she saw me about to put it back in my wallet.

“Ah…! No, I do need it.”

Si-eun quickly snatched the 50,000 won from me.

“Yay! Thanks, oppa.”

And she went to her room with a happy smile as if she were the happiest person in the world.

“Seeing her bright makes me feel good.”

I looked at Si-eun with a bittersweet expression.

The truth is, our family’s financial situation is very poor, the cause being that we lost our parents due to a mysterious gate incident.

We siblings continued to live in quite poor conditions, and that’s why I dropped out of school and quickly started working as a hunter.

Until just three years ago, Si-eun wasn’t the type to smile so well.

But from the point our family’s circumstances started to improve, Si-eun regained her smile.

I felt proud seeing that.

However, on the other hand, I started to worry.

“In the end, I need money…”

I sighed.

As I mentioned earlier, our family’s financial situation is very poor right now.

We still have a lot of various debts, and I also needed to prepare money for Si-eun to enter university after graduating from school.

For that, I needed to earn a lot of money one way or another.

“Let’s do our best.”

Before my parents died, they left me with one last wish.

‘Take care of Si-eun,’ were the last words of our parents before they died.

Because of that wish, I intend to raise Si-eun better than anyone until she becomes an adult.

No, actually, even if they hadn’t left such a wish, it’s natural for me to protect Si-eun from the beginning.

Because I’m Si-eun’s older brother.

“No matter what happens, at least until Si-eun becomes an adult…”

At least until Si-eun graduates from school, goes to university, and grows into a proper adult, I want to protect her.

Unlike me, I want Si-eun to live without hardship.

“Let’s eat.”

I smiled and headed to the dining table.

Although I felt a bit down for a moment, today is actually a very happy day.

After all, I obtained an EX-class skill.

Munch munch.

At the table, I filled my hungry stomach with the delicious food Si-eun had prepared.

And I reflected on what had happened to me today.

‘Hmm… let me organize the situation.’

Today I cleared the Astaroth-class gate.

And there, I was lucky enough to defeat the boss called the Demon King.

Also, as a reward, I even obtained an EX-class skill called [Peak of Humanity: Hero].

I traced my memory to reconfirm the skill.

+

[Peak of Humanity: Hero]

Rank: EX

Effect: As a hero who has defeated the Demon King, the following abilities are bestowed upon the skill’s owner.

All physical abilities are greatly increased overall.

Immunity to all status ailments.

Immunity to all diseases.

All growth rates increase by 3 times.

All growth limits are removed.

The Goddess watches over you.

“No matter how I look at it, it’s an incredibly good skill.”

And once again, I exclaimed in admiration.

The EX-class skill that appeared for me was a skill with cheating-level effects attached all over it.

The form of the skill is not active but passive, meaning it’s a skill that gives buffs, and those buffs boast historically exceptional performance.

It not only gives me incredible immunity effects but also has the ability to make me much stronger with little effort.

But honestly, some of the effects were abilities that anyone could have.

Abilities that help growth and give immunity to the body are widely available even among A-class hunters, not just S-class.

Even with such effects attached, it’s excessive to call it an EX-class skill.

But the reason why this is still an EX-class skill.

I dare to guess that the reason is because of the ability [5. All growth limits are removed.]

I can’t even gauge how much value that phrase in this skill holds.

‘Growth limits are removed…’

I imagined for a moment.

I don’t know the details yet since I haven’t tested it, and nothing has been confirmed, but nevertheless, if that ability is what I think it is…

I thought this skill would probably make me the strongest… no, even beyond that.

Of course, this is just speculation for now, and I can’t rule out the possibility that I’m getting ahead of myself.

‘Should I tell anyone about this? If I do, I could get to know the skill in detail, but…’

I thought for a moment and then shook my head.

To be honest, what happened to me was very shocking.

Therefore, in this situation where I obtained an EX-class skill, it would be nice if I had someone to ask, but I decided not to mention it.

I cannot handle the consequences that might arise from revealing this skill.

The skill I possess is an extremely rare skill that has never appeared in the history of hunters.

If I were to boast that I luckily cleared the Astaroth-class gate and obtained such a skill, it was obvious that I would receive hostile glances from those around me.

I don’t have the confidence to endure this. There’s nothing good about receiving jealousy and envy. I don’t know what might happen if I go around boasting.

And above all, I’m not completely sure about this skill either.

Even if there comes a time to tell someone, it’s not now.

I need to understand this skill clearly first.

‘By the way, what does it mean that the Goddess watches over me?’

As I recalled the skill description, a question suddenly came to mind.

If I were to pick the most cheating phrase among the skill descriptions, it would be the phrase about growth limits disappearing.

But if I were to pick the most unusual phrase, it would be [6. The Goddess watches over you.]

What could the Goddess be?

What is she watching from me?

Is she perhaps a pervert who enjoys voyeurism?

I had no idea.

I’m an atheist from the beginning. I don’t believe in gods.

It’s just surprising that there’s a being called the Goddess now.

Anyway, as expected of an EX-class skill, it’s full of unknowns.

But I just went with it.

After all, it’s just watching, and I don’t think it’s harmful to me.

“Hmm… it would be best to face it in a real battle.”

I continued thinking as I ate.

And I came to one conclusion.

I turned on my phone and started searching for gates nearby.

[Single-person gate, Difficulty B-class]

Among the many gates available right now, I found a suitable one.

“This looks good.”

After finishing my meal, I headed straight for that gate.

It was time to test my abilities.