Chapter 1

"Han Yoohyun, did you die?"

- Han Yoojin

Regression (1) is the first chapter of The S-Ranks That I Raised novel.

When Han Yoojin's estranged younger brother is killed by the Rauchitas, Yoojin thinks back on their relationship and sets out to take revenge.

Summary
Inside a D-rank dungeon, fatally injured from having taken a blow for his brother, Han Yoohyun calmly asks if Yoojin is alright. Yoojin wonders, horrified, why Yoohyun even came, thinking back on how they've been distant for a long time and stayed out of each other's business. He asks this of Yoohyun out loud, believing someone as amazing as him wouldn't care about someone as useless and troublesome as Yoojin himself, but Yoohyun seems upset and ignores the question. Instead, he offers Yoojin a Gate Stone that will allow him to escape the dungeon they're in and instructs him on how to avoid the Rauchitas, the monster that injured Yoohyun himself.

Yoojin refuses the Gate Stone, saying Yoohyun should use it himself and pointing out that he should have healing items on him to fix his wounds. Yoohyun claims to have his own Gate Stone, but says that it won't matter anyway, since the only healing items he has aren't strong enough to heal what Rauchitas did to him. Having held out long enough to make sure Yoojin can escape, Yoohyun succumbs to his injuries and collapses in his brother's arms. Yoojin holds on to him, grief-stricken and angry, even as Last Compensation activates and transfers all of Yoohyun's buffed stats, skills, and memories to him. Watching Yoohyun's memories, Yoojin realizes that the distance between them was all purposely created by Yoohyun in order to keep him safe from his enemies, and that he was watching out for him all along without being able to act too obviously.

Brought to tears by this realization, Yoojin lays his brother's body on the ground and stands, summoning Yoohyun's skills. He turns to face the end of the dungeon, where the Rauchitas awaits: a 1st rank dragon monster, a three-headed wielder of poisons and curses said to be undefeatable. Still, Yoohyun injured it badly, and bearing his brother's skills at doubled strength, Yoojin approaches it with the intent to kill.

Characters

 * Han Yoojin
 * Rauchitas
 * Rauchitas

Objects

 * Gate Stone

Locations

 * Unnamed D-rank dungeon

Battles

 * Han Yoojin and Han Yoohyun vs. Rauchitas

Notable events

 * The Rauchitas unexpectedly appears in a low-rank dungeon.
 * Han Yoojin survives the Rauchitas, but Han Yoohyun dies to it.