Ch.101101. Cooperative Battle

[Thermal Laser]

-Available for machines and fish only

-Laser thermal weapon that can be fired underwater

-Form changes depending on components

The new green card I created by investing 5,000 points and my remaining component cards.

I saw its form.

A massive output device attached near the forehead, which was already armored with hardness itself.

This was both another eye and an energy projectile.

Since Minwoo and the instructors behind me wanted to fight together, I’m showing them this.

Showing them what to do.

[Laser Charging]

The other eye, the projectile, was turning red.

The moment I received the signal that everything was fully charged, I fired the energy at the creature in one go.

The red laser was truly instantaneous.

It was so fast that the moment it became visible, it had already reached the enemy.

When it touched the enemy, its armor began to melt.

And this creature’s movements noticeably slowed as it struggled to recover.

It was almost absurdly easy to inflict powerful damage on the enemy after all our previous efforts.

The spot I hit was just a test shot, not really a vital area.

I measured the creature’s recovery speed from here.

But the submarine started turning its body. Suddenly? No. It’s trying to buy time to recover.

It’s struggling without launching any attacks.

I won’t miss this opportunity. And Han Minwoo and three instructors were following beside me.

Our eyes met.

Would they understand without words? I have some concerns, but I trust Minwoo who asked to fight together.

As I rushed toward the creature, its cannons were preparing to spew fire at me again.

I ignore it. I can rely on this durability and keep running.

Moreover, my forehead, enhanced with the thermal laser, was moving forward to take the attack head-on.

What I need to determine precisely is where the enemy is hiding.

When I fired the laser upward and saw nothing, it confirmed that the main body must be inside.

Is it possible to hit it in one shot?

Suddenly, an image appeared before me through some telekinetic force. It showed the submarine with a large hole drawn on it.

In other words, it’s asking me to do what I did earlier.

They understood.

The instructors figured out what to do based on my actions.

But firing blindly would be dangerous.

That technique where it burns with magical power and charges is truly dangerous.

So, even if they enter, they need to move to where the main body is located.

That’s the problem.

Let me think again; I’ll definitely need a card. A useful card for this situation.

I recalled the cards I hadn’t used yet from the ten I drew when fighting Devil.

Among them was a significant card that fish could use.

Ultrasonic Wave Emission (Fish)

Ultrasonic. The moment I thought of this, I switched my sub-card.

Hardness itself, Thermal Laser, Stat Up, and this fourth card became Ultrasonic Wave Emission.

Ultrasonic waves already have clear applications in everyday life.

[Ultrasonic Wave Emission]

-You can locate the enemy’s position.

-When in close proximity, you can damage the enemy with ultrasonic waves and analyze its interior.

So I can analyze the enemy’s interior when I get close?

Then I’ll go. I’ll locate where the main body is.

As I began to dive, something else was created.

A question mark. And again showing the image with a hole.

Just as I learned in Jeju, communicating underwater—these instructors are quick to assess the situation.

Of course, I need to analyze the interior and create a hole toward the enemy’s core.

I don’t have a way to answer from my side. I’m a monster after all…

[Communication is most important underwater.]

I recalled the field trip. But writing letters would be strange too.

Anyway, as I rushed forward, the creature, having completed its recovery, began burning with magical power and moving.

Here it comes.

That attack—even I would feel the impact if hit head-on.

But at that moment, magical power suddenly erupted like an explosion from behind the creature.

Dangerous. Plus, Minwoo and the instructors are beside me.

[Water Vortex]

I pushed their boat behind me with a vortex.

I hope they don’t take this as an attack. The enemy was already charging like a runaway train.

This monster charges like a submarine on an autobahn, different from regular vessels.

Anyway, dodging seems difficult.

I have no choice but to confront it head-on.

A giant submarine over 100 meters long charging at ultra-high speed? I can’t even imagine the impact.

But I must do it.

This form I’ve taken is precisely to face such opponents.

I too began swimming vigorously.

[Ultrasonic Wave Emission]

Just as I activated the sub-card and was about to collide head-on with the creature,

a shield arrived before me as I concentrated fully.

Yes, this is…

The shield begins absorbing that magical power.

I’ll help you, Han Minwoo.

I rushed straight toward the shield.

I caught the shield that was being pushed back by the enemy’s charge and rammed it forward.

The moment the creature and I clashed with the shield between us, I felt pain throughout my body unlike anything this form had experienced before.

My vision flipped, and everything grew distant.

I desperately shook off the disorientation as I was pushed back in the water.

I was forced back by tremendous power but endured. And I achieved the most important goal.

[Ultrasonic Wave Emission]

Finding the location of the main body is enough.

I scanned around and saw the instructors and Han Minwoo who had fallen from the boat.

I supported these struggling people on my head and surfaced.

I prepared the thermal laser again, aiming at the creature.

[Charging]

Once more, my magical power concentrated in one spot.

The target was the submarine’s lower section.

That’s where it was.

The moment the concentrated laser fired, I charged toward the creature as fast as possible.

A hole formed, and the submarine shook from side to side as it was pushed back.

By the time the laser ended, the instructors and Han Minwoo were already entering through that hole.

*

Han Minwoo keenly felt the limitations of still being a student.

‘The instructors are doing everything I was trying to do.’

It was Han Minwoo who had argued that the monster could communicate and approached it.

But in other situations, the instructors were making quick judgments as expected of their position.

“Keep sending messages to the whale. Whether words or pictures.”

“Minwoo, tell me when to throw. I think something big is coming!”

Han Minwoo recalled when Do Jonghyun gave instructions.

Smoothly doing just what needed to be done was sufficient.

Han Minwoo realized he needed to grow like that too.

The problem was that the whale suddenly moved them with a vortex.

Han Minwoo looked around, taking in information. He needed to maintain a broad view.

‘Pushing us back!’

As he watched, shielded by the massive body, he could feel the enemy’s magical attack approaching.

When Han Minwoo turned his head, an instructor was gathering magical power.

“Throw!”

Yes. There were people to help.

Han Minwoo threw, and they successfully blocked the charge, but the impact sent them falling into the water.

The ocean depths—a space of terror with no visible end. There, a whale with a mechanized head rose, supporting them.

Thanks to the opportunity created by this whale, they managed to enter the interior.

“I’ll take the lead.”

The hole was beginning to repair itself, but at that moment, the whale thrust its face in and struggled in that space.

Meanwhile, Han Minwoo, shield in front, judged which way to go.

The shield reacted, and when Han Minwoo reflexively raised it, a viscous liquid-like substance stuck to it.

“I’ll handle this.”

When an instructor disturbed the shield with telekinesis, the liquid burst.

Just as Han Minwoo tried to reflect the power with Perseus’s shield, the shield began turning dark red.

Energy surrounding the shield connected like a magnet.

“It’s a signal.”

The instructor immediately noticed and began clearing a path. They finally discovered the main body.

A viscous liquid with a form resembling a human face. This liquid was inserting tentacles between the machinery.

Like cells inhabiting the submarine, the liquid pulsated in the center of the passage.

The instructors signaled to Han Minwoo.

The moment he threw the shield that had absorbed the enemy’s power, the entity accepted the shield without resistance.

In that instant, telekinesis and wind swirled, shattering the entity in one blow.

It was the instructors’ judgment that shone. While Han Minwoo simply knew the location through his shield that absorbed power, the instructors had anticipated that the enemy wouldn’t react strongly to something of the same nature, allowing for a surprise attack.

Han Minwoo realized this only after the enemy was dead.

‘Amazing. I really am still a rookie.’

He was still far from becoming like Seo Hunmin whom he respected.

A Jaeger who always inspires trust and reliability in people.

That was Han Minwoo’s goal.

The instructors sighed in relief as they saw the submarine return to normal.

“Minwoo, you’ve got great courage.”

“We were surprised too. A first-year already. Stepping up so bravely. Without you, we couldn’t have collaborated with that whale.”

Han Minwoo shook his head.

“Not at all.”

“Nonsense. You made it easy by blocking with your shield. Good job.”

“You really did something big here. Let’s head back.”

Han Minwoo smiled contentedly amid the instructors’ encouragement.

*

[Hybrid Eliminated]

-Monster Points: 2

-DNA Points: 4,000 points

A hybrid? The future version I know… No. I didn’t hear a detailed analysis anyway, so it could have been a hybrid.

Having barely won, I had one task left: pushing this submarine.

That was all I needed to do, and then I fled immediately.

Other Jaegers were at the dock, but no one attacked me.

At least this incident is over. Unexpected, but we overcame it.

“Seung Serin is still quiet, and if the interior is quiet, it’s time to focus on the Goegyeopdan.”

Of course, unlike the future, I’m not operating covertly now.

If things were like the future, I could have prevented the events the Goegyeopdan would cause.

But since major events tend to follow their course, the “big incidents” they’ll cause might proceed similarly.

I need to remember this.

I turned around, returned to human form, and rushed to the hospital.

There was no reason to be away from the hospital, and I didn’t want to arouse suspicion.

Fortunately, when I arrived, an instructor was looking for me.

“Do Jonghyun. Where did you run off to?”

“Instructor. I’m right here.”

Ignoring the tingling sensation throughout my body, I immediately ate an energy bar I had prepared.

Perhaps due to the Awakening card, things are different now. Before, I could barely move and would faint if I did, but now I can move.

As I approached with difficulty, Oh Juhwan looked at me curiously.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I was so scared that my legs…”

Oh Juhwan didn’t mock me.

“Really? To my eyes, you look like you’ve been through a battle… Well, it’s understandable to be scared. Since we’re at the hospital, do you want to be admitted?”

“No!”

I hastily denied.

My heart was pounding, but he didn’t seem suspicious. Or maybe he knows but is letting it slide… probably not?

I hid it thoroughly.

The instructors reported over the radio that they were bringing all the students to the hotel and maintaining control.

[Some students are in shock, so we’re sending a few to the hospital.]

Of course they’d be shocked. It was a monster attack. As people arrived at the hospital, some instructors heard that Ariel had woken up.

After the instructors spoke with Ariel for 30 minutes, they called for me.

“Me? You want me to go in?”

“Ariel says she has something to tell you. Lovers’ quarrels should be resolved quickly.”

“Do Jonghyun. After you’re done with Ariel, come to the lobby on the first floor and contact us. Don’t think about staying longer.”

Oh Juhwan and the other instructors were snickering. No, they’re misunderstanding.

Anyway, when I entered Ariel’s hospital room, I saw her covered in bandages.

“Are you okay?”

“Of course. I could have caught it. But…”

Ariel began making her characteristic indignant expression.

“It’s your fault! Because of that ugly stone-whatever you bought me, I couldn’t fight properly!”

She’s suddenly getting angry… or rather, it feels like she’s exaggerating. Is she overreacting?

After all, Ariel was tightly holding what I bought her.

Instead of teasing her as usual, I should commend her at times like this.

“Thank you. You tried to protect it until the end.”

“…”

Ariel avoided my gaze, her face reddening like at the store.

“You should be grateful. I was afraid you’d make a fuss if I lost it.”

I just looked at her with a pleased expression instead of answering.

“What’s with that face, Du Jonghyun?”

“I’m just happy.”

“Why? What are you happy about?”

“For the reason you’re thinking.”

Ariel’s expression showed great embarrassment.

“Get out. Stupid Du Jonghyun. Don’t get the wrong idea. Thanks for visiting.”

“You called me here.”

Ariel was silent for a moment, then shouted with a flushed face:

“Then leave, you idiot!”

I’m glad I could smile until the end. Ariel is still full of energy.

As I left the room, I noticed the door was slightly open. I hadn’t closed it properly.

As I exited Ariel’s room, I saw Instructor Oh Juhwan in the corridor.

“Didn’t you say to wait on the first floor?”

“Ah, Deokmin also came to the hospital but disappeared midway. Don’t know where he went.”

“Is that so?”

With no monster around, he probably just got lost or went to the bathroom.

And as I expected, Instructor Oh Juhwan soon found Yu Deokmin and sent him for an examination.

“I wonder what will happen from tomorrow.”

Can we still go to America in this state? As I thought the trip would likely be canceled, the day came to an end.