Ch.111111. Dawn of Rebellion

[The Academy has expressed its apologies for the attack and offered condolences for those who died.]

The Academy may feel wronged, but ultimately they must take responsibility for the loss of life. That’s the obligation that comes with holding a high position.

However, it seems the council has decided to keep the principal in office, given that they successfully repelled the strange beings.

“So they’re carrying out the attack they couldn’t do during Academy days?”

The school has entered a self-imposed break. They say they’re focusing on funeral preparations and reinforcing their defenses during this period.

Suddenly, the job posting board is active and Jaegers are asking around to recruit other Jaegers they know, making the school interior busier than usual.

But despite this bustle, everyone could feel an emptiness in one corner of their hearts.

Perhaps that’s why the Academy dormitory is quiet. The usual liveliness is nowhere to be found.

Our schedule requires us all to go on Wednesday to send off our dead friends and instructors.

“…Yoonju died.”

Casualties were widespread. Among first-years, ten died including Yoonju; eight second-years; and about fifteen instructors.

It was an unprecedented scale of loss, which is why, conversely, the instructors sacrificed themselves to save us.

If I hadn’t intervened, even with a victory, the casualties would have been beyond imagination.

Praying for their souls at the memorial altar is the best we can do now.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, is that day. We’ll all go to the memorial in the morning and then return to classes.

But right after that, the Incheon occupation battle awaits us the very next day.

“Preparing in advance, huh? A warning message would be best for that.”

Like before, I planned to help them prepare by reporting that I’d seen a suspicious figure near Incheon Airport.

The ones who occupied Incheon Airport caused massive damage by shooting down planes and taking waiting passengers hostage, creating chaos.

Imagine a plane crashing in the middle of the city. It was a disaster.

An incident more deeply etched in people’s minds than the port where Busan’s logistics and prominent politicians and celebrities were taken hostage.

Would sending this be enough? Just this?

Hopefully, like those who escaped assassination threats, Incheon Airport might also be protected without major damage.

“Still, someone from our class died…”

I feel empty. Having fought until the end of the world, I thought I’d grown accustomed to people dying.

But seeing the dead students from our class, I couldn’t help feeling unsettled.

“Sigh.”

At that moment, more sad news came from the TV.

[Hong Joon-mo of Yeokseong Guild was found murdered today, and authorities have launched an investigation.]

“That person!”

I’m surprised because he’s the one who sent the warning.

But he was killed. Warning messages aren’t omnipotent, so he ended up dead after all.

This means there are limits to indirect methods. Unless you directly save someone or deliver the message in person, such cases are inevitable.

“Should I go to Incheon?”

Direct action is necessary to stop the Goigyeopdan forces.

Just then, a message from Yu Deok-min appeared in our group chat.

-Hey, everyone stay quiet on Wednesday. Don’t go out either, the seniors are in a bad mood

“Bullshit.”

Thinking about Thursday, I naturally ignored it.

*

Bang Seok-cheon gathered his cronies on Tuesday, the day before the funeral.

“Did you see how Gu Sang-heon was talking? That disrespectful bastard! I couldn’t say anything during the fight, but I should have put him in his place.”

“Gu Sang-heon, Aerial, Seol Yu-hwa, Geum Do-hyun. These kids are hard for us to control. Even Aerial’s friend Yu Ji-a doesn’t listen? Damn girls.”

Shin Min-jung irritably tapped the floor.

“Seok-cheon, what are you going to do? Leave it like this?”

“No, we need to wield our power more aggressively. If we let this slide, it’ll create problems for our authority as second-years.”

Bang Seok-cheon was planning to crack down harder on the first-years.

Baek Dong-guk showed an uneasy look.

“But if we’re too harsh, it’ll create more complaints. It’s dangerous if they report us to the instructors.”

“What happened to your size? Why are you so scared?”

The second-year leader scolded Baek Dong-guk.

“We can overwhelm them with group pressure and control them through the kids who follow us well. It won’t be easy for them to resist after seeing what happened to Do Jong-hyun. But to maintain my authority, I need to be bold enough to hit them even in front of instructors.”

“You mean to show that you’ll finish things regardless of instructors? But I don’t think the instructors will stand by.”

“Idiot. What matters is ‘why’ you’re hitting them. For an extreme example, like a father beating a rapist who violated his family. Do you think instructors would make a big issue of that?”

“True, even I would ignore the law and beat them. The instructors might stop it immediately, but… wait, are you saying…?”

The punishment would likely be light or overlooked.

That’s what Bang Seok-cheon was counting on. But Baek Dong-guk felt uncomfortable because the method involved exploiting dead friends.

Shin Min-jung changed the subject.

“But some of the second-years aren’t joining in on the harassment.”

“They’re just pretending to be nice. After an incident like this, we need to enforce strict discipline. Tell them not to treat us like seniors.”

Bang Seok-cheon felt his authority had been damaged by this incident.

Regardless of how many people actually heard it during the life-or-death battle, a first-year dared to oppose his will?

‘That’s what matters. If they oppose me now, they’ll oppose me in the future. I need to crush them.’

Since Do Jong-hyun was reported to have harassed second-years with false accusations, the instructors would be cautious. So he would apply even stronger pressure than before.

Bang Seok-cheon set his next directive and sent it out.

-Anyone who shows their teeth at the memorial is dead. Pass it on.

It was time to demonstrate the influence he’d built over several months.

The opportunity came quickly.

From a fault-finding position, he would find something to criticize regardless, but it happened while everyone was mourning somberly at the memorial.

Those who spoke with even slightly normal expressions became targets.

He first struck Min-hyuk, an easy target among the lower classmen and a friend of Do Jong-hyun.

“You bastard! Your friend died, and what’s with that expression! Are you joking? How can you think of your friends’ deaths like that?”

Bang Seok-cheon was following his plan. He put on a performance of tearful rage in front of the instructors.

“Bang Seok-cheon! What are you doing?”

The instructors rushed over, but this was when Bang Seok-cheon’s acting skills shone.

“Seon-un was my friend! But this bastard is just chatting casually in front of the dead…”

He sobbed and angrily portrayed himself as the victim.

Emotional outburst due to a friend’s death. It was one of the despicable ways to receive lighter punishment for a violent incident.

Selling his friend’s death to establish authority, while also demonstrating his boldness by hitting a student in front of instructors.

He was aiming for three birds with one stone.

This made Bang Seok-cheon look righteous, while Min-hyuk, who was unfairly hit, was portrayed as disrespectful.

The instructors comforted the crying Bang Seok-cheon and took him out of the memorial, but the repercussions would continue.

When Wednesday’s regular classes ended, Bang Seok-cheon forced everyone to attend a special session.

Then he began collective punishment.

“Are you even human? Friends… seniors… instructors died, and you’re chatting? Your mental state is rotten!”

He followed with harsher kicks than before.

But some from the advanced class boldly spoke up.

“Senior, no matter what, gathering everyone for punishment like this isn’t right.”

“‘Isn’t right’? After being so lenient…! What did you just say?”

Let’s not forget that Bang Seok-cheon himself is in the advanced class. Plus, his talent makes him a promising candidate like the two who went to internships early.

While he might not be as strong as the first-year aces, he’s certainly stronger than the first-year advanced class.

Add authority and pressure to that. In fact, Gu Sang-heon and Geum Do-hyun were also present.

Only four people didn’t come at all: the free-spirited Aerial, Seol Yu-hwa with the White Dragon Guild behind her, Do Jong-hyun who was told not to come from the start, and Yu Ji-a who followed Aerial in not attending.

He made threats in front of Gu Sang-heon as if to assert his authority and began lecturing.

“I’m disappointed. Don’t go out for a while. If I see you showing your teeth outside, I’ll kill you. Know that you’ll be punished if I catch you laughing, talking, or enjoying yourselves!”

He ended the special session with such threats.

While such pressure was effective, it also resulted in growing resentment.

“Isn’t this too much?”

“Who does he think he is to control our outings?”

“No one wouldn’t be sad. Besides, we could be talking at the memorial because we’re sad. What’s his problem?”

“Shh, we’ll get in trouble if they hear us. Be quiet.”

As complaints arose, some of Bang Seok-cheon’s followers snickered upon hearing them.

This gave them more excuses to find fault.

So on Thursday, they were again having fun with another round of harassment.

Discontent was gradually building up. This incident was enough to undermine the efforts he had made to treat and teach others well over the months.

On the way back, Geum Do-hyun called Gu Sang-heon and Han Min-woo.

“What should we do? I think he’s crossing the line.”

“The seniors must have their own thoughts, but this isn’t right.”

“He used dead people as an excuse to gather us. Everyone’s sad, and people might be distracted because of it. But to give us punishment? Honestly, it’s hard to handle all the second-years, but isn’t there a way to target them separately?”

Geum Do-hyun was showing signs of rebellion.

*

The Incheon Airport occupation battle targets a place where planes and cargo from around the world are distributed. Occupying and paralyzing this location naturally has a significant impact.

This incident unfolded at 9 PM.

Strange beings and monsters appeared together and devastated Incheon Airport. Thousands died, and one incoming plane was shot down, crashing into an urban area and causing a major casualty incident.

Moreover, they took hostages and pretended to negotiate while purely aiming for slaughter inside.

It was Dokgo Jun who stopped this. True to his character, he charged in during negotiations, beat them up, and rescued the hostages.

Although it was dangerous due to the number of enemies, he managed to save everyone without much trouble.

He probably demonstrated his power as a “Priest” then. When someone contracted with a summoning spirit is recognized for their power and reaches a higher level of awakening.

There are many rumors that he reached the level of Avatar, but if he were a true Avatar, he wouldn’t have lost to Si Woo-jin and retired.

I’ll stall for time, and Dokgo Jun can clean up, I suppose.

Anyway, I’m just waiting for classes to end. The afternoon is filled with gate simulation practice in teams.

I was just following along, when something interesting happened.

“Aerial. Let’s team up.”

For some reason, Yu Deok-min boldly asked Aerial to form a team with him.

Even Aerial seemed surprised, tilting her head.

“I want to aim for first place with you. What do you think?”

“I don’t see why I should team up with you.”

Aerial flatly refused. Normally, Yu Deok-min would have backed off at this point, but this time he was more persistent.

“I’m sorry about before. Let’s both aim for first place. I can cover for the advanced class now.”

“You, first place? That seems difficult.”

“Sorry, but I’m the best in the lower class. And Do Jong-hyun isn’t the only one who can lead. I can too.”

That’s quite an aggressive courtship. Aerial looked at me then, and grinned.

“Alright, let’s compare.”

“Leave it to me.”

Strangely, Aerial agreed. So a combination I’d only seen a few times early on was now being recreated here.

In this test, set with a C-rank monster, they took 10 minutes to reach the target point.

This record, seemingly made with determination, became the current top score.

“How about that, Aerial? Pretty good, right?”

His triumphant look is somehow annoying. But here, Aerial pointed at me again.

“I think Do Jong-hyun is better. I don’t think we match well.”

“No, Aerial. Don’t say nonsense. Do Jong-hyun doesn’t even have a summoning spirit, and his recent records aren’t good.”

“Do Jong-hyun is just taking it easy. If he really puts his mind to it, he’d quickly take first place.”

“…”

That’s quite a generous evaluation. Anyway, I was starting to feel good about Aerial’s assessment, but Yu Deok-min looked ominous.

“No, what kind of excuse is that? Aerial, are you saying he’s not trying his best and just doing the bare minimum? Isn’t that even stranger?”

“I don’t know who made him that way.”

Aerial’s expression was looking down on him as if she knew everything.

Yu Deok-min approached me with a reddened face.

“This is Aerial’s opinion, but what do you think? Haven’t you lost to me twice? I’m superior in both duels and simulation scores. Don’t you admit it?”

“No.”

I actually wanted to stay quiet, but like with Gu Sang-heon, it doesn’t seem necessary.

Yu Deok-min started snickering.

“Oh, so you’re going to try properly now? So until now, you weren’t serious and that’s why you lost? Fine. Even though that’s an ugly form of mental gymnastics, I’ll accept that’s how you think. Then right now… simulations might be tricky, but shall we duel again? If you try properly, you can win, right?”

He looks truly delighted. Well, he thinks he’s strong.

From my perspective, I was planning to break Yu Deok-min’s nose anyway.

Considering the connection to the red powder, I might learn something.

I didn’t expect such an opportunity to come.

I’d like to crush him in simulation scores too, but let’s start with a duel.

I finally brought out my newly received blue reinforced suit to this hall for the first time.