Ch.1212. New Mission

Ariel was conscious of Do Jonghyun. In truth, at first, he could have been considered an insignificant existence.

Just someone famous for not having a summoned spirit. That was about it.

But ever since training together, he strangely started to irritate her.

‘Watch your flank, he said. It was true. How did he notice that? Does he have good eyes?’

Above all, what mattered most to her was that he had given advice that would help her grow.

Given Ariel’s personality, she couldn’t just ignore such help.

‘Thanks to him, I discovered one of my weaknesses early. I was going to include him in my group!’

Even without directly saying thank you, she had planned to repay him by including him in her noble party and letting him ride along.

‘This should be enough. It’s such an honor that I’m helping him.’

With that mindset, she waited until Do Jonghyun was alone.

But when Do Jonghyun approached Seol Yuhwa instead, her mood suddenly plummeted.

‘Seol Yuhwa? Not me? Since he gave me advice, shouldn’t he be begging to join my side?’

An action incomprehensible by common sense. Though Ariel was upset, she reminded herself of her position.

‘He’s just from the lower class after all. Given his position, he’d beg to join anyone.’

Ariel couldn’t understand why she was even bothering with such an insignificant nobody.

So she deliberately wanted to provoke and humiliate him. Instead, she recruited the strong Geum Dohyun and his competent sidekicks.

“We’re definitely getting first place. Got it?”

It was a matter of pride. Ariel began by pushing and prodding her team members.

Her imposing presence as she cleaved monsters in half with her Gram was certainly overwhelming.

Additionally, Geum Dohyun could wield the power of Ifrit to attack multiple targets.

Adding this advantage, they engaged in fierce battles with the monsters.

Geum Dohyun shot flames like arrows toward the long-armed monkeys and shouted:

“Ariel, take it slow!”

“Catch them quickly!”

“At their level, first place is impossible anyway.”

“It’s not just them! Everyone! We’ll beat everyone!”

Ariel shouted as she unleashed the magical power of Gram, shattering monsters into pieces.

Overwhelming destructive power, and a speed that left no room for resistance as she led from the front.

In every aspect, Ariel was unparalleled.

Although they lost some time with the Killer Bee, she was confident of securing first place.

“Good job. You’re all keeping up well because you’re talented.”

“You’re the amazing one, Ariel. No, you have so much power to spare.”

“I was holding back. I could have gone faster.”

Ariel was smiling confidently when her expression suddenly froze.

[Flank]

Do Jonghyun’s words echoed in her mind. The reason she had paced herself despite being able to go faster was because of her flank.

Being worthy of the title “genius,” she had been constantly adjusting to fix her weakness once it was discovered.

So it was thanks to Do Jonghyun.

That’s why she was displeased that Do Jonghyun had attached himself to Seol Yuhwa.

“Ariel?”

“Forget it! Let’s see the results. We’ll be first place anyway.”

Ariel thought they would come out first.

Her thinking was truly correct and natural.

Under normal circumstances.

But today was different from the usual.

[New Record]

-Seol Yuhwa, Do Jonghyun, Park Seonwoo, Nathan

-12 minutes 20 seconds, Overall 1st place

[New Record]

-Ariel, Geum Dohyun, Drake, Chenglong

-12 minutes 40 seconds, Overall 2nd place

“What’s going on?”

Ariel saw results she wanted to deny. The record sent to her smartwatch couldn’t be false, though.

“We lost?”

“Impossible! How did they get first place?”

A result that defied common sense had emerged. Ariel stared blankly at her smartwatch before spotting Seol Yuhwa, who had finished earlier.

A calm impression, haughty eyes. She passed by them with a smile on her face.

“Good job.”

“!”

So many emotions packed into those few words. Ariel could feel a vein throbbing on her forehead.

‘I was beaten? Me?’

Barely maintaining her composure, Ariel looked at a figure gulping down a drink in the distance.

‘Do Jonghyun! That insignificant nobody!’

He had truly taken first place. And it didn’t seem like he was just carried along, as his sidekicks were even massaging his shoulders.

“Do Jonghyun, right? Hey, let’s team up next time too! How do you know all this stuff?”

“Yeah, with your analysis skills, being in the lower class is more than enough. Next time too, okay?”

The change in treatment meant he had performed well. Ariel glared at Do Jonghyun with jealousy.

‘So annoying! It’s unfair.’

After the schedule ended, Ariel went straight to her dormitory.

She immediately called her mother.

“Mamma! What should I do! I got second place… What is this!”

She’s still a young girl after all. Feeling wronged, she cried and complained to her parents to comfort herself.

*

As soon as the schedule ended, I rushed back to the dormitory.

“Phew. I managed to do it.”

I succeeded in protecting Seol Yuhwa from that Geum Dohyun guy.

Since he wasn’t in the club, I could probably relax for a while.

“Good, and I also exchanged contacts with the sidekicks, so the next practice will be easier.”

My personal achievement was showing that I could do it too, even though I couldn’t use cards.

After eight more tests, I’ll be able to go to the gate.

Then I can collect various DNA and evolve in more diverse ways.

“I need to go out again.”

A person must be diligent. One should never neglect training.

[Monster Daily]

I need to find where monsters break through gates, acquire DNA, and then come back to gather M points again.

I use the subway instead of the smartwatch to get near the target area.

The smartwatch records everything, so I’ve turned off all its functions and only use it for dormitory access to avoid future questioning.

Today’s destination is for new DNA.

I’ve already obtained beast and machine. Only one type doesn’t exist yet.

Yes, insects.

Surprisingly, the design itself is quite cool, so I set out to find a Monster Break where insects appear.

As I approached the target point, I held up a card.

[Half-Dragon Asura]

Light flickered in one hand, and as I swiped the card through it, my body transformed once again.

Checking myself briefly, I was in my basic form.

“So transformation always starts with the basic form, and then I evolve with evolution cards?”

Does that mean I need to transform twice for the next evolution? Surely there must be a way to transform in one go, like Digimon?

Of course, I know all too well what happens when I lose control.

That’s why I deliberately came to a place where evolution isn’t necessary.

Monster Daily is definitely convenient.

As I waited in my transformed state, spaces began to distort all around.

Like gravity magic had been cast, the distorted spaces all began to shatter at once.

The opponents this time are E-rank. Knowing that transforming into a sub-adult form would have significant repercussions, I planned to just get the DNA and leave.

My wild instinct spotted a ladybug monster that landed in front of me first.

It looks tough, but I know its weakness. The long antennae.

My claws moved and cut off the antennae in one swift motion.

While the ladybug monster was spinning its body, I slammed it to the ground.

I opened my status window and selected the Breath and Smoke Screen cards for the sub-card slot, leaving out the Awakening card.

Skills: Claws, Tail Strike, Bite, Breath (3 uses), Smoke Screen (3 uses)

Then I turned my body and successfully finished it off with my tail.

Its body was crushed under my tail, almost pitifully.

[DNA Point Acquired]

-150

-Insect

-Total Points 1100

As I finished my attack, other insect monsters all began to look at me.

Among them, I could see one with blades similar to a rhinoceros beetle, and gray stag beetle-like creatures.

Of course, their designs were more vicious.

And there were also half-insect monsters that seemed to be a mix of human and insect. Looks like it’s merged with a moth.

They all attacked at once.

At that moment, my wild instinct began to send warnings.

From below.

Reflexively, I jumped, and a centipede that had emerged from between shadows was staring at me.

I couldn’t even see it?

[You can use characteristics.]

Right, insect types are heavily affected by characteristics? What just happened must be similar.

As I flew through the air, suddenly the air below me churned. A moth-type monster was rapidly flying toward me.

Not just the speed of its approach, but its appearance had changed from human to a distorted insect face.

“Too bad.”

[Breath]

I exhaled a mass of magical power that had been boiling in my mouth. The breath, shooting out like a blast, knocked the moth-type monster out of the sky.

[DNA Point Acquired]

-150

-Insect

-Total Points 1250

The points are accumulating nicely. At this rate, another evolution might be possible?

The evolution card is glowing again.

[Checking Evolution Routes]

-Half-Human Half-Beast (Sub-adult): Half-Dragon Asura (1,000 evolution points required)

-Half-Human Half-Insect (Sub-adult): Half-Insect Asura (1,050 evolution points required)

-You need to collect DNA points to evolve.

“But can I transform again?”

I landed safely and used the Smoke Screen skill to obscure visibility.

And here comes a stag beetle. The official name is Stag Assault Beetle.

It cuts opponents in half with its sharp pincers.

But if I attack from the air, I can dodge it easily.

In an instant, my claws targeted its head. While the shell is heavy, the head is relatively weak.

Another 150 points.

More than enough to evolve. But considering the fatigue from adult form evolution, I should make the most of this current form.

Next is the rhinoceros beetle. The moment it charged at me, I fired my breath at its legs.

I precisely targeted the legs, which are a relatively vulnerable weak point.

After it lost its legs and tumbled before me, I flipped it over with my foot.

As soon as its defenseless belly was exposed, I slashed it with my claws.

Bodily fluids splattered everywhere, and it soon stopped moving.

-Total Points 1550

Just as I thought I had collected quite a lot, something new appeared.

[15,000 points needed to evolve to adult form]

Adult form? It’s an evolution stage above sub-adult. Usually, it goes embryo -> sub-adult -> adult.

“If the sub-adult form was that powerful, at this level, wouldn’t it rival A-rank?”

Although I would need to collect an enormous amount of DNA points, if the power of the sub-adult form, which seemed to be B-rank, was beyond that? It might surpass A-rank, the practical top tier of Jaegers.

S-rank is literally the realm of geniuses.

“Alright. I’ll have to work hard here.”

Not knowing when the guild might arrive, I canceled my transformation.

Let’s not be unnecessarily greedy. Soon, the dense smell of insects rushed into my nose.

Fortunately, it wasn’t as bad as a stench. But this wasn’t the end of my schedule. After returning to the dormitory, I headed to the simulation room.

Several people were already there practicing.

Ariel, Seol Yuhwa, Gu Sangheon, and Geum Dohyun were already inside.

I was the same.

I needed to test my real body after leaving the monster’s body.

I faced the F-rank monster Puss in Boots again.

Having become familiar with it, I knocked it down once more, but this time no M points were generated.

“Should I do it one more time?”

Just to be sure, I fought and defeated Puss in Boots again, and only then did M points appear.

“So to earn points like leveling up, I need to grind multiple times.”

Understanding came quickly since it was like a game.

In one hour, I managed to defeat six Puss in Boots and earned 300 points.

[Points are being generated.]

-400 M points accumulated.

-You can obtain sub-cards with M points.

[Sub-Card Summon]

I open four cards at once.

With a pounding heart, the points disappeared, and four cards appeared before my eyes.

-Smoke Screen, Smoke Screen, Smoke Screen, Speed Enhancement

“….This gacha is rigged.”

I was speechless at the power of the dirty gacha.

Not that Smoke Screen is completely useless, though.

[Monster Daily]

-Monster Point Mission (You must defeat the sub-adult Predator Worm that will appear in two days.)

-Reward: Monster Points, 2% reduction in risk level

“What’s this now?”

A new mission has arrived.