Ch.1515. The Fateful Day

The fateful day had arrived. Since it was an external learning day, we were touring the teleport-installed zones under the instructors’ guidance.

These teleports were obviously installed for swift evacuation during emergencies.

The intention was to familiarize ourselves with each teleport zone and memorize them for later use during “emergency response training.”

However, at the academy, this was treated as a sort of field trip. Everyone was relaxed, bringing snacks and enjoying themselves rather than being tense.

I was the same. Having experienced this before, I brought lunch and snacks to eat while walking.

It reminded me of elementary school field trips when kimbap, snacks, and drinks were enough to make me happy.

If not for the incident that would happen today, I would have enjoyed myself too, but reality is cruel.

The incident will occur here in Insadong Street, Jongno District, Seoul.

A Monster Break will happen, leading to an all-out battle between students and monsters.

The number will reach a staggering 50 monsters. Considering that typical Monster Breaks involve around 10 monsters, this would be one of the largest since the Great War.

In the future, it would be revealed as the work of a villain. A scheme to crush the young buds and greatly reduce our forces.

But at that time, few people died. Thanks to the resilience of the Golden Generation, they managed to hold out, if not repel the attack, and all the guilds were deployed.

This time, things will proceed the same way. What can I possibly do here?

“Should I buy some popcorn?”

Insadong Street is full of all kinds of street vendors. Would I be crazy enough to transform into a monster when monsters are about to attack?

According to the future I know, there shouldn’t be any problems. So observation is definitely the best option.

Let’s see. Where should I hide?

By that time’s standards, Insadong Street becomes chaotic, but there’s an academy building nearby where no monsters went.

Yes, I need to hide safely.

I slowly tried to break away from the group. But at the same time, I spotted the lower-class students.

Didn’t I mention that a few people died? Most of them were from our lower class. Given the level of monsters appearing, running away would be the correct answer for the lower class.

But casualties occurred because some insisted on fighting.

Considering the opponents were B-grade, it was utterly reckless.

But this is unavoidable. Grades aren’t immediately known, making it difficult to judge.

However, there are people who shouldn’t die unnecessarily, so maybe I should intervene a little? I approached the instructor.

“Instructor, I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“What should we do if our lower class encounters monsters we can’t handle?”

Oh Juhwan narrowed his eyes sharply.

“You need to know your limits. Some might think running away isn’t honorable, but those are fools. Life is precious. Recognizing your level and retreating is a wise decision. Remember, everyone. Don’t rush in needlessly; assess the situation properly.”

“But when monsters first appear, we can’t immediately know their grade.”

Oh Juhwan grabbed my shoulder.

“This instructor has a method. It’s a field trip anyway, so don’t worry unnecessarily.”

Good, that should do it. I checked my watch. 2 PM. Three minutes left.

Now it was time for them to arrive.

I slipped into the academy building. Yes, they’ll fight for 20 minutes, and then guild members will come to support.

That’s how the future is supposed to unfold.

While I was hiding, a tearing sound echoed from the sky.

People looked up. Then I heard Oh Juhwan’s voice.

“Everyone, fall back!”

Yes, I’ve experienced this too. However, Oh Juhwan only took the lead himself.

He didn’t stop students who wanted to fight. He couldn’t assess the monsters in detail yet.

There was also the justification that Yeagers needed to protect civilians.

But this time was slightly different. Perhaps recalling my words, he decided to fight the monsters first.

“Wait, everyone! I’ll go first.”

Yes, that’s it. This way, no fool would rashly charge in.

Now monsters began falling like raindrops everywhere.

Various battles started breaking out. As I was about to move, unlike the future I knew, a monster was staring at me.

No, this didn’t happen in the future! Is it because I moved?

“Shit.”

A curse escaped my lips. Just as a frog monster extended its long tongue toward me, a flame of magical power passed in front of me. A powerful magical force.

I know this power well.

“It’s impossible with your level, Doo Jonghyun!”

Aerial stood in front of me, as if trying to protect me.

“I can tell at a glance. They’re quite strong. This should be fun.”

Aerial appeared out of nowhere. The upper class should be elsewhere, so why is she here?

Aerial pushed me aside.

“You should be grateful. This adds to your debt.”

“Debt?”

“I’ll collect it fully later, so just wait!”

Aerial jumped in with a face full of pride.

Thanks to her, I survived.

Anyway, with Aerial’s protection, I successfully escaped to a nearby academy building.

From here, I could see the entire scene. Roughly 50 monsters from the distance.

Fierce battles began breaking out everywhere.

Then, Oh Juhwan’s voice was heard again.

“These creatures are beyond your (lower class) ability. Everyone run! They’re strong ones!”

I saw a powerful gravitational force activate around Oh Juhwan.

Ten monsters trying to move were instantly subdued.

“Impressive indeed. He went into defensive mode like this?”

In the future I experienced, Oh Juhwan urgently deployed gravity to protect everyone after some students had died.

This time, no one died, which is fortunate. The future has changed slightly.

This is enough. For someone like me who can’t use powers in front of others, this is all I can do.

I summoned four smoke screen cards.

“In a way, these are useful at times like this, but there’s no need to risk myself.”

Three cards from my terrible gacha luck and one existing card. Including the evolution card, I can use exactly five.

But there’s no reason to interfere when they’re handling it well.

I turned my attention to the upper class area. Being at the center of the monster attack, there were 15 monsters scattered around.

Aerial was also fighting with a C-rank monster, slashing it in one breath before moving on.

But they’ll be fine. They just need to hold the defensive line.

Aerial, who had officially joined the upper class, took the lead. But something was different from before.

According to the flow, Koo Sangheon, Geum Dohyun, and Seol Yuhwa should be defending against the A-grade monster, Ignis Elk.

But Aerial was among them.

Originally, she should have been injured and pulled back.

The future has changed.

“Then they might be able to catch it.”

4:1. With Aerial, who could face B-rank monsters head-on, joining the fight, the A-rank monster finally began to be pushed back.

Fierce magical power blazed from Aerial’s sword.

With an ominous aura, Aerial charged at full power, inflicting damage on the opponent.

The enemy was a formidable A-rank monster. Despite being hit, it was still spewing sharp thorns toward Koo Sangheon and Geum Dohyun nearby.

A back-and-forth battle. Five minutes before the promised 20 minutes were up, Aerial finally succeeded in cutting the monster’s neck.

She’s really no joke. Her abilities are almost entirely focused on attack.

Yes, with this, victory is secured. Aerial collapsed to the ground, and the others were also struggling from the difficult battle. Monster corpses were accumulating around them.

This would be a smooth victory.

Then, something strange caught my eye.

“What’s that?”

The battle was about to end. But another one appeared.

Another monster that wasn’t in the future I knew.

“That’s an A-grade Minotaur? There should only be one Elk!”

A high-tier individual among A-grades appeared. A monster that wasn’t in the future I knew suddenly appeared.

Can they defeat it now?

At that moment, I saw all four upper class geniuses rushing in.

Shortly after, dust rose from four places, but this beast deflected all the exhausted geniuses with just one arm.

Minotaur. An upper A-grade entity with powerful durability and strength.

It’s difficult even at full strength for the current students.

Holding an axe larger than a human body, the 4-meter giant was slowly walking toward the closest person.

Aerial.

Originally, Aerial had no reason to die, but now she will. There’s no one to help her. Everyone else is engaged in battle.

“This is really messed up.”

If Aerial dies here, there’s no point in me coming back to the past. I need to save as many capable people as possible.

I looked around. An empty place with no one. Everyone must be hiding underground or in some corner.

[Dragon Slayer Transformation]

Light enveloped my body, and my beastly form, transformed into a monster, targeted the Minotaur and leaped in a single bound.

***

In the midst of the fierce battle, Oh Juhwan saw something rushing past.

It wasn’t in human form. But he couldn’t do anything more as he was busy subduing ten monsters.

‘So fast! What is that?’

Only a blurry afterimage of the monster was visible, but Oh Juhwan couldn’t guess what kind of monster it was.

And the direction the monster headed was toward the upper class area. Aerial was panting heavily as she barely stood up.

‘An A-rank monster. I could somehow push through B-rank monsters with firepower, but…’

From A-rank onwards, that becomes much more difficult.

She had already fought fiercely with B-rank monsters, so her stamina was depleted, and now she faced a Minotaur, one of the strongest among A-ranks.

‘It’s naturally difficult. And of all places, here…’

The Minotaur’s axe stretched toward the sky. Aerial wasn’t born just to die here.

‘Don’t be ridiculous! Why should I die here!’

She tried to resist, but she couldn’t block it head-on.

‘Can I dodge that speed?’

If she could just distract it momentarily, she might be able to dodge. As Aerial staggered backward, suddenly a hazy smoke obscured her vision.

‘Smoke screen? Who?’

The smoke screen being sprayed in front of Aerial wasn’t just here. Smoke screens were being generated in all directions.

THUD!

And then came the sound of something heavy landing on the ground.

Being close by, Aerial could see this scene.

“A monster?”

There was another monster behind the Minotaur. A dinosaur-like face with horned bones, a monster with hideous teeth and claws was looking down at the Minotaur.

At this point, the Minotaur had already lowered its arm to cut Aerial in half.

But it couldn’t.

Not because of the smoke. Because something behind it had grabbed its wrist.

“Grr!”

The Minotaur’s hand, which it was trying to pull out by exerting force, didn’t move.

The Minotaur, a monster synonymous with strength.

Even Aerial, who was watching, opened her mouth in surprise.

‘Why are they fighting? They’re both monsters?’

Monsters fighting each other? It was a method incomprehensible by common sense.

And then the Minotaur fell to the ground before her eyes. This dinosaur-like monster had slammed it to the ground. A hole formed in the ground, and smoke swirled around.

‘So strong!’

Aerial realized that the dinosaur monster before her eyes was no joke.

The Minotaur swung its axe while lying down. The axe was effective.

Blood flowed from the thick dinosaur’s thigh, but instead, its entire body turned red and began to emit a strange energy.

The monster scratched the Minotaur’s body again with its claws. As blood spurted in all directions, the Minotaur convulsed and stood up.

And when it charged in anger, a laser-like heat ray spewed from the monster’s mouth.

The laser, cutting through the smoke, collided with the Minotaur, and this mythical beast collapsed.

‘Amazing…’

Aerial was staring blankly at the scene. Eventually, the dinosaur turned its body.

Aerial reflexively took a combat stance, but she actually knew the outcome.

That she would die.

If she couldn’t defeat the Minotaur, how could she defeat the dinosaur monster that easily handled the Minotaur? She obviously couldn’t win.

But something surprising happened. The monster looked at her and then disappeared back into the smoke.

“Why?”

Aerial was filled with questions. The hazy smoke finally cleared, and the monster had completely vanished.