Ch.181181. Caught in the Trap

# [Monster Daily]

– Time: Tomorrow at 11 AM, Gapyeong County, Gyeonggi Province

– Content: Catch the Rapid Star.

– Monster Points: 6

This could truly be called a Monster Daily that appeared after a very long time.

However, I doubted whether it would actually happen as stated. The monster side must also be aware that I show up according to their schedule.

Yet they’re sending it as is?

That can’t be right.

[I’ll use my ability to check it right away.]

“Whoa!”

I jumped up in surprise to find Junhu suddenly beside me.

“Shouldn’t you be with your younger self?”

“I told you I can come if I push myself, right?”

“Why did you push yourself to come now?”

Adult Junhu shrugged.

[We’re allies, so we should work together. Last time I pushed myself too hard and couldn’t move at all afterward. I need to keep this brief.]

“So what exactly did you come to tell me?”

[My sister was selected for the representative selection. I’m truly moved. Compared to when she was always so gaunt, this is practically heaven. I’m grateful to you. It’s all thanks to you.]

True, Seol Yuhwa before the regression was literally in a pitiful state.

“If you know that, just give me a gift later.”

[But there’s something that worries me.]

“Worries?”

[When I was watching from behind my younger self, I saw something suspicious. A strange creature with large eyeballs. When I tried to move, there was also a person with cat ears, and they suddenly looked in my direction.]

A creature with large eyeballs? A scout? And a person with cat ears?

Before the apocalypse, the Catastrophe Group definitely conducted experiments on humans and monsters, and hybrid or fused monsters actually appeared.

“It’s likely the Catastrophe Group.”

[I was worried, so I told young Junhu. And I also saw someone running on the opposite side. I’m not sure about that one.]

“Keep a close watch on your surroundings. It seems they’re starting to move again.”

Well, they’ve rested for about a month. Can a dog quit pooping?

Not just the Monster Daily, but they seem to be moving again.

What’s certain is that this Monster Daily won’t be ordinary.

We both know what’s going on, yet they’re sending it anyway? That’s impossible.

They’ll either influence the surroundings or play some trick.

Anyway, I arrived at school while maintaining a state of tension for the first time in a while.

Ariel was sitting in front of me.

She must have been deeply hurt by yesterday’s events.

I quietly called out to Ariel, wanting to comfort her.

“Ariel?”

“Hmm? What is it, Doo Jonghyun?”

My goodness. Look at her pretending to be fine with that smile. For the proud Ariel to be like this, it must be quite serious.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. If only a certain someone had properly submitted their resignation.”

See? She’s still speaking with subtle barbs.

She’s not fine at all.

“It was a close call, but what I mean is…”

At that moment, Ariel’s hands cupped my cheeks.

“Doo Jonghyun. Don’t worry unnecessarily. I’m feeling reaaally good right now. Don’t earn the dislike of a fellow representative with needless concern.”

“Really?”

“Really, I tell you. Look, here comes another representative.”

Ariel pointed at Seol Yuhwa, who was taking her seat.

“What are you talking about, Ariel? Are you still upset?”

Seol Yuhwa went on the offensive. It looks like these two might have another fight…

But something unexpected happened. Ariel, who would normally boldly counterattack, just smiled and backed down.

“How harsh of our new representative. I’ll back off then. I lack the dignity, you see.”

This attitude was different from usual. Is she really in a good mood?

Or is there something else going on?

Looking at Seol Yuhwa, she also seemed surprised.

“Ariel, are you pretending to be nice? Why not act like you usually do? Or was the shock too much?”

“Yes, it was huge. You’re good at ‘pretending’ to be noble. I’m clearly not capable of such acting. You’re good at it, after all.”

Seol Yuhwa’s expression hardened.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying you’re better at it. It’s a compliment. Is there a problem?”

“…”

This is strange. There’s a peculiar atmosphere now, different from before.

It feels like I have more things to worry about. And that’s not all.

I don’t know what Seo Jinwon might do.

Right now, he’s just quietly glaring at me.

Nothing else, just that.

His gaze was very disturbing, and sure enough, something happened during practice time.

“What the hell!”

Someone had gone through my belongings. I reported it to the instructor in shock, but without CCTV, they couldn’t catch the culprit.

Why do I think of Seo Jinwon?

He was after my card deck. But my belongings?

The card deck can essentially be used like an ability when transformed into a monster, but in human form, it’s literally just a stack of cards.

In other words, it’s something that can be physically handled.

That’s why I always carry it with me like underwear.

Besides, didn’t Seo Jinwon go to the infirmary during practice?

The opportunity definitely existed. Without evidence, I can’t confront him directly.

This is just adding more stress.

The next day, we were listening to explanations about rescue activities and guild training.

“Each guild will send an application list, and you’ll apply in that format. Competition for top guilds is fierce, so choose wisely. Oh, and before that, you’ll take a comprehensive test, so think carefully.”

While everyone was thinking about the training after Eun Serin’s explanation, something unpleasant appeared before me.

[Monster Daily Schedule Change]

– Time Change: Two hours from now

I knew this would happen. Of course, who would be stupid enough to come as originally scheduled?

Fortunately, it’s when classes end. I just need to fly there, but there was an interference.

“Hey.”

Seo Jinwon was calling me.

“What? Are you going to ask for my card deck?”

“That’s not it. I heard your opinion. Honestly, it’s not worth fighting over this…”

“Oh, so now you want to help?”

“Yes. I’ll actively cooperate with you. Just say the word. I’ll help with alibis and everything.”

What’s going on? Seo Jinwon wants to help me now? Well, it would be more convenient.

“Then help me when I transform.”

“Do you need anything right now?”

I hesitated a bit here. There is the Monster Daily…

I should be cautious.

“No, not right now. See you tomorrow.”

I rushed out.

I want to trust him, but I can’t. Cases like Geum Dohyun exist, so being suspicious isn’t bad. Still, with all these bombs around, I don’t need to add more.

At least for now, I can’t openly trust him. I’ll handle this alone.

After parting with Seo Jinwon, I immediately went out.

*

Myeongji Mountain in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. This area is normally busy with summer accommodations.

At this point, it’s not yet full summer and the valley is still cold, but that doesn’t mean there are no visitors.

Just families resting by the valley and some tourists.

It would have been a peaceful day if nothing had happened, but the problem is that something did.

First, an elementary school boy suddenly awakened his magical power here.

“Oh my goodness! Donghyun’s dad!”

The younger the age, the higher the growth potential, right? They’ve gained a future famous Jaeger.

They were in a frenzy over the boy’s magical awakening.

But if that were all, it would be a good thing, not a reason for unrest.

Then the brakes failed.

The sudden brake failure caused panic and people fled in a hurry.

Especially the SS-class Rapid Star, flashing light and moving its smoke-like body here and there.

But when a slime-type monster appeared among the monsters, the Rapid Star stood before it.

The moment the slime swallowed the Rapid Star in one gulp and transformed, the valley erupted into chaos.

The Rapid Star chased people like a flash of light.

It was only stopped by a being with even greater charging power.

The mechanical wolf’s greatsword sliced through the Rapid Star in one stroke.

By nature, this specimen is difficult to kill physically.

But the werewolf obviously has the ability to nullify that trait, and with time, it could certainly be dealt with.

The problem was the other monsters. Only the Rapid Star was on defense; the rest scattered in all directions.

The terrain also makes evacuation difficult, which is disadvantageous.

“Aaaaargh!”

Blood spurted and a person’s waist was cut off in front of the mechanical wolf.

As the mechanical wolf ran, the Rapid Star interfered again.

Meanwhile, another person died, and the mechanical wolf, in anger, began to slash at the enemy.

When the Rapid Star began to regenerate again, the wolf switched to tracking mode to deal with the other monsters.

But it’s impossible to track scattered monsters alone.

And at that moment, the slime launched a surprise attack.

With a loud friction sound, it succeeded in piercing through parts of the mechanical wolf.

Though stabbed in the side, the wolf forcibly pushed it away and finally bit into it with its teeth.

At this point, the regeneration power no longer activated.

But the wounded area began to deteriorate rapidly.

Even the wolf was surprised by the enemy’s maneuver and hurriedly deployed a sub-card.

From this point, the wolf’s body began to stagger slightly.

However, it wasn’t enough to prevent it from dealing with the enemy.

With no opponent able to overwhelm it, it successfully tracked down and finished off the rest.

But that wasn’t the end.

Suddenly, another brake failure occurred amidst the confused crowd.

*

Seo Jinwon already knew. He knew that Doo Jonghyun had secretly left.

[Doo Jonghyun doesn’t trust you.]

He followed the voice echoing in his mind. Someone was calling him. To this scene.

He ran all the way to Gapyeong in Gyeonggi Province.

Using his summoning spirit, he moved faster than even a train.

But his body, having run at full power, was already exhausted when he reached his destination, and his mind grew faint.

Strangely, while monsters were fighting guilds elsewhere, the place where he stood was quiet.

That’s not important. He succeeded in locating Doo Jonghyun.

The Doo Jonghyun that Seo Jinwon was targeting was staggering with a pale expression.

“Seo Jinwon?”

As soon as he finished speaking, angry kicks followed.

After beating the exhausted Doo Jonghyun, Seo Jinwon soon remembered his purpose.

[The card deck]

The source of power that allows transformation. He found the card deck.

After knocking Doo Jonghyun unconscious, he reached for the card deck.

[That power is yours.]

“With this power, I too… can change.”

Following the voice urging him in his mind, he handled the card deck.

As he injected magical power to make this power his own, the card deck began to shine all at once.

That light was gently enveloping Seo Jinwon’s body.

“I too… I finally!”

Seo Jinwon’s eyes were already filled with madness. That madness was so intense that he couldn’t even properly perceive that his arm had been severed.

When Seo Jinwon turned his head, he saw something strange.

Wasn’t the collapsed Doo Jonghyun beside him? But as soon as he focused his vision, he realized that he was the one who had collapsed.

He couldn’t move below his neck now. He could barely move his head and looked at his body.

There, he saw his body burst like a balloon.

“Huh… huh…?”

[So that’s what happens when someone else carelessly injects power? I understand now.]

The voice in his mind gradually faded away.

“I… I…”

[The first experiment is complete. I’ll leave the next one to you.]

As the voice disappeared, Seo Jinwon heard someone approaching in his despair.

“Hmm, just take the card deck. Testing it right away… how stupid.”

This ice-cold mockery, but he knew this voice that was coming from nearby.

“Eun… Serin…”

“Oh, you’re still alive? You shouldn’t be too greedy. I was hoping you’d do the second experiment too.”

Eun Serin regretfully clutched the card deck in her hand. She could have attacked Doo Jonghyun right then.

‘No, no. Experiments should be done calmly.’

She briefly caressed the cheek of the collapsed Doo Jonghyun before backing away.