Ch.204204. Regenerating Monster

Advanced Class. It’s been so long since I’ve seen this class.

The moment I opened the door, countless gazes crossed toward me.

Those who had testified against me or similar were avoiding eye contact.

The rest were just… normal.

Do-hyun Kim and Min-woo Han welcomed me, while Sang-heon Gu remained indifferent.

“Sang-heon?”

But at that moment, a fist flew toward my face.

“Why couldn’t you have just told us the truth?”

“…Sorry.”

It seems he’s still upset about me going around telling lies.

Ariel immediately stood up.

“No matter what, you didn’t have to hit him.”

“You’re right.”

Sang-heon readily admitted it. He responded so straightforwardly that even Ariel, who was confronting him, was taken aback.

“But I had to do it. I hate lies.”

Sang-heon sat back down.

Ariel was angry and wanted to argue further, but I stopped her right away.

“It’s fine. I have something to say anyway.”

I have things to say to everyone now that I’m back. There are also those among them who doubt and dislike me.

I walked toward the teacher’s desk and clapped my hands to get everyone’s attention.

“Sorry, but I need everyone’s attention. As you all know, I can transform into a monster.”

I looked at the eyes of the students who calmly turned their gazes toward me.

Friendship, doubt, jealousy, caution. In the midst of this whirlwind of gazes, I needed to convey this message.

“Let me be clear: I want to end this situation. Not as a monster, but as the human Do Jong-hyun. You might doubt me or still consider me a friend. I won’t force you to think one way or another. I’ll continue to fight. If they appear here, I’ll fight here and end everything with humanity’s victory. Just know that.”

I stepped down from the platform with a light heart. There was no need to convince everyone individually.

I just needed to show my resolve.

And so, I returned to normal school life. Outside, reporters were causing a commotion, but for security reasons, they couldn’t enter.

Class time was interesting too.

Why? Because I no longer needed to hide my transformation.

“Hmm…”

The instructors were at a loss for how to deal with me.

In my pure human state, my physical abilities were between lower and middle class.

With tactical abilities added, I was advanced class.

And if you add transformation abilities on top of that?

For the first time, I transformed into my ethereal state in front of everyone.

This was under the direction of Ju-hwan Oh, who had temporarily been promoted to advanced class instructor.

“You’re strong in your monster state, but if you’re going to cooperate with humanity, we need to practice working together.”

The ethereal state was necessary to physically coordinate with the advanced class.

However, there was one obvious problem.

“We can’t communicate!”

Do-hyun Kim, who was assigned to the same team, shouted. That’s right. Unlike other monsters, I usually can’t speak in my transformed state.

This means I lose my advantage of giving tactical instructions.

“Isn’t there some way to understand just by looking at each other’s eyes?”

I shrugged as I reverted from my transformation. Of course, while hand signals could be exchanged, tactical instructions were impossible.

“You really can transform freely in your monster state.”

“Wow. You’re big. Must be at least 2 meters tall.”

Amidst the commotion, Ju-hwan Oh pointed to a card deck.

“Is there a card among these that allows communication?”

“I’ll have to look for one.”

I began to mobilize my points as much as possible. I could draw new cards, but would there be a communication card?

Once again, I invested the points I had collected to draw a new set of cards.

But as is always the case with gacha, the most I got was two silver cards among the trash.

Today was particularly full of garbage.

Even when I combined the uselessly drawn cards into a single card, what came out was just this:

[Marker]

-You can send signals to a total of 10 target points. (Range limited)

“Shall we try using this?”

I held up the marker card. I transformed into my ethereal state again and activated the card.

In front of me were 10 objects condensed with magical power.

I designated targets up to the maximum range.

These would fly and leave traces like distress signals.

This was the best I could do with what I had.

As far as I know, it’s one of the few cards that can be shown to others.

Based on this, we had a class about designating positions or making requests.

Well, it wasn’t going to go well from the start.

“Go there and do what exactly?”

“Fight, right?”

“No, I’m a sidekick!”

The first day was literally a mess. We struggled to coordinate.

“Min-woo! Can you support with your shield?”

“Yes.”

Training continued in preparation for evolution and other scenarios, definitely a different style of class from before.

But there was a slightly unsettling atmosphere.

It was about Ariel.

There seemed to be a strange atmosphere surrounding Ariel, especially among the girls.

Ariel said it was about the ‘Yoo-hwa Seol’ incident.

“Well, since I’m the one who spread that rumor. I guess they’re feeling uncomfortable.”

“Will you be okay?”

“It did come out that I emotionally disliked Yoo-hwa Seol. But I don’t intend to hold back. It’s not like they’re Yoo-hwa Seol.”

Ariel always acts the same way. Regardless of what others say to her, she points out and corrects others.

However, there was a strange atmosphere that felt like a trigger waiting to be pulled.

The second day was similar, but the tension was even higher.

This was because I had informed everyone that the enemy’s next offensive would be here.

They will definitely come with the intention of drawing me out. But if so, we’ll be prepared.

On the third day, the academy was empty. Other guilds were ready to help, centered around me.

Unfortunately, the Magician Guild couldn’t provide support as they were dispatched to Busan where a mass suicide incident and a Break occurred with the Monster Extermination Group.

But this should be enough.

I quietly waited in a corner of the classroom.

As soon as the appointed time came, Breaks began to occur all at once.

I held the evolution card and waited for the ancient species. A type known to have inflicted significant damage even against avatar-level opponents.

I transformed into a wolf to deal with it.

Holding the sword of the evolved mechanical wolf, I aimed for a single strike the moment it appeared.

I turned my claws into a gun and concentrated magical power.

I’ll smash it the moment it comes out.

I had already seen how Dok-go Jun and Tae-sang Park had dealt with a giant Cyclops.

Astonishing regenerative abilities and destructive power that changed the terrain with a single swing.

The academy might collapse if things go wrong.

Minimizing that damage was my purpose.

Now the ground begins to rumble. Something emerges from the massive vibrations.

The form that comes to mind from the name is a centipede.

Hong-ryong-deung-cheon was one of the names of centipede monsters during the Joseon Dynasty.

The very mention of that name suggests its appearance.

And soon the ground split open, and from there, a long body with creepy legs rose up.

[Sub Cards]

-Output Limit Release Device

-Heat Ray Laser

-Stat Up

I use the maximum power I can. As the heat ray laser begins to envelop my sword, I sliced through it in one go.

I cut off its head and about a third of its body. The heavy and solid sensation was blocked, and the creature was split apart.

-Monster Daily Mission Success

-Monster Points 10 Acquired

Soon, the giant creature’s body and innards…

Huh? Is this the end? Really? Too easy. Wasn’t it an ancient species? Not a byproduct, but a creature with the power of a true ancient species, and it’s this easy?

But Monster Daily was showing that the extermination was successful.

The creature’s corpse was rapidly melting away. It dissolved and disappeared in an instant, leaving behind smoke.

So I defeated it?

Isn’t this too easy? I don’t understand, but since it’s down, I’ll go help other guilds.

And so, the Monster Daily mission ended too easily.

The evacuation of the academy seemed like an overreaction given how anticlimactic it was.

It feels unsettling. This can’t be the end, can it?

Since I supposedly killed it, I had no choice but to revert my transformation and wait.

I reassured myself that I had successfully stopped it, but it was too strange.

Unfortunately, my concerns invited misfortune.

Why? Because that evening, the monster I had killed was resurrected.

*

Record-breaking damage. The resurrection of Hong-ryong-deung-cheon, which I had supposedly dealt with, caught everyone off guard.

The resurrected Hong-ryong-deung-cheon was a massive specimen reaching 40 meters, though not as large as the Cyclops. This creature broke through the academy and rampaged in the surrounding area.

I too received an emergency summons text and confirmed the situation. And indeed, the monster was rampaging right before my eyes.

As it writhed, building eaves collapsed and roads were destroyed.

Many people could die in this situation. Despite my anger, evolution was impossible.

The person who resolved this was Sung-hee Jo. This woman, who had rushed from Busan to Gyeonggi-do as if ignoring space itself, tore the monster to pieces.

“Phew…”

But the fact that significant damage had been done couldn’t be denied.

The next day, the media was criticizing me and holding me responsible.

[Did Jong-hyun Do Allow the Monster?]

It was absurd nonsense, but I didn’t have time to endure it.

Why? Because that very night, the creature appeared again.

“What principle is at work here?”

Even if the first time was a fake, it should have died at Sung-hee’s hands, right?

Once again, I forced myself to get up. I needed to transform into my evolved form at least today…

I transformed, but my body felt significantly heavier than before.

But don’t worry. The transformed entity is a mechanical dinosaur. And I, in human mode, sliced through the creature with my sword.

I wanted to revert my transformation, but it might resurrect again.

I waited and endured, but it forcibly reverted in less than an hour.

“Damn… if it appears again…”

There’s really no solution.

I entrusted the rest to Sung-hee and collapsed.

The next day, at lunch, Se-rin Eun was in front of me when I woke up.

“What happened? The monster?”

“It hasn’t appeared yet. But… it’s strange.”

Se-rin Eun shared information about ancient species that she had picked up.

“I also passed this to the White Dragon Guild… Actually, there were several ancient species that Jiho abandoned during his research.”

[Regenerative Monster]

“What is this ‘regenerative monster’?”

“It possesses a terrifying ability that activates upon death. Killing it doesn’t mean it’s dead. It rapidly recreates its main body, but in exchange, it’s weaker than other ancient species. However, it’s more than enough to annoy people and even pose a threat.”

This is data on an ancient species called a regenerative monster. It includes rapid regeneration and is a type that strikes internally after inducing complacency by appearing to die.

We’ve been played exactly according to this pattern.

“How do we catch it?”

“You have to prevent its regeneration after killing it. The problem is not knowing when regeneration will occur and where it’s being directed from. It’s a rule.”

“So we need to target it before it regenerates.”

“The question is where it is.”

We have a strategy. Target the creature before it regenerates. But how? We need to stop the ‘subject’ that’s regenerating, but how do we know where it is?

“What’s certain is that it’s likely to be near where it died. Its regeneration starts from where it died.”

“I see. Then…”

It’s an interesting form of nuisance. In that case, we have no choice but to respond with our next move.

I called all the academy students to the auditorium.