Ch.5252. Aerial Rampage

As everything was settled, I faced Shin Yeonhwa.

“Are you okay?”

Her body was covered in cuts and blood, evidence that the battle against the cold wind monster had been far from easy.

“It was strong. But its weakness was exposed. I don’t know if that’s normal for it.”

It was probably the hole I had created. Still, I’m glad she caught it.

“I’ll need to report this new species immediately. Try not to wander around until nightfall.”

“Yes. I survived thanks to you, noona. Can I treat you to a meal?”

“Not necessary.”

She was serious. I wanted to buy her a meal out of gratitude, but there would be other opportunities.

Shin Yeonhwa then vanished before my eyes. Now guilds were moving in from various locations to clean up.

I was being safely escorted inside by a guild member.

“The White Dragon Guild was asked to protect you.”

The system is well-established.

Thanks to that, I comfortably earned enough monster points to secure what I needed for my adult transformation.

Of course, not right now.

With this, I’ve secured monster points. I’ll gather more points during Seol Yuhwa’s shift.

But fighting like this can only work once or twice. Having to gather points while avoiding the White Dragon Guild’s eyes throughout the vacation is troublesome.

I need to think about what other methods I could use.

It’s not like I can refuse their nominal protection either.

“Let’s sleep for now.”

Tomorrow’s worries are for tomorrow. With that, I drifted off to sleep.

*

When Seol Yuhwa’s shift came, I finally executed my plan.

[Half-filled Sura]

Speed. It’s all about speed. After what happened last time, Seol Yuhwa waited outside the gate while I gathered points as quickly as possible.

Like a game with a time attack, I anxiously set off smoke bombs and moved rapidly.

I used my compound eyes to check if anyone was monitoring me from outside.

In the end, I deactivated my transformation after earning 3,500 points, including from E-rank monsters.

“Whew… Hurry. Hurry.”

With this, my DNA points reached 16,200. Plus 2 monster points.

“That’s a relief. Enough points to evolve into anything.”

Of course, it took less than five minutes. Can you imagine how frantically I had to hunt those creatures that barely give any points?

But doing this repeatedly is becoming tiresome for me.

Protection is nice, but I need to find a way out somehow.

One method comes to mind, but it’s too extreme and potentially dangerous. I can’t put myself at the forefront.

‘I need to escape this predicament somehow.’

Plus, now that I’ve gathered enough points to evolve into an adult form, I want to evolve.

Armored dinosaur. What a magnificent sound. The fusion of machine and dinosaur—I want to transform right away, but I can’t.

After finishing, I tried to part ways with Seol Yuhwa, but this wasn’t really parting.

Until the shift change, she either watched from a distance or stayed with me like now.

“Since you still have escort time left, want to go see a movie?”

“A movie?”

“You’ll be meeting the seniors from the second semester anyway. What do you think?”

Come to think of it, I haven’t done many activities with Seol Yuhwa like I have with Aerial.

“I don’t usually watch action movies or things like that.”

“Really? That’s too bad. But you should broaden your horizons. I heard rumors that the chairman pays special attention to movie discussions.”

“That’s true. It was like that when I first joined.”

Seol Yuhwa thought for a moment, then met my gaze. So, is that a yes?

“Well, I’ve never really done anything with you. Let’s watch a movie and then part ways.”

“Right, it’s better to do something together than just saying goodbye. It’s more beneficial that way.”

“That’s true. You did that with ‘other girls,’ but I haven’t.”

Seol Yuhwa gave me a somewhat meaningful look.

“Other girls?”

“You hang out well with Aerial.”

“Honestly, I’m just being dragged along in that case.”

“So you don’t like it?”

“It’s nice when a beautiful woman takes good care of you.”

Seol Yuhwa sighed, then shook her head.

“You’re honest, at least.”

“That’s why I’m asking you to hang out with me, right?”

I shrugged. Understanding my meaning, Seol Yuhwa hastily turned away.

“Don’t expect any rewards for this, okay?”

We bought popcorn and cola and booked movie tickets.

Of course, Seol Yuhwa was flustered since she’d never bought these things before, but I covered for her.

“Sorry. I always make others do this…”

“Such a young lady. A young lady indeed.”

There’s no need to point out that she’s actually desperately poor and just putting on airs.

For Seol Yuhwa, this is a matter of pride. She would never want to show her humble home to anyone at school.

She just wants to appear dignified.

That’s why she’s struggling to escape this life, and that’s how she got caught up with Geum Dohyun.

Fortunately, that’s not happening now.

After watching the movie, both our faces were flushed with excitement.

“The last 30 minutes were amazing, right?”

“Now I understand what it means to build momentum.”

“The action was incredible.”

We shouted excitedly after watching the finale of the action movie.

Of course, Seol Yuhwa’s face reddened, and she cleared her throat.

“Maybe I got too excited. It was a pretty good movie. I would have brought my siblings if they were old enough.”

“Around ten years old?”

“What are you talking about? Have you seen my siblings?”

Seol Yuhwa looked at me suspiciously. Come to think of it, I only saw her siblings when I was a monster, right?

“No, just guessing from what you said, since there seems to be an age gap. Even among celebrities, some have siblings nearly 20 years younger.”

“That’s true. They’re in elementary school and kindergarten.”

“I see. You need to take good care of them. So that’s why you go home often.”

“Yes, even though there’s someone looking after them, family should be there.”

Another lie. Seol Yuhwa is lying with a smile on her face.

In reality, there’s probably no one looking after them. It’s fortunate that they can stay home during vacation. Given Seol Yuhwa’s personality, she would hate having her personal circumstances exposed.

I just hope they don’t get discovered by cyber stalkers or YouTubers.

Like this, Seol Yuhwa didn’t part ways with me… instead, we strangely continued in a date-like format.

I need to take the lead here. Seol Yuhwa, in a different way from Aerial, isn’t used to this kind of normalcy.

So, like what others do, I took her to an arcade and chatted at a café.

Our brief date ended with 10 minutes left before the shift change.

At this moment, Seol Yuhwa had a genuinely happy expression. It made me happy just seeing it.

“Thank you. This is my first time doing this. Ah! I mean being with a guy.”

“I’m honored. You’re welcome anytime.”

It’s good to have a comfortable conversation like this. If it had been Aerial…

She would have tormented me with her characteristically blank expression.

Anyway, this concludes Seol Yuhwa’s shift. How should I earn points next time? That was all I could think about.

And on this day, I received a phone call.

*

Currently, there are two ways to escape the White Dragon Guild’s surveillance, excluding extreme methods.

One is to receive training from another guild besides the White Dragon Guild.

In such cases, it would be illegal for one guild to monitor another’s business activities, which could cause controversy.

The second is when someone has significant power in their own right.

Like Aerial, the daughter of a wealthy family with enormous influence in Ireland and the United States.

Especially if they’re hostile to the White Dragon Guild? Right in front of me, Aerial chased away the White Dragon Guild’s monitor.

“We’ll handle this ourselves. Go. I heard you’re facing a lawsuit these days? Tell them clearly that if you keep watching from afar, we’ll join that lawsuit too. Connor, please.”

A well-built man standing near Aerial confronts the White Dragon Guild. That man is Connor, one of Ireland’s top Jaegers from 20 years ago. Though he’s 50, his skills are comparable to an S-rank Jaeger, making him difficult to challenge.

In the end, he played a decisive role in making the White Dragon Guild back down.

Since no one else is monitoring me besides the White Dragon Guild, I was free here.

“Good. Do Jonghyun. Know that this is thanks to me. It’s annoying for me too when pesky flies stick around.”

Aerial raised her proud nose high and gave me an expression demanding praise.

“Thanks. As expected of Aerial.”

“Right?”

Why is this self-satisfied woman in front of me?

It was because of that phone call I received yesterday.

Aerial had called for me.

“Jia is expected to be unwell three days from now.”

“Expected to be unwell? Is there such a thing as a scheduled illness?”

“Just know it that way.”

While I was wondering what kind of illness she was talking about, the answer came quickly.

“Oh, her period?”

“Don’t say it directly! You idiot!”

Aerial shouted, her face seemingly turning bright red.

Yes, Aerial, who usually trains with Yu Jia, called me to substitute for Yu Jia who would be absent due to her period.

“But why me specifically? I’m physically useless.”

“You know it well.”

Aerial looked at me with a surprised expression. That’s kind of irritating?

“With Jia gone, I want to test what I’ve learned so far.”

“…Then why not do it alone? I won’t be of any help.”

“Are you stupid? How many times in my life will I have to fight with annoying things attached to me? You just stay there under my protection.”

“….”

Yes, this is Aerial’s personality. For me, it’s fine as long as I escape the White Dragon Guild’s surveillance.

After we finish, I’ll make an excuse and earn some points.

With nothing to lose, I entered the B-rank gate with her.

“Do Jonghyun. You just record my performance. Connor, check outside the gate to make sure the White Dragon Guild doesn’t come.”

“Be careful, miss.”

“Don’t come in until the set time is over. I need to handle B-rank gates like drinking soup! Otherwise, I can’t face Mama!”

Aerial shouted energetically and pulled me along.

Unlike other times, I really just watched here.

That’s because Aerial was using Gram to burn this grassland and one-sidedly slaughter the monsters.

“What’s this? She seems much stronger. Is it because she’s a genius?”

Power more overwhelming than expected. Gram’s mighty power deals even greater damage to certain enemies.

Even without that, Aerial’s current level shouldn’t allow her to massacre B-rank monsters in groups like this?

When only water-attribute enemies survived, she was crushing them with the power of Gram itself.

Destructive movements. This is Aerial.

“How is it? Are you recording well? I’m going to send that to Instructor Eun Serin, so make sure you capture it well.”

“What?”

Send this to Eun Serin? I looked up at the unexpected name.

“Why Eun Serin?”

“…You don’t need to know.”

Suddenly with a sulky expression, Aerial turned away.

“Well… what an unpredictable personality.”

The mention of Eun Serin’s name is extremely dangerous. She’ll start her activities from the second semester, but during vacation?

No, stay calm. Eun Serin is also under the White Dragon Guild’s surveillance. She can’t take direct action, right? She’ll probably stay quiet for now.

Let me guess why Aerial is connected to Eun Serin. Eun Serin was originally an advanced class teacher who urgently stepped in after Bong Junseok’s death.

Being from the advanced class originally, she has no issues with teaching ability.

Why would Aerial ask for her help?

“It must be because of Seol Yuhwa!”

Yes, the skills Seol Yuhwa demonstrated were at a level that even Aerial would find difficult to handle.

Since the teachers are White Dragon Guild members, Aerial must have felt she needed someone to help her.

She hasn’t chosen a guild yet, so she asked Eun Serin for help.

This is just my speculation, but that could be how they became connected.

“Do Jonghyun, did you see that?”

“Huh?”

At that moment, I saw Aerial crouching to protect her side with her sword, then thrusting forward in one swift motion.

She’s correcting her weakness—her side—after just one semester?

“Impressive.”

Even though I gave her some hints, it’s difficult to correct such a flaw so quickly. A genius indeed…

No, this isn’t about being a genius; it’s about effort.

We shouldn’t diminish talented people by simply labeling them as geniuses.

How much effort must she have put in to correct her posture in just one semester?

Aerial was proudly showing off to me.

“Well, fixing it was easy.”

At this point, I noticed Aerial correcting her posture even when sheathing her sword. This wasn’t something done just once or twice.

“You worked really hard, didn’t you?”

“Hard work? I’m special, you know. I don’t need to do that kind of thing. I just wanted to show you since you pointed it out. Now you don’t need to make such criticisms anymore.”

Aerial is a liar in a different way from Seol Yuhwa.

Since it had a positive effect, I nodded. Before my regression, even in her third year, she struggled with controlling Gram itself.

Now she just needs to control Gram’s rampage. Gram’s rampage is an issue that emerges in Aerial’s second year—as her power grows, she and Gram battle for dominance.

This is similar to how I need to control my rampage when I transform into a dinosaur.

When I think about it, they are quite similar. At that moment, I saw flames of magical power more massive than I had ever seen before, scorching the surroundings.

“What is this?”

“Huff… huff…”

At this point, Aerial’s breathing became rough.

“Aerial. If you’re tired, you should stop…”

“I’m not tired. I can kill more. I’m overflowing with power.”

Aerial’s movements began to grow increasingly violent. This is strange.

Then she crossed the boundary of the B-rank gate.

“Not enough… still…”

“Aerial?”

“J-Jonghyun… I can still do more.”

Aerial looked at me with a cold smile. Those aren’t the eyes of a normal person.

“Aerial! Your eye color has changed! That’s the weapon’s rampage phenomenon!”

We’re screwed. Gram is increasing its magical power and trying to make Aerial go berserk.

Why? Because Aerial is getting stronger faster than expected? No, think about it. Her destructive power has been unreasonable from the start.

Either she herself or some unknown entity has been manipulating Gram.

Amidst my confusion, I saw Aerial’s Gram viciously spewing magical power.

“Aerial!”

But as an F-rank, I couldn’t keep up with Aerial.

If she goes berserk and dies in the middle of enemies?

“Really, such high maintenance!”

I gripped a card in my hand.