Ch.55. The Power of the Monster

Geum Dohyun was undoubtedly a combat type. With the power of Ifrit and his innate personality, how could he possibly be a sidekick?

Anyone could see he was a dominant force meant to command others.

“Geum Dohyun. Advanced class!”

Naturally, he was assigned to the advanced class. There was nowhere else for him to go.

He didn’t seem particularly happy about it.

“It’s only natural. I’ll be number one anyway.”

Then he caught sight of Do Jonghyun.

‘A loser like that will definitely be in the lower class as a sidekick. Tsk, if he’d just listened to me, he could have at least gotten some scraps.’

It was utterly pathetic. Still, since he’d spoken to him first, he watched with some interest.

“I’ll join the combat unit.”

“What did you say?”

Geum Dohyun was taken aback. The combat unit fights on the front lines.

But someone without even a summoned spirit wants to join the combat unit?

‘What a nuisance.’

Yes, a real nuisance indeed.

If he joined the combat unit, he’d inevitably have to fight in all operations, but Do Jonghyun with his lackluster combat abilities in the combat unit…

‘If we end up in the same unit, we’re doomed. What an idiot.’

Geum Dohyun clicked his tongue, suddenly feeling a surge of anger.

‘He really doesn’t know his place, does he? Who does he think he is to join the combat unit? He’ll just be a burden to others.’

Especially during group assignments or joint training, he’d be nothing but trouble.

“I really don’t like him.”

“Dohyun, isn’t that guy being really arrogant?”

Park Jaehyuk approached him.

“Jaehyuk, which class are you in?”

“I’m in the intermediate class. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it to advanced.”

“Of course. Only the chosen ones get in there.”

Park Jaehyuk’s expression twisted slightly, but Geum Dohyun didn’t notice and looked around elsewhere.

“Aerial, was it? Seol Yuhwa and Yu Jina look pretty good too. The advanced class seems decent.”

“I’m envious, Dohyun.”

“Who knows? Maybe things will work out later. More importantly, that damn guy is the problem.”

Geum Dohyun’s brow furrowed again. At the edge of his vision, Do Jonghyun was alone, fiddling with his smartwatch.

“Do Jonghyun? What gave him the confidence to join the combat unit?”

“That’s why I don’t like him. Plus, he rejected my offer.”

“So that’s what bothers you the most.”

Park Jaehyuk nodded as if he understood.

“But we can’t even meet him normally. I heard the advanced class has completely separate lessons.”

“Is there anyone in the lower class who would mess with him?”

They continued talking about Do Jonghyun for a while, an unnecessary obsession.

Geum Dohyun had grand ambitions. He wanted to reach the pinnacle of this world.

For that, he needed an organization.

Do Jonghyun had ruined that important first step.

[Min Kangsu, Overall Evaluation: E]

Just then, one of his family members received a relatively low score.

[Assigned to Lower Class]

“Min Kangsu, isn’t he part of our family?”

“Yeah, he’s going to the lower class. Guess he’s really useless. And he talked so big.”

The two fell silent for a moment.

“So Min Kangsu is there.”

“Right. Let’s leave that arrogant, clueless nuisance who rejected our offer to Min Kangsu.”

At that moment, Geum Dohyun suddenly dashed off somewhere. Park Jaehyuk turned his head in surprise to see the tall Seol Yuhwa passing by.

“We’re both in the advanced class. Let’s do well together.”

Geum Dohyun was busy introducing himself to the other advanced class students.

“…Looks like I’ll have to clean up after him again.”

Park Jaehyuk sighed.

***

After being assigned to the lower class, we gathered with our fellow classmates to meet our instructor.

As I mentioned before, Oh Juhwan is in charge of the lower class.

“If you’re going to feel discouraged because your talent evaluation was low, leave right now. You can always grow. If you have such garbage determination that you’re disappointed in yourself for scoring low, I won’t teach you. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

I answered loudly. I could feel the stares around me. Of course, I answered loudly because I knew what was coming next.

Oh Juhwan’s voice rang out.

“Seems some of you haven’t drained the outside water yet. Everyone except the three who just answered loudly, drop and give me push-ups now!”

Yes, I knew this would happen. In the past, I was caught off guard and had to do the exercises.

Soon, several students were diligently doing push-ups.

But if you thought that aptitude students would only suffer through simple exercises, you’d be mistaken.

Oh Juhwan’s ability was more than enough to give us a hard time.

“My body… suddenly feels heavy!”

“Why all of a sudden…”

“Anyone who collapses gets penalty points immediately. Want to get expelled?”

Oh Juhwan’s “gravity” enveloped the other students.

After about an hour of this torture, Oh Juhwan dismissed us.

Lunch was prepared by professional chefs in the designated cafeteria.

As expected, the support here is top-notch.

Amidst the grumbling students, I was able to eat at the academy after a long time.

The official schedule that started that afternoon wasn’t anything special.

On the first day, we received textbooks, explanations about the schedule, and plans for the future.

They explained how they would educate us and help us grow.

“We’ve prepared individual progress learning programs for each student, and your smartwatch has that function…”

Yes, I already know all this. Receiving the textbooks concludes all the scheduled activities.

After listening to meaningless talk about midterm and final exam schedules and external learning, I received my textbooks.

But of course, they went straight into my locker. Only the naive ones carry them around.

After all the scheduled activities ended, I headed back to the dormitory.

Now what I needed to do was go out.

Why? Obviously, I wanted to secretly experiment with this power without being hunted as a monster.

I examined the deck of cards I had collected.

I could see the text.

[Information]

-You can earn DNA points by hunting monsters and purchase sub-cards.

-Monster points can be used to buy special cards.

-Monster points are fewer compared to DNA points, but they can buy special items.

“Hmm. Like mileage points?”

That aside, the question is how to fight.

But most gates are managed.

Plus, they wouldn’t let an F-rank from the lower class into a gate.

From my perspective, this would normally be a sigh-inducing situation, but there was an opportunity.

[A gift from your Monster Summoning Spirit.]

-This is a future map that will show you where monsters will appear.

-You can check for monsters around your current location.

“Even without this, I remember the early stages.”

Today, the day after enrollment, 2,000 monster invasions from gates began worldwide.

Of those, 200 were in Korea.

I needed to find a place that would be discovered late. Taking into account both appearance and evening timing.

[Monster Report]

-We will inform you of monster appearance areas 3 hours from now.

Based on this information, I hurried back to the dormitory when suddenly a group approached me.

“Hey!”

When I turned my head, a short kid who looked like a middle schooler was calling me.

I could see the name Min Kangsu on his school uniform.

“Are you the one who applied for the combat unit even though you can’t contract with a summoning spirit?”

“So what?”

“‘So what?’ This guy’s funny. You’re a nuisance. A nuisance.”

I turned my head away at those words.

There was nothing more to listen to. I knew Min Kangsu well.

One of Geum Dohyun’s lackeys. I didn’t want to associate with him.

“Hey! Are you ignoring me?”

“…”

When I continued to ignore him, they came in front of me again.

Min Kangsu grabbed my collar.

“You think you can just ignore people? You’re really ruining my mood on the first day.”

“What’s it to you?”

“What’s it to me? Didn’t you hear? You’ll be a nuisance during group projects and team collaborations.”

Obvious tactics. And to someone like me who had already experienced this, it was like a child whining.

“It’s not like we’ll be working together anyway, so why bother?”

“No, you bastard! Can’t you understand what I’m saying?”

“Group projects and team missions are mostly done with intermediate and advanced classes. They do most of the work, and we just assist. They’ll distribute grades appropriately, so why are you concerned?”

Min Kangsu stuttered at my words.

I already knew how things worked from experience, so this kind of provocation was nothing but a cheap trick.

But he used it as an excuse to pick a fight, so this was the natural result.

Min Kangsu frowned and tightened his grip on my collar.

“Anyway, you’re causing trouble for others.”

“That’s not your concern. I’ll handle it myself, so let go.”

“I can’t. A real outcast without even a summoning spirit…”

Just as I thought the situation was getting annoying, Min Kangsu was forcibly pulled backward.

And a shadow fell over me. It was big. A guy over 2m tall was looking down at me.

Han Minwoo.

[Han Minwoo]

-Importance: High

-The probability of doom decreases. (0.5%)

Yes, the third strongest at the academy. Han Minwoo threw Min Kangsu behind him.

“Don’t do this on the first day.”

That was all he said. Well, he was a man of few words.

But thanks to him, I was freed from Min Kangsu’s annoying persistence.

I approached Han Minwoo.

“Thanks.”

“It will be hard without a summoning spirit.”

Han Minwoo left with those words.

Yes, he’s a good guy. He helped me a year later too.

Anyway, as soon as I arrived at the dormitory, I threw off my uniform.

After organizing the clothes my parents sent, I changed into casual clothes and headed outside.

“The incident happening in this area…”

[Monster Report Information]

-XX District will be handled 30 minutes after monster appearance

Yeager Academy is built on the border between Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.

The area is wide with many places to go.

Using my future knowledge, I found a place where low-rank monsters would emerge from a gate.

A small hill nearby, which also satisfied the condition of late response.

[Monsters have ranks similar to ours, from F to SS. It’s best for F-rank to face F-rank. Don’t fight recklessly.]

Recalling the curriculum content from the future, I refreshed my memory once more.

“The ones coming here are E-rank monsters.”

E-rank monsters, slightly stronger than the lowest rank. Thinking about it again, it was also frightening.

An enemy I wouldn’t have dared to face in the past.

Could I really win?

As I pondered, the time came. Under the dim sky, the rift finally began to crack.

Through a phenomenon called Monster Break, monsters from the gate spilled into the surrounding area.

This was a place where aptitude students couldn’t reach initially. Yes, that’s why I was here.

As the quiet bushes swayed in the wind, the space opened and monsters jumped out.

Now’s the time.

I stretched out my hand, and the main card suddenly appeared before me.

I swiped it across my glowing hand.

[Main Card Recognized]

-Dragon Asura

My vision and height changed. The intense smell of monsters flowed in, and I finally sensed the transformation of my body.

All my senses were different.

My first combat experience was approaching.

My senses and instincts were telling me to target the enemy. I knew these creatures.

I could see E-rank goblins and giant rats.

Individually they were F-rank, but as a group, they were E-rank.

[Characteristics]

My nose and ears became more sensitive than ever. The monsters were looking around.

Then they saw me and tilted their heads in confusion.

Yes, from their perspective, I must look like another monster. I couldn’t miss this opportunity. Instinct moved me.

Like a cat that instinctively knows how to use the bathroom without being taught, my body was already leaping forward on two legs.

My hand instantly penetrated a goblin’s head.

Were goblins always this soft?

Back then, without a summoning spirit, I wouldn’t have dared to face them.

As I wondered, the goblins all screamed.

At that moment, my claws moved.

After their pathetic end, my hand moved toward the next goblin.

It pierced through so easily.

As I sensed something behind me, my tail moved.

I felt a dull sensation and heard the goblins’ screams.

[Absorbing DNA]

-Beastman

At the same time, my status window showed new information.

It told me that by defeating these creatures this way, I could collect DNA.

Leaving the goblin corpses behind, I now moved toward the giant rats.

My body leaped as instinct guided it. Fast enough to close 100 meters in an instant, agile and quick.

And my attacks were very effective against E-rank monsters.

One giant rat tried to dodge, but my attack fiercely pierced through it.

[Absorbing DNA]

-Beast

Another DNA was coming in. Yes, this is what I need to collect.

But when I was momentarily distracted by the sensation, giant rats body-slammed me from front and back.

But, it didn’t hurt.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

Yes, it should clearly hurt. Compared to when I accidentally collided with a giant rat before, the difference was stark.

This body is strong.

Strong enough to easily handle E-rank monsters. At that moment, my body leaped again.

In an instant, I pinned down the opponent with my claws and struck its neck.

Like being cut by something sharp, the neck was severed instantly.

This kind of power was a first for me.

When I stopped attacking, I realized all the monsters around me had fallen.

“This is amazing.”

As I marveled at my new power, another status window appeared.

[DNA Points Acquired]

-150

[Checking Evolution Routes]

-Dinosaur (Sub-adult): Dragon Asura (Evolution Points 1,000 needed)

-Dinosaur (Sub-adult): Dinosaur Asura (Evolution Points 1,200 needed)

-You need to collect DNA points to evolve.

If I continue fighting and gathering points, I can evolve. I was thrilled with this new power I had experienced and gained through direct combat.