Ch.5959. Receiving Support.

The head of the Neptune Guild, Ra Seong-yun, is an S-rank Jaeger.

He was famous for his handsome, aristocratic appearance and the particularly stylish military-style uniforms that the guild members wore as a group.

“The system is good. So this is how we’re supposed to respond from now on?”

It was natural for Do Jong-hyun to wonder why the Neptune Guild had arrived so quickly.

On average, they would arrive after more than 10 minutes, but due to various attack incidents, the Association had been deliberating on their response.

After trying different deployment methods over about two months, what they achieved was increasing personnel and accelerating the creation of spatial movement formations.

In other words, they simply placed personnel who wouldn’t normally qualify for Jaeger guilds as sentries in various locations, and when a breach occurred, these sentries would contact designated guilds.

Up to this point, it was just a case of increasing numbers in the existing response system, but what dramatically reduced response time was the “duty shift” system.

The Association had long been aware of the existence of aberrants since the previous incident. So they made each guild take turns on duty under the pretext of social responsibility.

The format was that one guild would take charge of a specific area on a rotating basis.

That’s why the Neptune Guild arrived faster than Do Jong-hyun had expected.

They all marveled at the transformed Do Jong-hyun.

“Is that a Tyrannosaurus?”

“It’s a Tyrannosaurus, but why are its arms so long? What’s attached to its hands?”

They were clearly on their way after receiving an alert about an S-class monster.

In other words, they believed the monster before their eyes was S-class.

“It’s quite large. Would it compare to the Leviathan?”

“The Leviathan is 20 meters long. This one seems even smaller than a T-Rex (11-13m).”

There was no tension in their conversation.

That’s because Guild Master Ra Seong-yun was strong, and together they were confident they could handle even an S-rank monster.

“Don’t approach carelessly. Keep it at bay. We need to identify its attack methods.”

Despite their casual attitude, their approach was cautious.

But Do Jong-hyun had no reason to care about that.

Right before their eyes, this giant mechanical dinosaur was trying to find the Destroyer.

“It’s not even looking at us?”

“This is our chance!”

At that moment, a variety of attacks flew from the guild members. Some shot energy, some imbued weapons with power, and others summoned creatures from special books inscribed with unique powers from a distance.

A combined attack was now raining down on the armored dinosaur.

But they soon sensed something was wrong.

They were skilled fighters and had launched their attacks from a distance with all their might.

After their numerous bombardment attempts, what they saw was a dinosaur standing there, ignoring their attacks.

“Is it tough-skinned?”

“Analyze it. It could be because of that mechanical armor. We should target the areas not covered by the machinery.”

At that moment, the dinosaur moved. To catch the fleeing Destroyer, the Neptune Guild’s attacks were literally making no impression on it.

At least the guild master, Ra Seong-yun, would need to step in to make an impact.

Moreover, its target wasn’t the guild but the Destroyer. So as it charged forward, suddenly a pure white spear of light collided with the dinosaur’s armor.

The destructive force was shattering windows of nearby houses.

The dinosaur, which had been ignoring attacks until now, turned its body in response to this power.

It was Ra Seong-yun, the head of the Neptune Guild mentioned earlier.

Ra Seong-yun smirked.

“Return.”

The spear of light was summoned back to his hand once more. This spear was the weapon of Astolfo, a four-star summoned spirit known as the Golden Spear.

Famous for bringing down opponents upon contact, but the opponent had withstood it.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it? A monster that withstood my attack?”

Though he clearly felt it was no pushover, Ra Seong-yun ordered his subordinates to attack together.

“The first to catch a new species of monster claims it! And gets to take that information! Everyone, charge!”

Finally, Do Jong-hyun, who had been trying to chase the Destroyer, gave up and turned toward them.

And he saw the hand containing the claw begin to burn.

“Close combat team! Hold on! First, let’s see the creature’s technique…”

Before Ra Seong-yun could finish speaking, a fierce wind pressure swept through.

At that moment, the weaker Jaegers collapsed, spitting blood.

“No!”

It was from this point that Ra Seong-yun’s smug expression changed.

The opponent was no ordinary foe.

“What should we do? Should we request support?”

“Hey! We are the Neptune Guild! We’re at our prime, such a disgrace…”

It would have been possible to call for reinforcements, but foolishly, they refused.

Ra Seong-yun drew out the Golden Spear and concentrated his magical power. The light grew larger, and a different kind of power was concentrating, unlike before.

“You bastard!”

He charged forward with the spear.

Despite charging in anger, the dinosaur surprisingly dodged.

With reflexes that didn’t match its bulk, it evaded and then their eyes met.

Vicious horns and red glowing eyes visible beyond the gray metal helmet.

For a moment, S-rank Jaeger Ra Seong-yun thought he was dead.

Then the monster turned its body, and its sturdy tail ‘unintentionally slightly’ grazed Ra Seong-yun.

“Kuhuk!”

Spitting blood from his mouth and feeling pain as if his internal organs were torn, he rolled on the ground.

“Argh!”

It was when Ra Seong-yun was desperately trying to stand up, clutching his fading consciousness.

The monster had somehow approached him.

Ra Seong-yun, at this moment showing none of the dignity seen in the media, turned his body while screaming mindlessly.

And before his eyes, he discovered a slithering entity.

“Huh?”

Darkness fell over his head. The massive claw had pierced the slithering monster. In an instant, brown magical power erupted violently, butchering the opponent.

‘Why am I not attacking? What am I doing?’

The dinosaur was only targeting the slithering monster. Ra Seong-yun finally realized there was another monster, but his mind was confused.

‘Why are monsters attacking each other? Is it a ferocious species?’

At that moment, the dinosaur monster’s hand was approaching him.

‘So it’s going to kill that thing first, then me.’

That’s what he clearly thought. But the giant hand grabbed him and threw him backward.

As he rolled on the ground, the guild members who had been standing in a daze finally rushed over.

“Guild Master!”

“That… did it ignore me? Wait a minute…”

Ra Seong-yun, too bewildered to remain excited, realized that fragments of the monster with the distorted form were still wriggling.

“Not only is the dinosaur strange, but that weird slime isn’t normal either.”

“W-what should we do?”

“Request reinforcements.”

Now that his reason had returned, he immediately ordered reinforcements.

And right after the request, they felt an enormous energy wave coming from a distance.

Breath.

A dragon-like breath was spreading in this area right now.

This peculiarly brown-tinged breath instantly pulverized all the fragments.

Its power was like facing a massive cliff, intimidating even from a distance.

An attack meant to utterly destroy the opponent.

‘Why is it using that now? Is there a limit to how many times it can be used? It didn’t use it when we were attacking.’

While they were staring blankly, the dinosaur, having finished everything, was suddenly moving somewhere.

“Catch it!”

“Chase after it as it escapes!”

It was at that moment when Ra Seong-yun gave the order. A thick smoke swirled violently from that spot.

“What’s with this smoke now!”

They couldn’t gather their wits due to the smoke obscuring their vision.

As they pushed through the smoke, there was only a man trembling in fear.

“T-the d-dinosaur w-went th-that way.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… whew!”

The hooded man stood up, taking a deep breath.

Ra Seong-yun’s job was done here.

“Seal off the area where the monster fought and block people from approaching!”

He quickly ran in the direction the man had indicated.

*

[Mission Successful!]

-Monster Points 2, Doom Risk Reduced

Ra Seong-yun of the Neptune Guild. I never thought I’d see this media celebrity like this.

“Phew. Somehow it worked out.”

Maybe because the smoke card has matured, even one creates quite a large area of effect.

It doesn’t seem like other cards get stronger just because they mature.

Well, thanks to that, deception like this is possible.

I looked at the damaged residential area. Where I used my breath, everything from utility poles to house walls had completely vaporized.

Now that it’s matured, even the breath is not simple and has a wider range.

This isn’t a good method for fighting in urban areas.

Can’t I change the attack method depending on the target?

If I could have had a smaller build or more compact attacks, I might have caught it more easily.

“Right, the reason it took so long is because I’m too big, so the attacks are too big as well.”

To fix this drawback, I obviously need to transform into a different creature. The immature form is weak, so I need ‘another mature form.’

“Sigh. How long do I have to keep hunting while hiding like this?”

Police cars were arriving, and residents were gradually gathering.

The Neptune Guild controlling the scene. Doing things this way should reduce the probability of doom, right? So far, the monster points add up to maybe 3%? Whatever it is, I was succeeding.

Thinking I’d done well, I was walking when I heard the residents’ anger.

“Those monster bastards destroyed everything!”

“It’s a new species of monster!”

The loud voices of various residents were cursing me, the monster.

“Haah…”

I saved them in my own way. In that situation, the only way to save them was to break in and tear things apart.

And the Destroyer can’t be killed without area attacks!

Even though I want to argue, what can I do? I just have to endure it.

I don’t expect them to understand, but it’s a bit disheartening.

“Monster bastard, fuck! Our wall and windows are all gone!”

As I was moving toward home, ignoring the curses…

“What did you say?”

Suddenly, a man’s voice rose loudly.

“Are you crazy? Don’t curse at the monster! You’ll be in big trouble if you say such things because you’re young.”

I saw a man in his twenties hurling insults at a little girl much younger than him.

“The monster saved my dad!”

A small girl was shouting. Is this little one from the family I saved?

“The monster saved your dad? Kid, such things don’t exist.”

“I saw it! It saved my dad. It fought the monster instead!”

The tiny girl was shouting earnestly, but laughter erupted from all around.

“You must be mistaken. Monsters don’t save people. They all need to be killed. You’re young, so you don’t understand. Kid, go away. You’ll understand when you grow up.”

“It’s true! It’s really true!”

The girl cried out with tears. I’m truly grateful. At least there’s someone who recognizes the help.

Among countless criticisms, just one person’s support gives me tremendous strength.

“This little brat is defending a monster? Think we’ll go easy on you because you’re a child?”

But sadly, society’s view of monsters is cold. They can’t even let a child’s reaction pass lightly.

They wouldn’t hit her, would they?

As I was wondering what to do, I felt ashamed of myself. Even this tiny girl is grateful for the monster, and I’m just going to leave?

Don’t be ridiculous.

As I was quickly running toward the girl…

“Stop cursing!”

As the girl shouted, my ears suddenly felt muffled.

For a moment, it was as if waves were rippling around.

“Huh…?”

Both I, who was running, and the people around all stopped to watch the scene.

There was a strange resonance in her voice, and something like waves emanated from her.

What is this? It’s a magical awakening. That young girl has just awakened her magical power.

The Neptune Guild members rushed through the confused crowd.

“Who was that just now? Little one… you? You’re the child whose parents asked us to protect. Your parents went to the hospital!”

“Magical awakening at this age? That’s incredible!”

The reason the Neptune Guild is making such a fuss is simple.

Magical awakening typically doesn’t happen until at least middle school.

The earlier, the better. If you attach a summoned spirit at a young age and train, by the time others are entering school to learn, you’re already developed.

In other words, you can enter with talent like Ariel’s from the start, and with weaknesses already compensated for.

Naturally, the Neptune Guild’s excitement was understandable.

“Come on, mister! She’s just a child, she might not understand! Why are you scolding her?”

“Come on, let’s go see the guild master. We’ll protect you anyway. Monster? Yes, there might be good monsters too. Yes. We believe you.”

They take the child away, coaxing and soothing her. Of course, I don’t know if they can protect her from scouts of the three major guilds. But if they treat her well from the start, considering the child’s wishes, who knows.

That’s good.

I was watching the scene contentedly, feeling that things had been resolved in their own way.

If I hadn’t come to save them today…

“Wait a minute?”

[Doom Risk]

Come to think of it, in the original future, that little girl would have died, right? Since the Destroyer destroyed an entire village.

So handling missions where monster alerts appear isn’t just about killing dangerous monsters?

‘If people who could have helped humanity didn’t die, that’s included too?’

My mind brightened. Like that little girl, there must be people with talent who died before they could bloom.

The meaning of the doom risk wasn’t so simple.

“Danger or whatever doesn’t matter. Right. Do Superman or Batman worry about the severity when saving people?”

I firmly resolved to handle situations even at risk to myself.