Ch.66. Stronger Than Expected!

In a society that has been at war with monsters for nearly 40 years, there are established protocols for handling monster incidents.

First, an alarm is sounded, warning people to stay away from the area.

Then, nearby guilds or available Jaegers handle the situation.

Monster carcasses have their own market—purchased by those with peculiar tastes, artists, or criminal organizations.

For lower-tier guilds, processing monsters and disposing of their remains is an important source of income.

“Come on, even if we’re at the bottom of the ladder, this is ridiculous. Why do we have to rush for such a low-grade monster?”

The one running was Shin Daeyun, a new recruit of the small guild “Wolf.”

Having graduated from the Jaeger Academy and completed his internship, he was officially rated as D-rank.

“I can handle monsters of the same D-rank with my abilities! They say monsters usually have the advantage in one-on-one fights with Jaegers, but I’m different. My summoned spirit grants me special attributes against opponents of the same level.”

Beside him was his senior, Kim Juhyuk, a C-rank Jaeger.

“Your summoned spirit is an elemental, right?”

“Yes. It manipulates earth and draws power from it. And when facing opponents of similar rank, it can exert even greater strength.”

Having the same rank doesn’t mean having the same skill level. As Shin Daeyun mentioned, even among those of the same rank, abilities vary greatly depending on how well one utilizes the characteristics and techniques provided by their summoned spirit.

They sprinted quickly toward the mountain behind the academy.

Senior Kim Juhyuk slapped Daeyun’s excited shoulder.

“Don’t get too excited. Plenty of Jaegers have died showing off unnecessarily.”

“What do you take me for? I learned a lot at the academy.”

“You’re just D-rank. Don’t let your guard down. Don’t most academy students graduate as C-rank?”

Shin Daeyun’s face reddened at his senior’s words.

“No, D-rank like me is the norm! I’m average! Occasionally there are monsters who graduate as A-rank, and S-rank is ultra-rare, happening only a few times in the school’s history.”

“Alright, alright. Don’t get angry. I graduated as D-rank too.”

As this was his first mission, Shin Daeyun wanted to prove himself.

‘I may have graduated as D-rank, but that can change depending on how much I develop!’

Wasn’t that the case with Dokgo Jun, who now competed among the world’s best beyond Korea?

Shin Daeyun was planning to make a spectacular debut on his first mission.

Even though it was just an E-rank mission, he would give it his all.

“Here we go! Shin Daeyun’s first mission!”

He leaped forward in one bound, arriving at the scene where the monsters had appeared.

“Huh?”

After landing excitedly with wind swirling around him, Shin Daeyun noticed something strange.

Before his eyes stood an unusual monster, upright on two legs like a human.

While its overall shape resembled a human, only its bipedal stance was similar.

It had a reptilian face, teeth, scales, and a tail. Anyone would recognize its resemblance to the dinosaurs from childhood.

“A dinosaur… or a lizardman?”

What was even stranger was that this dinosaur-like creature stood amid torn bodies.

It was normal to sense something was off. Monsters don’t fight each other unless manipulated or controlled by Jaegers.

This blood-soaked monster was different. There were no other Jaegers around, and the flesh and blood on its long claws indicated it was responsible.

“Senior, do monsters attack other monsters?”

“Is this really E-rank?”

According to the classification, it was an E-rank monster. Assuming the observation equipment wasn’t malfunctioning, the two considered it an E-rank monster.

Normally, they would have charged right in.

But Kim Juhyuk, with more experience, tried to hold back his junior due to the unusual situation.

“Be careful. Something feels different.”

“But it’s still just E-rank!”

Eager to make an impression on his first mission, Shin Daeyun rushed forward.

“You’ve got my back anyway! I’m going in first!”

“Hey! Stop!”

“What kind of Jaeger hesitates against an E-rank?”

Shin Daeyun leaped forward in one bound. He had discovered an unusual monster on his first mission.

‘If I take it down, my evaluation will skyrocket!’

This would change his ordinary life.

Driven by ambition, Shin Daeyun unleashed his elemental power.

An aura enveloped him, enhancing his abilities.

“I’ll give you one big hit!”

His aura-infused fist aimed at the body of this strange semi-dragon.

Meanwhile, Kim Juhyuk, who was following, noticed something odd.

‘A guard?’

The creature had reflexively taken a defensive stance like a human.

Normally, monsters would charge forward relying on their physical strength.

Though sensing something was off, he needed to focus on dealing with the monster.

He summoned the Spear of Makgohae.

During this time, Shin Daeyun pressed his attack against the monster.

“See? It’s nothing special!”

The lizardman-like monster was on guard against the fierce attack.

But Kim Juhyuk could see that Daeyun wasn’t even making a scratch on its skin.

‘It’s tough.’

Just as he lunged forward with the Spear of Makgohae, the monster swung its arm.

Shin Daeyun was sent flying, obstructing his view.

“This bastard!”

He expected the monster to attack while he was protecting his fallen comrade.

But surprisingly, the monster didn’t attack.

Instead, it was looking at its own hand.

‘What’s going on? It’s not stupid.’

As an ominous feeling filled him, Shin Daeyun charged again.

“You son of a—!”

“Stop!”

At that moment, the hand of the monster, which had been on the defensive, moved too fast to be seen.

Those terrifying claws flashed past, and blood sprayed from Shin Daeyun’s body.

“Guhk!”

“You bastard!”

He desperately threw the Spear of Makgohae. As the mana-infused spear was about to pierce the monster, there was a sharp sound as the monster caught it.

“My spear?”

This was a spear thrown by a C-rank Jaeger. An E-rank shouldn’t be able to catch it so easily.

At that moment, Kim Juhyuk noticed the monster’s legs.

Its thighs had swollen to almost twice their size.

It’s coming.

Predicting the monster’s attack, he summoned another Spear of Makgohae.

‘I just need to read its direction.’

Kim Juhyuk looked at the fallen Shin Daeyun. They couldn’t die here.

As the thighs twitched, the monster vanished from sight.

“So fast!”

His eyes momentarily lost track of the monster, which suddenly appeared at his side.

“Damn it!”

He swung his spear, but the monster ducked as if it had been waiting for this move.

‘My God!’

This was a monster that used its brain. Realizing this, Kim Juhyuk prepared for death.

The monster had already broken through his guard, and its claws would at least severely injure him, if not kill him with a follow-up attack.

He felt a heavy pain throughout his body from the monster’s body blow and began to lose consciousness.

‘It’s strong. Is that really E-rank?’

That was his last thought before passing out.

He woke up thirty minutes later.

“Are you okay?”

Wolf Guild members were tending to them.

“Huh? What?”

“Getting beaten by an E-rank monster, what a disgrace! At least you didn’t die.”

“We didn’t die?”

Surprised, he looked toward Shin Daeyun, who was receiving urgent treatment.

‘It didn’t kill us?’

A monster not killing humans. It was as strange as humans not eating food. He tilted his head in confusion.

*

Just as Jaegers have ranks, monsters naturally have ranks too.

The ranking system exists because many died fighting based solely on appearances, so classification became necessary.

Monsters are similarly ranked from F to S, with some receiving SS rank.

Typically, Jaegers are evaluated one rank lower than monsters. A D-rank monster would require a C-rank Jaeger to be a match.

“Wasn’t this just a spirit body? Yet it defeated Jaegers?”

Returning to human form, his heart was racing.

He wasn’t sure exactly what rank he was statistically, but he was confident it was at least above E.

And he had just defeated two Jaegers right before his eyes. At first, he thought he would die.

A strong Jaeger could finish him with one blow.

But once he actually fought, it seemed manageable. Most importantly, he could see their movements.

However, the most terrifying aspect was figuring out how to subdue without killing.

If he killed humans, he’d be considered a human-monster and become a target for extermination.

He tried to subdue them without killing, which was honestly difficult.

“Controlling strength just to subdue requires precision.”

He had to figure out how hard to hit to knock someone out without killing them. He adjusted his strength accordingly, and luckily they just passed out.

Analyzing his opponents’ ranks, the two seemed to be in a shooter and assistant relationship, with one being a fresh graduate.

Given that academy graduates are typically D-rank, the junior was at least D-rank, and the senior was likely one rank higher.

“I didn’t expect a C-rank to fall so easily.”

It was unbelievable. A mere spirit body defeating a C-rank Jaeger?

He was stronger than expected.

Yes, this body was more powerful than he thought.

Although he couldn’t openly walk around as a monster, he was strong when transformed.

Plus, if he collected enough points, he could evolve into a mature form.

If he could handle C-rank now, how strong would he become after evolution?

It was worth pursuing.

The monster summoning spirit had given him tremendous power.

“Phew.”

As he returned, his heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

His first real battle, and he had defeated monsters and earned points.

It was exhilarating.

Before his regression, he was just struggling to study and get stronger at the academy.

He closed the door and sat down immediately upon entering.

The elation of transforming into a monster, hunting monsters, and fighting Jaegers.

He suppressed these emotions while showering.

“So what I need to do next is clear.”

Sitting at his desk, he organized his future tasks.

1. Hunt monsters to acquire DNA

Since evolution was possible, he needed to hunt regularly.

As part of the monster world, he could easily find gates where monsters appeared.

“But that’s not the only reason I came back.”

He turned on the TV in his single room.

News about monsters was everywhere.

[In this 40-year war against monsters, humanity continues to evolve. But as we evolve, so do our enemies.]

[Five years ago, the human-monster ‘Med’ caused a major incident, didn’t he? A famous guild leader turned out to be a human-monster. Many guild members died, and powerful figures like Korea’s Dokgo Jun had to join the hunt.]

[The human-monster was predicted by Romulus, the first Jaeger 40 years ago. He said it would cause great chaos. We all need to remain vigilant.]

2. Don’t get exposed as a monster.

Whether a human-monster or a monster-human, to others, they’re the same thing. If I’m not careful, I’m likely to die.

I need to be cautious.

3. Utilize future knowledge.

The most important advantage. Even if I can’t remember every detail, I recall major future events. Like the academy attack incident, or how the human-monster caused a major loss of power by forcing Dokgo Jun into retirement.

And even the religious group that sided with monsters.

I know information that will be revealed in the future.

If I do well, I might be able to prevent these events.

There’s ample opportunity to prevent humanity’s extinction.

“I should organize this.”

He began writing down everything he could remember in a notebook.

Including information about key figures.

[People who died before preventing the extinction]

-Aerial, Seol Yuhwa, Gu Sangheon, Chae Songhwa

He began his own actions to prevent the extinction.