Ch.7272. There Are Many Obstacles.

The three major guilds gathered once again.

Lim Gil-dong, the head of the Monster Countermeasures Headquarters, wore a grave expression as he examined the materials brought by the three guilds.

“D to B-class means it’s a lower gate, but there were anomalies?”

“No, Director. Our rising star reported it himself. He’s not the type to lie. He went to a B-class gate alone and saw new species of monsters? Something like a strange whale and a monster that seemed merged with a slime.”

Park Tae-sang of the Cheonji Guild brought out the report submitted by So Ji-hyun.

The one who responded was Cho Sung-hee, the head of the Magician Guild.

“Monsters merging with other monsters? Rare, but not unheard of. Remember that monster we dealt with 15 years ago?”

“That was a monster ‘absorbing’ another. This one, I can only describe it as a slime inside a monster. Whether it’s a slime wearing a lizardman’s skin or two entities combined is something we need to investigate.”

“Since it’s a new species, such monsters aren’t impossible. But what’s this about a whale?”

“Originally, the monsters living in that swamp were lizardmen, slimes, crayfish, carp, and frog types. But apparently, there was a random large whale there.”

“…A whale living in a swamp?”

“Hey, sis. What kind of common sense are you expecting from monsters? In Crevasse, there are whales that fly and have cannons on their backs. Besides, that monster over 20 meters was only discovered recently.”

They began to realize that the time for change had come.

“When was it that we pushed out the older generation and took center stage?”

“It’s been over 20 years since that point. We were young then, and even back then, there were rumors about monsters getting stronger and changing. The monsters of the past were clearly human-sized.”

“You’re saying our enemies are getting stronger as time passes, sis. In that sense, that slime-like thing can be considered an anomaly. However, it might be connected to the red powder you mentioned. The report also states that red powder was swirling around, and suddenly its movements changed.”

Cho Sung-hee’s gaze shifted.

“The red powder we’re unofficially investigating was definitely the work of that human monster we took down before. It was a failed product, so there wasn’t much of an issue, but those who took it were sprawled all over the place.”

“Yes, we burned everything, but this red powder is clearly what that creature was aiming for.”

Cho Sung-hee’s expression turned grim.

“They might be happy about getting stronger, but it’s literally a drug that ruins the body. It’s not about being strong; it’s ‘overheating’ by putting your life on the line.”

“Right, just look at the incident where that Jaeger was gang-beaten. The red powder enhanced the body. In the past, it simply consumed life force.”

“I can’t believe it’s being distributed now.”

Cho Sung-hee clutched her head. The memory of her deceased younger sibling came to mind.

“I will definitely catch and kill them.”

“As expected, sis is truly impressive when she’s determined. So, is it connected to the Goegyeopdan?”

“While tracking the red powder, we caught a ‘seller.’ Upon investigation, he turned out to be a member of the Goegyeopdan.”

Cho Sung-hee distributed the materials.

“The Goegyeopdan insists they know nothing about this incident. Forcing our way in is also impossible.”

“My mistake, sis.”

The previously quiet Dokgo Jun chuckled. Dokgo Jun was busy with personal matters.

He had numerous issues to deal with, such as illegal detention and assault.

Therefore, Dokgo Jun was behaving. Despite his strong influence in South Korea, he couldn’t simply crush criminal acts labeled as ‘illegal.’

Cho Sung-hee sighed.

“I understand how you feel. No one expected them to extend their reach this far.”

“Yes. I heard the National Assembly is planning to strengthen regulations on crimes committed by ability users. It’s quite blatant.”

Dokgo Jun then looked at Park Tae-sang.

“I’m curious, what happened with the whale in the end?”

“According to Ji-hyun, the whale devoured that monster.”

“Even though it had the slime’s regenerative properties?”

“It just chomped it down, ignoring that. Don’t ask me. I’m just relaying what I heard.”

Park Tae-sang expressed irritation.

“Anyway, strangely, the whale didn’t attack humans and just left. And when our guild went back, the whale was nowhere to be seen.”

“It could be a lie.”

“Why would someone lie without being on drugs?”

Park Tae-sang glared at Dokgo Jun.

“And what makes the whale story credible is that the Poseidon Guild also spotted it. What I find noteworthy is that, similarly, the Poseidon Guild wasn’t attacked either.”

“Oh, I have something similar. There’s a strange dinosaur or insect that’s been saving people while spraying smoke.”

“You mean it might be that human monster you mentioned before? But it’s strange. Human monsters transform into humans to deceive people. What’s the point of a monster helping humans?”

Instead of answering, Dokgo Jun looked at the Goegyeopdan’s public opinion survey.

“What’s this? The approval rating for the Goegyeopdan is… just 13%? Negative opinion is 70%, and the rest don’t know? Why?”

“Just three months ago, it was 0.3%.”

Dokgo Jun’s brow furrowed.

“There’s talk everywhere. The Goegyeopdan is gaining momentum as monsters that save people appear. They say we can coexist with monsters. These monsters are essentially helping the Goegyeopdan.”

“Monsters helping humans, changing their image, and the Goegyeopdan gaining strength from it? The two are indeed related.”

Once their conversation had somewhat concluded, Lim Gil-dong stepped in to summarize.

“Then I’ll issue an official notice to all guilds across the country about the emergence of new species of monsters and to prohibit going alone as much as possible.”

“And one more thing. Those monsters helping people. From what we’ve identified, there’s a whale, a dinosaur, an insect, and various others. Let’s issue an extermination order for them.”

“Even though they’re helping people?”

Lim Gil-dong was about to ask for clarification but gave up after seeing Dokgo Jun’s expression.

“You’re resolute.”

“A monster is just a monster. Even if they’re playing tricks now, they’ve taken our comrades. We shouldn’t fall for obvious schemes.”

Dokgo Jun remained extremely firm. Park Tae-sang argued that they should investigate more about the monsters helping people, but Dokgo Jun refused.

Park Tae-sang stood up abruptly.

“What the hell? Want to have a go after all this time? It’s because you act like this that the red powder case isn’t being handled properly! Didn’t you hear what sis said? The Goegyeopdan is cutting ties and backing out! To dig deeper, we need public authority, but how can it work when you act like this?”

“You’ve grown soft on monsters. That’s why you’ve weakened.”

“As if you haven’t stopped growing? Who are you calling weak!”

Just as they were about to fight, their positions were swapped. Cho Sung-hee had forcibly separated the two.

“Enough. More importantly, Director Lim, what are we going to do about the red powder case?”

“We could start a public investigation, but if the existence of that drug becomes known, it’ll be a disaster.”

“Yes. If a powder that can make someone strong enough to defeat a low-rank Jaeger is released to civilians, it would be a catastrophe.”

They were in a dilemma. If they officially announced the red powder case, the investigation would progress, and the Goegyeopdan might be suppressed.

But the effectiveness of the red powder would undoubtedly lead to a surge in crime everywhere.

Even the growling Dokgo Jun and Park Tae-sang both opposed it.

“Once the red powder has appeared, even if we catch the mastermind, it will flow somewhere. People will do anything to get their hands on this powder. Crime will skyrocket. ‘For now,’ we should keep it hidden.”

“Then let’s keep this as a confidential investigation for the time being.”

“Agreed.”

Their meeting concluded this way.

*

It would have been convenient if it had been Friday, but the fact that it was Wednesday was critical.

On Thursday, I once again couldn’t get up and missed the entire day.

“From now on, I should only go on Fridays or weekends.”

Since my body will be moving tomorrow, I’ll spend time appropriately and maybe hang out on the weekend? And the club is also gathering?

It feels like there’s a lot to do now that school has started. Anyway, that’s how I’ll spend today.

While lying down all day, I checked my M points.

After using them all up when transforming into a whale last time, I’ve gathered 2,000 points again.

It’s not enough for a good card, but I had a strange desire for card gacha.

Somehow, I feel like I’ll get something good? Lying here stretched out, 2,000 M points is nothing.

If I work hard, I can earn them quickly.

[Summoning 10 cards in succession.]

Ten cards spread out before my eyes, flipping one by one.

If only I had more component cards, I could draw more machine cards.

Considering that machine cards require component cards but are often much better, all the more reason.

Next hunting ground should be a place with many machine-type creatures.

As the cards turn one by one, most are just smoke screen and speed enhancement series. However, a new classification has been added to the cards.

[Wing Magic]

-Only available for birds

-Infuses wings with magic, increasing agility rank and speed

[High-Speed Propeller]

-Only available for fish and machines

-Attaches a propeller to increase movement speed

So agility rank and movement speed are different concepts? Well, the speed of an adult dinosaur and a black kite are incomparably different, with the black kite being faster.

Still, these two cards might be somewhat useful.

Except for these two cards, the remaining 18 are trash.

“Then let’s recycle them.”

I hope for a good card by recycling. As I see the overlapping cards, my anticipation somehow amplifies.

Why am I feeling so good? The addiction of gacha…

I expected something good this time, but unfortunately, nothing comes out.

Nothing particularly good appears.

“Ah, that’s disappointing.”

Gacha is always like this; sometimes good things come out, but then suddenly they stop.

This is normal in terms of probability.

“But is there no probability display because it’s not subject to Korean law?”

Of course not. As I laugh absently, another status window suddenly appears.

[Monster Daily Mission]

-Defeat the flying monster ‘Devil’.

-Reward: 3 Monster Points, 0.3% reduction in Doom Points

“Monster Daily, huh? It’s coming out quite quickly?”

A mission already?

Fine by me. If there’s no particular issue, that is.

Let’s skim through the content; it’s a familiar incident.

[Songdo Plane Crash Incident]

An incident that occurs three days later, where a new species of monster, the S-class flying monster Devil, attacks and destroys a plane.

This incident caused quite a shock, primarily because the concept of “air” wasn’t just at a level of 100 meters but thousands of meters high.

No monster had operated at that altitude before.

In other words, even the three major guilds had extremely limited means to catch a monster at that altitude of 10,000 feet (3km).

Due to the uniqueness of the air and its S-class status, big shots were dispatched. Both Cho Sung-hee and Dokgo Jun from the three major guilds were deployed simultaneously.

With Cho Sung-hee’s ability, Dokgo Jun managed to jump and catch it directly in the air, but the plane had already been shot down.

An S-rank or higher monster attacking from the air. Devil perfectly demonstrated this terror.

Catching it at the moment it happens three days later?

Wait, three days later?

Sunday.

After transforming into an adult form, I’ll have body aches for a day. What happens to Monday?

I can say I’m sick and rest, but continuously until Monday?

Frequent absences won’t be viewed favorably. But I have to go.

Like that girl, future allies will appear, and I can save people.

And the next day, an anxious voice echoed to me.

The second-year students wanted to meet again.

“Hey, we’re gathering again this time. Saturday has a lot of club meetings, right? Let’s set it for Sunday. Everyone should attend without missing it. It’s better for all of us to get to know each other quickly.”

The seniors and juniors are trying to gather again. But I can’t go there.