Ch.7474. Fracture

It came out of nowhere. Why is Kim Cheon-gi suddenly acting like this?

“Why are you angry?”

“You’re getting a bad reputation among the second-years. You keep skipping out. This can’t continue.”

“Why are you suddenly like this? No, the violence incident wasn’t my fault.”

I can’t understand why Kim Cheon-gi is acting this way. No, that’s a naive assessment.

I recalled how Kim Cheon-gi was previously forced to stay and train by the seniors.

Is he being threatened?

I looked at Kim Cheon-gi with a suspicious expression.

“No, the violence incident involves other seniors who aren’t related. But even I can see that you ignore the seniors when they call for you.”

“I have my circumstances too. It’s not like I’m intentionally trying to skip out. Besides, it’s just a dinner gathering. Is that really such a problem?”

“You know how it is. Learning together with second and third-years. They call it joint training, but most of the lower-class students are busy watching from the sidelines or following seniors around like interns.”

Kim Cheon-gi looked around and sat down.

“I’m saying this because I’m worried about you. The other seniors are good people. If you get close to the middle and upper-class students, there won’t be any issues.”

“No, I’m just busy these days.”

“You could at least cancel going home for something like this.”

Truthfully, I can’t really argue with that. I could cancel if I wanted to.

But I can’t cancel. Because it would be a lie. I need to go to Songdo in Incheon to prevent the plane crash.

That’s why I can’t attend the gathering and have to make excuses.

And I have no regrets. I need to handle the Monster Daily mission, save people, and earn points.

“Why be so stubborn? Even if your image isn’t good now, you can change it gradually. Let’s not raise our voices over something like this.”

“…Fine, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Kim Cheon-gi didn’t say anything else after that. The atmosphere became heavy, but being high school students, it didn’t last long.

The mood lightened again, but I didn’t talk much with Kim Cheon-gi.

*

Bang Seok-cheon observed the expressions of those about to receive the special lesson.

“How is it, Min Gang-su? Going well?”

“Yes! Yes!”

Min Gang-su was sweating profusely, but stronger magical power was emanating from his body than before.

His face showed astonishment. His magical power had increased instantly.

‘Is this really okay?’

The method was simple. The magical power of upper-class seniors is usually stronger than first-years. They assisted with their magical power, instantly increasing the magical capacity through a “pumping” technique.

Similar to how Aerial’s summoning weapon was amplified by Eun Se-rin before.

It disappears quickly, but the body remembers. It’s an extreme method to maintain this and make the body adapt to it.

The efficiency decreases as you go higher, but for lower-class students, this kind of boost is amazing.

Bang Seok-cheon smiled at the people who were marveling.

“We call this ‘opening the meridians.’ We’ve expanded your capacity.”

Their special lessons weren’t just about strict discipline. They were genuinely teaching juniors the knowledge they needed as seniors.

“Now you need techniques to control this magical power, but I’ll teach you that later. For now, you need to maintain this increased magical capacity. As Instructor Oh Ju-hwan always says, a solid foundation is essential no matter what you do. You seem to have followed the training well. You’re not gasping like that middle-class student over there.”

Baek Dong-guk and Bang Seok-cheon were impressed that the lower-class students could momentarily regulate the magical consumption from pumping.

Oh Ju-hwan wasn’t the lower-class instructor for nothing. He was a specialist in teaching these fundamentals.

The middle-class students had stronger magic than the lower-class, but their magic drained quickly like water.

“That’s actually normal.”

Bang Seok-cheon was encouraging the second-years, showing an angelic side.

Min Gang-su wasn’t used to this atmosphere at all.

‘I thought they would berate us.’

He expected to be harshly disciplined under the pretext of special lessons, like in some physical education department, but they were genuinely helping them grow.

Because of this, he felt more at ease. There were intimidating figures like Baek Dong-guk, but there was no violence at all.

Bang Seok-cheon looked toward Yu Deok-min.

“But it seems like you’re the strongest, Yu Deok-min.”

“Thank you, senior. But I still have a long way to go.”

The standout here was Yu Deok-min. Strangely, he was performing with efficiency similar to the middle-class students.

Min Gang-su envied that. Moreover, he envied receiving praise from such seniors.

When the special lesson ended, Bang Seok-cheon gathered everyone again.

“Got it? Review this. I’ll check next week. You’re all Jaegers, right? Becoming stronger is the top priority. Understand?”

“Yes!”

“You’ve worked hard, so this senior will treat you. Let’s go!”

He kept offering carrots. This could be called the ideal relationship between seniors and juniors.

Seniors guide, and juniors follow with gratitude.

As they entered a restaurant, Baek Dong-guk made a comment loud enough for everyone to hear.

“No one skips out on these gatherings. Everyone attends the seniors’ dinners.”

“Of course we should go when seniors invite us.”

Yu Deok-min responded enthusiastically.

Baek Dong-guk grinned.

“But I heard there’s a famous celebrity in your lower class who often skips.”

“Celebrity?”

“Someone who’s always making excuses and skipping because they’re so busy—that’s a celebrity, right?”

Shin Min-jeong finished with a sneer.

The expressions of several lower-class students darkened. Except for Yu Deok-min.

“Seniors, people can have circumstances.”

Was he defending? No. It was mockery disguised as defense.

“They might just happen to have something come up whenever seniors call.”

“Well, it’s too consistent to be coincidence. But it must be coincidence. Hahaha!”

Indeed, Yu Deok-min was actively agreeing with this flow of conversation.

“But I heard Do Jong-hyun is coming this Sunday?”

“He said he’s meeting his parents.”

“Wow~ Such an expensive person. He could cancel something like that if he wanted to. It’s intentional.”

Baek Dong-guk made an exaggerated gesture and exchanged glances with Bang Seok-cheon, who was quietly grilling meat.

Bang Seok-cheon smiled subtly.

“Don’t say it’s intentional so carelessly. If you get caught saying the wrong thing again, you’ll end up like those guys from before.”

“Ah, after separate classes, are they going to have classes just for second-years?”

The second-year clique started speaking up one by one.

“That guy seems to get along well with third-years, but he’s intentionally rejecting second-years. Is he ostracizing us second-years? It feels kind of bad.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Everyone calm down. I heard he’s been famous since the first semester, even catching the White Dragon Guild’s attention. His ego must be through the roof. Good for him.”

Bang Seok-cheon seemed to be calming them down, but he was firmly establishing the image that Do Jong-hyun was arrogant and disrespectful to seniors.

The juniors had to agree unconditionally with the seniors’ stories.

As the meal was ending, Bang Seok-cheon smiled at everyone and issued a warning.

“Since we’re helping you like this, you should follow well from now on. We believe in you, and we need to change the atmosphere from now on. Understand?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll start in earnest from October when the third-years leave. We’ll establish new rules and be stricter. But in return, your skills will improve. So I hope we won’t have any conflicts in the future.”

First comes the carrot. Bang Seok-cheon had begun his work to change the atmosphere.

*

Sunday. This is an important day. It’s the decisive moment to prevent the crash in Songdo.

I told the security team in advance that I was going to meet a friend in Incheon.

[I couldn’t meet last time because of the Break. Now I’m going to meet them.]

The excuse definitely exists. Since I said I ran away and couldn’t meet during the encounter with the Poseidon Guild last time, there shouldn’t be much suspicion about meeting again now.

Then I just need to do the same as before.

Since the tidal current has formed, I just need to transform during the Monster Break and fly away without any problems.

Today’s mission is to stop Devil and save the plane.

Devil is, as the name suggests, a humanoid flying monster with two wings.

It starts by toying with planes above 10,000 feet and then causing them to crash.

By the way, this thing’s speed is really fast.

Fast enough to easily chase a flying plane.

The only ones that can match it are Insect Sura or Bird Sura.

Adult Insect Sura lacks speed, and Semi-Insect Sura has such poor stats that it can’t even compete.

As various concerns continued in my head, I suddenly noticed the silence around me.

The plane crash in Songdo is scheduled for 2 PM.

It’s currently 1:40 PM, during the Monster Break time.

“Phew.”

I took a deep breath. First, I’ll use Bird Sura’s speed to approach. Then I’ll use cards to fight.

DNA Points: 12,100

The points are awkward for evolving into a bird.

Well, it doesn’t matter. What’s important now is preventing the plane from crashing. And catching that Devil.

The alarm sounds and the Break occurs.

I needed to act here too.

“What! The! Hell! Why does this happen when I’m just trying to meet a friend!”

The security team appears like ghosts and tells me to run away.

“I’ll hide on my own.”

As monsters start appearing one by one, I left the area at full speed.

Since other A-class monster Breaks are opening nearby, they won’t be able to come easily.

Shall we begin then?

The moment I took out my main card, I transformed into Semi-Dragon Sura.

After using the evolution card to evolve into Bird Sura, I soared powerfully into the sky.

The goal is to interfere with Devil being shot down in the Songdo sky.

Yes, I just need to let the plane pass through safely.

I flew higher and higher into the sky.

I don’t know the exact height, but I was high enough to look like a dot from the ground, and I was looking down from there.

This Bird Sura’s eyes can clearly see what’s below. I waited like that.

And as I moved toward Incheon International Airport, I saw it. A plane was moving in my field of vision.

Ah, I remember. A plane with green patterns. The very plane that was reported in the news.

But when will Devil appear? As I was wondering, a rift began to open right below me.

This is it.

Was it because I flew higher than the accident site? I could see Devil below me.

Flapping its bat-like wings and holding a spear made of magical power.

It has appeared.

At that moment, I took out the sub-card I had prepared.

[Why is the Eagle’s Beak Yellow?]

-Gathers magic when diving to pierce enemies.

-Strength rank increases by 1

I concentrated magic in my beak, and my two wings had already transformed into a hunting posture.

Just as I was about to dive down and strike…

The devil suddenly disappeared from my sight. No, it didn’t disappear…

I feel the wind belatedly.

When I turned my gaze, I saw the devil already approaching the plane.

Right, its original goal is to crash the plane.

It didn’t even notice me above.

I frantically turned my body and used the new sub-card I had acquired.

[Wing Magic]

-Only available for birds

-Infuses wings with magic to increase agility rank and speed

What I need now is speed. I charged forward at my maximum possible speed, but it was already prepared.

As soon as a spear-like object formed in its hand, my consciousness was already gone.

I flapped my two wings desperately trying to interfere.

[Wind Flap]

The wind direction in front of me changed and gathered together.

It flew like an arrow toward the devil.

In that tense moment, the devil nimbly avoided the attack.

Did it work?

But right before my eyes, its spear pierced the engine area of the plane.

And an explosion began.