Ch.77. Surviving the Academy

Knowing the future means I’m aware of all the major events that will happen.

Well, limited to domestic ones. I don’t know everything unless it’s a significant event.

That’s why I’m writing down my to-do list in my notebook.

Since this is about the Academy, I need to prioritize saving people there.

People who, as I’ve already seen, can meaningfully reduce the risk of destruction.

“So Ariel gets betrayed and dies, and Koo Sang-heon dies in a faction fight with the second-in-command, Keum Do-hyun? Monsters emerge from within the Academy. And I need to catch those Goegyepdan bastards too.”

Time is finite.

I was diligently organizing the events.

I can’t transform into a monster in front of others anyway, and at school, I just need to do enough not to get expelled.

Based on the future, I can roughly assess their abilities, and Ariel and Koo Sang-heon are obviously on my top priority list.

The problem is that they die before the monsters invade. The reason isn’t that they fall to monsters, but rather factional issues.

Ariel does graduate safely but gets backstabbed and killed less than two years into her role as Ireland’s guardian.

And Koo Sang-heon, as I mentioned, gets killed by Keum Do-hyun.

This means key combat forces die one by one. Can I alone face that monster army and the primitive monsters controlling them? That’s impossible.

“Then the next strongest, Seol Yu-hwa, gets manipulated by Keum Do-hyun over money and commits suicide.”

Seol Yu-hwa comes from a very poor family. She doesn’t show it much, but she’s in debt and needs money, which is why Keum Do-hyun successfully approached her financially.

Why do I know this? Because the circumstances were revealed after her suicide.

Keum Do-hyun is a young master from a wealthy family. During the monster attack three months from now, he’ll see Seol Yu-hwa, interfere, and manipulate her as he pleases.

“Come to think of it, if I could just eliminate Keum Do-hyun, everyone would be safe. Indeed, he has a higher probability of causing destruction than Ariel…”

Looking at it this way, Keum Do-hyun is at the center of the problems.

He backstabs Koo Sang-heon, sacrifices Seol Yu-hwa… except for Ariel, everyone is ruined because of him.

Ah, there’s one more. Han Min-woo. Despite his excellent performance at the Academy, he never gets recognition due to Keum Do-hyun’s interference.

Other skilled individuals include Yoo Ji-na and Chae Song-hwa, who will arrive a year later.

If I only mention these people, you might wonder why I’m so focused on the Academy, but it’s because our generation is a golden generation that comes once every ten years.

“If they just don’t die, it would be a huge benefit for humanity. They’d be reliable when non-monster threats stab humanity in the back too.”

Yes, I want to recruit them.

“It would be nice to become friends with them…”

But why would these proud, dignified students have any use for an F-rank like me?

What I can do is act on my own and prevent as much misfortune as possible.

“Well, I can prepare for these things one by one before they happen. And there was also someone who throws our school into chaos, right?”

The reason I bring up the faculty is because one of them causes a really big incident.

I took out my smartwatch and started making notes.

[Eun Se-rin]

-Advanced class teacher

-22 years old, 167cm.

The advanced class basically has two teachers. That shows how intensively they nurture those students.

Eun Se-rin, one of those teachers, is currently on maternity leave.

She might seem like an insignificant person, but the problem comes after she returns.

She secretly brings monsters to attack students.

I don’t know why. She committed suicide during the investigation. The problem is that attacks continued afterward, suggesting the real mastermind was someone else.

And the most important thing:

[Human Monsters]

Yes, the existence of powerful monsters that shake humanity was also a problem.

Even if I manage to save the key golden generation members at the Academy, we need to catch the human monsters to be at ease.

After graduation, one came from a global religious organization called Goegyepdan. His name is Marcus. Before the destruction, more than half of the eleven human monsters were active in Korea, but Marcus operated in Central and South America.

Setting him aside as he’ll appear later, I need to catch the human monster of my generation.

Who? It’s Shi Woo-jin, known as the third-in-command of the White Dragon Guild led by Dokgo Jun. I need to kill him.

“It’s impossible with my current abilities. How dare I challenge an S-rank? Sigh. Come to think of it, it’s really turbulent. I wish I could kill the key Goegyepdan executives in advance too.”

In my case, I don’t even have a summoning spirit, so I ironically avoided life-threatening situations by not participating in combat much.

Who would care about me?

Anyway, now that I’ve returned to the past, I need to properly understand these major threads to navigate anew.

“Build up my strength, kill the human monster Shi Woo-jin, and protect the influential people at the Academy.”

This is just the beginning. I have knowledge of the future.

“The first day of class is just a tour and textbooks, right?”

No matter how much I’ve forgotten, I still remember the excitement of those early days at school.

The thrill of touring the school and attending the first class still remains in my memory.

And the next day is practical training, where we learn basic weapon usage.

I’ll obviously be terrible at it. I should just focus on physical training.

I already know the method. I really tried to survive, after all.

I just need to recreate that within this Academy.

[For students’ individual training, simulation practice facilities are provided in the basement…]

“Ah!”

I jumped up. Although they’ll tell us about it tomorrow, I remembered that there’s a space in the basement where we can practice according to our level.

There, I can train my body by matching the stages.

I rushed there immediately.

There are cameras installed, so I can’t transform, but at least I can train my magical power.

I ran straight to that place where no one would be.

***

[E-rank Record]

-Failed

-Points earned: 0

-Difficulty reduction recommended

I had hoped, but as expected, I failed. The monsters in front of me disappear.

I boldly tried the E-rank when I first entered the simulation.

The result? As you can see, I couldn’t kill even a single one.

“Pathetic. Without transforming into a monster…”

Indeed, my body was too weak. Without a summoning spirit, it was hard to resist properly even with magical power.

In the end, I had no choice but to go down to F-rank.

I took a deep breath.

Although you learn properly at the Academy, magical power is about making it overflow throughout your body to become stronger with a special wavelength.

Training that is the key to strength.

I concentrated my magical power and looked at the large screen showing F-rank.

[Difficulty Adjustment]

[Monster Adjustment]

[Terrain Adjustment]

[Select Appearing Monster]

I set the difficulty to F-rank, the number of monsters to one, and the terrain to flat ground. As for the monster…

A goblin would be perfect. Suitable for beginners…

But for some reason, I chose “Puss in Boots” instead. Quite presumptuously.

The highest species in F-rank.

Due to its rank, it doesn’t have special abilities, but its agility alone irritates everyone.

“I’m crazy. Really, without transformation, my body is too weak.”

A monster’s body and my body are separate. I need to recognize that, but I got annoyed and chose Puss in Boots instead of a goblin.

But the simulation has already started. I have to fight, what else can I do?

In front of me, a cat half the size of a human walks on two feet.

I only became capable of catching this thing when I reached third year.

Now my legs are trembling. Yes, that’s it. The signal for attack, at an unimaginable distance…

If I know about it, can’t I avoid it?

By the time I stepped back, it was already too late. Puss in Boots’ claws scratched my face.

No, it didn’t just scratch, it tore my face apart. If this were real.

[End]

The simulator ended instantly. But I gained an insight.

Before my regression, I may have been weak, but I never wasted time.

Because I lacked strength and skill, I studied hard about monsters and practiced in simulations.

The same goes for Puss in Boots just now.

The timing of the trembling feet, the attack position. I already know that.

If I can use this to my advantage?

I can catch Puss in Boots even now.

The key is timing.

I visualized the timing of Puss in Boots in my mind. When the legs tremble, aim for the head.

Use that to counter with a fist filled with magical power.

Excited, I turned on the simulation again.

Once more, I selected Puss in Boots and waited like before.

The moment the two legs twitched, I recalled the days I struggled to beat this creature.

Yes, even if my body has changed, my memories remain.

Once again, when the opponent’s two legs trembled, I ducked.

When I felt something swoosh over my head, I reflexively raised my back leg and smashed it into the cat’s face.

“Kyeeng!”

As Puss in Boots was knocked down by a single blow, I jumped on top of it.

Using elasticity to bounce back up from the ground is its counter-attack pattern.

When it springs up from the ground, it meets my fist head-on.

And now we’ve collided.

“Peek-a-boo?”

Confidence builds. An opponent that would have taken me two years to figure out.

I slammed the cat that had jumped up with a fist filled with magical power.

“Fall down!”

At this point, like a proper F-rank, its resistance fades.

I chase after it without letting go and keep hitting it.

As I continuously emit magical power and become drenched in sweat from exhaustion, new text appears in front of me.

[F-rank Record]

-Success

-Points earned: 100

-Recommended

Yes, a success case that’s two years ahead of schedule. It’s surprising how I only realized in third year that this cat was relatively weak.

“I did it.”

I succeeded in catching an F-rank monster without a monster’s body.

To be this drenched in sweat for just this much, when with a summoning spirit, I could easily last an hour.

“Phew. Well, I’m satisfied with this. Very satisfied.”

This is the best I can do at my current level. As I was about to end the simulation with difficulty, a strange message appeared.

[Points are being generated.]

-100 M points are accumulated.

-You can purchase sub-cards with M points and exchange them for special points.

This isn’t the simulation status window. It’s the status window for my abilities.

I glanced at where the cameras were installed and moved to a blind spot.

“M points?”

I quickly pulled out a card.

[Point Shop]

-Purchase Sub-cards

-Exchange Monster Points (Currently unavailable for viewing)

[Would you like to purchase a sub-card with M points?]

-It comes out randomly.

-The first sub-card upgrade is free.

“Even here it’s gacha? That’s too much. How much do I have to pour in?”

Having experienced the power of mobile game gacha, I felt repulsed by the word itself.

But I can’t refuse something free.

[Starting your first draw for free.]

A card pack appeared from my status window. After a tearing animation, it gave me one card.

[Fog Effect]

-Sprays fog that obstructs vision within a certain range.

“…Is this good?”

I could only use two cards anyway. Since I can’t use evolution or awakening cards. I’ll just replace one of those two cards with this.

Like the others, the card disappears inside when I scratch it to create light.

“Phew. I need to shower again.”

It’s 10 PM. Since it’s curfew time and instructors are patrolling, I need to hurry out.

As I head outside, I sense someone’s presence.

Really? Was someone there?

Surprised, I turn in that direction and find an unexpected figure.

A beauty with long straight hair, a calm impression, and model-like height appears before me.

“Seol Yu-hwa?”

When I blurted out her name, Seol Yu-hwa flinched.

“Who are you?”

“…”

A moment of silence fell. Come to think of it, only I would know her one-sidedly.

“Ah, I’m Do Jong-hyun, just enrolled.”

“Oh? Nice to meet you. I didn’t expect someone to come practice in the simulation on the first day. That’s impressive.”

I’m now wondering if this is a dream or reality.

The Seol Yu-hwa I knew, I had memories of working with her on a few group projects and team assignments.

Also, I often saw her as Keum Do-hyun’s lackey.

Back then, she looked at me like I was a parasite, but now she seems quite nice.

Was it because she was Keum Do-hyun’s lackey that I had a bad impression?

“You’re working hard from day one. I came to practice too.”

“Really? It’s good here. It feels so real that it’s helpful.”

“Yeah. Which class are you in? Advanced class?”

“No, lower class.”

I feel embarrassed saying it. And I could tell that Seol Yu-hwa doesn’t pay much attention to her surroundings.

Even if she couldn’t identify everyone in her class in just one day, not feeling any sense of familiarity at all says something.

“Well, good luck. Seeing you drenched in sweat, you must have worked really hard.”

Praise.

When was the last time I received praise from someone at this Academy?

It was touching.

“Not at all. Being in the lower class, I need to work twice as hard as others to move up.”

“Right, well, good luck then.”

Seol Yu-hwa showed a faint smile and entered the simulation room.

Since it’s our first meeting, the impression is quite good.

As I was happily heading up to the first floor, I heard footsteps from somewhere.

And the person called out to me faster than I expected.

“Oh? You must be the first aptitude holder in Academy history without a summoning spirit?”

The tone was playful without malice, and I knew exactly who it was.

With red hair fluttering, a girl of a different ethnicity, Ariel, was coming down.