Ch.7979. Eun Serin’s New Plan

[“Isn’t it too quiet? What happened to the original plan?”]

Serin Eun sneered at the text message from the Monster Apocalypse Group coming through her burner phone.

The Monster Apocalypse Group was following a path similar to before the regression, but slightly different.

Their plan was to cause chaos with monsters and continuously weaken the human world with beast-type monsters.

The Monster Apocalypse Group intended to shake up the human world as much as possible and create havoc with monsters and beasts.

But things were different now.

Above all, the human side’s forces were stronger.

To explain what this means, the monster hunts conducted by Do Jonghyun had the greatest impact.

Originally, monsters that appeared through the Monster Daily missions would cause a great deal of chaos before being captured.

In other words, monsters like Predator Worm, Raiki, Sandstorm, and Destroyer were originally destined to inflict massive damage on Korea.

So the human side would deplete Jaegers trying to stop them, refugee numbers would increase, and then monster incidents would occur on top of that, making everything worse.

But now? Do Jonghyun had prevented all that chaos.

While the situation worldwide might be different, within Korea, there was virtually no damage.

This was especially fatal for the Monster Apocalypse Group, which used chaos as a weapon.

In the original timeline before the regression, even Dokgo Jun hadn’t paid as much attention to the Monster Apocalypse Group as he did now. This was because as those aforementioned monsters rampaged and casualties increased, he was busy managing refugees and fighting monsters as the representative guild.

But now that Dokgo Jun had more freedom, he aggressively pursued the Monster Apocalypse Group, giving monsters no time to openly cause trouble.

As a result, one of their executives had died, and the Monster Apocalypse Group had pivoted to using alternatives like the red powder.

And surprisingly, it proved quite effective.

‘This red powder was originally a failure, so how did it work?’

Even Serin Eun was curious about how they had created it.

But her contemplation was interrupted by her class.

Through the monitor, as she prepared for the next group, she could hear Do Jonghyun’s voice.

“We did it!”

She heard his joyful voice. This group had earned a lot of points while doing the gate simulation.

‘Their speed ranks around 40th overall, but accuracy is 2nd, and judgment is 1st. As expected of Do Jonghyun’s group.’

Serin Eun realized she was smiling without even knowing it.

Why was she reacting this way to Do Jonghyun? She was focusing on him through her tablet.

“Instructor?”

Students waiting in front of her were looking at her.

‘Oh dear… I got distracted.’

She shook her head and prepared the next group. But as just seen, Do Jonghyun’s knowledge and judgment were top-notch.

His lack of physical strength was a drawback, but up to a certain level, it could be compensated for with sidekick support.

‘What an interesting child. And… suspicious.’

Normally, Serin Eun didn’t expect much from the lower classes.

No, she had no expectations for Jaeger society at all.

After everything she had been through, she’d rather see it all destroyed.

But ever since that boy appeared, things had been strange. Her husband had died, and the Monster Apocalypse Group had been thwarted.

The “weapons of the monster side” had all been blocked by mysterious monsters and collapsed.

‘Could this be coincidence?’

As we know, Serin Eun had been suspicious of Do Jonghyun since the first semester.

She’d been suspicious since meeting him on the mountain, but she couldn’t directly confirm anything.

She didn’t know if that was why she was more interested in him.

While she strongly suspected he was the monster that had been interfering with them, she couldn’t be certain without seeing it directly.

‘If he’s a monster, is he some variant of a human-monster hybrid? A failed experiment?’

She couldn’t figure out why he was acting this way.

‘But this is something neither the Monster Apocalypse Group nor the human side anticipated. Interesting, isn’t it?’

Everything was changing because of this strange monster. Serin Eun didn’t know if she was happy about it.

‘Am I placing hope in this now? No. I’m just curious. Either way, I just need to achieve what I want. The only certainty is that I need to learn more about Do Jonghyun.’

Strictly speaking, he was also interfering with her, who had been on the Monster Apocalypse Group’s side.

That’s why she wanted to confirm his identity.

‘But if he’s an enemy anyway, I could just fight him. Why am I trying so hard to find out?’

Rational questions and emotions welled up, but Serin Eun forcibly ignored them.

And she continued to separately save only Do Jonghyun’s group’s data on her tablet.

She needed something to turn her suspicion into certainty. She hadn’t been idle all this time.

Somehow, she had learned about the red powder that the Monster Apocalypse Group had been distributing without notice and was researching it.

‘The red powder definitely doesn’t come from humans. It was made based on monsters.’

When monsters consume it, the side effects are less severe compared to humans. It’s especially helpful for weak individuals or synthetic monsters.

‘Since the security team takes turns watching Do Jonghyun, it’s easy to intervene. I could offer to take over for the security team.’

Her mind was filled only with thoughts of uncovering the truth about Do Jonghyun.

‘And what will you do after you uncover it? What if it’s true, and what if it’s not?’

One thought led to another, making her worry.

She refocused, leaving behind the murmuring students from other grades who were talking about Do Jonghyun.

*

The pork belly was sizzling right before my eyes.

Senior Kim Suhee wrapped some in lettuce and held it out to me.

“Here, eat up! Our Jonghyun did so well!”

“Well, if you’re offering.”

I quickly accepted and ate it.

This was my first dinner gathering with the seniors. Getting a high score during this evaluation period was definitely a plus.

For third-year students, the final exams were meaningless.

They would be busy with internships and job hunting in October, so what good were final exams? Think of high school seniors after college entrance exams.

It’s just meaningless. Taking final exams itself means you weren’t chosen.

It means you’re a failure.

If you get good evaluations here before the October internship, the rank of the guild you’ll train with increases.

“Did you see the grades? Top tier!”

“This makes a big difference!”

The seniors didn’t seem to be aiming for the top three guilds.

Well, smaller guilds would choose the slightly better candidate if they were similar, so it made sense.

Senior Jo Seongmin poured a drink into my cup.

“But seriously, where do you study? Even we can’t recall everything we’ve studied so quickly. I only remembered the eye socket when you mentioned it.”

“I study like crazy since I don’t have a summoning spirit.”

“So you’re saying you work hard? This guy looks different now.”

He patted my back, clearly pleased. As I was eating the meat enthusiastically, Lee Jintae beside me was quiet.

Since he was a second-year, I wondered if he disliked me more than the third-years did.

I didn’t leave him alone.

“Senior Jintae, why are you so quiet? At such a nice gathering. We did well, didn’t we?”

“That’s right. Why are you so quiet? Smile and be happy right now!”

At Jo Seongmin’s joke, Lee Jintae finally smiled broadly.

“It’s nothing. I just can’t believe our scores. He did really well.”

He pointed at me. But I’m not sure if it was my imagination, but he seemed perplexed.

He was smiling, but he didn’t seem very happy. Usually, he should be pleased, but was my image that bad?

I couldn’t just leave this alone.

After finishing the dinner and returning to the dormitory, I casually asked Lee Jintae about the special classes that second-years were conducting.

“Senior, I heard you’re practicing with first-years these days?”

“Huh? Well, yeah.”

“Are you doing it today too?”

“We all finished classes late today. Even the third-year seniors practice until the end, so we’re not doing it.”

Kim Suhee and Jo Seongmin reacted to our conversation.

“Really? You gather separately and do what?”

“Why suddenly?”

Lee Jintae was clearly flustered by these questions. As if the third-years shouldn’t know.

“No, it’s just that job hunting season is sensitive. So we gather with first-years to train…”

“Ah… That’s helpful, but you’re not forcing anyone, right?”

Lee Jintae nodded vigorously at Kim Suhee’s words.

“Just those who want to. Even Do Jonghyun doesn’t participate.”

“That’s true. But he doesn’t need to. At least at this level, he’s sufficient.”

“Yes, yes. Looking at him, he definitely doesn’t need it.”

Lee Jintae just hurriedly answered the two.

He said they weren’t doing it today… I should participate once. I want to see what they’re doing.

I can do it any weekday.

I can go gate hunting on weekends, and now that I’m focusing on sub-adult monsters, the physical burden will be reduced.

Now I can participate.

That should improve the atmosphere. Anyway, with that mindset, the next day, I boldly tried to follow them to their special class.

“Cheongi, let’s go together!”

“Jonghyun, you’re going too?”

“Yeah, a friend should come along for moral support, right?”

“Hahaha! You speak well.”

Cheongi seemed happy for once. We joined forces and participated in the second-years’ special class, but all I got was just watching. No one was instructing me while they were teaching others.

“Um… Senior Bang Seokcheol?”

“Wow, the celebrity is talking to me.”

The mocking tone made me feel bad, but I held back.

“What should I do?”

“What do you mean? Just stay put.”

“I thought this was a special class?”

“You’re excluded. And you don’t need to come. I saw you doing well with the third-year seniors.”

Bang Seokcheol pushed me away.

“But why? If we learn together…”

“Just go when I tell you to! You punk!”

Bang Seokcheol kicked me out with a curse. What’s with him?

I came to learn together, and he kicks me out? Isn’t this too much?

They complain when I don’t attend dinners, but when I do attend, they tell me not to come. Is it already over?

Suddenly, I remembered the club incident.

I felt unnecessarily depressed. Returning to the dormitory, I just stared blankly at the sky.

“Fine. I’ll just collect points instead.”

With nothing special this week, I decided to go gate hunting on Friday.

It was Thursday after Wednesday passed. It would have been an ordinary day if nothing else happened.

But on this day, Cheongi didn’t speak to us at all.

“Cheongi, what’s wrong?”

I tried to talk to him out of frustration, but Cheongi shook his head.

“Sorry. I just want to be alone.”

What was strange was not just this. The next day, Mingi and Suchan suddenly started hanging out separately.

“Are they being bullied?”

It’s entirely possible. As someone who already knew what second-year Bang Seokcheol was doing, I suspected they might have been mistreated by the second-years.

“Should I report them?”

The best method would be to report to the instructors. The problem is if it fails, but how could it fail?

There’s already a precedent.

I went to find the other three.

“Are you being bullied? Why have you all gone quiet?”

“It’s nothing, so leave it alone. We’re just training hard these days.”

“…”

With this attitude, what could I do? It’s not right for me to act on my own, and I’d need solid evidence.

Amidst this frustration, the second-years suggested another dinner with the first-years.

What’s with all these dinners every week? Even though they give us a lot of money, they’re really frequent.

While dinners are common at the Jaeger Academy, this time it’s particularly excessive.

The frequency is about twice as much as before the regression.

“I should… participate, right?”

I was planning to participate since I could this time, but something new came up.

“Jonghyun, can you help me?”

Serin Eun called me out of the blue.

“Someone I know is testing reinforcement suit performance and asked me to bring a smart kid. As you know, the one who really wears reinforcement suits well is…”

“Only me. What’s the performance level?”

“The limit is D-grade, but this is the latest version modified to be close to C-grade. If you help, there’s a reward. Who knows? You might get a prototype reinforcement suit.”

A new reinforcement suit? For free?

“Yes, I’d appreciate your help.”

“There’s a dinner, though…”

“That’s personal. This is a task from the school. Come with me.”

Serin Eun grabbed my wrist and pulled me along. Well, if an instructor is doing it, that’s some shield.

However, we didn’t do the test today. We just went for an explanation at first.

[This reinforcement suit combines a C-grade monster with a slime that has sticky abilities, forcibly connecting two properties that were difficult to combine and refining the magical power. But we need practical testing, and from C-grade up, people don’t easily volunteer. After all, from C-grade, people are stronger than reinforcement suits. Instead, if you experiment for us, we’ll give you this prototype for free.]

The idea is that when they mass-produce it after getting data, it will be better than the prototype.

They specifically chose me because I’m an academy student with insufficient skills and the only one who consistently uses reinforcement suits.

By the time someone reaches C-grade, they don’t wear reinforcement suits anymore, and most protect themselves with magical power even before that.

Serin Eun’s condition was to provide data three times a week.

[You just need to provide various data while wearing that reinforcement suit. Whether it’s sparring, simulation, or practice, you need to provide data three times a week. I’ll help with the actual field tests.]

Although it’s suspicious that Serin Eun is overseeing the test, what matters is that I got a new reinforcement suit.

Since we only went through the explanation, it ended earlier than expected, so I rushed to the dinner venue.

I contacted the others through my smartwatch and arrived at the dinner venue.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“…”

The restaurant had tables for eight, tables for four, and was filled with our academy students.

At that moment, a wave of silence swept across all tables, like a stone thrown into a lake.