Ch.8181. Showdown with the SS-Class

Lee Myung-hyun disliked Eun Se-rin. Originally, he was the promising talent expected to rise in the Goegeobdan.

‘How dare she receive the Savior’s favor, this newcomer!’

Certainly, the woman’s abilities might be superior. But he had been leading the Goegeobdan since its humble beginnings. It seemed obvious who should be more valued. Yet Eun Se-rin gradually gained importance and even took over crucial projects—projects that could only be handled by a woman. Lee Myung-hyun’s resentment toward Eun Se-rin grew, eventually leading to an attack.

But the outcome was devastating.

[Not a big deal.]

He lost an eye to Eun Se-rin, and she was expelled from her position due to accountability. Afterward, he sharpened his blade of revenge. Meanwhile, the Goegeobdan had retreated temporarily due to Do Jong-hyun’s activities and Dokgo Jun’s reckless illegal actions.

Lee Myung-hyun approached Eun Se-rin to request cooperation.

[Help you? I have nothing to offer right now, and besides, I have official duties.]

[You’ve suddenly become rebellious against the Goegeobdan. You’ve definitely changed from before. Have you found a new man to replace your dead husband?]

Though his words were purely sarcastic, Eun Se-rin didn’t deny it.

[A man? Well, I have found an interesting one.]

[So you’re trying to find happiness with him? Do you think that’s possible?]

Eun Se-rin laughed at the incredulous Lee Myung-hyun.

[My project takes a long time anyway. Though growth and development are fast, it hasn’t been that long. A little enjoyment doesn’t hurt. You don’t even have that luxury, do you? Is that all you came to ask for cooperation?]

[That kid, Do Jong-hyun or whatever. Is he really connected to monsters? If he’s ‘one of them,’ why is he hostile to us? What exactly did you see up close?]

[To get solid evidence, I need an opportunity, but I can’t create one. Isn’t that why you came?]

Indeed. Lee Myung-hyun’s purpose was to investigate Do Jong-hyun’s activities, which even the Goegeobdan couldn’t understand. If he were on the monsters’ side, he should be cooperating with the Goegeobdan, but instead, he kept interfering with their operations—not just the Goegeobdan’s but the monsters’ as well.

The Goegeobdan was perplexed by this entity that kept killing new types of monsters. These monsters, unknown even to the monster faction, were boosting the Goegeobdan’s approval ratings, which was beneficial, but ultimately disrupting their plans. They couldn’t just let this interference continue, yet they were benefiting from increased support.

[But the ‘monster faction’ is displeased and dissatisfied with that monster. We can’t leave it alone forever.]

As mentioned in the Goegeobdan executive meeting, despite rising approval ratings, the organization’s goal was merely to maintain a balancing act. Monsters and monster-humans would ravage humanity while the Goegeobdan pretended to be good, intensifying the chaos. But higher approval ratings paradoxically made it harder to operate.

In other words, they couldn’t tolerate this for long.

Lee Myung-hyun’s visit wasn’t unrelated. Above all, he wanted to confirm suspicions about Do Jong-hyun. That’s why he came, especially with advance information about a one-on-one test.

This was only possible because of information provided by Eun Se-rin. The attack was pre-planned, but the fight with Eun Se-rin was entirely Lee Myung-hyun’s decision.

He grabbed the bloodied Eun Se-rin by the nape, who had collapsed before him, handling her as casually as a kitten.

“You’ve been spending your time as an instructor? I’m different. The monster-humanization project has already begun. Look at this body. Isn’t our height difference more than double?”

Lee Myung-hyun, possessing the body of the S-rank monster “Yoho,” was smiling.

“See? While you were boasting about your important project, the gap between us widened. Now monsters and we are becoming one.”

“Does that really seem like your own power? After all, it’s just a monster’s power… Ugh!”

Eun Se-rin managed a slight smile, but when Yoho’s fist struck her abdomen, she immediately coughed up blood.

“The project results are in anyway. We can provide support too. Eun Se-rin. Die here.”

Lee Myung-hyun extended Yoho’s claws to deny Eun Se-rin any further chance.

Just as she was about to attack with vengeance and jealousy, Eun Se-rin mustered her final strength and escaped from Yoho’s grasp.

In Lee Myung-hyun’s eyes, Eun Se-rin was smiling.

“This is tough. You’re being too harsh on a mother.”

“How pathetic. Having to beg for your life with such words.”

“Since I can’t win, I’ll have to wait for someone to help me. Ah, I’m sleepy. I need to recover a bit.”

To Lee Myung-hyun, Eun Se-rin was merely making a final desperate attempt.

“Do you trust that unidentified monster candidate, Do Jong-hyun? But I anticipated this and have subordinates waiting. We’ll catch him too. We’ll thoroughly investigate his true nature!”

“That’s good then. Thank you. For becoming the subject of my experiment.”

At this moment, Lee Myung-hyun felt the strangest emotion he could experience.

Eun Se-rin couldn’t defeat him in his monster-human form.

Yet her attitude was unsettlingly composed.

Eun Se-rin, breathing heavily, lay down on the ground.

“Then shall I ask my man for help?”

“What?”

Lee Myung-hyun’s body was already moving to dismember Eun Se-rin.

Just as he extended his claws to crush her irritating composure, something flew into his view.

Lee Myung-hyun quickly withdrew his hand, and a monster exploded right before his eyes.

There, he saw a familiar face—one of his subordinates that she had brought.

“You all…”

“Monster… It’s a monster.”

The subordinate cried out pitifully with his body split open before dying.

Eun Se-rin remained motionless with her eyes closed, either unconscious or genuinely asleep.

“What kind of crazy woman is she?”

Thud!

An ominous sound grew louder in her ears.

Eun Se-rin wasn’t the problem. It was a fear incomparable to anything else.

A sensation that could only be felt by someone with a monster’s body.

‘What is this? What’s happening right now?’

Trees began to collapse before Lee Myung-hyun’s eyes.

And gradually, a massive armored dinosaur revealed itself, flaunting its enormous size.

‘It’s huge.’

Lee Myung-hyun’s impression of this monster was simply that it was enormous. That was the only emotion.

And in the animal world, size directly correlates to power.

She instinctively realized she was backing away.

*

-Restrained Primal Power (All stats increase by 1 rank, but without the risk of losing control)

-Judgment (The ferocious dinosaur’s strength increases with each enemy it identifies and defeats)

Strength: SS(+)

Agility: S

Resistance: SS

Magic Resistance: S

Energy: SS

Magical Power: SS

“Impossible… How could this…”

The monster-human trembled, impaled on my claw.

I deliberately threw one of the two toward Lee Myung-hyun.

As I advanced, clearing away obstructive trees, I saw Eun Se-rin collapsed ahead, along with Lee Myung-hyun in the body of the S-class monster Yoho.

There was no need to deliberate. My body was already running.

I charge at Yoho, pounding the ground. As a creature about 3.5 meters tall, it specializes in agile movements, but its weakness is… its strength is significantly lacking compared to its agility.

I activated “Dinosaur’s Stride,” one of the 10 new cards I recently drew.

[Dinosaur’s Stride]

-Increases resistance to earth attributes, increases movement speed, and performs a body slam while emitting magical power.

Simultaneously, the surroundings accelerated as I ran. I could reach Yoho faster than expected.

Just as I swung my claw in front of me, the opponent scattered like dust.

Using Yoho’s ability to create illusions, it deflected my attack.

I didn’t need to track where it went.

When I swung my tail, I heard Yoho being slammed down.

Usually, the attack pattern is to circle behind and aim for vital points, right?

Yoho hastily rose and ignited flames toward me.

I nimbly move in the opposite direction again.

It was truly close to lightning speed. Simultaneously, the wind rose, and Yoho seemed to split into two.

This isn’t me being deceived by hypnosis. It created a doppelganger.

Both can attack, but hitting the main body will shatter the clone.

The way to distinguish them is…

Fox-fire began pouring down on my body like flaming cannons. As they pounded my entire body, this robust form was taking some damage.

From the start, Yoho’s combat style involves small, irritating attacks rather than major damage.

I moved my tail and claws simultaneously.

Movement speed and reaction speed are different things.

Feeling the contact on my tail, Yoho fell once more.

But something’s strange. A monster-human should have its own unique ability, right?

The reason I’m not going all out is because of the possibility of a counter technique.

Yoho isn’t using it.

After slamming it down a second time, I immediately lifted my foot.

Yoho escapes with ghostly speed. Then let’s try something weaker?

[Breath]

[Attribute Conversion]

I used the sub-card Breath and targeted it.

Without hindrance, I exhaled breath from my mouth, shattering everything in front.

As the blue water-attribute breath was wreaking havoc ahead, Yoho finally came into view.

But it was holding a dead lizard’s corpse as a shield in front of it.

It was enduring with a barrier as well.

Smart, but so what?

[Gaia Flame]

Next is the stronger and longer-ranged Gaia Flame.

Just as I opened my mouth to deliver the final blow, Yoho suddenly began devouring the armored lizard before my eyes.

I need to fire.

The emotion felt in an instant: in situations like this, shoot without looking back.

As I opened my mouth for Gaia Flame, a thick laser shot straight ahead.

It instantly broke through the barrier, pierced the armored lizard, and toward Yoho…

But Yoho wavered and disappeared.

An afterimage?

Gaia Flame was burning the surroundings.

But Yoho had nimbly evaded.

At times like this, my large size is a disadvantage.

Meanwhile, this woman had put down the armored lizard she had been eagerly devouring.

From my memories before regression, this woman died without much contribution.

But I heard rumors that she constantly eats things and then uses the techniques of what she consumes.

Yoho’s body began to transform.

Ash-colored metal was forming around its body, and scales were sprouting on its tail and one side of its face.

Its physical form was also growing larger.

From a semi-human form of about 3 meters, it was now a four-legged monster.

It had grown much taller, reaching about 5 meters, and much thicker too.

A bizarre chimera, mixing reptile, beast, and human form, now appeared before me.

I saw four doppelgangers in front of me.

Should I consider it SS-class for peace of mind? The enemy had become more grotesque and powerful.

The four creatures before me scattered in all directions.

And now they attacked with a power I hadn’t seen before.

Flames that could easily engulf my massive body attacked consecutively.

This pain is real.

With such a wide range, what about Eun Se-rin? I turned my head to see Eun Se-rin collapsed a short distance away.

It’s fine. She can endure that much.

Meanwhile, the doppelgangers’ movements suddenly stopped.

From the front, a massive body suddenly lunged at me.

Amidst the unexpected force pushing me back, flames at point-blank range reached me.

The heat in my abdomen and the impact. I was pushed back several meters by the now-powerful opponent.

But there’s one thing it miscalculated.

“Who are you showing off your strength to?”

-Strength: SS(+)

I grabbed its neck and threw it aside in one motion.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had an opponent worthy of using this dinosaur’s power properly.”

My current emotion wasn’t anything else. Unlike times when I won trivially, it was the joy of finding an opponent against whom I could fight using my cards to their fullest.