Ch.8888. Class Atmosphere

As Park Tae-sang and Jo Sung-hee rushed over, what they saw was Eun Se-rin in a complete mess, desperately asking for help.

“Ugh!”

“…Is that Eun Se-rin?”

Jo Sung-hee recognized her and approached in one breath.

“It’s been a while. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Eun Se-rin deliberately stalled with Jo Sung-hee.

This was so she could create a one-on-one situation with Park Tae-sang.

It was a tactic to help Do Jong-hyun escape easily.

“I’ll treat you. Tae-sang, go ahead!”

“Already running!”

Park Tae-sang answered from a distance with a voice loud enough to boil a cauldron.

Thanks to this decision, Do Jong-hyun could escape easily.

Jo Sung-hee probably wouldn’t kill a monster that helps humans since she wanted to analyze it, but she certainly wasn’t planning to let it go like during the avian incident.

“What happened to that monster?”

“A strange mechanical wolf came and blocked it.”

“…A mechanical wolf? Must be a new species of monster.”

Jo Sung-hee tilted her head and abruptly helped Eun Se-rin to her feet.

“For old times’ sake, I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“I’m fine. Shouldn’t you be catching the monster instead?”

“If Park Tae-sang can’t catch it, neither can I. Besides, Tae-sang’s been criticized for destroying everything with his horn flute, so his major techniques are restricted. Especially for a monster that saved a human.”

She supported Eun Se-rin as she spoke.

“By the way, I was surprised when you were transferred after leaving the guild. And you ungratefully didn’t even say hello.”

“I’m sorry. I was busy with various things.”

“I understand. After what happened. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”

Eun Se-rin shook her head weakly.

“It’s not your fault. Who could have predicted that?”

“Se-rin, I heard you got married and had a child? When are you going to show me your baby? Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but seeing children makes me feel at peace.”

Eun Se-rin felt a distant emotion. But hatred was still present.

She simply responded with a smile, not showing her true feelings on the surface.

“The baby’s still weak. When they get better, I’ll show you.”

“Alright. Regular hospitals can handle external wounds. Yoon-ju! Come here and treat your senior!”

As Eun Se-rin slowly stood up, a woman whose face she could barely remember approached.

“Yoon-ju?”

“Hello, unni. Do you remember me? I joined the Magician Guild three months before you left.”

“Ah, you were the… youngest, right?”

Finally, she could see the person’s face clearly. Eun Se-rin felt nostalgic seeing the brightly smiling face.

‘It’s already too late. Too late.’

As they supported her, Park Tae-sang came in cursing.

“Noona! That bastard was damn fast! He escaped between buildings before I could attack. If it had been Dokgo-jun, he would’ve smashed everything in his path, right?”

“Stop it. Jun is too violent, that’s the problem. You don’t need to imitate that too. He’s been called as a witness for the last accident in court right now.”

“Well, a Jaeger should be at the scene, not in court. Huh? Isn’t that Eun Se-rin? I heard you got married?”

“Yes…”

They were about to have the same conversation again. Thankfully, Yoon-ju treated her and took her to the hospital, or she might have had to keep facing her past.

‘I’m glad Jong-hyun made it back safely.’

Eun Se-rin looked at the battlefield and felt relieved.

*

“Argh! That Park Tae-sang! It hurts like hell even though he didn’t attack with his horn flute!”

Successfully escaping was good, but now he was rolling around at home, enduring the pain. The top three guilds were no joke. Just one punch had done significant damage.

“So the leaders of the top three guilds are really different, huh?”

Even among SS-ranks, there’s a hierarchy. That’s how it is everywhere.

Look at the Olympics—even when champions from different countries compete, there are clear differences in skill level. It’s natural.

In that sense, the top three guilds are on another level.

“Damn it. I’ll have to rest again tomorrow.”

How did I get back after reverting from my transformation? I asked the security team for help again.

When I told them that Se-rin and I were injured, they quickly provided support.

I remember when I first met the security team. Now we talk often, and I’m familiar with whoever shows up.

“Is my back your personal car? Always returning like this?”

“I’m sorry, hyung. Who knew we’d get caught up while testing with Instructor Eun Se-rin?”

“It’s fine. It’s our job. But was Eun Se-rin badly hurt?”

“She has some external wounds. Plus, she was attacked recently too.”

“Phew, that’s a relief.”

The conversation shifts to Eun Se-rin. Hmm, this security hyung seems quite interested in her.

“Instructor Eun Se-rin is nice. And pretty too.”

“Kid, so you’re a man after all? Eun Se-rin definitely has a strong adult charm. Wait, aren’t you close with Aerial and Seol Yu-hwa? What are you looking at?”

“No, hyung. You see us all the time. We’re not actually dating.”

“Well, those two do have a noble-like quality. One seems a bit arrogant, and the other has an elegant aura. They don’t really match you.”

Oh? Look at this hyung!

I whispered in his ear.

“You don’t match with Instructor Eun Se-rin eith— Ow! That hurts! Stop!”

“You little—!”

I was dragged by my hair and handed over to my parents.

But honestly, I felt guilty.

I could joke with others, but the way my mom and dad looked at their son was different.

“I’m sorry. This is…”

“Sigh… It seems like these things only happen to our son.”

“Are you okay?”

Seeing my parents’ worried faces made me feel incredibly sorry.

Originally, I was going to transform into my adolescent form to reduce physical strain, but I keep fighting in my adult form.

But the monster appeared in the Monster Daily, so it couldn’t have been weak.

[The council has officially announced the formal names: Predator Worm and Lycan.]

The news reported the official names for the new species I defeated.

The monsters that appeared in the first semester were just now being officially classified.

They’re now formally categorized as monsters, and the ones I’ve defeated will be too.

“Phew. Tomorrow I’ll take a legitimate break. Honestly, I was caught up in an attack!”

Objectively, I’m the victim here. I honestly never dreamed I’d be fighting here today.

But thanks to that, I captured it and gained a new evolution, making it easier to fight in urban areas.

I should transform into different modes depending on the terrain. Now I have all the adult forms except for the avian one. What will the avian form be like? Humanoid? Or beast-like like now?

It’s a happy dilemma.

The day after tomorrow at school, we’ll move on to gate practice. It could be the toughest week yet.

Let’s rest. Rest is always the end of hard training.

But with fatigue comes intense hunger. Energy consumption is high indeed.

“I’m hungry.”

I took a bite of the chocolate bar Se-rin gave me and savored the taste.

“It’s hard to make chocolate taste this bad.”

A chocolate bar where the chocolate flavor is as faint as a fragrance. This is a rare taste.

But I eat it to survive. Forcing myself to chew and swallow, a feeling of fullness spreads throughout my body.

“Phew.”

After a difficult day, I fell asleep.

The next day, I naturally took a day off to focus on recovery.

But I was surprised at how well I recovered.

Usually, I can’t transform for another day, but this message appeared:

[Adolescent form transformation possible]

“I can transform right away? Why? Is it because I’ve been transforming so much lately?”

Even in adolescent form, there was strain, but maybe I’ve gotten used to it from transforming continuously? Or what is it?

What changed? If it’s a new transformation…

The chocolate bar. Could it be because I ate just that one? Before, I just slept from exhaustion, but maybe it’s because of the nutritional supplement?

It’s important to know the exact cause. It could help me prepare for times when I can’t transform.

1. Getting used to transformation

2. Nutritional supplement?

Distinguishing between these two would make operation easier. The first one seems most likely…

But to be sure, I’ll have to experiment on the weekend.

I could move my body, but to be safe, I rested for the entire day and then went to school.

The atmosphere was quiet.

The students were unusually tense.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen yesterday?”

When I asked Sang-wook, he shook his head.

“It’s because we’re entering gate practice.”

“Ah… next week is finally gate practice? We really need to be careful.”

Only one week remains.

As September comes to an end, this is truly the final period.

Gate practice is naturally set one level lower than regular simulations.

Since there’s a real possibility of death, instructors will be on standby at the site and will select the monsters.

Well, I’m used to it. I’ll be fine. As long as there’s no gate resonance or similar phenomenon.

But today we won’t have classes with 2nd and 3rd years, right? Among ourselves, there’s a sparring session in the afternoon.

“Who should I pair with?”

After only sparring with 2nd and 3rd years, it’s been a while since we sparred among ourselves.

I was looking for the training camp members when Min Gang-su approached.

“Let’s have a match.”

“It’s been a while?”

What’s with Min Gang-su? Well, it’s just sparring.

I don’t know how much Min Gang-su has improved, but I wonder if he’s at the level of my enhancement suit (D-rank).

The new form would be fine too, but it would violate the contract. The new form is only for monster simulation tests.

It wouldn’t be right to show something under testing to others.

So I brought the enhancement suit that Aerial bought me for the one-on-one.

Sparring began everywhere, and we also started our match.

“This enhancement suit is D-rank, is that okay? Should I adjust the output to E?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Min Gang-su gradually gathered magical power. At this point, Min Gang-su probably isn’t D-rank yet?

Considering that the average graduate of the academy’s lower class is D-rank, Min Gang-su is likely still E-rank.

“Whether it’s D-rank or whatever, you’re not even D-rank yourself.”

“That’s true.”

I took my stance.

Has Min Gang-su improved on the weaknesses I mentioned before? But as soon as the match began, Min Gang-su charged in the same way.

Really?

Last time, it ended in one move. But what about now?

I stepped to prepare for evasion. Just like before, as I moved to the side, Min Gang-su tucked his chin.

Oh, at least he learned something.

But that means I can attack. I quickly tripped him and made him fall.

“Ugh!”

In the meantime, I quickly got on top and tried to pressure him with a rubber guard position as I had learned.

“You bastard!”

Then Min Gang-su exerted tremendous strength and threw me off.

He’s strong.

Min Gang-su attacked in a straight line, and I dodged to the side like a bullfighter.

Min Gang-su pursued.

So, counter.

As soon as I saw him reflexively tucking his chin, I hit his side with a middle kick.

“Oof!”

Meanwhile, I turned around, and he quickly turned his body too.

He tried to kick the same way, but his hand moved toward my side.

“Accurate.”

And what seemed like my middle kick became a high kick that struck his head.

Min Gang-su collapsed, and the match ended immediately.

Still better than last time.

To others, I might seem incompetent, but in reality, I have a summoning spirit, I’m continuously training my magical power.

And with an enhancement suit, how could I lose?

As I went to help Min Gang-su up, Yu Deok-min appeared in front of me.

“Deok-min?”

“…You’re really trash. Weak. So weak. Get up!”

And suddenly Yu Deok-min kicked Min Gang-su, telling him to get up.

“Deok-min, what’s wrong?”

“Do Jong-hyun. Can you let go? Why are you pretending to be nice?”

Yu Deok-min started glaring at me with a different look in his eyes than before.