Ch.9999. Moby Dick

Everything felt undeniably sudden. After sending Ariel off, I joined the others at the last minute.

Since it was dinner time, we entered the restaurant to get some chicken.

“Drinks instead of alcohol. That’s disappointing.”

“You know minors aren’t allowed to drink, right? What nonsense are you talking about?”

The minors got cola instead of beer. Cheongi ordered cider.

Since I hadn’t eaten yet either, there was no reason to refuse.

“By the way, Jonghyun, did you finish early?”

“Yeah, because she ran away.”

That’s genuinely how it ended. The absolute truth, no MSG added.

But why are they looking at me like that? Everyone is shocked.

“Ran away? Ariel? My goodness, what did you do?”

“This bastard, don’t tell me…?”

The center of interest suddenly shifts toward me. A typical reaction from friends.

I thought of Yu Deokmin.

That guy would have mocked me and kept taking it the wrong way.

“No, it’s not like that. I gave her a gift and we parted ways, but at the end, Ariel fled.”

“She probably couldn’t stand being with you anymore.”

“Do Jonghyun, I think you tried to make a move on her when the mood was right, didn’t you?”

“No, you crazy idiots!”

We finished our meal with this bickering. Comfortably, 30 minutes before the assembly time. As other members began to gather, a problem arose.

“Ariel hasn’t returned?”

“Where is Ariel?”

The instructors started to get busy.

“You all go back to the dormitory and wait there.”

Ariel wasn’t coming back.

Some instructors were trying to contact her, while others were looking for anyone who might be in touch with her. Wait, if this continues… I started to feel anxious.

“Do Jonghyun!”

As expected, my name was called.

Since I was the last person to see her.

Everyone’s eyes turned to me, and in front of everyone, the instructors asked where Ariel had gone.

“Ariel? At a store near the airport. We parted ways there.”

“Near the airport? Come with me.”

In the end, I was forced to join the instructors in the search.

But even after looking around the store area, Ariel was nowhere to be seen, of course.

By this point, I also found it strange. Ariel had never been late for an “official” assembly time before.

Something must have happened.

“Could we ask Yu Jia?”

“Yu Jia?”

“Yes. They’re friends, so she might know. Maybe she called her after we parted ways.”

The instructors immediately called Yu Jia to check.

“What? You heard something like wind noise? While walking where?”

Wind noise? Jeju Island is known for being windy. But the wind noise was heard throughout the call? From the instructor’s words, I deduced one place.

“The beach… Could we go check there?”

“The beach? Let’s move quickly!”

My heart was pounding. What on earth happened?

As soon as we arrived at the beach, it was clear that something unusual had occurred.

“Ariel!”

Ariel was lying there, half-submerged in the flowing water.

In her hand, she was clutching the small Dol Hareubang figurine I had bought her.

“Ariel?”

As I approached in shock, I could feel a faint pulse.

“She’s alive.”

“Why is Ariel…?”

Oh Juhwan hastily surveyed the surroundings while another instructor was trying to stabilize her condition.

“What happened here? Did you two fight?”

“No. We didn’t fight…”

At that moment, the instructor felt Ariel’s abdomen.

“There’s a wound here. And on her arm too…”

Following his words, I could see that Ariel’s body was indeed covered in wounds.

“Monster troops.”

“But I heard all monsters were defeated at dawn.”

“Since this is the ocean, they might not necessarily be the ones that appeared here.”

While emergency treatment was being administered, Oh Juhwan came running.

“This strange thing contains heat.”

What I saw before me was a faded yellow metal that somehow looked familiar.

Where had I seen this before?

It was much later when I recalled the submarine.

*

At 8:20 PM that evening, news reached the coast guard.

“Did you hear? One of the students on a school trip collapsed.”

“Collapsed? Why?”

“I don’t know. She was found unconscious on the beach, and they’re investigating now.”

They recalled that some coast guard members had been dispatched ten minutes earlier.

“So that’s why they went to investigate? The senior captain left reluctantly while eating snacks.”

“We’re the coast guard. Even if we want to rest, we have to go out when something happens.”

“By the way, I heard the collapsed girl is the daughter of an Irish tycoon? She’s famous, they say. I wonder if she was dumped by her boyfriend, or if something really happened…”

As they were chatting to pass the time, suddenly a massive explosion occurred in the direction of the warships.

“!”

They didn’t say anything else.

They immediately turned on the broadcast and sounded the alarm.

“Where exactly is the location?”

“Wait, I’m measuring. Huh? This is…”

At that very moment.

Consecutive explosions were heard, and flames rose high.

Even without measurements, they could tell which direction it was coming from.

“That’s the harbor area!”

They were shocked.

The place where the vessels were docked was now under attack. Alarmed, they tried to assess the situation, but something felt off.

“But there was no Monster Break?”

“Yeah! How could this happen without a Monster Break?”

As they wondered in confusion, the explosions grew louder.

Soon, the coast guard members rushed to the scene of the accident.

Whether it was a simple explosion or a malfunction, they hoped it wasn’t the worst-case scenario.

By the time they reached the residential area, the sea was already ablaze.

“Check now, first put out the fire…!”

“What attacked us? Were we bombed?”

Only one. All patrol boats and vessels except for a single unit had been bombed.

The only one remaining was the amphibious submarine.

The coast guard members sighed.

“The most expensive one survived.”

“This situation doesn’t feel right. Let’s check around here first.”

Just as they began their investigation, Coast Guard Captain Kang Seontaek carefully examined this new weapon.

‘It’s hot? The heat…’

It was at that moment. The upper part of the submarine began to open.

Cannons designed for water protection were all revealing themselves.

As they began to aim in all directions, Kang Seontaek hurriedly shouted.

“Everyone, defend! It’s this one! This one destroyed everything!”

“What?”

As the coast guard members defended themselves in confusion, the submarine’s cannons began firing all at once.

*

The students were now buzzing with conversation.

Naturally, it was about Ariel’s failure to return.

“They say she was last seen with Do Jonghyun.”

“Do Jonghyun? So Ariel and Do Jonghyun met each other?”

“But why hasn’t she come back?”

For the students, it was an interesting piece of gossip. Especially concerning someone as noticeable as Ariel and someone like Do Jonghyun, who was famous in his own right despite his skills being the opposite of his reputation.

With those two involved, it was only natural for things to get noisy.

“Did Ariel get dumped?”

“Really? No way. Shouldn’t it be Do Jonghyun who gets dumped?”

“But Ariel is the one who hasn’t returned. Clearly, they met and Do Jonghyun got tired of her(?)”

“So he dumped her, and that’s why Ariel hasn’t returned?”

“Oh my goodness.”

The rumors were transforming in an astonishing way.

Gu Sangheon whistled.

“Is it true? I want to confirm it properly. This is the fun part of school trips.”

“Anyway, always jumping to conclusions.”

Seol Yuhwa had a dismissive attitude. She knew Ariel from the advanced class, so she understood well enough that the dating rumor was nonsense.

Still, it was strange.

‘Because it’s a school trip?’

She wasn’t without romantic notions about school trips either.

She was just embarrassed. The idea of meeting someone alone, that is.

‘If it were Do Jonghyun, he would have approached me…’

But Ariel had gotten to him first. Seol Yuhwa realized something in her somewhat indignant heart.

‘Am I jealous right now? About Jonghyun meeting with Ariel…?’

What kind of person was he to her? Come to think of it, he was a friend she had grown close to. Not without some suspicious aspects, but a good kid who helped her.

‘We’re not even dating. I need to follow the White Dragon Guild. Only then can I properly support my family, save money, and buy a new house!’

Seol Yuhwa was clutching her head alone.

In this dramatic situation, perhaps the quietest boy in all grades, Han Minwoo, was gazing at the sky.

‘Beautiful.’

He didn’t bother saying it out loud. He glanced at Seol Yuhwa, who was in distress.

‘Is it because of Do Jonghyun?’

With just that thought, he didn’t think any further. Han Minwoo was considered a model student who did his part well and followed what was given.

Though he looked rough and had a fierce face, he was fundamentally a good student.

He didn’t directly meddle or indulge in excessive imagination.

But an anomaly was about to strike him.

He felt his weapon sending a signal.

“…”

This shield doesn’t just store and reflect attacks. It can literally reflect information.

A special power that, like Hermes’ messenger, informs within the range the shield can detect.

When Han Minwoo suddenly raised his shield, those around him were startled.

“Hey, Han Minwoo! Why suddenly!”

Han Minwoo quietly looked at his shield. This was information only he could see.

“I just need to check something.”

With these words, he concentrated.

“…”

It was a submarine. A submarine with one side cut off and damaged all over was currently moving.

Han Minwoo moved his head, trying to understand the situation.

But the area was buzzing with another piece of news.

“Hey! They say Ariel collapsed!”

Someone from the newspaper club, who had somehow found out, raised their voice.

“Really?”

“They say Ariel was found unconscious, washed up by the sea.”

“What? What happened? Did she try to commit suicide?”

“Oh my god, suicide because Do Jonghyun dumped her? That’s crazy.”

The rumors were rolling in an extremely dangerous direction.

It was so bad that even Han Minwoo, who was pondering, started to be distracted by the image of Ariel being dumped by Do Jonghyun.

‘This isn’t good.’

Han Minwoo was perplexed.

But it was bomb-level news. Enough to make Han Minwoo give up his concentration.

As time passed and the commotion somewhat subsided,

just as Han Minwoo was about to reach a conclusion about the crisis and whether Ariel might have been attacked, an explosion occurred.

Han Minwoo, faster than anyone else, stood up with his shield drawn.

Next, Seol Yuhwa rose, followed by Gu Sangheon and Geum Dohyun, who also summoned their weapons.

The instructors tried to calm them down.

“Everyone, go into the underground facility nearby! Instructor An, please lead them!”

Judging that something had happened, the instructors split into two groups.

“Contact the coast guard!”

“They’re not responding right now. Something must have happened…”

A series of tremendous explosions occurred in front of the instructors.

It was like a war.

“Defensive formation!”

The instructor quickly shouted, and the students, though confused, formed a defensive formation as they had been taught.

Defensive ability users and instructors stood at the front, with sidekicks providing support behind them,

while detection Jaegers assessed the situation.

At this point, the detection Jaegers pointed to the sky.

“Something’s flying this way!”

“What?”

Han Minwoo’s expression changed.

What he saw before him was a missile. He didn’t know what kind, but it was obvious that if it fell here, there would be significant damage.

And it wasn’t just one.

Han Minwoo stepped forward and concentrated his magical power on his shield.

Then he jumped toward the falling missiles.

As a missile fell in the direction he stood, Han Minwoo was thrown back.

Fortunately, with the help of telekinesis, he barely stayed afloat, but the place was in chaos.

The instructors blocked the missiles and evacuated everyone.

“Missiles…?”

“Not monsters, but missiles? What’s going on?”

“The coast guard is under attack right now!”

“What?”

The instructors looked shocked.

“Is it Jaeger criminals?”

“Whatever it is, let’s provide support!”

As some instructors were about to stay behind, Han Minwoo moved to follow.

“Minwoo, what about you?”

“I’ll focus on defense. My weapon has informed me that something unusual is happening at the warship area! I know the location!”

It was quite unexpected from Han Minwoo. The usually quiet boy was volunteering.

Whether it was regret for not fully understanding what his shield had foreseen, he thought the current situation couldn’t be left alone. So they ran.

Upon arriving at the coast guard, what they saw was a sea of fire that had turned the surroundings into a wasteland.

Warships were burning, and there were bombings all around.

Standing there was the amphibious assault ship. The new model they had been proud of.

The instructors’ attention focused on the landing ship.

“Did someone get inside that?”

“I’ll escort the injured first!”

It was then that Han Minwoo’s shield began to vibrate unusually.

And at that moment, Han Minwoo saw the front of the amphibious submarine transforming into something like a human face.

A monster.

Realizing this, Han Minwoo raised his shield.

But he then understood that this entity had not just one or two cannons.

They were all targeting different places.

He could only protect one spot.

Just as the cannons were about to fire, Han Minwoo gritted his teeth. Then came a tremendous metallic sound.

As if something had collided.

The assault landing ship in front of him was shaking. Additionally, a massive Leviathan emerged from the water.