Chapter 20: University (2)

Grade 1 Monster

Infinite Evolution Lizard

Its first appearance was in New York.

The US government initially thought it was just a run-of-the-mill monster and casually sent 3 B-class Awakened Ones.

That was called the worst decision in American history.

The lizard’s true value was unleashed the longer the fight lasted.

Its body, which regenerated no matter how much it was attacked, grew into an adult over time, reaching twice the size of the ‘Statue of Liberty’, and its ability to adapt to anything made it unharmed even by a nuclear attack.

It was a creature that could reach the peak of Grade 1 monsters if it just kept growing.

In the end, the US succeeded in killing the lizard by sacrificing 96 out of a total of 185 people, consisting of 20 of its own S-class Awakened Ones, 15 S-class who rushed to the US upon request, and 150 other combat forces.

That is how much being selected as a Grade 1 monster meant possessing a strength that could threaten the world.

Gulp!

I swallowed my saliva, too nervous.

‘I didn’t know I’d meet that lizard guy here…!’

At times like this, I resented my older brother, who was out of sight.

The two of them watched the lizard’s actions from the rooftop.

It wasn’t destroying buildings and seemed to be looking for people.

“I sent a text to Guild Leader Unnie already.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she’s coming straight from Busan because it’s a lizard.”

“That’s amazing.”

“That shows how high its status is.”

The lizard’s status was so great that she would drop everything and rush from Busan to Seoul.

It was to the extent that the US had to abandon New York, the world’s number one economic city.

“The good thing is that it’s still in its juvenile form…”

The adult form was twice the size of the Statue of Liberty, but this one looked only about a third of that size.

‘Can we defeat it…?’

One reason the US failed to defeat the lizard was that they let the fight drag on.

If they poured overwhelming firepower before it grew into an adult, they could succeed.

“The problem is…”

“We don’t know how much firepower we need to pour…”

If they made a mistake, it could end up like New York.

Ding-a-ling~!

Haim’s phone rang in her pocket.

The caller was none other than her older brother.

-“Hey, what are you guys doing?

Why aren’t you killing that lizard?”

He started nagging as soon as I answered the phone.

It seemed like he was watching us from somewhere.

This was all because he didn’t know the lizard’s strength.

I quickly explained the lizard’s strength and abilities.

-“It’s okay. Just fight. It’s enough just to lure it however you feel comfortable.”

“No, didn’t you hear me?! If we attack that guy, it’ll become like New York!”

-“Trust me. I have a way.”

“…….”

There was conviction in her voice, but Rona, who was listening, felt uneasy.

Because if Seoul became like New York, she would have to take responsibility.

Haim, who had hung up the phone, sighed.

“…Let’s prepare.”

“……!”

She pulled out a black spear from her shadow.

Looking at her expression, she was serious.

“A-are you serious? What if it becomes like New York…?”

“…I believe him. He’s always a sly loser who only plays games, but his ability is definitely real.”

He’s someone who always managed to find and take my hidden ice cream and snacks, so he’ll have a way this time too.

Haim immediately jumped down from the rooftop, and Rona clutched her head when she saw her.

“Ah! I don’t care anymore!”

Rona jumped down from the rooftop and stood beside Haim.

Haim looked at Rona with a question.

“What, aren’t you going to transform into a dragon?”

“There’s no need to do that since we’re not even going to kill that guy?”

“Grrr…”

Seeing it up close, the lizard’s size was enormous.

It was hard to believe it was still a juvenile form.

Haim threw her spear towards the lizard’s eye.

「Kuaaaang!!!!」

The lizard grabbed its impaled eye and let out a cry of pain.

“Let’s just lure it as much as possible without attacking for now.”

“Okay.”

Before the lizard could chase, the two of them ran away at full speed.

Immediately, the lizard began to chase them at a rapid pace.

It was questionable how it could pick up speed with that huge body.

As the distance narrowed, Haim stopped for a moment and pulled out weapons from the surrounding shadows and fired them at the lizard.

「Kuaiaak!!!」

When various weapons like swords, spears, and arrows were embedded in its skin, the lizard screamed again.

“What are you doing?!”

Rona was flustered by Haim’s actions.

She must know about that lizard’s adaptation ability, right?

“We’re going to fight it later anyway, so this much is fine.”

“Tsk, let’s talk later. For now, we need to move as we lure it.”

The two of them ran towards the sports field again.

Even if they fought, if it was there, there were no surrounding buildings, so they could fight to their heart’s content.

The lizard paused for a moment at the sudden attack but continued to chase.

To stop its speed, I took out shadow weapons and attacked again, but this time they bounced off without getting stuck.

“Is it even possible to adapt already after just one attack?!”

“That’s why I told you not to!”

It was indeed a Grade 1 monster that had destroyed New York.

Most attacks would not work now.

“Tsk, it keeps chasing. How annoying…!”

This time, Rona turned around and unleashed her breath.

This time, its skin, which was harder than steel, was completely burnt.

However, the completely burnt skin regenerated instantly, and its body grew even larger.

「Kuaaaak!!!」

The lizard’s roar was even louder than before.

It had clearly gotten stronger.

Feeling the danger, the two of them ran faster than before.

During that time, she shot her breath one more time, but it didn’t get completely burnt like before, as it had adapted in the meantime.

Before they knew it, the two of them had arrived at the sports field with natural grass.

They stopped moving for a moment and admired the lizard’s massive body.

Just when they thought it was completely dead…

Ding-a-ling~!

Again, the phone rang in her pocket.

Haim quickly answered the phone.

-“Did you arrive? What should we do now?! Tell me quickly!”

-“What to do? Dodge.”

“……!”

As soon as the words ended, a gigantic formation spread on the ground and began to glow golden, and the two of them instantly felt their lives were in danger.

Rona unfolded her wings and flew at full speed, and Haim, being far away, plunged her spear into the ground and used it as a lever to get out of the formation’s range.

After getting out of the formation’s range, the two of them checked the lizard’s condition.

But why?

It still felt like it was alive.

Step step.

“You’re late.”

Hearing an annoying voice from behind, Haim frowned and turned around.

“Why are you only here now? Couldn’t you just tell us clearly to lure it to the sports field?!”

“I don’t know the geography of the university well.”

What if the place I chose wasn’t suitable for using the formation?

In that case, it was more convenient to just tell their fortune to find out the direction the two of them should lure it to and prepare beforehand.

Meanwhile, Rona stared intently at the lizard sealed in the pillar.

“Anyway, what should we do? It seems like it will cost quite a lot to remove such a large pillar…”

“Don’t worry. According to the fortune, this spot has the best energy flow.”

“Huh?

What does that mean?”

Vroom vroom~

“……?”

“Here it comes.”

Suddenly, the sound of a helicopter was heard from the sky, and when I looked up, a woman holding a sword fell from the helicopter.

And she landed, instantly cutting the pillar into 1000 pieces.

Haim picked up a piece of the broken gem and examined it.

“……!”

A small piece of flesh inside the gem squirmed.

This meant it was still alive.

“Guild Leader Unnie!”

Rona waved her hand towards her as if she was happy to see her.

The woman who fell from the sky was none other than Kim Mihyang, the Guild Leader of the Haeyeon Guild.

“Rona, what happened? I called all the people from other guilds because a lizard brat appeared.”

“Haha, well…”

Rona trailed off her words and looked around.

She wanted to ask for help, but Haim and Seonga were nowhere to be seen.

It seemed they had decided to leave this matter to her.

“I’ll explain later…”

“……?”

Thinking about the mountain of paperwork for this incident once she returned to the guild, all strength left her body.

***

We walked down the street, looking around.

“Hmm, a lot of new stores have opened.”

“Have you been here since 8 years ago?”

“Yeah, I went to a university experience program where they selected some students from school.”

I think I would’ve went to S University back then.

Well, I was struck by lightning before entering high school and became a middle school dropout.

Haim stared intently at my face.

What’s wrong with her?

“…Older Brother, why don’t you try university life?”

At those words, I frowned in less than a second.

“University? What am I, a university student?”

I’m 24 years old.

If I go to university at this age, I won’t be able to make friends and will have to eat alone.

“You were good at studying, Older Brother. Weren’t you in the top of your class?”

“Was I? It’s been so long, I don’t remember.”

“I went to the same middle school as Older Brother. That was a school where only the top 10 students in the entire school went.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“I was just lucky back then to be in the top ranks.”

“Where is someone who was lucky enough to be in the top ranks?!”

Haim stared intently at me with a look of disbelief.

Anyway, there was no angle where she would just let it go easily.

“And back then, the school even called the top students and did advanced high school studies.”

“I don’t know. Maybe Mom and Dad told me to do it?”

“I remember Mom and Dad actually tried to dissuade you!”

Of course, the reason was because they were worried.

Since she was already in the top ranks of the best middle school in Seoul by her own will, if she even did advanced high school studies, her health could be in danger.

“Sorry, but that was all because of tutoring.”

“That’s absurd. Then everyone who goes to a cram school would be in the top ranks. And Older Brother just went to the cram school closest to home!”

“Maybe the teacher was a hidden top instructor from Daechi-dong.”

But my younger sister wouldn’t give up no matter how much I argued.

“Ah! Let’s just have university life together!”

“Tsk, stop it? I know you just want me to be your junior.”

“……!”

Perhaps because I hit a nerve, Haim pursed her lips and remained silent.

For some reason, I laughed.

“Heh, and it’s already been several years, so there’s no way I’d remember the class material, right?”

“You can just study again!”

“No thanks. Let’s go quickly. The food is getting cold.”

“Tsk, changing the subject… Alright, let’s go! I’ll give up too.”

We went home together in a good mood, ate dinner, and went to bed.

And a day later, while searching for information that would help with broadcasting, I found a strange article.

When I went to the site, the title was strange.

[Sudden appearance of a Grade 1 monster at S University?! And the birth of a Prophet???!!!]