Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 100
>Chapter Title: Common Sense Dictates an Ambush
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*
What is death-line detection?
It is the most definitive reason why a superhuman is called a superhuman. Mere speed and strength do not distinguish a person as ‘superhuman.’
Superhuman (超人). The title, meaning one who has transcended the human domain, signifies reaching a state unattainable by ordinary human standards.
The moment a person gains near-complete immunity to the most powerful weaponry devised by human technology and wisdom for the sole purpose of ‘hunting’ other humans, they are classified as a superhuman.
-Click.
Ivan loaded his pistol and slowly exhaled.
The humans of this world are biologically identical to those from Earth. They don't possess some internal organ for mana sensitivity like in Earth's fiction, nor do they have a special function in their pineal gland.
Blood volume, muscle tissue, the structure and function of their internal organs, the workings of each limb—all are identical to Earthlings.
Therefore, there is fundamentally only one reason why the people of this world can perform feats unimaginable on Earth with their bare bodies. It is because they possess a power that is itself unimaginable on Earth.
Mana.
-Swoosh….
Ivan took a deep breath, accelerating the mana in his neural network. This incomprehensible power is the driving force that transforms a human into a superhuman.
As he had once reflected, mana is a convenient power that can be anything you want it to be. Thus, most ‘otherworlders’ took it for granted.
A power that anyone with talent could wield. A power that enhanced the body, wove magic, and enabled the production of peculiar industrial goods.
But an Earthling should not think that way. Someone who knew of the absence of mana had to consider ‘how’ it worked. After all, doesn't every action in the world have a fundamental principle?
Thus, since awakening to mana during his long military service, Ivan had conducted all sorts of experiments.
How does mana enhance the human body?
What are the limits of mana-based enhancement?
What effects do excessive or markedly deficient levels of mana have?
It was a form of human experimentation using his own body as the subject, supplemented by countless samples collected on the brink of life and death that was war.
What he gained in the end were two things.
An outstanding level of mana attunement and an understanding of the interaction between mana and the body.
It was only natural. It was a sense he had acquired by pushing his own nerves to their absolute limit.
Therefore, Ivan was certain.
Superhumans could be mass-produced, provided there was proper guidance and talent.
A curriculum for mass-producing superhumans meant an endless supply of excellent agents, so Ivan confidently introduced this training program to the Annihilation Squad.
Unfortunately, the Annihilation Squad never exceeded a total of 800 members, and even they were all incinerated in the end.
‘Those kids are different.’
The bloodline of the Hero's Party. Over half a year of testing, their aptitude and talent had proven to be top-tier. Those brats certainly had what it took to complete his training.
Furthermore, Ivan was a rational educator; he wouldn't commit the folly of forcing upon his students things he himself had not experienced.
If he could do this with a mere handful of mana right in front of demons, there was no reason these kids couldn't do it in this incomparably safer situation.
He was just that merciful of a person.
Ivan holstered his pistol and flicked his hand.
At his signal, the order to commence the operation began to spread to the agents positioned throughout the forest.
It was the first day of their exciting summer vacation.
*
“Achoo! Hachoo!!”
“Why do humans have hands? Isn't covering your mouth when you sneeze basic hygiene? Hands weren't made for playing in the dirt.”
Esidis sniffled, ignoring Elfihera's words.
She had been doing so ever since she found out Elfihera had been dozing in the carriage while everyone else was suffering through a terrible ordeal in the forest.
On top of that, when the campfire went out, hadn't she cast a warming spell only on herself and slept soundly until morning?
“Wh-why would they… hachoo!”
“There's… a note…”
Oskar dazedly picked up a note lying on the ground.
It was written in a neat, standard script.
[Even a small flame is highly visible at night. Do not light fires in enemy territory.]
“Since when did the Krasilov estate become enemy territory?”
“The old man secretly loves this kind of stuff. You'll just have to deal with it.”
Isabelle muttered, pressing her temples.
“So, do we go down or up? Anyone confident they can find the way?”
“The path I took with Lady Esidis yesterday to gather firewood happened to be the way down the mountain. It was quite an eye-opening experience.”
“Huh?”
“It’s hell down there.”
Oskar’s expression was dreadful.
“There's a trap every three steps. If you find and disarm or avoid one, there's another one waiting for you, positioned accordingly. I've heard of this… This must be the work of the Annihilation Squad.”
Among the many special-purpose military organizations in the Allied Kingdoms, Krasilov's military institutions were famous for their peculiar methods.
Unlike other nations, which focused on force and responsiveness regardless of their founding purpose, Krasilov's military organizations operated on a single core principle.
To put it bluntly,
‘How can we piss off the enemy even more?’
To put it more politely, they were masters of psychological warfare. Preemptive information denial, meticulous planning that targeted only vulnerabilities, and dirty operational plans that sometimes employed explosives, sometimes biochemicals, and sometimes even hostage-taking.
It was an operational style dedicated solely to disrupting the enemy command's judgment by lavishly pouring in every available resource.
And the legendary strike team of Krasilov. Rumored to have been the scouts for the Hero's Party during the war. Famous in the field for its short existence and the grim rumors that contrasted with it…
The Annihilation Squad was an organization that had left a significant mark on the intelligence agencies of every nation, just from its combat records and lessons learned. As a member of the Thilles Secret Intelligence Service, Oskar knew about the Annihilation Squad.
“What’s that?”
“An old intelligence unit from this country. Not that important. What's important is our current situation, where we have to face someone from there.”
Oskar said with a bitter smile.
“There must be a reason he told us to come up. Either the process itself is the training, or the real training begins once we get there. So why do you think he said we could go down?”
“Because he knows we won't be able to.”
“Exactly.”
“Always his style, isn't it? Anyway.”
Isabelle stretched and grinned.
“I wasn't planning on backing down anyway. Whatever he's prepared, I feel like I need to land at least one punch to feel better.”
*
Two hours later, the students were crawling on the ground, caked in mud and fallen leaves.
-Bang—!!
Every time a gunshot rang out from a distance, they would yelp and hit the dirt. They weren't live rounds, so they didn't cause injuries, but they hurt like hell!
“They're shooting! They're shooting guns!?”
“They were shooting yesterday too! Get down!”
-Bang!!
As soon as the shot was heard, a blue spark flew and Elfihera collapsed. Her protection spell had shattered.
“I'm out of mana!! Stop shooting!! You crazy bastards!!”
Elfihera wailed as she crawled on the ground, searching for cover. She crouched behind a large rock, scanned her surroundings, and then cautiously peeked out.
“Are they gone…?”
“They’re probably still there. Seems like they plan to shoot whenever we let our guard down.”
“What kind of training is this! Aren't they just using us for target practice?!”
“It seems to be death-line detection training.”
Oskar said, peering into the forest from behind a tree.
“They ambush us with gunfire when we're not tense. By repeating this, they intend to awaken our ability to detect death-lines…”
“Do they really train like this in the actual military?”
“Of course not.”
Oskar sighed with a miserable expression.
*
“Commander, Squad 4 has returned.”
“Good work. Squad 8 will take over surveillance. Squad 4, rest for eight hours.”
“Yes, Commander.”
Ivan, who had been looking at a map in the field tent, noticed the reporting soldier hadn't left and looked up.
“Do you have a question?”
“Yes…! If I may be so bold, I have a query regarding the operational details!”
“What is it?”
The soldier gulped. He was an agent with at least five years of field experience, but the man before him was a living legend.
The author of the Counter-Intelligence Command’s infamous ‘training’ plan, otherwise known as the Guide to Torturing New Recruits. The fear he must be feeling now, with such a person personally training ‘civilians,’ was easy to imagine.
“I don't understand the significance of evacuating the civilian homes in the twelve o'clock direction of the operational area and then pulling troops from that same area!”
“Hmm.”
Ivan followed the soldier’s gaze across the operational map. The twelve o'clock direction from the center of the mountain where the operation was deployed.
It was an insignificant mountainside with a single slash-and-burn village, and it was also in the complete opposite direction of the ‘trainees’' movement path.
In other words, it was an area the trainees would never reach, no matter what they did. The soldier was asking why they would waste manpower evacuating the homes in that area, only to then pull the deployed troops out.
The twelve o'clock area had become a literal ‘no-man's-land.’ In a typical military operation, creating such an area was a mistake. At the very least, a watch post should have been assigned.
“Your name?”
“I-I am Mikhail… Mikhail Soromovich, sir!!”
“Excellent, Mikhail. What are your thoughts?”
Although this operation was a training exercise for the students, that was no reason to neglect the learning of the field agents.
A rational educator must, after all, maximize the learning capacity of all personnel under their charge.
At Ivan’s question, Mikhail, stiff as a board, stammered out his words.
“It seems less for the trainees inside and more like… a mock battle exercise against a hypothetical external enemy.”
“A mock battle, you say.”
“Yes, as if you’ve deliberately created an easy infiltration route for an enemy…”
“You pass. What’s your rank?”
“Sergeant, sir!”
Ivan nodded in satisfaction. A commoner who enlisted and rose to the rank of sergeant in a Counter-Intelligence Command strike team must have plenty of practical experience.
“When this operation is over, you’ll be a commissioned officer. Report to the command office.”
“I-It is an honor, sir!”
“And to answer your question, you are correct.”
Ivan stared at the empty sector on the operational map and spoke in a low voice.
“A mock battle exercise to lure in enemies. That's right.”
A good agent never plans an operation with only a single objective.
Even if the purpose of the operation was a training plan for the students, he wouldn't have pushed for such a large-scale mobilization of personnel for that reason alone.
Ivan slowly checked his gear as he answered.
“Because it’s common sense for an academy training retreat to be attacked.”
“Sir?”
The Crown Prince’s faction.
Remnants of the purged nobles.
Demons.
Or perhaps rebels from another country, or an international terrorist organization. Whatever it was.
Let’s see who shows up this time.
Being a man of common sense, Ivan also prepared an interrogation plan when preparing for this kind of attack.
And right here, there were at least fifty more ‘Counter-Intelligence Command field agents’ to support him.
*