The Optitarakum's Shadow
Kang Hyun-woo approached.
"Captain, I have something to report."
"I'm listening."
"I think I know why Kim Jun took Lincoln's team leader with him... I mean, why he took Captain Jeong Myeong-ho."
"Why?"
"It's because of the Optitarakum."
"......"
The moment he heard those words, Kwon Joo-chan's head throbbed with pain.
Kang Hyun-woo was right.
The Optitarakum was the reason that bastard had risked everything. It wasn't out of pity for Jeong Myeong-ho, whose arms and legs were mangled, making movement impossible.
The Optitarakum was a core obtained by slaying an Optitarakusaurus, and its most valuable function was recording raids.
Once infused with internal energy or mana, the core captured everything within a certain radius. After the raid ended, the footage could be extracted using special equipment, edited, and broadcast on television for the entire nation to see.
It was an incredibly expensive core, reserved for expedition captains, sub-captains, and the like.
Among those participating in this Sokcho raid, the ones who had received an Optitarakum from the Association were Captain Jeong Myeong-ho, sub-captain Kwon Joo-chan, and chief team leader Hwang In-su—three in total.
If Kim Jun escaped the dungeon with Jeong Myeong-ho's Optitarakum, a storm of blood would erupt.
If it became known that Jushin's team leader had tried to kill Brave's captain, and that his own team members had betrayed him in the process... the media frenzy would eclipse even the recent lockdown incident. TV, newspapers—every outlet would compete to scream the story.
Kwon Joo-chan let out a long breath.
Jeong Myeong-ho was as good as dead. Kim Jun wouldn't bother lugging around someone that heavy and helpless.
He'd probably snatched the Optitarakum and ditched him. Jeong Myeong-ho would have been devoured by monsters lurking in the Second Zone or perished in a sudden mana vortex outbreak.
Kwon Joo-chan relayed this to Kang Hyun-woo, then added,
"Jeong Myeong-ho is dead. So you're in temporary command of Lincoln."
"...Me?"
"It won't be difficult. Just keep guarding Mars's rear as cautiously as you have been."
"Understood."
Kang Hyun-woo's eyes gleamed.
This guy was just like the rest—desperately hungry for a team leader position, the type who wouldn't hesitate to betray even his own captain for that dream.
"Now we head to the North sector."
"North sector? Isn't that where Pacific and Pink are scouting? Ah! It's because of Pink Team."
Kang Hyun-woo caught on quickly.
Kwon Joo-chan felt a twinge of regret. The guy had talent and a sharp mind—why rush into something like this?
Maybe Brave Guild itself was the problem, prioritizing bloodlines over skill, leaving ambitious types like him frustrated enough to pull a stunt like this. He probably figured he deserved the spot more than Jeong Myeong-ho anyway.
"Jeong Myeong-ho got trapped and died in a mana vortex zone... make it a Flame Vortex zone. And say Kim Jun got caught in a portal vortex trying to save him. Spread that to your team members. It'll prevent stupid mistakes that could complicate things when we link up."
"I understand, Captain."
Kang Hyun-woo slipped in a sly "Captain" as he glanced back.
Kwon Joo-chan smiled thinly, but inwardly he cursed the man.
This was exactly the type he despised.
Instead of focusing on building real strength, they played politics, brown-nosed their way up, and resorted to shortcuts and crimes.
As Kang Hyun-woo returned to Lincoln Team, Kwon Joo-chan glared into the darkness ahead.
Kim Jun was out there somewhere.
He had the Optitarakum that could reveal the truth.
But Kwon Joo-chan had Kim Jun's comrades to lure him out of the shadows.
Which side would prove stronger?
He'd find out soon enough.
It was eerily quiet.
Even carrying an adult man on his back, Kim Jun's footsteps barely made a sound. Only occasional groans escaped Jeong Myeong-ho's gritted teeth when his arms or legs jostled.
"Ugh."
"Want to rest?"
"...No, keep going."
Jeong Myeong-ho swallowed the "let's rest" that had risen to his throat. He couldn't whine about a little pain while being carried like dead weight.
After advancing about ten meters, Kim Jun suddenly stopped.
No groan this time. Kim Jun had clapped a hand over Jeong Myeong-ho's mouth with his left.
He eased Jeong Myeong-ho off his back and propped him against the wall.
This meant a monster ahead that was hard to bypass.
"Be careful. Got it?"
Jeong Myeong-ho meant it. If Kim Jun got hurt... he'd die here too.
"Okay."
Kim Jun crept forward low like a cat, silent even on the gravel-strewn floor in this dead quiet.
Incredible footwork, Jeong Myeong-ho thought.
He had no intention of cowering in the shadows.
He couldn't fight, but he refused to hide and wait for fate. At the very least, he wanted to watch Kim Jun battle.
Using his left arm and leg, Jeong Myeong-ho crawled to the corner.
No need to go that far—the Optitarakum tucked in his belt was recording everything. Later, he could relive it vividly.
But right now, he wanted to see it with his own eyes.
He peeked out and spotted Kim Jun, then beyond him, about seven meters away, a cluster of four Jellyflies.
Named for their resemblance to flying jellyfish, these "trash mobs" were notorious. A single tentacle sting caused temporary paralysis, making them tough for solos despite their low threat.
With a tanker holding the line and dealers striking openings, even a swarm posed no issue.
But then Kim Jun tossed something.
A small pebble.
It skittered backward with a clatter, and the Jellyflies raised their tentacles in unison, turning toward the sound.
In that instant, Kim Jun closed silently and swung the Cheonroegeom.
Bzzt-crack.
Sparks erupted from the blade, engulfing the Jellyflies. But one layered behind dodged the shock and lashed tentacles at him.
As if anticipating it, Kim Jun rolled forward and thrust his hand.
Bzzt-crack.
A Po-noe Strike detonated.
The sparks incinerated the tentacles, burrowed into the body, and exploded with a pop.
Flawless execution. He could watch it forever without tiring.
Cautious approach, terrain lure, swift judgment, bold strike, seamless finish.
Kim Jun plunged his hand into the dead Jellyfly's corpse and rummaged.
What the hell? He did the same after the last kill. Cores? From trash mobs?
Old habits die hard, maybe from his carrier days digging cores.
Kim Jun returned.
Not a word about why Jeong Myeong-ho was here. Instead, he extended his right hand. Dozens of rice-grain-sized pellets, clumped in viscous slime, lay in his palm.
"Swallow."
"...What is it?"
"Doesn't matter."
Then Jeong Myeong-ho remembered: Kim Jun rummaging the Jellyfly's body.
"You didn't."
"It'll help recovery."
"...Eating cores kills you."
"High Medishium content... might not."
"What?"
Jeong Myeong-ho was dumbfounded. "Might not" wasn't even denial—it was a maybe on death.
"But skipping it guarantees death. Here in this relic. I might survive, though."
Kim Jun's tone was ice-cold.
Jeong Myeong-ho questioned if this was the same guy who'd spouted wild dreams of becoming Association President.
"You sure I won't die?"
"I've eaten Awacum."
"...Seriously?"
"Yeah."
This guy defied imagination. What Raider eats cores?
Sighing, Jeong Myeong-ho squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the pellets. Tasteless cores, but the slime... like snot mixed with phlegm.
His throat burned, stomach soured... but no rolling agony.
Miraculously, pain dulled like analgesics, easing his arms and legs.
It actually worked.
"Why'd you eat Awacum?"
Kim Jun chuckled at the question, briefly explaining when and where.
Jeong Myeong-ho was speechless.
"So... during the Association test, inside the simulator, you ate Awacum?"
"Spot on."
"You crazy bastard!"
Jeong Myeong-ho bellowed without thinking.
Kim Jun's face hardened as he glared into the dark. Thud-thud—something charged.
"Hide."
Short and sharp.
Jeong Myeong-ho scrambled into the shadows.
Kim Jun gripped the Cheonroegeom and charged ahead.
They poured out.
After sweeping the Cheonroegeom from upper right to lower left, felling a Black Bear, Kim Jun leaped aside—but another rake tore his back shirt long and scored his skin.
Not a deep wound.
One, two, three, four... at least ten. No, twenty. And more beyond the dark.
"Hoo."
Gathering internal energy, Kim Jun deployed the Cheon Noe Byeok.
Bzzt-crack, bzzt-crack.
The angled wall repelled and scorched three Black Bears, but that was it.
Luckily, their dark acclimation made the flash blind them, slowing their movements.
Kim Jun unleashed Jungchwi, dashing to Jeong Myeong-ho.
As the gap closed to five meters, he pointed at the Yeon Ga armor. Sensing Alpha, he pulled—but beetles swarmed, blanketing him.
"Don't... mess... around."
Jeong Myeong-ho whispered hoarsely.
Kim Jun grinned wide.
No blame. He'd decided to survive together, but he'd tricked him into eating risky cores.
Justified anger.
Only problem: the Black Bear pack nearby.
Before they swarmed, he unleashed Jungchwi again.
The Yeon Ga armor would tank two or three hits from Black Bears.
Kim Jun struck a nearby one's chest with Yeon Ga Shipil Geom First Form: Yeon Yeop.
The Cheonroegeom sank deep; a thunk inside, sparks crackling through its body.
Eyes rolling back, it convulsed and crashed.
"Ugh!"
A rear flank and side Black Bear slashed; he took the hit.
Yeon Yeop excelled one-on-one but exposed flaws when surrounded.
Kim Jun shifted tactics.
Match their level.
Now treating the Cheonroegeom like a club, wild swings—but effective. Weaving via Mokhonbo, he bashed joints.
Sparks paralyzed; impacts crushed. Tough Black Bears toppled one by one.
A massive one, several times larger, thundered in.
Like a towering pillar ahead.
Claws nearly a meter long. Even Yeon Ga armor might fail.
One hit... and I'm dead.
He abandoned offense for pure evasion.
Studying attack patterns, habits, counters—finding exploitable rhythms.
Thud!
Dodging aside, the wall shredded deep. He noted it.
Jeong Myeong-ho watched from afar; Kim Jun felt the gaze but focused.
Left foreclaw dominant. Likely finisher.
Deceptively agile for its bulk.
Jungchwi distanced it, but it closed fast, slashing.
Fur-covered hide thick as plate. Blade barely pierced; sparks only staggered.
Po-noe Strike or Cheon Noe Byeok—minimal damage.
Patterns grasped, but no kill method.
Time dragged: he'd tire first, then those claws would pierce Yeon Ga armor and gut him.
Circling behind for space, Kim Jun lunged, thrusting the Cheonroegeom.
Yeon Ga Shipil Geom First Form: Yeon Yeop.
Bzzt-crack.
Blade plunged into the turning chest.
Squelch.
Definitely hit heart.
Clang.
It caught on something.
The beast yanked the sword free, charged, and swatted Kim Jun with its right claw.
Whoosh-crash.
Dozens of Yeon Ga armor beetles tore free; Kim Jun soared to the ceiling, slammed, and crumpled into a wall corner.
Overwhelming impact... body wouldn't move.