Nakan Jungle (1):
30,000 Cron. It was a long journey to scrape that together. Finally collected it all. I agonized right up until I bought it... but I figured I couldn't endure without it, so I went for it.
My jaw clenched involuntarily. Nothing but empty sky? If all us mercenaries are gathered and isolated in similar spaces... like some kind of prison. Does that mean we're all floating in the air like that?
As if reading my mind, another comment pops up.
That comment spammer kid. Smelled like a bunny dupe from a mile away, and sure enough, my hunch was right. Acting like it's obvious to burn 30,000 Cron on a whim just 'cause it's creepy. Same vibe as that space bunny roast he was hawking.
Anyway.
"Then we can tell if we're together." That's what everyone's dying to know. The comments go quiet, like they're all thinking the same as me. A brief silence in the text-based community—obviously no sound anyway.
But the hush doesn't last long before it shatters.
Speculation confirmed. We're all kidnapped onto some airborne ship drifting through the skies. Not sure if "ship" is precise, but close enough.
InfiniteSwordHeaven's pebble toss sent the community into chaos. He probably posted it feeling smug.
It's a form of imprisonment. Even if we all knew what we signed up for, it doesn't change the discomfort gnawing inside. Especially for me. I woke up here out of nowhere. And my contract? A whopping 1,000 years. Better to escape somehow than rot away an extra millennium I never asked for.
To do that, first I need to buy a window too. Punch through it, check outside, gauge the possibilities. Compare views and link up with that SuperHoneySucker.
"More like you already tried and failed, right? lolol" Seems like a heavy hitter who's tried busting out before.
'First goal: 30,000 Cron...'
My gut twisted at the 2,950 Cron I'd blown on armor and potions.
Heading out already? I wanted to drop something for InfiniteSwordHeaven too.
No. Wasn't trying to aggro.
30,000 Cron after 40 years... that's a slow pace. Normal? And why do multi-year contracts disappear? Waves? That's the only reason I can think of.
We get dragged to battlefields when called. Can't refuse. Die there, and that's it. Probably.
The management sends us to help commanders beat waves. Top-tier mercenaries win the day. But the scrubs?
I pictured tossing a hefty meat chunk to a Dosa dog as fodder. Waves are the dogs, we're the meat. So... is management the owner?
Summon request for hero unit 'Slasher Berga' on the battlefield.
Teleporting shortly. Check battlefield info.
A popup hits out of nowhere, like it's scolding me to focus forward. Battlefield info follows...
Eh?
Nakan Jungle
Wave: 53
Commander: Kiara
Wave 53. I blinked in disbelief. My temples throbbed. First time seeing a number this high.
No time to hesitate—I shoved the two potions from the drawer into my belt pouch.
The flood of light and momentary floatiness ended, but instead of walls, my vision filled with green. Dozens of plant varieties, precisely.
'So this is what jungle means.' More like a sea of trees. No sky in sight. Massive leaves and vines overhead intertwined like a net, blotting it out.
'Never seen anything like 'em. No surprise there.'
Air heavy and humid. Ground underfoot squelchily soft. Faint blood scent mixed in the dampness. This place was already a battlefield.
I gripped my dagger's hilt tighter. Turned to see a wooden palisade.
'?'
Odd. Sturdy-looking, but not a scratch on it. And no monsters in sight, despite being right on the defensive line.
No way.
I bolted straight for the opposite side of the palisade.
"Haha! Wave 53 lives up to the hype!"
I couldn't help laughing. A commander actually doing what I'd only dreamed of.
Waves start at portals, head for walls. In-game, monsters march right to left across the screen. But reality? Podia Wall, Ednfelt Wall—vast plains between portal and wall. Made me think: if the game had that distance, I'd shred spawns at the portal like a blender.
Forward base. This Kiara commander was probably arrayed at the portal itself, smashing the wave.
Monsters soon came into view. Ramshackle wooden barricades, soldiers in feral garb brimming with wild energy. At the center: a girl—no, a storm.
Blood-smeared, long claws ripping monsters apart with gusto. Acrobatic moves unreal. A literal whirlwind. The battlefield swirled around her.
Yep. Blender strat needs firepower. Forward base falls, wave hits empty main base. Game over. High-risk, high-reward insanity. Only for the ultra-confident.
'Didn't expect the commander herself to be the firepower.'
Surveying the thinning wave, I felt an unexpected leisure... Wait.
Do I even need to join? Damn, contribution points!
Sky Step. Fleet Foot. Max jump anyway. I launched skyward, dropping into the battlefield's heart. Feather Step kept my landing silent despite the meteor dive.
Lizardmen and werewolves encircled me. Perfect jungle trash mobs. No clue on difficulty here, but my strikes were lethal. First impressions gotta dazzle.
Gripped the dark dagger, slashed horizontally. Dozens bisected at the waist. First Kiss addict doesn't care about numbers—tested on goblin riders.
And combat symphony judgments scale with count? Lighter now, I zipped to a nearby lizardman warrior, swung. Power surged through my grip. Upward slash from low right, full circle down, wrist twist to upper left follow-up.
Straight lines and curves kissed every neck. Three steps later, blood fountained from headless corpses.
'Guillotine's performing.' Great blind, better informed.
Splattering blood droplets. Dark baton carving flesh. Slashed away, lizard or wolf indistinguishable. Lost count of kills. Long hair matted with sweat and gore.
Wave 53. The number delivers.
Summons unit 'Slasher Berga''s contribution rated highest grade!
"Hoo..."
Worth joining quick. Cuts fees, and slacking on first call gets birdseed pay—heartbreaking.
"You. Fun?"
Finally face-to-face. Commander Kiara. Blood-soaked, skin and hair indistinguishable. Me too, probably. But those bright yellow eyes stood out. Adrenaline-pumped pupils dilated, devouring me.
'Tiger? Nah... lion?'
"Answer?"
What? Oh. Fun. First nutcase client like this.
"Hope it was worth more than the resources you spent."
"Huh?"
Fired my killer sales line, tweaked. Her blank look said it landed.
"Ahahahaha!"
Nope. Mistake.
"You. Expensive, so curious. Summoned to see. Wasn't expecting much."
Ah. Rich girl playing. Got it.
"Still... you're kinda fun? Different from the other stick figures?"
"Haha... I'll take that as a compliment."
Habitual line slipped out. How many times did grad student Jeong Ji-hoon say that?
'Life of a corporate slave...'
Anyway. As I waited for her next words, smirking oddly, white light gathered in my vision.
Return already? Fine by me. Never see you again, rich girl.
As the glow swelled, her smile turned more enigmatic, alluring.
"See you again."