One Life Remaining
Cold sweat trickled down his chin and dripped onto the floor. Only two chances left now……. If he lost both of them? Would he reincarnate again? No way. Or maybe he would, but what then? The reality that two more deaths would truly end this life squeezed Tae-oh’s heart like a vice.
“Whew……. Fucking hell.”
Tae-oh let out a deep breath and scanned his surroundings. His fellow recruits were still huddled in terror. They had no idea what kind of crushing fate awaited them in three days.
Tae-oh replayed the previous battle in his mind. Doing well by yourself is meaningless. No matter how hard I struggle alone, I can’t block cavalry and infantry charging from every direction.
After a moment’s thought, he reached a cold conclusion. He needed allies. The military had always hammered home the importance of comrades-in-arms.
—Who the hell do you think will watch your flanks!
He had heard it dozens, hundreds of times during his service. Surviving alone was impossible.
These three days could not be spent simply polishing spear techniques.
I need to build my own faction.
Just before stepping onto the training ground, Tae-oh spoke to the trembling recruit beside him who was fumbling with his shoelace.
“What’s your name?”
The boy flinched and looked up. His eyes were filled with despair.
“Uh… it’s Kyle……”
He looked no older than ten. Compared to South Korea’s rule of drafting only those over twenty, it was brutally cruel.
“Hey, if you tie your laces like that they’ll come undone the second you hit the battlefield. You wanna die tripping over your own feet? Give it here.”
Tae-oh roughly snatched the shoe and began retying the lace. A sergeant’s year and a half of hard-earned experience showed in these tiny details.
“Twist it once more like this and pull tight. Got it? Tie it like it’s your lifeline.”
“Th-thank you. Um… what’s your name……?”
Tae-oh considered it for a second, then decided there was no reason to hide it.
“Tae-oh.”
“Thank you, Tae-oh.”
Awe began to bloom in Kyle’s eyes.
For the next three days, starting with Kyle, Tae-oh approached the other soldiers. He helped inspect their gear and taught them how to sharpen their spearheads properly. On the surface he looked like a dependable big brother or seasoned senior, but inside his head the calculations were ice-cold.
Yes, keep trusting me. Rally around me so you can last a little longer. That way no one will plant a knife in my back.
To Tae-oh they were not comrades but meat shields for his own survival. It was thorough, calculated deception.
Then someone pushed through the noisy recruits and walked straight up to him. Short brown hair, sharp eyes. Rian. She had her long spear slung over one shoulder and stared down at him with interest.
“Hey, you a mercenary?”
Her voice was crisp and bold. She was a hunter’s daughter who had volunteered after the Empire burned her village to the ground. Something about revenge.
Tae-oh had already confirmed her combat ability in his second life. She was good with a bow, right? He remembered how she had stood on the front line with a spear until the moment death closed in, then pulled the bow from her waist and started shooting.
“Mercenary? I was regular army.”
It wasn’t a lie. A Republic of Korea Army sergeant counted as regular military.
Rian’s eyes widened.
“Then why are you in a place like this?”
“Fuck if I know. I don’t either.”
He really didn’t.
She looked at him and said, “I want to live.”
Tae-oh answered flatly, “Yeah. Me too.”
“Goddammit, I’m not joking! I didn’t volunteer to be a meat shield! I enlisted for revenge!”
Rian spat out her frustration and dropped down beside him. Back in Korea she would have been an untouchable beauty, but the current Tae-oh felt nothing.
“Then apply for the archer unit.”
Her eyes flew open. “How did you know I’m good with a bow?”
Uh… shit… what do I say?
His gaze fell on the thick calluses on her index finger and thumb.
“I can tell by looking at your fingers.”
Rian flinched. “You’ve got good eyes.”
“You need to be quick-witted if you want to survive.”
A sergeant who couldn’t read the room would never manage to slack off during work detail. But Rian’s next words were completely unexpected.
“Fine. I’ll trust you.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“I’m betting my life on you. You’re a veteran, aren’t you?”
He was a veteran—just not in this medieval hell.
“I won’t stop you from following me.”
Rian grinned brightly. “Good. Take care of me, Chief.”
“Chief?”
“Yeah. From now on you’re my chief. Hey!! Everyone who wants to live, get over here!”
What the…? Strangely, at Rian’s single shout people began flocking over in droves.
“Were you a soldier? Teach me how to hold a spear. If I die, there’ll be no one left to work the fields.”
“Me too! I might not be able to kill anyone, but at least teach me how not to die!”
It was an unexpected windfall. Tae-oh muttered under his breath, “You want to live?”
“O-of course!”
“Then first, let’s practice sticking together.”
And so the day of the second battle dawned.
“Stick together!!! Do not separate!!”
Thudthudthudthud— The earth screamed again beneath the thunder of hooves. A cloud of dust rose beyond the horizon as the Empire’s silver cavalry appeared. The exact same situation as last time.
“Everyone hold position! Plant your spears and brace your heels! Lean on the man next to you! Do not get pushed back!”
“G-got it!!”
Tae-oh’s roar rang out. Rian stood to his left, Kyle to his right. A solid defensive formation took shape with Tae-oh at its center.
“They’re coming! Hold the line!! Give it everything!! Do not drop those spears!”
Crunch—! Crash—!
A massive warhorse slammed into the side of Tae-oh’s unit. In his first life he hadn’t even been able to register it, but this time was different. No matter how tank-like the cavalry charge was, it was difficult to smash into a well-organized phalanx with spears leveled.
Every other formation had gaps everywhere; there was simply no reason to charge into Tae-oh’s perfectly formed square. The best-prepared received the least attacks. His squad members cheered.
“Th-they’re passing us by!”
“Don’t get complacent!! Maintain formation!! Infantry incoming!!”
Just as he warned, foot soldiers poured in behind the cavalry that had swept past. “Now! Thrust!”
At Tae-oh’s command the long spears shot forward in unison. He himself stabbed with every ounce of strength he possessed.
Squish—!
“Good!! Keep it up!!”
This time, Tae-oh thought, he might actually survive.
Crack—!
Tae-oh’s spear pierced straight through an imperial infantryman’s throat. The sixth one already. The memory of his first kill had long since faded. There was no more hesitation or clumsiness left in him.
He moved like a machine, cutting off enemy lives one after another. His palms were slick with blood but his grip on the spear never loosened. As if speaking to himself, he encouraged his comrades.
“It’s almost over!! Just hold on a little longer!! Then we live!!”
All they had to do was maintain the formation and endure. The battlefield had already become a slaughterhouse. The end would come soon one way or another.
How much time had passed?
“Huk, heok, huk!!”
Everyone, including Tae-oh, was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion. Yet the battle still raged.
Just a little longer! If we hold just a little longer it’ll end!
That was when something strange caught his eye.
Huh?
It was a heart icon identical to the one in his status window, floating above a soldier’s head. Drawn to it like a magnet, Tae-oh took a step forward.
At that exact moment the battlefield’s variable struck without mercy.
“Tae-oh!! What are you doing!!” Rian screamed.
But his attention had been stolen by the heart; his reaction was a fraction too slow.
Whoosh— Crunch—!
“Keheook!!!”
An enemy mace slammed into his ribs. The sound of bones shattering echoed inside his body.
“You fucking idiot!! We were doing so well!!”
His lung felt pierced; he couldn’t breathe. His mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood. Tae-oh staggered and planted a hand on the ground, but luck had deserted him. An enemy spearman charging from behind drove his weapon straight into Tae-oh’s fallen torso.
Crack. Squish.
The spear punched through his sternum and burst his heart. Extreme agony. Tae-oh couldn’t even scream as he collapsed face-first into the dirt.
“Tae-oh!!!!!”
Beyond his fading vision he saw Rian running toward him, screaming, but his senses had already gone dark.
“Wake up!! Wake up!! You worthless maggots!!”
With the clatter of a tin cup, Tae-oh convulsed awake.
Fuck… you stupid bastard….
The enemy forces had been mostly repelled. If he hadn’t been distracted he definitely could have survived.
Status Window Activated
Race: Human
Remaining Lives: ❤︎
Now only one chance remained.
“Ha… shit……”
A curse slipped from Tae-oh’s lips. But he had gained something.
That heart. I saw it clearly. The heart floating above an enemy soldier’s head.
It was unmistakably an extra life. Another chance that could grant him more opportunities.
Tae-oh clenched his fist tightly.
This changes the story.
His goal had shifted. Not simply surviving, but a way to seize yet another life. In game terms, it was like a bonus.
The corner of Tae-oh’s mouth curled into a bitter smile.
“Alright. Let’s give it a shot. Motherfucker.”