Chapter 130
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 130: How to Set a Goal (4)
“Everyone, calm down. Sir. I think there's been a communication error.”
Park Siwoo, fitting for a Hero, was the first to regain his composure and calm his friends. He tried to express his opinion to the driver-soldier that the destination was wrong, but…
“What are you talking about? Don't tell me, you guys want to slack off? Hey, kids shouldn't be like this already! Using tricks because you hate the front lines? I'm worried about the future of you brats!”
The driver, no, the soldier, snapped at us as if he was dumbfounded. Sensing that something was terribly wrong, everyone protested. Na Yuri spoke firmly to the driver.
“What do you mean? We were supposed to go to the rear—”
“This vehicle was scheduled for the front lines days ago, and I received my orders correctly. Aren't you the ones who misunderstood something?”
“No!”
“...Did you get on the wrong vehicle? Hmm.”
When we finally got angry, the driver-soldier seemed to realize something was strange and faltered, but he didn't stop driving.
“I don't know. Hey, if you have a problem, go ask the Commander there. I'm just following orders.”
“That's…!”
While we were arguing, the vehicle had already entered a territory where Hunters fighting monsters could be seen in the distance. Occasionally, monsters would throw huge rocks or shoot wind at the shielded vehicle. Each time, the shield shook ominously with a Thud—! Thud—! Faced with the unexpected situation, the group all looked angry. On the extremely rough, unpaved road, our bodies were thrown about, but the kids didn't even have the leisure to care. Shin Baran glared and said angrily.
“What on earth is this? We need to file a formal protest!”
“Was there some kind of misunderstanding?”
“It's chaotic, so be quiet!”
The vehicle, now noisy with confusion, carried the frightened students toward the battlefield where the Hunters on the front lines were gathered. After driving for a long time, a building that looked like a temporary fortress finally appeared. In front of the building, Hunters were visible, as if waiting for us. Among them, a familiar face with pink hair and cold, sky-blue eyes was visible.
“Oh, that's Baran's sister!”
“My sister…?!”
It was Shin Barun. When Min Jaeyun shouted, Shin Baran looked up in surprise. And their eyes met. Shin Barun, having spotted her younger sister, looked as if she’d seen something unexpected. Her eyes widened, and she immediately began asking the surrounding Hunters something. In the meantime, the vehicle had stopped in front of the temporary fortress. The driver-soldier, acting busy, pounded on the vehicle's side, hurrying us.
“Get out!”
Just then, Shin Barun quickly approached and stopped the driver with her hand.
“Wait.”
“What, uh…? Captain Shin Barun?”
“I have something to confirm.”
“Yes, yes, ma'am!”
The driver-soldier, intimidated by Shin Barun's imposing aura, respectfully opened the door and quickly stepped back. Shin Barun yanked the door open, climbed aboard, and asked coldly, without even a greeting.
“Weren't you all supposed to go to the rear?”
“Barun-sunbae!”
“That, that ahjussi kept—”
Finally, thinking they had found an ally, the pent-up frustration they had been holding back burst out. Shin Barun, who had been quietly listening to the kids' jumbled-up words, banged on the vehicle's frame.
“Quiet! There seems to have been confusion in the chain of command. For now, everyone, return to the Academy! Hey, you! Drive again—”
“Huh, huh…! Captain! The, the Commander!”
The driver-soldier's eyes went wide as he pointed behind Shin Barun. From far away, a commotion was approaching. It seemed the Commander himself had come. This also seemed unplanned; the Hunters who had been murmuring among themselves quickly snapped into formation and saluted. The man who received the salutes waved his hand dismissively and came straight to our vehicle. A gray-haired man with a magnificent beard smiled slyly at us. Shin Barun was silent for a moment, then expressionlessly greeted the man who had approached.
“Greetings, Commander. What brings you here?”
“It's been a while, Captain Shin Barun. It’s nothing much, just came to check if the reinforcements arrived safely.”
“...You yourself, Commander?”
“Yes. I was worried there might have been an accident, but it seems there was a problem?”
“Yes. The researcher reserve force system was implemented today, and personnel conscripted from there were supposed to come to the front lines, but Academy students came instead. It seems to be a mistake, so I believe they should be sent back.”
Shin Barun said as much, but the man called the Commander stroked his beard and let out a noncommittal hum.
“Well… isn't the front lines and the rear both the battlefield anyway? In my opinion, Hunter-trainees would do better than the researcher reserve force. How about we deploy them as is and proceed with the operation? I checked, and it seems the researchers have arrived at the rear, and the numbers match perfectly. Neither the front lines nor the rear will have to suffer from a lack of personnel.”
As the Commander replied, a small crack appeared in Shin Barun's expression. She bit out her words.
“...Did you swap them?”
“It's merely an error resulting from information confusion.”
“I will file a formal protest.”
“Go ahead. Though I don't know how long it will take. But we can't just leave the personnel shortage as is, so we'll continue to deploy these children to the battlefield in the meantime.”
But the Commander smoothly retorted Shin Barun's words. Right.We were swapped out for the researcher reserve force that was supposed to come here. The Hunters who actively sided with the researchers... the so-called 'anti-researcher reserve force' faction... were doing the researchers a favor. The current Hunter world was divided on how to deal with the unusual situation, and as they continued to fight, they hadn't been able to narrow the gap at all. On the issue of how to supplement the lack of Hunters, the opinion that researchers should be primarily conscripted and the opinion that more Academy students should be utilized clashed, intensifying the dispute. The reason for this, of course, was the long-standing conflict of interest between prominent families. The conflict that had continued between the prominent families that primarily produced researchers and the prominent families that primarily produced Hunters had been ignited by this incident. They said that even within the existing Awakened Society, the researcher cartel and the Hunter cartel were divided. ...Well, this is a story for the higher-ups of the Awakened Society. Government-Sponsored Awakened or Awakened who don't know about such infighting are just swept along. And we were in a state of being played by the researcher cartel's underhanded trick. The reason we were so easily swapped, despite having students with strong backgrounds like Shin Baran, Na Yuri, and Park Siwoo, was because they were the heirs of families that had long been in conflict. That was it.
“What? What's going on?”
“Are we really being deployed to the front lines?”
“This is troublesome…”
Most of the students in this vehicle were probably in the same boat. It's good if we get hurt, and even better if we die, is that it?They play so dirty. I gently grasped the hand of Na Yuri, who looked tense, and assessed the situation.
“...We'll have to protest through our families.”
“Yeah. I'm going to file a formal complaint, too!”
“There's a limit to how much they can look down on us!”
I tuned out Na Yuri, Min Jaeyun, and Shin Baran as they vented their anger, and sank into thought. There wasn't much we could do in this situation. The special circumstance of 'war' has the power to conveniently gloss over all sorts of absurdities. Shin Barun and the other Hunter cartel families would protest and take action, saying, ‘We cannot leave students in an unstable environment where even simple orders are not delivered properly.’ As a result, we would return to the Academy, but it would probably take at least a week. In the meantime… I'll have to level up.
“Are you okay?”
“U-un…!”
I checked on Min Jaeyun, who had frozen up, and waited for the argument between the Commander and Shin Barun to end. Shin Barun spoke, as if growling.
“You don't seem to fear the consequences.”
“At least the people in the rear will prepare for my retirement, you see.”
“...How blatant. However, I will take them under my command starting now. They are still young students, so they will need support. I will take responsibility for them.”
“That—”
“It would be best if you don't think of touching this, either.”
Shin Barun glared coldly at the Commander and spoke.
“I have many ways to make it so you can't receive the protection of those 'people in the rear'. Back off, at this point.”
“They must also participate in areas short on personnel.”
“I'll handle it.”
“Very well.”
The Commander seemed to decide he had achieved his goal and took a step back.
“Now, students! No, Hunters! You may follow the senior Hunters!"
In the end, we entered the temporary fortress built on the front lines. The students were all stirring with anxiety, but, as if overwhelmed by the fear of the field, they couldn't chatter as loudly as they had in the vehicle.
“Go to the barracks matching the number you received!”
We were each assigned a number and entered the barracks. As if they had considered the party compositions, the women in our party were in the same barracks. The men seemed to be using a nearby barracks with other males.
“Now what? Do we unpack? It seems like it's confirmed….”
“I guess so. Should we check our weapons first? From the way they're talking, it doesn't seem like they'll deploy us today.”
“Yeah…”
“I'll go ask if there are any supplies we need to receive.”
“Ah, I-no, I'll go too.”
I waited for Na Yuri and Shin Baran to return and unpacked my things with Min Jaeyun. Should I call it a relief? The weapons I had meticulously checked and packed in the morning were fine. We hadn't brought much, so there wasn't much to organize in the empty barracks before the supplies arrived. Min Jaeyun and I finished organizing quickly and sat on a convenient spot. And after some time had passed,
“Is this it?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Na Yuri and Shin Baran arrived at the barracks with Park Siwoo. If your Inventory level isn't high, it's always full of combat gear, so you have to carry miscellaneous supplies by hand. It seemed Park Siwoo had helped our barracks' group.
“Hi, Siwoo!”
“Hi.”
When I greeted him brightly, Park Siwoo smiled gently and greeted me back.
“Did you guys finish organizing?”
“More or less. Some others were assigned to get the supplies, so I was just outside.”
“I see.”
I organized the supplies while making small talk with Park Siwoo. Basic things like blankets and clothes were distributed to each of us. As they were supplies, the quality of the fabric wasn't very good.
“Meal is in 2 hours. And they said senior Hunters will be assigned to each barracks.”
“Senior Hunter?”
...Umm. I hope it's someone nice. I recalled the atmosphere of my part-time jobs, which changed depending on the boss, and nodded with a reluctant feeling. And at that moment,
“Hey, is everyone in there? Coming in?”
A somewhat cheeky voice came from outside the tent. I paused for a moment at the strangely familiar voice. The owner of the voice, as if having no intention of waiting for permission, boldly lifted the tent flap and revealed himself inside the barracks.
“This person is….”
“Your assigned Hunter.”
“It's Garam-ssi!”
“Yep. It's Choi Garam. The Captain told me to come right away, so I guess this was why, huh?”
“It's been a while, Hunter Choi Garam!”
Right. The person who had suddenly appeared was Choi Garam.