The Silver Witch's Descent
The freezing darkness of the abandoned mining base had held me for the full half-day.
Finally, the Kronos Mercenary Group’s recovery team arrived, looking like angels sent to save me.
My battered Bugbear hung from a heavy crane and was lifted into the recovery transport. I had to return to the base while feeling the complicated, subtle gazes of the other mercenaries boring into me.
“You survived alone? A rookie who’s been here less than a month?”
“Is he a pirate spy?”
The moment I stepped inside the base, a call came through my comms from Commander Bulldog.
I had expected it.
I swallowed the dry lump in my throat and opened the door to his office.
“Sit down, Cog 7.”
I silently took the seat in the cheap, sagging chair placed in front of him.
Leaning back against the backrest, the faint creak echoed unusually loud in the quiet room.
“I’ve already heard the report.”
Bulldog finally spoke.
“Now explain it yourself, directly from your mouth. Your junk heap was tossed into the fires of hell twice before barely crawling out. Yet you’re in perfect shape with not a scratch on you? You even took out six veteran pirates by yourself? Do you actually think this makes sense, you brat?”
As expected, he didn’t believe me.
No, he simply refused to believe it. That stubborn man hated admitting the variables beyond his control.
But if I showed any weakness here, his suspicion would turn into full conviction.
This world — at least the mercenary bottom layer I was in — respected results.
No matter how miraculous or unreasonable the process, I had decided to stake everything on that single possibility.
“The report is exactly as I stated. I was ambushed and broke through everything I could to survive. My teammates were just unlucky. I was lucky. That’s all. Did you expect some grand secret?”
I met Bulldog’s eyes straight on and answered.
I deliberately mixed extreme fatigue, a touch of irritation, and the annoyed tone of ‘why are you asking more now?’ into my voice.
“Luck?”
Bulldog let out an incredulous snort.
His eyes were still full of suspicion.
“Just luck and you took down six veteran pirates? Cog 7, how long have you been here? Your head’s already spinning out of your ears?”
His suspicious gaze swept over me from head to toe, digging like it was trying to read lies in my pupils.
“It was your luck that cost Kronos three machines and three pilots. Yet you came back unharmed? Did you use some special trick? Or did you have another motive from the start?”
But I didn’t back down.
I even leaned a little more comfortably against the chair and countered with casual sarcasm.
“Special trick? What kind of special trick could I pull with this scrap Bugbear?”
I tapped the Cog 7 emblem on my shoulder with a finger.
“I simply went on the mission you ordered and returned alive. Isn’t the mercenary code simple? First, survive. Second, complete the mission. Third, receive just compensation.”
I held up one finger after another and said it.
“What more proof do I need? You’re handing out credits just to get rid of me?”
Bulldog’s face flushed bright red.
He looked ready to leap over the desk and grab my collar at any moment, his fists clenched tight. Then he exhaled roughly, suppressing his rage.
Nothing I said was wrong. The world of mercenaries honored results above all.
That was exactly why he understood it better than anyone.
“…Enough.”
Bulldog finally gave up, reluctantly pulling two credit chips from his drawer and tossing them onto the desk.
The chips slid with a sharp clatter across the surface.
“Here’s your pay. Basic mission completion: 2,000. Special performance bonus: 3,000. Total 5,000 credits. Confirm it right in front of you and get the hell out!”
I picked up the chips and had my personal terminal scan them.
[+5000 CR]. [Total credits: 8,350 CR].
Cold, precise numbers floated into my retinal HUD.
It had only been a few days since I was scraping by on 350 credits. My heart beat a little faster.
“Confirmed.”
“Then get out! I don’t want to see your face for a while!”
Bulldog waved his hand irritably.
I shrugged lightly, stood up, and left the office.
Before closing the door, I stole one last glance at his complicated expression.
I headed straight for the hangar after leaving.
My Bugbear stood in the darkest corner of the hangar, looking utterly wrecked.
Scorch marks from plasma and beam weapons were clear. Several sections of armor had been torn away, exposing the ugly internal frame.
The laser rifle on the right shoulder was missing everything except the mount. The left Vulcan cannon’s barrel was crushed inward.
I stood in front of the Bugbear and stared at its miserable state for a moment.
Paradoxically, a strange sense of attachment stirred in me.
Without this scrap pile, I wouldn’t be here now.
Good. Now I’ll make you useful.
First, repair the damaged armor and actuators. Then use the remaining credits to buy parts that’ll help in close combat…
At that moment, a new system window appeared in the corner of my vision.
[Condition met: First battle completed and credits held at a certain level or higher]
[System function unlocked: Store]
Store? I blinked.
Was this the exact store function from the game? The semi-transparent window displayed categories like [Weapons], [Armor], [Actuators], [Sensors], [Special Parts], [Consumables].
When I tapped, lists and prices for each part appeared.
Starting from basic components for the Bugbear, I saw second-hand laser rifles that looked decent and spherical missile pods.
But my gaze shifted elsewhere.
The [Armor] category held a full-body reinforced titanium alloy set, yet it cost over 10,000 credits — out of reach.
The [Weapons] category included plasma swords and vibro-axes for close combat, but my Bugbear’s current output looked too weak to handle them properly.
Plus the prices were steep.
In the end, my only choice was the [Special Parts] category.
[Item: Small Reaction Core Booster (Grade C)]
[Effect: Temporarily boosts reactor output, increases mobility and energy weapon efficiency]
[Penalty: Increased risk of reactor damage if overloaded]
[Price: 4,500 CR]
The Kinetic Flow skill was powerful but consumed energy like crazy.
With this booster, I could run the skill much more stably.
It would replenish the energy I spent using the skill and raise the skill’s effectiveness by improving mobility itself.
4,500 credits. Most of my entire fortune. But the value was worth it.
With the remaining credits, I could swap out the damaged armor sections and a few core actuator parts. Yeah… not perfect, but a thousand times stronger than before.
“Alright, decided.”
It was the exact moment I was about to press the purchase button.
Weeeeee-! Beep-beep-beep-beep!
Red emergency lights began flashing across the entire hangar with a loud warning siren.
“What, what is it? An ambush?”
A maintenance worker dropped a wrench and shouted.
“No, that sound… no way! This can’t be!”
The mercenary who looked like he knew about machine maintenance turned white as a sheet and muttered.
“Outside! Look through the window! Oh my god… what is that silver light?”
Merchants and maintenance crews inside the hangar started moving restlessly, rushing out or crowding the windows.
The murmuring grew louder and louder.
I, too, was startled. I quickly closed the store window and ran toward the hangar entrance.
That engine sound… somehow felt familiar.
Like the sound I’d heard in the game.
And I saw it. And everyone in the hangar froze, staring.
A dazzlingly bright silver-white machine descended silently over the dusty landing pad of the Kronos base.
The machine was roughly the size of a normal medium mecha, but the pressure and technological difference pouring off it was as vast as heaven and earth.
“That… that’s… Icarus Technology’s…!”
“Silvera! It’s Yuna’s machine!”
A mercenary shouted almost like a scream.
His voice trembled with awe and disbelief.
“Holy crap, it’s real Silvera! I only ever saw photos or videos… the real thing is a complete work of art?”
“If it stands next to it, my Bugbear will just look like scrap metal… no, it already is scrap metal.”
A self-deprecating chuckle rang out.
“So in the cockpit… is it really the Silver Witch, Yuna?”
“Silver Witch Yuna! Why is she at some backwater mercenary base? Dream?”
“Could it be a scout offer? Wow! Who? No way me? I washed my car yesterday!”
Someone stroked his hair with hollow expectations.
The surrounding mercenaries whispered with excitement, awe, and a hint of idle hope.
Their reactions were completely normal.
Silvera and its pilot, the Silver Witch Yuna, were living legends in the mercenary world of the game.
Overwhelming skill, outstanding beauty, and an air of mystery wrapped in a veil.
A moment later, the cockpit hatch of Silvera opened silently. A figure in a white pilot suit stepped out.
Silver-white hair swayed below the shoulders. Flawless white skin felt unreal. The perfectly fitted white suit revealed her flawless figure.
Exactly as I’d seen in the game.
“Whoa… she’s a real goddess…”
Someone murmured, dazed.
“Is she human, or an android made by the corporation? Too perfect!”
Yuna ignored the overwhelming gazes of admiration, awe, and hidden desire swirling around her as if they didn’t exist.
Her eyes swept through the crowd like a search radar searching for a target.
And finally, they met mine, frozen at the hangar entrance.
“You. Cog 7.”