Shadow Stepping (2)
In the original story, the route by which Yahui obtained Shadow Stepping was somewhat arduous. That was because he only received it after hitting rock bottom in the most humiliating way possible and signing a contract—a Phantasm itself, no less—binding him never to harm the boss.
In other words, Shadow Stepping was a Phantasm that was never supposed to exist here. At least, not in this era.
'But this is the same Shadow Stepping from the original.'
I had no idea what twist of fate had produced this variable. Yet my entire body, along with the senses 'Yahui' had left behind, was shouting in perfect unison.
That it was that Shadow Stepping. Not a member of the same species—the very one I knew.
『How enviable.』
『Enviable indeed.』
That said, up until the moment Shadow Stepping melted into my shadow, I felt strangely no sense of making a contract at all.
I couldn't simply chalk it up to it being a provisional contract. If that were the case, then my contract with the Twin Dragon Blades was provisional too, and I should have felt nothing back then either.
But back then, I had sensed something meeting on a spiritual level. It wasn't like now, where I felt nothing whatsoever.
'Is it because of the difference in rank?'
Shadow Stepping was rated Folk-Tale class. Among them, it belonged to the lowest tier.
In practice, it was a trifling Phantasm barely distinguishable from an ordinary object. There was nothing strange about it being worlds apart from the Twin Dragon Blades.
'But the hidden functions of Shadow Stepping…'
Even a tool's usefulness changes depending on whose hands it lands in.
In that respect, Shadow Stepping—at least the Shadow Stepping that fell into 'Yahui's' hands—was no Phantasm that deserved to be rated a mere Folk-Tale class item.
As a support-type, Shadow Stepping was, for all intents and purposes, the pinnacle of its category: an object-type.
"Cadet Yahui. Was there a reason you chose that pair of shoes?"
Naturally, none of the others—including Captain Seo Ha-shin—knew that. And because they didn't, they took an interest in my choice.
Seo Ha-shin, holding a list of Phantasms just like the cadets, smiled faintly.
"As the description notes, that specimen was acquired only recently. No specimen of its kind has ever been captured before, so there's little intel on it. Its latent power is negligible, and it isn't the sort to harm its wearer, which is the only reason it made the selection list at all…"
Tap. The captain lowered the hand clutching his list to his hip.
"I'm curious why you so boldly picked a specimen whose abilities haven't even been identified."
The capybara eye-patch he was wearing felt oddly, piercingly cold.
"…The Twin Dragon Blades recommended it."
"Hm?"
『Hm?』
『Hm?』
"That's why I chose it."
The Twin Dragon Blades' taciturn dignity had cracked for a moment, but only I could hear their voices anyway, so no harm done.
I resolved to apologize later for using them as my excuse, and smiled brightly. Captain Seo Ha-shin dragged his words out in a long, thoughtful "Hmmmm."
"In that case, I have nothing to say. Do remember, however, that you may receive requests for cooperation later on."
"I'm sorry?"
"It's a common occurrence when a Phantasm whose abilities remain poorly understood gains a contractor. Did you not go through it with the Twin Dragon Blades?"
"Ah."
He meant those experiments to gauge the blades' reactions. They'd mostly been trivial little tests, so it hadn't occurred to me, but the explanation made immediate sense.
"Everyone, what are you doing? Keep dawdling like that and you won't get dinner. I won't tell you to rush your choice, but don't get too comfortable either!"
The moment I'd visibly accepted his point, Captain Seo Ha-shin withdrew. As a bonus, the stares that had been gathering on me scattered to the winds.
"Wow, so you can outsource choosing your Phantasm to another Phantasm."
But one person didn't let it go.
Pyo Do-seok.
"Sooo jealous. Some people have to run their feet bloody raw hunting for a good partner, you know."
His smirking face was the total opposite of his twin's, which looked like seriousness sculpted into human form. His voice, too. The raw timbre was similar, as befitting twins, but his manner of speech and tone were so different that even their vocal registers seemed to diverge.
"I'd love a partner like that too, wouldn't you? Then I wouldn't have to inspect every last antique one by one."
Separately from that, what on earth was I going to do with this guy.
While Pyo Do-seok ran his mouth, I deliberated a little, then deliberated a little more.
And I reached a conclusion.
Did I really owe him a response? All the mass media and internet posts I'd absorbed in my hospital room had taught me that 'engaging with provocations is a loss in itself.'
"I see, is that so."
This was the moment for meokgeum—the art of starving a provocation by denying it the reaction it craves. I mulled that wisdom over and smiled as gently as I could manage.
I saw him flinch.
"But I don't think you should be quite that jealous. From what I saw earlier, you're more popular than I am. At that rate, you'll be chosen by a Legendary-class before you graduate, surely. Of course someone as popular as you won't go unchosen."
Good. That was probably an exemplary meokgeum.
Having said my piece, I spun around and scampered off before Pyo Do-seok could sink his teeth into my words.
Call it bad luck or what have you. In fewer than five steps, I ran straight into Pyo Do-hyeok.
"…Could you step aside?"
"…"
At first I wondered if he was blocking me on purpose.
But Pyo Do-hyeok wordlessly stepped out of my way. Even as he did, that face like a monochrome portrait saw nothing but the Phantasms on the display stands.
"One minute until the Selection Ceremony concludes. Any Phantasm left unchosen—except those with contracts on hold—won't be seen again until next semester, so hurry and finalize your selections."
It was only in the final moments before the object-type Selection ended that Pyo Do-hyeok stirred from his deliberation.
* * *
The hour came after the Selection Ceremony and dinner alike.
During the free time allotted from 20:00 to 22:50, I fiddled with my smartphone. The recipient was Major Hong Seong-hwa, who had looked after me from time to time before I entered the academy.
Why had I suddenly reached out to her? The answer, naturally, was Shadow Stepping.
What was gotten was gotten, but I figured I needed to find out why it was here now.
The answer wasn't hard to find.
I had been the cause. Because I hadn't been dragged off by them, and had entered the academy instead. As a result, information about that group reached the military early.
And that was why Shadow Stepping had been at the academy.
I'd had no reason to look at my bank account, so I hadn't known. I opened the banking app for a moment. There it was—a number with many more digits than the one I remembered.
So let's see, how much was this. Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, ten thousands, hundred thousands, millions, ten millions…
…Reward money sure is sweet.
The Hwadam Military Academy was, by design, tuition-free—it even paid cadets a dignity stipend, of all things. In other words, there was almost no need to spend personal money.
And now reward money was layered on top of that? At least for the duration of my schooling, I figured I wouldn't have a single money worry. Once I graduated I'd enlist immediately and draw a salary, so finances wouldn't be an issue then, either.
I felt suddenly rich in spirit.
Incidentally, nothing much came after that. The major and I exchanged only small pleasantries and updates on our lives before wrapping up the conversation.
『Planning to sleep?』
『Bedtime already?』
The Twin Dragon Blades asked—the same blades who had graciously forgiven the little white lie I'd told earlier that afternoon. After a brief moment of thought, I shook my head.
"It's only ten. Bit early to sleep."
I'd organized all my notes from today's classes and finished a light review. But ending free time there and heading straight to bed felt like a waste, didn't it?
With the Twin Dragon Blades strapped to my back and earphones in my ears, I stepped out of the room. Fitness was the sort of thing where more was always better, so I intended to go for a jog.
The military English audio files distributed in class came flowing through the earphones.
"Ha."
It went without saying, but having a body that could run was a truly wonderful thing.
Leaving the officers' quarters behind, I ran toward the cadet mess hall located on the southern grounds.
Soon I could see the cluster where the religious facilities, the Cadet Center, the library, the club building, and the cadet mess hall sat huddled together.
'The Cadet Center's crowded.'
The Cadet Center was where everything gathered: a bank, a food court, a stationery shop, a general goods store, a post office, and sundry other conveniences. Since the cadets' free time was effectively limited to the evening, it stayed open quite late too.
And so the Cadet Center was still bustling with people.
Tap-tap-tap.
I circled wide around the Cadet Center and began angling my course.
Once I started running northwest, the cadet dormitories came into view after about five minutes. Hwasogwan—literally, the "Nesting Hall."
'That's where the kids live, I suppose.'
There were five Hwasogwan buildings in total, numbered one through five. They were assigned by year, with Building 1 housing the first-years.
My legs carried me along the walking path laid out behind the dormitory buildings.
"Hm?"
Perhaps it was while running and idly checking how many rooms had their lights on. The lights were off, but on one floor, someone stood out on a balcony.
Hair of vivid cherry red, unmistakable even in the darkness, whipped in the night wind.
"Seong—"
Unfortunately, Seong Gwon disappeared back inside her room faster than my voice could reach her. I felt a little embarrassed.
"With a voice like that, she won't hear you. There's a soundproofing ward between the building and the rear garden."
"Whoa!"
What the—why is a voice coming from right beside me?
"What's what?"
"Oh, sorry. Didn't realize anyone was there."
There were benches placed at intervals along the path, all right. I'd simply been so focused on the buildings that I'd missed the fact that someone was sitting on one.
Even by my own standards, it was a rather foolish mistake.
I pulled out my earphones and apologized.
"Su-u-ure."
My conversation partner regarded my excuse with dubious eyes, but let it slide. Thanks to the streetlamp, I could make out the face: Lee Hoe-uk, from my own fireteam.
A body far smaller than even our homeroom instructor Seo Ha-shin's sat on the bench, legs crossed.
"That'd better not have been sarcasm just now."
"Huh? Sarcasm about what?"
"…Never mind."
Come to think of it, I'd thought the same during introductions—that voice is genuinely no joke.
Not wanting to feel like I was looking down on him too much, I folded my knees and stole a glance at Lee Hoe-uk's face.
With ash-grey hair and grey eyes, his features were exquisitely delicate. If you looked through the lens of prejudice, he went well beyond "is that a boy or a girl" territory and squarely into "wait, isn't that a girl?" territory. In reality, he was male.
"By the way, were you out jogging?"
"Yeah."
"Diligent."
That voice, on the other hand, belonged to the category people call "cavern bass."
The tone was genuinely low and the resonance deep. It was exactly what you'd get if you rendered the rumble of a bass guitar performance in the form of a human voice.
"What about you, Lee Hoe-uk?"
"The kids were too loud. I evacuated."
"Ahh."
The dissonance was truly staggering… but at least it made him easy to remember. He was also one of the few cadets who didn't look at me with hostility.
"The Hwasogwan's not well soundproofed?"
"It's not so much the soundproofing…"
Lee Hoe-uk's voice trailed off at the edges.
His gaze slid briefly from me to the back of his own hand. On Lee Hoe-uk's hand, the Phantasm he had contracted today was wriggling—a thin, caterpillar-shaped Phantasm.
"My roommate doesn't get along with me. There are also a lot of kids running wild down the hallways now that they've got their Phantasms."
"I see."
Exhausting just to hear about. It was a scene I'd never encounter in the officers' quarters where I stayed.
"This might be an odd thing to say, but I'm jealous. Where I'm staying is so quiet I wonder if any humans actually live there."
"…Is that so."
Well, being able to roam outside this freely made up for it, didn't it?
I unfolded my crouched legs. If I wanted to make a full circuit of the academy grounds and return to my quarters, I needed to get moving.
"I'm off. Don't stay out in the cold too long. See you tomorrow."
"Right. You pace yourself too."
"Will do."
Having bid Lee Hoe-uk farewell, I kept running. The winter night air was cold, but refreshing.
* * *
"Pleasure to meet you, you little chicks!"
Day two had dawned. Today's first and second periods was a class held outdoors without textbooks: Live Combat.
"Well, well. Look at those faces. You're all just bursting with anticipation, aren't you?"
The venue for Live Combat was the Training Zone, which occupied half the academy grounds. The massive blast barriers enclosing it looked for all the world like a fortress.
"Can't blame you, really—the course catalog just says 'Live Combat' in bold letters. Of course your hearts are going pitter-patter. Ooh, am I gonna learn some insanely cool skills? Can I fight alongside my Phantasms, firing beams and whatever else?"
The instructor standing with his back to the barriers was an exceedingly boisterous man.
Seated in a military jeep, he hit the ground the moment the bell rang. Just one man dismounting, and the enormous jeep rocked on its suspension.
"Wake up, you chicks. Real combat against Otherworld creatures doesn't work like that—your Phantasms take the hits and do the killing while the humans cower in the rear, cowardly firing nothing but rifles."
The instructor made one slow, lumbering lap around the two platoons standing at attention. The way his gaze swept over us in the process felt precisely like an appraiser evaluating merchandise.
"That's not to say no soldiers fight up close and personal. Most of them just treat it as a supporting role rather than their main one."
For an instant, I had the feeling our eyes met.
But it lasted no more than a heartbeat, and I couldn't tell whether the glance had been intentional or not.
"Which is how it'll be for you too. Unless you're knocking on death's door, you won't be doing one-on-one wrestling matches with Otherworld creatures—otherwise you'll just be going bang-bang with your rifles."
Clap.
Having completed his lap, the instructor clapped his hands and aired out the stillness.
"So the practical skill you need to learn comes down to exactly one thing."
Beep.
At the same time, the instructor operated a remote control, and the sealed barrier doors began to open.
Kugu-gugu-gung. The heavy doors split apart to the left and right, revealing what they had kept hidden so tightly.
"Run for your lives, you little chicks. And don't you dare think about facing Otherworld creatures with the Phantasms you just got yesterday."
Beyond those doors lay one of the Training Zones that had appeared in the original story: the artificial forest.
A vast forest of over 2,000,000 square meters, artificially cultivated by the Hwadam Military Academy for cadet training.
"Oh, and anyone who survives until the end of class earns bonus points. Not that a single soul has managed it so far. But hey, give it a shot if you've got the guts."
And so began the first and second periods of Live Combat.