The First Day
I let out a deep sigh.
Before heading to work, Seo Dahee finished her shower and stood in front of the mirror, scanning her body as another heavy breath escaped her lips.
No matter how many times she looked, there wasn’t a single part of herself that she liked.
If only she hadn’t awakened as an ability user with Super-Regeneration, how much easier her life would have been.
If that were the case, she would have gone straight to a salon and tamed this dry, messy, unkempt hair of hers.
Because her body hair grew back so quickly, having to shave her armpits every single morning was an endless source of annoyance and hassle.
On top of that, there were her absurdly large breasts, her unnecessarily wide areolas,
those hideous inverted nipples buried deep inside, and the heavy dark circles under her eyes…
Not a single thing pleased her.
With those thoughts swirling in her mind, Seo Dahee quickly shaved her armpits, then with practiced movements, painted her fingernails and toenails black.
According to Management Bureau regulations, makeup was forbidden because it could stimulate anomalies, but fortunately, nail polish wasn’t specifically restricted.
“…Good.”
Only after meticulously checking every inch of her body did Seo Dahee finally speak to her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
“…Today is my first day on the Exploration Team, so I need to be more motivated than usual… You can do this, Seo Dahee.”
She was giving herself a pep talk, but her body trembled faintly.
That was unavoidable.
Fifteen years ago, humanity had been suddenly overwhelmed by the appearance of anomalies. Eighty percent of the population died, and most of civilization’s infrastructure collapsed.
The only places where humanity’s survival was still guaranteed were the handful of giant cities like the gateway city Nexus, where Seo Dahee currently lived.
Everywhere else had long since transformed into Nests—pocket dimensions teeming with all kinds of anomalies.
And yet, despite that reality, Seo Dahee—a mere civil servant with no real power—had dared to disobey orders from the Management Bureau, the organization that oversaw every remaining giant city in the world.
The punishment for her insubordination was this demotion to the Exploration Team.
The team’s primary duty was to venture beyond the walls surrounding the city, into the ruined wasteland, risking their lives to retrieve useful supplies or discover ways to fight the anomalies.
But everyone, including Seo Dahee, knew the truth: the Exploration Team’s so-called duties were little more than suicide missions.
‘At least the one silver lining is that my abilities are specialized for survival…’
At that thought, Seo Dahee’s complexion darkened.
‘But what good is that when I’m so bad at physical work… I’m definitely going to drag the team down.’
She had lost her parents to anomalies at a young age. The trauma left her living as a shut-in until she awakened her powers.
After that, in accordance with the Management Bureau’s laws regarding awakened individuals, she had been forcibly put to work.
It was Jincheon, her senior, who had helped her when she was struggling to adapt to social life.
‘He’s such a kind person…’
As they talked while he helped her, she gradually found herself paying more and more attention to him.
Of course, the others in the HR Team had been helpful too, but… how should she put it?
Their gazes tended to linger a bit too much on her chest?
It might have been her paranoia, but it made her uncomfortable.
All the women looked at her with nothing but disgust…
In the end, he was the only one who had shown her pure goodwill, and that was probably why her heart had been drawn to him.
Later, she learned that this kind senior of hers was actually famous throughout the Exploration Team by the alias Anomaly Hunter. She had been genuinely shocked.
He never went into detail about why he had joined the Exploration Team, but… she felt like she could guess.
After all, there wasn’t a single person in this city without some kind of painful story.
Maybe he carried the same kind of scars she did.
…Though the way he dealt with that pain was completely different from hers.
Whenever her thoughts drifted in this direction, she couldn’t help feeling the vast distance between them, and it left her strangely melancholy.
And now, in this situation, if she ended up being a burden to him during an exploration…
“This is the worst…”
Just imagining that he might come to hate her made her chest feel tight.
“And I already owe Senior Jincheon so much…”
Jincheon had willingly left the safety of the rear lines and returned to the front lines for the sole purpose of protecting her.
Even though the injuries he had suffered while serving in the Exploration Team had been severe enough to force his retirement.
“…I want to give him some kind of gift, but… I don’t even know what he likes…”
The moment the words left her mouth, a wave of self-deprecating sadness followed. How had she never even asked him something so basic?
“I’ll definitely do it later…”
A short while later, Seo Dahee forced her reluctant body away from the mirror and headed out to work.
“Hey, Dahee. You’re here.”
By the time the clock showed around 8 a.m., I waved at Seo Dahee as she arrived at the Exploration Team office tucked away in a back alley on the outskirts of Nexus.
“Yes, Senior Jincheon. You’re here early.”
“Well, I’m coming back after a while, so there was a lot to prepare. Had to get my personal equipment and artifacts ready. Plus, I needed to introduce you to the other agents.”
As I spoke, I picked up one of the guns lying on the office desk and handed it to her.
“Here. Most of the Management Bureau’s standard-issue gear is garbage, so I had this custom-made at a workshop. It converts your blood into spiritual energy and uses it as ammunition. They call it the Red Prayer.”
“Thank you… So this is what you meant by an artifact…”
When Dahee tried to peer down the barrel, I immediately stopped her.
“Hey! Never look down the barrel of a gun! Looks like I’ll have to teach you the basics from scratch, Dahee.”
“Ah… I’m sorry… I knew that from watching videos online, but I just…”
Seo Dahee looked thoroughly dejected.
I gave her a gentle smile.
“Of course you’d be fine, but there’s no need to risk a bad experience, right? Don’t worry about it too much. Just be careful from now on.”
While I was talking with her, the office door suddenly burst open and someone walked in.
A woman with white hair and a mysterious aura.
That must be the Exploration Team’s leader.
“Hello. I’m Lee Seoha, leader of the Exploration Team. You’re both early.”
Team Leader Lee Seoha bowed politely in greeting, and Dahee and I returned the gesture.
“For this quarter, we’re short on our Blood Crystal quota, so we need to hurry and make up the difference. The other agents have been out of contact for two weeks now after heading into the ruins… Therefore, as team leader, I will be joining the two of you on a direct exploration to rescue them.”
The team really hasn’t changed at all, I thought, nodding.
“Understood. In that case, we’ll finish Seo Dahee’s basic training and head straight into the field. Will we have enough time?”
Team Leader Lee Seoha remained silent for a moment before nodding readily. She must have already concluded that the other agents were beyond saving.
“Yes. There is sufficient time.”
While practicing shooting with me, Seo Dahee asked several questions.
“Um… shouldn’t we be heading out right now to rescue the missing agents?”
“Ah, you wouldn’t know yet, Dahee. Well… the survival rate for the Exploration Team is extremely low. Out of ten people who go on an exploration, only one or two usually make it back alive. Team Leader Lee Seoha has probably already given up on the rest of the team. That’s why she’s giving us this time.”
“I… I see.”
Dahee’s already pale face grew even whiter as her pupils trembled slightly.
“It’s a completely hopeless place in every way, but the compensation is just as good. The occasional relics from the outside world we discover, or the Blood Crystals we get from hunting anomalies—they’re worth that much risk. By the way, this team leader seems to be a relatively new model. She looks almost indistinguishable from a real person.”
“…? New model?”
When Dahee tilted her head in confusion, I explained in more detail.
“Oh, it’s tradition for Exploration Team leaders to be androids built during the old era. Think of it as a kind of insurance policy. Androids tend to be far stronger against anomalies than ordinary humans. Their role is to keep exploration activities going even if the entire human team is wiped out.”
“If that’s true, then why don’t they just replace all the exploration agents with androids?”
“There are several reasons. First, cost. Acquiring functional androids is extremely difficult, and losing one would be a massive loss. Also, androids are less sensitive to fear. While that can be an advantage, it’s also a disadvantage. Unlike humans, they tend to struggle with knowing when to retreat… And most importantly, they can’t use powerful abilities that create variables. Being tough and strong doesn’t actually help much against anomalies… In the end, they’re chosen as leaders because of their rational, logical decision-making and command ability.”
Dahee thought about my words for a moment, then nodded.
“I understand… If she’s an android, she probably can’t use this Red Prayer that relies on blood either… She must be at a disadvantage in many ways out in the field.”
“Exactly.”
After that, I spent the next two weeks giving Seo Dahee an intensive crash course.
Fortunately, she had excellent learning speed and comprehension.
She showed real talent with firearms too. The only problem was that her large breasts made running at full speed difficult for her.
At this rate, I judged that even if we headed out on an exploration right away, there shouldn’t be any major issues.
Even though common sense never applied when dealing with anomalies… how foolish that assumption would turn out to be.