Dark Moon
I woke just before sunrise and looked down at the blanket spread beneath me.
A single blanket laid on the bare ground, and yet I'd slept as comfortably as if I'd been in a proper bed.
The best part is the bug repellent.
Insects wouldn't come anywhere near the blanket. A magic effect worth coveting.
I set my hand on the fabric and let mana flow into it, studying the spell formulas woven through the weave.
There's more than just magic applied here. This isn't a simple enchanted blanket.
As I examined the formulas, my eyes narrowed. Security measures were locked over the core spellwork — another layer of formulas overlaid on top to conceal the original. To dismantle the security and get at the heart of it, I'd have to take the blanket apart.
…If I tore into it and looked at the inside, I could probably get a feel for it. But this blanket belongs to Lexy.
I gave up cleanly.
It didn't have to be now. An opportunity would come later. Earning some money and buying one of these blankets for myself wasn't a bad option either.
Out of habit, I straightened up my sleeping spot, then shifted my gaze slightly to the side toward Instructor Lexy. She was still asleep — both arms thrown up over her head, legs sprawled wide open. Excessively free-spirited, even unconscious.
She was still in uniform, but the clothes had already come completely undone. Every button on her top was open, her bra fully visible, and her pants had slid down to her thighs. The black panties covering her private area were rather small in surface area.
I get it. It was hot last night, and a magic blanket may be comfortable, but it doesn't block heat. She must've stripped without realizing it.
Awkward situation.
I couldn't just keep staring at her body, and if I went over to fix her clothes and she woke up mid-way, I'd get the wrong idea pinned on me.
Hmm.
After a moment's deliberation, I decided to pretend I hadn't seen anything and looked away. Her bare body was still burned vividly into my mind — those full breasts, the pale, smooth-looking thighs, the skimpy black panties.
Lust stirred.
I quickly went looking for something to do.
Preparing breakfast.
The emergency rations I had on hand would last three days at most, so I needed to find food in this forest. I wandered the area, searching for edible plants.
Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep.
An alarm went off. The alarm magic Instructor Lexy had set up last night had registered me and triggered. I wasn't flustered. I'd deliberately walked into the alarm field so she'd wake up naturally.
I glanced back and met the eyes of Instructor Lexy, who had pushed herself up. She waved at me with a slightly dazed expression. Through the disheveled uniform, her breasts swayed. Even with a bra on, the fact that they bounced like that was startling — I turned my eyes aside.
After gathering a few edible plants, I approached her. My feet hesitated. Fifteen minutes had passed, and Lexy's clothes were still a mess. She was staring blankly into empty air with a vacant face.
"Instructor Lexy."
"…Call me Noona."
"Yes. Noona. If you're up, get ready already."
"Mornings are hard, okay? And besides… it's too hot."
"We're in the middle of a mission."
"Let's take it easy. Nice and slow, like we're on leave. Even if this is the worst place imaginable for enjoying a vacation…"
Instructor Lexy grumbled as she got to her feet. She straightened her clothes and tidied the sleeping area. Her face still looked half-asleep, but her hands moved without hesitation. The way she folded the blanket was razor-sharp. Whatever else she was, she was a soldier.
She pulled off her uniform jacket, stuffed it into her pack, and put on nothing but a thin T-shirt. The shirt was white, so her black undergarments showed through. I swallowed a sigh that tried to escape and did my best not to look at her body.
I conjured fire and water with magic, boiled the plants I'd foraged, and chewed through them. The taste was abysmal. If I'd had a weak stomach, throwing up on the spot wouldn't have been surprising.
No choice if I want to stay alive.
I wasn't in a position to be picky.
"Ugh, I feel gross. Should we shower before we move out?"
"There's nowhere around here to shower."
"We've got magic."
"…We need to conserve mana as much as possible. This is Rumel Forest, after all. We got lucky and didn't run into any monsters or beasts overnight, but there's no guarantee that luck keeps holding."
Producing water with magic was terribly inefficient. A small amount for drinking was one thing. Generating enough water for a proper shower burned through far more mana than you'd expect.
"Can't argue with that. You're better at this than I am, kid."
After finishing the meal, we checked our objectives against the map.
"Today's goal is to check this point. Tomorrow we check the one next to it. Even taking it slow, we should be done in five days."
"And if we check every point and still don't find the Resistance?"
"Then the mission fails. The intel was wrong from the start, so it's not on us. Don't sweat it."
Today she took the lead, pushing through the vines as she walked. Looking at her back, I scratched my head. Her sweat-soaked white T-shirt clung to her, outlining the line of her waist in full. A trained body — that waistline was beautiful enough to be a work of art.
"No. 211. Let's rest here. The heat's bad enough, but this humidity is driving me crazy."
Instructor Lexy lifted a cup, filled it with water via magic, dropped in a coffee tea bag from her pocket, and chilled it with ice.
I declined the tea bag she offered and just drank the ice water. Cheap tea bags weren't my taste.
"Grrrrrr…"
A three-horned jaguar appeared. A mutant beast. In this world, it was classified as a monster.
"A 1-Class Triple Jaguar."
"I'll handle it."
The moment I drew my pistol, the jaguar sensed hostility and charged. Sharp claws and yellowed fangs caught the sunlight and gleamed.
Barrier
Clang.
Unable to break through the barrier, the jaguar was thrown back by the rebound and charged again. I aimed at its open maw and pulled the trigger. A blue mana bullet scattered cold as it punched through the jaguar's brain. The beast's heavy body collapsed. Its head was frozen solid, ice-blue.
"You used a mana bullet? What a waste."
"I wanted it over quickly."
It was a mana bullet looted from the soldiers who'd been chasing us yesterday.
I took out a knife and butchered the jaguar, keeping only as much meat as we'd eat.
"Looks like we can fill up on meat for lunch and dinner."
"Barbecue's always good."
We cleared out before the smell of blood drew other monsters or beasts.
We walked through a forest that might as well have been a jungle. Instructor Lexy kept talking to me to kill the boredom. I answered her just enough.
Then, abruptly, Instructor Lexy clamped her mouth shut. I realized she'd spotted enemies.
Detection
I cast 2-Class detection magic.
An invisible wave radiated outward from me in every direction. The structure of the trees, the shape of the vines — all of it registered. I deliberately filtered out small animals and insects. Too much information degraded the accuracy of the scan.
At my current level, I could detect roughly a seventy-meter radius around myself.
"…Three people, two o'clock, fifty meters out."
"Right. Anything else?"
"Presumed male, carrying rifles. Not mana awakeners. Whether they're Resistance or Unit 105, I can't tell."
"Which side do you think?"
"Higher probability they're Resistance. If they were Unit 105, they wouldn't have sent just three."
"Same thought. Probably out on recon, or hunting. Hmm. What should we do?"
Instructor Lexy's eyes lit up as she waited for my answer.
"…Capture and interrogate them, or tail them quietly and find their base. Either seems good."
"I'm not confident with interrogation, so let's go with tailing."
"Yes. Lexy Noona."
At the "Noona," Instructor Lexy smiled with satisfaction. She stepped right up beside me and reached out to clap my shoulder.
"Alright then. Let's get started."
Her sweet body scent washed over me. I nodded without letting it show on my face.
We both cast Silence magic at the same time and moved in stealth.
The three of them were advancing slowly, checking their surroundings as they went.
The three men wore mismatched clothes. The shabby-looking outfits had no advantages beyond being easy to move in.
Rifles in hand. In this world, cheap guns you could pick up just by walking the city streets.
Definitely Resistance.
Instructor Lexy and I tailed them at about a ten-meter distance. If I'd wanted to, I was confident I could kill all three in under five seconds.
The power gap was absolute. I eased off the tension a little and followed behind them.
"Damn it. Why the hell do we have to do recon in this forest?"
"Because the army sent people to kill us."
"We don't have to go looking for them first. Just throw out some bait and they'll come running on their own."
"I heard they're snipers. Finding them before they dig in makes everything easier. You know how scary snipers are."
"I know. But can you even snipe properly in here?"
"The good ones can manage just fine."
They kept looping the same recon route. After walking for about two hours, they suddenly changed direction and headed somewhere else. Finally returning to their hideout.
We followed quietly behind them.
A cabin cleverly concealed beneath a massive tree came into view. Armed personnel stood watch around the cabin. Not that they were watching properly — they scanned the area with expressions that said they were thoroughly sick of it and couldn't be bothered.
I used detection magic to pin down the exact number and positions of the enemy.
Normally a camp like this would have countermeasures against detection magic… but this place has nothing. No precautions at all.
Including the three who'd just entered the cabin, seven total. I'd mapped every position. Five inside the cabin, two on watch.
They're Resistance, but the numbers are low.
There should have been at least thirty.
Looking at how small the cabin is… did they split their forces from the start?
I shook off the complicating thoughts and looked at Instructor Lexy. Whatever I thought, she held the decision.
Instructor Lexy waved her hands this way and that, sending hand signals. The meaning: wipe them out. Commence action.
I pulled the trigger immediately. Thanks to Silence magic, there was no gunshot at all. The bullets punched cleanly through the foreheads of the two soldiers on watch.
We stormed the cabin at once. I took the front; Instructor Lexy went through a second-floor window.
The moment I opened the door, three men looked my way. Killing them would be simple, but I needed them alive. I needed intel on the Resistance hiding in Rumel Forest.
"Shit! Freesel soldiers!"
"Open fire!!"
They leveled their rifles at me. Three muzzles spat fire.
Ting-ting-ting-ting-ting-ting!
The bullets bounced off my 2-Class barrier without penetrating. Their faces went pale.
"A m-mage! Get the mana bullets!"
They pulled pistols loaded with mana bullets from their coats. Too late. I'd prepared another spell alongside the barrier before I even opened the cabin door.
Electric Whip
A long stream of blue-white current erupted from my right palm. I swung the whip of electricity at the enemies.
Their pupils rolled up as the shock hit them. Unconscious from electrocution. As ordinary people, they should have died — but I'd twisted the formula slightly, dialing Electric Whip down to a stun-level output.
The two on the second floor… already handled.
At this range I didn't even need detection magic. I could feel it through my senses. I pulled rope from my pack and bound the unconscious men. I didn't forget to strip them of their mana bullets either.