Home Sweet Home, Part 7

"Yeah. Let's just do that~ Leave the east to Brother Je-Mal-Olh~"

Lee Jong-su was making calls from the waiting room. He called almost everyone ranked below the top ten.

"Ah, the starting point is random, of course. But just head west. It'll be easier that way."

Even without the calls, most of them would have chosen the west anyway, but he wanted to be sure.

"Offenders should stick together and help each other out, right? Haha."

Everyone seemed to agree.

"It's all about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠selection and concentration. Selection and concentration. We all trust Brother Je-Mal-Olh, don't we? He's so reliable."

In truth, even if they didn't say it out loud, plenty of people resented Seol Ha-woon. Not just the top ten who were competing for a debut spot, but also the lower-ranked contestants who realistically stood no chance.

A guy who used to be ranked 96th had suddenly shot all the way to the top.

Quite a few believed it was all thanks to Kim A-rang. It was a well-known fact that the PD favored Seol Ha-woon.

"Yeah, right. See you in the west then~ I'm hanging up, Seon-hye~"

After finishing his last call, Lee Jong-su checked his inbox again.

"Wow... This guy won't even send a single text back."

Even though it was almost time to start, Seol Ha-woon was still leaving him on read.

He had never been ignored like this, not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even by girls.

"Fine. Go ahead and keep doing everything on your own. Let's see who actually helps you~"

If he kept acting so high and mighty, no one would lift a finger for him. In fact, most people would just wait for the right moment to push him off a cliff.

"...And that Kim Du-gyeom guy, his whole act was so fucking fake."

All that orphan sob story, the orphanage stuff. Did he think he was the only one who could play the sympathy card?

My mom got cancer when I was eleven. Do you have any idea how hard that was for me?

"Keep up the hard work all by yourself~"

Let's see how well he does on his own, since he's so damn special.

I blinked, and twelve hours had already passed. It was time to dive back in. Half-asleep, I climbed into the capsule.

Descent.

Whoooooosh—

Twelve hours of sleep for me. In the labyrinth, fourteen days had passed.

Did the auto-hunting go well, or did some problem arise?

I felt a mix of anxiety and anticipation.

Thud!

The capsule slammed onto the ground. As the lid hissed open, the newly reinforced castle walls came into view.

A scarecrow stood atop the walls, and two men guarded the gate on the ground. They wore leather armor—civilians once, but now, they were soldiers.

I walked toward them.

"Inspector! You've returned!"

The soldier's eyes widened as he recognized me.

I asked them,

"Has anything happened inside the village?"

"Ah, nothing at all, sir. The scarecrows have been keeping a sharp eye on both the inside and the outside... haha."

The soldier looked healthy and well-fed. It seemed there were no food shortages.

I stepped through the gates. Smeshion and Akiman were the first to greet me.

"It's been a while, you two."

To me, it felt like I had just left, but they had already lived through two weeks.

"You arrived right on time."

[If you were any later, I was going to abandon you.]

Next, the village chief came running out in his stocking feet.

"You're here, Inspector! I have so much to report!"

He led me to the clinic. They hadn't been idle; the number of cots had increased to twenty, and there were four more nurses.

"We have prepared a large quantity of natural medicines."

I inspected the medical supplies.

"These pills..."

"The herb gatherer, Hyeon Dan, mixed and rolled them into pills. And over here, as you requested, are the jars containing finely ground herbs sorted by type."

Color-coded ceramic jars matching the different types of herbs were lined up in a cool, shaded corner.

"We have also prepared an herb garden. They are growing exceptionally well."

The chief opened the back door. Situated in a spot that received half-shade and half-sunlight was the [Herb Garden].

"Sergeant Hyeon has been taking excellent care of it every night."

"Yes. Excellent."

In other words, the auto-hunting was a massive success.

The chief smiled, then clapped his hands as if remembering something.

"Ah, right! The village's population has increased."

"Increased? How?"

"They seem to have heard rumors and sought us out. They are from a neighboring village we used to trade with, so we took them in for now."

Taking in refugees wasn't purely a good thing. It meant more mouths to feed.

The chief carefully gauged my reaction before continuing.

"But thanks to them, our granary is completely full. They knew the locations of abandoned fields that had been left behind due to the magical beasts. We harvested them quickly and returned."

[I commanded the operation.]

Smeshion let out a mechanical chuckle.

"Yes, yes. It was done alongside Sir Smeshion."

Either way, it meant our resources had grown.

"Yes. Good work."

At that, Smeshion turned his back and popped open his chassis.

"...Ah. Right."

I channeled my mana into him as promised. Sssssss. Smeshion devoured nearly 20% of my total mana pool before closing his chassis with a satisfied hum.

"Sergeant Akiman."

Akiman turned to face me.

"Please assemble the soldiers."

"Understood."

I walked out to the training ground.

Before long, the soldiers stood lined up in neat rows.

Their numbers were small—barely a single platoon. Even so, these were people who had risked their lives to volunteer to defend their home.

Along the edges of the training ground, their families, children, and friends gathered to watch.

"The magical beasts will be upon us shortly."

There was no need for a long speech. They knew the situation better than anyone.

"It will be a grueling, day-to-day struggle. Many will die. But remember this: we chose not to run, even knowing the cost."

In the past, my absolute first priority had always been the success of the mission.

To achieve that, everything—even my own life—had to be sacrificed.

"...So, for your own sakes. For your families, and for your neighbors."

But I didn't have to do that anymore.

Because I was no longer a soldier.

"Survive."

I turned to walk away.

But then, one of the soldiers snapped his hand to his brow. It was the salute I had taught them two days prior. Starting with him, the others raised their arms in unison.

"......"

I nodded silently.

Swoooooosh—!

Right on cue, a thunderous roar echoed from above. We all looked up at the sky.

Capsules streaked across the firmament like a meteor shower.

The forty-two members of the Offense Team were descending.

Hiss. The capsule touched down and hissed open.

"Phew!"

Im Hae-jun let out a deep sigh as he stepped out.

His stomach was churning. Honestly, he felt like throwing up. But pretending to be completely fine, he turned around, doing his best not to stumble.

Three mercenaries stood behind him.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Im Hae-jun."

Three A-rank mercenaries, costing a whopping 100,000 coins. Im Hae-jun had taken a massive financial hit this time. It was a strategic investment of sorts.

This team was meant to redeem him from the 'Cargo Labyrinth Incident' that still weighed heavily on his mind.

Seriously, people on the internet have been treating me like a total joke lately.

"I am the team leader. From now on, please follow my orders."

His role model was Seol Ha-woon. If it were that hyung, he would probably say it just like this.

"Now. This is the map."

Im Hae-jun unfolded a map.

"It's a rare item."

Obtained from a high-tier gacha pull, it roughly marked the locations of the enemy crystals and the allied bases.

"First, we will infiltrate enemy territory, destroy the crystals, and then fall back to a base to rest. We'll be running guerrilla tactics."

"Who will take the vanguard?"

One of the mercenaries asked. It was Kim Yong-tae, an A-rank mercenary with a thick, stubbly beard. Im Hae-jun stammered momentarily.

"...Vanguard?"

"The one who takes the front line."

"Ah~ the front line? You should've just said front line. People don't really use that word—I mean, we don't use that terminology anymore."

Im Hae-jun quickly adjusted his tone back to a serious register.

"First, Mr. Kim Yong-tae will handle the front line."

Kieeeeeek—!

The screech of a magical beast echoed through the air. Im Hae-jun hurriedly folded the map back up.

"Let's move!"

"Where are we going?"

Kim Yong-tae asked.

"First... to the east!"

Seol Ha-woon's base would be in the east. Thus, he decided to operate in that vicinity.

"Most of the bases are in the west, however. Wouldn't it be better to establish our route and strategy at a base first?"

Kim Yong-tae suggested. Im Hae-jun paused to think.

It was reasonably logical. There were indeed seven bases in the west...

But a comment he had read somewhere flashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning.

"...No. I am the team leader."

The reason "Je-Mal-Olh" was always right...

Was because he made even the wrong decisions right.

"We go east."

The sun had set. Torches atop the castle walls burned away the darkness, and a chilly wind swept through the night.

"They're coming!"

I climbed up onto the wall.

Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom!

Accompanied by the beating of the soldiers' drums, the first wave began.

"...There are so many of them."

The magical beasts were flooding in.

Magical beasts were different from standard monsters. Because mana flowed through their veins instead of blood, they evolved in ways entirely distinct from both humans and monsters. Consequently, their appearances were grotesque. Some had torsos where arms should be, legs where eyes should be, surviving in shapes that defied all common sense.

"Fire!"

The archers released their draw. Enchanted wooden arrows rained down upon the beasts.

Shhhhhk!

The arrows pierced the beasts' flesh. Their dismal shrieks settled over the battlefield like a heavy fog.

But it was only about thirty arrows ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at a time. The beasts numbered in the hundreds. By the time the wave ended, that number might swell into the thousands.

Grrrrrrr—

Despite taking fire, the creatures closed in on the walls. Smeshion sprang into action. Heavy weaponry deployed from his exoskeleton, unleashing a barrage of fire upon the enemy.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Akiman leapt down from the wall, drawing his sword. Clean, perfect lines traced through the air. With every strike of his blade, the severed bodies of the beasts were sent flying.

"Fire!"

Under the lieutenant's command, the archers and the Kesu-abi unleashed their volleys. The elite soldiers Akiman had personally trained also slaughtered the beasts outside the walls.

I... looked up at the empty sky.

"Tsk."

As expected, the difficulty had ramped up.

If I had to pick the most troublesome enemy in a defense scenario, it was undoubtedly flying monsters. It was incredibly difficult to deal with aerial threats from a ground base.

Before my regression, flying monsters didn't start appearing until the third or fourth day.

Yet, I could already see winged creatures in the distance.

"Inspector! Over there! There are enemies in the air too!"

The sharp-eyed lieutenant spotted them as well.

"I'll handle them."

I activated Sequence.

Snap.

The arrows slicing through the sky ground to a halt.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

The bullets firing from Smeshion's exoskeleton drifted forward at a crawl, and Akiman finally appeared to move at the speed of an ordinary human.

I calculated the number of airborne enemies.

Some flapped giant palms, others fluttered massive soles of feet, some beat giant eyeballs like wings, and others... how should I even describe them?

They were clouds of clumped flesh studded with multiple human eyes, noses, and mouths. At any rate, they were flying.

Using telekinesis, I lifted the wooden arrows.

Exactly forty-three arrows. But the arrows were merely a medium.

The Cognitive Image I would project onto them was—anti-aircraft missiles.

I read the flight paths of the flailing creatures, plotted perfect intercept trajectories, and launched.

Ssssssssh—!

Forty-three arrows painted trails across the heavens.

Becoming flawless guided missiles, they tracked and impaled the targets.

Meanwhile, Lee Jong-su's team took advantage of the first wave to penetrate deep into enemy territory.

The ground was carpeted with squelching, vein-like structures, and as they walked, they frequently stumbled upon things resembling human organs. This was the so-called 'Dead Zone.'

An area completely corrupted by magical beasts. Simply put, it was a beast habitat.

"Ugh, the smell is absolutely rancid... Where is it?"

Lee Jong-su asked Kim Dong-ha. Kim Dong-ha replied while staring at his radar.

"Almost there..."

The radar was an item obtained from a high-tier gacha pull. It captured the wavelength of the crystals.

"Wait. Not 'almost there,' it's right here. Look around."

"Here?"

Lee Jong-su looked around.

There was nothing resembling a crystal, wait—

"Hey. Isn't that it?"

An object that looked like a crystal was covered in purple, throbbing flesh. The other team members' eyes went wide.

"You're right. That looks like it."

"I thought it was just some structure."

Lee Jong-su drew his greatsword and swung it immediately.

Clang!

Kieeeeeeeek—!

Suddenly, the crystal let out a piercing shriek.

"W-what the hell?"

"Fuck, what is this?!"

Kieeeeeeeek—!

They looked toward the source of the sound. A mouth was attached to a corner of the flesh covering the crystal.

Kim Dong-ha quickly smashed it with his hammer, but it was already too late.

Grrrrrr...!

The rumbling of approaching magical beasts echoed. They weren't far. They would swarm the area in no time.

"Run!"

"Wait, let me grab the loot first!"

Lee Jong-su scooped up a single bead and several fragments that had dropped from the crystal, stuffed them into a cloth sack, and bolted. They ran frantically toward the rendezvous point where they had agreed to meet the mercenary team.

"There they... are!"

Fortunately, they managed to link up with the mercenary camp in time.

Lee Jong-su panted out,

"Mercenaries, let's head back to the base!"

"There is nowhere to go."

Lee Jong-su froze at the mercenary's words.

"...Excuse me?"

The mercenary gestured toward the distance.

"A fire was raging at a base. It was Ryu Wei's base, which they had assumed was reasonably sturdy."

"What... they couldn't even last a single day?"

"Let's move somewhere else first. Jong-su, what's your fatigue level?"

"30."

"I'm at 27. Did we push too hard? Should we head toward Kate's place?"

"That's too far from here."

"Then... where's the closest place from here?"

They unfolded their map. This, too, was an item obtained from a gacha pull.

"Yun Hwa-rim's place."

"Yeah. Let's go there. Move out!"

As he ran, Lee Jong-su asked the mercenaries,

"By the way, did you see what happened?"

"What situation do you mean?"

These mercenaries were B+ rank, costing 30,000 coins. Since they had been hired under a good-faith contract, they were relatively easy to communicate with.

"Ryu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wei even had an S-rank mercenary. Why did he fail so suddenly?"

One S-rank mercenary and about fifteen B-rank supports. Ryu Wei had spent a massive amount of his own money.

The mercenary gave a bitter smile.

"...An S-rank mercenary is highly unlikely to help with your work."

"What? Why?"

The mercenary replied in a low voice.

"S-ranks have always been selective about their clients. No matter how much you pay them, if they don't find you worthy, they won't obey your orders. The more you try to rein them in, the more they'll just laugh in your face. Especially..."

He swept his gaze up and down Lee Jong-su's team.

"If their employer is someone young and inexperienced like you..."