Training Camp # 4
Training Camp # 4
"Whoa!"
The exclamation burst out of me the second we stepped inside!
"This is just pure wreckage!"
It looked like a straight-up post-apocalyptic landscape!
Half-destroyed concrete buildings were scattered everywhere, and legendary discontinued cars like Damas and Ticos lay completely trashed.
"Right? Why is it all ruins?"
"Everything is smashed."
Leona and Si-hoo were puzzled too, and the other cadets who came in were gaping, letting their surprise show. I mean, I get that it's a set, but they wrecked it this badly?
Did it get attacked or something?
"Alright, everyone. Settle down. This is the outer district, so the destruction level is high. Here's the setup for the scenario... This place has been hit by monsters, monsterkin, and villains. The premise is that the initial response failed and the city was reduced to ruins. But if you go deeper inside, there are relatively intact areas."
"Oh."
So we train under those scenario conditions? Now that I hear the explanation, it feels pretty immersive. This looks like fun. Training in post-apocalyptic ruins like this.
Looks doable at a glance.
"Ruins or not, the fundamentals remain the same. There's absolutely no shortcoming when it comes to training for urban combat."
"Yes, that seems to be the case. Wow. Train in a place like this and I'll become an urban warfare expert in no time, don't you think?"
"That's an excellent attitude, Kim Geun-cheol."
Let's see.
No matter how I look at it, there are a ton of obstacles. I'm sure people like Si-hoo and Leona will run around here like they own the place, but I'm not there yet.
I have to move while overcoming obstacles as efficiently as possible.
"Everyone follow me. We're going to tour the whole area from now on. Familiarize yourselves with the terrain and features as we look around the stage. Once the tour is over, we'll begin the first phase of training."
"Yes!"
Just like that, we walked through this ruined set following Instructor Lee So-ra like kids tailing a teacher on a field trip.
"Whoa, but just how big is this site?"
Is land cheap around here? Not only did they surround a set of this size with a barrier wall, but they filled it with these buildings and junk cars.
"Must have cost a fortune to build this."
"It certainly looks that way."
Si-hoo looked around and nodded at my comment.
"You really do have to spend a lot of money to do things right. This is an incredibly realistic space. If a Dimension War broke out again, I imagine it would feel like this."
Real-life Seoul in flames.
"Hm."
But that thing Leona just said.
Seems like a flag.
"..."
That's exactly what happens when we become third-years. A future where a massive rift opens, everything swarms in, and it all gets wrecked. Si-hoo would have to defeat their head honcho there to win.
"Huh? Geun-cheol?"
"..."
Will Si-hoo really be able to pull that off?
"Geun-cheol? What? Is there something on my face?"
"Huh? No."
I was lost in thought for a second and ended up staring blankly.
"Hmm. You, Kim Geun-cheol?"
"Yeah. Leona, what is it?"
"Lately, you seem a bit drained now and then, you know? Is something tiring you out?"
"What?"
Tired? Well, since I'm moving my body all the time anyway, of course I'm tired.
"Right. Geun-cheol. Do you have some kind of worry?"
"Nah, not really."
My face must have given it away because I was thinking weird thoughts for no good reason. I need to work on my poker face.
"Maybe I'm just sleepy? Probably because I tossed and turned, all excited for the training camp."
"For someone who tossed and turned, you sure snored like a beast, Geun-cheol."
"Snoring means I was sleeping restlessly."
"Huh? Really?"
Si-hoo tilted his head.
You didn't know that?
"Yeah. Bad sleep quality makes you snore."
"Why was Geun-cheol's sleep quality bad?"
"Who knows... More importantly, you snored like crazy too, Si-hoo."
"Wh-what?! Stop lying!"
"Tch. Bullshit. Grrrrrrack! You were doing that all goddamn night? Heh heh heh."
"Geun-cheol, I swear I will punch you in the mouth!"
When I bullshitted him a little, Si-hoo's face went red and he shrieked at me. Seriously, Si-hoo cracks me up every goddamn time I see him. What kind of guy cares about snoring?
"Hmph. Perhaps it was too high-class for you and didn't agree with you. Try drinking some lukewarm water before bed."
"Heh heh heh, guess I should."
Anyway, we wandered through the ruins shooting the breeze with friends like that. Walking around made me think all sorts of things. A world smashed to pieces like this. It's truly horrific. I can never handle that kind of future... I have to stop it no matter what.
Well. From what I can see, whether it's windows, building exteriors, or utility poles toppled at a 45-degree angle, there's a real variety of obstacles. For superhumans, this place must be a space where they can maneuver totally freely.
The perfect stage for superhumans to show off.
—Clank.
As we were moving, I heard some weird mechanical sound.
"Now, look over there."
"Oh! What is that!"
—Clank-clank.
A spider-robot-like thing came clanking out of an alley!
Its appearance was literally a spider mine... a robot shaped like a round, flat mechanical disc with six spider-like legs attached.
Something like a hemispherical mirror ball was protruding from the center of the disc. Don't tell me that thing is—
"It's a mobile hologram machine. Watch."
—Beep.
The moment Instructor Lee So-ra sent a message somewhere.
—Bzzzzzzt!
The mirror ball emitted light!
"Whoa!"
A hologram of a monster rose up above it!
"Whoa!"
"That's amazing!"
"So they make moving monsters with that thing!"
With something like this, they could use the machine's legs to actually move the hologram monster around!
"Grrraaaaaar."
The hologram monster let out an audio roar, opening its mouth wide.
—Clatter-clatter.
And the spider legs attached to the machine started moving busily. That made the hologram monster move just like a real monster.
This is realistic as hell.
"A great number of those machines are deployed around here. We'll be using them for training. Just make sure your attacks only hit the hologram. They're expensive, so be careful not to damage the machinery."
"Understood!"
"Yes!"
A ruined city swarming with machines like this? I'm already getting pumped up. From a rough look at the schedule, it seems like we'll be taking down hologram monsters in the ruins, gaining experience, and getting feedback. I'm dying to get started already.
"Hell yeah!"
Like that, we toured the ruins thoroughly, checking out the hologram monsters stomping around everywhere.
We went inside the buildings. Climbed on top of the junk cars too. And we even had fun infiltrating a building by climbing a utility pole that was rammed into its window.
But none of these buildings have shutters.
"Nowadays, all buildings are required to have steel shutters and doors because of the building codes, but they didn't used to."
"Is that it?"
That makes sense. It was kind of distinctive. The moment the emergency alarm goes off, the windows and doors all slam shut with steel shutters.
In a world with monsters, that must be a mandatory feature when they put up a building. It's essential fire-and-safety infrastructure.
"Alright. That should be enough of a tour. We'll form squads now."
When we returned to the starting point, Instructor Lee So-ra said that.
Guess it's about to begin.
"After forming squads, we will immediately commence the first phase of training. You will be deployed to the battlefield and must eliminate an E-rank monsterkin that commands F-rank monsters."
Those spider robots will be moving around busily.
"Naturally, it is just holograms, but the equipment you're wearing does not lie. If you take a hit and get a death verdict, quietly raise both hands and return. Form squads of four. Execute."
"Execute!"
"Execute!"
We have to gear up before deploying for training.
But forming a squad is simple.
We've already been grouped up for a while.
"Among us, Geun-cheol is the weakest."
"Honestly, even if there were several Kim Geun-cheols, I feel like I could beat them all by myself."
"True."
Aren't you guys being way too cold-blooded!
"Hey, am I really that weak?"
"You don't know the first thing about swordsmanship. Hey. Anyway, it's combat training, so let's figure out our positions."
Yu-ri skillfully brought up the topic of positions.
"Kim Geun-cheol, since you're weak, just stick behind us and watch the field of vision. Who wants to do the forward scouting?"
"I'll do it. I'm confident."
Si-hoo raised a hand.
"I'm confident too, but sure. It's team play here. I'll move together with Kim Geun-cheol."
"Then Lee Si-hoo on the front line. Me on the second line. You two take the back. Wait, but we're all melee DPS?"
"A hellish 4-melee-DPS party. The comp is a total mess. But it can't be helped."
A hellish 4-melee-DPS party, for god's sake.
The comp really is insane.
Melee DPS refers to superhumans specialized in close-quarters combat. Coincidentally, all four of us are the type who charge into enemy lines with blades or hold our ground in melee—none of us are ranged attackers.
If melee DPS can just smash through everything together, that's the best, but there's no way that's actually possible... The comp really is trashed. How come no one here can do ranged? This is the sort of problem that could be covered with guns, but we don't have guns right now.
"This is insane, seriously. Hey. With 4 melee DPS, can we even deal with ranged monsters?"
"It'll be tough. And we said 4 melee DPS, but apparently it's actually 3 melee DPS. Kim Geun-cheol isn't a DPS, he's just a ward."
"What?! No! This isn't Angel Leona, this is Devil Leona! Isn't that too harsh!"
"I was just stating a fact, ward Kim Geun-cheol! Ward Kim Geun-cheol, just keep your eyes peeled for vision!"
"Yeah!"
Ward Kim Geun-cheol, my ass!
* * *
"Urban combat rule number one. Take cover. Use the surrounding terrain to conceal yourself."
Before deploying for training, Instructor Lee So-ra gave us a tip.
"Simple monsters aside, when facing intelligent monsterkin or villains who are cunning humans themselves, you must take cover. The risk of sniping and ambushes always exists. You must search for the enemy while staying hidden."
All of this is advice you can take to the bank.
I jotted down notes on my phone while listening to the explanation.
"Be careful not to enter the enemy's line of sight, and secure your own line of sight first. Then if you launch a surprise attack, you can seize the advantage. The most important things are cover and preemptive strikes. Understood?"
"Yes!"
"If you openly show yourself trying to locate the enemy, you just become a target. Remember that monsterkin and villains enjoy long-range attacks. Alright, Squad 1 prepare to deploy... Still, this is surprising. Four melee types. You're in for a rough time."
I wholeheartedly agree.
"The rest of you, this way. Cameras are installed throughout the training ground. We will watch the combat footage of your classmates, discuss it in real time, and provide feedback. Alright, Squad 1! Deploy! Eliminate the E-rank monsterkin controlling the monsters and return!"
—Clank.
I tightened the electronic gear I was wearing.
"Alright, hellish 4-melee-DPS party! Let's move out!"
I followed behind Leona, who shouted like a general as she drew her training sword!
"Waaaaaaah!"
"Geun-cheol! Conceal your presence! Conceal your presence!"
"Stop screaming war cries!"
With Si-hoo and Yu-ri yelling at me, we stepped into the ruins.
"I'm actually dead confident I can nail this ward role perfectly."
"Watch the rear. The rear."
"Yep."
I need to hurry up and get stronger.
"Keep your eyes open."
I got it, I said.