The God of Controls' One-Coin Clear
Taeyang scanned his surroundings.
After the wyverns’ ambush, the battalion commander had charged straight toward the wyvern nest where the container boxes were stored without a moment’s hesitation.
“Guess they didn’t recruit two thousand people for nothing.”
Workers were dying left and right.
Ran shook her head with a sigh.
It was easy to picture what the Guardian side had been thinking.
They had wanted to break through the wyvern nest without losing any of their own troops.
Of course, by “troops,” they meant Guardians.
It was an utterly inhumane operation, but thanks to it, things were progressing quickly.
The joint laborer-and-Guardian force piled up corpses as they stormed into the nest in the blink of an eye.
“Advance! This is the last one! Guardians, prioritize retrieving the containers! Laborers, use your bodies to block the wyverns!”
Having entered the nest, Taeyang clicked his tongue.
“We’ve killed so many already. There are still a disgusting number of them.”
Despite slaughtering their way through this far, dozens more wyverns were now charging at them.
Kiiiieeeeeeek!
Kraaaaaaw!
Kuuuuuuuaaaak!
Dozens of Guardians and thousands of laborers clashed in a chaotic melee.
“At this rate, our pickup is pretty much guaranteed, right?”
“Probably.”
Like an awl poking through a sack, Ran and Taeyang’s overwhelming skill stood out far above the other laborers.
“I just want to get this over with.”
Ran wrinkled her nose at the thick stench of blood and muttered.
In just a short time, dozens of laborers had died, making the metallic reek almost unbearable.
—Just show them something proper this time.
“Something proper?”
—Something flashy. Since we’ve come this far, let’s catch the eye of the highest authority. Even if it means pushing ourselves a bit.
Even if they were selected as Guardians, the unit they were assigned to would depend on their demonstrated ability.
The more their skill was recognized, the closer to the front cars of the train they could be stationed.
Taeyang knocked aside a charging wyvern and surveyed the battlefield.
A particularly large one caught his eye.
Its scales were flashy, and its body was massive.
Its mouth, forelegs, wings—every inch of its scales was drenched in vivid crimson liquid.
He had no idea how many it had killed in such a short time, but at a glance, that thing was clearly the boss.
“Ran.”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s take down just one more. Make it impactful.”
“Impactful?”
“Let’s make sure they notice us.”
“Oh, I’m feeling pretty confident right now.”
Ran grinned at Taeyang’s words.
The bitter cold. Snow falling like sharp shards of glass.
At the same time, winds howled like blades of frost.
There was no better environment for a Wind Daoist to display their power.
“A Wind Daoist’s specialty isn’t creating wind—it’s controlling it.”
Seeing Ran’s confident demeanor, Taeyang let out a small chuckle.
“Shall we go right away?”
“Yeah.”
Ran swung her fan.
The wind formed invisible hooks that latched onto its target.
“I’m pulling it in! Get ready to finish it!”
“That huge thing?”
“You wanted something flashy, didn’t you?”
Ran had already folded her fan and stood with her arms crossed, watching the wyvern with a cool expression.
Whoooosh.
Normally, wind could not be seen by the naked eye.
But the fiercely falling snow was swept up in its currents, making the wind’s movement perfectly visible.
“Whoa.”
The wind wrapped around the wyvern in an instant.
Kiiiieeeeeeeeek!
And dragged it forward.
The creature, easily twice the size of the other wyverns, thrashed wildly, but it was meaningless.
After all, it wasn’t any physical substance pulling the wyvern—it was pure wind.
Watching the scene, Taeyang suddenly wondered what would happen if he were caught in that situation.
“Wow. How would you even escape that? Doesn’t look like there’s a way out.”
“Aren’t you going to finish it? Should I do it?”
At Ran’s urging, Taeyang snapped back to attention.
“The wyvern’s coming this way!”
“It’s the biggest one!”
“Why is it heading straight for us?!”
“It looks like it’s being dragged!”
“That’s not something we can handle! Go fight something else!”
“Run!”
The other laborers nearby saw the boss wyvern and immediately fled the area.
While everyone else was running away, Taeyang and Ran standing still looked completely out of place.
Enough to catch the eye of Battalion Commander Crusoe, who was observing the battlefield from the rear.
Taeyang cracked his neck.
“I’m using ‘that’.”
“That?”
“You know. The one I used at the end of the ten-man duel last time.”
—Oh.
—New technique lol.
—Is he finally showing it?
—For real, that’s user-tier skill level.
—Glad I stayed up to watch the stream. lmao Watching this live is insane.
—Fr fr lol.
Taeyang smirked after reading the chat.
“Calling it a new technique feels a bit embarrassing. I’m just tweaking something I already do.”
Thud.
Taeyang stomped the ground.
Transcendental Jin-gak—the opening move of Starburst High Kick.
When the step, foot position, angle, upper body twist, and calf pressure all aligned with perfect frame precision, the process of Skillization began.
Shhhrrrk.
Stardust gathered around Taeyang’s foot.
Normally, when using a King of Fist technique, he would continue the motion from here.
The mana would then flow naturally through his body and produce the desired result.
Until now, Taeyang’s mana control had only been at the level of preventing any mana from leaking during that process.
‘That alone was already plenty strong.’
The giant snake Aksharon, the tiger beastman Mute, the mad swordsman, the Fallen Angel legion commander.
He had taken them all down with these techniques.
But it wasn’t enough.
He felt like he could do more.
What Taeyang was attempting now had come from that exact intuition.
He kept his leg extended without lifting it further, holding the stance.
Shhhrrrrk.
More stardust gathered.
He held the mana flow in place—the flow that would have normally scattered if the next motion didn’t follow.
‘Now.’
Taeyang focused his mind.
The stardust began to spin around his foot—one rotation, then two.
As the mana spiraled, it drew in surrounding mana, but the opposing force trying to scatter it grew even stronger.
Taeyang cleverly held the dispersing mana in check.
And kept spinning it.
At some point, the mana gathered exponentially, and the stardust clustered around his foot began to glow brilliantly.
Veins bulged on Taeyang’s forehead.
Kiiiieeeeeek!
The wyvern had already closed in.
Ten meters away—close enough to be called “right in front of him.”
“Releasing it.”
At Ran’s signal, Taeyang nodded.
Sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Three.”
Crunch.
His left foot, acting as the axis, crushed into the ground.
“Two.”
Power surged into his right calf.
“One.”
Whoooosh.
The wind currents that had been binding the wyvern vanished.
Thump.
At the same time, Taeyang kicked upward.
A massive amount of mana broke free from his control and shot into the air.
Starburst High Kick (Canon Form)
Thwoong.
A circular wave burst from the tip of Taeyang’s foot.
And then—
Flash!
A pillar of light pierced straight through the wyvern.
It was the kind of light beam that anyone who loved sci-fi would have called a laser cannon strike.
“Heh, clean.”
The headless wyvern plummeted to the ground.
The man in the black uniform who had been watching the entire scene—Battalion Commander Crusoe—spoke to his adjutant.
“Bring those two to me.”
* * *
Taeyang and Ran were picked up by the Guardians.
Ran had been extremely nervous that the Guardians might ask about their background, but no such questions came.
Most of the 1st Battalion Guardians knew nothing about the laborer sector.
Those who had become Guardians through combat were not assigned to the 1st Battalion.
The other Guardians quickly approached the two new recruits.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-two.”
“Ah, I’m…”
“What? Get lost. We don’t need men.”
Ran, on the other hand, received far more attention than necessary.
Her appearance was far too beautiful to be hidden by soot and grime.
Taeyang, suddenly left out, clicked his tongue in mild annoyance.
The situation after the battle wrapped up simply.
A clean retreat.
While the laborers fought until their bones ached, the Guardians had already secured the containers.
A few laborers wanted to bury their comrades, but the battalion commander only permitted them to collect personal effects—nothing more.
The duration of the pills was almost up.
A few laborers who had distinguished themselves in battle were also picked up by the Guardians.
“Hello! My name is Luke!”
“Please take care of me!”
“C-can I really become a Guardian?”
The chosen laborers wept with emotion or trembled with excitement, unsure what to do with themselves.
“You all have additional tasks. Follow me.”
Because of the wyvern attack, many trucks were immobilized or had damaged cargo holds.
The laborers picked up as Guardians—including Taeyang—were led by the battalion commander to collect critical parts such as engines from the trucks.
After that, it was time to return.
The train on the way back was closer to the “dragon nest,” so one might have expected a difficult journey, but that wasn’t the case.
Apparently the battalion commander had arranged it in advance—long-range escort support was provided.
“It’s going smoother than I expected.”
“Well, it’s comfortable for us, so that’s good.”
“You call this comfortable?”
Ran looked at Taeyang from the half-destroyed truck bed with an incredulous expression.
Taeyang shrugged.
“It’s better than fighting.”
“Still, that was impressive.”
The cargo hold was destroyed and there wasn’t nearly enough space, but because even more laborers had died, everyone who survived made it back without anyone being left behind.
Three hours after consuming all three of the distributed pills, the 1st Battalion Guardians returned to the train with material containers loaded onto their trucks.
The so-called “newbie” Guardians—including Taeyang and Ran—were immediately summoned by the battalion commander upon their return.
It was a place less than ten meters from the laborer residential area, yet completely inaccessible to anyone of laborer rank no matter how long they worked.
The 1st Battalion Guardian garrison car.
“Report.”
“Reporting! Total personnel: 28. Absentees: 0. Present: 28. That is all.”
Taeyang was the one who gave the report.
He had been the first one picked up.
His face was slightly stiff as he spoke.
The man in the black uniform—Battalion Commander Crusoe—opened his mouth.
“From today onward, you are members of the Train Protection Headquarters. Commonly known as Guardians. I am Crusoe, battalion commander of the 1st Battalion under the Train Protection Regiment Headquarters.”
“……”
No one answered.
Crusoe continued as if he hadn’t expected any reply.
“You will not be assigned to the 1st Battalion. Furthermore, from today on, you will never see your families again. You will enter the train, spend your lives protecting it, and die of old age inside it. Does anyone have any objections?”
A considerable number of laborers stirred uneasily.
One laborer raised his hand.
“C-can we not bring our families inside?”
“No.”
“I’ve heard stories before that a Guardian’s family was allowed into the affluent residential district.”
Crusoe paused for a moment before answering.
“That is an extremely exceptional case. If you obtain a rank above battalion commander, or make a significant contribution to the safety of the train, it might be possible. But I doubt you have that kind of ability.”
As he finished speaking, Crusoe’s gaze lingered briefly on Taeyang before moving on.
“You will receive training at the Guardian training center in the middle of the train before being assigned to the 2nd or 3rd Battalion. As I said, once you enter, you can never return to the laborer residential area. Is there anyone who wishes to go back?”
Silence fell once again.
Love for family, affection for lovers—none of it could compare to the desire for a new social class.
Crusoe gave a signal to his adjutant, who then began leading the new Guardians away.
Taeyang and Ran moved along with the group.
At that moment, Crusoe spoke.
“Wait. The two at the very front, follow me for a moment.”
The two at the very front.
He was referring to Taeyang and Ran.
“You two, follow the battalion commander.”
Ran mouthed silently.
‘I-is this okay?’
Taeyang shrugged.
How should I know?
What was certain was that they had successfully caught the battalion commander’s eye.
The rest of the group followed the adjutant toward the passenger cars, while Taeyang and Ran entered the battalion commander’s office.