What Dreams Do the Brave Dream? (1)
What Dreams Do the Brave Dream? (1)
I seated the exhausted Yun Seol-ha in a lobby chair. Seeing her parched lips filled me with pity.
I had to get her something to drink.
Fortunately, I spotted a vending machine nearby. After buying bottled water, I handed it to her.
"Ah, thank you, Kelrot-ssi."
Yun Seol-ha forced a smile and gulped the water desperately.
Gulp-gulp-gulp-
Watching her slender white throat bob as she sucked on the bottle like a straw, kinky thoughts made my lower body burn.
"Hoo, I feel alive now. Thank you, Kelrot-ssi."
Yun Seol-ha wiped water droplets from her lips with a bright smile. Her emerald hair clung sweatily to her skin. Her scent reminded me of fragrant flowers.
Imagining this delicate girl servicing Oist mercenaries made me shudder. Since I'd joined the Special Forces, I'd soon face the same fate.
The baffling quest had forced me to enlist as a Special Forces milk supplier for Oists. Aris claimed frontline deployment was advantageous, but she never explained exactly what or how long I needed to do.
What the hell's going to happen to me?
My conflicted feelings must've shown, as Yun Seol-ha kept glancing at me.
Huh? Come to think of it...
Opening my Inventory revealed the smartphone Professor Aris gave me before boarding the transport with the Battalion Commander.
The familiar interface matched my past life's phone. Seeing "Greatest Professor Aris" saved in contacts made me scowl.
That damn bitch. Who does she think she is, clicking buttons safely from afar?
Renaming her contact to "Psycho" eased my frustration slightly. When I called, her irritated voice answered within seconds.
"Why did you attack the Battalion Commander?"
How did she know?
Suppressing my shock, I answered calmly.
"He threatened me first. If I hadn't acted, something horrible would've happened."
"I know - I was watching. He tried to privately 'educate' you before your official enlistment."
Watching? Was there CCTV in the transport? Are they watching me now?
Disgusted, I scanned the lobby ceiling. Though not obvious, CCTV cameras were everywhere. Aris's annoyed voice continued.
"If you were going to do it, you should've finished him."
"Huh?"
What? He survived getting shot by a minigun and crashing in a transport?
"The Battalion Commander contacted me earlier. He promised to 'properly educate' you when you join his battalion after training."
That persistent bastard's planning revenge. If left alone, Yun Seol-ha might get caught in the crossfire.
"An Oist Battalion Commander's strength and regeneration exceed your imagination. Without the element of surprise, even you would struggle."
"Whatever. If he comes again, I'll just kill him properly."
Aris sharply retorted, clearly irritated.
"If you want payment, don't cause trouble until completing my task. A mere trainee challenging a Battalion Commander?"
Tch, she had a point rank-wise. But I wouldn't take this lying down. I'd devise a way to handle him during training.
"So what exactly am I supposed to do?"
"You'll receive one month of combat training before deployment to the frontline - District 3."
Ugh, I served on the frontline in my past life too. Without the money, I'd never do this shit.
"And then?"
"Record footage of soldiers being slaughtered by Oists there. I'll show citizens how dire the situation is. And..."
Aris trailed off. Whatever. I just needed to deliver the footage and get paid.
"Why me specifically? Anyone could do this."
"District 3 soldiers receive memory alteration when returning to Districts 1-2. Though they mostly fought Oists, their memories get overwritten with monster battles."
"Wait, what about me?"
"You're networked with X for real-time footage transmission."
But... the idea of memory alteration unsettled me.
Aris's casual mention gave me chills. Without the 1 billion Gelder reward, I'd never work with this woman.
At least my mission was clear: film an Oist invasion for Aris. Until then, I'd endure that bastard Battalion Commander while serving. If needed, I could assassinate him during battle chaos.
"Fine. I'll keep in touch."
"Hey! Why did you change my name to Psycho?!"
Click.
I hung up, not bothering to explain. Thankfully, she didn't call back.
After receiving enlistment guidance with Yun Seol-ha, we proceeded to physical exams.
As Special Forces recruits, we underwent additional tests: breast sensitivity, areola size, nipple length, and cancer screening.
"Hngh, ngh, ah, uh, ngh."
"Ugh..."
Sitting beside Yun Seol-ha with clamps on our nipples, we watched moving graphs on monitors. My sensitivity was low despite recent breast trauma. Yun Seol-ha's graph tripled mine. True to form, she squirmed thighs together while muffling moans.
I addressed the leering bespectacled examiners:
"If you're done examining... please stop."
"Ah, yes!"
They hastily removed our clamps, as if capable of ending earlier. After covering Yun Seol-ha's trembling body, we returned to the lobby. Both passed - our enlistment was confirmed.
A Quest Notification shimmered above Yun Seol-ha's beaming face:
[Congratulations! Quest completed. Reward: Macro Skill obtained.]
Ah, right - this skill was why I joined the Special Forces.
Checking the skill window:
[Macro Skill]
Description: Repeats specified actions automatically. Can be used to level up skills. User enters sleep state during activation.
Yes! The auto-grind skill I wanted!!
But where to use it? Activating it while wearing X might drain me to death through milk extraction.
"Excuse me, are you Trainees Kelrot and Yun Seol-ha from the Special Forces enlistment?"
A gentle female voice spoke. The Female Military Lieutenant's cap bore Second Lieutenant insignia.
"Yes. Who are you?"
Her intensely bright gaze felt uncomfortable.
"Volunteering for the Honor of Brothers' Special Forces - as fellow women, I deeply admire your sacrificial spirit. I'll help you survive this harsh environment."
Soldiers seemed to view us as martyrs sacrificing bodies for the cause. Just how brutal was this posting? I worried if Yun Seol-ha could endure.
"We're not starting training today, right?"
Though manageable for me, Yun Seol-ha needed rest.
"Your one-month training begins tomorrow, conducted separately."
Separate training? What did that mean?
The lieutenant escorted us to dormitories. Unlike regular trainees, we got private rooms containing strange white machines - human-sized pods.
Pressing the switch opened a lid, revealing a body-shaped groove.
"This is a Virtual Training Device. Users dream-training here. Since it's a dream, perceived time can be adjusted."
A virtual reality game system?
"Virtual combat training strains body and mind, limited to 2 hours daily. Remaining time develops techniques to efficiently relieve Oist mercenaries' sexual urges and runs Body Modification Programs for high-concentration milk production."
Dammit - this was just a machine to turn us into Oist milk cows. Nothing special.
Unable to hide disappointment, I asked:
"What's the point of dream-training? Our weak bodies remain unchanged after waking."
"Electrical muscle stimulation during dream-training builds real muscle."
That changed everything. If I maximized time dilation and used Macro Skill...
This could be an insane level-up opportunity.