Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: 10. Private First Class Kim Chun-sik (2)
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This situation.
The one who was flustered was actually Park Corporal.
Since they were in a mentor-mentee relationship, he'd had plenty of time to talk with Kim Chun-sik and knew full well why he'd enlisted. Life as an Arrow Sponge. After his hospital bills were covered, he'd joined up hoping for a stable job. He was a late-enlisting 30-year-old junior, but Park Corporal liked his earnest desire to make something of himself and had taken special care of him.
But.
This was too much.
The image of Kim Chun-sik insisting he couldn't die and leave his grandmother behind tangled up his thoughts needlessly.
"What the hell are you talking about? You really gonna follow me into that death trap?"
"Wouldn't Corporal Park be in danger alone?"
"Dangerous? Yeah, it'll be insanely dangerous. But what makes you think you can tag along? Sure, we're senior and junior, but in the end, we're just strangers. It's not even an order from above—there's no reason for you to risk your neck."
He found himself yelling without realizing it.
It was frustrating.
He hadn't realized Kim Chun-sik was this reckless.
He'd thought drawing a line would make him back off, but Kim Chun-sik wore an unexpectedly resolute expression.
"Remember what I told you? About the time I nearly died against an ogre, and another Arrow Sponge risked his life to save me? We weren't even close. Just strangers, not his problem. No one would've blamed him for looking the other way and running. But he decided a person couldn't do that, and in that impossible situation, he saved me anyway. Corporal Park, we're not strangers, are we? If he'd step up for total unknowns, how's it wrong for me to help you? I want to live a life I'm proud of—to be worthy in the eyes of the man who saved me. And if I meet him again, I want to boast about how I've made his gift of life count."
His voice grew more impassioned with every word.
Kang San.
He'd etched that name into his heart.
The man who saved him, paid his hospital bills, rescued people in the Wangsimni incident, and vanished like a ghost.
An idol.
He looked up to him, aspiring to follow in his footsteps.
Of course, he wasn't without worry.
It wasn't about dying for others—Kim Chun-sik planned to pool their strength and survive together.
Just like Kang San had.
Just like he'd made it out alive.
"...You're serious."
Park Corporal was at a loss for words.
Even he felt conflicted.
Did he really deserve this help? Was this okay?
A whirlwind of thoughts churned in his head, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse in this situation.
It was about saving family.
He needed the help.
"Fuck it, I don't know anymore."
He gritted his teeth.
Park Corporal's gaze hardened.
"If we make it back alive... Chun-sik. From then on, you're not my junior—you're my big brother."
The location pinpointed by the tracking app.
Ten minutes north.
She should've evacuated to the shelter at the nearby elementary school, but his little sister was stuck short of a cross street. It was some distance from their operational zone. The company commander had ordered them to advance toward Sangwangsimni Station from Wangsimni Station, but Park Corporal and Kim Chun-sik broke north.
"Stay sharp. Anything could pop out anytime."
"Yes, sir."
The alley was narrow.
Too tight for two cars to pass each other, so they pressed back-to-back, scanning their surroundings.
Their hearts raced.
But they didn't rush.
Through years as soldiers, they'd witnessed countless times how haste led to惨 endings.
And sure enough.
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Yip!
An ogre burst from the alley without warning.
Thanks to their readiness, Park Corporal reacted swiftly.
Bang!
Thud.
The ogre plummeted mid-leap.
But knowing it wouldn't go down that easily, Park Corporal and Kim Chun-sik unleashed a frenzy of shots at its vitals without a word.
They always had to be cautious against monsters. Modern firearms had evolved to counter them, but variables like failing to pierce hides could arise anytime. Confirming kills was an essential part of a soldier's life.
They took down a few more in quick succession.
Park Corporal stuck to shortcuts as much as possible, and luckily, they reached their destination without major incident.
"...Gasp."
The sight before them.
Park Corporal sucked in a breath.
A commercial building had collapsed ahead.
Likely from the Link's aftermath. Amid the rubble, a group of civilians huddled, trembling. If that were all, he'd have rushed to save them. The problem was the dozens of ogres prowling outside—far too many for just two men.
They needed backup.
He locked eyes with Kim Chun-sik and reached for the radio when the situation shifted abruptly.
Sniff.
Grrrrr.
The ogres' red eyes gleamed.
They'd caught a scent and scanned around, their feral gazes turning toward the rubble where the civilians hid. Discovery was only a matter of time. Park Corporal panicked, unsure what to do. Even if he radioed for help now, backup might not come—and it'd take at least ten minutes anyway. Ten minutes was plenty for the ogres to slaughter everyone if they found them.
A razor-edge crisis.
That's when it happened.
Tap.
"Corporal Park. Radio for support right now. I'll buy us some time."
Before he could stop him.
Kim Chun-sik charged forward.
He had no grand plan.
Kang San probably hadn't either.
Not some ironclad certainty of saving his comrade—just instinct driving him to clash head-on.
He was the same.
Kim Chun-sik rolled a few grenades across the ground, then fired at an ogre approaching the rubble.
"Over here, you fucking bastard."
Bang.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat.
The ogre's body jerked.
It collapsed under the barrage, and the noise drew the others instantly.
Shriek.
Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!
Dozens of them.
Red eyes locked on him in a flash.
Kim Chun-sik's heart sank, but he steadily picked off the advancing ogres one by one.
Bang.
Bang, bang, bang!
They didn't drop in one shot.
Blood spraying from their hides confirmed hits, but one man's bullets couldn't sweep them all. A soldier's firepower shone in numbers—only massed volleys could honeycomb steel-tough monster hides.
In short.
It was a bad spot.
Kim Chun-sik fell back, counting down inwardly.
'3, 2, 1. Blow.'
BOOM!
Rumble rumble rumble.
The spheres he'd tossed earlier.
Grenades.
The massive blast engulfed the ogres, and amid the choking dust cloud, Kim Chun-sik scrambled up the rubble. They moved on two legs and outnumbered him. He seized a high ground tough to assault while slamming rounds into the foreheads of ogres bursting through the dust.
Bang!
The ogre staggered.
Not dead from one shot, it fixed on Kim Chun-sik, and others rapidly climbed the rubble after it.
Whoosh—
"Fuck."
His head turned to follow them.
Facing them alone was falling short.
Far from buying time, he'd just get himself killed at this rate.
But then.
Bang!
Bang, bang!
Thunderous shots echoed from afar.
Park Corporal.
Covering from hiding, he nailed incoming ogres' heads with uncanny accuracy. Though startled by Kim Chun-sik's sudden move, he'd quickly grasped his role. Staying concealed for support was far more effective than exposing himself.
"Huff, huff."
Kim Chun-sik caught his breath.
Ogres swarmed below his vantage.
In the brief respite, he swapped magazines and opened fire again like a madman.
Bang.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
He still couldn't wrap his head around it.
Back then.
Kang San had been alone.
He himself had been down and out, the mage long gone. Just a shield and a sword. How had an Arrow Sponge like him even considered risking his life? He had state-issued rifles and enhanced rounds, yet still felt choked—while Kang San faced those snapping fangs head-on. That courage, that self-sacrifice... It was beyond what an ordinary man like him could fathom.
Same now.
He didn't want to die.
No desire to die for others.
Just.
Accepting it.
Like what Kang San had given him, he didn't want to live this new life selfishly.
"Die, you fucking bastards!"
Bang bang bang bang bang!
His eyes burned red.
Ten minutes.
Just hold out ten minutes.
As he gritted his teeth and kept firing.
"Watch out!"
Whoosh.
Crunch!
A sudden impact sent Kim Chun-sik's vision plummeting.
Thud!
He hit the ground.
His vision blurred, something trickling down his face.
'Blood.'
He staggered to his feet.
Finally piecing it together.
Park Corporal had warned him, but an ogre had scaled the rubble fast and smashed the back of his head.
Grrr.
Grrrrr.
Ogres closed in.
Despite the chaos he'd caused, only about four or five seemed truly dead. Makes sense. If grenades let two soldiers clear dozens of ogres, the military's survival rate would be way higher. Limits existed for a reason—everyone clawed to grow stronger as hunters.
Drip, drip.
Blood flowed.
Kim Chun-sik laboriously raised his rifle.
No intention of dying easy.
'At least that's something.'
Suddenly.
His grandmother came to mind.
Back when Kang San saved him, he couldn't die without settling her surgery bills. But now? She'd had the operation safely, regained her health. If he died as a soldier, she'd get a pension. That should cover her living expenses. Thinking that far, it didn't seem all bad.
His eyes met Park Corporal's.
As the corporal lunged to save him, Kim Chun-sik shook his head firmly.
'We won't both die.'
His signal.
Park Corporal ignored it.
But what Kim Chun-sik did next froze him in place.
Shh.
He pulled a grenade.
If he was dying anyway.
He hoped it wouldn't be meaningless.
Let the civilians all survive because of him, and take down these damn demons lunging to kill him. Looking back, he really was pathetic and stupid. Kang San, saving him or in Wangsimni—never reckless bravado, always truly saving people. It meant sound judgment, earning him the respect he deserved.
But look at him.
Against mere ogres.
F-Rank trash monsters some might scoff at, yet here he was, life on the line again.
'That's my limit.'
Innate limits.
He couldn't surpass them.
Even as a soldier.
Thud.
Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof!
The ogres charged madly.
Unable to hold back their killing intent any longer, he ignored Park Corporal's pleading eyes and reached to pull the pin.
That instant.