Barren Land (1)
The 7th Squad was the first to file out of the castle gates one by one.
Adam Stein, watching from atop the walls, was approached by his escort knight, Lancelot.
"I've looked into it, my lord!"
"Hey now, I told you to call me acting lord."
"No one's around—what's the harm?"
"Daytime words are heard by birds, nighttime words by rats. Better to be cautious."
"Yes, sir! My apologies."
Lancelot bowed his head.
"So, who are those guys with Wayne?"
"No need to worry about them, sir. It's Curtis Mueller and some of his old comrades."
"Curtis? You mean Red Flame Curtis?"
"Yes."
"Then that blonde woman must be Sara Raudi."
"Correct."
Adam's face twisted in bitterness.
Damn it... brings back nightmares from the Sailon Occupation Zone...
They were painful memories for him.
The battle to occupy the desert kingdom of Sailon five years ago. If he hadn't screwed up there, casualties wouldn't have been so high, and he'd have been officially named the territory's heir five years earlier.
Once the 7th Squad had fully departed, Wayne climbed into his Gigant. But just before exiting through the gates, his Gigant turned, facing the wall where Adam stood, and waved a hand.
Adam let out a hollow chuckle at the sight.
Ha! That foolish, carefree idiot. What's got him so pleased?
Adam couldn't comprehend it. The squad he'd assembled were rejects from the officer academy, dragging along total Odd-less trash, heading into the perilous and dangerous Great Forest. No one could be that stupid.
It would have made far more sense if he'd asked to join Father on the battlefield.
Guess I don't need to worry about that punk anymore.
Meanwhile, inside his Gigant, Wayne harbored very different thoughts.
Laugh it up while you can! But when I return, it'll shock not just you—the whole world.
Parting from Snow's 7th Squad members that day left Wayne with a lingering regret. Though it had been a short time, he'd grown fond of them—they were the only ones in the territory he could consider his own people.
But they vowed to meet again soon: they headed for the Estel front, while he turned toward the Great Forest.
Wayne's squad made camp as night fell. March by day, raise the squad members' Odd abilities by night—that was his basic plan until reaching the Great Forest.
And from the very first day, Wayne's true talents shone through.
"Hah! I feel... no, it's Odd!"
Laurel Werner, one of the squad members, cried out in ecstasy. Curtis and the others, seated by the campfire, looked on enviously.
Wayne even activated his Odd Eye, pouring his Odd generously into Laurel for a good long while.
If Nancy Oliver was a natural Odd talent, Laurel was the opposite—a complete innate Odd invalid.
The only reason he'd made it into the officer academy was that he was the son of Bout City's mayor. As part of balanced territorial development education, a quota of spots was reserved each year at the Gigant Officer Academy and regular Officer Academy for promising youths from provincial cities.
Normally, Odd-less candidates went to the regular academy, but Laurel's father had pushed him into the Gigant academy on the off chance he might become a mech warrior.
The problem was, with no Odd aptitude, he had no drive, couldn't keep up in class, bottomed out on grades, and faced worsening ostracism from peers. Life was daily hell; he was the perennial last-place cadet just waiting to get kicked out.
"Ah! So this is Odd..."
As Laurel finally sensed it, tears streamed down his cheeks in overwhelming emotion.
He desperately tried to grasp the alien Odd energy swirling inside him.
But when Wayne cut off the supply, a sudden emptiness washed over him, leaving profound disappointment.
This guy's not Odd-impaired—he absorbs it too damn well, maybe?
Wayne tilted his head. "Bottomless jug" was a phrase for cases like Curtis, where Odd leaked out somewhere. Yet Laurel showed no visible leaks, yet he'd sucked up Wayne's Odd in seconds flat.
"That's enough for you."
"Huh? Can't we do one more?"
"No, I'm out of Odd—can't do more."
"Ah!"
Laurel swallowed his regret.
"Keep recalling that sensation! If you can absorb even a tiny bit on your own, you'll be on the highway from then on."
"H-highway?"
"Er... meaning you'll grow super fast."
"Yes, sir! Highway! I'll do my best!"
Next, Wayne called Nancy.
"Ready?"
"Yes, Squad Leader!"
Wayne activated his Odd Eye again, breathing to refill his depleted Odd. Then, executing Karian Odd Breathing Method Stage 2, he took Nancy Oliver's hand and began siphoning her Odd.
Soon his reserves were full, and he ended her session.
Emptying and refilling like this... feels like I'm the one training.
Unintended or not, by teaching Odd techniques to the two, Wayne was cultivating himself too—a three-birds-one-stone deal.
Nancy settled into position on her own, recalling the sensation of Odd outflow and struggling to expel some.
If these two grow just a bit more, they'll sync without me?
Wayne mused. One craved absorption, the other emission.
Leaving them to train, he headed to Yan Bauman last.
"C-Curtis! Is that even possible?"
Sara Raudi, watching by the fire, looked stunned.
"What?"
"Wayne just absorbed Nancy's Odd, right?"
"Oho! How'd you know?"
"Think I got no experience just 'cause I'm Odd-less? His hazy Odd Eye sharpened in a flash—that means full recovery."
"Ooh! Sara Raudi, you still got it."
Curtis flashed her a thumbs-up.
"I only heard about it last night—first time seeing it. Like I said, Young Master Wayne can channel Odd into others. Now he's reached the level where he can absorb it too. That's why I have such high hopes."
"But how's a 16-year-old reached that realm?"
Mark Shaker, the only 20-something among Curtis's mech warriors, asked with genuine curiosity.
"Who knows? Must've snagged some heavenly opportunity somewhere."
As everyone eyed Wayne expectantly, Yan Bauman geared up fully and began running laps around the Gigant.
Wayne returned to the fire alone.
"Squad Leader, why just physical training for Yan?"
"Smart kid, good Odd talent, but hates effort. Mental reform's top priority."
"I see."
"Curtis, you handle his stamina and mental training starting tomorrow. Tell me when he's ready for Odd. Sara Raudi, guide Nancy on Odd usage feel and Gigant control. Mark, keep advising Laurel till he senses it himself."
"...?"
The three blinked in confusion at the one-on-one assignments from day one.
"What? Planning to slack till your issues are fixed? Gotta earn your keep."
"Yes, sir!"
Only Glen Jacob, unassigned, covered his mouth snickering. "Education" was basically babysitting.
"Glen, assist Captain Jamie with maintenance from now on. Learn it too."
"Me? Maintenance?"
"Great Forest means lots of Gigant repairs. Help out."
"Yes, sir..."
A promising start. Curtis was planned, but the other veterans were unexpected luck! With them mentoring, the three squad members would grow fast.
[Buffer Zone: Barren Land (Red Zone)]
"Fuck, never thought I'd come back here alive."
Leaving the final outpost and entering the red wasteland, Curtis shuddered.
"Be extra careful from here, Squad Leader."
"Great Forest still far?"
"About a week, but this Barren Land's crawling with goblin raiders."
"Goblins? In the Empire?"
Sara cut in.
"Parasites squatting between humans and the Great Forest. Treat everything from here as non-Empire territory."
This red wasteland, called the Barren Land or Red Zone, was an artificial creation from long ago.
To halt the Great Forest's endless advance after the Empire's rise, humans tried everything. One method: strip away its nutrients—water, mountains, forests, animals.
For 40 years, they scorched and uprooted trees, grass, everything across hundreds of kilometers. Adjacent to the southern desert with low rainfall, once razed, nothing regrew. True wasteland.
Yet even that couldn't stop the advance.
"No need to worry too much. They can't touch us in Gigants. Just nights."
"Then me, Nancy, and Laurel on night watch."
Nancy, innate Odd user, now piloted Wayne's Gigant after a nudge. Laurel, not quite there, but constant Odd stimulation let him march three hours daily.
Only Yan Bauman couldn't ride yet.
The journey went smoothly. Occasional distant goblins spotted, but they fled at the sight of Gigants.
Inconvenient having one in the Gigant at night, but no real threats otherwise.
Just one day from Great Forest border.
"Hm? Squad Leader, look—smoke."
Curtis, in the lead, pointed beyond a hill where black smoke billowed.
"Smoke in this wasteland?"
"Looks like a goblin raid victim."
"Let's check it out!"
Wayne dismounted Nancy, hopped in himself, and charged toward the smoke.
"Gruesome."
Three charred wagons smoldered; a dozen corpses littered the ground.
"Hit at dawn, looks like."
"Squad Leader, drag marks here."
Sara shouted. Deep gouges everywhere, like hauling something heavy.
Captain Jamie examined wagon parts and traces.
"They disassembled a 4-meter Gigant and took it."
"Goblins can do that?"
"Territory Gigants can't be without tools. But this is a private Gigant."
"Private Gigants exist?"
"Anything not imperial or grand territory-made gets called private. Mid-small territories can't afford official ones at markup prices, so they develop their own."
"Captain Jamie's right."
Curtis held up a broken flag.
"Lorenne Territory crest."
"Had a Gigant and still got hit?"
"Short on 24-hour pilots or got complacent near end."
"Why take the Gigant?"
"Sell to humans, obviously."
"What?"
Steal from humans to sell to humans—Wayne struggled to grasp it.
"Squad Leader, survivor here!"
Wayne rushed at Glen's shout. A knight, half his armor charred black, gasped for breath.
"The lady... ugh, taken... please save... her...!"
He died before finishing.
Wayne pondered. "Lady" meant high nobility.
"Curtis, how long since they left?"
"Wagons' state? Two, three hours. Dragging Gigant, not far."
"Good! Follow the tracks."
Wayne led the squad along the trail, soon finding a cave hidden under a massive rock face.
"Fresh traces. They went in."
"My Gigant won't fit."
Big enough for disassembled Gigant, but not Wayne's.
"Squad Leader, too late to go in."
Sara shook her head.
"Agreed."
Curtis and others nodded.
"Captain Jamie! Lend me your maintenance Gigant."
"Pardon?"
But Wayne thought differently. The 3-meter maintenance model could squeeze in.
"Nancy stays piloting, smash any goblins coming out. Curtis, Mark, Yan—with me inside."
"Goblin dens are mazes—hard to escape once in."
"Leave that to me."
Wayne boarded the maintenance Gigant, toolkit in one hand, red Odd Eye blazing.
Red Odd waves surged into the cave like tides, scanning everywhere.
Gotcha!
He detected dozens of heat shimmers radiating ahead.