Forward Base (2)
“Damn it! Another monster. These things are really starting to piss me off...”
Curtis shook his head as he watched Loren and Nancy drag in the corpse of a dead C-rank monster in their Gigants.
On one side, they were fighting monsters, and on the other, they were fully focused on building the forward base. Sara wore a worried expression.
“The monsters are coming more frequently now, and in greater numbers. Two Gigants won’t cut it anymore.”
“What good are Gigants if there’s no one who can pilot them?”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Nancy’s definitely pulling her weight as a full-fledged mech warrior, and Loren’s improving too, but when the hell do we get to train our Odd?”
“Who knows...”
Curtis’s gaze shifted toward Wayne’s Gigant. For the past few days, Wayne had been sitting atop Artemis, cultivating Odd on his own.
The three months Wayne had initially promised him were almost up. By now, there should at least be some sign of hope, but Wayne was still silently focused on his Odd cultivation without a word.
“Just hold on a little longer. Good news should come soon.”
Curtis forced a calm expression.
Wayne was just as frustrated, but for different reasons.
Ah! This isn’t an easy choice.
Karian’s third-stage Odd breathing technique. Wayne was currently agonizing over its introductory phase.
His mastery of the second-stage Odd breathing technique was more than sufficient. In fact, he had accumulated more Odd than King Karian had at the time of advancing to the third stage, and his Odd acceleration had surpassed eightfold.
The problem was the two types of Odd existing within his body.
The third-stage breathing technique involved rapid breathing to accelerate and concentrate Odd in one spot. It was similar to a mage gathering a mana core or an aura knight forming an aura core.
But this wasn’t merely about concentrating Odd in one place by synchronizing the body’s organs and constitution to its nature. Once one spot was synchronized, the Odd would be moved to another, gradually optimizing the entire body for Odd.
Among Karian’s early Odd breathing techniques, this stage was the most difficult, time-consuming, and painful.
The issue was that while he could currently draw on both green Odd and red Odd simultaneously, optimizing his entire constitution for one type would likely prevent him from using the other. That was the dilemma.
In Gigant combat, green Odd was superior. It blended well with the blue Odd of mech warriors, making it far easier to train novice or veteran pilots.
But red Odd had too many advantages as well. For starters, monster Odd allowed for wide-range detection. Any living creature even slightly warmer than its surroundings couldn’t escape detection, and like when he’d absorbed the python monster’s Odd, he could absorb similar red Odd from other monsters to exponentially increase his reserves in one go.
If only I could pull it out and use it like the first time I absorbed the python’s red Odd...
Wayne had gained this Odd by touching the stuffed monster head in Adam’s room. So if he could store red Odd separately somewhere, he could touch it to draw it out as needed, and even if he depleted it, he could just touch it again. That way, he could use both types.
But who could he pass the red Odd to? It was questionable whether humans could even learn it, and without his own monster experience, they might not wield its abilities anyway.
“Hey! You bastard! Eleven! That’s not for eating!”
Eleven had just been caught devouring the guts of the monster Nancy had hunted. Yan rushed to grab it, but Eleven fled with a hunk of innards bigger than itself. It was soon caught by Blaster, though.
“Thank you, Sir Blaster.”
Yan struggled to hoist Eleven’s body by the scruff.
“You! Why won’t you ever listen? You eat 20kg of meat a day—why go digging into monster guts? When the hell are you gonna earn your keep?”
Yan scolded and berated Eleven, but the beast whipped its head away, staring off elsewhere.
Wayne, who had been watching with a laugh, suddenly brightened.
Ah! That’s right—you’re the one!
Eleven had just found its way to earn its keep.
***
“Huh? What’s the squad leader doing?”
Sara Raudi asked in surprise.
“No way... is he teaching Odd to that wolf monster?”
Curtis was equally dumbfounded.
Wayne had activated his red Odd Eyes and was gripping Eleven’s front legs, channeling Odd into it. Having witnessed him impart Odd to Loren firsthand, they were certain.
Nancy, who had dismounted her Gigant for a break, approached out of curiosity to watch.
How much time passed?
“Gasp! Eleven’s pupils!”
They began turning red. It wasn’t mere bloodshot eyes—it was clearly Odd Eyes.
Phew! Monsters accept Odd much better!
Wayne looked satisfied. In just four days, with only eight infusions of red Odd, Eleven could already manifest Odd Eyes. That was an astonishingly fast acquisition rate.
Eleven had twisted and whined awkwardly on the first day as the unfamiliar energy flooded in, but now it calmly accepted the red Odd. Its body brimmed with new vitality, and its eyes sparkled.
“Good! Eleven, now run and unleash your Odd freely!”
As if understanding, Eleven bolted like a madman the moment Wayne released its legs. Its speed made it seem like it was flying over the ground.
Monsters seemed far more efficient at applying Odd than humans.
Over the past few days, while cultivating Karian’s third-stage Odd breathing technique, Wayne had been imparting red Odd to Eleven in his spare moments.
Curtis approached with envious eyes.
“Did you just teach Odd to that wolf monster?”
“Yeah. Think of it like a packed lunch you can pull out when needed.”
“A... packed lunch?”
“Something like that. And perfect timing—you’re up. Hold out your hand.”
Curtis’s eyes sparkled.
“D-don’t tell me? Is it ready now?”
Wayne smiled.
“Yep. I’ve found a way for you and the squad to gather Odd. Testing’s done, so come here and just follow my instructions.”
“Yes, sir!”
Wayne grabbed Curtis’s wrist. Odd began sluggishly flowing in along his arm.
“How’s it feel?”
“I can feel the Odd.”
“Good! Now send this Odd to your heart.”
Wayne directed the Odd’s energy toward Curtis’s heart.
“I feel Odd in my heart.”
As the Odd surged in, his heart pounded more fiercely and rapidly than usual.
“It’ll get tough from here. Hang in there and stay focused till the end!”
“Yes, sir!”
Wayne executed Karian’s second-stage breathing technique, accelerating the Odd flow. The Odd that spun at eightfold acceleration in Wayne’s body raced along Curtis’s arm straight to his heart.
Curtis jolted at the intensity of the flow—stronger than even at his peak.
“Ugh!”
He gritted his teeth. Pain like blades slicing through his body followed the Odd’s path, and his heart felt pierced and crushed by an awl.
“Grrgh! My heart...! It feels like it’s gonna burst!”
“Endure it! You have to survive this stage to gather Odd in your heart. Just keep focusing on the flow!”
“Kuh! Yes...”
Sara and Nancy held their breath, watching Curtis’s dire state.
After just ten minutes, sweat poured from Wayne like rain, and Curtis was on the verge of passing out.
“Phew! Done!”
Wayne released his hand and took a deep breath. Curtis collapsed forward, unable to hold on.
“Squad leader! What happened?”
Sara rushed over.
“With my current Odd reserves, this is the limit.”
“What?”
“We’ll know if it worked once he wakes up.”
Sara and Nancy laid Curtis down side by side.
How much time passed? Curtis opened his eyes. He shot up, clutching his chest.
“Gasp! O-Odd... I feel it!”
“Yeah?”
“It’s a tiny amount, but it’s definitely there—Odd lingering in my heart, not fading.”
Wayne nodded.
“Stage one success. You’ll need dozens more sessions like this. Once your heart fully optimizes for Odd, you’ll be able to gather it there on your own. And as it builds up, you’ll pilot Gigants again.”
“Ah! Thank you, sir.”
Tears welled in Curtis’s eyes. It had been five years. Once called a genius squad leader, he’d shone on Union Kingdom fronts, in the Great Forest for two years, and finally in the Ratan Desert and Sailon occupation zone against Tarun Kingdom—until the wound that prevented Odd gathering. Meeting Wayne after five years of despair, feeling Odd again—it was pure joy.
“And to keep the Odd from dissipating in your heart, breathe it in regularly. Most will burn off, but maintaining that sensation of Odd residing there is key.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll do it. Thank you so much!”
Curtis couldn’t increase or relocate Odd on his own—it required Wayne’s help. But just feeling Odd in his body made him feel like he’d reclaimed his life as a mech warrior.
Sara stared at Curtis with wide eyes.
“Curtis, it really isn’t fading? It’s staying gathered?”
“I’m telling you, yes! It’s incredible!”
Sara looked at Wayne pleadingly. She wanted to feel Odd like Curtis.
“Sara, hold off a bit! Once Curtis’s Odd stabilizes, we’ll start yours.”
“I’ve waited five years for this moment. I can wait longer.”
Tears streamed down Sara’s face, even before feeling Odd herself. Mark, who’d been training Loren, leaped with joy at the news.
It would take time, but if Curtis and the veteran mech warriors recovered their Odd, Wayne’s squad would become a force to reckon with.
Wayne sat atop his Gigant, replenishing his depleted Odd while gazing at the Great Forest. Once the forward base was secure, he planned to head deeper in.
Somewhere in there lies the ancient city of Akad...
Recalling King Karian’s old memories, he took a deep breath and roughly gauged its location.
Akad Kingdom was one of the few that had fought the giants to the end, like his own.
But how did the giants disappear?
Not even King Karian’s memories held the answer—no one knew. He wondered how humanity and other races had won the war against the giants that once ruled the world. Why had Gigant technology been lost? Why had the Great Forest grown so vast? He wanted answers.
***
Like any world, where money gathered, people gathered—and with them, scammers, thieves, murderers, prostitutes, gamblers, traffickers, and drug dealers.
Westline Fortress and the Great Forest were no different.
Two kilometers east of Patton Outpost.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Hiss!
Three priest Gigants and three 3rd-class Gigants halted behind a small hill.
“Brother Collin, it’s over there.”
Rockid, the monster byproduct broker with yellowed teeth, guided the mech warriors up the hill.
Rockid ran a seemingly legitimate brokerage on the surface, but he organized criminals for illicit dealings behind the scenes.
Collin, peering through binoculars, furrowed his brow slightly.
“They’ve already fully repaired the forward base. Exactly how many Gigants?”
“Just three 3rd-class Gigants. The rest are work units. Other outposts nearby have withdrawn, and no hunting teams head into the Great Forest. It’s pure honey.”
“Hm... the intel’s solid?”
“Of course. We’re not new to this—our shop alone has traded 40,000 gold with them. My men tailed them for three days and watched their deals. Plus, they’re selling A-rank monster byproducts worth over 600,000 gold. Split between Lorenne and Patton outposts, that’s at least 300,000 each.”
“300,000 gold...”
As Collin licked his lips, another mech warrior spoke up.
“Squad leader Collin, think it over again. Hijacking monster corpses is one thing—attacking a forward base is another level. If our identity leaks...”
“Who’s gonna catch us? We’ve stripped the territory and unit markings. If we don’t dismount, how’ll they know who we are?”
“My gut’s bad this time. Maybe we should stop here...”
“Fuck! You’ve got blood on your hands too. Gonna play innocent now? Rot in that stinking barracks with no women, wrestling monsters till you die? This is 300,000 gold! 100,000 each for you two! That’s enough to live like kings anywhere in the Empire.”
The two knew it. They’d ambushed byproduct haulers, fenced their own monster kills behind superiors’ backs—the take was decent, but peanuts compared to this. Exposure meant more than discharge; they feared that.
“I don’t mean that. They have Gigants too. And Lorenne Outpost is right next door—with more Gigants. They could come to help.”
“I know. That’s why we wait for an opening.”
“An opening?”
“Listen up. When monsters attack and their Gigants go out, we hit the base from behind. Kill a few soldiers, and they’ll scatter in panic. Grab the gold and vouchers, and we’re gone before Lorenne arrives. Game over.”
“Exactly. My men and I’ll handle the gold and vouchers—just take out the remaining Gigants.”
Rockid grinned slyly.
“Huh? What’s this?”
A wolf pup had appeared out of nowhere, staring piercingly at Rockid and Collin’s group.