Never Drop Your Guard
One of the most common warnings recruits heard during Space Marine training came right after a battle.
"Never let your guard down. Even if the fight seems over, don't relax. Mogs have incredibly tough life force. One you thought was dead could suddenly grab and devour you."
Kim Seo-jun had learned that lesson deeper than anyone.
That's why, even in situations that looked like the battle was won, he never easily loosened his vigilance.
And it wasn't just him—Major Lee Hye-na and everyone else did the same.
None of them, staring at the corpses of Mogdogs and Thorn Snakes, uttered the words "battle's over."
"The battle seems to be over."
In that moment, the one who declared the end of combat was none other than Private Park Bo-seop.
And the instant they heard it, everyone finally relaxed.
They knew.
"No sounds at all, right?"
If Private Park Bo-seop—the one who'd become a psyker with special hearing abilities—said so, it was trustworthy.
Of course, even here, Kim Seo-jun didn't drop his guard easily.
He still hadn't declared the battle over.
The battle has ended.
Only when the Status Window confirmed it did Kim Seo-jun finally speak.
"Battle terminated."
"Huuuuaaaah!"
At that moment, a long, drawn-out sigh escaped Private Park Bo-seop.
Major Lee Hye-na was the same.
She collapsed straight onto the ground and said,
"It's been a really long time since becoming a psyker made me regret it."
Everyone agreed with her words.
Kim Seo-jun felt the same.
Gazing at the scene before him—the corpses of Mogdogs and Thorn Snakes—he muttered inwardly,
This was insane.
In truth, the sight itself wasn't all that surprising.
In wars against Mogs, a legion of 10,000 wasn't small, but it wasn't huge either.
To qualify as a "grand legion," it took at least 100,000.
Over a million wasn't all that rare, and the largest recorded in any battle was 13.22 million.
Kim Seo-jun himself, during his active duty, had faced Mog legions over 100,000 strong, even millions.
And that wasn't anything special.
In unrated, undeveloped planets—not resource development worlds—Mogs piled up endlessly, and the planets he went to were mostly those.
Anyway, he'd faced absurd numbers of Mogs before.
But taking down nearly 10,000 with just four of us...
However, tackling a near-10,000 Mog legion with just a Battle Tank and psykers? That was a first.
I was ready to bolt if things went south...
And naturally, Kim Seo-jun had never intended to see this through to the end.
He hadn't set any grand goals.
He'd just seen an opportunity.
The Tank Worms exploding had thrown the Mog legion into chaos, the Thorn Snakes couldn't position properly amid the turmoil, and he'd thought that was his chance.
Mogdogs were scary, but without proper Thorn Snake support, they weren't hard to handle.
Major Lee Hye-na alone could take on hundreds or thousands of just Mogdogs.
The Battle Tank too.
It wasn't invincible against Mogdogs, but if it just needed to hold, it could.
There was every reason to engage.
Before the Steam Pack wears off.
Crucially, for Kim Seo-jun who'd injected Steam Pack, racking up kills during its duration was pure profit.
That was it.
Grab a few more, then bail if needed—that was the plan.
But "just a bit more, one more time" kept extending until they'd wiped them out.
The reason for this unexpected outcome was simple, even to Kim Seo-jun.
"You two are really amazing, sir!"
"The amazing one is Private Park Bo-seop."
"Me, sir?"
"Yes."
Private Park Bo-seop—he'd made it possible.
"Without you, this result would've been impossible."
It wasn't exaggeration.
"Insane driving skills."
Kim Seo-jun had never felt lacking as a driver himself—it was about speed, not evasion.
Park Bo-seop was different.
In the Battle Tank's severely limited visibility, he'd perfectly grasped the surroundings, weaving through swarming Mogdogs without getting surrounded.
"Nah, not that amazing, sir."
"Dodging the Thorn Snakes' thorns? That was definitely amazing."
"Ah, that surprised me too, sir."
He'd even evaded attacks from positioned Thorn Snakes—unbelievable skill.
"I just heard the sound and jumped back; didn't know it'd dodge it, sir."
It was possible thanks to psyker abilities.
But Kim Seo-jun knew not every psyker could pull it off.
Especially in a noisy Battle Tank, surrounded by Mogdogs, with nonstop shells from the main gun and machine gun fire.
Spotting a Thorn Snake's sound and reacting? Only Park Bo-seop could do it, letting Kim Seo-jun just focus on shooting.
"That's what makes it amazing."
Settlement beginning.
As he spoke those short words, the alert rang in Kim Seo-jun's ears, snapping him back.
This is gonna be huge.
Dozens of notifications would flood in now.
Too many notifications. Total points only.
Total 73,463 points acquired.
Ah.
But the concise follow-up left Kim Seo-jun momentarily blank before he nodded in understanding.
Details didn't matter to him anyway.
Even if the Status Window miscalculated, nagging it wouldn't make it apologize and slip in 100,000 extra points to avoid complaints.
More importantly, trivialities weren't his concern now.
For now, Kim Seo-jun said,
"Head back to base."
With those words, he opened his inventory again.
He stored the Battle Tank inside and pulled out the military truck.
Everyone marveled at the sight while feeling the ordeal was finally over.
"Private Park Bo-seop, it'll be tough, but get us back safe."
"Yes, sir! Rest easy!"
Then Kim Seo-jun and Major Lee Hye-na collapsed into the cargo bed.
Major Lee Hye-na couldn't fight the crashing fatigue and shut her eyes.
Kim Seo-jun was the same.
His eyes wanted to close right then.
So, with the mic off, he said,
"Status Window."
He had to finish before passing out.
Seeing his Status Window, Kim Seo-jun's eyes sharpened.
The 5,000 points from the light Cyclops had all gone to Bronze Tickets, raising Mana by 10.
Probably max seven more Bronze Tickets from now on.
Once Mana hit 30, Bronze Tickets likely couldn't raise any stat.
And that prediction came true immediately.
Bronze Tickets x7 purchased.
Mana +7.
All stats reached 30. Bronze Tickets no longer available.
Kim Seo-jun felt a pang of regret.
No new skills or rank-ups, huh.
Bronze Tickets were the best value; max skills and rank-ups would've been ideal.
Silver Tickets from here on.
Naturally, he bought as many Silver Tickets as his remaining points allowed.
Silver Tickets x23 purchased and used.
Mana +5.
Stamina +6.
Strength +9.
Skill Upgrade Ticket(D) acquired.
Talent Upgrade Ticket(D) acquired.
22 out of 23 were Silver-grade.
No regrets, though.
None at all.
Because it came right then.
"What?"
The sheer shock made Kim Seo-jun yelp involuntarily.
"What the—!"
He shouted, then quickly checked his surroundings.
Thankfully, the mic was off, and Major Lee Hye-na across from him was half-asleep with eyes closed.
No one knew of his surprise, no one questioned him.
He just heard it.
Thump-thump-thump-thump!
Heart rate elevated.
His heart pounding like mad.
That's how shocked Kim Seo-jun was.
Is this really that Teleport?
If it was the skill he imagined, what he could do from now on would be on a whole different level.
Wait.
And he still had it.
Skill Upgrade Ticket left.
A hidden card that could jump any skill straight to A-rank.
Plenty to ponder.
But no time for that.
It's coming.
He felt his limit approaching.
Exhausted from Steam Pack and prolonged battle, the shock had pushed him over.
His heart had skipped; sudden acceleration in a precarious state—his body couldn't hold.
And it became reality.
Thud!
Kim Seo-jun's body jerked and collapsed.
"Huh? Sergeant Kim!"
Private Park Bo-seop shouted urgently at the sound, and Major Lee Hye-na, now awake, laid him flat and said,
"He's fine. Best for Sergeant Kim is to get to base ASAP."
Vroooom!
Instead of replying, Park Bo-seop floored the accelerator.
His efforts paid off.
When Kim Seo-jun opened his eyes, he was in the Polish Base infirmary.
"Sergeant Kim!"
And he heard,
"Big trouble!"
Private Park Bo-seop rushing in with a grim face.
Seeing it, Kim Seo-jun wasn't surprised.
Not at all.
"Not danger to Polish Base, then."
"Sir?"
"If a Mog legion was targeting us or Chinese forces incoming, you wouldn't wait till I woke."
Of course, that didn't mean downplaying it.
Quite the opposite.
If Polish Base was safe but Park Bo-seop was panicking? It meant something bigger.
"So, what's up?"
"Well, Jennifer Cho sent another distress signal."
And his hunch was right.
"But the content... better hear it yourself."
Kim Seo-jun nodded, and Park Bo-seop played the recording.
Soon, he heard it.
The same distress call as before, repeated three times.
Then,
Park Bo-seop stopped the playback after that outburst.
His face was even grimmer.
Kim Seo-jun and Major Lee Hye-na had said Jennifer Cho was probably fake last time.
"S-Sergeant Kim. If this is real..."
But if it was true? Her death could make returning to Earth impossible.
Then,
"Everyone!"
Major Lee Hye-na burst in and said,
"Jennifer Cho sent a new distress signal."
She immediately played the recording.
To others, it might sound absurd, but not to the three there.
The moment he heard it, Kim Seo-jun was convinced.
High chance it was really Jennifer Cho.
"...Time for a rescue op briefing."
Now was the time to seriously plan saving her.