The Defense Battle
Defense battle? It was a wave so faint that an ordinary human wouldn’t even be able to sense its existence. But for monsters, the story was completely different. There probably wasn’t a single monster—regular or highly specialized—that couldn’t detect the mana wavelength used for communication. The ones in this area were no exception. A total of 82. Of those, 50 were the monster pack from Yangmok City that I’d missed, just as the middle-aged lieutenant had worried. In other words, they were intelligent enough to act in groups. Their danger level alone put them at F-8. A lycanthrope was probably the rank right above them. To put it simply, this was an ‘early wave-level disaster.’ There was no way this ragtag bunch could handle it.
Revealing my abilities again would make my timing far too contrived. If another miracle-like phenomenon occurred, I might actually become an object of worship. The problem with handling it secretly from a distance was that the emergency signal had already gone out. If the Chungmugun showed up, what would they think of the unidentified kid who just happened to appear at the scene of two miraculous events? It was obvious I’d shoot straight to the top of their investigation list.
My eyes squeezed shut. There wasn’t much time. The 82 monsters had already started moving. In thirty minutes, the horde would descend on this place.
I snapped my eyes open and manipulated the surrounding natural mana. Flames roared up in the nearby forest. I summoned wind to drive the smoke straight into the campsite.
The effect was spectacular. Even though he wasn’t on watch, the squad member who’d been standing in the center of camp chain-smoking rushed over to the lieutenant.
“Lieutenant! Abnormal phenomenon!”
The lieutenant switched on her radio the moment she stood.
“All personnel to positions. Sergeant Park and Corporal Lee, grab your full gear and follow me.”
The place she headed for was a narrow mountain path splitting off from the main road. I wondered why—until I heard:
“We’re here!”
The lieutenant immediately assigned the dangerous task to the pair who had just arrived.
“There’s an outpost up there. Sergeant Park, get the sniper rifle set up immediately. Corporal Lee, construct the barrier while you climb.”
I couldn’t call her judgment wrong, but the team composition had been flawed from the start. If it were me, I wouldn’t have put that guy in the sniper spot. Still, this wasn’t my team. In the end, the walking disaster of a sniper headed up to secure the key position with only one subordinate in tow.
Meanwhile, the gyaru girl Seohyun—who had woken up—pulled me into a hug.
“It’s okay. It’s just a forest fire.”
I answered in my head that it wasn’t and placed a Dew Lens above the outpost the lieutenant had mentioned. Looking around, the evacuation spot she’d chosen was, as expected—
“Everyone move! We’re establishing a new campsite inside the abandoned factory ahead!”
This decision made sense too. When they’d thought it was safe they’d avoided the place because of collapse risk, but now that fear had set in, they wanted even a tiny hiding spot. It wasn’t entirely mistaken. With an army of 82 monsters bearing down, holing up there and waiting for the rescue team responding to the emergency signal might be the smarter play…
Ah. They never told the sniper, did they? They’re not sending another emergency signal, right? That would be the same as inviting the entire monster horde to their only hiding place.
Right then—
“Lieutenant! Sergeant Im caught a signal—one kilometer out, monsters!”
“How many?”
“Twenty! And moreover…”
The man’s eyes bulged with shock as he reported in a trembling voice.
“They’re all medium-sized F-8 class.”
The lieutenant’s own eyes flew wide open as she screamed.
“Move, now!!!”
Send the damn emergency signal before you move! My internal shriek never reached her.
They rushed into the abandoned factory. After hiding all the civilians deep inside and perfectly assigning positions to every squad member, the lieutenant finally remembered the communicator.
“Communications officer, come here a moment.”
She asked the man who came running, “Is the emergency signal device functioning?”
The communications officer answered in a voice shaking with terror.
“Yes. It seems its lifespan suddenly dropped because we’re in a mana-tainted area, but it can still be used about ten more times.”
“How much has it decreased?”
“Roughly one-tenth.”
“That much in a single day… Is there any chance it will suddenly stop working?”
No. That’s not from degradation. That’s from use.
“…I don’t know. According to what I was taught, that kind of phenomenon only happens in C-class or higher Gates…”
Fortunately the lieutenant’s situational judgment was fast. Even if they sent the emergency signal now, the monsters already within one kilometer would arrive long before the rescue team. Even though there were only twenty F-8 monsters, a unit that was little more than civilian escorts would be wiped out before help arrived. So her decision was obvious.
“You stay with the civilians. If I give the order… or if you receive my rescue signal, you decide whether to send the emergency transmission.”
Watching the lieutenant head toward the most dangerous point, I actually felt a little sorry. Maybe this unit wasn’t completely hopeless after all. The scene I’d witnessed that morning might have been nothing more than a momentary slip… The sniper at the outpost now was the same. He was still problematic as a soldier, but as a subordinate he was decent enough.
“Sergeant, shouldn’t we move to a slightly safer location?”
The outpost had suppressed every light source and was swallowed in pitch darkness. The sniper clicked his tongue irritably at his subordinate’s question, spotted a monster roaming near the abandoned factory, and ground his teeth.
“Hey, you son of a bitch. Why do you think the lieutenant stuck you right next to me?”
“Huh? It’s because the sniper rifle needs mana replenishment…”
“Idiot. Sergeant Im does that better than you.”
“Then why…”
“Because I trust you. Not as much as I trust myself, but still.”
Humans wear different masks depending on who they’re facing. That’s why I would never see that man’s loyal expression. But it seemed the lieutenant had.
The instant the sniper spotted a monster crawling toward the rooftop where the lieutenant stood, he pulled the trigger. There wasn’t the slightest hesitation. But compared to the Chungmugun, his skill was pathetic. He couldn’t hit vital points, the output was weak, and his hands shook violently right before firing. It was a miracle the shot even landed.
Thud—
The enchanted round from the sniper rifle blew off one of the monster’s legs.
The human presence that had been coloring the abandoned factory was completely masked by the murky mana rising from the mountain. Every monster’s gaze snapped toward the outpost on the slope.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The sound of massive bodies smashing through bushes and trees filled the factory. Everyone held their breath. If the monsters moved away from the building at this rate, I was going to cast a recognition-inhibiting spell on the outpost, but—
“Uwaaaaack!!!”
A scream rang out, followed by the roar of gunfire.
Ratatatatata!
Immediately afterward, the lieutenant’s voice crackled from the communications officer’s radio.
"Hold your position! Sergeant Im! Cease fire! Get to the rooftop and wait for sniper support!"
Wondering what had happened, I created multiple Dew Lenses in several locations. There was Corporal Lee climbing the external stairs toward the rooftop. The moment I saw the monster that had paused after being hit by his shots, everything clicked.
It was a large gorilla-shaped monster with no head and dozens of faces covering its entire arms. He must have met eyes with one of those faces. He probably thought they’d been discovered—but that creature had no eyesight to begin with.
“Haa—”
A sigh slipped out before I could stop it.
Seohyun, still hugging me, asked with a worried face.
“Why? Are you feeling sick?”
Then she spun my body around to face her, so I grabbed a handful of her hair and tugged. Her head came forward obediently.
“Ow— why are you doing that?”
When her face was close enough, I whispered.
“What I’m about to tell you is a secret. Can you keep it?”
Seohyun’s eyes went round. Even I had to admit it was too abrupt. But there was no time for a proper explanation.
“You’ve gotten stronger. Charge in.”
Her eyes grew even wider. Maybe I’d been too brief. Frowning, I added more.
“I’m a buffer. An awakener. I’m going to give you power now, so go out there and fight.”
Seohyun still looked like she couldn’t process the situation, but I couldn’t afford to wait any longer. The ‘face gorilla’ was simply too dangerous an opponent.
“Eit!”
I grabbed Seohyun’s chest. It wasn’t to settle any grudges from my previous life, and after obtaining this new body those kinds of feelings had vanished completely anyway. This was simply the most efficient method of power injection.
The blessing that would activate the natural mana deep inside her heart. Its name was.
Spirit King's Protection
Seohyun’s pupils flooded with emerald light. A moment later she lost focus entirely and let out a moan as though she had fallen into ecstasy.
“Ooh…”
I summoned wind to lift her body into the air. Fortunately she seemed too absorbed in savoring the violent currents of mana swirling inside her to notice anything else.
I hopped down to the ground alone. Then came the method acting.
“Wow—! Sister’s body feels incredible!”
Hmm. The line came out a little weird. Cold sweat broke out as I checked the reactions around me, but thankfully—
“Seohyun?! What’s happening?!”
The people who had jumped up in a panic rushed beneath the floating girl.
“Grab this hand!”
“Aigo, you monster!! Don’t you dare touch our Seohyun!!!”
“Snap out of it, Seohyun!!”
Whew. I wiped my forehead and controlled the wind. Launch!
Crash!
The window on the factory’s upper floor shattered, and the hero took flight.