The Commoner's Martial Arts
I created a Dew Lens above Lee Seo-hyun's head and locked onto her body's mana signature along with her coordinates. Then I made the lens's mana vibrate to send a telepathic message.
I'll move you right in front of the monster you need to fight, so don't chicken out and just go for it.
Normally, sending telepathy required first analyzing the recipient's mana wavelength. But right now, Seo-hyun's body was filled with the natural mana I had personally awakened in her. Thanks to that, she picked up my message far more clearly than most detection-type awakeners would have. She asked back in wonder.
“Are you really a goddess?”
What the hell was she suddenly talking about? Still, whatever. The fact that she was keeping her sanity after being forcibly lifted thirty meters into the air already made her an outstanding talent.
I wrapped her in a whirlwind and warned her once more.
“Why?”
There was no more time to chat. I fired the whirlwind at the gorilla that had already leaped onto the rooftop. From the center of the vortex came a startled “Huk!” as Seo-hyun spotted the approaching gorilla and immediately reacted in a way that made my eyes widen.
That stance…!
I almost shouted out loud. Right before slamming into the gorilla’s solar plexus, the posture Seo-hyun took was the basic stance of Beombu Shingong, the martial art used by civilian units fifty years ago.
And the technique she used the moment she collided with the gorilla was—
“Super Thermal Wave Slash!!!”
Originally it was a two-handed technique that involved coating your palms with mana liquid from various batteries before striking. Since I knew the exact combination of mana liquids used back then, I could perfectly match the flow for her.
Right hand: fire energy. Left hand: water energy. And the mana liquid on her wrists that would normally change properties at the moment of explosion to create a protective barrier was—
Active Skill: Eternal Firm Mountain
Seo-hyun’s two palms, now glowing golden, struck the gorilla’s solar plexus.
KWAAAAAAAAANG—!!!
The shockwave swept through the area first. The walls and floor of the abandoned factory cracked apart. Even I hadn’t expected it to be this powerful. And when the gorilla’s body was instantly shredded into pieces and sent flying in every direction at nearly the speed of sound, it completely exceeded my predictions. I was left speechless.
The monsters seemed to be cowering just like I was, so there didn’t appear to be any further danger. If we just kept an eye on the snipers from now on, we should be able to hold out quietly until the rescue team arrived. That’s why I tried to stop her, but—
“Next!”
The moment she landed, Seo-hyun began a slaughter like a crazy bitch—no, as a crazy bitch.
Deep in the forest. In front of the monster corpses that had been mangled beyond recognition, Seo-hyun grumbled.
“It’s not coming out anymore. Ultra Super Thermal Wave Slash.”
She looked down at her palms with clear disappointment, but she had just succeeded in using Super Thermal Wave Slash with only her own mana. For the thirty-seventh time.
In the end, her total monster kills reached seventy-two. The rest had been handled by the sniper. It had taken less than an hour to accomplish such a feat.
So I couldn’t exactly complain to the Chungmugun unit that had just arrived about why they were so late. But I did want to complain about the person who had shown up.
Of all people, it had to be Kwon Hye-in.
Carrying the red axe that was probably my natural enemy, she stepped out of an amphibious vehicle designed for Gate entry and walked into the abandoned factory. Her expression, now visible to the naked eye, was twisted with irritation.
“Person in charge, front and center.”
A communications soldier ran toward the coldly spitting woman and radioed in.
“Lieutenant. Chungmugun unit has arrived.”
Hye-in asked the soldier standing in front of her.
“Did Lieutenant Na Mi-rae order this?”
The soldier was so tense he couldn’t answer properly.
“Pardon? That… what…”
Hye-in’s eyes widened with fury as she grabbed the soldier by the collar. She growled in a low voice.
“Who the hell told you to send the emergency signal?”
The soldier couldn’t answer this time either. He was completely frozen, mouth opening and closing uselessly.
It was a relief that the lieutenant had returned quickly.
“Loyalty.”
At the sound of the salute from the side, Hye-in released the soldier’s collar and turned to look at the lieutenant.
“Speak.”
Even in front of Hye-in who was radiating killing intent, the lieutenant calmly explained the situation.
“Around 02:00, due to a response error, our location was discovered by the monsters. Before that, we had already determined that the number was impossible for us to break through with our abilities, so I had delegated usage authority to the communications soldier.”
It was a reasonable excuse. The lieutenant didn’t know that one crucial fact had been left out. But the smartphone-shaped terminal Hye-in pulled out contained every single detail.
Hye-in tossed it to the lieutenant. The lieutenant looked at the information inside with a puzzled expression, then her face hardened.
Hye-in ordered.
“Bring him. The bastard who sent that.”
The lieutenant closed her eyes. Watching her chest slowly shrink, even I started to feel miserable.
I shot to my feet. I had no idea why I was doing this, but my heavy legs carried me straight to Hye-in without stopping. But opening my mouth was difficult. For about ten seconds I just fidgeted with my fingers. After what felt like an eternity of agonizing, I finally spoke. Thankfully, my genuinely uncomfortable feelings made the pitiful act come naturally.
“Um… pretty big sis…”
Hye-in only moved her murderous eyes to glance down at me. Three seconds of silence. I thought she wouldn’t even bother speaking, but… suddenly she flipped her hair back in a cool motion, struck a pose, and spoke in a voice fresher than any celebrity in a soft drink commercial.
“What’s wrong, little lady with such good taste in people?”
What the hell is wrong with this woman? Bipolar disorder? She was even wearing an incredibly refreshing smile.
Just to be sure, I checked the mana inside her body. Thankfully, there wasn’t even a speck of natural mana. Good. It would be troublesome if another fanatic like Lee Seo-hyun appeared. Especially if it was the axe woman in front of me… would that actually be beneficial? …I don’t know.
For now, I needed to look as pitiful as possible, so I mumbled in the most pathetic voice I could manage.
“This uncle’s bag… I touched it… Dad said if I ever see something like this I have to press the red button no matter what…”
Hye-in’s previously refreshing eyes turned cold again. Her sharp gaze swept over the civilians. On the other hand, the voice she used when questioning the lieutenant was strangely gentle.
“This child’s parents?”
“They are not present.”
Hye-in turned toward the exit.
“Keep that terminal until we return.”
“But, this is…”
“It’s a special case due to the Yangmok City incident. Return it to headquarters when we get back.”
The lieutenant saluted Hye-in as she walked out.
“Loyalty!”
It seemed like the incident had been wrapped up, but that was far from the truth. The most dangerous moment for me was right now.
The hero’s return.
“Captain! It’s an awakener!”
A loud report came from outside. My eyes squeezed shut. Misinterpreting my reaction, the lieutenant gave a faint smile and said.
“It’s okay. No one’s going to scold you.”
Then she crouched down and patted my head… Go away. You’re actually making me sad for real.
Just in case, I withdrew all the mana I had deployed toward Seo-hyun. I had already removed the Dew Lens the moment I spotted Kwon Hye-in. To check the situation, I had to run all the way to the door. The lieutenant kindly misinterpreted my sudden dash as well.
“Sergeant Kim. Go check on Miss Seo-hyun’s condition.”
She had also witnessed Seo-hyun slaughtering the monsters firsthand. She had probably guessed that Seo-hyun was the one who had taken out every monster Sergeant Im had discovered. I wondered if she had the mental bandwidth to connect this “abnormal awakening process” to the miracle from yesterday.
I forced my eyes—which were trying to squeeze shut again—wide open. The scene visible the moment I stepped outside the door was far too important.
In the forest a short distance away, a cheerful trio was walking while chatting amicably. The sniper, Sergeant Park, was laughing brightly as he spoke.
“When I saw it from far away, it was seriously insane, you know? The moment you collided, there was this spherical sonic boom—whoosh!—and the sound came later while the monster went boom! How could anyone not freak out after seeing that!”
Corporal Lee chimed in from the side.
“For me, what came after that was the real spine-chiller. When you took on three lycanthropes at once, it was seriously…”
And between the two of them, Seo-hyun was scratching her head with an embarrassed look.
“I didn’t know it would work either.”
Hye-in, who had been watching the three, unfolded a scroll handed to her by a detection-type awakener under her command and asked.
“Captain Kim. What do you think?”
The detection-type awakener called Captain Kim twisted his lips.
“It’s a pattern I’ve never seen before, so I honestly have no idea what kind of ability it—”
“No.” Hye-in cut him off and rephrased her question. “I’m asking if it’s possible to reach A-class right after awakening.”
Captain Kim asked back in shock.
“Pardon? Is she an unregistered awakener?”
Hye-in crumpled the scroll and shoved it into her pocket.
“No. She’s a complete newbie.”
Then she walked toward Seo-hyun. The closer the two got, the more anxious I became. Plus, from the conversation I had just heard, I realized something.
‘Don’t tell me the trace detection technology has already advanced that far!’
How could they figure out a combatant’s abilities with just a single scroll? In my time, the technology to analyze monster stats hadn’t even been completed yet. This is so unfair. If I had known, I would have held back from the start. But it was already too late.
The three stopped in front of Hye-in with bewildered expressions. The two soldiers among them must have recognized her, because their faces suddenly stiffened. Then came a thunderous salute.
““Loyalty!!!””
After receiving their salutes, Hye-in stared directly at Seo-hyun. Seo-hyun scratched her cheek with an awkward expression and unexpectedly made a suggestion first.
“Could you move aside? I need to get back to the kid quickly.”
You damn idiot. Why the hell are you bringing me up right there?