The Advantage of Being First
"You might actually be a natural at this combatant stuff."
Lee Kangin said that to me after casually slicing off a goblin's arm and coming back. Naturally, he had both the skill and the guts to kill goblins. He was just holding back to lighten the load for the combatants struggling to capture live ones—a small act of consideration for strangers he'd never even met.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You didn't hesitate at all, even though it was your first time swinging at one."
"That wouldn't fly as normal back on modern Earth."
"But that's exactly what we need here."
He was right. The Shelter needed people who could cut down monsters without a second thought, not those preaching empathy and respect for life.
With Lee Kangin going last, everyone on our team took a swing at a goblin. Ri Shaolin, Blanc, even Adachi Kenji.
"...Damn it."
Ri Shaolin's face was twisted in frustration. Fueled by competitive spirit after seeing me kill mine without hesitation, she'd tried for a deep cut but failed. She'd inflicted a deeper wound than the other trainees, but not enough to finish it off. Like the rest, some unconscious aversion had kicked in.
That's probably normal.
I'd killed Baek Hamin with my bare hands, not a sword, and Natural Healing had dulled my hesitation far more. It was just that tiny edge.
"Ugh... I don't think I can eat dinner... The feel of it on my hands..."
"M-me too..."
Blanc and Adachi Kenji muttered, their faces pale as ghosts. They had no idea how much muscle they'd lose skipping a meal.
After training wrapped and dinner time hit, I urged them to eat, but they still felt queasy and refused. In the end, it was just Lee Kangin, Ri Shaolin, and me at the table.
*
Baby Angel had been staying at our place for a week now. I still hadn't found the right moment to reveal my relationship with Anzelli, so she was clueless. Not that it mattered—sneaking around like this added a thrilling edge.
"...Your hand's so warm."
"Angels have higher body temps, you know?"
"Still."
Squeeze.
Anzelli tightened her grip on my hand. I couldn't share a bed with her while someone else was in the house, but she seemed plenty content just holding hands like this.
"Ah... Junior's coming this way."
"Oh? Guess we can't help it."
"...Yeah."
Whoosh.
Anzelli gazed wistfully at my hand slipping away from hers. She was so cute like that—I leaned in for a quick kiss on her lips, then played it cool.
Perfect timing—the living room door swung open.
- Click.
"Oh, Senior, Chanyoung. Having some tea?"
"Yeah. Want some?"
"No thanks. It's been ages since I had leave, so I just wanna laze around. Rolled around for a week straight and I'm still not bored."
"Sounds good."
"Yeah... Huh? Senior, your face is kinda red?"
Baby Angel glanced at Anzelli beside me as she said it. Sure enough, Anzelli's cheeks were flushed, just like the angel pointed out.
"Eek? Is it? N-nothing happened!"
- Slurp!
"Hot!!"
Anzelli scalded her tongue chugging tea in a panic. After a week together, you'd think she'd be used to it by now, but she jumped every time.
At this point, I was curious. Anzelli, who couldn't act to save her life, versus Baby Angel, who was oblivious as hell—which one would win?
...Too hard to call. I gave up predicting.
*
Time marched on. I'd been in Terraforming for over a month now. Tons of training, a few incidents along the way.
That meant one thing.
The original story's cliffhanger is right around the corner!
Not much time left. It started with two weeks of basic fitness. Then the Gerard raid. A month of team training. Culminating in team battles on the final day—real combat style.
After that, an incident hits... and boom, cliffhanger.
We're almost there. Tomorrow's the last day of team training—the pre-announced team battles.
"Ugh... Do we really have to fight monsters?"
"You hacked that tied-up goblin just fine—why the whining now?"
"No... Ri Shaolin, I'm not as tough-minded as you."
"You're just a coward, Blanc."
Ri Shaolin snapped curtly, but she didn't seem too offended by Blanc calling her tough-minded. Funny thing was... she was parched for praise.
She was a born leader type—loved stepping up, thrived on her own superiority. But this team had two people way better: me and Lee Kangin. Her spotlight got overshadowed, so she pushed twice as hard to keep up.
Can't complain about that grit.
Her growth meant the team's growth. She was leveling up faster than in the original thanks to joining us. Whether she was happy now was beside the point...
Blanc and Adachi Kenji hadn't made any glaring mistakes either. Tomorrow's real fight was a wildcard, but aside from the early days, they'd been solid. I was satisfied—they'd more than pulled their weight.
"Just fight like we trained, and it won't be hard. Everyone get some early sleep, stock up stamina for tomorrow."
Lee Kangin with his usual straight talk. Guy was too protagonist-coded sometimes. That cheesy line sounded legit coming from his handsome face.
"Ugh... Too nervous to sleep..."
"Want me to put you to sleep? Forever?"
"...Pass."
"Then shut up and sleep."
Ri Shaolin picked a quick fight with Blanc, then flopped into bed looking relieved. Poor Blanc got used as her stress ball and discarded. I patted him on the back briefly, then hit the sack myself.
...
As always, young staffer Tom woke us up at the Northern Training Camp. Morning run, breakfast done—but an inexplicable tension hung over the trainees. They all knew: today was monster day.
Well... it's tough, sure, but five of us? No screw-ups, and we should have it easy.
Natalia Kaya had tipped us off: not goblins. Something stronger than trainee average—to test blocking a powerful foe as a group. That's how they'd evaluate all the prior training.
Instructors would step in if it got dicey... but failing teams? Hell on earth. A taste of the two-week nightmare I did with Brack.
Do that again? No way in hell—we're passing!
I steeled myself. I knew exactly what we were facing. Straight from the original.
Orc. Yeah, orc.
These days, orcs were cannon fodder in most stories—dropping by the dozen to the protag's swings. But logically? A 2-meter-plus musclebound brute tipping 200kg+? No way that's weak against half-baked superhumans like us. Unless you're a swordmaster slinging aura.
I reviewed our pre-planned strategy with the team while waiting for the training to start.
*
"Alright! This is your opponent... this bad boy right here! An orc. Kill it, and you pass."
- Grrrrraaawr!!Squeeeal!!
The orc was bound in ropes twice as thick as the goblins'. Even so, Brack had to muscle it down—it thrashed too wildly. His strength was insane; the massive thing couldn't budge under his grip.
As described in the novel, the orc was huge. Limbs packed with muscle, hands that could snap human limbs like twigs. Pure intimidation.
"So... who's first up against it? No volunteers, huh? Fine, we'll pick..."
"Our team will go first."
"Huh?"
Chris Bennett—Gwangnyeon-i—turned toward the voice. Our team stood there.
As we'd discussed beforehand, we stepped up first.
Some might question it. My other four teammates sure did at first. Why not go later? Watch other teams, learn patterns, gauge strength and speed. All upsides, right? Especially since no one knew what monster it was—except me and Lee Kangin.
Every other trainee's probably thinking the same.
No one wants to face it first. But I convinced our team otherwise. With rock-solid logic.
I replayed that convo in my head.
……
"Us first? That's... insane."
"...All downsides, no matter how you slice it."
"No, we gotta go first. It'll be way easier."
"Doesn't make sense."
"Chanyoung's got a plan. Let's hear it—he's the smartest here."
"...Just street smarts."
I smirked past Ri Shaolin's gripe and faced the team to sell it.
"Remember goblin-slicing day? First trainee barely nicked it. Instructors still praised 'em. But later ones who skimped? Got reamed."
"...Yeah, chewed 'em out hard."
"Exactly. Means they get it—the first step's the hardest."
"Ah-ha... Got it."
"Same here. They're pros; won't let order create unfairness. So..."
"...First team gets an easier one than the later ones!"
"Bingo. Even if not, we'll snag some advantage."
Not in the original. Pure my call, based on a month's observation of Brack and Gwangnyeon-i's instructor chops. I trusted it.
"One catch: off-pattern monster."
I flagged the flaw upfront. Me and Lee Kangin knew it was an orc—no weird patterns. Just brute force, no variables. But they didn't.
"Huh, true. Might be better to scout info first. Prior intel beats a stronger foe, right?"
"Nah, odds are low. Instructors aren't rookies—curriculum's set. They won't spring unseen problems when we haven't even seen basics."
At least in teaching, Gwangnyeon-i and Brack were elite. Not just my faith—every trainee trusted 'em, so nods all around.
"Yeah... They could spot fakers from real injuries like ghosts..."
Adachi Kenji flinched beside me. Exhibit A, courtesy of the instructors.
"Our basics outshine other teams. No mistakes, highest pass odds."
Nods. We were top dogs, big gap to second.
"High chance of standard foe, plus our advantage. Solid fundamentals? We crush it."
"...True."
"Whoa... From their POV, yeah..."
The four stared, impressed, nodding. Unanimous.
And so, we chose to go first.