Terraforming - One Month in District 11 with Chris and Lee Kangin
A month had passed since I started working in District 11 alongside Chris and Lee Kangin from the Terraforming world. My probation as a Combatant was finally over. Starting today, my fellow recruits could collect their paychecks and take leave.
Lee Kangin, the regressor, had worn an incredibly serene expression the whole time we were stationed in District 11. He looked utterly convinced that nothing major would happen anytime soon. Thanks to that, I felt no pressure taking my first vacation—a full two days and one night.
It's been a while since I visited the slums.
Moving between districts through the forest was much faster, of course. But no sane district manager would allow it. If a Combatant on leave bolted, there'd be no catching them.
Unless it was some emergency like the "training camp raid," it was simply out of the question.
- Thud, thud.
I was following official leave procedures, heading through the Shelter interior to the Combatant barracks in another district. Countless eyes bored into me from all directions.
Remember? In this world, Combatants received top-tier treatment. And their salaries? Insanely high, naturally.
Even without that, I've got my bounty reward—enough to live comfortably in the Shelter forever.
The pay gap between ordinary one-dimensional job workers and Combatants was extreme. The cost of us eating out a few times at a proper restaurant matched a lower-class resident's monthly wage.
Just a few "offers of the body" to a Combatant could net more than a month's salary in one go, which was why so few refused. Of course, I didn't—and couldn't— partake.
If Chris caught wind of it, it wouldn't end as a joke.
Anyway, the point was this: Dating a Combatant could flip anyone's life overnight, no matter their lowly status. Even the ugliest Combatant became a hot commodity, swarmed with suitors.
That was why Combatants sang about wanting leave all day long.
But... even the handsomest, highest-status, most charming guy couldn't always get approached.
If they hit on me, the guy who's already got a Combatant girlfriend, and piss off Chris... their life would be over.
That was why no women spoke to me as I walked this prime catch material down the street. Hundreds of eyes peeked from behind walls, watching me from afar.
...Come to think of it, that was a blessing in disguise. Imagining over a hundred women going wild and swarming me—even a woman-lover like me broke into a cold sweat.
If they were all beauties, maybe. But the pretty ones had long been snatched up by senior Combatants. The leftovers were mostly...
Ugh... please don't come near me...
It felt like playing minesweeper where over 75% of the tiles were mines. No fat people here—they'd wasted away from starvation. Don't picture Instagram fitness models. Cheekbones jutting out... uh... for their honor, I'll stop there.
I quickened my pace to hustle through the slums.
-
"I-isn't that the guy from the rumors...?"
"Found a trace of a native?"
"Yeah... gotta be him with that insane face... Park Chanyoung...!"
"Heard his girlfriend's a Combatant?"
"Don't touch. Just look."
"B-but with a face like that, isn't it worth betting your life on?"
"...Fair point."
My sharp hearing caught even their whispers. Now I moved at near-sprinting speed.
*
"Ugh... sniff!"
"Don't get so close. Your snot'll rub off."
"That's harsh to a sick person. Hack! You came all this way just to see me!"
"Who said I came to see you? Just stopped by on the way."
I'd visited the Northern Training Camp just for a glimpse of Brack's face, but on the way out, I ran into an unexpected person: Natalia Kaya.
She was staying out of District 12 as an assistant instructor, helping the new instructor settle in. Though right now, she was too sick to do much.
"A cold?"
"Fl... flu... Don't worry. They say a few days' rest and it'll go away on its own?"
"Flu? In this world? Who'd you catch it from?"
"Probably the new trainees. Sniff!"
"Ah... so the fresh batch is arriving soon, huh."
"It's the kind you don't get if you got the shot as a kid, but I was scared of needles back then... so I skipped it... Hack!"
"...You're still scared of needles."
"..."
Kaya avoided my eyes. I gave her a slightly pitying look.
Self-inflicted. End of story.
I left the sniffling Kaya behind and exited the Northern Training Camp. No more business there anyway.
After swinging by nearby District 12 for lunch with Ri Shaolin—who couldn't stop smirking the whole time I was there, grinning mid-bite like it was a show—I headed to my real destination.
(For the record, Ri Shaolin's lip twitched uncontrollably when I showed up. Watching her eat was half the fun.)
The reason I'd used vacation time? District 6.
Lee Kangin and Kaya thought I was just meeting my friend Blanc there...
That's just cover for my real goal.
I couldn't ignore it any longer. The district where I suspected Lee Kangin had picked up the regression orb.
While patrolling District 11 with him, I'd casually asked where he thought he'd be assigned. Why so shocked at ending up in 11?
District 6 came out of his mouth.
Didn't seem like a lie.
He trusted me enough by then, and he had zero talent for faking expressions.
High chance he'd been assigned to District 6 pre-regression.
But it wasn't 100% certain. Nor that he'd grabbed the orb right before dying in combat there.
Still, I had to check.
There probably weren't multiple of those insane items lying around, but...
A regression orb isn't some ordinary trinket. If someone else snags another one, it could spell irreversible disaster.
Best to confirm as much as possible.
For that, a vacation or two was a small price.
But I wasn't wandering blindly. A single line from the prologue gave me a clue.
Lee Kangin, body launched by the rebels' pincer attack, slammed into a 'cliff' before bouncing off.
His death spot was near a cliff. Huge hint.
Cliffs stand out. And Blanc being assigned to District 6? Perfect coincidence.
Just scout District 6 and vicinity for cliffs.
Eagerness sped my steps. I reached District 6 soon enough.
"Whoa! Chanyoung? Burning leave already?"
"Why hold back when I can take it now? How's District 6? Anything going on?"
"Totally normal. Fights pop up sometimes... but no real threats."
"Good to hear."
Good that I'm a Combatant. When Blanc headed out on patrol, I tagged along under the guise of sightseeing the district.
Not alone—with him and the senior Combatants. Still, grateful for permission.
Normally, you'd never get forest access.
"You're weird. Taking leave to work?"
"Haha! Just curious about the vibe in other districts?"
"Hmm... if you say so. Beats me."
Even slum dwellers knew my name. No way fellow Combatants didn't.
As I said before, I was pretty famous now. "The first to find traces of a native."
Bonded easily with the District 6 crew.
-
Murmur, murmur.
Our chit-chat continued mid-patrol. All superhumans here—goblins or orcs were no issue unless it was a Baekwonhu. We could detect them while talking.
Probably enjoyed bantering with a guy like me who read the room well.
Halfway through the district.
I stopped focusing on the conversation.
Something caught my eye far off.
A cliff jutting dozens of meters up.
-
Gulp.
I didn't believe in hunches. But a superhuman's mana-fueled instinct? Worth trusting.
Mine screamed: That's the spot.
Luckily, we headed that way.
I played it cool, chatting close to kill time.
-
Murmur, murmur!
One minute felt like an hour. I wanted to bolt ahead, not stroll.
I reined in the urge.
As we neared, about to pass by...
"Uh... sorry, guys..."
"Hm? What's up? You look pale. Sick?"
"Haha... uh... my stomach's a bit... Urk..."
"...Whew. Barracks are kinda far from here..."
"O-outside's fine. Sorry, can I just... real quick... handle it?"
"No prob. And... awkward to say, but... we're superhumans with sharp ears? ...You get it. Do it farther off."
"Haha, got it. Dinner's soon—I know better."
"Yeah. Take your time. We'll wait."
"S-sorry..."
"It's cool. Bodily functions, man. Go on."
"Thanks. Be right back..."
-
Swish...
I slipped into the brush and bolted like it was urgent. Heard a senior chuckle behind, but ignored it.
No need to care about my image with District 6 folks—probably never see 'em again.
Once out of sight, I killed my presence and sprinted.
Toward the nearby cliff.
-
Tap, tap, tap—thud!
"Hm..."
Did "cliff" include this?
Not your typical rock face. Looked like a massive earthquake had shifted the strata sky-high.
Less a cliff, more elevated layered earth. Textbook geology—varied soils stacked like on Earth.
"Damn... not here?"
Lee Kangin's orb was white. I scoured the ground nearby, super vision and reflexes missing nothing.
No white orb.
"Wrong spot? Or... his white one was the last?"
No luck on the ground. Widened my search—to presumed impact sites on the strata too.
This...
Bones poking from the rock? Not weird—life existed eons ago. Archaeologists would drool; not me.
But humanoid shape? Different story.
At least bipedal.
"Goblin? Orc? No way..."
I pulled up the item info window on the bone.
Didn't work on landmarks like the Temple of Time, but objects like this? High chance.
Maybe a clue.
Nailed it.
Ding!
Name: Elf Remains
Type: Miscellaneous
Level: -
Effect: -
Description: Remains of an elf who died an immeasurably long time ago.
The status window was simple.
But packed a shock.
"Elf...!"
Elves had existed in this world.