Chapter 43

Deserters (1)

Full of confidence, we rode back to the officers’ quarters in the vehicles.

“Salute.”

The soldiers who had been defending the quarters came out to greet us.

“Welcome back.”

“Yeah. Nothing unusual while we were gone?”

“Yes. More importantly, how did it go?”

We had gone out on an operation to secure supplies.

The soldiers guarding the quarters looked like they couldn’t hold back their curiosity about the results.

I opened my mouth with a dark expression.

“Sorry, but—”

“Ah…”

“Ahem.”

Disappointment spread across the soldiers’ faces.

“Well, um. Things don’t always go smoothly in one go, you know? Everyone, don’t be too—”

“We couldn’t bring it all back in one trip.”

“Don’t be too disappointed, huh?”

Snort!

Leaving behind the soldiers who looked like they had no idea what I was talking about,

I reached back and opened the cargo bed of the modified truck.

Screeech!

“W-What is that?!”

“Just how much is this?!”

Their disappointed expressions instantly turned into shock.

“There was so much that it was impossible to bring everything back in one trip with the vehicles we took. Sorry, but you guys will have to work a bit to unload it too.”

“S-So that’s what you meant?”

The supplies we had stuffed in to the brim, trying to carry as much as possible, came into view. The soldiers who had been stuck guarding the quarters and didn’t know the situation just stood there dumbfounded.

“You’re saying this isn’t even all of it? Just how on earth…”

“We got a little lucky.”

When I glanced to the side,

I saw Suyeon and Su-hyeok getting out of another vehicle.

“Woooow…”

“I’ll show you around later. For now, let’s go inside.”

The siblings moved into the quarters, holding Lee Sang-ah’s hand.

Even then, maybe because the quarters themselves were fascinating, they kept looking around here and there, and seeing that made me think.

‘Seriously, there’s no other way to put it than that we got lucky.’

In truth, this operation should have failed. The mart we went to in order to secure supplies had already been completely looted by other survivors.

Originally, the operation should have been a failure. We should have returned empty-handed, but, we met those kids there. And thanks to the information we heard from them…

‘We hit the jackpot.’

A huge amount of food and daily necessities. Medical supplies, and even luxury items like cigarettes and alcohol as a bonus.

Thanks to that, you could say life in our unit had gained a bit of breathing room.

“Sorry, but could those of you who were resting help unload the supplies?”

“Yes. I’ll go call everyone!”

“And team leaders, gather for a moment.”

So now, finally, it was time to grow bigger.

* * *

One room among the quarters buildings. The team leaders of our guild had gathered there.

I stood with them behind me and glanced out the window.

“Damn, cigarettes.”

“Hey! Cigarettes are one pack per person for now!”

“Even one pack is something. It’s been over a month since we were forced to quit smoking.”

“I don’t smoke, though.”

“Huh? Then can’t you give yours to me? I’ll pay you back later—”

I could see them carrying in and distributing the supplies we had brought back.

Looking at that scene, I opened my mouth.

“The amount of food ingredients we secured is also considerable. They’re basic, but we got medical supplies too.”

“Just looking at it, it seems like we can eat and laze around for a while.”

The mood among the gathered team leaders wasn’t bad either.

Like they said, we still had meat left over from hunting monsters. There was enough food to get by for a while even if we did nothing.

However…

“This is exactly when we shouldn’t be relaxing.”

Setting aside the fact that we’d gained some leeway, this wasn’t a situation where we could afford to take it easy.

At my words, Corporal Seo Su-hyeok nodded.

“We only gained a brief margin. The long-term problems are still there.”

“Yeah. Now that we have some breathing room, I think we should use this moment to build up our strength.”

“Build up our strength, you say?”

“It’s time to do what we’ve been putting off.”

The one who reacted the most to my words was none other than Corporal Seo Su-hyeok. With eyes sparkling with expectation, he looked at me.

“T-That means, maybe—”

“Yeah.”

I nodded in response and said,

“We increase the number of Awakened.”

“…Ah. Ahh. That’s what you meant.”

Then, Seo Su-hyeok’s expression twisted into a deep frown.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

‘Nothing, my ass.’

That face is clearly not nothing. The one who answered my question was Corporal Jeon Gwang-il.

“Heh heh. Su-hyeok was disappointed because it wasn’t about securing ammo.”

“…Shut it.”

“Ammo?”

“Oh, it’s really not like that. Still, increasing the number of Awakened is more efficient, right?”

Seo Su-hyeok was the team leader of the marksmen. And our unit’s first marksman-type Awakened. But right now, our unit was nearly out of ammunition. So when I talked about building strength, he probably thought of replenishing bullets first.

Considering that the marksmen make up the core of our unit’s firepower, and most of them can’t properly use their strength right now, that’s definitely a problem we need to solve too. But for the time being, there’s no real way to deal with it.

On the other hand, there was someone else whose face had darkened for a different reason.

“Hoo…”

It was Team Leader Lee Sang-ah.

Unlike Seo Su-hyeok, I could easily guess why she looked like that.

“Worried?”

“They’re people who trusted me and followed me here. How could I not worry?”

Increasing the number of Awakened. We weren’t talking about recruiting outsiders. We were talking about Awakening the survivors who were staying with us.

And those targets, most of them belonged to her group. Even excluding her, who was already Awakened, and the five criminals, there were still around twenty people. Leaving that many people unawakened and idle until now had been a loss in itself.

“Hoo… I just hope there won’t be any accidents.”

To Awaken, you have to personally cut down a monster. It’s a task that carries significant risk.

In fact, in Park Taejun’s case, he ended up with injuries so severe he couldn’t walk.

I could understand her worry.

“Don’t worry. We’ve done this countless times in the unit.”

Corporal Jeon Gwang-il spoke to the worried Lee Sang-ah. It was quite a different attitude from how he barked at frightened soldiers.

“At first, there were accidents among our unit too, but by now, our soldiers have learned how to subdue monsters. There won’t be any dangerous incidents.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Just trust us and leave it to us. More than anything, isn’t this something Sergeant Shin suggested?”

‘Huh. Why is my name suddenly coming up here?’

“You saw it this time too, right? Those perfectly camouflaged monsters… When you ordered us to attack what looked like an ordinary refrigerator! We followed without question, and bam, some silver slime popped out!”

“Well, that was impressive, yeah.”

“And after that, you pointed out ordinary-looking objects one by one and told us they were monsters. We just had to attack wherever Sergeant Shin told us to, didn’t we?”

As he talked about me, the guy thumped his own chest.

“It’ll be the same this time. If we just do what Sergeant Shin tells us, everything will work out.”

From my perspective, that logic was pretty ridiculous.

“When you put it like that, you’re right!”

The fact that someone fell for that logic was even more ridiculous.

‘…Should I just think of it as ‘all’s well that ends well’?’

“Gwang-il. Are you really selling your senior’s name like that?”

“Hehe. I trust Sergeant Shin with my life. Salute, salute.”

“Geez. Don’t get me started.”

It was playful, sure. But at heart, he was just trying to comfort the ever-worried Lee Sang-ah.

‘This is actually how this guy really is.’

Basically kind and gentle.

When a guy like that starts acting all berserker-like… to be honest, I sometimes feel guilty. Like maybe I’ve done something awful to this gentle guy.

‘No. This isn’t the time to think about that.’

That’s something to think about only after survival is firmly secured.

‘We don’t have the luxury to sink into gloom right now…What’s important right now is…Increasing the number of Awakened.’

After the team leaders’ meeting ended, I went with Team Leader Lee Sang-ah to find the survivors.

When we told them about Awakening,

“So it’s finally our turn.”

The one who replied in a calm murmur was Grandpa Park.

“The soldiers will be with you. It won’t be dangerous.”

“I know. If anything, I’ve been waiting for this day.”

“Huh?”

“To be honest, it’s not very comfortable just being protected without having any strength of my own.”

An operation that carries risk.

I’d expected most people to be reluctant, but the reaction was the opposite.

“When I retired and got old, I realized it then too. If you have nothing to do and just laze around, it only gets boring.”

“Is that so?”

“Now that I think I’ll finally be able to do something again, my heart actually feels lighter.”

Snort!

“I guess once you Awaken, I’ll have to work you so hard that you’ll think things were better before.”

“…Do kids these days not know the phrase ‘respect your elders’?”

‘Well, setting aside the banter with Grandpa Park, the other survivors looked a bit tense, unlike him.’

“Mom…”

“It’s okay. Mom will be right there with you. Let’s listen to the uncles, alright?”

“Big sis… will it be okay?”

“You saw how strong those soldiers were at the mart, right? You don’t have to worry too much. Besides.”

Children, parents. Even the siblings who had joined the unit not long ago. Among them, there wasn’t a single person who refused to Awaken.

They all understood.

“To become strong like those soldiers, we have to go through this process too.”

In a world that had turned into little more than the wild…Now, everyone needed the strength to protect themselves.

* * *

The quarters were located on the outskirts of the outskirts. The surrounding area was basically the countryside.

And around those quarters…

“We found them.”

“Finally.”

Dozens of soldiers were roaming around.

“How many?”

“Looks like our luck is good. Three of them.”

“They’re one of the monsters we encountered coming down from the mountain. The strategy Sergeant Shin taught us should work here too.”

“Not bad.”

“Then—”

“Yeah. We’ll go with those.”

Three monsters wandering near the fields as they spread out. The soldiers approached them as if surrounding them.

Grrrrk!?

“Attack!”

Kaaaahk!

We had the numerical advantage too. There were no variables in the hunt.

“Combat over!”

“Any monsters approaching after hearing the noise?”

“None, it seems.”

“Good. Then—”

I glanced through the ranks of soldiers.

Then, a man who had been protected among them stepped forward.

“It’s my turn, then.”

“It won’t be hard.”

He was older than me, but now, he would become a junior in the unit. It felt a little awkward, but I decided to speak casually.

The other soldiers spoke to him.

“Don’t be nervous. Just take it easy.”

“If anything goes wrong, we’ll rush in right away. Just pull back calmly.”

“Yes.”

The soldiers handed him a rifle with a bayonet attached.

Holding the bayonet, he said as if it were fascinating,

“You told me not to be nervous, but honestly…”

“Yes?”

As he aimed the blade toward the monster, he said,

“I’m surprisingly calm. Don’t worry.”

『Calm emotion.』

Thrust!

“Good heavens.”

Watching the hunting process, Team Leader Lee Sang-ah spoke as if she couldn’t believe it.

“I never imagined Awakening could be done like this.”

“Huh? Is this really that amazing a method?”

“When I was leading the survivor group, we didn’t even know about Awakening, but… even now, knowing about it, it’s still shocking.”

Engaging monsters in combat is something that puts your life on the line. And subduing a monster alive, no less. It’s an act that carries enormous risk. That’s why survivors usually hide and avoid monsters. The small number of Awakened among survivor groups is largely due to that survival style.

“And just the fact that you’re roaming around in a group like this to hunt monsters, it’s not just surprising, it’s insane.”

But we were the complete opposite, we actively sought out monsters instead.

“This is only possible because we have over a hundred Awakened.”

While survivor groups might consider two Awakened a lot, we had over a hundred.

To be honest, it’s a pretty brute-force method.

‘But brute-force or not, the point is that it’s effective.’

The Awakening process proceeded very smoothly.

“They say I’m an ice magic caster?”

“Unni, you’re a mage too? They said I’m a fire mage.”

The sisters who had shared a room with Grandpa Park…Both of them Awakened as mages.

Seeing that, a soldier from the mage squad muttered,

“Does this mean the mage squad finally gets juniors? Am I finally escaping being the youngest—”

“For now, yeah. But you know, right? From now on, it’ll be skill-based, not just seniority.”

“…I guess I should be careful not to get overtaken.”

And then the person who had just been mentioned, Grandpa Park.

“They say I’m a blacksmith.”

“A blacksmith?”

“At this age, becoming a novice blacksmith. Heh heh.”

When he sharpened my knife before, I did wonder what kind of work he used to do. But I never expected he’d get a job like blacksmith. Maybe that really had been his original profession.

‘An increase in production-type classes is good news.’

Unlike combat classes, production classes shine more the larger the group is.

He’d be able to contribute a lot to our guild.

As the Awakening continued smoothly,

“Huh? Sergeant Shin.”

“What’s up?”

A soldier who had been scouting the surroundings seemed to have discovered something.

He called out to me from behind.

When I walked a few steps toward him, some sounds began to reach us from afar.

Clang…!

Bang…!

The sound of weapons colliding.And then…

Kraaaah!

“Hyung!”

People’s voices as well.

It was a strange situation, but understanding what was going on wasn’t that hard.

“Survivors.”

As we got closer, the scene came into view. A survivor group engaged in combat with monsters. Unlike the Su-hyeok–Suyeon siblings who had been separated from their group and left with just the two of them, this one looked like it had a decent number of people.

“Ah. They’re fighting that monster the wrong way.”

“They don’t know its weak point at all.”

“Hm.”

They were getting completely overwhelmed by the monsters. Monsters we could handle might be manageable for us, but for survivors with at most one or two Awakened, they were a huge threat.

“What should we do?”

The soldiers looked at me and asked.

“Shouldn’t we save them?”

“They’re making so much noise fighting like that. If we intervene and other monsters hear it and come swarming over…”

The soldiers’ opinions seemed split down the middle.

One side wanted to save them first. The other said it was too dangerous and we should pass by.

In the past, the former would have been the majority. But now, since most people prioritized the survival of the group, the latter felt like it had a slight edge.

“We have to hunt monsters to Awaken anyway, right?”

The Awakening process was almost finished. There were only a few survivors left who hadn’t Awakened yet.

We wanted to wrap it up as quickly as possible. And the monsters attacking those survivors didn’t look very numerous.

Perfect prey, there was no need to let it go.

“Everyone. Grab your weapons.”

“Yes! Sergeant Shin says grab your weapons!”

“Salute, salute!”

When I gave the order,

even the soldiers who had argued to pass by took out their weapons without complaint.

“Damn it, everyone run! We’ll regroup at point three!”

“Run? How are we supposed to run from a place like this…!”

“I’ll buy time, so somehow—”

“W-Wait!”

“Second and Third Squads, take the one on the right! Remember, don’t finish it off!”

“Yes!”

“The rest of you, with me, take the one on the left!”

Some of the soldiers moved to the other side, and I looked at the monster nearby.

A massive beast that resembled an elephant. Its tusks were sharp, and its muscular body was nimble for its size.

『Trait — ‘Chef’s Eye’ activates.』

『This is a target whose preparation method you have already mastered.』

I’d already hunted this thing before.

I threw myself at it, and stabbed my kitchen knife into its weak point.

Thrust!

This thing’s weak point was its nose. Since its internal organs were concentrated there, one good stab was enough to render it combat-ineffective.

Grrrooooaaaar—”

Thud!

“Ooh. Sergeant Shin.”

“Nice shot, sir.”

“Are you guys really just standing there letting the cook handle the fighting?”

“Hey, after seeing that just now, nobody would think you’re just a cook.”

That monster had a very clear weak point.

If you didn’t know it, it would be a tough opponent. But if you did, it was actually one of the easier types. Knowing that, the other soldiers were in a relaxed mood.

“W-What…?”

“That huge monster went down in one blow…?”

To those who didn’t know its weak point, it probably looked like an incredible feat.

I could feel the survivors who had been fighting the monster staring at us in shock.

‘Hmm. We did it partly to speed up the Awakening process, but we did help the survivors too.’

I thought we might at least get a word of thanks.

“Are you all alright? Don’t worry. This thing has been completely subdued—”

“…Hic.”

“I-It’s a military uniform.”

“Damn it.”

“We thought we’d escaped a fox, but now we’ve run into a tiger.”

“Shh! Everyone be quiet. Don’t provoke them.”

This wasn’t gratitude at all. Rather…

‘They’re afraid of us?’

I couldn’t help but frown. We did want to finish Awakening quickly, but we also did help them and yet, this reaction.

‘Isn’t that just rude?’

Just then…

“E-Excuse me.”

“Step aside. I’ll try talking to them.”

From the middle of the survivor group, a middle-aged man stepped forward. From the conversation, he seemed to be the leader of this group.

Just as I was about to speak to him, the man spoke first, his face tense with fear.

“W-What business do deserters have with us?!”

His words were filled with wariness. But, there was one word that stuck out to me.

“We have nothing to give deserters. So just go back!”

‘Deserters? What the hell is he talking about?’