Surviving on the Northern Front with Gukbap

Slapped on the Cheek at Jongno, glared at Han River (2)

I spoke to the two people who watched me with eyes full of both anxiety and hope.

"In order to break that curse, you have to kill the caster, but as I told you before, nine times out of ten, the caster just runs away."

"Haha, yes, that's right. That's why I blocked Hank and Lantz and made that choice just a moment ago as well, isn't it?"

The cursed artifact, 'Ten Thousand Times Cursed Eye', has the drawback that you have to get the clone close in order to activate it.

At that time, there is a restriction on the distance between the clone and the original body,

but after the activation succeeds, there are no restrictions on distance.

In other words, once this cursed artifact is activated, the standard tactic is to run far away.

However,

"Surprisingly, that rabbit beastkin..."

Pointing towards the garrison of those beasts, I went on.

"They're still staying there. They haven't left."

The battalion commander widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Is that true?"

His question was laced half with expectation, half with doubt.

He seemed to be asking how I could know that when I'd been dealing with Schutmann all this time,

but my answer was unwavering and firm.

"Yes. I'm certain."

My gaze shifted toward the garrison of those Heroni bastards.

Now that I had equipped the 'Fragment of the Firmament' left to me by brother big-jaw,

I could start seeing things I hadn't seen before.

'The beasts will attack soon.'

A strange energy, different from mana, was writhing around.

I couldn't tell exactly what it was,

but since my mystical power had exploded upward along with reaching the 4th-rank, I could feel it.

'In fact, Ralph was the first to notice something suspicious with those Heroni bastards, so this must be what he'd seen.'

And within that, I could clearly spot the mana of that rabbit beastkin.

It was very far away, but I could sense it distinctly.

The reason:

'The sensation is similar to the mana I felt from Plerine.'

When the rabbit's clone was extinguished, didn't I check for the enchantments on Nash?

― Huh? What's that, you?

― That magic on your chest is...,

He'd tried to say, 'Surely that's her...', but was cut off.

The voice had been rather sharp.

It sounded like he had raw animosity toward Plerine.

'If that's the case, then the mana at the Heroni garrison that feels like Plerine's must be from that rabbit beastkin.'

A near-certain intuition hit me.

In the end, I was quietly pleased that bastard hadn't run away.

But at the same time, it left a creepy feeling,

and just then, Legion pointed this out.

"Why hasn't the beastkin who placed this curse run away?"

In my mind, the most likely reason was indeed 'Plerine'.

The rabbit had looked like it was enjoying a game while waiting to place the curse on the battalion commander.

But the moment it saw the enchantment on Nash applied by Plerine, its expression had turned ugly.

This marked a turning point.

'Should I reveal the truth about Plerine now?'

The battalion commander had already seen the plasma sword extending from Nash.

I had to explain that too, so maybe now was the right timing,

but—

"Haha, good question, Legion. But that's not what's important right now."

The battalion commander's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

He blocked the attack and arrows from the reappearing shadow soldier as he spoke.

"Sometimes, what matters in the field is a quick response over an analysis."

At his gentle words, Legion saluted and answered.

"I suppose I've gotten in the habit of analyzing due to my long work in intel. I'll correct it."

"It's understandable that you picked up that habit. As your superior, I apologize for it."

Just for a moment, I admired their ideal military exchange, thinking, 'No wonder Legion and the battalion commander are so popular.'

"Hahaha. Now then, Ian."

Old man's sharp eyes brought my focus back.

"To respond quickly, I'd like a quick explanation."

"... Ah, yes!"

At once, I dashed over to the spot where only Schutmann's gear was left behind,

rummaged through the clothes, and picked up a red chain.

Chrrrrrk.

I brought it straight to Legion and spoke.

"It's the OOPArts Schutmann used. It's called 'Kinetic Shift'."

I didn't bother explaining what kind of OOPArts it was.

Legion glanced at the battalion commander, looking quite flustered.

She clearly didn't want to hold the OOPArts that killed her own daughter, but—

'Given how rare OOPArts are, she must be hesitating.'

Sure enough, Legion asked the battalion commander for permission.

"Battalion commander, as a 4th-rank, I shouldn't equip OOPArts. So for now, I'll follow Ian's plan, and upon completion, I'll take my own life and return it."

For a moment, I couldn't believe my ears.

Ah, northern soldiers really are all so hard-headed, I thought briefly.

"Sorry, Legion. I can't hear you—must be all this blood loss."

Suddenly, old man began feigning senility.

Legion's momentous expression crumbled, but the battalion commander looked in no hurry to drop the act.

"Hahaha, this old battalion commander feels close to death and can't hear a thing. So, Ian, I leave this old man's life in your hands—do your best to keep me alive."

With these words, the battalion commander received the curse of 10 and spot— vanished.

Finally, Legion regained her composure and looked at me.

"There's no other way, is there?"

I looked into her eyes and replied.

"There are, but this is the most probable method."

"......"

"We can't know how many times the battalion commander will survive another roll of 10 before the end, and there's a chance we get three sixes in a row, even before that."

It was a truly sad subjunctive, but fortunately, Legion began infusing holy power into the OOPArts before I completed my sentence.

"Did you know, commander?"

"... What is it?"

Legion responded curtly, as she was in the midst of focusing,

but I wanted to share the good news as soon as possible.

"This OOPArts is used with maximum efficiency only by monks or Holy Knights."

It was a signature tidbit from a Belkhazium community veteran, a master of optimal builds, but—

"......"

Legion quietly shed a tear from one eye.

I instinctively became solemn and kept silent until she finished absorbing the OOPArts.

*

Kinetic Shift consumes a lot of mana to use skills.

You might ask, wouldn't this be better for the mage class?

Of course not.

Because—

'The minimum mana consumption is 25% of your total mana.'

In other words, with full mana you can use it four times before becoming combat ineffective.

And in hardcore roguelike RPG Belkhazium, even your basic attack and dash consume mana, not just skills.

So using Kinetic Shift requires great care.

'Except for one class, the monk, that is.'

They fight by consuming holy power instead of mana.

As a result, they can keep their minimal mana nearly full at all times,

so even Kinetic Shift can be used flexibly.

So, even if it wasn't intentional,

the OOPArts ended up with the perfect user in Legion.

'Even if she doesn't seem pleased, being equipped with the skill OOPArts that indirectly led to her daughter's death.'

She kept her mouth shut the entire way as we moved.

Now, instead of rabbit ears, Legion wore a mouse-head mask,

and even from that small back, I could sense her irritation steaming off her.

After this operation, how much more should I confess to her?

Thinking this, I scaled the mountains of the canyon en route to the Heroni garrison with her, when—

"Platoon Leader Ian."

"...! Yes, Special Investigator."

Tadadadat.

She ran beside me silently for some time before finally speaking up.

"What was Zaiya like as a subordinate?"

Her question struck me hard in the chest.

This was the first time I had lost someone who followed me and served as my own subordinate.

Yet I couldn't show such grief to Zaiya's mother.

I swallowed and composed myself to answer.

"She was the finest soldier and the best subordinate anyone could ask for. I'll never forget her. No, rather..."

Tadadadat.

"... I will never forget."

I finished as I prayed for Zaiya's soul.

And after a while,

a tiny voice slipped from Legion.

"Thank you."

*

After running hard, Legion and I finally reached the flank of the Heroni bastards' garrison,

on a hill overlooking the canyon.

Of course, we had to deal with several sentries on the way,

but that was so easy it's not even worth describing.

'With Fragment of the Firmament and Mana Scope, it's a breeze.'

The beasts had no way to prevent us from approaching.

Every one we found before they noticed us, we killed.

Of course, this also meant that I was on another level now.

On top of that, I was now receiving Legion's Sanctuary skill as a solo recipient.

'With both 4th-rank, fragment of the Firmament, and the strength buff, too.'

As a result, Legion gave me a suspicious look at my absurd growth.

But she set aside her analysis, following the battalion commander's teachings, and simply focused on the mission.

Anyway,

having made it here safely, it was time to find the rabbit beastkin.

I climbed a tree out of sight, using the Mana Scope to spy on the enemy garrison.

'It's chaos over there.'

They were busy with last-minute preparations to depart as soon as possible.

Our feigned retreat had been so convincing that now, ironically, it was delaying their deployment.

'Maybe that's how we got this deep without being discovered.'

Their plan had worked well.

With the battalion commander as good as dead, they wouldn't imagine we could counterattack.

'Turning a crisis into an opportunity.'

Even as I pondered this, my eyes quickly found the rabbit beastkin.

Not only could I sense the mana similar to Plerine's,

they had the most human-like appearance among the beastkin.

"There. That's the one."

Legion checked the direction I indicated and muttered,

"As expected, it's Aishdin."

A true master of intel—she recognized him instantly.

So, that little rabbit bastard's name is Aishdin.

"Isn't he a bit too far?"

"It's still within range for Kinetic Shift."

Swallowing the words 'just barely,' I added something else.

"What's his deal?"

Know your enemy and you won't lose—so I asked for info on him.

"I don't know in detail. That rabbit only joined Red Rooster recently."

That answer was disappointing.

"Not even his combat style?"

"No. He worked mostly as a tactician."

Honestly, I was a little disheartened, but it wasn't like I could lose to him in a straight fight anyway.

"However..."

What Legion said next shocked me a bit.

"He's a Magic Tower native from the Tower of Fire."

"!!"

Goosebumps spread across my skin.

I'd felt his mana was like Plerine's,

and now he was a Magic Tower native from the Tower of Fire.

In that case,

'Could Plerine be, too...?'

My mind was getting complicated.

Was it showing on my face?

Legion gave my arm a thunk and said,

"Even if he uses magic, he's probably just an apprentice, not a full mage. There's no way you'll lose."

She meant that there was no 5th-circle magic to be worried about.

Of course, that wasn't what got me flustered,

but her words helped me steel myself.

Now wasn't the time to get lost in thought; focus on killing that guy.

"I entrust it to you."

Hearing that, Legion smiled faintly.

"Yeah. Now's not the time for me to be worrying about you."

Her voice was low and tense,

but Legion was a strong woman.

"No, now is not the time to worry at all."

The moment she said this, a red chain shot out from beneath her feet.

Chrrrrrk!

Before I knew it, my desperate gaze followed the tip of that chain.

'Please!'

Kinetic Shift consumes at least 25% of your mana per activation.

But,

'By consuming even more mana, you can push its range even further!'

So, there were two variables in this situation:

whether my estimation matched the game mechanics,

and—

'Whether Legion can use Kinetic Shift properly!'

Chrrrrrk!

As the red chain arrowed out, the beastkin started shouting everywhere.

But this OOPArts cannot be stopped.

Because—

'Kinetic Shift isn't a non-targeting skill, it's a targeting skill.'

As long as Legion triggered it properly, dodging was impossible.

And sure enough—

"W-wha?!"

The surprised face of the rabbit beastkin appeared beside me with a cry,

and I greeted him with joy.

"Let's start with a hit."

Thunk!

A dull sound, like bones misaligning, echoed as my fist slammed into his face.

I had a kitchen knife in hand, so it had to hurt more than usual, but—

'Ah, right, we're atop the branches.'

Like a puppet with its strings cut, the rabbit beastkin's body fell towards the ground.

Kwaang!