Global Pioener: Earth Second Chance

Mayor Deri waited for a few seconds.

"Rangga..."

Rangga slowly shook his head.

"I'm fine."

He bent down and picked up his pickaxe.

"Let's just keep going."

Then he resumed swinging the pickaxe at the coal deposit as if nothing had happened.

Clang.

Clang.

Mayor Deri did not join him. He simply watched from the side. As a soldier, he had seen expressions like that far too many times. It wasn't fear of an enemy. It was something that came from deep within a person.

Over the past few days of knowing Rangga, he had seen how the young man remained calm when facing a Herrerasaurus ambushing them from above, how he could still give instructions while fighting a Baryonyx, and how he could even analyze its attack patterns in the middle of a dangerous situation.

Rangga was not someone who panicked easily. That was precisely why his current behavior felt so strange.

Meanwhile, Rangga continued swinging the pickaxe with an empty stare. His mind was nowhere near the coal in front of him.

"Why did I just freeze..."

Clang.

"Isn't it different now? I'm stronger."

"My armor is better..."

"My weapons too..."

"I even make fun of him all the time in chat..."

"So why..."

"Why did I turn into an idiot the moment I saw him..."

His next swing missed.

CRACK!

"ARGH!"

The tip of the pickaxe scraped against his own calf and Rangga immediately dropped the pickaxe and grabbed his leg.

"Damn it!"

Mayor Deri quickly approached him.

"Rangga! What happened?"

"Nothing... I did it to myself."

Rangga hurriedly opened the small pouch at his waist. He took out a bottle of the bleeding-stopper medicine he had made the previous night and poured it over the wound.

A sharp sting immediately spread through his leg.

"Tch..."

After that, he took some Blood Moss and placed it over the wound as a temporary dressing.

Mayor Deri remained standing in front of him.

"Rangga."

Rangga did not answer.

"What's wrong?"

For several seconds, there was no response. Mayor Deri finally spoke quietly.

"I've seen this kind of condition before."

Rangga stopped bandaging his wound.

"Back when I was still serving. Many new soldiers experienced it."

"Their minds weren't ready. They could still move... but their thoughts were no longer where they needed to be."

Rangga slowly raised his head. His eyes met Mayor Deri's.

After a moment, he let out a long breath and simply sat down on a rock then he placed the pickaxe beside him and lowered his head.

Mayor Deri sat down not far from him.

"If you're like this, Rangga... facing the Kentrosaurus later would be dangerous."

Rangga remained silent for quite some time before finally speaking.

"Broto... He was my foreman."

Mayor Deri did not interrupt.

"Back on Earth."

Rangga gave a faint smile, but there was bitterness behind it.

"Funny, huh? I thought after coming to this world... I'd never see him again."

He slowly rubbed his face.

"Right before I was summoned here... he beat me up."

Mayor Deri remained silent, giving Rangga the chance to tell his story.

"He and his group accused me of snitching. Even though I hadn't done anything."

Mayor Deri finally asked quietly.

"What do you mean?"

Rangga stared straight ahead.

"Before I came here... I was just a construction worker. I worked at a construction site... and Broto was the foreman."

He took a deep breath.

"He was like that almost every day. If he was in a bad mood... he'd just take it out on someone."

"Sometimes he'd hit me. Sometimes he'd curse at me... Sometimes he'd do both."

Rangga gave a hollow laugh.

"I was used to it."

"One day... like usual... Broto and a few others went somewhere. I was left working by myself."

As he recounted that part, Rangga's voice grew quieter.

"Not long after... the project developer came by. He saw that I was the only one there and asked me."

Rangga imitated the man's voice.

"'Where are the others?'"

"I answered... 'I don't know, sir...' Because I really didn't. He just nodded... then left."

Rangga clenched both fists.

"That afternoon... I bought some bread for my little sibling."

Mayor Deri continued listening without interrupting even once.

"On the way home... Broto and his group were already waiting for me."

Rangga lowered his head.

"They said I'd snitched on them. Even though I hadn't said anything... I didn't even know the developer was going to show up."

He gave another small laugh. There was no happiness in it whatsoever.

"Then they beat me up. All of them... In the middle of the night... I went home."

"Before the bruises on my body had even healed... I was chosen as a Pioneer."

Rangga fell silent. His vacant gaze remained fixed on the stretch of rocks ahead.

Mayor Deri stayed beside him without saying a word.

He simply listened to the entire story until the end, allowing Rangga to release a burden he had perhaps never told anyone about.

Mayor Deri remained seated beside Rangga for a while. He did not immediately offer advice. He let the silence continue until Rangga's breathing gradually returned to normal.

Only then did he speak.

"Rangga."

Rangga slightly raised his head.

"During military training... we were taught one thing."

Rangga remained silent, listening.

"Fear cannot always be eliminated. What we train is the ability to keep moving even when fear is still there."

Mayor Deri picked up a small stone and tossed it forward.

"If someone is forced to forget their fear... they usually end up failing."

"But if they acknowledge it... and then keep taking one small step at a time... eventually, the fear becomes smaller on its own."

Rangga continued staring at the ground as Mayor Deri spoke calmly.

"Rangga. You didn't lose today... You simply encountered someone who brought back an unfinished memory."

"Those are two different things."

Rangga slowly clenched his fists.

"I've seen soldiers tremble the first time they heard gunfire."

"Everyone thought they were cowards. Six months later... they became the ones running at the front."

Mayor Deri turned toward Rangga.

"Because courage doesn't mean being unafraid."

"Courage means doing the right thing even when you're still afraid."

Several seconds passed before Rangga finally let out a long breath.

"...Thanks, Major."

His voice was still quiet, but his expression had improved slightly.

Even so, Mayor Deri knew. The problem wasn't over. Fear born from a traumatic experience wouldn't disappear because of a few words of encouragement.

All he had managed to do was help Rangga think clearly again.

Mayor Deri then stood up.

"Then... let's head back. The Kentrosaurus can wait for another day."

Rangga stood as well and picked up his pickaxe. He shook his head.

"No... That'd be a waste. We're already here."

Mayor Deri looked at him, making sure he was certain.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Rangga took one of the bottles of bleeding-stopper medicine from his inventory and held it up.

"I used up a lot of resources last night. Upgrading the Furnace... building the Apothecary... making medicine too."

He put the bottle back into his small pouch.

"If we go home now... I'll be losing out. I still need a lot of materials."

Mayor Deri looked at the bottle before slowly nodding.

"I understand. Then we'll continue... but take it slowly."

Rangga nodded.

"Yeah."

They picked up their pickaxes again and finished mining the coal deposit they had left unfinished. Once all the chunks had been mined, the two continued along the rocky path of the island, searching for other minerals and plants that might prove useful.

Mayor Deri continued walking ahead as usual.

But this time, every so often, he glanced back to make sure Rangga was doing all right.

Deep down, he had only one hope.

Hopefully... we don't run into the Kentrosaurus today.

Because in his judgment as a soldier, confronting such a massive enemy while his teammate was still mentally shaken would not be a battle.

It would be a risk far too great to take.