Chapter 47

“Uh, are you sure?”

A location west of the Kingdom of Vunes. While exploring the perimeter of the makeshift camp they had set up, Leila received a radio call from Kim.

“Oh, yeah. Okay. Thank you. We’re… we’re resting at point W-04. Yeah, yeah. Got it.”

Leila shook her head, even though it was impossible for her opponent to see. It was a habit she’d been teased about many times by agents.

Tuk.

I cut the connection and tucked the radio into my jacket. Leila turned on her heel. Her steps were light as she turned toward her companion.

The team members are resting at their respective campsites. There were six of us, not including Leila. All of them were still exhausted.

“It must be hard for everyone.

It was inevitable. The battle against the dangerous creatures was grueling and exhausting, as you had just defeated the Tarantula an hour earlier.

Having dealt with her in person, I admired her even more. Leila gathered her team and began to relay information.

“Gentlemen, it looks like we’re going to have to delay our departure for a while.”

“What’s going on, Leila?”

The man quenched his thirst with bottled water and asked for details. It was Westcreek, the elite agent of Team 1.

Ghost, who usually travels with the professor, was not here; he was on a mission as the leader of another team.

“Good news, don’t worry. I just got a call from Mr. Hyun from Team 4. He’s taken down two dangerous beasts and wants to join us.”

“……?”

The agents were surprised. They were worried about whether the four teams would be able to complete the mission.

Team 4 has no elite operatives. Only three reserve agents with limited operational experience. I almost thought it was some kind of test from the director of the lab.

Dustborne proved his mettle.

“Is your team okay? If they’ve already been through two battles, they must be pretty tough….”

“I was told no harm was done, although he said, ‘I’m tired, I’ll leave the command to the professor.'”

Leila scratched her cheek and looked at the professor.

“I made up my own mind… what does the professor think?”

“No problem, it’ll be a lot easier if he cooperates.”

The professor’s complexion was much more relaxed than it had been a moment ago. He even breathes a sigh of relief, and Leila thinks to herself, “Finally.

The way the professor looked at Kim was very different from the way he looked at the agents in the lab.

“Not just you, but me, too.

I feel a strong sense of camaraderie with the agents who have worked together. Of course, I went through a lot of things with Kim Yi-hyun, but I have other feelings than comradeship.

Become determined. He always seems to have a way out of any mess. When a crisis arises, you trust him to solve it.

“…I don’t think this is a good idea.

He had already helped me a lot before. Even the not-so-gentle Pablo feels that he owes his life to Kim.

You shouldn’t take his favors for granted. It’s something to be repaid in a mutually beneficial relationship.

It took about half a day for Team 4 to arrive. After checking each other’s status, Kim’s team went under the command of Team 1.

“Hyun, what did you do?”

Just as we were breaking camp and getting into our vehicles, Pablo asked me a question.

“I thought the two you guys had were easy enough, but you made it look so easy. And those three over there, what’s wrong with them?”

The three reserve agents had gone eerily quiet. It was a welcome change for Kim. At first, she’d been frenetic.

“I don’t know, maybe he’s thinking too much. I’ll submit the footage of the operation when I get back. Check it out then.”

“Um, okay. Thanks anyway. This will make my life a lot easier than it was with the spider child.”

It looked like he had a hard time catching the tarantula. Kim laughs and gets back in the car.

“Well, this works.

A team finishes an operation and joins another team. In the game, it was systematically prevented, but in real life, it could be done anyway.

I was able to kill both of them quickly. I was not injured during the battle.

In a word, skill.

“Now let’s see what they’ve got.

Movement has resumed.

Kim stared at the car in front of him from the passenger seat. The professor would be sitting in there, if not hidden by the cargo hold.

There was only one reason to join a team that could do it on its own. He recalled the problems with the lab that Ghost had pointed out.

“I’m already feeling it to some extent.

I took turns looking at the backup agents in the rearview mirror.

Behind the wheel, Turkam is stiffer than before. Tatalia is half-stunned, and Shay keeps her eyes on the floor the entire time.

“It’s not like there’s no room for extenuating circumstances.

All three are just reserve agents. Their performance in the game was abysmal, so I didn’t expect much.

“But I’m not a professor.

There are so many things that professors are expected to do. If your behavior has brought them down, you need to bring them back up.

“I’ll have to take orders.

* * *

Thump, thump!

A series of rumblings occurred. From the center of the battle, the ground shook with the impact. The roar was getting closer and closer.

– Chord, Pablo. I’ll see you in 10 seconds.

The professor’s voice crackled from his in-ear communicator. Ducking into an alleyway, Kim aimed the grenade launcher he’d been issued.

There was little margin for error. At the ten-second mark, Westcreek came into view first, his sword in hand, leaping wildly to the rear.

– Uh-oh-oh!

A dangerous creature ran after Westcreek. An individual named Cyclops, an ape-like beast that stands about 7 meters tall.

Poof!

A fired 40mm grenade struck the Cyclops in the side. Smoke billowed from the explosion. An agonized scream erupted.

– Stay out of sight. Westcreek and Botticelli get my attention again.

Kim and Pablo turned their backs as instructed. Cyclops checked this way, but there was no need to worry.

Westcreek, Botticelli. Each with a six- and five-star operative in charge of the front. At this point, few configurations are as reliable.

I exited the alley and headed to the next point, a thorough hit and run. The Professor’s method was to confuse the enemy and chip away at them bit by bit.

– They’ve been hit pretty hard, and they’ll be on guard, so even a brief appearance will be a distraction.

“Are we the bait this time?”

It was a valid tactic. Kim wasted no time in carrying out his orders. He literally became the professor’s hands and feet.

“It’s comfortable.

Deployment orders in real time. Briefings that succinctly convey enemy and friendly movements. The right time to attack or withdraw.

Few people let them play, even though they are handling both teams at the same time. Asterique is not used, but only because the professor is ignorant of her spell.

“I burned myself out in the first place.

The battle against Nepenthes was exhausting. Even with the [Vibranium Composite Sword] in his hand, he was still unable to cast spells properly.

Anyway.

“I’m doing my part as a battlefield commander.

If he were to imitate the professor, he would fumble quite a bit. Kim wasn’t sure he could handle such detailed tactical direction.

You’re certainly a good professor. No matter what enemy you’re up against, no matter what allies you’re operating with, you’ll be able to do it under his command.

But…….

‘He’s just a good commander, that kind of thing.’

A strategy with great versatility. Or, in other words, mediocre. No fresh ideas. It doesn’t utilize the individuality of each agent.

“You can’t do this.

This tactic is out of place on Polaris. Spells are present here, and the human threshold is very high. It feels like the Professor’s command is limiting the agent’s abilities.

No, it actually does.

“This isn’t even the hardest stage.

It really doesn’t have to be this hard. Leila, Botticelli, and West Creek. You could just throw the three of them together and call it a day.

“How did they catch the tarantula, I’m going to have to watch some footage of the operation when I get back.

He was half disappointed and half relieved that he had proven himself capable. Kim gathered his thoughts and focused on the battle.

Despite the hail of bullets here and there, Cyclops was unable to pursue the gunners, and every time he turned his back, sword slashes marked his body.

“He’s a monster, a monster, a monster.”

“Haha, I guess so.”

Pablo confirmed Kim’s words. Westcreek was running on the arm of the Cyclops. It reached his neck in a flash, and plunged the knife in.

– Kraaaaaaah!

It howled and struggled. When he couldn’t take it anymore, Westcreek leapt up, drawing his sword. Fists flew at him.

Fazik!

A jolt of electricity from Leila’s fingertips slammed into the Cyclops, and as its body paused for a moment, a large-caliber bullet shot out of nowhere.

Get it!

The lone eyeball pierced with precision. The Cyclops flailed limply, his entire body wracked with pain.

– Keep your distance and keep him down.

Grenades and bullets rained down. Their bridges were blown up and they lost their mobility. Even though they were down to their last man, they didn’t stop firing.

Kuung.

A massive body collapsed on the ruins. Breaths drifted through the smoke, but quickly became inaudible.

The agents remained in a combat stance and waited for the smoke to clear, and a moment later Cyclops was spotted dead.

– Westcreek, I’m going to ask you to wrap up.

Following the Professor’s instructions, Westcreek approached the Cyclops and plunged his knife into its throat, decapitating it.

The professor sighed.

– It’s over. Thank you, everyone.

* * *

When the battle was over, the Ops team checked the bodies. Westcreek had been dumbfounded by the spell’s recoil, and Botticelli had sliced through the Cyclops’ chest with his greatsword.

“Ms. Leila, we found it.”

Botticelli pulled out his hand, which was throbbing inside. In his blood-soaked hand, he found a strange object.

An unknown object, jagged like a starfish. The texture is slightly duller than iron. Wiping away the blood, you see an engraving in the center.

It was a letter.

“It says NEXTA-011.”

“It wasn’t a coincidence after all.”

Leila took the package and carefully wrapped it in her handkerchief. As Kim stared at it, she explained simply.

“I found a similar object inside the tarantula’s body. What about the two you killed in Team 4?”

“We’re not in a position to check, because one of them fell into the river completely, and the other one burned up without leaving a circle.”

I couldn’t look at it. I didn’t even think about leaving the body behind. I knew from the beginning that something was hidden, but…….

“The other team will get it, so what.

[Unidentified Dog Tag]. This item can be found in Operation Ashbelt.

A creature that could not be exchanged for any goods, but only took up space in the warehouse. Users swallowed their disappointment, thinking it must be something important.

‘And it’s been a while since we’ve heard from him.

It took more than a year before the truth was revealed. Users forgot it existed, and the reaction was, “Ahhh, there was such a thing as rice cakes.

“You’re right, the simultaneous outbreak of dangerous numbers…. I thought it was odd, but maybe there’s something to it.”

It ends on a sour note. In fact, it was one of the earliest events, so there were more users who didn’t even know the story.

But it was an important story.

“We should have done that up front.

There’s so much to do. Kim woke up with a throbbing headache.

I’d gotten comfortable with combat, created dustbones, and built a working relationship with the lab, but that was just the foundation.

The question was how much we could do with the position we had established. In the face of the tragedies to come.

Leila stowed away her [unidentified dog tags] and looked around at the agents. No one seriously injured or killed. Just one or two minor injuries.

Teams 2 and 3 were also notified that they had completed their mission. The Kingdom of Vunes is now free of the Dangerous Beast.

It was ideal,” she smiled.

“Then let’s get you back to work.”

Operation Ashbelt is over.