“Why are you doing this?”
A young instructor approached Park Mun-ho, who was watching the screen being filmed by the drone.
“What do you mean?”
“Two days from now, you ordered the battalion forces and half the regular Jaeger agents to assemble in front of the rift, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, I did. But, so what?”
“Earlier, you told the cadets not to do something as idiotic as pushing the raid to the end, right? Do you really think they’ll try to go past Phase 2?”
The instructor was genuinely curious.
Even though Park Mun-ho had given such a strong warning, he couldn’t imagine the cadets would ignore the instructor’s words and proceed with the raid to the end.
“You think the cadets are going to follow my words 100%?”
“Up till now, they’ve all always done so.”
At the instructor’s answer, Park Mun-ho shook his head.
“Absolutely not. The boss of this rift is three monsters. And all three are C-rank Orc Elites. You know what that means, right?”
“I know. If you just take down the bosses, you get three Blue-grade Mana Stones for sure, right?”
“Exactly. You think the cadets don’t know that? Of course they do. One Blue-grade Mana Stone can increase your mana by 30 points in a single go. That’s something you’d usually have to grind in the rift for at least a year or two to achieve. You think they’d just pass up the chance to get that instantly? No way.”
Park Mun-ho knew.
The cadets would never stop at Phase 2.
“Even so, you’re just going to let them go?”
“Who said I’m letting them go? That’s why I prepared the battalion forces.”
“You think that’s enough? If they go all the way to Phase 3 and somehow succeed in the raid…”
“So you’re saying we need to go in and help them?”
“If anything goes wrong, they’ll all die!”
“That’s not going to happen. They’re not that foolish. If it gets dangerous, they’ll retreat on their own. We’ll just wait here, and if trouble arises, we’ll escort them back safely.”
Park Mun-ho seemed quite used to this sort of thing and didn’t think much of it.
But the instructor felt differently.
Being a new instructor with his first batch of Jaeger cadets, he never imagined this kind of training.
“Are you really sure it’ll be okay?”
“I told you, no one’s going to die. In my twelve years, I’ve graduated nearly a hundred cadets. You’re one of them, so you know. Up to now, not a single cadet has risked their life and stayed in the boss room until the end of this training. Everyone finds their own way to survive, so don’t worry. If they’re real Jaegers, they’ll know when to fall back.”
“Whew… Understood.”
The instructor still wasn’t entirely at ease, but he didn’t question it further.
“By the way, Instructor, how many artifacts did we prepare in the survival equipment box?”
“Five. R-MPSP Suit, Spatial Glove, Mana Shield, Flame Web Spear, and the Whistle of Courage. That’s it.”
“Right? I thought it was five, but it’s so odd.”
“What is?”
“Did you see what Cadet Kim Seo-jun picked up first earlier?”
Park Mun-ho asked the instructor with a rather puzzled look.
“I did. It looked like some kind of orb. Why?”
“Don’t you think it’s strange? Aside from that orb, Cadet Kim Seo-jun picked out the artifacts first, and only the artifacts.”
“Probably just luck.”
“Was it really luck? I don’t think so. That guy definitely knew what the artifacts were.”
“Then that orb he picked up first should’ve been an artifact too. But it wasn’t, was it?”
“That’s what I find strange. From what I can tell, that orb is probably an artifact too.”
“Come on. That’s unlikely. The box was filled with so much random stuff, maybe some useless part got mixed in. When we checked beforehand, there were exactly five artifacts. I’m sure of it.”
“Is that so? Hmmm…”
The instructor sounded so certain that Park Mun-ho couldn’t press the point further.
‘Did I see it wrong?’
Park Mun-ho quietly replayed Kim Seo-jun’s actions in his head.
He pretended to rub his eyes, then suddenly strode over to a spot and pulled out a dusty, cloudy orb at once.
He thought nothing of it at first, but what came next surprised him.
He immediately found two well-hidden artifacts and then, as if regretting it, glanced at another cadet who had found an artifact at about the same time. That scene stuck in his mind.
‘It’s impossible for the cadets to get information from the instructors beforehand, and he definitely didn’t have any artifact-detecting equipment. So how did he do that?’
Park Mun-ho thought it over and over, but couldn’t reach a conclusion.
The cadets stopped only after moving about one kilometer through the dense jungle.
Where they were was a clearing at the point where a steep slope flattened out—hard to find, but a good spot.
Within about a 30-meter radius, there wasn’t a single tree. It seemed suitable to set up a base camp.
“Let’s use this place as our camp for now.”
Choi Cheol-min said this as he watched the CDT’s red needle wobble slightly.
The greater the wobble, the closer they were to their target.
With this much movement, the monster horde must be no more than a kilometer away.
If they set up camp here and then set out for the monster subjugation, it would be much more convenient.
Setting up the base camp wasn’t complicated.
Find a flat spot, spread out a bunch of grass, lay down something like a mat, and you’re done.
Finally, place the backpacks at the four corners and you have a shelter for four.
Everyone set up their simple camp, laid out their gear, and set simple traps to warn of approaching monsters.
But three people looked completely different.
Kim Seo-jun, Irina, and Lim Hee-joo.
The three of them had brought a huge amount of gear, including tents and sleeping bags.
They set up their three tents some distance apart from the other cadets and unpacked their things inside.
Everyone watched them with envy, except for two, who looked at them with obvious annoyance.
“What, you think we didn’t bring that stuff because we didn’t want to? How do you plan to carry all that heavy junk all the way to the boss room? Don’t come dumping your burdens on us when you collapse along the way.”
Park Hae-seong, who was always complaining, grumbled first.
“Exactly. Lim Hee-joo, is it because we’ve always indulged you that you’ve started copying people again? Did you even think about what might happen to your pants if you try to keep up with Kim Seo-jun and Irina? Seriously, unbelievable.”
Min Sora glared at Lim Hee-joo with displeasure.
Suddenly, Lim Hee-joo turned to Min Sora with a bright smile.
Then she beckoned her over.
“Unni, come in here. The tent is big enough for three people to rest comfortably.”
“…Huh? Are you sure that’s okay?”
Min Sora, caught off guard by Lim Hee-joo’s offer, hesitated and checked again, shyly.
“Of course. What’s the point of using such a big tent alone? Isn’t that right, Rina unni?”
“We’re all going to be living together for three days anyway, so if everyone can rest comfortably, that’s good. The guys over there can use this tent too. I can just share with Hee-joo and Sora unni.”
Irina now offered her tent to the other cadets as well.
With that, Park Hae-seong, who had been grumbling, rushed in first.
“I’m calling dibs on this tent!”
He ran like the wind and threw his stuff into the tent.
Then Ahn Ji-woon followed, and even Yang Hwi, who tried to act dignified, approached the tent with a feigned cough.
Naturally, everyone’s eyes turned to Kim Seo-jun.
Especially Choi Cheol-min and Jo Tae-seok, whose expressions were a sight.
The two of them were desperately hoping Kim Seo-jun would say they could use his tent too.
Please, say we can use the tent together—something like that.
At that moment, Kim Seo-jun lifted the corner of his mouth, slowly raised his right hand, and spread two fingers.
“Just two. First come, first served.”
The moment he finished speaking—
Whoosh.
Someone moved like the wind and dove headfirst into Kim Seo-jun’s tent.
The cadet who laid his bag down and sprawled out, using it as a pillow, was none other than Shin Tae-yang.
“I don’t want to share a tent with Yang.”
Shin Tae-yang and Yang Hwi were like cats and dogs.
They were the same age, and both vied for the top two spots in mana. They were always on guard and trying to outdo each other.
For Shin Tae-yang, sharing a tent with Yang Hwi was worse than death.
“Then I’ll join you.”
Before anyone knew it, Choi Cheol-min had entered the tent with ghost-like swiftness.
With that, Kim Seo-jun’s tent was full with the two first-come cadets.
Jo Tae-seok, who had just started to run, froze in place.
Three in the girls’ tent, three in Irina’s lent tent, three in Kim Seo-jun’s tent.
The tents were perfectly filled, and Jo Tae-seok was left standing alone.
Jo Tae-seok stood blankly, looking like he’d lost the whole world.
At that moment, a saving hand reached out.
“Hey, Jo Tae-seok. Don’t just stand there, come over here. As the eldest in this tent, I officially grant you permission to enter.”
Ahn Ji-woon called Jo Tae-seok over.
Jo Tae-seok’s face lit up and he ran to Ahn Ji-woon’s tent. Then,
“In exchange, cleaning the tent is your job. That much… you get it, right?”
Ahn Ji-woon patted Jo Tae-seok on the shoulder as he let him in.
“Uh… Well. Sigh… Got it.”
Jo Tae-seok answered weakly, his spirits a little deflated.
“Where’d you get that?”
Choi Cheol-min was dumbfounded as he watched Kim Seo-jun flicking all his gear into the magic circle.
“It was in the box… Hyung, didn’t you find any artifacts?”
Of course not.
But Kim Seo-jun pretended not to know.
“Since they took all the artifacts, I didn’t expect to find any among the survival gear.”
“I think Hee-joo and Jo Tae-seok picked something up too. And… you got something too, didn’t you?”
When Kim Seo-jun asked Shin Tae-yang, who was lying comfortably, Shin Tae-yang opened one eye lazily.
“Hey, Kim Seo-jun. Aren’t you supposed to call someone a year older than you hyung?”
“For anyone up to three years older, we’re all just friends. Since Cheol-min hyung is five years older, of course I show him respect. If you want the same, you should’ve been born earlier.”
Kim Seo-jun was not someone with a gentle personality.
If people treated him well, he’d be endlessly soft, but the moment relationships got twisted, he’d bite without mercy.
Of course, none of the cadets here had a twisted relationship with him—yet.
“This kid’s hilarious. So if someone’s three years younger than you, they can speak informally to you?”
“Are you an idiot? I said up to three years older. Not even a year younger is allowed.”
“So it’s fine for you but not for others? Isn’t that a double standard?”
“Yeah. It’s my rule, my standard.”
“Both of you, cut it out. We’re stuck in a tent together for three days, and you’re already arguing? Enough, let’s get outside and talk about what we’re going to do next.”
Choi Cheol-min stopped the two and dragged Kim Seo-jun out first.
Outside, the seven cadets had already gathered and were talking.
When Choi Cheol-min and the others showed up, Ahn Ji-woon waved them over.
“Come on, sit down. There’s something interesting.”
“What is it?”
Choi Cheol-min sat opposite Ahn Ji-woon, with Kim Seo-jun and Shin Tae-yang sitting next to him.
“Did you guys know there were artifacts mixed in with the survival equipment box?”
The three who’d just been discussing it exchanged glances.
“Well, more or less,” Choi Cheol-min answered evasively.
Ahn Ji-woon continued.
“Hee-joo picked up a Mana Shield, and Sang-pil got something called the Whistle of Courage. Did any of you find an artifact?”
The Mana Shield Hee-joo found could imbue a shield with mana, reducing the destructive power of enemy attacks by 30%.
The Whistle of Courage Jo Tae-seok obtained was a kind of buff item; if you blew it in battle, it greatly boosted the morale of allies.
After Ahn Ji-woon’s explanation, Kim Seo-jun raised his hand.
“I also found a Spatial Glove.”
He wiggled his right hand, clad in a gray glove.
Ahn Ji-woon asked if anyone had found an artifact, and Kim Seo-jun volunteered the truth.
But he didn’t mention that he’d actually found three artifacts, not just one.
“Spatial Glove? No wonder… I thought you packed an absurd amount of gear. Makes sense now. Anyone else?”
“Hmm. I don’t know if I should mention it, but since you asked, yes, I found one.”
Shin Tae-yang reluctantly confessed.
He had obtained the Flame Web Spear.
It looked like a simple 50cm steel rod, but when you swung the spear, a massive net of fire would appear in a 5-meter radius.
While the firepower wasn’t that high, anyone caught in the net would be stunned for about three seconds, unable to do anything.
On top of that, the flames would stick to their body and be hard to put out, causing ongoing damage.
After Shin Tae-yang’s explanation, all the cadets had the same look: ‘Oh, that’s not bad.’
‘It’s way better than the R-MPSP Suit I found,’ Kim Seo-jun grumbled inwardly.
It wasn’t about effectiveness.
What was the point of great effects if he couldn’t bear to walk around in a skin-tight full-body suit?
As he was thinking that, he caught sight of Irina with a sullen look on her face.
‘If Rina wore it, at least it wouldn’t look ridiculous.’
Kim Seo-jun briefly pictured Irina in the skin-tight full-body suit. Then, he immediately felt his face flush.
‘Oh, crap. No way. That would draw way too much attention!’
The imagined Irina was far too stunning.
So stunning he couldn’t even look away.
‘If I gave it to her, I’d be branded a pervert.’
Kim Seo-jun immediately abandoned the idea of giving the skin-tight suit to Irina.