Chapter 38: From Here On, This Is the Wargod’s Domain (4)

“Wargod is broadly split into a northern division and a southern division. For convenience we call the north Owls, and the south Eagles.”

The jeep rattled along through the mountains.

There was no road, but there was space cleared for vehicles and, apparently, a rough map. Here and there sky blue markings were painted on trees.

“Eagles and Owls?”

“Yes, because we’re Wargod. Ares and Athena. The south handles Ares, the north handles Athena. Our Constellation Wargod is Athena, right? So I guess they matched it that way.”

Answering Kang Ihyun’s question, Lee Jisung  swung the wheel to the side as he explained.

‘You’re supposed to get an hour of this briefing after you enter, but since Mr. Kang Ihyun came along and shortened your stay, it looks like we don’t have time~’

He had said before departure, promising to fill them in on the way to base camp. This was that explanation.

“The Eagles, under the guildmaster, take on what people like to call the ‘unprofitable’ gates. The Owls, centered on Wargod and me, manage this side so the gates don’t balloon.”

At the word Wargod, Lude almost clenched his fist.

That “fox” had even spotted the pill bottle in his coat pocket. He felt like the man would notice any ripple.

As if to prove the point, Lee Jisung  was staring at him in the rearview.

Without shifting his gaze off Lude, Lee Jisung spoke again.

“Ordinarily, the reserve training the state outsources goes to the southern division. This side is a state secret.”

“If it’s a state secret, why aren’t soldiers running it, and why are itty bitty quasi civil servants doing it?”

At Lude’s sharp question, Lee Jisung snorted.

“You don’t park soldiers on a border. That was during an armistice before the gates, but now, putting troops here would basically be picking a fight. Even so, this zone is prime real estate and has to be guarded, you get me? So instead, they built a public enterprise.”

He went on at length, griping that the work was practically military but the treatment was nothing like it, that they signed NDAs and were constantly monitored, that it was all pretty hollow. Lude lifted a brow and asked,

“Prime real estate?”

“Man~ Rank one, you really don’t know anything huh. Are kids these days only believing stuff they can see? Look. This place is overflowing with gates. What do you think that means.”

Overflowing with gates. Lude thought it through, then his eyes widened. If gates overflow, the resources inside them overflow. Managing that means…

It meant managing the resources that could be extracted from this zone.

“You know our country’s an energy powerhouse, right? That’s because we extract magic stones and resources up here and send them down south. Only a handful of countries can do this.”

‘Now that I think about it, I think I heard that in modern history class…’

In high school Nari had mostly nodded off in class, but still. As he spoke, Lee Jisung tapped the radio at the front of the jeep.

“Owl Two returning. Entering the barrier. Requesting permission to enter.”

At the same time, a blue magic stone barrier appeared ahead on the forest trail.

Vrrrm. A gap just wide enough for one vehicle opened, and the jeep rattled through.

A school converted into a base camp. Hunters signaled with hand signs and watched the jeep with cold eyes.

Lee Jisung parked on the field, glanced back at Lude and Ihyun, and said,

“All right. From this moment, this is your base camp. I’m the man in charge here, which means you absolutely cannot go outside without my say so. Understood?”

“Yes.”

“…Yes.”

“My guys will guide you. Rest in those quarters for now, we’ll call you at the appropriate time. Go get unpacked.”

He swung open the driver’s door and said something to the nearby Hunters.

Hunters with the Wargod mark, two rifles crossing a shield, nodded and opened the back doors.

“Step out.”

“Lude, careful.”

“Ah, yeah.”

He almost stumbled while looking around as he got out, and Ihyun caught him.

Lude pressed his eyes a couple times in annoyance. A different bleakness hung in the air now.

Uniforms with the same insignia, controlled outfits, hard faces and clipped voices, a base camp hacked together from a near ruin of a school. Untended wilderness, the occasional enraged shriek of monsters far off. And there was no internet here.

They had not driven far in a straight line, but the atmosphere was completely different.

Can you really live day after day in such a tense, rigid place? Nari could not even imagine it.

“Here’s your handset.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Lude took the Wargod issue device from Kang Ihyun. For a few seconds, their hands brushed.

Lude’s black spirit energy slid like a small snake into Ihyun’s sleeve. So that no one would spot it, Ihyun tugged his cuff down to hide the energy.

Acting like he was used to this, Ihyun lifted his issued device and quickly checked their assigned quarters.

“I’m in the annex. Are you in the main building, Lude?”

“Yeah. I asked pretty hard for a private room though…”

“No way that would happen. Looks like they split the work too. I guess it benefits them to separate us…”

Click, Lude clicked his tongue, clearly irritated. Ihyun gave an awkward smile and soothed him. He waved a hand a couple times, then turned his body.

“See you later, Lude.”

“…Yeah. I’ll see you at dinner.”

Ihyun headed to the annex, Lude to the main building.

He had half expected it. Still, separating their living and work spaces just because Ihyun had come along was annoyingly petty.

“These foxes I swear…”

Muttering the nickname Ihyun had used, Lude ground his teeth. He had no intention of just taking this treatment.

If communication was blocked, he would make it possible. And Lude’S-rank was an “Illusionist,” specialized in distorting the senses.

[Illusionist Exclusive Basic Skill :: Perception Transfer is activated! (Ver. for communication)]

His vision split in half, as if he were watching two TVs at once.

The other half belonged to Kang Ihyun.

‘Can you hear me?’

‘Yes, I can. Ah, but it’s a bit… your view is overlapping with mine and it’s confusing.’

Ihyun’s thoughts streaked into Lude’s head. Lude touched his temple for a moment, a little dizzy, then continued the thought.

‘It’s a hack on a skill that wasn’t meant for comms, so we can’t help it. If you focus on your own routine, my view will blur naturally. Only pull it up when it’s urgent.’

‘Got it. You too, Lude. Be careful.’

Lude closed and opened his eyes. Like the periphery of a screen going out of focus when you concentrate, Ihyun’s vision blurred.

Either way, he did not plan to roll over and make it easy.

* * *

[Beginning mock battle no. 12,089.]

Boom! A monster with a bull’s head and a human torso slammed a great axe into the floor.

A silver haired man rolled fast to the side. A harsh screech rang across the ground.

As he completed the roll, he drew a handgun from under his cloak. Blue mana circled his eyes and the gun.

[Marksmen Exclusive Basic Skill :: Magic Bullet Fabrication is activated!]

“Graaaaaaah!!!”

Bang! The bullet punched a tiny hole in the monster’s palm.

Even that pinprick made the world collapse for it, the monster screamed like it was dying. The man’s brows drew tight.

He drew a second handgun from inside his cloak. Unrefined anger flickered in his eyes.

Gathering mana in his legs, he sprang lightly upward and leveled both guns.

[Status Ailment :: Overfocus is activated!]

[Marksmen Exclusive Basic Skill :: Magic Bullet Fabrication is activated!]

[Marksmen Exclusive Basic Skill :: Magic Bullet Fabrication is activated!]

[Marksmen Exclusive Basic Skill :: Magic Bullet Fabrication is activated!]

[Marksmen Exclusive Basic Skill :: Magic Bullet Fabrication is—]

Rat-a-tat-tat! Along with the status alert, his short cooldown basic skill kept firing off in rapid succession.

Magic bullets poured from his guns without a breath in between.

“Gwoooooooh!!!”

Searing blue smoke filled his view. The gunfire never stopped, the monster turned into a honeycomb, howled and thrashed.

Thud. With a quake, the monster toppled forward. Nearly out of mana, the man collapsed to a knee, panting. Only then did the status ailment flicker out.

He wiped the sweat on his brow, planted a knee, and pushed himself up. He was just letting out a sigh of relief, but a window popped up in front of him.

[Stage clear failed. The boss monster rises again.]

“…!!!”

Twitch. The monster’s body stirred. A heavy sense of defeat swept the man’s face. He drew his guns again and weighed his remaining mana, when—

[Due to external interference, the mock battle will terminate automatically.]

“Suho~ that’s enough. Stop it already.”

Click. The illusion vanished and the lights in the mock battle room came up.

His longtime partner, Lee Jisung, stepped inside. He glanced at the walls that were riddled with bullets and smirked.

“Couldn’t control yourself again huh?”

“…”

Silver hair, keen blue eyes, Wargod’s S-rank, and Lee Jisung’s partner. At his words, Jeong Suho ripped off his cloak and flung it away in irritation.

Whap. The cloak slammed onto the floor. He tugged up his sweat plastered tank top and wiped his forehead.

He must have been seething. Scowling and huffing, he looked ready to explode. Lee Jisung  held out a bottle of vodka.

“Drink and cool down. Mr. Rank two brought it today. I wonder how he knew that you liked this.”

“…”

Suho snatched it, cracked it open, and chugged straight from the bottle. Lee Jisung slid his sunglasses on again.

“Rank one and rank two are here. You know that, right?”

Suho gestured without looking, as if to say he knew. Leaning against the wall, Lee Jisung spoke in a sober tone.

“Suho. You hate being up here, don’t you? You want to go back down, right?”

“…”

Suho set the bottle down and looked away. Half of it was already gone. Lee Jisung chuckled, snatched it back, and poured the remainder into his own canteen.

“Feel a little calmer now?”

Suho unclenched his expression and gave a nod. As if that flare of temper had never happened, his face was mild again.

Lee Jisung picked up the cloak from the floor and handed it back.

“It can’t be helped. You said you want to go down. What are you doing being stubborn up here? You’ve run more than twelve thousand mock battles, and not one had an effect.”

“…”

Suho hesitated a moment. Lee Jisung urged him to take the cloak already.

When Suho still wavered, Lee Jisung’s face became cold again.

“You know you can’t do anything in that state, right? So why cling to it… I just don’t understand you.”

“…”

Suho slowly reached out and took the cloak. Click, the mock battle room lights timed out and turned off because no one had moved for a while.

Lee Jisung’s eyes glinted coolly.

“I begged the guildmaster to bring them. So just accept the help. Use rank one, use rank two, use them all and… Let’s put things back the way they were.”

Suho’s blue eyes gleamed. After a moment of thought, he threw the cloak back over his shoulders and left the mock battle room.

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