킬 더 드래곤

백수귀족
“Ugh.”

Han moved his airbeat with telekinesis. The movements were delicate and precise.
Han’s telekinesis was not strong, but he was capable of flexible and precise movements.

‘The only thing I can be better at than others would be my fine control of telekinesis.’

Han judged his skills objectively. A squad leader must be knowledgeable of not only
his squad’s capabilities and skills, but also his own.

“That’s amazing! Canute!”

Kuro shouted in the shooting range. Han looked behind him.

“Well, this much is a piece of cake.”

Canute brightly laughed.

All twenty bullets had hit the bull’s-eye, even though it was his first time shooting a
gun. His precision while moving was also fair. Jose, on the other hand, hit the bull’s-
eye fourteen out of twenty times.

It wasn’t bad, but their skills were on different levels.

“But would there be a time we need to use guns?”

Jose put his gun down and asked.

“Among different squad competitions, there is one called the gun survival.”

Han answered. They would need to shoot a designated amount of times inside the
shooting ranges.
He had outstanding focus so he had a talent for shooting.

The thirteenth squad’s two new transfers were given three weeks to complete the
second year curriculum. They had to get accustomed to using various new equipment,
including the airbeat. Jose and Canute scored high across all drills, but their unique
skills differed drastically.

‘Jose is skilled in close combat, he’s good at fighting together as a team, and he pays
attention to his teammates before making his next move.’

Han looked to Canute who was standing on the opposite side. Canute was tall, and his
arms and legs were long. Amongst the squad, he was the fastest.

‘Canute considers a variety of aspects, making his decisions very dependable; he is

suitable for solo runs and he understands when to work together and when to split up
the team.’

Han gathered the squad members and gave a briefing of everyone’s main role.

“We will divide into group 1 and 2. The first group is Canute and I. The second group
is Jose and Kuro. The basic battle strategy will be the first group will be the main
attackers, the second group will provide support.”

Canute rose his hand to ask a question.

“Can I ask what your thought process is in grouping us in this way?”

Han nodded. He projected all the data of his squad members he had organized prior
with his data bracelet. He had organized the last three weeks of training drills into
data format.

“If there is any conflicting data, do speak now.”

“I have no objections.”

Han and Canute confirmed.

“Group 1, Canute can easily break away from enemies, even if we were to be
surrounded because we have high agility. That’s why you’re the advance guard,
Canute. Find out the enemy’s position and notify the rest of the squad. You’re the
squad’s eyes and ears

“How about the second group?”

“Jose’s role will be to assist Kuro. Kuro is responsible for taking down the enemies that
aim for our lives. However, depending on the situation, Jose will need to go back and
forth between groups. You’re the squad’s backbone. Kuro, use your psychic powers to
support us from a distance. He’s one of the few psykers in year 2 who can give out fatal
blows with his psychic skills alone.

Han sent the hefty amount of data he had compiled of their basic war tactics, variables,
and speculations on how these tactics would work through his data bracelet. The
amount of data was no joke.

“Did you compile this yourself?”

Jose opened the data he received on his data bracelet. This was the first time he had
seen a break down of their war tactics in this type of data format. It felt like he received
a new textbook to study.

“Memorize it before our competition. When we’re out in the field, we won’t have
enough time to discuss every aspect of the tactic we’re going to carry out. We must
move out in a fluid motion like we’re one entity. This will be our squad’s core strength.
In order to achieve this, we must share our tactical thought processes. We must be
able to mentally read each other like twins by simply observing the other’s behaviors.”

The youths looked through Han’s battle tactic textbook.

Their eyes grew wide in shock. Everyone had received training through official military
procedures. They understood how much painstaking labor he had went through to
compile all this data.

‘We can win.’

Han had devised various tactics dedicated for specific squad competitions. They were
exhaustive and thorough tactics made for the purpose of winning the squad battles.

Han had remained quiet and docile ever since he had been incorporated into the
seventh squad. He had been forming battle tactics for the sake of his squad inside his
room.
“Everyone will be looking down on us. They will call us traitors and dregs. Let them
talk all they want. Nothing will come of protesting. We will show them through results.
We will make everyone regret not joining squad 13 when they had the chance.”

The postponement period for squad 13 ended. They were now required to participate
in the squad battles decided upon by the drill instructors. They could not decide their
opponents nor type of battle theme. They had to adapt to whatever situation they
were thrown in.

Han laid in his bed and stared at his data bracelet. Their first squad battle would be
announced soon. The squad battle theme was more important than finding out who
their opponents were.

“Anything but aerial squad battles.”

Squad 13 was the weakest when it came to aerial battles. It would be difficult to beat
the second year seniors who had been training in aerial tactics for a long time.

Diring

His data bracelet flashed. Han read the hologram message projected in the air.

-Squad 9 vs Squad 13: Gun Survival.

Han slyly laid down again. His expression changed subtly. He was able to avoid the
worrying aerial battles.

However the survival combat against squad 9 felt especially meaningful.

‘Those drill instructors… They’re really throwing me into the lion’s den.’

The ninth squad ranked the best in shooting. They have over 80 percent chance of
winning the gun survival.

‘They must have purposely aimed for this. This wasn’t a randomized match.’

Han narrowly opened his eyes. He pulled himself together once more.

‘The number of participants is based on the smaller squad. Then four squad members
would compete from the ninth squad. They would probably pick their best to compete.
The members of the ninth squad are probably shouting with delight over their easy
victory.

Han sent his squad the information of their next battle. He quietly closed his eyes and
opened them again.

‘We’ll show them and win.’

The ninth and thirteenth squad battle received all the attention. Everyone still treated
the thirteenth squad with much hostility.

The seventh squad outright hated on the thirteenth squad and purposely spread hateful
rumors. People gave them the cold shoulder whenever they passed the thirteenth
squad in the military training grounds or cafeteria.

“Electric guns are used in the gun survival battles. These guns are to be handled in the
same way as R-2s.”

Han spoke in front of his squad members. Kuro was already familiar with this
information, but it was the first time for Jose and Canute.

Schllk.

Han loaded his gun and fired. A spark fired on the center of the target.

“For future reference, getting hit will hurt a lot. Once you’re hit, you’ll be paralyzed.
You won’t be able to move your arms or legs; if you’re hit two to three times you won’t
be able to move at all from the excruciating pain. Other than the fact that it’s very
difficult to kill with, it’s no different than a real gun.”

“’Very difficult,’ does that mean it’s possible to die?”

Jose asked.

“If you’re hit in the eye or head, it’s possible. As long as you don’t take off your safety
equipment, you won’t have to worry about it at all. The helmet is insulated.”

Han equipped his helmet. He closed his helmet shield. The other squad members
geared their safety equipment as well.
“This is so stuffy and irritating. My vision is narrow. I really hate these type of
equipments. Won’t it be fine as long as I don’t get hit?”

Canute complained. Han pushed Canute’s helmet down with all his strength.

“Canute! Do you want to die? Never take it off. I will never approve of it, no matter
what the situation.”

Han’s eyes seemed to flash. Canute was taken aback by Han and found himself
automatically nodding.

‘Did I make him mad somehow? He seems extra serious.’

Canute quirked his head. Only when Canute properly equipped his helmet did Han’s
rigid expression soften.

Han had witnessed his fair share of deaths among the year 2 military drills. Many
trained by running mock situations that were similar to what would happen in the
squad battles.

Skimping on safety was the perfect way to die or suffer serious injuries.

‘I won’t let anybody die in my squad.’

Han and his squad equipped their safety gear and practiced to get accustomed to it.
Canute had found it uncomfortable, but after awhile he adjusted and his speed
quickened to his usual pace.

“This narrow range of vision goes for our opponent as well. The only difference is that
squad 9 has ranking marksmen. Four of their veterans in gun survival will fight against
us.”

His squad members understood they had a huge disadvantage.

“We’ll only win if you put yourself in that mindset. Fighting with a disheartened heart
will only result in a loss.”

Jose added his thoughts as well. Han nodded and agreed.

“Jose is right. Everyone should have memorized our battle tactics by now, right?”
Canute nodded matter of factly, while Jose and Kuro had slightly hesitant expressions.

Jose and Kuro didn’t have the fastest memorization skills. It would be impossible to
memorize everything perfectly in such a short period of time.

Han had also considered this while forming his plans.

“The battle tactic name is called the moving bunker. I know it sounds childish, but I
only thought of it now so don’t laugh.”

Han said.

“The moving bunker?”

Everyone received a message to gather on their data bracelets. They were to gather at
the eighth training grounds. Han observed his squad’s expressions and nodded.

“I’ll explain while we are moving.”

The eighth training grounds were located inside an overgrown forest. The artificial
forest trees stood tall to make one reminisce of the northern European forests. The
forest scent wafted thickly. Squad 9 and 13 were on standby at opposite ends of the
forest.

BANG!

The instructor shot the gun to the sky. This had signaled the start for each squad.

“Take it easy this round.”

Squad 9 was full of confidence.

The ninth squad members had the best ranking marksmen among the second years.
Today, they had chosen the best four; there was no way they could lose.

“Let’s maintain distance and look around.”

Squad 9 chose a frontal attack. The four members moved in a line while maintaining
proper distance away from each other.
They each took on a role to look out into different directions. It would be impossible
to get into their blind spot.

Brrrr.

The cameras attached to the tree branches moved. The cameras followed the squad
members’ every actions. The current competition was being broadcasted for everyone
to see.

The second years were watching squads 9 and 13. Nobody wanted to miss the chance
to see the new squad in action. It was their chance to figure out squad 13’s specialty
and attack power.

“Squad 13 won’t move?”

“Are they setting up a defense at their starting point?”

The second years murmured. The actions of squad 9 and 13 were polar opposites.

Squad 9 searched forth using standard procedures. Squad 13 was surveying the trees
in their surroundings. Squad leader Han was looking for a suitable tree.

‘We can’t win in a direct gun fight. It will be difficult to win with such a difference in
skill without a suitable battle tactic.’

He thought of many tactics, such as ambushing the other team from on top of a tree,
or setting up a camouflage to ambush them.

‘We haven’t trained enough to shoot others from on top of the trees. There’s not much
to camouflage with. There are many times when an eccentric plan would be better
than an ill-prepared frontal attack.’

Han looked for a generously big tree. He looked to Kuro.

“Kuro, are you okay with this much? We can’t compromise with anything smaller. We
must be able to comfortably hide our bodies behind it.”

“I’ll try.”

“Kuro, you don’t need to bother shooting. Just focus on this. Jose, let’s start.”
Jose nodded, and his irises glowed red.

Psychic energies were generally blue, but sometimes it changed depending on their
unique skills.

The color of their psychic energy would change according to the mental imagery of
their power. Those with the power of ignition commonly glowed with red light.

HWAAA!

Jose burned the lower trunk of the tree. He was soon drenched in sweat. He focused
to strengthen his fire while controlling the area of ignition.

He ignited a small area with strong flames. This type of psychic control was difficult.

“Slowly. It’s okay, Jose.”

Han said calmly.

‘Although we’re tight on time, the most important aspect of psychic power is focus.
Distractions will only make focusing more difficult.’

“Canute, go out first and survey our opponent’s movements. Don’t engage with them
after finding their locations.”

Canute nodded and sprinted off. Canute was swift even within this thick forest.

“Haa, Haa.”

Sweat rained down from Jose’s face. Smoke from the burnt tree rose into the air. Jose
momentarily sat down and rested.

“This much should be enough.”

Han sprinted and banged his body against the tree. The burnt portion of the tree
shook.

‘Damn, the tree core is still intact, Jose is already exhausted. At this rate, he will faint
before combat.’
Kuro who had been watching placed his hand onto the tree. Han observed Kuro.

“Han, let me try.”

Crack, crack.

Kuro focused on the burnt lower trunk of the tree. The sound of the trunk’s core
snapping rang.

“Han, on the count of three, push.”

Han nodded.

“One, two, three.”

Han ran and pushed the tree. Kuro also used all his strength to push against the tree.

KWAA-Ji-Jik! Boom!

The sturdy, huge tree fell over.

“Gasp, gasp.”

Han and the exhausted squad members tried to catch their breath while leaning
against the fallen tree trunk. They were panting with heavy breaths.

“We lost all our strength before the fight.”

“Let’s rest a bit and move on.”

“Kuro, do you have enough strength to continue using your telekinetic power?”

“I’ll be fine after I rest a little.”

Han observed Kuro’s status. The core strength for this tactic relied on Kuro.

‘Kuro need to reserve his strength, but he already wasted so much.’

Strategies will not always work out as planned. Han caught his breath as he sat down,
before his data bracelet rang.
-Enemy is approaching 200 meters from the front. I will rejoin the team.

It was Canute’s message. Han smiled bitterly. Everyone in the squad stood,
understanding their situation.

“No time to rest. Prepare immediately.”

BANG!

The sound of a gun rang in the forest. The sound of more guns followed immediately.
He could hear a short scream. Canute ran over while limping his leg. A bullet was
jammed in his leg. It had no power to kill or penetrate the body, but the electrical shock
had caused paralysis to Canute’s leg.

“Damn.”

Canute tried his best to suppress the shooting pains as he ran.

‘This is no joke. They hit me at this distance.’

The ninth squad was indeed veterans. They could easily hit Canute who had been
running quickly through the forest. They pressed forward, hunting Canute.

“Gasp, gasp. I’m late.”

Canute judged it would be impossible to rejoin his squad.

‘I would only be in the way even if I rejoin them with the state my leg is in. It would be
better to buy them more time by escaping into a different direction.’

Canute ran into the opposite direction of his squad. He sent the current status to Han.

BA-ANG!

He could hear the guns closing. The tree next to him lit up in flames from the spark.

“Damn.”

Canute turned his body backwards and aimed at them. There would be no way he
could hit them with this unsteady pose. Squad 9 hid themselves behind a tree and
laughed.

“I don’t think we need to bother concealing ourselves. His aim is horrible.”

Canute was a skilled shooter, but that had been at the shooting range.

It was a different story trying to hit a moving target inside a forest. Canute felt the skill
difference with his body. The experience difference between squad 9 and 13 was too
vast.

‘Just one person, even if it’s just an injury.’

Canute fired his gun blindly. He reloaded his gun. In that short moment, the ninth
squad sprinted forward.

“Goodbye.”

The ninth squad all shot at the same time.

The bullets hit Canute’s body with ease. Canute’s body shook violently. He couldn’t
even talk from the electric shock.

His body spasmed and convulsed. Canute had become unable to battle.

“One down. Three left.”

“Why was there only one person in the front? Was there a reason to use an advance
guard with only four squad members? This round will end with a frontal attack
anyway.”

Squad 9 pushed back their helmet shields to rest for a moment. They felt something
was strange. The thirteenth squad sent an advanced guard and lost one of their
valuable soldiers.

In a ten member squad battle, it would reduce their man power by only one tenth, but
in a four member squad battle that was a quarter of their military strength.

This was a fatal loss. There was no reason to send a scout out risking that loss in a four
vs four battle.
“They probably thought up some lame battle tactic.”

Squad 9 geared their helmet shields and assembled in a line once more. They
descended to look for the thirteenth squad.

Han received Canute’s last report. He expressed no response after reading it.

“Let’s start. Canute had been done in. He bought us some time.”

Han could add up what had happened and his thought processes from the short
report.

‘He had probably suffered an injury. He judged that it would be better to run in the
opposite direction to buy us time rather than rejoining us. This turn of events was only
possible because it was Canute.’

If he had been a simple guy who strictly adhered to commands, he would have forced
himself to somehow rejoin no matter the end result. If so, the entire squad would have
fallen into danger. Canute always thinks and judges for himself.

“This is time that Canute has worked hard for. It’s time to avenge his fall.”

Jose and Kuro’s condition had improved a lot. Kuro slowly began using his psychic
powers once again. He dragged along the giant tree as they moved along. This scene
had been perfectly recorded by the cameras.

“What in the world are they doing?”

“They cut a whole entire tree.”

“It can’t be…”

The second years watching the battle through the hologram began discussing amongst
themselves. It was common for squads to use the geographical terrain in gun survival
battles to oppress the others.

“It’s a shield.”

“It’s possible because they have Kuro.”

“It’s better for Kuro to do that than to make him fight when he’s such a bad fighter.”

The instructors broke down the situation. This was their first time seeing this sort of
battle tactic.

The gun survival battles were the most standard type of modern warfare.

In front of such an overwhelming weapon like the gun, there is no time to intervene
with psychic powers.

“They’ve encountered the ninth squad!”

Someone shouted. Squad 9 and 13 stood across from each other. They were close
enough for shooting distance.

“Kuro-!”

Han shouted.

Kuro gripped his hands into fists. The tree trunk floated and blocked the front. The
bullets hit the tree, creating sparks.

“What’s that?”

The ninth squad shouted, shocked. One tree covered all of the thirteenth squad. The
moving shelter moved flexibly.

The thirteenth squad lowered their bodies and moved along with the tree. They
peeked out shortly from above the tree one by one to check the situation.

No matter how skilled the ninth squad was at shooting, it was difficult to hit such a
small mark in a short amount of time.

‘There shouldn’t be many members who have strong psychic abilities since they were
picked based on marksmanship.’

Han mumbled. There was nobody in squad 9 that could interfere with Kuro’s telekinesis.

If all four of the members were to use their telekinesis, it would be possible to stop
Kuro. However, afterwards everyone would become defenseless.
“Damn, hide behind the trees. We can take cover as well. Let’s drag out the time slowly.
He will become tired eventually.”

The ninth squad stopped shooting and hid behind the trees. Han poked Jose’s side.

“Jose, start.”

Jose’s eyes glowed red. The forest burned. The area around the ninth squad burst into
flames.

“This kind of fire can’t touch……”

The ninth squad stopped mid sentence and closed their mouths.

The fire wasn’t the problem. The smoke from the flame made it hard to see. They
couldn’t see where the thirteenth squad was at all.

“Move!”

The ninth squad escaped from the smoke.

While they were lost in the smoke, Han quickly approached his opponents.

Bang!

Han shot the first member of the ninth squad that popped out from the smoke. He
fainted before he could utter another word.

Now, there were 3 people left in squad 9. They spotted Han and shouted.

“One enemy spotted! Fire!”

Han rolled on the ground and hid behind a tree.

“JOSE!”

Han shouted. Jose casted a ball of flame to produce gray smoke.

At this time, the ninth squad and the second year instructors realized the thirteenth
squad’s scheme.
‘I see. Kuro and Jose weren’t going to use their guns at all. They’re basic supports. The
only ones to fight would be Han and Canute. Canute had fallen so Han is alone, but in
that situation… ’

Han calmed his breath. The ninth squad couldn’t do anything because of smoke and
trees.

The only way they could proceed this battle was to kill Han so that they could proceed
to kill Kuro and Jose.

Twang.

The ninth squad became shocked, the tree branch that were hiding behind broke for
no reason.

It was Kuro. Kuro was hiding behind the giant tree trunk and broke the branches
which the ninth squad was hiding behind.

‘There you are.’

Han focused his ears, due to the smoke the both of them couldn’t make out anything
with their eyes.

Kuro, who had escaped from the smoke, let Han know of the ninth squad’s location by
breaking the branches of the trees they were hiding behind.

‘I’m shooting by guessing most of the time, but just knowing which direction to shoot
gives me the upper hand. In a smoke field like this, it doesn’t matter that the other
squad is made up of elite marksmen.’

Before the smoke had covered this vast area, Han had memorized the locations of the
trees very well. He moved while referring to the map from his mind. He moved to flank
the 9th squad, and pulled his trigger.

“GAA!”

A short yelp reverberated. Han consecutively shot his gun until he emptied his
magazine. The other team began cursing from within the smoke.

“Huu, huu.”
Han calmed his breath.

‘I need to get out of this smoke.’

In a matter of moments the ninth squad had been reduced down to two members. It
would have become disadvantageous for themselves if they were to continue fighting
from within the smoke.

They judged that they must escape the smoke with any means necessary so that they
could come up with a new plan.

The ninth squad looked to each other and nodded in confirmation before quickly
dashing off.

They could be spotted right away the moment they escaped the smoke area. However,
Han remained in the smoke, so they were not aware.

“Friends. You made it out well.” Jose laughed and shot his gun.

There was more than enough smoke in the area now, so he could give all of his focus
to shoot down his opponents.

He waited for the ninth squad to come out. When they managed to escape the smoke,
they became easy targets for Jose.

Bullets flew from Jose’s gun.

“Kugh”

“Haha, my shooting skills are so bad.”

Jose mumbled and hid behind the tree. The ninth squad suffered an injury and became
paralyzed. They mustered their last remaining strength to crawl to cover.

“Kuro, I leave the rest to you.”

When Han left the smoke area, he hid himself behind the tree trunk that Kuro had
stood up vertically. He snuck closer to the hidden ninth squad.

Han didn’t let his guard down until the last moment. He kept his body hidden, and only
peeped out the muzzle of his gun to hunt down the 9th squad.

“Th-those cheaters!”

A member of the ninth squad uttered their last words as their body convulsed from
the shock. The last remaining member of squad 9 realized there was no more hope
and volunteered to give up.

– Squad 13, winner.

The data bracelets rang and projected the message.

“We won!”

Kuro plopped down on the ground and shouted. He looked completely exhausted.
Kuro exhausted the most energy from amongst the team. It was no easy feat to carry
around a large tree with psychokinetic energy for a long period of time.

“Kuro, you did well.”

Han said with a face covered in soot. They got out their water bottles to drink. They
rinsed the unpleasant aftertaste of smoke that lingered in their mouths.

“My head feels empty. I wouldn’t have been able to hang any longer even if you begged
me to.”

Kuro spoke while receiving a water bottle from Han.

“We won! You B*****! Are you watching?”

Jose looked to the camera and flipped everyone off. The second years who had been
watching expressed various reactions. There were some who said it was funny; there
were also those who felt frustrated. Some cursed at the thirteenth squad for using
cowardly tactics.

“In a way, it’s pretty cowardly.”

“Military strategies to begin with, are crude. There is no such thing as a legitimate way
to win in war.”
“That’s true.”

The drill instructors who had been watching laughed at the creativeness of the battle
tactics. Squad 13 had used different methods, but nothing had gone against the rules.

“But that rascal Han. He’s pretty malicious. He didn’t relax his focus even when victory
was pretty much theirs. He continued to finish the battle.”

“The other squad had been put in a state incapable of fighting back, but he continued
to fire his gun while hiding behind the tree trunk while only having the point of his
gun sticking out.”

“He looks like an adult, but if you account for his real age it’s a pretty chilling
realization.”

The instructors agreed simultaneously while they nodded. Han, the leader of squad
13, had begun to attract the drill instructor’s attention.

“Ow, ow, oow.”

Canute screamed. The doctor fished out the bullets stuck in his skin with a set of
tweezers.

It didn’t have enough power to kill someone, but the places the bullets dug into had
blood flowing out from them. Canute put on some ointment and wrapped his injuries
with bandages.

“It’s done. The wounds will close soon.”

The doctor said as he exited the squad’s dorm. Han saw the doctor out and entered
Canute’s room.

“You worked hard, Canute.”

“We won, right?”

Canute asked again. He had fainted during the squad battle. He was having a hard time
believing that they had won after awakening.

“Yes, it’s all thanks to you. The time you bought us was very useful. It took longer to
take down the tree than we originally thought it would.”

“So I made the right judgment.”

Han nodded. But his expression remained grim.

“But out in real battle, please never make those calls. Even if there is a tiny sliver of
chance that you will live, make that choice. If this had been real war, you would have
died.”

“But I was right tactically. Even if I were to join you guys, I wouldn’t have been able to
fight. I would probably end up revealing our location to squad 9.”

“…”

Han stopped pressing Canute further. In the end, Canute made the right choice and
contributed greatly toward their victory.

“Anyway, we won. Let’s celebrate.”

Canute sat up. He used Han’s shoulders to join the gathering in Jose’s room. The party
had already started in Jose’s room. Jose and Kuro toasted their drinks.

“Hey! How’s your body holding up?”

Jose asked Canute.

“I feel like I’m dying. But, there’s no way I could miss out on this feast.”

The winning squads are awarded special feasts. This special feast is one of the greatest
motivations for the students to win. In this place, everyone’s meals are strictly
controlled, and so these special feasts are the few enjoyments that could be found in
Ark. Usually, they can’t enjoy greasy foods like this at all.

“Canute, come eat. This is really delicious.”

Kuro spoke with a mouth full of food. Canute found a comfortable spot and quickly
moved his hands.

“Congratulations for squad 13’s first win!”

“We will continue winning, so get used to winning.”

“Squad leader Han, hurrah!”

Everyone put in their congratulatory message. Han held up his cup with an
embarrassed smile.

“Everyone, thanks. This tactic was pushing it a bit, but our squad pulled through
together. If a single member in our team didn’t do their part, we couldn’t have won.”

“It wasn’t pushing it at all. It was a great battle plan.”

Kuro added his two cents. Han waved his hand and answered.

“It was just luck. Our opponents were easy to read because they were so strong. Squad
9 who specialize in marksmanship would deploy their best for the 4 member squad, I
could read their plans like an open book. If our opponent had not been talented in
marksmanship, and instead depended on psychic and close combat powers this plan
would not have worked.”

“That’s the amazing part. You have the skills to read your opponent.”

“Squad 13 will gain lots of attention from now on. The winning rates for newly
appointed squad leaders are very low. This is more so if all the members of the squad
are new. Still, we won. This is our chance. We must show others that we are superior.”

Their fighting spirit rose high. Squad 13 had been inferior in all aspects, but had a
overwhelming victory. Nobody thought they would be able to win through sheer battle
tactics.

‘Psychic soldiers’ traits are like a unique spear. There had never been a squad of this
type. The tactical elements are about to greatly evolve.’

A trained psyker has the equivalent strength of a mid-sized squadron. Depending on

how one uses that power, it’s possible to become much more powerful.’

Han understood this aspect the best amongst all the squad leaders of year 2. He
resolutely used Kuro and Jose’s psychic abilities as support rather than as the main
attackers.
“This means we will become very popular. Haha, ugh.”

Canute began to roar with laughter then immediately grasped his chest from the
sheering pain from his injuries. Canute was plainly ecstatic.

‘I didn’t join because I had friendly ties like Kuro or Jose. I joined squad 13 because of
the possibilities of this squad and it won my curiosity.’

Canute decided he made the right choice. Han showed concrete results for them.

The party continued deep into the night. Jose ate until his belly was about to burst,
then fell asleep on his bed. Canute had returned earlier to rest up due to his injuries.
Kuro and Han stayed behind to clean up and left the room.

“Thanks Han. I never thought a day like this would come for me in Ark.”

“You gained your strength through your own power. Kuro. You should be proud of
yourself.”

“Yes, Squad leader.”

Kuro gave a light salute and returned to his room. Han also returned to his room. Han
laid down on his bed from fatigue. Drowsiness overwhelmed him. He organized all the
elements of today’s match carefully.

‘I can think of many immature mistakes we made. At the same time, there is no such
thing as a perfect battle plan. It’s just the winner had the better battle tactic. History
will be my witness.’

The wars that had changed the world had many mishaps and weaknesses to their
battle tactics. From a third party’s perspective, there is nothing more easy to
breakdown than past events.

What if they did it this way instead- assumptions such as these are pointless. Everyone
can point out the mistakes of others.

‘That is why I must maintain my objectiveness. I must continue to observe the battle
as objectively as possible. I can’t compromise for myself either.’

Though young, he was capable of thinking in this way. ‘Things will work out somehow
in the end.’ In his life, if he lived with such a light heart, it would mean starvation and
possibly death.

The optimistic brightness of life is a luxury. If mistakes were made, or if he failed, a life
of tomorrow was not guaranteed.

Uuoooo.

Han used his telekinesis to bring over the holographic photo frame from his desk. His
younger siblings’ faces flashed past in order.

“I can’t take pictures of myself to send them anymore. I grew up like this all by myself.”

Han was one of the best students in class. Major Kang joyously promised hefty
sponsorship for Han’s younger siblings.

“I had said that I would become the best before I came to this place.”

He mumbled to himself. At the time, he had more fighting spirit than his current self.
He felt like anything would be possible after living through the hell-like land.

‘I can’t think easily of Ark. Only the best of the best amongst the world’s children are
gathered here. A normal child like Kuro is considered very weak in this place. It’s the
other children who have such a strong mind who are out of place and strange in reality.
In Ark, the unusual becomes normal and the usual becomes unusual. If one doesn’t
stand out, it’s not possible to rise in rank.’

Han thought of his past. He could still remember it like yesterday.

‘I came to a place where it’s not possible to survive through normal means.’

South Korea was one of the top richest countries in the world, but the Korea Han had
lived in was straight hell.

Starvation overwhelmed the lands outside of the cities, it was common for people to
commit murder over a bag of rice. To Han, defeat or a mistake was equivalent to death
itself.

Han held his breath. He paused and waited for his opponent.
‘If we win this round, we will have four wins.’

Squad 13 won consecutively. They proved that their victory over squad 9 had not been
a fluke; they won the battles one after another like it was a piece of cake.

Squad 10 and 2 had gruesomely lost versus the newly formed squad 13. Squad 13 had
only four members and everyone was required to participate every time.

The 4 member squad had a limited number of formations, and were well known by
all. Even so, squad 13 could not be defeated.

‘Extraordinary military operations.’

This had been everyone’s reaction. Everyone had said their victories were due to
having a strong psyker like Kuro. However after winning two and even three
consecutive victories, their opinions had begun to change.

Squad 13’s core reason of victory was due to its squad leader Han Lee. He had
groundbreaking insightfulness and sharp decision-making talent, on top of a chilling
objectiveness that could grasp an opponent’s weaknesses.

-Canute, run.

Han sent a message. On the opposite side, Canute was hacking away at the forest while
running in sporadic directions. The opposing team focused on tailing after Canute.
Canute quickly lowered his body.

‘In boss battles, only the appointed bosses are required to be defeated for victory.
There is no need to annihilate the entire opposing team.’

Han narrowed his eyes. Amongst the opponents, he could spot the boss wearing a
different colored battle suit.

Hwwing!

The wind violently blew. Han’s body tilted from the wind. He was on top of a twenty
meter tall tree, equivalent to about the height of a five or six floor building’s height.

-Start.
The squad moved according to Han’s command. Canute lured their opponents. The
opposing squad stood below the tree that Han was hiding in.

“Huuu.”

He took a deep breath. The top of this place made him feel dizzy. Although his bones
had been strengthened exponentially, he would not be able to avoid serious injuries
at this height. If he fell head first, it would be an instant death for him.

‘Fear.’

Han mumbled. The adrenaline pumped into his blood. He focused his eyes onto the
boss of his opponent.

‘There is no need to worry. I’ve practiced many times with Kuro.’

It was easy to use telekinesis to move an inanimate object. The next stage of difficulty
was a moving object, The hardest was to use telekinesis against living life forms.

“I’m going.”

Han jumped off, letting his body free fall. Gravity strongly pulled on his body.

Suddenly, Han’s body jerked. The speed which he fell decreased. Kuro was catching
Han’s fall from far away with his telekinesis.

‘The acceleration is still pretty fast. Tch.’

Han put his arms into an X. He let his body freely fall onto the opponent’s boss below.

KWa-JiK!

“AAAck!”

As Han fell, he tumbled along with his opponent. It was the sound of his bones
breaking. Han fumbled his arms to grasp onto the boss’ neck.

“Wh-what?!”

Di-ring!
It had been a short squad battle. Their data bracelets had signaled squad 13’s victory.

The opposing boss suffered heavy impact injuries like he had been hit by a hammer.
Han, who had fallen from the height, took the fall mostly to his chest, and narrowly
escaped death.

“Ugh, I broke my left arm. It hurts a lot.”

Han confirmed their victory before he rested against the tree. The emergency medic
looked over the injuries, and transferred them to the recovery hall.

“Han!”

Squad 13 gathered around him.

“I’m okay. This was a cheap price.”

Han furrowed his brows while letting the medic examine his injuries.

“Your left arm has been fractured. There is a crack in your right arm. Get on the car.”

The medic spoke shortly, letting Han onto the emergency vehicle. There was a single
instructor to help guide the medic around Ark.

The instructor and Han spoke while looking over the injured.

“This is serious, he just narrowly escaped death.”

“Reducing the speed of the fall from the tree was harder than I thought. Actual battles
and practices are too different.”

“Even if you’re able to reduce the falling speed with telekinesis, how can you dare to
fall from a tree of that height? Your guts must have inflated.”

“Now your arms are like this.”

The medic applied a splint onto Han’s arm. The instructor blankly looked towards Han.

Squad leader, Han Lee had obtained four consecutive victories. His resourcefulness
and tactics are outstanding and extraordinary.
‘He has deep insight to use everything, beginning from the geographical terrain to all
types of psychic powers. Additionally, he does not hesitate to daringly make gambles.’

Squad 13 was a popular topic of discussion amongst drill instructors. The thirteenth
squad exceeded all of the drill instructors’ expectations. It had been no different in
this squad battle as well.

‘To be on standby on top of a tall tree, making his team lure the opposing squad, before
he made himself into a human bullet to focus his attack onto the opposing boss.

Han received treatment in the medical ward. Normally, people needed to install pins
to stabilize the bones again, but he had been artificially strengthened in the incubator
so he would be able to make a clean recovery in a single month. After a detailed
examination, Han returned to his dorms.

“How’s your arm?”

“I can make a complete recovery in 3 weeks.

“That’s good to hear.”

The remaining squad members were all waiting for him.

“Sorry, I couldn’t properly follow our plan.”

Kuro apologized bowing his head. Kuro also realized that he failed to control as well
as he had done during their past practices.

Due to his own mistake, the speed of Han’s fall had not decelerated enough. Han shook
his head.

“It’s good enough that you didn’t let me die. It’s fine.”

Han pat Kuro’s shoulder.

‘It was an unreasonable request from the start. It’s amazing that he was able to follow
through to this level.’

It was extremely difficult to control a living human with his telekinesis alone. If it were
easy, all psykers would use their telekinesis to make themselves fly.
After the end of the victory party, he returned to his own room.

He carefully looked through today’s squad battle recording. He also watched the
battles of the other squads without fail. His eyes burned with longing of victory.

‘I will win, and win again. I will continue to win.’

Han’s longing to win overflowed. During his first year, he moved and acted solely for
the sake of his younger siblings. Now, he had become the squad leader and had to
shoulder everything in his squad. His heart was filled with nothing but the wish to
continue winning.

Han rested from training due to his arm fracture. Instead he focused on studying the
theories he had been neglecting for the past while. Han’s left arm was plastered as he
walked into the lecture room. This place could seat about a hundred students. The
second years looked to Han and began murmuring amongst themselves.

“It’s Han Lee, the thirteenth squad leader.”

“His squad has been on a roll with victories, must be nice.”

“I heard he used to be in the seventh squad, what was the seventh squad leader doing
letting a talent like that rot? I don’t think he participated in a single squad battle back
then.”

“He probably doesn’t have an eye for realizing true talent.”

The opinions of Han all drastically differed based on which squad the student
belonged to. Some looked to him favorably, while others looked at him with spite.

There was one definite fact though, due to the thirteenth squad’s consecutive
victories, they had become the main attraction. Proportional to him, Squad 7’s leader
Kato’s overall assessment score drastically fell.

“The core members Han and Kuro originally belonged to squad 7.”

The more people praised squad 13, the more horrible people’s opinions of Kato
became. It had become plainly apparent that he could not properly deploy his squad.

Han sat on his seat and opened his notebook. The remaining squads who had
completed their morning training also filled the lecture room.

‘Kato Souki.’

Han looked toward squad 7 who had seated themselves in the far opposite side of the
room. Kato fiercely glared at Han, then turned his gaze around. He had intense malice.

‘It can’t be helped that he dislikes me. I had lowered his own assessment score, and I
also stole Kuro from him.’

Han mumbled to himself and looked forward.

‘But Kato, if you think I’m a mere coward, then your standard is only to that level as
well.’

Han understood Ark’s training methods better than all the students here. Han had
ignored the hateful glares of the seventh squad as he focused on the lecture. When
lecture ended, Han’s data bracelet flashed. He read over the message.

-Squad battle confirmed in two days. Squad 13 versus squad 7. Aerial battle.

Han furrowed his brows.

‘The instructors are aware that I won’t be able to use my left arm for awhile. We must
have at least 4 members participate in the squad battles.’

Han couldn’t focus on the lecture anymore. He tapped his knee with his fingers as he
lost himself in his own thoughts.

‘Do they wish I’ll lose? Against squad 7? The instructors understand everything. What
is their intention setting up such a squad battle?’

After seeing the end to the squad battle of the second years, Master Drill Instructor
Greseman looked over Squad 13’s data. After a conference with the rest of the drill
instructors, he proceeded to announce the following squad battle for squad 13.

“We normally give squads in recovery some time to recuperate, but it’s an exception
this time. Squad 13 has many victories under their belt. It’s time they taste failure.”

“They had an exceptional streak of victories. Han Lee and squad 13 must learn how to
lose as well.”

The instructors unanimously agreed. Learning to lose was also a lesson to be learned.
They must be taught the bitter taste of failure before they become drunk off victory.

“Squad 7, do your best to step on squad 13. This will become a painful experience for
squad 13. Squad 7 had been stuck in a rut, this is a good chance and motivation for
them.”

All the cards were set for squad 13 to fail. Squad 7 is in bad terms with them, and it
will be a squad aerial battle. Han is injured. Greseman compared the two groups’ data.

‘But if by chance squad 7 loses, and squad 13 is able to claim victory once again… ’

Drill Sergeant Greseman was very strict. There might be squads superior to others,
but units must not stand on a pedestal. Squad 13 is superior, but it would be
troublesome if this becomes a platform for them to stand out. All squads must taste
failure. Their superior image must be broken.

“Isn’t there a mistake? It’s been only three days since our last squad battle. We even
suffered injuries, yet they’re sending us out again?”

Jose’s voice rang loud. Squad 13 checked their daily training schedules. Everyone’s
faces had stiffened because they all realized the bad situation they were in.

“There are no mistakes here. The drill instructors do not wish for us to continue
winning.”

Han said objectively. The cast on his left arm looked extra heavy today.

“This isn’t fair. Isn’t this the same thing as commanding us to lose?”

“Squad 7 would be wondering of the different ways they could beat us up.”

“This battle has a lot of problems. Let’s go file a complaint.”

Canute spoke like he was ready to stomp over to the drill sergeants anytime now. Han
lowered his gaze for a moment. He grasped onto Canute’s clothes and forced him to
sit down on a chair.
“Everyone be quiet. The drill instructors are not our parents or teachers. Their jobs
are to test us and make us fall into despair. The only people Ark seeks are those who
are able to climb up from these situations.”

The only person to understand this in squad 13 was Han. Heavy imposing air seemed
to flow from Han’s spirit.

“So, what are we doing then?”

“There’s no use complaining. All that is left for us is to fight and then win.”

Han’s spoke in a low, but passionate voice. They felt a calm anger from his tone. Han
also felt irritated from the drill instructor’s harsh treatment.

They only had two days left. This amount of time didn’t even give squad 13 enough
time to breathe. The youths cut their sleeping time to practice maneuvering their
airbeats. Han felt more restless than anyone in the squad, but he did not let it show.

‘If I express my anxiousness, my squad will also become more restless. Even if I don’t
have a plan for them, I need to act like I do.’

When Han had been the leader of the homeless orphans, he had always spoke like he
had some way to get more food for everyone the next day. Even if he had no real plan,
he led all the kids with his strong words. When the children felt hope, they could cope
with their hunger pains.

“Aerial battle, squad 7.”

Han brought up squad 7’s data to his mind. Squad 7 did not have an outstanding
psyker like Kuro or Simon, but overall everyone excels in combat and personal skills.
This had been the ultimate reason Han had never had a chance to utilize his skills.

‘Aerial battle, is in fact, similar to the game hopscotch. The number of airbeats one
could utilize is limited based on personal skill. There were only 6 pillars which one
could stand excluding all the airbeats.

Han could think up of a plan to win squad 7. They were inferior to squad 7 in every
way. He quietly bit his lips.

‘Up to what point would the drill instructors allow? Up to where would they accept it
as military tactics?’

Han did not plan to obediently lose like the drill instructors intended for them. He
quietly called Jose over and drafted their plan.

“Jose, the core member of this round is you. Do you think you can do this?”

Han explained the plan he had drafted on his hologram to Jose. Jose’s expression had
changed strangely as he quietly listened.

“This is an amazing plan, but would the drill instructors allow this?”

“Materials necessary for military tactics are allowed.”

“Is that so?”

Han had memorized every little detailed rule of the squad battle competitions. So, he
was able to decide what was allowed or not. He had felt that he was dabbling into the
area outside which was allowed by the rules.

“Can you do it, Jose?”

“Of course. Trust in me, amigo.”

Jose confidently struck his chest. Han nodded let Jose return. They must finish
preparing everything within two days. Han requested the necessary items they
required through his data bracelet.

Two days later, squad 7 and 13 would hold their aerial battle. Squad 7’s eyes looked
murderous. They prepared themselves while determined to obtain victory. Squad 7
had trained solely for the aerial battle the last two days. They had delayed all other
training drills and lectures while dedicating themselves completely for the forthcoming
competition.

“How is your arm doing, Han?”

Kato asked while he approached Han. The battle field for the Aerial battle was tiny,
and so the two squads would end up meeting for small talk before the battle.

“It’s a little bad, but my right hand will probably be enough for today Kato.”
Han said indifferently. He also didn’t have the best impression of Kato. He had not
confronted the other, but they had all joined together to beat up Kuro for leaving.
Thanks to that, all sadness and apologetic feelings had disappeared.

“Stop bluffing. Aerial battles are not something you could master overnight. Any sort
of hasty preparation will not be enough to gain victory. You’re smart, so you should
know it already.”

Kato said teasingly. Han passively nodded his head.

“You’re right. We can’t win. So, we prepared something different today. Kato, if you
don’t fight properly you will be completely humiliated.”

Han beckoned Kato with his finger. The other narrowed his eyes and sneered as an icy
smirk hung on his lips.

“I’ll kill you, Han. Kuro as well.”

Kato said with his face flushed red. Han looked directly into Kato’s eyes.

“You’ve never even killed someone before. Coming from someone like you, it doesn’t
feel threatening in the least.”

Kato twitched. Han’s eyes looked empty, but seemed to hold onto something deeper.

Amongst the North East Asian Alliance, Japan was one of the wealthier countries.
Japan welcomed the financial bubbles of the booming market and climbed up to
become one of the top economic power houses. It had been an isolated country, so
they were not affected much by the first wave of aggression; most of their
infrastructures remained intact. Korea and China had become impoverished, and
provided the business to reconstruct the countries. Kato, who had grown up in a
wealthy country could not grasp his mind around the everyday struggle for existence.

‘What’s up with his reaction and eyes…?’

Kato felt a sudden chill, and decided to return to his squad. His fighting spirit would
be flattened if he continued to talk with Han here.

‘I can’t be influenced before the battle. We simulated this many times, there is no way
for us to lose.’
Squad 7 and 13 gradually readied themselves. They equipped their own personal gear.
Squad 7 wore their standard gear. They prepared their own airbeats, and equipped
their close combat weapons. Using the airbeats required massive focus. The gears that
would not contribute to this match were usually omitted.

“Squad 13 all has their maximum number of allowed airbeats?”

The watching second years commented while watching over the thirteenth squad.
Squad 13’s buttocks and hips felt heavy. The airbeat catapulting gear was bulky. A
single person was allowed a maximum of four airbeats, but unless they were
supporters, they would only equip two at once.

“Squad 13 shouldn’t have mastered their airbeats yet. No matter how good Kuro is, it
should be impossible to control so many.”

“What are they thinking to bring all those airbeats out? Doesn’t it just become
unnecessary weight?”

The second years did their best to deduce squad 13’s strategy. Squad 13 had become
well known for their eccentric strategies. To add, they always won. Squad 13 had
become the student and drill instructor’s hot topic.

‘What are you thinking Han?’

The drill instructors also looked confused looking at all of squad 13’s gear.

“Has Kuro’s psychic level suddenly shot up again?”

“If that were true, we’d know immediately.”

“They have sixteen airbeats. Excluding Kuro, if everyone utilizes two, that leaves ten.
There’s no way that Kuro would be capable of controlling all those by himself.”

“If he were capable, they would transfer him with the third years immediately.”

Everyone tried grasping at straws to deduce squad 13’s plans. Just then, the gun
signaling the start of the squad battles rung. One person stood on top of the small
wooden pillar. Just below, was the safety net. The rules were simple, one simply
needed to drop their opponent onto the net to win.
Weeeng!

Each squad members started warming up their airbeats. The members on top of the
airbeats got into position. Squad 7 had prepared an all out intensive surprise attack.

‘Our squad is superior in airbeat maneuvering skills and aerial battles. Don’t give them
time to proceed with their schemes. That was the reason squad 9 had lost.’

“We will end this by thoroughly beating them.”

Squad 7 approached their opponents with speed. They expertly controlled their
airbeats to swiftly move forward with smooth steps. They wouldn’t be any slower
running on land. There were no members who could expertly utilize the airbeats in
squad 13.

“What are they doing?”

The only member to step forward in squad 13 was Canute. The remaining were on
standby on top of the airbeats that Kuro controlled.

“Jose, let’s start.”

Han ungeared the airbeat on his hip and turned it on. The airbeat felt heavy in his
hands because he was holding onto it slanted.

“HUUP!”

Han pushed all his strength into his right arm. The second years of Ark had muscular
strength equal to that of a super human. Their muscles were denser and the fibers
were more flexible than a normal human adult.

Wooong!

Han’s irises glowed with psychic energy.

‘They’re not using psychic energy to control the airbeats. They are using it to reinforce
it with momentum. If his psychokinetic powers overpower the throw, the flying speed
would be drastically reduced.’

Han minutely controlled his psychokinetic powers, and threw the airbeat that had
been in his hand.

Hwooong!

The airbeat that Han threw flew out like a bullet.

“Jose!”

Jose focused. The storage space of the airbeat had a red dot drawn onto it. This had
been a mark to help raise his focus.

“Explode!”

Boo-oom!

The airbeat flying out burst like a bomb. Two of the airbeats that squad 7 controlled
immediately became junk from the explosion.

“Wh, what? What happened? The airbeat exploded!”

The watching second years yelled. It was common to use an airbeat with support
weapon attachments. Amongst them, bombs were also a common tool. However, this
practice had been banned.

“Next!”

Han grasped another airbeat and threw it.

“Dodge! Run away!”

Squad 7’s Kato shouted out. The squad 7 members ran away while stepping onto their
airbeats. The squad members who lost their airbeat hopped up onto a nearby wooden
pillar.

BANG!

The airbeat blast into tiny pieces. The airbeat had missed the mark this time, but it
had menacing power.

“What in the world… Is it a bomb? Are they breaking the rules? No, there is no way
Han would be unaware of it.”

The audience was speechless. The airbeats self destructed like bombs.

Han slowed his breath as his eyes glowed.

‘When we’re done exploding the airbeats, we will be the winner

Han had poured in a generous amount of gun repair oil into the airbeat storage spaces.
Each airbeat has their own engine. The combination of Jose’s ignition skills and
flammable oil would be enough to cause an explosion.

“Dang it! We will attack before they can throw anymore airbeats. Don’t retreat!”

“But if we get closer, we’ll get caught in the explosions…!”

“It will be better than losing!”

Squad 7 made a huge commotion as they moved. They mobilized their remaining
airbeats. All the drill instructors who were watching had disturbed expressions. They
were not worried that they had dabbled into the gray zone territory of breaking the
rules, but another tiring reason.

“The airbeats… Are probably irreparable after self destructing like that, right?”

“Probably. How much is it to make one of them?”

“More than your monthly paycheck.”

“…Shouldn’t we stop them?”

Airbeats were one of the luxury gears. They were considered one of the military’s
manless robots. They were not considered to be used as self destructing weapons
during training drills. Watching the airbeats explode one after another, the drill
instructors could feel their hearts dropping to the floor.

“Ugh, let’s just wait and see for now. We must collect the data of this battle as well.”

“You’re in charge of submitting the report for this squad battle.”

While the drill instructors were beating their brains, a youth standing in the battle
field voice roared shaking the stadium.

“HAA—AAN LEE!”

Kato roared as he charged forward. He sliced a oncoming airbeat in half as he charged.

The end of his sword exploded. The left side of his face had charred completely black.
Squad 7 lost their airbeats one by one and gradually all dropped to the safety nets.

“Bring it, Kato!!”

Han threw the airbeat in front of himself as a platform. He sprinted forward to Kato
and rammed into him using his shoulder.

Bang!

Kato and Han both fell to the ground. Their body fell onto the net, causing it to spring
up and down.

‘He planned to make us both fall! Son of a $%#$!’

Kato sprang up and gripped Han by the throat. Han smirked and pointed his finger to
the drill instructors.

“It’s against the rules to use violence at this moment, Kato.”

“You $%#%$#…”

Kato’s hands shook with anger. The battle was ending up above. Once squad 7 lost all
their airbeats, they had no hope to win. The remaining squad members who couldn’t
move at all on top of the wooden pillars volunteered to give up.

‘We couldn’t even put up a fight before we lost. They focused all their attacks to our
airbeats, with their self destruction… ’

Kato glared fiercely to Han. He would not feel so frustrated if it had been a fair fight.
He had lost without having to throw a single punch.

“Kato, it’s squad 13’s victory. I won, and you lost.”

Han said after slapping Kato’s hand away.

“You coward. You used bombs! This is against the rules! You lost for cheating!”

“They’re not bombs. Jose used his psychic powers to make them explode. Also, the drill
instructors will be the one to make the call.”

Han said calmly and returned to his squad. For now, squad 13 was announced the
winner. There were various opinions on this squad battle.

The other second years were curious about the details of this round. As soon as the
battle ended, the drill instructors called for Han. They looked furious for all different
reasons.

“Squad leader 13, Han Lee, Master Drill instructor Greseman wants to see you. You
should already be aware as to why.”

“Yes sir.”

Han gave a short salute and went to Greseman’s office. He didn’t have time to wipe off
his sweat from the match. He felt dirty, but he had no time to care about these small
details. He wondered what sort of answer he should give to Greseman.

Squeek.

The second year drill instructor Greseman was watching the squad battle through his
monitor. He watched a couple of the key parts of the battle over and over. Greseman
was a man with a protruding chin. He was as obstinate as his chin protruded. Han was
not particularly fond of the obstinate type of instructors.

“Reporting sir, Drill Instructor Greseman.”

Han raised his chin a bit. He observed Greseman’s expression. Greseman didn’t let any
of his inner thoughts show on his face.

‘It’s easier to deal with Sergeant Red. That man just swears then gets mad.’

Greseman spoke to Han in a low voice.

“It doesn’t seem like you used bombs. You wouldn’t have had any methods to get them,
either. Based on your history, you’re not so stupid to go ahead with such a plan.”

“We filled the storage space with oil. Jose used his ignition ability to burst it into
flames.”

“That must have required a lot of practice. The timing of the explosions is very perfect.
It wouldn’t be considerate to call it a bomb.”

“We slathered a branch in oil and threw it to perfect his timing of utilizing his ignition
ability.”

“So this is the tactic that you and squad 13 prepared. Han, do you know how much one
airbeat cost.”

“I am aware that they are expensive.”

“If you are sent home, you won’t be able to pay back the cost even if you labored for
your whole lifetime.”

Greseman drove Han to a corner. Han closed his eyes and fiercely opened them again.

“I feel like the important point of today’s meeting is to decide whether I broke the
rules or not. Isn’t this why you called for me?”

“If we are nit picking, you didn’t break any rules. However, you should have been aware
this would have become a controversy. The results are as such, you did not break any.
Some drill instructors would praise you for finding such a loophole. However, we will
not tolerate this a second time. Go and report this to your instructors.”

“Understood. May I add my own thoughts as well?”

“Speak freely.”

“If I was a psychic soldier facing against a dragon, this would not become a
controversy, and nobody would ask me if I knew how much an airbeat costs. Dragons
will not overlook someone because they are poor. We must utilize all methods in order
to kill the dragon race. I only assumed our current situation for our battle. Our training
program is constructed in a way to utilize every possible method in order to create the
strongest soldier to win against the dragons, isn’t that right?”
His words were eloquent and flowed smoothly like water. Greseman nodded.

“You speak like Sergeant Red. You are dismissed. Squad leader, Han Lee.”

Greseman said as he interlocked his fingers together. Han saluted and left the room.
Greseman laughed as he watched Han leave. He replayed the squad battle once again
and mumbled.

“He’s unbelievably manipulative. He slips out of everything like a snake. However, this
is even more of a reason that he must taste failure. Though, it seems he won’t let
himself lose easily.”

Greseman began setting up the stage for a more elaborate loss. Greseman calmly
looked over Han’s data.

‘He doesn’t have a single loss or major mistake. He climbed the ranks in perfect order
like a robot. It’s time he must taste the bitterness of failure.’

All squads have had at least one loss with every five wins. The squad battles are said
to be selected at random, but Greseman and the drill instructors use the data to make
sure squads don’t consecutively win more than 5 times.

The evening run had ended. Han went to shower, and used the towel to dry his hair as
he left the changing room. Kuro came running from the opposite side shouting
something.

“Han! Look at this! Look at these requests for squad transfers.”

Kuro shook the documents. Han’s left hand was still in a cast so he remained motionless.

“Don’t get so worked up. Speak slower.”

Han had already been aware. The squad leaders were always the first to receive the
squad transfer requests first to their data bracelets. He shrugged his shoulders.

“There are six requests! Now, we can become a ten member squad as well!”

Squad 13’s main weakness was that they only had four members. Squads with many
members had over twenty members.
“I already knew people would request to come into our crew around this time. They’re
probably mostly those who are reserve members. They’re not able to participate in
the squad battles in their own squads, but in a squad like us with little members they
can immediately participate in the battles. Additionally, we have been on a roll with
consecutive wins.”

Everyone’s opinion of squad 13 had gone up drastically. Talent was rampant in Ark. As
soon as squad 13 raised their reputation, the way the other students viewed them had
changed. On the contrary, squad 7 who could not properly utilize such talents was
reprimanded.

“Hey, squad 13!”

He ran into Squad 5, Dimitri, just outside the shower facility. Dimitri waved his giant
hands.

“Dimitri, the shower facility is empty. Go wash before the other squads get here.”

“I watched your victory streak well. You’re good. I should have joined you in squad 13.
Haha.”

Dimitri said cheerful empty words. He was now squad 5’s leader. The previous leader
had transferred to year 3. He was leading squad 5 well with his manly leadership
abilities.

Han noticed that Dimitri’s body was covered in bruises.

“Did you go tumbling down the stairs? You’re a mess.”

“I picked a fight with our previous squad leader before he would be transferred to the
third year to see who was stronger.”

“I must have been a hearty fight.”

“Nope, I got done in without a chance. Third year transfers are really strong. They’re
on a different level. I got plainly beat.”

Han and Kuro was surprised by Dimitri’s optimistic words. Dimitri had a strong
competitive spirit. He wasn’t one to admit to a loss easily.
‘If Dimitri speaks this way, it must be so.’

Han had already noticed this of the third years. He read through the third year training
curriculum carefully. In his opinion, second years already go through enough training
drills. There wasn’t much need to make third years continue these military training
drills.

‘Third years would be incorporated into real battles out in the world. It wasn’t
training, but real battle. The first and second years use most of Ark’s practice and
training facilities. The facilities for the third years were greatly lacking in comparison.

Han became lost in his own thoughts. The third years were existences hidden behind
a veil. He had rarely come across them, becase they had no form of exchange at all.

“The tasks for squad 13 comes first. Let’s think about this later.”

Han erased all thoughts of the third years from his mind. He returned to his dorms
and looked through the data for the new transfer requests.

‘I’m not surprised to see there are not any outstanding individuals. But there’s no
reasons to disqualify them… There is one Korean.’

The next day, squad 13 welcomed the 6 new members. They had arrived with their
luggage to squad 13’s dorms. They introduced one another in front of the dorms and
exchanged their data bracelet IDs.

“Let’s work hard, squad leader.”

“The squad battles had left a deep impression for me. You’re great.”

With new members, the dorm became crowded. When they were only four, it had
remained quiet. But with ten, it was now noisy with chatter. They also received twice
the amount of supplies.

“Hmm, welcome to squad 13.”

Han said awkwardly. This felt different than when he was the class leader. He was the
one to create squad 13.

Additionally, all the members of his squad had joined with their own free will. The
sense of responsibility he felt for everyone felt heavy.

“You are all probably aware, but we are a new squad. We have not been challenged in
many ways. Within one week, we will select your specialty field through various
training drills. I’ve seen your data, but I’m sure the reality will be different. Afterwards,
I will separate everyone into groups and hand out roles. Does anyone have
objections?”

The gathered squad observed one another. Everyone remained quiet. Han dismissed
everyone. The squad members scattered to finish their own tasks.

‘Our new and original members need some time for our teamwork. Rather than group
drills, we should focus on personal training drills to understand everyone’s
weaknesses and strengths.’

Amongst the squad members that had scattered, one remained and vacantly stared
across to Han. He sported black hair and looked to be of Korean descent.

“Hello, Squad leader Han.”

“Do you have anything you want to say, Kijo?”

Jung Kijo had been recruited from Korea like Han. He had spent one year as a second
year now.

“No, no. I just wanted to talk a bit since we are both Korean. What do you think?”

Kijo didn’t speak in English, but Korean. Han received a strange feeling from him. The
familiar Korean words flowed to his ears. He let out a sigh and sat down.

“Our country of origin is meaningless in Ark.”

At Han’s words, Kijo laughed.

“You’re too uptight. Since I came to Ark before you, I can be considered your senior.
Let’s work hard together, Han.”

“……”

Han glanced to Kijo. His words were making Han feel uncomfortable. He stuck to Han
like a piece of gum.

“…”

“My father is a major general. He was overjoyed when he found out I was a psyker. You
should pay back Korea for all the kindness you’ve received now that you’re a psyker.
There are not too many Koreans in Ark. The only useful people seem to be you and
me, just the two of us.”

“And your point?”

“Please include me in your battle plans. With your skills, it shouldn’t be impossible.
I’ve wasted my time in the second year for one year now. I want to transfer into the
third year as soon as I can. My dad keeps nagging at me.”

Han’s furrowed his brows. He shook his head.

“Kijo, I will hand out the tasks to those that are skilled to do so. I will be as fair as
possible to everyone. If you wish to show off your strength, then prove it to me with
your skills. I don’t have plans to drive my squad into danger for your ‘trivial’ reasons.”

Han responded coldly. Kijo’s lips twitched. The glint in his eyes instantly became
hostile.

“Yes, yes. That’s a very good decision. Of course… anyway, let’s work hard. Command
leader Han. We’re both Koreans after all.”

Kijo turned around and went to his room. He could hear him quietly cursing in Korean
under his breath. Han pretended not to hear.

One week with the new squad had passed. Han held a meeting together with Canute
and Jose in secret, without the squad knowing. Jose and Canute were Han’s right and
left arms. They were trustworthy and had excellent judgment skills. Han asked for
their advice on many subjects.

“What do you think of our new recruits?”

“Everyone has good balance. One of them has already developed their own unique
skills.”
“He has psychic body enhancement skills. He’s the perfect candidate to become the
main assaulter.”

“But, there is one guy with horrible personality.”

Canute said. Han and Jose immediately thought of a person.

“Are you talking about Kijo?”

“His results from the training drills aren’t too bad, but he has strong pride. Also, he
shamelessly goes around to announce to everyone that he’s your close friend. He’s
selling you out based on the fact that you’re both from the same country. Is he really
going to get you places when you return to Korea?”

Han scoffed.

“Can’t be, I don’t want such a position even if they give it to me for free.”

Jose also burst out laughing.

“I knew it would be like that. I’ll just wait and see to judge him, but he worries me a
little.”

Han nodded. It was almost the day of their squad battles. Their opponents said 10
members would participate, so all of the squad 13 members would be deployed. Han
explained their battle plans and each members’ roles to his squad together with
Canute and Jose.

“We’re able to execute more elaborate battle tactics now that we have more members
in our squad. However, I’m not able to control the situation by myself anymore. I need
you guys to make the calls for minor interruptions along the way.”

Han and the youths spent the rest of their time preparing for their next squad battle.

‘The easiest target is probably Kuro.’

Kijo observed the hierarchy of power from within squad 13. Squad leader Han took
charge with his charisma and combat capability. Just below was Canute and Jose. They
had been friends for awhile and their teamwork is near perfect. The last, Kuro, made
the fourth member and makes up the core strength of squad 13.
Kijo attempted to infiltrate into the core of the squad by sticking to Han, but it had
been fruitless. Han is very strict to separate business and personal feelings. He
remains objective when dividing out roles for the squad based on individual skill.

“Tch. That cheapskate, he should be more flexible since we’re both Korean.”

Kijo narrowed his eyes like a snake. He held his gaze at Kuro. Kuro was in the middle
of reading during his free period.

‘That black guy is incapable of being mean. Described in a good way, he’s a gentle guy,
but in reality he’s a pushover.’

Kijo leisurely walked over to Kuro.

“What are you reading, Kuro?”

Kuro was startled and looked to Kijo.

“Just a novel. You won’t know even if I explained it for you.”

“Hm, is that so? What are you a sissy reading a novel like that? This is why you’re bad
at fighting. You should exercise more instead. Do you know exercise?”

Kijo flexed his own muscles as he spoke.

‘Let’s start by making this black guy my subordinate. This kind of pushover should be
as easy as pie’

Kijo planned to cement himself as one of the core members of squad 13. It would be
impossible to climb up to second rank, but he would have a higher hierarchy amongst
the squad if he were to have Kuro under him.

“The psychic drill instructor had told me to focus on my psychic strength rather than
my physical strength. He said it would be better if I was an expert at one thing rather
than being a master of none.”

Kuro explained. Kijo furrowed his brows like he had been waiting for these words.

“Are you saying my words are a load of rubbish?”

He didn’t hide his hostility for the other in the least. Kijo looked down on Kuro while
raising his voice gradually.

“Ah, no. That’s not what I’m saying but it’s what my drill instructors told me.”

“Haa, I just wanted to help you out, but you’re making me lose face by treating me this
way.”

He was trying to force the situation. But Kuro was getting affected by his words a bit.
Kuro’s eyes reflected confusion.

‘Maybe I made a mistake saying those words… ’

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“It’s fine. I just wanted to be your friend, but your words are like that. I won’t just let
you step all over me.”

Kijo said coldly, pushing Kuro. Kuro hesitated a bit and grasped onto Kijo’s clothes.

‘This guy is a total idiot, isn’t he? How did this kind of guy get promoted into second
year?’

“I’m so sorry. Let me apologize.”

“Hm, hmm. Then, are we friends from now on? Kuro.”

He pat Kuro’s shoulder while speaking. His lips held a crooked sneer.

‘You’re now my underling.’

Kijo stabbed at Kuro’s sense of guilt. Kuro spoke like he would do whatever for him.

“Ah, it’s a cat.”

While chatting, Kuro discovered a cheese colored cat.

Many cats permanently resided on the artificial island, Ark. In the beginning stages
when Ark was being built, many individuals suffered from loneliness and raised pets
to cope. The pets that people had raised bred together and multiplied to the current
population today. These cats would drop into the student dorms for food scraps.

‘We were in the middle of an important conversation here. Tsk.’

Kijo clicked his tongue and kicked the cat. Kuro didn’t have enough time to stop him.
The cat went flying and slammed against the far wall. The sound of its bone breaking
seemed to echo in the area. The cat twitched and its body spasmed.

“Ah, ah.”

Kuro groaned from the sudden shock. Kijo spoke matter of factly.

“My day becomes unlucky whenever I see cats in this place. They’re devils.”

Kuro gripped his hands into fists. His body trembled from head to toe.

“You’re wrong. They are considered mystical creatures from where I’m from. Also…
you shouldn’t treat animals who can’t speak for themselves so cruelly.”

“Well, anyway. Where did we stop? Canute likes cola, Jose likes ice cream right? Hmm,
this is an important matter. What does our squad leader Han like?”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

Kuro said coldly. He walked to the cat with heavy steps. The cat was close to death.
Kuro’s sixth sense was superior than normal psykers and he could tell instantly. He
could feel the tears welling in his tears about to burst out. Kuro was more tender
hearted than the children his age. He had much sensitivity that didn’t fit with the
military lifestyle.

“Hey, are you going to talk like that to me again? There are tons of cats like that in Ark.”

The cat stopped breathing.

“I’m going to dig its grave.”

“Just toss it in the rubbish.”

Kijo tried to snatch the cat from Kuro. Kuro’s eyes grew wide. Blue light glowed from
his eyes.
“Let go.”

Kuro words were short, but stern. His determination seemed to make his strength
exponentially stronger. A chilling psychic wave flowed like a tidal wave. The sand and
dust from their surroundings began floating in the air.

Wwwuuu!

Cold sweat fell from Kijo’s forehead. The steel rubbish bin next to him was instantly
crushed. The rubbish bin was crumpled into the size of a tiny fist through telekinesis.

“H,huh?’

‘This isn’t how it should be.’

Kijo became dumbfounded. This had been the first time he had seen Kuro getting mad.
Kuro had always laughed off all sorts of harsh jokes and bullying. However, due to this
personality type Kijo had forgotten one important aspect.

“Get lost. Kijo.”

Kuro’s blue eyes made him look like a goblin. Kijo shut his mouth and nodded. He
realized he might get himself killed by making the wrong move. His whole body
became drenched in sweat. His instincts warned him that he was in grave danger.

“Haa, haa.”

Kijo could only breath after escaping from Kuro. The manifestation and surge of
psychic power had made it hard to breath. Such density of psychic energy was enough
to reverse the flow of oxygen.

‘He’s psycho, wanting to kill a man for kicking a measly cat.’

Kijo felt overwhelming regret. He had let his emotions get the better of himself, but he
never knew the cat would die from such a weak kick.

The next squad battle would be capture the flag. This was one of the battles that Han
had the most confidence in. He had trained for this type of battle since his first year of
Ark. Han gathered his squad members and briefed everyone on today’s battle plans.
He would divide their squad into three teams with the designated leaders of Han,
Canute, and Jose. The three teams would attack the opponent’s command center in
rotations.

“Today our opponent is squad 6. This battle is easier than all the battles we have fought
thus far. Their squad had suffered too many injuries from previous squad battles so
they won’t be able to deploy their core members. It’s very likely that they’re ready to
throw the towel already. But, don’t let your guard down. Let’s obtain a perfect victory.”

Squad 6 had left many of their members injured. Han thoroughly evaluate every squad
battle. Squad 6 should be capable of only half their military strength for this round.

‘There is no reason to lose as long as we don’t make any big mistakes.’

Han had no thoughts to carry out today’s battle with a lack luster lazy battle plan.
They’re trying to make me fail so that I lose my confidence and get myself stuck into a
slump.’

Han chuckled bitterly.

‘I just dislike losing. I already experienced enough of that.’

Han had experienced countless failures. Each time, he had to pay a terrible price for
them. He has long been trained to not tolerate failure to his bones.

“Squad 13, let’s go.”

Han said standing at the forefront. The start of the squad battles signaled. The dome
fell into darkness. Only a faint light lit up the battlefield.

“Wha, what is this? It’s night time.”

“I can’t see at all.”

This was a turn of events that had never been trialed. They had turned day into night.
Han rose his hand and stopped his squad from moving forward.

“Calm down. We will wait a bit until our eyes become accustomed to the dark. Since
we never heard of this kind of thing, Squad 6 should be in the same situation as us.”

Han calmed down his anxious squad members.

‘He’s truly a natural squad leader. He always maintains his cool to make calm
judgments. He must understand that if he were to lose his cool, his squad would fall
down along with him.’

The instructors scored Han highly for his squad leadership skills. They had purposely
added an unknown factor for Han. Han had responded perfectly toward the changes.
After time passed, the youths had become accustomed to the darkness and began
moving once again.

-Canute’s group will strike first. Jose will be the backup. We will strike from their flank.

Han made hand signals. The squad members moved forth with their battle plans. Han
moved his team to the side. As soon as Canute retreats, his team will immediately
strike and finish them.

-Engaging enemy.

Canute sent a message. A scream echoed from the far distance of the darkness. Han
paused his breath and moved in the darkness.

‘As I predicted. Since their core teammates are not able to participate, squad 6 chose
the defense tactic. They must have thought to pick off our squad one by one until
nobody is left. However, we won’t have any frontal attacks. This darkness makes it
easier for surprise attacks from the back.’

Han peered behind himself. Kijo was in his team. Contrary to Han’s worry, Kijo
followed through strictly with Han’s commands.

‘Kijo is also a second year of Ark after all. He’s not stupid. His personality isn’t the best,
but he still does his job thoroughly.’

If he’s one to let his emotion get the better of him then he would not have survived in
such a place like Ark.

“Remain in standby. We will wait until Canute retreats.”

Han lowered his body and waited. Usually, Canute would have retreated by now, but
he’s been dragging out the battle for some time now.

-Canute, retreat.
Han directly sent a message. Canute didn’t answer. Han’s eyes narrowed.

‘What happened? Canute is straying from my original battle plans. He’s not one to
randomly charge off by himself. Either, he’s been done in or he’s in a tight situation.’

Instead of Canute, Jose had sent a message.

-Canute’s team had fallen. It happened in a matter of moments. Should my team

proceed with attacking them? Should I retreat and rejoin with your team?

Han momentarily agonized and sent the renewed battle plans.

-Jose, continue forth. We will combine our team in front of our enemy’s camp.

Han sent the message and proceeded forward. He could see his opponent’s defense
team. Jose’s team was in the middle of fighting against them. Some of squad 6 were
already injured. It seems his squad’s situation wasn’t as good as he thought.

‘Squad 6 destroyed Canute’s team even though they have injured soldiers fighting.
What happened?’

Kuro who stood behind Han blinked. Blue light glowed from Kuro’s eyes. His
immediate foresight skills had alarmed.

“Han, get down!”

Kuro pressed Han’s head down onto the ground. Han’s body got pinned down onto the
ground in this confusion. Something swished above his head.

Swaa!

A menacing sharp sound passed. Han peered up. A youth wearing a skull faced mask
stood spinning twin swords.

‘If Kuro didn’t push me down, it would have been the end of me. However, nobody was
within a visible range of me. Who is that masked guy? Had there been such a person
in squad 6?’

Han’s mind worked fast. A skull masked youth who welds twin daggers, he had never
heard of such a student in year 2.
“Surround the enemy, keep your distance.”

Han’s squad surrounded the skull masked man. The skull masked man stood in a
relaxed form. Psychic energy swayed from his body.

Pah!

The skull masked man disappeared from thin air. Han felt something chilling from his
back. He swung his spear to his back.

Tah!

The skull masked man traveled stood had appeared behind him the next instant. Han
reflexively attacked him.

“Wha-what? He disappeared and appeared again!”

His squad members began to shout. Han looked to where the drill instructors stood.

‘Those horrible drill instructors. I don’t know who that skull masked man is, but he’s
not any pushover. He has the unique skill of teleportation. His skill range isn’t that
wide though.’

“Everyone maintain sight of one another so that we can counter attack against him
when he appears!”

He made swift decisions. Teleporters commonly attack their opponent’s back. The
squad members kept each other in their view so that they could block against the skull
faced man whenever.

Pah!

The skull faced man teleported to a place further away from Han. His psychic waves
seemed hazier than before.

‘Teleporting must require a lot of his psychic energy. This skill isn’t to be used
wastefully.’

Han observed his surroundings. Anxiety seemed to strangle his mind. It had been a
brief moment, but a million thoughts seemed to have passed his mind. He grasped
onto a tiny sliver of hope to win this battle.

“I’ll block that mask. The rest of you join Jose’s team.”

Han confronted the skull mask. He spun his spear. The arm that had broken had
completely healed a few weeks back. He had slacked in weapon training all this time,
but his condition was pretty good at the moment.

The skull mask tilted his head.

The skull mask said no words and simply looked on towards Han. That gesture meant
only one thing.

“’You’re going to block me by yourself?’ must be what you’re trying to say.”

Skull mask nodded.

“It seems you’ve forgotten, but today’s battle is capture the flag. I don’t have a reason
to beat you today. I’ll win as long as I don’t lose against you.”

Skull mask twitched. Han had become confident from his response.

‘This skull mask must not be a commander type. He doesn’t fight using strategy and
tactics. Then… ’

Han’s lips quirked up.

‘The winner will be squad 13’

He maintained his distance against the skull mask. He maintained the furthest
distance he could mange. The skull mask approached him using his teleportation skill
twice. The skull mask had become restless from Han’s words.

‘The maximum distance he can travel is fifteen meters per teleport.’

Han purposely distanced himself to lure the skull mask to make him use teleport twice
in a row. He didn’t let himself get flustered and observed the opponent’s skills.

Poo-f!
Listening carefully, he noticed a distinct sound the skull mask makes when
disappearing then the same sound travels along with the skull mask to his final
destination. Upon the first sound, skull mask’s body blinks, then on the last sound his
body would appear at the final destination.

‘With focus, it’s possible to figure out his final destination.’

Han kept his eyes wide open. He stubbornly blocked the skull mask’s path. The skull
mask became flustered.

“You must defeat me if you want to pass, Mr. Skull Mask.”

‘How did he figure out the location I was about to teleport to? Did he manage to fully
grasp my unique skill within this brief moment?’

Behind the mask was a fellow peer. Skull mask started to focus on fighting against Han.
There was no reason that skull mask couldn’t beat him. Rather, skull mask had already
transcended the combat level of the second years.

‘He’s strong. I feel like I’m battling against Drill Instructor Wei. I’m already up to my
neck trying to block his attacks.’

Skull mask attacked with his twin swords like a hurricane. He linked together
consecutive attacks without a moment of rest.

Kang!

The spear that Han held to defend against the raining attacks slipped from his hand
and flew into the air. The skull mask mercilessly stabbed Han’s abdomen. The attack
wasn’t strong enough to penetrate into his chest, but his organs felt like they were
being crushed.

‘Han, focus!’

Han opened his eyes wider as if he was reprimanding himself. His eyes glowed into a
blue hue. He used his telekinesis to grab his spear that was up in the air. Gravity
accelerated the spear’s speed of attack into the skull mask’s neck.

Pook!
Skull mask fainted on the ground. He had completely lost consciousness from the
attack.

“Haa, haa. I finally managed to make him faint.”

Han said while trying to catch his breath. During that moment, squad 13 had
infiltrated into squad 6’s command center and managed to steal their opponent’s flag.

Squad 6 didn’t have manpower to stop the flag bearer of squad 13. A message
announced squad 13’s victory the next instant.

“Who is that skull mask?”

“He’s a third year. He used to be in squad 6 a long while ago. There was a vacancy in
squad 6 so we temporarily filled the position with a substitute.”

“Did you say a third year? Isn’t this a squad battle of second years?”

“Yes, only seven members were allowed in squad 6 for this round. That third year is
the equivalent of three, year 2 students.”

“Stop joking around. Instructor, this is against the rules.”

Han sternly said. It wasn’t allowed for third years to participate in a second year squad
battle. He was full of dissatisfaction. The slightest slip up would have resulted in their
loss.

“Rules? How funny. We make the rules. Squad leader, Han.”

The instructor coldly sent Han back to his squad. However, the instructors were
inwardly shocked. They had purposely tricked a third year into squad 6 in order to
make squad 13 lose.

‘Originally, Han should have lost, but not only did he win, he knocked out Silence, a
third year.’

The Master Drill Instructor Greseman watched the second year squad battle along
with the other instructors. They had already prepared the coffee and donuts for all the
staff. It was a daily task of the instructors to evaluate the squad battles completely.
They were replaying Han and the skull mask, Silence’s, battle recording.
“He has extremely quick decision making skills during life threatening moments. The
moment he noticed Silence’s unique skill of teleportation, he commanded his squad
members to keep each other within eyesight.”

“Did he learn this from somewhere?”

“There is no such thing as a textbook that teaches one how to counter attack against
teleportation skills. Han made the tactic on the spot, even though he never battled
against such a skill user before.”

A few of the instructors honestly praised him. The instructors inwardly thought about
how many drill instructors here could make such quick decisions in such a flawless
way like Han had.

“The skills to lead a squad into victory all the while battling against an unknown
enemy while being bombarded by random variables. Maybe I judged Squad leader
Han too quickly.”

Greseman said. The other instructors nodded in agreement.

“I don’t believe he would fall into panic or fear as he excels in crisis management and
counter responses.”

“Usually I don’t trust the data and profile which year one instructors submit, but he is
an exception. I must accept the reality that his skills are in fact, much more admirable
than his profile’s face value. What do you think? Silence.”

Greseman sat in the corner seat and asked Silence. Silence wrote on his electronic
note.

-I’m displeased. He is a sly fellow. If I had a proper one vs. one battle with him, I would
have won.

The instructors read Silence’s electronic note and laughed.

“I understand your angry heart… Silence. However, we’re raising soldiers not sport
athletes.”

Upon Greseman’s words, Silence hesitated for a moment and nodded. He began to
write on his electronic note once again.
-However, I was careless this time. I will be the one to win next time.

“There is no next time. Silence. You should return to your own dorms. Do not concern
yourself with second year business.”

“Silence!”

Jose shouted. Han got a shock and turned around. Han had just returned after visiting
his squad members that were in the medical recovery ward. As soon as he returned to
the dorms, Jose had come running to him.

“What? Are you telling me to shut up?”

“No, not that! It’s Silence! Skull mask!”

“What’s Silence? Ah……”

Han remembered the conversation he tossed to the back of his mind. Kuro had once
talked about Silence to him.

“There was one famous student, while training, a part of their brain shut down
completely. They lost the ability to speak after the accident, and so everyone calls him
Silence. Ironically, following their brain damage, their battle capabilities increased
exponentially. He’s a special case study.”

“Silence is a third year! His skull mask is famous so there were a number of people
who recognized him. We won against Silence! The news had spread all over Ark! Squad
13 had won against a third year! Though, it was just one member.”

“I thought he was abnormally strong.”

Han massaged his numb hand. Silence, the skull mask, had been incredibly strong. It
wasn’t a surprised that he was famous. He felt the same level of pressure has he had
experienced against Instructor Wei.

‘It seems to be true that he’s stronger than most drill instructors.’

“Also Han, you battled against Silence and won.”

“I was just lucky. In many ways………”

Han didn’t feel the same excitement. Rather, he didn’t felt displeased.

“Why do you look upset though?”

“Canute’s team suffered a lot of injuries. If this had been a real battle, Canute would
have died because of my order.”

“Nobody could have predicted this. This had been the instructor’s trickery. Nobody is
blaming you, Han!”

Han shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter that this was the instructor’s trickery or joke. I moved forward with
our battle plans without even bothering to scout whether my own information on
squad 6 had been correct. There were only seven members on their team. I should
have noticed something was off when I noticed they had fewer members than us.
Everything that day had been strange from the point they had changed the day to night
without prior notice.”

Jose felt a chill on his back upon hearing Han’s words. Han’s thought process was
completely different than the average youth.

“Do you want to be perfect?”

“If necessary, yes. We must go out to war. In the least, I do not wish to lose any of our
squad members. If the perfect squad leader is the only one to be capable of this, then
I must become perfect.”

Jose held down his body that wanted to tremble. He faked a cheerful laugh. Han was
his best friend, but for an instant he felt like a monster.

“I hope I’m in your squad.”

These words were the truth at least. Jose didn’t know of a squad leader who was more
capable than Han.

5. Kuro’s adventure

(T/N: Warning of animal cruelty)

The artificial island, Ark, moves incredibly slowly and its location constantly changes.
Without the central headquarter’s lead, it would be near impossible to find Ark in the
vast Pacific Ocean. It took an astronomical amount of money to build and there were
many places which students were forbidden from entering.

“Ugh, my shoulder hurts.”

Kuro received an electric shock examination from Professor Grace. He had remained
prone for a long period of time which made his whole body ache. Kuro lightly stretched
his body.

‘My psychic energy increased a lot in the recent days, so it must be good.’

His emotions took a big hit due to his psychic skills. Kuro had experienced rapid
growth of his psychic powers two times. Once had been when he was in the deserted
island, and the second was when Kijo had killed a cat. Kuro’s psychic skills evolved
exponentially due to the sudden burst of emotions.

“According to Professor Grace, my psychic skills seem to depend highly on my

emotions…”

Kuro was very sensitive to his own emotions. In turn, his skill’s up and down was just
as erratic. To say it plainly, his skills were unstable.

Those who are emotionally detached like Han, had stable psychic powers. However,
it’s rare for one to sporadically manifest their hidden unique skills.

Military officials looked for stable soldiers like Han. This was also one of the main
reasons that there were few training facilities made for females.

“We ended quicker than usual today. I have emptied all of today’s training schedule.”

Kuro enjoyed today’s laxness. He wasn’t one to put pressure onto himself like Han.

He would purposely travel the longer route instead of the shortest for a light walk. He
would observe the map on his data bracelet and travel the places he’s never been to.

“Ah, Simon.”

Kuro discovered Simon in the airbeat training center. Simon was by himself practicing
his control with the airbeat. Simon glanced at Kuro.

“What is it Kuro?”

Simon spoke without interest. But inside, Simon was greatly bothered by Kuro.

He was a similar type of psyker and they both had been named geniuses of their field.
Simon had considered himself Kuro’s rival.

‘Humph, to be treated as equals to this black boy who didn’t even receive proper
psychic training. I refuse to acknowledge you.’

Simon hated to lose against Kuro in psychic skills. If Han had invited him into squad
13, he would have rejected just on the fact that Kuro was in the squad already. Then
he wouldn’t be able to step on Kuro as his opponent.

“Are you practicing with airbeats? How many are you controlling? One, two, three,
four… wow, you can control five at once. You’re amazing.”

Simon widened his shoulders upon Kuro’s compliment.

“The announcement of squad 13’s opponent should be announced soon, don’t worry
I’ll properly pummel you. The second year’s strongest psyker is me!”

Simon spoke as if he had declared war. He forced himself and managed to control
seven airbeats. This required intense focus and mind. He had to use telekinesis to
strongly push the airbeats to maneuver them into complicated directions.

‘I’m capable of this much, damn Kuro.’

Kuro who had been watching Simon from below took out some airbeats from the
storage. These were luxury equipments so fingerprint recognition was required.

“It’s been awhile since I practiced, I should also train a bit.”

Kuro took out some airbeats. He closed his eyes and focused. He imagined the airbeats
floating from within the darkness.

Kuro had a great sense of imagination due to his sensitive emotions. He could perfectly
draw images into his mind. This was the root method of commanding various psychic
skills.

Wwoong!

Kuro’s clothes fluttered from the wind. This was an air current that only appeared
from highly skilled psykers. The moment they manifested their psychic energy, it
would change the natural airflow. This was clear proof that his psychic talent had
surpassed A rank.

Twitch, twitch.

Simon tried not to care, but Kuro’s whole body emitted off psychic energies. Kuro’s
psychic energy was monstrous.

‘When had Kuro grown this much…?’

Kuro’s growth speed had been fast, but the previous Kuro had not been this strong.

‘He’s got more psychic energy than me.’

Kuro moved four airbeats simultaneously. He looked relaxed while moving four at the
same time.

The reason Kuro didn’t bother to control more, was simply because he didn’t feel like
it.

Kuro didn’t have a sense of rivalry against Simon at all. He simply wanted to befriend
him while controlling the airbeats together.

Simon clicked his tongue and packed his airbeats. He shortly glared towards Kuro and
disappeared. Kuro who had been left hanging also put away his airbeats.

“Did I do something wrong? He looked angry.”

Kuro scratched his head while watching Simon walking away.

He continued walking and found himself at the storehouse. There were several
helicopters on standby. The soldiers were in the middle of moving supplies into the
storehouse.
‘The job could be finished in an instant with psychic skills.’

Kuro stared toward the soldiers while thinking of various things. The soldiers who
finished moving the supplies decided to take a break.

There was someone who was smoking, and there was another soldier who sat down
eating a snack. The soldier took out jerky to eat. Cats began gathering around the
soldier.

The cats pulled on the soldier’s pants and managed to get a small piece of jerky to eat.

‘The cats were my only friends in the orphanage.’

Kuro’s personality was gentle by nature. He was naturally clumsy and could not
fiercely change his personality. He was often called a dimwit.

He wasn’t good at a single thing. The other children all bullied him because of his black
skin in the orphanage. The cats which lurked around the orphanage were his only real
friends.

‘I’m also good at something now. I also have a friend.’

Kuro discovered one cat straying off into a different direction. The spotted cheese
colored cat strayed.

“Ah.”

Kuro began to follow the cat unknowingly. The cat twisted and turned in complicated
paths. Kuro moved through, following the cat, with nimble swiftness. He looked like
an athlete. He was only weak compared to the children who had undergone the
superhuman transformation procedure. Kuro was quite strong compared to an
average athletic adult.

“I’ve come too far.”

Kuro had no idea where he was. The cat he caught stretched and yawned in his arms.

“Nya-.”

Kuro hugged the cat in his arms and gently pet it. Kuro turned on his data bracelet and
checked his map.

“The ocean?”

On the map, it marked that he was not on land but water. It read that Kuro was simply
floating on top of the ocean.

‘I feel like I’ve come to a place I’m not supposed to.’

Kuro’s eyes trembled. He enjoyed a brisk walk, but this was far from it. He looked back
on the path he had come.

Boo-oom!

Kuro heard a heavy sound from behind himself.

“Who is it?”

Kuro looked back toward the thick voice.

“eeek!”

Kuro fell over from fear. A robot who looked like a human stood tall. The cold steel
frame shined.

“Huh, isn’t it Kuro? I couldn’t recognize you because you’ve changed so much.”

This voice sounded familiar. Kuro who had scrunched up into a tiny ball lifted his head
to peer up.

“Sergeant R-red?”

The two meter tall robot belonged to Sergeant Red. It had not been a robot but
Sergeant Red had put on a bionic suit. Cigarette smoke puffed out from the opening of
its face.

‘I’m done for. I’ll probably get harshly punished.’

Sergeant Red was well known for having a bad temper. Kuro had also been badly
beaten by him before. His legs felt numb by reflex. The fear for Sergeant Red had been
deeply ingrained into Kuro.

“Are you lost? You should have something to drink before you go. There is a
development center just ahead of here.”

Sergeant Red didn’t punish Kuro. Rather, he spoke in a smooth voice.

“Huh? What?”

Kuro confusingly asked. If it had been when he was a first year, Sergeant Red would
have been howling with rage. However, Sergeant Red didn’t say anything particular.
Kuro blankly trailed behind Sergeant Red.

Gii, Gii.

Every one of Sergeant Red’s movements created a metallic robotic sound.

-Sergeant Red! How many times have I told you not to smoke while wearing the
Frame? Aren’t you crazy?”

“You’re noisy, old man.”

Sergeant Red turned off the communication function, ignoring the other completely.

“Wh-what is that? The one that sergeant is wearing?

“The second generation psycho frame. This is only a prototype, but we’re in the middle
of a test. This is the best gear that psykers could having while fighting against dragons.
We noticed an intruder, but it was just you.”

“You don’t seem mad.”

“I’m not your drill instructor anymore. If there is a person who lives everyday angry,
that person must have a personality disorder. A psycho. Don’t you think?”

‘So you’re aware.’

Kuro didn’t say his thoughts out loud.

“Anyway, the second generation psycho frames would be showcased. It doesn’t matter
that students find out. This is especially the case for second years or higher. You guys
can’t leave Ark. You belong to Ark now.”

Kuro’s shoulders trembled. Second years could not leave unless they die or become
permanently disabled. He already knew, but hearing it verbally had hit a chilling nerve
inside of him.

“Psycho frames are the bionic suits that only psykers are able to wear, right? They act
as the user’s second exoskeleton? This is my first time seeing one.”

“The first generation model was made in haste so it’s low grade. Each nation has their
own model as well. The second generation psychoframe doesn’t even compare with
that one. This gear has been prepared for only the best. The outer shell is made of
dragon bone and leather, while the gloves are made of highly elastic alloy. This gear
has been made especially for you. I’m barely able to move this myself.”

Sergeant Red calmly explained. This type of Sergeant Red felt unfamiliar to Kuro.

‘He just might actually be a very friendly person… ’

Every student severely abhorred Sergeant Red, but to Kuro, Sergeant Red now felt like
nothing but kind.

“It’s a second year. Give him a drink, then give him a ride back in the car.”

Sergeant Red arrived to the development center. He could only see an entrance that
goes into an underground garage. There were only necessary equipment and staff on
the surface. Sergent Red left Kuro to a soldier nearby.

The old man suddenly burst into a fit of anger toward Sergeant Red. Sergeant Red took
out another cigar to smoke while confronting the old man.

“Would this be a successful model? It’s very responsive toward psychic energies. But
it’s probably better to reduce some of the dragon materials required to build it. Power
is important, but would anybody be able to control such a sensitive psychoframe? The
person to control this must be able to manipulate psychic energy like their breathing.”

The old man was still angry, but made sure to make detailed memos of Sergeant Red’s
comments. The two looked very close.
“If a standard model is confirmed, this model would probably be destroyed.”

“This is only a prototype. Why don’t we leave it as a commemoration? I feel it’s a pity
the suit I tested would be destroyed.”

“We’re always short on dragon material. We don’t need a suit that won’t be used. We
will take it apart and reuse the parts we can.”

Sergeant Red said nothing for a moment and blew out a puff of smoke.

“Who knows, maybe someone would end up using this,” he said indifferently.

Kuro watched the old man and Sergeant Red talk while drinking his orange juice. Soon,
a soldier came with a military car. Kuro hopped into the car and returned to the second
year complex.

Many students were returning after completing their training drills. Kuro watched all
the youths he passed. Everyone’s body looked burly but their faces remained childish.
They would all fight against humanity’s extinction. Kuro tried to imagine himself
wearing the suit and fighting against dragons.

‘The adults are truly preparing for the war against dragons… ’

Reality suddenly fell down upon him. Kuro could only perceive that he had been
receiving training for war. This isn’t a joke or dream. War is nearing.
Han had finally developed a psychic skill he excelled in over others. He came to the
realization that his psychic control had become incredibly precise. Han had only
realized it in those recent days. When he was battling against Squad 7 in the aerial
squad battles, he had to precisely control the acceleration while throwing the airbeats.

‘I’m the only one with this degree of control among my peers.’

Han could generally guess the reason as to why his psychic power had such control.

‘I don’t have a large amount of psychic power, but I’m compensated with easier psychic
control.”

Han was one of the most unbiased, objective youths due to his excellent analytical
ability. Psychic skills are largely dependent on a subject’s state of mind. Han’s psychic
ability had adapted based on his personality type, resulting in incredibly precise
psychic control; his low psychic energy levels aided to exponentially increase his
control.

Ssk, ssk.

Han used his telekinesis to write notes into his notebook. This level of telekinesis
required an extreme amount of control. Kuro, who had a vast pool of psychic energies,
could easily rip apart the note and shatter the pencil into tiny pieces. However, writing
letters like this would probably be impossible.

“This is my strength.”

Han regularly made it a habit to objectively score his own strength. He organized his
squad’s individual strengths into an easily digestible outline format. He made sure to
include important notes under each individual’s strengths.

‘The start of any battle tactic begins with clearly understanding the squad’s skills.
Han and Squad 13 had managed a fair number of victories. The 13th squad was no
longer a stranger to the second years. They were the top ranking squad with the most
victories under their belt. It’s not that they never lost, but they consistently won 80
percent of the squad battles.

‘The instructors are no longer forcing us to battle against weaker squads. They don’t
purposely force us into a situation that we would lose, but they make the victories
much more difficult.’

Diririri.

The alarm clock rang. It rang at 6 a.m. signaling the morning. Han had always woken
up at 5 a.m. He woke up an hour ahead of everyone to read books and organize his
notes, all while practicing his telekinetic skills.

“Wake up.”

Han knocked on his squad’s doors. Everyone looked fatigued while struggling out of
their beds, one by one. Squad 13 threw on their gym clothes and gathered in the
military training grounds. The drill instructors had arrived ahead of everyone and
checked each squad one by one.

“Squad 13, twelve members, assembled.”

Han reported to the drill instructor. Two additional members had joined, and Squad
13 increased to twelve members.

Han no longer had any thoughts on accepting additional members. After Squad 13 had
made a name for themselves with consecutive victories, he received many transfer
requests, but he ignored them all.

“Twenty laps. Run, fall out.”

The drill instructor said briefly. Squad 13 repeated the command.

“Fall out!”

Han took command of his squad and stood beside his squad that ran in a linear
formation. The other squads were running as well.
“Hey, Han!”

Dimitri, of Squad 5, ran alongside Han. Dimitri was on good terms with all the squad
leaders. Everyone had good opinions of him and he was also highly skilled. He had a
likeable, masculine personality that treated everyone in an open and free way.

“I heard that you just returned from visiting the dimensional gate.”

Han said to Dimitri.

“Well, it wasn’t anything too amazing. It was shining like a rainbow-coloured aura.
Girls would probably enjoy the view, haha.”

Squads one through six had already seen the dimensional gate. The remaining
fragments formed dimensional cracks after the dimensional gate closed in on itself.
Ten years had passed, but nothing much changed about it. Nevertheless, countries
from around the world had quickly turned it into a restricted area.

“I heard that psykers receive weird feelings from getting near it?”

“I think you start to feel a bit fuzzy. It’s hard to describe the feeling with words. You
guys will be going today as well, right? Go and feel it yourself.”

Dimitri answered and ran ahead, leading his own group forward. Squad 5 was using
their last remaining strength to match Dimitri’s pace to the best of their ability, though
looking exhausted. Han didn’t bother to over pace his run. He maintained an easy pace
that everyone could follow.

“Huu.”

Han let out a breath after finishing the light run. The remaining members of his squad
had also fully awoken from their drowsiness now. The heat and sweat from their
bodies caused faint steam to evaporate into the air. Han looked to his squad and spoke.

“Assemble by 10:00 at the take-off area. I have already sent the required uniforms and
gear needed for the trip to your data bracelets. Following your shower and meals, it
will be free period until then.”

Squad 13 looked excited. The other squads held similar expressions of enthusiasm for
visiting the dimensional crack. It felt like they were off on a field trip. Han also felt that
this day would feel like a much needed day off. After Han finished his meal and shower,
he went to Jose’s room.

“Hurry and sit. We were going to start soon.”

A few youths had already gathered in the room. They were in the middle of a game of
old maid. They used their emergency snacks and chocolates as game chips.

“Kuro, using your psychic power is off limits. As soon as I see your eyes glowing, I’m
going to kick your butt.”

Jose earnestly requested. Using immediate foresight would be the greatest cheat for
Kuro. Han sat beside them and took out a few of his own chocolates.

“Hmm.”

Han narrowed his eyes. Kuro and Jose were the worst at old maid. They easily showed
their true feelings on their faces, and usually got the short end of the stick.

‘Kuro is pretty good. But the best person at this game is Kijo.’

Kijo is good at reading between the lines and deciphering his opponent’s thoughts.
Kijo looked to be the person who held the least greed for the snacks.

‘Unexpectedly… Kijo is very cunning. Though I think he has taken his strengths in a
strange direction.’

Kijo always complained, but he stuck to Han’s side like a piece of gum. He sat near Han
during lectures. After training, he would fetch Han a bottle of water even if this wasn’t
requested of him.

‘He must be a natural born brown noser.’

While Han was distracted, Kijo threw all the cards in his hand down.

“Hehe! I’m first!”

They had a lot of time left, and their old maid game continued. Kijo sat beside Kuro on
purpose.
‘I shall empty your pockets thoroughly today. Kuro!’

Kijo still held a bit of a grudge towards Kuro. He had purposely made Kuro pull out the
Joker from his hand. Kuro was weak in the psychological warfare of cards and had
repeatedly gotten himself done in by Kijo.

“Ugh.”

Kuro had his snacks taken away in a flash. Kijo looked to Kuro with a triumphant face.

‘What petty revenge.’

Han had heard of the episode between Kuro and Kijo long beforehand. Kijo enjoyed
teasing Kuro quite a bit.

“Now now, let’s start ending this game. It’s time to assemble soon.”

Han said, ending their last game. Kuro looked downcast for losing all his snacks. Han
looked at Kuro’s forlorn back. Kijo stopped Kuro by holding onto the other’s shoulder.

“Hey pal, you lost everything today, right?”

Kijo said teasingly. Kuro slightly narrowed his eyes.

“Are you teasing me? Go away.”

“You should listen to a person’s words until the end. In Korea, we have affection. We
have something called a winner’s tip. Do you know of this?”

“What’s that?”

“The winner will tip a bit toward the loser who lost it all. Take it, pal. Take this and
don’t be so mad. Let’s be friends, huh?”

Kijo stuffed a handful of chocolate into Kuro’s pocket. Kijo smiled. Kuro looked deeply
moved by Kijo’s gift.

“You, you’re a good guy aren’t you??”

“You only know that now? Then see ya later.”

Kijo cooly turned his back and waved his hand. Kijo laughed with a wicked smile.

‘Kuro has abundant talent to succeed in the future. There’s nothing wrong with
making a friendship with him early on. He’s also Han’s best friend. I will be the one to
control Squad 13 from the shadows. Huhu.’

“Now, we will head off to Sinuiju where we will find the remnants of the dimensional
gate.”

The drill instructor said in front of the transport planes. Each squad was assigned to
different transport planes. There were two additional pilots to each plane and one drill
instructor. Han and Squad 13 hopped orderly onto the transport plane. They sat on
their assigned seats and secured their seat belts.

“The dimensional crack is what remained after the gate disappeared. This is proof that
the two worlds are connected. It was theorized that psykers began making
appearances because of the influence from psychic energies of the crack. When we
approach the dimensional gate, some of you will feel very comfortable like you’ve
returned home, while some of you will feel extreme terror. The goal of today’s drill
will be for you to remember the feeling that you experience.”

The drill instructor was speaking while standing, holding onto the handles attached
to the plane’s interior wall. Soon, the transport plane took off. The youths looked out
the windows toward the view of the ocean outside. The blue ocean seemed to move in
a single fluid movement. Eventually, the children wore bored faces after looking out at
same view for a long while. The students chatted or napped while leaning against the
wall. The drill instructor didn’t bother to stop anyone from doing so.

“Look, it’s Japan!”

Kuro said. They could see the Japanese islands in the far distance. Kuro’s eyes sparkled
while getting worked up. Han could feel his heart racing as well.

‘Soon we will see Korea as well.’

They flew past Japan and entered Korea’s airspace. Han gave a sidelong scowl. He only
had bad memories of Korea, but still felt homesick for the place. Although the place
had been a nightmare, he had slivers of good memories from the place.

“Mom…”
Han heard Kijo mumbling. Kijo had his hand against the window while looking down
across the land. His eyes didn’t seem to reflect his usual slyness. He seemed like a
young child who simply missed his homeland.

‘Does he miss his parents?’

Han didn’t know what his parents looked like at all because his earliest memory was
of the orphanage.

“Huhu we’ve arrived in the plains.”

The Northern Korean peninsula was in ruins. The northern territories of Korea were
now beyond repair. At the moment, the major cities of South Korea have yet to be fully
repaired. North Korea had been cast aside and thrown away.

“Wake up your sleeping peers. We will arrive in Sinuiju soon.”

The drill instructor said. Han stood up and commanded his squad. Everyone woke the
person sitting next to them.

“The sky… is purple.”

The squad members looking toward Sinuiju said. The dimensional crack had painted
the sky of the area into a violet hue. A bleak, dreary feeling arose.

“The colour of the sky will change depending on the colour the dimensional crack
changes into. The light the dimensional crack leaks will shine all colours of the
rainbow in an irregular pattern. At the moment, it seems the violet hues are the
strongest.”

The drill instructor explained. He ordered the pilot to fly a bit closer to the
dimensional crack.

“So it really does shine the colours of the rainbow.”

Han mumbled. He had only seen the dimensional crack from photos and video clips. It
leaked vibrant colours of the rainbow. The light leaked into the deep canyon crevasses
of the land.

This naturally occurring phenomenon of the territory could not be explained through
science. The thing itself was incomprehensible. How had the dimensional gate
connected to this place, why do the dragons attack, nobody knew even a sliver of the
truth. Humanity fought simply for the sake of survival.

Thump, thump.

His heart thumped. The squad members each experienced strange sensations from
the crack. Han felt a quiet agitation. It was as if he was submerged in water and he
could only hear the sound of his heart beating. Han shut his eyes tight.

Kuuuuooo!

He seemed to hear something, but he guessed that these were only hallucinations. He
could see a sort of figure inside the darkness. A dragon was tearing through the crack
trying to get its jaw through it.

Once the dragon tore through the gate, the gate fully reformed to its original state. This
was only a hallucination, but his legs shook with terror.

He felt an icy chill cover his whole body. Han strongly wished to pull himself out from
this dread and opened his eyes. It seems Han was not the only one to have seen this
hallucination. The other youths all opened their eyes one by one. Everyone was
drenched in cold sweat.

“Did you guys see that as well?”

Everyone nodded. Kuro struggled to breathe like he was in incredible pain.

“Danger. Something big……”

Psychic energy flowed from Kuro’s eyes. Han’s eyes grew wide the moment he saw
psychic energy flow from Kuro’s eyes. The tips of Han’s fingers shook violently in
terror. He screamed at the drill instructor.

“We must immediately turn the airplane around! We have to return to the Ark……”

BOOOOM!

A transfer plane just ahead of them blew up. The fourth plane that carried Squad 10
was bulleting down the ground while burning.
PEEW!

A blue stream of light shot out from the ground. The stream of light beamed through
the wings of Squad 13’s plane.

The pilot shouted something. The drill instructor immediately understood the gravity
of the situation and threw the parachutes toward the youths.

“This is not a drill. Squad leader Han, you understand?”

Han’s eyes looked empty. He had just witnessed all of squad 10 fall to their death.
Squad 10 had not enough time to even let out a scream.

Static, something that had broken in his mind suddenly connected once again. Han
barely managed to take hold of himself.

He was capable of fast mental recovery during urgent situations. This was Han’s
greatest strength that the drill instructors had unanimously agreed upon.

“Understood, drill instructor sir.”

Han said once his eyes became alert.

“This airplane will soon crash. We will jump out of the plane. I do not know what is
awaiting us below. Join forces with a drill instructor you can find below, until then
follow the manual to survive until backup forces arrive. The goal of today will be
survival and returning to Ark. Move out.”

The squad members equipped their parachutes as they were trained. The students
who could not snap themselves from the hallucinations received aid from their fellow
students.

“This is Airplane 7, we have received an attack from an unknown source. Requesting

for help, I repeat…”

The pilots said something among the chaos. The drill instructor opened the back hatch
of the airplane.

Huuuuuu!
Violent winds shook the inside of the plane. A smoky fog enwrapped the area.

“Descend.”

The drill instructor pushed the squad members one by one. He had no time to coach
each individual. It was unknown whether the plane would explode in the next second
by another attack. The squad members jumped and pulled out their parachutes one
by one.

“Han, if you’re unable to find a drill instructor, you’re in charge. Endure until rescue
arrives.”

“Understood.”

Han shortly saluted and jumped out. The wind howled in his ears. The airplane flew
further and further from him. The drill instructor also got ready to jump out. The
moment the drill instructor jumped out, the plane was hit by another stream of light
and exploded. He couldn’t escape the explosion and his body flew out like a doll.

‘Is he dead?’

Han bit his lower lip. There seemed to be no response from the drill instructor. When
he neared the ground, he firmly grasped onto the parachute line. A number of thoughts
passed his mind.

‘I just barely got a hold of my senses. The other members are probably not capable of
maintaining a normal state of mind at the moment. I must gather everyone as soon as
I can. A dense forest had formed in this place because it has been out of the reach of
humans for a long time. Nothing is favourable for us. If we were in an open area, we
would find each other immediately… but it’s difficult to find others in a wild forest.’

Han looked at his data bracelet. The screen shook with noise and wouldn’t properly
function. Everyone else would probably be in the same situation.

‘We have been training for this situation all this time. There’s no reason we can’t
survive.’

Han got caught by a tree branch while dropping down. He took out his knife and cut
the string. He dropped from ten meters in the air and rolled. He softened the fall by
spreading the impact with the roll, and then looked up.
“I only have one knife.”

Nobody predicted this situation. Han tried to recall from the various situations he
trained for, but he couldn’t seem to remember any at all. It didn’t matter if his analysis
skills were strong, because he didn’t have any pieces of the puzzle to work out the core
problem at the moment.

Before Han had landed, he memorized the general landscape terrain. He roughly drew
a map from his memory on the ground.

“More people would have had dropped into this direction.”

Han didn’t hesitate and moved out.

‘Rather than waiting for other squads to come find me, I have a better chance finding
them. There should be many students who can’t move due to their state of panic or
possible injury.

Han moved through the forest of overgrown weeds. People have not traversed through
this place at all, and just walking forward was straining.

Sa sa sak.

There was movement from the forest. Han turned his head toward the sound.
Somebody popped out from the opposite side of the forest.

“Han?”

Kijo popped out.

“How about the other squad members?”

“I didn’t see them yet. I saw you in this direction before I landed, and decided to walk
into this direction. I thought it would be best to join up with the squad leader.”

Han was a bit surprised. Kijo had kept his eyes on Han until the last moment. Amongst
the chaos, he was able to make such a decision, that was quite amazing.

‘He is surprisingly smart. His logic is careful and meticulous. I guess he has a good
sense. Or rather, he has great mental strength, to retain his composure. He’s the
longest veteran amongst all squad members for a reason.’

Han re-evaluated Kijo.

‘I wasn’t able to objectively judge his skills due to his arrogant personality. In secret, I
undervalued Kijo’s skills and neglected him quite a bit. Although a person’s skill and
character are two different things. Reflecting back, Kijo never lagged behind, and his
ability to carry out the battle tactics were good. His character is his main hindrance.’

“What are you thinking about?”

Kijo said. Han snapped away from his thoughts and looked up.

“No, nothing. Let’s first think of a way to join up with the rest of the squad.”

Han and Kijo travelled up to higher grounds. Han climbed a tall tree and looked across
the area. There was smoke in the far distance. The closest was the second military
plane.

“Let’s follow the smoke. It could either be a crashed plane or Jose making the smoke.”

Kijo nodded and immediately asked Han.

“What could be the thing that attacked the planes?”

“It wasn’t any kind of military power that exists in the modern age.”

Upon Han’s words, the air froze over.

“It ca-can’t be dragons?”

“Dragons would have flown over to us and attacked. Also, we would have spotted such
a large existence. Don’t jump to conclusions. Let’s hurry, we have no time to waste.”

Han sounded calm, but inside he was burning with anxiety. He couldn’t help but worry
about all the squad members.

‘Please be alive.’

Han didn’t wish to lose another person in his life. The drill instructor’s death swirled
in his mind. All of Squad 10 had died upon the plane explosion. A human’s life could
instantly disappear in vain. Han had known of this reality already.

Ba-du-duk ba-du-duk.

Han and Kijo broke the tree branches as they travelled forward. They periodically
made huge knife cuts into significantly large trees. They expanded out into their
surroundings as per manual instructions. They made visual markings so that they
would be able to find a path around the forest.

Hwa-ru-ruk.

A fire sparked. The site of the first smoke had been a crashed plane. The crashed plane
was a gruesome sight.

“It’s the second plane. The eighth squad was on this plane.”

Han peered into the opened hatch. Kijo darted outside immediately and threw up. Han
peered inside with chilled eyes. He could make up parts of human bodies strewn
about.

The situation inside was worse. Nobody had survived. Upon crashing onto the ground,
the impact had smashed everyone.

‘If we had not jumped out, we would have ended up like this.’

“Huuak, hhaak.”

Kijo could only return to normal after throwing up. He stared towards Han’s stoic face.

‘Do-doesn’t this guy have something called feelings? He doesn’t even blink after seeing
such a gruesome sight.’

Kijo looked to Han with newfound fear. The more diabolical the situation, the more
Han’s mind chilled.

“If you’re done throwing up, we will be moving out again.”

“You don’t feel anything?”

“People die time to time in Ark as well. It shouldn’t be the first time you’ve seen a
corpse.”

“Still… this is gruesome.”

Kijo mumbled and followed after Han.

Aaaah—ohhhh!

The sound of a wolf could be heard in the distance. This wasn’t the sound of your
average wolf. Their bodies felt a feeling of danger immediately after they heard the
howl. The howl carried a deeper, muckier, and dreadful horror to it.

“Han.”

Kijo called Han. Even if the two didn’t exchange another word, the two understood one
another. They stood in battle stances. Something was hacking away the forest while it
ran at a fast speed towards them.

‘Werewolf.’

The other-dimensional wolf with thick, grey fur. These were the dragon army’s
minions and a legendary monster. A single werewolf was sprinting toward Han.

Ta-dak.

Han jumped onto a tree behind him and jumped again. He jumped over the wolf.

Kwajik.

The werewolf swung its arms, causing a deep gash in the tree. It let out a chaotic
beaming gaze toward Han and Kijo while it glared on.

Kijo’s legs trembled violently. Han wanted to give up and simply escape from this
place. His reflexes told him to run away.

‘However, once we start running with our backs faced toward it, we will die.
Werewolves are naturally faster than us. We have to kill it here.’

“Kijo, look for something useful inside the plane. A rope or anything is fine. I will
distract it.”

Han said to Kijo. The inside of the plane was smothered in smoke. It was unknown
when it would explode once again.

‘If I escape using Han as bait… ’

The thought passed Kijo’s mind, but he erased it from his mind. He was also a youth of
Ark. The training he had received from Ark did not allow such cowardly behaviour.

Although he was cowardly and petty, there was no way a person who would cowardly
abandon their peers would be able to make it past year one of Ark.

“I’ll return fast. Endure, squad leader.”

Kijo dashed into the plane that looked to be on the brink of another explosion. Inside,
there were many corpses that maintained their seatbelts. The smell of blood pinched
his nose. Kijo pushed back the vomit that was trying to make its way up again.

Wwwoooo!

Outside, the werewolf cried out. Han used the tree and the strewn broken structures
to barely dodge the werewolf’s attack.

“%$#@, the R-2 group doesn’t have a single survivor.”

Kwang!

The engine under the left wing exploded. The plane shook. Kijo’s face paled. While he
scavenged, he found a steel rod. This was originally stuck on the plane ceiling, used as
a handle for moving around without falling. It was half broken and swung back and
forth.

‘Han’s main weapon is a spear. With this… ’

Kijo clenched his jaw and pulled on the rod. It wasn’t fully detached from the plane.

“UUAAAGH!!”

Blood vessels popped from Kijo’s burly arms. The rod snapped and his body slammed
onto the ground.

“Cough, $#%3. $#%%.”

Kijo endlessly cursed. It would be hard to cope without doing so in this situation. He
took out his knife and attached it to the end of the metal rod. He had tightly wound it
together with a ripped cloth.

KWAANG!

“%$#@, I’m leaving! I’m leaving!”

Kijo hurriedly sprinted out of the plane. Outside, Han was tirelessly running between
the trees.

‘Kijo.’

Han and Kijo made eye contact. Kijo gulped his saliva and shook his spear.

“WAAAAAH! Come on! You sick mutt!”

Kijo shouted out. The werewolf that had been chasing Han turned around toward Kijo.

‘Han will understand my actions. That guy is $#%$$^% smart!”

The werewolf fiercely chased after Kijo. Kijo threw the rough spear to Han. The spear
didn’t reach Han and struck into the ground just ahead of Han.

‘He’s telling me to attack the werewolf from behind. Kijo has made himself the bait.’

Han made a quick decision. He chased after the werewolf. He reached out his arm and
used his telekinesis to drag the spear to his hands.

Wwwung.

‘Stabbing its body is no use. The werewolves have fast regeneration, a simple wound
won’t affect it in the least. The only place I should aim is its head.’

Han focused to his limit. A single mistake would mean the end of Kijo’s life. The
werewolf’s fearsome agility didn’t match its huge body.
Kijo threw remnants of the broken plane with his telekinetic power. It hit the werewolf
square on its head. The werewolf’s head got pushed back a bit, its eyes flashing red
and seeming more determined to hunt down Kijo.

“Uuaaak!”

Kijo screamed. It was too late to run away from the werewolf.

Puhak!

A spear penetrated the back of the werewolf’s head and popped out from its jaws.

Han hung onto the werewolf’s back while twisting and stirring the spear. The
werewolf wailed out, screamed and fainted. Kijo got squished below the werewolf and
got splattered in its blood.

“Hhuu, huuk. Is, is it dead?”

Kijo crawled out from under the werewolf’s corpse. He had an unbelieving expression.

“Yes. You did well, Kijo.”

Han’s face was pale. This had been the minion that he had only heard about before. It
was unknown how many more minions were around this place.

“Uugh.”

Kijo groaned. His whole body ached. He had overtaxed his muscles unknowingly.

Han and Kijo did not rest before leaving to the next smoky area. Their bodies were
fatigued, but there was no time to rest.

“The rescue squad should arrive from Ark. Just endure for now.”

Han said while carefully leading the way. This time, it had not been smoke from a
crashed airplane. Someone was making the smoke on purpose. Jose, Canute, and Kuro
were gathered around the area as well as two more from other squads. Han’s still
expression softened into a faint smile.

“I knew you would come if we made smoke.”

Jose said. Han nodded. They quickly reported their current situation. Han told them
about their meeting with the werewolf. The remaining squad members’ expressions
turned dark.

“So that howling sound belonged to the werewolf…”

“Yes, a werewolf. Minions wander in the immediate areas of the dimensional gate. We
don’t know their numbers, and they are hostile towards us. It should take a minimum
of five hours for Ark’s rescue team to arrive. This is on the assumption that they can
arrive here as fast as possible. Until then, we must endure.”

This was a seriously hopeless, unpredictable unfolding of events. The youths looked
anxious and fearful. However, after they had rejoined with Han, it seemed their nerves
had loosened by a degree.

‘Han always leads us while considering the best decisions. Now that Han is here, we
will be able to pull through somehow.’

Squad 13 held limitless trust toward Han. Han had shown surprising results time and
time again. Now that their trustworthy leader was here, they wouldn’t need to worry
about the little details. They simply needed to trust in the leader’s decision and move
forward. All decisions would be shouldered by the squad leader now.

‘I must take responsibility for them.’

Han understood how much his squad members trusted in him. Kijo, who had quite the
nasty personality, also trusted and followed Han. A squad leader has the responsibility
to make decisions and lead his members forward no matter how hopeless the
situation may turn. They must not give in to the external pressures of the situation
and run away. Han closed his eyes and opened them again. He chose a suitable place
on the dirt ground and started to draw a map.

“Listen to my words well. We will be building a simple fortress that we can use to
defend against any attacking enemies.”

The members of Squad 13 only carried their knives with them. However, they were
psykers. Even though they didn’t have saws, they were capable of carpentry. They
broke and cut the trees and made sharp wooden swords and spears. They sharpened
long, sturdy sticks to construct barricades that they dug into the ground, and set a trap
by hiding them in forest foliage.
“It’s a definite fact that werewolves wander in this area. They don’t have high
intelligence so setting traps and making a barricade should be effective enough for us
to stop them. If you can find a boulder large enough, that would be good material for
a cover. Kuro, it will be difficult, but please lend us your strength.”

Kuro was responsible for the tasks requiring the most strength. Kuro suffered from
bloody noses, but he didn’t stop working. Han felt apologetic, but he didn’t let Kuro
rest.

“I wonder what happened to our drill instructor”

The squad members said. Kijo who had been listening spoke.

“The drill instructor already-“

Han pulled Kijo’s arm. Kijo shut his mouth mid-sentence. Han whispered to Kijo.

“Don’t tell them our drill instructor died. It will be better if they have a little bit of hope
to hold onto.”

Kijo nodded. After two hours, their trap and cover were beginning to take shape. He
brought the barricade near the trap area.

‘I heard werewolves are more active at night. The sun will go down soon. If there are
werewolves remaining in this area, they will probably come to find us at night.’

The sun set quickly. A chilling wind blew across the forest. They set up an organized
shift of night watch duty, but the youths found it hard to sleep at all. They were all so
anxious that sleep was near impossible.

“What could the beam of light that attacked our planes be?”

“It should be something related to psychic energies.”

“Maybe the Elu tribe?”

Only they were capable of commanding an organized army amongst the minions. They
had no sclera to their eyes and their ears were pointed. Otherwise, they looked exactly
like humans, and they had powerful psychic skills. They could easily defend against
modern military weapons, like dragons. However, they didn’t have limitless mana like
dragons, and so long as one targets that weakness, it would not be impossible to take
one down with modern military weapons.

Ta dak, ta dak.

The campfire burned. Werewolves had great night vision. Although the squad would
be easily discovered, it was more advantageous that they could see the movements of
their surroundings.

“It’s ok, the rescue team will arrive to pick us up.”

Half of the second years had made an emergency landing at the Sinuiju, dimensional
crack. This was an emergency situation for Ark.

‘However, even if we send an aircraft to rescue the students, if we were to be hit by

that stream of light then… ’

Han just imagined a frightening possibility. Would the rescue squad even know of their
current situation? What if they rashly sent a plane and crashed similarly to what had
happened?

‘We are in a real war.’

Their enemy’s identity was unknown. It was impossible to even begin trying to
analyze their enemy’s military strength. Our forces are but frightened youths. The
future breakthrough of this place seemed bleak.

‘Our military experience thus far adds up to nothing but child’s play.’

Their battles were always held within the safety confines of Ark. As long as the rules
were followed, lives would not be lost.

‘In this place, my single mistake will result in many deaths.’

Han’s eyes sank lower. His past suddenly flashed into his mind. He had been starving
for over a week. As a last resort, Han had snuck into the security forces to steal their
food provisions. He was caught in the end and transferred to the police. They beat him
ruthlessly, but he tenaciously continued to try and escape. If he could not deliver food,
then his younger siblings would starve to death.
‘Our situation is no different from back then. The lives of others are in my hands. A
single thing has changed though, and it’s that these kids will fight by my side.’

Sssk, sssk.

The sounds of movement came from the forest. Everyone from Squad 13 who had been
resting, bolted up. They didn’t dare let out a breath. They stared toward the location
of the sound.

“Squad 9?”

Familiar faces appeared from the forest. Squad 9 looked to be in a terrible state. They
were a group of 17 people.

“Han, we were attacked by enemy forces. Four people have died in total. Our squad
leader and drill instructor were among those who had died. We will be joining forces
with you.”

The Squad 9 members said. Squad 9 and 13 did not have the best relationship.
However, such trivial things did not matter now. Whether they were rivals, allies, or
sworn enemies in Ark, nothing mattered. At this moment, they had to fight against the
same enemy.

“Was it a werewolf?”

“No, they were of the Elu tribe. Hunter type. It’s possible that they will work together
with werewolves.”

The Elu tribe commanded small squads and they each had unique fighting strengths
from one another. There were Elus whose main strengths included psychic powers,
cold weapons, or arrows. The hunter types were of the latter. The Elu hunter types
used werewolves like hunting dogs.

Squad 9 looked exhausted. A handful of them couldn’t even talk properly. Their peers
had died so ruthlessly in front of their very eyes.

“Our enemies are the Elus and werewolves. Unlike werewolves, Elus have high
intelligence. They probably won’t easily get caught in our traps.”

Han gathered the group leaders together. The youths quickly set up a command
structure within the group. The squad leader, Han, would be commanding, with the
other youths grouped into three- or four-member teams.

“Stab the werewolves with your spears and push them into our traps. We have
constructed traps and filled them with dried twigs. When you push the werewolves
in, those with the power of ignition will set them aflame. The Elus will probably make
the werewolves their vanguard and attack from a distance or flank us. Find a flat rock
or wooden plank from your surroundings to use as an airbeat. Two teams will climb
onto the surrounding trees and be on standby for a surprise attack against the Elus.”

It was difficult to use a flat rock as an airbeat. Airbeats were robot drones that moved
with streams of energy. Airbeats would stay afloat even without the aid of telekinesis.
On the other hand, flat rock airbeats required a constant stream of telekinesis to
remain afloat.

“Kuro, help assist the surprise attack team as a supporter.”

Han said to Kuro.

“Okay.”

Kuro nodded.

“Is there anyone here who is strong or is talented in telekinetic control? Anyone in
squad 9?”

Han had a clear understanding of Squad 13’s skill, but he didn’t have a clear
understanding of Squad 9’s overall skills. Two people from Squad 9 stepped forward.

“We will be throwing the spears we have made ahead of time. We will teach you the
methods now. We don’t have much time, but try to get used to the movements as fast
as possible.”

Han picked out five people to throw the spears. They took turns to throw the wooden
spears. Han took deep breaths and held a wooden spear.

“The control techniques are simple. Take deep breaths, and spurt out your psychic
energy in a way that will help push the spear forward. You shouldn’t wrap your psychic
energy around the whole weapon like how we normally had trained to do. This will
only slow down the speed which it is thrown. It’s better to maintain a good push of
energy from behind so that it flies out.”

Han pulled his arm back and threw the spear. The spear that had been buffed by his
telekinesis went flying at a frightening speed.

The spear penetrated into a tree and caused a violent tremble. One of Han’s specialties
was javelin throwing.

“Even if you lack the physical strength, the main force will be enough as long as you
aim properly. The five of you will attack together into one point.”

Han gave different jobs to all the members present. Han was probably the only person
capable of coming up with proper roles and battle formation within the second years,
in such a short period of time in a situation like this.

Han’s leadership skills had already been long recognized by the second years. Squad
9 also acknowledged this. Everyone followed his commands without complaint.

Insects flew into the campfire, their buzzing crying out within the deafening silence.

AAah-oooh!

The youths who had fallen asleep, snapped their eyes open. A rough, savage cry of a
beast shook the forest.

“They are coming, make the surroundings brighter, Jose.”

Jose set several of the piled firewood in their camp into flames. Fires ignited all around
them, allowing them to see the surrounding forest clearly. However, they couldn’t see
a single werewolf. The only thing that shook through the forest was the howling of the
wolves.

“The enemy is watching us, and we cannot see the enemy.’

Han looked to Kuro. Even without an exchange of words, Kuro was already focusing.
He was attempting to use his immediate foresight to discover the source and timing
of their attack. His eyes were glowing so bright that his irises seemed to disappear.

‘If the immediate foresight fails, our team will be killed by the enemy’s attack. Based
on a werewolf’s sheer strength, everyone would probably be killed.’
They will die without Kuro’s immediate foresight at this moment. Han felt anxious, but
he didn’t want to burden Kuro more.

Gguuuu-!

The air current changed around Kuro from his psychic powers.

“Attacking. From the left.”

Kuro said shortly. Han spread his hands and shouted to Jose.

“JOSE!!”

Jose and two more ignition users cast their psychic powers. When fire type psychic
users combined their strength, it would cause a great explosion. The left side of the
forest immediately got engulfed by flames.

HWaaaa!

They could see a werewolf from among the burning trees. The werewolf twisted
through the maze of trees while its eyes flashed madly.

“Javelin team. Lead team aim and fire.”

The wooden spear penetrated into the werewolf’s body. The roughly put together
javelin team’s skills were mediocre at best, but the werewolf was massive and three
spears successfully attacked the werewolf.

“Kyaaaoooo-!”

The werewolf howled in pain. The werewolf, that had been unruly, stopped upon
slamming into the barricade. Obstacles continued to block the werewolf’s path.

“Canute, let’s go.”

Han and Canute ran out together.

The two had perfect teamwork from their long practised team battles. Han oversaw
everything on the right, and Canute was in charge of everything on the left. The two
evaded through both sides of the werewolf and attacked from its back side.
Han’s spear penetrated through the werewolf’s chest. The knife tied onto the end of
the spear was tangled and dirtied on dripping blood.

“Canute! Cut it!”

Han shouted. Canute climbed onto the werewolf’s back and stabbed his knife onto its
neck. The knife dug deep into the centre neck and glided out through to the side in one
clean motion. A fountain of blood sprinkled out like a fountain from the wolf’s half
chopped head.

Bam!

“Uck.”

Canute got hit by the flailing werewolf and flew out into the distance. Canute broke his
right arm and leg. A single blow from the werewolf had practically critically injured
half his body.

“$#!@$#!”

Han swore words he’d never let out. The werewolf rampaged by itself and somehow
flung itself into the trap. The ignition-type psykers, who had been on standby,
immediately set the trap on fire. Flames burst out of the trap.

Kwajik Kwajik!

Han stabbed his spear down many times to prevent the werewolf from climbing out.
Then soon, the werewolf grew silent.

However, this was not the end. Another howl came from a different direction.

“Haa, haa. Canute, how’s the injury?”

Han supported Canute, who had fallen over in the centre of their battle formation.
With just one look, one could easily tell that his arm and legs were broken.

“Sorry, I won’t be able to continue any longer.”

Canute looked to the ground and said. Han nodded. Canute had always fought in the
front lines of battle.
He had always been the one to suffer the most injuries during their squad battles as
well. Canute had always silently carried on this dangerous role in their squad.

“This time, they are attacking from the front. There are two werewolves.”

Han felt conflicted.

‘Would we be able to pull through with our current numbers? Should we use our
assault team now?’

The assault team would be able to easily take down the two werewolves. The two
werewolves were so distracted by the happenings surrounding the forest that they
didn’t notice the assault team up on top of the trees.

‘But, there should be the Elu tribe somewhere here. The enemy is trying to figure out
our overall military strength by using the werewolves to scout. We can’t show our
entire military strength on a sacrificed enemy.’

Han bit down on his nails. There might be casualties, but as the squad leader, he must
make the decision. Should we sacrifice some of our team to hide our military strength
against the unknown enemy? Should we block all immediate dangers and show our
entire strength to our enemy? The burden of this choice felt heavy.

‘I’ve decided. We will use all our barricades and traps.’

“They are coming.”

The javelin team shouted. They wanted to throw their spears and take down the
werewolf as soon as they could.

“Wait, javelin team.”

Han’s eyes glowed. The werewolf must jump over their barricade, and at that moment,
its movement would be limited while in the air. If they were to hit the werewolf while
in the air, it would suffer a critical injury.

“Now!”

The werewolf jumped over the barricade. At that moment, the spears bulleted out and
pinned themselves into the werewolf’s body.
The werewolf was pushed back by the attack and smashed against the barricade. The
barricade had many pointed wooden spikes, and it had lodged itself tightly onto the
trap. It struggled to get out while blood dripped from its body.

“There is one more werewolf!”

The remaining werewolf came running in.

“Try to block it!”

Han shouted. The ignition psykers shot a fireball into the air. The werewolf punched
its two fists and flew through the giant fireball.

“Push him back with the spears!”

The javelin team threw their spears. The werewolf had already seen its kin die from
the hidden trap and evaded.

The werewolf lowered itself on the ground and let itself get hit on the shoulder and
back. The werewolf’s back became like a porcupine as the spears stabbed onto its
back.

“Mo-monster.”

One of the squad members mumbled. The team grew pale seeing the werewolf’s
stamina and prowess. Han ran to the werewolf before it could get up again. He threw
his whole body at the werewolf and pushed it backward.

“Kaa!”

The werewolf growled while swinging its arms. Han reflexively lowered his head. He
grabbed one of the spears stuck to its back.

Puek!

The spear penetrated its foot as it stomped down. The werewolf howled nastily from
pain as it flailed its arms wildly. Han ran in circles as he dodged the flailing attacks at
an almost superhuman speed.

Long before Han had been judged as a good squad leader candidate, he had been
praised for his capabilities as a main striker and additionally, they had scored him
highly for his quick wit.

As a second year, Han had transcended normal human strength and had grown highly
impact resistant bones. His enhanced muscles made seemingly impossible postures
easily obtainable. Han tied up the werewolf’s movement and attracted its attention.

“Hup!”

Kijo joined in during the few seconds Han had distracted the werewolf. He stabbed
into the werewolf’s head and twisted the wound site. The werewolf swung its arm
widely to rip Kijo apart.

“Kijo! Let go of your spear!”

Han grabbed Kijo’s back and pulled him away. Kijo rolled onto the ground and tripped.
The werewolf’s nails swiped passed where Kijo had been in the next moment. That
had been the werewolf’s last remaining strength.

“Grr…”

The werewolf continued to growl with the spear impaled in its head, until it let out its
last breath. During Han and Kijo’s struggle, another werewolf had attacked from their
right side, but Jose and his team had defeated it with much difficulty.

“Is it o-over?”

The fatigued youths mumbled. Only three minutes had passed, and in that short
moment, they had been near death more times than they could possibly count.

Everyone had used a majority of their psychic energy and their heads hurt a lot.

“I thought I would piss my pants. $#%$.”

Kijo complained in Korean. Han offered a helping hand to Kijo. Kijo grabbed Han’s
hand and got up.

Pah!

A flash of light passed. Something impaled into Kijo’s chest. It was an arrow made of
psychic energy. A neon blue arrow passed Kijo’s chest and dissipated.

“Ki… jo.”

Han fumbled his words. Kijo looked at his chest with an unbelieving face.

“Kack!”

Kijo’s chest was completely punctured. Instead of calling out Kijo’s name, Han
immediately commenced emergency treatment. He used his hands to press down onto
the chest wound. Han hurriedly transferred him into a shelter in the middle of the
battle formation.

Cough, cough.

Kijo kept spewing blood from his mouth. Han roughly called out for Jose.

“Control the bleeding! His wound! $##@. How about the enemy?”

Jose used his flames to burn Kijo’s wound closed. Kijo flailed in pain while groaning.

Chhhiiiiii!

The smell of his burnt flesh smoked the area.

“Wait for the enemy. We still have the assault team remaining.”

The Elu hunters slowly snuck closer using the darkness.

Elu hunters were naturally very thin and lanky. They had no whites to their eyes and
a strange, creepy light seemed to reflect from them. Their ears twitched catching every
little noise around themselves.

The Elu hunters immediately discovered Han’s plans. They had sent the werewolves
as bait to set off all the traps.

It was easy to take down a group of people who had already been significantly
weakened.

The Elu hunters had mistaken the situation, as such.

Even while Han had been pushed into a defensive and inferior position, he did not dare
use his last assault team. Although there had been a danger that they would all die, he
firmly resolved in his heart to keep them hidden.

The assault team remained on standby for Han’s commands, breathing as slowly and
quietly as possible. They peered down towards the Elu hunters. The assault team was
peering down with chilling, murderous eyes.

“Jose.”

Han quietly called out to Jose. The fire type psykers put their strength together to form
their last fireball. As the fireball sparked, all the Elu hunters’ positions became bright
as day.

“Kekeke.”

The elu hunters scoffed, laughing at their feeble last attempt of survival. The fire type
psykers didn’t manage to injure them at all. However, the fireball had not been an
attack but a source of light to locate all the enemies at once.

Swaa-swa-swa!

The assault team hiding on top of the trees jumped down and assaulted the Elu
hunters all at once. The assault team moved on top of flat rocks, which Kuro controlled
in place of airbeats. Their mobile tactics were as swift as the Elu hunters’.

“kaaa!”

The Elu hunters screamed. The assault team ruthlessly slaughtered all the hunters.
There was no mercy in their hearts amidst the brutal war.

Tremble

The Elu hunter’s body trembled before dying. There were two injured members from
the assault team, but it was minor in contrast to the outcome.

“Is this the end?”

Canute leaned against a tree and quietly mumbled. The youths looked toward Kijo.
Kijo was gasping for breath. His situation was urgent.
“Endure, Kijo. Don’t die here.”

Kijo’s throat seemed to be filled with blood and couldn’t properly speak. The werewolf
and elu hunters’ dead bodies gave off the stench of death. The forest surrounding them
was burning down and their surroundings were bright.

‘We must move immediately in case there are more enemies. They will still find us
dozens of kilometres away.’

Han thought in that way. He had a hard time bringing this up to his squad.

‘However, if I don’t speak first, who will?’

Han quietly got up. Everyone looked toward his direction. Everyone understood
already. If Han had not come up with this battle formation in that brief moment, things
would not have ended so smoothly. They would have probably been completely
slaughtered.

“We’re moving out.”

Han’s words settled heavily into everyone’s hearts. Everyone was completely fatigued.
However, nobody said a word of complaint.

The squad members tied some spears and cloth together to make a simple stretcher.
They helped Kijo on top of it and moved forward. No, they tried to move.

Aaah, oooooh!

It was a crying howl of a werewolf, the youths’ faces turned rigid. They had no more
strength to continue fighting. They thought this was the end of the fight, but the next
stage of the battle seemed to have begun once again, causing the youths to feel more
hopeless.

Reality was much more brutal than their training. They were thrown from despair to
misery.

The reason the drill instructors had continued to push them without end into despair
had been for this very reason. They required strength necessary to endure through
the worst of worst situations.
“Collect all the javelin spears. We will be moving behind the barricade.”

Han commanded his squad roughly. The squad members followed Han’s command
like a reflex. Han’s stern command had given the youths a bit of strength.

Aah-oooh!

The crying howl repeated. There had to be a minimum of three or four werewolves.

‘There could be more than that. All the werewolves should be gathered in that area.’

They were able to thoroughly prepare for the battle and just barely killed five
werewolves. If more werewolves arrive at this place, even Han didn’t have another
plan devised.

‘What is there for me to do now?’

Han looked upwards. He hid his face from his squad members.

‘A satellite?’

Han mumbled inwardly. Something shined in the sky. The shining object was speeding
past quickly.

The unidentified object seemed to flash in a set interval and then paused.

“Prepare yourselves. We will do our best to stop them with our javelin spears. Assault
team, get into two-man teams and take care of the injured werewolves together.”

As long as they had energy left, this plan should work just fine. However, the youths
were mentally and physically at their limits.

Aaaahwooooh!

The werewolves of the forest enlarged their encirclement around them. There should
be a minimum of seven werewolves. There was a delicate silence between the
werewolves and squad members. There was a completely snow-white furred
werewolf among the wolves.

‘White Fang. They have more intelligence than your average werewolf.”
Han bit his lip so hard that it began to bleed. The werewolves encircled the squad,
preparing themselves to attack at the same time.

A deafening boom rang. Hot steam gushed out. It was as if a meteorite had fallen from
the sky.

BOOM! BOOM! Unidentified flying objects continuously struck the ground. The steam
gradually dissipated. It was a red assault pod. It was a high-altitude assault pod, made
of extremely durable material for surprise attacks from high up in the air in enemy
territory. Only four assault pods exist in the world and one of them had just been
ejected by the black crow.

SSSssssk!

The assault pod’s door opened. Steam puffed out in giant clouds. A person clad in an
iron suit stepped out of the boiling pod. The red suit had scars all over from the long-
term use. Time had done its worst to beat up the suit through all the wars.

“Psychoframe?”

The only gear that was able to be useful in actual battles were the psychoframes, made
for the sake of fighting against dragons. Only psykers had the ability to control
psychoframes.

“It has been a long time since fighting a war.”

It was a familiar voice. It was the infamous first-year drill instructor, Sergeant Red.

The other assault pods opened one after another and more psychoframes appeared
from within them. Each first-generation psychoframe had their own charm.

Each country had refined their own versions during the first wave of aggression, and
so each frame looked distinctly different. These were the psychoframes that had not
undergone the process of mass production.

The first-generation frames were made for the use of a single person. These were the
frames that put an end to dragons during the first wave of aggression.

Krr, Krrr.
Sergeant Red moved his fingers. His psycho frame’s exoskeleton moved in the same
way.

“Don’t fear, we’re here.”

Sergeant Red unsheathed the sword that had been hidden on his back. It shined of
ivory light. Ironically, the materials that saved humanity from dragons were the
dragon bones and leathers itself. Humanity did not waste the dragons’ corpses and
made weapons and gear with them.

‘Their survival is a miracle.’

Sergeant Red scanned his surroundings and mumbled. The best team had been
formed to save the remaining survivors. It was the first time for psychoframes to be
used in actual battle, following the war against dragons. They had assumed the worst
case scenario and prepared for the appearance of a dragon.

‘These youths have received formal training as a psyker, but it’s surprising that they’ve
survived through these conditions.’

The only reason Sergeant Red could immediately come over to participate in this
battle had been because the youths had set fire to the forest.

Grrrr-.

The werewolves let out a low growl. They instinctually sensed their natural enemies.

Just as weaker animals would try to flaunt strength, the werewolves’ furs inflated and
they began murderously wailing.

The psychoframes and werewolves’ strength differed too vastly.

‘We have 26 minutes of operation time, let’s put an end to it beforehand.’

Sergeant Red sent a hand signal for his team. The psyker warriors moved out.

They easily sliced and tore the enemies in two. The werewolves were slaughtered and
torn to pieces. The werewolves were powerless against the overwhelming battle
prowess of the psychoframes.
The youths cheered loudly. The gruesome battle didn’t affect them in the least. They
were overjoyed knowing that they had survived. Within the cheers, Han looked
forward in silence.

‘I must become stronger.’

Han had felt inwardly satisfied over his own strength during his stay in Ark. He had
achieved eight record-breaking consecutive victories and had been a matchless squad
leader among second years. However, he lacked in too many ways during the actual
battle.

In truth, Han had achieved a very surprising miracle. There wasn’t a single person that
would blame Han in any way. The only person who felt dissatisfied was Han himself.

Squads 7 to 13 had lost half of their squad members due to death. As for squads like
8, who could not escape, they were annihilated.

Ark had never suffered in such a way, ever since Ark’s establishment. The high ranking
advisors opened a conference and pointed for them to take responsibility.

“However, the result of this battle is a miracle. They had to fight against werewolves
and Elu hunters without any special gear, and still, not one death resulted.”

The squad that Han led didn’t have a single fatality. Objectively comparing the battle
to past records, it was no different to a miracle itself. It would not have been strange
for the whole squad to have been killed.

“This feels like a lie. Has this report been fact-checked?”

“This report had been constructed after hearing every survivor’s testimony. Squad
13’s leader, Han had made a temporary squad, and effectively defended against their
enemies.”

“Good news as a result of a tragedy. We have discovered a promising talent.”

“We will start recruiting for second years again to refill the numbers. We will pick the
promising individuals from the first year.”

The executives of Ark moved on to the next report.

“It seems that minions have appeared from the area around the dimensional tear.
What do you think this means? Speak freely without reserve.”

“We monitored the black boxes from within the aircrafts, and it’s definite that there
has been an Elu mage from among them. Elu hunters are not capable of attacking with
such strength. It’s the first Elu mage’s appearance following the war.”

“The remnant minions that we have been fighting against are low ranking Elu hunters.
Following the war, an Elu mage has never made an appearance so this must have a
deeper meaning.”

Ark was the core psyker institution, and at the same time, they acted as the core
military defence team. They had fought against the remnant minions that had hidden
in abandoned terrains around the world.

“According to the oracle’s prophecy, we still have a little bit of time until the next wave
of aggression by the dragons.”

“However, it’s a fact that the Elus have become active once again. Let’s not forget that
this has been within territories near the dimensional tear. They have always run away,
but this time they were the ones to attack first. Sergeant Red, what are your thoughts?”

The executives’ eyes peered to Sergeant Red.

Sergeant Red looked to be in a bad temper. Many youths had died. As the one who had
been the first-year drill instructor, there was no way he could be feeling happy in the
least. He had once taught every one of the youths.

“There is one easy way to gather information in war. ‘Capture alive, and torture.’ Are
there any objections? I understand we are shorthanded. I shall capture an Elu mage.
Please let me form a team.”

“Are you returning to active duty? Sergeant Red.”

“I never retired. It was just that the war has never needed me.”

“I approve with the authority of the Chief of Staff.”

Sergeant Red nodded and marched out of the council. The urgent meeting ended.
Now they needed a sacrificial lamb for the sake of explaining to the governments of all
the countries around the world.

They needed someone to face the anger of the financial backers. A quarter of the
second years had died. Someone must take the blame.

‘Goodbye. Greseman.’

Sergeant Red had already predicted the one to become the sacrificial lamb.

A few days later, the second-year chief drill instructor, Greseman took on full
responsibilities for the casualties. He had received two years behind bars following
military court.
“It’s not so bad. I can endure this much. Though it hurts every time I breathe.”

Kijo sat on the bed and said. For the time being, Kijo had been hospitalized for a
penetrating wound. He would have died had the arrow landed a little closer to his
heart.

Kijo seemed much more mature after experiencing a near-death experience. Han left
the hospital ward. There had been a lot of second years hospitalized. Unfortunately,
many of the hospitalised youths had no hope of recovering.

Han and Canute visited their injured peers from time to time after stopping by Kijo’s
room. He walked toward the psychiatric ward.

Creak.

Squad 7, Kato Souki, appeared from within the mental recovery ward. He had lost half
of the members from Squad 7.

Squad leader Kato Souki had a severe case of neurosis as a result of the brutal battles.
He had just witnessed numerous members of his squad die as a result of his
commands. He was having trouble coping mentally.

“Kato.”

Han spoke first. Kato looked to Han with tired eyes.

“Han, I really dislike you, but I’m glad to see you safe like this. As you’ve said, I don’t
have the strength to kill nor see someone be killed in front of me.”

Kato’s tone of voice seemed indifferent. He was emotionally depressed. Han could see
Kato’s condition was extremely dangerous.

“You will get better. Kato, stay strong.”

Han couldn’t think of any words to say other than this. He was not a psychiatrist. He
didn’t know much about that subject.

The trivial rivalry between the squads had become meaningless. They were all youths
of Ark. They had seen for themselves, their one true enemy. They were merciless and
cruel beings from another world.

Han’s commanding skills were excellent. This had been acknowledged by the drill
instructors and students.

‘However, I must become stronger. If I had been stronger then… ’

Han had never had a problem winning in the battles he had fought while in Ark. They
had always battled with those of similar strengths.

Han could win in close combat as long as they were of similar strengths. If he had lost,
it was by a small margin, and most of the time it was due to a mistake from his team
that had thrown off the flow of the battle.

The second years of Ark were in a lull. Their training and lectures were put on hold.
Han returned to his dorms to lay down in bed. Everyone had shut themselves in their
own rooms.

“Hey! Our Hero! If it isn’t Squad Leader Han.”

Jose said with an exaggerated tone. Han chuckled. Han had a will as strong as steel,
while Jose’s passion was as hot as fire. The two were used to coping with sadness.

“How are the squad members doing?”

Han asked Jose.

“Not too bad. Though, they may seem a bit cold… Squad 13 only lost two members and
everyone else survived. Our situation is a lot better than many other squads. Rather, it
seems their murderous killing intent has risen exponentially. They say sadness and
happiness are all relative, right?”

Jose examined Han’s condition. He had been worried about Han more than anyone.

‘Han’s sense of responsibility is heavy. It’s highly likely that the missing two members
of Squad 13 were dead. It would be troublesome if he felt like they had died because
of himself.’

Jose’s worries were groundless. Han mourned for the two missing squad members,
but he didn’t let that completely occupy his mind. He was already experienced in
dealing with such situations from his time in Korea.

“The dead have died, and the living must live on. If we spend a day praying for those
who died, then that would mean that someone would starve to death the next day.”

Han had experiences that others in Ark had not. These experiences could not be
forcefully learned through artificial training drills. The chances of someone surviving
through such circumstances were slim.

‘Now I feel embarrassed for worrying about him.’

Jose scratched his head after hearing Han’s answer. It was hard to believe that he had
such control of his emotions although they were the same age.

“I’ve never been to Korea, but I know that it’s a very difficult place to live. I didn’t have
as tough a time like you, but my family wasn’t on the wealthy side either. I lived in the
Barcelona slums and our house was nearly falling apart. My mother and father,
although poor, loved alcohol and had continued to produce children one after another.
I had four siblings. I got news that a new baby was born not too long ago, and so I have
five siblings now. It should be obvious why I came here, right?”

Han nodded. He was in a similar situation himself. Lots of poverty stricken children
had come to Ark for similar reasons.

“It’s similar to my case as well. Though you’re already aware.”

Han had never spoken out loud, but Jose had been by his side for a long time and could
conclude as such. From time to time Han would go off by himself to read his mail, and
would take out a hologram photo of not his family, but a photo of a group of children.

“After the war ends, let me invite you to my home. Though, I’m not sure if Spanish
cuisines would be to your liking.”

“I’m not picky with my food, so you don’t need to worry.”

Han and Jose passed the time talking about this and that. The topics were never
ending. They were both from different countries and cultures. This alone had an
endless amount of topics to cover.

Someone barged in without knocking. There was no one in Squad 13 who would
behave like that. Han narrowed his eyes. The person who had let himself in wasn’t the
most pleasing guest.

“S,Silence?”

Jose was more surprised. Silence had barged in while dressed in a full black battle suit.
It seemed like he kept the skull mask on for 24 hours a day.

The mask solidly covered even the back of his head. There were theories that he kept
his face hidden because of a disfiguring scar on his face.

-You have been temporarily drafted. Han. Follow me.

Silence wrote in his electronic notebook to express his thoughts. One could feel a
chilling coldness from his words, though he didn’t express himself verbally.

‘He must not like me.’

Han stood up from his seat.

“Will this be a long-term draft?”

Silence nodded. Han looked to Jose.

“Until I return, Jose, you will be the leader of Squad 13. They’re in your care.”

“Okay.”

Jose didn’t ask questions. Han followed behind Silence. Of course Silence didn’t speak
another word. Even the back of his head seemed to let out a chilling aura.

“Excuse me, would it be okay to know who requested for me?”

Silence spun around and took out his electronic notebook. This was a very inconvenient
form of communication.
-Sergeant Red. Stop annoying me.

“Okay.”

Han shut his mouth and followed Silence. Han never entered the third year dorms
before. Many youths who looked to be third years stared at Han.

“So that’s the brat who’s the thirteenth squad leader.”

“He defended against the Elu Hunters and werewolves in an impossible situation
without a single fatality.”

There didn’t seem to be many third years. They looked more relaxed than the second
years. Everyone was either training their stamina or reading books. There were no
unified drills or lectures.

They passed the third year dorms and escaped the complicated maze-like building
structures. All the buildings were labeled with abbreviations so Han had no idea what
the structures were for.

Silence entered a building. The inside seemed similar to a basic student dorm. The
dorms had all sorts of convenience rooms. He saw two familiar faces in the common
room.

‘Sergeant Red… and Simon Dell.’

Simon also recognized Han.

“Reporting Sergeant Red sir.”

Han saluted.

“Stop looking like pitiful mutts whose bones have been taken away, and sit down. This
will take a while to explain.”

Sergeant Red said, while Silence pushed Han onto a chair.

“The remaining squad code is W. Choose a squad code between white and whisky.”

Sergeant Red didn’t bother to brief them on the situation and spoke. However, Simon
and Han had quick senses to read between the lines to understand the situation.

‘The current members here will make a team. We will be making a temporary squad
for a certain objective.’

The room went quiet for a period of time. Silence broke the standstill with his electronic
notebook.

-White.

Han and Simon also chose White. Sergeant Red showed a crooked smile and said.

“Then our squad code name will be Whisky. Everyone here will work temporarily in
Squad Whisky. Han, Simon. Is there anything you don’t understand?”

Simon raised his hand.

“Why is it me and Han? Silence is a third year, but we are both second years.”

“That is a good question. Usually, we will form temporary squads from amongst the
third years.”

“Ark is a psyker training institution; however, when countries from around the world
request for our aid, we will lend them some of our troops. The general public is still
not aware, but many minions remain hidden in different locations around the world.
Nations around the world would rather send psykers than their own military forces
to deal with the minions. They help sponsor Ark by donating an astronomical amount
of money, and they do everything they can to wring out their money’s worth from us.
The third years are the reserve troops made for this purpose.”

“This would probably be helpful towards transfering into third year.”

Simon said. Sergeant Red nodded his head.

“Yes, we are on our way to Sinuiju right now. Our research department traced the
remnants of whatever attacked our planes, and found that it should have been from a
source one kilometer away from the dimensional crack. We speculate that it had been
an Elu mage. We will capture the Elu mage alive and return to Ark.”

“Capture it alive?”
Han repeated back questioningly. According to Sergeant Red, this Elu mage was the
foe that had killed all the other squads. Many second years had died as a result of the
explosions.

“That’s right. This is the first time that an Elu mage has appeared after the first wave
of aggression. We must figure out their goal. Up until now, they had run away to avoid
us, and it is uncommon for them to take the initiative to attack us.”

“Minions are still out there?”

Han and Simon were not aware that minions still remained on Earth. They thought
they had appeared out of thin air again.

“Some remnants of the enemy remain in the backwoods of a radioactive zone where
humans cannot dwell. Other than being a psyker institution, Ark’s job is to exterminate
the minions. Anyway, we will continue to iron out the details of this briefing at a later
time. We will be assembling again three hours from now. Follow Silence’s instructions
and pack your gear.”

Sergeant Red glanced toward Silence. Silence patted Han and Simon’s shoulders.

-Follow.

Han and Simon peered at each other for a moment, then followed after Silence.

Silence lead them to the armory. Ark’s engineers moved about busily. They could hear
the sound of machine gears turning from every direction.

“Silence, who are those two there? I didn’t hear of new transfers.”

An engineer with a face full of grease said. Silence answered through his electronic
note.

-They are second year brats. Gear them.

“Is that so? Follow me.”

The engineer called to Han and Simon. He pointed at various weapons that hung
around the armory.
“These are the standard dragon slaying weapons used. Give them a hold and see which
feels best. They each have serial numbers on them, so you must be sure to return them
after you’re done.”

The weapons made of dragon bone glimmered of ivory light. They didn’t seem
dreadful at all and instead glimmered nicely. It wasn’t an exaggeration to claim these
as artworks.

Instead of extravagant designs, they used simple, clean lines which seemed to captivate
the user.

Twitch

Han held onto a useful looking spear. The palm of his hands stung. It was as if an
electric shock ran through his body. The weapon which shined of ivory light seemed
to circulate with psychic energy.

“Items made with dragon bones and leather have a tendency to absorb psychic energy.
This is one of the main reasons dragons are able to use an infinite amount of psychic
energy. We speculate that their bodies naturally absorb psychic energy into their heart.”

They hadn’t asked the engineer a single question, but he went ahead giving them a full
blown lecture.

“Are we able to penetrate psychic shields with these weapons?”

Han asked.

“Theoretically, that is possible. We consider psychic energy as a part our mental

energy. If you clash against hostile energies, normally it would become neutralized.
This is one of the main reasons only psykers are able to attack dragons. Only psykers
are able to stab this weapon into their core in that short instant.”

While Han asked questions, Simon went ahead trying out different swords. The
engineer recorded the weapon serial number and the name of the wielder.

“Use the R-2s you have been supplied with. Psykers are equipped with a standard of
two airbeats, but do you need more? Well, you probably don’t. Let’s see now, you also
need under armor…”
The engineer took out all sorts of gears and equipments. Altogether it weighed nearly
20 kilograms.

Han equipped the under armor chest plate. He pulled a string at the back, and the
under armor perfectly covered the chest area without a single opening. The material
was light and thin, but created to be bulletproof and high impact resistant to increase
survival rates.

“It’s a bit hard to breathe in these.”

“You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

The engineer ignored Han’s complaints and pulled the string tighter.

As he had stated, he quickly became accustomed to the armor. It made him feel
reassured. The helmet protecting his head was surprisingly lightweight.

Weng.

The helmet visor shut, and various stats and information popped up into view. This
interface looked familiar.

‘This must be linked with our data bracelets.’

He had thought the gear the second years used was top grade and cutting edge, but
the actual gear that is used in real battle had surpassed Han’s predictions.

The material was light and durable. The gears were made to be ergonomically
comfortable so it wouldn’t feel cumbersome in the least.

Weeeng.

Silence stepped out fully geared. Instead of his usual skull helmet, he wore a pure black
helmet. He kept his entire face fully covered like usual. Text and emoticons blinked
onto the surface of his helmet eye shield.

“This should be your first time seeing this? This is Silence’s exclusive helmet. As you
already know, he’s unable to speak. A simple macro has been installed into his data
bracelet so that he can easily communicate and convey his emotions to others. It’s like
the robot face displays from movies, isn’t it?”
Silence was testing out the helmet by sending out all sorts of emoticons and messages.

“That is quite… cute. The messages.”

Han mumbled.

They were the emoticons commonly used on the network by the youths of Ark. Silence
was always dressed in all black, and faced others with a cold attitude, and it felt
awkward to see Silence use such emoticons.

Hwi-ri-rik!

After fully testing out all the functions of his helmet, he spun around his twin blades.

The blades were much narrower than usual swords, but about two times longer. He
wondered whether it was possible to wield such a long sword, but Silence swung the
swords in absolute perfect balance. His sword movements were like art itself.

‘He’s agile. It’s hard to believe that I won against such an opponent.’

Actual battle has an infinite amount of variables and changes. It’s only in games that
the strong always win against the weaker opponent.

Han didn’t let the smallest chances slip in order to achieve his victory.

“I also wish for my sword to be a bit lighter than this. What if we narrow the blade like
Silence’s sword while maintaining the length…”

Simon said to the engineer. He had swung his sword a couple of times but could not
grow to like it.

“You’re so stingy over a minor detail.”

Han peered over to Simon. Simon had always been arrogant and highly prideful.
However, his skills were absolute. He was a trustworthy card to play in any situation.

‘Simon had a tough time against opponents from time to time during the squad
battles.’

Sometimes there will be those who display great tactical warfare in squad battles.
Simon had been one among the few.

However, this was not the overall strength of his squad, but his personal strength that
would one-sidedly crush the other squad. He was one of the few who could freely
control his psychic powers so naturally.

Bi-ri.

Silence’s helmet flashed. A text message flowed from his helmet shield.

-Let’s go.

Han peered toward his reflection in the mirror on the wall. A fully geared soldier stood
before him. This was different than when he was thrown in the dimensional crack
zone without a single piece of defensive gear.

He thought of all the second years that had died. The youths of Ark all shared a
common bond with one another. Many had not shared a single conversation with one
another, but at some point in time they would shoulder each others’ lives on the
battlefield.

This unbreakable bond and sense of belonging, sets spark to a bigger flame of anger.
He had a sense of duty to avenge their deaths.

‘This time, we will be the ones to attack first.’

Sergeant Red called for Han separately before starting their tactical meeting. He had
also met with Silence and Simon separately beforehand. Han had been the last.
Sergeant Red was inside a room filled with thick smoke. A thick, musty smell wafted
from the room despite the air vent spinning in the corner of the room’s ceiling.

“Why did you include me for this military operation?”

Han took the initiative to ask questions. Sergeant Red laughed.

“Why do you think so?”

“I’m not trying to brag, but I’m one of the top students amongst second years. However,
there should be many more outstanding individuals stationed among the third years.
There shouldn’t be a reason to include me for the superior results I have made so far.”
Han spoke his thoughts honestly. Sergeant Red nodded.

‘His analysis is always objective and on point, as expected.’

Sergeant Red peered toward Han.

Among those who had survived from the dimensional crack zone, the second years
and squad leaders, had become greatly mentally disabled, and had not fully recovered
yet.

However, every member from Han’s squad had survived, and Han himself quickly
recovered and returned to his daily tasks. Only those who had fought actual battles
would understand how difficult this feat is.

Humans are not robots. Humans are bound to break down at some point in battle
while they try to cope with abnormal living conditions. The only difference is the
training and mental condition.

‘He is a monster. He’s not too different when compared to experienced war veterans.’

He maintains his objectivity while making his decisions for the team. If a battle A.I.
had been invented, Sergeant Red predicted it would be a being similar to Han.

There was a time when Sergeant Red had thought Han to be a psychopath. Han had
not scored high enough to qualify as a psychopath in the psychology tests, but because
he is so intelligent it could be possible that Han had purposely answered in a way to
avoid receiving the diagnosis.

Han’s general battle prowess scored him as an outstanding candidate for ‘killer and
soldier.’ Many factors had pointed him to the possibility.

He held no qualms about annihilating enemies. He could maintain distance from

emotions that make humans weak.

‘However, psychopaths are unable to become respectable commanders.’

He has shouldered the responsibility of caring for a group of orphaned children, he

has stood as a pillar of support for Kuro’s weak mental strength, and last of all he didn’t
view his squad members as tools, and instead considered each person as a real human
being first.
He holds a strong will to not run away from his responsibilities, nor does he try to
blame others. Psychopaths are unable to emotionally connect with others to this
degree.

Sergeant Red had sent Han’s data and records to an outside specialist to analyze his
mental and emotional state.

‘He was probably originally a very sentimental and considerate person. His
personality type strongly cares for those around himself. He’s used to shouldering
heavy burdens for others. He experienced losing his family and close friends early on,
so he has a tendency to obsess over every detail. He will use that mental prowess to
identify his foes and block off all emotional attachments to protect his clique. He has
a strong will to protect himself and his group from outside forces.’

Sergeant Red peered into Han’s eyes. What Han requires now is not training, but real
battle experience.

“Our military operation is not a punitive expedition. We require excellent situational

judgment skills over battle strength. Your insight and judgement excel over others. Do
you have any other questions?”

“No sir.”

“If we consider overall battle strength, Silence and Simon have superior skills. What
this team requires of you, is not battle strength, but your quick analytical skills for all
situations. I’m sure you’re able to deduce your role in the team without further
instructions, correct?”

“Yes sir.”

Han salute and exited the room. Han was able to extract a lot of information from this
short meeting.

‘Sergeant Red’s goal was to obtain as much real life battle experience as possible for
Simon and I. He added on many other small details, but the most important part of
this operation is to acquire as much experience as possible. Silence has been added to
this team to make up for our lacking battle strength.’

Silence has blink teleportation. This skill overpowers foes lacking intelligence.
Werewolves will not even be able to put up a fight against Silence’s blink ability as
they’re cut in two, one after another.

Han took a short nap during the remaining time period. He fell asleep as soon as he
closed his eyes, and then woke when his data bracelet alarm rang.

Wooong!

The plane engine booted. Unpleasant memories flashed in Han’s mind upon seeing the
plane. He remembered all the second years who had died from the plane explosion.

Han momentarily closed his eyes and focused his mind. He opened his eyes again and
stepped onto the plane.

A black crow was painted on the corner of the hanger deck. This was one of the four
high speed assault transport planes in existence. The cost to construct this plane had
been astronomical, but the maintenance costs that exceeded the budget many times
were what almost lead it to be junked. However, Ark travels worldwide on a daily basis
so they had made a special exception. This plane is operated by Ark on an extremely
strict budget. The other two are out on a military operation, and the remaining one is
being repaired.

The pilot and control tower repeatedly exchanged radio messages throughout the
flight. Squad Whisky took seats inside the plane, as Sergeant Red began the team
briefing.

“Our military operation name is Catching the Wizard*. This squad will infiltrate the
dimensional crack zone, suppress the Elu mage that had bombed the planes, and
capture it alive. The chain of command is me, Han, Simon, and then Silence.”

Silence has excellent battle strength, but his communication skills are poor. It would
be impossible for someone unable to talk to lead a squad. Han had been a squad leader
during second year so it was natural that Han was second in command.

“We will drop around eight kilometers from our destination. Elu mages have various
unique psychic skills, including being able to teleport. If it is not able to oppress us, it
is likely to escape immediately by teleportation.”

As the plane flew higher, the atmosphere grew heavier. Simon and Han were not the
type to initiate light jokes, and they were not friendly enough to bother chatting.
Ta-tap, Ta-tap.

-Don’t be scared. Young brats (lol).

Silence typed out using his data bracelet. The text flashed on his helmet shield. Silence
was a long time veteran of this field who had been deployed for countless military
operations. He had remained in Ark as a student the longest out of everyone.

“There will definitely be Elu warriors guarding the Elu mage. If you wish for more
information, you can read a more detailed report through your data bracelets.”

Han and Simon turned on the holograms of their data bracelets. Detailed information
on the Elu mage and warriors popped u

Han had already read and memorized everything, but he read through it another time.
Elu warriors had slightly less powerful psychic skills than the mages.

‘Though they are of lower rank, they’re as powerful as a strong psyker. Our only
advantage is our advanced gear.’

The Elu tribe is speculated to be naturally talented at manipulating psychic energy

since birth. The more powerful one is, the higher class they are ranked. Ark had
differentiated the different ranks by specific names.

“We have arrived.”

The pilot said. The plane made a landing in a clearing amongst the dense jungle. The
engine shook.

“The order will be Silence, Simon, and then Han. The direction orientation will be
based on the plane tail at 12, 7, 3, and 6 o’clock. We will be in linear formation; the
order will remain the same. Keep visuals of the front, right, left, and back.”

Silence opened the hatch and jumped off. He stood in position while keeping alert.
Next, Sergeant Red followed him out. As ordered, the rest of the squad stepped out.
After everyone got out, the plane departed. Hot air blew past the squad who were well
hidden.

-Best luck to you, Whisky-1.

With that last message, the plane disappeared.

Ta,Tak.

Sergeant Red tapped on his helmet twice. The squad members that had hidden
themselves assembled together. They quickly moved through the forest in formation.
Silence and Sergeant Red were well practiced soldiers. Han visually checked the back
side as he moved forward.

‘Silence had the best battle skills and moved the quickest on his feet so he was first.
Sergeant Red was second in line because he could deliver prompt commands for
Silence and at the same time deliver hand signals to those behind him. Simon was third
since he was the most well rounded in skills. I could analyse the squad’s condition the
best so I would be last.’

Every little part of this operation was well thought out according to the squad
members’ skills.

‘I would have chosen the same order as Sergeant Red.’

Han maintained his highest level of focus. He had always been the squad leader and
was responsible for commanding his team. He always had to simultaneously think
about many things at once. This time however, was different. He was not a squad
leader but a mere member. He could empty his mind of small details and focus his
attention solely on Sergeant Red’s commands.

Step, Step.

Eight kilometers were left until their military operation’s final destination. They had
chosen to walk to the destination to avoid the Elu mage’s attention and bombing
attacks. When Elu mages decide the situation is dangerous, they will choose to
immediately flee. After the war of aggression had ended, the Elu mage had managed
to slip from Ark’s target for these past twelve years. The Elu mage this time around
was very careful and cunning.

Eight kilometers was not too far, but not the shortest distance either. It wasn’t easy
moving through the thick forest while in full gear. Gradually, his focus was dulling. No
matter how much he walked, he could only see thick forest up ahead.

“Haaa~,”
Simon unintentionally let out a yawn. He immediately shut his mouth. Sergeant Red
scanned his surroundings and knocked on his helmet.

“We will take breaks in rotation while eating our meals. First Simon and I will keep
watch, then Silence and Han. We will divide into two groups.”

Sergeant Red and Simon found a secure spot. Han and Silence opened their food
rations. Han had packed some biscuits and drinks. He finished his biscuit and chugged
down a drink to help digest his food.

‘Ah, how would Silence eat his food?’

Han peered towards Silence. The lower portion of his helmet flipped open so he could
consume his food. Silence was eating a biscuit as well, taking his time to chew his food.

“So you don’t take off your helmet while you eat. Isn’t it stuffy?”

-Not at all!

Silence replied matter of factly. A blue text flashed on his helmet shield. Han
momentarily took off his battle helmet. It had been made of high quality material with
good ventilation, but it was unavoidable sweating buckets.

“Huu, I feel alive again.”

Sweat rolled and dripped from his hair. Cool wind blew past drying his sweat.

‘Silence shouldn’t be immune to sweat. I wonder if he has a horrible scar on his face
like the rumors said.’

He didn’t bother to ask for the truth. It would be rude to try and dig into such a
sensitive topic. Additionally, Silence seemed to treat Han with quite a cold shoulder. It
seemed he still held a grudge over their past squad battle.

Shake, shake.

Silence slightly raised his helmet up and down. The cool wind entered into his helmet.

This looked oddly amusing. Han barely managed to stifle his laughter. He managed to
get a look into Silence’s personality today.
“I’ll look away so why don’t you take off your helmet for a little?”

Silence flinched upon Han’s words. He hastily typed something to his bracelet.

-I’m not hot. Shut up!

‘…He seems to hold much pride over strange things.’

Silence did not admit that he felt hot until the end. Han didn’t make any more
suggestions afterwards. The short break ended. Han put on his helmet once again.
Silence re-equipped his gun and stood up front.

While Sergeant Red and Simon rested, Han and Silence maintained watch. The forest
was quiet and occasionally they would see wild animals. Han understood this was
South Korea’s territory, but it felt like foreign land. The South Korea he had lived in
was a decaying jungle-like city. He could only see the shining huge cities from far away.

Rustle.

Han narrowed his eyes. A bush rustled in the far distance. It shook in the opposite
direction from the wind. It moved in rapid, sporadic directions while hidden.

-Elu tribe. Two scouts spotted.

A short text flashed on the screen of his helmet monitor. Silence had sent him this
message. Silence had spotted enemies in his direction.

‘Approaching the enemy.’

The scouts have a bigger build than your average Elu tribe member. They were fully
equipped with a shield, sword, and leather armor. They were Elu warriors. Han
stopped his breath and aimed his gun. Their guns would sound out, but they had to
attack first.

-Do not attack.

Silence sent a hand sign. He took out his twin swords. Blue light flowed from within
his helmet.

Pah.
Silence blinked to a nearby tree. Before the tree branch could break from his weight,
he blinked once again.

Pah.

The second time he blinked, Silence had appeared behind the enemy Elu warriors. He
beheaded the Elu in a flash. The heads rolled on the ground like watermelons.

-Situation terminated.

Text flowed from Silence’s helmet shield. He spun his sword to fling off the blood from
his blades.

‘This is Silence.’

Han felt chills. The blink skill was practically a cheat. On top of superior battle skills,
he had the blink ability which made Silence into an extremely valuable psyker.

How many people would be able to block Silence’s surprise attack? If Silence were to
join a specific nation’s military, all other nations would be in fear of an invincible
assassin.

‘He’s so skilled, but lost against me. It’s no wonder he would feel irritated.’

Silence looked to Han while swaggering. Sergeant Red confirmed the situation and
commanded the squad to continue moving. Simon looked dissatisfied for not having
enough time to fully rest, but complied quietly.

Ssszzt-

As they neared the dimensional crack, their data bracelets and communication
devices began to static. This time, they had prepared equipment for just this problem.

“Transfer over to our local squad network.”

The GPS switched off, and instead a static map that had been preinstalled popped up.
Noise disrupted the communication devices.

‘We have officially lost all contact with Ark.’

If Squad Whiskey is wiped out, Ark would have no way of knowing until a long time
later. Even a short moment of communication is not possible in this place. The nerve
wracking nature of this place was on another level.

Han and the squad felt the strange sensation flowing from the dimensional crack. A
strange pressure flowed from the crack that only psykers could feel.

Guuuuoooo!

Heavy pressure pressed down from the dimensional crack. However, acquired psykers
like Sergeant Red did not feel much pressure. It was the inborn psykers like Han and
other youths who felt a pressure that seemed to make breathing quite difficult. Their
heart beat increased by double the natural pace.

‘They’re following well.’

Sergeant Red observed his squad’s condition. It had not been long since Han had
become tangled up in a traumatic accident.

Most second years were still recovering from the trauma, but Han had been able to
immediately deploy out into an actual military operation while remaining calm. This
was also Simon’s first deployment in a military operation, but he wasn’t agitated in
the least.

‘I could only count a few number of second years that could immediately be deployed
for battle. Including these two, there should be about four or five students.’

The procedure and training process was complicated, and Ark always faced issues
with manpower shortage. They always needed more psykers. Among the new young
teen recruits, the actual youths that could immediately fight in actual battle without
excessive mental strain was minimal. They needed to sort out the talented from the
new recruits, though small in number, and cultivate their fighting spirits.

‘If these kids are unable to fight, humanity will become extinct. We don’t have enough
time. We only have three years left now.’

Sergeant Red had treated the new first year recruits with a harshness even adult
soldiers found unbearable.

If they can’t handle his drills, they won’t stand a chance on the battlefield as a young
teen. Ark made the impossible possible, and the normal abnormal.

They didn’t need excellent students; rather than a hundred second and third-class
soldiers, they looked for only first class soldiers.

‘No matter how well they perform inside the safe walls of Ark, if they’re useless out in
actual battle then everything is for naught. There will be no second chance in the face
of dragons. What Han and Simon require is actual battle experience.’

While Sergeant Red was lost in thought, he noticed Silence pause his steps.

SSs-Sss-Ssk.

The sound was out of place from the forest. Silence, who lead the group raised his
palm. The squad stopped and fell into absolute silence.

“Kekeke.”

This was the Elu tribe’s unique laughter. A hyena-like laughter sounded together with
an indistinguishable language. Two Elu warriors were walking off somewhere.

-Should we engage the enemy?

Silence looked back to communicate his message. Sergeant Red looked to Han.

“Han, what do you think?”

Sergeant Red whispered.

“I think we should follow behind them.”

“Why?”

“Those two should be a patrol or reconnaissance who just finished their rounds.”

Sergeant Red nodded. This was a surprisingly insightful observation. It had been as
Han said.

The two were relaxed like they were out on a light walk around the area, and it looked
like they were returning back toward the dimensional crack.
If one compiles the data, it all points to this conclusion.

‘There is always a best choice to be made. It’s just the lack of data and information that
made it hard to make the ultimate decision. Being able to grasp onto these leads was
what differentiates a genius from a normal person.’

Different students from the same year as Han, would have made the decision to kill
the two Elu warriors in front of them.

They would conclude that the two Elu would be an obstruction to their covert military
operation. This was the usual thought process of youths, and had also been Silence’s
quiet decision.

However, in that short moment, Han had been able to observe the small details to lay
the foundation for gaining a better understanding.

Although they had witnessed the same scene, they had experienced it differently and
made opposing decisions. Their thought process and viewpoints were vastly different.

“Silence, tail after those two. We will maintain distance and follow after you.”

Silence gave a slight nod. He swiftly moved through the forest like a black panther. His
footsteps didn’t let a single sound as he moved through the forest. It was as if he had
the power of zero gravity.

Wuuoong

Silence had lost the ability of speech after his accident. On the flip side, his reflexes,
senses, and physical strength had surpassed human limits.

“Kaah?”

The Elu warrior stopped moving forward and looked behind them. Silence stuck
closer behind a tree.

The blink skill was handy, but the Elu tribe were sensitive to psychic energies. Using
the blink skill would easily give away one’s position.

Blink was handy for assassination and battle, but not the best for tailing enemies.
‘We’re nearing the dimensional crack.’

The dimensional crack had no particular activity for the past ten years.

Military forces were stationed around the dimensional crack during the first five
years, however, countries stopped caring when no dangers turned up and didn’t wish
to waste their money and military forces.

It was an unusual change for minions to turn up around the vicinity of the dimensional
crack.

‘The superior officers are thinking of two possibilities. Either the minions were
gathering around the dimensional crack for a specific goal in mind, or minions had
appeared from within the dimensional crack. The circumstances of this place make
the latter not likely.’

If the dimensional crack turned into a gate, it would have been easily observable.

‘As Sergeant had said, there are only minions around here. Did we kill all the
werewolves that day?’

If there were werewolves, it would have made infiltration very difficult. All the
werewolves were destroyed the night the second years were rescued. There were no
Elu hunters around which could be for the same reason.

Wwuuoong.

A slight headache was felt in Silence’s head. The dimensional crack was so close they
could see it.

A rainbow colored light spilled out from the cracked ground. The dimensional crack
in Sinuiju was one kilometer long.

Soft light glowed from the broken ground. The light flowed out affecting even the sky.
The sky surrounding the dimensional crack looked chaotic.

‘The dimensional crack.’

Silence was one of the most senior among the new recruits. He had seen the
dimensional crack many times before.
He looked over to the open space near the dimensional crack where the minions were
gathering. The Elus were murmuring like religious fanatics. They shook their bodies
in a rhythmic pattern, bowing their bodies like they worshipped the rainbow lights.

‘It’s an Elu mage.’

The overbearing Elu was the leader, commanding the group.

The Elu mage didn’t carry any weapons, and only had one simple cane. The end of the
cane had a blue crystal stuck onto it. They could feel strong, psychic energy from the
crystal.

‘That’s a psychic crystal that I have only ever read and heard about.’

A psychic crystal was a mineral capable of storing psychic energy. Elu mages
commonly store most of their psychic energies in these crystals, and use them for
attacks. If they could get a hold of it, even a normal person would be able to pilot a
psychoframe. However, psychic crystals were rare even amongst Elu mages.

“Oooh!”

The Elu mage seemed to be preparing for a ceremony. They had created an alter out
of stone and wood. These items looked very much like what the sorcerers of Africa
used. Silence quietly typed into his data bracelet. He sent a simple briefing to his squad
members.

-Seven enemies. Six warriors, one mage.

Sergeant Red gave a quick response.

-Record a video clip and return.

Silence had already been recording this scene before he had arrived to this place. After
recording enough material, he returned to his squad that was waiting in the rear.
When Silence neared, the recording was sent to the squad’s data bracelets. The squad
members used their helmets to review the recording.

‘They seem to be doing something.”

Han said. They couldn’t figure out the specific details. There was not enough information.
“It’s important to note that they had not escaped ,but chose to gather and remain in
this place. After the war, the Elu mages didn’t dare to appear before us. They are very
careful and when we attempt to approach them, they usually escape. They are aware
that we will return to this place, but they have not run away.”

Han and Simon fell into thought and looked to one another.

“Something more important than their lives? For example…”

“Are they opening the gate or trying to summon something here? Anyway, we must
stop them today. We will change the objective of our operation. Priority would be to
capture it alive, but if necessary, stop them with as much force as possible- even if it
means killing.”

Worst case scenario, a dragon would be summoned, but they didn’t want to think of
the possibility. If a dragon was to appear before them, Squad Whiskey would be wiped
out. They didn’t have the necessary gear to confront a dragon.

Sergeant Red watched through to the end of the recording. He zoomed in to a spot of
the video clip and sent it to the squad.

“Is this a psychic crystal?”

Simon said with uncertainty. Sergeant Red nodded. It was the crystal attached to the
end of the Elu mage’s cane.

“Everyone should be aware of the psychic bombs which shot down our planes. The Elu
mage was the perpetrator. The driving force behind the attack had been this psychic
crystal. They will reserve psychic energy in these crystals for a long time. This is the
reason why they could attack with as much power as dragons. They will be able to
make one more attack of the same power.”

“How do you know this?”

Han asked. Sergeant Red pointed to the crystal.

“The color of the crystal is a faint sky blue. This is the proof that there is not much
psychic energy left inside. If the crystal is completely spent, it turns white. If you look
at its size and color, you will be able to estimate the amount of psychic energy stored
inside it.”
Sergeant Red had numerous battle experience. He had fought against dragons and of
course countless minions.

Elu mages were threatening existences, Sergeant Red was aware of their unique
characteristics. He had come to learn of these facts after losing countless peers.

‘My role is to teach everything we learned from our sacrifices to these brats.’

Official squads which Ark deploys always include a minimum of one, first-generation
psyker. The first generation psykers are instructed that if they are to fall into a life
threatening situation, the students’ lives come first. If necessary, they are to die in
order to save the students.

“Catching the wizard will now commence. The most important point is our speed. We
must suppress the Elu mage before it gets to use its power to attack. Silence will be
responsible for this, while Han will be the second attacker. If Silence’s situation
becomes unfavorable, Han will face off with the mage. No, if it turns to that point, just
kill the mage.”

Sergeant Red planned out tactics based on the information they had gathered. We will
try to suppress the mage with an ambush, and afterwards eliminate the warriors.

-Moving out. Eight meters in distance.

Han focused. Now, any sort of mistake was unacceptable.

“Huu, huu.”

He inhaled and exhaled. He remembered the time he tried to steal food from the
military food truck. He snuck past the soldier who was taking a smoke break and
snuck into the back loading space. He had no idea when the soldiers would return and
had to try to sooth his rampaging, fearful heart.

-arrived at an observable distance.

Han peered across through his helmet shield toward the Elu tribe.

‘What are they doing?’

The Elus were putting something onto their alter. He could see bits and pieces of a
familiar cloth. They were pieces of the Ark training uniforms.

Thump, thump.

Han’s heart drummed heavily. He couldn’t hear any sound from his surroundings, only
his own heart’s loud thumps.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

‘Can’t be.’

The Elu tribe had skewered something to the end of a stick and propped it onto the
altar. Blood flowed down the stick.

Ba-dududuk!

Han grinded his teeth. The Elus had skewed corpses onto the stick. These were the
dead youths of Ark; even in death they could not rest in peace. They had become the
Elu’s sacrifices.

-Calm down, Han.

Sergeant Red’s voice sounded distant. Han breathed hard while getting a hold of
himself. Anger boiled from his chest.

“Ah.”

Han let out a tiny groan. He saw a familiar face from the dead youths. The two
members that had gone missing from Squad 13. The members of this squad had
become cold corpses and were being mocked by the Elus.

‘They are my squad members. Domingo, Qassim…… ’

Han had always remained calm and made logical decisions. He had a coolness that
stood out from his peers and was shocking even amongst adults. The Elus had ruffled
the one thing that kept his emotions at bay.

‘I had already known they were dead. However to be put into this state…… ’

He tried to calm his heart, but his heart thumped like a wild animal that was raging
inside. Han’s chest began to ache.

Guuuoooo.

Psychic energy spilled from Han’s eyes. His psychic energy and mind melted together.
His mind shook and killing intent boiled, igniting his psychic energy.

-No! Han!

The Elu mage that had been hosting the ceremony stopped his movements. The Elu
mage slowly turned around. He had sensed a different kind of psychic energy. The Elu
mage peered towards Han. The mage was certain that there was an intruder in that
spot.

Kuuuu!

Light spilled out from the psychic crystal. The exact location did not matter, all the
mage had to do was blow up the whole place.

-Han!

Han didn’t know he was letting his psychic energy leak out. He had only noticed after
receiving his squad members’ messages. He had lost his cool for just a moment. That
tiny mistake had cost them heavily.

Kwaaa!

Psychic energy shot out like a particle emitter. Sergeant Red that had been closest to
Han, moved. He kicked Han to the side and shielded him with his body. Han had
escaped from the range of attack, but Sergeant Red’s right leg had gotten tangled in
the explosion.

Hwwiiii!

Sergeant Red couldn’t fully escape the range of the explosion, and tumbled across.

“Ah.”

Han, who had been pushed, stared to Sergeant Red. There was nothing below Sergeant
Red’s right knee, blood gushed out.
‘It’s my fault. I got worked up unknowingly, and unconsciously let out my psychic
powers.’

Sergeant Red was disabled due to Han’s mistake. Han quickly ran to help Sergeant Red
up, though his own life was in danger.

-We will retreat for now. Cover fire.

Han’s lips trembled as he spoke. He wanted to give up on everything. The guilt pressed
down on his entire being. However, he was put as the second-in-command. He had not
forgotten.

Bang!

Simon’s gun sounded loudly. He used his shield to block the Elu warrior’s bullets as he
joined them. He blocked an incoming Elu warrior’s attack. He lifted a rock the size of
his head with his telekinesis and threw it at the Elu warrior’s head.

“Haa, haa.”

This was Simon’s first battle, and he was able to efficiently use his full power. He was
prideful and high handed, but he was as strong as he was confident. He didn’t easily
panic for a different reason than Han.

P—uff

Silence commenced battle without a sound or battle cry. He used his blink skill in
succession to slaughter the Elu warriors. The Elu warriors had a difficult time trying
to defend against Silence’s attacks.

Drip drip.

Blood flowed from beneath Silence’s helmet. He had used his psychic powers too
much, causing his nose to bleed. His head felt like it was being crushed by a sharp
force.

‘I must endure. Sergeant Red is… ’

Han and Simon took hold of Sergeant Red and ran. Behind them, Silence was fending
off the Elu warriors. The Elus bathed in their own blood from his twin swords.
The Elu mage commanded them to stop chasing after the youths. The Elu warriors
slowly returned, trudging. The Elu tribe had a more important task than chasing after
intruders. Team Whiskey hid in a safe spot for a breather.

“Put pressure on his wound. Turn on the protein gauze. One, two, three.”

Swaaa!

Han flipped on the switch for the protein gauze. A mushy foam gushed out from the
end of a rod. The foam hardened around Sergeant Red’s knee. The bleeding stopped
immediately.

Sergeant Red took breaths with great effort. His bone was broken in many different
places from the explosion. He did not have an enhanced body like the youths of Ark.

“Administering pain killer.”

Han ended the emergency treatment as protocol. Once the crisis settled, Squad
Whiskey fell into deep silence.

-Get up. Han.

Text blinked from Silence’s helmet. Silence grasped Han’s collar and punched his face.

Ba-m!

Han’s helmet flopped to the ground. They couldn’t see Silence’s eyes, but his eyes were
probably menacing. Han wiped the blood from his lip and stared back at Silence.

“It was my fault. My mistake has ruined the operation. Sergeant Red got injured
because of me.” After seeing the members of Squad 13 skewered in that state, his anger
boiled over and he was unable to maintain a cool head.

-Shut up.

Silence let his anger rise. This operation would have been easy as pie. If their
undercover operation succeeded, the Elus wouldn’t have been able to put up
resistance at all.

-Now it’s impossible. Their guard is up and prepared for any attacks. We are
evacuating.

Silence looked to the squad and commanded.

“No, we must proceed with the operation.”

Han said. His words had fed the flames of Silence’s anger.

Bam!

Silence kicked Han. Han had been kicked where he was securely armored so he wasn’t
injured in the least. Rather, Silence’s feet was the one hurting.

-How can you dare say that when you’re the one who ruined everything?

“I admit everything was my fault. However, we will proceed. Now that Sergeant Red is
unable to command, it’s up to me to command. I’ve chosen the route to move forward.”

Han glared chillingly. He had compartmentalized all his guilt and anxiousness to the
very bottom of his heart. The one who had lost composure was Silence.

“Silence, listen to Han’s words until the end before you make the final decision.”

Simon said.

He didn’t get worked up over Sergeant Red’s accident. He didn’t particularly feel any
affection toward Sergeant Red as another human, rather, he held animosity due to all
the happenings during their first year.

Simon held only slight pity toward Sergeant Red’s accident, as it had been a mere
accident.

“Han, we’re in this state due to your mistakes. If you can’t back up the reason for your
decision, I don’t care about any sort of chain of command, I’ll beat you up until you
can’t stand.”

Simon was able to mediate the stifling situation. As a second year, Simon had long
witnessed Han’s true abilities.

‘It’s hard to admit, but it’s true. His psychic skills are practically rock bottom, but he’s
got the best head amongst the second years.’

Han thanked Simon with his eyes. Simon helped coordinate the flow of opinions.

“Don’t get worked up and listen to my words. Silence. I am aware that I don’t have the
qualifications to say this, but now is not the time to think about such minor details.
The overall situation right now is not too bad.”

Silence flared. However, he continued to wait for Han’s next words.

“It’s not too bad?”

Simon questioned.

“Yes. The most dangerous factor of our operation, the psychic crystal has been
completely spent. I observed this fact before we withdrew. Additionally, they lost four
Elu warriors while blindly chasing after us. Other than the fact that their guard is up,
we have the upper hand.”

Han had been able to settle down his own panic in the crisis and objectively observe
their full situation. Han’s words were greatly persuasive.

“And?”

“The reason we chose a surprise attack was because the Elu mage could teleport and
use its psychic beam. However, now that it doesn’t have that strength, it is defenseless.
The Elu mage will not escape via teleportation because he has some sort of ‘important
task.’ It has used its last psychic beam. If Sergeant Red were in our situation, he would
order us to attack rather than to withdraw. With all the evidence and data we have,
the Elu mage’s task right now is something more important than its life.”

The Elu mage had remained in hiding for the past ten years. It was cunning and careful.
Yet, the Elu mage did not escape this dangerous situation and chose to remain near
the dimensional crack.

“Gate.”

Simon shortly said.

“In the worst case, the gate will open. It could be an army of minions that could come
marching out. If events turn for the worst, we won’t be able to escape with one or two
sacrifices.”

Even young children will understand the choice they must make with such words.
They were actually children, but were more mentally mature than adults. Childish
emotions and expressions would appear occasionally, but in the regards to battle and
war, they received training to think in this way.

-Understood.

Text appeared on Silence’s helmet shield. He looked a degree calmer.

“Their numbers have decreased. But, I’m sure the Elus that had been sent to patrol the
area have been commanded to return. Simon and I had used most of our psychic
powers. Silence, how many more times can you use your blink skill?”

Simon leered at Silence

-Three times. Even if I want to endure, I will lose consciousness.

Silence had wasted his energy too much while they withdrew. He didn’t rest at all and
consecutively used it many times. If Silence had not done so, they would not have been
able to escape from the enemy.

“I will get the Elu mage. We will make a surprise attack from behind the dimensional
crack. If Elu mages sense psychic energy in the same way as us…, it will be extremely
difficult to sense us there. The light coming from the dimensional crack messes up
one’s senses. Additionally, they will not be able to see well due to the blinding rainbow
colored lights shining out from the ground.”

“The distance from the crack is dozens of meters away. You’re planning to go over to
them with airbeats? However, as you said, the psychic energy in that area is chaotic.
Are you confident enough to control airbeats in that space?”

“I’m not strong, but I’m confident in my psychic control skills.”

Han’s psychic control was on another level from usual psykers. The drill instructors
were not aware how minute his control could go.

During the second year, his psychic control had grown exceptionally. Everyday, he
practiced by himself and had accidentally discovered the fact.

-If you fail and fall into the dimensional crack, we will abandon you and withdraw. We
don’t have any methods to rescue you.

Silence sent a message. He excluded all his personal feelings and simply texted matter
of factly.

The dimensional crack had no bottom. If Han were to fall into the crack, that would
spell the end of his life.

“I am aware. I’m not trying to take responsibility for my mistakes just now. It’s just
that I’m the best candidate for this role, so I had volunteered to do so. We don’t have
time to relax here. We will proceed with the military operation immediately. I will
attack from behind the dimensional crack. You guys will distract them from the front
with your guns. We will start the attack in fifteen minutes. The current time is 14:33.
Move out.”

“Moving out.”

The squad members hid Sergeant Red under camouflage before proceeding. Han took
a detour around to settle behind the dimensional crack. He felt nauseous from the
blinding rainbow colored light. He didn’t rest and went to the back side of the
dimensional crack.

“Haa, haa. There are eight minutes left.”

Han checked the time before catching his breath. He was just outside the dimensional
crack boundaries, and it still stressed the body to simply stare into the dimensional
crack. The dimensional crack would make one’s psychic senses chaotic.

‘Sergeant Red suffered a serious injury because of me. He lost his right leg.’

Han didn’t let the guilt linger inside his heart. Sergeant Red had said he would make a
good striker. Strikers must keep going forward no matter what the circumstances,
even if the entire squad had been massacred, they had a responsibility to end the
dragon’s life.

‘I will not repeat the same mistake twice.’

Han moved to the backside of the dimensional crack. Silence and Simon moved to the
front side of the Elu tribe. Silence and Simon lowered their body once they drew closer
to the previous camp location.

-We still have time remaining. Stand by.

Silence sent a message. Simon nodded. There were many Elu warriors on guard while
scanning their surroundings.

‘What had Han been looking at previously?’

Simon was surprised with this military operation. Simon was already aware of the
excellence of Han’s leadership skills, but after receiving the orders directly, Han had
exceeded his expectations by a large margin.

‘So there is a reason why Squad 13 has such blind faith in Han. Although Sergeant Red
had become injured due to Han’s mistake, Han managed to closely observe his enemy
and think of the next best step in the operation. It’s no wonder Squad 13 crushes the
other squads all the time.’

Han’s battle skills were also on another level. His mind had a robot-like level of
coolheadedness.

‘Though his mistake had been due to losing his calm… that situation was beyond his
control. If he didn’t feel such emotions, he really wouldn’t be a human.’

Simon lacked a bit of social skills due to his high-handed personality, but he also
developed much attachment to his own squad members. That was what it meant to be
a human being. Whether you like the other or not, it is unavoidable to develop a bond
with one another. It would be weird if he didn’t get mad seeing the Elus make a fool of
their peers in this way.

-Time’s up. Let’s go.

Silence and Simon looked to one another and nodded. They prepared their guns
before commencing battle. The military operation would end successfully when Han
makes it over the rainbow colored lights from the dimensional crack to defeat the Elu
mage.

Click.
Simon loaded his R-2. He aimed for the Elu mage’s head, but the bullet was blocked by
the psychic shield that they had put up.

“So DoMeRa!” (t/n: unknown jargon in Elu language)

The Elu mage shouted as if it anticipated this attack. The Elu warriors that were in
hiding jumped out one after another. The patrolling Elus were gathered and numbed
near ten.

Bang! Bang!

Silence and Simon calmly bought time while shooting their guns. The guns were
effective against the Elu warriors who were unable to use psychic powers. Simon
reloaded the magazine of his gun while earnestly waiting for Han’s appearance.

‘I don’t want to fail my first mission. Han.’

Han stood upon the dimensional crack spilling out rainbow colored lights. The
poisonous lights were especially concentrated in this area. Gunshot noises sounded
intermittently from across the dimensional crack. They were in the middle of combat
with enemies. It seems they were trying to buy as much time as they could, as they
had originally planned.

GGguuuooo!

The dimensional crack choked Han’s neck. Han peered to the bottom of the
dimensional crack. This crack was about one kilometer long. The shortest route across
the crack was at least a few dozen meters. The depth of it was impossible to estimate,
and the only definite thing was that he would die if he fell.

‘I just need to cross fifty meters.’

Han took a rough estimate of the distance across. It wasn’t too difficult to fly fifty
meters while using two airbeats, except that this was on top of the dimensional crack.

Keeeeee.

Han unloaded the two airbeats that he had hung on his hips. The airbeat floated in the
air.
‘All I need is focus.’

Han mumbed and his eyes flashed. Blue light glowed from his eyes.

Falter.

Han set foot onto the airbeat. He thought he properly used his telekinetic powers to
stabilize the airbeat, but the center of gravity had been set incorrectly. Telekinetic
powers in this place seemed to follow a different set of laws. If he used fifty percent
telekinetic strength, only thirty percent would manifest, but the next moment it would
suddenly manifest with seventy percent of the strength. The energy of this place
caused total chaos.

‘Thankfully, my psychic energy levels are low… so the deviation in energy levels isn’t
too significant. If Kuro or another person were here, they would have already flew off
their airbeats.’

Han moved his next airbeat a step forward. He moved step by step like he was crossing
a stone bridge. If it had been the usual circumstances, he would have crossed in no
time, but he was full of nerves like he was walking across on a tightrope.

‘Walking a tightrope would be easier than this. This is like trying to walk on a tightrope
while strong winds blow sporadically.’

Han threw off his helmet. His head felt heavy and it was difficult to perfectly balance
his center of gravity. The helmet which dropped down into the cliffs did not make the
sound of hitting the ground floor.

“Huu, huu.”

Han tried to catch his breath after he made it half way across. He felt dizzy and wanted
to throw up. The blinding rainbow colored lights made it hard to see at all in this place.
The lights flashed in rotation, attacking his eyes at every moment.

Guuuooo!

Han slightly lowered himself by bending his hips. A violent wind blew from the bottom
of the dimensional crack.

“This is……”
Han threw up. His legs trembled. He wasn’t afraid because of the wind. Something was
glaring up at him from the dimensional crack below. The fierce gaze numbed his legs.

‘Dreadful.’

An unknown, horrifying energy captured Han. His teeth clattered while a dragon-like
being seemed to creep into his mind.

The existence he had only seen through photos and recordings. Human beings will
reflexively stiffen in fear as if meeting their natural enemy.

‘It’s dangerous. This force coming up from below… is probably from a dragon.’

Psykers who are about to face off against dragons would get shot with adrenaline and
endorphins before battle. Because of the nature of psykers, they would be completely
overtaken by dragon fear in close combat without the borrowed strength of drugs.
Han thought of the various facts he learned during his stay in Ark.

‘My mind is beginning to numb.’

Han swiftly moved across before the fear would strangle him again. He increased his
speed, though this would increase his chance of falling.

‘The Elu mage is trying to turn this dimensional crack into a gate. I could feel the
dragon’s energy seeping out from within. This is a real dragon. If we don’t stop the Elu
mage here… ’

Han’s eyes grew wide. This was Sinuiju. The chance the dragon would march forward
toward Korea was very high.

Ba-du-duk.

Han firmly bit down onto his thumb. Blood flowed out of his skin. He attempted to
distract his mind from the terror which enwrapped this place.

Han only had a few steps remaining now. He had used most of his strength crossing a
mere fifty meters. Now he was moving forward on sheer will power. He took out a
numbing ampule from his waist pocket. He just had to shoot this into the Elu mage’s
body.
Han blearily blinked his eyes. Han could see an afterimage of the Elu mage through
the pillars of lights streaming out from the crack. The Elu mage didn’t even imagine
that someone would appear from behind them. It only focused on the enemies
attacking from the front.

Weeeng!

Han used his airbeat to take another step and took a huge leap. The airbeat lost
balance and fell to the floor. Han jumped out from a stream of light beaming out of the
dimensional crack.

He held onto an ampule with his mouth, and pounced onto the defenceless Elu mage’s
back. The surprise attack shocked the Elu mage, as it erratically moved its body trying
to fend itself away from Han. The psychic shield which surrounded the area dissipated.

“SI-LENCE!!”

Han shouted.

Weng! Weng!

Silence used all his powers to blink in succession. He shot his gun while blinking closer.

He instantly appeared in the gap between the Elu mage and warriors. Instead of
reloading his magazine, he unsheathed his twin sword. He mercilessly slayed the
warriors who tried to get in his way.

Squeeze!

Han stuck the ampule into the Elu mage’s neck and injected its contents. The mage
sensed danger, and attempted to teleport. Han was stuck on its body, increasing the
difficulty of using this skill. The Elu warriors attempted to pull Han off the Elu mage’s
body, but Silence continued to obstruct their path.

Plap!

The Elu mage’s body shook and slumped down onto the floor. An Elu warrior slumped
onto the floor. Without the Elu mage’s support, the warriors couldn’t hold a candle
against Squad Whiskey. Simon and Silence took care of the remaining warriors with
their guns.
‘Did we stop it?’

Han crawled on the floor and looked down into the dimensional crack. The dragon
fear had disappeared. Han threw up everything he had been suppressing.

The remaining squad members could see Han’s terrible state of pain. Han didn’t easily
show weaknesses to others.

This kind of person, looked to be in a state of pure pain. It was definite that he had
faced against something rough inside the dimensional crack.

“It’s not over yet. We must hurry to rejoin with Sergeant Red and withdraw from here.
Until we return to Ark…”

Silence stopped Han from speaking further, raising his index finger to his mouth. He
nodded.

-You did well. Let’s return. Rookie.

Silence lent Han his shoulder.

Squad Whisky quietly returned. It was to remain top secret that they had captured the
enemy forces alive. Sergeant Red wrote a report based on Han’s statement.

This was mainly because Han had been in charge of commanding the latter half of
their military operation. Sergeant Red was sitting down typing the report with his
usual expression. The only thing that changed was that the leg connected to his right
knee was gone.

“Don’t stare at me like a dog that wants to pee. All I need is to attach prosthetics to my
leg. It’s a miracle my four limbs had remained until now. Thanks to you I’ve become
disabled. This is a perfect excuse to retire.”

Sergeant Red spoke with a light heart. He stuck a cigar in his mouth and lit it up. A
passing medical staff shook his head in disapproval.

“Thank you. Sergeant.”

Han no longer brought up the topic of his leg nor did he apologize. Sergeant Red didn’t
wish for an apology neither.
Sergeant Red reviewed the report he had finished drafting. He paid extra careful
attention with regards to his report when Han took command of the squad.

“You made a good decision, Han. It was the right decision to continue forward with the
military operation. If you had hesitated or decided to pull out, I would have cried that
I sacrificed my left leg for you. Anyhow, are you certain that you felt dragon fear from
within the dimensional crack?

“It was a different kind of fear I had never experienced before. The only logical reason
I would experience such fear in that situation is dragon fear. After the Elu mage was
incapacitated, the fearful energy coming from the dimensional crack disappeared.”

“We’ll know the exact details after thoroughly interrogating the mage.”

Sergeant Red deeply inhaled his cigar and blew it out his mouth. The Elu mage was
taken down into Ark’s basement.

“Is it possible to interrogate a being from another world?”

“There is a telepathic psyker in Ark. He is the only person with such skill in this world.”

There are 52 unique psyker skills. Half of them were unique skills that belonged to
only a single person. One person would often manifest a skill that matched their
character. Some had unique skills such as fire, body strengthening, or other common
skills. There were also very rare unique skills such as distant future foresight and
telepathy. The blink skill belonged to the same rareness category as immediate
foresight users.

Click.

Silence entered the hospital room. Silence saw Han and Sergeant Red talking and was
going to leave, but Sergeant Red waved his hand for Silence to come in.

“We’re done here. Come in, Silence.”

Silence came in wearing his skull mask instead of his battle helmet. He exchanged
words with his usual electronic note.

-Are you feeling better?

Silence looked to Han with this note.

“I was going to go on a diet, but thanks to somebody here my body has gotten
significantly lighter so there is no more need for it.”

Sergeant Red roared laughing. Silence carefully wrote out his next message.

Sergeant Red was patient and waited for Silence’s next message.

‘It could be that Sergeant Red is one of the few people Silence converses with.’

If one were to disregard Sergeant Red’s outward appearance, he was quite a considerate
person. Han thought it could be because Sergeant Red was very similar to himself.

“You can leave now. You precocious child, and fake ninja. Now I will meditate upon my
lost leg while remembering past memories of my leg.”

Sergeant Red said chasing the two out. Han and Silence left the hospital room and
walked together. Silence was the first the break the silence with his electronic note.

-I’m sorry I hit you. I thought the matter over carefully. If I were in your shoes, I
wouldn’t have been able to stop myself either.

Silence only found out later on that the people skewered and offered as sacrifices were
past members of the Squad 13.

“No, your words were correct. I had caused a dangerous situation.”

-You overcame it. I understand why Sergeant Red expects great things from you.

“Sergeant Red can’t differentiate between the things he likes and hates. He treats
everyone the same. He bullies the people he hates, and he bullies the people he likes
as well.”

Silence’s shoulder shook. It seems he was laughing. Lots of time was required to
converse with Silence. They only exchanged a few words and they already reached the
fork in the road which directed them to the third year and second year dorms.

-It seems we won’t meet for awhile longer. Do your best to transfer up into third year.
Han lightly waved his hand and returned to the 13th squad’s dorm rooms.

Footnote:

*Catching the Wizard: In the original text, the author had written in literal English,
‘Catching Wizard.’ For the sake of grammar, I took liberties to add ‘the’. Thanks.
Han was able to return to Squad 13 after a week’s time. Kijo and Canute were still
rehabilitating in the hospital while a majority of the squad members had already
returned to their normal lives. The squad battles were on hiatus, but the lectures and
training drills continued.

“Pass me a biscuit.”

Han sat down at the table, next to Jose, for breakfast. Kuro used his telekinesis to pass
a biscuit over from the serving table; this was a common sight in Ark. The second years
at Ark were talents who used their telekinesis in their day to day lives.

“Thanks.”

Han sat at Squad 13’s dining table and began to eat. Soon, the other squads gradually
filled the dining facility. A handful of people from the other squads spotted Squad 13
and waved.

Squad 13 used to be the outcasts, but now they had completely integrated with the
rest of the second years and had a good relationship with everyone.

“I don’t see Kato, Squad 7’s leader.”

Han said as he looked at Squad 7.

The 7th squad started their meals although Kato wasn’t there.

“Kato is at the hospital ward; he tried to commit suicide while you were away. It’s a
mystery if he’ll ever recover,” Jose said.

Han narrowed his eyes. He didn’t have a good relationship with Kato, but they were
both youths of Ark.

Kato was strong in various ways. Even so, a single mistake had caused him to suffer a
total mental breakdown.

‘I see… ’

Han had felt that Kato was a bit off when they last met. Kato seemed to have a glass
heart– a single touch was enough to shatter it.

‘If my own judgment caused Kuro or Jose’s death… If my squad members had died,
then… ’

Han roughly chewed his bread, just imagining the dreadful possibility. Kato Souki
must feel that life was like hell itself.

Every night, his squad members would come haunt him in his nightmares, and Han
perfectly understood that pain.

Han had also lost many important people in his own life, and could only watch his
younger siblings die slowly from starvation.

“When will the squad battles begin again? Ugh, the food is horrible.”

Kuro said while drinking his protein drink. Even if the youths of Ark could eat until
they were full, they were unable to fully consume the necessary nutrients for daily life.
If they did not supplement their meals with extra nutrients, then all their muscles
would instantly disappear.

“I heard that they’re selecting the most useful bunch from the first years to be
transferred into second year.”

“There are too many squads that have been wiped out.”

“They need to fill the necessary numbers for the second years, I feel like there won’t
be any transfers into third year for the time being.”

“That could be.”

Squad 13 continued to discuss what would happen in Ark’s future. Han thought of all
the things that had happened in the Dimensional Crack Zone.

‘They didn’t divulge much of the specific details to me since I’m only a second year, but
this is a very important turn of events to pay attention to. After the recent crisis, the
number of instructors has drastically decreased. They should be out participating in
real battle.’

The first and second years were oblivious to any jobs and missions related to the third
years. This included any of Ark’s secret missions…

‘Ark has always been short on human resources. Even so, they are selective when
recruiting psykers so that unfortunate events such as Kato’s can be prevented.’

Ark’s ultimate goal is to win the war against dragons. If an untrained youth was sent
out against the minions, the youth would most likely become permanently disabled or
dead. It wasn’t a wise choice to sell out the future generation of youths for the sake of
the present.

Han picked up his toast while lost in thought and noticed it had not been fully toasted.

“Jose, can you toast this for me?”

Jose’s eyes glowed. A tiny flame flickered across the toast. The soft bread toasted to a
golden state.

The second years of Ark used their psychic powers daily which increased their
handling skill. Psychic skills were not considered a rare or mysterious power by these
youths any longer, but just another part of their daily lives.

Just as breathing and walking is natural to humans, using psychic powers felt natural.
The first generation of the acquired psykers trained for ten years to get to the level the
inborn psykers had become in a mere one or two years.

Han’s powers grew slowly compared to the usual second generation inborn psykers,
but compared to first generation psykers, his powers grew at a monstrously fast rate.

– Second Year squad leaders, assemble after breakfast.

A message popped up on Han’s data bracelet. It had been awhile since the squad
leaders held an assembly. Han finished his meal and headed to the assembly. He found
his seat and waited for the other drill instructors.

“Hey, Han. Long time no see.”

Dimitri was cheerful like always, Han nodded in response. The rest of the squad
leaders began exchanging small talk as they gathered.

Originally, there should have been thirteen squad leaders present, but many of the
chairs remained empty. The 7th squad leader, Kato, was absent. Instead, a substitute
squad leader had joined the meeting.

“Now, now. Quiet everyone.”

The drill instructor said while walking in. The meeting room quickly fell into silence.
The drill instructor lightly coughed and began the assembly.

“There will be a three day long inspection by the higher-ups, beginning tomorrow.
They have requested to inspect the second years of Ark due to recent events at the
dimensional crack.”

“The higher-ups?”

“They are a team of inspectors that has been put together by the various governments
and countries that sponsor Ark. They managed to grab hold of a good excuse to inspect
our grounds, and we are unable to deny them. They never seem to like us.”

Ark is an independent military base, but is incapable of maintaining itself without

financial support from third parties, and without them, the foundation of Ark would
crumble in an instant.

All the countries across the world were busy trying to prevent as much damage from
the dragons as they could. They held each other in check so that they would not be the
ones left with the short end of the stick.

The countries thought of Ark as a necessity, but at the same time feared its existence.

If Ark were to take a side with a specific country or spur anti-government movements,
the political balance would greatly shift.

If dragons are exterminated, Ark would become an unnecessary existence. Therefore,

outside government forces constantly held inspections for the smallest of reasons and
sent the bare minimum necessary to sponsor the military base.

“Won’t it be fine to act as we usually do?” Dimitri said.

A few of the other squad leaders nodded as well in agreement.

“It won’t be so easy to do as you say. The higher-ups will be pestering you nonstop for
the next three days. We will not be able to prevent them from doing so in the least. The
various inspectors will have been assigned a task to accomplish while they remain
here in Ark. You must always be wary of what you say.”

The drill instructors repeated this over and over. No matter how brilliant these youths
were, they were all in their early teens. The students could be easily tricked into
revealing more information than intended, against these expert conversationalists,
that had dealt with these situations throughout all of their adult lives.

“Once dismissed, you’re to let your squad members know of the contents of today’s
meeting. Squad 13 leader, Han, you’re to remain here.”

“Yes sir.”

All the other squad leaders left the meeting room until only Han and the drill
instructors were left in the meeting room. The drill instructors didn’t begin talking
until they had made sure all the other squad leaders had left.

“Remain silent about all topics that relate to Squad Whiskey, Han. The higher-ups have
not received a report on this secret military operation. People from the committee will
attempt to dig some information out of you. Simon has also been informed of this as
well.”

“Understood sir.”

Han didn’t ask why the information couldn’t be leaked. This was outside the area of
Han’s understanding about Ark. This was probably related to Ark’s internal battle of
power amongst all the countries around the world.

Everyone competed against one another for the sake of coexisting without ending up
with the short end of the stick.

Vrooom!

An unfamiliar colored plane made a landing onto ark. Inspectors dressed in suits filed
out of the plane.
The people were of and from various ethnicities and countries. The executives of Ark
made small talk with the inspectors while keeping courteous smiles. Their words
carried a sharp eloquence, which vastly contrasted the smile he wore.

In the latest committee meeting, the situation had been looked at with much
pessimism and negative opinions. A fourth of the Ark second years had died.

Each individual second year had been invested in very heavily. They were youths that
had already finished their body strengthening procedure. The budget would need to
be much greater than normal in order to make up for all the lost lives amongst the
second years this time around.

The inspectors requested a much more detailed report for vast increases in budget.

“These are your personal data bracelets. You will find all the necessary information in
here.”

The executives of Ark handed out the data bracelets while they spoke. The inspectors
shook their heads.

“We already prepared all the necessary equipment. We will be the ones to conduct the
inspection of this site.”

The inspectors independently used their own devices to read the data. The data that
Ark would provide them would only be the tip of the iceberg. The executives of Ark
frowned and retrieved their data bracelets.

“Where is Squad 13?”

An inspector asked a drill instructor. This question was so matter of factly that the
instructors had no way to ignore him.

“If they are training, as we have reported, they should be in the shooting range.”

The inspectors took out the map from their data bracelets. They ignored their
attendants and headed off to find the shooting range on their own.

The sound of guns blasting shook the nearby premises of the shooting range. There
were a little more than ten youths at the shooting range while a drill instructor
watched over them from the control tower. The inspector looked over Squad 13’s
profiles once again.

‘The key members of Squad 13 are Han and Kuro.’

Kuro would soon become one of the strongest psykers. He was also frequently
mentioned by Ark. The supreme council was also informed of this.

‘Han is well known for another reason.’

Han was not well known from his official data reports, but through word of mouth.

He is a new squad leader, but he had lead his squad to victory eight consecutive times,
an unbelievable feat. His name had only made it to the committee’s ears because of
the happenings around the dimensional crack. He rallied the surviving second years
and lead them to survive the catastrophe.

‘There were rumors that he had participated in Ark’s latest secret military operation.’

Ark had always hidden unfavorable information from the committee.

‘They’re just children. It shouldn’t be hard to get some information out of them.’

The inspector reached the gate of the shooting range. He looked toward the youths.

“It looks like an inspector.”

The man was dressed in a suit that couldn’t normally be found in Ark. The 13th squad
immediately noticed the inspector. Han calmly looked towards the inspector. He took
the initiative to walk down and salute the inspector.

“Squad 13 leader, Han Lee, reporting sir.”

“I’m Inspector James Rue.”

“I will refer you to as Inspector Rue.”

Inspector Rue observed Han. He was a youth with a robust build. His eyes carried a
calmness that seemed impossible for a youth his age. Inspector Rue leaned against the
shooting range wall and watched the squad.
“Continue on with your training. I’m just here to observe.”

Han divided his squad into two groups and repeated the shooting exercises. After the
event, Han put more priority to the shooting exercise drills more than ever.

‘Shooting skills turned out to be much more useful than I originally thought.’

Modern weapons had been useful against the minions. Weapons made of dragon
bones were made to be used with psychic powers. Against minions whose psychic
powers were near nonexistent, modern weapons proved to be much more useful.

‘Though everything would be different if we were to be geared with psychoframes… ’

Han had seen Sergeant Red’s psychoframe in action for himself. It was a different class
of modern soldier all together.

The gloves were made of a highly flexible alloy which neutralized most physical
attacks. Though the suit was very heavy, the mobility became exponentially faster than
if one were to move around without it.

“Commence fire!”

Han completely ignored the inspector’s presence and finished the shooting exercise.
He ended the training momentarily and allowed everyone to take a break at the
shooting site.

“That was nice. Squad Leader Han.”

Inspector Rue approached while clapping.

“Thank you.”

“It seems to be the perfect time to have a short chat with you.”

Inspector Rue’s spoke with a smooth voice. He didn’t seem high handed or forceful in
the least. Inspector Rue had waited quietly and patiently until the end of training. Han
accepted his invitation for a chat.

“Is there anything you’re curious about?”

“I wish to hear about your active participation in the latest event around the
dimensional crack. Your commanding skills are well known even amongst the
committee. I heard you won against the werewolves and hunters without proper
gear?”

“We could have been wiped out as a final outcome. If the rescue team had not arrived,
none of us would have survived.”

Inspector Rue was recording this conversation. He sat down and spoke to Han.

“Please tell me about some of the detailed circumstances of your story.”

“I have already written everything I know in the report.”

“I want to hear it again, personally from you.”

Han sat down as well due to the inspector’s persistence. He told the story from when
the plane fell until the time when they were rescued. There was no reason to hide
information of this event. All this information had already been published.

“Oh, I see.”

Inspector Rue’s reaction was excellent. He reacted to all the important and surprising
parts of the report. It made reporting that much more exciting.

“Indeed! You’re amazing!”

Han told the story of when his squad dug the trap and formed a barricade. The
inspector opened his eyes wide.

“To have formed such a plan in that situation! Brilliant.”

Han concluded his report when his squad was rescued. Inspector Rue closed his eyes
and nodded.

“I see. So what happened next?”

Inspector Rue opened his eyes wide. Han almost spilled the beans unknowingly. Han
paused momentarily and followed up the question with another question.
“What specifically are you referring to, by ‘next’?”

“Does your story end there?”

“Yes. If you wish for more details, they should be in the report.”

Inspector Rue looked to Han and smiled with a troubled look.

‘He’s much more mature than I heard him to be. He isn’t easily swayed by conversations.
What a clever kid.’

Han thought Inspector Rue was greatly annoying. He was the persistent type. He
wasn’t one to be oppressive but would stick persistently to the person until they got
what they wanted.

‘If Kijo was a bit more well rounded as a person, he would have probably been
someone like him… ’

Han had quick wit to catch onto small details. When he had lived as an orphan on the
streets, he had used this skill to beg for food. He could easily understand an adult’s
mood.

“I must continue with our next training drill, will it be okay to be excused now?”

Inspector Rue didn’t hold Squad 13 any further. He took out some candy and chocolate
from his pocket.

The youths of Ark lived a very restricted life in Ark. As for sweets, they always had a
short supply of sweets. This was inspector Rue’s bribe to win over the youths.

“Everyone enjoy some on your way back. You guys remind me of my young nephews
so I can’t help it.”

Squad 13’s eyes all shined brightly. Han looked over at his own squad.

‘If I were to reject this bribe, my squad would probably beat me to death.’

Han reluctantly nodded. He divided the candy and chocolates for his squad before
transferring to the next place on their schedule. As the youths marched, they enjoyed
their candy and chocolates.
“That inspector is probably a good guy.”

Kuro said while rolling candy around in his mouth. Han laughed listening to Kuro.

‘He probably brought it over because there are always guys like Kuro.’

Sweets lift a person’s mood, and also lowers a person’s wariness.

“There’s no need to go out of your way to talk to the inspectors. Avoid one on one
private conversations with him. Especially you Kuro, don’t follow him just because he
gives you some candy.”

Han said as he popped a lemon-flavored candy into his mouth. He ran into Squad 5,
Dimitri’s squad, on the way.

“Did you guys meet an inspector too?”

Dimitri spoke first.

“I just met him at the shooting range. Isn’t your next scheduled task shooting practice?”

Upon Han’s words, Dimitri let out a heavy sigh.

“Damn, there are inspectors wherever we go. There is an inspector at all the drill halls.
I think I’ll go crazy. It’s not like I could beat them up either. What are you guys eating?”

Dimitri discovered that everyone in Squad 13 was enjoying sweets. Kuro took a huge
bite out of his chocolate bar to show off.

“The inspector we met just now gave them to us.”

Squad 5 members starting making a fuss while pushing Dimitri’s back.

“Let’s hurry! Squad Leader! We have to get some candy as well!”

Dimitir was shoved forward by his squad members. They quickly went up to start their
shooting drills. Han momentarily watched Squad 5 and then went into the gymnasium.

“Let’s start.”
Han ignored the inspector’s sharp gaze coming down from the second floor.

Everyone got a weapon that was hanging on the gymnasium wall. There were some
who were training against a wooden dummy, while others sparred against one
another.

“Kuro, you will practice with me.”

“Again?”

Kuro questioned while picking up his spear. Han and Kuro stood facing each other in
the fighter’s arena. Han’s main focus was training Kuro.

‘Kuro had been the worst in close combat up until now, but I thought it would be fine
since a squad member or I would be able to support him. However, in actual battle, it’s
not possible to constantly protect Kuro. Everyone must have the basic foundation in
all fields.’

Han realized many things while in Squad Whiskey. As Sergeant Red had planned, he
acquired the much needed experience to grow.

Bam!

Han stepped forward and swung his spear. Kuro busied himself with blocking all the
attacks. He didn’t think to attack in the least.

“Kuro, try to attack.”

Han stopped attacking and spoke. Kuro was now drenched in sweat. He tightly shut
his eyes and swung his spear.

TANG!

Han parried Kuro’s spear. Kuro lost grip of his spear.

“Open your eyes when you attack. Hold onto your spear tightly.”

Kuro graded horribly for weapon handling and close combat. Han let Kuro rest for a
short while.
‘During our first year, we were not fully matured physically so it’s understandable. But,
second years are much faster and stronger than normal humans. He doesn’t have
problems physically, but mentally.’

Han had no way to coach Kuro on his mental problems. He called for Jose. Jose, who
had been in the middle of a spar, quirked his head.

“Jose! I have somewhere to go for a moment. If I don’t return, take charge for our next
training schedule.”

The unspoken leader of Squad 13 was Jose. They had never made an official
announcement, but it had been silently agreed upon by everyone. Canute was also a
good candidate for second in command, but Canute frequented the hospital regularly,
so Jose was the one to take charge a majority of the time.

Han passed Jose full autonomy for the squad’s training and went toward the first year
buildings. When he stepped into the first year area, his data bracelet vibrated.

According to regulations, the different year students were not allowed to interact with
one another. Han communicated his reason for visiting the first year area and continued
forth. He was looking to have a meeting with Instructor Wei.

“Han? It’s been a long time.”

He recognized Han’s matured form and spoke first. He looked busy organizing some
documents.

“I will come back another time if you’re busy.”

“That’s fine. It should be an important matter if you decided to come visit me

personally. I wanted a short break anyway. I need to pick out many people to be moved
up into second year, but we’re short staffed so I have to look over a lot of documents
by myself, I’m near going crazy.”

Instructor Wei poured some oolong tea for Han. Han cringed as the bitterness of the
oolong tea hit his taste buds.

Instructor Wei was pleased to see that Han still had some childishness remaining. He
had always felt pity for the children of Ark.
“Thank you. It’s de-delicious.”

Han forcefully laughed. Instructor Wei took on a dignified, graceful posture as he

sipped his tea. He took a moment to simply breathe in the aroma before speaking.

“So, what did you want to talk about? You’re now a second year, aren’t you?”

“I came here because I had something I wished to ask you about.”

“To me?”

Instructor Wei quirked his head. If this question was related to weapon handling, there
should be nothing more he could teach this student.

Han was naturally talented and learned quickly. The only thing remaining for him was
acquiring real life experience. Han had been one of the top students he had personally
taught.

“Do you remember Kuro?”

“Yes. Though he couldn’t manage to distinguish himself in any of my classes. Haha.”

Instructor Wei thought of Kuro as he spoke.

“He is currently a member of my squad. Kuro’s aggressive nature is very lacking. He

hesitates to attack others. I fear this weakness will cost him his life one day.”

“At the same time, Kuro had attacked his peers with rocks in the deserted island.”

“It’s not possible to fight from a distance all the time. Real battle doesn’t flow in a
smooth way that allows us such flexibility.”

Instructor Wei narrowed his eyes. Han’s expression was completely serious.

KKSSHHH!

Instructor Wei ripped a page from his notebook and drew a picture. He drew a gun, a
spear, and a pair of hands.

“Han, humans feel a psychological distance depending on which weapon they wield.”
“Psychological distance?”

“It’s the feeling of self repulsion when physically attacking others. Even a trained
soldier will have a difficult time killing someone else with their bare hands. Normally,
they will stop. On the other hand, a normal citizen will easily be able to kill others
while controlling a robot or throwing a bomb. The feeling that you’re personally
attacking others is greatly dulled. The mental stress decreases the less one is able to
observe the opponent’s reaction.”

Han couldn’t immediately grasp understanding of this concept. It didn’t matter who
his enemies were, if the situation called for it, he would resolutely attack without
hesitation.

“Is that so?”

“People normally feel this way. The more distance there is between two people, the
easier it becomes to kill. The psychological repulsion to killing becomes stronger the
closer two people are to one another. In our case, we’re not fighting against other
humans, so you can say the concept works in the same way.”

“It’d be easier to understand if you explained using Kuro as an example.”

Han said bitterly. Instructor Wei chuckled. Han’s mind was going in circles. He had
come here to get some advice, instead he was getting lectured.

“Kuro is highly emotionally sensitive, and he greatly sympathizes with others. He has
many feminine traits. The more these traits are in a person, the harder it becomes to
attack others. On the other hand, a man who becomes easily violent can quickly cut
off their emotional sensitivity to the other party. Kuro has been able to attack his peers
during the deserted island drill because he could maintain a distance against his
opponents. He also strongly believes in your decisions and judgment, so his mental
stressors were greatly relieved. Do you now understand why Kuro and you were
moved up into second year together?”

“Is there a way I can help Kuro?”

“I originally thought that he would progressively get better naturally while training in
second year, but it seems he’s still having a difficult time. It’s common for people’s
aggression to naturally increase with a stronger physical body. When a person realizes
their own strength, they become used to their own violent nature. It seems he’s an
incredibly gentle person.”

“I like that side of Kuro. However, the Elus and werewolves will not allow it. There will
come a time when Kuro must wield a weapon to attack his enemies. If he hesitates at
an important moment, the result will be vastly different. It has been so in my own
experiences.”

“Don’t think too deeply about Sergeant Red’s accident. He had taken you, a second
year, considering such an outcome. If we were to be concise, it’s Sergeant Red’s fault
for not considering your situation at all.”

Instructor Wei noticed guilt briefly pass Han’s eyes. Han learned an important lesson
in making a sacrifice. A perfect student cannot immediately become a perfect soldier.
Han will face brutal battles while enduring sacrifices before he could settle a strong
foundation for himself.

“I want to increase Kuro’s aggressive nature. I want him to be able to fight at least to
the level of his peers.”

Instructor Wei paused, contemplating this for a moment. Kuro should have been
dismissed long ago. However, his natural psychic talent was too great that people
dismissed the thought. They had trained Kuro betting on the small sliver of a chance
based on his great potential.

“The type of people like Kuro need a reason. It’s cruel to command a type of person
like Kuro to kill a person without reason. He must figure things out for himself. There
is no other method other than repeatedly training over and over.”

Han nodded. He was able to find a better solution to his problems than if he struggled
by himself.

“Thank you. Instructor.”

Instructor Wei watched Han leave. He forgot about organizing his documents and got
lost in his own thoughts.

‘There is one method. However I wish for us to remain humane and don’t agree with
this method at all.’

Instructor Wei once again remembered his nightmare like hellish past. They first
forced him to kill small animals.

Gradually, they brought bigger animals. A dog, pig, cow, and monkey. Lastly, they had
forced him to choke another human to death.

After that ordeal, any person would become completely unfazed to violence. There
isn’t any hesitation to deal with the other party’s life.

One would stop feeling any sort of connection with other humans; killing others
becomes the same as chopping down a tree.

Instructor Wei had originally been trained under a religious cult group called Peace of
Hong Kyung.

When the war against dragons began, the number of religious cults rose to an all time
high. His father had been a religious fanatic and the cult’s henchman, and had offered
his own son to the cult.

Instructor Wei had been trained inhumanely to kill. Before his own country summoned
him for his psyker powers, he had lived within the shadows of the world.

“It’s only the past.”

Instructor Wei said while sipping his cold oolong tea.

Ark maintained their strict training methods. Instructor Wei had never been fond of
this aspect. However, Ark did not teach youths to throw away their own humanity.

The next day, Canute Meyer returned to Squad 13. The only person who had yet to
recover was Kijo who had injured his lungs and had to remain for long term treatment.
Canute was feeling good finally being free from the hospital.

“Ah, aah. I thought I was going to die. It’s never fun no matter how many times I get
hospitalized.”

Canute had been hospitalized the most amongst everyone in Squad 13. Canute was
Squad 13’s main vanguard and was the member most prone to injury.

Each squad has a member like Canute.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Jose bumped fists with Canute.

“Canute, catch.”

Kuro threw him a cola. Of all the carbonated drinks, Canute loved cola the most.

“Thanks, Kuro. I’m done with hospital food.”

Canute chugged down his cola. The carbonation woke up his senses. He threw the can
in the trash. He quickly organized his room that he left vacant for a while before
returning to training with his squad.

Han whispered quietly to Canute’s ears before entering the training ground.

“Avoid talking with the inspectors. These were orders from the commander.”

“I had been generally informed. The mood at the hospital ward was chaotic as well.”

Canute nodded. Han had no worries when it came to Canute. Among Squad 13, Canute
had good judgment and was one of the most brilliant among Squad 13’s members. He
was not the type to accidentally have a slip of tongue or be easily swayed by lies.

Han checked the status of the training ground and lead his squad in. Other than the
required training drills and lectures, it was up to the squad leader to cater training
drills for his squad members. Each squad leader would make a training schedule and
report it with the drill instructors, who would then assign the squads to the
appropriate training grounds.

“For the time being, we will focus on self improvement since there will not be any
squad battles for a short duration.”

Han alloted most of the time for marksmanship training and sparring. The squad
members nodded.

Han was, by far, the best squad leader among the second years. He had superior
commanding ability and excelled in many aspects personally. Even if the squad
members were to make a mistake, he never raged and logically went over the mistakes
in a calm manner.
He maintained a strong bond with his squad members, all the while, he did not let his
emotions affect his role. He never let go of the dignity of a squad leader.

“Please check for your daily task through your data bracelets, I’ve sent them out
already. You can read through them later. If you have any questions or if you think
something should be changed, look for me later.”

Squad 13 borrowed the military training ground. These grounds were used when a
vast open space was needed like when training one’s stamina. Han decided to focus
training with Kuro for the time being. He focused on weapon handling and sparring
with Kuro.

“I’ll attack from the right. Block.”

Han quickly swung his spear. Kuro quickly blocked with his spear.

‘Now, Kuro is doing well with blocking.’

Han increased his attack speed. He attacked with his spear with more strength. His
spear dug into his palms.

KEEEE!

Kuro’s eyes glowed blue. His immediate foresight was reacting to Han’s killing intent.

Tak!

Kuro cleanly blocked the attack. Kuro was able to read Han’s attacking direction
through his immediate foresight.

He was able to block using minimal movements. If he became proficient using this skill
during battle, his battle prowess would increase swiftly.

‘He can now easily block simple attacks.’

Han started attacking in more more complex patterns. He swung his spear in random
directions and caused chaos. Immediate foresight didn’t make a person invincible.

‘All skills are bound to have a weakness of some sort. A concept such as perfection or
an invincible power does not exist. We simply try to perfect it to the best of our ability.’
Han switched up his attacks every so often. It was difficult to figure out the speed and
direction because of his complex arm movements. Kuro was taken aback and took a
hit to his leg. He lost his posture and tripped onto the floor.

“Ouch.”

Kuro looked like he wanted to cry from the blow. There was a giant bruise on his leg.
Han took a moment to catch his breath and stood in front of Kuro. Han helped Kuro up
and spoke.

“If you are going to use your immediate foresight, you should quickly block and follow
up with an attack. Do you think your immediate foresight will be able to prevent all
attacks at once?”

Jose who stood next to the two scratched his head.

‘He usually blocks them all. Not many people can find fault in him and land an attack.
You did it against Silence as well, but not many people can immediately grasp onto
weaknesses as quickly as you.’

Jose thought while watching the two spar. Theoretically, this was easy, but not many
people could actually do so while in the middle of battle.

“Whenever I think of attacking, my hand shakes…”

Kuro said with his head drooped. Han spun his spear round and round.

“Why? Are you worried I might get hit? One more time. This time, try to attack me.”

Han didn’t like to back a person into a corner. He hated it even more so that it had been
Kuro. However, he forced himself to back Kuro into a corner.

‘It’s better than having Kuro die in battle.’

The leader must, from time to time, choose the lesser of two evils. He felt this to the
bone.

If Han had not been a squad leader, if he were not a soldier who would be sent to war,
Han would not say one bitter thing toward Kuro.
“Okay. But this time, I will mobilize all of my powers.”

Kuro gripped his spear. He was also a man. He had an unyieldingly high pride as well.
He felt bitter hearing these cold words from Han.

On the other hand, he thought to himself that Han must have been really frustrated to
reach this point.

“Good. Come on, Kuro. Show me everything you’ve got.”

Han smirked and took his stance.

“HAAA!”

Kuro shouted with strength.

GGUOOO!

Kuro seriously used his psychic powers this time. The light spilling out from his eyes
was blinding. The rocks around the area all floated up in the air.

Kuro’s main specialty was rock throw. This had become one of his greatest weapons
after the deserted island drill.

A rock could only cause a slight wound. However, this was also a perfect weapon to
oppress an enemy.

“Prepare yourself!”

Kuro shouted with an enthusiasm he rarely could muster.

‘I’m not hitting him directly. If I use rocks… ’

He could not feel the impact of actually inflicting damage when he threw rocks. He felt
an emptiness as if he was playing a game.

“You’re so unoriginal. Kuro.”

Han took off his shirt. Ark’s training uniforms were made of a high quality fabric. It
had supreme durability and elasticity.
“Don’t cry when I hit you! HAAAA!”

Kuro flung dozens of rocks simultaneously. His psychic strength was so great that
simply throwing rocks had great destructive power.

VUUUU!

Han also used his telekinetic power. He ran while holding up his training uniform, with
his telekinesis, like a shield.

Tudududuk!

It sounded like rain pattering against a window. The rocks thrown at Han were
blocked by the training uniform.

The training uniform caught the rocks and sprang it back. The rocks fell onto the floor.

Han threw his training uniform at Kuro to block his field of vision and ran forward
quickly. Kuro attempted to throw rocks once again, but Han was faster.

“Block with your spear! Kuro!”

Canute shouted advice from behind. Everyone from Squad 13 had unknowingly
become the audience and cheered for Kuro.

It was more enjoyable to cheer for the underdog than Han whose win was so obvious.

Swaa!

Kuro’s spear became tangled by Han’s training uniform. Han took this moment to step
onto Kuro’s spear and break it in two. Kuro’s hand panged with pain from the sudden
force of the spear breaking in two.

“I was happy to see that you didn’t let go of the spear until the end. Kuro.”

Han swung the pole of his spear onto Kuro’s back. Kuro fumbled and faltered forward.

The Squad 13 members shouted regretfully. A historical event of Kuro winning a

match against Han did not happen.
“Boooo! So cruel! You robot of war with no blood or soul!”

The squads jokingly started to jeer all together. Han scratched his head and helped
Kuro up. It would be enough to push Kuro this much for today. If it was such an easy
matter to help Kuro, he would have already done so during their first year.

“I thought you took off your shirt because it was hot. I never thought you would use it
as a shield.”

Kuro mumbled. Han pridefully broadened his shoulders.

“You only aimed the rocks at my chest area. That’s why all the rocks hit against the
uniform. If you shot the rocks more erratically, you would have hit at least my arms
and legs.”

“It’d be bad if I accidentally ended up hitting your face though.”

Han let out a long sigh hearing Kuro’s words.

‘The speed of the rocks seemed strangely uniform. He purposely aimed every single
rock at my body. If he didn’t aim and shoot the rocks in one direction, the rocks would
have flown faster. Even I wouldn’t have been able to block against such an attack.’

Squad 13 ended their training and took a short break. Everyone sat under the shade
to cool off their sweat. A strange group of people dressed in suits approached from a
distance.

“It’s Inspector Rue.”

Han’s squad members said in unison. Some of the squad members exclaimed with a
bit of excitement to his voice.

“I wonder if he will give us chocolates today as well?”

“Stop being an idiot.”

Another member scolded. While the squad members muttered amongst themselves
Inspector James Rue arrived in front of the squad. He took out a handkerchief and
wiped the sweat from his forehead.
“We meet again. Squad leader Han.”

“That is so. Inspector.”

Han stoically greeted. Inspector Rue had looked over Han’s profile once again the night
before. Han had something to him that was superior which words could not explain.

‘Ark has many things which it hides from the committee. Han should know at least one
thing.’

Inspector Rue had exchanged information with the other inspectors. Han had taken a
few days of absence. He speculated that Han had been sent out on a secret mission.

No youth of Ark would easily disclose top secret information. Inspector Rue vacantly
peered towards Han.

‘Tsk, this won’t be easy.’

He made an expression which didn’t belong to a child. The other party was used to
hiding his feelings. Han had never lived as a child, but instead had to live in a world of
adults, where he had to use trickery in order to survive.

‘You will not be able to learn anything new from me.’

Han stared back toward Inspector Rue. Han didn’t let the inspector grasp onto even a
straw. He let off an even more stoic aura than usual.

Han wasn’t the only one, but everyone in the second year of Ark was being constantly
harassed by the inspectors. The inspectors approached the youths for various reasons.
This was especially the case amongst the youths who shared the same home country
as the inspectors; they tried to glean some information by using their national pride.

‘War had not begun, but these people are already considering what would happen
after the end of war.’

Han felt bitter. After the war against dragons, humanity would start a war of
dominance with one another.

Whether for land or economic power, humanity would band together with their own
countries or ethnicities to fight with one another. This is inevitable.
They would fight to become the dominant country of the world. Once humanity does
away with their worst enemy, it wouldn’t be peace which comes to find them.

“It’s hard to understand.”

Han mumbled. There were many children who were starving in the streets all over the
world.

In his country, people would turn to thievery to find something to eat. There are so
many things to be done to save these people, yet these people are already preparing
for a war that has yet begun.

“We will begin a dangerous training drill. Please do not approach us.”

Han spoke in a cold, stoic flat voice. He moved his squad to the tall artificial pillar in
the sky. He prepared gear for aerial battle, such as airbeats, jump packs, and hook
cables. There was a maneuvering field which they could zip across faster than 40
kilometers per hour. If they were to crash accidentally, they wouldn’t get away with
only a broken bone. If they were hit in the head by the hook cable while flying across,
they would instantly die.

Tah!

Han stepped onto the airbeat and shot the hook cable pistol. The hook cable grabbed
onto the end of a pillar. He started his jump pack and began springing his cable. He
used the momentum of the cable and gravity to move around.

‘Next we will move out again with airbeats.’

Han unhooked the hook stuck onto the pillar. Casualties were common when hook
cables were used so using them in squad battles were not allowed.

“Huu.”

Han caught his breath on top of a pillar. The other squad members were fervently
training as well. This was one of the more dangerous training drills, but the most
enjoyable out of the bunch. The wind blowing on his face refreshed his senses.The
stressful thoughts in his mind seemed to disappear.

‘There is no need to give my attention to the adults. I just need to do my own job.’
Ark was a place to train and grow stronger. He would protect his peers in the coming
war. His main worry was no longer simply putting food on the table for his orphan
siblings.

His peers of Ark had become one of the many he wished to protect.

“A plane?”

Jose said on top of a tall pillar. There was something at the very end of the blue sky. It
was bulleting toward Ark like a comet.

It wasn’t just one or two planes that were flying to this area. There should be at
minimum ten planes flying here. Han narrowed his eyes.

Ding.

His data bracelet rang and vibrated. A line that had usually remained offline started
up in the network. This was the line to instantly connect drill instructors and second
year squad leaders for communication.

– This is not a drill. Enemy attack. Second year squads protect and suppress the
inspectors. I repeat, enemy attack. Second year squads, locate and capture the closest
inspector. There is a traitor amongst them.

Weeeng!

Sirens sounded all around Ark’s base. The alarm mechanisms of Ark flared. The third
stage emergency alarm flashed without stop. People were hastily moving about. The
command Han received had also been sent out to his squad members.

“Capture Inspector Rue and his entourage. Only suppress them for capture, we must
continue to protect them against the enemy.”

Han commanded his squad. Inspector Rue looked around confused.

“Wh-what’s going on here? Squad leader Han?”

Squad 13 captured Inspector Rue. His entourage took out pistols from their pocket.
Kuro’s eyes shot out a blinding light as he used his telekinesis to take away their guns.
Kuro’s telekinesis was far stronger than the grip they could maintain on their guns.
“Kaah!”

A man screamed as his nail was ripped out from his finger. There were some whose
fingers were completely broken in an unnatural way.

The stronger the telekinesis, the harder it was to control. Kuro felt apologetic and
tightly closed his eyes before opening them again.

“Inspector Rue.This is Ark’s command. Please adhere to Squad 13’s commands. We

will offer you protection. Enemies have attacked Ark. Jose! Take care of Inspector Rue.”

Han said while observing Inspector Rue. His eyes gave off a chilling light. His eyes
carried the eyes of a soldier who had experienced many hardships.

Any sort of childishness had completely disappeared. This was not just Han, but
everyone in the squad. Their eyes had changed upon the alert of war.

“Understood.”

Jose tied Inspector Rue’s arms. The other squad members apprehended the entourage
and gathered them all into one place.

Kuuuoong!

One end of the island exploded. The planes in the sky began dropping bombs.

_Tzz zzt, commanding 2nd year squad leaders. Apprehend all inspectors and protect
them. Enemies are actively assaulting Ark. Abstain from engaging with enemies, but
kill if necessary.

Minor commands had been left for the squad leaders. Han shortly closed his eyes. The
drill instructors looked busy for their own reasons.

The second years were able to actively battle in squadrons. However, any first years
would probably die mercilessly.

Ark did not have any spare forces to protect all of the second years.

“Canute, bring along a small gun. The enemy should still be in the outskirts. We still
have time to prepare.”
Han commanded each of his squad members. The most important task was to bring
the necessary gear and weapons. Kuro who had been frozen in place opened his mouth
to speak.

“Enemies? Who are our enemies? The Elu?”

Han fell into silence for a moment. The drill instructors had said it in a roundabout
way, but the answer was clear.

Their enemies were not minions or dragons of the other world. The current enemies
of Ark were…

“Humans.”