Year 5, The True Beginning (1)

From morning, new and existing members had been making a fuss.

I couldn’t understand how women’s cosmetics had appeared at the ‘Battlefield of the Gods,’ yet the women had been preoccupied with dressing up since dawn.

Those cosmetics people might forget a passport abroad but never a compact—every mysterious kind of makeup imaginable—had turned up.

Naruan darted about, scampering with a handful of brushes.

“Hey, hey, Naruan.”

“Huh? Why? Captain?”

“We have to leave soon—what are you doing with brushes? Painting can wait.”

“Huh? Puhehe—Captain, you’re dumb. Puhehe.”

Still stunned at being called a fool by a fool, I watched Naruan approach the women with his brushes.

A chorus of laughter rose from the women; they glanced at me, and I felt inexplicably annoyed.

Avoiding their gazes, I headed for the terrace. In the first-floor hall the male representatives were queued behind Arun, waiting.

“Next!”

“I want something free-spirited and kind of wild…”

“Next!”

“I’m going for an intellectual yet solemn look…”

A chair and a mirror stood before Arun. When a male representative sat and described the style he wanted, Arun used bending and wind magic to style his hair—literally a human hair straightener and hairdryer.

Surprisingly, he was talented—the men’s hair looked decent. Both stylists and clients were pleased; the mood was upbeat.

“As expected, Director Arun! Amazing!”

The men kept praising him; even the head of the magic tower glanced over, clearly wanting in.

“Why was it quiet until now, and suddenly this happens this year?”

I watched, then asked Wigo—who’d finished his hair and was fussing—why. He looked clueless, then nodded as if he’d suddenly remembered, adopting a bitter smile before launching into a long, pathetic self-deprecating explanation.

“Ah, Captain, you’re popular so it doesn’t matter for you, but we don’t get other chances to show off our charm. Think about it: while other representatives are too scared to go out, our Rebound Legion will be the first to head to the Garden of Gods. And with red capes fluttering…! Kya! Isn’t it cool? Surely the ladies will rush us and rub their breasts against my face. Hahaha.”

“Popular? Who?”

“Huh, who else! It’s the Captain. When you go out they call you all sorts of nicknames like Great Warrior, Chivalrous Giver, Blessed Warrior—calling whatever title they please! The continent’s people like you regardless of age or gender… ugh!!”

Hearing those ‘warrior’ nicknames irritated me; it felt like mockery.

Perhaps some hostility slipped out, because Hugo flinched and scuttled away.

I took out the communication crystal, infused it with divine power, and issued a unilateral notice.

“You have thirty minutes to gather at the main gate. If you’re even one minute late, you’ll have to follow in duck-walks.”

It wasn’t just spite—I meant it.

I ignored the shouting around the crystal and moved to the terrace.

“What?! Le-leader!”

“Captain!”

“Arun, hurry, hurry!”

The hall had become chaos—people pushing to go first while others tried to stop line-cutting. Just before things erupted, a turbulent surge of mana swept the hall, followed by loud, unpleasant cheers from the men—like a pop group’s dance number blaring on the barracks TV.

Thirty minutes later, when the members gathered at the main gate, all I heard were sighs.

The female members looked like they’d come to an awards show—the dress code was dresses. They wore gowns of all kinds: low necklines, bare backs, every color.

The men wore tuxedos and styled their hair; then I noticed the cause of the earlier mana disturbance—about ten of their hairstyles were identical.

“You idiots… Are you seriously going to wear capes with those outfits? You’ll look ridiculous and pathetic. Change now!”

I started in a low voice, but my anger rose as I spoke.

The startled members hurried back to the mansion.

Only Hazel, Lee Hyo-ju, Mae Young-ryeong, and Naruan stayed by my side.

“Naruan, why aren’t you going?”

“Huh? I’m here, look. Hehe.”

When I scolded her for looking like a child in a pink dress, she lifted her skirt with a flourish. I flinched—under the skirt she’d folded up the hem of her usual pants.

Her pants pockets were like magic pouches, holding anything from weapons to unwashed underwear.

“Then what about the top?”

“Huh? Ah! Right. I’ll be back, Captain!”

Naruan went into the mansion, and Hazel approached as I sighed, trying to hide little snorts of laughter.

“Beloved, I really want that expression on your face right now. Doesn’t it look like a sulking child? Hohohoho.”

“…Ugh. Enough. Couldn’t you have stopped them?”

“They wouldn’t have listened anyway. No point stepping in and getting cursed at. Besides, a new recruit joined yesterday, so things seem to be blending well thanks to that.”

Hazel was right. Still, I couldn’t help feeling sulky for no good reason.

I felt time slipping; before the fifth year began I wanted to meet Ludicer and get that promised gift. I wanted to hand over the Latens Cube and hear what he had to say—like receiving a notification that a package has arrived but finding nothing when you go to pick it up.

“Couldn’t you have at least stopped them from wearing the dresses?”

“It’s still lucky they can just change clothes. If you’d told them to remove their makeup too, we might have had to eat lunch and then leave…! Hohoho. That face again! Hoho.”

Pfft—hohohoho.

Lee Hyo-ju and Hazel openly laughed, and though Mae Young-ryeong didn’t, her cheeks flushed. Later Hazel even took out a video storage crystal and busied herself recording here and there.

“There are no sane people around…”

After various twists and turns we departed, riding a bus newly developed by the magic tower.

Lee Hyo-ju and the head of the magic tower had devised a bus powered by mana stones. It didn’t run on wheels but floated about fifty centimeters above the ground, and as a new transport for moving many people it drew the attention of continent-dwellers and representatives.

We parked the bus by an inn-lined square and decided to disembark and move on foot.

The square was already crowded, and if we paraded that magical transport—twice the size of an Earth bus—through the center, we’d know exactly what it felt like to be an idol strutting through Myeong-dong. I’d politely decline that.

We disembarked from the vehicle we’d started calling a bus, and the party naturally fell in line behind me.

Eyes had been on the bus since it appeared, and when people realized I was the one who stepped out, the murmurs grew louder.

Behind me stood Hazel, Lee Hyo-ju, Mae Young-ryeong, and Naruan. Behind them stood Proy Rium, and behind Proy Rium the members lined up by faction.

Their expressions were calm and their gazes fixed forward. Dark red capes flapped in the occasional breeze.

As if earlier foolishness had never happened, every member burned with an inexplicable fighting spirit.

I asked Lee Hyo-ju with a look why, and she whispered the reason.

“They said Mr. Kim Han would be disembarking, and that Violentia and Benialis were on their way. If anyone’s caught doing something stupid, Talis and Bioss—who’re in a foul mood—said they’d have to spar for a week.”

This morning I had confirmed that Benialis’s and Violentia’s factions were also heading for the square. I told Hazel and Lee Hyo-ju, and fortunately we arrived first—so I thought.

Suddenly the noise swelled.

Still facing the party, I turned my head and saw swarms of representatives pouring in from the west and east like a broken dam.

“Ah…!”

It hit me that we had been significantly delayed because of the dress-and-tuxedo incident.

I glared at Arun and Naruan—the culprits—then strode forward, the party following.

Three forces moved toward the Garden of Gods.

Numerically, the eastern Benialis faction was the largest, but their morale was weakest. Even the representatives at the front—vanguard or officers—looked tense, constantly glancing around. Only Giorgio wore his usual face among them.

Violentia’s faction from the west had less than half its former numbers; recon had indicated this, and they seemed under three thousand in person.

Thus Violentia and her guards’ imposing stride stood in stark contrast to Benialis’s jittery mass.

At last, the vanguards of the three forces drew close enough to see each other’s faces.

“Hello, Mr. Kim Han.”

“Good day! Mr. Kim Han.”

Violentia and Giorgio approached casually. I gave them a faint smile and returned their greetings.

“Yes, good day to both of you. Today isn’t a good time for discussion—there are others waiting. What will you do?”

“I…”

“We’ll go ahead.”

Just as Violentia glanced at me to say something, Giorgio interjected that they’d go first, and I smiled.

“Go on.”

“Yes, then!”

“Mr. Kim Han!”

As Giorgio hurried back to his group, Violentia called me with a reproachful tone, but I didn’t turn to her; instead I met the eyes of my legion members.

“We head to the Garden of Gods. As we’ve practiced, the formation is Azure Sky. Drench Azure Sky in killing intent.”

“Yes!”

We left the center open, spread wide, and formed a diamond-shaped formation with me at the front in perfect unison. The formation covered a broad area because of the distance between us.

At the same time, a surge of momentum rose among the members. The square’s ground trembled as if dozens of Proy Riums had appeared.

Ur—urrr! Urr—!

The effort wasn’t perfectly synchronized, so the vibrations and sounds varied—making it even more terrifying to the onlookers.

Violentia watched us with startled eyes and stepped back until she reached her group. Giorgio, who had been approaching hurriedly, went pale and could neither advance nor retreat.

“Mr. K-Kim Han…”

“Go ahead.”

“…Guh!”

Benialis and Giorgio, who’d been at the very front, dropped to their hands and knees, gasping for air. Any representative who came within a certain distance of our legion members found themselves in the same posture.

“Since it seems no one is going, we’ll go ahead. Thank you for yielding.”

Giorgio’s reply couldn’t be heard.

I turned to Violentia and said we’d go first as well; she nodded blankly.

I led the way, and the party followed toward the Garden of Gods entrance.

On the left nearly ten thousand representatives watched, on the right about three thousand did, but none of my members seemed intimidated as we walked calmly between them.

Arun, Proy Rium, and Naruan even puffed out their chests, lifted their chins, and strutted arrogantly.

When we arrived at the garden entrance, the gardener—who often interacted with us—approached with a broad smile.

“Welcome, Mr. Kim Han. We’ve been waiting.”

“Long time no see, gardener.”

The gardener checked the members’ faces one by one and voiced his admiration. As each person entered, I introduced them, and they greeted him politely.

When Proy Rium entered,

“My name is Proy Rium.”

“Ah…! Huh? No way…”

“Yes, I’m Manus’s representative.”

“Oh… Are you all right?”

Proy Rium bowed politely to the gardener—an odd display given that the gardener had once scattered thousands of representatives with sheer presence—and entered the Garden of Gods. The gardener asked me with concern.

“He’s fine. On the contrary, the masters seem to want Manus to intervene.”

After all the members had entered and I was left alone, the gardener gently inquired about the two masters.

“They’re just getting by. To be honest, I can’t say they’re doing well.”

“I see. If it’s the two of them and Manus, they’d have every reason to be greatly distressed. I’ll pay them a visit soon.”

“Yes, please do.”

After we finished chatting and I stepped into the Garden of Gods, I wasn’t greeted by the garden’s beauty nor Ludicer’s machine-filled room, but by a completely white, empty space—and no one in it.