Chapter 21

The very next day after I’d received that suspicious invitation from the even more suspicious man named Aldrick.

On a peaceful weekend morning, my roommate Alexei came back from his dawn training.

He was one of the few Middle Level Awakened in Division 3, ranking third in the aptitude test right after me and No Yeon-hwa.

After finishing his shower, steam rose from his damp hair like it was alive, drying itself on its own.

“Hayan, breakfast.”

His voice boomed across the room, but thankfully, the neighboring rooms were vacant.

Our dorm was Room 1408, and the trainees who used to live in 1407 and 1409 had voluntarily moved out.

I never knew why, but at least it meant we didn’t have to deal with noise through the walls.

Dragging myself out from under the blanket, I noticed something was missing from my wrist.

“Training ground’s boring again today. Haven’t met a proper opponent lately.”

“Well, it’s about that time for you to get restless.”

“In that sense, you’re impressive, Hayan. You’ve been exactly the same since day one.”

“You’re not mocking me, are you…?”

I hadn’t stepped foot in the training ground once since my duel with Yoo Se-byeol. I couldn’t even remember what the floor was made of.

But Alexei shook his head at my words.

He poured himself a glass of water, making the glass mug look like a flimsy paper cup in his massive hands, then sat down on his usual bed on the lower bunk.

The frame let out a creak of protest, and right beside him, a tuft of white hair brushed into my view.

It was Mala-nim, in Incarnation form, fiddling with my smartwatch in Alexei’s seat.

For a second, unease gripped me, but it turned out to be needless worry.

“Hayan, you’re admirable. You take on chores, you run missions, and just recently you even reunited with your long-lost little sister. That’s something I couldn’t do.”

Ah, right. That’s how I’d introduced Mala-nim.

I had no choice but to call her my sister—at least in front of my roommate.¹

It wasn’t like I could fool someone living in the same room otherwise.

Luckily, after hearing my story, Alexei had readily promised to keep it a secret.

A heartfelt tale sprinkled with just the right seasoning—apparently even the Butcher of Bishkek couldn’t help but shed a tear.

“To think you decided to look after your sister, who lost her voice from eating pufferfish wrong as a child, until you could find a cure. If I get the chance, I’ll search for an antidote too.”

Good thing Central Asia doesn’t have a sea.

I sluggishly climbed down from my bed.

Taking the smartwatch from Mala-nim, I strapped it back on my wrist and pressed my palms together in thanks.

“Thank you, brother. But what I’ve done doesn’t compare to your struggle to reclaim your homeland.”

“No, brother. I failed in the end. Hayan, you walk a path different from mine, a path of success.”

“You flatter me, brother. What I mean to say is that I’m not repeating the same mistakes.”

“Ah, I see, brother. Learning never ends. The early worm twists the bird’s neck, as they say.” (he mixed up the proverb “the early bird catches the worm”)

Brother, brother, brother…

Mala-nim eventually scowled at the endless back-and-forth and retreated upstairs, likely returning to her true tentacle form without ears.

Whether or not she cared, Alexei and I continued our debate over who was the true hero.

While we were deep in our brotherly bond, both our smartwatches buzzed at the same time.

Boneless Spear Kang Ha-neul: Important announcement. All zero-years, gather at Training Ground 1.

Boneless Spear Kang Ha-neul: If even one person’s missing, you’re dead.

“The lot of you these days—your discipline’s gone right out the window.”

That was the very first thing we heard.

Everyone bowed their heads as if on cue.

I had nothing to be ashamed of, but to blend in I lowered my gaze too—using the chance to check the flooring.

Concrete mixed with mana stones, reinforced to withstand Awakened powers.

“I’ve never seen a batch like this in my life. You think Special Unit duty’s over once you fill your mission quota?”

“……”

“On days off like today, you should be shaking out your blankets for sun-drying, maybe cleaning the training grounds. You all know me—I don’t interfere if you keep the basics.”

At Kang Ha-neul’s sighing reprimand, a few veterans who’d done their military service rolled their eyes.

Since the founding of the Republic, how many people could honestly agree with that line?

Truthfully, Division 3 lived up to its name—Frontline Breakthrough Unit. Among the Special Unit divisions, their regulations were especially strict since they were always sent to the front.

And it wasn’t that this year’s rookies were all weak like Ha-neul claimed.

Even from my perspective, several members besides Alexei were just shy of reaching Middle Level.

But that wasn’t the real issue. The problem was that Division 3 had no time to wait for us to grow stronger.

Not after the damages from the recent Dimensional Gate anomaly, which still hadn’t been fully repaired.

“Some of you probably feel guilty hearing this. If you don’t shape up, when the real missions hit, you’ll all just die.”

“……”

“That’s why, for the upcoming joint reinforcement training, our division will be sending in even the zero-years. Other divisions only let their top rookies in, so count yourselves lucky.”

The squad broke into loud complaints.

So it had come to this.

I’d read about it on the anonymous board <Special Unit Bamboo Forest>, accessible through our smartwatches. The joint reinforcement training was essentially a team battle between two divisions to measure each other’s skills.²

Division pride was on the line, and every year it was said to be brutal enough to rack up serious casualties.

“This time, our opponent is Division 4.”

“Division 4—that’s the Firepower Support Unit.”

“The mages of the Red Tower, huh.”

Division 3 and Division 4 had never gotten along.

In the Special Unit, inter-division cooperation was vital, but we were frontline while they were rear guard.

When support magic arrived late—or worse, when spells misfired into friendly lines—Division 3 would rage at those “insane mages.”

Meanwhile, Division 4 always looked down on us, saying Division 3 were idiots who only knew how to swing hunks of steel and get themselves isolated among monsters.

So when Ha-neul announced who we’d be up against, even the rookies straightened up.

We hadn’t been deployed in a full-unit operation yet, but we’d crossed paths with other divisions during missions.

The idea of putting those arrogant mages in their place gave everyone some motivation.

“For reference, we’ve secured the right to choose the battlefield.”

“Battlefield, meaning…?”

“The location will be Mount Cheonsan. You’ve all heard of it—home base of The Old Gods’ Wound. They’ve agreed to cooperate for this training.”

“Oooh…!”

“As expected of you, senior!”

Not an open plain, but a dense, forested mountain highland.

Just climbing would be torture for mages lacking stamina.

On top of that, Cheonsan had been swarming with feral mutated beasts ever since the Gates appeared.

Clearly, we were making the most of an advantage to offset our weaker force.

“Departure is Monday morning. I’ll share the schedule to your watches, so prepare yourselves until then.”

“Yes, sir!”

Even after Kang Ha-neul left, not a single person moved to leave the training ground.

Everyone pulled weapons from the armory and began drilling.

I couldn’t exactly think fondly of the Red Tower’s mages either, not after what happened during the aptitude test.

This had nothing to do with Archdukes, but since it had come to this, maybe I should show a bit of sincerity too.

Who knew?

If I performed spectacularly again this time, maybe Yoo Se-byeol would grant me an Oath.

“I can’t afford to lose either. This training will end in Division 3’s victory.”

I was just about to get up from my bed, my long-dormant fighting spirit flickering awake, when Kang Ha-neul suddenly came back through the door and called my name.

“Oh, right. Sae Hayan.”

“Yes?”

“You’re with the other team. Firepower Support Unit will come pick you up later, so pack your things and head over.”

…What the hell?

No Yeon-hwa: So what, dumbass.

SenaChok: Don’t you think this is unfair?! They’re sending me straight into the enemy camp just because I’m a mage!!

No Yeon-hwa: Then complain to your Deputy Commander.

SenaChok: She’s away. I tried telling another senior, but they brushed me off.

Tap-tap-tap.

My fingers pounded the smartwatch screen so furiously that Mala-nim peeked out from my sleeve to see what was going on.

She, too, was clearly angry at the situation.

I’d argued with Kang Ha-neul, demanding how this could possibly make sense, but his only answer was that transfers weren’t unheard of depending on role.

As a mage, he said, I’d learn far more in the Firepower Support Unit. I had no comeback to that frustratingly reasonable logic.

No Yeon-hwa: Still, it’s a bit strange.

SenaChok: Right?! Totally unfair, isn’t it?!

No Yeon-hwa: No, I mean the fact they singled you out. Division 3 has other rookies who can use magic, doesn’t it?

Most mages from the Magic Tower preferred rear guard units.

Still, there were exceptions—guild mages who’d worked on the frontlines, or those with close-combat–type abilities sometimes applied to Division 3.

I’d heard a few rookies this year could use magic, albeit a minority.

So why was I the only one pulled into Division 4? Yeon-hwa voiced the same suspicion.

No Yeon-hwa: Probably some deal up top. Or pressure from outside.

SenaChok: With me? But why me?

No Yeon-hwa: How the hell should I know, idiot. I’m busy, talk later.

Even though she was also zero-years, Yeon-hwa had already reached Middle Level. She too was participating in the training—her Archduke Extermination Unit would be clashing with Division 2, led by Ha Yeri.

I was curious how that matchup would turn out, but first I had to worry about my own survival.

There was no way a flimsy mage like me would last long in Division 4, where most were Red Tower elites.

“At this rate I’ll be lucky to even get fed. Maybe I still have some of that combat ration left…”

I was stuffing things into my pack when the culprit behind all this showed up in person.

It was the night before training began.

The others were too busy drawing up victory plans for the joint exercise to pay me any mind.

Bored out of my skull, I was wandering the halls muttering “I know you’re following me, come out already—” every three seconds like some dumb game…

When suddenly, someone actually appeared before me.

“Oh my, I didn’t think I’d be discovered this quickly.”

“Cheon So-baek?”

The commander of the Firepower Support Unit. The Red Tower’s master’s direct disciple.

And the very woman who had been the first to offer me an Oath.

“I wanted to give you a scare, but how did you see through me? Magic? Or… your ability?”

Her crimson eyes gleamed with curiosity as she looked straight at me.