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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: An Interrupted Vacation - Part 3
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The morning of his first vacation since returning had arrived.
The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was a system message.
- Congratulations! You have satisfied a special condition and will be granted a new 'skill'.
[Skill Information]
- Name: Breath Room (Flame)
- Grade: D
- Effect
1) Internal Furnace: Increases the speed of metal absorption. (+50% ~ 250%) The higher the furnace's efficiency, the greater the pain inflicted on the body.
2) Fire Breath: A portion of metal can be stored in the Breath Room and fired as a 'breath'. (1 use per 3kg)
* Satisfying a hidden condition will upgrade the skill's grade.
By completely absorbing the Demon's Medal (Inferno), new internal organs called the 'Internal Furnace' and 'Breath Room' had formed.
"Hoo…"
With this, the pain that had tormented him for two straight days vanished as if washed away.
On top of that, he had gained a decent skill, so it seemed he could set off on his vacation feeling refreshed.
*The timing was perfect. I'll be able to devour a ton during this leave.*
Naturally, delicious food was an indispensable part of any soldier's vacation plan.
Eating as much "civilian food" as possible—things you couldn't get in the military—was one of the rules for a successful leave.
Though his plans were of a slightly different nature, Lee Hyun-wook also had a lot of eating planned.
*I'll spend nearly all my time during this leave absorbing metal.*
Even Lee Hyun-wook himself couldn't properly gauge just how much he could grow during his four-day, three-night leave. But he knew it would be an incomparable amount compared to before.
"Ahn Min-tae, take good care of the squad. Keep up with their training."
"Yes. Don't worry, just get some good rest."
"Oh, and don't just do regular exercises. Do combat drills and CBRN training too."
"Um, gas masks… you mean?"
"Yeah. What would have happened in the last battle if we hadn't been able to use our gas masks properly?"
"Ah… I understand. It's a pain, but we'll do it whenever we can."
He had mentioned the gas masks for a reason.
The time would soon come when they would have to live in their gas masks.
"Park Jun-mo, you especially need to train your ability. It's useful, you know."
"Yes! Understood! I realized it thanks to you, Corporal Lee Hyun-wook!"
"Cut the flattery."
"It's true!"
Like Lee Hyun-wook, Park Jun-mo also possessed immense potential, as his growth was characteristic-based rather than level-based.
The only problem was when he would discover that method of growth.
After reporting to the administration office, Lee Hyun-wook went down to the command and control center to receive a 'Mana Messenger' for emergency contact while on leave.
This pager-like item communicated not via radio waves but through mana, allowing it to function even in situations where radio waves were jammed by mana scattering.
- Grade 3 Mana Messenger (Transmissions: 3)
Of course, the number of uses was extremely limited.
"Oh! Hi!"
Just then, someone greeted Lee Hyun-wook cheerfully.
It was Sergeant Choi Seon-ah.
"Salute. Deputy Platoon Leader, are you the senior officer for the transport vehicle?"
"Nope, I'm on leave too! My first one since transferring! Hehe."
Choi Seon-ah looked incredibly excited, like a puppy going for its first walk ever. Without her helmet and tactical vest, her frame seemed much smaller, reinforcing her un-soldierly appearance.
The two of them chatted about this and that while waiting for the transport vehicle.
Most of it was about the operation from the day before yesterday.
"To be honest… I had no idea you were so amazing, Corporal Lee. But why were you holding back all this time?"
It was a difficult question.
"Um, well, I only just found out myself. That I could do something like this…"
"Oh? Really?"
"Yes. I guess because I've only ever done what I was told, I never had a chance to fight."
"Wow! So you were a hidden genius!"
*A genius…* Lee Hyun-wook let out a small chuckle.
"Not at all. I'm still lacking. I look forward to working with you."
"I'm the one who should be saying that! Really! I mean, Corporal Lee, you're practically an older… ah, no, you're older than me, have more combat experience, and you're stronger, so I think I have a lot more to learn."
"I'll do my best to be of help to you, Deputy Platoon Leader."
"Hehe, thanks."
Soon, a 15-seater bus arrived.
"All personnel on leave, board the bus, now!"
As someone shouted, the soldiers on leave began to board the bus.
There were six of them in total.
"Driver, are these all the people on leave today?"
"Yes, sir. Six is correct."
The senior officer, a second lieutenant who looked like a mage Player, was in the passenger seat. In the back, a corporal holding a shield was dozing off. He was the vehicle's escort.
The bus soon departed.
"Corporal Lee, where's your home?"
"I live in Suwon."
"Oh? That's close to me! I live in Hwaseong."
"Is that so?"
"Oh! Then where did you go to high school, by any chance?"
*High school…* It was the kind of question a twenty-year-old would ask.
Meanwhile, he could overhear the conversation of two soldiers in the back.
"That guy up front, he's the one, right? The F-rank soldier from Company 1?"
"…I think so? Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, wasn't it."
"Should we ask him if those rumors are true?"
"Heheh, it's all bullshit, man. If he's F-rank, he's gotta be weaker than us."
They seemed to be from the headquarters company, and they were talking about Lee Hyun-wook quite openly.
Lee Hyun-wook paid them no mind at all.
*It would be strange to expect them to be quiet.*
But Choi Seon-ah must have heard them too, as she fidgeted with a troubled expression. She probably felt that as the deputy leader of Platoon 2, she should step in and say something, but she didn't seem to have the courage.
It was then.
"Stop!"
The senior officer shouted,
*CRASH!*
and something flew in and struck the front of the bus.
*SCREEECH!*
The bus screeched to a halt.
"Kyaa!"
As Choi Seon-ah's body flew forward, Lee Hyun-wook grabbed her and pulled her back into her seat.
"Gasp! What's happening?"
"…"
Black smoke began to rise from the bus's engine.
"Huh? The engine won't start!"
Lee Hyun-wook looked out the window. They were still on the mountain road, halfway up Namsan.
"…Shit, what the hell! Hey! Raise your shield!"
At the senior officer's shout, the escort, jolted awake, hastily raised his shield and smacked it against the ceiling.
At the same time,
*CRACK!*
a window shattered, and something heavy flew into the bus.
In that split second, Lee Hyun-wook knew.
It was metal.
A chunk of metal, about 3.5kg,
just before it could crush the driver's skull…
*-Whish!*
Lee Hyun-wook used his 'Control' to stop it.
"Hic! …A-an axe?"
The driver, terrified, buried his head in the steering wheel.
*What's going on?*
He hadn't gone on leave at this time in his past life, so he couldn't remember the exact details.
But suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind.
Something he hadn't experienced directly, but had heard about…
*Right, this is the incident where two people died.*
The so-called 2nd Battalion leave bus ambush…
*THUD!*
Something slammed into the bus's automatic door.
*THUD!*
The second impact left the door battered and mangled.
"D-damn it! What do we do?"
"We don't have any w-weapons!"
All weapons had to be stored in the battalion armory during leave, so they were all empty-handed.
No matter how skilled they were as A.M.T. members, they couldn't fight without weapons.
The next moment…
*CRUNCH!*
The automatic door was ripped clean off its hinges.
And behind it stood something enormous.
A muscular body over two meters tall, with a frame that seemed twice the size of a human's…
*Grrr—*
This monster was an Orc.
"Uh, uhh!"
"No!"
The massive figure squeezed its body through the torn-open doorway.
Orcs were medium-sized monsters with a grip strong enough to strangle a bear with their bare hands; they could fold a human in half with terrifying ease.
"Ugh…"
The escort raised his square shield to face the creature, but he stumbled backward, crushed by its intimidating presence.
"Oh Dong-jin! What are you doing! Stop that orc bastard from getting inside!"
The second lieutenant shouted.
He was crouched on the floor, trying to make a call.
"But, how am I supposed to st-stop that by myself…"
the escort replied in a barely audible voice, raising his shield.
*THUD—*
Average weight: 190kg.
The orc's left foot landed on the bus steps, causing the vehicle to lurch violently.
*CRASH!*
"Aargh!"
While the standoff was happening at the bus entrance, something else smashed through a rear window.
It was, as expected, an orc's 'throwing axe'.
"U-uaargh! There's one behind us too!"
"Gasp! There's another one in the woods! Find something to use as a weapon!"
They were closing in from all sides.
Escape seemed impossible, and trying to fight back just because they were soldiers would be insane.
Lee Hyun-wook pulled Choi Seon-ah, who was sitting by the window, further inside.
"It's dangerous by the window."
"Ah, r-right, but what do we do? Should I try c-contacting the base…?"
"Yes, please do."
But they were ten minutes from the base; the five-minute quick reaction force wouldn't make it in time this time, either.
*If things go as they did before, two people will die.*
Fortunately, Lee Hyun-wook had already saved one of them.
By stopping the axe that came through the front window, he had prevented the driver's skull from being crushed.
Lee Hyun-wook scanned his surroundings.
*…Three in total. Orc scouts.*
Orcs are a species more intelligent than kobolds.
Of course, their blind faith in barbaric rules made them seem more ignorant than cunning, but that didn't mean they were stupid in combat.
Every single one of them was a seasoned warrior, making them top-tier in a straightforward frontal assault.
*That's why, regardless of a Player's abilities, a direct confrontation with orcs is impossible for anyone with mediocre skills.*
That escort and the senior officer both looked like they weren't skilled enough to take on an orc.
*CRASH!*
At the entrance, the orc's 'battle axe' slammed down on the escort's shield, letting out a deafening roar.
"Ugh, hk!"
The escort's knees buckled.
In retaliation, he thrust the sword in his right hand toward the orc's body, but…
*Clang!*
it was blocked futilely.
"D-damn it!"
It seemed the next victim would be that escort.
*I need a weapon.*
Lee Hyun-wook closed his eyes.
- Currently controllable 'metal' weight: 5,499g
*…The axes.*
He could feel the two 'throwing axes' that had come through the front and rear windows.
*Voom—*
Lee Hyun-wook exerted his control and lifted them.
"You with the shield, get back."
"…Huh?"
Without explaining, Lee Hyun-wook grabbed the escort's shoulder, pulled him back forcefully, and knocked him over.
Immediately after, a throwing axe flew through the gap that had opened up.
*THWACK!*
It embedded itself in the orc's left shoulder.
He had aimed precisely for the head, but the creature had twisted its body at the last second.
*K-RAAAAAH!*
Still, it was considerable damage. The orc screamed and staggered back.
"Here, let me borrow that shield."
"Ah, yes…"
"The sword, too."
"H-here you go."
With the shield in his left hand and the sword in his right, Lee Hyun-wook walked out of the bus.
*Yesterday, the battalion commander told me I wouldn't be able to handle something like an orc…*
When they were eating in the officers' mess, he had highly praised Lee Hyun-wook's combat prowess as C-rank but had also clearly drawn a line, stating that it was limited to small monsters and that he'd be outmatched by even a single orc.
In a way, it was an accurate assessment.
Based solely on the skills Lee Hyun-wook had 'shown' so far, that is.
*…I have no choice, but it looks like I'll have to raise his expectations a little higher.*