Dohyeon’s day began repeating again.
Through the fifth loop, he died while trying to determine the exact direction from which the curving arrows came. Through the thirteenth, he died pointlessly after failing to evade the second arrow.
The problem arose on the fourteenth loop.
After tremendous effort, he finally dodged the second arrow—
THUD—!
Only for a third arrow to come flying at him.
This time, it came from the side.
The arrow suddenly shot in from the left and pierced Dohyeon’s temple.
In the end, the day continued repeating without any meaningful progress, and he never identified the person firing the arrows.
On the nineteenth repetition, Dohyeon decided to take a gamble.
He faced the Ogre once again.
As it charged like a runaway tank—
“Equivalent Exchange.”
Dohyeon activated Equivalent Exchange at the moment he began performing Infinite Path.
What he demanded from Equivalent Exchange was to evade all three arrows that flew at him during Infinite Path and see the face of whoever had fired them.
The instant he visualized the desired outcome and activated the skill—
▶Choose the price to pay for Equivalent Exchange.
①Success Rate 78% / Price: Shattered Right Kneecap
②Success Rate 63% / Price: Fractured Right Clavicle
③Success Rate 21% / Price: Penetrating Wound to the Side
Three choices appeared.
Unfortunately, none offered a success rate above ninety percent.
On the other hand, none demanded his death as the price.
Without hesitation, Dohyeon selected the option with a seventy-eight-percent success rate.
HMMMM—
A faint light radiated from his body.
BOOM—!
He kicked off the asphalt and charged toward the Ogre.
Equivalent Exchange had begun moving Dohyeon’s body automatically.
‘I’ll remember every single movement!’
There was one reason Dohyeon had taken this gamble.
Just as he had learned Infinite Path through Equivalent Exchange before, he intended to learn how to evade the ambush and identify his enemy this time.
Dohyeon rushed forward and used Infinite Path to guide the Ogre’s club to the side.
But from this point onward, something was different.
Under normal circumstances, Infinite Path would deflect the club past his right forearm, rapidly close the distance, and then stamp the ground with his left foot to spin his body at high speed before thrusting his sword.
This time, however, he used the force transmitted through the club to launch himself to the left.
After being pushed two meters away, he stamped the ground hard with his left foot.
BOOM—!
Enormous pressure bore down on his knee, but it endured.
The resulting rebound lifted Dohyeon slightly into the air.
His body spun violently in midair.
At the same time, he swung his sword, severed one of the Ogre’s arms, and landed.
He immediately pushed his body sideways with his right foot and flipped himself over.
WHIZZ—
An arrow narrowly grazed his chest.
The instant he thought he had dodged the first one, the second arrow arrived.
Dohyeon could see it clearly. He swept his sword upward and split it in half.
Then the third arrow came flying at him.
He had already swung his sword and did not have time to redirect it.
The arrow flew straight toward his head.
At that moment—
THUD—!
Dohyeon kicked off the ground with his left foot and soared into the air.
SQUELCH—!
The arrow buried itself deeply in his raised right knee.
Agonizing pain tore through his entire body.
It felt as though his whole leg had been ripped off.
Even then, Dohyeon searched for the person who had fired the arrows.
And then—
‘That bastard!’
At last, he found the culprit.
A soldier stood in the distance holding an arrow.
The tall, generously built man was none other than the NCO responsible for the armory.
Dohyeon had encountered him in front of the armory every time the battle began, so there was no possibility that he had mistaken him for someone else.
‘Why would that bastard......?’
The instant the question crossed Dohyeon’s mind, he fell.
The arrow embedded in his right knee destroyed his balance, sending him rolling across the ground.
He tried desperately to rise, but—
CRASH—!
His body refused to obey him.
He had broken through the seventy-eight-percent probability and succeeded with Equivalent Exchange, but the arrow in his knee was the price he had paid.
And the price did not end there.
WHOOOOOM—
An ominous sound of displaced air tore into his ears.
THUD—!
The Ogre’s club smashed his head apart.
His vision went dark with a flash.
TOOT-TOOT, TOOT-TOOT-TOOT, TOOT-TOO-ROO-TOOT-TOOT...
The infuriating morning bugle rang out once again.
***
Dohyeon’s eyes flew open.
This was the twentieth morning he had greeted in the barracks.
As he watched his squad members rise one by one and dress, Dohyeon realized that Equivalent Exchange had just succeeded.
‘The armory NCO. He was the culprit.’
Dohyeon did not know why the man wanted to kill him.
The NCO did not even participate in the battle.
His generously built physique did not look suited to archery either.
Yet that same NCO could fire an enormous-looking bow with such accuracy and power.
‘Is he another Shapeshifting Monster?’
There seemed to be no other explanation.
Dohyeon did not know the reason yet, but first he needed to find a way to kill the man.
‘I should go to the Defense Unit before anything happens.’
Dohyeon decided to catch and kill the NCO before the Gate opened today.
The same day began once more.
Park Gyu-ho and the recruits arrived, and Dohyeon received Reward Leave.
After immediately reporting for leave, he returned to Earth.
He forcibly dragged Song Ha-jun home with him.
While Song Ha-jun cooked, Dohyeon went to the first-floor training room and practiced with his sword.
He was currently training in an application of Infinite Path.
Dohyeon remembered every movement his body had made under Equivalent Exchange.
Using those memories, he studied the most efficient way to move when facing a medium-sized monster like an Ogre.
Then he practiced.
He copied the precise angle and length of every step, the force with which he kicked off the ground, the direction of his rotation, and even its speed.
Was it not said that imitation was the mother of creation?
By imitating the technique presented by Equivalent Exchange, Dohyeon began completely making it his own.
Time passed.
After eating the lunch Song Ha-jun prepared, Dohyeon left the house alone.
His destination was the Defense Unit’s base.
The base was approximately two kilometers away.
Only slightly larger than a neighborhood police substation, the Defense Unit’s base was perfectly peaceful, with no inkling of the disaster that would strike in two hours.
Dohyeon paced in front of the guard post.
Even with an Awakened License, he could not enter a Defense Unit’s base without a reason.
Secretly sneaking inside was even more absurd.
‘There’s no way to find him right now.’
Unable to think of any viable method, Dohyeon turned back.
It was a little after two o’clock.
At last, a mysterious hole appeared amid a tremor, heralding the formation of a Gate.
Dohyeon and Song Ha-jun hurried to the location and encountered the Defense Unit shortly afterward.
After meeting its company commander and promising their cooperation, they headed to the armory to receive weapons.
They were being issued a sword and a bow, along with rifles and Magic Bullets, when the man finally appeared.
“Oh dear! I’m sorry, truly sorry. My stomach hurt so badly that I was in the bathroom, so I’m a little late.”
The tall, heavyset man, whose build made him resemble a bear, came hurrying over with an embarrassed smile.
“Staff Sergeant Hwang, you’re really something else. You only received your commission yesterday, yet you’re late to your first battle. Good grief.......”
Dohyeon had witnessed this scene twenty times already, but today it felt different.
He had been in the bathroom and arrived late at this crucial moment?
On top of that, he had not been stationed with this Defense Unit for long. He was a rookie NCO who had received his commission only yesterday.
Perhaps it was because Dohyeon now knew that the NCO was the culprit, but the entire situation felt contrived.
Dohyeon’s gaze shifted toward the man’s chest.
[Hwang Dae-seong]
His name was Hwang Dae-seong, and his rank was staff sergeant.
He appeared to be twenty-two or twenty-three at most.
‘Should I kill him right now?’
Dohyeon’s hand twitched.
All he had to do was draw the Glock pistol he had just received and pull the trigger to kill Hwang Dae-seong.
But what happened afterward?
If Hwang Dae-seong was a Shapeshifting Monster, he would return to his monstrous form the moment he died, clearing Dohyeon of murder. But what if he was human?
Dohyeon would become a murderer who had killed an innocent man and end up behind bars.
Yet if he left Hwang Dae-seong alone, the man would attack him from behind during the coming battle. It was a truly troublesome dilemma.
‘Sigh...... For now, it’ll be faster to leave him alone and use Equivalent Exchange to see if I can kill him.’
Dohyeon chose to evade Hwang Dae-seong’s ambush and kill him with a counterattack instead.
No one would find Hwang Dae-seong’s death suspicious in the middle of a desperate battle.
That was precisely why Hwang Dae-seong had also chosen that moment to ambush Dohyeon.
Dohyeon left the armory.
Then he took the front line with Song Ha-jun.
“Squad Leader, you don’t look well today.”
“I’m nervous.”
“You’re nervous? Uh...... That makes no sense.”
Song Ha-jun stared at him in disbelief.
“Do you think I’m not afraid of fighting monsters?”
“Then should we back out? No one can criticize us for leaving.”
The two of them were on leave, so they had no obligation to participate in this battle.
But Dohyeon had an important reason to defend this place.
“How can I leave that behind?”
Dohyeon’s gaze rested on his sister’s house.
“If it’s because of the Gate, wouldn’t your sister understand?”
“She would. But I wouldn’t be able to accept it. I’m an MSU squad leader. It’d be ridiculous if I couldn’t even protect my sister’s house.”
“Ah.......”
Song Ha-jun nodded as though he finally understood.
“By the way, Ha-jun.”
“Yes, Squad Leader.”
“Can you make your arrows curve too?”
“......What?”
Song Ha-jun’s expression plainly asked what kind of nonsense this was.
“How many arrows can you fire within two or three seconds?”
“Why are you suddenly asking me that?”
“I’m serious, so answer me first.”
Dohyeon was entirely serious.
Hwang Dae-seong had fired three arrows in less than three seconds, and two of them had flown along tremendous curves.
“Making arrows curve? That is possible, at least. But even I can’t fire three shots in three seconds.”
“Right? It should take several seconds just to nock an arrow and aim.”
“However, with Multi-Shot, I could fire not only three arrows within three seconds, but four.”
“What? Multi-Shot?”
Song Ha-jun truly was a master archer.
Dohyeon thought he should have asked him from the beginning instead of worrying alone.
“You nock three arrows at once, then press their fletching with your fingers as you release the string so that each one flies in a different direction.”
“That’s possible?”
“It is, but if you make a mistake, you can lose your fingers. That’s why I use finger guards like these.”
Song Ha-jun took several thin finger guards with excellent elasticity and durability from his pocket.
“If I wear these and tap the fletching with my fingers, I can make the arrows curve wherever I want.”
The strangely proud expression on his face irritated Dohyeon for some reason.
‘Talented bastards all act the same way.’
To the talentless Dohyeon, it was an enviable expression.
He wanted to make that kind of face in front of others at least once, but his lack of talent had never given him the opportunity.
“If we survive today, teach me how to shoot a bow.”
“Me?”
“Who else would I ask? I have a feeling learning archery will help keep me alive longer.”
“Why should I?”
“Tell me if you need anything. I’ll buy it for you.”
Dohyeon had diligently saved his monthly salary since enlisting in the MSU and now possessed a considerable sum.
If Song Ha-jun asked for money, he would give him money. If he asked for an item, Dohyeon was willing to buy it.
“You really mean you’ll buy me anything I want?”
“Within reason.”
“Understood. Let’s survive today first and discuss it afterward.”
“Good. You promised.”
After securing Song Ha-jun’s promise, Dohyeon looked toward the hole in the Gate.
[00:00:16]
The Gate would open in sixteen seconds.
Dohyeon drew his sword and took several steps forward.
A moment later—
RRRRRUMBLE—!
With a tremendous roar, the Gate abruptly expanded to five meters.
Orcs and Lycans poured from within.
The battle followed the same general pattern as always.
After withstanding the Defense Unit’s opening attack, the monsters counterattacked in unison, and the unit’s defensive line quickly became precarious.
Only when Dohyeon and Song Ha-jun joined the battle and began collapsing one side did the fight regain some balance.
Forty minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
Once again, the Gate Response Unit did not arrive.
It was truly strange, but Dohyeon had no attention to spare for that now.
THUD—
At last, the Ogre appeared.
Deciding the time had come, Dohyeon moved toward it.
Song Ha-jun shouted for him to retreat, but Dohyeon stubbornly pressed forward.
‘If I want Hwang Dae-seong to ambush me, I have to confront that Ogre head-on!’
Just before attacking the Ogre, Dohyeon activated Equivalent Exchange.
“Equivalent Exchange.”
The moment the skill activated, he visualized his desire.
He wanted to evade Hwang Dae-seong’s arrows while successfully counterattacking him.
The visualization ended in an instant, and choices appeared before his eyes.
▶Choose the price to pay for Equivalent Exchange.
①Success Rate 87% / Price: Severed Right Index and Middle Fingers
②Success Rate 48% / Price: 7 Seconds of Paralysis
③Success Rate 16% / Price: Loss of Balance for 3 Seconds
His chances of successfully counterattacking were considerably higher than expected.
Without hesitation, Dohyeon selected the first option, which possessed the highest probability.
FWOOSH—!
The instant light enveloped Dohyeon’s body, it began moving of its own accord, entirely independent of his will.