“So, Squad Leader, what you’re saying is you want to pierce solid plate armor with a sword, right?”
Since Yun Du-sik had shown up, Dohyeon decided to share his concern with him.
Yun Du-sik was a master spearman, and as a thirty-one-year-old veteran, he possessed extensive combat experience. Dohyeon thought he might be able to offer an answer.
“I strapped sandbags to my arms and practiced thrusting like mad, but I still couldn’t produce the power I wanted.”
“You’re truly incredible, Squad Leader. I can’t help but admire how diligently you walk down the wrong path.”
Yun Du-sik shook his head, looking utterly exasperated.
“The wrong path? Doesn’t strengthening my arms make my thrusts more powerful?”
“You stupid, bullheaded Squad Leader. How do you not know that arm strength isn’t the key element of a thrust?!”
“What do you mean? Why isn’t strength the key element?”
“The keys to a thrust are speed and rotation.”
Yun Du-sik stated with certainty that speed and rotation were what mattered.
As befitted a master spearman, no one in the MSU could match Yun Du-sik when it came to thrusting.
“Speed and rotation......? Not strength?”
“Think about it. Let’s say you have a solid iron plate and want to punch through it. Even if you have a ball made of the hardest steel, do you think casually throwing it will pierce the plate? It’ll bounce off, or the ball itself might shatter. It’ll be much easier to understand if you think of a bullet.”
“A bullet.......”
Dohyeon recalled the principle behind firing a bullet from a gun.
When the firing pin struck the rear of the cartridge and ignited the gunpowder, the bullet shot forward and gained tremendous rotational force as it traveled through the rifled barrel.
That rotation, combined with its immense speed, gave it tremendous penetrating power.
“A soft target like human flesh can easily be pierced by the sword’s sharpness alone. But when the target is hard, sharpness isn’t enough to penetrate it. The blade is far more likely to break or get knocked off course instead.”
“So you’re telling me to add rotation to the sword?”
“That’s exactly it. Add speed on top of that, and it’ll be like laying flowers over brocade.”
“How do I do that?”
Dohyeon was not a genius who could understand ten things after being taught one.
He was merely an exceptionally hard worker, and unless someone showed him the right path, he could not advance properly.
“Take this.”
Yun Du-sik handed his spear to Dohyeon.
“Grip the end of the shaft between your thumb and index finger, then hold it steady. This will greatly strengthen your grip and wrist.”
“Like...... this?”
Dohyeon gripped the end of the spear shaft as Yun Du-sik had instructed.
However—
CLATTER
He dropped it before even a second had passed.
“This is incredibly difficult.”
“If it were easy, anyone could become a master spearman. You need to practice. Practice.”
“Can I really gain both rotation and speed from this?”
“This training is for rotation. To increase speed, you need to improve the elasticity of your muscles.”
“How do I do that?”
“You really are a high-maintenance squad leader. Here, watch.”
Yun Du-sik picked up his spear and stood before the leather target Dohyeon had made.
He grasped the end of the shaft with his right hand and stared silently at the target. Then, without any preparatory movement, he thrust the spear straight forward using only the strength of his arm.
Yet its speed was nothing short of lightning.
The spear shot forward like an arrow and buried itself in the target.
BOOM—!
The leather cushion exploded with a thunderous report.
The spear had even embedded itself deep in the tree behind it.
“See that?”
Dohyeon nodded.
His eyes were wide open.
This was exactly what he had been seeking.
The thrust possessed speed too fast for the eye to follow and enough destructive power to obliterate the leather cushion.
“Brother Yun, teach me. What do I need to do?”
His eyes sparkling, Dohyeon respectfully asked Yun Du-sik with the proper attitude of a student eager to learn.
Yun Du-sik knew that once Dohyeon devoted himself to something, he pursued it with almost mindless tenacity.
From a teacher’s perspective, it was impossible not to appreciate such a student.
“This is the best method if you want to train alone.”
Yun Du-sik approached the tree closest to the incinerator.
He stood with his back to it, then kicked the trunk hard as though delivering a backward kick.
The impact shook the tree violently, sending leaves cascading down.
Yun Du-sik fixed his gaze on the falling leaves and thrust his spear three times.
THWIP-THWIP-THWIP!
“If you can do this with a sword, you’ll have succeeded.”
Three leaves were skewered on Yun Du-sik’s spearhead.
Dohyeon’s face lit up.
“Can I borrow that spear?”
“Why not just use your sword?”
“No. I think doing it with a spear will be harder.”
“That’s precisely why you should use the slightly easier sword......”
“If I master it through the harder method, I’ll become even stronger, won’t I?”
Dohyeon was absurdly stubborn when it came to this kind of thing.
Instead of choosing the easier way to learn, he had willingly selected an even more difficult training method.
“Good grief. How am I supposed to break that stubbornness of yours? Fine. But if you damage the spear, you’ll compensate me twice its value.”
“I said I understand.”
Dohyeon practically snatched the spear away and immediately began training.
He started by gripping the end of the shaft between his thumb and index finger and trying to hold it steady.
***
TOOT-TOOT, TOOT-TOOT-TOOT, TOOT-TOO-ROO-TOOT-TOOT...
Dohyeon sprang upright as soon as the morning bugle sounded.
It was the 697th repetition of the day, something now so familiar that it no longer surprised him.
But today was different.
‘I’m almost there!’
Following Yun Du-sik’s teachings, Dohyeon had trained countless times to add tremendous speed and powerful rotation to his sword.
And yesterday—technically, during the 696th iteration of today—he had nearly pierced Kirantal’s neck perfectly.
To be honest, he had truly thought he had succeeded that time.
But at that moment, an unprecedented variable appeared.
As Kirantal staggered while clutching his pierced neck, a Dark Elf rushed over and cast healing magic on him.
Shockingly, much like Dohyeon’s Equivalent Exchange, the healing magic produced the incredible effect of saving another from death in exchange for the caster’s life.
The Dark Elf died, but Kirantal survived.
As a result, Dohyeon exchanged several more blows with Kirantal before eventually being brought to his knees.
After experiencing Infinite Path once, Kirantal immediately devised a countermeasure.
Dohyeon’s second use of Infinite Path failed to harm him. Instead, Kirantal counterattacked and cut deeply into Dohyeon’s side.
Once again, Kirantal did not kill Dohyeon easily and tried to find something within his body.
Dohyeon had been forced to bite down on the button and blow himself up again.
‘I have to kill Kirantal instantly.’
There was an answer.
He needed to kill Kirantal before anyone had the chance to use healing magic.
Kirantal had not died instantly because the destructive power of Dohyeon’s sword was lacking by the smallest margin.
Therefore, all he had to do today was focus on training to increase its power.
Success was finally within reach.
‘If I kill him, I’ll be able to escape this infinite loop.’
Dohyeon wanted to escape this wretched day and see his younger sister again.
And he hoped he would finally see the sun rise on a new tomorrow.
“Monsters are attacking! There’s a massive army!”
When Bae Man-deuk pulled his prank—
BANG—!
Kang Uk kicked his locker, and the bulletproof helmet fell.
Dohyeon kicked Yun Du-sik’s head aside with his foot, preventing the helmet from landing on it.
When Yun Du-sik stared at him in surprise, Dohyeon smiled awkwardly.
“Sorry. I thought it was a soccer ball.”
“I think getting hit by the helmet would’ve hurt less...... It would’ve been less insulting too.”
“Well, that’s how it is. Ha ha.”
Dohyeon brushed it off and herded his squad members toward the training ground.
He had originally intended to let the helmet hit Yun Du-sik.
But if that happened, Yun Du-sik would not come to the clearing beside the incinerator.
If Yun Du-sik did not come of his own accord, it would be difficult for Dohyeon to borrow his spear. It would be even stranger if Dohyeon somehow performed a training method no one had ever taught him.
That was why he kicked Yun Du-sik’s head out of the way every time, sparing him from the falling helmet.
‘I’ll succeed this time!’
Was it because his conviction had grown so strong?
For some reason, the endlessly repeating day felt different this time.
After finishing his meal, Dohyeon saved Park Gyu-ho at the guard post and received advice from him about the sword.
After that, he sought out Lee So-hee and assassinated her.
Whenever he trained in Infinite Path at the clearing beside the incinerator, Yun Du-sik came to find him and taught him the principles of speed and rotation.
Dohyeon continued training that way for roughly three hours.
This time, however, he attached a one-kilogram sandbag to the spear shaft to increase his destructive power further.
Holding the end of the shaft between his thumb and index finger in that state required far more strength.
Once training ended, the entire MSU headed for the Gate.
As they traveled in the armored vehicle, Dohyeon examined each of his squad members in turn.
‘It’s truly strange.’
He had never noticed it before, but after repeating this day 697 times, he realized that his squad members were far from ordinary.
The squad’s other members changed frequently, so there was nothing particularly strange about them. These four, however, were different.
Kang Uk, Yun Du-sik, Song Ha-jun, and Bae Man-deuk.
The four of them had served beside Dohyeon ever since he became an MSU squad leader.
They had fought countless battles together, yet strangely enough, all four had survived to this day.
They had not merely survived. None of them had ever suffered so much as a wound severe enough to be called a serious injury.
Dohyeon could use Equivalent Exchange to offer an arm or a leg as the price for escaping death, but none of them possessed anything like that.
Even during the battle against the Dark Elves, Kang Uk was the only one Dohyeon had ever seen die.
As far as Dohyeon knew, all four were Awakened with D Grade Talent.
But not many people with D Grade Talent lasted more than five years in the MSU.
Most either lost their lives in battle or ended up crippled and medically discharged.
In the past, when the military relied on conscription, soldiers could complete their service and be discharged as sergeants after only two years.
After the Gates opened, however, the military switched to a volunteer system. Military salaries rose tremendously, and the service period grew substantially longer, to five years.
Awakened could renew their contracts every five years and continue serving in their units.
Moreover, the usual age restrictions did not apply to Awakened.
Whether fifteen or forty, any Awakened could enlist in the MSU.
An Awakened received a staggering monthly salary of eight million won.
That was higher than what a deputy department head at most major corporations earned.
Those with a Talent Grade of C or higher could easily earn ten million won per month.
Of course, Awakened with C Grade Talent or higher almost never applied to the MSU.
At that level, they could join a Guild or enter the government-operated Awakened Special Forces and receive compensation and benefits on an entirely different scale.
In any case, those four squad members, along with Dohyeon, were old hands who had survived in the MSU for more than five years.
‘Am I the strange one? These people don’t seem like they’re merely D Grade.......’
That was Dohyeon’s honest opinion.
While Dohyeon was lost in thought, the armored vehicle stopped near the forest.
“Everyone, dismount!”
At Dohyeon’s shout, every member of the 17th Squad jumped out.
After passing through the forest and reaching the area directly before the canyon, Dohyeon gave his squad members one instruction.
“Whatever happens on any other day, none of you are allowed to die today.”
“How strange....... Our squad leader is suddenly saying something he’s never said before.”
Yun Du-sik immediately commented on it.
“You’re the strange one, Brother Yun. Why pick a fight instead of simply saying you understand?”
Dohyeon believed he could kill Kirantal today.
If he did, today would no longer repeat, and tomorrow’s sun would rise.
But what if someone died during today’s battle?
He would never be able to see that person again.
“They say people die when they suddenly act out of character. That’s why I’m saying it.”
“I won’t die, so don’t worry.”
“You haven’t received some god’s blessing, so how can you be certain you won’t die? You were already acting strangely this morning, suddenly doing training you’d never done before.”
“Would I train to die? I’m training to survive.”
“Good grief. Fine. Let’s all survive and watch tomorrow’s sun rise together. Wooooaaaah!”
Yun Du-sik raised an arm and shouted, prompting the entire 17th Squad to let out a brief cheer.
Shouting in front of enemy lines was practically suicidal, but no one cursed them for it.
Instead, their cries kindled a small flame of hope within hearts plagued by an ominous feeling.
“Advance!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
At last, the full-scale battle began.
Dohyeon had already repeated this battle 697 times, so he knew every detail—where each attack would come from and which directions were dangerous.
At present, advancing toward the front was extraordinarily dangerous.
Not only were giant harpoons flying, but boulders too large to evade were raining down indiscriminately. The front was hell itself.
Dohyeon slowed his advance.
As he walked more slowly, the troops in the rear drew closer.
The front was already in chaos.
Countless soldiers were skewered to death like meat on giant harpoons.
More soldiers than he could count were flattened like sheets of dried filefish beneath the boulders hurled from atop the canyon.
Meanwhile, Dark Elves riding Raiphants were laying waste to the MSU’s main force in the rear.
Dohyeon quickly searched for Kirantal.
Not far away, he spotted a Dark Elf in black armor plowing through the troops atop a gigantic Raiphant.
Dohyeon fired a Magic Bullet from a standing position.
BOOM—!
Kirantal’s head snapped violently to one side, and he staggered.
He glared at Dohyeon with terrifying eyes, then kicked off the Raiphant’s back and soared into the air.
THUD—!
The moment Kirantal landed directly in front of him, Dohyeon unleashed a wild barrage of Magic Bullets.
RATATATATATATATAT—!
Since Magic Bullets could not kill Kirantal anyway, there was no need to bother aiming.
Kirantal deflected every Magic Bullet with his astonishing swordsmanship.
Dohyeon had tried to learn that swordsmanship, but he was not talented enough to imitate a technique merely after watching someone else perform it multiple times.
At best, he could imitate a sword technique that his own body had performed, as he had done with Infinite Path.
After deflecting the Magic Bullets, Kirantal charged at Dohyeon.
His entire body radiated murderous intent, declaring that he would never spare the enemy who had ambushed him.
At that moment, Kang Uk rushed in.
“Move, Squad Leader!”
The foolish Kang Uk charged in without a plan, intent only on saving Dohyeon.
Dohyeon grabbed Kang Uk’s arm and swung him sharply to the side.
WHOOSH—
Kirantal’s sword passed a hair’s breadth from Kang Uk’s neck.
Now Dohyeon was even closer to Kirantal.
He immediately used Equivalent Exchange.
Even if he did not actually activate it, he needed to check his probability of killing Kirantal.
▶Choose the price to pay for Equivalent Exchange.
①Success Rate 86.3% / Price: Life
②Success Rate 46.2% / Price: Severed Right Arm
③Success Rate 41.8% / Price: 5 Seconds of Paralysis
The success rates of all three options had risen tremendously.
But Dohyeon had absolutely no intention of offering his life as the price.
‘Here I go!’
He pulled his left foot back and lowered his stance.
Keeping a close eye on the trajectory of Kirantal’s incoming sword, he pushed off the ground.
BANG—!
Dohyeon rushed forward, drew his sword with his left hand, and deflected Kirantal’s slash past his shoulder.
SCREEEEEECH—!
Sparks sprayed everywhere as the swords ground against each other.
‘Now.’
Dohyeon stamped down hard with his left foot instead of his right and transferred the sword to his right hand.
When Dohyeon twisted his body at an unnatural angle, Kirantal lost sight of his target for an instant.
From that position, Dohyeon whipped his upper body around and twisted the sword with his tightly clenched hand.
At the same time, his muscles snapped like springs, launching the blade in a flash as though skewering a falling leaf.
FWOOM—
The sword pierced through space and then through the plate armor.
CRUNCH—!
The plate protecting Kirantal’s neck shattered as Dohyeon’s sword sank into his flesh. Then—
BOOM—!
Kirantal’s neck exploded.
His head flew high into the air.
Instant death.
The tremendous destructive power behind Dohyeon’s sword strike had completely blown Kirantal’s neck apart.
‘I got him!’
An electrifying thrill coursed through Dohyeon’s entire body, making him tremble.