「The damn other world has a different environment for every Dimensional Gate. Just the kinds observed so far number over ten.」
The instructor's word about trying to survive had been in earnest. He mobilized the other soldiers as well and dumped the cadets all over the artificial forest.
Torn apart not even by platoon but by squad and left in the forest, the cadets floundered.
「But if there is a common type among them, it is the woodland type, like here. Damn common and damn dangerous.」
In the middle of it the instructor handed down teachings through speakers installed here and there.
「Enemies you never know when or where they will spring out from. Trees and rocks that serve as your cover but also as the enemy's. Just how long will you last, I wonder?」
Honestly it was not welcome. The sound coming out of the speakers buried the sounds coming from around us. It was an obstacle to keeping all-around watch.
"S-squad leader. What do we do now......?"
One of the squad members, Sa Seo-yeon, called Seong-gwon. She stammered from tension, but she did not look frightened.
Sa Seo-yeon's partner Phantasm, the wise old man, chuckled and stroked his own beard.
"Hey, hey, do we just have to hold out? While protecting these paint packs we were issued?"
"He said to survive until the end of class, so we pretty much have to see it that way. And if we fail to protect the pack and it bursts, that's elimination."
The same went for Kim To-eun hugging her rabbit and for Yi Hoe-uk with his insect-form Phantasms.
Flustered and tense as they might be at the situation they had suddenly landed in, there was not a single person paralyzed with fear or on the verge of tears.
"First let's share each of our abilities. After that it looks best to establish an operational objective and move according to it. Staying here can't be the answer."
Here Seong-gwon calmly presented an opinion. Her gaze briefly traced the tracks of the jeep that had carried us here, then went back to the surroundings.
"By abilities......"
"She means the Phantasms."
I too looked around as Seong-gwon had. It was absolutely not idling. Since we had Phantasms but no weapons, we had to be all the more thorough about our watch.
"My partner is 'Three Men Make a Tiger.' A Phantasm born from the old saying that the words of three men create a tiger. Combat power is Grade 3. Think of it as no different from an ordinary tiger."
Meanwhile Seong-gwon introduced her partner first. The combat power she mentioned here was an unofficial measure of force gauged against Otherworld Creatures.
Regardless of the form of the ability, or of whether it has one, what is the highest Grade of Otherworld Creature this individual can kill single-handedly. It is rated by that standard, apparently.
Grade 3 was among the strongest of the Phantasms that had come out at yesterday's Selection Ceremony.
"Seo-yeon, what about you?"
"My partner is 'the Old Man Who Left a Will.' The person who protected his young son with a riddle-like will. But since the tale is classified as a wisdom tale, he can't fight directly."
Sa Seo-yeon adjusted her glasses and took up the introduction.
"Instead, with this gentleman's will I can call either the son-in-law or the son. The son-in-law is weak enough not even to reach Grade 1 but leads a band of thugs who are many in number, while the son is a warrior just short of Grade 3, but only one man."
"So, a difference between numbers and quality?"
"Yes. Exactly."
An interesting Phantasm. Sa Seo-yeon had probably chosen it for this very point.
"The choice holds for half a day. You have to think of it as unchangeable once chosen."
"If it's structured that way...... it seems to me better to choose after seeing how things develop, rather than choosing hastily."
What trial the instructor will give us, I do not know either. Because in the original they did not teach class in this fashion.
But it was not as though there was no room at all to infer. If the stage is the same, the usable gimmicks end up much of a muchness.
"Hwi is right about this. Seo-yeon. Could you summon after we've checked the situation?"
"Of course. The summoning itself is quick, so just say the word."
With that two people finished their introductions. Since it was plainly going clockwise, Kim To-eun opened her mouth next.
"My rabbit is 'Tokkibiri.' They say it's the rabbit that acted as guide when Taejo Wang Geon crossed the Baekdu-daegan. Maybe that's why its ability to find paths is outstanding. In exchange you can't expect combat power."
"Path-finding ability...... this might be helpful."
"Right, right? Ah, for the record the rabbit can't fight but I can."
Saying that, Kim To-eun pulled something out. About the length of a forearm, it was what is commonly called a club.
"This is an object-type Phantasm too."
"I see. Good of you to bring it."
Seong-gwon nodded with a dry face and looked at Yi Hoe-uk. It meant it was his turn.
"My partners are the Bone-Dwelling Worm and Gossamer in the Void, these two."
Yi Hoe-uk spread his palm. On his palm were the white caterpillar I had seen yesterday and something like a tangled skein of thread.
"Neither is the sort that fights directly. The Bone-Dwelling Worm burrows into the body and gnaws the bones, and Gossamer in the Void, if you spread it in the air, burrows into the enemy's eyeballs and takes their sight."
"......That alone is incredibly threatening, though?"
"Truly."
Fortunately there was no one in our squad who feared insects. Yi Hoe-uk nodded with satisfaction at everyone's reaction.
"Pyo Do-hyeok."
"......"
Now the ones left including me were two, and by position Pyo Do-hyeok was first. The blue eyes stiffened faintly and he took something out from inside his uniform.
"Ghost-Warning Stone. A stone that repels defilement."
A purple stone showed for a moment and was hidden again between his palms. Pyo Do-hyeok's arm put the Ghost-Warning Stone away again.
"Is that all you——"
"Trembling Long Bamboo¹. A bamboo that trembles when it senses danger."
"——apparently not."
"Ox-Head Mask². Put it on and you can turn into a bull."
Then more object-type Phantasms popped out. Yi Hoe-uk sourly withdrew his words.
"Good combination."
"Indeed."
"......"
Unlike him, Seong-gwon and I could not withhold our admiration. Whatever our impressions of Pyo Do-hyeok personally, the combination itself was really quite good.
After all, the Ghost-Warning Stone holds the power of protection, the Trembling Long Bamboo lightens part of the burden of keeping watch, and the Ox-Head Mask supplements attack power.
'There's the drawback of having to change into an ox, but a bull would be stronger than an unarmed human.'
A human and a bull differed in weight class to begin with. And weight class is usually directly linked to strength. That once you turn into a bull even a head-butt is threatening was an example of it.
At this point it was far better than the kids who had been chosen by miscellaneous, useless Phantasms.
"Last."
"Well, everyone knows this already, but I have the Twin Dragon Swords. Only I've never handled them directly and I haven't received permission to undo the seal, so I can't guarantee combat power. Don't treat them as a constant."
"All right."
"Second is Shadow-Stepping. I can step on an opponent's shadow to pin their feet, or pull my body out in an urgent moment."
"Pin their feet...... how long?"
"As long as I'm standing on the shadow. But since only the feet are pinned, I won't be able to hold it long."
I spoke by suitably combining the information I had seen in the original with the facts I had grasped myself. Seong-gwon nodded as if understanding.
"That's two Phantasms that can go out and fight, two support, and two people who have to fight in person. Since we have to protect the paint packs, shall we make the Phantasms the main for combat and have the two step up only when it's urgent."
"......No objection."
"I think that's fine too."
"Good. Then I'll establish an operational objective in earnest."
Having obtained her squad members' agreement, Seong-gwon kept up her watch and spread her fingers.
"The most important objective is of course to hold out until class ends. For that it looks best to prioritize flight and concealment as far as possible, keep combat at the greatest distance, and respond only if it can't be avoided. We keep moving until an environment suited to concealment or defense appears. How's that."
"For now that seems like the best."
"Mm-hm. It looks right to me too."
Yi Hoe-uk nodded drily, Kim To-eun enthusiastically. It was the moment the operational objective was established in an instant.
"Um, what will you do about the formation when we move......"
"An arrowhead shape looks good."
This remark came from Pyo Do-hyeok. And with something like a plausible technical term, at that.
"We place Yi Hoe-uk, whose Phantasms and whose own direct combat ability are both low, on the inside, and place myself and...... that fellow, who can join combat immediately, at the wingtips."
"I take the lead, and the middles of the wings are Seo-yeon and To-eun?"
"Yes."
"What do you two think......"
Seong-gwon tried to ask our opinion. But I could not give her an answer on that.
Something not to be taken lightly was visible over there.
Hmmmm.
"The bamboo is——"
"Back!"
My legs shot forward reflexively. My arm was already gripping the sling belt connected to the Twin Dragon Swords.
Arf! Arf!
"We have to retreat."
"No, too late!"
Flatly denying Seong-gwon's words, I checked the approaching enemy.
What was approaching us were canine beasts. Their appearance and size closely resembled actual Jindo dogs.
Instead their mouths hung fiercely open and saliva dripped from them. Their eyes were bloodshot red as if they were possessed by ghosts.
'Man-eating dogs!'
They were a Phantasm common enough to be loaded onto the fan book's early pages. They were hard to call apparitions, but they had also been born from appearing in all sorts of tales.
'If I were alone I'd have just run for it......!'
Right now there were comrades from my squad.
If I was not going to bolt and leave my comrades behind in actual combat either, I had to learn how to stand at the front from now on. I erased retreating from the options.
Click. The plastic buckle located at my chest separated. With that the sling belt's strap split in two as well.
"Medium-sized dogs, three!"
I had not received permission to undo the Twin Dragon Swords' seal. But even in their cloth-wrapped state they were plenty to use as a weapon.
As the strap divided, the Twin Dragon Swords, which had been fixed to my back in a two-point setup, slid down. Before they could fall over completely I caught them with my forearm and arm and tilted them skillfully.
By the time I had done that much, the gap between the three man-eating dogs and me was about 30m.
"Leave it to Three Men Make a Tiger!"
Even before Seong-gwon's order the tiger passed by my side first.
Grrrrr. The beast that had been smiling loosely a moment ago bared its teeth and ran, and it really did look like a predator.
'The approach is too fast......!'
But I could not rely on the tiger alone. The man-eating dogs were running in without hesitation, and they were tremendously fast, so the gap closed and closed.
In the second or so Seong-gwon took to give the tiger its order, the distance that evaporated was about 10m.
On top of that the number of man-eating dogs was a full three. Even if the tiger blocked them partway, there was a high chance one would reach this side.
"Not enough!"
"Too dangerous—— Kh! Yi Hoe-uk, support!"
But how should I respond?
For one thing swinging the Twin Dragon Swords made no sense. The Twin Dragon Swords' length is nearly 2m. In a place full of trees, gripping one end and swinging was close to impossible.
Even without the trees I would have been able to do little more than bring them straight down because of the weight, but anyway.
"Pyo Do-hyeok, protect the non-combatants!"
"Gossamer in the Void, scatter."
"Very well."
Had Seong-gwon properly recognized that Three Men Make a Tiger was not enough? Seong-gwon added an order in the direction of standing and fighting.
The moment the word 'protect' knocked at the air, the man-eating dogs and the tiger collided.
Two. That was the number the tiger blocked.
One came to me.
『Do you require aid?』
『Do you require us?』
Rrrrgh, arf!
The Twin Dragon Swords' proposal and the man-eating dog charging in with saliva trailing overlapped, and strength went crunching into both my thighs and my right forearm.
The only things to rely on now were two. The heaven-given talent this body holds, and Shadow-Stepping.
"I don't, need it!"
Gripping the middle portion of the Twin Dragon Swords, I twisted my hips.
Both legs became a firm support, and as my hips and waist rotated my arm swung forward. The Twin Dragon Swords caught in my arm went without saying.
Since I had gripped the middle and swung, the reach was about 1m. WHUMP! The swung bundle of cloth struck the man-eating dog's body square on.
Right after, saliva scattered through the air and the man-eating dog was flung to the side. Because the weight was what it was, it was not flung all that far.
A sensation like having whipped a full sack stayed stinging in my wrist. And that despite having braced part of the Twin Dragon Swords with my forearm.
"Wh-what should I do!"
"Seo-yeon, you stand by for no——"
Was time always this slow?
Hearing that Seong-gwon's words, which had not stopped once, were still going on, I smiled as though wincing. The relativity of time was a truly strange thing.
Grrr!
The man-eating dog that had been knocked away by the Twin Dragon Swords raised its head again. Being a four-legged beast, it found its balance quickly too.
The bastard opened its maw wide and lunged at me again.
Tak.
Around then, I set one end of the Twin Dragon Swords against the ground as though driving it in. And my right hand, which had been gripping the middle, let go of the body and took hold of the connected sling. My left hand did the same.
Not the part that fixes the Twin Dragon Swords, but the strap part used to wrap around my body — the hands gripping that loaded force into it.
Whirl!
The Twin Dragon Swords connected to the strap swept around widely and obstructed the man-eating dog's path. At the same time my feet moved, shifting slightly to a place that did not overlap with the man-eating dog's path.
Pushed aside by the Twin Dragon Swords, the man-eating dog lost its balance and trod on somewhere at my feet.
Yelp!
As if something had gotten into its eyes, its body, about to run immediately, shrank back the very next moment.
Stomp.
My foot did not miss the chance and trod on that shadow. Shadow-Stepping. A slight resistance was felt beneath my leg. It was the weight the being I was trying to stop carried.
The man-eating dog halted perfectly, like a stuffed beast.
"Be careful!"
Then Pyo Do-hyeok cut in.
WHUMP! Pyo Do-hyeok's leg kicked the man-eating dog. As if the sensation of harming a creature were quite horrific, Pyo Do-hyeok's face twisted somewhat.
"Thanks."
It was not help I absolutely needed, but it was not a bad assist. That the one who helped was Pyo Do-hyeok was still rather surprising, though.
In any case, Pyo Do-hyeok's eyes and mine watched for the sprawled man-eating dog's next reaction.
Since a Phantasm has a more tenacious and stubborn vitality than the beast that forms its base, our judgment was that it could not be retired by two or three hits to the flank.
Grrrr, grrrrrr.
But the man-eating dog seemed to have grown wary too after being hit a few times.
Its lowered body took a slightly irresolute posture. Its snout was shut slightly, wrinkled all over.
My eyes and the man-eating dog's eyes glared at each other. In that brief span the tension that had dominated my whole body made my breathing ragged.
Thump, thump, thump. My pounding heart stirred up excitement. It was the feeling of wanting to live, and beyond that a fighting spirit that pondered how to beat the enemy down.
An immersion that buried even the awareness that this was the middle of a class covered my ears and eyes.
Grrrr...... kiing, whine.
And at some point the man-eating dog's legs gradually retreated. In the eyes beneath the lowered head, the wrinkles had shed their ferocity and filled with a new emotion.
Yelp, yeeelp!!
And then in an instant it turned its body and vanished. For me it was good, but it was a phenomenon I could not understand.
'Why is it disappearing......'
Could it be planning to let my guard down and then ambush me again? Just as my thinking reached that far, the sound of the tiger crying rang at my ears.
Grrrrrr.......
Laughably, the one wearing a frightened face was not only the man-eating dog of a moment ago.
Even Seong-gwon's tiger, which had driven off the man-eating dogs, was looking at me with its ears pinned right back.
─────
¹Trembling Long Bamboo
❝When Heoam, Jeong Hui-ryang, was traveling in Jeolla Province, he called early one morning at a friend's house and sat in the study talking. Suddenly he saw three long bamboos in the midst of the bamboo grove trembling of themselves, though no wind was blowing. ......The master had his officer choose for himself from the bamboo grove, and the officer picked out three and cut them; they were precisely the bamboos that had trembled of themselves that morning.❞
▷ Yu Mong-in. 『Eou Yadam』. Trans. Sin Ik-cheol, Yi Hyeong-dae, Jo Yung-hui, No Yeong-mi. Dolbegae. 1964/2006. p. 516.
One of the strange beings recorded in the Eou Yadam, summarized as 'bamboo that sensed its own death.'
The name Trembling Long Bamboo does not appear in the Eou Yadam; it is a name assigned arbitrarily in this novel.
²Ox-Head Mask
❝Long ago a traveler passing along this road saw a thatched house of a few bays, and from inside the house came the sound of something being struck. When the traveler looked inside, a white-haired old man was sitting on an oxhide, just then whittling wood to make an ox's head. ......The traveler took it for a game, removed his hat and put the ox's head on his own, and, stripped bare, put on the oxhide. ......The traveler tried to take it off, but it would not come off, and just so he became a single great ox.❞
▷ Yu Mong-in. 『Eou Yadam』. Trans. Sin Ik-cheol, Yi Hyeong-dae, Jo Yung-hui, No Yeong-mi. Dolbegae. 1964/2006. p. 740
One of the strange beings recorded in the Eou Yadam, summarized as 'a mask that turns you into a real ox when worn.'
The name Ox-Head Mask does not appear in the Eou Yadam; it is a name assigned arbitrarily in this novel.
Tab 18