『Refine your excitement.』
『Your soul has been laid bare.』
"Uh......?"
『The measures are not perfect.』
『You must not trust them alone.』
The Twin Dragon Swords soothed my bewilderment.
Their words flustered me more instead, but soon I followed the advice.
Once, twice. As I steadied my breathing the bristling tension settled. The tiger that had been rigid in front of me also gradually relaxed its expression.
"......Has it withdrawn?"
"......For now it looks that way."
Seong-gwon, who had been commanding from behind, came over this way. The one who answered was Pyo Do-hyeok.
"Why did it withdraw, I wonder."
"Who knows......"
Nobody could answer Seong-gwon's question. Not even me.
I did not know much about what had just happened either. Judging by the Twin Dragon Swords' words and the tiger's reaction I do seem to be the cause, but.......
'What on earth did I even do.'
Is getting worked up in a situation like that so wrong? Isn't that just a physiological reaction?
'No, nothing's certain yet.'
But my instincts were already saying they had found the answer.
"Hwi, Pyo Do-hyeok. Injuries?"
"Uh, none."
"No abnormality."
"......I'm glad neither of you is hurt. Both of you did well."
Seong-gwon commended our efforts with a somewhat complicated look. Eyes that thought we had been reckless and at the same time understood that it had been the best option.
"Hooaaaah. What a relief. That it ended without incident."
"Truly."
Once the urgent situation passed, the other kids began to open their mouths one by one.
"Hey, hey. It really is a class like actual combat, isn't it?"
"Agreed. If not for him, one of us would've been hurt."
"Ya-hwi, and the squad leader too — we survived because their response was fast. Both of them are really amazing."
The hands of those chatting away were trembling slightly. It seemed they had understood, partially at least, the worth of the name 'Live Combat' from the attack just now.
"Right, right. It's a good thing those two stepped up first; otherwise......"
"......"
Kim To-eun's voice gradually grew smaller. The mood, which had barely maintained its liveliness, plunged into the ground in an instant.
"......Hey, hey. How long has it been since class started?"
"Not even ten minutes yet."
"I really can't believe it......."
For the record, the instructor had not left the cadets out with truly no provision at all. He merely had not given us weapons; he had issued one flashlight per person, a wristwatch equipped with compass and clock functions, a canteen, and a flare signal.
That was how we, without even phones, could know the time.
"Can we hold out on our own? I mean, we were fine just now, but what if the numbers there increase even a little?"
Kim To-eun's point was accurate. Honestly, this fight too we endured because the man-eating dogs stopped at three; had the numbers been greater it would have been trouble.
"For my part it's impossible. Gossamer in the Void's hit rate is lower than expected. The Bone-Dwelling Worm goes without saying."
"For a low hit rate it was a big help at the end, though?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks to it I got a hit in when it closed."
The Bone-Dwelling Worm was so slow it could be no help in combat. But Gossamer in the Void was different. Immediate it might not be, but as a way of creating variables it was plenty.
"......Then that's a relief."
"Separately, tankers, mm. We're short on people who can stand at the front and hold. As To-eun said, if the numbers increase we won't be able to cover it."
"Then shall I summon too?"
At my opinion Sa Seo-yeon pointed at her Phantasm. The son-in-law, who leads with quantity, or the son, who leads with quality. It was a matter hard to decide on the strength of a single ambush.
'If only man-eating dogs kept coming out the son-in-law would be better, but.......'
Is there a guarantee the instructor will only send out man-eating dogs? Wouldn't it be safer to leave Sa Seo-yeon's options open in preparation for any eventuality?
'There are too few options. If we had even one more person with a partner specialized in defense——'
Hm? Wait. Do we have to hold out only among ourselves?
"Gwon, one moment."
"Squad leader, I have an opinion."
Pyo Do-hyeok and I spoke at the same time. Seong-gwon, who had taken on the watch while the kids caught their breath, turned this way.
"What is it?"
"About that——"
"From the battle just now——"
Our words overlapped this time too. I reflexively looked over at Pyo Do-hyeok. Pyo Do-hyeok seemed to have gone through a similar circuit of thought and was looking at me.
"If neither of you is going to speak quickly I'll go first. I was wondering about trying to link up with another squad, whether or not it works. What do you think."
"......!"
"......!"
It seemed Seong-gwon had hit on exactly what I had thought. And perhaps Pyo Do-hyeok too.
"I think that's a really good idea! You know what they say, numbers are a weapon!"
"It's certainly not an idea we'd lose anything by trying. It's not as if they said points get docked for more survivors."
"The problem is the method of contact. Is there a way to gather people who've scattered?"
In any case, we put our heads together over the new idea. Since it was an opinion directly connected to reinforcing our strength, there was no opposition.
"Hmm. How about raising a signal fire? We light a bonfire!"
"I-is it all right to light a fire in a winter forest?"
"It's a fake forest! Though the trees are real!"
If anything, as the head count grew opinions came pouring out.
"......If we go as far as the clearing where the jeep was parked and try it there, the chance of the fire spreading to the surroundings will drop too. We'd have to be careful, though."
"Ooh. Right. The jeep that carried us! That was parked inside the bulkhead, not outside! That place would be plenty."
"But can we even light a fire? They say lighting a fire without dedicated tools is extremely hard."
Had even Pyo Do-hyeok been quietly offering opinions? At the doubt Sa Seo-yeon raised, I carefully took out one tool and showed it.
It was the flare signal the instructor had given us.
"Is it all right to use it carelessly?"
"It was given to us to use in an emergency or a crisis, but realistically, isn't it hard to imagine a situation where all six of us are separately stranded and hurt badly enough that we can't even move. I think using one would be fine."
"What if the instructor mistakes it for an emergency?"
My finger, which had been pointing at the flare signal, pointed up at the trees this time. Speakers and CCTV cameras were installed there inconspicuously.
"If a kid left on his own uses a flare signal, they'd take it for a rescue signal. But if it's used while several of us are together, in a form nobody could mistake for wanting rescue, it'd be hard to misunderstand."
On top of that, this instructor was a fellow who had flung kids into an artificial forest and told them to survive. Would a person like that shout 'observe the rules!', or leave it alone and watch, saying 'oh really?'
"That's a good opinion. However, if we go with that plan there's one more thing to take into account. The fire we light won't be seen only by our kids."
"You're worried about the enemies swarming in."
"Yes."
"Ugh, this is haaard."
At the obstacle presented just as the conversation seemed to be progressing, Kim To-eun tore at her hair.
"I think it's worth betting on."
"Seo-yeon?"
"Even if we don't light a fire, the instructor is already grasping our position through the CCTV. Naturally the enemies the instructor controls will know our position too."
"......It's a leap, but it isn't wrong either. And?"
"The instructor definitely said there has never been anyone who held out to the end of this class. Most of those seniors would have tried to survive squad by squad. Because the instructor split us up and placed us exactly as if telling us to survive squad by squad."
Sa Seo-yeon declared her opinion firmly, her green eyes glittering.
"Whether there is anyone who tried to gather as we are, I don't know. But surviving with only one squad is certainly the wrong answer. So......"
"Let's bet on the side that is at least not a confirmed wrong answer?"
"Yes."
"Not bad. I'm in favor."
Her remark was the finishing blow. Starting with Yi Hoe-uk, unanimity came out.
"Hey, hey. But do you remember where the starting clearing is? I'm a bit confused about the direction."
"Head due south and veer slightly west—— Vibration."
Before Pyo Do-hyeok could even finish warning us, Seong-gwon's tiger moved and my hand undid the sling belt.
"Front, three."
"Left flank, two."
"Two on this side as well."
"Nothing to the rear!"
"Seo-yeon, summon the son-in-law!"
"Yes!"
Linking up or whatever, the immediate crisis came first.
***
"......Oh really?"
Sim Jae-gyeong, instructor for the Live Combat subject, let out a scoff at something she was experiencing for the first time in her life. Because of it the cigarette in her hand shed a scatter of ash.
"This is that kid from before, right? The one who turned everything upside down with an escape act?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"I heard it was resolved, but apparently it wasn't perfect?"
"We are currently requesting confirmation from headquarters."
Sim Jae-gyeong tidied away the ash she had accidentally dropped outside the ashtray and sank into thought.
'In ordinary times it's fine, but the structure is that once combat begins the Phantasms get overawed?'
Tap, tap, tap. Her finger tapped at the cigarette monotonously.
'No, combat itself isn't the trigger. In the early part of the fight they were mostly fine. In that case.......'
Sim Jae-gyeong put the cigarette, its end now clean, in her mouth. Huff. Smoke filled her lungs.
'Something that occurs during combat is the trigger. Though what exactly it is, I don't know.'
On the screen connected to the CCTV, the cadet was shown watching his comrades' faces.
It was an attitude there would be no occasion to show unless he had grasped that he himself was the problem.
"I have the answer. They say it's something that can well happen. However, they say they cannot send personnel to resolve it right away."
"Well, that'd be so. Those folks are busy as hell."
Sim Jae-gyeong puffed at the cigarette and chose her words for a while. Part of the thoughts she had put in order popped out.
"We'll have to pull him out, won't we?"
"Considering that there are occasionally Otherworld Creatures that pull that sort of thing too, from an experiential angle it'd be quite good...... but it really isn't something to go through in first year."
"What's year got to do with it. Since when did actual combat go easy on anyone for their age?"
"Still, there are limits. And I think isolating him now is better for the cadet personally as well. If it catches on he'll be ostracized."
"If I'd had a kid like that among my comrades I'd have carried him around on my back. Never mind allies shrinking back, he drives off the enemies too, doesn't he?"
"Do kids that age think of it so easily...... And this is a class. Carrying on like that gets them into bad habits."
Even if she could not understand the rest, the last words she had no choice but to accept. Sim Jae-gyeong thought of the students she had dealt with all this time and raised herself up.
"Okay okay. Then I'll have to go myself."
"You're going yourself, ma'am?"
"If a person interferes directly the immersion breaks, doesn't it. I'm confident I won't look like a person, so it doesn't matter."
"......You're going to use your Phantasm? What if that one gets frightened too?"
"They said the amorphous-types and object-types don't watch his mood, so it's fine."
Sim Jae-gyeong crushed the cigarette she had been smoking into the ashtray. The ember crumpled and the red light flickered out.
"Shall I loosen up a bit, then."
It was a sortie.
***
The bull crunched through a piece of raw radish. At that, its body shrank and returned to an ordinary seventeen-year-old boy.
Clack. The Ox-Head Mask, which came off automatically, fell to the ground.
"You."
Retrieving that Ox-Head Mask, Pyo Do-hyeok looked at me. In front of that gaze there was not a single thing I could say.
Because just a moment ago too, a situation had occurred where the Phantasms shrank back and took fright because of me.
"......Never mind."
But instead of rebuking me, Pyo Do-hyeok simply turned away.
Honestly that was harder. If he had said something openly I could at least have snapped back that it was unfair; when he comes out like that I have nothing to say either.
"Hey, hey. Hwi, are you okay?"
"Yeah...... Sorry. The kids took damage because of me again."
Separately, my own chest was truly tight.
I had caught on that my concentrating on the fight, and my emotions growing even slightly violent because of it, was the trigger for the Phantasms shrinking back...... but knowing it did not mean it got solved right away.
After all, is controlling your emotions in a fight easy? What's more, the enemies were in a state of continually getting stronger and more numerous.
Just a moment ago the kids being protected on the inside had nearly been hurt. Maintaining calm was far too hard to maintain.
"I don't know. If anything I'm grateful."
"......?"
"Our kids get frightened because of you, but at the same time, how many dangers have we gotten past thanks to you?"
Yi Hoe-uk tossed out words with a dry face.
"Don't you all think so too? Just now was really dangerous. If they hadn't gotten scared and withdrawn, two more of us would've been eliminated."
For the record, we were not only with our own squad right now.
Gather allies by raising smoke at the first clearing. That plan had rolled along more or less successfully.
The people gathered in this clearing now numbered seventeen. First Platoon, one short. Though it was not only people from our platoon.
"The Phantasms get frightened? And that hinders continuing the fight? What does it matter? For all that our kids get frightened, the enemies get frightened and withdraw too."
"Even so, causing damage to allies as well is......"
"So is there anyone who got eliminated because of him? There are people who saved their lives, but I don't think there's anyone who got eliminated."
"He's right. Honestly, if Hwi hadn't been active I think more than half of us would have been eliminated by now."
Not only Yi Hoe-uk but Sa Seo-yeon too quietly took my side. That was rather comforting.
"This is that thing, isn't it? The, an arm bends inward? What astonishing friendship."
......Pyo Do-seok, picking a fight with a grinning face, could absolutely not be comforting, but anyway.
"Ha, you saved your own life thanks to Hwi too, and you——"
"Hoe-uk, it's fine."
I grabbed Yi Hoe-uk's shoulder and patted it lightly. At that Yi Hoe-uk made a look asking why I was stopping him.
I conveyed the opinion of not giving him an opening by shaking my head slightly.
"And it is a part I have to fix. Because there's no guarantee enemies will keep being frightened of me forever."
The enemy can attack but the allies crawl about watching my mood? Just imagining it is horrific. All the more so if it becomes actual combat rather than a class.
I readjusted the Twin Dragon Swords and needlessly kneaded my palm. The talent lodged in this body was gradually becoming more than I could handle.
"But it looks difficult for now, so keeping my distance seems best at the moment. Commander, may I take the outer watch?"
"......The east is open. Go that way."
"Yeah."
I moved after receiving Seong-gwon's permission.
Because the moment not only squads but people from other platoons reached the clearing, command authority was integrated entirely into Seong-gwon. It was right to ask the commander's opinion even for trivial actions.
"I'm really tired......."
『How should a whale consort with minnows.』
『The present problem is not your fault.』
"......Um, it's a bit awkward if you call my friends minnows."
In any case, getting away from the kids made me feel like I could live. I leaned my body against a tree and steadied my breathing.
I was tired.
'Still, I have to find a solution.......'
Unfairness aside, I cannot keep going like this.
Continuing my all-around watch, I pondered how on earth the original Ya-hwi had gotten through this kind of problem. Since it was a thing never mentioned in the original, I could not get a feel for a solution at all.
'There was mention that the original Ya-hwi was shunned by his team members, but whether that was for this reason or because of the criminal label is uncertain.'
If only Ya-hwi's page count had been a little greater, could I have gotten a hint?
Around the time my thinking reached such a trivial subject, the fifth attack came striding toward us.
CRAAASH!
"......?!"
❝Heh.❞
A huge human-type monster that looked to stand at least 2.5m tall slammed down in front of me.
It was plainly an individual of a different class from the man-eating dogs and the Phantasms disguised as Grade 1 and 2 Otherworld Creatures I had faced so far.
"......East, powerful enemy!"
Could I maintain calm against an enemy like this?
Already I had no confidence.
Tab 19