Team 4 was called the Steel Team.
Steel Skin belonged to the sturdiest-looking man among the otherwise scrawny crowd.
He was tall, and his well-developed muscles looked as though they had been built through practical training rather than for show.
His stern features had also caused people to gather around him almost immediately.
From the beginning, rather than introducing himself by name, he had called himself Captain Park and claimed that he had once been a Company Commander.
Although everyone else had lost even the memories of their former occupations, he strangely insisted that he remembered his and treated everyone in a rigid military manner.
Had I not been here, a faction would probably have formed around that man.
‘And they would have been annihilated.’
The members of the Vanguard Squad hesitantly approached me, but Captain Park stood confidently before me.
“I understand why you are upset, but we did our best as well. Just because we were not injured does not mean we neglected our duty.”
Unlike before, he adopted an overbearing attitude and began offering excuses before I had even questioned him.
“I do not know how you managed to kill that bastard, but you fought him yourself, so you must understand. He moved at a speed we could not possibly follow and targeted only the team members attacking from a distance. We tried to stop him, but there was nothing we could do.”
At first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong with his explanation.
They had been assigned to the Vanguard Squad and had supposedly done their best to block the enemy, but the Werewolf had used its speed to charge past them and attack the ranged fighters.
What could they possibly have done?
Rather than looking at Captain Park as he spoke, I examined the people around him.
The other two members of the Vanguard Squad avoided meeting my eyes, while Park Gilsu, who appeared to have suffered the worst injuries, glared at Captain Park with undisguised resentment.
It was exactly as I had expected.
“I see. Then there truly was nothing you could have done.”
“At least you can be reasoned with. Most people in command are insufferably dense.”
“However.”
I passed by his rotten smile and stopped before the other members of the Vanguard Squad.
“Your skill is Barrier Shield, correct?”
No matter how fast the enemy was, he could not pass through an active barrier.
I had deliberately hidden them along a narrow passage wide enough for roughly five grown men to pass through.
They had been positioned there specifically in case the enemy ignored them and charged toward the rear.
Claiming that the Werewolf had been too fast for them to block was nothing but a cowardly excuse.
“Why did you not use your skill?”
“W-well, he was too fast. It happened in an instant.”
“A skill activates the moment you think of using it. All you need is the will to activate it. Yet you are claiming that he moved too quickly for you to use your skill? Do you consider that an excuse?”
They could clearly have sealed the passage.
The Barrier Shield user could have blocked the narrow path.
Then the Earth Shatter user could have disrupted the Werewolf’s balance.
No matter how fast the enemy was, there was no reason they could not have stopped him.
Moreover, the Werewolf would have charged forward without knowing that enemies were waiting ahead.
It made no sense for people who had prepared an ambush to miss that timing.
Once they stopped him initially, Captain Park, the Steel Skin user, only had to confront the Werewolf and delay him.
Unless the Werewolf user had reached the level where he could wield Mana, even that skill could not brutally tear apart someone with Steel Skin during the early stages.
The skill made the user’s skin as durable as actual steel.
The Werewolf’s sharp claws and destructive power would certainly cause pain, but Captain Park should have been able to endure them.
‘They gave up before they even tried.’
That was my conclusion.
It would have been painful and difficult.
It might even have killed them.
It was the most dangerous role of all.
However, it was also absolutely necessary.
Moreover, even after I had clearly explained the danger, they had confidently volunteered for it.
Perhaps they had been swept away by excitement.
Perhaps they had enjoyed the feeling of being admired by others.
Regardless, once they agreed to do it, they had to fulfill that role.
Otherwise, everyone else would be placed in danger.
Team 4, which consisted entirely of men, had also possessed the greatest combat power.
Three Vanguard members with abilities that complemented one another, along with seven powerful ranged fighters.
‘The fact that none of them are here means they must all be dead.’
Teams 2 and 3 had arrived at Point 4 before Team 4, even though Team 4 had been stationed immediately before this location.
They had also suffered numerous injuries.
The Werewolf must have slaughtered Team 4’s ranged fighters, then fought Teams 2 and 3 together before realizing that the situation had become unfavorable and retreating.
He had probably intended to rest, recover from his injuries, and begin hunting again.
I ignored the Vanguard member who was fumbling for an answer and approached Park Gilsu.
“How severe were the losses?”
“···Two members of Team 2 died, and five were injured. One member of Team 3 also died, and most of the others were injured.”
“It appears that only the three members of Team 4’s Vanguard Squad survived. And without a single injury.”
I spoke slowly, emphasizing the fact that none of them had been injured.
Captain Park’s face flushed crimson as he approached me.
“What are you trying to do?”
“What do you think I am doing?”
“Are you persecuting us because we were not injured? We risked our lives too!!”
I released a quiet sigh at his performance.
“When you accepted the Vanguard role, you said that you would take responsibility, correct? How do you intend to take responsibility now?”
“Well··· I suppose I owe everyone an apology.”
“Haah. True to the name Steel Skin, you truly have a shamelessly thick hide. Will an apology like that bring the dead back to life?”
“Wh-what did you say!?”
“Just admit that you valued your own life too much. Admit that you were afraid and ran because you wanted to escape. Had you truly been brave and heroic, you would have stepped forward with Park Gilsu in the pure-white room. Instead, you stood back and laughed. Stop pretending to be something you are not.”
“You arrogant bastard! I have tolerated enough from you!!”
GRAB!!
He seized me forcefully by the collar.
Perhaps he intended to use this opportunity to take my position.
There were countless men like him.
Several appeared in nearly every stage.
Among more than fifty people, having only one such man—or three, including the two supporting him—was actually a relatively small number.
I understood.
Being ordered to risk one’s life and defend complete strangers from the front was enough to make anyone ask whether I had lost my mind.
However, if no one did it, only certain death awaited them.
-STAGE.002
-All invaders have failed. Week 1 will end early.
-The Guardian Stones were successfully defended.
-Guardian Stones lost: 0.
-Guardian Stones remaining: 10.
-A Temporary Shop will open as a Phase Reward.
-Calculating Contribution.
“Perfect timing. It seems Team 1 has finished as well. What is your Contribution?”
“Contribution···?”
-Contribution
1. Lee Hojun 82%
2. Park Gilsu 8%
3. Kang Sujeong 6%
.
.
.
38. Park Huiseok 0.5%
39. Go Dongyo 0.3%
40. Lee Buseo 0.2%
He was ranked thirty-eighth.
The other two were ranked thirty-ninth and fortieth.
Since the dead were excluded, those three occupied the very bottom.
As members of the Vanguard Squad, even restraining the enemy once should have granted them considerable Contribution.
Yet they were last.
-426 Points have been awarded according to Contribution.
I received 426 Points after achieving 82 percent Contribution.
The System had comprehensively calculated the traps, the plans I established, and the fact that I had led everyone.
Knowing that this would happen was one of the reasons I had deliberately taken the position of leader.
“Together, the three of you contributed half as much as one useful person. Impressive.”
“Urgh. We did not run away!!”
“True. You probably did not run. You merely wandered around without accomplishing anything, putting on all manner of ridiculous performances. I suppose we should be grateful if you did not actively obstruct your allies by blocking their line of sight.”
Park Gilsu nodded so fiercely at my words that I could tell without asking that the three had done nothing but interfere.
“That is···!”
STAB.
“Shut up and die.”
“H-hiiik!”
Steel Skin only hardened the body after it was activated.
If I unexpectedly drove a bayonet into him like this, he was no different from an ordinary person.
“M-murderer!!”
“I have learned that some people are more useful dead.”
STAB!
STAB!
Barrier Shield or not, I eliminated the other two before they could activate their skills.
A sudden death caused panic.
Of course, people eventually became indifferent after witnessing death as routinely as eating a meal.
However, these people had not yet reached that point.
Amusingly, Raiders suffered severe Penalties for killing one another, but Sentinels suffered none at all.
-Park Huiseok’s Total Points have been converted and awarded to Lee Hojun.
The Points belonging to the other two were awarded afterward.
The three of them had possessed a combined total of 18 Points, bringing my total to 444.
That was more than enough to begin building a powerful early advantage.
“Ah.”
I examined the people keeping their distance from me, still unable to recover from the shock.
They stared at me with frightened expressions.
I had two choices.
I could persuade them that those men had deserved to die.
Or I could ignore their reactions entirely.
“Traitors die.”
I chose the middle path.
A single phrase remained in the memory far longer than a tedious explanation.
At the very least, they would now faithfully fulfill their assigned roles while they remained here.
However, that could not be achieved through punishment alone.
“Mr. Park Gilsu.”
“···Yes.”
Park Gilsu neither feared me nor displayed the same blind trust as before.
He looked directly at me, calmly assessing what kind of person I was.
Those were good eyes.
He must have learned a great deal from this battle.
“You made the greatest contribution after me. I will create a weapon specifically for you. Decide what form you want and come see me later.”
I had already shown them my Boundless ability.
They had watched me instantly create traps from Junk and synthesize weapons, so they probably assumed that I possessed some kind of Blacksmith-related skill.
I had no reason to hide that impression.
Instead, I had deliberately made the skill appear to be of a fairly high rank.
“Understood.”
Leaving Park Gilsu’s uneasy response behind, I looked around at the frightened and exhausted survivors.
They were quietly whispering about me with the people they had grown close to.
“You all performed well. I know that you are still confused, but we will be safe for at least twenty-four hours. Treat your injuries and consider how you will spend the Points you received as a reward. I recommend compensating for your weaknesses rather than further specializing in your strengths.”
At the moment, everyone was still at approximately the same level.
Even if they specialized in their strengths, it would be difficult for them to achieve overwhelming results.
It was better to compensate for their weaknesses and increase their overall chances of survival.
I ordered the remaining people to recover the bodies, then returned to the location of the Guardian Stones.
“You truly were not injured at all?”
“I told you, did I not? You only had to trust me and leave it to me.”
The short-haired woman, Kang Sujeong, grinned and proudly thumped her chest.
Amazingly, every member of Team 1 had survived unharmed.
They had killed one enemy and even captured two prisoners.
According to their explanation, the moment they trapped the three Raiders together, the two who already hated each other began fighting viciously, exactly as I had predicted.
The remaining Raider immediately escaped through the newly opened path.
Kang Sujeong, the leader of Team 1, had ignored the two dangerous enemies fighting each other and killed the one who emerged first.
When her team returned, the other two had already beaten each other into near-helplessness, allowing them to be captured without difficulty.
“Urgh··· If it were not for you, you Sledgehammer bastard.”
“My only regret is that I failed to crush your brain!! You hit-and-run bastard!!”
“···Well, this is unexpected.”
This rarely happened.
Prisoners.
Raiders did not necessarily have to be killed.
If they expressed their intention to surrender, they could be taken prisoner.
However, to do that, we had to use Guardian Stones on them before their Raider mission ended in failure.
It would not be counted as losing the Guardian Stones, so none of our innocent teammates would die.
However, Guardian Stones became valuable resources beginning in Week 2.
I examined the prisoners to determine whether they were worth that cost.
“Why did you spare them?”
“What?”
Kang Sujeong tilted her head as though she could not understand why sparing them would be a problem.
“Because··· they asked me to spare them?”
“······.”
This was why I hated regression.
I had to explain everything from beginning to end.