KEG 4

Instead of being placed under state control, Espers and Guides turned their steps toward private associations established by capital under the pretext of human rights and freedom. Currently, Awakeners bound by conscription orders constituted the majority, but it was all too obvious that this figure would soon be overturned, ushering in an era of private association Hunters.

This was because discharged soldiers headed to the associations, while newly awakened individuals avoided the military.

“Since it’s a government-cooperation work, it’ll be great for my resume.”

As signs appeared that the system maintained by the sacrifices of young people was collapsing, the state began to slowly join hands with private associations and hire mercenaries. It was a preparation for the downfall brought about by ignorant forced conscription.

“But why are they taking that staff sergeant along? Is he in charge?”

“Sergeant, are you an Awakener? What is your class?”

“I am an E-class Guide.”

Even amidst that turbulent era, nothing had changed: there was nowhere suitable for me, an E-class Guide, to go. The slightly lower mental contamination was only convenient when rummaging through monster corpses to collect mana stones; otherwise, it wasn’t a significant advantage.

They should have given us some kind of bonus option, like increasing combat power or allowing us to search for and rescue more survivors, instead of just giving us the ability to mindlessly endure.

“Isn’t it better to take an F-class Esper than an E-class Guide?”

A college student Esper from a private association said.

He wasn’t wrong. For mana stones detection and collection, hiring an F-class Esper and teaching them monster dismantling techniques was cheaper in terms of labor costs and provided at least minimal contribution to the team’s strength, rather than hiring an E-class Guide.

“Since you were dressed in your uniform, I assumed you were at least B-class or higher.”

“Sergeant, please don’t be a burden.”

I didn’t answer further. If it were my old temper, I would have flipped everything over and thrown a tantrum demanding the ship turn around, but I didn’t.

It was because my more than three years of military service had taught me the lesson that messing with a civilian was a recipe for disaster. Although I was just a civilian once I left the base, I couldn’t help the attitude my military life had shaped me.

“Sergeant! Ready to disembark–”

Thump…

Just as I was about to get off the ship, it suddenly rocked and my vision shook.

“Groar–!”

I saw a giant eyeball through the small cabin window.

I ran outside like an arrow to find a sea monster appearing in the middle of the ocean. Its wobbly legs and grotesque eyes reminded me of a mythical creature, the Kraken.

Boom–! Splash!

In an instant, the ship was swallowed by a wave and capsized. The people on board were drowned in the sea without being able to do anything to defend themselves. I, too, was swept up in the crash and slammed my head against something on the ship.

With that final sound of a bones shattering, I lost consciousness.

[Skill activated.]

[<Dream Exile>]

[One Esper has been exiled.]

***

“…Ugh!”

My shoulder blade ached.

“…Did I break my collarbone or something…?”

First, I surveyed my surroundings. Thinking about the system window I had seen just before losing consciousness was a secondary priority. For now, investigating this unfamiliar place was more important.

“Jeju Island?”

I was on a sandy beach somewhere. Around me, wreckage of a broken ship and corpses were swaying in the incoming waves.

“Haa… ngh…!”

Then, I heard someone wailing.

I turned my head to look at the source of the sound.

“S-Sergeant, uh, please, please…!”

It was the college student Esper. A large hole, big enough for a head to fit through, was pierced through his abdomen.

“Po-potion, no, h-healer…! Anything …please…!”

He drenched the sandy beach with so much blood that I wondered if it had come from a human body. Soon after, he began crying like a child.

“It hurts… so, so, much…Save me, ugh, hic.”

“Don’t speak.”

As if even crying out loud was agonizing for the college student Esper, he could barely manage to let out a wheezing sound.

Based on the countless Espers and Guides I had seen die, even if an A-class healer were brought in immediately, he wouldn’t last five minutes.

“Please, it hurts so much… anything… hic, ngh.”

At those desperate and weak pleas, the status window that had appeared earlier suddenly came to mind.

And that description phrase I had seen in the past, too.

[Dream Exile: Can exile an Awakener from the world.]

“Hey.”

Upon hearing my call, he rolled his eyes and looked at me.

“No matter how much I feel like a dog, I want to live. Even if it hurts like hell, I want to endure it all and live to the very end. Because suffering ultimately mean that I am alive.”

As if he understood what I was saying, he raised his blood-stained hand toward me.

“I will never die peacefully.”

I took his hand and made the sign of the cross on my chest with my other hand.

“Filthy and wretched, I will survive to the very end.”

[Skill activated.]

[<Dream Exile>]

His raised hand went limp, and the light in his eyes vanished.

[One Esper has been exiled.]

A grotesque grinding sound came from my broken collarbone, and I felt the sensation of flesh growing back and bone healing. Eventually, the pain that had followed me ever since I opened my eyes on the shore came to an end. At the same time, I realized something.

For me to live, someone must die.

“…Fuck.”

With this ability, I would never be able to become a hero.

***

“What is this bizarre thing?”

I stood before the corpse of the troublesome boss monster in Sector 4 of Jeju Island.

“Is it a human?”

The monsters I had seen so far seemed to be modeled after life forms existing on Earth, usually taking the form of beasts.

However, the corpse of the monster I was to deal with this time had the form of a human with limbs attached. Although it was a massive body that looked over 5 meters tall and appeared as a bare skeleton without proper flesh or skin, it looked like a human at first glance from a distance.

“Was it a human?”

Well, none of my business. I had simply come to do the task assigned to me.

Crunch, crunch–

I took out the dismantling equipment, peeled off the unnecessary membranes, and broke the bones to extract the mana stone near its heart.

Living monsters couldn’t be dismantled with equipment made of this alloy steel. However, those that die possess a hardness comparable to ordinary chunks of flesh or granite, so dismantling them wasn’t particularly difficult if one had the skill.

The extracted mana stones served as a highly efficient energy source, far superior to petroleum energy.

The state attempted to monopolize the mana stones but failed. Capital caught a whiff of the scent of money and acted faster, eventually leading to the establishment of private associations. Espers and Guides, too, eventually succumbed to the money.

“Isn’t a resource only needed if there are people to use it?”

I raised my hand and held the exceptionally big, golden-shining mana stone up to the sunlight. The light penetrating it, boasting a dazzling spectrum, was unrealistically beautiful, as if it shouldn’t exist in this world.

***

“How do you feel about becoming a Warrant Officer?”

In my fourth year, I was promoted to Warrant Officer in recognition of my service. It was a modest commissioning ceremony, devoid of fancy medals or guests.

The high-ranking officers on the platform also seemed to have little intention of congratulating me. It was a mere formality, with not a single person smiling or applauding.

“I’ll keep surviving.”

After I gave my answer, an officer approached and pinned the rank insignia on me. The hand that pinned the silver insignia to my shoulder trembled slightly.

No one attending the ceremony viewed me as a servant of the country who had risen from the rank of E-class Guide Infantry. They were wary, as if they were facing a monster.

It seems that to them, a true infantryman is only recognized for his value if he dies on the battlefield.

“Warrant Officer Ha, have you ever done any guiding?”

As I was smoking a cigarette after the ceremony, Staff Sergeant Kim approached me and asked with a smile. Ever since I became a regular Staff Sergeant in the Guide infantry, he had been the only one who still treated me comfortably, even as others began to keep their distance.

“Do you want to sexually harass someone young enough to be your son?”

“Sexual harassment! Asking a guide if they do guiding is just work management!”

Sergeant Kim asked mischievously, So, have you tried it?”

I just stared at the sky and took a drag on the cigarette I had in my mouth.

“I really like seafood soybean paste soup, but I don’t know why the kids call it ‘poop soup.’”

“Don’t change the subject!”

It was obvious that if I didn’t give a proper answer, he would ask me tomorrow and the day after. However, no matter how hard I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with an answer that would satisfy him.

“I guess I don’t look attractive enough.”

That was the reason I came up with.

I can’t guide, and I don’t look attractive enough, so I have no partners.

It was an extremely simple reason, one that no one could refute.

“Hey, you punk! Even ugly guys form pairs just fine! Haven’t you felt any romantic vibes lately?”

Up until I was a Private First Class, I was subjected to dog-like sexual harassment by clueless, empty-headed Espers. However, as I was promoted to Sergeant, then Staff Sergeant, and finally Warrant Officer, the frequency decreased, and now no one dared to speak carelessly in front of me.

In other words, I’d only ever been harassed; I hadn’t had a chance to feel any real flirting or romantic vibes.