novelraw Chapter 18 : Hard Work is Followed by Reward (2)
Chapter 18 : Hard Work is Followed by Reward (2)
Chapter 18 - Hard Work is Followed by Reward (2)
The first one to bid was the Commander-in-Chief.
“I'm thinking of putting Taebaek in Division 0.”
“......!”
A bombshell announcement, like a bolt from the blue. At that, the battalion commanders all looked shocked, as if on cue.
“You're assigning a complete rookie to Division 0?!”
The pedantic-looking commander of the 5th Battalion had a highly agitated voice. The lenses of the glasses resting on his sharp nose gleamed coldly.
“There's no precedent for this! More importantly, not just the regular members, but the members of Division 0 will also complain.”
The Resistance was an organization where the hierarchy of rank was vague. To the point where even if a subordinate like the 5th Battalion's commander raised his voice at the Commander-in-Chief, it wouldn't be grounds for reprimand.
The Commander-in-Chief himself encouraged a relaxed atmosphere and free communication. Thus, everyone was able to express their own opinions and arguments on an equal footing with the Commander-in-Chief.
But even so, the 5th Battalion commander's reaction was rather sharp.
A moment later, as if realizing his mistake, a look of dismay crossed his face. He let out a needless cough and mumbled.
“...What I mean is… if we set a precedent like this… the existing members might harbor dark thoughts......”
“That's great. It means that thanks to Taebaek, we can weed out the members who would harbor dark thoughts over something so trivial.”
The Commander-in-Chief replied, tilting his head—his helmet. The face screen was an inorganic black.
“Commander-in-Chief! That's not what I'm saying...!”
“I know what you mean, Min-sik. I fully understand what you're saying about it setting a bad precedent.”
“Yes, sir.”
“But before that, let's think. Has there ever been a member who performed that well in the entrance evaluation until now?”
“......”
“Just as you said, killing that Haiyen. Killing a Haiyen who had even taken an unknown doping agent is clearly a remarkable achievement, isn't it?”
“That is true.”
The 5th Battalion's commander reluctantly agreed. Only then did a smiling emoticon appear on the Commander-in-Chief's face screen.
“It will be good motivation. That anyone can be transferred to Division 0 as long as they have the ability. Could there be a more definite stimulus than this?”
“There would not.”
“Anyway, my offer is assigning Lee Taebaek to Division 0. So everyone, lay out the cards you can play without holding back. Hurry up. If you save them, they might just turn to shit.”
The atmosphere became strange. The room stirred. The texture of the air felt like a physical mass.
They were all stealthily sizing each other up. Then the Commander-in-Chief hammered in the final nail with an amused tone.
“So no one has any complaints if I take him, right?”
“Wait a moment!”
The 3rd Battalion's commander, she, slammed her hand on the table and spoke.
“The more I watch the video, the more Lee Taebaek seems like the talent our 3rd Battalion needs. He specializes in ambushes, so wouldn't it be right for me to train him?”
The 3rd Battalion commander's eyes burned with a competitive spirit. As a martial artist, it was in her nature to hate losing, even in the smallest things.
“Are you going to pass down the secret techniques of the Tang Clan?”
“I wouldn't be against it. How about it? The Twelve Arts of the Dark Fragrance, passed down by me, Dang Ji-hye, from a collateral branch of the Sichuan Tang Clan.”
“Indeed. That's comparable to an assignment to Division 0.”
The Commander-in-Chief gestured lightly with his chin. As if to stir up the excitement. Not to be outdone, the other battalion commanders also jumped into the bidding war.
“In our 5th Battalion!”
“Is that all? Our 8th Battalion will even offer this.”
“This sugar-water bastard?!”
Loud shouts flew back and forth as the room heated up. The battalion commanders argued fiercely, spitting as they yelled at each other.
The small ball the Commander-in-Chief had thrown up had quickly begun to snowball. Furthermore, as they each tried to offer more than the last, the scale of the rewards kept growing.
Naturally, the point of contention shifted from Lee Taebaek to 'I can't let that bastard have him'. The Commander-in-Chief watched them, smiling with satisfaction.
......
[#1 Small-Scale] 1.5 Patch Notes
Based on 「Operator Mode」 and 「Favor of the Chaos Goddess」, the world's background and settings will be updated.
The contents of the update will evaporate upon the player's awakening and will be completely erased from memory.
◈ Main Patch
• The character's background description and profession have been modified from 「Former Siesta Guard Dog → Resistance Fighter」.
• The 「Life」 proportional value has increased (+1.4%). Pain tolerance increases along with health.
• The 「Agility」 proportional value has increased (+2.15%). Recovery ability slightly decreases.
• The 「Magic」 proportional value has increased (+4.9%). Athletic ability slightly decreases.
• Acquired 「Indomitable Resistance Fighter (True)」, increasing the 「Spirit」 proportional value (+9%).
◇ Miscellaneous Patch
• Acquired 「Concept: Field Commander」.
• Acquired 「Concept: Moonlight Dokkaebi」.
〉〉 Auto-saving…….
〉〉 Applying patch.
......
Five hours later. Lee Taebaek was sitting across from Fumito in the Resistance headquarters' cafeteria, eating breakfast. He had something to settle with him.
“To think that was that kind of weapon!”
Fumito exclaimed in admiration.
“What was the weapon's name again?”
“Para-Blade.”
“Right. Para-Braido.”
“Blade.”
“Braido.”
“......”
“......”
Silence.
“Anyway, that's your weapon, Taebaek.”
This bastard, he's glossing over it because he can't pronounce it.
“Let's eat, let's eat.”
Fumito spouted the sophistry that when you have holes in your body, you need to consume high-quality protein to fill them back up. But to be carving up a steak first thing in the morning...
The absurd thing was that new flesh was actually, visibly regenerating. In an instant, his sophistry became sound theory.
When Taebaek stared at him blankly, Fumito said that he was just naturally a fast healer.
It seemed Fumito had a high [Faith] stat. Though he himself didn't seem to know it.
Stats were a game mechanic. Only Lee Taebaek, a being who had crossed world lines, could recognize them.
“Endurance? People always said I was tough since I was a kid. Hmm, maybe it's because I grew up getting hit a lot?”
Fumito reminisced about his childhood. From what Taebaek could gather, his parents seemed to have been religious fanatics.
'If I add anything here, it'll just be me dissing his parents...'
It was a novel experience. When making a game, one doesn't usually set up the tragic backstory of a mid-boss, so for Lee Taebaek, this was the first time he'd heard this story.
But that was as far as it went. Listening to a family history riddled with violence was uncomfortable, so he let it go in one ear and out the other.
However.
Faith.
The first syllable, 'Sin', was the trigger. A question he had forgotten about flashed through his mind.
Maybe I should ask while I'm at it.
“Hey, Fumito.”
Lee Taebaek spoke. The reason he was asking Fumito was simply because he was the native he happened to be with at the time.
“Do you know anything about the Chaos Goddess?”
“Yeah.”
Fumito asked back with a baffled expression. Lee Taebaek nodded, pushing his tray to the side.
The entity known as the Chaos Goddess, who occasionally appeared in the status window.
It was strange. It was different from Berserk, which was a bug, or [Bullet Time], which at least remained as dummy data.
The Chaos Goddess was an unknown entity whose very concept did not exist in the world of Recons, or strictly speaking, should not exist.
Because he knew nothing at all about the Chaos Goddess. He, Lee Taebaek, one of the creators.
“Hmm… the Chaos Goddess...”
Fumito stuffed a large piece of cut meat into his mouth. He scratched his brow with his fork, thinking deeply for a long while. Finally, his mouth opened.
“As you know, there are a ridiculous number of gods in this world.”
Of course I know. I was involved in the creation of all those ridiculously numerous gods.
But this bastard, he's surprisingly good at getting under my skin.
I wonder if he's doing it on purpose.
Anyway.
As mentioned before, in order to make a marketable game, Lee Taebaek had added a ton of fantasy elements to Recons. A prime example of this was religion.
And as a result, gods—commonly referred to as 'Outer Gods'—exist in this world.
A jumbled world where science, religion, and magic are mixed. It seemed like a good idea when he was adding it, but now that he was a resident, he realized it had been a greedy decision.
It's chaotic, so chaotic.
“Thanks to my damn family, I remember most of the gods' names. But there was never a god with the concept of chaos.”
“...I see.”
I asked just in case, but it's as I thought.
“However.”
Fumito lowered his voice, which was uncharacteristic of him.
“I heard from Rock that some strange cult has been spreading among the residents of the lower districts recently. They serve a god I've never heard of. What was it? Lil... li, th?”
Lilith. Fumito chewed on the word several times before nodding.
“...Lilith. Probably... 'Lilith' is right. I remember it because the name sounds like a curse. Anyway, I heard the doctrine of the new religious group that worships Lilith is 'destruction' and 'chaos'. Maybe it's a god related to that religious group?”
“A religion and a god whose doctrine is destruction and chaos...”
“I don't think there are any others. No, I'm sure of it. Like I said, I've got the names of the gods memorized.”
Lilith might not be the same person as the Chaos Goddess. But if he started somewhere, he was bound to find something.
He was already lacking information about the status window as it was. In fact, it was to the point where you could say he had none. The Chaos Goddess was the only clue he had.
So, he decided to use this opportunity to track down the reason for the status window and his arrival in this world. Now that he had some mental leeway after overcoming several near-death experiences, the new religion of Lilith was the first button to press.
“Thanks, Fumito. Thanks to you, I have a direction.”
Lee Taebaek said, looking at Fumito. Perhaps because he hadn't expected much, he saw him in a new light.
“Hmm, really? I don't know what it is, but that's great, khehehe.”
Laughing out loud, he shoveled the rest of the meat into his mouth. His lips, covered in meat grease, shone.
'Sometimes there are people who seem lacking at first glance but are knowledgeable in specific areas.'
Fumito seemed to be exactly that type. Though the sight of him wolfing down meat was a bit of a turn-off, but whatever.
'That aside.'
It was good that he had a direction, but a practical problem remained. Lee Taebaek fiddled with his temple.
'...Whether it's an investigation or something else, I can't do it cooped up in a room.'
He also needed to research [Bullet Time]. Not here, in the Resistance headquarters, but outside, if possible.
There were too many watching eyes here. In a situation where he should be hiding the cards he held, it was foolish to go out of his way to reveal them. He had intended to stay a bit longer since he was already here, but.
Who would have known things would turn out like this. Lee Taebaek sighed.
What a strange fate.
It felt like just yesterday that he broke out of prison, and now he had to escape again. Moreover, the difficulty of this escape was much higher. With the electric chair, he just had to endure it(?), but shaking off the Resistance's pursuit would be tough.
'The best way is to leave on my own two feet.'
An organization where secrecy is paramount would never let him go nicely. Unless they meant sending him off encased in cement.
Do I really have to bolt in the middle of the next mission...
At that moment.
“......!”
Fumito, who had been eagerly eating his meat, turned pale. Lee Taebaek, who lifted his head to check his expression, tilted his own in confusion.
Fumito pounded on his ribs as if a piece of meat was stuck at the back of his tongue. Then, after gulping it down, he quickly stood up from his seat.
“Uh, Taebaek. I think I have to get going.”
“What? So suddenly?”
“Y-Yeah.”
It was strange. There was more than one strange thing. Above all, his awkward gaze. His eyes, which seemed to be looking at Lee Taebaek, were actually directed behind him.
What is it?
Lee Taebaek turned around. Immediately, his eyes grew just as wide as Fumito's had been.
“Can we talk?”
The Commander-in-Chief said, waving his hand gently.
“I brought a gift.”
Along with a smiling-eye emoticon on his face screen.
......
Tip: Did you know? There are three types of patches in total: Small-scale, Mid-scale, and Large-scale.