novelraw Chapter 6
Chapter 6
‘Was I too hasty?’
Jin Crow couldn't help but think as he left the classroom.
Baek Hwi-young's question had been sharp.
After all, this was a lecture that wouldn't have happened in the original story.
Fsssh, inhale-.
In a nearby smoking area, he put a black cigarette to his lips and thought about the lecture he had just given.
‘There’s no point in staying in the theory department. I have to get to the combat faculty, no matter what.’
That's when he remembered the incident on Planet Aurum, which would later be called the ‘Aurum Shock’.
Whether it was a stroke of luck, the timing was perfect.
‘The enemy is the Creatures, after all.’
The problem was that the lecture series he was aiming for had yet to be established.
That was why he had deliberately shown the video about the Creatures, to stir up controversy.
The turning point for the establishment of the new lecture series would be the rapid increase in Creature invasions over the next six months, including the one on Planet Aurum.
It was a clear gamble for him, as attracting too much attention was not good, but there was a basis for it.
‘The original story mentioned that Jin Crow was recommended as the instructor for the newly established lecture. However, he refused for personal reasons, I believe.’
He didn't know the full story yet, but seeing as an instructor from the Rosen side somehow took the position later, it meant that even the faction that was both Jin Crow's sponsor and his biggest obstacle wanted this lecture.
In other words, it was a gamble worth taking.
‘By the way, the reactions were unexpected.’
He hadn't expected the reaction to be so intense, even if they didn't like it.
Fundamentally, the cadets of the Central Special Mission Military Academy are adults.
Moreover, who were they?
They might be called military academy cadets, but most of them were monsters with enough power to easily demolish a decent-sized building.
Especially in the Martial Arts Division, where cadets were sometimes crippled during training, why would they react like this to something of this level…
‘Considering the kind of battlefields they'll have to face in the future.’
Of course, wars between humans are also brutal.
In fact, the three galactic wars against the Holy Galactic Empire that Jin Crow and the other soldiers of this world had experienced were endlessly horrific.
But the coming war against the Creatures was on a completely different level.
‘A brutal and bleak world is coming to strangle humanity—no, all species in the galaxy.’
Even Baek Hwi-young, a regressor, had failed seven times.
And yet, humanity and all other species demoted the Creatures to mere space monsters, maintaining an endlessly complacent attitude.
Fsssh-.
He muttered softly as he stubbed out the burnt-down cigarette in a portable ashtray.
“Because there has never been a case like Planet Aurum before.”
Tens of millions of Defense Force soldiers lost their lives, hundreds of millions of citizens died, and an entire planet was abandoned—all to mere monsters.
This is just the beginning.
‘This is going to be exhausting.’
He felt like he was starting to understand why Jin Crow’s personality had become the way it was.
He irritably ran a hand through his hair, checked the time on his watch, and headed for his quarters.
There were many things he needed to check to transfer to the combat faculty, but for now, he planned to get some shut-eye.
There was still plenty of time until dawn.
***
The night on the Sigma satellite is quiet.
That's only natural.
Aside from the fact that the satellite, slightly larger than the moon, has a population of less than 10,000, it is, after all, a military academy that trains soldiers.
“Salute.”
Because of that, the only ones seen on the academy's streets were infantrymen on duty in powered exoskeletons and androids equipped with combat parts.
He was once again reminded how fortunate he was to have been possessed as an instructor.
If he had been a cadet, his movements would have been restricted in many ways.
Beep-.
〔Instructor. Jin Crow. Confirmed. Welcome to the 7th Training Ground.〕
A woman's voice, unclear if it was a recording or an AI, brushed past his ear.
It was a rather pleasant voice.
As he stepped into the training ground, a neat, white-based desk came into view.
Soon, as the door closed, a blue-haired female android who had been sitting at the desk munching on something stood up and spoke.
“Welcome, Instructor Jin Crow. Are you here to use the training ground?”
“Before that, let me ask you something.”
“Yes. What are you curious about?”
He was struck again by how she could pass for a real human if it weren't for the light legally engraved below her ear to indicate she was an android.
‘Android. Lambda.’
The reason he had come to the 7th Training Ground instead of a closer one was to see her face.
Since she was clearly a good character, it was worth making an impression on her.
“How is the data recorded inside the training ground managed? Is it stored separately or reported to superiors?”
This was a rather important question.
His own body's condition could not be revealed to others yet.
Meanwhile, Lambda blinked for a moment at Jin Crow's question before opening her mouth.
“In principle, it is stored, but the records and personal information of the Central Special Mission Military Academy instructors are managed under a Class 1 security rating.”
“What?”
“It is exactly as I said. You have used it several times before, but as you know, by regulation, Class 1 security can only be accessed after receiving approval from the Ministry of National Defense.”
For a moment, all he could do was shut his mouth and control his expression.
However, the important thing was confirmation.
“Then, the people within this academy who can access the classified information are...”
“There are none.”
“What about the Commandant?”
“Uhm... In principle, it's possible, but he would only be able to receive it after its justification has been reviewed within the Ministry of National Defense.”
It was a firm statement.
Not bad. No, in fact, this is a good thing.
“Where is the most secluded room?”
“You can go to F10.”
He immediately headed for the training room she mentioned.
As he stepped inside, a breeze brushed his cheek.
Vweee-.
Soon, a bulkhead closed, completely sealing the inside from the outside, and he lightly scanned the interior of the training ground.
The interior of the training ground was the very definition of bleak.
In fact, it wasn't strange.
If this were a typical fantasy setting or even a modern military training ground, various facilities and weapons would be scattered about, but what kind of world was this?
It was a world where, not content with terraforming tens and hundreds of planets, interstellar hyperspace jumps had become a reality.
〔User Jin Crow. Please input the training settings.〕
“Difficulty, low. Assumed enemy, Creature. Background, urban warfare.”
〔Commencing training. Please be cautious of motion sickness.〕
Simultaneously, the previously empty training ground was dyed black.
It didn't take long to realize why it warned about motion sickness.
It was nauseatingly disorienting.
But that was brief, and when his vision returned, what met his eyes was not the bleak interior of the training ground but a cityscape filled with chaos.
“R-Run!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
The faces of the citizens running across the cracked asphalt were filled with bewilderment, anxiety, sorrow, and desperation.
He lifted his head and looked at the sky.
Countless void rifts, a mix of purple and red, covered the planet's sky.
KABOOOOOOOM!
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Massive battleships tilted and fell from the sky, and soldiers hiding behind various debris dragged their injured bodies and repeatedly pulled their triggers.
〔Th-This is Aden Crossroads! Support! We need support!〕
〔We're not even asking for a Special Mission Officer, just send a Titan!〕
Simulated radio chatter rang noisily in his ears, but he stood rooted to the spot for a moment, gazing at the city.
“Haaah.”
The sigh that escaped him unconsciously was filled with a great many emotions.
He had deliberately set the enemy as Creatures because, naturally, he wanted the battlefield he would face in the future.
But standing in the middle of this battlefield—a mere simulation, one implemented under the pretext of giving cadets a wide range of experience—made him acutely aware of the true nature of this world.
‘Remember this.’
This world is a hell filled with absurdity.
And the steps he would take as Jin Crow would be no different.
It was a good thing he came to the training ground.
It served as a wake-up call for him, who had still been floating as if in a dream.
Gulp-.
He took out the hip flask he had brought with him from his pocket and took a swig.
The biting liquid flowed down his esophagus, and along with a burning heat, a slight roughness and a strange sweetness lingered at the tip of his nose.
Was it the power of the Awakening Agent?
His body felt much lighter, and he began to move as if remembering the past.
He grasped the hilt of the sword at his fingertips.
Shing-.
The tip of the drawn sword trembled slightly.
At the same time, he faced a Creature that had already spotted him, its eyes gleaming.
-Krrrrrrk!
Clad in an exoskeleton of mixed purple and red, just like the rifts, and with one hand shaped like a long spear, its appearance was reminiscent of a medieval soldier.
He could instantly see why it had been given the codename 「Pawn」.
“Unnecessarily large.”
The Pawn was certainly classified as a mass-produced, lower-tier individual among the space monsters.
And yet, to be twice the height of an average person, it was suffocating.
-Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!
It immediately shattered the asphalt and leaped, extending the blunt yet massive spear that served as its arm.
“Kch!”
He threw himself aside on instinct.
As he rolled on the ground, he could even feel the sensation of fine debris scraping his cheek, but minor scratches were not what was important.
-Krrrrrrk!
“You, son of a bitch!”
He couldn't help but let out a curse, whether it was because the original Jin Crow had a foul mouth or because his inner voice burst out in the face of a life-threatening situation.
KABOOOOOOOM!
The Pawn's spear, glowing with a red light, not only pierced the earth but also picked up and threw a car that was lying nearby.
‘…Can't dodge this!’
In an instant, a black shadow filled his vision.
Because of that, the moment he instinctively closed his eyes.
A ‘creak’ sound echoed from within him.
His hand moved on its own, slicing through the air with the tip of his sword, and in that moment, the body of the flying car was split in two.
‘I cut it!’
But in that instant.
Pshuk!
The Pawn's spear shot through the gap between the two halves, pierced Jin Crow's chest, and instead of pain, a red light flashed with a ‘Beep’ as an indifferent voice brushed past his ear.
〔Survival time: 2 minutes, 49 seconds. Terminating training.〕
“…Gasp!”
He belatedly gasped for breath and hurriedly checked his chest.
But he could only realize that everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.
But even knowing it was a fake, just a simulation, the pressure of his heart being pierced felt real.
However…
‘Gear. Is this why they call it Gear?’
With slightly dazed eyes, he recalled the car body he had clearly cut down—despite it being a simulation—and mulled over the sensation of the ‘something’ that had moved within him.
‘More. Just a little more.’
It was a fleeting moment, fainter than the blink of an eye, but the exhilaration he felt in that instant captivated him.
He opened the hip flask and brought it to his lips.
Gulp, gulp-.
After swallowing half the liquor in an instant, he wiped the liquid trickling down his chin with the back of his hand and spoke.
“Difficulty, low. Assumed enemy, Creature. Background, urban warfare.”
At that moment, he didn't know.
He didn't know that, along with the blood trickling from his nose, he was making an impulsive choice without even realizing it.
…It seemed it was going to be a long night.