Chapter 1098 – Dark Moon
It’s already been a week since I entered the game called ‘Dark Moon.’
Someone once said that humans are creatures of adaptation. That was true. I had adapted to this life.
It was all thanks to Instructor Lexi. Rumors spread that I was a genius at shooting, and I started receiving special treatment, making my life easier. Even if I made a small mistake, they would overlook it to some extent.
‘My value has increased. Even if I can’t become a battle mage, they can still use me as a sniper.’
Every time Instructor Lexi saw me, she would explain the importance of snipers. She said that one veteran sniper could make things easier for 1,000 allies, which seemed a bit exaggerated. But it was true that snipers were highly valued.
Yesterday, I heard that Number 31 had reached a higher level and become a Grade 2. The instructors and kids all reacted the same way, saying, “Of course, it’s Number 31.”
As Number 31 became a Grade 2, she started receiving even better treatment than before.
‘The difference between Grade 1 and Grade 2 is quite significant, so it’s not surprising.’
I had no talent in any physical activities other than shooting, including combat skills. Swordsmanship, spear techniques, and so on.
The shocking thing was that I was completely inept at swordsmanship.
‘Back on Earth, I was still an F-grade hunter who used a sword…’
Number 211, who had the same face as me, had absolutely no athletic ability.
*Beep beep beep, beep beep beep.*
A cheap melody rang from the ceiling. It was the melody announcing the next schedule. The kids sitting in the dormitory went out into the hallway and lined up.
“Let’s move to the mana training room.”
Number 205, the dormitory leader, led us. As we walked down the hallway, I felt gazes on me. I glanced over and saw two soldiers in military uniforms, holding guns, watching us as if they were guarding us. I was reminded again that my identity in this body was that of a slave and a test subject.
As soon as we entered the mana training room, I felt the dense mana. I didn’t know the exact principle, but the mana training room was more abundant in mana than other places. As its name suggested, it was a space created for mana breathing exercises.
‘Number 211 experienced mana backlash here and fainted.’
And that’s when I woke up as Number 211.
I sat cross-legged in my designated spot. The cross-legged position was the most basic posture for mana breathing exercises.
I closed my eyes and focused on contemplation.
‘Number 211’s mana backlash was caused by breathing. I need to pay special attention to my breathing while opening my astral.’
As I opened my astral, the presence of mana became clear.
The five mana rods began to work. Unlike when using magic, they pulled the mana from outside into my body. More than 99% of the mana drawn in flowed back out, but a tiny portion remained in my body and accumulated.
This accumulated mana became my asset.
“Ugh! Krrgh!”
I slightly opened my eyes, disturbed by the voice that broke my concentration. A man who was sitting a little away from me was clutching his chest and collapsed to the floor. It was mana backlash. Soldiers rushed over and took the man to the infirmary.
‘Three people have suffered mana backlash in a week. It’s strange, no matter how you look at it. Did they intentionally cause mana backlash?’
As rumors about me spread, the perception of mana backlash changed slightly. There was nonsense going around that if you gained enlightenment through mana backlash, you could reach a higher level.
‘They seem to be mistaken. Mana backlash can be a trigger, but it’s a trigger with a very low probability of success.’
Well, I couldn’t say I didn’t understand the guys who were intentionally trying to experience mana backlash, hoping for a stroke of luck. It meant they were that desperate.
‘Our identities are that of slaves and test subjects. If our performance isn’t good, we’ll be disposed of immediately.’
I closed my eyes again. Whether they intentionally caused mana backlash or not was none of my business. I wasn’t the type to meddle in other people’s affairs, and I didn’t have the luxury to do so.
***
In the afternoon, instead of training in swordsmanship, I headed to the shooting range where Instructor Lexi was. The instructors had recognized my talent and scheduled me to focus on shooting.
“Hello, Number 211. How are you feeling today?”
Lexi said with a bright smile. On the desk next to her were more than ten guns, starting with a pistol.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not in bad condition, are you?”
“No.”
“Today, we’ll try using different guns. Surprisingly, everyone prefers different guns. Well, with your skills, it probably doesn’t matter which gun you use.”
I silently followed her instructions and started shooting with the pistol. Every time I shot, I was amazed at myself. If it was a short distance, I didn’t even need to calculate the wind; I could just pull the trigger instinctively and hit the target.
‘Is this what talent is?’
I thought talent was efficiency.
Geniuses were those who achieved maximum results with minimal effort.
‘But now that I’ve become a genius, I understand. There’s no such thing as minimal effort. Genius is incomprehensible.’
I erased all unhelpful thoughts from my mind. I just focused on being faithful to my current talent.
“Did you know? The higher a mage’s shooting skills, the better.”
“…Do mages often use guns?”
“Huh? It’s not that, but magic is ultimately a ranged attack. It’s useless if you can’t hit your target.”
That wasn’t wrong.
Not all magic was ranged, but the image of a mage was someone who attacked from the rear with magic. And that was pretty much the reality.
‘Battle mages are a bit of an exception, but a mage’s combat style is primarily ranged.’
The mages in this world didn’t particularly try to fight. If they had magic skills above Grade 3, they could enjoy an elite life, so why would they want to do dangerous things?
*Bang. Bang. Bang.*
I pulled the trigger and savored the sound of the gunshots. I had shot over 300 rounds, but I wasn’t bored at all because I hit the target every time.
“Do you remember what I said last time?”
“…Are you talking about the reward you said you would give me?”
“That’s right. I’m just asking in case, but what kind of reward do you want? Tell me honestly. It’s rare for me to give a reward to someone, you know?”
“……”
Just because she told me to be honest didn’t mean I was going to foolishly reveal my true intentions. Just because the other person was being nice to me didn’t mean I should misunderstand my current position.
“I will accept whatever you give me.”
“That’s a boring answer. Don’t you want to go outside?”
“……Will you let me go outside?”
“Sorry, I don’t have the authority to do that. But you’ll have a chance to go outside next week.”
“What’s happening next week?”
“It’s your first mission. Or rather, it’s better to call it a practice. You’re still trainees, after all.”
“I would like to know the details of the practice.”
“It’s classified, so I can’t tell you. Actually, I wasn’t even supposed to mention that there was a practice… I just blurted it out. It’s a secret from everyone else.”
She probably didn’t say it by accident. It probably meant, “There’s a practice, so be prepared.” I was about to pick up my gun again and focus on shooting, but she grabbed my wrist and pulled it down.
She placed a bracelet on my hand. It was a crude metal bracelet.
“This is the reward I’m giving you. It’s an artifact with a Grade 4 barrier magic. It’s my little darling that has saved my life more than ten times.”
An artifact.
It was a term used to refer to an object with magic imbued in it.
“Thank you.”
I accepted the artifact without refusing. A Grade 4 barrier could be my lifeline.
“You can fail this practice. Everyone has already seen your shooting skills. You won’t be disposed of even if you fail.”
“…I see.”
“Oh, and by the way, Instructor Venus has been eyeing you. He says your magic manifestation is very clean. But your shooting skills are even better than your magic. Don’t forget that you were born to be a sniper.”
“…Yes. Thank you.”
I treated Lexi without showing my true feelings.
To be honest, I wanted to become a mage more than a sniper. This body had as much talent for magic as it did for shooting.
***
The practice was just a day away.
I sat down heavily on the toilet seat in the bathroom.
Everywhere I went, I was followed by the gazes of others. There were other kids in the dormitory, and soldiers were watching in the hallway. The same was true for the shower room. There was always a supervisor present. The only place where I could escape the gazes of others was the bathroom.
‘Even this is limited to about 15 minutes. If I stay here any longer, they’ll come barging in.’
I couldn’t even commit suicide if I wanted to. The slave mark engraved on my right forearm wouldn’t allow it. It was okay to think about suicide, but if I tried to act on it, the mark would glow and cause pain. If I ignored the pain, I would faint.
I came to the bathroom not to commit suicide, but to check my magic.
‘Light.’
I manifested magic without a chant. The sphere of light that appeared on my palm brightly illuminated the bathroom.
‘Fire.’
Flames erupted where the sphere of light had been.
‘Ice.’
The flames disappeared, and cold air gathered, creating ice. I held the fist-sized ice in my hand, grimacing at the coldness, and dropped the ice into the toilet bowl.
*Plop.*
The ice quickly began to melt.
‘Wind.’
The wind blew. My hair fluttered.
I skipped over earth-attribute magic. I knew the incantation, but it wasn’t suitable to use here.
‘Water.’
Water gathered on my palm and then fell down. Water and ice magic were similar but different.
‘…Spark.’
*Zzzzt.*
A blue current crackled on my palm.
I stared blankly at the current. The spark, an electric-type magic, felt much more comfortable than other attribute magics like light or fire. Or rather, it felt familiar.
‘Am I specialized in electric-type attributes? But it’s not like other magic feels difficult either.’
I clenched my palm. The current disappeared.
I closed my eyes and organized my thoughts about magic and attributes. The characteristics of the attributes I felt were like this:
Light mana spread in all directions, fire mana was hot, ice mana was cold. Water mana flowed, wind mana was light. Earth mana was solid, and dark mana was heavy.
‘And lightning mana is… pure.’
It was the moment I established my understanding of the attributes. My astral, known as the mage’s spirit, reacted. My astral was rapidly expanding. I knew that my level was about to rise to Grade 2.
‘Not yet.’
I forcibly suppressed the expansion of my astral with my will.
‘If I rise to Grade 2 now, I’ll stand out too much. I need to rise at least a month later.’
I forcibly suppressed the rise in level. It was usually impossible, but my magical talent made it possible. At this point, even I, who was ignorant of magic, couldn’t help but know. My magical talent was greater than my shooting talent.
‘It’s not like the path to Grade 2 is blocked. I can rise whenever I want.’
I looked at my palm.
The attribute I was most comfortable with. It was definitely electricity.
*Zzzzt.*
‘Huh?’
A current crackled on my palm. I was flustered. I had thought of the current, but I hadn’t activated the incantation. The current was now flickering without an incantation, solely through mana and will.
‘Is this… an ability?’
Several ways to use this ability in magic came to mind. I kept thinking about those methods as I left the bathroom.
***
“Number 211, Number 72, Number 54, Number 105, Number 14.”
Instructor Venus called out five of us, including me.
“You are Mission Number 11. Under the guidance of Instructor Belha, you will deal with the Neros gang. You will hear the details of the operation from Instructor Belha.”
We headed to Instructor Belha. Instructor Belha briefed us on the operation in a businesslike manner.
The core of the mission was simple.
To deal with the Neros bandit gang hiding in the ruined city.
