Chapter 1099 – Dark Moon
Clunk, clunk, clunk.
The armored vehicle headed towards the mission site.
It was said to be a state-of-the-art armored vehicle, and the ride was quite comfortable, except for the noise.
In the armored vehicle’s passenger seats, there were six of us, including myself, sitting. Except for Belhaga, the martial arts instructor, everyone was stiff with tension.
In a few hours, we would be in a real battle with the bandit group. A fight to the death awaited us.
I was nervous, but not afraid. Facing humans, not monsters, was a first for me as a hunter, but it was something I had prepared for even before becoming a hunter.
“Don’t be nervous, you rookies. You’re all Class 1. On the other hand, the Neros bandits are all unranked except for their leader, Neros. They’re just ordinary people with some combat experience. You have an overwhelming advantage.”
Unranked.
Ordinary people who couldn’t use or even sense mana. But we couldn’t completely ignore them. The guns they carried were weapons that were equal to everyone.
“You know how to use barrier magic, right? Even a Class 1 barrier can easily block dozens of ordinary bullets. But don’t blindly trust your barrier. Sometimes, there are guys who use magic bullets, not ordinary ones.”
Belhaga’s words didn’t change the atmosphere.
Barrier.
It was a non-attribute magic.
The formula itself wasn’t complex, so any mage could easily learn and use it. It was one of the first spells learned when starting magic.
But ironically, it was one of the spells affected by the formula. The more complex and detailed the formula, the stronger the barrier. Also, because it was non-attribute, it was greatly affected by the astral.
Simply put, if your mind was unstable, the strength of the barrier would decrease.
“…Hah. Seeing your faces, I’m not so sure. I’ll brief you again.”
Belhaga took out something that looked like a camera from his pocket, pointed it at the floor, and pressed the power button. A hologram of the mission area appeared.
“Razman City. A city ruined by war 70 years ago. 95% of the city was destroyed by bombing, and only 5% remains. It’s about the size of a small village.”
The buildings shown in the hologram were two- or three-story buildings. There were also buildings that looked like skyscrapers, but their upper parts were shattered or gone.
“Your mission is annihilation. Don’t let a single one live. Especially Neros, you must kill him.”
Belhaga spoke like a growling beast. His chilling voice made the kids swallow hard.
He continued to brief us about Neros.
“This guy boldly stole the Dragon Factor that was being transported to the capital. There’s no evidence that he sold it on the black market, so he probably used it himself. Be careful. Well, he probably hasn’t adapted yet, so he’s probably only around Class 2.”
Belhaga spoke casually, but we, who were Class 1, couldn’t ignore a Class 2. If Neros was really Class 2, at least three of us would have to attack him together. The best option would be all five of us together.
Belhaga finished his briefing, which he had repeated for the sixth time, and said to us,
“Check your equipment. If you whine about equipment problems during the mission, I’ll kill you myself.”
The kids, including me, checked our equipment. Unlike the others, my equipment was a bit different. We wore the same uniforms, but our weapons were different. Their guns were assault rifles, and mine was a sniper rifle.
I was the best shooter among us, so I was assigned the sniper role. I didn’t think I would be safe just because I was providing sniper support from the rear. I knew how dangerous this world was. I wouldn’t let my guard down.
‘And I have to prove my worth here.’
That was the only way I could be treated well when I returned.
After checking all my equipment, I took a breath and looked at the kids who were deployed with me. They were all around my age. All five of them were boys. I had met them all at least once.
“We’ve arrived. Mission start. I won’t intervene in the mission until you’re all wiped out. Keep that in mind and carry out the mission.”
Kiiiiiiing.
The door of the armored vehicle slowly opened.
“Just in case, don’t think foolishly just because you’re outside. You can never escape from us.”
I reflexively looked at my right forearm. The slave seal under my uniform came to mind.
‘Just because we’re outside doesn’t mean there’s a chance to escape. To escape this damn place, I have to get rid of the slave seal first.’
For now, escape was a distant dream. I put aside my longing for freedom and went outside the armored vehicle with the other kids.
It was a place where the traces of war remained even after 70 years. The yellowish-brown ground was hard, and sand dust rose whenever the wind blew.
“Let’s go according to the plan. 211, please do a good job with the sniping.”
Number 14 said.
“I’ll do my best.”
I answered formally. After that, we split up. Numbers 72, 54, 105, and 14 went straight towards the ruined city, and I moved quickly to the sniper point.
The sniper point was on top of a pillar. It was a place that seemed easy to be sniped from, as it was open on all sides, but the Neros bandits didn’t have a sniper.
I crouched on top of the pillar and held my sniper rifle. The area on top of the pillar was too small to lie down.
I brought my right eye to the scope. The scope, which had telescope magic on it, clearly showed the ruined city about 1km away. The first thing I did was find my four companions. I already knew their routes, so it wasn’t difficult.
I tapped the radio.
“This is 211. I’ve reached the sniper point.”
“This is 14. Any enemies?”
“I’ll check.”
It was also my job to observe the enemy’s movements using the scope.
“…14. There are at least three or more people waiting in the building near 1 o’clock from your position. They’re playing cards and chatting. They don’t seem to have noticed us yet.”
“At least three? Can you snipe them?”
“I can’t get an angle on all but one.”
“Okay. We’ll take care of it. Find the locations of the other enemies.”
Number 14’s group infiltrated the building secretly.
“Silence.”
I heard Number 14’s voice through the radio.
Silence. It was a Class 1 non-attribute magic that eliminated the sound of the surrounding space. Along with the barrier, it was a particularly efficient magic among Class 1 spells.
The disadvantage was that no sound could be heard through the connected radio. I moved the scope to assess the situation. The enemies were pierced by bullets and died. The battle didn’t take long. About 6 seconds.
“Clear. What’s next?”
“7 o’clock from there. There are two people guarding the entrance of the building.”
“Confirmed. It’s not a good position for us to handle. 211, can you take care of it?”
“I will.”
I stopped breathing and focused. The subtle shaking of the gun disappeared. As soon as I was ready, I pulled the trigger, aimed the gun slightly to the side, and pulled the trigger again in succession. Two bullet casings fell to the ground. Flowers of blood and brain matter bloomed from the heads of the two enemies who were on guard.
“……”
It was the first time I had killed someone in both my life on Earth and as 211.
My fingertips trembled slightly. I let out a small sigh and shook off the trembling. That was it. I was surprised at how indifferent I felt.
I got rid of my 잡념 and focused on the operation.
Number 14 and his group stepped on the corpses of the fallen enemies and rushed into the building.
The operation was almost perfect until we had killed ten people.
“…We’ve been discovered. We’re going into combat now. 211, please provide cover.”
“Understood.”
I had fully anticipated this situation. There were plenty of bullets. I pulled the trigger to save my allies rather than kill the enemy. To kill Neros, the leader of the bandits, Number 14 and everyone else had to be alive.
As I moved the scope back and forth to cover my allies, I felt a strange presence and raised the scope. A man was standing on top of a building, looking down at my allies.
He was a tall man, about 2 meters tall, with a slender build. He was wearing black clothes that looked like rags, and a jade-colored, branch-like horn protruded from his messy white hair.
It was as Instructor Belhaga had said. Neros had absorbed the Dragon Factor and become a Dragonkin.
“…Neros confirmed. I’m going to start sniping now.”
“We’ve confirmed him too. He has a different presence, probably because he’s a Dragonkin. Can you snipe him?”
“I’ll try.”
In this world, there were things called Factors. Dragon Factors, Monster Factors, Hero Factors, Animal Factors, and so on. If there was a special human among your ancestors, you could be born with it, or you could awaken your abilities by injecting the Factor into your body.
Neros was the latter. And the Dragon Factor was one of the highest-grade Factors.
The only good thing was that he hadn’t had much time to adapt after injecting the Factor into his body. If we had come a week later, the chance of success would have been 0%.
‘I have to end it in one shot.’
I stopped breathing.
It wasn’t enough. I restrained my heart with mana for a more perfect shot. My heartbeat stopped, and the shaking completely disappeared.
Then, suddenly, Neros raised his head. His eyes were looking directly at me. I suppressed my agitation with concentration and aimed at his forehead. With a somewhat stiff index finger, I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The bullet shot out. The feeling at that moment was perfect. I was sure that the bullet would pierce his forehead.
But my certainty shattered like a dropped glass bottle.
A blue current flashed on Neros’s jade-colored, branch-like horn, and the bullet stopped in front of his forehead and flew back towards me. The bullet, charged with electricity, crackled.
I threw away the sniper rifle and rolled to the side. My reaction was quick and clean. But the bullet that he had reflected was faster than I had expected. The bullet shattered the sniper rifle and grazed my shoulder. I fell down the pillar.
‘If I had been 0.1 seconds slower, my shoulder would have been shattered.’
I got up, sweating cold.
“211! What happened?!”
“…The bullet was reflected. He completely recognized me from 1km away and reflected the shot. Don’t let your guard down. The sniper rifle is broken. Sniping is impossible. I’ll join you.”
I grabbed my pistol and ran towards the battlefield.
It was better to join Number 14’s group and fight than to run away because I was afraid.
I could hear the sounds of battle through the radio. Bang, bang. There were continuous explosions, as if they were using grenades.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“He’s supposed to be Class 2! This guy is at least Class 3!”
“S-save me. My arm, my arm is cut off!”
“Ugh…”
I heard desperate screams.
But Number 14’s group was still fighting. After sprinting 500m, I was panting. This damn body had excessively low stamina compared to what I had trained.
Crack. Crack.
I heard static on the radio. It was highly likely that Number 14’s or the others’ radios were broken. Or maybe Neros had done something.
Kwakwakwang!
A blue lightning bolt fell from the clear sky.
“……”
My legs stopped.
I had a strong feeling that heading to that battlefield now was a foolish thing to do. It was better to fail the mission than to die. When you think about it, Neros was not someone that rookies like me could handle.
“Damn it. He’s already Class 3? He must have a compatibility rate of at least 70%. 211, 14, prepare to retreat with any surviving allies. I’ll take care of him.”
Instructor Belhaga’s order came down. My plan to step back and observe the situation was immediately shattered.
‘Disobeying orders is serious… I have no choice.’
I started running again.
