Kill the Dragon Volume 2 Chapter 1-1.5

Volume 2 Chapter 1: Squad Leader, Han Lee
Translated by iseuli

“Ugh.”

Han moved his airbeat with telekinesis. The movements were delicate and precise. Han’s telekinesis was not strong, but he was capable of flexible and precise movements.

‘The only thing I can be better at than others would be my fine control of telekinesis.’

Han judged his skills objectively. A squad leader must be knowledgeable of not only his squad’s capabilities and skills, but also his own.

“That’s amazing! Canute!”

Kuro shouted in the shooting range. Han looked behind him.

“Well, this much is a piece of cake.”

Canute brightly laughed.

All twenty bullets had hit the bull’s-eye, even though it was his first time shooting a gun. His precision while moving was also fair. Jose, on the other hand, hit the bull’s-eye fourteen out of twenty times.

It wasn’t bad, but their skills were on different levels.

“But would there be a time we need to use guns?”

Jose put his gun down and asked.

“Among different squad competitions, there is one called the gun survival.”

Han answered. They would need to shoot a designated amount of times inside the shooting ranges.

He had outstanding focus so he had a talent for shooting.

The thirteenth squad’s two new transfers were given three weeks to complete the second year curriculum. They had to get accustomed to using various new equipment, including the airbeat. Jose and Canute scored high across all drills, but their unique skills differed drastically.

‘Jose is skilled in close combat, he’s good at fighting together as a team, and he pays attention to his teammates before making his next move.’

Han looked to Canute who was standing on the opposite side. Canute was tall, and his arms and legs were long. Amongst the squad, he was the fastest.

‘Canute considers a variety of aspects, making his decisions very dependable; he is suitable for solo runs and he understands when to work together and when to split up the team.’

Han gathered the squad members and gave a briefing of everyone’s main role.

“We will divide into group 1 and 2. The first group is Canute and I. The second group is Jose and Kuro. The basic battle strategy will be the first group will be the main attackers, the second group will provide support.”

Canute rose his hand to ask a question.

“Can I ask what your thought process is in grouping us in this way?”

Han nodded. He projected all the data of his squad members he had organized prior with his data bracelet. He had organized the last three weeks of training drills into data format.

“If there is any conflicting data, do speak now.”

“I have no objections.”

Han and Canute confirmed.

“Group 1, Canute can easily break away from enemies, even if we were to be surrounded because we have high agility. That’s why you’re the advance guard, Canute. Find out the enemy’s position and notify the rest of the squad. You’re the squad’s eyes and ears

“How about the second group?”

“Jose’s role will be to assist Kuro. Kuro is responsible for taking down the enemies that aim for our lives. However, depending on the situation, Jose will need to go back and forth between groups. You’re the squad’s backbone. Kuro, use your psychic powers to support us from a distance. He’s one of the few psykers in year 2 who can give out fatal blows with his psychic skills alone.

Han sent the hefty amount of data he had compiled of their basic war tactics, variables, and speculations on how these tactics would work through his data bracelet. The amount of data was no joke.

“Did you compile this yourself?”

Jose opened the data he received on his data bracelet. This was the first time he had seen a break down of their war tactics in this type of data format. It felt like he received a new textbook to study.

“Memorize it before our competition. When we’re out in the field, we won’t have enough time to discuss every aspect of the tactic we’re going to carry out. We must move out in a fluid motion like we’re one entity. This will be our squad’s core strength. In order to achieve this, we must share our tactical thought processes. We must be able to mentally read each other like twins by simply observing the other’s behaviors.”

The youths looked through Han’s battle tactic textbook.

Their eyes grew wide in shock. Everyone had received training through official military procedures. They understood how much painstaking labor he had went through to compile all this data.

‘We can win.’

Han had devised various tactics dedicated for specific squad competitions. They were exhaustive and thorough tactics made for the purpose of winning the squad battles.

Han had remained quiet and docile ever since he had been incorporated into the seventh squad. He had been forming battle tactics for the sake of his squad inside his room.

“Everyone will be looking down on us. They will call us traitors and dregs. Let them talk all they want. Nothing will come of protesting. We will show them through results. We will make everyone regret not joining squad 13 when they had the chance.”

The postponement period for squad 13 ended. They were now required to participate in the squad battles decided upon by the drill instructors. They could not decide their opponents nor type of battle theme. They had to adapt to whatever situation they were thrown in.

Han laid in his bed and stared at his data bracelet. Their first squad battle would be announced soon. The squad battle theme was more important than finding out who their opponents were.

“Anything but aerial squad battles.”

Squad 13 was the weakest when it came to aerial battles. It would be difficult to beat the second year seniors who had been training in aerial tactics for a long time.

Diring

His data bracelet flashed. Han read the hologram message projected in the air.

-Squad 9 vs Squad 13: Gun Survival.

Han slyly laid down again. His expression changed subtly. He was able to avoid the worrying aerial battles.

However the survival combat against squad 9 felt especially meaningful.

‘Those drill instructors…. They’re really throwing me into the lion’s den.’

The ninth squad ranked the best in shooting. They have over 80 percent chance of winning the gun survival.

‘They must have purposely aimed for this. This wasn’t a randomized match.’

Han narrowly opened his eyes. He pulled himself together once more.

‘The number of participants is based on the smaller squad. Then four squad members would compete from the ninth squad. They would probably pick their best to compete. The members of the ninth squad are probably shouting with delight over their easy victory.

Han sent his squad the information of their next battle. He quietly closed his eyes and opened them again.

‘We’ll show them and win.’

The ninth and thirteenth squad battle received all the attention. Everyone still treated the thirteenth squad with much hostility.

The seventh squad outright hated on the thirteenth squad and purposely spread hateful rumors. People gave them the cold shoulder whenever they passed the thirteenth squad in the military training grounds or cafeteria.

“Electric guns are used in the gun survival battles. These guns are to be handled in the same way as R-2s.”

Han spoke in front of his squad members. Kuro was already familiar with this information, but it was the first time for Jose and Canute.

Schllk.

Han loaded his gun and fired. A spark fired on the center of the target.

“For future reference, getting hit will hurt a lot. Once you’re hit, you’ll be paralyzed. You won’t be able to move your arms or legs; if you’re hit two to three times you won’t be able to move at all from the excruciating pain. Other than the fact that it’s very difficult to kill with, it’s no different than a real gun.”

“’Very difficult,’ does that mean it’s possible to die?”

Jose asked.

“If you’re hit in the eye or head, it’s possible. As long as you don’t take off your safety equipment, you won’t have to worry about it at all. The helmet is insulated.”

Han equipped his helmet. He closed his helmet shield. The other squad members geared their safety equipment as well.

“This is so stuffy and irritating. My vision is narrow. I really hate these type of equipments. Won’t it be fine as long as I don’t get hit?”

Canute complained. Han pushed Canute’s helmet down with all his strength.

“Canute! Do you want to die? Never take it off. I will never approve of it, no matter what the situation.”

Han’s eyes seemed to flash. Canute was taken aback by Han and found himself automatically nodding.

‘Did I make him mad somehow? He seems extra serious.’

Canute quirked his head. Only when Canute properly equipped his helmet did Han’s rigid expression soften.

Han had witnessed his fair share of deaths among the year 2 military drills. Many trained by running mock situations that were similar to what would happen in the squad battles.

Skimping on safety was the perfect way to die or suffer serious injuries.

‘I won’t let anybody die in my squad.’

Han and his squad equipped their safety gear and practiced to get accustomed to it. Canute had found it uncomfortable, but after awhile he adjusted and his speed quickened to his usual pace.

“This narrow range of vision goes for our opponent as well. The only difference is that squad 9 has ranking marksmen. Four of their veterans in gun survival will fight against us.”

His squad members understood they had a huge disadvantage.

“We’ll only win if you put yourself in that mindset. Fighting with a disheartened heart will only result in a loss.”

Jose added his thoughts as well. Han nodded and agreed.

“Jose is right. Everyone should have memorized our battle tactics by now, right?”

Canute nodded matter of factly, while Jose and Kuro had slightly hesitant expressions.

Jose and Kuro didn’t have the fastest memorization skills. It would be impossible to memorize everything perfectly in such a short period of time.

Han had also considered this while forming his plans.

“The battle tactic name is called the moving bunker. I know it sounds childish, but I only thought of it now so don’t laugh.”

Han said.

“The moving bunker?”

Everyone received a message to gather on their data bracelets. They were to gather at the eighth training grounds. Han observed his squad’s expressions and nodded.

“I’ll explain while we are moving.”

The eighth training grounds were located inside an overgrown forest. The artificial forest trees stood tall to make one reminisce of the northern European forests. The forest scent wafted thickly. Squad 9 and 13 were on standby at opposite ends of the forest.

BANG!

The instructor shot the gun to the sky. This had signaled the start for each squad.

“Take it easy this round.”

Squad 9 was full of confidence.

The ninth squad members had the best ranking marksmen among the second years. Today, they had chosen the best four; there was no way they could lose.

“Let’s maintain distance and look around.”

Squad 9 chose a frontal attack. The four members moved in a line while maintaining proper distance away from each other.

They each took on a role to look out into different directions. It would be impossible to get into their blind spot.

Brrrr.

The cameras attached to the tree branches moved. The cameras followed the squad members’ every actions. The current competition was being broadcasted for everyone to see.

The second years were watching squads 9 and 13. Nobody wanted to miss the chance to see the new squad in action. It was their chance to figure out squad 13’s specialty and attack power.

“Squad 13 won’t move?”

“Are they setting up a defense at their starting point?”

The second years murmured. The actions of squad 9 and 13 were polar opposites.

Squad 9 searched forth using standard procedures. Squad 13 was surveying the trees in their surroundings. Squad leader Han was looking for a suitable tree.

‘We can’t win in a direct gun fight. It will be difficult to win with such a difference in skill without a suitable battle tactic.’

He thought of many tactics, such as ambushing the other team from on top of a tree, or setting up a camouflage to ambush them.

‘We haven’t trained enough to shoot others from on top of the trees. There’s not much to camouflage with. There are many times when an eccentric plan would be better than an ill-prepared frontal attack.’

Han looked for a generously big tree. He looked to Kuro.

“Kuro, are you okay with this much? We can’t compromise with anything smaller. We must be able to comfortably hide our bodies behind it.”

“I’ll try.”

“Kuro, you don’t need to bother shooting. Just focus on this. Jose, let’s start.”

Jose nodded, and his irises glowed red.

Psychic energies were generally blue, but sometimes it changed depending on their unique skills.

The color of their psychic energy would change according to the mental imagery of their power. Those with the power of ignition commonly glowed with red light.

HWAAA!

Jose burned the lower trunk of the tree. He was soon drenched in sweat. He focused to strengthen his fire while controlling the area of ignition.

He ignited a small area with strong flames. This type of psychic control was difficult.

“Slowly. It’s okay, Jose.”

Han said calmly.

‘Although we’re tight on time, the most important aspect of psychic power is focus. Distractions will only make focusing more difficult.’

“Canute, go out first and survey our opponent’s movements. Don’t engage with them after finding their locations.”

Canute nodded and sprinted off. Canute was swift even within this thick forest.

“Haa, Haa.”

Sweat rained down from Jose’s face. Smoke from the burnt tree rose into the air. Jose momentarily sat down and rested.

“This much should be enough.”

Han sprinted and banged his body against the tree. The burnt portion of the tree shook.

‘Damn, the tree core is still intact, Jose is already exhausted. At this rate, he will faint before combat.’

Kuro who had been watching placed his hand onto the tree. Han observed Kuro.

“Han, let me try.”

Crack, crack.

Kuro focused on the burnt lower trunk of the tree. The sound of the trunk’s core snapping rang.

“Han, on the count of three, push.”

Han nodded.

“One, two, three.”

Han ran and pushed the tree. Kuro also used all his strength to push against the tree.

KWAJi-Jik! Boom!

The sturdy, huge tree fell over.

“Gasp, gasp.”

Han and the exhausted squad members tried to catch their breath while leaning against the fallen tree trunk. They were panting with heavy breaths.

“We lost all our strength before the fight.”

“Let’s rest a bit and move on.”

“Kuro, do you have enough strength to continue using your telekinetic power?”

“I’ll be fine after I rest a little.”

Han observed Kuro’s status. The core strength for this tactic relied on Kuro.

‘Kuro need to reserve his strength, but he already wasted so much.’

Strategies will not always work out as planned. Han caught his breath as he sat down, before his data bracelet rang.

-Enemy is approaching 200 meters from the front. I will rejoin the team.

It was Canute’s message. Han smiled bitterly. Everyone in the squad stood, understanding their situation.

“No time to rest. Prepare immediately.”

BANG!

The sound of a gun rang in the forest. The sound of more guns followed immediately. He could hear a short scream. Canute ran over while limping his leg. A bullet was jammed in his leg. It had no power to kill or penetrate the body, but the electrical shock had caused paralysis to Canute’s leg.

“Damn.”

Canute tried his best to suppress the shooting pains as he ran.

‘This is no joke. They hit me at this distance.’

The ninth squad was indeed veterans. They could easily hit Canute who had been running quickly through the forest. They pressed forward, hunting Canute.

“Gasp, gasp. I’m late.”

Canute judged it would be impossible to rejoin his squad.

‘I would only be in the way even if I rejoin them with the state my leg is in. It would be better to buy them more time by escaping into a different direction.’

Canute ran into the opposite direction of his squad. He sent the current status to Han.

BANG!

He could hear the guns closing. The tree next to him lit up in flames from the spark.

“Damn.”

Canute turned his body backwards and aimed at them. There would be no way he could hit them with this unsteady pose. Squad 9 hid themselves behind a tree and laughed.

“I don’t think we need to bother concealing ourselves. His aim is horrible.”

Canute was a skilled shooter, but that had been at the shooting range.

It was a different story trying to hit a moving target inside a forest. Canute felt the skill difference with his body. The experience difference between squad 9 and 13 was too vast.

‘Just one person, even if it’s just an injury.’

Canute fired his gun blindly. He reloaded his gun. In that short moment, the ninth squad sprinted forward.

“Goodbye.”

The ninth squad all shot at the same time.

The bullets hit Canute’s body with ease. Canute’s body shook violently. He couldn’t even talk from the electric shock.

His body spasmed and convulsed. Canute had become unable to battle.

“One down. Three left.”

“Why was there only one person in the front? Was there a reason to use an advance guard with only four squad members? This round will end with a frontal attack anyway.”

Squad 9 pushed back their helmet shields to rest for a moment. They felt something was strange. The thirteenth squad sent an advanced guard and lost one of their valuable soldiers.

In a ten member squad battle, it would reduce their man power by only one tenth, but in a four member squad battle that was a quarter of their military strength.

This was a fatal loss. There was no reason to send a scout out risking that loss in a four vs four battle.

“They probably thought up some lame battle tactic.”

Squad 9 geared their helmet shields and assembled in a line once more. They descended to look for the thirteenth squad.

Han received Canute’s last report. He expressed no response after reading it.

“Let’s start. Canute had been done in. He bought us some time.”

Han could add up what had happened and his thought processes from the short report.

‘He had probably suffered an injury. He judged that it would be better to run in the opposite direction to buy us time rather than rejoining us. This turn of events was only possible because it was Canute.’

If he had been a simple guy who strictly adhered to commands, he would have forced himself to somehow rejoin no matter the end result. If so, the entire squad would have fallen into danger. Canute always thinks and judges for himself.

“This is time that Canute has worked hard for. It’s time to avenge his fall.”

Jose and Kuro’s condition had improved a lot. Kuro slowly began using his psychic powers once again. He dragged along the giant tree as they moved along. This scene had been perfectly recorded by the cameras.

“What in the world are they doing?”

“They cut a whole entire tree.”

“It can’t be…”

The second years watching the battle through the hologram began discussing amongst themselves. It was common for squads to use the geographical terrain in gun survival battles to oppress the others.

“It’s a shield.”

“It’s possible because they have Kuro.”

“It’s better for Kuro to do that than to make him fight when he’s such a bad fighter.”

The instructors broke down the situation. This was their first time seeing this sort of battle tactic.

The gun survival battles were the most standard type of modern warfare.

In front of such an overwhelming weapon like the gun, there is no time to intervene with psychic powers.

“They’ve encountered the ninth squad!”

Someone shouted. Squad 9 and 13 stood across from each other. They were close enough for shooting distance.

“Kuro-!”

Han shouted.

Kuro gripped his hands into fists. The tree trunk floated and blocked the front. The bullets hit the tree, creating sparks.

“What’s that?”

The ninth squad shouted, shocked. One tree covered all of the thirteenth squad. The moving shelter moved flexibly.

The thirteenth squad lowered their bodies and moved along with the tree. They peeked out shortly from above the tree one by one to check the situation.

No matter how skilled the ninth squad was at shooting, it was difficult to hit such a small mark in a short amount of time.

‘There shouldn’t be many members who have strong psychic abilities since they were picked based on marksmanship.’

Han mumbled. There was nobody in squad 9 that could interfere with Kuro’s telekinesis.

If all four of the members were to use their telekinesis, it would be possible to stop Kuro. However, afterwards everyone would become defenseless.

“Damn, hide behind the trees. We can take cover as well. Let’s drag out the time slowly. He will become tired eventually.”

The ninth squad stopped shooting and hid behind the trees. Han poked Jose’s side.

“Jose, start.”

Jose’s eyes glowed red. The forest burned. The area around the ninth squad burst into flames.

“This kind of fire can’t touch…..”

The ninth squad stopped mid sentence and closed their mouths.

The fire wasn’t the problem. The smoke from the flame made it hard to see. They couldn’t see where the thirteenth squad was at all.

“Move!”

The ninth squad escaped from the smoke.

While they were lost in the smoke, Han quickly approached his opponents.

Bang!

Han shot the first member of the ninth squad that popped out from the smoke. He fainted before he could utter another word.

Now, there were 3 people left in squad 9. They spotted Han and shouted.

“One enemy spotted! Fire!”

Han rolled on the ground and hid behind a tree.

“JOSE!”

Han shouted. Jose casted a ball of flame to produce gray smoke.

At this time, the ninth squad and the second year instructors realized the thirteenth squad’s scheme.

‘I see. Kuro and Jose weren’t going to use their guns at all. They’re basic supports. The only ones to fight would be Han and Canute. Canute had fallen so Han is alone, but in that situation…’

Han calmed his breath. The ninth squad couldn’t do anything because of smoke and trees.

The only way they could proceed this battle was to kill Han so that they could proceed to kill Kuro and Jose.

Twang.

The ninth squad became shocked, the tree branch that were hiding behind broke for no reason.

It was Kuro. Kuro was hiding behind the giant tree trunk and broke the branches which the ninth squad was hiding behind.

‘There you are.’

Han focused his ears, due to the smoke the both of them couldn’t make out anything with their eyes.

Kuro, who had escaped from the smoke, let Han know of the ninth squad’s location by breaking the branches of the trees they were hiding behind.

‘I’m shooting by guessing most of the time, but just knowing which direction to shoot gives me the upper hand. In a smoke field like this, it doesn’t matter that the other squad is made up of elite marksmen.’

Before the smoke had covered this vast area, Han had memorized the locations of the trees very well. He moved while referring to the map from his mind. He moved to flank the 9th squad, and pulled his trigger.

“GAA!”

A short yelp reverberated. Han consecutively shot his gun until he emptied his magazine. The other team began cursing from within the smoke.

“Huu, huu.”
Han calmed his breath.

‘I need to get out of this smoke.’

In a matter of moments the ninth squad had been reduced down to two members. It would have become disadvantageous for themselves if they were to continue fighting from within the smoke.

They judged that they must escape the smoke with any means necessary so that they could come up with a new plan.

The ninth squad looked to each other and nodded in confirmation before quickly dashing off.

They could be spotted right away the moment they escaped the smoke area. However, Han remained in the smoke, so they were not aware.

“Friends. You made it out well.” Jose laughed and shot his gun.

There was more than enough smoke in the area now, so he could give all of his focus to shoot down his opponents.

He waited for the ninth squad to come out. When they managed to escape the smoke, they became easy targets for Jose.

Bullets flew from Jose’s gun.

“Kugh”

“Haha, my shooting skills are so bad.”

Jose mumbled and hid behind the tree. The ninth squad suffered an injury and became paralyzed. They mustered their last remaining strength to crawl to cover.

“Kuro, I leave the rest to you.”

When Han left the smoke area, he hid himself behind the tree trunk that Kuro had stood up vertically. He snuck closer to the hidden ninth squad.

Han didn’t let his guard down until the last moment. He kept his body hidden, and only peeped out the muzzle of his gun to hunt down the 9th squad.

“Th-those cheaters!”

A member of the ninth squad uttered their last words as their body convulsed from the shock. The last remaining member of squad 9 realized there was no more hope and volunteered to give up.

– Squad 13, winner.

The data bracelets rang and projected the message.

“We won!”

Kuro plopped down on the ground and shouted. He looked completely exhausted. Kuro exhausted the most energy from amongst the team. It was no easy feat to carry around a large tree with psychokinetic energy for a long period of time.

“Kuro, you did well.”

Han said with a face covered in soot. They got out their water bottles to drink. They rinsed the unpleasant aftertaste of smoke that lingered in their mouths.

“My head feels empty. I wouldn’t have been able to hang any longer even if you begged me to.”

Kuro spoke while receiving a water bottle from Han.

“We won! You B*****! Are you watching?”

Jose looked to the camera and flipped everyone off. The second years who had been watching expressed various reactions. There were some who said it was funny; there were also those who felt frustrated. Some cursed at the thirteenth squad for using cowardly tactics.

“In a way, it’s pretty cowardly.”

“Military strategies to begin with, are crude. There is no such thing as a legitimate way to win in war.”

“That’s true.”

The drill instructors who had been watching laughed at the creativeness of the battle tactics. Squad 13 had used different methods, but nothing had gone against the rules.

“But that rascal Han. He’s pretty malicious. He didn’t relax his focus even when victory was pretty much theirs. He continued to finish the battle.”

“The other squad had been put in a state incapable of fighting back, but he continued to fire his gun while hiding behind the tree trunk while only having the point of his gun sticking out.”

“He looks like an adult, but if you account for his real age it’s a pretty chilling realization.”

The instructors agreed simultaneously while they nodded. Han, the leader of squad 13, had begun to attract the drill instructor’s attention.

“Ow, ow, oow.”

Canute screamed. The doctor fished out the bullets stuck in his skin with a set of tweezers.

It didn’t have enough power to kill someone, but the places the bullets dug into had blood flowing out from them. Canute put on some ointment and wrapped his injuries with bandages.

“It’s done. The wounds will close soon.”

The doctor said as he exited the squad’s dorm. Han saw the doctor out and entered Canute’s room.

“You worked hard, Canute.”

“We won, right?”

Canute asked again. He had fainted during the squad battle. He was having a hard time believing that they had won after awakening.

“Yes, it’s all thanks to you. The time you bought us was very useful. It took longer to take down the tree than we originally thought it would.”

“So I made the right judgment.”

Han nodded. But his expression remained grim.

“But out in real battle, please never make those calls. Even if there is a tiny sliver of chance that you will live, make that choice. If this had been real war, you would have died.”

“But I was right tactically. Even if I were to join you guys, I wouldn’t have been able to fight. I would probably end up revealing our location to squad 9.”

“….”

Han stopped pressing Canute further. In the end, Canute made the right choice and contributed greatly toward their victory.

“Anyway, we won. Let’s celebrate.”

Canute sat up. He used Han’s shoulders to join the gathering in Jose’s room. The party had already started in Jose’s room. Jose and Kuro toasted their drinks.

“Hey! How’s your body holding up?”

Jose asked Canute.

“I feel like I’m dying. But, there’s no way I could miss out on this feast.”

The winning squads are awarded special feasts. This special feast is one of the greatest motivations for the students to win. In this place, everyone’s meals are strictly controlled, and so these special feasts are the few enjoyments that could be found in Ark. Usually, they can’t enjoy greasy foods like this at all.

“Canute, come eat. This is really delicious.”

Kuro spoke with a mouth full of food. Canute found a comfortable spot and quickly moved his hands.

“Congratulations for squad 13’s first win!”

“We will continue winning, so get used to winning.”

“Squad leader Han, hurrah!”

Everyone put in their congratulatory message. Han held up his cup with an embarrassed smile.

“Everyone, thanks. This tactic was pushing it a bit, but our squad pulled through together. If a single member in our team didn’t do their part, we couldn’t have won.”

“It wasn’t pushing it at all. It was a great battle plan.”

Kuro added his two cents. Han waved his hand and answered.

“It was just luck. Our opponents were easy to read because they were so strong. Squad 9 who specialize in marksmanship would deploy their best for the 4 member squad, I could read their plans like an open book. If our opponent had not been talented in marksmanship, and instead depended on psychic and close combat powers this plan would not have worked.”

“That’s the amazing part. You have the skills to read your opponent.”

“Squad 13 will gain lots of attention from now on. The winning rates for newly appointed squad leaders are very low. This is more so if all the members of the squad are new. Still, we won. This is our chance. We must show others that we are superior.”

Their fighting spirit rose high. Squad 13 had been inferior in all aspects, but had a overwhelming victory. Nobody thought they would be able to win through sheer battle tactics.

‘Psychic soldiers’ traits are like a unique spear. There had never been a squad of this type. The tactical elements are about to greatly evolve.’

A trained psyker has the equivalent strength of a mid-sized squadron. Depending on how one uses that power, it’s possible to become much more powerful.’

Han understood this aspect the best amongst all the squad leaders of year 2. He resolutely used Kuro and Jose’s psychic abilities as support rather than as the main attackers.

“This means we will become very popular. Haha, ugh.”

Canute began to roar with laughter then immediately grasped his chest from the sheering pain from his injuries. Canute was plainly ecstatic.

‘I didn’t join because I had friendly ties like Kuro or Jose. I joined squad 13 because of the possibilities of this squad and it won my curiosity.’

Canute decided he made the right choice. Han showed concrete results for them.

The party continued deep into the night. Jose ate until his belly was about to burst, then fell asleep on his bed. Canute had returned earlier to rest up due to his injuries. Kuro and Han stayed behind to clean up and left the room.

“Thanks Han. I never thought a day like this would come for me in Ark.”

“You gained your strength through your own power. Kuro. You should be proud of yourself.”

“Yes, Squad leader.”

Kuro gave a light salute and returned to his room. Han also returned to his room. Han laid down on his bed from fatigue. Drowsiness overwhelmed him. He organized all the elements of today’s match carefully.

‘I can think of many immature mistakes we made. At the same time, there is no such thing as a perfect battle plan. It’s just the winner had the better battle tactic. History will be my witness.’

The wars that had changed the world had many mishaps and weaknesses to their battle tactics. From a third party’s perspective, there is nothing more easy to breakdown than past events.

What if they did it this way instead- assumptions such as these are pointless. Everyone can point out the mistakes of others.

‘That is why I must maintain my objectiveness. I must continue to observe the battle as objectively as possible. I can’t compromise for myself either.’

Though young, he was capable of thinking in this way. ‘Things will work out somehow in the end.’ In his life, if he lived with such a light heart, it would mean starvation and possibly death.

The optimistic brightness of life is a luxury. If mistakes were made, or if he failed, a life of tomorrow was not guaranteed.

Uuoooo.

Han used his telekinesis to bring over the holographic photo frame from his desk. His younger siblings’ faces flashed past in order.

“I can’t take pictures of myself to send them anymore. I grew up like this all by myself.”

Han was one of the best students in class. Major Kang joyously promised hefty sponsorship for Han’s younger siblings.

“I had said that I would become the best before I came to this place.”

He mumbled to himself. At the time, he had more fighting spirit than his current self. He felt like anything would be possible after living through the hell-like land.

‘I can’t think easily of Ark. Only the best of the best amongst the world’s children are gathered here. A normal child like Kuro is considered very weak in this place. It’s the other children who have such a strong mind who are out of place and strange in reality. In Ark, the unusual becomes normal and the usual becomes unusual. If one doesn’t stand out, it’s not possible to rise in rank.’

Han thought of his past. He could still remember it like yesterday.

‘I came to a place where it’s not possible to survive through normal means.’

South Korea was one of the top richest countries in the world, but the Korea Han had lived in was straight hell.

Starvation overwhelmed the lands outside of the cities, it was common for people to commit murder over a bag of rice. To Han, defeat or a mistake was equivalent to death itself.

Han held his breath. He paused and waited for his opponent.

‘If we win this round, we will have four wins.’

Squad 13 won consecutively. They proved that their victory over squad 9 had not been a fluke; they won the battles one after another like it was a piece of cake.

Squad 10 and 2 had gruesomely lost versus the newly formed squad 13. Squad 13 had only four members and everyone was required to participate every time.

The 4 member squad had a limited number of formations, and were well known by all. Even so, squad 13 could not be defeated.

‘Extraordinary military operations.’

This had been everyone’s reaction. Everyone had said their victories were due to having a strong psyker like Kuro. However after winning two and even three consecutive victories, their opinions had begun to change.

Squad 13’s core reason of victory was due to its squad leader Han Lee. He had groundbreaking insightfulness and sharp decision-making talent, on top of a chilling objectiveness that could grasp an opponent’s weaknesses.

-Canute, run.

Han sent a message. On the opposite side, Canute was hacking away at the forest while running in sporadic directions. The opposing team focused on tailing after Canute. Canute quickly lowered his body.

‘In boss battles, only the appointed bosses are required to be defeated for victory. There is no need to annihilate the entire opposing team.’

Han narrowed his eyes. Amongst the opponents, he could spot the boss wearing a different colored battle suit.

Hwwing!

The wind violently blew. Han’s body tilted from the wind. He was on top of a twenty meter tall tree, equivalent to about the height of a five or six floor building’s height.

-Start.

The squad moved according to Han’s command. Canute lured their opponents. The opposing squad stood below the tree that Han was hiding in.

“Huuu.”

He took a deep breath. The top of this place made him feel dizzy. Although his bones had been strengthened exponentially, he would not be able to avoid serious injuries at this height. If he fell head first, it would be an instant death for him.

‘Fear.’

Han mumbled. The adrenaline pumped into his blood. He focused his eyes onto the boss of his opponent.

‘There is no need to worry. I’ve practiced many times with Kuro.’

It was easy to use telekinesis to move an inanimate object. The next stage of difficulty was a moving object, The hardest was to use telekinesis against living life forms.

“I’m going.”

Han jumped off, letting his body free fall. Gravity strongly pulled on his body.

Suddenly, Han’s body jerked. The speed which he fell decreased. Kuro was catching Han’s fall from far away with his telekinesis.

‘The acceleration is still pretty fast. Tch.’

Han put his arms into an X. He let his body freely fall onto the opponent’s boss below.

KWJiK!

“AAAck!”

As Han fell, he tumbled along with his opponent. It was the sound of his bones breaking. Han fumbled his arms to grasp onto the boss’ neck.

“Wh-what?!”

Di-ring!

It had been a short squad battle. Their data bracelets had signaled squad 13’s victory.

The opposing boss suffered heavy impact injuries like he had been hit by a hammer. Han, who had fallen from the height, took the fall mostly to his chest, and narrowly escaped death.

“Ugh, I broke my left arm. It hurts a lot.”

Han confirmed their victory before he rested against the tree. The emergency medic looked over the injuries, and transferred them to the recovery hall.

“Han!”

Squad 13 gathered around him.

“I’m okay. This was a cheap price.”

Han furrowed his brows while letting the medic examine his injuries.

“Your left arm has been fractured. There is a crack in your right arm. Get on the car.”

The medic spoke shortly, letting Han onto the emergency vehicle. There was a single instructor to help guide the medic around Ark.

The instructor and Han spoke while looking over the injured.

“This is serious, he just narrowly escaped death.”

“Reducing the speed of the fall from the tree was harder than I thought. Actual battles and practices are too different.”

“Even if you’re able to reduce the falling speed with telekinesis, how can you dare to fall from a tree of that height? Your guts must have inflated.”

“Now your arms are like this.”

The medic applied a splint onto Han’s arm. The instructor blankly looked towards Han.

Squad leader, Han Lee had obtained four consecutive victories. His resourcefulness and tactics are outstanding and extraordinary.

‘He has deep insight to use everything, beginning from the geographical terrain to all types of psychic powers. Additionally, he does not hesitate to daringly make gambles.’

Squad 13 was a popular topic of discussion amongst drill instructors. The thirteenth squad exceeded all of the drill instructors’ expectations. It had been no different in this squad battle as well.

‘To be on standby on top of a tall tree, making his team lure the opposing squad, before he made himself into a human bullet to focus his attack onto the opposing boss.

Han received treatment in the medical ward. Normally, people needed to install pins to stabilize the bones again, but he had been artificially strengthened in the incubator so he would be able to make a clean recovery in a single month. After a detailed examination, Han returned to his dorms.

“How’s your arm?”

“I can make a complete recovery in 3 weeks.

“That’s good to hear.”

The remaining squad members were all waiting for him.

“Sorry, I couldn’t properly follow our plan.”

Kuro apologized bowing his head. Kuro also realized that he failed to control as well as he had done during their past practices.

Due to his own mistake, the speed of Han’s fall had not decelerated enough. Han shook his head.

“It’s good enough that you didn’t let me die. It’s fine.”

Han pat Kuro’s shoulder.

‘It was an unreasonable request from the start. It’s amazing that he was able to follow through to this level.’

It was extremely difficult to control a living human with his telekinesis alone. If it were easy, all psykers would use their telekinesis to make themselves fly.

After the end of the victory party, he returned to his own room.

He carefully looked through today’s squad battle recording. He also watched the battles of the other squads without fail. His eyes burned with longing of victory.

‘I will win, and win again. I will continue to win.’

Han’s longing to win overflowed. During his first year, he moved and acted solely for the sake of his younger siblings. Now, he had become the squad leader and had to shoulder everything in his squad. His heart was filled with nothing but the wish to continue winning.
Han rested from training due to his arm fracture. Instead he focused on studying the theories he had been neglecting for the past while. Han’s left arm was plastered as he walked into the lecture room. This place could seat about a hundred students. The second years looked to Han and began murmuring amongst themselves.

“It’s Han Lee, the thirteenth squad leader.”

“His squad has been on a roll with victories, must be nice.”

“I heard he used to be in the seventh squad, what was the seventh squad leader doing letting a talent like that rot? I don’t think he participated in a single squad battle back then.”

“He probably doesn’t have an eye for realizing true talent.”

The opinions of Han all drastically differed based on which squad the student belonged to. Some looked to him favorably, while others looked at him with spite.

There was one definite fact though, due to the thirteenth squad’s consecutive victories, they had become the main attraction. Proportional to him, Squad 7’s leader Kato’s overall assessment score drastically fell.

“The core members Han and Kuro originally belonged to squad 7.”

The more people praised squad 13, the more horrible people’s opinions of Kato became. It had become plainly apparent that he could not properly deploy his squad.

Han sat on his seat and opened his notebook. The remaining squads who had completed their morning training also filled the lecture room.

‘Kato Souki.’

Han looked toward squad 7 who had seated themselves in the far opposite side of the room. Kato fiercely glared at Han, then turned his gaze around. He had intense malice.

‘It can’t be helped that he dislikes me. I had lowered his own assessment score, and I also stole Kuro from him.’

Han mumbled to himself and looked forward.

‘But Kato, if you think I’m a mere coward, then your standard is only to that level as well.’

Han understood Ark’s training methods better than all the students here. Han had ignored the hateful glares of the seventh squad as he focused on the lecture. When lecture ended, Han’s data bracelet flashed. He read over the message.

-Squad battle confirmed in two days. Squad 13 versus squad 7. Aerial battle.

Han furrowed his brows.

‘The instructors are aware that I won’t be able to use my left arm for awhile. We must have at least 4 members participate in the squad battles.’

Han couldn’t focus on the lecture anymore. He tapped his knee with his fingers as he lost himself in his own thoughts.

‘Do they wish I’ll lose? Against squad 7? The instructors understand everything. What is their intention setting up such a squad battle?’

After seeing the end to the squad battle of the second years, Master Drill Instructor Greseman looked over Squad 13’s data. After a conference with the rest of the drill instructors, he proceeded to announce the following squad battle for squad 13.

“We normally give squads in recovery some time to recuperate, but it’s an exception this time. Squad 13 has many victories under their belt. It’s time they taste failure.”

“They had an exceptional streak of victories. Han Lee and squad 13 must learn how to lose as well.”

The instructors unanimously agreed. Learning to lose was also a lesson to be learned. They must be taught the bitter taste of failure before they become drunk off victory.

“Squad 7, do your best to step on squad 13. This will become a painful experience for squad 13. Squad 7 had been stuck in a rut, this is a good chance and motivation for them.”

All the cards were set for squad 13 to fail. Squad 7 is in bad terms with them, and it will be a squad aerial battle. Han is injured. Greseman compared the two groups’ data.

‘But if by chance squad 7 loses, and squad 13 is able to claim victory once again….’

Drill Sergeant Greseman was very strict. There might be squads superior to others, but units must not stand on a pedestal. Squad 13 is superior, but it would be troublesome if this becomes a platform for them to stand out. All squads must taste failure. Their superior image must be broken.

“Isn’t there a mistake? It’s been only three days since our last squad battle. We even suffered injuries, yet they’re sending us out again?”

Jose’s voice rang loud. Squad 13 checked their daily training schedules. Everyone’s faces had stiffened because they all realized the bad situation they were in.

“There are no mistakes here. The drill instructors do not wish for us to continue winning.”

Han said objectively. The cast on his left arm looked extra heavy today.

“This isn’t fair. Isn’t this the same thing as commanding us to lose?”

“Squad 7 would be wondering of the different ways they could beat us up.”

“This battle has a lot of problems. Let’s go file a complaint.”

Canute spoke like he was ready to stomp over to the drill sergeants anytime now. Han lowered his gaze for a moment. He grasped onto Canute’s clothes and forced him to sit down on a chair.

“Everyone be quiet. The drill instructors are not our parents or teachers. Their jobs are to test us and make us fall into despair. The only people Ark seeks are those who are able to climb up from these situations.”

The only person to understand this in squad 13 was Han. Heavy imposing air seemed to flow from Han’s spirit.

“So, what are we doing then?”

“There’s no use complaining. All that is left for us is to fight and then win.”

Han’s spoke in a low, but passionate voice. They felt a calm anger from his tone. Han also felt irritated from the drill instructor’s harsh treatment.

They only had two days left. This amount of time didn’t even give squad 13 enough time to breathe. The youths cut their sleeping time to practice maneuvering their airbeats. Han felt more restless than anyone in the squad, but he did not let it show.

‘If I express my anxiousness, my squad will also become more restless. Even if I don’t have a plan for them, I need to act like I do.’

When Han had been the leader of the homeless orphans, he had always spoke like he had some way to get more food for everyone the next day. Even if he had no real plan, he led all the kids with his strong words. When the children felt hope, they could cope with their hunger pains.

“Aerial battle, squad 7.”

Han brought up squad 7’s data to his mind. Squad 7 did not have an outstanding psyker like Kuro or Simon, but overall everyone excels in combat and personal skills. This had been the ultimate reason Han had never had a chance to utilize his skills.

‘Aerial battle, is in fact, similar to the game hopscotch. The number of airbeats one could utilize is limited based on personal skill. There were only 6 pillars which one could stand excluding all the airbeats.

Han could think up of a plan to win squad 7. They were inferior to squad 7 in every way. He quietly bit his lips.

‘Up to what point would the drill instructors allow? Up to where would they accept it as military tactics?’

Han did not plan to obediently lose like the drill instructors intended for them. He quietly called Jose over and drafted their plan.

“Jose, the core member of this round is you. Do you think you can do this?”

Han explained the plan he had drafted on his hologram to Jose. Jose’s expression had changed strangely as he quietly listened.

“This is an amazing plan, but would the drill instructors allow this?”

“Materials necessary for military tactics are allowed.”

“Is that so?”

Han had memorized every little detailed rule of the squad battle competitions. So, he was able to decide what was allowed or not. He had felt that he was dabbling into the area outside which was allowed by the rules.

“Can you do it, Jose?”

“Of course. Trust in me, amigo.”

Jose confidently struck his chest. Han nodded let Jose return. They must finish preparing everything within two days. Han requested the necessary items they required through his data bracelet.

Two days later, squad 7 and 13 would hold their aerial battle. Squad 7’s eyes looked murderous. They prepared themselves while determined to obtain victory. Squad 7 had trained solely for the aerial battle the last two days. They had delayed all other training drills and lectures while dedicating themselves completely for the forthcoming competition.

“How is your arm doing, Han?”

Kato asked while he approached Han. The battle field for the Aerial battle was tiny, and so the two squads would end up meeting for small talk before the battle.

“It’s a little bad, but my right hand will probably be enough for today Kato.”

Han said indifferently. He also didn’t have the best impression of Kato. He had not confronted the other, but they had all joined together to beat up Kuro for leaving. Thanks to that, all sadness and apologetic feelings had disappeared.

“Stop bluffing. Aerial battles are not something you could master overnight. Any sort of hasty preparation will not be enough to gain victory. You’re smart, so you should know it already.”
Kato said teasingly. Han passively nodded his head.

“You’re right. We can’t win. So, we prepared something different today. Kato, if you don’t fight properly you will be completely humiliated.”

Han beckoned Kato with his finger. The other narrowed his eyes and sneered as an icy smirk hung on his lips.

“I’ll kill you, Han. Kuro as well.”

Kato said with his face flushed red. Han looked directly into Kato’s eyes.

“You’ve never even killed someone before. Coming from someone like you, it doesn’t feel threatening in the least.”

Kato twitched. Han’s eyes looked empty, but seemed to hold onto something deeper.

Amongst the North East Asian Alliance, Japan was one of the wealthier countries. Japan welcomed the financial bubbles of the booming market and climbed up to become one of the top economic power houses. It had been an isolated country, so they were not affected much by the first wave of aggression; most of their infrastructures remained intact. Korea and China had become impoverished, and provided the business to reconstruct the countries. Kato, who had grown up in a wealthy country could not grasp his mind around the everyday struggle for existence.

‘What’s up with his reaction and eyes…?’

Kato felt a sudden chill, and decided to return to his squad. His fighting spirit would be flattened if he continued to talk with Han here.

‘I can’t be influenced before the battle. We simulated this many times, there is no way for us to lose.’

Squad 7 and 13 gradually readied themselves. They equipped their own personal gear. Squad 7 wore their standard gear. They prepared their own airbeats, and equipped their close combat weapons. Using the airbeats required massive focus. The gears that would not contribute to this match were usually omitted.

“Squad 13 all has their maximum number of allowed airbeats?”

The watching second years commented while watching over the thirteenth squad. Squad 13’s buttocks and hips felt heavy. The airbeat catapulting gear was bulky. A single person was allowed a maximum of four airbeats, but unless they were supporters, they would only equip two at once.

“Squad 13 shouldn’t have mastered their airbeats yet. No matter how good Kuro is, it should be impossible to control so many.”

“What are they thinking to bring all those airbeats out? Doesn’t it just become unnecessary weight?”

The second years did their best to deduce squad 13’s strategy. Squad 13 had become well known for their eccentric strategies. To add, they always won. Squad 13 had become the student and drill instructor’s hot topic.

‘What are you thinking Han?’

The drill instructors also looked confused looking at all of squad 13’s gear.

“Has Kuro’s psychic level suddenly shot up again?”

“If that were true, we’d know immediately.”

“They have sixteen airbeats. Excluding Kuro, if everyone utilizes two, that leaves ten. There’s no way that Kuro would be capable of controlling all those by himself.”

“If he were capable, they would transfer him with the third years immediately.”

Everyone tried grasping at straws to deduce squad 13’s plans. Just then, the gun signaling the start of the squad battles rung. One person stood on top of the small wooden pillar. Just below, was the safety net. The rules were simple, one simply needed to drop their opponent onto the net to win.

Weeeng!

Each squad members started warming up their airbeats. The members on top of the airbeats got into position. Squad 7 had prepared an all out intensive surprise attack.

‘Our squad is superior in airbeat maneuvering skills and aerial battles. Don’t give them time to proceed with their schemes. That was the reason squad 9 had lost.’

“We will end this by thoroughly beating them.”

Squad 7 approached their opponents with speed. They expertly controlled their airbeats to swiftly move forward with smooth steps. They wouldn’t be any slower running on land. There were no members who could expertly utilize the airbeats in squad 13.

“What are they doing?”

The only member to step forward in squad 13 was Canute. The remaining were on standby on top of the airbeats that Kuro controlled.

“Jose, let’s start.”

Han ungeared the airbeat on his hip and turned it on. The airbeat felt heavy in his hands because he was holding onto it slanted.

“HUUP!”

Han pushed all his strength into his right arm. The second years of Ark had muscular strength equal to that of a super human. Their muscles were denser and the fibers were more flexible than a normal human adult.

Wooong!

Han’s irises glowed with psychic energy.

‘They’re not using psychic energy to control the airbeats. They are using it to reinforce it with momentum. If his psychokinetic powers overpower the throw, the flying speed would be drastically reduced.’

Han minutely controlled his psychokinetic powers, and threw the airbeat that had been in his hand.

Hwooong!

The airbeat that Han threw flew out like a bullet.
“Jose!”

Jose focused. The storage space of the airbeat had a red dot drawn onto it. This had been a mark to help raise his focus.

“Explode!”

Boo-oom!

The airbeat flying out burst like a bomb. Two of the airbeats that squad 7 controlled immediately became junk from the explosion.

“Wh, what? What happened? The airbeat exploded!”

The watching second years yelled. It was common to use an airbeat with support weapon attachments. Amongst them, bombs were also a common tool. However, this practice had been banned.

“Next!”

Han grasped another airbeat and threw it.

“Dodge! Run away!”

Squad 7’s Kato shouted out. The squad 7 members ran away while stepping onto their airbeats. The squad members who lost their airbeat hopped up onto a nearby wooden pillar.

BANG!

The airbeat blast into tiny pieces. The airbeat had missed the mark this time, but it had menacing power.

“What in the world…. Is it a bomb? Are they breaking the rules? No, there is no way Han would be unaware of it.”

The audience was speechless. The airbeats self destructed like bombs.

Han slowed his breath as his eyes glowed.

‘When we’re done exploding the airbeats, we will be the winners.’

(p39)

Han had poured in a generous amount of gun repair oil into the airbeat storage spaces. Each airbeat has their own engine. The combination of Jose’s ignition skills and flammable oil would be enough to cause an explosion.

“Dang it! We will attack before they can throw anymore airbeats. Don’t retreat!”

“But if we get closer, we’ll get caught in the explosions…!”

“It will be better than losing!”

Squad 7 made a huge commotion as they moved. They mobilized their remaining airbeats. All the drill instructors who were watching had disturbed expressions. They were not worried that they had dabbled into the gray zone territory of breaking the rules, but another tiring reason.

“The airbeats…. Are probably irreparable after self destructing like that, right?”

“Probably. How much is it to make one of them?”

“More than your monthly paycheck.”

“…. Shouldn’t we stop them?”

Airbeats were one of the luxury gears. They were considered one of the military’s manless robots. They were not considered to be used as self destructing weapons during training drills. Watching the airbeats explode one after another, the drill instructors could feel their hearts dropping to the floor.

“Ugh, let’s just wait and see for now. We must collect the data of this battle as well.”

“You’re in charge of submitting the report for this squad battle.”

While the drill instructors were beating their brains, a youth standing in the battle field voice roared shaking the stadium.

“HAA—AAN LEE!”

Kato roared as he charged forward. He sliced a oncoming airbeat in half as he charged.

The end of his sword exploded. The left side of his face had charred completely black. Squad 7 lost their airbeats one by one and gradually all dropped to the safety nets.

“Bring it, Kato!!”

Han threw the airbeat in front of himself as a platform. He sprinted forward to Kato and rammed into him using his shoulder.

Bang!

Kato and Han both fell to the ground. Their body fell onto the net, causing it to spring up and down.

‘He planned to make us both fall! Son of a $%#$!’

Kato sprang up and gripped Han by the throat. Han smirked and pointed his finger to the drill instructors.

“It’s against the rules to use violence at this moment, Kato.”

“You $%#%$#…”

Kato’s hands shook with anger. The battle was ending up above. Once squad 7 lost all their airbeats, they had no hope to win. The remaining squad members who couldn’t move at all on top of the wooden pillars volunteered to give up.

‘We couldn’t even put up a fight before we lost. They focused all their attacks to our airbeats, with their self destruction…’

Kato glared fiercely to Han. He would not feel so frustrated if it had been a fair fight. He had lost without having to throw a single punch.

“Kato, it’s squad 13’s victory. I won, and you lost.”

Han said after slapping Kato’s hand away.

“You coward. You used bombs! This is against the rules! You lost for cheating!”

“They’re not bombs. Jose used his psychic powers to make them explode. Also, the drill instructors will be the one to make the call.”

Han said calmly and returned to his squad. For now, squad 13 was announced the winner. There were various opinions on this squad battle.
The other second years were curious about the details of this round. As soon as the battle ended, the drill instructors called for Han. They looked furious for all different reasons.

“Squad leader 13, Han Lee, Master Drill instructor Greseman wants to see you. You should already be aware as to why.”

“Yes sir.”

Han gave a short salute and went to Greseman’s office. He didn’t have time to wipe off his sweat from the match. He felt dirty, but he had no time to care about these small details. He wondered what sort of answer he should give to Greseman.

Squeek.

The second year drill instructor Greseman was watching the squad battle through his monitor. He watched a couple of the key parts of the battle over and over. Greseman was a man with a protruding chin. He was as obstinate as his chin protruded. Han was not particularly fond of the obstinate type of instructors.

“Reporting sir, Drill Instructor Greseman.”

Han raised his chin a bit. He observed Greseman’s expression. Greseman didn’t let any of his inner thoughts show on his face.

‘It’s easier to deal with Sergeant Red. That man just swears then gets mad.’

Greseman spoke to Han in a low voice.

“It doesn’t seem like you used bombs. You wouldn’t have had any methods to get them, either. Based on your history, you’re not so stupid to go ahead with such a plan.”

“We filled the storage space with oil. Jose used his ignition ability to burst it into flames.”

“That must have required a lot of practice. The timing of the explosions is very perfect. It wouldn’t be considerate to call it a bomb.”

“We slathered a branch in oil and threw it to perfect his timing of utilizing his ignition ability.”

“So this is the tactic that you and squad 13 prepared. Han, do you know how much one airbeat costs?”

(p42)

“I am aware that they are expensive.”

“If you are sent home, you won’t be able to pay back the cost even if you labored for your whole lifetime.”

Greseman drove Han to a corner. Han closed his eyes and fiercely opened them again.

“I feel like the important point of today’s meeting is to decide whether I broke the rules or not. Isn’t this why you called for me?”

“If we are nit picking, you didn’t break any rules. However, you should have been aware this would have become a controversy. The results are as such, you did not break any. Some drill instructors would praise you for finding such a loophole. However, we will not tolerate this a second time. Go and report this to your instructors.”

“Understood. May I add my own thoughts as well?”

“Speak freely.”

“If I was a psychic soldier facing against a dragon, this would not become a controversy, and nobody would ask me if I knew how much an airbeat costs. Dragons will not overlook someone because they are poor. We must utilize all methods in order to kill the dragon race. I only assumed our current situation for our battle. Our training program is constructed in a way to utilize every possible method in order to create the strongest soldier to win against the dragons, isn’t that right?”

His words were eloquent and flowed smoothly like water. Greseman nodded.

“You speak like Sergeant Red. You are dismissed. Squad leader, Han Lee.”

Greseman said as he interlocked his fingers together. Han saluted and left the room. Greseman laughed as he watched Han leave. He replayed the squad battle once again and mumbled.

“He’s unbelievably manipulative. He slips out of everything like a snake. However, this is even more of a reason that he must taste failure. Though, it seems he won’t let himself lose easily.”

Greseman began setting up the stage for a more elaborate loss. Greseman calmly looked over Han’s data.

‘He doesn’t have a single loss or major mistake. He climbed the ranks in perfect order like a robot. It’s time he must taste the bitterness of failure.’

All squads have had at least one loss with every five wins. The squad battles are said to be selected at random, but Greseman and the drill instructors use the data to make sure squads don’t consecutively win more than 5 times.

The evening run had ended. Han went to shower, and used the tower to dry his hair as he left the changing room. Kuro came running from the opposite side shouting something.

“Han! Look at this! Look at these requests for squad transfers.”

Kuro shook the documents. Han’s left hand was still in a cast so he remained motionless.

“Don’t get so worked up. Speak slower.”

Han had already been aware. The squad leaders were always the first to receive the squad transfer requests first to their data bracelets. He shrugged his shoulders.

“There are six requests! Now, we can become a ten member squad as well!”

Squad 13’s main weakness was that they only had four members. Squads with many members had over twenty members.

“I already knew people would request to come into our crew around this time. They’re probably mostly those who are reserve members. They’re not able to participate in the squad battles in their own squads, but in a squad like us with little members they can immediately participate in the battles. Additionally, we have been on a roll with consecutive wins.”

Everyone’s opinion of squad 13 had gone up drastically. Talent was rampant in Ark. As soon as squad 13 raised their reputation, the way the other students viewed them had changed. On the contrary, squad 7 who could not properly utilize such talents was reprimanded.

“Hey, squad 13!”

He ran into Squad 5, Dimitri, just outside the shower facility. Dimitri waved his giant hands.
“Dimitri, the shower facility is empty. Go wash before the other squads get here.”

“I watched your victory streak well. You’re good. I should have joined you in squad 13. Haha.”

Dimitri said cheerful empty words. He was now squad 5’s leader. The previous leader had transferred to year 3. He was leading squad 5 well with his manly leadership abilities.

Han noticed that Dimitri’s body was covered in bruises.

“Did you go tumbling down the stairs? You’re a mess.”

“I picked a fight with our previous squad leader before he would be transferred to the third year to see who was stronger.”

“I must have been a hearty fight.”

“Nope, I got done in without a chance. Third year transfers are really strong. They’re on a different level. I got plainly beat.”

Han and Kuro was surprised by Dimitri’s optimistic words. Dimitri had a strong competitive spirit. He wasn’t one to admit to a loss easily.

‘If Dimitri speaks this way, it must be so.’

Han had already noticed this of the third years. He read through the third year training curriculum carefully. In his opinion, second years already go through enough training drills. There wasn’t much need to make third years continue these military training drills.

‘Third years would be incorporated into real battles out in the world. It wasn’t training, but real battle. The first and second years use most of Ark’s practice and training facilities. The facilities for the third years were greatly lacking in comparison.

Han became lost in his own thoughts. The third years were existences hidden behind a veil. He had rarely come across them, becase they had no form of exchange at all.

“The tasks for squad 13 comes first. Let’s think about this later.”
Han erased all thoughts of the third years from his mind. He returned to his dorms and looked through the data for the new transfer requests.

‘I’m not surprised to see there are not any outstanding individuals. But there’s no reasons to disqualify them…. There is one Korean.’

The next day, squad 13 welcomed the 6 new members. They had arrived with their luggage to squad 13’s dorms. They introduced one another in front of the dorms and exchanged their data bracelet IDs.

“Let’s work hard, squad leader.”

“The squad battles had left a deep impression for me. You’re great.”

With new members, the dorm became crowded. When they were only four, it had remained quiet. But with ten, it was now noisy with chatter. They also received twice the amount of supplies.

“Hmm, welcome to squad 13.”

Han said awkwardly. This felt different than when he was the class leader. He was the one to create squad 13.

Additionally, all the members of his squad had joined with their own free will. The sense of responsibility he felt for everyone felt heavy.

“You are all probably aware, but we are a new squad. We have not been challenged in many ways. Within one week, we will select your specialty field through various training drills. I’ve seen your data, but I’m sure the reality will be different. Afterwards, I will separate everyone into groups and hand out roles. Does anyone have objections?”

The gathered squad observed one another. Everyone remained quiet. Han dismissed everyone. The squad members scattered to finish their own tasks.

‘Our new and original members need some time for our teamwork. Rather than group drills, we should focus on personal training drills to understand everyone’s weaknesses and strengths.’

Amongst the squad members that had scattered, one remained and vacantly stared across to Han. He sported black hair and looked to be of Korean descent.

“Hello, Squad leader Han.”

“Do you have anything you want to say, Kijo?”

Jung Kijo had been recruited from Korea like Han. He had spent one year as a second year now.

“No, no. I just wanted to talk a bit since we are both Korean. What do you think?”

Kijo didn’t speak in English, but Korean. Han received a strange feeling from him. The familiar Korean words flowed to his ears. He let out a sigh and sat down.

“Our country of origin is meaningless in Ark.”

At Han’s words, Kijo laughed.

“You’re too uptight. Since I came to Ark before you, I can be considered your senior. Let’s work hard together, Han.”

“…..”

Han glanced to Kijo. His words were making Han feel uncomfortable. He stuck to Han like a piece of gum.

“….”

“My father is a major general. He was overjoyed when he found out I was a psyker. You should pay back Korea for all the kindness you’ve received now that you’re a psyker. There are not too many Koreans in Ark. The only useful people seem to be you and me, just the two of us.”

“And your point?”

“Please include me in your battle plans. With your skills, it shouldn’t be impossible. I’ve wasted my time in the second year for one year now. I want to transfer into the third year as soon as I can. My dad keeps nagging at me.”

Han’s furrowed his brows. He shook his head.

“Kijo, I will hand out the tasks to those that are skilled to do so. I will be as fair as possible to everyone. If you wish to show off your strength, then prove it to me with your skills. I don’t have plans to drive my squad into danger for your ‘trivial’ reasons.”

Han responded coldly. Kijo’s lips twitched. The glint in his eyes instantly became hostile.

“Yes, yes. That’s a very good decision. Of course… anyway, let’s work hard. Command leader Han. We’re both Koreans after all.”
Kijo turned around and went to his room. He could hear him quietly cursing in Korean under his breath. Han pretended not to hear.

One week with the new squad had passed. Han held a meeting together with Canute and Jose in secret, without the squad knowing. Jose and Canute were Han’s right and left arms. They were trustworthy and had excellent judgment skills. Han asked for their advice on many subjects.

“What do you think of our new recruits?”

“Everyone has good balance. One of them has already developed their own unique skills.”

“He has psychic body enhancement skills. He’s the perfect candidate to become the main assaulter.”

“But, there is one guy with horrible personality.”

Canute said. Han and Jose immediately thought of a person.

“Are you talking about Kijo?”

“His results from the training drills aren’t too bad, but he has strong pride. Also, he shamelessly goes around to announce to everyone that he’s your close friend. He’s selling you out based on the fact that you’re both from the same country. Is he really going to get you places when you return to Korea?”

Han scoffed.

“Can’t be, I don’t want such a position even if they give it to me for free.”

Jose also burst out laughing.

“I knew it would be like that. I’ll just wait and see to judge him, but he worries me a little.”

Han nodded. It was almost the day of their squad battles. Their opponents said 10 members would participate, so all of the squad 13 members would be deployed. Han explained their battle plans and each members’ roles to his squad together with Canute and Jose.

“We’re able to execute more elaborate battle tactics now that we have more members in our squad. However, I’m not able to control the situation by myself anymore. I need you guys to make the calls for minor interruptions along the way.”

Han and the youths spent the rest of their time preparing for their next squad battle.
‘The easiest target is probably Kuro.’

Kijo observed the hierarchy of power from within squad 13. Squad leader Han took charge with his charisma and combat capability. Just below was Canute and Jose. They had been friends for awhile and their teamwork is near perfect. The last, Kuro, made the fourth member and makes up the core strength of squad 13.

Kijo attempted to infiltrate into the core of the squad by sticking to Han, but it had been fruitless. Han is very strict to separate business and personal feelings. He remains objective when dividing out roles for the squad based on individual skill.

“Tch. That cheapskate, he should be more flexible since we’re both Korean.”

Kijo narrowed his eyes like a snake. He held his gaze at Kuro. Kuro was in the middle of reading during his free period.

‘That black guy is incapable of being mean. Described in a good way, he’s a gentle guy, but in reality he’s a pushover.’

Kijo leisurely walked over to Kuro.

“What are you reading, Kuro?”

Kuro was startled and looked to Kijo.

“Just a novel. You won’t know even if I explained it for you.”

“Hm, is that so? What are you a sissy reading a novel like that? This is why you’re bad at fighting. You should exercise more instead. Do you know exercise?”

Kijo flexed his own muscles as he spoke.

‘Let’s start by making this black guy my subordinate. This kind of pushover should be as easy as pie’

Kijo planned to cement himself as one of the core members of squad 13. It would be impossible to climb up to second rank, but he would have a higher hierarchy amongst the squad if he were to have Kuro under him.

“The psychic drill instructor had told me to focus on my psychic strength rather than my physical strength. He said it would be better if I was an expert at one thing rather than being a master of none.”

Kuro explained. Kijo furrowed his brows like he had been waiting for these words.

“Are you saying my words are a load of rubbish?”

He didn’t hide his hostility for the other in the least. Kijo looked down on Kuro while raising his voice gradually.

“Ah, no. That’s not what I’m saying but it’s what my drill instructors told me.”

“Haa, I just wanted to help you out, but you’re making me lose face by treating me this way.”

He was trying to force the situation. But Kuro was getting affected by his words a bit. Kuro’s eyes reflected confusion.

‘Maybe I made a mistake saying those words….’

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way.”

“It’s fine. I just wanted to be your friend, but your words are like that. I won’t just let you step all over me.”

Kijo said coldly, pushing Kuro. Kuro hesitated a bit and grasped onto Kijo’s clothes.

‘This guy is a total idiot, isn’t he? How did this kind of guy get promoted into second year?’

“I’m so sorry. Let me apologize.”

“Hm, hmm. Then, are we friends from now on? Kuro.”

He pat Kuro’s shoulder while speaking. His lips held a crooked sneer.
‘You’re now my underling.’

Kijo stabbed at Kuro’s sense of guilt. Kuro spoke like he would do whatever for him.

“Ah, it’s a cat.”

While chatting, Kuro discovered a cheese colored cat.

Many cats permanently resided on the artificial island, Ark. In the beginning stages when Ark was being built, many individuals suffered from loneliness and raised pets to cope. The pets that people had raised bred together and multiplied to the current population today. These cats would drop into the student dorms for food scraps.

‘We were in the middle of an important conversation here. Tsk.’

Kijo clicked his tongue and kicked the cat. Kuro didn’t have enough time to stop him. The cat went flying and slammed against the far wall. The sound of its bone breaking seemed to echo in the area. The cat twitched and its body spasmed.

“Ah, ah.”

Kuro groaned from the sudden shock. Kijo spoke matter of factly.

“My day becomes unlucky whenever I see cats in this place. They’re devils.”

Kuro gripped his hands into fists. His body trembled from head to toe.

“You’re wrong. They are considered mystical creatures from where I’m from. Also… you shouldn’t treat animals who can’t speak for themselves so cruelly.”

“Well, anyway. Where did we stop? Canute likes cola, Jose likes ice cream right? Hmm, this is an important matter. What does our squad leader Han like?”

“I don’t have anything to say to you.”

Kuro said coldly. He walked to the cat with heavy steps. The cat was close to death. Kuro’s sixth sense was superior than normal psykers and he could tell instantly. He could feel the tears welling in his tears about to burst out. Kuro was more tender hearted than the children his age. He had much sensitivity that didn’t fit with the military lifestyle.

“Hey, are you going to talk like that to me again? There are tons of cats like that in Ark.”

The cat stopped breathing.

“I’m going to dig its grave.”

“Just toss it in the rubbish.”

Kijo tried to snatch the cat from Kuro. Kuro’s eyes grew wide. Blue light glowed from his eyes.

“Let go.”

Kuro words were short, but stern. His determination seemed to make his strength exponentially stronger. A chilling psychic wave flowed like a tidal wave. The sand and dust from their surroundings began floating in the air.

Wwwuuu!

Cold sweat fell from Kijo’s forehead. The steel rubbish bin next to him was instantly crushed. The rubbish bin was crumpled into the size of a tiny fist through telekinesis.

“H,huh?’

‘This isn’t how it should be.’

Kijo became dumbfounded. This had been the first time he had seen Kuro getting mad. Kuro had always laughed off all sorts of harsh jokes and bullying. However, due to this personality type Kijo had forgotten one important aspect.

“Get lost. Kijo.”

Kuro’s blue eyes made him look like a goblin. Kijo shut his mouth and nodded. He realized he might get himself killed by making the wrong move. His whole body became drenched in sweat. His instincts warned him that he was in grave danger.
“Haa, haa.”

Kijo could only breath after escaping from Kuro. The manifestation and surge of psychic power had made it hard to breath. Such density of psychic energy was enough to reverse the flow of oxygen.

‘He’s psycho, wanting to kill a man for kicking a measly cat.’

Kijo felt overwhelming regret. He had let his emotions get the better of himself, but he never knew the cat would die from such a weak kick.
The next squad battle would be capture the flag. This was one of the battles that Han had the most confidence in. He had trained for this type of battle since his first year of Ark. Han gathered his squad members and briefed everyone on today’s battle plans. He would divide their squad into three teams with the designated leaders of Han, Canute, and Jose. The three teams would attack the opponent’s command center in rotations.

“Today our opponent is squad 6. This battle is easier than all the battles we have fought thus far. Their squad had suffered too many injuries from previous squad battles so they won’t be able to deploy their core members. It’s very likely that they’re ready to throw the towel already. But, don’t let your guard down. Let’s obtain a perfect victory.”

Squad 6 had left many of their members injured. Han thoroughly evaluate every squad battle. Squad 6 should be capable of only half their military strength for this round.

‘There is no reason to lose as long as we don’t make any big mistakes.’

Han had no thoughts to carry out today’s battle with a lack luster lazy battle plan. They’re trying to make me fail so that I lose my confidence and get myself stuck into a slump.’

Han chuckled bitterly.

‘I just dislike losing. I already experienced enough of that.’
Han had experienced countless failures. Each time, he had to pay a terrible price for them. He has long been trained to not tolerate failure to his bones.

“Squad 13, let’s go.”

Han said standing at the forefront. The start of the squad battles signaled. The dome fell into darkness. Only a faint light lit up the battlefield.

“Wha, what is this? It’s night time.”

“I can’t see at all.”

This was a turn of events that had never been trialed. They had turned day into night. Han rose his hand and stopped his squad from moving forward.

“Calm down. We will wait a bit until our eyes become accustomed to the dark. Since we never heard of this kind of thing, Squad 6 should be in the same situation as us.”

Han calmed down his anxious squad members.

‘He’s truly a natural squad leader. He always maintains his cool to make calm judgments. He must understand that if he were to lose his cool, his squad would fall down along with him.’

The instructors scored Han highly for his squad leadership skills. They had purposely added an unknown factor for Han. Han had responded perfectly toward the changes. After time passed, the youths had become accustomed to the darkness and began moving once again.

-Canute’s group will strike first. Jose will be the backup. We will strike from their flank.

Han made hand signals. The squad members moved forth with their battle plans. Han moved his team to the side. As soon as Canute retreats, his team will immediately strike and finish them.

-Engaging enemy.

Canute sent a message. A scream echoed from the far distance of the darkness. Han paused his breath and moved in the darkness.

‘As I predicted. Since their core teammates are not able to participate, squad 6 chose the defense tactic. They must have thought to pick off our squad one by one until nobody is left. However, we won’t have any frontal attacks. This darkness makes it easier for surprise attacks from the back.’

Han peered behind himself. Kijo was in his team. Contrary to Han’s worry, Kijo followed through strictly with Han’s commands.

‘Kijo is also a second year of Ark after all. He’s not stupid. His personality isn’t the best, but he still does his job thoroughly.’

If he’s one to let his emotion get the better of him then he would not have survived in such a place like Ark.

“Remain in standby. We will wait until Canute retreats.”

Han lowered his body and waited. Usually, Canute would have retreated by now, but he’s been dragging out the battle for some time now.

-Canute, retreat.

Han directly sent a message. Canute didn’t answer. Han’s eyes narrowed.

‘What happened? Canute is straying from my original battle plans. He’s not one to randomly charge off by himself. Either, he’s been done in or he’s in a tight situation.’

Instead of Canute, Jose had sent a message.

-Canute’s team had fallen. It happened in a matter of moments. Should my team proceed with attacking them? Should I retreat and rejoin with your team?

Han momentarily agonized and sent the renewed battle plans.

-Jose, continue forth. We will combine our team in front of our enemy’s camp.

Han sent the message and proceeded forward. He could see his opponent’s defense team. Jose’s team was in the middle of fighting against them. Some of squad 6 were already injured. It seems his squad’s situation wasn’t as good as he thought.

‘Squad 6 destroyed Canute’s team even though they have injured soldiers fighting. What happened?’

Kuro who stood behind Han blinked. Blue light glowed from Kuro’s eyes. His immediate foresight skills had alarmed.

“Han, get down!”

Kuro pressed Han’s head down onto the ground. Han’s body got pinned down onto the ground in this confusion. Something swished above his head.

Swaa!

A menacing sharp sound passed. Han peered up. A youth wearing a skull faced mask stood spinning twin swords.

‘If Kuro didn’t push me down, it would have been the end of me. However, nobody was within a visible range of me. Who is that masked guy? Had there been such a person in squad 6?’

Han’s mind worked fast. A skull masked youth who welds twin daggers, he had never heard of such a student in year 2.

“Surround the enemy, keep your distance.”

Han’s squad surrounded the skull masked man. The skull masked man stood in a relaxed form. Psychic energy swayed from his body.

Pah!

The skull masked man disappeared from thin air. Han felt something chilling from his back. He swung his spear to his back.

Tah!

The skull masked man traveled stood had appeared behind him the next instant. Han reflexively attacked him.

“Whwhat? He disappeared and appeared again!”

His squad members began to shout. Han looked to where the drill instructors stood.

‘Those horrible drill instructors. I don’t know who that skull masked man is, but he’s not any pushover. He has the unique skill of teleportation. His skill range isn’t that wide though.’

“Everyone maintain sight of one another so that we can counter attack against him when he appears!”
He made swift decisions. Teleporters commonly attack their opponent’s back. The squad members kept each other in their view so that they could block against the skull faced man whenever.

Pah!

The skull faced man teleported to a place further away from Han. His psychic waves seemed hazier than before.

‘Teleporting must require a lot of his psychic energy. This skill isn’t to be used wastefully.’

Han observed his surroundings. Anxiety seemed to strangle his mind. It had been a brief moment, but a million thoughts seemed to have passed his mind. He grasped onto a tiny sliver of hope to win this battle.

“I’ll block that mask. The rest of you join Jose’s team.”

Han confronted the skull mask. He spun his spear. The arm that had broken had completely healed a few weeks back. He had slacked in weapon training all this time, but his condition was pretty good at the moment.

The skull mask tilted his head.

The skull mask said no words and simply looked on towards Han. That gesture meant only one thing.

“’You’re going to block me by yourself?’ must be what you’re trying to say.”

Skull mask nodded.

“It seems you’ve forgotten, but today’s battle is capture the flag. I don’t have a reason to beat you today. I’ll win as long as I don’t lose against you.”

Skull mask twitched. Han had become confident from his response.

‘This skull mask must not be a commander type. He doesn’t fight using strategy and tactics. Then…’

Han’s lips quirked up.

‘The winner will be squad 13’

He maintained his distance against the skull mask. He maintained the furthest distance he could mange. The skull mask approached him using his teleportation skill twice. The skull mask had become restless from Han’s words.

‘The maximum distance he can travel is fifteen meters per teleport.’

Han purposely distanced himself to lure the skull mask to make him use teleport twice in a row. He didn’t let himself get flustered and observed the opponent’s skills.

Poo-f!

Listening carefully, he noticed a distinct sound the skull mask makes when disappearing then the same sound travels along with the skull mask to his final destination. Upon the first sound, skull mask’s body blinks, then on the last sound his body would appear at the final destination.

‘With focus, it’s possible to figure out his final destination.’

Han kept his eyes wide open. He stubbornly blocked the skull mask’s path. The skull mask became flustered.

“You must defeat me if you want to pass, Mr. Skull Mask.”

‘How did he figure out the location I was about to teleport to? Did he manage to fully grasp my unique skill within this brief moment?’

Behind the mask was a fellow peer. Skull mask started to focus on fighting against Han. There was no reason that skull mask couldn’t beat him. Rather, skull mask had already transcended the combat level of the second years.

‘He’s strong. I feel like I’m battling against Drill Instructor Wei. I’m already up to my neck trying to block his attacks.’

Skull mask attacked with his twin swords like a hurricane. He linked together consecutive attacks without a moment of rest.

Kang!

The spear that Han held to defend against the raining attacks slipped from his hand and flew into the air. The skull mask mercilessly stabbed Han’s abdomen. The attack wasn’t strong enough to penetrate into his chest, but his organs felt like they were being crushed.

‘Han, focus!’

Han opened his eyes wider as if he was reprimanding himself. His eyes glowed into a blue hue. He used his telekinesis to grab his spear that was up in the air. Gravity accelerated the spear’s speed of attack into the skull mask’s neck.

Pook!

Skull mask fainted on the ground. He had completely lost consciousness from the attack.

“Haa, haa. I finally managed to make him faint.”

Han said while trying to catch his breath. During that moment, squad 13 had infiltrated into squad 6’s command center and managed to steal their opponent’s flag.

Squad 6 didn’t have manpower to stop the flag bearer of squad 13. A message announced squad 13’s victory the next instant.

“Who is that skull mask?”

“He’s a third year. He used to be in squad 6 a long while ago. There was a vacancy in squad 6 so we temporarily filled the position with a substitute.”

“Did you say a third year? Isn’t this a squad battle of second years?”

“Yes, only seven members were allowed in squad 6 for this round. That third year is the equivalent of three, year 2 students.”

“Stop joking around. Instructor, this is against the rules.”

Han sternly said. It wasn’t allowed for third years to participate in a second year squad battle. He was full of dissatisfaction. The slightest slip up would have resulted in their loss.

“Rules? How funny. We make the rules. Squad leader, Han.”

The instructor coldly sent Han back to his squad. However, the instructors were inwardly shocked. They had purposely tricked a third year into squad 6 in order to make squad 13 lose.

‘Originally, Han should have lost, but not only did he win, he knocked out Silence, a third year.’
The Master Drill Instructor Greseman watched the second year squad battle along with the other instructors. They had already prepared the coffee and donuts for all the staff. It was a daily task of the instructors to evaluate the squad battles completely. They were replaying Han and the skull mask, Silence’s, battle recording.

“He has extremely quick decision making skills during life threatening moments. The moment he noticed Silence’s unique skill of teleportation, he commanded his squad members to keep each other within eyesight.”

“Did he learn this from somewhere?”

“There is no such thing as a textbook that teaches one how to counter attack against teleportation skills. Han made the tactic on the spot, even though he never battled against such a skill user before.”

A few of the instructors honestly praised him. The instructors inwardly thought about how many drill instructors here could make such quick decisions in such a flawless way like Han had.

“The skills to lead a squad into victory all the while battling against an unknown enemy while being bombarded by random variables. Maybe I judged Squad leader Han too quickly.”

Greseman said. The other instructors nodded in agreement.

“I don’t believe he would fall into panic or fear as he excels in crisis management and counter responses.”

“Usually I don’t trust the data and profile which year one instructors submit, but he is an exception. I must accept the reality that his skills are in fact, much more admirable than his profile’s face value. What do you think? Silence.”

Greseman sat in the corner seat and asked Silence. Silence wrote on his electronic note.

-I’m displeased. He is a sly fellow. If I had a proper one vs. one battle with him, I would have won.
The instructors read Silence’s electronic note and laughed.

“I understand your angry heart…. Silence. However, we’re raising soldiers not sport athletes.”

Upon Greseman’s words, Silence hesitated for a moment and nodded. He began to write on his electronic note once again.

-However, I was careless this time. I will be the one to win next time.

“There is no next time. Silence. You should return to your own dorms. Do not concern yourself with second year business.”

“Silence!”

Jose shouted. Han got a shock and turned around. Han had just returned after visiting his squad members that were in the medical recovery ward. As soon as he returned to the dorms, Jose had come running to him.

“What? Are you telling me to shut up?”

“No, not that! It’s Silence! Skull mask!”

“What’s Silence? Ah…….”

Han remembered the conversation he tossed to the back of his mind. Kuro had once talked about Silence to him.

“There was one famous student, while training, a part of their brain shut down completely. They lost the ability to speak after the accident, and so everyone calls him Silence. Ironically, following their brain damage, their battle capabilities increased exponentially. He’s a special case study.”

“Silence is a third year! His skull mask is famous so there were a number of people who recognized him. We won against Silence! The news had spread all over Ark! Squad 13 had won against a third year! Though, it was just one member.”

“I thought he was abnormally strong.”

Han massaged his numb hand. Silence, the skull mask, had been incredibly strong. It wasn’t a surprised that he was famous. He felt the same level of pressure has he had experienced against Instructor Wei.
‘It seems to be true that he’s stronger than most drill instructors.’

“Also Han, you battled against Silence and won.”

“I was just lucky. In many ways………”

Han didn’t feel the same excitement. Rather, he didn’t felt displeased.

“Why do you look upset though?”

“Canute’s team suffered a lot of injuries. If this had been a real battle, Canute would have died because of my order.”

“Nobody could have predicted this. This had been the instructor’s trickery. Nobody is blaming you, Han!”

Han shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter that this was the instructor’s trickery or joke. I moved forward with our battle plans without even bothering to scout whether my own information on squad 6 had been correct. There were only seven members on their team. I should have noticed something was off when I noticed they had fewer members than us. Everything that day had been strange from the point they had changed the day to night without prior notice.”

Jose felt a chill on his back upon hearing Han’s words. Han’s thought process was completely different than the average youth.

“Do you want to be perfect?”

“If necessary, yes. We must go out to war. In the least, I do not wish to lose any of our squad members. If the perfect squad leader is the only one to be capable of this, then I must become perfect.”

Jose held down his body that wanted to tremble. He faked a cheerful laugh. Han was his best friend, but for an instant he felt like a monster.

“I hope I’m in your squad.”

These words were the truth at least. Jose didn’t know of a squad leader who was more capable than Han.

5. Kuro’s adventure
(T/N: Warning of animal cruelty) 

The artificial island, Ark, moves incredibly slowly and its location constantly changes. Without the central headquarter’s lead, it would be near impossible to find Ark in the vast Pacific Ocean. It took an astronomical amount of money to build and there were many places which students were forbidden from entering.

“Ugh, my shoulder hurts.”

Kuro received an electric shock examination from Professor Grace. He had remained prone for a long period of time which made his whole body ache. Kuro lightly stretched his body.

‘My psychic energy increased a lot in the recent days, so it must be good.’

His emotions took a big hit due to his psychic skills. Kuro had experienced rapid growth of his psychic powers two times. Once had been when he was in the deserted island, and the second was when Kijo had killed a cat. Kuro’s psychic skills evolved exponentially due to the sudden burst of emotions.

“According to Professor Grace, my psychic skills seem to depend highly on my emotions….”

Kuro was very sensitive to his own emotions. In turn, his skill’s up and down was just as erratic. To say it plainly, his skills were unstable.

Those who are emotionally detached like Han, had stable psychic powers. However, it’s rare for one to sporadically manifest their hidden unique skills.

Military officials looked for stable soldiers like Han. This was also one of the main reasons that there were few training facilities made for females.

“We ended quicker than usual today. I have emptied all of today’s training schedule.”

Kuro enjoyed today’s laxness. He wasn’t one to put pressure onto himself like Han.

He would purposely travel the longer route instead of the shortest for a light walk. He would observe the map on his data bracelet and travel the places he’s never been to.

“Ah, Simon.”

Kuro discovered Simon in the airbeat training center. Simon was by himself practicing his control with the airbeat. Simon glanced at Kuro.

“What is it Kuro?”

Simon spoke without interest. But inside, Simon was greatly bothered by Kuro.

He was a similar type of psyker and they both had been named geniuses of their field. Simon had considered himself Kuro’s rival.

‘Humph, to be treated as equals to this black boy who didn’t even receive proper psychic training. I refuse to acknowledge you.’

Simon hated to lose against Kuro in psychic skills. If Han had invited him into squad 13, he would have rejected just on the fact that Kuro was in the squad already. Then he wouldn’t be able to step on Kuro as his opponent.

“Are you practicing with airbeats? How many are you controlling? One, two, three, four…. wow, you can control five at once. You’re amazing.”

Simon widened his shoulders upon Kuro’s compliment.

“The announcement of squad 13’s opponent should be announced soon, don’t worry I’ll properly pummel you. The second year’s strongest psyker is me!”

Simon spoke as if he had declared war. He forced himself and managed to control seven airbeats. This required intense focus and mind. He had to use telekinesis to strongly push the airbeats to maneuver them into complicated directions.
‘I’m capable of this much, damn Kuro.’

Kuro who had been watching Simon from below took out some airbeats from the storage. These were luxury equipments so fingerprint recognition was required.

“It’s been awhile since I practiced, I should also train a bit.”

Kuro took out some airbeats. He closed his eyes and focused. He imagined the airbeats floating from within the darkness.

Kuro had a great sense of imagination due to his sensitive emotions. He could perfectly draw images into his mind. This was the root method of commanding various psychic skills.

Wwoong!

Kuro’s clothes fluttered from the wind. This was an air current that only appeared from highly skilled psykers. The moment they manifested their psychic energy, it would change the natural airflow. This was clear proof that his psychic talent had surpassed A rank.

Twitch, twitch.

Simon tried not to care, but Kuro’s whole body emitted off psychic energies. Kuro’s psychic energy was monstrous.
‘When had Kuro grown this much…?’

Kuro’s growth speed had been fast, but the previous Kuro had not been this strong.

‘He’s got more psychic energy than me.’

Kuro moved four airbeats simultaneously. He looked relaxed while moving four at the same time.

The reason Kuro didn’t bother to control more, was simply because he didn’t feel like it.
Kuro didn’t have a sense of rivalry against Simon at all. He simply wanted to befriend him while controlling the airbeats together.

Simon clicked his tongue and packed his airbeats. He shortly glared towards Kuro and disappeared. Kuro who had been left hanging also put away his airbeats.

“Did I do something wrong? He looked angry.”

Kuro scratched his head while watching Simon walking away.

He continued walking and found himself at the storehouse. There were several helicopters on standby. The soldiers were in the middle of moving supplies into the storehouse.

‘The job could be finished in an instant with psychic skills.’

Kuro stared toward the soldiers while thinking of various things. The soldiers who finished moving the supplies decided to take a break.

There was someone who was smoking, and there was another soldier who sat down eating a snack. The soldier took out jerky to eat. Cats began gathering around the soldier.

The cats pulled on the soldier’s pants and managed to get a small piece of jerky to eat.

‘The cats were my only friends in the orphanage.’

Kuro’s personality was gentle by nature. He was naturally clumsy and could not fiercely change his personality. He was often called a dimwit.

He wasn’t good at a single thing. The other children all bullied him because of his black skin in the orphanage. The cats which lurked around the orphanage were his only real friends.

‘I’m also good at something now. I also have a friend.’

Kuro discovered one cat straying off into a different direction. The spotted cheese colored cat strayed.

“Ah.”

Kuro began to follow the cat unknowingly. The cat twisted and turned in complicated paths. Kuro moved through, following the cat, with nimble swiftness. He looked like an athlete. He was only weak compared to the children who had undergone the superhuman transformation procedure. Kuro was quite strong compared to an average athletic adult.

“I’ve come too far.”

Kuro had no idea where he was. The cat he caught stretched and yawned in his arms.

“Ny.”

Kuro hugged the cat in his arms and gently pet it. Kuro turned on his data bracelet and checked his map.

“The ocean?”

On the map, it marked that he was not on land but water. It read that Kuro was simply floating on top of the ocean.

‘I feel like I’ve come to a place I’m not supposed to.’

Kuro’s eyes trembled. He enjoyed a brisk walk, but this was far from it. He looked back on the path he had come.

Boo-oom!

Kuro heard a heavy sound from behind himself.

“Who is it?”

Kuro looked back toward the thick voice.

“eeek!”

Kuro fell over from fear. A robot who looked like a human stood tall. The cold steel frame shined.

“Huh, isn’t it Kuro? I couldn’t recognize you because you’ve changed so much.”

This voice sounded familiar. Kuro who had scrunched up into a tiny ball lifted his head to peer up.

“Sergeant R-red?”

The two meter tall robot belonged to Sergeant Red. It had not been a robot but Sergeant Red had put on a bionic suit. Cigarette smoke puffed out from the opening of its face.

‘I’m done for. I’ll probably get harshly punished.’

Sergeant Red was well known for having a bad temper. Kuro had also been badly beaten by him before. His legs felt numb by reflex. The fear for Sergeant Red had been deeply ingrained into Kuro.

“Are you lost? You should have something to drink before you go. There is a development center just ahead of here.”

Sergeant Red didn’t punish Kuro. Rather, he spoke in a smooth voice.

“Huh? What?”

Kuro confusingly asked. If it had been when he was a first year, Sergeant Red would have been howling with rage. However, Sergeant Red didn’t say anything particular. Kuro blankly trailed behind Sergeant Red.

Gii, Gii.

Every one of Sergeant Red’s movements created a metallic robotic sound.

-Sergeant Red! How many times have I told you not to smoke while wearing the Frame? Aren’t you crazy?”

“You’re noisy, old man.”

Sergeant Red turned off the communication function, ignoring the other completely.

“Wh-what is that? The one that sergeant is wearing?

“The second generation psycho frame. This is only a prototype, but we’re in the middle of a test. This is the best gear that psykers could having while fighting against dragons. We noticed an intruder, but it was just you.”

“You don’t seem mad.”

“I’m not your drill instructor anymore. If there is a person who lives everyday angry, that person must have a personality disorder. A psycho. Don’t you think?”

‘So you’re aware.’

Kuro didn’t say his thoughts out loud.

“Anyway, the second generation psycho frames would be showcased. It doesn’t matter that students find out. This is especially the case for second years or higher. You guys can’t leave Ark. You belong to Ark now.”

Kuro’s shoulders trembled. Second years could not leave unless they die or become permanently disabled. He already knew, but hearing it verbally had hit a chilling nerve inside of him.

“Psycho frames are the bionic suits that only psykers are able to wear, right? They act as the user’s second exoskeleton? This is my first time seeing one.”

“The first generation model was made in haste so it’s low grade. Each nation has their own model as well. The second generation psychoframe doesn’t even compare with that one. This gear has been prepared for only the best. The outer shell is made of dragon bone and leather, while the gloves are made of highly elastic alloy. This gear has been made especially for you. I’m barely able to move this myself.”

Sergeant Red calmly explained. This type of Sergeant Red felt unfamiliar to Kuro.

‘He just might actually be a very friendly person….’

Every student severely abhorred Sergeant Red, but to Kuro, Sergeant Red now felt like nothing but kind.

“It’s a second year. Give him a drink, then give him a ride back in the car.”

Sergeant Red arrived to the development center. He could only see an entrance that goes into an underground garage. There were only necessary equipment and staff on the surface. Sergent Red left Kuro to a soldier nearby.

The old man suddenly burst into a fit of anger toward Sergeant Red. Sergeant Red took out another cigar to smoke while confronting the old man.

“Would this be a successful model? It’s very responsive toward psychic energies. But it’s probably better to reduce some of the dragon materials required to build it. Power is important, but would anybody be able to control such a sensitive psychoframe? The person to control this must be able to manipulate psychic energy like their breathing.”

The old man was still angry, but made sure to make detailed memos of Sergeant Red’s comments. The two looked very close.

“If a standard model is confirmed, this model would probably be destroyed.”

“This is only a prototype. Why don’t we leave it as a commemoration? I feel it’s a pity the suit I tested would be destroyed.”

“We’re always short on dragon material. We don’t need a suit that won’t be used. We will take it apart and reuse the parts we can.”

Sergeant Red said nothing for a moment and blew out a puff of smoke.

“Who knows, maybe someone would end up using this,” he said indifferently.

Kuro watched the old man and Sergeant Red talk while drinking his orange juice. Soon, a soldier came with a military car. Kuro hopped into the car and returned to the second year complex.

Many students were returning after completing their training drills. Kuro watched all the youths he passed. Everyone’s body looked burly but their faces remained childish. They would all fight against humanity’s extinction. Kuro tried to imagine himself wearing the suit and fighting against dragons.

‘The adults are truly preparing for the war against dragons….’

Reality suddenly fell down upon him. Kuro could only perceive that he had been receiving training for war. This isn’t a joke or dream. War is nearing.