The First Encounter with a Thorn Snake

4.

Private First Class Park Boseop was out of his mind the moment Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun handed him the steering wheel. He couldn't possibly be sane.

*‘Crazy, crazy, crazy!’*

Going to the destroyed Headquarters was already a Crazy Act, but to think he'd encounter thorn snakes in the process? What's more, it was Private First Class Park Boseop's first time seeing a thorn snake. It wasn't strange. Among Space Marines, not many had experience seeing thorn snakes. Few Space Marines survived after seeing a thorn snake, and even fewer continued to serve as Space Marines afterward. And now, those thorn snakes were targeting their truck. It was a situation that would drive anyone mad.

Vroooom!

However, the moment he gripped the steering wheel, Private First Class Park Boseop's frantic mind began to calm.

*‘Snap out of it, snap out of it. I can't lose my head while holding the wheel.’*

Private First Class Park Boseop, it went without saying, wasn't just racing as a hobby. Though it sounded far-fetched, he was pouring all his effort into his dream of competing in the American NASCAR Race. Naturally, he not only had a Racer License, but he had also built a career in what could be considered Pro Level Competitions, even if they weren't major ones. In the Korean racing scene, he was considered something of a genius. He had also trained extensively for racing. Thanks to that. The moment he took the wheel, his confusion ceased, and he began to drive skillfully.

Whoosh!

He began to drive sideways, sideways, sideways, dodging the incoming thorn snake spines. As Private First Class Park Boseop diligently watched ahead, avoiding massive rocks and driving, he soon saw it.

*‘It's a Sandstorm!’*

A massive Sandstorm, obscuring everything in a brown haze, was approaching.

“Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun! It's a Sandstorm!”

He immediately called out. Of course, even as Private First Class Park Boseop spoke, he assumed Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun would naturally come inside. Wasn't he someone with far more experience than himself?

Vroooom!

*‘Huh?’*

However, even with the Sandstorm, Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun didn't enter the passenger seat.

*‘What's he doing?’*

It was hard to understand.

*‘There's nothing he can do, is there?’*

Because in front of such a Sandstorm, in a world where nothing was visible, there was nothing a Space Marine could do with a gun. Private First Class Park Boseop, harboring such doubts, then heard it.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

5.

The Sandstorm encountered in Space was fundamentally different from those on Earth in many ways. In such a Sandstorm, a Space Marine's gun was, naturally, useless. Moreover, the same applied to Mogdogs. Especially thorn snakes; they couldn't launch proper spine attacks in front of a Sandstorm. Therefore, when a Sandstorm approached, turning tail and running without looking back was a virtue a Space Marine should possess, and Kim Seojun knew that virtue better than anyone. However, he didn't run now. It wasn't for any grand reason.

*‘Clairvoyance.’*

It was because he now had a new ability.

*‘Let's check it out.’*

There was no reason to hide such an ability and secretly check it later.

“Clairvoyance.”

So he immediately used his Clairvoyance Ability. In fact, until this point, he had only intended to check the ability once and then flee depending on the situation.

*‘......My god.’*

However, in the world revealed the moment he used his Clairvoyance Skill, Kim Seojun couldn't run.

*‘I can see.’*

Because beyond this dense Sandstorm, the thorn snakes were visible. It wasn't perfectly clear. It was like watching a very low-resolution video from the early 21st century; the thorn snakes were vaguely visible amidst all the noise. But for Kim Seojun, that was enough. The muzzle he aimed had a Red Light, and the moment it touched, it was a hundred percent hit. Moreover, this accuracy wasn't just a concept like 'it hits because the light touches it.' Fundamentally, bullets didn't fly properly in a Sandstorm. Even if a Laser Pointer mounted on the gun touched the target, firing it as is would result in misses rather than hits. Light wasn't refracted by the wind, but bullets were heavily affected by it. However, this Red Light was different. Everything was adjusted. So, if the Red Light touched, it would hit without fail, regardless of any natural disaster. Conversely, the aforementioned difficulties, the difficulties of long-range attacks, applied entirely to the thorn snakes. So, what should he do here? There was no hesitation. Kim Seojun immediately aimed his gun, and the moment the Red Light touched the blurry thorn snake, he pulled the trigger.

Tat-tat-tat-tat!

Then gunshots were heard, and a moment later, a notification appeared.

6.

[Combat ended. Settlement begins.]

[You have defeated 15 thorn snakes. You have acquired 75 points.]

[15 thorn snakes were defeated from a distance of 500 meters or more. A Sharpshooter Bonus of 150 points has been awarded.]

[You have won the battle. A reward of 100 points has been awarded.]

The moment the notifications appeared, the moment the thorn snakes were no longer visible, Kim Seojun entered the passenger seat without hesitation.

Thud!

Inside the Military Truck with a hole in its ceiling, Kim Seojun, clad in his Battle Suit, dropped into the seat, creating a violent sound.

“Staff Sergeant Kim!”

Private First Class Park Boseop, without letting go of the steering wheel, still focused on the front and his driving, called out to Kim Seojun.

“Good job. For driving.”

Kim Seojun praised Private First Class Park Boseop. It was sincere. A Military Driver who could concentrate on driving in such a situation was rare even in Kim Seojun's active service, which had seen all sorts of land, sea, and space battles.

“Th-thank you.”

At the compliment, Private First Class Park Boseop replied, still not taking his eyes off the front.

*‘There are thorn snakes behind us. I need to stay alert. I don't know when the thorn snakes will attack.’*

From Private First Class Park Boseop's perspective, unable to know that all the thorn snakes had been dealt with, he couldn't let his guard down. Kim Seojun didn't explain the full situation to Private First Class Park Boseop. There was no need to meticulously explain this miracle that had happened to him. He simply said.

“How much battery is left?”

“About 77 percent left.”

“That should be enough for Headquarters. We're heading straight to Headquarters.”

“Huh?”

At his words, Private First Class Park Boseop made a surprised expression.

“Headquarters, Sir? Isn't it dangerous?”

Given the situation with the thorn snakes, and moreover, those thorn snakes weren't staying in one place but were moving. This was proof that the Mogs were currently on the move, and this point was emphasized repeatedly in Training Camp before becoming a Space Marine. When a Mog Group moved, they were told to stop everything, go into the Base, and lie low, to wait until orders came from above. Kim Seojun knew too. He knew better than anyone that one had to be careful when a Mog Group was on the move. However, everything depended on the situation.

“A group of thorn snakes moving independently means the Mog Group is currently moving busily and quickly. And Mogs only move quickly when they're going to hunt humans.”

It was clear that the thorn snakes were currently moving towards their next battle. That's why they suddenly attacked as soon as they saw Kim Seojun's group. Because it meant an Attack Order had been given to the Mogs.

“A moment ago, the thorn snakes' direction of movement, though approximate, was towards our Headquarters.”

Combining that with other information led to the following conclusion.

“To summarize, there's a high probability that the Mog Group that attacked our Headquarters is moving elsewhere. Therefore, Headquarters might be empty right now, or even if there are Mogs, their numbers might not be large.”

The moment he heard that, Private First Class Park Boseop no longer had any doubts.

“Yes, Sir, I'll floor it then.”

Vroooom!

7.

Space was vast. And the Space Planets were enormous. Even those who lived on relatively large landmasses on Earth would realize how small Earth was once they visited a Space Planet. Planet Amotia was no different. It was vast, and so it took Kim Seojun's group a full 17 hours to reach Headquarters, even driving at full speed. After such a long journey, Kim Seojun immediately used his binoculars to look at the Headquarters of the Planet Amotia Korean Branch.

“It's definitely the Mogs' doing.”

The visible state of the Korean Branch was on a completely different level from when Kim Seojun first arrived here. From the Resource Mining Plant to the Military Supply Factory and the Barracks, all facilities at Headquarters were terribly crushed.

“Ah......”

In front of that sight, Private First Class Park Boseop wore a dazed expression. He had seen countless examples. Because the most common thing seen during Training Camp was the terror of the Mogs. He had seen countless videos and photos of the Military and Bases utterly devastated by those Mogs. However, the shock of seeing that sight firsthand was incomparable to any photo or video. In the face of the overwhelming destruction wrought by the Mogs, even the will to fight such monsters was crushed.

*‘I feel like I'm going to throw up.’*

Private First Class Park Boseop even felt as if the Energy Gel he had eaten at the Supply Base was coming back up.

“That's a relief.”

“Huh?”

At Kim Seojun's words, Private First Class Park Boseop asked back in surprise.

“A-a relief?”

To his bewilderment, Kim Seojun said.

“I'm not saying it's a relief that Headquarters was destroyed. From what's visible now, Headquarters appears to have been destroyed by Mogdogs, thorn snakes, and Bomb Beetles. There are no traces of more powerful entities.”

Private First Class Park Boseop understood to some extent after hearing that explanation. Of course, he still looked surprised. From his perspective, it was still a dire situation. For Kim Seojun, however, this was quite an important detail.

*‘It seems those formidable monsters, like Behemoths or Sky Whales, didn't come. That's a relief.’*

Because if such formidable beings within the Mog Group, like gigantic Behemoths or Sky Whales that fly and spew all sorts of monsters, had appeared, it would have meant there was no way to survive on Planet Amotia. It wasn't simply a matter of being scared of them.

*‘If the situation gets serious, the higher-ups will just start a cleanup operation.’*

From the perspective of the High-ranking Officials, if the situation was deemed unfavorable, they would decide to simply wipe out the entire Planet.

*‘If they send the Battlecruisers, then it's over.’*

And the moment that cleanup began, everyone on Planet Amotia was as good as dead. However, looking at the current situation, while serious, it wasn't severe enough to warrant Battlecruisers.

*‘I don't want to see a repeat of what happened on Planet Syrph.’*

Having experienced that cleanup, Kim Seojun could now let out a sigh of relief. Of course, if the situation became more serious, it would be a different story. In any case, for now, the situation wasn't extremely serious. At least by Kim Seojun's standards, it was, and simply confirming that made this reconnaissance successful. It certainly was.

[We request Rescue.]

“Huh?”

A Rescue Request was heard from the speaker mounted on his Battle Suit. The location of that request was, naturally, one place.

“It seems there's a Survivor at Headquarters.”

At that, Private First Class Park Boseop and Kim Seojun's eyes met. Private First Class Park Boseop conveyed with his expression instead of words. That responding to this Rescue Request was a Crazy Act. In response, Kim Seojun turned his head instead of answering and looked at the Headquarters' situation once more. The terribly destroyed Headquarters.

Kieeeek!

Mogdogs were seen moving here and there above the Headquarters.

*‘About 300 of them?’*

That number wasn't large. It wasn't a mistake. Even if the Planet Amotia Korean Branch was relatively weak, the power of its Headquarters was not something that could be overcome by merely a thousand Mogdogs. At least a Legion of over 10,000 must have come. If such a Legion had swept through and only 300 remained, it was indeed a very meager number. Of course, it was by no means a situation that could be handled by just two Space Marines. Moreover, if they were to fight here, it would be an Open Field Battle, a completely different level of difficulty compared to fighting in a Bunker. Especially since what had just arrived was a Rescue Request. Not only did they have to eliminate those Mogdogs, but they also had to rescue the Key Figure trapped somewhere. It was the worst conditions in many ways. And it didn't even end there. Kim Seojun looked up at the sky. In the sky, where the Sandstorm had briefly subsided, a single black dot was moving.

*‘It's a Cyclops.’*

Its identity was a Cyclops, one of the Mog Species. It was a 20-meter-long monster that flew through the sky, shaped like a balloon with squid-like legs. Furthermore, it had a large eye on its belly, earning it the name Cyclops, the one-eyed monster. Its appearance was comical. It had no combat ability either. However, for a Space Marine facing Mogs, the Cyclops was a nightmare itself. The reason was simple.

*‘The moment we touch a Mogdog, the Cyclops will alert everyone around.’*

That Cyclops was the leader commanding the Mogs. The moment they caused a disturbance here, the Cyclops would summon all the Mogs in the vicinity. It meant thousands or more Mogs would rush to attack Kim Seojun's group. In other words, if they were to proceed with the Rescue Operation, most actions had to be completed within at least an hour. It was an absurd mission.

“Staff Sergeant Kim.”

To Private First Class Park Boseop's pleading call, that is, his plea for an order to quickly turn back, Kim Seojun replied.

“We are Soldiers, so we cannot avoid a Rescue Request. Even if it means our death.”

“Ah.”

At that reply, Private First Class Park Boseop's expression hardened with despair. He hadn't expected such an answer.

“Th-that's right.”

In a way, it was an obvious answer. To ignore a Rescue Request? That wasn't the duty of a Soldier, but of a human being.

“W-we have to save them.”

So Private First Class Park Boseop suppressed his despair and nodded, and to him, Kim Seojun said.

“......Honestly, I don't care about that.”

“Huh?”

“I don't care about the Soldier's Creed or anything like that. The only reason I re-enlisted in the Military is for money.”

At those words, a question appeared on Private First Class Park Boseop's face, and to him, Kim Seojun said.

“If you rescue a Key Figure, you get a bounty.”

“Huh? Really?”

“It's not common, and the Military deliberately doesn't publicize it, so most people don't know, but such a clause exists. If they don't give it, you can sue them later and they'll give it.”

At that point, Private First Class Park Boseop's eyes changed.

“Again, I re-enlisted to earn money.”

It was the same for him. He wanted to earn money and go to Earth. And that opportunity had come now.

“Of course, I have no intention of losing my life by being blinded by money. But I think it's worth taking a gamble now. More importantly, if we really manage to rescue the Branch Commander, Major, our Survival Probability will greatly increase.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Majors are given a Location Tracking Device that isn't issued to Regular Space Marines. When we go into the Rescue Operation, we'll track that location and move.”

When he heard that explanation, Private First Class Park Boseop no longer hesitated.

“What should I do?”

He asked, and Kim Seojun replied to his question.

“Can you Drift?”