Chapter 49
For soldiers, a special meal after a mission was bound to live up to its name.
The Space Age was no different.
In the Space Age, the special meal enjoyed after a mission was even more important to Space Marines.
In Space, it was hard to find delicious food in the first place. In a place where supplies were more important than ever, a special meal usually just meant things like chocolate or other sweets.
Even if there was something tasty to eat, it couldn't be properly enjoyed unless it was in a place like an Air Tent or a bunker.
"Wow, it's really been a while since I had instant noodles."
The luxury of eating cup noodles in an Air Tent was something not even a billionaire could easily enjoy.
"Hanging around with you lets me enjoy all sorts of luxuries."
It was a luxury that only Seojun Kim, who possessed the Inventory, could provide.
"Come to think of it, I remember something. A Psycher once bragged about this. After an operation, they cooked bagged instant noodles and ate them with kimchi, and the taste was out of this world."
"...Do you mean at the headquarters Base?"
"Then it wouldn't be a brag, would it? Right on the field after a battle."
"Is there really a Psycher who would do something so ridiculous?"
"Yeah, there is. And from your country, too."
"Excuse me?"
"Iron Person, I mean. Iron Person."
"Ah."
It wasn't that there were no cases of enjoying greater luxuries than this, but regardless, it was not an easy thing to do.
Nevertheless, the expressions of everyone sitting in front of this luxury were not very good.
It wasn't because the situation was bad.
"Anyway, it's amazing. I thought I'd lived a pretty interesting life, but I can't even tell if this is reality or not anymore."
Just as Noah Winston said, everyone had lost their sense of reality.
It couldn't be helped.
"I might have a few more days where I hunt a Champion-class Queen in the future."
Right now, they have hunted a Queen, and not just any Queen, but a Lightweight Queen.
"But I think today will be the last time I eat cup noodles in an Air Tent, as if I had just killed one with a nuclear weapon."
In a completely ridiculous way.
Kim Seojun felt the same.
He also lacked a sense of reality.
\[To think we actually pulled it off.\]
Even though he had formulated the plan in his head and run countless simulations, Kim Seojun couldn't help but be surprised by the current situation in many ways.
\[This easily.\]
He hadn't expected the Queen Hunt to go this smoothly.
\[To think the mini-map would be this effective.\]
It was thanks to the mini-map's ridiculous ability.
If the mini-map hadn't shown the queen's nest in detail, it would have taken much longer.
Then the probability of failure would have increased exponentially, and there would have been casualties or injuries.
Therefore, there was no need to reject this reality.
"First of all, great work, everyone. I'm glad we got a better result than expected."
Why would anyone refuse a good thing?
"So, everyone, fill your stomachs and get some rest for now."
Besides, everyone here was more than qualified to enjoy a special meal right now.
"It's not over yet."
*Above all, Seojun Kim's group still had a lot of work left to do.*
"Now we have to eliminate the Chinese headquarters."
Now that the greatest threat, the Queen, was gone, they had to deal clearly with the Chinese headquarters.
This, too, was not an easy task compared to the Queen Hunt.
The Chinese headquarters still possessed formidable military power.
"Without the headquarters in Poland."
On the other hand, Kim Seojun's group currently has no Headquarters to use as a base of operations.
They could stay in a Bunker or similar places for the time being, but the time they could operate without a headquarters base was extremely limited.
In many ways, it meant they didn't have much time.
At Kim Seojun's words, everyone silently ate their noodles.
They had to eat something while they still could.
After that, Kim Seojun spoke.
"We will move out after resting as much as possible."
Having said that, Kim Seojun stepped out of the Air Tent.
Then, he saw darkness gathering in the distance.
It would soon be night.
Facing that night, Kim Seojun still had plenty of hurdles to overcome.
Hunting the Queen was a good thing, but mogs were still overflowing.
Also, Kim Seojun knew.
The mogs who lost their Queen became extremely aggressive.
Not only that, but China had the ability to control those mogs, and separately, he had to take some measure for Poland, who had willingly abandoned its headquarters base for them.
*Above all, Kim Seojun knew.*
In order to return to his home beyond that night sky he was looking at, he needed a spaceship.
Here, Kim Seojun did not dwell on such things.
He knew from experience.
Agonizing over such distant matters wouldn't yield any answers here.
In this situation, there was only one thing to do: hone his combat power to bring out his best performance.
And right now, the best thing Kim Seojun could do was this.
"Status window."
\[Kim Seojun\]
- Strength: 62
- Stamina: 45
- Mana: 72
- Owned Skills: Clairvoyance (D), Inventory (A), Stealth (D), Teleport (A), Psychokinesis (C)
- Owned Talents: Dynamic Visual Acuity (B), Hawk Eye (C)
- Owned Points: 34,259
- Owned Tickets: 2 Diamond tickets, upgrade ticket (Transcendence)
The moment he saw the results pop up, Kim Seojun didn't hesitate and used his points first.
"Purchase 11 Silver tickets."
\[Stamina has increased by 5 points.\]
\[Mana has increased by 2 points.\]
\[Strength has increased by 4 points.\]
There were no particularly pleasing notifications among the ones he heard.
However, Kim Seojun didn't mind.
That wasn't even an appetizer anyway.
\[Transcendence.\]
The truly important thing was the upgrade ticket (Transcendence).
He had a vague idea of what kind of ticket this was.
\[It will break through the limits of a skill or talent.\]
Here, Kim Seojun didn't try to be overly clever.
He would find out once he revealed his cards anyway, wouldn't he?
"Use Transcendence upgrade ticket."
So he used it without hesitation, and at that moment, a notification was heard.
\[Using upgrade ticket (Transcendence).\]
\[Upgrade one of your A-rank talents or skills to the Transcendent rank.\]
\[Are you sure you want to use it?\]
And the moment he was given the choice once again, Kim Seojun didn't hesitate at all.
\[The more possibilities, the better.\]
In a situation where he didn't know what would be better, there was no harm in increasing his options.
"Use 2 Diamond tickets!"
\[Stamina was drawn from the Diamond ticket. Current Stamina is below 80 points. stat bonus is applied. Stamina increases by 30 points.\]
\[Talent upgrade ticket (A) has appeared!\]
And just as Kim Seojun had hoped, a Talent upgrade ticket appeared, and Kim Seojun used it immediately.
"Use Talent upgrade ticket on the Hawk Eye skill."
Dynamic Visual Acuity and Hawk Eye were both good talents, but there was no hesitation.
\[By my current standards, Hawk Eye is more helpful.\]
Given the weapons he had, seeing far away was much more important.
Anyway, with this, Kim Seojun now had three A-ranks.
Inventory, Teleport, and Hawk Eye.
Among those three, Kim Seojun didn't agonize over the choice.
\[The decision isn't up to me.\]
It was random anyway.
So he immediately used the upgrade ticket (Transcendence) once more.
\[Are you sure you want to use it?\]
"Yes."
Soon, Kim Seojun could hear it.
\[Congratulations!\]
\[Inventory skill has been upgraded to the Transcendent rank!\]
The notification announcing that Inventory had become his first transcendence appeared.
Of course, what Kim Seojun wanted to know was what additional effects the transcended skill would have.
His question didn't last long.
The Status window Context: the announcement that Inventory had become his first transcendence.
His question didn't last long.
The Status Window told him immediately.
\[You can now store living organisms in the Inventory!\]
\[Huh?\]
This was the ability of the transcendent-grade Inventory.
\[Living organisms?\]
It was around then.
Staff Sergeant told him immediately.
\[You can now store living organisms in the Inventory!\]
\[Huh?\]
The ability of the transcendent-grade Inventory was what.
\[Living organisms?\]
It was around then.
"Staff Sergeant Kim."
Just as Kim Seojun was feeling bewildered, Private First Class Park Boseop called out to him from outside.
"I will take sentry duty, so please go inside and get some good rest, sir."
Of course, he said that, but it wasn't an easy task.
An Air Tent was, naturally, an item from which one couldn't expect any durability.
*At the same time, the place where Kim Seojun's group was currently located had some cover like rocks, but it was essentially wide open in all directions.*
It wasn't equipped with even a minimal security or surveillance system like a bunker.
Therefore, they had to keep watch in all directions—not just the four cardinal directions, but the sky above and the ground below.
For the person standing guard, it was enough to make their mind go numb!
"Private First Class Park Boseop."
Even so, Private First Class Park Boseop smiled at Kim Seojun's words and said.
"I am a Psycher, sir."
It was a smile full of confidence, telling him to trust in his abilities and go inside to rest comfortably.
Kim Seojun replied to that smile.
"By any chance, do you see that?"
"Sir?"
At those words, Private First Class Park Boseop looked in the direction Kim Seojun was pointing.
There wasn't anything in particular to see.
It was then.
"You don't see anything?"
"Sir? Ah, well, yes. I don't see anything, sir."
After saying that, Kim Seojun immediately moved, and his figure vanished.
Private First Class Park Boseop was startled by that fact.
He wasn't surprised because it was his first time seeing it.
It was a sight he had already seen several times, but even so, he couldn't help but be surprised every time he saw it.
Kim Seojun, who had gone inside like that, came back out and then spoke.
"Try going in just like I did."
"Me, sir?"
"Please."
At the following words, Private First Class Park Boseop felt doubtful but immediately took action.
It was that moment.
"Huh?"
Private First Class Park Boseop's hand suddenly disappeared.
As if he had dipped his hand into water.
"Whoa!"
\[N-no way?\]
*At that moment, as if guessing something, Private First Class Park Boseop followed his arm by sticking his head in, and then his body followed.*
Just like that, Private First Class Park Boseop disappeared from the world.
A short while later, Kim Seojun spoke to the three resting in the Air Tent.
"We're moving."
"Moving?"
Noah Winston was the first to react to those words.
"How many mogs? If it's under a thousand, you guys just rest here. I'll go take care of them right now."
"It's not that."
"Then? Is it the Chinese guys?"
By then, all three had assumed a combat stance, and Kim Seojun told them.
"We are going to move to a safer place."
"A safer place?"
"Yes."
A short while later, everyone could see it.
"...Crazy."
The inside of Kim Seojun's Inventory.
The first thing those who became adventurers in the Space Age encountered was vastness.
Compared to Earth, everything in Space was massive.
Planet Amotia was the same.
On this expansive planet, doing anything once required a considerable amount of time.
The same was true for the mogs that had left the Queen's Nest to reach their target, the Poland headquarters.
Kiiieeeek!
Hundreds of thousands of mogs ran, but they took quite some time to arrive.
Furthermore, they weren't just composed of mogdogs.
There were spiked snakes, and there were tank beetles.
It inevitably took even longer to move.
In reality, it was around the fourth day after Kim Seojun's group had left the Poland headquarters that the mog legion reached the headquarters base.
They had quite a bit of time to spare, in a way.
Of course, that wasn't any comfort to the personnel at the Poland headquarters.
"The mog legion is reaching the headquarters base."
They had braced themselves. They had the resolve to willingly abandon their headquarters base for Kim Seojun's group.
However, apart from that resolve, the fact that a terminal diagnosis had been handed down to their headquarters base was a despairing matter.
The fact that their place to return to was disappearing was truly like losing their country.
"How much time?"
"They seem to be arriving in about an hour."
That terminal diagnosis even estimated a cruelly precise time.
At that point, quite a few people shed tears and wailed.
They expressed their sorrow and despair.
Major Jan Zabłocki was the same.
He didn't show it, but he couldn't help the heavy feeling in his chest, even though he thought he had braced himself.
\[Our Headquarters, it's disappearing.\]
*At the same time, he also had realistic worries.*
\[If Staff Sergeant Seojun Kim's Group fails...\]
Right now, the Poland headquarters was practically reduced to refugees, and if they didn't even have Kim Seojun's group, they wouldn't be able to get help from anywhere from then on.
The end of that?
There was nothing but death.
Of course, if Kim Seojun's group failed, it would be the same as everyone on Planet Amotia having a terminal life, so there would be no regrets about the choice.
There were only worry and fear.
It was then.
"Kim Seojun's group is heading this way."
"What?"
A report came to Major Jan Zabłocki, who had been desperately praying for the success of Kim Seojun's Group.
"Where are they?"
"They will arrive shortly."
"Shortly?"
And the moment he heard the following words, Major Jan Zabłocki felt something was wrong.
\[This fast?\]
A team returning quickly from a mission meant, ten times out of ten, that the operation hadn't worked out.
"It's Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun."
Soon, Kim Seojun arrived on a Uryong at the place where Major Jan Zabłocki was, and at that moment, Major Jan Zabłocki was certain.
\[They failed.\]
The fact that only Kim Seojun had returned like this was proof to anyone that the operation had failed, and fatally so.
So Major Jan Zabłocki smiled and said.
"You've worked hard."
He offered encouragement.
And then he brought it up.
"Staff Sergeant Kim Seojun, I didn't mention this, but I have a personal connection with the Australian headquarters and have spoken to them. I haven't received a definite answer, but they will surely take in at least one person."
The Last Card he had prepared was for Kim Seojun's Group.
The moment he heard those words, Kim Seojun briefly wore a questioning expression.
"We can talk about that later. The situation is urgent right now."
And then he said.
"When is the estimated arrival time of the Mogs at the headquarters base?"
"In about an hour. But why do you ask?"
To that question, Kim Seojun replied.
"I plan to clean up the Mogs."