Chapter 36
-Kael! Don’t watch only your opponent’s fingertips. Some people move their feet before their hands.
-I’ll admit your mind is extraordinary. But that’s precisely the problem. You think too much, so your movements are slow!
-It’s good to try to predict what your opponent will do. But sometimes you have to rely on instinct and intuition. Kael, in that regard, you’re far behind Leon.
It was the same nagging Kael had heard every time he trained with Leon under the captain of the kingdom’s strongest knight order.
‘I heard it until my ears were numb.’
While he was face down in the dirt.
After taking a wooden sword to the ribs.
While watching Leon roll around beside him, laughing.
There had even been times when he wondered why a mage had to be made to do things like this.
Still, well… he thought all that grueling training had paid off.
He was putting it to good use even now.
***
“What do I do next?”
Hector was speechless for a moment.
“….”
Next?
What did he mean, next?
After slamming Hector into the floor, that was all he had to say?
Hector exhaled in disbelief.
“…You passed.”
“What?”
“I said you passed! You passed!”
Hector gritted his teeth as he spoke.
“So let go of me. My shoulder’s about to come out.”
Only then did Kael release him.
Once the pressure vanished, Hector’s arm dropped limply to the floor, and he slowly rolled over and raised one knee.
His right shoulder throbbed, but fortunately, it had not been dislocated.
Hector rose with a grimace.
Then he activated his wrist terminal and performed a quick scan of his body.
[Musculoskeletal Damage: None]
[Joint Dislocation: None]
[Bruising: Minor]
[Nerve Damage: None]
[Combat Continuation: Possible]
Hector looked at the screen in even greater disbelief.
‘What the hell is this….’
Despite being subdued so quickly, he had not suffered a single injury.
He, who had never once lost to a greenhorn, had been completely ‘subdued.’
“Huh.”
Hector shook out his wrist and rolled his shoulder once.
His bones, muscles, cyberware, and everything else were fine, but his pride was not nearly as healthy.
“You.”
Hector glared at Kael.
“Where the hell did you come from?”
When Kael did not answer, Hector continued with his questions.
“Were you discharged from a PMC? Or are you one of the people who survived the outer districts’ gray zones? Or maybe….”
“Does whether I pass depend on my answer?”
Hector’s words stopped at that question.
Kael was looking at him with an indifferent expression, so Hector stared at him for a moment before clicking his tongue.
“Fine. I won’t ask.”
He did not think Kael would answer even if he asked.
And even if he heard the answer, it would not provide a plausible explanation for what had just happened.
Hector glanced at the employees beyond the observation window, then shouted needlessly at the staff who were still standing there dumbfounded.
“What are you looking at? Enter the results!”
One of the employees jumped and began operating his terminal.
Then Hector looked at Kael again.
“The test ends here.”
“It’s over?”
“Yes. It’s over.”
“Wasn’t the test supposed to last one minute?”
Every word Kael spoke scraped against Hector’s pride.
“You knocked me down.”
“You said that wouldn’t happen.”
“….”
Hector kept his mouth shut for a moment.
He did not want to lose an argument as well, so he decided to stop talking to Kael.
He had already lost enough that he felt like surrendering. His body and mind were both so exhausted that he felt ready to collapse.
“Go outside and wait. Once the registration process is complete, your license will be issued automatically.”
“What rank?”
“You’ll start at the basic rank. But I’ll leave a record of this test. That may help lift your contract restrictions a little sooner.”
“All right.”
Kael gave a short nod and walked toward the shielding-room door as though nothing had happened.
Once the door closed again, Hector remained alone inside, staring blankly at it for a long while.
Hector muttered to himself.
“What the hell are you….”
The results Hector had just entered were displayed on his terminal.
[Applicant: Kael]
[Close-Quarters Response Test: Passed]
[Evaluator’s Opinion: Further Observation Required]
Hector looked at the phrase for a moment before adding another line to the evaluator’s opinion field.
[Caution: Not What He Appears To Be.]
Then, after some hesitation, he added one more line.
[By A Very Wide Margin.]
***
Freelancer registration ended more quickly than expected.
The examiner named Hector had stared at Kael with an unsettled expression until the very end, but there had been no problem with the procedure itself.
A new registration entry was added to Kael’s wrist terminal.
[Freelancer License Issued]
[Registered Name: Kael]
[Rank: F]
However, less than an hour after the license was issued, his first contract arrived.
[New Contract Received]
[Contracting Corporation: Seraph Industries Logistics Security Division]
[Contract Type: Transport Escort]
[Risk Level: Medium-High]
[Requirement: Tier 5 or Higher Combat Personnel]
[Select Whether to Accept]
Kael looked down at the contract.
The timing was earlier than expected, so Kael immediately opened the contract details.
On the surface, the contracting party was Seraph Industries’ Logistics Security Division, but a separate message was attached.
[Sender: Edrian Arclight]
[Consider this your first stage.]
[This should be enough to attract the attention of other corporations.]
Kael stared at the terminal screen for a moment before muttering softly.
“My first stage.”
The contract was simple.
A newly developed prototype product from Seraph Industries was to be transported from the logistics district to an outer-district testing site.
There was one transport truck.
Ordinary security vehicles would accompany it at the front and rear, while five Tier 5 mercenaries inside the truck would directly escort the cargo.
Kael was one of those five.
On the surface, it was an ordinary escort contract, but Kael immediately understood.
Its primary purpose was not transport escort but bait.
A contract that expected someone to attack—or at least hoped someone would take an interest.
Kael thought for a moment, then pressed the accept button.
[Contract Accepted]
[Rally Point: Seraph Industries Logistics District, Gate 7]
[Scheduled Departure: 20:30]
[Caution: Cargo Information Is Restricted According to Security Clearance]
Gate 7 was not far from City Hall.
Seraph Industries’ logistics district stood at the intersection connecting the upper levels to the outer districts on the ground. Massive cargo lifts and aerial roads tangled together, while various transport vehicles and drones constantly came and went.
When Kael arrived, a gray armored truck was already waiting to depart.
A security officer standing in front of the entrance scanned Kael.
“Confirmed. Please board.”
Kael entered the truck and quickly looked around inside.
The interior would make escape difficult if they were attacked, but it was not a bad place to defend from.
Four people were already seated inside.
The first person to catch his eye was a woman with short silver hair.
The moment Kael entered, she glanced at her terminal and spoke.
“You’re the last one.”
The second was a large man.
Both his arms were reinforced prosthetics, making them resemble a gorilla’s arms. He snorted when he saw Kael.
“That’s Tier 5?”
The third was a thin man.
He wore black gloves and had tired eyes. A long case rested on his knees, presumably containing sniper equipment.
The fourth was a woman who appeared somewhat older.
No weapon was visible, but a small drone controller was attached behind her waist. She observed Kael without a word.
When Kael sat in the nearest empty seat, the silver-haired woman spoke first.
“Sena Vark. Acting team leader for this job.”
She lightly tapped her chest.
“Tier 5. Close-quarters combat and defensive spells.”
The large man spoke next.
“Brick. Shield.”
Then the thin man spoke.
“Yudin. Ranged support.”
Finally, the last woman spoke in a low voice.
“Maras. Drone surveillance and rear control.”
When all four looked at Kael, he gave a halfhearted introduction.
“Kael.”
Sena’s brow furrowed slightly.
“That’s it?”
“Yeah.”
Brick snorted again.
“These days, even punks like him become mercenaries.”
When Kael did not respond to his provocation, Brick’s expression twisted.
“Hey.”
At that moment, Sena raised a hand to stop him.
“Enough. Don’t start a pissing contest before we even leave.”
“It’s not a pissing contest. I’m worried. Someone who looks like that is supposed to be Tier 5.”
Brick openly looked Kael up and down.
“He doesn’t even seem to have cyberware, and his equipment is pathetic. He’s not Tier 6 or higher, either. Did Seraph stick some rookie in here so he could gain experience?”
Only then did Kael look at Brick.
“Is there a problem?”
“There is.”
Brick leaned forward.
“This cargo is a prototype product from Seraph Industries. We don’t know which corporations might come after it. If things go wrong because of some rookie, we’ll all die.”
“Then don’t let things go wrong.”
“Easy for you to say.”
“If everyone does their job properly, it should be easy enough.”
As Brick’s face grew fierce, Sena intervened again.
“Brick.”
This time, her voice was slightly lower.
Brick clicked his tongue and leaned back.
“Fine. I should listen to the team leader.”
Sena sighed as she looked at Brick, who was visibly furious, then turned to Kael.
“Kael, was it? How much mercenary work have you done?”
“I registered today.”
The truck fell silent for a moment, then Brick laughed in disbelief.
“Today?”
“Yeah.”
“You registered as a freelancer today and immediately took a Seraph Industries prototype transport escort contract?”
“That’s right.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”
Brick looked at Sena.
“Team leader. Is this really okay?”
Sena did not look pleased either, but she checked her terminal.
“Seraph Industries directly approved him. His license is valid, and his tier assessment is Tier 5. There’s no contractual problem.”
“There may be no contractual problem. What are we going to do in the field?”
Sena looked at Kael with concern.
“In the field, he’ll have to prove himself.”
Kael nodded.
“I’ll do my best.”
Brick looked even more irritated by his attitude, but he did not say anything else.
At that moment, the departure signal sounded inside the truck.
[Transport Procedure Initiated]
[Destination: Seraph Outer District, Test Site 3]
[Estimated Travel Time: 42 Minutes]
[Caution: Cargo Information Is Restricted According to Security Clearance]
The vehicle began moving slowly.