Chapter 1: I Got a Status Window on My First Day as an NCO (1)
WUb32Ever since he was young, Kim Seojun hated his older brother, Kim Jinsu.t5JSc
bfr3bTIt had been that way even when their parents were still alive.UxJAMg
JN1QTHis brother, who was ten years older than him, was more like a second father than an older brother.TJZBR3
8G0zAnd one who, on top of that, never stopped nagging him.0ab
7aMtJ“Hey, Kim Seojun, don’t do that.”SALC
8nXA“I told you not to do that.”4te9
v9QvqP“Do you want me to punish you?”GDth
XSJ23hHe practically lived his life repeating those kinds of things.ghouL
AiKX7WAnd whenever he fought with his younger sister because she had done something wrong, his brother always took her side.bRl
jtAja“Kim Seojun! If you’re the older brother, learn to give in a little!”AVZJ4
oPfrojHe never took his side.8fX1
ZLVn29Things remained the same even after their parents died.1V0OFU
x01TMNuHe hated his brother.fn5zM
y2u“Oppa, oppa. When is Jinsu oppa coming back?”kE7nv8
INkrx“I don’t know.”w1Q
igndBecause his brother had left seven-year-old Kim Seojun and five-year-old Kim Hyeeun behind to join a group of mercenaries and travel into the depths of space to hunt Mog.bvadS9
z4dsU“Seojun, Hyeeun. I’m going to earn money, so you have to behave while I’m gone. If anything happens, call the district office employee whose number I gave you. Got it? If not, call Jiyeong noona. You can manage even when I’m not here, right? Seojun, while I’m gone, you’re the hyung. Take good care of Hyeeun.”EWe
bgHEhaBack then, Kim Seojun couldn’t understand why his brother had to travel so far away just to earn money.Zlp6ZIY
dpoSo he thought his brother had gotten tired of them.DMFJW
HxMy9That both he and his younger sister had become a burden to him, and that was why he had abandoned them.y8x5VU
9ICfaHe truly hated his brother.h6zfF
LeZGOdHowever, that hatred did not last long.pto
n1FDm1When Kim Seojun entered elementary school, he met a teacher who would eventually become his mentor.lEj7
NqWGfZeHis homeroom teacher taught him many things and, on top of that, looked after Kim Seojun and his sister even after classes ended.LBTJE
hOvQhJnOne day, that teacher told him.GMGZwEg
R4fg“Seojun, your brother is braver and more admirable than anyone. He didn’t abandon you. He went so far away to protect you, to protect you and your younger sister. Trust what your teacher is telling you. You’ll understand soon. Very soon.”obNlZ0g
RldjYnAnd he was right.oTiEP
wsLoThe following year, when Kim Seojun was in the second grade of elementary school, he saw his brother again after a long time.Lsw8ja
s5WNFn9His brother told him.LpL2
57BED3P“Take this medicine. From now on, you have to take it every day, without fail.”C9j8
cGsgHe suddenly pulled out something resembling a safe and told him to take the medicine inside.kDtq7
lh8d“If you take it, you won’t get sick.”o0Y
Wc6n2bRThose medicines were none other than a gene therapy treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a genetic disease.JiLh
BsT4YIn other words, to treat his younger brother’s disease and obtain that extremely expensive treatment, Kim Seojun’s brother had traveled all the way into the depths of space.JIcijr
kAWFAiAnd there, he had fought against the Mog, terrifying space monsters.9lI5
kIx79U5“You also have to take care of Hyeeun. She has to take them with you.”1BP8k
MW9And he didn’t even have just one younger sibling to take care of.EHFz9xV
zGf4EM6There were two.47j5
lXSKim Seojun was nine years old back then.JxdyQ0
LYfjT2CDespite being so young, he finally understood.zgxafI
o0kdAHis brother had not abandoned him.RcPix
Mz2XQuite the opposite.Afsu
cmGnnaHHis brother had truly risked his life fighting space monsters for him and his younger sister.fLH
LKxmAfter that, Kim Seojun never again said that he hated his brother.J3IHju
A9zGIn fact, he began listening to him.SHKOiE
BcHZTAnd from then on, the family finally found some peace.1Kvs
B3GWAfter securing the future of his two younger siblings, Kim Jinsu stopped working as a mercenary and found a job at an ordinary security company.T0klBz
gTNmeKim Seojun, for his part, devoted himself seriously to his studies.zGX
2EETvW“Hey, Kim Hyeeun, get a grip. What’s this about wanting to become an idol?”ugmMf
dFiU0p“Why? Jinsu oppa says it’s fine. Who are you to tell me no, Seojun oppa?”AFb
3aR“I’m telling you because I know you won’t make it.”PIg6U
A3PNy“And how do you know that?”GoFr
6RiKf“Because you’re uglier than me.”zGH
rgBl2b0“What? What did you just say?!”ESN
Ait2Although his younger sister, Kim Hyeeun, still had her head in the clouds, at least she never caused any serious trouble.O8hM0gO
QuRvfLThey didn’t have much, but they didn’t lack anything either.URSyvJU
zRsEilxAnd they had more than enough happiness.0TYVWN
TOOZwWUntil the nightmare arrived.o58PBY
rmdo8“Cancer? But my brother isn’t even thirty yet.”10Mbb
RNqkYSL“You said he worked as a mercenary, right? Then he was probably traveling from one planet to another without proper equipment. There was no way he could come out completely unscathed from space radiation. If anything, you should consider him lucky that we discovered it before he died.”61N7l
YwQCancerous tumors had developed in several of his brother’s organs.FxI
69uW“Once on Earth, replacing the affected organs and purchasing the appropriate targeted therapy drugs will be enough for him to recover his health.”us7
cM6qAnd saving his brother required money.RJKAbl
QZO37Kim Seojun did not hesitate.Yn3y9
uZnu0Just as his brother had done everything possible to save him and his younger sister, Kim Seojun chose exactly the same path.3p8r
hiNbeI“Don’t tell Jinsu hyung.”yWl2J
GKhzP“If oppa finds out, he’s going to kill you.”JRQMhv
6zN9qI0“Yeah. I hope he gets out of that bed and comes to kill me. Either way, don’t tell him.”ESp
obSYldThat was how Kim Seojun became a Space Marine.nL4nG
EwbGAfter completing eight weeks of training, he was sent to the battlefield.Rb8a2
JVh2There, he came face-to-face with a Mogdog for the first time.BfWO
qVGAnd when he returned to his barracks after fighting a fierce battle, Kim Seojun burst into tears.KI1Z5xL
dGh4He locked himself in the bathroom and sobbed uncontrollably, almost as if he were screaming.Ldp3
d5BOIt wasn’t because he was afraid of the Mogdogs.PFI
IIQAHe cried because he couldn’t stop imagining the fear, suffering, and despair his brother must have felt.lEPK8g
R7ciHis brother had been even younger than him when he had been forced to face those absurd space monsters.76WTS
naWIAnd he hadn’t even done it as a soldier.fldDR8W
iI8aHe had done it as a mercenary.he6LYe2
NXkwdThat was why he cried.3etJ
tVQNothing more.MaG0j
L2LHAfter that, his life as a Space Marine began, and it turned out to be more bearable than he had imagined.5vuWKi
X16YK8vOf course, that didn’t mean it was easy.3yiu
L2qPwZIt simply wasn’t as absurdly difficult as the rumors circulating among the public claimed.xuJuB
LIgmIt was said that out of every ten people who became Space Marines, five died, four were medically discharged, and only one managed to remain in service.QEq7
3EKReality did not reach such extremes.z5AQa
0pJLAnd the reason Kim Seojun was able to endure that life was due to several talents he possessed.68o
VjcG“Hey, Kim Seojun.”kx1rm
NRHK“Soldier Kim Seojun!”ldJ6oQq
4aj“Are you fucking serious, bastard?”qClb
4HZK013“Sir?”ZBM
1YFv“Bastard, is it true you didn’t piss in your diaper during your first battle? Did you piss yourself or not?”sdLPWZH
zdWM2Zz“I didn’t piss myself, sir.”vhKS7m
Sqp“Wow! Fuck, this is insane! Hey! This bastard didn’t piss in his diaper!”5K2m
G7XAt the time, Kim Seojun thought his superiors were simply playing one of those pranks they usually pulled on rookies in the military.CjEYni
Vbl0CseBut that wasn’t the case.52x0m
AGOd“Kim Seojun, from now on, you’re our ace.”gZO5UR
4PlTR“Sergeant, I don’t quite understand, sir.”h21S1Lg
MXs“Hey, listen carefully. The Mog are fundamentally stronger than humans. That’s why, when you see one, it’s natural to piss yourself. It’s like a mouse pissing itself when it sees a tiger. But you don’t piss yourself? That means you’re naturally at least on the level of a cat.”2fRLfwL
JIzBXbIt was a sincere compliment.Fb9h
7rfbDAnd that was also an extremely important talent.hYtk1YO
RmkTi“From now on, if your superiors lose their heads from fear, you’ll have to take charge of the situation. We’re counting on you.”TONHo
HkT0Because when someone was paralyzed by terror, it didn’t matter how extraordinary their abilities were.qrOcr
Qj0RPx3They couldn’t use them.KAODKxg
ZGmiBesides that, Kim Seojun possessed other talents that were useful on the battlefield.Y0CEQ2
R9aH5For starters, he had exceptional Dynamic Vision.lTeK
nIlmtLb“Kim Seojun, bastard, you’ve got really good eyes.”jKgn
2eCNB“I’ve always had them, sir.”YHEaR69
5Pm2“Yeah? How good?”rJ2vJ
x1uJyXW“When I played soccer, if I was in good condition, I could even read the name written on a ball while it was flying.”ji8
U5qlg2“Seriously? You’re not lying?”d415wA
6BnXH“I wouldn’t lie about something like that, sir.”OiLoiW
PThHe wasn’t exaggerating.GgNMFI
mPTDfmkAnd that ability proved extremely useful in battles against the Mog.g1Q
0Mh6After all, in situations where a fraction of a second could decide between life and death, Kim Seojun saw the world more slowly than everyone else.kYD1
1PldA7The results Kim Seojun achieved thanks to that were enough to astonish even the most battle-hardened veterans.87B
ihzpho“You aren’t a Psyker, are you?”FHpe
Uq7S6For that reason, they even began to suspect that Kim Seojun was a Psyker.IPJpzKF
ItUGmThat is, one of those individuals born with a special talent that allowed them to use the Prophet’s relics.b2gaxq
qEsOf course, he wasn’t.Oq3
oOfC“If I were a Psyker, I wouldn’t have enlisted in the Space Marines to make money, sir.”2PctavR
amHL“That’s true.”aNw39
TOrAIf he really had been one, he never would have had to go through all those hardships.122ix
QCvDUPsykers were national assets and, beyond that, assets of all humanity, so they received extraordinarily privileged treatment.vkTCWJ
wJkonN9“If a Psyker joins the military, they start out as a major. What kind of lunatic would start as a private? Much less a guy who even rations the instant noodles handed out by the military to save money.”B3jV
WMKWhen they joined the military, they received treatment equivalent to that of a major at the very least, and their salaries were in a completely different league from those of ordinary soldiers.M7JJO6I
gtqcIn any case, Kim Seojun had enough talent to arouse such suspicions.BLDQi
nRVgD6And that talent was enhanced even further whenever he injected a Stimpak.kBVhh
mH6x7AThe moment the Stimpak entered his body, Kim Seojun’s world seemed to come to a halt.EBmi
tE4vAnd it was thanks to that.KX28
44zHIQ1Thanks to it, Kim Seojun managed to survive absurdly dangerous battlefields and return alive after facing terrifying monsters.WD470tW
KBLB5QJNot only Mogdogs and Thorn Snakes, but even Behemoths, enormous monsters that were said to be difficult to see even once in an entire lifetime.sAZbZ
0xlMAnd he had seen two.eF6X
39VIn the end, he even managed to be discharged with his body completely intact.AZmN
KnlvxWith the money he had earned during his service as a Space Marine, Kim Seojun was able to completely restore his brother’s health.3VF0t
1HzFNQTHe had achieved everything he wanted and had been able to return to Earth.yEV9XYz
G9dZUEGThe profession of Space Marine, which everyone said was equivalent to going straight to one’s death, had given Kim Seojun hope.N0cZFP
2E0FhFThat was why.R0zzz
tdIXH“Those fucking bastards from the Space Peace Movement. What sense does it make for the bastards screaming about peace in space to be the very ones committing terrorist attacks? Ah, this is insane. So, what are you going to do? The treatment must cost a fortune…… If you need money, for now I can……”4SP41p
lqfe“Yeongcheol, don’t worry. I already got the money.”vHb8a
vgEWApq“What?”X2xX5
20Vjz“I borrowed it.”HjW
u9RC“Borrowed it? That much money? From whom?”Paxs
mQw6B“I took out a loan using my credit.”DyIN64
tLzg“Your credit? They wouldn’t lend you that much based on your credit history alone. Wait, you didn’t… No way, right?”7hNPBq
vcnCI“Yeah. I applied to become an NCO. In the Space Marines.”1foib
cZQM“You’re going back into the military?”iIH
mHvYIWhen he had to head once more toward that nightmarish battlefield, Kim Seojun felt no fear.kMKNo
lDf2He thought all he had to do was exactly what he had done when he was on active duty.pjP
1fTGFight the Mog.NPuoZp
K6fY1Make money.GKQ4
BFvReturn home.1yvd
dKSG6wAnd listen to his brother’s nagging once he had fully recovered.oHQ
pyoieHe thought that would be all.CZnuY
kqIabEven when, in his first battle after being appointed as an NCO, they suddenly encountered more than a hundred Mogdogs, he thought the same thing.2mfXdsH
K5WO4xU[You have obtained Apollo’s Blessing (55 days)!]CRF
xKMpw[You can now see the trajectory of all projectiles.]N9hHiSt
UjJ0However, the moment he saw what began happening to him after that, Kim Seojun could feel it with absolute clarity.F9jk
7Z2It would now be impossible to live the ordinary, peaceful life he had imagined.L1mA
DJP1MSdOf course, another possibility also occurred to him.YOuQi
lE1X2‘Did the Stimpak make me lose my mind?’gwq9
Uz9WAIt was entirely possible that everything he was seeing at that moment was a hallucination.SDWT
jlAhIt was common.TWP2a2
tVQifcLThe Stimpak had been created by Doctor Space, the greatest scientist in Earth’s history, who had received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry thanks to that creation.tdpYIu
beaoOlIn exchange for temporarily turning a human into a superhuman, the Stimpak caused a considerable number of side effects.VB9
R3e3gThat was why it wasn’t strange for Space Marines under its effects to start spouting nonsense.Y5O
5VwIn fact, it was considered a good sign.YoBYTk
Ivv3‘Well, at least he’s still spouting nonsense. That means his brain is still working. Lucky him!’kzXD
rhpO‘Whatever.’v0z
cCDVGhJAnd there was one thing that was perfectly clear.ICVrE
VKEpMHallucination or not, what mattered at that moment was that 333 Mogdogs were charging directly toward Kim Seojun.Hp8tgi
5SvSQhMore than three times the number of Mogdogs they had just faced!45nnfB
BMNtDLfNow Kim Seojun would have to fight to survive against that enormous number of enemies under even worse conditions than before.jAi
MjVk6z‘At least this is better than seeing the Mogdogs singing and tap-dancing in front of me.’0Wn
TfSFrom that perspective, the sudden hallucination of a red line coming out of the barrel of his weapon was fairly useful compared to other hallucinations.rotrq
kMbBCiJSo Kim Seojun aimed at one of the Mogdogs.tWnlAH
gS2Xk4bThe red line coming from his weapon extended directly to the creature’s head.t842E
j3xLKiiiiieeeee!i8KG07
ikdmJOf course, the Mogdog didn’t stop moving for even an instant and quickly moved its head out of the red line’s trajectory.7IwvQ
uWdMogdogs could reach a top speed of one hundred kilometers per hour.UR5YnKd
HS4EQ8Aiming at and hitting the head of a creature capable of moving at such a speed was anything but easy.S89l
WMhk0‘Before the effects of the Stimpak wear off, I have to kill as many as I can.’OUCNu
ATxHowever, now that Kim Seojun was under the effects of the Stimpak, time and everything he saw seemed to move more slowly.o1P
WDskfLAll he had to do was move his weapon slightly to readjust his aim, and he could immediately place the red line right between the Mogdog’s eyes.qQo
hmHL8cMAt that instant, he pulled the trigger.pwIhR4w
Qk3nCNdBang!UuuINJZ
ptzA short, single shot rang out.BG3Dv
yQvYGIn reality, that was a way of shooting that was never recommended during training.O2hqPY
qs32eVDuring the shooting drills to become a Space Marine, the instructors had repeated it hundreds of times.2X8J
hcxis1“A Mogdog’s weak point is its head! But don’t even fucking think you can aim at its head and hit it like this is some fucking video game! Just shoot! Keep shooting! Fire a hundred bullets and pray that, if you’re lucky, one hits it in the head! And please, as long as you hold Korean nationality, don’t even think about doing something stupid like taking one down with a single headshot as if this were a video game. If you want to do that, do it after emigrating to China or Japan!”ZAkxEKW
tVVmThey were taught to fire in bursts.1TD
YULRAKim Seojun knew that perfectly well too.2efbH09
YHxeRWEven so, the reason he had fired that way wasn’t because he was thinking something like.AXh
F23ZZoA‘Now that I have the power of a status window, it’s showtime!’Sl3inN
NhfRather, it was the exact opposite.pGc
VTaNaturally, Kim Seojun was convinced that the red line was a hallucination and didn’t believe for even an instant that that single bullet would blow apart the Mogdog’s head.6tFjVP
Wwff1PThat was precisely why he wanted to firmly engrave something into his own mind with that shot.cwV0WY
DaeWE‘This is a hallucination.’8wbJTt
ZnDHe couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by a hallucination like that.zu9
s3hkIt was a shot meant to bring him back to his senses.zFwst
bAbKSplat!4CXL
CTcRiFWKiiiiieeeek!u0KriTw
2RlKHowever, that bullet followed the red line with absurd ease and struck the Mogdog directly in the head.crZ8z
1PIdbD4‘Huh?’ObROvoB
1roNA bewildered expression appeared on Kim Seojun’s face.ACJIN
aXrtC‘Is this real?’SHOgyp9
Ni6QIt was then.TSPStU
v6Xd[You have eliminated a Mogdog.]tgzT
afn[You have obtained 1 point.]TXLMyfp
Yin[You eliminated it with a single shot. You will be awarded 2 additional points as a One Shot, One Kill bonus.]6mDFCB
KiNKim Seojun’s expression tightened even further when he heard that notification.fZS0yOj
g4Bj8Truthfully, under normal circumstances, the logical thing would have been to consider everything that had just happened before his eyes a hallucination.sdfOV
BfQv6That is, even the fact that he had just blown off a Mogdog’s head with a single bullet.1Lr
1xWbMYgHe could think that everything he was seeing was a hallucination.O26
DHaThat, in reality, at that very moment, the Mogdogs were tearing him apart and devouring him while he remained completely drugged by the Stimpak, and that his brain was simply showing him a fantasy to hide reality from him.fNbFo
voRtZBUIn fact, Kim Seojun had already witnessed cases like that several times.yxQxIW
hj9xOn those hellish battlefields, surrounded by Mogdogs, he had seen a comrade being devoured while smiling happily and shouting.QTwEGt
3HG“Mom! Dad! I’m back! I’m hungry, make me some kimchi jjigae!”gDzV
jj6Perhaps exactly the same thing was happening to him.f74Ph8G
Owckzh7However, Kim Seojun did not allow confusion to overwhelm him.h2Z
uzoV6Hv“Seojun.”zK3
1zt“Soldier Kim Seojun!”TYAUVf
f3t“When you inject enough Stimpaks, you start seeing all kinds of things, you know? And once you start seeing them, there’s nothing you can do. So you have to think of it this way if you’re going to die anyway, it’s better to see something pleasant than have a nightmare. That’s why, when you inject a Stimpak and start seeing something good, you have to say this.”vrLXYV
VvpOne of the veterans who had looked after Kim Seojun in the midst of that hell had taught him that.lEk
LRwL“Lucky me.”gjEOBp
v7wKim Seojun repeated the advice that veteran had given him and pulled the trigger again.evzrfiG
aiaBang!Tcv
dnDcPvhOnce again, a single shot.L39S
MN29rRbSplat!1Nosg
PNHC1iAnd that single bullet blew apart the head of another Mogdog running toward them.9bx
FIC[You have eliminated a Mogdog.]GMj15k
Zyeqmtf[You have obtained 1 point.]URCG
KFwuL2B[You eliminated it with a single shot. You will be awarded 2 additional points as a One Shot, One Kill bonus.]Iljyw8J
RuOHbAThe notification rang out again without fail.ZJO0YJx
dyH5bjFrom that moment on, Kim Seojun stopped hesitating.4nhUp
u41Uu4Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!QYUDTxO
9abn4QHe began pulling the trigger like a madman.360
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