Chapter 1

"Seal the breaches! Send reinforcements to the Fourth Tower! Strengthen the frontline armor units!"

"Someone’s extra fired up today," I muttered, watching the commanding officer bark orders from the raised platform.

"Lakan! Why are you still here?! You’re supposed to be stationed at the front!"

‘Damn, I’ve been spotted,’ I thought, scratching the back of my head like a guilty child caught red-handed.

"Give me a break, will you? I’ve been hacking away at those damn beasts from sunset till dawn," I replied, my face twisted into a pleading grimace.

"A break? You? Of all people?"

"HOI... LAK...!"

A distant shout cut through the noise. Instinctively, I turned my head toward the voice. A man was yelling my name.

"Ah, crap—"

I ducked. The commander narrowed his eyes at me, suspicion written all over his face.

"You... snuck in here again without clearance, didn’t you?"

His disappointment was painfully obvious.

"C'mon! You know how awful it smells at the frontlines! And besides... my blade’s rusting!"

"Your blade doesn’t rust," he said with arms folded.

"Sure it does!"

"It doesn’t."

"YOUUUU—"

"While specialized mediums don’t rust, they do degrade over time," another voice chimed in, coming to my defense.

"See?! Even he agrees with me—" I turned toward the speaker.

"OH SHIT—"

I hurled myself into a sprint, grabbing the ground to push forward into the busy crowd.

Thud!

I faceplanted. "Ouch—my nose!"

I glanced back. A firm hand was clamped around my ankle.

"Roland! Let go of me, man!" I shouted, struggling to free my leg.

"I can't let you go alone! You know the captain! He’ll kill me if I come back without you!"

"That’s why I ran! And I’m just going to the market, okay?! Just to grab some stuff!"

He arched an eyebrow. "Stuff? We got fresh supplies two days ago."

Without hesitation, I kicked him in the face and bolted.

‘Damn it! He knows. Only Leogene and Mercina would’ve been told about the supply drop… which means the captain’s involved too!’

PRRTTTTTTT!

‘That whistle... oh no.’

I picked up the pace, weaving through gaps in the crowd, keeping my head low to avoid detection.

A sudden burst of synchronized footsteps echoed behind me. I dropped into a crouch beneath the crowd of milling soldiers.

"FIND HIM! WHOEVER GETS HIM, GETS DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF DINNER"

"Tch, that’s low... using food as a bounty."

"Huh? That many from First Division? Did a high-risk prisoner escape?"

"Nah, they wouldn't deploy this many just for that."

I overheard the murmurs and let them work to my advantage. ‘Good, keep talking... don’t come this way.’

As I slowly crawled forward, I bumped into someone's legs—a pair of feminine legs, at that.

"Well, would you look at that..."

Curiosity got the better of me. I tilted my head upward, and there it was—a skirt. A large, elegant skirt, completely out of place on the battlefield. The color looked familiar.

I smirked, looked back down, and casually slipped in the opposite direction.

"Oi."

I didn’t turn back.

"How long do you plan to keep ignoring me?"

A bead of sweat dripped from my chin.

"Uh… you see, the captain told me to mentor new recruits on how to identify threats..."

She looked straight at me and said flatly:

"Lies."

Shnnggg...

The sound of a sword being unsheathed.

"SQUAD ONE, FORM UP!"

At her command, soldiers in black armor quickly encircled the area.

"Let the others through, but block off the target!"

"Yes, ma’am!"

Shing. Shing. Shing.

More swords came out. I sighed and stood up.

"Alright, alright… you got me."

"Sorry, Lakan. With their dinner at stake, there’s no way they’re letting you off easy."

I looked left and right.

‘This just got a whole lot harder.’

"You’re already 29, Lakan. When are you going to start taking your responsibilities seriously?"

"Hey, my job is at the front, not babysitting squads!"

"Men! Brace yourselves! This will be the toughest fight of your lives!"

"Tsk."

"Cut off his arm if you have to! Capture—BEGIN!!"

A heavily armored man lunged at me with frightening speed, swinging his sword down with both hands.

‘Tsk. They’re actually trying to kill me!’

I charged toward him. As I entered his range, I chopped at his hands, sending the sword flying. He raised his left knee—rookie move. I shoved it down, grabbed his face with my right hand, and slammed him to the ground.

"Ugh…"

"Dinner’s on the line boys! Give it everything you’ve got!"

Three more rushed in—two barehanded, one armed with a short sword.

The first one extended his arm backward. His partner grabbed it and hurled him at me.

"Nice coordination."

I leaned right to dodge the flying body. The third came in from behind, crouching. He stabbed at my waist with the short sword. I caught the blade mid-swing with my right hand.

Ting!

Steel clashed.

He stabbed again in a hooked arc. I caught his wrist with my left hand, yanked him forward, and delivered a powerful kick to his chest.

He flew back.

The last unarmed fighter rushed me, throwing a punch straight toward my face. I countered with a right hook—but that was just a feint. I caught his wrist, yanked him toward me, and drove my right knee into his face, knocking him out cold.

I seized the unconscious man’s upper body and hurled it at the last barehanded fighter. He dashed to the left to avoid the flying body—but ended up running straight into the foot of my boot.

"Tsk," she clicked her tongue. "I’ll allow body enhancement and magical reinforcement. Use them."

"You brat!"

A thick vein bulged on the side of her forehead.

"Brat? Do you really think a brat would have these?"

She puffed out her chest proudly.

I glanced at the soldiers nearby. They all looked away, faces turning red with embarrassment.

‘Idiots...!’ I grit my teeth. ‘There’s no convincing them now—guess I’ll just wreck the ground instead.’

I lowered my stance.

‘Ready... three... two—’

"Lakan."

"Ah, shit."

That deep, gruff voice could only belong to one man. A large, middle-aged figure stood behind me.

‘I didn’t even sense him coming...’

"Oh-ho-ho, Captain!" I said with a forced smile. "What brings you here, sir?"

"You’re needed at the frontlines."

"Right, and...?" I replied, feigning innocence.

"...And to train the soldiers."

I instantly shifted my posture, slamming my clenched fist into the ground with explosive force.

Bang!!

A deafening impact rang out as I was launched through the air.

"Eugh—!"

I crashed face-first into the wall, leaving behind a body-shaped crater. Chunks of debris crumbled and rained down as I slowly slid to the floor.

"Restrain him—with steel chains, not rope. Then drag him to my office."