A sound reached my ears.
[Lucy… well slept!]
[Lucy… sleeping again!]
[Lucy… sleepyhead ghost! ZzZzZzZz….]
I snapped my eyes open at Lucy’s chatter. It was enough to make an alarm clock unnecessary.
“Ugh… so noisy….”
Stretching, I sat up. I had successfully completed my necromantic summoning.
On top of that, the sofa was so comfortable that I got a good rest.
“Hm. Did I doze off for a bit?”
My body felt heavy after the Team Combat Sparring, probably due to the fatigue. Looks like I ended up taking a deep nap.
Good thing this was my last major class of the day. If I had another class, I might have skipped it.
“Ah, I’m hungry. I should grab some dinner….”
The clock showed it was close to 8 o’clock.
Perfect timing to be hungry.
But wait.
I glanced between my clock and phone. Something seemed off….
“Why is it showing morning?”
A bug?
Hm.
Maybe not?
I burst out of the Necromancy Workshop.
I was late.
And I didn’t even have toast to bite on the way.
The first class today was a mock raid.
Mock raid.
As the name suggests, it was a core subject with significant impact on the overall grade.
And of course, it was a group assignment.
“Hah… made it… safe!”
I sprinted through the massive first-year combat building. I had barely managed to make it on time.
As I ran down the hallway, I noticed a crowd gathered in the distance.
What’s going on? Some kind of spectacle?
I was a bit curious, but I resisted the urge and kept running.
Or rather, I tried to.
“Huh? It’s Kim Seungtae!”
“Kim Seungtae! Why are you so late?!”
“Hey! Get over here!”
“???”
What the hell.
It’s not even my birthday today. I ignored them and kept running.
“Ahh! He’s running away!”
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
“Catch him! Don’t let him escape!”
…!
Out of nowhere, people started chasing me!
“What is this? Grad students?”
They were all wearing white lab coats, and on their sleeves was the letter [R].
That mark… it was someone’s initial.
Finally, I understood what was happening.
“Kim Seungtae, you rejected the lab recruitment yesterday, didn’t you? No chance! Professor Wrangler sent us personally!”
“You’re officially part of the lab now! Aren’t you thrilled? You’ll suffer with us! Let’s share the pain!”
[Lucy… AAH!]
[Lucy… terrified!]
Same here.
The grad students, with their eyes empty, chased me like zombies. Despite their bony limbs, they clung to me with unexpected strength.
“You’re one of us now… We are one….”
“No! I refuse!”
“We left the lab at 4 AM yesterday… If you join, we can leave by 3 AM….”
“Let me go! Let go, damn it!”
“Kim Seungtae… look at this smooth skin…. You slept well last night, didn’t you? Unforgivable… We’ll make you as rough and dry as us….”
Ugh.
They clung to me like a tentacle monster dragging its prey. I struggled for a while.
“I have class, you intellectual slaves!”
“UOOOHHH!”
They were too sleep-deprived to understand reason.
I had no choice but to use force.
Well, not much force, but… fortunately, they were civilians.
I subtly tapped into the abilities I gained from Past Life Experience Room.
[Fragments of a past life flow into you.]
My body began moving with far greater precision than usual. Sharper, more refined…!
The limbs that had been tightly restrained moved mechanically, seeking a path of escape.
…Ta-da!
Like magic, I slipped out of their grasp and took off running.
“Tell Wrangler this! Next time, I won’t hold back…!”
I barely managed to reach the operations room. In mock raids, professors don’t oversee the teams.
The cadets plan strategies in these rooms and then deploy for the raid.
“Safe!”
The atmosphere in the room was ice-cold.
A female cadet sitting at the head of the table shot me a chilling glare.
Not safe.
That’s what her eyes were saying.
Is she the team leader?
I quickly took my seat.
“…You’re late, Kim Seungtae.”
“Sorry. I was on my way here, but listen, you won’t believe it. Wrangler Pro—”
The team leader raised her fist as if she didn’t want to hear it.
…Thunk!
She slammed it on the table with authority.
And when I looked at her—
Oh.
She was the referee from the Team Combat Sparring, the one who firmly counted out the knockdowns.
Her name was… Testarossa, wasn’t it?
“My apologies. I will dedicate myself to the team.”
“Hmph…! Of course, you should. We don’t have time, so let’s skip introductions! While you were absent, we assigned roles among ourselves.”
Beep.
With a click of a remote, a hologram appeared.
Two tanks. One healer. Various others.
A total of seven members, neatly arranged.
“We couldn’t include your opinion, Kim Seungtae. Because… you weren’t here.”
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
Partly because of the team leader’s frosty demeanor.
But mostly because of my assigned position.
“Team leader, um… I’m a scout?”
“Yes. Any objections?”
“No… It’s great….”
“This was a decision made internally. Without your input.”
“Right… I’m sorry for being late….”
Rumble!
As soon as I apologized, the operations room began descending.
The entire room was a massive elevator that would take us underground to the artificial dungeon.
[Destination: Artificial Dungeon 5-8A]
[Team Leader: Rank 48, Testarossa Chapel]
An AI provided a brief summary. The team leader’s name appeared.
A silver-haired foreigner.
I didn’t recognize her.
Even I didn’t memorize every single character’s background.
But that surname.
Chapel was a notable family.
Not as elite as Shin or Caulfield, but still a major household.
A second-tier aristocracy, perhaps.
One of many families striving to achieve noble status.
But ranking 48th despite being from Chapel… that was low.
Considering the superhumans Chapel produced, 48th was a mediocre rank—nowhere near the top 20.
The AI outlined our mission.
[Mission environment: ‘Destroyed Cityscape’]
[Caution: Risk of ground collapse]
[Objective: The boss monster originally appeared in Chile, 2037….]
“Wow, Rotten Nose?”
I grinned.
Mock raids were a gold mine for experience in the early game. Great for honing weapons and abilities.
The boss was random, but Rotten Nose was basically hitting the jackpot.
[Special Mammal Variant ‘Rotten Nose’]
As expected.
A sharp glare pierced through me.
Of course, it was Testarossa Chapel.
“Seungtae, we all know that. Please focus on the briefing.”
“…My bad.”
Fair enough.
She backed me up yesterday.
Now she was grilling me.
She was ruthless.
The AI announced our arrival.
[Arrived at Artificial Dungeon 5-8A.]
[Evaluation Criteria: Teamwork 50 points]
[Individual Skill 50 points]
Beyond the operations room lay a ruined cityscape.
The sunlight was hazy and dim.
The facility was enormous.
“Mr. Kim Seungtae. Begin your mission as Scout No. 7.”
Leader No. 2, Testarossa, issued the command. The number attached to each team member indicated their level of importance.
I was ranked seventh out of seven.
“Understood. This is Scout No. 7. Commencing mission. Now then… by the way, have we decided on a team name yet?”
“No, not yet….”
“Alright. Then let’s begin Team 48th Place’s operation. No. 1, respond.”
I hurriedly assigned us a team name.
Voices of my teammates came through the combat radio I had been issued.
— This is No. 1. Main tank, Widaehan. But No. 7, are we really going with that team name?
“It’s straightforward. No. 2, respond.”
— This is No. 2, Leader Testarossa. But Seungtae? Why did you just decide the name on your own….
I proceeded to check communications with Nos. 3 through 6.
“…All devices are functioning. Operation commence.”
I walked confidently into the cityscape.
Despite being No. 7.
In reality, a scout holds more authority than one might expect—second only to the team leader.
Since a scout has the best sense of the battlefield, they’re often the first to detect threats, sometimes issuing orders in place of the leader or even operating independently.
That’s why they’re sometimes referred to as the leader’s deputy. At least, that’s what the textbooks say.
So why did someone ranked 1,111th end up as the scout?
This was where Testarossa’s experience shone through. Cadets with no real raid experience wouldn’t understand.
Scouts are expendable.
Alone on the front lines, they accumulate stress, their stamina dwindles, and they’re the most likely to fall into traps.
No wonder most scouts retire early without any significant achievement.
As a result, core combatants are rarely assigned to scouting roles. It’s usually someone disposable.
…Someone like Kim Seungtae!
Our team leader had a good sense for the battlefield.
It was clear they had participated in raids before.
Which should be illegal for anyone under seventeen.
[Lucy… hates laws!]
[Lucy… outlaw! Doesn’t separate recycling!]
Raids are battlefields. Even superhumans capable of crushing armored vehicles with their bare hands die in them.
That’s why there’s an age restriction.
The Second Division’s obsession is terrifying.
The Chapel family must be extremely devoted to early training.
“…Oh.”
As I scouted ahead alone, I spotted footprints.
Animal tracks.
The prints led underground, into the subway. I radioed the main team, who were trailing far behind.
“This is No. 7. Traces found at Soongsil University Station. Looks like Rotten Nose’s offspring. No. 2, awaiting orders.”
— Confirmed. We’ll head down to Soongsil University Station.
The response came without hesitation. They were in a hurry.
It made sense. Raid completion time determined our scores.
I switched channels and contacted the command center.
“This is No. 7. Command, do you copy? Entering the station now.”
— Static This is Command. Commander Kim Heum-heum! Permission granted! Good luck, Team 48th Place!
“This is No. 7. Ending transmission with Command. Entering the subway for scouting.”
— This is No. 2. Uh, about our team name….
Descending into the subway…
I saw them.
Numerous pairs of eerie, blue-glowing eyes.
The bastard offspring of Rotten Nose.
Monster-noses.
No need to overthink this.
“This is No. 7. Multiple monster-noses sighted! Engaging preemptively!”
— Hold on! Main team en route! No. 7, fall back!
— Agh! Too late! A group of monster-noses has spotted me and is approaching! I will prioritize survival and engage!
Of course, in reality, the monsters were just idly pacing about.
But opportunities like this didn’t come often.
Cadet Kim Seungtae was weak. Incredibly so.
Should I really share this combat experience with my teammates?
No.
I counted six pairs of glowing eyes. If I didn’t eliminate them all at once, the gunshots would alert the rest.
It was a mock raid.
Even if they were artificial monsters created from mana, the danger was real. Someone like me would be weakened in a single hit.
Which meant I had to take all six down at once.
[A fragment of a past life flows into you.]
I activated Past Incarnation.
Through my innate ability, Spiritual Vessel, the knowledge of a past life flooded into me.
Like ink seeping into paper.
Effortlessly…
One unfortunate truth.
My past life wasn’t King Sejong. Nor was I Audrey Hepburn or a Pharaoh.
[Past Life: Han Taepyeong No. 13]
[Inherited characteristics from past life.]
Crackle—
My Spiritual Vessel reacted to the past life.
An impossible past was being drawn forth.
Impossible… but does it even matter?
Look at me.
“I’m inside the game I was playing. Boohoo.”
That’s right.
I had entered the game I was playing. The game had become reality. No amount of crying would send me back.
So naturally…
Every version of Han Taepyeong I had played in Chronicles of Superhumans became reality, too.
Reality, but not the present.
Reality, but not me.
Through countless attempts, nearly a thousand retries, and endless trial and error…
[Past life imbues the Spiritual Vessel.]
This became possible. My past layered over my spiritual energy.
I couldn’t awaken every version of Han Taepyeong.
For now, just one.
Han Taepyeong No. 13.
Of course, I remembered. Among all versions, No. 13 was the most precise.
He might not have been the strongest.
But in terms of accuracy, no one in this world could compare.
Like a machine.
No, even machines had margins of error. Han Taepyeong had none.
He was more precise than any machine.
[Spiritual Vessel converted 10% into Precision.]
[-0.29 Spiritual Energy]
[+0.29 Precision]
Huff.
Even just 10% conversion left me breathless.
But this was 10% of a perfected Han Taepyeong.
Even that much was enough. I raised Lucy.
Monster-noses were beasts.
Their temperament was savage, their thick hide was impenetrable to blades.
But like most beasts, they had a weakness.
The forehead.
Even monster-noses didn’t have thick hide protecting their forehead.
If they did, their eyes wouldn’t be able to move properly.
That was my target.
The point where a single strike could bring them down.
“I have to take all six down at once.”
I spoke as if informing Lucy, then pulled the trigger.
Six rapid shots.
Bullets aimed at unseen foreheads, striking between pairs of glowing eyes.
One by one, their eerie blue lights flickered out.
Success…!
[Lucy… excited!]
[Lucy… MVP!]
Gunpowder scent suddenly surged from Lucy’s barrel.
No need to worry about jamming, no matter how fast I fired. After all, Lucy was a vengeful spirit!
As I reloaded, my teammates rushed down into the subway.
“No. 7! Are you okay?”
“We heard gunshots everywhere!”
Thud, thud, thud.
Their hurried descent shook the station.
I looked down. The ground was cracking.
I tried to recall…
Something about the briefing…
“Didn’t they say something about ground collapse?”
(To be continued)
