At dawn the next day, the 3rd Platoon marched toward the Ashen Forest. Fatigue had piled up from the hellish training they had endured, but their discipline was taut as ever.
The forest was exactly as its name suggested. Trees blackened by endless shelling stood all around, and the ash-gray dust on the ground puffed up with every step. There was not a trace of living life to be found.
I kept my eyes on the minimap, but I saw no red dots—in other words, no sign of the enemy.
‘Is there nothing here…?’
I did not forget to use [Status Analysis] on the platoon members whenever I had the chance. Now that the skill had reached level 2, it was far more useful than before.
[Name: Gunter]
[Emotion: Suppressed fear of an unknown threat, vague trust in the platoon leader]
[Name: Kurt]
[Emotion: Sharp vigilance toward the surroundings, a sliver of doubt about the platoon leader’s judgment]
Most of the emotions were within the range I had expected. But one soldier’s information window in particular caught my eye.
[Name: Hanna Mayer]
[Race: Human]
[Affiliation: Imperial Army 7th Infantry Regiment]
[Rank: Corporal]
[Status: Sensing a faint flow of mana, but in a state of confusion, unable to perceive the cause herself]
[Emotion: Extreme anxiety, nausea caused by the unpleasant energy flowing through the surroundings]
[Hidden Trait: Mana Detection (Unawakened)]
‘Mana Detection?’
She was the squad leader in charge of 3rd Squad. I had always thought of her as nothing more than a quiet, diligent veteran. I had never dreamed such a special talent was hidden within her.
‘This is thanks to Status Analysis reaching level 2.’
To explain briefly, mana—or magical power—is the energy that forms the foundation of this world. It is known to be something only special beings such as mages or priests can handle, and ordinary people live their entire lives without ever sensing its flow.
However, an extremely small number of humans are born with a constitution naturally sensitive to mana, and through training, they can make that ability bloom. They are the ones with the [Mana Detection] ability.
Corporal Hanna possessed a talent she herself did not even know about.
I immediately approached Corporal Hanna. With her brown hair neatly tied back, she was sweating coldly, her face deathly pale. Her wide hazelnut-colored eyes were trembling with unease.
“Corporal Hanna.”
At my call, she flinched in surprise.
“Y-yes! Lieutenant!”
“Are you unwell? You don’t look good.”
“No, sir! I’m fine!”
She answered reflexively, but I shook my head.
“Don’t lie. Giving a false report to a superior is a violation of military regulations. I’ll ask again. What is the problem?”
At my firm attitude, Hanna’s eyes wavered. She moved her lips for a moment before finally confessing in a small voice.
“…I don’t know. It’s just… from the moment we entered the forest, my head has been ringing and I’ve felt nauseous. It feels as if I can keep hearing an unpleasant sound.”
The sound Hanna was sensing was likely the flow of mana detected by her unawakened talent. Since it felt unpleasant to her, it probably was not natural. My intuition warned me. It seemed very closely connected to the missing reconnaissance team.
“From which direction does that unpleasant energy feel strongest?”
“That way. Northeast, beyond the valley… It bothers me especially.”
“Well done, Corporal Hanna. That is very important information.”
I stroked Hanna’s head once.
“Eh, eeh…!”
At the unexpected physical contact, she let out a strange hiccup-like sound. I could see her cheeks flushing red like pomegranates. Paying it no mind, I turned toward the platoon members. This was an opportunity I could not miss.
“All personnel, advance and follow me.”
*
With Corporal Hanna at the front, we headed deeper and deeper inside. Once we crossed the valley Hanna had mentioned, I seemed to feel something chilling. There was a fishy smell in the air.
“It’s getting… stronger. It feels like my head is going to split.”
Hanna staggered as she spoke. It was then.
“Lieutenant! Look over there!”
Where one soldier pointed, there were boot prints that seemed to belong to the reconnaissance team. But it was strange. The footprints suddenly stopped at a certain point. As if the people standing there had shot up into the sky.
I immediately used [Status Analysis] on that spot.
[Target: Faintly remaining traces of mana]
[Grade: Unknown]
[Status: Traces of a “spatial trap” that forcibly transfers targets to another dimension. It has lost its effect now, but there is a high possibility that similar traps exist nearby.]
‘A spatial trap…’
No wonder not a single corpse had been found. The reconnaissance team had not been attacked by orcs. They had been caught in this trap and vanished somewhere. And this was not something ordinary orc soldiers could set up.
“There must be a shaman.”
I muttered in a low voice. The soldiers who heard me were shaken.
“Hey, did you just hear what the platoon leader said…?”
“H-he definitely said shaman….”
“Damn it, an orc shaman isn’t something a single platoon can take head-on… I’m sure it was in the field manual….”
“Quiet.”
The platoon members, who had been murmuring all at once, fell silent at my voice.
“Corporal Hanna.”
“Ugh… yes, sir!”
I sought out Hanna again. By now, she was trembling so badly that she could barely stand.
“Where does the energy feel strongest from here?”
“……Th-that way.”
After groaning for a long while, Hanna pointed in one direction.
I hesitated for a moment. Should we turn back here? Even simply reporting the presence of an orc shaman would be a considerable military achievement. But since we had already come this far, I also thought it might be fine to push a little further. Most importantly, not much time had passed since we began the operation. There should be no problem with pressing on.
‘A shaman may be troublesome, but if we can eliminate him first with a surprise attack, we can win easily.’
I made my decision.
“All members of the 3rd Platoon, prepare for combat and move out from now on.”
The soldiers lowered the rifles slung across their backs and began checking the condition of their magazines and bayonets. Clattering metallic sounds rang out. After confirming the platoon members were ready, I advanced.
*
We were moving in the direction Hanna had indicated when I spotted red dots blinking at the edge of the minimap. At first, there were only one or two, but as we drew closer, the number of red dots increased countless times over.
This was definitely an enemy position.
Until now, they had been outside the minimap’s range, so I had relied on Hanna. But now that we were close enough, I could use the minimap. From that point on, I moved the unit while relying on it.
The minimap’s broken nature revealed itself plainly. It did not show elevation differences or obstacles in the terrain, but there was nothing better for identifying the enemy’s position and rough movement routes. Watching the movements of the red dots displayed on the minimap, I skillfully led the unit only through blind spots in their patrol routes.
After moving like that for some time, we reached the area where the red dots on the minimap were clustered. It was a small basin surrounded by rocks and fallen trees. And at its center, a grotesque altar had been erected.
I stopped the squad members with a hand signal and carefully poked my head over the ridge.
Inside the basin, more than twenty orcs had set up camp. Most of the orcs were sitting around campfires or standing guard, but in front of the altar stood an orc with a particularly different air about him. It was an orc shaman, his whole body decorated with animal bones and feathers, holding a staff with a skull attached to it.
The shaman was chanting an incomprehensible spell and performing a ritual atop the altar. The ground around the altar had turned black, and a faint heat-haze-like mana was rising above it.
‘All we need to do is take him out.’
I immediately used [Status Analysis] on the shaman.
[Name: Grimtusk]
[Race: Orc]
[Affiliation: Ashen Claw Tribe]
[Rank: Shaman]
[Status: Expending an enormous amount of mental strength to maintain a complex spatial sorcery. Extremely negligent in guarding against external threats.]
[Emotion: Deep concentration on the ritual]
‘A perfect opportunity.’
Thanks to the [Strong Mind] skill, the excitement that was about to surge up sank back down, and my mind turned cold as ice. I immediately lowered my body and sent hand signals to the platoon members. Everyone lowered themselves in perfect order and hid behind rocks and trees.
“Platoon leader… are we really going to take all of them on?”
Corporal Kurt, lying prone beside me, whispered with a face gone deathly pale.
“We don’t need to take on all of them.”
I answered quietly and looked over the platoon members. Who would be best suited for this task? My gaze stopped on one soldier. He was a man who was usually quiet and inconspicuous.
‘Status Analysis.’
[Name: Klaus]
[Race: Human]
[Affiliation: Imperial Army 7th Infantry Regiment]
[Rank: Private First Class]
[Status: Extreme tension, fear of combat]
[Emotion: Pressure from having to support his family, desperation to survive no matter what]
[Hidden Trait: Eagle Eye - Possesses innately outstanding vision and concentration. A talent specialized for sniping.]
‘Found him.’
I immediately gestured for Private First Class Klaus to come over. He crawled toward me with a terrified face.
“Private First Class Klaus.”
“Y-yes! Lieutenant!”
“Do you know how to handle a sniper rifle?”
“At the training camp… I only fired one there.”
“That’s enough. From now on, you are our platoon’s sniper.”
At my words, Klaus’s eyes filled with despair.
“H-how could I possibly…!”
“You can do it.”
I gripped his shoulder firmly.
“You have a family behind you. Don’t you? If you want to return alive, you need to do your part now. That shaman on the altar over there—blow his head off. Can you do it?”
I deliberately used the information about his family that I had read from his [Emotion] window. The effect appeared immediately. The fear vanished from Klaus’s eyes, and a venomous resolve began to settle in them.
“…Understood.”
Klaus nodded solemnly and began attaching a sniper scope to his rifle.
Next, I called Sergeant Gunter and the other squad leaders.
“I’ll explain the operation. As soon as Klaus snipes the shaman, the 2nd and 3rd Squads under my command will throw grenades from the front and then open fire in unison. Sergeant Gunter.”
“Yes, Lieutenant.”
“You will lead the 1st Squad and circle around to that ridge. While we draw their attention, strike their flank. The goal is to maximize confusion. Understood?”
“Understood!”
Gunter and the squad leaders showed their fighting spirit. I met the eyes of each platoon member one by one.
“Any questions?”
“None, sir!”
“Then let’s begin.”
I watched the 1st Squad depart, then moved to the optimal position. Right beside me, Private First Class Klaus fully concealed himself and aimed the muzzle of his rifle at the shaman’s head.
“Fire on my signal.”
I waited until the 1st Squad had circled around and taken position. I confirmed that the green dots displayed on the minimap had completely moved to the flank of the red dots. The preparations were complete.
I took one deep breath and then gave Klaus the order.
“Now.”
Bang!
The silence of the quiet forest shattered.