His senses had changed.
The grown Mana Heart and the trait called Sensory Path produced a strange synergy.
Taking a step forward, Sinhyeok looked at the command sergeant major with wonder on his face.
“It feels refreshing.”
She smiled and said,
“Feels killer, doesn’t it?”
Just as she said, it really was different.
‘So this is the entry level of Sensory Path?’
As expected of a martial art that amplified the senses, even at the introductory stage, the sounds and smells around him were clearer than before.
What had changed the most was mana.
‘I can feel the energy in more detail.’
Following that strange sensation, he discharged mana.
Then the mana that had been hardening tried to flow according to his will.
It did not last long, but the mana did not solidify and instead dripped down like water.
‘I can control mana.’
The thing that had only ever hardened when released outside his body was now controllable.
“It works. It works!”
At Sinhyeok’s shout, she was overjoyed.
“That’s it! That’s the beginning of Sensory Path!”
As Sinhyeok rejoiced, his gaze suddenly began to sway sideways.
Then, just like that, he thudded to the ground.
“Ah.”
Collapsed as he was, Sinhyeok could not move a muscle.
His entire body was far too heavy.
“Ahh, I’ll take this off now. Once you’ve entered the path, you don’t need it anymore.”
She touched the bracelet on Sinhyeok’s wrist.
[Gravity load is being suspended.]
At the same time, his body grew lighter, and the noisy Sensory Path also shut off.
[Sensory Path is being suspended.]
“Mm.”
“At first, Sensory Path will probably turn on and off by itself. It’ll get better as you train. Good work. Go back and rest for today.”
“Then I’ll be on my way.”
He wanted to return and struggled, but he did not budge.
“Am I actually alive?”
Unable to move, he voiced his doubt to her.
Kim Hyeonsuk took a potion from her chest and poured it on him as she said,
“Maybe about half alive.”
Only a minute after the potion was poured on him could he move.
“Ah, it works.”
“Can you go?”
At her question, Sinhyeok moved unsteadily.
“I can go. This much is nothing.”
Thud.
He collapsed again.
“Tsk, tsk.”
Major Baek Seokhun, the operations officer who happened to be passing by, looked over as well.
“Is he alive?”
“Perfect timing. Major Baek Seokhun, take this kid to the infirmary before you go.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
He lifted Sinhyeok and carried him off.
“I’ll take you to the infirmary. You’ve got it rough.”
“Thank you.”
When they arrived at the infirmary, Major Baek Seokhun jokingly said to the military doctor,
“Medic, take a look at this guy. He survived the command sergeant major.”
The military doctor in the infirmary looked at him with a horrified expression.
“Medic, my ass! I’m a military doctor! A military doctor!”
The operations officer chuckled and set Sinhyeok down on a bed.
“I’m counting on you, Medic.”
“Yeah, you can get lost.”
The two, clearly quite close, coolly flipped each other off.
Captain Kim Seongcheol, the Medic, glanced over Sinhyeok.
“You conscious?”
“Yeees.”
“You’re fine. Rest for a bit. I’ll at least put you on an IV.”
He took out an IV, mixed red and blue potions half and half, and inserted it into Sinhyeok’s vein.
[Stamina is recovering.]
[Mana recovery is being accelerated.]
“I feel alive.”
Now feeling fine, Sinhyeok sprang upright. Captain Kim Seongcheol, the military doctor, glanced at him.
“You okay? You just got here and you’re already being tormented by that devil hag.”
“You still talk about her like that?”
Captain Kim Seongcheol smirked and said,
“If things go south, I’ll just get discharged. This Medic has plenty of places calling for him.”
Sinhyeok gathered himself and got up from the bed.
“You’ve got it rough. I don’t know why she’s so obsessed with Sensory Path when no one can even learn it. That’s only something the command sergeant major can master.”
At those words, Sinhyeok casually replied,
“Mm, is that so? But I learned it. Maybe because it’s been a while, but I just picked it up.”
“Mmm, huh?”
Sinhyeok saluted and left the infirmary.
The military doctor stared blankly at Sinhyeok as he went out into the hallway.
“He learned that ridiculous technique?”
Coming back to his senses, the military doctor immediately ran to the operations officer.
“Hey! That crazy bastard Sinhyeok says he learned Sensory Path!”
Major Baek Seokhun, who was in the operations section, spat out the coffee he had been drinking.
“That thing?!”
* * *
Sinhyeok, who had been heading toward his quarters, saw the logistics section.
The moment he saw it, he was tempted.
‘Should I go test it?’
Instead of returning to his room, he slipped down a side path.
Standing in front of the logistics section, he turned the doorknob to the left.
“It opens.”
The workshop came into view.
When he turned it to the left, the familiar workshop opened.
Looking at the place still piled high with miscellaneous junk, he picked up a rusty dagger lying on the floor.
‘Let’s give it a try.’
He checked how much had changed and how helpful it would be.
He set the dagger down and picked up a mineral lying beside it.
Mana flowed out like a slime, heavy and liquid.
When it touched the mineral, it spread softly.
Slowly, but faintly, it spread outward.
“It works.”
It was different from before.
He was gradually becoming able to control his constitution.
“Killer.”
Excited, he followed the advice the dwarf had given him and sorted the junk according to the way it reacted to the waves.
Thirty minutes passed, and he had classified quite a lot of equipment.
“Okay, I’ve got a pretty good feel for it.”
Grrrrowl.
At the same time, hunger came upon him.
Before eating, Sinhyeok tested one last thing.
‘I wonder if it’s possible with Mapping too.’
[Mana Mapping is being executed.]
[One probe orb is being launched.]
The sense that perceived mana scattered in all directions.
Sinhyeok tried not to see the whole, but to look as finely as possible.
His surroundings appeared in detail like a radar, and he tried applying waves at will.
‘It works. It works!’
[You have become aware of a new method of operating Mana Mapping.]
[Mana Mapping’s level has increased.]
[More detailed searching is now possible. In exchange, the search range is reduced and internal mana consumption increases.]
[Classifying mineral resources through detailed searching with added waves.]
“It grew.”
Mapping had grown once again.
At the same time, every mineral in this room was classified.
[Unidentified Mineral 1 has been discovered.]
[Unidentified Mineral 2 has been discovered.]
[Unidentified Mineral 3 has been discovered.]
[Unidentified Mineral 4 has been discovered.]
[Unidentified Mineral 5 has been discovered.]
[Please identify the unidentified minerals and assign them names.]
“That’s done.”
‘No more being nailed to admin duty!’
Having succeeded, Sinhyeok headed to the quarters with a light heart.
“I’m hungry.”
When he went inside, he found Ichan scratching his stomach.
“Brooo. I’m hungry.”
“Let’s go. The mess hall is open now.”
Ichan hurriedly changed clothes and came out.
The two headed to the mess hall together.
* * *
The workshop after Sinhyeok had left.
The dwarf came out of his own workshop, scratching his stomach.
“I’m bored. Should I go out and look around?”
The dwarf looked here and there, searching for something to do instead of work.
“Did Dumbass 2 from last time run away? I don’t see him.”
After looking around and not seeing Sinhyeok, he smirked.
“Figures. As if another human like Dumbass 1 would show up.”
He was about to go back into his own smithy when he saw subspace pouches neatly placed on the floor.
“What eye could a mere human have? Let’s see how hard he tried.”
When he opened one slightly, various pieces of equipment had been classified inside.
‘They’re not divided by use.’
“At the end of the day, he’s still human…”
He took one out and lightly flicked it with his finger.
“Hm? All mithril?”
He opened another pouch and touched its contents.
“Iron ore containing mana. And this is minotaur bone alloy?”
He stood up with a shocked face and opened every subspace pouch.
“Don’t tell me a human… actually pulled this off?!”
The dwarf ran out of the logistics workshop, his face flushed with excitement.
“Hey! Where’s that Dumbass 2?!”
The place he arrived at was the battalion commander’s office.
Battalion Commander Lee Gangyeol answered the dwarf’s visit with a bored expression.
“At this hour, he’d be going to eat. Why?”
“Mwahahahaha! You don’t need to know!”
Seeing him leave without saying anything else, Brigadier General Lee Gangyeol looked as if he suspected something.
“No way. Come on…”
An uneasy thought occurred to him.
“Don’t tell me?”
Just in case, he looked outside through the window of the battalion commander’s office.
The command sergeant major was walking around with a refreshed expression.
When she saw the battalion commander, she grinned.
“Ah, seriously!”
He flung the window wide open and shouted,
“You! What did you do this time?!”
“Hahahaha! You’re not the only one who can cause trouble, you know! Haha! Hah!”
She laughed with great satisfaction.
At her laughter, Lee Gangyeol immediately realized it.
His ploy was now useless.
“Damn it!”
* * *
Sinhyeok headed to the mess hall with a light heart.
When he went inside, everyone had gathered and was eating.
“Sinhyeok~ Eat up.”
As familiar faces welcomed him warmly, Sinhyeok smiled and saluted.
“Loyalty. Enjoy your meal, everyone. Hey, let’s sit over there and eat.”
He sat in a corner with Ichan, who had come with him. Sinhyeok had just picked up his spoon to eat when a familiar dwarf came running in through the mess hall door.
‘That old guy actually comes out?’
“Hey! Dumbass 2!”
The dwarf’s shout drew everyone’s attention.
At the same time, when his gaze landed squarely on Sinhyeok, everyone focused on him.
“Pardon? Are you talking to me?”
Dumbfounded, Sinhyeok pointed at himself and asked.
“Yeah, you! You!”
Thud!
With an excited face, the dwarf came closer and lightly jumped onto the table to face Sinhyeok.
Looking up at the dwarf, Sinhyeok asked,
“Why, why… are you doing this?”
“You, how did you classify them! They’re minerals you definitely couldn’t have heard of or known about, and there were even alloys mixed in. How did you classify them?”
At the abrupt question, Sinhyeok sighed and answered,
“No, if you’re the one who told me how to do it, how can you ask how I did it?”
“Hah!? Ha! Hahaha! Mwahahahahaha!”
At first, his reaction was one of mockery, but then he let out a hearty laugh filled with genuine interest and curiosity.
“To think I’d see a bastard worse than Dumbass 1!”
At the sudden situation, Sinhyeok was dumbfounded.
The dwarf paid no mind.
“You! You’re going to stay in the logistics section from now on, right?”
“Prob…ably.”
“Good! Looks like we’ll be seeing each other often, so let’s meet again next time! I’ll make you into an even greater masterpiece than that dumbass!”
Then he jumped down from the table.
“Haha! Hahaha! Classifying minerals with waves? Hahaha! I like it, I like it very much!”
Everyone in the mess hall looked at Sinhyeok with strange expressions.
“What did he do this time?”
“What’s gotten into that dwarf, coming out for once and making a scene like that?”
“Exactly.”
“Sinhyeok, what kind of trouble did you cause?!”
Sinhyeok shrugged and said,
“I have no idea.”
With no way of knowing why the dwarf was acting like that, Sinhyeok looked back at his tray to continue eating.
‘Haa.’
His side dishes were a complete mess. It was in no state to continue eating.
So he simply got up quietly and carefully set it down at the dish return.
After coming outside feeling completely full, he ran into the battalion commander, who was taking a walk.
Sinhyeok smiled in an extremely annoying way.
Grin.
Seeing that smile, the battalion commander strode over and asked,
“Don’t tell me you pulled it off?”
“Haha, Battalion Commander, who do you think I am?”
“Damn it.”
The battalion commander, who had intended to handle things simply by cutting him off at the entrance, let out a deep sigh.
“I was trying to make this easy.”
“My choice and resolve won’t change.”
“Of course they won’t, tsk.”
Brigadier General Lee Gangyeol placed a hand on Sinhyeok’s shoulder and said,
“Why? There’s no reason, you brat. Follow me. If you ate, you should walk.”
Looking at Sinhyeok walking beside him, the battalion commander sighed and said,
“You’re driving me crazy, seriously.”
“You’re driving me crazy too, Battalion Commander. Seriously.”
“Well, would you look at that.”
Sinhyeok smiled and tried to go back, but the battalion commander held him back.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
“Ah, what walk?”
“I’ll buy coffee.”
At the words that he would buy coffee, Sinhyeok immediately sidled up beside him.
“Then I’ll gladly accept.”
Thinking of Ichan, Sinhyeok looked to the side, but perhaps feeling burdened, Ichan was running away far into the distance.
‘Why is that guy so fast? He’s only fast at times like this.’
The two leisurely passed through the guard post without saying anything and headed toward the village outside the unit.
“Look at this weather. Killer. It’s warm.”
At those words, Sinhyeok raised his head and looked around.
The sunlight and flowers of full spring filled the surroundings.
What this weather meant was one thing.
“Summer is hell. Haa.”
Summers spent in the military were especially brutal.
Because all training was done outdoors.
“Training and summer are a perfect combo. It’s effective for bleeding the kids dry.”
At the battalion commander’s malicious remark from beside him, Sinhyeok looked utterly appalled.
“That’s why no one wants to come near you.”
“What am I supposed to do about it? I’m their superior.”
Since it was true, Shin-hyeok fell silent.
As Lee Gangyeol walked with Shin-hyeok, he broached the subject in passing.
“Shin-hyeok. Have you ever thought about just staying here safely?”
Shin-hyeok gave him a look laden with meaning and a forced smile.
“I’ve come too far for that. No matter how much you try to shield me, Battalion Commander, my own heart won’t let me stay still.”
The battalion commander saw the terrible emptiness and thirst for revenge in Shin-hyeok’s eyes.
“I suppose so. I suppose it couldn’t be any other way.”
To the man who showed him concern and worry, Shin-hyeok spoke of his resolve.
“I wasn’t speaking lightly. The place I belong isn’t inside the walls.”
Battalion Commander Lee Gangyeol could say nothing to that.
“Battalion Commander.”
At Shin-hyeok’s urging, Lee Gangyeol sighed and said,
“All right. I will.”
At the answer that came from him, Shin-hyeok smiled faintly.
“Should I be happy about this? A guy who’s like a son to me is volunteering to walk into a swamp.”
“Just watch. It’ll be rather satisfying, and you’ll feel a lot better. I’m going to catch every last one of those pathetic demons and tear them apart.”
At the depth of Shin-hyeok’s vengeance, the battalion commander said nothing more.
‘I wanted this, but it feels lonely.’
Lee Gangyeol had wanted things to turn out this way.
He had wanted Shin-hyeok to set himself ablaze and fully display his talent.
“It feels lonely. And I’m sorry.”
Shin-hyeok said nothing beside him.
The battalion commander quietly offered Shin-hyeok some advice.
“I’ll support your choice. Make good use of that workshop. Since your class is alchemy, there should be plenty you can take advantage of.”
The battalion commander mentioned the workshop.
“Especially since the dwarf, that runt, is also an alchemist. You’ll probably gain quite a bit—”
The battalion commander’s words cut off. And there, they saw a dwarf who absolutely should not have been there.
Both of their gazes stopped at the village convenience store.
An especially small little dwarf was calmly walking out with beer in both hands.
“Hm?”
“Hm. Did that dwarf report he was going out? I don’t think so.”
Their eyes awkwardly met.
At the inexplicable exchange of looks, the dwarf was the first to flee.
“Damn it…! I’ve been caught!”
The battalion commander sighed and shouted,
“Bind.”
Blue mana surged over him.
“Hah! As if that’d be enough to—urk!?”
It wasn’t just one spell that had been cast.
A ridiculously large number of spells shot out in succession.
“Argh! You barbaric human! How dare you treat a precious talent so roughly?!”
Brigadier General Lee Gangyeol grabbed the dwarf by the scruff of the neck and lifted him as he said,
“Runt, it’s only because of your skills that I’m stopping at this much. I ought to just—”
“Ha! What are you going to do about it? This is all because I’m a great master of alchemy!”
While dangling in the air, the dwarf subtly looked toward Shin-hyeok and tried to sell himself.
“Heh heh.”
Shin-hyeok read that subtle gaze as well.
‘This feels familiar.’
Someone came to mind.
A gothic, old-fashioned gentleman whose name started with “Lu.”