I had heard that new people had arrived from Earth, but the report came first.
We went to meet David right away.
“...And that is how we brought back the materials. Depending on whether the artifact can be repaired, the number of times we’ll need to return to those ruins will change.”
As the expedition leader, I was the one who gave the report.
When the report ended, David looked at me with a complicated expression.
“There was an incredible monster fossil we’ve never seen before, you brought back several times more materials than expected, and there’s a spatial transfer artifact that seems repairable?”
Listening to David’s words, I realized more had happened than I’d thought.
After glaring at me, he asked Magreta.
“That’s all true, right?”
Magreta’s expression turned serious, and she shook her head.
“There’s one thing wrong. You left out the part where I got an amazing whip.”
She lifted the splendid rope and smiled brightly.
David let out a sigh.
“So it’s all true.”
It seemed he had found my report hard to believe.
“Every time you go out on an expedition, something happens. I can’t tell whether this planet is strange or Captain Hyeon’s luck is strange.”
There had been a lot of incidents, but there was no way that was because of me.
“It must be the planet. It’s an unfamiliar planet Earthlings have come to for the first time.”
At my words, everyone looked at me.
It wasn’t wrong, so I couldn’t understand why they were making those faces.
“All right, if it’s all true, then we’ll have to deal with what you brought back.
We can leave the fossil to the researchers, and as for bringing back so many materials...”
David looked at me again.
It must have been because of my box’s capacity.
“Its capacity increased again while I was on this planet.”
At my answer, he let out a small sigh and continued.
“It’s a good thing, so I’ll let it pass for now. The problem is the last matter...”
He asked Magreta again.
“Do you really think it can be repaired? It’s not as if you’re making something like a spear.”
Seeing him keep asking Magreta, it seemed I still wasn’t being treated as an expedition leader.
This was my first expedition, so it couldn’t be helped.
‘This will need more time too, I suppose.’
Magreta didn’t seem to like being the one questioned either.
She glared at David.
“Even if repairing it is difficult, we absolutely need to check. It’s a spatial transfer device. And it’s not a ruin, it’s an artifact. This is the first artifact of its kind we’ve found.”
Her answer was firmer than before as well.
David nodded with a bewildered expression.
“...Since it involves leaving the base, get permission from Smith.”
Now that we had the commander’s permission as well, it was time to go meet the blacksmith.
I thought the report was over, but David seemed to have more to say.
“The expedition team got a bow and a whip. Were there any other artifacts you obtained?”
At David’s words, Magreta’s eyes sharpened.
“This expedition was to bring back materials, wasn’t it? We brought back a full load of materials, and now you suddenly bring up artifacts?”
David pointed at Hanna’s bow.
“Bringing back discovered artifacts was originally what the expedition team did.”
“And we reported all of them. This rope too.”
Magreta rubbed the end of the whip with her fingers and glared at David.
“Expedition teams that found artifacts have always had priority. Strengthening the expedition team comes first, and sending them elsewhere comes after. It’s not as if we didn’t do the job we were given, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t nitpick for no reason.”
It was fierce. It felt as if sparks were flying between them.
In the end, David raised both hands.
“If any artifacts turn up, make sure to report them.”
At David’s words, everyone let out a sigh.
I did the same.
In truth, David’s suspicions weren’t wrong.
Even now, there were more than one or two things I had secretly kept.
If Magreta hadn’t been there, things might have become troublesome.
After the report ended like that, I headed to the blacksmith’s cave with Magreta and Hanna.
On the way to the neighboring cave, Magreta asked Hanna.
“Don’t you have anything else to do?”
“No. Nothing is more important than this.”
Hanna answered firmly.
I had disbanded the expedition team as we left the cave.
Tom had gone to check on Sergeant An, and Magreta was someone needed to persuade the blacksmith, but I couldn’t understand why Hanna was following us.
But when she said it like that, I couldn’t exactly tell her not to come.
At Hanna’s words, Magreta also raised both hands.
“Maybe it’s better this way? I needed someone to stick by him when I’m not around...”
However, hearing her mutter to herself, it seemed Magreta had something else in mind.
Fortunately, the blacksmith was inside the forge cave.
He and the heat ability user were sitting in the center of the cave, rolling dice.
“Oh, I won again this time. Now your debt is five hundred dollars.”
“Stop! You used dark energy! This round doesn’t count!”
“There’s no proof, is there? You should accept the result.”
The dice he was rolling were made from this planet’s alloy.
Instead of making weapons, the two of them had made dice and were gambling.
It seemed the blacksmith had been winning the whole time.
If the Korean heat ability user was right, the blacksmith was cheating with his ability.
The Korean spewed curses in Korean.
“Fuck, this guy’s definitely been cheating the whole time. I softened one side every time he rolled, so it makes no sense that a different number comes out every time. How do I lose every single time?”
It seemed both of them were cheating.
While Hanna and I looked at the heat ability user with pathetic expressions, Magreta spoke to Smith.
“You’re gambling inside the forge?”
At her words, Smith’s face lit up.
“Oh, did the expedition go well? We ran out of work here, so we were rolling dice.”
No wonder smoke hadn’t been flowing out of the cave.
It seemed he had used up all the scrap metal I’d brought.
No matter how outstanding the blacksmith’s skills were, if there were no materials, it was only natural there would be nothing to do.
“We got back safely.”
“You said you were going to bring back materials to build the barrier, right? Was there anything usable?”
“Yes. Come outside in a bit.”
The blacksmith, who had been talking with her, looked at us and tilted his head.
“But if you came here, does that mean there’s something for us to use too?”
At the blacksmith’s words, I remembered the materials I had brought.
He wouldn’t need the stone, but there were materials useful for the forge as well.
“It’s not for weapons, but it should be useful for making other things.”
I took out the box and pulled an iron bar from inside.
A long, thick bar several meters in length popped out of the small box.
“My ability is one thing, but that box is something I truly can’t understand.”
He shook his head while looking at the box, then floated the iron bar I had taken out into the air.
“This is iron, isn’t it?”
“Yes. Steel.”
“This is the first time I’ve seen it on this planet.”
“It’ll be hard to make weapons with, but it should be useful elsewhere.”
The blacksmith nodded.
“In truth, this is what’s more necessary for living.”
If it wasn’t for weapons, iron had endless uses.
If needed, one could make beds, doors, dining tables—anything.
I took out all the iron bars I had brought.
Far more than ten long bars came out.
“That box must be enormous.”
At the blacksmith’s words, Magreta gave an awkward smile.
“I had nothing to do, so you brought them at just the right time. First, I’ll try making mahjong tiles with these.”
The blacksmith called over the heat ability user and tried to melt the iron bars.
Magreta stopped him.
“There’s something we need to talk about first.”
“All right. Since you brought me something like this, I’ll hear out anything I can do.”
At his extremely positive reaction, I explained the situation right away.
There was no need for much explanation.
It was a simple matter: there was a spatial transfer device we had found in the ruins, and the blacksmith was needed to fix it.
After hearing my explanation, the blacksmith looked at me with an incredulous expression.
“...So you’re telling me to leave the base, cross an alien wilderness crawling with monsters, and go into a poisonous swamp? And there, in abandoned ruins within the swamp, I’m supposed to fix a broken artifact? And that artifact is a spatial transfer device that would normally require several scientists working on it?”
It seemed it wasn’t a simple matter after all.
“There are still a tremendous amount of materials left there. And if you repair the spatial transfer device, Mr. Smith, you won’t just be a simple blacksmith—you’ll be acknowledged by everyone.”
Despite my passionate persuasion, Smith’s expression did not change.
The Korean heat ability user was even worse.
“No way. It’s dangerous, so I don’t want to.”
He answered in Korean, and his words were even shorter.
Since the spatial transfer device was metal, the heat ability user was needed too.
And yet he hated the idea that much.
Well, I did understand.
Both of them were civilians who had never experienced combat.
It was only natural that they wouldn’t want to leave the base.
I was pondering how to persuade them when Magreta opened her mouth.
“I’ll speak to the people above and have a separate reward arranged for both of you. A much larger reward than you expect.”
Magreta named a figure with one more digit for the two of them.
The two men’s eyes widened.
If it weren’t for my delivery allowance, even I would have been shocked by the amount.
The two immediately changed their tune.
“A man should take risks.”
“Since I’ve been dragged all the way here anyway, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to gamble one more time.”
As expected, if persuasion didn’t work, it meant the money was insufficient.
Thanks to Magreta stepping in, we were able to make a promise with the two of them.
After Magreta left for Earth and the base’s urgent tasks were handled, we would go together with the two of them.
After exchanging cheerful farewells with the two of them like that, we were about to leave the cave.
Then Korean came from outside the cave.
It was the sound of men talking.
“The guy called the box carrier is in here?”
“Yeah. They said after he reported to the American captain, he came here.”
“If someone from the same country came from Earth, isn’t he even curious? He wasn’t even part of the advance team, and he’s already sucking up to the Americans?”
From the conversation, they were the people who had come from Earth this time.
They were badmouthing me.
Because the entrance was twisted, I couldn’t see who was speaking.
After hearing the conversation, Hanna frowned and tried to go outside.
But I stopped her.
Because I wanted to hear a little more.
“Then why don’t we go in? Why are we waiting here?”
“This is apparently the forge cave the Americans use. They said to be careful because it’s where weapons are made.”
“Tch. Who do the Americans think they are?”
I could sense three presences outside.
One person who took the lead and complained, one person who spoke rationally, and one silent person.
“We just need to teach that one guy a lesson, right?”
“They say he gained something like a supernatural ability after coming to this planet. Are you sure it’ll be okay?”
“He’s still just from the regular troops. You saw earlier, didn’t you? The guy who got a supernatural ability wasn’t anything special. Besides, we have Sergeant Woo.”
“That’s true, but...”
It was an absurd conversation.
Why were they trying to mess with someone who had done nothing?
I couldn’t understand it at all.
‘More importantly, is the silent one Sergeant Woo?’
I decided to listen a little longer.
“I don’t want to do it either, but we received orders. Two orders: take command of the later team members who came ahead of us, and teach one person a lesson.
I don’t know what the second follow-up team getting messed up has to do with that guy, but the general said it while grinding his teeth. The deputy director of the National Intelligence Service seemed to feel the same way.”
It seemed I had done well to stay still.
It was still absurd, but at least I learned the reason.
“Let’s not do it here. There’ll be Americans around too.”
“I’m not thinking of going that far off the rails. First, we’ll take him away and try talking. Who knows? Maybe he’ll understand.”
It seemed I had heard enough now.
I could hear the details from them directly.
I began walking again with the others.
“They’re coming out.”
As we approached, it seemed they sensed our presence too.
There was the sound of movement, and three people abruptly poked their heads into the cave.
Whoosh.
Wind stirred beside me.
Bang!
The man in the lead was flung backward.
At some point, Hanna had drawn her bow and swung the bowstave at him with all her strength.
The man flew through the air and crashed into the opposite wall.
The men following behind him quickly retreated.
Their swift movements made their backgrounds obvious.
“What the hell!”
The second man coming in lowered his stance, then saw Hanna and widened his eyes.
“A schoolgirl?”
When Hanna tried to move again, I hurriedly stopped her.
“It’s fine. You don’t have to fight.”
At my words, Hanna looked at me.
I let out a sigh and waved at the men.
More precisely, I beckoned to Sergeant Woo, who stood at the very back.
Unlike the man in front, he was preparing to run away.
He recognized me too.
“Huh, Sergeant Hyeon.”
“It’s been a while.”
He also sighed and relaxed.
“The box carrier was Sergeant Hyeon?”
“Yes. That’s how it turned out. You got caught up in this too, Sergeant Woo.”
“Tsk. If I’d known it was you, Sergeant Hyeon, I would’ve stopped them.”
“You didn’t know. Still, this much is a relief.”
“Well, since they messed with Sergeant Hyeon and there aren’t any holes punched through them, I’d say they were lucky.”
That wasn’t something to say with a man unconscious and embedded in the wall.
But neither Sergeant Woo nor I felt anything strange about it.
Seeing us converse, the man with him cautiously asked Sergeant Woo.
“Who is he...?”
“You’ve heard of the Sergeant Slayer, haven’t you?”
Sergeant Woo mentioned my old nickname.
At the nickname, the man’s expression changed.
“Uh, that monster... is him?”
“That’s right.”
“Fuck! That bastard general really was trying to get me killed!”
A torrent of curses burst from the mouth of the man I was seeing for the first time.
Hanna and Magreta looked at him with puzzled eyes.
And the man struck by Hanna, still embedded in one side of the wall, was forgotten by everyone.