Black Badger

The seniors leaped out of the military vehicle in an instant.

"Drag Hilde out here."

Ami said it casually before darting out the door.

It was probably meant for Walker. Now, inside the military vehicle, it was just him and me.

Surprisingly, Walker—who had the least seniority aside from me—didn't respond.

But even with his mouth shut, William Walker had an overwhelming presence.

He was the largest person I'd ever seen. He gripped my arm heavily and jumped out the door, pulling my body along with him.

His strength was incredible. It matched his massive build. Walker had the kind of face that would make me avert my eyes if I passed him on the street.

We landed, facing a chilly wind.

A vast horizon stretched out before us.

A decaying city filled our view. Empty buildings and worn-down asphalt.

Unknown things lurked everywhere nearby.

The codex shouted.

[Creature 'Apostate'. Tier 6. It attacks by slamming its rotting body. The main body is a black parasite that infests a host. The host turns into an Apostate and dies after a week. Highly aggressive, and some individuals possess strong poison....]

[Creature 'Witch'. Tier 5. It floats through the air, approaching to fire energy cannons. The more skilled the Witch, the stronger its energy cannon. Spears and swords are more effective against it than guns. Weak point is....]

[Creature 'Fanged Goat'. Tier 4. It fires poison from its three torn mouths. The more skilled the Fanged Goat, the more eyes it has. Weak point is....]

[Creature 'Swarmfly'. Tier 4. It slices through the air with its small body and flies in to self-destruct. They swarm in groups, causing successive small explosions. Weak point is....]

[Creature 'Fanged Goat'. Tier 4. Torn....]

[Creature 'Fanged Goat'. Tier 4....]

Bang, bang! Bang!

A goat's head exploded.

"I'll handle the Fanged Goats."

Aki declared as she brushed her bobbed hair behind her ear.

"Let me know if you need help elsewhere."

"Jason! You and I take the Apostates!"

Richard Green charged forward with a rifle as big as his upper body.

The Apostates approaching from a distance were the largest among the creatures. They were the most intimidating too. Was the difference between tiers really that stark for Tier 6?

Tvain clicked his tongue and loaded his gun.

"Everyone else, clear out the surrounding ones!"

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Headshot! Headshot! Headshot!

Aki's bullets precisely blew apart the Fanged Goats' heads. It was suffocatingly fast.

I stayed put where I'd landed and took in the sight of the seniors dispatching the creatures. My hand instinctively went to my scabbard, but I couldn't figure out where to fit into the flow they were creating.

Jumping in rashly would just get in the way.

Walker released my arm and lumbered forward.

"Rookie."

He said in a deep bass voice, his back to me.

"Yes."

"Get the military vehicle back in position."

What?

There was only one vehicle to ride back.

Why was it so under-equipped here?

The library in E Zone had several unmanned motorcycles that drove themselves.

Of course, I didn't argue. I quickly turned and ran toward the military vehicle, which lay awkwardly on the asphalt.

I grabbed the side-lying wheel and pushed with all my strength.

Pressing down on the wheel, I righted the military vehicle. It rose straight up and stood upright.

"Oh. Good."

Squelch.

The sound of something being crushed came from behind.

I whipped my head around to see Walker's massive fist. Blood and saliva dripped between his solid knuckles.

I stared blankly at the man who had crushed a Swarmfly to death with his bare hands.

Where was his weapon...?

"Swarmflies are swarming you."

Walker swung his blood-dripping fist.

Whoosh! The senior swung his arm like a pitcher. His thick arm crossed my vision at tremendous speed. The Swarmfly corpse flew through the air like a baseball.

The curled-up corpse struck the incoming Swarmflies as it sailed through the ashen air.

Thud, thud.

The creatures plummeted after hitting their comrade's body.

This guy was fighting bare-handed.

"Don't get in the way. Stay by the vehicle."

The roughly spoken man swung his fist, even larger than Richard Green's, around. I watched in awe as the Swarmflies died one after another from his frighteningly fast punches and corpse barrages.

I probably didn't need to jump in.

After blasting all the approaching Swarmflies and finishing off the rest with corpse projectiles, I felt certain as I watched Walker move away from the military vehicle.

As Ami had explained, they were among the top ten in skill—even without excluding Yoon, Ye-hyeon, and Ska.

Richard Green and Jason Tvain were war heroes who had survived the First and Second Wars like Ami. But Aki and William Walker were public recruits. They had no experience with war and hadn't lost family to creatures or anything like that.

Talented individuals who had risen above experience with innate ability.

Aki had been the shooting representative from a fringe core. William Walker had been from the Center Core's Fixer group, I'd heard.

'If we're talking pure talent, they're probably better than anyone in the Badger unit, right?'

Ami's words lingered in my mind.

The ambush was sudden, but the defense was flawless. Rat-tat-tat-tat! Aki's gunfire continued. Walker pulverized an energy cannon with his fist—(was that even possible?)—then crushed the Witch's head with his hand like she was a ghost.

Green and Tvain turned the Apostates into beehives.

What about Ami?

[Creature 'Mad Buffalo'. Tier 5. Individually, their power isn't high, but they always move in herds and...]

"Crazy cows incoming!"

Ami yelled from the air.

"Run! We'll all get trampled!"

The ground shook.

I turned my head toward where Ami looked. I saw a dust cloud covering the roots of a crumbling apartment.

What the hell?

I stared in astonishment at the goat creatures bouncing into the air and the twisted buffalo herd emerging from the dust cloud.

Was there a creature like that?

What was the point of a creature like that? And why did creatures keep coming endlessly here? Was it my problem or the zone's?

Or both?

"Hey! Start the engine!"

Tvain, who was running toward me, bellowed.

"Get the vehicle moving!"

"Huh?"

I didn't even have a license?

"Are you blind? You can't see that?"

"I can see it, but..."

"It's on-the-job training!"

Ami swooped down from the sky with a bright smile.

"Hilde. Get in the driver's seat! Left is brake, right is accelerator!"

Wow, it was really that simple.

There was no time to argue. I dashed to the upright military vehicle and flung open the driver's door.

I hopped in, and through the half-shattered windshield, the road unfolded. I heard people jumping in. Walker. Aki. Tvain. Green.

Ami slipped into the passenger seat.

Wait. I thought I got it?

"Hilde, that's the acce..."

Screeeech!

I floored the accelerator.

The vehicle shot forward. Ami, who had been pointing at the accelerator, yelped and tumbled forward before steadying herself. I heard the seniors in the back reflexively cursing.

But there was no time to turn around and apologize.

In the rearview mirror, I saw the buffalo herd closing in.

I pressed the accelerator again for more speed. The battered military vehicle didn't accelerate as much as I wanted, but it had the advantage of plowing through the ruined road.

Just maintain this speed. I turned the wheel to dodge the rapidly approaching obstacles.

"Argh! Hey! Use the turn signal before turning!"

"You're doing great!"

Tvain complained irritably. Ami, next to me, stuck her head out and giggled.

"Hilde, you just don't have a license!"

Yeah, that was right.

A forgotten memory surfaced. Gripping the steering wheel made my vision overlap, bringing back a fond recollection.

The memory of driving.

Someone sat beside me. A neutral, friendly voice. A whisper: 'You'll get your license in no time.'

Ah. They almost always wore a white coat. They had two-toned hair. Black and blue? Blue and purple?

Anyway—I thought that person was ridiculous. Someone who knew nothing, couldn't even guess at the inevitable events to come.

But since they were friendly to us, we had to play nice on the surface.

—They would brush aside their curtain-like black hair and say that.

Who would've thought we'd live so comfortably like this.

Anyway, with some free time, want to spar with swords?

Like the good old days?

Boom!

The crazy buffalo rammed the vehicle's rear.

"Don't stop!"

Richard Green bellowed deeply as he opened the vehicle's roof.

"Ignore it and keep going! We have to clean them up eventually anyway."

"Richard. I'll handle it."

Ami climbed over from the passenger seat to the back.

In the rearview mirror, I saw her climbing up through the open sunroof. Ami still wore those unusual boots.

Was she planning to jump up and kick the buffaloes down?

Even as I raced down the endless road, I kept glancing at the rearview mirror.

Richard Green didn't object particularly, and Ami disappeared from view.

For about two minutes....

Crunch!

An enormous sound came from behind.

Startled, I looked at the rearview and side mirrors. But the glass and mirrors were all covered in blood, so I couldn't see.

What the...?

"I bundled about twenty and took care of them."

Ami popped back into the vehicle.

"A pile of corpses should buy us some distance."

Green grunted in heavy affirmation. The other seniors sat calmly.

The smell of blood filled the vehicle. I had to try not to stare dumbfounded at Ami, who casually brushed herself off like it was nothing.

I had no idea what she'd done. Judging by the chunks of creature bone and flesh splattered on the side mirrors, it wasn't just kicking them down.

Bundled about twenty?

The person who always seemed like a cute little sister shed her pitch-black outer coat and returned to the passenger seat.

Then she smiled at me.

"You can go a bit slower now!"

"...Yes."

"If you go too fast, the impact will be worse if something gets caught."

"Let's go slower. You're really good at driving, huh?"

I just nodded repeatedly at Ami, who spoke so casually.

From the back, I ignored Richard Green's grumbling about 'With skills like that, you should've gotten your license ages ago' and Aki asking Walker, 'Is this rookie from your world by any chance? Why hasn't he gotten a license?'

I opened the window, wiped the side mirror with my hand, and kept driving.

Until we reached our destination.

*

The Safe Point was in a wide-open wasteland.