Premonition 1

Superhumans are not born.

Superhumans are created by people.

The great leader of the nation is the same.

Because this world is not a myth, there are no special beings from birth.

The beginning was the same for everyone.

They were all the same people.

The girl was extremely ordinary.

A child from an average middle-class family.

From a family with kind parents and a mischievous younger sibling.

A very ordinary girl.

Going to school.

Not particularly fond of studying.

Enjoying playing with friends and siblings.

There was once such a girl.

And like other ordinary people,

She lost everything in her life due to the calamity called Gates.

Suddenly opened doors to another world.

Monsters coming out from there.

Neither guns nor cannons work.

People were helplessly trampled by them.

The head of state fled.

State functions were paralyzed.

Overall social infrastructure and economy collapsed.

[Dear citizens. From today, the relevant areas will come under the control of martial law forces. The martial law forces will conduct military operations to protect you from external threats and allow you to maintain your daily lives. You can all rest assured…]

People repeated history from before primitive times.

Without even the minimum infrastructure to produce food, there was no way to survive except through looting.

[Also, for smooth operation, we will urgently conscript all adults aged 17 and above.]

In such a world.

“…Dad, Mom, where are you going?”

“We’re going to work.”

“But you haven’t gone to work in quite a while…”

“We have work to do now.”

“Can’t you not go…?”

“I’m sorry. Dad has to go. If I go to work, I can buy delicious things for our Yeon.”

“I’d rather be with Mom and Dad than eat delicious things.”

“…Our daughter is really good.”

The first thing the girl lost was.

“They have fallen in battle.”

Her innocent childhood.

The adults she should have relied on most.

“We pray for the deceased’s soul.”

A dry notification of death in one sentence.

The girl woke up early from her childhood dream.

“Sis.”

“…”

“When will Dad and Mom come home from work?”

“…They’ll be a bit late. They said they have a lot of work piled up since they haven’t gone to work for a while.”

“I want to see Mom and Dad soon. They said they’d bring something delicious on their way home!”

“…Yeah. That’s right. I miss Mom and Dad too.”

The girl had something to protect.

Her younger sister, two years younger and innocent about the ways of the world.

“Sis, I’m going out for a bit. Can you keep the house safe while I’m gone?”

“Yes! I’ll defeat all those ugly, bad monsters!”

Leaving behind her obedient, good younger sister.

The girl left the house to get some food.

“Right. Our little sister is quite skilled with the spear.”

“Hehe! I’m just that good!”

Because the protagonist in the animation she often watched used a spear.

The girl’s sister liked spears.

The girl, who was in the kendo club, preferred swords though.

■■■─!

“M-monster!”

With that inadequate childhood sword skill, recklessly wandering near monsters in search of food.

“N-not yet! I can’t die yet! My sister is waiting…”

Accepting mana.

The girl awakened.

“W-what is this…!”

She gained the power to kill monsters.

“Are you Miss Yeon?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Second Lieutenant Kim Wanseung from the martial law forces.”

“What do you want?”

“Well, you see.”

Facing such a girl.

The young soldier bit his lip and.

“As Miss Yeon has awakened a special power called ability,”

With a face red from embarrassment.

He said so.

“…You have been ordered for urgent conscription.”

To a child who had just learned about multiplication and division in elementary school.

Telling her to head to the battlefield.

“Mr. Soldier.”

But the girl didn’t resent it.

“If I enlist, can I get something? Like food?”

“…Food is primarily distributed to soldiers and their families.”

“Then if I become a soldier, my sister can eat delicious things, right?”

“…”

“I’ll do it. I’ll be a soldier.”

The girl was satisfied as long as she could keep her sister from starving.

“Oh, are you new?”

There, she made new encounters.

“I’m Seo Hanbyeol! Nice to meet you!”

“Seo Nanhwa, nice to meet you.”

“Ah, I’m Han Yuseol! Nice to meet you!”

“…Lily.”

Seo Hanbyeol. Seo Nanhwa. Han Yuseol.

And Lily.

“I’m Yeon. Nice to meet you too.”

Exceptionally talented ability awakeners even in South Korea.

Yeon formed a party with these children.

The younger the awakener, the higher the mana capacity in their body.

Yeon roamed the battlefield at an age where her baby fat hadn’t even disappeared.

The five children were all precocious without exception.

They were strong and mature.

However, they were still too young to.

Understand the weight of the burden they carried.

Not quite enough to be called heroes.

Therefore, not yet superhumans.

That’s how it began.

That was the first memory.

“Heroes? You’re saying these snot-nosed kids are heroes? These brats are getting treatment comparable to field officers? Get out of here! You wet-behind-the-ears kids! Soldiers on the battlefield should be equal comrades, but just because they were lucky enough to awaken, you think it makes sense for their families to receive special treatment like rations?”

“You have a younger sibling? So what! Working for the country is just a natural duty of citizens! Do you think there should be special treatment for having relatives for a natural duty?”

“…What, your sister died? That’s unfortunate. But I’m sorry, I can’t give you leave. As you know, there’s an important operation coming up soon. Your sister would probably want you to carry out the operation for the military rather than attending her funeral when she’s already dead.”

“The operation failed! You incompetent brats! It’s all your fault!”

“Lily, was it? Exchanging the sacrifice of just one foreigner for saving the lives of many soldiers, isn’t that rather a good thing?”

The memories after that─.

“…”

Yeon woke up abruptly from her bed, sweating.

“…I thought I had long since stopped having such dreams.”

It was an old dream.

One that a perfect superhuman should not recall.

It was a story she couldn’t empathize with.

Because a perfect superhuman should be emotionless.

It was winter there.

Ruins where fierce winter struck.

Was it because of the spring breeze that arrived?

Frozen memories surface.

It was a memory.

Of the first owner of the winter-clad sword-spear.

It was the memory of a failure in a ruined world who, after losing her sister and friends, wanted to become a superhuman herself, but ultimately was consumed by hatred and failed to become a complete superhuman.

“…What.”

Michaela frowned momentarily at the strange memory suddenly flowing into her mind.

It was the story of a girl.

A girl losing her parents, her sister, her friends.

Those around her merely pointed fingers and laughed, shifting blame onto her.

It was a nightmare bizarrely realistic.

For this summer vacation, Han Seoyeon had two main goals.

One was activities as a normal student.

One was activities as a munchkin protagonist.

Originally, this summer vacation was an episode in the original story that explained about power-ups and the truth of the world view.

The original protagonist fails to protect the children in the slums.

She is utterly defeated by Lee Haryul in the Hero Festival.

The protagonist, realizing the weight of reality, comes to desire.

The power to carry out her will.

To prevent anyone’s precious person from being hurt by tragedy again.

To protect the weak and good from monsters and villains.

Finally, the episode where the original protagonist gradually becomes a munchkin.

Han Seoyeon had long thought there was no need to be faithful to the original story.

She was a munchkin protagonist, and unlike the original protagonist, she was confident she wouldn’t let anyone die.

Now it was different.

The original story was twisted, and the mid-boss Kim Ilsu appeared early.

She must make all possible preparations.

For a happy ending.

She trains.

She conquers hidden dungeons.

She also needs to check if the children are doing well.

Plus, whether the side story episodes are progressing according to the original.

“This is…”

“The National Cemetery.”

But before that.

“Let’s go.”

As a volunteer activity as an academy student.

She paid tribute to the deceased of the past.

Daejeon National Cemetery.

A simple memorial stone with the name Lily.

“It’s a lily flower.”

Right in front of it.

Someone whose face she didn’t know had placed flowers a step ahead.

“…So it is.”

Han Seoyeon placed her flowers right next to it.

Han Seoyeon knew.

Who had visited this place.

Who was buried here.

Han Seoyeon didn’t give it too much special meaning.

This was just the most efficient way to fulfill the minimum volunteer activity points.

She just comforted the soul of the deceased a little.

To one of the victims sacrificed in this dystopian world.