38. Can’t Hide It Anymore. (1)

Splash.

The shower water hit my head as I leaned against the wall.

The cold water soaked my hair, washing away blood and sweat, flowing down my body.

The small splashes from my toes danced up like a gentle fountain.

Looking down, I closed my eyes.

My head was pounding.

The monster cat.

And the pack of monster dogs.

The numerous human heads that were undoubtedly inside their bodies.

There are plenty of large and powerful beasts in the world, and the population they could devour is nearly 8 billion.

…8 billion.

Not everyone has transformed, but given the sight I faced today, it won’t be long before the wild beasts surpass the human beasts in strength.

I looked at my hands.

The calloused palms from gripping and swinging swords so much.

And on the back of my hand, up to the shoulder.

The burning tattoo wrapped around it.

Evidence of my ability.

But can this ability alone eliminate all the monsters that have grown by devouring humans?

The bonus from having 100 strength and perception.

200 melee attacks.

200 ranged attacks.

That’s it.

I slowly clenched my fists.

…If I encounter them, I’ll have to fight.

I just wish I had more strength.

It’s unavoidable to feel this way after fighting the monster cat and encountering the pack of monster dogs.

Looking in the mirror, my body is quite defined.

The abs are clearly visible even without flexing, and my chest and shoulders have become quite muscular.

Just a few months ago, my body wasn’t like this.

From running around and fighting, but seeing how dramatically my body has changed makes me think it’s somewhat related to the status window.

But what’s the point of having a good body?

With only 400 attacks.

“…Tsk.”

Whatever.

Don’t think too deeply.

If I can’t handle it alone, I’ll use military firepower.

Use rockets or portable missiles to blow them all up.

…Do rockets get affected by perception stats?

Curious.

Thinking that, I chuckled to myself while showering.

How would I even carry a missile launcher weighing tens of kilograms?

A lifting belt?

Of course, it’s impossible.

Laughing, I left the shower, and the Special Forces members stared at me.

“Seong-hun. What are you planning to do now?”

I nodded, drying my hair with a towel.

“Let’s visit the U.S. military base again tomorrow.”

“The U.S. military base?”

Special Forces Captain Seong-gyu-hyeok tilted his head.

I shook my head.

“I don’t know. Ideally, I want to work with the U.S. military to deal with these beasts and obtain weapons, but since they said they could handle it themselves last time, I don’t think they’ll accept it.”

“Then why…?”

I put on a worn t-shirt I found on the bathroom floor and said.

“I fought a beast and encountered a pack of them. The problem is, what I saw isn’t all of them. You all know this, but this is only an hour away from Seoul. What happens here can happen in Seoul too.”

Opening the fridge, I found some chilled water.

I took a water bottle and sat down with the Special Forces members.

“The U.S. commander said they could handle it. That means they’ve at least assessed the scale of the beasts. I think that’s the case. So, we can at least get some information from them.”

The Special Forces members looked at each other and slowly nodded.

Ga-yeon, who had been looking away, finally turned to me and said.

“I hope the negotiations go well this time.”

I chuckled.

“We’ll have to try.”

The next morning.

After a simple meal of cup ramen from a convenience store, we finished our preparations and left the building.

As if signaling the sunrise, a blue tint appeared in the distant sky.

Walking through the still cool morning breeze in the quiet city, we entered the runway.

The other end of the runway.

Shadows of people were visible.

They seemed to have noticed us.

Some went into a building, while others walked toward the runway, looking busy.

We looked at each other and walked down the runway.

“Are those the U.S. soldiers? They don’t seem to be on guard duty.”

Ga-yeon murmured.

No one replied.

After a long walk, as the sun rose and the world brightened.

We arrived at the U.S. military base.

The young U.S. soldier who had been watching us from the start.

It was the same young man from yesterday.

The young U.S. soldier slightly lifted his chin and said.

“Hey.”

Hey…la.

His tone was quite soft.

Seong-gyu-hyeok tilted his head and smiled faintly, asking.

“Did you guys expecting us? Cuz you look like it.”

The young U.S. soldier shrugged and said.

“Can’t say no.”

…What does that mean?

Why not speak in Korean?

The young U.S. soldier looked at me after replying.

And stared at me.

His gaze was… hard to describe.

The young U.S. soldier approached me.

And extended his hand.

“I’m Sergeant Garcia. Luke Garcia.”

He wants a handshake?

I shook the young U.S. soldier’s hand.

His expression seemed to await something.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“I, I am. Hoon, Han… Hoon?”

What the hell.

How do I say my name in English?

Ah, Seong-hoon Han.

Is his name Garcia?

No, Luke?

The young U.S. soldier smiled and nodded.

“I’m glad to see you again, Hoon. I admire you.”

The Special Forces members, Seong-gyu-hyeok and Ga-yeon, both looked surprised.

Ga-yeon asked.

“Do you just said you admire him? Why?”

The young U.S. soldier smiled at Ga-yeon.

“I think you already know. And now we all know what he’s capable of.”

What’s going on.

Why are they talking among themselves.

Feeling like a deaf person who can’t understand, I just stood there.

“Do you…?”

Just as Seong-gyu-hyeok was about to say something, a U.S. soldier walked over from the barracks.

The young U.S. soldier exchanged glances with him and went inside.

The young U.S. soldier said.

Seong-gyu-hyeok looked at me.

“The commander is waiting for us. He says to come in.”

I smiled at the young U.S. soldier, whose attitude was completely different from yesterday, and nodded.

And walked toward the barracks.

Passing by U.S. soldiers-white, black, Latino men and women.

They all stopped and stared at me.

…Their gazes are quite burdensome.

It’s just not our culture for Americans to stare so openly.

Why are they staring like that?

Ga-yeon and I, who had been here before, led the way up the stairs to the conference room.

A U.S. soldier waiting outside the conference room smiled when he saw us.

And offered me a handshake again.

The black soldier smiled, showing his white teeth, and shook my hand.

“It’s an honor, Sir. He’s waiting for you.”

…What does that mean?

Is someone going to interpret?

Neither Seong-gyu-hyeok nor Ga-yeon, who looked slightly surprised, interpreted for me.

I awkwardly nodded.

“Uh… Okay?”

The black soldier smiled and opened the conference room door.

Entering the wide conference room, the U.S. commander, whom we met yesterday, and a few others stood up from their chairs.

The U.S. commander smiled brightly at me and said something.

And extended his hand.

Ga-yeon said.

“We’ve been looking forward to seeing you again. Please sit down.”

I nodded and took a seat.

Waiting for all members to sit, the U.S. commander spoke.

I looked at Ga-yeon.

She slowly turned her gaze to me.

“…We’ve seen everything. How were you able to do that?”

I narrowed my eyes.

“…Seen everything? What do you mean?”

The U.S. commander, having understood Ga-yeon’s interpretation, smiled and nodded to a civilian-looking Latino man beside him.

The Latino man smiled at me and took out a projector, placing it on the table.

And pulled down a white screen from the conference room wall.

…It looks like a home theater…

I widened my eyes.

“…Was this recorded?”

The Latino man turned on the projector.

The footage was taken from the air.

It showed me and the monster cat.

The cat smashing through the roof and jumping in.

At that moment, I shot the bow.

In an instant, over a dozen arrows poured out of my bow like a machine gun.

Like a machine gun.

The cat, turned into a pincushion by the arrows, collapsed through the wall.

Immediately after, the shadow warrior burst out of my hand.

…Even the shadow warrior was recorded.

The sword returning to my hand, and finishing with the bow.

Everything was recorded.

And then the pack of dogs appeared in the village.

The gigantic monster dog and I, locked in a staring contest with the alpha dog.

Looking at this, I don’t seem to be at a disadvantage in terms of momentum.

And the recording ended.

The conference room fell silent.

Except for Ga-yeon, the other Special Forces members were seeing how I fight for the first time.

They all had their eyes wide, staring at the turned-off screen.

I slowly looked at the U.S. commander.

“…How did you record this?”

The U.S. commander smiled and spoke,

And Ga-yeon interpreted.

“We have military reconnaissance drones.”

The Latino man placed a small, plain white plastic object, not a toy, but a crude-looking drone, on the table.

…That’s the military reconnaissance drone.