Harem Bus Driver (2)

And so, with a team of nine including myself, I immediately applied for the mission.

Heading to the gate tomorrow felt a bit rushed, so we decided to go the day after.

Tomorrow would just be for a simple briefing and packing our gear.

The mission… was just to clear snow.

Further exploration would be impossible with this team.

One A-rank mage and eight D-rank enhancement types… a combination like this was truly a rare sight.

The person handling applications at the Expeditionary Force guild office gave our form the strangest look. They must have asked me a dozen times if this was correct.

“Alright, I’ll see you all tomorrow. I’ll post a list of guild-provided equipment, gear you need to prepare yourselves, and a list of recommended but non-essential items in our group chat.”

“Thank you for your hard work!” “Thanks!” “Goodbye!” “See you tomorrow!”

The temporary team members broke off into small groups and dispersed.

Ugh… this is surprisingly draining…

*

“Our main objective is to manage the base camps in Gate 71. This includes ensuring the paths between the camps are clear for travel. If you look at the gate information, the environment is a snowy mountain range. So… we’ll be clearing snow.”

The mission and the gate’s environment.

“Here’s a map, please familiarize yourselves with it. As you can see, the operational area is quite large. Fortunately, there are reportedly no major monster threats nearby, so just be aware of the common monsters and their basic attack patterns.”

The operational area and monsters.

“This is a list of essential equipment that the Expeditionary Force doesn’t provide. This next one is a list of recommended gear that isn’t required but will be useful. And the following page lists the equipment provided by the guild, just so you don’t bring duplicates. Given the environment, please make sure you don’t forget anything.”

Equipment.

“As for the schedule… it could be as short as two nights and three days, or possibly three nights and four days. Most teams take three nights and four days. Here’s a schedule based on that timeframe. It’s a bit relaxed, isn’t it? But the two-night, three-day schedule is too demanding. Considering the environment, I’ll plan for three nights and four days. They say a day here is about the same length as on Earth, so it should take about four days by Earth’s standards as well.”

The schedule.

“Okay, then Lee Yu-jin and Cha Hyeon-a will handle this part… Who wants to take Sector C?”

A simple division of labor.

But these plans rarely held up. Gates were full of all sorts of unexpected variables.

Still, having a ‘plan’ at all was important, so we couldn’t just skip it.

“Well… I think I’ve covered everything, so we’ll wrap it up here. Get a good rest today, and please don’t forget your gear. Good work, everyone.”

The “good work” was directed at me.

Since no one had any questions, I had no idea if they’d actually understood everything…

Just like before, they left the conference room in small groups, leaving only Lee Yu-jin and Choi Seo-yoon behind.

“You’re not leaving?”

“Well, we stayed behind to help you clean up.”

“You were so professional! I’ve never experienced anything like this before.”

“I know, right? Is this what you’re supposed to do before entering a gate? I mean, is this how it’s normally done? You seemed so used to it.”

“Uh… isn’t this normal?”

“I guess being from a major guild really is different.”

“You said you were from Elemental, right?”

“Yes.”

“Wow… I say this all the time, but I’m so jealous.”

“So, are you preparing to become a team leader? A lot of Awakeners come to the Expeditionary Force to get team leader experience.”

“Yes, that’s right. Team leader… well, I am one already, but I don’t have much experience. I’m taking a break from Elemental to build some up.”

“Wow… If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”

“I’m twenty this year.”

“Hey, did you hear that? An Elemental team leader at twenty. Isn’t that insane?”

“Seriously. Wow… just wow.”

“Um, I’ve finished cleaning up, so—”

“Oh, right. Actually, we stayed behind to thank you. The cleaning… looks like you’re already done. We know it might have been a big ask, but thank you so much for accepting us.”

“That’s right. We honestly thought we’d have to take a break from being Awakeners for a while.”

“Ah… right.”

“We’ll work hard! Goodbye!”

“You get some rest too, Team Leader!”

“Okay. See you tomorrow.”

The conference room fell silent.

[Essense: 26565/162360]

…This should be enough.

*

“Slime over here!”

A flame arrow shot out instantly.

The spiraling flame, twisted like a corkscrew, unwound as it burrowed into the slime.

Boom. It exploded near the core.

The slime collapsed.

The moment I heard someone shout “slime,” I would fire an arrow in that direction.

I’d adjust the aim while it was in flight.

Though it flew at tremendous speed, the arrow, guided by the spirit, would curve unnaturally and strike the slime with perfect accuracy.

The flame arrow would then use its unique physical force to dig deep inside the slime, detonating as close to the core as possible.

One flame arrow for one Ice Slime.

The snow in this cold environment was strangely resistant to flame, so I had no choice.

I really thought it would all just melt away in the fire…

Normally, slimes burn easily, and ice melts in fire.

So why the hell was this Ice Slime different?

Special Note: Requires periodic maintenance due to heavy snowfall. The composition of the snow appears to be slightly different from Earth’s. Ice Slimes and mammalian monsters are common but do not pose a significant threat. Managed areas are marked on the map. Decisions on further exploration will be made upon discussion.

‘The composition of the snow appears to be slightly different from Earth’s.’

Is that what they meant by the snow not melting and the Ice Slimes not burning?

My plan to breeze through this with fire had failed.

At least it could ward off the cold.

A concept suddenly came to mind. Property Change of a flame.

They say you can change a flame’s properties to burn things that are otherwise unburnable. If I could do that—

—I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.

Anyway, I’d heard that changing an element’s properties was something only S-rank elemental mages could do.

Or was it that you had to be able to do it to become an S-rank?

Either way, it was clear that this was the next step I had to take.

Elemental magic—at least Flame elemental magic—had four major stages.

Stage 1: Simple creation and control.

Stage 2: Changing the element’s shape.

Stage 3: Imbuing the element with an ‘Image.’

Stage 4: Changing the very properties of the element itself.

To be honest, I could manage Stage 3, ‘Image,’ one way or another.

No, it would be more accurate to say that the Image stage wasn’t very important to me.

After all, the purpose of an Image was to grant an element additional abilities, ultimately to increase its efficiency.

Whether it was to attack more efficiently or to use mana more efficiently, the core of the ‘Image’ was ‘efficiency.’

Imbuing the shape of an arrow with the Image of ‘shooting forth’ to make it strike more effectively.

Imbuing it with the Image of ‘blooming’ to make it absorb surrounding mana and blossom, thus using one’s own mana more efficiently.

But none of that mattered to me.

What, my proficiency is so low that my efficiency is only 10%?

So what? I’ll just pour ten times the mana into it.

For someone like me, who used mana in the hundreds of thousands, even millions, efficiency wasn’t a major concern.

But Stage 4, ‘Property Change,’ was a realm that couldn’t be ignored with such crude methods.

It would be one thing if I were in a position where I couldn’t even dream of reaching S-rank, but I was now a government-certified A-rank. It was time for me to start looking up and gauging that level.

“Another slime over here!”

The arrow struck the slime with perfect accuracy.

*

“Let’s call it a day. Good work, everyone. Rest up, and we’ll meet back here at 9 AM tomorrow.”

On the first day, we finished clearing Sector B.

There were four base camps, up to Sector D, but Sector A was connected directly to the gate and was therefore maintained with some regularity.

The plan was to clear Sectors B, C, and D, one per day, and then do a quick final sweep on the last day.

Our initial plan to have everyone tackle a different sector from the start fell apart the moment we realized that the passage over there was a wall of half-frozen snow.

The one silver lining was the abundance of food.

Since we were just cleaning existing base camps instead of exploring new territory, we were told we could use the food supplies stored there.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. You took care of all the monsters, Team Leader. I’ll handle the cooking.”

Of course, ingredients still needed to be cooked before you could eat them.

A few of the more perceptive members must have noticed the tremor in my eyes when I saw the storeroom filled with only raw ingredients, because they thankfully stepped up to cook.

Today was relatively relaxed since Sector B was close to Sector A.

Starting tomorrow, we’d have to start seriously clearing the passages, so we needed to manage our condition starting tonight.

Silence.

Only the clattering of utensils.

We were inside a gate, so there was no internet. With no phones to look at, everyone just stared at their own bowls.

As the team leader sitting at the head of the table, this was quite…

Am I supposed to lead the conversation?

Just as I was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, the meal ended.

I was about to bolt for my private room when someone stopped me.

It was Lee Yu-jin, Choi Seo-yoon, and several other team members…

“Shall we do some self-introductions?”

*

“I’m Lee Han-gyeol, the team leader for this gate mission. It’s a pleasure to work with you all.”

Applause.

Introduction—applause—introduction—applause. The cycle repeated.

But then we ran out of things to say again, and the group quickly dispersed.

In fact, yawns had started to break out here and there midway through.

Just as I was about to make another run for my room, Lee Yu-jin stopped me. The others had already gone into a shared bedroom.

“I think everyone was quiet because they’re tired. It’s been a while since they’ve been in a gate.”

“I guess so. You should go get some rest too, Yu-jin.”

“Come on, everyone else is a woman. You must be bored, Team Leader. Why don’t we… do this together?”

In her hand was a single green bottle.

Where the hell did she get that?

*

In principle, alcohol was forbidden inside a gate.

But that was just the ‘principle.’

People brought in all sorts of alcohol for all sorts of reasons: to warm the body (even though there were potions for maintaining body temperature), to relieve tension (excessively), and so on.

“Cheers.”

The alcohol trickled down my throat—

Ugh, this is disgusting.

I really don’t get why people drink this stuff.

“Does it taste bad?”

“Yes…”

“This was the only thing in the storeroom, though… What a shame.”

“Oh, it was in the storeroom?”

“Yeah. There were a few boxes of it. You know soju doesn’t have an expiration date, right?”

“Were these snacks in there too?”

“Yep. There was a note attached that said, ‘Work your asses off.’ It’s good for warming up the body, I guess.”

“Haha…”

“Well, it’s no use if you can’t drink it because it tastes bad.”

“I suppose not.”

Yu-jin was the only one drinking.

“…So what do you think? Of the team. You can be honest, it’s just us.”

“Honestly? Hmm… Nothing really stands out.”

“Oh, come on.”

“I really don’t know. I haven’t seen enough of them yet.”

“Hmm… Won’t you drink this one with me? …Cheers.”

Ugh. I immediately stuffed a snack into my mouth.

“Honestly, I—no, we—know we’re dead weight. Let’s be real, this isn’t a place an A-rank would normally come to, right?”

“…I’m here for various reasons, too.”

“Can I hear about those reasons? No, no. I’m sorry if that was overstepping.”

“It’s nothing special. I just felt like I should be doing something.”

“Is that so… By the way, aren’t you cold?”

She spread her arms.

“Want me to hold you?”

“What?”

She came closer and wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug.

Huh? Oh…

“You’re… warm.”

“It’s my trait. ‘Homeostasis.’ I’m warm when it’s cold, and cool when it’s hot. How is it?”

“It’s nice… wait, you said you were drinking to warm up.”

“Oh, that was just an excuse because I thought you’d be lonely, Team Leader. We can’t just have all the women chatting amongst themselves, can we? Someone has to keep you company.”

“Then why did you only pick women? There were men in the pool after I filtered by rank.”

“Their reputations were… not great. But it felt wrong to exclude them from the very beginning.”

“…But this ‘someone,’ this isn’t some kind of penalty, is it? Like you drew straws or—Agh.”

She squeezed me tightly.

“What are you talking about? And here I was, being considerate and coming out to see you.”

Ugh, my chest, my chest.

She showed no signs of letting go.

If anything, she pressed closer, now climbing right onto my lap—

Uh, ah, wait.

Defense mechanism…!

If I turn into a succubus now, it’ll be a catastrophe.

“That’s a very… naughty thought.”

“S-sorry.”

Hmm.

There’s no way she doesn’t know I’m hard.

We’re still pressed right up against each other…

“…”

Say something.

If we just stay like this in silence… no, that’s not right.

I haven’t had much to drink, so I should be fine—no, I’m not. Fuck, wait a minute.

It would be better to just go to my room—

“Team Leader. No, Han-gyeol.”

“Yes?”

“Wanna do it?”