episode_0004

“It’s you. Cog7.”

Her gaze confirmed the identification number on my shoulder.

The murmuring around us completely died down, and only her voice echoed in the suffocating silence.

She scanned me up and down for a moment, then asserted with a confident voice.

“Seeing your flustered expression, it seems I’m right. ‘Driller’.”

Damn it. Are they already calling me that? How did they know? Did those Icarus bastards already circulate a report with my codename?

Or is it that woman’s intuition? Either way, it’s the worst.

Being noticed by a massive corporation like Icarus Technology is as good as a death sentence.

I had to deny it somehow. There was nothing good about being exposed.

I forced a calm expression and retorted.

Mixing in a bit of annoyance and bewilderment.

“Driller? Who’s that? I’ve never heard the name before. Perhaps you’ve come to the wrong person?”

I looked around and shrugged.

“As you can see, there doesn’t seem to be anything here for a big shot like you to find.”

At my retort and demand for proof, Yuna’s eyebrows subtly raised.

That faint, cold smile once again appeared on her lips.

The smile seemed to say, ‘I knew you’d react that way.’

“You need proof?”

She asked back softly.

Her voice held a subtle mockery, even a hint of ‘this is even better’.

“Alright, since you want it, I’ll show you.”

She lightly tapped a slim terminal on her wrist, which perfectly matched her silver-white suit.

Then, a blue light flowed from the air, and a three-dimensional hologram video, easily over 3 meters tall, instantly unfolded before my eyes.

As the video began to play, I swallowed.

It felt like my blood ran cold. The very proof I had denied appeared before my eyes.

It was none other than my combat scene inside Sector Gamma-7, the abandoned mining base.

Appearing to have been filmed by an Icarus reconnaissance drone, the video showed my Bug Bear from various angles, even utilizing slow motion and zoomed-in shots.

The Bug Bear in the video was moving like crazy.

It wielded its massive drill bit like a light sword, crisscrossing between pirate mechs and digging through them.

Scenes where it twisted its body at seemingly impossible angles, dodging a hail of beam attacks by a hair’s breadth.

And the brutal, violent moments when the drill bit crushed, pierced, and shattered the armor of the pirate mechs.

Even to me, that wasn’t normal Bug Bear movement.

“Want to see this too?”

As Yuna gestured into the air again, complex figures and graphs overlaid the video.

The mech’s G-force change rate, actuator torque load, reactor output variations, and even predicted pilot bio-responses.

All that data came with red warning labels: ‘Abnormal’ or ‘Exceeded Limit’.

“This is the proof you wanted. Cog7.”

Her voice was calm, but the meaning within it was sharp as a dagger.

“Now, explain yourself.”

I could only stare blankly at the record of the impossible battle I had fought, spread out before my eyes.

It felt as if I had been stripped bare.

The proof I had demanded returned as the most decisive evidence, shattering my excuses.

Yuna waited for my answer, a cold smile on her face.

The surrounding mercenaries also alternately stared at me and the hologram video with eyes mixed with astonishment and suspicion. Their whispers began again.

“Is that really Cog7?”

“But the data shows that?”

“What is that guy’s true identity? Is he a monster?”

I was completely cornered.

What should I say now? A temporary mech rampage? Or…

“Hahaha, what’s all this commotion!”

Just as I was desperately racking my brain, trying to concoct my next excuse, a familiar yet unpleasant voice was heard.

When I turned my head, sure enough, Sergeant Bulldog was rushing from the hangar entrance, panting.

On his face, along with embarrassment, was the smile of a vulgar opportunist, trying to somehow exploit this situation.

“Oh my, oh my! A distinguished guest has arrived, and I failed to recognize you!”

Bulldog ran up to Yuna and bowed almost 90 degrees, flattering her to a servile degree.

“I am Bulldog, commander of the Chronos Mercenary Corps, Yuna-nim! What brings you to such a humble place? Do you perhaps have a mission for us? Or has this foolish rookie committed some impropriety…”

While fawning, Bulldog subtly tried to shift blame onto me as a ‘foolish rookie’ to smooth over the situation.

At the same time, his true intention of getting into Yuna’s good graces to perhaps snag some scraps was obvious.

It was disgusting, but at the same time, I held a glimmer of hope that he might somehow resolve this difficult situation.

But Yuna didn’t even glance at Bulldog.

She listened to his flattery with a disgusted expression, then coldly cut him off.

“Commander.”

Her voice was as cold as ice.

At that single word, the flattering smile completely vanished from Bulldog’s face.

“I appreciate your welcome. However, my business has nothing to do with you or Chronos.”

Yuna pointed at me with her chin.

“It’s solely business with him. So, please move aside.”

Her voice carried an absolute authority that brooked no refusal.

Bulldog’s face repeatedly turned beet red, then deathly pale.

He trembled with anger and humiliation, but he didn’t dare defy Icarus Technology’s ace pilot.

In the end, he said nothing and stepped aside as if pushed.

The surrounding mercenaries glanced at Bulldog and seemed to suppress their laughter.

Yuna turned her gaze back to me.

Her gaze was even more persistent than before.

The hologram video still glowed ominously between us.

“Well, the nuisance is gone. Cog7.”

Her voice softened again, but a sharp pressure still lingered within it.

“I ask again. Can I hear an explanation for your extraordinary combat? Or…”

A light, whether playful or dangerously curious, flashed in her eyes.

“Do you prefer a more certain method of verification than words?”

A certain method of verification? My heart sank with a thump.

What on earth is this woman thinking? Is she proposing a fight? Or is she trying to test me?

Either way, getting further entangled here was dangerous. But could I avoid it?

I swallowed and asked as calmly as possible.

“A certain method of verification. What do you mean?”

That peculiar smile reappeared on Yuna’s lips.

She alternately looked at my dilapidated Bug Bear behind me and her dazzling Silvera as she spoke.

“It’s simple.”

Her voice was low, almost a whisper, but clear enough for everyone in the hangar to hear.

“Words can lie, and data can contain errors. But combat always reveals only the truth.”

Her silver eyes gleamed playfully.

“How about it? Care for a light training match?”

She added. Her voice was a clear provocation.

“Or are you afraid, Driller?”

Yuna’s last words echoed coldly throughout the hangar.

The surrounding mercenaries alternately looked at the hologram video floating between us, their excitement and tension stirring over what was about to unfold.

It was then.

In that brief moment, awaiting my answer, a familiar yet strange blue light flickered in the corner of my vision.

‘System window?’

A translucent system window, visible only to me, suddenly appeared.

[Sudden Quest Activated!]

Quest: The Silver Witch’s Test

Description: Yuna ‘The Silver Witch’, Icarus Technology’s ace pilot, is trying to test your abilities. Accept her challenge! This is your chance to prove your true worth!

Objective: Accept and proceed with a mock battle against Yuna

Reward: 10,000CR

*Additional Reward Conditions:*

-Survive for 3 minutes or more: +5,000CR

-Successfully land an effective hit: +5,000CR

-Upon victory: ??? (Unmeasurable)

A quest? In this situation?

I widened my eyes and glared at the system window.

I hadn’t seen wrong. It was a clear quest to accept and proceed with a sparring match against Yuna.

And the reward. 10,000 credits? Are you kidding me? The bonus I received for risking my life and taking down six pirates was 3,000 credits.

But 10,000 for a mere sparring match? And additional rewards on top of that? If I last 3 minutes and land just one proper hit, it’s 20,000 credits. If I win? What does ‘Unmeasurable’ for a reward even mean?

My mind raced with complex thoughts.

This was an incredible opportunity.

With this amount of credits, I could not only repair the Bug Bear but also buy other useful parts, in addition to a reactor booster, to completely modify the mech.

Perhaps this could be a stepping stone to escape this tiresome third-rate mercenary life.

But my opponent was Yuna. The Silver Witch.

And her mech was Silvera, a state-of-the-art custom mechanic.

Right now, my Bug Bear was a pile of junk, it was a miracle it could even move.

Sparring? This was highly likely to be a one-sided slaughter.

Was the system trying to help me, or kill me?

Or was it simply pushing me into a death trap to collect interesting data?

As my silence lengthened, Yuna’s eyebrows subtly twitched.

It was not good to keep her waiting.

The murmuring around us was also growing louder. Sergeant Bulldog was fidgeting, watching me nervously.

If I refused here? Not only would I be branded a coward, but Yuna and Icarus’s suspicions would only grow.

They would be convinced I was hiding something.

Damn it. There was no choice.

If I couldn’t avoid it, I might as well get on board with this. After all, I had nothing much to lose in this bottom-tier life, did I?

Moreover, that ‘Unmeasurable’ reward kept shimmering before my eyes.

I took a deep breath and collected my confused thoughts.

And I met Yuna’s eyes directly.

“Afraid, huh? Well,”

I answered, feigning composure.

I tried hard to hide the slight tremor in my voice.

“An interesting proposal, Silver Witch. It’s not often one gets a chance to spar with a celebrity like yourself.”

At my answer, Yuna’s eyes sparkled for a moment.

Among the surrounding mercenaries, low exclamations of surprise could be heard.

Their expressions seemed to say, ‘That crazy rookie really accepted?’

I continued speaking. At the same time, I threw a condition at her.

“But as you can see…”

I gestured to my dilapidated Bug Bear behind me.

“My friend here isn’t in any condition to fight right now. It just went through hell until a moment ago.”

My words were clear. If she wanted to fight, she had to at least meet the minimum conditions.

“And I can assure you, this old, dilapidated Chronos hangar won’t have any spare mechs fit to dance with your Silvera.”

Because fighting a monster unarmed was out of the question.

How would she actually receive this condition?

If she backed down here, it would be the best outcome for me.

But her eyes showed no intention of doing so whatsoever.

On the contrary, as if my conditional acceptance made things even more interesting, the peculiar smile on her lips deepened.