Ubermensch – Chapter 51

Chapter 51

“Hey, Eun Yuri, what do you spend your money on?”

“Mostly on my body and equipment.”

The Player System was basically designed to train super soldiers.

That’s right. It was a system designed for the ‘training’ of super soldiers.

No matter how easy it is, it’s still a battlefield. No matter how strong you are, reality is dangerous.

There was a high possibility that low-level players would stop leveling up once they earned a satisfactory amount of money.

The people who designed the Player System were also experts in money and numbers.

To prevent such cases, the numbers created a single flow.

Become a high-level player!

For most players, their bodies and equipment were their biggest assets, and the remaining money was only a small part.

However, if you became a high-level player, you could make a lot of money, and even a small portion could be a significant amount.

For Eun Yuri, who was still growing, investing in herself was the main priority.

“Then… what do you do with the leftover money?”

“I use it to seduce Mason.”

Eun Yuri smiled.

“I buy pretty clothes, good cosmetics, and expensive perfume.”

“Perfume?”

Normally, Mason would have noticed as soon as he met Eun Yuri. It wasn’t because he was particularly sensitive, but because his sense of smell was superhuman.

“Yeah, my sense of smell has dulled…”

But not now.

As Mason made an embarrassed expression, Eun Yuri stood up and leaned forward. As she wrapped her arms around Mason’s head, her nape came close enough to brush against his nose.

A sultry scent, like a lick, wafted from her neck.

It was a scent that made him forget everything for a moment.

“Do you get it now?”

Mason came to his senses at her playful voice.

“…?!”

Or, to be more precise, at the prim glances of the mother and daughter who had moved to the table next to them.

Mason pushed Eun Yuri away in a fluster.

“Uh… okay. Okay, let’s finish our meal first.”

“I’m done eating. I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Shall we get going then?”

“Let’s decide before we go.”

Eun Yuri asked with a grin.

“Where are we going next?”

Mason felt a strange pressure.

“…Do I even have a choice?”

“Of course you do.”

Eun Yuri looked into Mason’s eyes. A playful smile hung on her lips.

“So, do you not like it?”

“How could I not like it…”

Mason smiled wryly and stood up.

As they left the restaurant, Eun Yuri clung to his arm. They intertwined their hands without a word.

Eun Yuri stood on tiptoe and whispered in Mason’s ear.

“I’m curious about something.”

“What is it?”

“You said your sense of smell has dulled compared to when you were Barbarian.”

“Yeah.”

“Then has your sense of touch dulled too?”

“I’m not sure. Theoretically, yes, but the Barbarian System also has a function to suppress pain.”

Eun Yuri lightly bit Mason’s earlobe with the tip of her lips.

“Let’s go check it out.”

“…”

Certainly, he was more sensitive than usual.

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Faced with the monster crisis, the government devised and attempted numerous countermeasures.

However, all attempts ended in failure, and the only remaining option was the Player System.

The Player System was not the best plan.

It was a last resort, adopted after being driven into a corner with no other options.

The essence of the Player System was twofold.

Training enhanced infantry and… training a militia.

However, the government had made attempts to maintain control until the very end.

That last attempt was… Castle.

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“Castle? What’s that?”

Masika answered Mason’s question.

“It’s a kind of defensive base and troop training center. It’s a base with the intention of leveling up players quickly by having them fight monsters regularly in a well-equipped defensive facility.”

“They did something foolish…”

Mason clicked his tongue.

Even stone breaks when pushed beyond its limit, and even iron bends when pushed beyond its limit. So what about the human mind?

Even if you eat and sleep inside a battlefield, it only relieves hunger and fatigue, it can’t be true rest.

The Player System was inspired by games, it wasn’t a system to turn people into game NPCs.

It was like mass-producing PTSD patients.

“It ultimately failed, but the facilities are still there.”

“So?”

“They’re asking us to join them and maintain the facilities.”

“As a PTSD patient breeding ground?”

“No, as a temporary base.”

Masika unfolded a map of Seoul.

“Castle is located in Yongsan District. We plan to use it as a bridgehead… to gradually advance the defensive line.”

“Are they switching from defense to counterattack?”

“Yes.”

The battles so far had been based on defense.

Using the Han River as a natural defensive line, they had ceded the northern part of Seoul to the monsters.

This was because Seoul, a forest of concrete, had limited visibility and many obstacles, making it difficult to use main weapons like tanks and fighter jets.

With conventional forces, they were sticking to defense, sending player camps in to clear out low-level monsters and train players.

Occasionally, they would send raid teams as kill teams to hunt down threatening monsters.

But now, it seemed they were trying to reclaim Seoul.

“The government seems to believe that enough players have been trained.”

Because they believe sufficient forces have been trained.

Or…

“Or they’ve misjudged that enough have been trained.”

“Well, we’ll see when we try it. Anyway, as the first step… they plan to reactivate Castle. And what’s been entrusted to us is…”

“The first step of the counterattack, huh.”

Attempting a northern expedition with a monster den at their back was pointless. However, if Seoul was cleared, if they didn’t have to worry about their rear, a northern expedition would become a viable strategy.

“Of course, if the situation is worse than expected, the northern expedition will be postponed.”

It was a bold attempt, and yet a cautious move.

“But you said ‘join’ not ‘reclaim’?”

“Yes, Castle hasn’t been abandoned yet.”

The face displayed on the screen was familiar.

“Ronan?”

“‘Highlander’ Ronan MacLeod.”

It was Ronan MacLeod, the swordsman who wielded a two-handed sword made from a dragon’s wing bone.

“He, the last lord of Castle, is still holding out.”

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The Yongsan District Player Fortification Base Reclamation Operation.

This operation, which the players annoyingly called , was more substantial and large-scale than expected.

There were three raid teams that had accepted the quest.

And if the restoration of Castle was successful, the deployment of numerous players was planned, using it as a base.

“Forest Guard, Revengers, and Holy Knights, huh.”

A joint operation of three raid teams.

It was practically the maximum force the Korean government could deploy at once.

“Our mission is to secure Castle and establish a safe entry route.”

“And then what?”

“The military will come to install various equipment. The end of this quest is when the equipment installation is complete.”

“I see…”

The detailed briefing was scheduled to be held at the Ministry of National Defense building.

When Mason arrived at the Ministry of National Defense with Seo Yeonhee and Masika, a familiar face greeted him.

“Leader.”

“Big guy.”

Sung Kijun and Mason bumped fists lightly, exchanging brief greetings.

Because there was another person to greet.

“This is… Liza Kronen, ‘Valkyrie’. She’s the raid leader of Forest Guard. First time meeting, right?”

“No, it’s not our first meeting.”

Liza Kronen spoke in a calm voice.

“It’s been a while, Mason-gyeong.”

“Drop the ‘gyeong’…”

As Liza greeted him, the woman standing next to her also greeted him.

“I’m Celine Kronen, ‘Swift’. Deputy raid leader of Forest Guard. It’s an honor to meet you, Mason-gyeong.”

“You too, drop the ‘gyeong’…”

Unlike the calm Liza, Celine giggled.

Liza and Celine. The two of them resembled each other in appearance, but their atmosphere was completely different.

If Liza gave off a quiet and calm impression, Celine gave off a lively and energetic impression.

“…Kronen?”

“We’re relatives from the same family.”

At Liza’s words, Mason frowned.

The apparent age difference between them was about five or six years.

If Liza looked to be in her late twenties, Celine looked to be in her early twenties.

They could be relatives in the literal sense…

‘Are they mother and daughter?’

Considering that Liza was an elf, the actual age gap between them wouldn’t be just five or six years.

Mason stopped thinking.

There was no answer other than asking directly, and it wasn’t a topic to discuss in front of others.

And in front of them stood a female soldier in uniform. A woman with a smaller than average physique, wearing large glasses, and a gentle impression.

No matter how you looked at it, her impression was more like a graduate student, and a humanities graduate student at that, rather than a soldier.

“I’m Captain Oh Junghee. I’ve been assigned as the liaison for this Yongsan District Player Fortification Base Reclamation Operation.”

“Liaison? Not the commander?”

“The military doesn’t directly command players.”

Players were like knights of the Middle Ages. Instead of territories and armies, they possessed their own bodies and equipment.

As civilians with military power, they held a delicate political position, making it difficult to ‘order’ them around. The best approach was to seek ‘cooperation’ based on mutual interests.

Of course, the reason for not giving orders wasn’t solely due to their political position.

It was a matter of efficiency. A freewheeling player-style operation was more efficient than rigid military-style command.

Castle, the target of this operation, was proof of that.

The government had spent a fortune building a defensive base, but they ended up creating a PTSD patient breeding ground.

After brief introductions, they headed to the conference room.

The briefing preparations were already in place.

“Ahem.”

Oh Junghee cleared her throat and began the briefing.

The content of the briefing wasn’t much different from what they had heard. It was just about adjusting the detailed schedule and reflecting the players’ opinions.

“The first step is to reach Castle. We’ll make further plans after that.”

“That’s too rough.”

“Monsters and players don’t move according to plan.”

Oh Junghee said jokingly, with a straight face.

“Now then… how about the command structure?”

Sung Kijun shrugged.

“Do we really need to divide it so rigidly? Let’s just assign tasks to each raid team.”

“If that’s what you want, I respect your opinion, but the military would prefer it if you could choose a general commander.”

“Someone to take the blame later?”

Oh Junghee nodded.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll take it. Taking the blame is my specialty.”

At that moment, Liza spoke.

“Forest Guard recommends Raid Leader Mason as the general commander.”

“…Me?”

Mason looked puzzled.

He wasn’t particularly attached to titles, and Sung Kijun wasn’t lacking in leadership.