Chapter 71
Yekaterina led Mason to a confidential sector within the research facility.
There, he saw a humanoid lifeform, tightly bound in bandages inscribed with rune magic.
“What is this?”
“This is Mira. A chimera I’m currently experimenting on.”
“Really?”
Mason looked her up and down.
“What’s its purpose?”
“Breeding.”
“…What?”
“Breeding.”
It didn’t seem like a joke.
With a bewildered expression, Mason asked,
“Uh, so you’re saying… this humanoid lifeform was created for sex?”
Yekaterina smiled.
“Yes.”
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Mason made a subtle expression.
“…Why bother?”
“My goal is to achieve a level of completion where reproduction is possible.”
“Hmm…”
Mason examined Mira closely.
“Is this even possible?”
Mira’s heart was made of wood, her skin of bandages. Most of her internal organs were composed of brass and jewels, not flesh.
It was an unbelievable sight even for Mason, who had grown up amidst things modern people couldn’t even imagine.
“She’s fundamentally a magical being.”
“Magic, huh…”
It was an ancient technology that humanity had abandoned when they chose science. For Mason, who came from the future, it was literally a technology he had never heard of or seen.
“Hmm…”
Mason looked at Yekaterina.
“I don’t know what to say. What do you want me to help you with?”
“I want to make this entity capable of reproduction. Can you advise me?”
“I think it’s going to be difficult.”
Yekaterina gave a wry smile.
“Well, I suppose so.”
“I’d rather ask you how you came up with the idea of creating an artificial lifeform and making it reproduce.”
“I knew someone who was skilled in transformation magic. So skilled that she could transform into a mare, breed with a stallion, and give birth to a foal.”
“Then wouldn’t it be better to ask that person?”
“She’s not here now.”
Yekaterina looked at Mira with a sad expression.
“The best I can do… as always, something is lacking.”
“Hmm…”
Mason fell into thought.
Yekaterina looked at Mason.
“Is there no way for you, Mason? A way to breed with another species?”
“Not now.”
“Not now, you say?”
“The Barbarian System fundamentally includes transformation abilities. Right now, it’s simply in a survival-oriented mode for unsuitable environments. It’s designed to be able to transform into various forms to adapt to different environments.”
“Then…”
“It’s possible, theoretically. I just need to transform into that species. Smart cells are万能 cells, and if there’s enough Barbarigen, I can transform into other species.”
Yekaterina looked at him with hopeful eyes, but Mason made a bitter expression.
“The problem is, I don’t have the ‘Totem’ to make those fine adjustments.”
“Is the Totem a machine that crafts Smart cells?”
“Something like that. It’s a machine that crafts my entire body’s cells.”
“Can’t we make a Totem?”
“That’s made of nanomachines. Setting aside the fact that I don’t know how to make it, the Totem can’t operate without securing a large amount of medical nanites.”
Yekaterina was about to say something but closed her mouth. Only after a long while did she ask,
“…Is there no way? Really?”
“I’m sorry. Without the Totem, I can’t fully control my Smart cells.”
No matter how badly injured he was, Mason always recovered to his usual form. He didn’t gain an ounce of fat even though he ate and drank without limit.
It was thanks to the complete recovery ability of his Smart cells.
Smart cells provided Mason with invincible regenerative abilities and superhuman strength, but at the same time, they didn’t allow him to become someone other than a superhuman.
That’s because it wasn’t a function of Smart cells.
He needed the Totem. Something that didn’t exist in this world.
Yekaterina looked at Mira with a rare, dejected expression.
“Then… it might be better to stop the Mira Project here.”
“Probably.”
Yekaterina sighed and said,
“Just in case, would you leave a sample? A sample of Smart cells and Barbarigen.”
Mason spat into a nearby beaker.
“More?”
“Yes, a more direct sample.”
“…”
“…”
Mason gave a wry smile.
“Do you have a vacant room?”
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Winter came swiftly to the people.
It felt like a cool breeze blew, and then suddenly people started wearing thicker coats.
Winter had come.
Coldly, without a moment’s respite, regardless of whether one was prepared or not.
And winter was coming for Mason as well.
“Mason.”
A winter named Yekaterina.
“Shall we take a walk?”
“Sure.”
Yekaterina headed towards the Yeongsan River.
“They say many displaced people look at this river and soothe their longing for the Han River.”
“That’s hard to understand.”
Mason chuckled wryly.
“The Han River is ten times wider and twenty times deeper than this.”
“That’s right. But… longing is a strange emotion.”
Yekaterina spoke as she walked.
“Someone from the Ministry of National Defense will come tomorrow.”
Mason flinched.
“Is it time?”
“Yes, it’s time for the Winter Defense.”
Winter Defense. It was the biggest war that Korean players had to fight.
“I led it last year. But this year… I’m thinking of entrusting it to Mason.”
Mason shook his head.
“I decline.”
“Why?”
“I have no experience leading large-scale battles.”
“Didn’t you lead humanity’s last army?”
“Well, that’s true. But there are two problems. One is that it was only eight people, and the second is… we lost in the end.”
Mason had a bitter expression on his face.
“Actually, I can’t even call it leadership. We just fought, each protecting our own area. So… wouldn’t it be better for someone experienced to do it?”
Yekaterina quietly shook her head.
“Mason is the champion of Korea.”
Mason looked at Yekaterina.
“There might be mistakes. There might be casualties due to my misjudgment.”
“Isn’t that the same in raids?”
“It’s different. The problems that arise in raids… they were problems I could solve with my own strength, with my own hands. But war, war is different. Problems I can’t reach, problems I can’t solve with my own power will arise. I might make irreversible mistakes.”
Mason wasn’t a timid person. He was bold and brave. However, he valued people’s lives more than his own courage.
“I’m… I’m afraid of making mistakes.”
That’s why he couldn’t help but speak like a coward.
“I’m… not as wise as you…”
“Shall I tell you a secret?”
Yekaterina stopped walking.
She looked at Mason with a playful smile.
“Actually, I’m not as wise as I seem.”
“…What?”
“It’s true. I just keep my mouth shut when I’m not sure.”
Yekaterina’s smile was turning increasingly sad.
“I’ve probably made more mistakes and failures than others. I just… I just don’t let people see that they are mistakes and failures.”
“Kacha…”
“I just keep my mouth shut and make a face like I expected it all. You’d be surprised how much people overestimate someone who sits calmly.”
Yekaterina buried her face in Mason’s chest and said,
“People who don’t know how many failures I’ve gone through… they really, really overestimate me…”
“…”
Yekaterina whispered, her face still buried in Mason’s chest.
“It’s easy to protect Mason. I can do it. I can take on all the difficult and complex tasks, and handle the painful and unanswered things. But… then Mason would just stay within my grasp.”
“…Kacha.”
“To be honest, I want to do that. I want to keep Mason pure like you are now. I want to keep you untainted by anything dark or dirty, like a field of pure white snow. Because I can, I want to do it even more. I want to make Mason rely on me for everything.”
A baby becomes a child by crawling on all fours, and a child becomes an adult by walking on two legs.
How often do they stumble and fall while learning to walk? How anxious are the parents’ hearts each time?
“But… that wouldn’t be for Mason’s sake.”
However, they had to walk.
They had to let them walk.
If they didn’t want to raise them as a child forever… they had to let them walk on their own two feet.
If they truly wanted that child to become an adult.
“Decide. Make a decision. Agonize and contemplate. Become the person you are meant to be.”
“For your sake?”
“For the sake of all those you will save.”
“Sigh…”
Winter’s sigh was a white, hazy color.
Mason suddenly thought of cigarette smoke. The sigh that Sung Kijun let out was this exact color.
Mason closed his eyes tightly.
He steeled his heart.
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The next day.
Mason was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Winter Defense.
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The Winter Defense was Korea’s largest military operation.
It was true for both the military and the players.
Countless people were gathering along the Han River.
Players, of course, but also the military, those in charge of rear support, and all kinds of heavy equipment.
The rooftops of abandoned buildings were filled with ranged dealers and military heavy weapons, and countless communication and specialized equipment connected to generators hummed with the sound of operation.
Countless people were clinging to machines or busily carrying something, and even at this moment, huge transport vehicles were busy unloading something.
It was as chaotic as a marketplace.
The conference room was no different.
Even in the midst of the meeting, technicians were busy moving around to check the briefing equipment and communication devices.
“…Hmm.”
Mason was looking at them with a hardened expression.
“Boss, what are you doing?”
Andrei patted Mason on the back and said.
“Aren’t you going to the strategy meeting?”
“We still have some time.”
“That’s no reason to stand out here with a constipated look on your face.”
“…”
Mason grumbled.
“Can’t you just say I’m nervous?”
“Don’t be nervous. War, you see, is all about getting drunk, grabbing a sword, and charging in. The rest will sort itself out.”
“…Isn’t it about time you started thinking like someone from the 21st century?”
“Shouldn’t the boss be thinking like someone from the 21st century?”
Andrei said with a laugh.
“The people who came here… they all came prepared to die. Respect their feelings.”
“…Right, I should.”
Mason looked at the Han River.
The Han River, a river incomparably wider and larger than the Yeongsan River.
That wide river was a barrier separating civilization from barbarity.
It was also a place where countless people and monsters would decide between life and death.
“…Saying it like that just makes me more nervous.”
It was Gwendolyn, the current leader of the Guardian Attack Team, who appeared with a rebuke. One of the Pseudo-Human Giant race, a Cyclops, she was a giant with her helmet pulled down low.
Gwendolyn looked at Mason and said,
“You have to make the decision alone, but I’ll give you advice whenever you need it.”
And beside her stood Liza, her eyes closed tightly.
“Whether as our king or as the general commander of the players, we will be by Mason’s side.”
“…Right.”
Mason gave a wry smile.
Why did he think he was alone?
He had never been alone.
“Let’s go, then.”
Mason stood up.
“To prepare for war.”