WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 462: Episode 87: The Heart of Steel (4)

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"Hyeongseong will do well."

"Hey, it's not too late. Tie some plastic bottles to your legs and jump from the third floor."

"Everyone else is going, so what? Come back a man."

They were the kind of commonplace words everyone heard before enlisting, as ordinary as his life had been.

He had spent his life busily following what everyone else did.

Like everyone else, he sang "A Letter from a Private" and enlisted alone, without a best friend or girlfriend to see him off at training camp.

"Trainee number 53."

"Trainee number 53, Lee Hyeongseong!"

At first, Hyeongseong's military life wasn't bad. He was naturally tall and well-built, and was even recommended as the battalion commander trainee. If he hadn't kept getting the battalion commander's oath wrong, he might have completed training camp with a commendation.

"Do you think what the drill instructor says is a joke?"

He had known since childhood that he was slow.

No matter what he did, he learned more slowly than everyone else, and he wasn't quick to grasp a situation.

Still, he had managed to get by because there were people who liked his easygoing yet steadfast nature.

There were no people like that in the military.

"Of all people, that bastard is my battle buddy."

"He's fucking huge, but that's all he's got..."

Hyeongseong endured trainee life amid all kinds of insults.

By the time he graduated from training camp, he had become the kind of person who could finish showering in five minutes or make his bedding in one.

Before long, the day he received his unit assignment arrived.

It was the moment Hyeongseong had been waiting for ever since he enlisted.

"A tip for people enlisting. Here's what you should do once you get assigned to a unit. (Hot!) [812]"

From insoles for marches to ways of winning his seniors' affection after arriving at his unit, the military tips he had diligently studied online the day before enlisting were his hope.

His fellow trainees left for their units one by one.

The person who came to pick up the last remaining trainee was someone called Sergeant Jeong. Sergeant Jeong's face was hidden beneath a work cap pulled low.

"You're coming with me."

As he rode in a rattling military truck headed somewhere, Hyeongseong thought about his life once more. He thought of the two or so years ahead of him and the hardships that would come.

The unit was halfway up a small mountain.

At last, his real military life was about to begin.

Following an officer's guidance, he finished a simple registration process for new recruits and headed for the barracks.

The moment the barracks door swung open.

"You absolutely have to do this."

Hyeongseong put the tip he had read online into practice.

"Receive the new recruit!"

.

.

.

In an ordinary military unit, Hyeongseong's military life would have ended there.

That was, if it had been an ordinary military unit.

The moment Hyeongseong threw his duffel bag into the air, everything around him slowed as though in slow motion. The duffel bag slowly came undone in midair. Filthy issued underwear, toilet paper, and the soap he had used at training camp scattered as slowly as a burst of bullets. There was also Hyeongseong's triumphant face, swelling with excitement for life at his new unit...

In a scene like something from a film just before tragedy struck, someone asked.

"What do we do now?"

Someone else answered.

"There's nothing we can do. This is just Hyeongseong. Anyway, let's accept reality. We failed with the hazing version last time, so this quarter, as promised, we'll go with the advanced military culture concept..."

"Shut up and get started already, Dokja."

"Then let's begin again!"

The scene began moving again.

.

.

.

Thud.

His duffel bag, launched like a cannonball, exploded across the barracks floor like a shell.

The atmosphere sank as though someone had poured cold water over it. His seniors' gazes landed on him a beat later.

Cold sweat slowly beaded along Hyeongseong's back. Could it be... had he done something wrong?

The next moment, Sergeant Jeong smiled and clapped.

"Begin the laughing exercise! Hahahahaha! Wow, this is fun! I've never seen such a fresh debut!"

As though they had been waiting for it, the seniors in the barracks rose and gave him a standing ovation.

"New recruit! That's incredible!"

"Impressive."

Amid the scattered applause, Hyeongseong was bewildered, but soon regained his confidence. He had done it. The tip had been right.

Sergeant Jeong looked at Junghyeok. "Junghyeok, you're his immediate senior, so take good care of him."

"Understood."

In the noisy atmosphere, Hyeongseong noticed a senior gathering his belongings from the floor in his stead.

A uniform pressed into razor-sharp lines. Brilliant eyes and a face sculpted like a statue.

On his chest were a private first class insignia and the name Yu Junghyeok.

So this was his immediate senior.

At that moment, his immediate senior's terrifying gaze turned on him.

"P-Private Lee Hyeongseong!"

"Your spot is over here."

His belongings had already been arranged on top of his locker.

The seniors reacted as though they had expected it.

"New recruit, watch and learn. Junghyeok is the ace of our unit."

Just from the seniors' attitude, Hyeongseong could tell what kind of person his immediate senior was. A beret and bedding arranged in perfect lines. It felt as though everything he touched shone. If only Hyeongseong could have a military life like his...

"What, a new recruit came in?"

A cheerful voice sounded from the entrance. The person seemed to be returning from guard duty, his face slick with sweat. Hyeongseong glimpsed the sergeant insignia and hurriedly saluted.

"Loyalty!"

"Ah, don't be so tense. You're fine."

The sergeant looked Hyeongseong over, smiled, and turned toward Private First Class Junghyeok.

"Our Junghyeok really lucked out, huh? You've already got an immediate junior."

The man wore a mocking expression, and his complexion was far too pale for a soldier.

Why was that? The moment Hyeongseong saw him, he felt a deep ache in his chest.

The soldiers who recognized the man's face shouted.

"Sergeant Kim Dokja! Are you back from duty!"

"Yeah. But why isn't Junghyeok greeting me?"

"...Welcome... back..."

Private First Class Junghyeok's trembling face had gone white. He looked less afraid than twisted with rage.

Sergeant Dokja shrugged as he looked at Junghyeok.

"Welcome to our squad, Lee Hyeongseong."

"Private Lee Hyeongseong!"

That was Hyeongseong's first meeting with Squad Leader Kim Dokja.

At least, that was how Hyeongseong remembered it.

* * *

Two weeks had passed since his assignment to the unit.

During that time, Hyeongseong learned many things about this unit.

For instance, Sergeant Dokja, who held real power in the squad Hyeongseong belonged to.

"You understand? If that bastard Junghyeok gives you any trouble, tell me right away."

"P-Private Lee Hyeongseong! Nothing like that has happened!"

"No, it will. You've already been through a lot."

"Sorry?"

Then there was Private First Class Junghyeok, who always took the initiative beside him while glaring at Sergeant Dokja at every turn.

"Polish your boots like this."

"P-Private Lee Hyeongseong! I'll work hard!"

"Working hard is meaningless. What's important is doing it well."

There was also Lieutenant Yu, the nursing officer who occasionally came by for medical checkups.

"Hmm, your leg is bruised. Should I have you medically discharged?"

"P-Private Lee Hyeongseong! I'm completely fine!"

"Then should I stitch you up? I'm good with a needle."

And Sergeant Jeong, who seemed indifferent but was meticulous, and sometimes looked at him with sad eyes.

"Is it manageable?"

"P-Private Lee Hyeongseong! I'll do my best!"

"You don't have to. You're always doing your best."

Every one of them was strange in some way.

"Our unit will establish an advanced military culture!"

Still, the strangest person of all was...

"Every soldier must read web novels during personal maintenance time. Reading web novels is the alpha and omega of personal maintenance."

It was Captain Han, the company commander.

"That's all! Personal maintenance time will begin shortly! Everyone, read web novels."

"Loyalty!"

And so Hyeongseong's dreamlike military life began.

But Hyeongseong didn't know.

[Kim Dokja Company is currently attempting the Memory Experience Center We Lost a Cartridge.]

[The difficulty of this experience center is extremely high.]

[There have been 3 attempts to clear it so far.]

The truth was, this wasn't his first time living this military life.

* * *

As if it needed explaining, there were five people participating in this Scenario.

Me, Junghyeok, Sangah, Huiwon, and Suyeong.

For reference, this was the Hidden Scenario we had received.

+

Category: Hidden

Difficulty: ???

Clear Conditions: The Incarnation Lee Hyeongseong is trapped in his own memories. Resolve his trauma and rescue him from his memories.

Time Limit: ???

Reward: Lee Hyeongseong's return, and the possibility of receiving the main reward through strengthened recognition of Oz.

Failure: Oz's destruction will accelerate.

+

It was an absurd Scenario. The question marks for the time limit were troubling enough, but the Clear Conditions and penalty for failure were even more baffling.

Sergeant Jeong Huiwon-nim... no, Huiwon asked, "Sergeant Dokja."

"Yes."

"I can understand the rest. But why would Oz be destroyed if we fail?"

"There are two hypotheses. One is that Oz's recognition has fallen that far... The other is that it means some kind of physical crisis."

Boom.

A faint vibration rang out from beyond the heavens.

I thought of the nebulae that had pursued us all the way here. Maybe they had begun their invasion in earnest. If that was the case, we didn't have much time left.

Perhaps he had heard the vibration, because a pale-faced Hyeongseong came running over from the distance.

"Sergeant Kim!"

"Yeah, Hyeongseong."

"I think North Korea is attacking us!"

"It's fine. Go get some rest."

"Loyalty!"

As though he didn't know what to do, Hyeongseong wandered for a moment before going to a corner of the unit and practicing the Korean Armed Forces calisthenics he still hadn't memorized.

Watching him, Huiwon muttered, "Will Hyeongseong really be able to return?"

"I don't know either. We'll have to try."

This was already our third attempt.

We had failed on the first attempt because too many members of our group knew nothing about the military, and I was the only one among us who had served. On the second attempt, we had failed because of Junghyeok's hazing.

Junghyeok, who had been frowning beside me, said, "This is frustrating. Hyeongseong will wake up faster if you put him through the wringer. Have you forgotten our experience in Kaizenix?"

"We tried that in the second attempt."

"If we do it again, we'll do better."

"You know that's not true."

"..."

"You know, too, that saving someone can't be that easy."

This was the third attempt... and Junghyeok had lived through perhaps 1,864 lives. So even if I didn't tell him, he probably knew.

"Lee Hyeongseong! You've got the calisthenics order wrong!"

Or maybe he didn't.

Junghyeok strode toward the horrified Hyeongseong.

Yu Junghyeok drills Lee Hyunsung like a furious soldier

As I watched the two men doing Korean Armed Forces calisthenics side by side, I said to Huiwon, "We can't stay here too long. Junghyeok is acting strange too."

"Strange?"

"He's never even served, but he's adapting to military life too well."

I watched Junghyeok do calisthenics with discipline bordering on madness.

In the 144th round, Junghyeok had gone mad after receiving an improper transfusion of Hyeongseong's military fable. If enough time passed and a fable like "Mad Soldier Yu Junghyeok" was created again...

Huiwon said, "Isn't it a good thing if he's adapting well?"

"He's adapting well, but the problem is that he treats me, his senior, carelessly. The military's gotten pretty good these days. Back in my day..."

"Dokja, you're just bitter that Junghyeok never served, aren't you? Junghyeok was exempt."

I calmly replied, "Anyway, aside from that, things aren't too bad. Just our being here is increasing the recognition of Oz."

[Many Constellations are currently paying attention to this Scenario!]

Perhaps word had spread that Kim Dokja Company was creating another bizarre fable, because Biyoo's channel was gaining viewers. I couldn't be sure, but the nebulae watching us from outside the planet were probably watching this scene, too. If we were going to be targeted anyway, it was better to use this situation to our advantage.

[Many Constellations have entered the channel!]

[The renown of Oz is spreading far and wide!]

[A new fable related to the Incarnation Lee Hyeongseong is budding!]

The strange thing was that the newly entered Constellations weren't the ones I knew.

Uriel, Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Abyssal Black Flame Dragon, Goryeo's Top Swordsman... The familiar names had disappeared as though swept away by an ebbing tide. I had a bad feeling.

Had something happened to them?

[Some Constellations are looking forward to the return of the Incarnation Lee Hyeongseong!]

We had to resolve this Scenario quickly before we could find out anything.

"Do we really have to resolve it?"

"Sorry?"

Huiwon didn't answer. She looked toward Hyeongseong, who continued his calisthenics, sweating profusely under Junghyeok's instruction. Junghyeok nodded after seeing that Hyeongseong had done the sequence correctly. Hyeongseong's face brightened with joy.

[The character Lee Hyeongseong is happy!]

"I always thought Hyeongseong was a born soldier, with all that talk about manuals and so on."

I nodded because I felt the same way.

Even in TWSA, Hyeongseong's life story wasn't covered in that much detail.

Hyeongseong, the man who lived and died by the manual. The truth was that he had been someone farther from manuals than anyone else.

This place was the world where Hyeongseong's manual had been born.

[The character Lee Hyeongseong likes this place.]

Huiwon smiled weakly, her voice sad.

"Maybe we're being selfish by trying to take him away."

Maybe Hyeongseong would be happier in Oz. Maybe it would be better for him to spend peaceful days in his memories than wander through hellish Scenarios.

Rumble...

That was when the roar sounded again.

The moment Huiwon and I met eyes, channel messages appeared one after another.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire has entered the channel!]

[The Constellation Abyssal Black Flame Dragon has entered the channel!]

[The Constellation Goryeo's Top Swordsman has entered the channel!]

The Constellations that had disappeared were returning to the channel all at once.

Just as I was about to ask what had happened.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is sending you a danger signal...!]

Tstststst!

[The use of all Indirect Messages within the channel has been restricted.]

The Indirect Messages were cut off.

When I looked up, Biyoo had a startled expression on her face. Of course, Biyoo hadn't done this. Then...?

Another roar sounded from the sky. Along with the sound of a massive drum tearing somewhere impossibly far away, cracks spread across the heavens.

"Dokja."

Something was going wrong.

Footnotes:

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