Chapter 32: Barracks (Part 4)
“Krrriiiik.”
As the old barracks’ glass door creaked open, an unsettling friction spread through the air.
Had the residents of the barracks detected the entry of outsiders?
“Kahahaak.”
Rough breathing began to echo from all directions.
Even for someone with exceptional hearing, pinpointing the origin of each sound within this space would be nearly impossible.
But…
“There you are!”
If it were the enhanced hearing of a creature beyond an ordinary human, then that would be a different story.
Leading the way, a soldier thrusted his knife into a nearby cupboard.
And then…
“Thud.”
A zombie grotesquely contorted inside the cupboard and collapsed.
Its body was that of a soldier on vacation.
The soldier stabbed the head of the zombie.
Even though its upper body was torn to pieces, it was still wriggling.
The reason they could precisely detect the enemy’s location amid the sounds echoing around them was precisely this ability.
And it was all thanks to this particular attribute.
[Attribute: Enhanced Hearing (Eavesdropping)]
[Extreme sensitivity to sound possessed by only a few races. Can hear even the slightest noise from several kilometers away, including the sound of an ant’s footsteps on a battlefield. With such sensitive ears, there is no escape from sound.]
[Only a few species are born with extremely sensitive hearing. They can hear faint sounds from several kilometers away, even the footsteps of ants amidst the chaos of war. No sound can escape from these extremely sensitive ears]
[However, due to its heightened state, there may be side effects.]
An auditory ability possessed only by a few races.
Naturally, it wasn’t a trait they originally had.
It was all thanks to the dish prepared by me.
[Calmness inducing well-grilled eavesdropping Alahfur meat prepared by a Junior Chef]
I just had a hunch that something similar might happen.
From my previous experience, after preparing the lizard meat, the message I got was “Upon consumption, the magical power of the ‘Steel Lizard’ contained in the dish permeates the body. Physical Resistance will increase drastically”
A dish infused with magic.
It made sense that the dish’s performance would improve.
But the sudden drastic increase in physical resistance was unexpected.
“The first thing that came to mind was the tough scales and skin of the lizards.”
My hypothesis was this:
Perhaps those scales and skin were reinforced due to the lizards’ magic.
And if cooking monster meat retained the effects of magic, then the eater would gain physical resistance.
“If that’s the case… What about monsters with other attributes?”
It was partly a gamble.
I hadn’t precisely pinpointed how the effects of magic manifested, nor could I predict which attributes would be reflected in the dish.
But if there was one way to test my hypothesis:
“Monsters with blatantly obvious attributes. You can anticipate what you’ll gain.”
Eavesdropping Alahfur.
Both in appearance and the traits I learned through the Chef’s Eyes.
“A monster with all its stats poured into hearing.”
If my theory was correct…
I hoped to gain a hearing-related buff through Alahfur’s cooking.
And sure enough.
My expectations were eerily accurate.
I successfully obtained the attribute ‘Enhanced Hearing (Eavesdropping)’ temporarily.
The problem was the word ‘Eavesdropping’ attached to the attribute.
What exactly were the side effects?
“Amazing!”
The soldier who finished off the zombie looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“It feels like I can pinpoint the enemy’s location just by sound alone! That this is possible just by eating a meal…!”
A soldier marveled at the effects of my cooking.
I felt proud and grateful.
But also, a bit…
“Arrrggh!”
“Shh, keep it down, mate.”
The term ‘side-effect’ was forcefully attached with the system notification while showing us about the dish’s buffs.
And to my surprise the side effect was rather simple.
“My ears are going to burst, damn it.”
“Oops. S-sorry.”
My ears throbbed painfully.
While having heightened hearing was good…
It seemed like our brain function wasn’t optimized for heightened hearing,
“It feels like the world is filled with sounds.”
Sounds that would have gone unnoticed before were now booming like thunder.
“At least it’s bearable, to some extent.”
I was worried about what would happen if the side-effects aspect of the attribute affects our operation.
But fortunately, it didn’t have any major effect.
We all fell silent.
“We nodded at each other, letting our eyes do all the talking.”
It was the start of a proper purge, or rather, the beginning of a clean-up.
* * *
“Kaah!”
“It’s noisy, Sergeant Jang!”
Thunk.
With our sensitive hearing, we could accurately pinpoint the positions of the zombies.
Dealing with zombies who posed little threat in terms of combat prowess was relatively simple, to say the least.
After cleaning up several buildings, we moved on to the next one.
But there were already people gathered in front of the next building.
“Is Young-joon here?”
“Looks like Sergeant Shin’s team is keeping up the pace.”
Two other squads.
We had agreed to split up by squad and start cleaning the buildings from different directions.
But having all three squads gathered here…
“Is this the last building?”
“Seems like it.”
The last building. Compared to the other barracks, this one had a strangely modern feel to it.
It was meant for officers, specifically not for non-commissioned officers but for commissioned officers.
“Alright, let’s go in.”
Soldiers entered with quiet voices.
They had already cleaned several buildings without any difficulty.
There was no hesitation.
Kaah…
Thunk.
We began cleaning the building from the first floor, slashing through the necks of our former comrades.
The cleaning progressed quickly, and soon we reached the top floor.
As I arrived at the third floor with my squad, we opened the next door.
Inside, we heard familiar rough breathing.
Opening the door, I expected to find another officer-turned-zombie.
But what I saw inside made me flinch for a moment.
Keaak…
Inside the room was a zombie like all the others we had encountered, but with one key difference.
“Battalion Commander.”
That zombie was our battalion’s commander.
Major Gwag Han-jung.
“Battalion Commander… Come to think of it, didn’t he mention during our training that his family was all in Seoul because of his kids’ education, and he was living the life of a ‘wild goose dad’ alone in the barracks?”
Memories of conversations overheard during military life flashed through my mind.
Wearing a tattered sleeveless shirt, drooling profusely was the pitiful sight of our battalion commander.
Seeing him like that all sorts of thoughts came to my mind.
The person who should have been leading our battalion.
Different from the indecisive Lieutenant Kim.
While soldiers may have found him annoying at times, everyone recognized his leadership skills.
The person who should have been in my position, now reduced to this state.
“I’ll handle this.”
“No.”
I reached out to stop a squad member who was about to step forward to deal with him.
There was no particular reason.
“I’ll do it.”
It was something that had to be done by the guild leader of the Steel Legion, the commander of the 423rd Battalion.
With a swift movement, I drew a kitchen knife with my left hand and approached the company commander’s zombie.
With my right hand, I extended my palm towards my forehead at a slight angle.
Then, standing straight, I opened my mouth.
“Salute.”
I saluted the company commander.
“Sergeant Shin Young-joon. May I have a moment, sir?”
“Keaeae…?”
As he heard my voice, Major Gwag Han-jung.’s face, now halfway distorted, turned towards me.
“Keak!”
“Well then, I’ll take that as permission granted, sir.”
“Keaeaeaeaeak!!!”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Major Gwag Han-jung screamed as he charged towards me.
I held the kitchen knife at an angle in front of his neck.
[Junior Grade Dagger Proficiency]
That was enough.
Swoosh—
The rotten head of the company commander fell to the floor.
The lifeless body didn’t move anymore.
“Phew.”
A strange mix of emotions washed over me.
As I wiped the rotten blood off the knife with a rag from my pocket, I felt a strange gaze from behind.
“…”
Turning around, I saw soldiers who had gathered at the door, staring at the bodies of the company commander and me.
“Hmm.”
Sending off the company commander personally, what should I say it was?
It was like my own small gesture of respect.
Perhaps the soldiers watching had guessed the meaning behind my actions.
They stared at me with firm expressions.
I decided to give them orders, as the clear commander of this unit.
“The battle is over. Let’s clean up.”
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
The zombie purge in the barracks was finally completed.
But we still had to clean up all that mess.
“Well, I added [Sauce of Calm Emotions] to the Alahfur meat, but… Still, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for a while.”
Well, I have added the Calmness Sauce in the Alahfur meat… Even then it left a bad taste in my mouth, after dealing with the Battalion Commander.
Among the zombies were many who had been close comrades to the soldiers when they were alive.
It wouldn’t sit right to just move on without acknowledging them.
I commanded the soldiers, “Gather the bodies of the fallen comrades in the center of the barracks ground. And collect their dog tags separately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there a specific reason for gathering them in one place?”
I nodded at the soldier’s question.
“We need to hold a funeral.”
With all the soldiers, we began the task of gathering the bodies and retrieving their dog tags.
Before starting the task, I also contacted Seo Su-hyeok, who was waiting at the farm.
By the time all the bodies and dog tags had been collected,
All the former unit members and survivors had gathered at the barracks.
“I’ll set the fire.”
“Please do.”
Whoosh.
The bodies gathered in one place were engulfed in flames.
There wasn’t enough time or expertise for a proper funeral, and no one knew the proper procedures anyway.
So, we conducted a brief funeral.
“Major Gwag Han-jung, Captain Choi Jae-hyeok. Lieutenant Ahn Kyungsu-”
Standing in front of the burning bodies, I recited the names written on the dog tags one by one.
“-Private Jang Mun-hyung.”
After speaking the last name,
“They were all excellent soldiers.”
The simple funeral was over.
I turned to look at the unit members who had attended the funeral.
Many soldiers had tears in their eyes, mourning the loss of their comrades.
The survivors, too, had hardened faces, perhaps thinking it wasn’t someone else’s story but their own.
Clap!
I clapped my hands to draw the attention of the soldiers towards me.
Then, in a loud voice, I spoke.
“Since we’ve held the funeral, they’ve all gone to a better place. Don’t dwell on it anymore.”
Although I feel sorry for the deceased,
I don’t have the luxury to dwell on them any longer.
“From now on, we focus only on us, the survivors. Understood?”
“…Yes!”
There may be many sad soldiers, but it seems like everyone understood my intention well.
“The soldiers, who had been in a dejected mood, answered in a booming voice as if they had never been that way before.”
Perhaps some soldiers who went on leave might still be alive.
But excluding those hypothetical cases, we, the survivors of the 423rd Battalion, are the last ones standing.
As long as we survive, the lineage of our unit won’t be cut off.
“Let’s get to work right away. The barracks are quite messy. Let’s start with cleaning up. Oh, and it’s not just zombie cleaning, it’s real cleaning.”
“Haha, we understand.”
“Oh, and there was a stream near the barracks, right? Some of you get a few PET bottles and fetch some water. Also-.”
After neatly sorting out any lingering regrets about the deceased through the funeral,
the work to turn the barracks into a temporary base began in earnest.
The soldiers became busy, as if they wanted to avoid thinking about something.
“Gather the garbage, we can burn it later-.”
“Amazing.”
“Huh?”
As I was giving various orders,
Sang-ah, who had approached, spoke up.
“You’re amazing!”
“I’ve led a survivor group myself, so I understand how impressive it is. It’s almost awe-inspiring, isn’t it?”
Ah.
Is she talking about seeing me leading the soldiers?
“It feels like I’m going to die just by trying something I’ve never done before. What’s so impressive about that?”
“If you’re doing something you’ve never done before this well, it might mean you have talent, right?”
“I’m really embarrassed now. Let’s stop.”
Even something like the funeral felt like a farce.
But it had to be done.
It’s like she’s saying my feelings don’t matter.
“The effect of cooking, too. It would’ve been better if someone like you were leading our survivor group.”
“Then there wouldn’t have been people dying, right?”
“Did you already forget the orders?”
“Huh?”
I subtly pointed to a corner of the courtyard.
The survivors she was leading were cleaning the barracks.
“Focus on the survivors. Regardless of who died in the past. They’re alive and have become our unit members. Think about doing well as unit members first.”
“…Yes. I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize. Instead.”
I handed her the item I was holding.
It was a large water jug.
“There’s a stream over there, right? Go get some water from there. Sang-ah, leader of the survivors.”
“…Yes.”
Now that she’s my unit member she should work hard, shouldn’t she?
Chapter 32: Barracks (Part 4)
“Krrriiiik.”
As the old barracks’ glass door creaked open, an unsettling friction spread through the air.
Had the residents of the barracks detected the entry of outsiders?
“Kahahaak.”
Rough breathing began to echo from all directions.
Even for someone with exceptional hearing, pinpointing the origin of each sound within this space would be nearly impossible.
But…
“There you are!”
If it were the enhanced hearing of a creature beyond an ordinary human, then that would be a different story.
Leading the way, a soldier thrusted his knife into a nearby cupboard.
And then…
“Thud.”
A zombie grotesquely contorted inside the cupboard and collapsed.
Its body was that of a soldier on vacation.
The soldier stabbed the head of the zombie.
Even though its upper body was torn to pieces, it was still wriggling.
The reason they could precisely detect the enemy’s location amid the sounds echoing around them was precisely this ability.
And it was all thanks to this particular attribute.
[Attribute: Enhanced Hearing (Eavesdropping)]
[Extreme sensitivity to sound possessed by only a few races. Can hear even the slightest noise from several kilometers away, including the sound of an ant’s footsteps on a battlefield. With such sensitive ears, there is no escape from sound.]
[Only a few species are born with extremely sensitive hearing. They can hear faint sounds from several kilometers away, even the footsteps of ants amidst the chaos of war. No sound can escape from these extremely sensitive ears]
[However, due to its heightened state, there may be side effects.]
An auditory ability possessed only by a few races.
Naturally, it wasn’t a trait they originally had.
It was all thanks to the dish prepared by me.
[Calmness inducing well-grilled eavesdropping Alahfur meat prepared by a Junior Chef]
I just had a hunch that something similar might happen.
From my previous experience, after preparing the lizard meat, the message I got was “Upon consumption, the magical power of the ‘Steel Lizard’ contained in the dish permeates the body. Physical Resistance will increase drastically”
A dish infused with magic.
It made sense that the dish’s performance would improve.
But the sudden drastic increase in physical resistance was unexpected.
“The first thing that came to mind was the tough scales and skin of the lizards.”
My hypothesis was this:
Perhaps those scales and skin were reinforced due to the lizards’ magic.
And if cooking monster meat retained the effects of magic, then the eater would gain physical resistance.
“If that’s the case… What about monsters with other attributes?”
It was partly a gamble.
I hadn’t precisely pinpointed how the effects of magic manifested, nor could I predict which attributes would be reflected in the dish.
But if there was one way to test my hypothesis:
“Monsters with blatantly obvious attributes. You can anticipate what you’ll gain.”
Eavesdropping Alahfur.
Both in appearance and the traits I learned through the Chef’s Eyes.
“A monster with all its stats poured into hearing.”
If my theory was correct…
I hoped to gain a hearing-related buff through Alahfur’s cooking.
And sure enough.
My expectations were eerily accurate.
I successfully obtained the attribute ‘Enhanced Hearing (Eavesdropping)’ temporarily.
The problem was the word ‘Eavesdropping’ attached to the attribute.
What exactly were the side effects?
“Amazing!”
The soldier who finished off the zombie looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“It feels like I can pinpoint the enemy’s location just by sound alone! That this is possible just by eating a meal…!”
A soldier marveled at the effects of my cooking.
I felt proud and grateful.
But also, a bit…
“Arrrggh!”
“Shh, keep it down, mate.”
The term ‘side-effect’ was forcefully attached with the system notification while showing us about the dish’s buffs.
And to my surprise the side effect was rather simple.
“My ears are going to burst, damn it.”
“Oops. S-sorry.”
My ears throbbed painfully.
While having heightened hearing was good…
It seemed like our brain function wasn’t optimized for heightened hearing,
“It feels like the world is filled with sounds.”
Sounds that would have gone unnoticed before were now booming like thunder.
“At least it’s bearable, to some extent.”
I was worried about what would happen if the side-effects aspect of the attribute affects our operation.
But fortunately, it didn’t have any major effect.
We all fell silent.
“We nodded at each other, letting our eyes do all the talking.”
It was the start of a proper purge, or rather, the beginning of a clean-up.
* * *
“Kaah!”
“It’s noisy, Sergeant Jang!”
Thunk.
With our sensitive hearing, we could accurately pinpoint the positions of the zombies.
Dealing with zombies who posed little threat in terms of combat prowess was relatively simple, to say the least.
After cleaning up several buildings, we moved on to the next one.
But there were already people gathered in front of the next building.
“Is Young-joon here?”
“Looks like Sergeant Shin’s team is keeping up the pace.”
Two other squads.
We had agreed to split up by squad and start cleaning the buildings from different directions.
But having all three squads gathered here…
“Is this the last building?”
“Seems like it.”
The last building. Compared to the other barracks, this one had a strangely modern feel to it.
It was meant for officers, specifically not for non-commissioned officers but for commissioned officers.
“Alright, let’s go in.”
Soldiers entered with quiet voices.
They had already cleaned several buildings without any difficulty.
There was no hesitation.
Kaah…
Thunk.
We began cleaning the building from the first floor, slashing through the necks of our former comrades.
The cleaning progressed quickly, and soon we reached the top floor.
As I arrived at the third floor with my squad, we opened the next door.
Inside, we heard familiar rough breathing.
Opening the door, I expected to find another officer-turned-zombie.
But what I saw inside made me flinch for a moment.
Keaak…
Inside the room was a zombie like all the others we had encountered, but with one key difference.
“Battalion Commander.”
That zombie was our battalion’s commander.
Major Gwag Han-jung.
“Battalion Commander… Come to think of it, didn’t he mention during our training that his family was all in Seoul because of his kids’ education, and he was living the life of a ‘wild goose dad’ alone in the barracks?”
Memories of conversations overheard during military life flashed through my mind.
Wearing a tattered sleeveless shirt, drooling profusely was the pitiful sight of our battalion commander.
Seeing him like that all sorts of thoughts came to my mind.
The person who should have been leading our battalion.
Different from the indecisive Lieutenant Kim.
While soldiers may have found him annoying at times, everyone recognized his leadership skills.
The person who should have been in my position, now reduced to this state.
“I’ll handle this.”
“No.”
I reached out to stop a squad member who was about to step forward to deal with him.
There was no particular reason.
“I’ll do it.”
It was something that had to be done by the guild leader of the Steel Legion, the commander of the 423rd Battalion.
With a swift movement, I drew a kitchen knife with my left hand and approached the company commander’s zombie.
With my right hand, I extended my palm towards my forehead at a slight angle.
Then, standing straight, I opened my mouth.
“Salute.”
I saluted the company commander.
“Sergeant Shin Young-joon. May I have a moment, sir?”
“Keaeae…?”
As he heard my voice, Major Gwag Han-jung.’s face, now halfway distorted, turned towards me.
“Keak!”
“Well then, I’ll take that as permission granted, sir.”
“Keaeaeaeaeak!!!”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Major Gwag Han-jung screamed as he charged towards me.
I held the kitchen knife at an angle in front of his neck.
[Junior Grade Dagger Proficiency]
That was enough.
Swoosh—
The rotten head of the company commander fell to the floor.
The lifeless body didn’t move anymore.
“Phew.”
A strange mix of emotions washed over me.
As I wiped the rotten blood off the knife with a rag from my pocket, I felt a strange gaze from behind.
“…”
Turning around, I saw soldiers who had gathered at the door, staring at the bodies of the company commander and me.
“Hmm.”
Sending off the company commander personally, what should I say it was?
It was like my own small gesture of respect.
Perhaps the soldiers watching had guessed the meaning behind my actions.
They stared at me with firm expressions.
I decided to give them orders, as the clear commander of this unit.
“The battle is over. Let’s clean up.”
“Yes, sir!”
* * *
The zombie purge in the barracks was finally completed.
But we still had to clean up all that mess.
“Well, I added [Sauce of Calm Emotions] to the Alahfur meat, but… Still, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth for a while.”
Well, I have added the Calmness Sauce in the Alahfur meat… Even then it left a bad taste in my mouth, after dealing with the Battalion Commander.
Among the zombies were many who had been close comrades to the soldiers when they were alive.
It wouldn’t sit right to just move on without acknowledging them.
I commanded the soldiers, “Gather the bodies of the fallen comrades in the center of the barracks ground. And collect their dog tags separately.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Is there a specific reason for gathering them in one place?”
I nodded at the soldier’s question.
“We need to hold a funeral.”
With all the soldiers, we began the task of gathering the bodies and retrieving their dog tags.
Before starting the task, I also contacted Seo Su-hyeok, who was waiting at the farm.
By the time all the bodies and dog tags had been collected,
All the former unit members and survivors had gathered at the barracks.
“I’ll set the fire.”
“Please do.”
Whoosh.
The bodies gathered in one place were engulfed in flames.
There wasn’t enough time or expertise for a proper funeral, and no one knew the proper procedures anyway.
So, we conducted a brief funeral.
“Major Gwag Han-jung, Captain Choi Jae-hyeok. Lieutenant Ahn Kyungsu-”
Standing in front of the burning bodies, I recited the names written on the dog tags one by one.
“-Private Jang Mun-hyung.”
After speaking the last name,
“They were all excellent soldiers.”
The simple funeral was over.
I turned to look at the unit members who had attended the funeral.
Many soldiers had tears in their eyes, mourning the loss of their comrades.
The survivors, too, had hardened faces, perhaps thinking it wasn’t someone else’s story but their own.
Clap!
I clapped my hands to draw the attention of the soldiers towards me.
Then, in a loud voice, I spoke.
“Since we’ve held the funeral, they’ve all gone to a better place. Don’t dwell on it anymore.”
Although I feel sorry for the deceased,
I don’t have the luxury to dwell on them any longer.
“From now on, we focus only on us, the survivors. Understood?”
“…Yes!”
There may be many sad soldiers, but it seems like everyone understood my intention well.
“The soldiers, who had been in a dejected mood, answered in a booming voice as if they had never been that way before.”
Perhaps some soldiers who went on leave might still be alive.
But excluding those hypothetical cases, we, the survivors of the 423rd Battalion, are the last ones standing.
As long as we survive, the lineage of our unit won’t be cut off.
“Let’s get to work right away. The barracks are quite messy. Let’s start with cleaning up. Oh, and it’s not just zombie cleaning, it’s real cleaning.”
“Haha, we understand.”
“Oh, and there was a stream near the barracks, right? Some of you get a few PET bottles and fetch some water. Also-.”
After neatly sorting out any lingering regrets about the deceased through the funeral,
the work to turn the barracks into a temporary base began in earnest.
The soldiers became busy, as if they wanted to avoid thinking about something.
“Gather the garbage, we can burn it later-.”
“Amazing.”
“Huh?”
As I was giving various orders,
Sang-ah, who had approached, spoke up.
“You’re amazing!”
“I’ve led a survivor group myself, so I understand how impressive it is. It’s almost awe-inspiring, isn’t it?”
Ah.
Is she talking about seeing me leading the soldiers?
“It feels like I’m going to die just by trying something I’ve never done before. What’s so impressive about that?”
“If you’re doing something you’ve never done before this well, it might mean you have talent, right?”
“I’m really embarrassed now. Let’s stop.”
Even something like the funeral felt like a farce.
But it had to be done.
It’s like she’s saying my feelings don’t matter.
“The effect of cooking, too. It would’ve been better if someone like you were leading our survivor group.”
“Then there wouldn’t have been people dying, right?”
“Did you already forget the orders?”
“Huh?”
I subtly pointed to a corner of the courtyard.
The survivors she was leading were cleaning the barracks.
“Focus on the survivors. Regardless of who died in the past. They’re alive and have become our unit members. Think about doing well as unit members first.”
“…Yes. I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize. Instead.”
I handed her the item I was holding.
It was a large water jug.
“There’s a stream over there, right? Go get some water from there. Sang-ah, leader of the survivors.”
“…Yes.”
Now that she’s my unit member she should work hard, shouldn’t she?
