At some point in my life—before being trapped in this d*mn game—I witnessed an explosion at a power plant.
It was a火力 power plant located in Gangwon Province. All the forces that had infiltrated under the cover of night were repelled, but an undetonated bomb went off, and flames shot up from Unit 3.
In an instant, the fire spread to surrounding facilities, causing catastrophic loss of life in a terrible disaster.
The memory of that incident is slowly overlapping with what’s happening right before my eyes now.
‘sh*t.’
That was all I could think. This operation was flawed from the very beginning. The problem was that both I and Colonel Sony underestimated the Soviet Empire as merely aggressive and devious.
No, we knew about their mutant technology for a long time, but neither of us thought they would actually use it… And of all places, this facility turned out to be the Limansk arsenal.
Our plan to deploy a raiding force, seize the facility, and frame it on ‘rebels’ completely fell apart with the appearance of mutants.
Now, the Soviet Empire has lost all its cards. Their heavily guarded biological experiments have been exposed, and the Precious Pearl they stole from Okhraine has been taken back.
What’s left for the “gambling addict” who’s run out of options…?
They’ll just knock over the table.
And while they’re at it, they’ll erase any record of their defeat.
“sh*t! sh*t!!”
Despite being in front of colonels and officers of all ranks, curses erupted from various places. Most of them were soldiers.
With lives hanging by a thread, neither the officers nor the non-commissioned officers who form the backbone of the unit could reprimand the soldiers.
Because, in truth, they were probably cursing inwardly themselves.
“If the armory gets caught in the explosion, we’re really done! We need to ascend immediately!”
Even with Sony Chepelin urging him on, the pilot gripping the airship’s helm was only drenched in cold sweat.
“That’s impossible…”
“Why is it impossible?”
“The original capacity of this airship is a maximum of 100 people, including cargo!”
“And?”
“Because you loaded the personnel of the Third Platoon onto another airship, increasing our numbers significantly! Not to mention, we looted equipment from the arsenal and armory at the Limansk arsenal, and even with just the number of people, we’re already overloaded!”
Even with magic incorporated, airships still rely on buoyancy when taking off. With the weight we need to lift having increased since departure, a quick ascent simply isn’t possible.
“All unnecessary gear and luggage must be discarded immediately!”
As the pilot cried out desperately, Lieutenant Josef, the chief of staff, issued orders to the other platoon leaders.
“If there are soldiers carrying useless war trophies, tell them to throw them out immediately! All weapons and ammunition brought from the arsenal too!!”
“Yes, sir!!!”
As soon as the order was given, Nikolai and Hilton hurriedly disappeared into the boarding compartment.
“But it’s too late. If the fire reaches the armory, it’ll really be the end!”
This is an arsenal after all.
Oil and gunpowder intended for production facilities are piled up everywhere, and with explosions already underway, there’s not much time left before the entire facility goes up in a massive blast.
Then,
“I, I can do it.”
With her pink hair flying in the wind, Corporal Roxanna Elrim appeared. Clutching her chest tightly, she entered the cockpit.
“Roxanna…! Are you alright!?”
Her expression wasn’t good. As someone suffering from heart disease, the hypoxia from being underground might have critically affected her.
I steadied the swaying Roxanna, but she gently pushed my hand away, signaling she was fine.
“I can increase the engine output of this airship forcibly. Then… then, we can ascend faster, right?”
She locked eyes directly with the pilot. After swallowing hard, he glanced between me and Colonel Sony Chepelin and nodded.
“Hold on, Roxanna! You don’t have to do this! You’re already in bad condition…!!”
“Captain, only Corporal Roxanna can do this. Even Colonel Sony Chepelin can’t.”
The pilot added firmly.
“The magical crystal used to control the airship isn’t an ordinary magical crystal. It’s a highly sophisticated device with intricate spell patterns. To adjust the crystal’s output, several stringent conditions must be met.”
First-class green mage or higher.
The amount of mana stored in the mana core must be enough to support the airship’s weight.
Lastly, the compatibility with the magical crystal must be at least 90%.
“As far as I know, besides Corporal Roxanna, no one else satisfies these conditions. Even if the other two conditions are met, if the compatibility with the magical crystal doesn’t match, the airship won’t just fail to ascend—it will lose power and crash.”
There was no way out.
Roxanna was truly the only one who could do it.
Wobbling, she approached the crystal orb. A trickle of bl**d flowed from her lips where she’d bitten down hard.
“I’ve waited for this day…!! I’ve always caused trouble because I was sick…!!”
Her eyes were already resolute. If it had been anyone else, they would have naturally allowed it—there was no reason to stop her.
But for me, Roxanna Elrim was someone I couldn’t help but hesitate over.
She has heart disease. Using too much mana could stop her heart. In a situation where it’s unknown how much mana would be required to make the airship ascend quickly…
There’s no guarantee her heart won’t stop halfway through.
Moreover, she’s not in perfect condition either. She’s clearly in pain, clutching her chest. She’s already pushing herself too far, yet she intends to use more mana.
Can even Roxanna handle it?
‘There’s no other way.’
Just before Roxanna touched the magical crystal, I tightly embraced her. Despite the battlefield’s harshness moments ago, her scent was warm like spring.
“Captain?!”
“Would providing mana from a third party cause any issues with adjusting the magical crystal?”
When I asked the pilot bluntly, he immediately understood my meaning and replied.
“No, but the mana efficiency will plummet drastically. I know Corporal Roxanna has heart disease… Can you handle that amount of mana?”
“Of course.”
“Hold on, Enokh lieutenant? If that’s the case, I could do it too…!!”
“If you collapse from lack of mana, who will take responsibility? Just give me enough to stay conscious after fainting.”
I flatly rejected Colonel Sony Chepelin’s offer.
It might be different for others, but for me, it was definitely possible.
According to Roxanna’s doctor, I possessed almost as much mana as Roxanna herself.
Besides, Roxanna is part of my squad and my platoon. If I’m going to help, I want to do it with my own strength.
A true ‘platoon member,’ who despite being critically ill, refuses to shy away from proving herself as a soldier and comrade.
I can’t just stand by and watch.
‘Whether as a man or as a commander, I can’t.’
I focused my mind and resonated my mana with Roxanna’s mana core, held within my arms. Streams of mana flowed from above, coursing through my fingertips and into Roxanna.
“Roxanna, do you trust me?”
“Captain…!!”
The trembling in Roxanna’s eyes momentarily ceased. Her gaze shifted from me to the magical crystal responsible for the airship’s propulsion.
Then,
Roxanna placed both hands on it.
Kiiing!!
Green flashes erupted from the magical crystal. Amplified mana surged, enveloping the entire airship.
Boom!! Immediately after the mana burst forth, a massive explosion occurred behind us. The heated air from the intense heat made the airship sway as the airflow changed.
“Kk, kkk…!! Uuuuuugh!!!”
Roxanna’s mana reached its maximum output. I synchronized with her pace and fully opened my mana core.
Like releasing the blocked entrance of a dam, an immense concentration and density of mana swept through my body, pouring into Roxanna’s mana core.
Clearly, the airship began to gain altitude. The ascent accelerated, following a curved trajectory as it rose rapidly along with the turbulent airflow.
Maintaining balance so the airship doesn’t reverse its course or twist vertically is now entirely up to the pilot.
“Hold on tight!!!”
For minutes, I kept my eyes tightly shut, focusing solely on injecting mana.
How much mana had I poured in? Just as my head started aching and my breathing became labored, the pilot’s voice filled with relief finally reached us.
“It’s working!! We’ve reached a stable altitude!!! We’ve escaped the explosion!”
I opened my eyes and looked back. Boom!! Right after ascending, a mushroom cloud comparable to a nuclear explosion soared from the Limansk arsenal.
If we had been any slower, the airship wouldn’t have escaped.
Roxanna also removed her hands from the crystal and gazed at the colossal explosion. Her tense shoulders relaxed—
“Ahh, thank goodness…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Roxanna collapsed.
