By the time we all finished eating together, my sister-in-law handed out small glass bottles to everyone. They were ampoules filled with a red liquid.
“What is this?”
“It’s a potion. I combined the supplements from the logistics center with some medicines I brought from the hospital.”
Come to think of it, my sister-in-law had awakened the ability. It was the ability to mix existing substances and create new ones. I wasn’t sure about the level or specific details of her ability, but if the items in the subspace could be used as materials, there would be no better way for her to showcase her skills.
The potion’s ingredients were quite dazzling.
“I mixed collagen, tryptophan, hyaluronic acid in liquid form, and various herbal medicines. Instead of focusing on a wide range of effects, I aimed for healing wounds, fatigue recovery, and calming effects.”
It was literally a potion in every sense.
Since it was created with the ability, I could check its information just like any other item.
—
[Handmade Potion]
Grade: [Normal]
Description: [A handmade potion created by the alchemist Choi Si-eun. When consumed, it has wound/fatigue recovery and calming effects.]
Attribute: [None]
Options: [Mild Recovery], [Mild Calmness]
—
Chalalang.
The red liquid swirled enticingly as I poured it into my mouth. The distinct sweet strawberry flavor, typical of medicines, lingered in my mouth.
“Oh…?”
A fresh surge of energy enveloped my body. The fatigue that had unknowingly accumulated vanished in an instant.
.
.
.
After finishing the meal, I took the P999K radio and stepped outside.
Whoooosh…
Perhaps it was thanks to cleaning up those guys earlier, but there weren’t any enemies in sight nearby. Of course, the entire Uijeongbu wouldn’t be like this. The 1st Corps had likely taken control of not only Paju but also Goyang and Uijeongbu by now.
Meanwhile, the government forces were probably in the process of reclaiming the area of Dobong-gu, which I had broken through, and slowly attempting to enter Uijeongbu. To get a clearer sense of the situation, I called the Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters over the radio.
Brrrr…
The signal rang, and soon, Operations Commander Yoo Seong-cheol answered the call.
I asked him about the movements of the 1st Corps.
“The 1st Corps? Thanks to you breaking through the anti-air defenses, we’ve been able to send out drones occasionally. Fortunately, their forces aren’t vast. Most of their troops are concentrated near Baekryeonsan as they’re engaged in a standoff with us. They probably can’t pull troops from their frontlines. So, the ones wandering around in Uijeongbu or Goyang are mostly goblin variants… However…”
He paused briefly before continuing with a reluctant tone.
“They’re pretending to be the Korean military and conscripting people.”
“Pretending to be the Korean military…?”
“Yes, it might sound absurd that goblins would act like the Korean military, but they’re driving around in armored vehicles. They even have the Taegeukgi flag flying on the back. Many people went out, thinking it was safe, only to be dragged to the camps.”
In this ruined world, many people still held onto hope. They believed that the government would somehow resolve this situation. Those creatures were exploiting that hope, luring people in to use them as sacrifices to bolster their strength.
‘Well…’
In any case, my path remained unchanged. I would continue hunting goblins, liberating the camps, and eventually reach Goyang, where the 1st Corps’ headquarters was likely located.
I made a suggestion to Yoo Seong-cheol.
“Chief, it won’t be easy cleaning up as you move forward, but hang in there a little longer.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I’m heading toward the 1st Corps’ headquarters now. I’ll sweep up the 1st Corps, so please keep following along and take care of the people coming out of the camps.”
“…The 1st Corps? Are you saying you’ll take them on by yourself, Jeong-gyeom?”
“We’re quite a large family now.”
“No, I mean…”
Yoo Seong-cheol sounded quite flustered.
No matter how much they knew about my abilities, it wasn’t easy to believe that I could take on an entire corps by myself. So, I added one condition.
“In exchange, I’d like you to lend me all the weapons, equipment, strategic materials, and supplies that the government forces recover this time- just for a brief moment.”
“Ah…”
Yoo Seong-cheol seemed to understand now. I had already borrowed a helicopter once. And I had returned it in less than an hour, proving myself to be a model borrower. He also knew that I had the ability to replicate objects.
After a moment of consideration, Yoo Seong-cheol responded.
“That’s not something I can approve on my own. But… I’ll make sure it happens under my name. After all, this is a matter of national survival.”
National survival. Yoo Seong-cheol spoke as if the Republic of Korea still existed. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case anymore… but who knows, there might still be hope. Though, it was more about rebuilding rather than survival.
“Well then.”
“Good luck.”
With that, the communication with Yoo Seong-cheol ended.
“Goblins in armored vehicles, huh…”
They didn’t seem like formidable enemies. Sure, they might be tough, but whether I drop a helicopter on them or throw a bowling ball, I’d find a way to take them down.
Whirr.
With those thoughts swirling in my head, I returned to the subspace. It seemed like they had been waiting for me. My eldest brother, who was guarding the portal, extended his hand to me.
“Jeong-gyeom, take this.”
“…?”
A red stone.
“Why do you have this…?”
It was an Enhancement Stone.
.
.
.
About a week after my father’s countryside house had become a fortress, an unexpected guest had arrived.
“It was an animal that looked like a rhinoceros. It kept ramming the house with its horn.”
At first, we hadn’t taken it too seriously. Plenty of monsters had tried to break in before, but the fortress’s strong armor had always held firm.
But this one was different.
“Every time it rammed the wall, it left a deep dent. Sometimes, it even caused explosions. The wall was about to break…”
Fortunately, the attack was stopped.
It was thanks to a monstrous bird, a griffon, that appeared from the sky.
The two monsters fought fiercely, day and night, for two whole days.
And then…
The griffon, the victor, feasted on the flesh of the rhinoceros before casually flying off, leaving the fortress behind.
And so, the rhinoceros’s corpse remained. In it, they found the Enhancement Stone.
—
[Enhancement Stone (D)]
Attribute: [None]
Options: [Penetration], [Explosion]
—
“……”
After receiving the Enhancement Stone, I fell into deep thought.
“…How should I use this?”
At the moment, I had two main ways to utilize the Enhancement Stone.
One was to knight one of Camelot’s wraiths.
The other was to enhance one of the objects in the subspace.
I quickly reached a conclusion: the latter.
“We’re not exactly short on manpower.”
I already had a well-rounded team: Lancelot, the all-rounder knight; Bedivere, the powerhouse; Kim Sol, the tank; and my eldest sister, the healer.
Though not perfect, we were close to having a full party.
The only remaining question was…
“What should I enhance?”
To be honest, the answer to that question had been clear from the start.
I immediately entered the and isolated a specific ‘item’. Then, I asked Pax to use the Enhancement Stone I had just received.
And so…
That majestic object appeared before me.
—
[AGM-114 Hellfire Missile +1]
Grade: [Rare]
Description: [Failed to retrieve information. You can input the description manually.]
Attribute: [None]
Options: [Penetration], [Explosion]
—
“Missile with an [Explosion] option… How can I resist that?”
It was a Hellfire missile, mounted on the Black Hawk I had captured. In other words, it was the very ‘hellfire’ that could be launched from the portal.
The [Explosion] option was truly significant.
While an ordinary missile would fly at the speed of Mach, the shipping speed of the subspace didn’t even reach half of that. Even if it hit the enemy, the impact might not be strong enough, causing the missile to fail to detonate. However, if it would automatically [explode], I could confidently send those enemies into a fiery pit of hell.
And…
“That’s not all.”
—-[Enhancement Options]—-
◈ Shipping Time: [1 second]
◈ Shipping Range: [50m] [+]
◈ Shipping Speed: [Max 150km/h] [+]
—————————-
It had been a while since I last enhanced anything. I hadn’t felt the need for it until now. Moreover, the cost was significant. At level 3, the maximum shipping range was 100 meters. It required 10 mana stones per meter, meaning I needed 500 stones to max it out. As for the shipping speed, it could go up to 300 km/h, which cost 5 mana stones per kilometer, totaling 750 stones for the maximum speed.
Altogether, the price was a staggering 1,250 mana stones. Under normal circumstances, it would’ve been an unimaginable expense, but now…
[You currently possess 2,396 mana stones.]
I had taken the mana stones from the commander of the 220th brigade and eliminated countless goblins on the way up to Uijeongbu. Thanks to the dimensional account, the supply of mana stones had sped up significantly.
At this point, the cost was manageable. Without hesitation, I paid the mana stones.
[Understood.]
[1,250 mana stones have been deducted.]
[Remaining mana stones: 1,146.]
With that, all preparations were complete.
I informed Lee Yong-su, who was taking a short break, that we were ready to move out. He asked,
“Are we going by helicopter again this time?”
“No, we’ll go by car. There are a lot of people trapped in the camps, so we need to free them as we go.”
Even a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
I planned to gradually reclaim the Uijeongbu area occupied by the 1st Corps.
Eating away at it bit by bit from the edges.
Vroom vroom…
An armored vehicle roared through the ruins of the city. The harsh engine noise cracked the asphalt even more.
Vrooom.
The armored vehicle came to a sudden halt.
The unit that had been sent far away on a mission was returning for some unknown reason. The cleverly hung Taegeukgi (Korean national flag) flapped relentlessly in the wind.
Psshhh…
Clank!
A half-goblin popped his head out of the hatch, ready to demand an explanation for why the vehicle had left the operational area.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing here? We’re in the middle of—”
But…
Whirr.
Suddenly, four portals appeared around the armored vehicle.
It was unmistakably a missile.
Swooooosh!
“……!!”
A surface-to-air missile was heading straight for the armored vehicle.
Tock.
The missile connected with the vehicle.
BOOOOM!
Hellfire erupted in all directions.
Whirl!
The top of the armored vehicle spun and shot up into the sky.
The vehicle was blown wide open, and the once formidable machine, engulfed in hellfire, slowly crumbled to the ground.
Then came the final sound.
…Boom.
“Whew!”
This time, it was my turn to stick my head out of the hatch.
It was an armored vehicle I had taken using .
I had no idea about its year or model, but it was perfect for catching the enemy off guard. Just as they had disguised themselves as the Korean military, I was now turning the tables on them.
It had already been three hours since I left Uijeongbu.
Every time I encountered goblins and armored vehicles, I’d give them a taste of missile fire and liberate prisoners from dozens of camps.
Pop!
The gates of a camp burst open like the cap of a soda bottle. The people who had been imprisoned poured out like fizz, but unfortunately, their condition wasn’t great.
They had been locked up for quite some time.
However…
“These potions are quite useful.”
Through the four portals, I continuously delivered potions without a moment’s rest.
Even if the potions didn’t completely heal them, they were at least able to prevent their conditions from worsening.
This would buy us enough time until the government forces arrived.
By the time we had destroyed dozens of armored vehicles and broken open several prison camps, we finally reached Goyang, where the 1st Corps headquarters was located.
Whoooo…
The gloomy sky was filled with ominous clouds, and dark smoke billowed upward.
The corps headquarters was located at the top of an uphill road leading from the guard post.
It was a long road, to say the least.
The 1st Corps had been obstructing us throughout the entire journey, ever since I reunited with my family.
“Let’s see your face. Corps Commander.”
Now, it was time to meet him.
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