Chapter 16: Unwelcomed Visitor (1)

The journey back wasn't easy.

Unlike when I had left, my back was now burdened with a mountain of supplies.

If not for the movement assistance effect of my newly acquired Bone Armor, it would have literally taken me an entire day to return.

"Phew…"

After such an eventful day, I felt like I could collapse at any moment.

Of course, as is always the case, nothing in life ever goes as planned.

Noah's nights are long.

Especially for me.

[Hehehe…]

[Come play with us…]

[Wake up…]

I barely managed to lie down, exhausted, and tried to drift into sleep.

But those damn voices had no intention of letting me rest.

"AGH! LET ME SLEEP! Just let me sleep!"

My Ether Sensitivity had reached 10, but rather than decreasing, the voices tormenting me at night had only increased.

At this point, replacing sleep with hot spring baths to relieve fatigue was no longer a choice—it was a necessity.

"Ughhh…"

Letting out a groan fit for an old man, I sank into the warm water and let my thoughts drift.

Though calling it 'thinking' was a stretch—this was more like zoning out, bordering on sleep.

While soaking in the hot spring, I absentmindedly touched my left ear.

I felt the need to check my condition.

──────────────

Name: Carl Marcus

Rank: ─

Position: ─

Strength: 12

Stamina: 13

Dexterity: 12

Luck: 8

Tenacity: 2

Ether Sensitivity: 10

Traits: [Sturdy Constitution], [Agile Reflexes], [Superhuman Willpower], [Insomnia], [Hand Tremors], [Nearsightedness], [Sudden Deafness], [One-Hit Kill], [Firepower Specialist], [Heavy Ammunition], [Possession], [Sniper's Time], [Beast Hunter]…

──────────────

The sheer number of stats that had increased over the past few days was almost unbelievable.

Especially Ether Sensitivity—it's not supposed to rise this fast.

Well, anyway…

'Next steps…'

The most urgent matter was securing food.

Multi-Calorie Bars provided all the nutrients and calories needed for an entire day, but I had already eaten four of them.

That left me with only 56 remaining.

Rationing wasn't a real solution—I needed to start foraging for food first thing tomorrow.

That could wait until morning, so I set it aside for now.

'Second, I need to figure out how the hell my infinite ammo works.'

I had already conducted a few simple tests while traveling.

First, removing the magazine from my gun meant no bullets were fired at all.

I had wondered if maybe bullets would still be generated even without a magazine, but surprisingly, without the magazine inserted, nothing happened.

That meant my infinite ammo wasn't creating bullets from nothing—it was more like duplicating them.

Like some kind of copy-paste effect.

'Is there a way to extract a bullet mid-process?'

If I could figure that out, I would basically have an infinite money printer in a world where bullets were as good as currency.

That would be an enormous advantage.

But unfortunately, it didn't seem that easy.

'Even if I can't generate bullets outright… at least casings are being ejected infinitely.'

I had noticed that.

'They might be worth something, at least…'

Brass casings and other alloys used in ammunition have inherent value as materials.

Collecting them could be worth something.

But was it really worth wearing down my gun's durability just to gather casings?

That was another matter.

'Still, having something to sell in a pinch isn't a bad idea.'

Since I'd be firing plenty of bullets anyway, I might as well collect the casings and sell them later.

Especially to external traders like the Sandstorm Caravan, where casings would be far more valuable than inside the Ark, where bullets were produced.

For me, it would be an emergency fund of sorts.

'And… I need to figure out a way to intervene inside the Ark.'

Right now, I was an outsider.

The core goal of The Defense was to hold back the hordes of monsters and beasts…

But to truly do that, I would have to get involved in the Ark's internal affairs as well.

The Line Struggles.

This, alongside defending the Ark, was one of The Defense's biggest main scenarios.

'As of now, my only real connections inside the Ark are Kurilta and the other refugees.'

Although I hadn't spent much time with Kurilta, I had observed enough to know:

Kurilta was a soldier, not a commander.

A great subordinate or a trustworthy ally, but not someone I could rely on for this kind of political maneuvering.

'Besides, like me, Kurilta is also an outsider. No matter how skilled he is, rising to a position of influence inside the Ark is nearly impossible.'

So then, how could I make contact with someone inside the Ark?

'Hmm…'

No clear answers came to mind.

Living as an outsider in the Ark was something I had never done before.

'I do have a few ideas, but… none that I can execute right now.'

I shook my head.

'Eh, I'll figure it out.'

I was far too physically and mentally exhausted to think about it now.

Letting the hot spring water carry my fatigue away, I closed my eyes.

The voices in my ears seemed to grow louder.

But I ignored them.

And let my weary mind slip away.

The night deepened.

*

Morning had arrived.

Today's task was securing food.

'First, I should head there.'

I was thinking about the beasts I had hunted earlier.

Although a day had passed, given the nature of beast carcasses, they shouldn't have decomposed yet.

After making the necessary preparations, I returned to the site where I had previously hunted the beasts. As expected, the Hellhounds' corpses were still piled up.

[Kreek, kreee…]

At the sight of the Hellhounds' remains, my Bone Parasite let out a noise.

It seemed hungry.

"…Eat a few if you want."

There was no point in being stingy—I wouldn't be able to take them all anyway.

[Kreeek!]

The moment I gave permission, bones shot out from my Bone Armor and pierced into the Hellhounds' carcasses.

Slurp, slurp—

To me, it was a familiar sight.

But if anyone else were to witness this, they'd probably scream.

In fact, even Skull Knights, who have directly implanted Bone Parasites into their bodies, technically can absorb nutrients this way…

But unless it was an absolute emergency, they rarely ever did.

Absorbing nutrients from a beast's corpse through the human body was highly detrimental in the long run.

More than that, it was an act so repulsive that it was hard to call it human.

'Well… there were a few guys who used to casually stick their parasitic straws into beasts like it was nothing…'

But that was a rare exception, not worth mentioning.

As my Bone Parasite ate, I took out my machete and began processing the Hellhounds' corpses.

Ideally, this kind of work should be done by a flowing river, but dragging these carcasses all the way to the hot spring felt like too much of a hassle.

So, I decided to handle it roughly here first before taking them back.

'That should do it.'

Once I had finished preparing the meat, I brought it back to my shelter.

But there was still one more thing to do.

To neutralize the toxins in the meat, I needed specific plants found in the Great Forest.

'There are a few drugs in the medical kit that could work… but they're inefficient. And while I'm at it, I should gather some firewood too.'

Since I had hot spring water nearby, a campfire wasn't strictly necessary, but having firewood would still be useful.

If this were any other mountain, lighting a fire in a world crawling with beasts would be a terrible idea.

But this was Noah, the Everlasting Mountain, where volcanic activity never ceased.

Smoke rising into the air wasn't anything unusual for an active volcano.

And more importantly—just lifting my head revealed a thick veil of volcanic smoke constantly drifting in the sky.

'Let's go.'

There was no need to hesitate.

I picked up my pace.

* * *

The first-person Tatiana Belov sought upon arriving at Red Line was not her longtime friend, Imosha.

Instead, she headed straight to Red Line's training facility.

"...Where are you from?"

"I'm Major Tatiana Belov from Navy Line Headquarters. Are there any new recruits of foreign origin who recently joined?"

"They seem to be from our company… May I ask why you're here?"

Tatiana smiled slightly at the training officer's question.

It was a smile that sent chills down his spine.

"Do I need to answer every single one of your questions?"

"...My apologies. Please wait a moment."

"No need. I'll go myself."

Tatiana's steps were firm and unwavering.

Her instincts screamed at her—

The clues to the answers she had been seeking were here.

As she walked through the training grounds, Tatiana listened to the training officer provide brief details—

The names and backgrounds of the refugees,

Their origins,

And—

"You must be Kurilta."

The recruits, who had joined the training camp as refugees from Kronos, were clearly well-trained warriors.

Kurilta was no exception.

Though, his demeanor was closer to that of a savage than a soldier.

"That's right, I am Kurilta."

His bold response turned the training officer's face pale.

"Trainee! Show respect to your superior! I've warned you about this before!"

The training officer was in a bind.

These new recruits were skilled, but their origins made them closer to barbarians than soldiers.

Disciplining them had already been a nightmare, and now, of all times, a Navy Line Major had shown up.

'Hmmm.'

Tatiana was momentarily taken aback by Kurilta's attitude but quickly understood.

A tribal origin near Kronos.

Strange tattoos covering his body.

No doubt about it—he was a barbarian.

'That tattoo… it's true, then. He really is from a tribe near Kronos.'

Tatiana had encountered similar markings before, during past missions in the area.

"I see. I'd like to speak with him alone. Could you give us some space?"

"...Ah, understood."

Now alone with Kurilta, Tatiana got straight to the point.

"Tell me everything you know about Carl Marcus."

Kurilta glanced at her before clicking his tongue.

"Unfortunate."

"What is?"

"Your face is decent… but you're not Carl's type. Carl prefers women with big breasts and wide hips. You don't have those."

Tatiana had not expected such an insult from a mere recruit.

She was so stunned that she forgot to even be angry.

She was simply… dumbfounded.

"...What, what?"

She had expected him to be a barbarian.

But this was beyond anything she could have imagined.

"What's so surprising? Carl is a warrior among warriors. A great warrior should marry a woman who can bear many children."

Even as Kurilta continued his outrageous remarks, Tatiana knew better than to pull rank or demand respect.

He was a barbarian.

Even if she lectured him about military discipline, he would die without ever understanding what he did wrong.

'…The training officer must be going through hell.'

So, instead of getting offended, Tatiana controlled herself and focused on extracting information.

"…From what I hear, Carl Marcus was denied entry into Ark. Do you really think he can survive out there? You need to be alive to have children, don't you?"

"Carl will survive, no matter what."

Kurilta spoke with absolute certainty.

"No matter what anyone says, he is a descendant of the Great Spirit."

Kurilta, having lived near Kronos, knew better than anyone how dangerous the outside world was.

And yet, he was completely convinced of Carl Marcus's survival.

"I see."

"Yes."

Another confident answer.

At this point, Tatiana no longer felt the need to point out how ridiculous Kurilta's attitude was.

She still didn't know if Carl Marcus was truly alive,

But there was one thing she was certain of—

'…He's definitely just as uncivilized as this one. No doubt about it.'

Even before confirming that he was her savior, her mind had already built a prejudice against him.

***

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