Fenrir Translations
───Tududududu!
"The plane is so spacious inside, and it’s just the two of us flying. It feels like a waste of space."
"But flying with others packed in tightly wouldn't be great either."
"That's true."
On the flight path to Washington D.C., a prototype tiltrotor aircraft, following the lineage of the V-22 Osprey, was slicing through the sky at a speed of 780 km/h. The view outside the window was nearly pitch-black. Only occasionally could a light be seen, and even then, it was so faint that you had to strain your eyes to make it out.
We were flying a route that took us through New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and on to Washington D.C., which meant that even these massive cities had lost their lights, underscoring just how close humanity was to falling into the abyss.
There were 7 minutes and 31 seconds left until we reached the drop zone. It was time to explain the current situation to Harmony, who, as usual, didn’t fully grasp what was going on.
"Do you know why we’re heading to Washington D.C.?"
"Well, kinda... Isn't it just to expand the Icarus faction's influence? The game’s story is really poorly explained."
"You're not entirely wrong."
"Which part? The former or the latter?"
"The latter."
What can I say? The story, as experienced by an operator who joined Icarus after the protocol was issued, tended to prioritize realism over immersion. In other words, it didn’t spell out the entire story in a straightforward manner.
Actually, to be more precise, the game did provide all the details. However, it was far from a simple, linear story that anyone could easily follow. Instead, most of the backstory had to be pieced together through collectibles and briefing files sent by Icarus.
Piecing together the backstory like a puzzle is something that can definitely be polarizing.
"Should I explain it at a middle school level or a high school level?"
"...Is there no elementary school level?"
"Then I might need to buy you a picture book first."
Ignoring Harmony’s bright red ears, I thought of an easy way to explain the situation. Back in the day, failing to properly summarize briefings would get me in serious trouble, so I had no choice but to get good at it. My English skills improved a lot back then, too.
Anyway, I decided on a high school-level explanation.
"The U.S. is vast, and within it are a lot of cities. Icarus is originally a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, so it has influence in almost every city. But if we prioritize the most important locations, New York and Washington D.C. are at the top. And Washington D.C. is a bit more critical. Do you know why?"
"Uh… because all the important government offices are concentrated there?"
"Correct."
The IRS. The Capitol Building. The Pentagon and DARPA. The NASA headquarters. And, most importantly, the White House. Of course, there are countless other facilities there as well, too many to list. Washington D.C. is packed with crucial sites, which is why it has been called the heart of America instead of New York.
"Normally, the capital should be the most heavily defended place during any kind of crisis, but a virus is a completely different story. And when the pandemic started, as the virus spread rapidly, what happened as countless people tried to flee the heart of America?"
"...I don’t get a good feeling about this."
"They were all slaughtered. Even high-ranking officials trying to escape and operators with inadequate equipment who attempted to contain the situation in its early stages—all of them were wiped out. The virus wasn’t exactly selective about its victims."
"Oh."
And it would’ve been relatively manageable if that were the only issue. But the situation spiraled out of control when mysterious EMP blasts—later identified as caused by non-explosive magnetic field bombs—started going off all over Washington.
In a situation that was already chaotic, power outages and fires broke out, turning the capital into complete pandemonium. It only took three days for the city to become a massive graveyard.
"Communications with Washington D.C. headquarters were completely destroyed. The U.S. spent nearly two million dollars per person to train its countless special forces operatives, and now less than half of them remain."
"Did they all die?"
"Half of them died, and a quarter became warlords, mercenaries, or something worse. The rest are probably in hiding."
"So we're going there to reclaim the city from those guys."
"That’s the gist of it."
A mission briefing appeared in the air. I didn't expect this type of presentation—a mission briefing right before a HALO jump. The objective was the Department of Homeland Security headquarters, located below the Smithsonian Institution’s office and to the right of the Federal Courthouse.
The first task was to find out what had been happening in the nation’s capital. As the mission began, the voice of the support operator filled my ears.
-[ISO: You’ve reached the objective. Let’s find out what kind of shitstorm has hit this dead city.]
-[ISO: Good luck.]
───Giiiiing!
With a tense sound, the ramp door opened. A deafening wind and freezing gusts began to flood the aircraft’s interior. The slight warmth that had been in the cabin was sucked out in an instant, and sub-zero temperatures rushed in.
My voice automatically rose to overcome the howling wind.
"Ugh, the wind is too strong!"
"Check the green light! Activate night vision! Set the auto-altimeter to 500 meters!"
"Okay! Night vision on! Altimeter set to 500 meters!"
Whoosh!
The wind was so fierce it was hard to keep my eyes open as the pitch-black darkness loomed below the ramp door. Jumping out felt less like exiting an aircraft and more like opening the door to a sealed-off ancient ruin, but night vision made the night as bright as day.
There was an Icarus gear box lined up on the rail, packed with gear we’d need. I was on the left, Harmony on the right. We stood parallel to each other, facing the darkness. We checked our parachutes. Since this was a game, there was no chance of a malfunction.
A grand BGM swelled, and various pieces of information popped up before my eyes.
-[Notice: Moderate turbulence near the objective.]
-[Notice: All Green.]
"Dive, dive, dive!"
"Yaaaah───!!!"
Drurrrrr!
With a strong push, I sent the gear box hurtling down into the darkness, piercing through Harmony’s scream as it plummeted to the ground.
The Washington D.C. mission had begun.
"It kinda feels like we're doing the tutorial again. Doesn’t it?"
"So, should I assume you plan to troll as much as you did during the tutorial?"
"Keep it up, and I’ll dodge you."
"I’ll just piggyback you, then."
Tutorial.
It hadn’t been that long since then, yet it felt so distant. Maybe it was because of how dense our schedule had been since.
Anyway, the difference between here and New York was that, unlike the latter, which at least had generators providing some light, this place had been hit by multiple electromagnetic pulses, plunging it into complete darkness.
The one silver lining was that it made navigating somewhat easier.
Though, there were exceptions.
"…There aren’t as many enemies around as I expected? I was thinking of the quarantine zone, but the lack of anyone around is even scarier…"
"At least New York has abundant resources. Here… it’s hard to find even a night vision scope. So enemies who roam at night naturally disappear. But…"
That’s how it usually was.
In a place crammed with government offices like this, where would firearms or explosives come from? Walking through Washington D.C. meant you were within a 10-kilometer radius of the people who ruled the U.S. and the world.
Those without permission couldn’t even carry a small folding knife here. By that logic, it was fair to assume that this area would turn into a belated melee zone.
But on the flip side...
-[Notice: Presence detected.]
"Prepare for combat."
"…Okay!"
Those with access to firearms in this cluster of government buildings were likely dangerous, experienced enemies.
My hunch was right.
───Swoosh!
Bang.
The air compressed and heated up in an instant, sending shockwaves in all directions. A missile. Or maybe a rocket. Thankfully, it missed by a hair. Instincts flared to life.
The enemies already knew our location. Normally, this would be a situation where retreat made sense, but the advanced technology of the Icarus Device pinpointed a sliver of possibility amidst the exponential odds.
It immediately identified the location of the few operational remote-controlled devices in the area and the signals connected to them. Two straight lines connected like beams of light, marking the enemies' positions.
Gotcha.
"Found them. They’re monitoring us from the balcony of the building complex to the right, above the rooftop garden. Take over the launcher. I’ll lay down suppressive fire so they can’t escape."
"Shall I blow them away?"
"Of course."
Harmony grinned slyly. The enemies on the balcony moved in a well-coordinated, disciplined manner, scanning the surroundings. A tripod and sniper rifle—a standard setup. At least three enemies, possibly four.
Letting them escape would cause endless headaches.
-[Suggestion: Top Attack Mode]
Thunk!
I initiated the shot.
At the sound of a single shot, three of them swiftly took cover, but the balcony wasn’t exactly a spacious area. Harmony, deftly manipulating the missile launcher, shared the expected impact point.
With a whoosh, the missile soared almost vertically. Strictly speaking, it followed a parabolic trajectory, but the arc was so steep that it seemed nearly straight.
A heavy recoil pressed against my shoulder. The enemies, who had just taken over control of the launcher, suddenly realized that the rocket was coming toward them. They began to scatter, but at that moment, a .338 round pierced through their legs. They fell awkwardly, frantically trying to crawl away.
The irony of a life being worth only 2,500 won was something else.
───KABOOM!
In that moment, the balcony exploded.
It wasn’t a large space, and the missile was unnecessarily powerful. The combination of these two factors created a new outcome—destruction.
The unusual sound and flames were followed by tons of rubble crashing down. It was a broken orchestra that you wouldn’t hear anywhere else.
The darkness shuddered violently under the sudden commotion.
"Three enemies neutralized. No further movement."
"Let’s get out of here quickly. I’m not in the mood for more welcome parties."
Crunch.
One minute into the engagement.
Three enemies had been vaporized, and the explosion that collapsed the balcony had dissipated into the night. The two of us left no trace, vanishing along a path no one had walked before.
Only the biting winter wind remained, filling the silence as it always did.
[Tricki Personal Community - Harmony]
[General] Why is Nocnyang getting better and better????
<Clips of Calm Combat>
I used to see her trembling a bit, but now she just pushes through like it's nothing. So scary, wow;;
[All Comments][Sorted by Most Recent]
=Isn’t it because Teacher Yujin does everything for her?
ㄴYou haven't been watching the streams lately, lol
ㄴThat's not true, she's been matching Yujin's support very well lately.
ㄴHer skills have improved so much, lol
=I want to see how good she really is, but she hasn't been doing mission public matches lately.
ㄴRight? Yujin is so overwhelming that it’s hard to tell how much she’s improved.
ㄴShe’s only been playing with the teacher these days, lol
ㄴThe mission difficulty isn't shown, so we really have no idea.
ㄴAh, we’ll see how it goes soon, lol
=They hinted at an upcoming collaboration in today’s chat, so hang in there, lol
ㄴOh, lol
ㄴIs it the Byongmangchi collab? We’re done for this weekend, lol
ㄴYeah, it's next Wednesday~~~~
ㄴLol, I’m safe since I’m unemployed.
ㄴWho’s employed here, lol
=Her skills have skyrocketed in just a month, lol
ㄴShe’s probably the luckiest one, lol. Where else would you find a guide like Yujin?
ㄴFact: Yujin isn't a guide, she's a newbie like Harmony.
ㄴOh yeah, lol, I forgot.
ㄴNewbie (who won first place in Apex in a month)
ㄴInsane, lol
=But seriously, I'm jealous. It seems like she’s getting proper training.
ㄴRight? Some mentors teach their mentees bad habits instead.
ㄴThere’s a reason the rating system exists, lol
ㄴWhy don’t I have such a cute teacher?????
ㄴLol, not for you~
ㄴDamn it...
Everyone, I’m currently working hard on new emotes, and I’m giving them out like crazy.
Aren’t they cute?