“You’re making me wait five whole days?”

“Show some mercy for someone who’s earned your yearly salary in a single go.”

Jinhae Naval Base, South Gyeongsang Province, parking lot.

A white Range Rover, barely visible bear ears, long milky-white hair flowing down, and the crowd of new recruits casting curious glances as they moved. The fresh recruits, their heads shaved, were on their way to their basic military training. Their steps slowed as they gawked at the unusual sight.

The drill instructors in red hats were raising their voices, urging the recruits to move quickly into the training building, but even they couldn’t keep their eyes from wandering toward the spectacle—Logan Blemmis and the frequently featured Lorentina, almost like celebrities out of nowhere. Considering that “Dark Zone” was the most popular game in Korea, it took the drill instructors superhuman patience to keep the situation in check.

“Welcome to Jinhae. Quite lively, huh?”

“You just had to pick a day like this, you damned woman… Also, why’d you come out here instead of the special forces section?”

“Think of it as a motivational tour for the cadets and base staff. Staying glued to the special forces base all day isn’t exactly… ideal. I think I’ve shaken hands a few hundred times these past few days. Anyway, how did you get here?”

“You told me to come here!”

Logan looked ready to strangle her but eventually sighed and added:

“Do you know how much I wrestled with my phone and computer these past few days trying to get that visitor permit? We’re short on time, so just get in the car.”

Click.

Logan half-jokingly kicked Lorentina’s rear, and she muttered under her breath as she climbed into the back seat. The car felt similar to the one they’d used in the U.S. a few months ago. It was the same model—a fifth-gen Range Rover in black.

As Logan considered this, a drill instructor in a red cap approached him from the path where the trainees were walking. Logan remained outside, curious, as the instructor slowly attempted English.

“Do you speak Korean?”

“A little.”

“Understood.”

He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and began to read the English phrases he had written down.

“The entry ceremony is in progress, so the road you came in on is, uh… currently unusable. You will need to follow directions to exit through another gate.”

“I understand.”

“And… uh, let’s see. Visitor inspection. Are you Logan Blemmis? Are you planning to exit the base now?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Static crackled as he radioed the other gate. After a moment, he continued.

“Confirmed. You may exit now.”

“Your English is excellent.”

“Oh… thank you.”

Then his eyes darted around quickly.

Glancing around as if ensuring he wouldn’t be seen, he whipped out an A4-sized paper from his pocket, folded twice, and held out a pen.

“I, uh… The last Final Championship. It was very enjoyable… No, it was truly exciting. I’m a huge fan. If you could sign this, I’d be honored. No, I would be thrilled.”

“Haha, of course. Keep it safe.”

With a practiced hand, Logan signed the paper in bold letters, easy to read at a glance. Lorentina had exited the car and was readying her phone to snap a picture of the moment.

After glancing at the name on the man’s uniform, Logan also wrote down “RDC”—the equivalent of a U.S. Navy Recruit Division Commander—alongside his name. The instructor’s grin was broader than the sea, repeatedly thanking him.

When Logan posed for a picture with his arm slung over the instructor’s shoulder, the instructor looked like he might float away.

After getting back into the car and starting it up, they were guided out of the base through a different exit. A guard opened the gate, and after exchanging brief farewells, they finally hit the road.

And thus began their time for conversation.

“What’ve you been up to inside for a whole week?”

“Picking up firearms that were shipped over, checking the facilities, sorting out visas, adjusting to the time zone, lots of things. It’s not like we’re training resistance fighters in some backwater country—there’s plenty to get done.”

“Hmm.”

“By the way, Logan, if you officially get assigned to The Unit, I wonder how you’ll get into Korea. Doing operations under Anchor Light would probably be too conspicuous.”

“Work with the lunatic who renamed the operation team to ‘Snake Keeper’?”

After a few minutes of shared chuckles, they exited the highway and entered Changwon.

“Six hours of driving ahead. Let’s get something to eat first.”

“Good to hear. Should we ask the rookie for a food recommendation?”

“Suit yourself.”

They’d eat just about anything, including several MREs at a time. Thus began an impromptu culinary trip for the two operatives.

Meanwhile, back in the recruit’s quarters:

“Surround him! Pile on the lieutenant!”

“Let us see too, please!”

“Ah, no, argh…!”

Logan’s popularity had left behind quite a score for the DI to settle.

Early March, my house.

Slumping into a chair with a hole in the backrest, I muttered to myself.

The house was quiet, but work kept piling up unexpectedly—both in terms of time and space. The latter, of course, involved Lorentina and Logan’s visit to Korea. They were making their way up from Jinhae in South Gyeongsang, presumably headed to my place.

Naturally, I’d already prepared for their stay, with extra blankets, beds, and such. Stocking up on groceries would cover any food needs, so I wasn’t too worried about that.

The issue was the former.

I pulled out my phone and stared at a call that had come in just 10 minutes ago.

“Physical ability testing?”

It was an unknown number.

The call had informed me of a curious situation—not really problematic, but unexpected. Apparently, data on Korea’s EM-level manifestor physical capabilities, which the government had kept, was lost, and they needed my assistance to re-establish it.

The reason for this data loss?

“...What do they mean the other EM-level manifestor was fake?”

During my recent ventures between worlds, it turned out that one of the two EM-level manifestors in Korea (myself included) had manipulated outdated testing methods to achieve a false positive, and they’d only now been discovered.

I’d heard that they’d reaped numerous benefits, including endorsements, over the past five years. Since I didn’t really care what others did, I’d written it off as someone else’s issue, but it was absurd.

In any case, with that individual’s data now unreliable, they needed me to establish new benchmarks for EM-level abilities.

“Couldn’t they just use standards from other countries? Or would that be a privacy issue?”

That was why they’d come to me.

Since they hadn’t asked me to keep it quiet, I decided to send some messages with a few questions, such as whether it would interfere with my schedule or if it was okay for the information to be publicly shared.

Barely a minute after I sent the message, a reply came in.

-[Reply: Certainly possible. In fact, it would be appreciated if you could set verifiable records in the presence of numerous observers.]

Perfect.

It seemed I now had a reasonable excuse to bring along Lorentina, Logan, and the two who were always with them. Maybe I’d even get a chance to spar with them for a change.

After sending a message about the test to everyone, I looked over the details that had followed. The core tests would include NFL Combine-style strength and reflex exams, visual reaction time, and various assessments of physical destructiveness and speed. They’d even set up equipment to measure tons of weight.

The final tests would measure destructive power and speed.

“...Should I start warming up?”

Despite spending a lot of time in VR, I’d spent plenty of time just lying in bed in the real world. Sure, I regularly hit the gym in my basement, but I wasn’t exactly at peak sharpness for something like a physical abilities test.

And, as expected—

“Ouch, ah, gah…!”

“Your muscles are tense, soft, and there’s even some loss of tone. Unbelievable.”

“It hurts…”

The two stormed into my place under the guise of a housewarming, then proceeded to assault my muscles, quite literally.

They poked my soft skin, commented on weight gain around my tail, mocked the softness of my stomach, and pinched my cheeks. It had nothing to do with actual muscle mass, but they managed to give me quite the lecture. Apparently, the bed was molding to my shape.

As for their first impressions of my place:

“Not bad for a residence, but wouldn’t a single-family home with more facilities be better?”

“Korea’s mostly apartments, not single-family homes like in the U.S.”

“Fair enough.”

Ever the analytical types, they inspected every nook and cranny. I wasn’t bothered, though; they offered advice wherever they could.

While they settled on the couch, I started pulling out the ingredients from the fridge and kimchi fridge. Tonight’s dinner would be Korean BBQ, a fitting meal for the two who’d been whining about not having had a proper dinner for a while.

Luckily, I still had a grill and ventilation setup from when a large group visited my place before, so I’d just reuse those. The amount of food would be about the same.

As I prepared, they eventually joined in to help.

Meanwhile, the conversation continued.

“A physical ability test, huh? What time tomorrow?”

“They said to be at Taereung Training Center by 10 AM. It’s not too far from here.”

“What tests are you doing?”

“They mentioned parts of the NFL Combine, free-weight measurements, quick reflexes, body impact tests, and response speed…”

—!

A sharp chopstick flew at my face, aiming directly for my eye.

Yet it appeared slow to me. With vision and reaction speeds far beyond an average person, I grabbed Lorentina’s wrist, tilting my head to dodge the chopstick.

I continued as if nothing had happened.

“...throughout the tests.”

“Well blocked. That’s 100 Shark Points.”

“You would’ve stopped before it hit me anyway.”

“A test without safety protocols is meaningless.”

True.

She was precise enough to halt the chopstick within a centimeter of my cornea, or retract it if I’d leaned forward. The test itself still felt surreal, but this was something she’d always done for the Shark Points system. The first time, I’d broken into a cold sweat, but now I could calmly handle it. Perhaps I was going insane.

Logan added his analysis.

“Eleven milliseconds. Right on average.”

“Good, I haven’t lost my edge.”

“Of course not, you learned from the best.”

Naturally, Lorentina’s pride swelled, but Logan, unfazed, delivered a swift smack to the back of her head.

“You’re the only sane one, Logan.”

“Obviously.”

Well, anyhow.

Thus began Dagger Team’s chaotic tour of Korea.

[Notice] Physical Abilities Test Tomorrow

I’ll start streaming around 10 AM tomorrow.

See you then.

[All Comments][By Order of Posting]

=Wait, what????

=As always, the surprise factor is strong with you, Teacher lol

=Physical abilities test? Are we getting a peek at the lustrous snake tail for everyone???
ㄴNo
ㄴGah!
ㄴLustrous snake tail, yesss!!!!!

=I can never predict what this guy’s content will be lololololololol

=Whatever it is, just stream, and we’ll watch it

=Ah haha, tomorrow morning, we’re ready for it, lol