NoveLight ™
"The leaves in Central Park are starting to turn. In just a few weeks, we’ll be seeing snow again."
"Do you think it will snow this Christmas?"
"Who knows. If I continue this pro-gaming life... I don’t think I’ll be able to spend Christmas in Korea again until I retire, hehe."
Dark Zone, Central Park HQ.
As soon as Dice entered the game after a long hiatus, he boldly displayed his confidence. Of course, it wasn't that hard to imagine—he was, after all, one of the sharpest tools in the box. It was more likely that he'd have to keep up with this level of performance moving forward.
Harmony, who had been listening to this conversation, let out a soft laugh. However, no further words followed. It made me wonder if Mina might take a similar path. If that were the case, perhaps not spending Christmas in Korea for years would eventually turn into a kind of badge of honor.
Then came the next comment.
"I never thought about it that way, but it sounds... romantic, if you will. I’m not sure how to express it. It might be more charming than just saying you’ve made it to a few finals."
"So, Dice, if you count this year, it will be your third Christmas in New York. But now that I think about it, you went back to Korea for New Year’s last year… Well, however you express it, it seems like it'll all be pretty much the same."
"Hehe. It’s a shame, but looks like I’ll be spending more Christmases in New York from now on."
As soon as those words were spoken, Dice glanced around.
The noise slowly started to die down, and then a calm settled in. Eyes turned to the young girl with a bright appearance, who looked somewhat lost in thought. However, the atmosphere didn’t feel awkward; rather, it seemed like a playful tease.
Unlike usual, her eyes were slightly drooping, and her soft, light blue hair shimmered with a pink bridge in it. She had a small butterfly brooch in her hair, and a patch for Operation Ouroboros—the "Massacre Difficulty Clear" patch—on her shoulder.
Our eternal punching bag… no, the spice of the team, Kato, was looking at us with a sulky expression.
"Isn’t that right, Kato?"
"…It’s too far out of my reach, so let’s just leave it."
"No way. Someone who was part of the Ouroboros operation can’t be called a newbie. You’re being overly humble."
"Even if you try to comfort me with those words, it’s useless!"
Kato screamed out in frustration!
But the effect was minimal!
Before I left for the overseas mission, I had briefly checked in on Kato—more precisely, I had politely asked if we could team up for the new incursion that would be coming out. Now the time had come, and it was time to bring Kato along for the new incursion.
Of course, her expression wasn’t great. After I came back to Korea and turned on the broadcast, a flood of donations came in. Among them, the most frequent were the ones with videos of Kato lying on the floor and lazily scrolling when she heard I had returned.
It was... quite pitiful. Crying cat automatically came to mind.
"But Kato, you really don’t have much to do, do you? Just accept fate and roll with it."
"...Just because I don’t have anything to do doesn’t mean I’ll choose to be stuck with you, Eugene."
"But what you can do... well..."
"Ugh..."
Am I some kind of villain, to be talked to like that? Won’t I be hurt by that?
I casually glanced at Mina and Yerim, and while they subtly glanced at me, it was already too late. Naturally, the two of them were about to experience a Cobra Twist, and within ten seconds, their avatars were grotesquely twisted, waiting to respawn.
After taking care of them quickly, I added to Kato, who had finally entered with determination.
"Anyway, no one knows what’s going to happen there. It’s a new incursion, so we can jump in and figure out what’s missing as we go. Plus, we’ve already done the Massacre Difficulty operation together. What are you afraid of?"
"It’s not the incursion I’m afraid of. It’s you, Eugene."
"...The first meeting was a bit... harsh, to be honest."
Choking someone with a fishing line... yeah, that was a bit too much.
To be honest, looking back at my past actions, there were definitely a few things I overdid. Especially when it came to Kato, those incidents were particularly harsh. Tying her up with a fishing line, then giving her a headshot or throwing a dagger into her head, or even pushing her off a cliff with a car...
Yeah, I feel a little guilty.
Thankfully, there was no need for persuasion or correction in front of someone so scared. A simple word would suffice.
"Anyway, I’m not trying to drag you into any more painful situations, Kato. If I were, I wouldn’t have visited you before I left. You know what’s waiting, don’t you? You do too."
"…Right?"
"What I want to say is that suffering brings its own rewards. Of course, not everything does, but the mecha Biyams we’re about to meet will be good examples of that. If you hadn’t joined me, none of this would have happened..."
In short, this was the gist.
To be blunt, if the fated connections I’ve built over the years hadn’t crossed paths like this, Kato wouldn’t have been following me around. But on the other hand, because we met this way, we’ve arrived at this point.
And the result is the "Massacre Difficulty" patch of Operation Ouroboros on her shoulder.
Just like how every cause has an effect, if Kato teams up with me this time, she’ll get results she could never have achieved otherwise.
The first mission we’ll verify is a consequence of the butterfly effect that results from these rewards.
"Just like in those treasure hunter movies, after a tough adventure, a valuable treasure awaits. I’ve proved that to you, Kato. Doesn’t that sound like a good enough reason to be deceived by it?"
"..."
"Let’s go see the fruits of that labor."
They’re coming, they’re coming.
At that moment, the two who had their HP reduced to zero were now walking towards me. I grabbed Kato’s arm and headed toward the helicopter pad, which acted as a teleport hub in the Dark Zone.
As if on cue, a helicopter landed with a loud noise, and the side door opened, creating enough space for four people to board.
How much time had passed? When I opened my eyes again, I could see the new forward base. The cutscene began, and new quests appeared on the UI. The helicopter had landed, and the delta holograms continued, leading all the way to the main lobby.
While Dice, Harmony, and Kato were still marveling at the new surroundings, I kept walking toward the destination.
Passing the holographic map that stretched from the ceiling and floor, I headed toward the lobby filled with countless users. Just as I entered, the users around me suddenly vanished, and two glowing sets of turquoise and blue eyes caught my attention.
I naturally turned toward Lorenztina and added.
"Are you open for business?"
"Unfortunately not, not yet."
"Well, it’s about time we start."
A few more words were exchanged, and then Kato’s voice rang out.
"Callsign Kato-graph... Confirmed. It’s been a while. How have you been? It’s a bit disappointing to meet here in such a dusty town, but the fact that we’ve met again means there’s something we need to do. It’s good to see a trusted person here."
"Oh, hey. It’s been a while."
"What’s this? Weren’t you always causing trouble with Jin back then? That’s how I remember it… Anyway, good to see you. Did you come with the boss?"
At that moment, Jin and Rain both... wrapped their tails around Kato’s body and waist.
What kind of sight is this? Kato’s mouth wouldn’t close, and the two of them sat on the counter opposite her, crossing their arms.
Kato, who was trapped between the two of them, wore a face that seemed like she was about to pass out from happiness. Meanwhile, Dice and Harmony, with an expression of pure jealousy, howled in frustration. Meanwhile, our two mecha youngest, whose sense was now zero, added one more comment.
"We’ve secured the hostage. To facilitate the smooth execution of the mission, we require a 30-minute archetype rental."
"I need an hour. If you don’t bring it, Kato will be confiscated."
"...This is insane."
What kind of situation is this?
"This... this is the price of all that suffering... hehe..."
Is this faith?
The doubts and fears that had existed just moments ago disappeared, and Kato’s mind was now entirely filled with Biyam faith.
It was a typical day.
"A few months ago, regular communications from Savannah were cut off, and all the rare metals and resources stored in the city were sucked into Artemis’ factory. To make matters worse, a new UES that Icarus hadn’t identified woke up."
"Artemis’ leadership was completely ousted through Operation Ouroboros in northern Canada. But when we checked the network fragments directly, we found that the deadman’s switch was triggered, and commands had been transferred to the remaining backup data centers."
"The enemy has fortified all of Savannah, and even converted several small towns along the road into forward bases. The red dots on the map represent these fortified outposts and towns."
There are a lot of red dots.
I was about to say something but stopped myself. I didn’t want to disturb the mecha youngest, who were excited about their first presentation. Of course, I knew that those two weren’t really doing this in the other world... well, still.
In any case, back to the main issue. There were too many red dots to count. Some of them overlapped, forming vast red areas. It looked like a compressed red bullseye around Savannah.
Harmony, Dice, and Kato stared at the screen with somewhat blank expressions.
Seeing their gaze, the two mecha youngest quickly added.
"Of course, we’re not just sending four people here. We could do that, but there are so many people here. Would we really send just four?"
"We all know that the people here can accomplish tasks that would take at least three operators on their own. But this operation will purely be about raw power. It’s a stage fit for the undead, who can rise from the dead."
"For that, though, the firepower seems a bit lacking, doesn’t it?"
"Good point."
"Well, if you looked around before coming to the lobby, you’d have noticed, but this base, aside from the basics, doesn’t have conventional weapons that can provide the necessary firepower. What do you think the reason is?"
"...Transport issues?"
"Correct. Well done. Considering that the helicopter that brought you here struggled with low-level flight, optical camouflage, and stealth functions, it’s easy to infer why. And of course, there’s a reason for that."
"Could it be that there are missile launchers set up around here? I’ve seen that kind of thing in movies."
"Yes, Kato, correct. You’re smart. I’m glad you all figured it out without needing extra explanation."
The picture was starting to come together.
The materials for building the base had to be transported by land, obviously. But air transport wasn’t necessarily a bad choice either, especially considering the terrain. It was a particularly advantageous option. And given the six years of war, roads and railroads had been obliterated, so how could they bring in conventional weaponry? The answer was simple. Air force. It was obvious, considering that drones were fairly common in the Dark Zone world.
But whether it’s transport drones, helicopters, or cargo planes, they all have one weakness.
If they’re hit by a missile, they’re done for.
"Surface-to-air missile batteries, railgun sites... The X marks you see are all locked-out support due to these factors. As you can see, support from gunship fire, medium-range ballistic missiles, conventional artillery fire, EMP, and remote-controlled drone operations are all possibilities. The more we neutralize the enemy’s anti-air capabilities, the more options will open up."
"That railgun fire support, though... is that something we can use?"
"That’s right. We can use the three railgun batteries installed in Northwest Florida, capable of firing ultra-small missiles with antimatter canisters. But the recharge time is long, and if we don’t destroy the enemy’s railgun batteries, those canisters will be shot down mid-air."
Indeed.
Antimatter, although in very small amounts, could cause enormous destruction, but upon contact with matter, it causes annihilation. So, if one canister gets destroyed, the others will likely explode in a chain reaction. If that happens, it’ll be nothing but fireworks in the sky.
In the Burning Donkey operation, we crushed the entire anti-air network by launching an overwhelming number of missiles and causing massive destruction. But now, we couldn’t do that.
So, the conclusion was clear:
"To get to the operation area, the most essential vehicles we can get from the base are our best option."
"Unfortunately, yes. That’s why we need to recruit the undead."
"With the firepower that Jin and Rain have, I think we could make a significant impact on the operation."
"Sadly—"
BOOM!
Suddenly, there was an explosion that rang in our ears.
At that moment, Rain waved her hand, and despite being inside the building, the entire wall became transparent, allowing us to see what was going on outside.
An energy shield was spread around the base, defending against the explosion caused by something flying toward it.
"Myself and Rain’s main bodies are currently supplying power to the generator creating the shield, so we can't go outside freely."
"I see."
DRRRR...
I got up from my chair, and as soon as I did, Rain quickly transmitted some data to me. It was the trajectory of the recent bombardment and the estimated location of the enemy based on it.
Unmanned defense turrets were crawling out of Savannah and heading towards the base.
So, the task was simple.
"After a quick briefing, we’ll leave immediately. The locations of the armory and briefing room have already been sent. Our first mission is to take out those fools who thought they could play with fireworks before timing it properly."
"I’m sorry I can’t join you, Archetype."
"I wish I could go... but unfortunately, that’s not possible. Sorry, boss."
"We can’t complain to those doing their duty. I’ll see you later."
As the first mission was updated to the whole base, everyone rushed to the designated locations. Harmony, Dice, and Kato, who had received the information, quickly opened the door and dashed toward the armory on the opposite side of the lobby, while I tapped my fingers on my wrist.
In that instant, my vision was reconstructed as if it were disassembling.
I saw the peaceful surroundings again, and the lobby was back in view, with Jin, Rain, and Mav casually seated.
I patted their heads and added:
"I think we’ve nailed the first step. Good job."
"Good job? We didn’t do anything. The hard part is still to come for you, boss."
"Suffering has its rewards. We’ll meet again when we have the time."
As the screen folded back in front of me, I headed toward the armory where the team was busy gearing up.
This was the beginning of a new incursion.