Chapter : 6
A New Beginning (5)
For orcs—who possessed strong physical abilities and aggressive personalities that didn’t shy away from fighting—this kind of job was a perfect fit.
Trying to keep talking to an orc who was clearly on guard would only backfire. Suhyeon gave up on any further attempts at introductions, unpacked his things briefly, then climbed onto his bed and lay down.
Yeah. I didn’t come here to play—I came to work. All I have to do is handle the job I was given.
In truth, what Suhyeon needed most right now was money. There was practically no inheritance left by his parents. That was why he hadn’t joined as a volunteer for nothing.
At the very least, he needed enough money to survive on his own.
Damn it. All the money I earned after suffering like hell before—I didn’t even get to spend it properly…
The pay he’d received as a soldier hadn’t been especially high, but the benefits that came with military service had ensured he could live without much trouble. Of course, after the accident, the money had vanished in an instant due to surgery costs.
Tch. The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get.
Clenching and unclenching his fist, Suhyeon sank into thought. The incident in which he and his unit were ambushed had clearly involved leaked information. There was no concrete evidence, but his instincts screamed that it was true.
At the time, when he had been left disabled, everything had been too chaotic for him to think clearly. But looking back now, the way he had been treated afterward felt suspicious. He had been a company commander in a special forces unit that had successfully carried out several publicly known operations—and far more classified ones. No matter how stingy or heartless the military could be, such mistreatment simply didn’t make sense.
Complaining about an information leak was a stupid move. I should’ve kept my mouth shut and investigated quietly.
Suhyeon had officially protested, insisting that the accident wasn’t due to his own mistake but because information had been leaked. Thinking about it now, anyone capable of leaking that information would have had a certain level of authority. If someone like that saw his protest, they would naturally view him as a liability and try to eliminate him.
If he had kept quiet and reported it as his own mistake, he might have received proper treatment. But that no longer mattered. The opportunity he had gained now was far greater than anything like that.
First, I make money. Then I build influence… and start investigating.
Planet Cameron was a land of opportunity. With money and power, there were almost no limits to what one could do. Even the revenge Suhyeon desired was more than possible. Of course, the ones on the receiving end would never even understand why it was happening to them.
“Kwaaahahahahaha!”
“Human. Are you insane?”
Seeing Suhyeon laughing loudly while thrusting his fist toward the ceiling, Gorgan looked at him with an expression that said he’d just met the strangest guy imaginable.
* * *
“We’ve got a job!”
“……”
“Why isn’t anyone smiling? Come on, smile. This is good news, right?”
“I’ll smile after I hear a proper explanation.”
“Oh, shut it, Lee Sohee. Don’t smile—you’d look scary. Anyway, I’ll explain it briefly. It’s a resource survey.”
Resource surveys were one of the common jobs mercenaries on Planet Cameron took. The planet was overflowing with resources of immeasurable value, but that didn’t mean you could just step anywhere and find them. You had to go out, search, and conduct proper surveys.
And of course, you had to be prepared to encounter monsters angered by the invasion of their territory.
“Rookie. You know what this job involves?”
Jo Seunghyeon spoke to Suhyeon. He wasn’t really expecting an answer—this was just light conversation to ease the tension of the newcomer and help him feel like part of the team.
“We go to the marked coordinates as safely as possible, use detectors to confirm whether resources are present, secure a route, and return.”
“Exactly. You’ve done this before?”
Jo Seunghyeon asked in surprise. Anyone could know about resource surveys with a quick search. But what Suhyeon had stated was the core of the job.
Usually, people who didn’t really know what they were talking about would ramble on about how to find resources using half-baked information they’d picked up somewhere.
In reality, that wasn’t very important. Finding the resource benefited the client—not the mercenaries. What mattered most to mercenaries was safety. Securing a route to return was something only experienced people tended to emphasize.
“I… don’t see how that could be possible.”
“Yeah, figured as much. Still, you nailed the key point. For most of you, this will be your first time. Stay sharp. Team Leader Lee Sohee will guide you well. Oh—and before we head out, I’ve got a little gift.”
“?”
Before Suhyeon could even ask what he meant, Jo Seunghyeon moved back and pulled away a cloth covering something. Revealed beneath it was a steel figure standing about three meters tall.
“Tada! What do you think?!”
“Where did you get something like that?!”
Facing the ever-changing environment of Planet Cameron—and the even more brutal monsters—humanity had realized the limitations of conventional weapons. Tanks were still powerful, but they were far too clumsy to deal with powerful monsters that could appear at any moment in narrow terrain.
That was how robots and powered armor had developed. Bipedal weapons that humans could pilot from inside. Humanity’s weapon known as power armor. Depending on the model, size, performance, and appearance varied wildly, but power armor itself was undeniably powerful—much like tanks in the 21st century.
Naturally, it wasn’t something just anyone could obtain. On Planet Cameron, you’d rarely see power armor unless it belonged to the militaries of Korea, China, Russia, or the United States.
Everyone present was shocked simply by the fact that Jo Seunghyeon had brought out power armor. But Suhyeon was shocked for a different reason.
That thing… it’s the “Black Bear.”
With a low center of gravity, mechanical joints that allowed agile movement on any terrain, and heavy weaponry mounted on both arms—it had been introduced that way at first. But Suhyeon knew very well what the Black Bear came to be called later.
Its most famous nickname was probably “Widowmaker.”
The Korean military had heavily promoted it as a domestically produced weapon, developed without relying on foreign technology—but the results had been disastrous.
Frequent malfunctions, and a main engine that seemed fundamentally flawed, often malfunctioning in ways that endangered the pilot’s life. There had been countless pilots who were severely injured—or killed—while operating the Black Bear.
Only after incidents leaked to the media and caused public outrage did investigations begin. It was revealed that several high-ranking officers had accepted bribes and committed defense corruption. The Black Bear was ultimately withdrawn from service. It was such a notorious case that Suhyeon remembered it clearly.
—Captain, I think I rode that thing more than ten times…
—Stop complaining. I rode it over ten times more than you.
The conversation he’d once shared with his subordinates was still vivid. The thought that the power armor they’d risked their lives piloting had actually been a coffin that could kill them at any moment had sent chills down their spines.
And now he was seeing it again. Judging by the timeline, the Black Bear had only recently been released. In other words, none of its flaws had been exposed yet.
This is insane. To see this thing again here…
“Wow. That’s incredible. Even for the boss, I didn’t expect him to bring something like that.”
Kim Changshik murmured in awe beside him. Come to think of it, Suhyeon was curious too. He’d been so shocked at seeing the defective machine again that he’d overlooked the bigger issue—bringing out power armor at all was insane. And this wasn’t even a civilian model; it was a Korean military unit.
“Relax. I didn’t steal it. There’s a Korean military official who owes me a favor. This is what I got in return. All the paperwork’s clean—no legal issues. I even had it completely repainted.”
“Ooooh…!”
‘Ooooh’ my ass!
While everyone else admired the power armor, Suhyeon clicked his tongue internally. They were about to walk around with a ticking bomb.
Still, the Black Bear wasn’t complete trash. Before its official disgrace, Suhyeon himself had fought while piloting it. At the end of the day, power armor was power armor.
The problem was the constant minor failures—and the occasional malfunction that threatened the pilot’s life!
Even if he warned them, no one would listen. All he could do was hope it didn’t malfunction. As long as it didn’t, the Black Bear was a decent machine.
Suhyeon cursed the faceless military official who had shamelessly leaked military hardware to civilians.
“So… no one here knows how to operate it, right? Figures. Then Team Leader Lee Sohee, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Understood.”
Uh, I know how to use it.
There was no one here with more experience than Suhyeon. But thinking about it, he really didn’t want to ride that thing again. He kept his mouth shut.
“Alright, we’ll begin the briefing before departure.”
* * *
The Calcutta Jungle Zone. Once you moved southeast of the city and set foot there, a dense jungle that looked as if it had existed since the dawn of time welcomed intruders. Even on Earth, jungles were dangerous—predators that could strike at any moment, venomous snakes and insects.
But Planet Cameron was on a whole different level. Even animals here were called monsters for a reason.
Team Leader Lee Sohee’s briefing was concise yet clear. She explained exactly what they needed to know and confirmed each person’s understanding. Suhyeon found himself mildly impressed.
Their mission was simple.
Enter the Calcutta Jungle Zone, head to the designated coordinates, and confirm whether resources were present.
Of course, they’d have to deal with monsters and unexpected situations along the way.
“By the way, I wanted to ask earlier but didn’t get the chance.”
“What is it?”
Walking in single file with his nerves on edge, Kim Changshik casually responded to Suhyeon’s question from behind. He was genuinely tense. And since he was tense, the rookie would naturally be tense too—so it was better to entertain small talk like this to help ease that tension.
If he had turned around and seen Suhyeon’s face, he would have been shocked by how calm and composed his expression was.
