Chapter : 8
A New Beginning (7)
What mattered was being able to stop things if any of them decided to do something crazy. At the very least, Su-hyeon wouldn’t get dragged into it and die along with them.
“Then we’ll move out. Operative Kim Su-hyeon, do you know anything about the monsters we might encounter around here?”
“There are so many different kinds roaming around that it’s hard to point out anything specific… You do occasionally see trolls around here, though.”
“Trolls?!”
The other operatives following behind lit up at Su-hyeon’s words. Trolls. A name you’d normally only hear in fantasy—but on Planet Cameron, they were very real monsters. They were vicious creatures that attacked intruders on sight, but their corpses were worth money.
Animal hides on Earth were valuable too, but monster hides from Planet Cameron were worth several times more. Whether for proper analysis or for crafting something, there were countless people willing to pay a premium for hard-to-obtain monster skins.
And trolls had one more thing: blood.
Troll blood. It was famous for how scientists had reportedly shouted in joy when they first analyzed its composition. Hailed as a treatment for all kinds of incurable diseases, troll blood was practically liquid gold.
Naturally, if you could encounter and kill a troll, it was like picking up gold that walked on its own. The operatives couldn’t help but be tempted.
“Even if you ran into a troll right now, it’d be tough to deal with.”
“Why?!”
Su-hyeon deliberately poured cold water on their excitement. It was better to rein in their expectations now than let them do something reckless later.
“Catching a troll isn’t easy to begin with. Their skin is incredibly thick. On top of that, they have excellent regenerative abilities.”
“But we’ve got power armor. Wouldn’t we have the upper hand? Are you saying we’d still lose even with this?”
It’s because that power armor makes me nervous, you idiot.
“We could probably manage to kill it somehow. The real problem comes afterward. Why do people try to catch trolls in the first place when they see one? Not for the skin or meat—it’s the blood, right?”
“Right.”
The operatives nodded.
“To extract troll blood properly, you need specialized equipment from the start. There’s gear designed specifically for that purpose. People who make money off trolls are highly specialized—they focus exclusively on hunting trolls. But we’re here on a search mission. Even if we tried to collect the blood, we wouldn’t be able to take even half of it. We wouldn’t have proper containers, and then there’s the preservation issue…”
Collecting all the blood from a troll’s massive body would be difficult enough, but transporting it without spoilage would be even harder. Hearing this, the operatives nodded with dejected expressions.
They hadn’t even caught a troll, yet it already felt like money had slipped through their fingers.
“You really know your stuff.”
After the conversation wrapped up and Su-hyeon moved toward the clearing, Kim Chang-sik spoke to him.
“I’ve just heard things here and there.”
“No, still—being able to apply what you’ve only heard about so directly in the field is impressive. Normally, knowledge you’ve only heard about isn’t that usable right away. But the way you explain things, even someone like me hearing it for the first time can immediately understand. It’s vivid. Like you’re talking from personal experience.”
Ugh.
Su-hyeon’s expression twitched slightly, having been unknowingly hit right on the mark.
“Anyway, sorry about earlier. I thought you panicked and started firing wildly.”
“Would someone like that aim so precisely?”
“That’s true. Sorry again.”
“It’s fine. I should’ve said something beforehand.”
Among soldiers, there were plenty of people with rough personalities. When Su-hyeon was younger, he’d been rough enough himself to overpower and suppress people like that without hesitation. He’d mellowed out significantly after becoming a commander with subordinates under him—but that temper hadn’t disappeared completely.
If someone had interfered with his work the way Kim Chang-sik did back then, a fist would’ve flown immediately. If Su-hyeon’s old subordinates saw him calmly saying it was fine now, they would’ve been shocked. Kim Chang-sik continued speaking, unaware that he might’ve narrowly avoided death.
“But about that troll you mentioned earlier—can’t something be done about it?”
“I told you, with our current equipment, it’s impossible.”
“Later, then. Let’s buy proper equipment and go hunt a troll. If we handle it well, one’s worth over a hundred million, right?”
“I don’t know where you heard that rumor, but to pull that off is extremely difficult. Practically impossible.”
To sell a troll for a high price, you had to kill it with minimal damage to the body and cause as little bleeding as possible at the same time. The problem was that trolls weren’t gentle herbivores—they were violent, powerful monsters. Humans could die in an instant if they slipped up; there was no room to worry about the opponent’s condition.
“Normally, because of a troll’s regeneration, you need high-powered weapons. But that damages the skin and wastes a lot of blood.”
“Still, that’s better than nothing. It’d be worth at least a few million. You provide the info, I’ll fight on the front line. We split the profits fifty-fifty. What do you say?”
Su-hyeon chuckled. Kim Chang-sik was a decent guy. A bit sly, maybe, but it was rare to see someone treat a rookie so casually and strike up conversation like this. There was a reason mercenaries and soldiers were known for lacking social skills.
If I were going to hunt one, I’d do it alone. Why would I fight together?
“You’re thinking it’s a good deal too, right?”
Misinterpreting Su-hyeon’s smile, Kim Chang-sik nodded enthusiastically.
“Great. Once this mission’s over, it’s troll hunting time!”
“Let’s focus on this mission first.”
“I know, I know. Don’t underestimate me. I’ve got plenty of experience.”
Catching a single troll and earning hundreds of millions—any professional troll hunter would call that nonsense. Not only was the cost of equipment and ammunition enormous, but any damage inflicted by that kind of firepower would drastically reduce the value of the corpse.
Still, it was possible.
Because Su-hyeon had actually done it.
Damn it… and I didn’t even get to turn it into money. I just reported it and handed it over.
When the military needed troll blood for research, Su-hyeon’s team had been assigned the mission. Since they needed blood of the highest quality and freshness, Su-hyeon took an extremely primitive approach.
—Captain, no matter how I think about it, this is insane… That thing’s a monster!
—If something goes wrong, provide cover immediately. Unless you want to watch me die.
After completely masking his scent and camouflage to avoid detection, he waited in a tree for several days. When a troll finally passed beneath him, he leapt down, slit its throat, and ripped it open in one motion.
It was a feat that would’ve been impossible without Su-hyeon’s courage, skill, and psychic ability. Even the military-issued high-frequency vibration knife wasn’t a perfect weapon—it had limits to its cutting power.
Later, after hearing that Su-hyeon had succeeded, a few reckless soldiers tried the same thing with their own vibration knives. They managed to cut halfway through a troll’s neck before being counterattacked by the enraged creature and instantly becoming its prey.
Thinking back on those days left a bitter taste in Su-hyeon’s mouth. Back then, he’d handed over everything without a shred of doubt. All he’d received in return were commendations and a small bonus. If he’d skimmed off a little back then and used it for his team, he probably wouldn’t feel so regretful now.
“Stop. Operative Kim Su-hyeon, what do you think of this terrain?”
“Huh?”
Pulled out of his thoughts by Team Leader Lee So-hee’s voice, Su-hyeon looked up. The team had arrived at a clearing. There were few trees, and the surrounding visibility was decent—an appropriate place for combat.
Impressive.
Su-hyeon knew he’d earned some trust, but he hadn’t expected her to consult him so thoroughly. For a team leader to do that showed real capacity.
Only someone with strong confidence and faith in themselves could seek advice like that. Narrow-minded people feared losing authority and couldn’t bring themselves to ask.
If she’d stayed in the military, she probably would’ve risen pretty high. Maybe I never met her back then because she went down a different path.
“It’s adequate. To prepare for contingencies, it might be good to cut down those trees over there and set them aside…”
“Understood.”
The moment she heard that, Lee So-hee moved her power armor and cut down the trees. The knife mounted for close combat was closer to a saw in function. Thick trees were severed in a single strike.
“Wait—are you sure it’s okay to make that much noise?”
The speaker was Park Soo-yong, someone Kim Chang-sik knew. If Su-hyeon remembered correctly, he was a former ROK Army soldier.
“Won’t that just attract more monsters?”
“Don’t worry. That level of noise won’t draw them in. Smaller monsters will run away, and dangerous ones don’t chase prey over such minor sounds.”
“How do you know that?”
“Operative Park Soo-yong. I’m the one who decided to take this advice. If you wish to object, address me directly.”
“Team Leader. I acknowledge that Kim Su-hyeon’s knowledge is useful, but I oppose relying on it too heavily. It’s secondhand information—knowledge he’s heard, not field experience. We don’t know when or where gaps or discrepancies might appear.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Even if we accept information like that bird earlier, in situations like this we should act as much by principle as possible, not be swayed by uncertain information. I can’t trust the claim that this level of noise is fine. We should minimize noise as much as possible.”
Park Soo-yong’s argument was persuasive in its own way. From their perspective, Su-hyeon was merely repeating information he’d heard from others. They had no way of knowing he’d actually experienced it himself.
“That level of noise is fine.”
“That’s exactly what I can’t trust. If it becomes a problem, can you take responsibility? Only say things you can be responsible for.”
“Enough.”
Lee So-hee’s short but forceful command cut in.
“I will not tolerate further debate. I will judge and give orders. The noise has already been made, and if the birds have fled, nearby monsters will begin to move. Even if there’s a risk of attracting more monsters, moving a bit more safely is the reasonable choice.”
“But—”
“I said I will not tolerate further debate, Operative Park Soo-yong.”
“…Understood.”
Park Soo-yong lowered his head, silenced by her stern demeanor.
“Everyone, move out. If we don’t end up fighting monsters, we’ll be camping here for the night.”
