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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Sung Ga-yeon translated the US military commander’s words.
“We wanted to know about your movements. It’s not wrong to be curious about a new faction. We sent out reconnaissance drones several times, and we were able to see where you were staying, and how you fought that monster beast.”
…So they had been watching us with reconnaissance drones.
I hadn’t noticed at all because it was night.
That thing must fly pretty quietly.
It looked like a piece of plastic stuck to a stick, but its performance must have been incredible.
…I couldn’t bring myself to look at the special forces members.
They must have a lot of questions for me. But they were just holding back because of the situation.
The atmosphere had become a little tense.
It was the US military commander who broke the silence.
“Can you tell us? How is it possible to fight like that? We analyzed the footage and saw that you fired nine arrows in an instant. And a sword that moves on its own? It looks like a black person suddenly appeared and then disappeared. What happened?”
The Latino man who was handling the projector added a few words.
Sung Kyu-hyuk translated.
“We analyzed the footage and saw that you killed a zombie with every single shot. And that was with an Ingram MAC-10 in each hand, which is notorious for its low accuracy. How is that possible?”
…Damn it.
They had really seen everything.
I couldn’t bluff my way out of this.
I couldn’t hide it anymore.
I slowly raised my head.
…At this moment, it wasn’t just the US military who was listening to my every word.
The special forces members were also waiting for my answer.
And I couldn’t find a way to explain any of it.
A rectangular status window appears in front of my eyes? And only I can see it? I press it, and my stats go up, and then I get skills, and how the hell am I supposed to explain that?
I looked at Sung Ga-yeon.
I looked at Sung Kyu-hyuk.
They were looking at me without even blinking.
…Damn it.
Alright.
Let’s just keep it simple.
I slowly took a deep breath.
And I opened my mouth.
“…I am a superhero.”
…What else was I supposed to say, damn it.
Yeah, I was a superhero!
So what! What the hell!
Sung Ga-yeon and Sung Kyu-hyuk. And the special forces members.
The US military’s gazes were all on me.
Their expressions were so real.
To think there was a guy who called himself a superhero. If such a guy were in front of me, I would have first laughed at him and then punched him in the face.
But I couldn’t help it.
I wasn’t confident that I could logically explain everything that was happening to me, nor was I confident that I could make them understand by telling them the truth.
I was just a superhero.
Let’s just go with that.
Whether you believed it or not was up to you.
The US military commander smiled and said something.
“That may be so. What you did was surreal. When I, when we first saw it, we thought the camera was broken.”
The conference room door opened, and a well-built American soldier came in with a tray of coffee cups.
The US military commander took a cup, took a sip, and said,
“But we can’t say it’s not true. The corpses are there, the monster beast is dead, and the monster dogs appeared. All of that proves what you did.”
The US military commander looked at the screen.
Me, standing with a sword in each hand.
The image was paused there.
The US military commander said,
“Your ability is surreal. It’s impossible. To think that there is a human who can do such things… just a few months ago, I would have scoffed at it as a well-manipulated video. But do you know what?”
The US military commander looked at me.
“As much as you are a person with surreal abilities, the current situation is also surreal.”
I drank my coffee.
Not because I particularly wanted to, but because I had nothing to say.
The US military commander said,
“We have lost our families. We have lost our government, and we have lost everything that sustained our lives in an instant. And outside, people who were once our neighbors, friends, and family are now trying to bite and tear us apart with their mouths open.”
He slowly stood up and walked over to me.
And, in front of me.
He sat on the edge of the table and said,
“The world has become surreal, so there’s no reason why a person with surreal abilities shouldn’t appear. I’ve decided to think that way.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk, who had been listening to him, said quietly,
“You’ve accepted it quite well. I still feel like I’m watching a scene from a movie every time I see this man’s abilities.”
…He was saying that for me to hear.
There was a hint of reproach in his tone, as if asking why I hadn’t told him sooner that such a thing was possible.
If it had been something I could have explained and had them say, “Ah, I see,” I would have shown them and told them a long time ago.
It wasn’t possible, so I just bluffed my way through it until now, wasn’t it?
The US military commander smiled faintly and took two cigars from his breast pocket, offering one to me.
…A cigar.
…I’ll take it.
The US military commander cut the cigar I had received with a cutter and said,
“Don’t misunderstand. I feel the same way about it being like watching a movie. We spent all night replaying the footage and talking about it. And in the process, we came to a pretty good conclusion.”
Sung Kyu-hyuk tilted his head and asked,
“…And what was that conclusion?”
The cigar the US military commander had lit for me.
…Tasted good.
I savored the deep taste of the Cuban cigar as I listened to Sung Ga-yeon translate.
Sung Ga-yeon translated the US military commander’s words.
“…Whether we can believe it or not is not important right now. What’s important is whether his ability is real or not. That is our conclusion.”
The US military commander said that to Sung Kyu-hyuk and then looked at me.
“…Is your ability real?”
…He was asking me to show him.
All the special forces members were looking at me.
…I really couldn’t hide it anymore.
I couldn’t bluff or brush it off.
Everyone was looking at me.
…The tension that I never felt when fighting human beasts or monster beasts was starting to build up.
I felt like I was going to burp, damn it.
I couldn’t just let out a loud burp while everyone was staring at me.
I slowly took a deep breath.
And I stood up, my hand on the hilt of my sword.
I slowly drew it.
Shing
The US military commander got off the table and stood by the window.
He wanted a good view of what I was about to do.
Phew.
Alright.
It was only a matter of time before people found out about my abilities anyway.
I threw my sword onto the table.
The hilt flew forward, rolling off my fingers.
The moment the end of the hilt left my fingers.
From my cheek.
From my fingertips.
From the shadow cast by my outstretched arm.
A shadow, formed in an instant like a crosshatch, leaped out and grabbed the sword.
Whoosh!
The Shadow Warrior, holding the sword.
It was kneeling on one knee on the table.
The Shadow Warrior slowly raised its head.
It looked at me.
It had no face.
“Gasp!”
Sung Ga-yeon gasped and jumped to her feet.
The people made a noise and stood up in a rush.
Right.
It must be scary.
I was pretty surprised myself the first time I saw this faceless, black thing.
The people’s expressions were varied.
Astonishment.
Surprise.
Fear.
Awe.
The people stood around me, their faces showing their individual feelings.
…Come back.
The Shadow Warrior crouched down.
And it leaped towards me with all its might.
The Shadow Warrior, which had come rushing at me from close range, placed the sword in my hand and then disintegrated like a cube and disappeared in an instant.
The people gasped in surprise.
I slowly lowered my arm and sheathed the sword.
Shing Click
“…Is that enough?”
The US military commander was smiling.
But a drop of sweat was running down his cheek.
He said,
“That… is fascinating.”
…What was he saying.
Could someone translate?
Sung Ga-yeon was just staring at me with wide eyes, unresponsive.
This woman.
She had been right next to me when I activated the Shadow Warrior, but I had been in an accelerated state.
She would have only had the impression of something flashing and being cut down in an instant.
This was the first time she had seen the Shadow Warrior up close.
She looked very surprised.
The other special forces members were not much different from her.
The US military commander began to speak.
Sung Kyu-hyuk, who had been gasping for breath, looked back and forth between the commander and me.
Sung Kyu-hyuk was the fastest to accept the situation.
He said,
“The commander asks if you can summon that at will.”
It becomes useless when I’ve used all my strength, but I can summon it whenever I want.
I slowly nodded.
The US military commander spoke.
Sung Kyu-hyuk listened and then translated for me.
“…He asks if you would help us, no, if you would participate in our operation.”
…That’s right.
This was what I had been waiting for.
I smiled faintly and said,
“I’ll hear what kind of operation it is. And, of course, we’ll have to talk about the compensation.”
The US military commander smiled and approached me.
And he held out his hand.
“Now we’re talking.”
…Now we’re talking?
We were talking now?
We’d been talking just fine until now. What was he talking about.
Anyway, English, tsk.
I shook the US military commander’s hand.
Then Sung Kyu-hyuk translated.
“He said, ‘Now we’re getting somewhere.’”
…So that’s what it meant.
You should translate it right away.
The US military commander and I shook hands.
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