After dying and coming back to life over and over, I finally learned this woman’s name.
Sera.
She was in the same intake as me, and it seemed we were fairly close.
Not lovers, though.
I was explaining things to Sera now.
"That’s ridiculous!"
"Sera. Just trust me. Once we get out of the Barracks, it’ll be different from what we were told..."
I was telling her about what was going to happen to us.
The information we’d been given was wrong. We couldn’t deal with that pack of Zerg so easily.
And so, a lot of people died.
"No way!"
"Sera! Just trust me!!"
I’d been shouting that at Sera for quite a while now, since she wouldn’t believe me easily.
It was horrible and painful.
I didn’t know if this was the better way.
Was this really right? I wished Sera were a player like me.
"Go, go, go!"
The shaking stopped.
As light poured in, my field of view opened wide.
"Sera! You understand what I told you, right?!"
"Yeah."
The instant we emerged from the Barracks, we ran.
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
I kept firing without stopping.
"Aaaaargh!"
"No!"
"Sera! Follow me!"
One on the left again.
Two on the right.
One behind us.
The pattern had changed because Sera was following me, but...
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
"Grrrrrrrrr!"
No problem.
Before the Roaches could burst out, I pumped bullets into the ground and ran.
"Sera! Left!"
If I called things out while running—
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
"Kieeeeeek!"
Right!
"Kieeeeeek!"
Sera blew away the Zerglings.
This was my fifteenth try.
It was agonizing and exhausting, but I kept trying.
My explanations weren’t exactly brilliant, but whenever I spoke, Sera followed along well.
It was all thanks to Sera helping me.
Even so, there was a section that kept stopping us.
Right here.
"Kieeeeeek!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
We broke through the point I’d never been able to reach alone, and then came the problem.
They would definitely come.
They would burst out of the ground somehow.
Roaches, with carapaces far thicker than Zerglings’.
Not one of them, but two.
This time too, they would naturally emerge as though they’d been waiting for us.
Those hulking things, right now.
"Now!!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
We had to deal with the Roaches here somehow.
We had to, but...
Why weren’t they coming out?
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
"Die, you fucking bastards!!"
"We’re finally pushing them back!"
"Aaaaargh!"
It was lucky enough that the Roaches hadn’t burst out of the ground, but we were pushing back the Zerg.
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
"Kieeeeeek!"
We’d win this. We could win.
Victory was in our hands. We’d won the full-scale engagement.
In the wide-open field before us, there were more of our Marines than Zerg.
I could finally get out of this chapter.
It was only dumb luck, but I didn’t care.
I could finally get out of here.
"Sera! Watch out—"
The next instant, my body froze.
I saw them.
The two that should have appeared in front of me were over there.
"Aaaaargh!"
Sera was over there too.
No. Not anymore.
She was dead.
Sera had died horribly, but at that moment, I thought:
‘Run.’
It was okay. I was still alive.
If I just kept running, I could clear this chapter.
Sera was an NPC, not a player, anyway.
She was just the first woman I’d met in this world.
Just the first person to talk to me.
Just the first person to worry about me.
She was only someone from the same intake.
That was all.
If I ran now, I could move on to the next chapter.
So abandon Sera.
My head told me to do it, but my body was moving toward the fallen Sera.
"Grrrrrrrr..."
"Grrrrrrrr..."
Could I kill those things with this pea shooter?
Probably not.
But I could start over.
"Diiie!"
"Grrrrraaaah!"
"Grrrrraaaah!"
"Aaaaargh!"
I couldn’t abandon Sera.
"What the hell?! What’s wrong with that guy?"
"Looks like he pissed himself because he’s scared of the Zerg."
"What a fucking idiot!"
"What’s so scary about killing a few Zerglings?"
In the dark space, red lights flashed on and off.
I could see her.
"Sera!"
Sera was alive.
"Jack! What’s wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"
"Sera."
"Huh?"
"I’m... glad you’re alive..."
"What? Alive? What are you suddenly talking about?"
That was enough. I could start over.
Along with Sera—no. We needed more people.
Just one or two more, and we could get out of this chapter.
That was when it happened.
[Ding!]
[Camaraderie]
[New Achievement Unlocked!]
-A heart that cherishes one’s comrades is the quickest path to victory!
[Passive Unlocked]
[Marine’s Instinct]
-Chance to gain a Marine’s...
The moment I saw the status window appear before my eyes, I shouted.
"You fucking bastards! Why are you giving me this only now?!"
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