Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 8

퓨쳐나이트 8화

“This is fucked up!”

He suddenly screamed, his eyes closed, startling the elves who were curiously examining their surroundings. They turned to stare at him, surprised by his outburst.

However, Kang Chan, oblivious to their gazes, remained focused on accessing the navigation log, his eyes still tightly shut.

The reason for his outburst was the discovery of how the combat droid had infiltrated the Red Mars.

Forty-one years prior, the Red Mars, while awaiting a mission, had received a secret directive from high command, ordering it to set course for the OGLE-2006-BLG-109L system, the designated operational area.

To replenish combat supplies, the ship briefly docked at Phronica Plant, a moon of Jupiter, Titan.

It was there, amidst the received supplies, that the unidentified droid had been smuggled aboard. This was clearly the work of a high-ranking official, bribed and seduced by the Empire.

Fucking hell.

The enemy’s specially designed new droid could be contained within a box approximately 1.5 meters in length and width when in standby mode. Smuggled onto the Red Mars in such a small container, the droid revealed itself to the exhausted crew a month before reaching their destination, just before the Red Mars team was scheduled to awaken from their long sleep.

From that moment, a bloody battle erupted between the droid and the ten crew members. As per its pre-programmed instructions, the droid first destroyed the communication facilities, effectively paralyzing the information network. It then engaged in a fierce battle with the crew, attempting to eliminate those who posed the greatest threat.

After that, as Kang Chan well knew, all the Red Mars crew members, except for him—the sole survivor—were destroyed along with the droid in a mutual annihilation.

With all crew members dead, the Red Mars, guided only by the coordinates inputted into the main computer, arrived at this planet.

However, due to malfunctions of various equipment, damaged in the intense firefight between the crew and the droid, the warship, which should have been orbiting the planet, instead plunged through the atmosphere and crash-landed in this Elven forest.

That was the futile end of the pinnacle of human science, the state-of-the-art space warship that transcended space and time.

Having learned the full truth, Kang Chan felt a wave of disgust wash over him.

‘Damn Empire bastards… I will survive, even for Dick’s revenge.’

Kang Chan’s eyes burned with a vengeful fire.

Artheon and the ten or so elves, sensing his deep anger, could only stand silently behind him, refraining from asking questions and simply observing him.

Leaving the archives, Kang Chan pushed aside his foul mood and headed towards the Red Mars team’s quarters, where he had been staying.

Since he had decided to live here for the time being, he needed to retrieve essential supplies.

And there was something he needed more than anything else, so his pace quickened.

Opening the small door bearing his military number, a familiar scene greeted him.

His room, extremely simple with a cylindrical bed designed for space life, a small desk, a locker with an electronic lock, and a chair, felt suffocatingly small.

However, he felt a strange sense of comfort upon entering the cramped space.

He stroked the dusty desk.

“Finally, I’m back in my room.”

As Kang Chan slowly approached the locker and touched the electronic lock, the locked door sprang open automatically.

Inside, a specially made reinforced suit hung, tailored to his exact specifications.

It was a thin, vest-type suit, but it was a top-secret military combat suit designed to allow humans to fight on par with combat robots.

This thin vest incorporated gravity control technology to render beam weapons useless and was constructed from aramid nano-composite fibers, providing physical protection against railgun rounds and projectiles of similar velocity.

Equipped with medical micromachines inside, it had an emergency treatment function for the user and possessed the terrifying ability to amplify human reflexes and strength up to tenfold.

In addition, countless features, such as stealth capabilities and high-frequency blades, were integrated into this seemingly simple suit.

As impressive as its performance was, its price was astronomical. Consequently, it was only issued to the pilots of the Zaids [specialized mecha suits], the core weapons of the Red Mars members, while the rest wore armored heavy armor called Sapiens.

He longed to check the condition of his beloved Red Rabbit in the hangar.

However, with the group trailing behind him, he reluctantly postponed it until next time and decided to return.

Kang Chan, wearing the suit, glanced at his railgun placed next to it.

His beloved weapon, ‘RGM16A3,’ which he had never let go of since childhood. Kang Chan simply stared at this killing machine, stained with the blood of thousands, and closed the locker.

Carrying such a terrifying weapon right now was too dangerous.

Currently, his identity, as far as his enemies knew, was that of a space explorer.

He had no choice but to be satisfied with just the combat suit.

After packing a few items into his duffel bag, he slung the bag over his shoulder and walked out the door, where Artheon and ten Elven warriors were waiting for him.

“I’ve packed all the necessary items. Let’s go back now.”

“You can look around a bit more, Kang Chan.”

At her consideration, Kang Chan forced a wry smile and shook his head.

“It’s okay. I know why the spaceship crashed, and I’ve got everything I need.”

“Yes, then let’s go back now.”

Watching Kang Chan force a smile, Artheon turned to head back towards the village.

She had many questions she wanted to ask him, but she hesitated to do so while he seemed to be in such a somber mood.

Sensing her feelings, Kang Chan quietly said to her as they walked towards the village.

“I’ll tell you the reason for the crash later.”

At his quiet words, she nodded silently.

4. Land of Rest

Already a year had passed since Kang Chan had been living with the elves, learning their language and customs.

A year that could be considered long or short, but during that time, many aspects of his life had undergone significant change.

Abandoned by his biological parents as an infant, unable to even walk, he had lived the life of a killing machine, sold to a military special facility, where he was forced to kill even children without hesitation if ordered.

It goes without saying that he endured a miserable childhood, undergoing forced physical modifications and harsh training to become a perfect weapon.

It was the energy of the abundant forest and Jeina’s bright smile that slowly melted his hardened, dried-up humanity.

“Uncle, what are you doing! Hurry, hurry!”

“Don’t call me uncle, you little rascal.”

“What are you saying, you old man? What are you doing? He’s running away!”

“Shh! Be quiet.”

As the bowstring was slowly drawn amidst the tension, an accurate parabola from the crosshairs to the target was drawn in his mind’s eye.

-Distance: 39.8m

-Wind speed: 0.8m/s from northwest to southeast

-Humidity: 79%

-Temperature: 29.3 degrees

After adjusting for the wind speed and other factors based on the information transmitted from the computer, Kang Chan focused all his mental energy on the target after taking a deep breath.

The arrow released from his hand flew without an inch of deviation from the parabola he had calculated and accurately struck the target.

“Wow! I got it! As expected, it’s Uncle! How can you shoot arrows better than the elves?”

Jeina wrapped her arms around Kang Chan’s neck and jumped up and down with excitement.

The target hit by his arrow was a small rabbit called a Timera.

It is generally known that elves do not eat meat, or at least it is not their staple food.

They occasionally consumed meat through hunting.

But for these two, it had long become a regular part of their diet.

Kang Chan, who had been eating only fruit for half a year, was shocked when he first tasted meat again on the day of the village festival.

‘Wow! It’s so delicious!’

Since then, he had been secretly leaving the village and dedicating himself to hunting.

It was none other than the elf girl Jeina, who cared for him, who encouraged him in this endeavor.

* * *

“Seeing the smoke rising again over there, it seems like they’ve done it again.”

“Tsk tsk, at this rate, the animals around the village will become extinct.”

“How did our village’s biggest troublemaker get along so well with a human?”

“Jeina is an elf who is impatient and curious, unlike other elves. In some ways, she is more like a human than an elf.”

The old elf nodded as if agreeing with the words.

“Why did Artheon bring humans into our sacred forest… It would be better to prevent things that could become a problem in the future.”

“We’ll know when the time comes.”

The hearts of the old elf elders who looked at the sky were heavy with concern.

* * *

When Jeina and Kang Chan, who had filled their stomachs with Timera, returned to the village and were heading home, a woman approached Jeina.

Her name was Jerenis, and she was a magician who served Artheon.

The expression on Jerenis’s face as she approached was as cold as a wave of the North Wind.

Jeina’s expression instantly soured when she met her mother’s eyes.

“Oh, Mom.”

“Jeina, did you skip magic training again to come out and play?”

“No, no, it’s not like that.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to take care of Kang Chan anymore? To become a great member of the village, you must never disobey what adults say.”

It was a tone devoid of much emotion, but Kang Chan knew very well that this level of tone meant that she was very angry, at least for an elf.

“I’m sorry. I asked Jeina to go hunting with me.”

In fact, Jeina had come to Kang Chan and begged him to go hunting with her, but Kang Chan, worried about Jeina being scolded by her parents, apologized to Jeina’s mother, saying that it was all his fault.

“I hope this unfortunate event doesn’t happen again in the future.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jeina lowered her head with a sorry expression and was dragged to the magic training hall by her mother without saying a word.

Kang Chan was left alone like that.

Kang Chan wandered around the village, spending his time bored.

Soon, boredom washed over him.

The void left by Jeina’s departure was significant.

Jeina was the only elf who truly got along with him among all the elves.

Other elves were kind and friendly, but that was just on the surface.

He knew very well that they harbored no genuine feelings for him.

In contrast, Jeina was the only one who treated him sincerely, and she was his only friend in the Elven village with whom he could truly communicate.

Although she looked like a child, her actual age was ninety-six this year.

In human terms, she would have been considered elderly.

It had already been a year since he had become friends with her, and during that year, the two had built a deep friendship that transcended the boundaries of the universe and race.

‘Sigh, it’s really boring.’

After Jeina was dragged to the magic training hall by her mother, Kang Chan, left alone, wandered aimlessly around the village and happened to hear the energetic shouts of young elves.

“Taat! Hiyat!”

“……?”

Kang Chan, feeling curious, followed the shouts and moved in the direction of the sound.

Soon, he arrived at an open space where young elves were practicing swordsmanship.

There, dozens of elves were diligently practicing swordsmanship, repeating the same movements with sabers or rapiers in their hands.

A strange light flashed in Kang Chan’s eyes as he watched them.

As a former killing machine who had been trained in all methods of eliminating people, he was naturally interested in their military technology.

Moreover, he was even more intrigued because his most confident specialty was close combat.

Close combat, which originated from bayonet fighting in the past, was now a close-quarters combat technique using ultra-vibrating blades that could easily cut through even steel.

Even in the future battlefields where long-range attack weapons had developed dramatically, bullets always had their limits, and when attacking enemies in trenches or shelters, even in the future that transcended the universe, close combat remained essential, just as it had been in the past.

Kang Chan had played a significant role in the development and refinement of such close combat techniques.

He preferred close combat to ranged shooting.

Long-range attacks between Zaids were largely automated by the computer, so even a child could manage them, but the most crucial aspect was close combat.

In such close combat scenarios, Kang Chan was a pilot ranked in the top tier, not only within the Allied Forces but also within the Imperial Army.

Previously, Zaid pilots relied on manual operation for combat maneuvers, which limited their ability to fully utilize their combat senses. However, Kang Chan was the first human to receive a biochip implant, and thanks to that, he could control the Zaid through the biochip as if it were an extension of his own body.

Thus, thanks to his innate close combat fighting sense and the biochip, he was selected as the pilot of the anti-armor weapon Zaid and currently held the rank of captain, a rank that seemed disproportionately high for his age.