Chapter 99 - Dopamine Detox

I could faintly feel the heat of the hot barrel against my fingertips. If I grabbed it now, my hand would cook on the spot. That was how automatic fire worked. Leaving aside whether a person could handle the recoil, it ate away at the gun’s service life. If you wanted your weapon to last, it was something to avoid.

Even so, I inhaled the sharp, piss-tinged smell peculiar to gunpowder and switched the selector back to safe. My custom AR-15, equipped with a low-output light, waterproof materials, a red-dot sight, and a shortened barrel, remained reliable even after the recent fight with the Skin-tapeworm. Reliable enough to justify Captain Kim Ho-un’s whining and demands for credit.

I let out a long, deep sigh and lowered the muzzle. Instructor Song Smith, who had been watching in silence, approached me. He examined the shot grouping on the target fifty meters away, made a show of stroking his chin, then patted my shoulder.

The nice thing about learning marksmanship from Instructor Song Smith was that he didn’t talk like an asshole.

“Mr. Baek. Frankly, your abilities as a gunfighter still leave a great deal to be desired. I trust you understand.”

“Yes. Well, that’s only natural.”

I nodded, taking it in stride.

I’d spent time wondering how to coast through life without doing shit, but never how to shoot well. Even during reservist training, I’d pulled the trigger thinking that if I couldn’t shoot, I’d just give up on getting dismissed early. The guys in my squad might have been disappointed and resentful, but it would have given them another opportunity to realize that life was shitty and unfair. Someone like me could hardly satisfy an instructor who made his living through marksmanship.

But Instructor Song Smith didn’t just put me down.

“Still, Mr. Baek, you’ve made considerable progress on the things we initially tried to correct. No one expects you to perform like a Tier One special-forces gunfighter anyway. Considering that you practice localized penetrative alteration activity, your interest in marksmanship and your continued tactical approach actually make it quite clear how unusual you are.”

“Ahem. Hm.”

Had I breathed in too much gun smoke? My throat felt scratchy, like there was phlegm stuck in it, so I cleared it a little.

“And while you naturally lag behind people who have spent their entire lives as gunfighters, your marksmanship is far superior to that of the average Korean conscript. Through repeated engagements with monsters and hostile survivors, you’ve developed... how should I put it? A fighter’s instincts and intuition. I can see it even in this grouping.”

Examining the broad spread of shots on the target fifty meters away, he added a few more words.

“You acquire your aim and place your first five rounds in a very tight grouping, very quickly. Even accounting for the stationary target and short range, that’s a performance you’d rarely see from a Korean conscript. It makes me happy to see your skills improving, Mr. Baek.”

“It’s thanks to your meticulous instruction, Instructor Song Smith. I’ve soaked it all up like a sponge.”

I truly appreciated how outstanding he was as an educator. To see through to the true worth of a man named Baek Je-min—he was indeed the sort of talent Command would recruit.

“I think you would make a fine soldier, Mr. Baek. Have you considered enlisting?”

I take that back.

I wasn’t so pathetic that I’d fall for Instructor Song Smith’s flimsy buildup, doubtless prompted by Command.

Fortunately, I was no longer the only Supreme Mage visiting the range.

CLACK.

Heavy footsteps drew both my eyes and Instructor Song Smith’s in that direction. Familiar faces. Having poured military scrip into getting their equipment checked and receiving training ammunition, the Supreme Mages were entering the firing lanes in combat uniforms, awkwardly fiddling with their issued headsets.

“Instructor Song. Can I use a machine gun here?”

“I received word and made the preparations. You can use lane three. Mr.... Lee. I’ll assist you. The rest of you can take the empty lanes and start firing until you’ve established a grouping on your targets.”

Lee Se-jun checked the ammunition box while effortlessly holding up his fucking huge, heavy-looking K15 machine gun, then followed Instructor Song Smith to his lane. Meanwhile, I checked what the others were doing. Just as expected.

“Almighty Lord God, guide my muzzle toward your enemies. Let the bullets I pour forth become your righteous wrath, tearing apart the flesh of Satan’s devils...”

Shin Na-in wore the headset provided by the range, with his own hanging around his neck. His fashion sense deserved special mention. Wearing a rain poncho to identify himself as a Supreme Mage was fine, but he’d drawn red crosses all over his gun to advertise that he was a Christian nutjob too, something he had absolutely no need to advertise. An ordinary person would dismiss them as streaks of red paint.

But Lee Se-jun wasn’t the only one who had awakened a new branch of magic. With his right hand wrapped in layers of bandages, Shin Na-in stroked his K2 like a lover, praying in an ecstatic voice.

“The Lord shall strengthen me. You shall be with me through your righteous right hand.”

“Na-in. That’s not a miracle from the Lord. It’s alteration-type magic, Hand Branch, Stage One: [Blood of the Right Hand].”

While Lee Se-jun had acquired Tongue Branch, Stage One, [Demotion], Shin Na-in had acquired Hand Branch, Stage One, [Blood of the Right Hand].

While I’d been fighting the Skin-tapeworm and losing EXP to the Mutation Immunity penalty, these fuckers had thrown themselves an EXP party at the cordon and unlocked new branches. I was so fucking annoyed that I tried to needle him, but Shin Na-in slowly opened his eyes at my words and smiled as though he’d attained nirvana.

“Je-min, they are alteration-type holy-war arts. And the very fact that the Lord God’s power, your righteous right hand, exerts absolute force over Satan’s devils is evidence of his works. Blessed are those who believe without seeing; those who see and still refuse to believe shall fall into hell on Judgment Day. Please repent before it is too late, Jae-min.”

“Aren’t we already in hell?”

“An evil spirit has taken root in your heart, Jae-min. Lord, shine your light even upon this impoverished soul who sees you and still cannot believe!”

I realized I couldn’t get under Shin Na-in’s skin once he’d raised his mental barriers. That was the mental fortitude of an ear mage for you. A mind like an iron wall, unshaken by Lee Se-jun’s gender-swap bullshit, the bestial cries of monsters, or the screams of their victims.

With no other option, I stepped away from the lane and came face-to-face with the person who seemed least suited to a shooting range. A turban and a neatly groomed mustache. A familiar face, trembling and panting in short breaths while clutching a K2. Hamza.

“Hamza. Didn’t you say you’d take it easy in the rear?”

At my teasing smile, Hamza blinked and lifted the gun to hug it tightly. Only after panting for quite some time with the gun in that embrace did Hamza answer.

“It’s still hard, frightening, and painful. I still want to run away.”

Hamza apparently had a good grasp of personal limitations too. Crushed and hounded by fear into becoming a Supreme Mage, Hamza was someone inherently unsuited to fighting. Almost comparable to me, Baek Je-min, who shed inward tears and lamented the tragedy whenever others killed monsters.

Nevertheless, Hamza squeezed both eyes shut and said,

“But I hate the thought of dying without ever getting to fire a gun even more.”

Having already finished my shooting practice, I had no reason to remain at the range. I stepped back, removed my headset, and watched the other Supreme Mages’ lessons while checking my gun’s condition. To assess their skill and ridicule them if they were lousy shots, naturally.

There was nothing to mock about Lee Se-jun. With the physical abilities of a heart mage, he suppressed the recoil with superhuman strength and blazed away until his machine gun’s barrel grew hot. I could only marvel at the shots hammering into the target two hundred meters away like a laser. Every so often, I could even hear Instructor Song Smith’s excited voice.

“Mr. Lee. If heart-branch magic allows such dramatic recoil control, it greatly broadens your choice of firearms. If you don’t mind my asking, how much military scrip have you received...?”

“I got a hundred and fifty units per mission, so I have about a hundred and eighty now.”

“Excellent. Call me if you’re interested, Mr. Lee. I’ll accompany you to the military outfitter and recommend various weapons and equipment.”

I admired the way Lee Se-jun replied so coolly and casually, as though it were nothing. From the outside, he looked like a true soldier, quietly doing his duty.

Meanwhile, Shin Na-in was demonstrating excellent marksmanship in his own lane. Judging by the way he mumbled as he fired, he seemed to recite a quick prayer with every pull of the trigger. He’d always fought calmly and composedly using his shooting skills alone, so he established his groupings consistently and quickly.

Only Hamza had an awkward aiming stance and trembling hands. Instructor Song Smith must have realized Hamza was his greatest challenge; eventually, he devoted himself entirely to one-on-one instruction.

“You’re far too tense. Instead of pulling the trigger right away, let’s take this slowly, starting with raising your weapon and aligning the sights.”

“Y-yes...”

Hamza probably hadn’t expected to come all the way to Korea and end up holding a gun. Initially, I’d watched with the intention of teasing, but my thinking gradually changed as I saw that desperate face and clumsy stance. Hamza was hopeless at handling firearms. So hopeless I could practically hear the ever-patient Instructor Song Smith’s voice stiffening in real time.

It was only natural to sweat buckets under that mounting pressure. Yet even amid the shame and sense of defeat, Hamza listened intently and diligently followed Instructor Song Smith’s words. That attitude was probably why he took the time to teach Hamza so courteously.

“Mr....”

“K-Kirmani.”

“Mr. Kirmani. Developing as a gunfighter will require a great deal of effort. But you possess the most fundamental understanding of martial arts that marksmanship shares: it is an extension of self-defense, a means of protecting yourself. Because you have that mindset, I will do my utmost to teach you. Concentrate.”

“Yes... Yes! Yes, sir!”

Answering in English with a distinctly Korean pronunciation, Hamza faithfully followed Instructor Song Smith’s instructions. Still looking comical and unimpressive. Under normal circumstances, Hamza would never have held a gun or needed to learn this skill. Ordinary civilians rarely had any reason to handle firearms or practice marksmanship, after all.

But the world had changed beyond any hope of turning back. Even Hamza was making an effort, taking up a gun and training. To adapt to this changed world, you had to be able to pick up a gun and fire it, at the very least. We Supreme Mages, at least, knew this changed world’s new rules in our bones.

Time and again, we’d witnessed the fate of those who merely screamed when monsters came, hoping soldiers or police would save them. We, at least, would let out gunshots before screams.

As gunfire rang out in succession, I pulled my smartphone from inside my clothes.

May 11, 2028. Eleven a.m. sharp.

Through that tiny screen, I could understand, however fragmentarily, just how harshly the world had changed.

Every foreign news outlet and online public broadcaster was reporting the same story. The great thing about modern times was that AI-translated subtitles let me get the general gist. Even someone as hopeless at English as me could watch and listen to the delicious dopamine hits of foreign news.

[Breaking News] U.S. House and Senate Define Biological Catastrophe on Korean Peninsula as Wartime Situation. Declaration of War Approved by Majority Vote.]

[First Deployment of UN Forces Begins. Final Troop Strength Estimated at 500,000. Largest Deployment Since Korean War; Concerns over Korean Peninsula’s Biological Catastrophe Grow Daily.]

[China and Russia State Position on Southern Korean Peninsula under U.S. Military Government: ‘Control under Extreme Conditions Is Essential, but Citizens Must Not Be Excluded from Political Power, nor the Korean Peninsula Reduced to a Permanent Puppet.’ Conflict between ROK–China Combined Command and ROK–U.S. Joint Command Interpreted as New Rivalry for Hegemony over Command of UN Peacekeepers and Influence on Korean Peninsula...]

The international situation I checked while scrolling with my thumb was undergoing upheaval after upheaval. Even foreign citizens were posting conspiracy theories, asking whether the monsters were AI-generated images or a pretext for censorship and control. There were also comments from idealists arguing that this was a global crisis facing humanity, and that we must overcome ideological and national conflicts to unite as one.

[U.S. President Awards Five-Star General Rank to McKinsey, Commander of ROK–U.S. Joint Command in Pyeongtaek... War Returns after More Than Seventy Years.]

[Return of Five-Star General Rank after Approximately Eighty Years: What Does It Signify?]

And secular states weren’t the only ones responding to this unprecedented situation. One of the oldest religious organizations—one that drew considerable hostility, yet had inadvertently helped preserve the rites and traditions of all manner of pagan faiths—had finally broken its weighty silence.

[Vatican Celebrates Special Mass for Deliverance from Biological Catastrophe on Korean Peninsula. Hints at Possible Visit by College of Cardinals... Remains Silent on Papal Visit to Korea.]

With a faint snort, I turned off my smartphone and quietly folded my arms, savoring the news. Hmm. I couldn’t let my dopamine threshold get too high. It was time for a detox, away from all that stimulating news.

RAT-A-TAT-TAT...

The practice gunfire continued. I was just admiring how I could now appreciate it as if it were rain, with the serenity of an archmage, when—

THUD, THUD, THUD.

Weary, hurried footsteps. These days, I knew them the instant I heard them. They belonged to Captain Kim Ho-un, who was practically dying from running back and forth between the Supreme Mages and Command. I opened my eyes, and sure enough, there he was, panting. Bracing his hands on his knees, he gasped for breath with saliva dribbling from his mouth. Then he looked around the range, noticed my gaze, and staggered over.

“What’s the rush?”

“B-Baek Je-min. C-Command is calling...”

“About the House and Senate declaring war? I already know General McKinsey’s been made a five-star general, so stop making a fuss.”

After soaking up so much dopamine, I doubted whatever news Captain Kim Ho-un brought could be all that impressive. Wasn’t this the perfect moment to stand there with my arms folded and casually display the serenity of Archmage Baek Je-min? Well, there couldn’t possibly be any news that would wring more dopamine out of this...

“It’s a rebellion.”

Couldn’t. Possibly. Be...

“What?”

“There’s a rebellion in Seongnam!”

Well, damn. I unfolded my arms and looked around the shooting range. A disbelieving laugh escaped me. Unable to accept it, I asked him right back,

“What the fuck? Why is there suddenly a rebellion?”

Captain Kim Ho-un looked around and shuffled anxiously in place, then cautiously moved closer and whispered rapidly in the lowest voice he could manage.

“Of course, the troops at the Seongnam cordon haven’t actually rebelled.”

Just as I thought. Making a fuss. After all, wasn’t this supposed to be the part where I got information from Mr. Anderson, did this and that, and powered up smoothly? I had EXP and gear to farm. A rebellion in Seongnam was ridiculous nonsense...

“It’s Unit 55. Unit 55 is advancing south and breaking through the cordon right now...!”

“...”

...

Foreign reporting? The news? Fucking amateur hour. I’d forgotten I was on humanity’s front line, in the holy land of dopamine.

“Supreme Mages! Get in the car!”

* * *

May 11, 2028. 11:16 a.m.

The place I, Shin Na-in, Lee Se-jun, Hamza, Pastor Park Yo-han, and Go Ryeo-ha found ourselves was none other than Reality Survival Command. After meeting only with Major General Jeon Min-ho, head of the Joint Alteration Operations Group, it felt quite different to see Lieutenant General Royce, a Black man with kind eyes, again after so long. But this time, there wasn’t the slightest room for exchanging pleasantries.

Korean and American officers alike stood with rigid faces, sweating coldly as they focused on Lieutenant General Royce, Brigadier General Thatcher, and Major General Jeon Min-ho. The atmosphere was overwhelming even for us Supreme Mages.

The briefing proceeded with Lieutenant General Royce Candler speaking in English and Major General Jeon Min-ho translating for the Korean military. Naturally, it was Major General Jeon’s voice I listened to. It was a peculiar scene, hearing everything first in English, then again in Korean. Still, it was enough to understand the gravity of the situation.

Major General Jeon Min-ho supplemented Lieutenant General Royce’s explanation, pointing to the various photographs and terrain maps held to the whiteboard by magnets.

“Publicly, this is known only as unrest among soldiers in Seongnam whose rotation was delayed. But I trust that the key members of Reality Survival Command assembled here understand the gravity of the situation. The Society of 66’s offensive, launched immediately after the U.S. Congress declared the current situation wartime and Commander McKinsey was appointed a five-star general, is believed to have profoundly political and strategic objectives. Beyond the political repercussions for ROK–U.S. Joint Command, a breakthrough at Seongnam would endanger Suwon and collapse supply lines already stretched to their limit. Furthermore, the cordon in eastern Gyeonggi could collapse along with them. Across northern Seongnam, we currently face the prospect of adverse weather conditions with fog depth at Stage One and visibility of no more than two hundred meters. Engagement reports continue to come in.”

Unit 55. Conscripts from military units that had disintegrated in Seoul, or abandoned deserters, granted survival and instruction in magic in exchange for loyalty to the Society of 66. According to the explanation, the fact that every one of them was a Stage One alteration-type mage placed a considerable burden on the cordon.

But there was another reason Unit 55’s movements were so troubling. Major General Jeon Min-ho obligingly explained it, unable to conceal the faint tremor at the ends of his own words.

“As expected, eyewitness accounts and reports have come in from northern Seongnam of hostile practitioners of localized penetrative alteration activity at alteration-type Stage Two or above. And... we have received a transmission from the individual believed to be leading this offensive.”

At a glance from Lieutenant General Royce, Brigadier General Thatcher ordered a staff officer to play the prepared recording. Most of the people there would be hearing it for the first time. If you’d only heard it in passing, it would have been difficult to recognize. But the instant we heard the recorded voice, we Supreme Mages could only scowl.

[“Three times. I’ve told you three times to bring me the decision-makers who ordered the cordon.”]

A voice so shrill and rasping that distinguishing its gender was meaningless. Hoarse to the point of ruin, it scraped unpleasantly against my eardrums as it spoke in something like a whisper.

[“You too, cry out three times for your lives.”]

Only then did I understand why Unit 55 was targeting Seongnam rather than Anyang, where the line had already almost been breached. This was someone who had communicated with the military in Seongnam. And only five people had received the military’s radio transmissions.

Madam Yongsan Station, suspected of trying to break through the cordon by loading Amalgams onto a train bound for Suwon Station.

Dobong District Idthiot, holed up in Dobong District, whining idiothically to be saved and crying endlessly.

Professor Nowon District, gathering survivors in Nowon District and using them as indirect hostages.

Go Ryeo-ha, the Four-Tiger Sword scam girl who had joined the Supreme Mages, still believing the Konkuk University survivors were alive when they were all dead.

And... the most dangerous mage, believed to hate the cordon, the outside world, and the military more than anyone.

“Fuck.”

The Gangnam Clairvoyant.