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Chapter : 5
A New Beginning (4)
The PMCs working on the planet Cameron tried their best to look different from regular military forces—though in practice, there wasn’t much difference. Even the terminology was part of that effort.
In a company that only had enough personnel for a platoon at most, the title “team leader” meant that the woman standing in front of him held full authority in the field. Where to move, where to stop, whether to fight or retreat if something unexpected happened—all of that was her call.
She didn’t look any older than her late twenties at most. The fact that she was a team leader meant she had entered the battlefield and built up experience earlier than Su-hyeon had. By any measure, she was an impressive person.
“This is operative Kim Chang-sik.”
“Yo.”
A man in his thirties with a sly-looking face waved his hand and greeted him casually.
“You can get to know the others gradually. If I called them all here just to introduce themselves, they’d only get annoyed. Any questions?”
“No.”
“Good. If work comes up, you’ll get a call. Until then, manage your time freely. But you look like a rookie—if you want, I can help you adapt.”
Kim Chang-sik made a fed-up expression. He knew very well how ruthlessly Lee So-hee could push people.
And Su-hyeon had no desire whatsoever to go through basic training again.
“I’m fine.”
“Is that so? Very well.”
Seeing that, Kim Chang-sik whispered to Su-hyeon in a low voice.
“Hey. You’d better just say yes and ask for help.”
“Don’t say unnecessary things.”
Lee So-hee gave a light nod and walked out. Su-hyeon turned to Kim Chang-sik and asked,
“Why do you say it’s better to ask for help?”
“Team Leader Lee So-hee may look polite, but she’s strict when it comes to work. If you study hard during normal times, she’ll let a mistake or two slide in the field. But if you don’t bother learning and then screw up? She’ll chew you out properly.”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“Oh? You like getting yelled at?”
Instead of answering, Su-hyeon let out a small chuckle. He found it amusing that people who were veterans only by comparison were acting like senior hands when measured against his own experience.
But Kim Chang-sik seemed to misunderstand the meaning of that smile. As if trying to scare him, he spoke in a deliberately serious tone.
“Looks like it hasn’t sunk in yet, so you’re taking it lightly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. The team leader is really fiery when it comes to work. If you mess up, it’ll be way worse than anything you heard as a trainee.”
“I understand. If it happens, I’ll apologize then.”
“No fun at all for a rookie. Anyway, I warned you.”
Kim Chang-sik raised both hands, walked back to the sofa, and lay down again. Su-hyeon was about to head upstairs to the room assigned to him when he paused and asked,
“By the way, how did you all end up together?”
“Huh?”
“When a company like this starts, there’s usually a founding group. No boss would recruit people without even gathering a minimum core team.”
“For a newbie, you’re pretty sharp.”
Kim Chang-sik sat up properly on the sofa. To him, Su-hyeon looked like a textbook rookie—handsome with strong features, but still boyish, far from seasoned. That someone like him would ask such a question was surprising.
“If you’re asking because it’s sensitive…”
“No, it’s not something to hide. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you. I was working in the military. The South Korean Army.”
“Is that so?”
“Unlike you, I didn’t get kicked out as a trainee, you know? Anyway, I was working there, but as you know, the pay’s pretty lousy. Meanwhile, mercenaries doing the same hard work make several times more.”
If he started listing the risks and other factors, the story would never end, so Su-hyeon didn’t interrupt. Kim Chang-sik surely knew that himself.
“Then the boss made an offer—asked me to work with him. I ran the numbers a few times and said yes right away. Anything was better than staying a soldier. And the boss isn’t someone you can’t trust.”
“Was he your superior?”
“No. He worked for a military industry company back then. He was famous there—as an arms dealer. Not just within the Korean military, either. He’s got connections all over. The other members were probably recruited the same way. Su-yong hyung is also Korean military, though I never worked with him directly. And Team Leader Lee So-hee—she was famous in a lot of ways. An elite among elites. I didn’t expect her to come here, either. Don’t know why she did, but she came. The boss probably convinced her. He’s freakishly good at that.”
“What about the others?”
“I haven’t talked to them that deeply. If you’re curious, ask them yourself. The only one who knows everyone’s full background is probably the boss. We’re here to make money—do the job, get paid. Why dig into people’s pasts?”
“Teamwork is important.”
“Teamwork, my ass. You do what you’re told when you’re told. That’s all.”
The conversation sounded pointless, but Su-hyeon learned a lot from it. As expected, the team had been assembled through the boss Jo Seung-hyeon’s personal connections. Some members knew each other, but not everyone did.
‘Looks like they haven’t been together long.’
It was obvious this was a new company, so it wasn’t surprising that they had little real combat experience together. There was no sense of cohesion among the team members.
‘Did I join at the absolute earliest stage?’
With manpower short, he’d been accepted without any proper testing—but that realization made him a little uneasy. Of course, Jo Seung-hyeon seemed like a man with a good eye. He wouldn’t have gathered just anyone.
Still, simply putting talented individuals together didn’t automatically make a strong team. Such teams didn’t show their flaws in normal times, but when an emergency hit, their true nature would surface.
‘Whatever. Why worry already? With this few people, they won’t be sent anywhere too dangerous anyway.’
Given their size, they’d mostly handle easy missions. Over time, cohesion would form naturally. Thinking that way, joining at this stage might actually be a stroke of luck.
Clunk—
“……”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Su-hyeon. We’ll be living together from today.”
“Gorgan. Likewise. Human.”
A muscular build, a low and blunt voice—and most striking of all, green skin. A textbook orc. Even among orcs, Gorgan had an impressive physique. Su-hyeon wasn’t small by any means, but Gorgan looked at least a head taller than him.
He was wiping down a rectangular shield with a cloth. It was silver in color, but not actually silver—something deeper and heavier. Others might have dismissed it as an unusual color or mistaken it for aluminum or steel, but Su-hyeon knew better.
“Altaranium? Is that shield forged from refined Altaranium?”
Gorgan’s shoulders twitched. He stopped wiping the shield and stood up.
“How did you know?”
“How wouldn’t I? It looks like silver but heavier in tone… If it’s not steel or aluminum, and sturdy enough for a shield, it can only be Altaranium.”
Altaranium was one of this planet’s blessed resources. From metals to wood, plants, and even animals—on Cameron, rare things were harder to find than valuable ones. Among them, Altaranium was one of the rarest metals.
It wasn’t just beautiful and durable. Its defining trait was its ability to absorb energy poured into it. The only problem was its scarcity. Otherwise, it was an ideal material for shields.
‘I’ve heard that among alien races who still maintain isolated civilizations deep within their territories, some possess precious relics… Is this one of those cases?’
Even if Altaranium was rare, a tribe that had lived here for a long time could plausibly possess a shield made from it.
Gorgan’s expression clearly hardened with suspicion. He stared at Su-hyeon.
“Few humans can recognize this.”
“I’ve got a good eye.”
“Those who recognize treasure are always the ones who covet it.”
“Oh. So that’s the misunderstanding. I have zero interest in that shield. I don’t even fight with a shield. I was just surprised—it’s rare to see Altaranium refined enough to make equipment.”
“I have never seen refined Altaranium either. This shield is simply a sacred relic passed down through my tribe.”
“Stiff, aren’t you? Then was it given to you as a gift when you came here?”
“Something like that. I apologize for the misunderstanding. Please do not touch the shield. It is precious to me.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
Many people coveted the resources of Cameron, but others sought its traditional artifacts and relics. A shield made of Altaranium with historical value would attract countless buyers.
‘Put that up for auction and it’d fetch whatever price they ask.’
It was understandable that Gorgan was wary. Alien races that interacted with humanity were generally cautious. Humans had entered their world with a civilization far larger and stronger than theirs. Gorgan surely knew his shield was a treasure.
Still, Su-hyeon had no intention of stealing or selling it, and now he felt he’d spoken too freely out of curiosity.
‘Tch. Should’ve kept my mouth shut.’
“By the way, Orc.”
“Call me Gorgan.”
“Alright, Gorgan. How did you end up working here?”
“Money.”
Short, but full of meaning. Su-hyeon chuckled and nodded.
“Simple. I like that.”
There were many alien races interacting with humanity on colonized planets. Some maintained city-level civilizations, but those that remained at the tribal level were often absorbed into human cities. In such cases, aliens also had to find jobs.
