My Desertion Would Be Faster Than Heros’ Obsession

After that, we worked on repairing the barbed wire fence, but the more urgent matter was dealing with the monsters that had already crossed the border.

It was obvious that many of them had moved further into the mountains before we even arrived at the unit, meaning the area would already be overrun with creatures.
“They must not make it down to the village…”
The company commander paced back and forth anxiously before finally giving orders—some of us would stay behind to finish reinforcing the fence, while the rest would be sent ahead to exterminate the monsters.

‘Ah, so this is how it happens.’
The next scene in the original novel must be Dalin getting caught in danger, which leads to her change of heart and awakening.
As expected, Alpha Platoon was selected to spearhead the monster extermination for the 18th Company.

“Take down as many of them as you can!”
At his command, we broke off from the unit and sprinted down the mountain. The legs I had abused during guerrilla training immediately flared with pain.
At least I had anticipated this situation and conserved my stamina. Other soldiers, caught off guard by the sudden emergency, were already panting and struggling to keep up.

Whiiik!
Despite the chaotic situation, Aquila showed no signs of fatigue. He swiftly dispatched a small snake-like monster that caught his eye, his gaze scanning the mountain with sharp precision.
“It’ll be best if we spread out.”

Aquila’s command was short. He glanced at Kayot and Rosan, the two officers, but they remained silent. Ever since the Benny incident, they had kept their mouths shut and stayed out of decisions like this.
That meant it was up to us to make the call.
“Alright. We’ll divide into groups and spread out to take down as many monsters as possible.”

Just as I was about to relay the orders to my subordinates, I spotted another unit descending from the other side of the mountain.
“17th Company.”
It wasn’t just our unit that was caught up in this mess. The 16th and 17th Companies, who had trained alongside us just hours ago, were now also being sent back into the field to clean up the monsters.

Leading the 17th Company was a familiar face—the woman I had been competing against for the past five days, Violet.
The moment she saw me, her eyes narrowed with determination, and she strode toward me with large, confident steps.
“Salvia!”
“Huh?”

As always, she was bursting with competitive energy.
“This time, let’s settle this once and for all!”
“What? Another competition?”

“Yes! Let’s see who can take down more monsters!”
This crazy battle addict… Was she seriously thinking about competition at a time like this?
Even her subordinates behind her looked exhausted by her antics, their expressions mirroring my own exasperation. From the faint mutters of “Here we go again,” it was clear she had a history of being obsessed with challenges.

I was about to scold her and dismiss this nonsense, but then I suddenly recalled something from the original novel.
‘…This is a battle I can’t lose.’
I knew exactly where the largest cluster of monsters was.

That meant this was a competition I was guaranteed to win.
But why should I even bother competing with Violet? The answer was simple.
‘Violet is part of the 17th Company.’

And the 17th Company was stationed near Battalion Headquarters.
There was something I needed from the battalion commander, and I couldn’t obtain it without someone stationed close to HQ helping me out.
If I won this match, Violet could become a useful ally.

There was nothing to lose and everything to gain.
I smirked and accepted her challenge.
“Fine. I’ll take you on.”

“Excellent!”
Aquila shot me a quick, questioning glance at my sudden change of attitude, but he hadn’t figured out what I was scheming yet.
“Whoever takes down more monsters wins. And the loser has to grant the winner a favor.”

“I won’t lose!”
Violet’s eyes burned with fierce determination.
“Competitions… truly exhilarating.”

Sanchez, watching from the side, nodded in agreement. His wolf-like demeanor was unsettling, and I was tempted to argue that I wasn’t as wild as him, but I held my tongue and focused on preparing for the match.
Fighting monsters while in the middle of an emergency might seem foolish to some, but I knew exactly where Dalin had ended up in danger in the original novel.
‘She was dropped into an area crawling with monsters, completely alone.’

If I went there, I could wipe them all out.
In the novel, Dalin had been pushed to the brink, but I had far more experience than she did. Besides, the monsters she encountered were all weak third-grade creatures.
As Violet and I exchanged glances before dashing off in search of prey, I cleared my throat and turned to Aquila.

“Ahem. Now, let’s divide up our platoon properly.”
Just like in the original novel, going alone was too dangerous. Groups of three or four were ideal.
But instead of agreeing, Aquila just stared at me with his crimson eyes.

“Salvia, what’s with this sudden competition?”
“Uh… I just know I’ll win, that’s all.”
“You don’t have to explain. I’m sure you have your reasons.”

His gaze sharpened.
“But a monster hunt like this is dangerous.”
“That’s why we’re moving in groups—”

“Yeah. So I’m coming with you.”
“…Huh?”
Normally, as officers, we were responsible for leading and overseeing our subordinates, so splitting up was the standard approach. But Aquila seemed firm in his decision.

“Do whatever you want. But I’m coming, too.”
“…Fine. No reason to refuse.”
With Jaiden, Milphy, and Benny handling the new recruits, we didn’t need to micromanage them anymore.

Besides, taking inexperienced recruits into an area swarming with monsters was too risky.
I could handle it myself, but walking straight into a known danger zone without preparation was just stupid.
‘I’m not about to trigger a death flag like some idiot.’

I wasn’t Dalin, Patty, or Matty. I wasn’t going to make the same mistakes.
And with Aquila by my side, I knew we’d be fine.
“Alright, let’s go together.”

Thus, our team was formed—Aquila, me, and two new recruits.
***
“Hey, what batch are you from?”

“413th batch, sir!”
I narrowed my eyes as I inspected the new recruit, Tia.
With her sky-blue hair and matching eyes, she had an ethereal, fairy-like appearance. I vaguely remembered her from the original novel—she had a minor role as one of Dalin’s obedient junior soldiers.

‘And as for the guy next to her…’
I couldn’t recall if his name was Jack or Jackson.
Which meant he wasn’t in the original novel.

‘That means he died.’
Since I’d be leaving this unit soon anyway, I didn’t have the energy to worry about them. I lost interest and walked alongside Aquila, heading toward my destination.
I was leading us to the spot where Dalin had encountered the Mudpets.

Mudpets were small, blob-like creatures made of mud—essentially the dirt version of slimes.
They attacked by leaping at their prey in groups and could burrow underground to escape.
“Where… where are we?”

[Dalin’s eyes were filled with unease as she looked around.
But the scenery was identical in every direction, leaving her disoriented.
She tried retracing her steps, but no matter how far she walked, she couldn’t find her platoon.

Eventually, Dalin realized she was lost and collapsed to the ground.]
“…Shit.”
[To her right stood a towering pine tree. In front of her, a pile of boulders blocked the way. If even one senior soldier had been here, they could have guided her. But Dalin buried her face in her hands.]

‘Good thing I didn’t let Dalin go alone this time.’
With Karon’s keen sense of direction, she wouldn’t be getting lost today.
More importantly, I recognized the landmark.

‘I’ve been here before.’
I couldn’t remember exactly when, but the moment I heard “pine tree and boulder pile,” I knew where to go.
I strode ahead, and Aquila followed silently, trusting that I had a plan.

As we advanced, we dealt with monsters along the way.
And then—
“There it is.”

I lifted my head.
A pile of large boulders stood before me. And just beyond it—
“Mudpets!”

Tia shouted, gripping her sword.
She seemed nervous but determined. Good. That meant she would handle herself well in the hunt.
“Tia, do you remember what grade Mudpets are?”

“Ah… They’re third-grade monsters!”
Tia answered, and I noticed the tension in her arms relax. She must have been nervous seeing monsters up close for the first time, but the moment she remembered their rank, she seemed somewhat reassured.
“That’s right. Mudpets aren’t dangerous at all.”

Even Dalin had taken them down on her own. A single swing of her sword, coated in light aura, was enough to wipe them out in one go.
But the reason she had ended up in danger was…
“The real thing to watch out for is the Boss Mudpet.”

The Boss Mudpet—a second-grade monster.
A grotesque mass of fused Mudpets, this enormous sludge creature was far faster and more cunning than the regular ones. It could dig underground, suddenly bursting up to startle its prey. And with its massive mouth, it could swallow a person whole in an instant, trapping them in the thick, suffocating mud inside its body.
“Whew…”

[Dalin let out a breath as she gazed at the scattered corpses of the Mudpets around her. Her cheeks were flushed red with excitement—she had taken down monsters all by herself!
She couldn’t hide her pride as she smiled to herself. But then, a dark shadow loomed over her.]
“Huh…?”

[Dalin’s face drained of color as she looked up at the towering mud mass above her.
A second-grade monster. The Boss Mudpet. There was no way Dalin could handle something like that at her current skill level.
As its gaping maw opened wide in her direction, thick globs of mud dripped to the ground like saliva.]

After that, Dalin had desperately run for her life, and, just as in every cliché moment in the original novel, Aquila had appeared to save her.
…God, the original novel was so fucking frustrating.
“Ugh, this pisses me off…”

I couldn’t hold back my irritation and let out a low growl. Aquila glanced at me, as if checking to see if I’d finally lost my mind.
“Salvia, I’ll take care of that thing.”
“…No. We’ll do it together.”

I forced down my anger and started walking toward the Mudpets.
Huddled together, they almost looked cute in a weird way. But that didn’t change the fact that they were monsters we needed to eliminate.
Aquila raised his sword, coating it in aura, and with a swift downward slash—

Toing!
A bizarre sound rang out as the Mudpet he struck collapsed into a shapeless pile of sludge.