A Space Marine Got a Status Window

Gaining recognition from Doctor Space wasn’t easy.

That was why the simple fact of being recognized by him was enough to turn someone into an extraordinary celebrity.

However, that wasn’t always a positive thing.

“Being recognized by Doctor Space means that your genius has been recognized.”

Rather, some people said.

“And what those geniuses ultimately find in front of them is the enormous wall called Doctor Space.”

Being recognized by Doctor Space was like coming face-to-face with a wall of despair and lamentation.

Some might wonder what was so special about that, but for those who experienced it, it was different.

It was something like this.

Suppose someone possessed a certain degree of genius, had their own goals and dreams, and devoted themselves to research.

However, while conducting that research, they saw the results Doctor Space produced.

At that instant, those geniuses realized that what they were doing wasn’t much different from children playing with sand.

They simply realized that all of it was useless.

At that point, the geniuses had two options.

Give up and live peacefully, or do something absurdly insane in order to overcome that wall.

Jennifer Jo had chosen the second option.

She had desperately struggled to escape the enormous shadow of her grandfather.

“I’ll surpass my grandfather.”

Of course, at first, that had simply begun as an expression of ambition.

But the more time passed, the more she realized that her grandfather truly was an absurd existence.

Even so, Jennifer didn’t give up.

She thought.

“Space. The answer must be in space.”

Rather, she thought that not even Doctor Space could know absolutely everything about the universe, and so she ventured into space.

While traveling through countless places in the universe, she conducted all kinds of research.

The United States was delighted to support her.

She was a genius, and the results she produced were extraordinarily impressive even from the American perspective.

Of course, many people warned her.

Space was dangerous.

If she continued like this, someday she would end up dying.

But Jennifer simply scoffed at those warnings.

There were two reasons.

The first was that she was American.

Even though the space age was considered the era of China and India, the United States was still the United States.

The capabilities it possessed were difficult to describe in words.

However, the most important reason was the second.

“Do you really think I’m going to die?”

Jennifer had no doubt whatsoever that she was someone chosen and that she would live a life far removed from a miserable death.

But things in the world rarely happened the way one expected.

And eventually, the moment came when she had to face that reality.

“……Fuck.”

At the American headquarters on planet Amotia, Jennifer was completely alone inside a bunker.

And the bunker she was in had absolutely nothing.

There was no food.

There were no weapons either, not even a simple pistol.

[Oxygen level is insufficient.]

And very soon, she wouldn’t even have air.

Faced with a situation she had never dared imagine in her entire life, Jennifer clearly understood one thing.

“I’m going to survive. Fuck, after everything I’ve done to get this far! There’s no way I’m going to die like this in this place!”

Her desire to live was extremely strong.

“I’ll do whatever it takes.”

That was why, even in that extreme situation, she pushed her brain to its limit.

And finally, she decided to play her last card.

“China! Yes, even if I have to sell out China!”

Jennifer broadcast information throughout planet Amotia about the research China was secretly conducting there.

She revealed that secret.

Naturally, that was practically a suicidal act.

Even if they managed to rescue her, from that point onward, she would live under the constant threat of being assassinated by China.

Furthermore, Jennifer knew it.

The United States couldn’t protect her perfectly.

Even within the United States, there were quite a few people who had been bought or recruited by China.

Despite everything, she decided to reveal it simply because she was cornered.

If she was going to die one way or another, then doing anything within her power was the right answer for her.

Of course, after sending that signal requesting rescue, Jennifer Jo tightly closed her eyes and spoke.

“I’m crazy.”

Because she knew it herself.

“Who the hell is going to believe this kind of bullshit?”

“The probability that she really is Jennifer Jo has increased.”

After waking up, Kim Seojun immediately participated in an emergency meeting to prepare a rescue operation for Jennifer Jo.

“If we can save her, we have to do it.”

For starters, Kim Seojun considered Jennifer Jo to be extremely valuable.

“If we save her, the United States will come rescue us. Unlike us.”

To be honest, in the current situation, the probability that the Polish government or the Korean government would send a rescue ship to save Kim Seojun’s group or Major Jan Zabłocki’s group wasn’t particularly high.

Send a rescue ship solely to save a few people?

Honestly, it wasn’t a worthwhile operation.

Furthermore, the current situation was much more serious than it seemed.

“Especially if the Gate really can’t be repaired.”

According to Jennifer Jo, at that moment she was the only person capable of repairing the Gate.

If that was true, the situation was extremely serious.

If the Gate didn’t work, everyone who depended on that Gate would be practically cut off from any kind of support.

From ammunition to food, absolutely all resources would be limited.

That meant they would have to participate in a zero-sum game!

And to survive in that zero-sum game, the most important thing would be to reduce the number of participants.

But Jennifer Jo was different.

If it came to rescuing her, there was a high probability that everyone would use any means possible to accomplish it.

In any case, rescuing her had now become an important option they had to consider to ensure their own survival.

There was only one problem.

“Is it really possible to rescue Jennifer Jo?”

From what they knew, the American headquarters had been attacked and had practically lost all of its functions.

And they intended to resolve, with the forces of the Polish headquarters, a situation that not even the United States had been able to control?

It was like trying to break a rock by hitting it with an egg.

“First, we’ll have to find out what the situation is.”

Even if they were going to hit a rock with an egg, they first had to find out how big that rock was.

Naturally, that wouldn’t be easy either.

The distance between the American headquarters and the Polish headquarters was so great that, even traveling at maximum speed on a hover bike, they would need three days to get there.

And naturally, if they actually made the journey, it would take even longer.

They would have to avoid Mog that could be hiding anywhere, and in the case of the hover bikes, they would also need to spend additional time recharging their batteries.

They would have to calculate a minimum of four days.

And time wasn’t the only problem.

It would also be extremely dangerous.

“I’ll send a reconnaissance team immediately.”

However, Major Jan Zabłocki gave his approval without even thinking about it.

Considering everything the Polish headquarters owed Kim Seojun’s group, this wasn’t the time to worry about the cost in lives.

Furthermore, even if it weren’t a request from Kim Seojun’s group, this was a situation where, if there was any possibility of rescuing her, they had to do it even if they had to take some risk.

If Jennifer Jo died there, just as she had warned, everyone on planet Amotia could end up dying.

“That’s not necessary.”

However, Kim Seojun rejected Major Jan Zabłocki’s consideration.

“Jennifer Jo said she has little oxygen left. Sending a reconnaissance team would be pointless. We have to decide within an hour whether we’re going or not. And there’s no way the situation there is good. If it were manageable, Hawk Eye would have already taken care of it personally.”

As soon as they heard that, everyone let out an exclamation of understanding.

He was right.

If the situation at the American headquarters had been something that could be resolved relatively easily, Hawk Eye or someone else would have already taken care of it.

Realizing that the situation was bad from every perspective, everyone’s expressions hardened.

Of course, Kim Seojun thought.

‘I’d rather this be a mission that even Hawk Eye can’t solve than have Hawk Eye be dead.’

There were even worse possibilities.

In any case, at that moment, everyone shared the same concern.

“Then how do you plan to carry out the rescue?”

Kim Seojun answered that question.

“That’s precisely what I’m going to think about from now on.”

As soon as they heard that answer, everyone thought the same thing.

‘He’s going to have to think about it a lot.’

Everyone thought Kim Seojun would sink into deep contemplation.

They weren’t too far off.

Kim Seojun began to think.

It just wasn’t the kind of concern everyone imagined.

‘Today I’ll decide which skill to raise to rank A.’

As soon as the meeting ended, Kim Seojun spoke.

“I need some time to think. I’ll go outside for a while and be alone.”

No one questioned those words.

‘It’s inevitable that he needs to think about it. All the survivors of the Polish headquarters are depending on Sergeant Kim Seojun.’

Having to make a decision on which the lives of other people depended, and not merely his own, was far more painful than anyone could imagine.

Furthermore, it was an extremely lonely decision, because Kim Seojun had to reach a conclusion by himself.

That was why everyone smiled bitterly at his words and respected his wishes.

They let him remain alone outside the headquarters.

“Status Window.”

Once outside, the first thing Kim Seojun did was check his Status Window.

[Kim Seojun]

— Strength: 42
— Endurance: 39
— Mana: 35
— Skills: X-Ray Vision (D), Inventory (A), Stealth (F), Teleport (F)
— Talents: Dynamic Vision (C), Hawk Eye (E)
— Points: 1,141 pt
— Tickets: Skill Upgrade Ticket (A), Talent Upgrade Ticket (D), Skill Upgrade Ticket (D)

As soon as he looked at his Status Window, Kim Seojun let out a long sigh.

“Fuuu.”

The sigh echoed inside his helmet.

But it wasn’t a sigh of despair.

‘The situation isn’t bad.’

Rather, Kim Seojun considered his current situation extremely favorable.

In many ways, he was in a position where he could greatly increase his capabilities.

That was precisely why he had come outside.

He wanted to check it.

“Use Talent Upgrade Ticket (D) on the talent Hawk Eye.”

Kim Seojun immediately began testing.

[The rank of Hawk Eye has increased to rank D.]

At that instant, the world Kim Seojun was looking at changed.

As he looked at a rock in the distance, his vision suddenly became much sharper, as though he had zoomed in.

‘Impressive.’

Kim Seojun was amazed.

However, his surprise wasn’t too great.

‘What remains is……’

Because now the real decision began.

‘Stealth and Teleport.’

Kim Seojun had to decide which of those two skills he would raise to rank A.

It was inevitably difficult to decide, because the usefulness of the two skills was completely different.

‘I have no way of knowing what benefits they’ll gain from ranking up.’

Furthermore, Kim Seojun also didn’t know how Stealth and Teleport would change as their ranks increased.

Currently, he could use Stealth for ten minutes every six hours.

“Teleport information window.”

[Teleport]

— Rank: F
— When used, you move to a location you can see.

And that brief description was all the information available about Teleport.

At that point, Kim Seojun stopped thinking.

“Teleport.”

He immediately used Teleport.

Bzzzt!

At that instant, Kim Seojun’s body suddenly disappeared.

Flash!

And immediately afterward, he appeared at the place he had been looking at.

‘Is this……?’

Kim Seojun turned around and looked at the place where he had been only an instant earlier.

His expression immediately changed to one of surprise.

‘Did I move thirty meters?’

Despite being only rank F, he could move thirty meters!

[You cannot teleport again for 1 hour.]

In exchange for being able to cover a considerable distance, he could only use it once per hour.

That was a fairly serious limitation.

However, Kim Seojun wasn’t dissatisfied.

He had no reason to be.

‘If I combine it with Stealth, I’ll be able to do absurd things.’

Thirty meters wasn’t a short distance.

If he combined Teleport with Stealth, that skill was practically equivalent to granting him an extra life every hour.

‘Although I can only move to places I can see.’

It had the disadvantage that he couldn’t move to places outside his field of vision, but from Kim Seojun’s current perspective, that limitation wasn’t particularly important.

Then he stopped hesitating.

He already had an answer.

“Use Skill Upgrade Ticket (D) on Stealth and Skill Upgrade Ticket (A) on Teleport.”

Kim Seojun had chosen Teleport as his rank A skill.

As he did so, he thought.

‘Most likely, the distance will increase.’

He believed that the main benefit of increasing its rank would be precisely a greater teleportation distance.

That was the reason he had decided to raise Teleport to rank A.

If a rank F skill already allowed him to move thirty meters, the distance would increase enormously as its rank rose!

Then the Status Window gave him the answer.

[The rank of Teleport has increased to rank A.]

[You can teleport 31 additional times during the next 59 minutes and 11 seconds.]

‘Huh?’

The distance hadn’t increased.

The number of uses had increased.

Kim Seojun’s mind went completely blank for a few moments.

That was how absurd the situation was.

Being able to use a Teleport capable of moving him thirty meters each time thirty-two times per hour?

At that instant, the possibility of Kim Seojun dying in an ordinary battle had practically dropped to zero.

And that wasn’t all.

[The rank of Stealth has increased to rank D.]

In the case of Stealth, now that it had reached rank D, its cooldown had gone from six hours to three hours and its duration had increased from ten minutes to thirty minutes.

At that instant, all the calculations Kim Seojun had been making changed completely.

To be exact, he didn’t even need to make calculations anymore.

Kim Seojun immediately returned inside the Polish headquarters.

Then he spoke to everyone who was waiting for him.

“We’ll leave to rescue Jennifer Jo.”

The first to react was Lee Hyena.

“I’ll get ready.”

She had already expected that answer and was willing to become Kim Seojun’s shield.

“Major Lee Hyena.”

Kim Seojun spoke to her.

“This rescue operation will be carried out only by Private First Class Park Boseop and me.”

Lee Hyena’s expression immediately hardened.

“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?!”

“S-Sergeant Kim! T-That’s too dangerous, sir!”

No matter how extraordinary Kim Seojun was, Lee Hyena’s presence or absence was extremely important.

In particular, Lee Hyena’s Super Strength and the combat performance she could demonstrate were something Kim Seojun had no way to replace.

“Major Lee Hyena must stay here. Only then can we prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

Despite Kim Seojun’s words having a certain logic to them, Lee Hyena immediately responded.

“Sergeant Kim Seojun, you dying is the worst-case scenario.”

It was then.

Flash!

Kim Seojun disappeared.

“Major Lee Hyena.”

And Kim Seojun appeared behind Lee Hyena.

Then he spoke.

“I’m not going to die.”

At that instant, no one argued anymore.

Vroooooom!

Ten minutes later, a military truck left the Polish headquarters and began speeding east, toward the American headquarters.

Forty-nine hours later, Kim Seojun and Park Boseop were finally able to see it.

“Uh, Sergeant Kim…… I think this place has turned into an incubator.”

The place where the American headquarters had once stood.

Completely covered in Mog eggs.