Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 12: Giant’s Footsteps

When they arrived near the drop zone after a long flight, it was dawn, with the day gradually breaking.

Jin Beom-Min, who had crammed the basic theory of airborne parachute jumps, checked his harness and prepared for the drop under the supervision of ‘Ogre.’

“Five minutes to drop!”

The pilot’s voice came through the headset attached to the helmet.

Perhaps because they had entered the airspace of another country without permission, the pilot’s voice was filled with tension.

“Now, slowly……”

‘Reaper,’ wearing a parachute, approached Jin Beom-Min with an awkward voice.

Jin Beom-Min nodded after checking once again that his sword was properly secured to his armor.

‘Reaper,’ who approached behind Jin Beom-Min, fastened the harness and tightened the straps.

A faint, feminine fragrance tickled Jin Beom-Min’s nose. It was strange that a sweet scent, rather than the smell of stale sweat, emanated from her despite having waited in the transport plane for more than ten hours in military uniform.

One regrettable thing was that he couldn’t feel any soft texture because he was wearing armor and a bulletproof vest.

“Wow, you look like a cicada clinging to a dead tree.”

‘Ogre,’ who was preparing his equipment, said with a smile as he saw them.

‘Reaper’ wasn’t particularly short, but Jin Beom-Min was so tall and well-built, and with the armor and bulletproof vest on, he was like a giant compared to her.

Jin Beom-Min, worried that ‘Reaper’ might be standing on tiptoe behind him, asked,

“Ah, are you uncomfortable?”

“I-I’m okay.”

When ‘Reaper,’ clinging tightly to his back, answered, Jin Beom-Min felt a ticklish breath on the back of his neck. He desperately stiffened his body, trying not to flinch. He didn’t want to make the situation any more awkward.

‘Sandman’ adjusted his helmet and strode towards the back door of the transport plane.

“Alright, everyone, grab your weapons. ‘Imp,’ you took good care of ‘Reaper’s’ equipment, right?”

“Yes, I’ve secured everything.”

“Okay, let’s get ready.”

When he flipped the switch, the huge back door of the transport plane slowly opened like a giant opening its mouth.

As the air escaped through the back door, a fierce wind blew in all directions. The loud roar of the wind hit his ears, hard to block even with the noise reduction function of the headset.

“One minute to drop!”

Jin Beom-Min and the Ghost Squad members loosely lined up near the back door for the jump.

‘Ogre,’ standing at the front, grinned and joked at ‘Reaper’ clinging to Jin Beom-Min’s back.

“Please take good care of our Mr. Jin. Don’t get too excited just because you’ve smelled a man for the first time in a while.”

“That’s sexual harassment, you know?”

“Wow, scary. I should run away.”

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Jump! Jump!”

‘Ogre,’ striking an exaggerated salute pose, threw himself backward without looking outside, like a seasoned veteran. His figure disappeared in an instant.

“Let’s go!”

‘Reaper’ pushed Jin Beom-Min’s body and jumped forward. He gulped and threw himself into the gradually brightening African sky.

“Waaaaah!”

The high-altitude jump was completely different from what Jin Beom-Min had imagined.

As ‘Sandman’ had said, it was incomparable to the experience of riding a Wyvern. His chest and groin felt ticklish, as if he were on a roller coaster that was eternally falling.

Tap, tap!

‘Reaper’ tapped Jin Beom-Min’s chest twice as if to calm him down.

Only then did he come to his senses, recalling the parachute lessons he had skimmed through, and spread his arms and legs to assume the correct posture.

He could see ‘Ogre,’ who had jumped first, in the distance.

Seeing his stable and unwavering posture, Jin Beom-Min corrected his own.

Thud!

A strong impact, like being hit by a car, struck Jin Beom-Min’s body. Startled, he quickly turned his head to look back.

However, nothing terrible had happened. It was just that the parachute had deployed, causing a sudden decrease in speed.

“Hey, don’t be so nervous.”

‘Reaper’ teased him from behind with a chuckle.

As the speed decreased, the surrounding scenery came into view.

The African landscape seen from the air was incredibly beautiful. The long shadows of the mountains and hills, bathed in the slowly rising sunlight, painted the vast plains with intricate patterns.

As ‘Reaper’ pulled the parachute strings to change course, ‘Ogre’s’ deployed parachute came into view ahead.

In this way, Jin Beom-Min and the Ghost Squad calmly descended, slowly traversing the sky.

When they reached an altitude of 300m after a long descent, Jin Beom-Min heard a strange sound.

Flap! Flutter!

This time, ‘Reaper’ was also startled and looked up along with Jin Beom-Min.

Something dark fell to the ground, scattering black feathers and drops of blood.

“What the……! Whoa!”

The parachute lines tangled and twisted, causing half of the deployed parachute to crumple and fold inward.

“Ah, shit! Something hit it!”

‘Reaper’ shouted in a sharp voice from behind.

As the parachute folded, Jin Beom-Min and ‘Reaper’ plummeted at a rapid speed.

It wasn’t a complete freefall, but it was fast enough to kill or seriously injure them upon impact with the ground.

“Brace for impact!”

“It’s no use! We’re too high!”

“‘Ogre,’ catch us! Catch us!”

“You’re too far away!”

The headset was instantly filled with the shouts of the Ghost Squad.

Jin Beom-Min glanced down at the rapidly approaching ground and said in a calm voice,

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Pulling out a knife from his waist, Jin Beom-Min cut the harness with a swift motion, turned around in mid-air, and embraced ‘Reaper.’

“What are you doing!”

‘Reaper’ shouted in surprise, but there was nothing else she could do. In the first place, she couldn’t match Jin Beom-Min’s strength.

“I’ll catch you.”

“But what……!”

The next moment, Jin Beom-Min landed on the ground.

He stepped onto the ground as lightly as if he had just stepped down a single stair.

“……Huh?”

There was no huge impact, no rising dust, no shattered bones or internal organs.

As if he had been standing there all along, Jin Beom-Min stood still on the African soil, holding ‘Reaper’ tightly in his arms.

“……What happened? We definitely fell, but……?”

Jin Beom-Min grinned and gently placed ‘Reaper’ on the ground.

She collapsed onto the ground, still bewildered, and looked around repeatedly, as if unable to believe the situation.

“These are special shoes with a special function.”

Jin Beom-Min lifted one foot, revealing a shoe made of black metal and leather.

The gold embroidery stitched in a star shape emitted a faint blue light.

“Are you both alright?”

“Oh my, what just happened!”

The Ghost Squad members, who had landed nearby, rushed towards them, forgetting to even pack their parachutes.

‘Ogre,’ with a nearly tearful face, helped ‘Reaper’ up and checked her all over for injuries.

“I’m okay, I’m okay. I’m not hurt.”

“What happened?”

‘Sandman,’ having confirmed their safety, asked. ‘Reaper’ wiped the bloodstains off her goggles and answered,

“I think we collided with a bird. The lines got tangled, and the parachute folded……”

“But how……?”

Jin Beom-Min interjected,

“These shoes absorb the impact.”

The eyes of the group focused on Jin Beom-Min’s shoes. He scratched his head, looking embarrassed, and continued his explanation.

“They’re called ‘Giant’s Footsteps’……They have magic that absorbs the impact when you jump from a high place and releases it when you want. It’s a very rare item.”

‘Reaper,’ who had been standing blankly for a moment, suddenly exclaimed in anger,

“Then we didn’t even need to use parachutes?”

“Well, even magic items have limits. If you fall from a very high place, they might not be able to absorb all the impact.”

Jin Beom-Min lightly tapped his foot to check if the shoes were working properly and continued,

“Actually, this is the first time I’ve fallen from such a high place……No, it’s the second time.”

Then ‘Sandman’ asked,

“The first time was……the Wyvern?”

“Yes. I was terrified then, too. If the impact absorption hadn’t worked at that height, I would have died.”

“Oh my, that’s really fortunate!”

‘Ogre’ patted Jin Beom-Min’s shoulder in relief.

“Anyway, I’m glad you’re both safe. It could have been a disaster.”

‘Sandman’ also said with a relieved expression.

Once the situation was roughly sorted out, the group packed their abandoned parachutes and redistributed their equipment.

‘Wraith’ launched a reconnaissance drone and pointed in one direction while comparing the tablet screen and the map.

“The rendezvous point is that way. About 500m?”

The group advanced towards the designated location, keeping an eye on their surroundings with the reconnaissance drone leading the way.

There, a worn-out van covered with a tarpaulin was parked. It was a means of transportation prepared in advance by a local agent operating in Somalia.

‘Ogre’ kicked the dilapidated van and grumbled,

“What the hell, they prepared this piece of junk? They really do things half-assed in this place.”

“They probably had to prepare in a hurry. It’s better than walking, isn’t it?”

“Still, it’s a bit unsettling. We have to drive for an hour……”

Ignoring ‘Ogre’s’ grumbling, the group opened the back door of the van and loaded their equipment.

They had to move to the volunteer camp and track the monster’s whereabouts before daybreak.

‘Imp’ took the wheel, and ‘Ogre’ got into the passenger seat. The rest of the group climbed into the cargo area and sat down haphazardly.

“What the hell, there’s no air conditioning either? This is driving me crazy. We’re going to roast to death when the sun comes up!”

‘Ogre’ complained, but everyone ignored him as usual.

As the car started moving, ‘Wraith,’ who was operating the reconnaissance drone, asked Jin Beom-Min,

“About those shoes, the Giant something……”

“Yes.”

“They also have the function of absorbing and releasing impact?”

“Yes, that’s right. You can jump from high places several times to store impact, and then release the stored impact when you want. It’s quite a sight when you kick a monster with them.”

“How is that possible? It completely defies the laws of physics……”

“I don’t know. I don’t know much about magic……”

Suddenly, ‘Sandman’ interjected,

“Then, was the fireball you shot at the Troll last time also thanks to a magic item?”

“That was thanks to these. ‘Devouring Wolf’ and ‘Spitting Snake.’”

Jin Beom-Min raised both hands, showing his gauntleted hands.

The gauntlets, which reached up to his forearms, were made of silver thread and dark gray metal, with a wolf engraved on the left gauntlet and a snake on the right.

“Snake……? Wolf……?”

“The ‘Devouring Wolf’ on the left has the ability to absorb magic, and the ‘Spitting Snake’ on the right has the ability to release the absorbed magic.”

“Ah, so then that last time was……?”

“I absorbed the magic used by the Orc Shaman and used it. The power decreases a little when you absorb and release it, but it’s still useful.”

Upon hearing that, ‘Wraith’ commented,

“So it seems to abide by the law of conservation of energy.”

“What’s that?”

“Uh……well, there’s something like that. I don’t know if it applies to magic, though.”

Then ‘Reaper’ asked. The entire Ghost Squad seemed to be very interested in Jin Beom-Min’s magic equipment.

“But the names are unique, aren’t they? Wolf and snake. It’s not some grand name like ‘Hell’s Black Flame Dragon’……”

“Ah, these names are taken from a folktale in Jindar.”

“A folktale?”

“Well, there was a huge wolf and a snake that fought over something trivial. They were arguing, and the wolf swallowed the moon to show off its power. The snake, not wanting to be outdone, swallowed the sun.”

‘Imp’ and ‘Ogre,’ sitting in the front seats, also listened to Jin Beom-Min’s folktale.

Remembering ten years ago when he used to tell the same story to his children, Jin Beom-Min felt a bit awkward but continued,

“But when the snake swallowed the sun, it was too hot. So it quickly spat it out, but its mouth was burned, and all its teeth fell out except for its fangs. But they still didn’t stop fighting, so solar and lunar eclipses still happen from time to time, that’s the story.”

“Aha, I think we have a similar story in our country.”

“Well, folktales are similar everywhere.”

‘Ogre,’ who had been listening from the passenger seat, said in a satisfied voice,

“Oh, that’s interesting. Do you have any other stories? That armor seems special too.”

“Ah, this? This also has a rather interesting story.”

Jin Beom-Min tapped the dark gray armor revealed between his bulletproof vest and began another story.