Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Extreme Cold Training - 3
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A stone of a familiar shape.
A geometric pattern engraved in the center.
It was a rune stone.
'Oh. This is insane!'
He quickly slipped it into his pocket before anyone could see.
No way was he handing over something this valuable.
'The odds of getting an item from a monster corpse are already low, and it's a rune stone, no less.'
He'd have to check its effects later.
Even so, just acquiring a rune stone was a massive haul.
'Man. A few months ago, I got one from Son Eun-seo's dad. And now I luck out like this again.'
Son Eun-seo's father had definitely given it to him at a penalty.
Who would've thought it'd drop from smacking around a walking white lizard.
'Stuff like this has to be used in the training room after drills are over.'
The anticipation was thrilling.
Not just any item—a rune stone, no less.
He couldn't help but wonder what changes it would bring to his body.
He decided to save the rune stone for after the extreme cold training ended.
**
Time passed, and it was the 10th day of extreme cold training.
As they neared the end, the hunters staggered along like they might collapse at any moment.
"Ugh... Still one day left."
"This insane unit. They're desperate to work us to death."
Starting from day two, training monsters had been unleashed to torment the hunters, on top of the unrelenting cold and biting winds.
The environment was so brutal that the platoon members all agreed the hunter mobility drills had been better.
"Ah. How are we supposed to last one more day? My hot packs are all gone."
"Mine too."
"Even sleeping over six hours a day, the fatigue just won't go away."
Not a single straggler among the Second Company's Second Platoon.
That said, Third Platoon had already lost over ten.
"Are our platoonmates for real? How has not one dropped out?"
"Hey. Is our platoon just any platoon? After all the rough stuff we've been through."
Other platoons had averaged around twenty dropouts so far.
Compared to that, Second Platoon's stamina was top-notch.
But that was largely thanks to Kim Min-jun.
His skill at securing food had kept everyone's strength intact.
"That's part of it, but Sergeant Kim Min-jun's the reason we're not starving. That seems like the biggest factor."
"True that."
Unlike other hunter units, the Invincible Hunter Unit didn't provide even a single grain of rice.
Not even combat rations.
If you couldn't forage food, you went hungry.
Naturally, scrounging meals every day in this mad cold was incredibly tough.
"Usually in extreme cold training, you're starving for three or four days straight. Never gone without once—this is my first time."
"It's crazy how Sergeant Kim Min-jun keeps hauling in those beasts from who knows where."
The platoonmates chatted in amazement for a moment.
"It's not just the food, but now I get how hard you pushed us during those training sessions."
Kim Min-jun spoke up as he helped along the lagging platoonmates.
For the past few months.
After duty, he'd personally trained them in the training room.
Of course, he hadn't forced anyone.
If anything, they'd come begging him for it.
Guys asking for stamina workouts to extend their mana blade uptime.
How could an officer turn down that request?
'They're my platoonmates, full of passion. Plus, if they get stronger, it benefits me too.'
Those spare-time stamina sessions were paying off now.
"It definitely seems effective."
"But... there's no way it couldn't be."
Sergeant First Class Lee Seung-ho replied, looking utterly drained.
The training intensity had been ridiculously high.
"I thought I was training special forces or something."
"I nearly puked more times than I can count...."
The platoonmates shook their heads, memories flooding back.
"I never forced you once? You guys begged me to do it, and I gave up my own time."
Kim Min-jun clapped their shoulders and pushed ahead, gaze fixed forward.
His brisk stride showed no sign of fatigue.
"...How does Sergeant Kim Min-jun not get tired?"
"After all the training and dungeon clears he's done, he just doesn't."
Watching his back, the platoonmates steeled themselves to finish strong.
"Isn't that Fourth Battalion?"
"Yeah. Fourth Company, Fourth Battalion."
On the way to the final destination.
Second Platoon crossed paths with the female hunters from Fourth Battalion, Fourth Company.
Normally, they'd have greeted them brightly or chatted.
But with fatigue piled up on both sides, they barely managed a nod before going their ways.
"They've had way more dropouts than expected."
"Hey. We're the weird ones. That's normal."
"Yeah. This extreme cold is on another level weather-wise."
They were shocked once by the low company numbers, then again by Second Platoon's zero dropouts.
'Oh? That guy's still going?'
Meanwhile.
Kim Min-jun spotted Son Eun-seo trudging along with slumped shoulders and approached.
'What the hell. That crazy willpower.'
Checking her condition, he pulled out a full canteen of water.
She should've been dehydrated ages ago.
And she was holding out on sheer grit.
'More than her pushing to finish, it's the platoon leader's fault for not checking conditions properly.'
Skipping meals was tolerable a few times, but water was different.
In this training, securing plenty of water—even if it took time—was key.
Hunters were still human.
No water meant bodily strain was inevitable.
'Hang on. It's not just her—the others too.'
Obvious.
They'd rushed to meet the schedule and skipped water breaks.
Here, water meant melting snow, boiling it, then purifying.
'The platoon leader can't even manage his own people?'
Fourth Battalion, Fourth Company.
At this rate, nearly half would drop before day's end.
"Platoon Leader. At this rate, about half of Fourth Battalion's gonna drop."
"What? Let me see... Yeah, they look dehydrated."
"Yes. How about sharing our platoon's water?"
After getting Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min's approval, he collected canteens from the platoon.
"We're still good."
"Teamwork's important, right?"
"That's what comrades are for."
They handed them over without complaint.
A sign of their trust in him.
"Hey. Son Eun-seo."
"Sergeant... Son Eun-seo."
"Drink this. Finish it. Then pass it around to the others."
He handed a brimming canteen to the staggering Son Eun-seo.
"W-We’re fine!"
"You look awful. When was the last time you drank?"
"About... three days ago."
"Three days. Figures—delays somewhere ate up your time, and no time to get water. You guys wasted it all on rope setups, huh?"
His sharp words hit home.
Son Eun-seo’s eyes widened, like *how did he know?*
"You can piece it together from the timing and situation. Your platoon leader's marching straight to the final rally point before resting. Most'll drop like that. Guaranteed."
Kim Min-jun waved casually and returned to his line.
His relaxed vibe made him look overflowing with energy, not drained.
'What a ghost.'
Son Eun-seo stared for a while before shaking it off. Distribute water first.
As he said, most of her platoon—including her—was on the brink of dehydration.
The platoon leader pushing the schedule too hard was the cause.
'Is this really melted snow boiled up?'
Better taste than expected.
What purification made it tastier than store-bought mineral water?
By the time she snapped out of it, the canteen was empty.
'And... that platoon has zero dropouts. What the hell.'
She'd heard this extreme cold training had record dropouts from the brutal weather.
Yet Kim Min-jun's platoon had none.
They looked beat, ready to collapse.
'Ugh... We took their water. Can't drop now or we'll never live it down.'
Son Eun-seo gritted her teeth, vowing to complete the training.
"This is nuts."
"Hey, what's that?"
Arriving at the final destination—Checkpoint 11—the hunters' eyes locked on one spot.
Sizzle.
Pork belly grilled golden on the hot plate.
"Anyone hungry, step up. We'll share."
"Cold pork belly sucks."
"Whoa. Look at that fat dripping."
The supervisors, live-grilling pork belly, beckoned them over.
Training's endgame—hunger and fatigue at their peak.
They knew and tempted anyway.
Of course, nothing was free.
Eat that, and your training score tanks.
'Whoa. Last time, they said no such thing during training.'
Kim Min-jun warned his platoon: eat it, and it's over.
"Anyone who wants it, go ahead. Just know all this suffering goes poof."
"We're good!"
"We'll hold out—even if it kills us!"
Unlike the relatively fresh Second Platoon, other companies looked like zombies.
Most hadn't eaten in three-plus days.
Some pinched their noses against the rich meat aroma.
"Haha. Hot rice with pork belly. Perfection."
"You guys look beat. Come now, we'll even boil you ramen."
The supervisors upped the ante, eating in front of them.
Trying to break their wills.
"Gonna devour ramen like mad after training."
"Me too."
"Forget smoked pork belly."
But the hunters' resolve wasn't ordinary.
Not one fell for the temptation.
**
Morning of training day 11.
The moment hunters returned to base, the end-of-training announcement rang out.
The long extreme cold training was over.
"Second Platoon! Not one dropout—thank you! No speeches. Go rest now!"
"Yess..."
"Th-Thank you..."
"Warm water... I want warm water...."
The platoon staggered toward the barracks.
Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min watched proudly, then turned to Kim Min-jun.
"Min-jun. You worked hard looking after them. Intensity was no joke this time—thought half wouldn't make it."
"Sergeant Kim Min-jun reporting. Just doing my duty as deputy platoon leader, sir. You worked hard too."
With that, Kim Min-jun headed not to the barracks—but elsewhere.
Sergeant Kim Seo-hyun naturally followed.
"Training room that way? No way he's doing personal training right after."
Even for him, that'd be too much.
He's human, after all.
So thought the platoon leader heading to officers' quarters.
But Kim Min-jun was indeed going to the training room.