Chapter 110
Chapter 110
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: Soul Stone
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“Captain Ma Seokdu, effective immediately, you are hereby demoted two ranks.”
The punishment imposed on the medical officer was a demotion in rank.
Occasionally, if someone made a mistake that put the team in serious danger inside a dungeon, they’d get demoted a rank.
Of course, with sufficient prior training, such cases were rare.
But they did happen.
‘Wow. A two-rank demotion. That’s gotta include insubordination on top of it. No doubt.’
It wasn’t just a one-rank drop for the medical officer—it was two ranks.
The guy who’d been a captain just moments ago was now a second lieutenant in the blink of an eye.
‘The generals must be pretty pissed.’
It was unavoidable.
It wasn’t like he’d accidentally triggered a trap in a double dungeon—it was deliberate.
All because he got greedy for the item right in front of him.
In the end, the rune stone he’d tried to grab turned out to be just a plain rock.
Sizzle!
The division commander approached the medical officer and roughly tore off his captain insignia.
Then he tossed him a second lieutenant insignia and ordered him to put it on himself.
“And when you get back to base, prepare to head straight to the disciplinary unit. Don’t even dream of rest. You’ll be on pay deduction for the next six months, and of course, you’re off medical officer duty. Got it?”
“…Yes. Understood….”
“This is lenient. If not for Sergeant Kim Minjun’s actions, you’d be facing a court-martial. Damn medical schools.”
“Yes….”
Captain Ma Seokdu bit his lip hard as he replied.
No, second lieutenant now.
Either way, he looked like he’d burst into tears at the slightest prod.
‘Self-inflicted. Totally self-inflicted.’
Watching the guy’s shoulders tremble made him feel refreshingly satisfied.
If he were still a second lieutenant, he could’ve poked at him under the guise of comfort.
‘Showing off his power? Arrogant? All good in my book.’
Even if your personality was a bit rotten, as long as your skills covered for it, you could climb as high as you wanted.
That’s how the Hunter Corps worked.
Skill first, seniority second.
‘Of course, seniority kings like warrant officers or admin supply officers are exceptions.’
At the division commander’s order, Second Lieutenant Ma Seokdu left the briefing room.
“Haha. I made the mood too heavy. Have a seat here.”
Just like that, he switched to a gentle tone and tapped the briefing room table.
“Sorry to the hunters who just finished raiding a double dungeon. HQ’s pushing for the report ASAP.”
“No problem!”
“We’re all good!”
Truth be told, they wanted to collapse on the street and sleep, but the hunters mustered energetic voices.
It was the division commander standing right there.
Holding back accumulated fatigue for a bit was nothing to them.
“Good. Now, report everything from dungeon entry to clear.”
“Yes? Uh… yes, sir.”
The division commander wanted every tiny detail reported.
Colonel Lee Pildoo seemed slightly flustered but quickly gathered his thoughts to start.
“The double dungeon raid…”
“Ah, I didn’t explain properly. Sergeant Kim Minjun. You report.”
“Yes, sir.”
Normally, Colonel Lee Pildoo, who’d led the squad, would report in this situation.
He didn’t know why it had to be him specifically, but he’d follow orders.
“The dungeon we encountered was a labyrinth-type.”
Following the division commander’s instructions, Kim Minjun reported every single detail.
How detailed? Down to where they drank water.
Where they rested and for how many minutes.
How many monsters appeared, when the double dungeon trap triggered, and so on.
He concisely explained everything he remembered.
“That Ma Seokdu guy’s a piece of trash. Total scumbag. Lucky he hadn’t caused any incidents till now.”
Of course, when it came to the medical officer, he added his own bias to paint an even worse picture.
“Hmm…”
After listening to the 30-minute report, the division commander drummed the table with a serious expression.
His mind must be complicated.
Unprecedented events had piled up one after another.
“A boss-type monster in a labyrinth dungeon… a golden gargoyle…”
Most skilled officers had been pinned down by the wind it whipped up.
If even a colonel could barely stay upright, it was a real headache.
‘This is insane. If things like this start showing up in regular dungeons, we’re in trouble.’
The hunters had tackled it without special weapons.
Double dungeons were unpredictable, so gear with risk factors couldn’t be brought in.
But still.
From Sergeant Kim Minjun’s explanation, the boss monster had skin tough enough to withstand a second-gen mana blade.
That was a golden gargoyle’s trait, but no guarantee other bosses wouldn’t be the same.
‘All we can do now is boost the troops’ combat power.’
It was a bigger issue than he’d imagined.
‘We’ll need meetings to hash this out later. At least Sergeant Kim Minjun secured a boss sample.’
Normally, he’d shake each hunter’s hand and thank them for their hard work, but no time for that.
The agenda was too pressing.
“You all did great. Vehicles are waiting downstairs—head back to your units.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Sir! Yes, sir!”
The hunters headed out of the building.
Division Commander Do Seokyong stared at Kim Minjun’s back for a while.
‘Can’t hand a once-in-a-century talent—no, maybe a one-of-a-kind in Hunter Corps history—to those lab rats.’
Talk about him had already come up countless times.
Power on another level from regular hunters.
Overwhelming strength to toy with monsters barehanded.
Because of that power, the brass was in an uproar.
Analyze his genes, draw blood for component tests, etc.
“Bunch of trash. They just see him as a tool. A tool.”
Every time those star-wearing idiots spewed nonsense, his blood boiled.
Sure, over 70% of the generals opposed such unethical crap.
‘Anyway, it’s settled now.’
Sergeant Kim Minjun.
He’d shone overwhelmingly even in a double dungeon.
It was a waste to keep him pinned at sergeant.
‘Gotta promote him fast.’
**
“Sir! Sergeant Kim Minjun! Back from double dungeon clear!”
Back at base, he reported in and headed straight to the training room.
He had something he wanted to test right away.
‘They seem clueless. Kim Gwangshik might suspect something.’
Maybe because of the order to keep the dungeon raid quiet for now.
The unit members thought he’d just been on some training.
“Sir! Sergeant Kim Minjun, sir. No issues?”
Kim Seohyun happened to step out of the training room.
Drenched in sweat—she must’ve trained hard.
“Come in for a sec.”
“Huh?”
“Got something to show you.”
“Yes, sir.”
Something clicked, and he brought her into the training room with him.
“Mr. Kim Minjun, what’s this experiment…?”
“Got an item from clearing the double dungeon.”
He rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the item.
A golden pouch.
“That’s…! An incredible item! Mr. Kim Minjun! Even in Isgard, this effect is rare—I’m certain!”
Hearing the explanation, she beamed like it was her own win.
“Right? Top-tier mages carry these. Still, it’s just a lesser version of what I’ve got.”
He smirked and pulled out the soul stone from inside.
“Five soul stones…”
Kim Seohyun gulped at the perfectly preserved soul stones.
What were soul stones?
Items any healer would swear were better than any potion.
But the storage conditions were so tricky, this was her first time seeing one up close.
“As expected of Mr. Kim Minjun. Amazing…”
Owning not one, but five.
It showed just how vital the monsters in that double dungeon had been.
“Here’s the question. If a warlock uses a soul stone, can they recover their mana?”
“Impossible.”
A firm answer.
Correct.
For warlocks who absorbed mana externally, soul stones were just injury healers.
But when used on mages…
Soul stones healed injuries and restored mana.
Warlocks made them, yet couldn’t get the full effect.
“What if someone who generates their own mana uses it?”
“That’s…”
Kim Seohyun’s expression turned subtle.
He was the only warlock who could generate mana himself: Kim Minjun.
Hard to answer without seeing it.
“We’ll find out soon.”
He picked up one soul stone and popped it into his mouth.
Swoosh.
“Oh.”
A thick energy spread through his body, triggering a wondrous phenomenon.
[Soul stone absorbed.]
[No injuries to heal.]
[All energy permeates permanent organ.]
[Permanent organ receives beneficial effect.]
[Permanent organ mana generation efficiency increases!]
[Permanent organ stat rises by 1!]
[Permanent organ stat rises by 1!]
It wasn’t recovering depleted mana—instead, his permanent organ was upgrading.
“Unexpected again.”
Just one gave this much effect.
What if he took another?
Ding.
[Energy too strong.]
[Permanent organ rejects soul stone energy.]
“What? That’s it? Show some grit!”
Normally, you’d stop.
But Kim Minjun pushed forward.
[Energy too strong.]
“Yeah. I’m too strong too.”
Two soul stones.
Then a third—the moment it hit his mouth, new changes surged.
Explosive energy rampaged inside him.
[Immense energy converts to spare stats.]
[Converting…]
[Immense energy affects mana stat.]
[Mana stat rises by 1.]
[Mana stat rises by 1….]
“Yeah. Shoved in three, so this is about right.”
Satisfied with the results, he grinned.
Permanent organ growth, plus mana stat growth.
Of course, what he’d just done had no basis.
Pure instinct.
The gut feeling that he shouldn’t stop, so he’d jammed in more soul stones.
“Save the last two for emergencies.”
This double dungeon run had been quite profitable.
From achievements to spec ups.
Ding.
“What? More?”
Already plenty satisfying, but another system window popped up.
