Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Becoming a Corporal
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“Ah… I keep telling myself not to get worked up inside, but when I’m actually facing a monster, I tense up….”
Lee Dong-jin nodded with a dejected expression.
There were a few other minor pointers as well.
Normally, for a private, this would be a situation where someone would sharply tell him not to crawl around.
“Your eye for detail seems spot on. I’ll treat you to something at the PX next time.”
“No, sir. Helping out with this much is nothing.”
It was a response only Kim Min-jun, with his excellent training scores, could get away with.
“How much dungeon experience do you have, Private First Class Lee Dong-jin?”
“Dungeons… I’ve been to my fair share, but now the seniors just tell me to hang back.”
At those words, Lee Dong-jin gave a wry smile.
‘No wonder his skills aren’t improving. This is more the unit’s problem than his.’
What good is a high dungeon clear count?
If they won’t even let him touch the monsters.
“Private First Class Lee Dong-jin, just wait until I make corporal. I’ll take good care of you.”
“Really? I might discharge before then. Thanks anyway.”
Lee Dong-jin lightly patted Kim Min-jun’s shoulder before heading back to the barracks.
Time passed, and at 6 a.m.
The hunters woke to the duty officer’s voice, finished breakfast, and returned to the barracks.
Today was Saturday.
No duties.
The sergeants hurriedly changed into PT gear and dove right back under their blankets.
Kim Min-jun waited in the barracks in his combat uniform.
—All hunters from 2nd Company taking the promotion exam, assemble at the training field immediately! I repeat, all hunters from 2nd Company…
The day had finally come to shed his private first class rank!
Kim Min-jun saluted his seniors, said he’d be back, and stepped out of the barracks.
**
“Alright! Line up by rank! Privates on the left! No time to waste—move it!”
“Yes, sir!”
Around fifty hunters had gathered at the training field.
For this many taking the exam, even five promotions would be considered a huge success.
The platoon leader knew it too, showing no real expectations.
“Today’s schedule is packed tight! No dawdling—move fast, got it!”
“Yes, sir!”
The promotion exam ran from Saturday morning through the night.
They had to finish both the written and practical tests in one day, and the exam site was at another unit.
“Everyone, take your seats.”
The military bus arrived, and the platoon leader finished headcount.
The exam location changed each time, and this round it was at a unit near Gapyeong.
“Hey, you hear? Son Eun-seo from 4th Battalion is taking the exam too.”
“For real? We get to see her face today?”
The bus was buzzing with excitement.
Turned out, female hunters from 4th Battalion were also taking the promotion exam.
‘Men are all the same, huh.’
Kim Min-jun smirked and went back to solving past written exam questions.
“Take your assigned seats and stand at attention!”
Inside the written exam hall.
The hunters sat in their assigned spots, waiting for the test papers.
Meanwhile.
The guys rolled their eyes, sneaking glances at the female hunters.
‘Definitely, the looks here in Korea are on another level.’
As expected of South Korea.
‘Isgard can eat shit.’
That was Kim Min-jun’s simple take.
“Written exam starts now! Get caught cheating, and it’s straight to the stockade. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
10 a.m.
The written exam began.
The room soon filled with the scratching of pens.
‘What’s this? I heard the written part was easy, but this easy?’
Kim Min-jun checked the questions and was dumbfounded.
[Question 2: What is the bat-type monster the size of a child?]
1. Woodpecker
2. Middlebat
3. Batman
4. Eagle
5. Desert Eagle
It wasn’t just one question—most were like this.
‘Who said this was like a driver’s license test?’
This was way worse.
He regretted the time spent studying for the written exam.
Even at this level, it was amazing the pass rate wasn’t 100%.
Every hunter turned in their papers within ten minutes.
“What the hell is this? Cho Jung-wook? Hey! What the hell are you doing! Front and center, now!”
“Private! Cho Jung-wook!”
“What’s the point if you fail the written test first!”
“Sorry, sir!”
Grading was immediate, and sure enough, one failure popped up.
The other hunters stared at him in shock.
Statistics didn’t lie.
“Before the practical exam, the battalion commander has a few words!”
After the written test, the hunters headed to the practical exam area.
With the real tests starting, examiners and officers from other units showed up too.
The examiners’ ranks went without saying—high up.
Even the battalion commander, who rarely appeared at the exam site.
The hunters stood at rigid attention, tense as could be.
“Alright. It’s the weekend, but you’re all here for the promotion exam—good work. You all know what the practical tests assess, right?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Good. The corporals know it well… Let’s see. You there!”
The battalion commander pointed at Kim Min-jun.
“Private First Class! Kim Min-jun!”
He’d deliberately stood in the corner, but somehow got spotted.
“Right. This time, as a special exception, Private First Class Kim Min-jun is taking the exam. He was a private recently promoted to PFC. Can you explain the types of practical tests?”
“Yes, sir! The practical covers main weapon proficiency, stat tests, and finally, combat ability including monster response!”
Kim Min-jun answered in a booming voice loud enough for the officers in the front row to hear.
“That’s right. The battalion commander’s watching this time, so give it your all.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Understood!”
With the battalion commander’s speech done, the practical groups were set.
Six per group.
With so many taking the exam, everything except monster response was done in groups.
“Let’s do this!”
“You too, comrade.”
Hunters grouped with female hunters were fired up.
“No slacking—prep now!”
The grinning hunters scrambled at the examiner’s shout.
First up: stat tests.
Strength, agility, stamina—tested item by item for scores.
“When the signal comes, one at a time to the evaluator. Understood?”
“Yes, sir!”
The strength evaluator was a sergeant with sky-high strength stats.
“How far back you push the evaluator determines your score.”
Full score was 100—for pushing him 10 meters or more.
“Urgh….”
“Zero. Fail.”
“Got it….”
The hunters strained with all their might, but the evaluator didn’t budge.
They had just one minute.
Anything under 40 in strength meant immediate elimination.
“10 points!”
“20 points!”
“20 points!”
The evaluator gave no mercy, even pushing back sometimes.
Failing more candidates meant better performance evals for him.
“Next!”
From group 1 to 4, not a single hunter met the bar.
“Private First Class Son Eun-seo, 50 points!”
A few scraped by here and there, and it was group 16’s turn.
Exactly one female hunter made the cut.
“Whoa… damn, she’s gorgeous.”
“That’s her, right? The one whose dad’s the division commander.”
“Power of genes. Makes me ashamed.”
“But why’d she enlist as enlisted instead of officer?”
“Yeah, seriously.”
The guys whispered, but her icy aura left them clueless how to approach.
“Man, those sharp eyes. Feels like I’d die getting close.”
“Heard the officers tried hitting on her and got chewed out by the division commander.”
“They’re the crazy ones. Touch her when her dad’s the division commander?”
Son Eun-seo returned to her spot, glancing toward the guys.
Precisely at Kim Min-jun.
‘What? Something on my face?’
Kim Min-jun ignored it and stood before his mark.
“Group 40!”
His turn at last.
‘Huh. Up close, those muscles look solid.’
Kim Min-jun eyed the evaluator’s build, then stepped up.
‘10 points for 10 meters, right?’
Over that gets bonus?
“Hup!”
Burning to ace every section, Kim Min-jun shoved the evaluator with both hands.
“Grrraaah!”
Boom!
The evaluator couldn’t withstand the force and flew airborne.
‘Perfect. All the way to the end there.’
About 50 meters.
Kim Min-jun dusted his hands, satisfied.
“What, what the hell!”
“The evaluator flew!”
“Insane… That possible?”
“Heard rumors, but he’s a real monster.”
The other hunters and officers gawked in shock.
“…….”
Son Eun-seo stared at Kim Min-jun’s back, equally stunned.
“Private First Class Kim Min-jun, 100 points! Excellent!”
Moments later.
The evaluator brushed off the dust and returned to score it.
“Whoa… 100 on strength… That human?”
“Quiet, everyone! No break—straight to agility!”
The examiner rushed to the next test before chaos erupted.
“These are rubber bullets, but they still hurt like hell—stay sharp!”
“Yes, sir! Got it!”
Agility: rubber bullets at speeds just under live rounds.
Obviously too fast to dodge visually.
Predict trajectories, minimize hits—that’s the key.
“Argh!”
“Ow!”
Groups 1 through 5 didn’t last 30 seconds.
One hunter took a bad head hit and bled.
‘Guess this is why the pass rate’s low.’
They said monster response was the toughest.
But flunking stats first? No chance.
‘Not unreasonable to be this strict, though.’
Dealing with dungeon monsters was that brutal.
“What’s with these candidates’ skills!”
Up to group 15, zero lasted 30 seconds.
“Next! Group 16! Focus up!”
“Yes, sir!”
Group 16 took position, Son Eun-seo included.
“There you go!”
Son Eun-seo endured the full minute for perfect score.
The examiner finally eased up.
‘What?’
As Son Eun-seo returned, she glared right at Kim Min-jun.
Eyes screaming she hated losing.
‘Whatever.’
Kim Min-jun had no interest in engaging and just ignored her.
“Hey, she’s been staring at you.”
“Think she’s into you?”
That’s why it got annoying from the side.
“Group 40! Prep!”
“Yes, sir!”
Time ticked by, his turn came.
‘Still staring. Kinda pissing me off.’