Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Enlistment
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The man, whom they'd mistaken for a civilian, grabbed a hound nearly three meters long with both hands and folded it in half like a piece of paper.
Crack—crunch—
“Kraaak! Krek...!”
Frothing at the mouth, the hound let out a final screech before going still.
“Fucking mutt. Once it burned through all its mana, it thought it could take me as an easy meal. Even if I've gotten weaker, I'm not so pathetic that I have to take hits from trash mobs.”
Kim Min-jun casually tossed the bisected hound to the ground.
He couldn't use black magic anymore since he'd depleted his mana, but the physical prowess he'd honed in Isgard remained intact.
“Huh... Huh?”
Corporal Choi In-ho stared back and forth between the folded hound and Kim Min-jun.
Then, with an incredulous look, he dropped the mana gun he'd been holding.
“Hey, soldier guy. I've got a few questions...”
“N-no! Stay back!”
As Kim Min-jun approached, the soldier backed away in panic for some reason.
He had a scary-looking face, but he sure was jumpy.
‘How's he struggling so much against a one-hit-KO barky mutt?’
There were monsters in Isgard that looked similar to hounds.
Of course, those ones were even nastier.
“C-Corporal Choi In-ho! Did you just fold that hound in half?”
Just then, the squad members who'd finished handling the situation came running over.
Behind them lay a bunch of fallen hounds.
“Whoa, insane. I heard Corporal Choi In-ho could fold a hound in half, so I figured you were full of it. Sorry for doubting you!”
“No way, you really did that? You even human?”
The squad members alternated glances between Choi and the hound, showering him with praise.
A few even pulled out their smartphones to snap photos.
“N-no, it wasn't me...”
Corporal Choi In-ho pointed at Kim Min-jun, trying to set the record straight.
But who would believe it?
He'd seen that kid fold the hound in half with his own two eyes.
“It was me, though?”
“...What?”
At those words, the squad's eyes all turned to Kim Min-jun.
“You just grab it with both hands and rip. What's so hard about that?”
“Kid, this isn't the time for jokes. We're serious here.”
“No, wait. I saw it. That kid grabbed the hound with both hands and...”
Corporal Choi In-ho jumped in to back him up, but one of his seniors cut him off midway.
“In-ho, we don't have time for this. We need to get back to base and report ASAP.”
“Corporal Choi In-ho! Yes, sir!”
The Hunter Corps members withdrew from the scene, leaving one behind.
That last one escorted him all the way to the shelter.
“Kid, I don't know why you went that far in, but that's straight-up jail time. The division commander's letting it slide without making a fuss.”
“Ah, got it. Sorry.”
Kim Min-jun played along with the soldier's words while peppering him with questions to gather info.
“You really don't know? Every high school teaches this stuff these days.”
“Yeah. I just got back from overseas.”
More precisely, another world.
“Alright, then. I'll teach you everything I know. Back in college, I got A-pluses in Monster Studies and Dungeon Studies.”
“Colleges teach that nowadays?”
“Fewer schools don't teach it.”
Kim Min-jun listened intently, thinking how much education policy had changed.
“The basics are all over the internet if you search. How old are you?”
“Me? Twenty-one.”
At the mention of twenty-one, the soldier looked at him with pity.
“That so? Guess enlistment's right around the corner for you. There goes half your twenties.”
The army.
Wasn't regular service three years for civilians, five for the Hunter Corps?
Regular was conscription, Hunter Corps was voluntary.
That change had caused a huge uproar back when he was in high school.
“As you can see, it's not just Korea—the whole world's changed. Monsters pop out whenever they feel like it. And the manpower to stop them is limited.”
The soldier held up one hand, spreading his fingers wide.
“With things getting worse lately, they've unified regular and Hunter Corps service at five years. Half your twenties, poof.”
“...Five years?”
“Yeah. You're twenty-one, so your draft notice must've come. At least military pay's gone up. You'll have options after discharge.”
The soldier patted Kim Min-jun's shoulder encouragingly.
‘...This is serious, right?’
What the hell is this right after returning?
‘Forget that—five years? Why's it so long?’
Sure, for him who might live thousands more years, five years was nothing.
But for ordinary guys, it was an eternity.
“North Korea enlists at fifteen, discharges at forty. Basically wastes their whole lives in the army. I hear they get like three thousand won a month.”
“Damn, who'd wanna defect more?”
-For the call of the nation!
Mid-conversation with the soldier, his smartphone buzzed with a message tone.
‘That's one weird ringtone.’
[Enlistment Date Notice]
What the hell.
Do spam texts look like this now?
He went to delete it—
“Whoa, you enlisting tomorrow?”
The soldier overheard the tone from Min-jun's phone and freaked, asking which unit he'd been assigned to.
‘No way. I just got back from Isgard—army already? This makes no sense.’
Kim Min-jun brushed off the soldier and went his own way.
“Your unit's in Gangwon Province from the name! And that's not spam—it's real!”
The soldier kept insisting he check it at a nearby PC bang if he doubted.
“Back in Korea and this is what hits me.”
Frowning, Kim Min-jun headed to the PC bang near the shelter anyway.
This wasn't the Korea he knew.
He needed more info.
“I got summoned to Isgard in 2018, so I'll skim from around then.”
Kim Min-jun scoured the internet, devouring every article he could find.
[Dungeon Anomalies Occurring.]
[Monster Appearances Increasing.]
In short:
Over two years.
Dungeons and monsters had grown massively in size.
Now they threatened civilians too, and there weren't enough people to handle it.
So the government extended service terms as a stopgap and ramped up the Hunter Corps for dungeon duty.
“Worse than I thought.”
Not just Korea.
The whole world was suffering from dungeons and monsters.
If he'd kept his full power from Isgard, he could've fixed it easily.
“Came back to chill, and look at this mess.”
Don't you usually get a physical first before enlistment?
Grades 1-3: active duty.
4: public service.
5: second citizen, right?
“But they just dump everyone into basic training first.”
That bad, huh.
Kim Min-jun checked the Military Manpower Administration site.
Tomorrow, just like the text said.
“Normally I'd just ghost and call it a day.”
He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Even without most of his mana, his raw strength could probably get him out of it.
‘Nah.’
He shook his head.
That would blow things up.
He didn't even know how strong Earth's hunters were.
“Draft dodging's life in prison. Brutal.”
He considered going straight to the Defense Minister to cancel, but dropped it.
“I didn't come back to cause chaos in Korea.”
Plus, Hunter Corps perks looked good.
“Dungeons first—they get priority entry if you're Hunter Corps.”
High base pay, and merit-based.
Prove yourself, climb as high as you want.
“Ramen, pork belly set, kimbap combo, udon...”
As Kim Min-jun mulled his options.
The PC bang part-timer arrived with a mountain of food.
“Eat first, think later.”
**
“That's it! Perfect!”
“...Pardon?”
The part-timer, clearing empty plates, jumped at the guy's sudden joyful shout.
‘Psycho.’
Dude had his enlistment date on screen and was thrilled? Better steer clear, he thought, hurrying off.
“I'll slap on general's stars in five years and smash every dungeon in sight.”
After brooding seriously for a while, Kim Min-jun decided to join the Hunter Corps.
[DNF 10th Anniversary Special! Servicemen, hang in there!]
Not because of the DNF event, of course.
The giveaway—12-star endgame weapon for soldiers, 13-star for Hunter Corps—did make army tempting.
“I can get it back for sure.”
Smashing dungeons would bring mana-infused monsters.
Absorb their mana, regain his power—maybe even erase dungeons altogether.
“Then DNF devs can focus on content without breaks. Flawless.”
Seeing the DNF notice about delays from dungeon breaks and monster damage, he finalized it.
Enlist tomorrow.
**
Enlistment day.
Kim Min-jun blew through the two million won emergency disaster relief without a won left.
Probably from his house becoming a restricted zone, but he didn't care.
Money wouldn't be an issue going forward.
“Pizza, jokbal, chicken—check.”
Ticking off his list, he nodded in satisfaction.
Originally, he planned a leisurely life, picking off monsters casually.
“With thousands of years ahead, might as well try a job.”
If his grandkid asked later, “What'd Grandpa do?” he could say “Army general with stars.”
Can't exactly say “Maxed DNF alts endlessly.”
[The homeland calls for you!]
Closer to the depot, short-haired guys came into view.
Girlfriends, families cheering them on, tearfully begging safe returns.
Kim Min-jun was alone, naturally.
Parents cut contact after high school.
“Gotta grab that 13-star weapon the second I'm out.”
He had zero cares, though.
Kim Min-jun strode to the parade ground with a bright smile.
Unlike the grim sighs around him.
‘Army can't be worse than Isgard, right?’
Thinking of the crap he took there...
Might even be paradise.
Can't judge till he tried it.
Soon, the ceremony kicked off with the band.
Simple proceedings, then salute to parents.
“Salute your parents!”
“Sir! Yes, sir!”
At the drill instructor's call, recruits saluted awkwardly.
‘Whew, almost fucked up.’
Kim Min-jun nearly did the Isgard salute, quickly adjusting.
Habits are scary.
Five years ahead.
Families sobbed, begging for their safe return.
Some parents even approached instructors, pleading not to let their sons get hurt.
‘The army ain't what it used to be.’
Bad luck, and monsters could strike. Units were near frequent dungeon spots.
Ceremony over, men awkwardly formed ranks and headed to basic.
The second they entered the auditorium, curses erupted from the drill instructor's mouth.