Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Banana Kick
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“Soccer? I think I’m pretty average.”
“Yeah? Then let’s play some combat soccer later.”
“Oh, Min-jun? Sounds good. Come out to the training field after lunch.”
“Yes, sir!”
Combat soccer was something you couldn’t join until you were at least a corporal.
Hunter soccer was soccer in name only—it was rough enough to make American football look tame.
‘And now I’m a corporal.’
Nice.
It had been ages since he’d played soccer.
His feet were itching already.
‘I wonder if the skills I honed in that world will hold up here. Time to find out.’
After finishing lunch, at 1 p.m.
The hunters changed into their PT uniforms and spent the time exercising in their own ways.
Some headed to the indoor gym, while others played basketball or volleyball.
‘Now’s the time!’
‘Run!’
A few sergeants sneaked glances around before slipping back to the barracks.
“Min-jun. You’re on defense. Don’t worry if you mess up—no one’s gonna chew you out, so no pressure.”
“Corporal Kim Min-jun reporting! I’ll do my best!”
Kim Min-jun matched numbers with the neighboring platoon and started combat soccer with the seniors.
‘Kicking the ball after so long has my feet buzzing.’
Back in Isgard, there hadn’t been much in the way of entertainment.
No games, no internet, no TV.
The only hobbies were sports like soccer or baseball, if you could call them that.
Even those were impossible to enjoy alone, so he’d rounded up the followers who trailed after him and played that way.
‘Ah, I’m excited already, even before it starts. I wonder how good these guys are.’
Kim Min-jun took his assigned defensive position, and the game kicked off.
The hunters darted around with agile movements, passing the ball and desperately breaking through defenses.
‘Hmm. If I had Kim Heung-min here, he’d go flying with a shoulder check.’
It was only because it was hunters playing—no regular person would last ten minutes.
Hunter combat soccer was that brutal.
“Argh! They broke through!”
“Min-jun! Stay calm and hold the line!”
“Yes, sir!”
The opposing defense stole the ball and lofted a long pass to their forward.
The forward dribbled swiftly toward Kim Min-jun’s position.
Paat!
“Huh?”
Kim Min-jun snatched the ball away from the dribbling opponent in an instant.
The forward had dodged three defenders with fancy footwork, but against him, it was child’s play.
Thwung!
As soon as he took possession, Kim Min-jun passed it to a squadmate.
Crisp, precise movement.
“Nice! Clean play, Min-jun!”
“Just keep it up like that!”
Thanks to Kim Min-jun’s superior defending, Second Platoon dominated possession.
“Damn…”
“What’s wrong with us today?”
The opposing platoon mates scowled as the score gap widened.
They’d always beaten Second Platoon at combat soccer, but now they were down 2-0 already.
“Man, you’re good at soccer. Didn’t you say you sucked?”
“Switch to offense midway. I’ll sub you in.”
The seniors spoke up, looking pleased.
“Yes, sir!”
Offense, huh? Nice.
“Hey! Mark Kim Min-jun!”
“Three of you on him! Forget everywhere else!”
“Ugh, insane!”
Less than ten minutes after Kim Min-jun moved to offense, the score was 5-0.
Whenever he got the ball, he bulldozed past the hunters with overwhelming control and slotted it home.
From the opponents’ perspective, it was maddening.
“He’s nuts. How’s he that good at soccer?”
“Even if he just ate and played soccer all day, he shouldn’t be this good.”
With no need to defend, the senior defenders sat back and watched Kim Min-jun.
‘Alright. Feeling’s coming back, so now’s the time.’
The moment Kim Min-jun received a pass, five hunters charged at him from the opposing side.
Since he scored every time he touched the ball, they’d switched to an extreme strategy.
‘Get out of the way. It’s gonna hurt a lot if you don’t.’
Kim Min-jun smirked mockingly and unleashed a mid-range shot.
Pang!
With an explosive sound, the soccer ball rocketed forward with terrifying force.
“Ugh, crazy!”
“Gah!”
The opposing defenders tried to react, but the ball suddenly curved viciously, forcing them to scramble out of the way.
‘Ah, this sensation. It’s back.’
This was the Isgard-style banana kick.
Screeeee!
The ball veered sharply and buried itself in the corner of the net.
‘Nice shot.’
That made it 7-0.
“Whoa, did you see that?”
“That was a banana kick. He’s lost it.”
“How does a ball curve like that?”
The opposing hunters stared at Kim Min-jun’s banana kick, their morale shattered.
‘Ah, maybe I should’ve held back a bit. This is gonna get boring for them.’
It had been so long since he’d played soccer that he forgot to go easy.
“Whoa, didn’t he shoot from outside the center line? How does a ball bend like that?”
Meanwhile.
The seniors watching were carrying on in stunned tones.
“We found a gem. Our platoon’s soccer was always weak anyway.”
“Hey, from now on, always put Kim Min-jun in for combat soccer. With him, we can beat any platoon.”
Soccer was an important spec for soldiers too.
That was the moment Kim Min-jun’s evaluation shot up.
**
“Ah, combat soccer ended too quick. Should’ve taken it easy.”
Combat soccer wrapped up faster than expected.
Right now, Kim Min-jun was leaning back against the bench.
‘There’s still two hours of combat PT left, though…’
What to do?
“Kim Min-jun.”
As he pondered, Sergeant Lee Seung-ho from nearby beckoned him over.
“Corporal Kim Min-jun.”
“Yeah. No big deal—just, you using the gym?”
“I use it sometimes on weekends, sir.”
Truth be told, he’d never even been near it, but he answered politely.
“You’re a corporal now. Don’t worry about looks—use it as much as you want.”
Ah.
Right, I’m a corporal.
“Pass the next promotion exam too, got it?”
“Yes, sir!”
Easy enough.
By the next exam, he might be a sergeant instead of just a corporal.
Once he answered, Kim Min-jun headed straight for the gym.
Truth be told, he wasn’t interested in regular training. What he wanted was the simulation machine in Gym 2.
‘Ooh.’
So this is the monster training simulator.
It felt like stepping into a VR room.
“Let’s see. You do it like this, right?”
Humming like he was at an arcade, Kim Min-jun fiddled with the settings.
[Please select a monster.]
[You selected Orc.]
[Maximum instance limit exceeded. Maximum selectable instances: 30.]
“Aww. Was gonna go full massacre mode for old times’ sake.”
Setting it to 999 spat out an error.
Feeling a pang of regret, Kim Min-jun configured the sim.
[Please set your weapon.]
“Weapon too? It even simulates weapons? Awesome.”
No wonder Gyms 2 through 5 were corporal-only.
Virtual monster training like this made sense.
Whirr.
[Combat commencing.]
He hit start, and with the machine’s hum, monsters began spawning one by one.
“Ooh, well made. Is this virtual reality or what?”
The sensations felt real.
A bit sluggish in places, but impressively implemented.
The grip on the virtual weapon in his right hand felt solid too.
“Here I go!”
Kim Min-jun charged into a pack of thirty orcs.
Crack! Splut!
Hounds or orcs, no difference.
One shot per monster, sending them equally to meet their maker.
The orcs swung their weapons wildly, but Kim Min-jun dodged effortlessly, like he had eyes in the back of his head.
“That’s it! This is monster hunting!”
He hadn’t even entered a dungeon yet.
Even if he did, facing a single orc would take who-knows-how-long.
“Come at me all at once!”
Kim Min-jun massacred the orcs like a kid joyfully playing a game.
[Warning. You have left the designated area.]
[Warning. Dangerous action against multiple monsters.]
This wasn’t what the combat sim was made for.
“Hmm. Thirty feels kinda lacking.”
Ignoring the warnings, Kim Min-jun reached for the monster button.
“How about this?”
Tap tap.
[Hound: 30]
[Monster Rat: 30]
[Goblin: 30]
[Orc: 30]
“Ooh, perfect. I’m a genius.”
Max instances were thirty total, but no limit on types.
Who in their right mind would fight multiple monster types at once, anyway?
Even in sim, hits hurt—a lot.
“Ah, this field overflowing with monsters… It’s overwhelming. My heart’s full.”
Kim Min-jun smashed every training monster he saw, filling the field to the brim.
“Come on, you cute little bastards!”
At his gesture, hordes of various monsters tangled and charged ferociously.
A force like that would overwhelm a platoon—hell, the whole company in full gear.
Thud! Crack!
Kim Min-jun nimbly weaved through, taking them down.
He’d been holding back his power until now, but not here.
“Ah, this is insane. Second only to Dungeon & Fighter for fun?”
Kim Min-jun ended the session with a refreshed feeling and shut down the sim.
“Gotta drop by whenever I feel like monster smashing.”
As he opened the gym door to leave, he ran into Private First Class Lee Dong-jin passing by.
“…Corporal Kim Min-jun, sir?”
Lee Dong-jin gaped, confirming something.
“What.”
One thing Kim Min-jun had overlooked:
[Combat Sim 2 Results]
[Hound: 30]
[Monster Rat: 30]
[Goblin: 30]
[Orc: 30]
The results displayed on the monitor.
“…Corporal Kim Min-jun, sir? You did all this?”