Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Hunter Maneuver Training - 4
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A hunter sat with her back against a tree, nursing an injury to her ankle.
It was Corporal Son Eun-seo.
“Half their platoon’s already dropped out.”
“This maneuver training’s definitely brutal.”
“Ah, talking about it’s making me sleepy. I’ll just shut up.”
“Keep talking. The moment you stop, you’ll pass out.”
Nearly half the platoon members from 4th Battalion, 4th Company, 4th Platoon were in a state of exhaustion.
“I’m sorry…”
In the end, the female hunters who had collapsed declared they were forfeiting the training.
They judged that they’d only be a burden to the others at this rate.
Medical hunters waiting in the rear then came forward to support them and led them out of the training ground.
‘Well, yeah. If it weren’t for me, more than ten of our platoon would’ve dropped.’
Kim Min-jun fell into thought for a moment.
Looking around himself,
there were platoon members who looked like they’d collapse any second, and others demonstrating the walk-while-sleeping skill.
Their fatigue had clearly reached its peak.
‘There’s no rule against helping other battalions’ platoons.’
If anything, they’d get training points for it.
While Kim Min-jun pondered what to do, his platoon arrived right in front of the 4th Company area.
“Sir! Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min here. Any hunters in critical condition?”
“Oh, yes! No one’s in critical condition. No need to worry.”
“I see. As for us…”
While the platoon leaders exchanged polite words,
“I’m sorry! Corporal Son Eun-seo! I’m really sorry!”
One female hunter approached Son Eun-seo, bowing her head with a tearful face.
It turned out she’d gotten hurt while shielding her junior.
‘That’s a fracture.’
Kim Min-jun took one look at her ankle and assessed the condition.
‘The treatment’s a bit iffy.’
They’d splinted it somehow, but it looked unstable.
‘Eh, whatever. I’ll help out.’
Even if it was another battalion, they were fellow hunters—comrades.
“Platoon Leader. Mind if I handle something real quick?”
“What’s up?”
“Corporal Son Eun-seo’s first aid isn’t stable. Can I take a look?”
Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min looked surprised at the words.
“Min-jun, you can do that stuff too?”
“Yes, I’ve got some experience.”
“Mess it up and it could be bad.”
“I’m confident.”
“Fine. If you’re confident, go ahead. It’s on you if it goes wrong.”
“Yes, sir!”
The moment he got the platoon leader’s approval, Kim Min-jun headed over to Corporal Son Eun-seo.
“Step aside for a sec.”
“Huh? Oh… okay…”
He cleared some platoon members out of the way and rechecked her ankle.
“Kim Min-jun? What are you…”
“The fixation’s unstable. Stay still.”
With skilled hand movements, he adjusted the splint’s position and secured the fracture site.
The other platoon members watched him in amazement.
“That should do it. You know there’s still over 15 km left, right? You can’t walk like this.”
In other words, she’d have to forfeit midway.
Son Eun-seo bit her lip hard at his words.
Quitting on the first day or the last day made no difference.
She’d get zero performance points either way.
And on the final day, no less—it had to sting.
“It’s fine now after what you did. If I push just a bit more… Agh!”
“Doesn’t look fine at all.”
“Ugh…”
Son Eun-seo tried to stand but felt the pain and sat back down.
An arm might’ve been manageable, but a foot was another story.
‘Walking 15 km on one leg takes someone at my level.’
As Kim Min-jun started to stand, an idea suddenly hit him.
‘Hold on. Why not just carry her myself?’
He still had plenty of stamina left, and that platoon was lucky—no patients to evac.
He could easily cover one extra person.
‘Plus, she’s not like the other hunters.’
Her dad’s the division commander, after all.
Helping her out could pay dividends later.
“Platoon Leader. Mind if I carry Corporal Son Eun-seo on my back?”
“What?”
Kim Min-jun reported his decision to the platoon leader.
Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min pondered it upon hearing him.
‘One extra, and Corporal Son Eun-seo at that.’
If it’d been any other hunter suggesting it, he’d have shot it down flat.
But Kim Min-jun was clearly in top shape, and his handling of situations so far had been exceptional.
“If you can take responsibility, go for it.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!”
He figured she’d try hobbling on one leg if left alone, so he gave the okay.
“You heard him? Forfeit the training like this? Or let me piggyback you?”
“…Piggyback.”
Son Eun-seo readily agreed to be carried by Kim Min-jun.
‘The gear’s in the way. Maybe sling it over one shoulder.’
As he started to remove his pack, Sergeant First Class Lee Seung-ho swooped in and snatched it.
“Sergeant First Class Lee?”
“I’ll carry your gear.”
“I can handle it.”
“Focus on the emergency.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
The pack weighed nearly 90 kg, but it was nothing to him. Still, if the sergeant insisted…
Kim Min-jun hoisted Son Eun-seo onto his back per manual and started walking.
‘Yeah, you do you.’
‘She couldn’t even ask for a piggyback herself.’
‘Is that guy even human? How’s he that full of energy?’
Normally they’d stare enviously, but the platoon’s fatigue was at its limit.
Interest in the pair was fleeting.
“You’ve all done great so far! Just 10 more km and we’re back at base! Anyone quitting?”
“No, sir!”
“Listen to those voices! You wanna quit?”
“No, sir!”
Whenever the hunters flagged, Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min pepped them up.
“If it gets too tough, just say so anytime. I’ll forfeit.”
“I’m good. Lighter than Dol-soe, even.”
“Dol-soe…? What?”
“I’m freakishly good at guessing weights by feel. Wanna bet? First digit’s 5. Last digit’s…”
“Shut it and be quiet already!”
By contrast, Kim Min-jun was casual enough to chat with Son Eun-seo.
He maintained peak condition on just one hour of sleep a day.
“Think of it as an investment.”
“Investment?”
“Your dad’s the division commander.”
“…Doesn’t seem like it’ll benefit you much.”
“Eh, doesn’t matter.”
Division commander’s daughter—no way it wouldn’t pay off.
No way he’d pass that up!
“I’ll repay you later for sure.”
“Do what you want.”
He answered nonchalantly but never let his guard down around them.
The platoon handled monster attacks well thanks to Kim Min-jun.
“Ah… please, no more monsters. Please.”
“I’m gonna die like this.”
“It’s hell. They cranked the difficulty from normal to hard mode.”
Time passed, and it was now 10 p.m.
Just 2 km from the destination.
The hunters had hit their physical limits, their pace slowing drastically.
The platoon leader noticed and matched their speed.
‘At this rate, we’ll arrive around 11.’
Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min was exhausted too, but he didn’t show it.
Unlike the others, not a single hunter in his platoon had quit.
‘Can’t let up till the end.’
The moment you relax is the most dangerous.
Right then—
“Kee-eek!”
“Platoon Leader! Monster in the air!”
“Damn it! Everyone, form up!”
“Yes, sir!”
A black talon, an aerial monster, appeared.
‘Wow, they really don’t pull punches.’
Kim Min-jun marveled at the brutality of hunter maneuver training.
‘They unleashed them like crazy at dawn, and now aerial monsters right before the goal?’
It was already night, and the black talons’ bodies were pitch black.
Plus, they were sparrow-sized, making them tricky to hit.
‘The hunters are in the worst shape.’
Fighting those things was next to impossible.
The platoon members spotted the monsters and wore looks of despair.
So close to the finish, and they get these pests.
‘To me, they’re a gift!’
Kim Min-jun scanned them all, eyes gleaming.
A chance to snag all the performance points!
“Everyone, fall back for now—”
“Platoon Leader! Give me a shot!”
“Kim Min-jun?”
“I can take them all at once!”
Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min didn’t deliberate long.
Retreating now would just waste time anyway.
The platoon’s stamina and morale were at breaking point.
“Try it—if it doesn’t work, we retreat immediately!”
“Understood!”
With the green light, Kim Min-jun drew the mana gun from his belt.
The proctor watched from his stretcher.
‘To handle black talons with a mana gun, the whole platoon needs to pitch in.’
Lots of platoons stalled or dropped out here.
‘Every platoon that made it this far suffered because of them.’
Black talons were released to test hunters’ mental fortitude in extreme conditions.
Small, agile aerial monsters.
You couldn’t just ignore them either.
‘They stick like glue. One bad bite and chunks of flesh get torn off. Of course, the special drugs we dosed them with mean they’ll die soon anyway.’
2nd Company, 2nd Platoon was currently evacuating three wounded.
‘Tough luck for them.’
Protecting three patients while clearing black talons, then hitting the goal on time? Brutal.
‘Even that guy might struggle. It’s night, after all.’
The proctor’s gaze lingered on Kim Min-jun.
‘Let’s see how he handles it.’
Meanwhile,
Kim Min-jun had locked onto the black talons’ presences.
‘Eight of them. Perfect time to use magic power. Pitch black anyway—no one’ll see.’
Even he’d struggle pinpointing vitals on black talons at night.
‘Dark Arrow.’
Solution: pair it with a skill.
Bang! Bang!
He fired the mana gun while launching dark arrows.
“Kee-eek!”
Swoosh! Swish!
Magic power arrows flew alongside mana bullets.
Thud. Thump.
One by one, black talons’ bodies and heads pierced, plummeting to the ground.
It took him just over a minute to clear them all.
“Huh? H-how’d you just…?”
Son Eun-seo startled on his back and asked.
He was carrying her, and he downed black talons with just a mana gun?
In pitch darkness?
Hitting rice grains from afar would’ve been easier.
“Wh-what the hell is that guy?”
Even the proctor was stunned.
He sat up on the stretcher to check the corpses.
“All eight dead… And I heard exactly eight shots…”
One shot, one kill.
‘Pitch black, nothing visible, and he soloed those tiny things?’
At the absolute limit of endurance? Insane focus.
“Platoon Leader! All clear!”
“Confirmed! Everyone! Squeeze out every last drop and move!”
“Yes, sir!”
The proctor’s shock was brief.
Once the black talons were down, the hunters gritted their teeth and pushed to the goal.
“2nd Battalion, 2nd Company, 2nd Platoon—all through!”
11:30 p.m.
Including the other battalion’s hunter, Son Eun-seo, the entire platoon completed the hunter maneuver training.