Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Gulp
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“Yeah. Sorry for calling you in right after you came out of the camouflage dungeon. You’re the only one who came out unscathed.”
“No problem, sir! I’m fine!”
“Phew. Alright. If you feel anything off with your body at any point, report it immediately. We have a medical officer on standby nearby.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!”
Normally, listening to soldier reports wasn’t the division commander’s job.
But Son Tae-ho wanted to hear it straight from Kim Min-jun.
What had happened inside the dungeon, and what crises had arisen.
“Before that, how did you know the location of the dungeon our unit is responsible for? It’s not something other units would easily know.”
Son Tae-ho told him to speak freely and poured Kim Min-jun another cup of coffee.
‘The dungeon location? Piece of cake with my summon and Lee Bong-gu around.’
Of course, there was no reason to tell the truth.
Kim Min-jun said he’d been passing by when he heard a massive roar and stumbled upon the dungeon by chance.
“Sorry, sir! Before I could even think, my body moved on its own!”
“Heh, what a character.”
Son Tae-ho let out a hearty laugh at his model answer.
Either way, the outcome was that no one got hurt.
“Give me a detailed report on what happened in the dungeon.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!”
Kim Min-jun explained in detail the situation he’d faced in the camouflage dungeon and how he’d dealt with the monsters that appeared.
‘I coordinated well with the hunters inside, so no issues there.’
Naturally, he skipped any mention of the cards.
It wasn’t even an officially revealed item, and he himself didn’t know the activation conditions.
‘If they knew that black card was an insanely powerful transformation card, it’d be impossible to get more.’
He had to keep that info to himself, obviously.
“Heh, impressive enough that you took down all those monsters barehanded, but protecting that many hunters single-handedly? That’s the real shocker.”
Once Kim Min-jun finished his report, Son Tae-ho clicked his ballpoint pen with an incredulous look.
He’d known the guy was an exceptional hunter for a while.
Special promotion from private to private first class.
Passed the promotion exam to corporal with perfect scores.
‘That alone was amazing, but now special promotion to sergeant too.’
Sure, handling irregular monsters and single-handedly stopping an emergency were more than enough reason.
But usually, battalion commanders quietly block it.
Too standout a hunter causes headaches within the unit.
‘Hunter HQ won’t sit still. They’ll pressure for special forces transfer. Yet the 104th Division promoted him to sergeant instead.’
He couldn’t quite read the other division commander’s intentions.
‘Is he deliberately promoting him to sergeant just to defy Hunter HQ?’
Even for a division commander, that’s a risk.
‘Hmm. Too far ahead.’
Son Tae-ho shelved the complicated thoughts for now and addressed Kim Min-jun.
“We won’t hold you accountable for entering the dungeon on your own initiative. Even if anyone tries, the 104th Division commander and I will take responsibility. No need to worry.”
“Yes, sir! Thank you!”
“Plus, you pulled off something huge, so you deserve a reward. It’ll take a bit since there’s a mountain of follow-up to handle first.”
“Yes, sir! Understood!”
That much he’d expected.
A special promotion on top would be nice, but probably too much this time.
He’d heard jumping from sergeant to warrant officer was tricky.
“That’s unit business. Personally, we owe you big for this, so I want to reward you. Anything you want?”
Son Tae-ho said he’d grant whatever he could within his power.
“Any chance of a special promotion to warrant officer?”
“That’s a HQ decision.”
Son Tae-ho’s firm reply.
‘Figured as much. Nothing else to ask for, then…’
Wait, no, there were a few things.
The black gems infused with demonic energy he’d gulped down at Son Eun-seo’s house.
A few more of those would be great.
“I’d like some of those rare black gems that drop from monster bodies.”
“Gems?”
Son Tae-ho looked surprised at the request.
“We haven’t released info on those yet. How do you know about them?”
“I heard about them from Sergeant Son Eun-seo.”
“From Eun-seo? Hm… That’s not hard to arrange… but why that, of all things?”
Rare black gems obtained from monster corpses.
Valuable monetarily, but trading was banned.
Even he, as division commander, could only snag one or two by working the angles.
“Just collector’s interest. No money involved. Also, the black card I got through Sergeant Son Eun-seo—if you have extras, I’d like more.”
“Fine. They’re not dangerous anyway, so I can swing that. What I gave you is all I have left.”
“…Understood.”
“Seeing you disappointed, looks like it’s just a taste for rare items, huh.”
Son Tae-ho laughed openly.
He’d refuse any other soldier flat out.
But he owed Kim Min-jun more than once.
His own daughter, Eun-seo, had relied on him from hunter mobility training to the civilian aid emergency.
“Conveniently, I have one. Take it now.”
He stood, opening a safe that resembled a mini-fridge.
“By the way, what’s your deal with my daughter?”
“We agreed to be friends.”
For a fee, of course.
“Hm… Really? She’s picky about people. Alright, got it. Sorry for keeping you so long—you must be beat. You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll head out then! Loyalty!”
Kim Min-jun took the demonic gem and left the unit grounds.
Son Tae-ho watched his retreating figure through the window for a moment.
**
As soon as Kim Min-jun stepped outside the unit, he headed to a secluded mountain path.
Lee Bong-gu flew to his side right on cue.
—Mr. Kim Min-jun! Glad everything went according to plan. Anything else you need? Your right-hand man, Lee Bong-gu, hopes you regain your power soon…
“Shut it and be quiet. I’m absorbing demonic energy. Good job, by the way. Eat this.”
Kim Min-jun handed over a bag of bungeoppang he’d bought on the way.
“Bungeoppang? Oh, what an intriguing food.”
Spotting the food, Lee Bong-gu shifted from eagle form to his original body.
Crunch!
“Mm? Th-this flavor!”
Sweet just right, with a soft chew!
After one bite, Lee Bong-gu shuddered in delight.
“Mr. Kim Min-jun! Earth is incredible! After that ‘gukbap,’ now bungeoppang is this delicious too!”
“You’re disrupting my demonic absorption. Eat quietly.”
“Yes!”
While Kim Min-jun absorbed the demonic energy, Lee Bong-gu stuffed his face until his cheeks bulged.
Shoooo—
[You have absorbed a certain level of demonic energy.]
[Demonic energy stat increases by 1.]
[Demonic energy stat increases by 1.]
[Demonic energy stat increases by 1.]
[Demonic energy stat increases by 1.]
‘Nice. This one’s packed with potent demonic energy too.’
Finishing absorption, Kim Min-jun closed his eyes, savoring the fullness.
‘Guess this is the limit for demonic energy stat gains.’
Denser than the last gem, but only +4.
Higher stats needed purer energy, naturally.
‘Skills-wise, due time for an unlock.’
Ding.
[Having absorbed a certain level of demonic energy, Demonic Whip is unlocked.]
“Nice. Decent one.”
Previous attack skills were low-grade; Demonic Whip sat between low and mid.
Demonic Whip.
Condensing demonic energy into whip form, literally.
‘Took practice to master this.’
As a proficiency-based skill, it offered great efficiency for mana cost.
“Ah, hold up. Hey! You rascal! Lee Bong-gu!”
Come to think of it, my status window glitched when I returned to Earth.
Time to check his.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
Lee Bong-gu, mid-bite on bungeoppang, tried responding but couldn’t with stuffed cheeks.
“Eat and listen. Does your status window display properly?”
“Mmph? Mmmph!”
Lee Bong-gu nodded and quickly swallowed.
“Phew. Yes! Stats and basic skills are showing.”
“Show me.”
“Yes! Here!”
Having come from Ysgrd too, huh.
Kim Min-jun could view his status window.
‘Demonic energy at 5, others at 20.’
Lower than expected.
Dimensional travel had tanked his demonic stat, risking his life.
‘Now, what to do.’
Kim Min-jun pondered.
Transfer a chunk of his absorbed demonic energy to power up Lee Bong-gu.
Or stick to the previous gradual method.
‘First boosts his search range, speeds energy gathering. But puts him at risk. Second is safe but slow.’
Even with lots transferred, no issue for hunter military life.
He had basic skills from enlistment, stats rising steadily if slowly.
‘Rushing and losing him would ruin everything. Better play safe.’
As he thought that—
Lee Bong-gu spoke up seriously.
“Mr. Kim Min-jun. I know exactly what you’re thinking.”
“What.”
“Gambling big or playing safe, right?”
“Spooky bastard.”
“I’m your right-hand man! I can read you like a book.”
Lee Bong-gu insisted it was time to expand his range.
“I’ve scouted around, but Korea produces too little demonic energy. And the country’s so small!”
“Confident you won’t die?”
“Of course!”
“That’s your opinion, punk.”
Kim Min-jun shared demonic energy with the cocky Lee Bong-gu.
“Up to 15 demonic stat, then permission granted. No lower.”
“You care about my life… How merciful…”
“Shut up and take it.”
“Yes!”
Shoooo—
After absorbing for a while, Lee Bong-gu reported his demonic stat hit exactly 15.
“Ah, no! Mr. Kim Min-jun!”
“What’s up?”
Lee Bong-gu announced a new skill unlock.
“Let’s see. You barely had attack skills before…”
Kim Min-jun checked and smirked.
“Expand your range. Approved.”