Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: 5-Standby - 1
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“Harvest Necklace, huh?”
Harvest Necklace.
At first glance, it looked like a mass-produced accessory, nothing special.
“You have to kill a certain number of monsters while wearing it… though it varies per hunter.”
As you process monsters while equipped with the Harvest Necklace, its shape gradually changes into that of a candy.
Once it fully solidifies into candy form, consuming it grants a stat boost.
“Heard these are surprisingly hard to come by. What a windfall.”
Not only had he gained 5 points in Magi stat in a short time, but he’d also scored an item.
His Magi recovery was progressing faster than expected.
“Business done, and I’ve got some time left.”
Might as well check if Ibong-gu and Kim Seo-hyun are doing alright.
**
The rundown alley of one-room apartments felt like ages had passed.
Kim Min-jun stepped into one of the buildings.
“Mr. Kim Min-jun. You’ve arrived.”
Kim Seo-hyun had already opened the door and bowed politely.
“Yeah. Guess Ibong-gu’s out scouting the dungeon.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kim Min-jun scanned the room interior with his eyes.
It was a step below the one-room he’d lived in before.
“I gave you plenty of money. Why are you living in a dump like this? Did they rip you off for the IDs?”
“Absolutely not.”
Seeing his expression, Kim Seo-hyun calmly began to explain.
“For one, Ibong-gu stays in the room in the form of a small animal. So I figured there’s no need for a big space. The remaining money went toward buying necessary study materials.”
Ibong-gu was stuck in animal form against his will, but Kim Seo-hyun didn’t mention that.
“Here are the study materials.”
She brought over the books she was currently studying and held them out proudly.
[Zero Korean]
[Goddamn Korean]
“The language called Korean turned out easier to learn than I thought. I can now handle basic writing.”
She pointed to the screen on a small laptop.
[Breaking News! Multiple gates appear in a children’s park in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province! Sgt. Kim Min-jun (now Sgt. First Class) of the 104th Division single-handedly suppresses them!]
Anonymous 1: Hunter troops just eat up taxpayer money and do jack shit. Tsk. They always show up after the crap hits the fan. What the hell are they doing instead of developing early detection gear?
Anonymous 2: If one sergeant handles the whole thing, the monsters must’ve been bottom-tier hounds or something lol. Making a big fuss over that?
Anonymous 3: Yeah, seems like massive overkill. Don’t we see articles like this popping up a lot lately?
“No! These barbarians dare… Mr. Kim Min-jun, excuse me for a moment.”
Spotting the comments on the news article, Kim Seo-hyun nimbly tapped out a reply.
She’d only been in Korea for not even 10 days, but her adaptability was impressive.
KimMinJunFanboy: You losers can only shitpost from your rooms lololol. Keep living with that inferiority complex forever. In reality, you’d piss yourselves facing even a big dog, let alone a hound.
“…Sorry about that. These need immediate responses in real-time.”
“Is that so? I don’t really care. Anyway, you’ve learned well. Those books look like total practical combat manuals.”
How long had it been since she got here? She was already turning Korean.
Maybe picking up the rougher side of it, but at this rate, no worries.
“I’ll study Korean just to this extent, then focus on preparing for the Hunter Corps exam from now on.”
“Good. It wouldn’t hurt for you to join the Hunter Corps.”
“Yes!”
Kim Min-jun patted her shoulder encouragingly.
Her face lit up instantly.
“I’ll leave some extra cash here, use it if you need it.”
“Mr. Kim Min-jun! It’s fine! There’s still plenty left from before!”
“I know you’re skimping to save for me. Might fly in Isgard, but not in my hometown.”
They’d lived like beggars in that other world—couldn’t let them do the same in Korea.
“M-Mr. Kim Min-jun…”
Kim Seo-hyun clutched the thick envelope of cash, tears welling up as she clasped her hands.
“No big deal, don’t make a fuss. I’m heading out now—report if anything comes up. Take some Magi too.”
Kim Min-jun transferred a small amount of Magi to her, including some to pass on to Ibong-gu.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely pass the Hunter Corps exam.”
“Yeah. You’ll do fine on your own. I’m off.”
As he stepped out of the one-room, he glanced at the IDs they’d obtained.
“But Ibong-gu picked a name just like mine, huh.”
Donald? Donald what?
So tacky.
In truth, Donald was the cheapest ID available, so Kim Seo-hyun had picked it arbitrarily.
**
The day after Kim Min-jun returned to base.
“Min-jun. Our platoon’s on 5-standby today.”
“Sgt. First Class Kim Min-jun. Wasn’t our platoon the week after next?”
Lt. Kim Cheol-min ordered the platoon members to assemble in the 5-standby barracks.
“Yeah. Originally two weeks out, but command told us to rotate in. No idea why.”
“Understood.”
“What’s the big deal? After all these major exercises, it’ll probably just be one alert and done. I’m taking command team. You’ll handle the recon team.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll inform the platoon members.”
5-Minute Combat Readiness Unit.
Shortened to 5-standby.
Exactly as it sounds—a unit ready for initial response to emergencies.
They had to reach the site within 5 minutes, so during 5-standby, they lived in full combat gear at all times.
Slow hunters even slept in boots.
“Argh! KCTC just ended, and now 5-standby? Ours was supposed to be two weeks from now!”
“Thought we’d finally get some chill time!”
The platoon members wailed, clutching their heads at Kim Min-jun’s announcement to prep for 5-standby.
“Command switched it up—what can we do? Pissed? Get your own stars then.”
“Urk…”
“Everyone, inspect your gear now. Report any issues to me.”
“Got it…”
After gear checks, the platoon headed to the 5-standby barracks on the first floor.
“Ugh, damn. Wouldn’t mind 5-standby with the female hunters.”
“Tell me about it. Why’d it have to be the girls next door right when this hits?”
“Shut it. We wanted female hunters too.”
The platoons on 5-standby this time were 2nd Platoon’s 2nd and 3rd Squads.
Lt. Kim Cheol-min soon entered the barracks and reviewed the 5-standby manual once more.
“Good KCTC scores don’t mean slack off. You all know 5-standby’s important, right?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Affirmative.”
“Good. It’ll probably trigger once at most, so hang in there.”
“Understood!”
What followed in the 5-standby barracks…
Was waiting.
Until an alert hit, sitting still was the entire routine.
“…….”
The hunters sat cross-legged, spaced slightly apart, waiting motionlessly.
The cramped, outdated facility left little room—they were practically shoulder-to-shoulder.
‘Damn it all. Why Lt. Kim Cheol-min of all people?’
‘FM stickler—can’t do squat.’
Hunters hated 5-standby because time crawled unbearably.
Any other platoon leader might allow quiet chatter, but not Lt. Kim Cheol-min.
So they thought—until unexpected words came from the platoon leader.
“I’ll allow some light conversation.”
Quietly, that is—he’d permit talk.
The squad members blinked in confusion at first, then caught on.
“Min-jun. On KCTC day one, that hilltop…”
“Stumbled on it by chance. Fixed my scope on 3 o’clock for a bit.”
“I see. But when you wrecked the supply depot, any training traps…”
Lt. Kim Cheol-min was chatting with Kim Min-jun himself.
‘…Sgt. First Class Kim Min-jun really seems to have made an impression.’
‘First time he’s like this during training, right?’
‘Think about it. If Sgt. First Class Kim Min-jun sweeps everything in training, doesn’t that rub off on the platoon leader? At this rate, captain’s not a pipe dream.’
‘Was dreading next week, but this is a relief at least.’
The once-silent 5-standby barracks grew lively bit by bit.
It was the first day, and everyone had been through it once or twice before.
‘Whew, more than that, I’m craving cola already. Should’ve chugged one earlier.’
‘Same here. Hits different during this.’
No FX drinks, no showers during 5-standby.
Showering during an alert would render the 5-minute team useless.
A few years back, it actually happened: alert during a shower, botched response.
They got reamed, and showers were banned since.
Of course, unwashed for days on end, body odor was inevitable.
Best hunters could do was use the wet wipes stocked in the barracks.
‘Me? Magi handles it no problem.’
But wasting Magi on this felt off.
Guess I’ll stick to wipes like everyone.
‘…Goose.’
‘Article.’
‘Samarium.’
‘Crazy.’
During the endless 5-standby.
Bored out of their minds, squad members started quiet word-chain games.
Of course, even that would lose steam soon.
‘Sitting idle like this brings back old memories.’
Even now-officers like Kim Min-jun or Kim Cheol-min weren’t much different from privates.
Just a tad more space, that’s all.
‘When was it? Before catching that badass, did that closed-door training to boost Magi proficiency.’
Locked in a pitch-black room, nothing but insane Magi control drills.
Compared to that, this was child’s play.
As Kim Min-jun drifted into reminiscence, the siren blared.
Wheeeeeen!
—Alert, alert! Duty officer speaking. Monsters sighted in the operational zone transition area! 5-Minute Combat Readiness Unit, deploy immediately and swiftly!
“Everyone, prep fast! Drivers out first to ready up!”
“Got it!”
“I’ll head out to man the driver seat too.”
“Go.”
At Lt. Kim Cheol-min’s order, drivers and Kim Min-jun exited first.
Then the hunters grabbed gear and poured out.
Already in combat uniforms and boots, their response was lightning-quick.
“Good. Out in under a minute.”
As the last squad member left, Lt. Kim Cheol-min’s urgency faded.
“First day of training, threw in an alert to keep ‘em sharp—this speed’s solid.”
Muttering to himself as he headed out.
Platoon leader! Sgt. First Class Kim Min-jun here!
An unexpected situation arose.