Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Graduation
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Kim Ho-jun barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.
The recruits explained what had happened after he passed out.
"So that guy just suddenly started acting like that?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"......"
Under normal circumstances, it was the kind of stunt that would've gotten him kicked out of the training center on the spot.
Acting alone while conquering a dungeon was suicidal.
But there was nothing to be done about this situation.
The drill instructors, who were supposed to protect the recruits, had lost consciousness first.
"Get up right now. We're going to find Recruit Kim Min-jun."
"Dr-drill instructor! Over there!"
"What?"
At one recruit's shout, everyone's eyes naturally turned backward.
"What's that...?"
"Is that a hound?"
"Yes. But... it's way bigger."
One recruit strolled casually toward them.
The drill instructors stared at Kim Min-jun, who had the hound slung over his shoulder, wondering if they were hallucinating.
"This crazy bastard... he took down that big one all by himself?"
"If the earlier hound was lightweight, that one's heavyweight."
"I have no idea what's going on anymore."
The other recruits felt the same.
Kim Min-jun had shown overwhelming performance in training, but they'd thought it was just training, nothing more.
"The entrance is clear. We should head out right away."
"That hound... you took it down alone?"
"Yes. I did it alone."
Corporal Kim Ho-jun nodded once at Kim Min-jun's response, then sent the recruits out first.
"Kim Min-jun. Report everything that happened today in detail to the platoon leader."
"Understood."
"Don't leave out a single thing you went through. This incident—you'd have no defense even if you ended up in the stockade. Leaving the recruits and passing out is unforgivable."
Very rarely,
a few standout recruits would take down a hound solo.
Out of 30 trainee classes, maybe one or two.
Of course, none had ever killed one that huge.
'If it weren't for that guy, we'd all be dead.'
If Kim Min-jun hadn't been in Squad 30, it would've been a catastrophe.
No matter how many recruits, they couldn't handle a hound that size.
'But... what the hell was that earlier?'
Kim Ho-jun shifted his gaze to the headless hound corpse.
They'd suddenly lost consciousness deep in the dungeon.
Hounds didn't have abilities like that.
'Damn it. Gotta report it first. Sleep can wait till later.'
As the drill instructors exited the dungeon first, with Kim Min-jun following behind.
Ding-
"What the?"
A message appeared before his eyes.
[Error has been fixed.]
Error?
What error?
Kim Min-jun frowned at the unhelpful message.
"This shitty system was a pain in the ass in that other world, and it's no different here."
Ding-
As if it understood him.
With the alert sound, a status window appeared—one he hadn't been able to see before.
[Kim Min-jun]
Founder of the 'Celia Sis Is My Favorite Character' cult.
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Vitality: 60
Magic Power: 10
Skills: Corruption (E)
"Something's off."
No level, just stats and skills.
Kim Min-jun spotted "Celia Sis" and slapped his forehead.
"Why the hell is that in my status window?"
Celia Sis Is My Favorite Character... that was a group I'd made half for fun, half as a joke.
When I reached the peak as a warlock, it was a setup to shake off the fanatic stalkers following me around.
I'd named it after a Dungeon Fighter character to troll them, but they'd actually loved it. Total miss.
"I'm a lot weaker now."
When I returned from Ysgrard, I'd used up most of the magic power in my body.
I'd expected a stat drop from the dimensional transfer penalty, but not this low.
"With stats like this... let's see. I could jump over a sergeant easy..."
The status window, once packed with skills, now had only one left.
"Magic power at 10 must be why. What can I even do with just Corruption?"
To top it off, his magic power stat and Corruption rank were scraping bottom.
At that level, using Corruption on a hunter would only cause stomach upset at best.
"If this were a novel, it'd be perfect for 'Black Mage Life Starting from Level 1.'"
Compared to his fellow recruits, it was still monstrous.
Most trainees' final stats were late 10s to early 20s.
But this wasn't nearly enough to achieve his goals.
"I hit max level once in that other world. Think I can't do it here too?"
Dungeon Fighter company, just you wait.
For Neo Play, delayed by monsters—I'll get my power back quick and help out.
**
That day,
the Hunter Army Training Center was turned upside down.
Squad 30, the last group, had entered, and the dungeon had sealed shut.
On top of that, a recruit had soloed a monster even the drill instructors struggled against.
Normally, after final training, recruits get promoted to private.
Then a simple graduation ceremony, followed by free time until unit assignment.
But not for this class.
"Ah, our class is the cursed one."
"Why'd some insane shit have to happen on the last training day?"
The newly promoted privates grumbled one by one.
Dressed in combat uniforms, they waited in the barracks.
"Speaking of, you see Kim Min-jun? The guy who took down a hound solo."
"Oh, the one he carried in over his shoulder?"
"Two drill instructors foaming at the mouth and passing out—real talk?"
Unable to watch TV, gossip was the privates' only entertainment.
"I bet Kim Min-jun makes sergeant in two years."
"Nah. Even with that, promotion exams are brutal. Most hunters serve full five years and discharge as corporal."
"Untalented ones, yeah. I saw a hunter discharge as private first class."
As they chatted about Kim Min-jun,
"Attention! Private Kim Min-jun reporting!"
Kim Min-jun faced the battalion commander.
'...What’s this situation?'
The stiff-backed officer next to the commander was his platoon leader.
"You can go now."
"Yes! Attention!"
The platoon leader sprang from push-up position at the commander's word and exited.
Kim Min-jun hadn't done anything wrong, but he felt uneasy anyway.
"The dungeon wasn't properly checked—that's the platoon leader's fault, so he deserves a chewing out. Don't you agree?"
"Private Kim Min-jun! Yes, sir!"
Kim Min-jun agreed with the battalion commander for now.
Dungeon variables were impossible to predict.
Unless you were peak-era black mage him.
'So this is the army.'
He pitied the innocent platoon leader for only a moment.
"Coffee?"
"Yes! Thank you, sir."
The battalion commander handed him a canned coffee.
"Sit comfortably. I'm truly grateful to you."
Despite the words, Kim Min-jun sat ramrod straight.
A private leaning back in front of a colonel? No way.
"If not for you, some recruits might've died. Heard even the drill instructors couldn't handle it?"
"The drill instructors had sudden seizures, so I acted alone! Sorry, sir!"
"Sorry for what? I'm trying to figure out what award to give you."
The battalion commander grinned, flashing white teeth.
If even one recruit got seriously hurt at Hunter Army Training Center, his promotion was toast.
Reporters hungry for scandal would swarm too.
'Can't send that guy to a regular unit.'
When he'd seen the hound corpse with his own eyes earlier,
Battalion Commander Choi Seung-beom had decided Kim Min-jun belonged at a frontline unit.
Sending talent like that to a normal unit was a national loss.
'Gangwon Province needed reinforcements, right?'
Choi Seung-beom listed units in monster-dense dungeon areas.
'This one's perfect.'
After studying the map intently, he looked at Kim Min-jun with a decided expression.
"I have a proposal. Want to hear it?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Heard from the platoon leader your training scores were top-notch."
The proposal was this:
Instead of a Hunter Army unit in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, he could take the promotion exam right away.
"Privates can't take promotion exams for a year. But with special exception, that's different."
Meaning, instead of frontline Cheorwon in Gangwon—where he'd wait a year—he could test immediately.
'Absolutely insane special treatment!'
Any other hunter would've cursed inwardly.
But Kim Min-jun was the exception.
Rank up fast, location didn't matter.
Promotion exams had under 5% pass rate for privates, but so what.
'Promotion exams aren't that tough anyway.'
A normal hunter would despair, but for him, it was a golden opportunity!
While every soldier did a year as private, he could skip it.
'This is a must.'
Promotion exams twice a year, right?
Higher rank meant wider ops range—had to go for it.
"Understood. I'll do it."
"Refreshing attitude. That's a true soldier. I'll put in a good word with the unit, so don't worry."
Thus, assignment to the most dreaded frontline unit, Cheorwon, was sealed.
**
Time passed, and the day privates headed to their units arrived.
Fellow privates packed, waiting for their welcoming officers.
"You're the craziest guy I've ever seen."
"Knew it since he played Dungeon Fighter. Told you—no normal ones play that."
"What? Dungeon Fighter's a god game."
His classmates gawked that top graduate Kim Min-jun chose Cheorwon, Gangwon, as his unit.
Out of all units, Cheorwon?
And the number one trainee?
"You guys wouldn't get it. I've got an awesome life goal. This is all for that."
Kim Min-jun shooed them to get lost.
"What, maxing 100 Dungeon Fighter characters?"
"Hit 30 on my unit yesterday. Piece of cake."
"Whoa, madman."
They left one by one for their units, saying they'd never forget a guy like him.
Soon, Kim Min-jun was alone in the training barracks.
"Crawling here? Why so late?"
Same province, but longest wait? Never expected.
"Private Kim Min-jun."
An hour later, an officer finally arrived in a military vehicle.