Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Mana Sword - 1
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'What?'
'Crazy. Is that for real?'
'What the hell, pulling this out of nowhere!'
And they had good reason.
It was because of the announcement that failing to master the newly issued weapons to a certain level would impact promotions.
"No way, these guys? The battalion commander is right here..."
The atmosphere grew rowdy in an instant.
The company commander tried to yell at the hunters, but the battalion commander waved it off.
"It's fine. Let them be for a bit. I was pretty shocked when I heard it yesterday too."
"B-Battalion Commander... Understood."
The weapons being distributed to frontline hunter units starting today were mana-infused new weapons.
The Ministry of National Defense had recently succeeded in extracting the power latent in mana stones and imbuing it into weapons.
Weapons infused with mana energy boasted superior durability and higher attack power compared to the ones they'd used before.
They were naturally effective against monsters too.
However, there were three drawbacks.
First, mana weapons were notoriously tricky to handle.
Even skilled officers needed over six months of dedicated training to use them effectively in combat.
The second was that civilians couldn't use them.
Mana weapons only responded to those with hunter abilities.
The exact reason hadn't been figured out yet.
Finally, mana weapons required the user's own energy.
Just wielding them could lead to fatigue.
'Adding this policy overnight means they anticipated something like this and prepared for it.'
Listening to the battalion commander, Kim Min-jun could grasp how things were unfolding.
The gate incident from not long ago.
They were rushing distribution of weapons in the final development stage because of that mess.
'Worried about public backlash, so they're issuing mana-infused special weapons to all hunter troops. Planning to calm the舆论 with this first.'
Fair enough.
It was the first time gates had popped up in the city twice in such a short span.
No wonder civilians were terrified.
'Fail to handle mana weapons to a sufficient level, and it affects promotions...'
The hunters around him were freaking out like, "What kind of bullshit is this?" but Kim Min-jun didn't care.
'I'm not the type to get held back from promotion over one weapon.'
If anything, he was itching to test the new weapon's firepower and see just how tough it was to handle.
"No, man... I'm literally on the verge of making sergeant, and now this?"
"I was gunning for corporal... Why at this timing..."
Once the battalion commander left, the parade ground filled with sighs and grumbled complaints.
It was understandable.
Promotions in the hunter army were tough enough already, and this new policy made it even harder.
"Alright, everyone quiet and eyes front!"
The company commander gathered their attention.
"The mana weapons issued today? Master them well, and you'll rack up extra performance points. That means faster promotions. So don't get too down. This new policy applies to regular soldiers and officers alike."
With that—and announcing training on mana weapons starting immediately—the company commander ended roll call.
"Man. We were supposed to coast through with just duties for a while."
"Yeah. Thought we'd get some sweet downtime for once... Hunter army works us grunts way too hard."
Back in the barracks, the squadmates vented their frustration.
"Whew... Was prepping for corporal, and now what the hell is this?"
Even Lee Seung-ho, the sergeant stand-in who rarely got mad outside of training, was cursing.
For the soldiers, stricter promotion criteria was a big deal.
"Hey. Think positive, guys. Positive."
Kim Min-jun approached and patted their shoulders.
"They said it's a new mana weapon, right? Master that, and your promotions speed up."
"...Mana weapons are supposed to be insanely hard to handle."
Lee Dong-jin, the corporal, replied glumly.
"Talk of developing mana weapons has been around for ten years. There were articles three years ago saying it was going smoothly... Didn't expect distribution this soon."
He added a few more quick facts.
The guy knew a surprising amount about mana weapons.
Even before they'd been issued.
"Oh. One of my hobbies is checking out weapons the Ministry of Defense develops."
As eyes turned to him, Lee Dong-jin scratched the back of his head.
"...What kind of hobby is that?"
"Weirdo. Might as well play Dungeon & Fighter like Sergeant Kim Min-jun."
"Yeah. D&F is a god game. Anyway, hustle to the parade ground, you lot."
Nodding like it was obvious, Kim Min-jun shoved their backs.
Morning mana weapon training was starting right away.
"Kim Min-jun. Got a sec?"
On the way to the parade ground.
A voice called from the platoon leader's office.
"Sir! Corporal Kim Min-jun reporting! Time is yours!"
"Yeah. Have a seat."
Inside, Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min said he had some notices.
"Notices, sir?"
"Yeah. About that gate you cleared solo not long ago."
Oh.
Right, nothing had come up about that yet.
'Hope it's about a promotion.'
As he hoped inwardly.
Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min pulled out a few documents and read them aloud.
"First, the confirmed stuff. You're getting a 7-night, 8-day reward leave and 30 million won reward money. As for promotion... sorry, bad timing."
Sorry?
What did that mean?
Even for this, no promotion?
"You're saying even this doesn't qualify me for promotion, sir?"
Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min replied regretfully.
"It was basically locked in. Had gone through HQ meetings and was nearly approved... Then the hunter army added a new policy."
"Ah. The mana weapon thing, sir?"
"Exactly."
He said Kim Min-jun's promotion was on hold.
They'd check his mana weapon proficiency first, then decide.
"The division commander fought hard for it. Said it was ridiculous that a feat like that gets blocked by one new policy. Even raised objections to a four-star general."
"I see. I'm fine with it, sir."
Master the mana weapon well, and they'd promote him to sergeant.
That was the gist.
"I'm confident I can handle the mana weapon, so no issue."
"Heh. Yeah. I buy everything you say."
The platoon leader chuckled at his matter-of-fact tone.
"Heard an instructor's been added. Show off your skills."
"Yes, sir. Will do. Sir!"
Mana weapon or whatever.
Just you wait.
Three days max, and he'd master it.
**
The assembled hunters on the parade ground gawked at the unfamiliar instructor.
'What? New instructor?'
'Who is that?'
'Because of the mana weapon training?'
They whispered quietly.
Then.
'Hey. No way. That's Kim Sang-deok!'
One hunter recognized him and jolted.
'What?'
'Who?'
'Guys, you don't know? Captain Kim Sang-deok! The guy who was an instructor at other units, caused constant trouble, got transferred like it was routine!'
'Crazy... Transfers like meals? In the hunter army?'
Frequent transfers in the military meant one thing.
Constant disciplinary issues.
Sure, rotational duty involved transfers, but not for instructors.
"Eyes front!"
"Front!"
The new instructor for the Invincible Hunter Battalion, Captain Kim Sang-deok, spoke up.
"I'm your instructor, here to teach mana weapon techniques for the Invincible Hunter Battalion!"
He was early thirties but looked early forties, with a prematurely aged face.
His sharp eyes and perpetual scowl screamed "hot-tempered."
"You all heard today: new hunter army policy! Fail to master these mana weapons we're issuing starting now, and forget promotions!"
Captain Kim Sang-deok raised a military sword with a blue blade like he was showing it off.
The mana sword soldiers would receive.
Ssssh.
He held the pose for a minute.
A blue sheen enveloped the blade.
"Whoa..."
"Wow..."
It looked just like the auras from fantasy movies.
"This mana-infused weapon lets you coat the surface with mana like that. This aura is one of the most effective ways to strike monsters."
He followed with various explanations about mana weapons.
'Oh. That's straight out of holy knights' gear.'
Eyeing the mana sword, Kim Min-jun judged it similar to weapons from Isgard.
'Holy knights used to infuse their blades with auras.'
Infusing auras boosted power.
Same principle here.
"Whoa... Crazy light."
"Same weight as our old military swords but five times the cutting power? Worth the price."
Hunters receiving mana swords were stunned first by the cost, then the lightness.
A standard-issue mana sword ran 30 million won.
One blade cost as much as a car.
And this was the cheapest model; majors and up got better, pricier ones.
'Wonder what insane gear they give you with stars.'
Handling the standard-issue mana sword a few times, Kim Min-jun was certain.
'This'll be easy.'
If he wanted, he could coat it with mana like the instructor just did.
'Processed from mana stones. But maintaining the mana coating takes massive energy.'
He knew the weapon inside out thanks to Night Walker.
It had scanned the internals unprompted.
'Solid weapon.'
As he thought that.
"You. Corporal Kim Min-jun, right?"
Captain Kim Sang-deok pointed at him.
"Corporal Kim Min-jun! Yes, sir!"
"Yeah. Heard you're hot shit in the Invincible Hunter Battalion."
"No, sir! Just did my duty as a hunter soldier!"
"Right. Sure."
His textbook response made the captain's eyebrow twitch.
Seemed displeased.
"We're starting proper mana sword training now, but first, let's see Corporal Kim Min-jun's skills."
He called Kim Min-jun to the platform, saying it was just an example, no misunderstanding.
"Coat the mana sword with mana like I did."
They'd just handed out the mana swords, and now coat it?
What gave?
'Obvious. Using me to feel superior?'
Grinning inwardly, Kim Min-jun raised the mana sword high.