Chapter 98
Chapter 98
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: This is it
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“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun. Thanks to the ogre capture, your promotion to Sergeant First Class is confirmed as a special promotion.”
How long had it even been since I’d made Master Sergeant? A special promotion straight to Sergeant First Class.
The ogre capture must’ve been a huge deal.
Even Hunter Command, which had opposed it so fiercely, had approved in one go.
‘Man. They say jumping from Corporal to Master Sergeant is ten times harder, but Master Sergeant to Sergeant First Class feels like a hundred times tougher.’
Hunters from the enlisted ranks could usually make it to Corporal if they had any talent at all.
But over eighty percent either discharged there or stayed stuck as Corporals for five years or more without promotion.
‘Hunters just can’t get as strong as me in this system. Can’t be helped.’
I was the only one with skills.
Of course, after using that Lucky Roulette item before, I’d seen stats start generating.
Surprisingly, there might be as many as single-digit numbers of hunters with skills if you looked hard enough.
‘Even so, the difference in skill power is real.’
In my case, I was like a dark wizard from a fantasy flick, slinging flashy skills left and right.
The other hunters probably only had support skills for combat at best.
Which meant things like taking on an ogre solo were damn near impossible for them.
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun. Thank you!”
“If anything, the battalion commander and I should be thanking you. Facing an ogre without mana cannons... there would’ve definitely been casualties.”
Recalling the report from back then made the division commander’s head spin, or so he’d said.
A star position.
With great power came great responsibility.
If even one casualty had come out of a situation like yesterday’s, not only the battalion commander...
but the division commander would’ve faced disciplinary action too.
“Whew. Over twenty years in this job, and I still never get used to it. Feels like living on the edge of a cliff.”
Brigade Commander Gu Hak-cheol chuckled, saying he never expected to feel this thrill at his age.
“By the way, Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun.”
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun!”
“Are you really human?”
“Did I hear that wrong?”
“Haha. Just kidding. A hunter who can subdue an ogre barehanded... even seeing it myself, I can’t quite believe it.”
The division commander’s light laughter faded.
His expression turned serious as he continued, saying he had a proposal.
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun. Instead of promoting to Sergeant First Class right now, how about aiming for Second Lieutenant later?”
“Second Lieutenant, sir?”
“Yeah.”
Here’s what the division commander proposed.
If I promoted to Sergeant First Class, I couldn’t stay as platoon leader anymore.
I’d have to take another assignment.
So instead of holding onto Master Sergeant, build more achievements and jump straight to Second Lieutenant.
“Platoon leaders are usually Corporals from the enlisted track, newly assigned NCO Corporals, or Second Lieutenants.”
Master Sergeants could rarely do it, but Sergeant First Class and up? No way.
A Hunter Army Sergeant First Class as platoon leader would cause all sorts of issues.
‘So that’s it. They don’t want to lose my combat power by pulling me from this position, so they want me to stay put?’
It didn’t take long to read between the lines.
‘Hell yeah, I’m in.’
No hunter would turn down the division commander’s offer.
Even if it was a bad one.
Who’d say no to two stars promising a promotion?
“Yes, sir. I accept.”
It took Kim Min-jun exactly one minute to reply.
The division commander looked surprised at the quick decision.
Putting the special promotion on hold.
Which was basically the same as canceling it.
“Huh. I’m saying we’re holding your special promotion, and you agree just like that?”
“I’ll just prove myself worthy.”
“Exactly. You’re right!”
The confident answer made the division commander’s shoulders shake with laughter.
He hadn’t even given the full explanation yet, and here this guy was, blindly trusting and following along.
This was a hunter he absolutely couldn’t let slip away.
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun. Keep your platoon leader spot and rack up more achievements to jump straight to Second Lieutenant. No two-rank special promotions in history so far, but you can make it happen.”
The division commander even said that if it didn’t pan out, he’d take responsibility on his own name.
A two-star general saying that to a master sergeant with two bars.
That’s how much he liked Kim Min-jun.
“To tell you ahead of time, the platoon in Second Company, Second Battalion where you’re platoon leader right now... I plan to make you its platoon commander.”
No two-rank special promotions in Hunter Army history.
Yet the division commander spoke as if Kim Min-jun’s Second Lieutenant stars were already a done deal.
“You’re the first in Hunter Army history to capture an ogre alive. Can’t do a two-rank jump for that? I’ll back you hard, so go wild.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll keep pushing hard! Thank you!”
“Thank you’s on me. Ha ha ha!”
A brief exchange followed.
A massive bounty for the ogre capture.
The standard reward leave, of course.
‘Whoa, damn. They’re giving that much money?’
The offers and rewards so far were already pretty satisfying.
But then the division commander said he wanted to give a personal gift and radioed somewhere.
“Sir!”
A moment later.
An officer entered, handed over a black case, and left.
From how he strained to carry it, it was pretty heavy.
What the hell could it be?
As he wondered, the division commander told him to open it himself.
Click.
Inside the case was a familiar-shaped sword.
A Hunter Army mana blade.
But up close, something was different.
Black body and blade.
Lifting it slightly revealed substantial weight.
“Second-generation mana blade. A military model with proven safety.”
The gift was a mana blade.
The troops had just started getting first-gen mana blades, and now this was second-gen.
I’d heard our country had good tech, but not to this extent.
‘Damn. Design’s top-notch too. Did they team up with some big corp for development?’
Seeing Kim Min-jun’s satisfied expression, the division commander shared details on the blade.
“Safety, aura intensity, durability—it’s incomparable to first-gen. But it has two big drawbacks...”
“The weight and stamina drain, right?”
“Yep. That’s the biggest hurdle. Still, figured you could handle it, so I had it brought. What do you think?”
With that, he swung the blade around a bit.
Definitely.
Five times heavier than the first-gen mana blade.
Even the first-gen the troops used was heavy enough that many couldn’t adapt.
They wouldn’t even be able to lift a second-gen.
“It’s definitely heavy. But no issue for me in actual combat.”
“As expected. Knew it.”
The division commander watched Kim Min-jun closely.
Handling a second-gen mana blade that even officers struggled with—effortlessly.
‘Wonder what his stats are.’
Curiosity flared for a second, almost making him ask for the numbers.
‘No. Not on a good day like this—can’t afford a dumb slip-up.’
Of course, the urge passed quickly.
In the Hunter Army, demanding stat info was only for enlisted.
Or academy cadets.
Even that was under guidelines now to avoid due to human rights concerns.
“Good. I’ve confirmed it with my own eyes, so get final approval and issue it.”
The division commander said he’d let him use the second-gen mana blade starting next dungeon raid.
“Oh. And this weekend. Thinking of setting up a celebration for the whole Second Battalion Hunters. What do you say?”
“Sounds great to me, sir.”
The ogre capture really was a big deal.
Full battalion dinners didn’t happen often.
‘Alright. Back to the barracks to brag a bit.’
These guys.
They’ll faint when they hear my bounty.
**
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun’s back!”
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun! Heard the division commander called you personally—is it true?”
“Another special promotion?”
The moment Kim Min-jun returned to the barracks, the hunters swarmed like they’d been waiting.
They were dying to know what happened.
“Getting crowded. Back off a bit. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Oh! The bounty! How much bounty did you get?”
They had other questions, but the bounty was what the hunters wanted most.
Capturing monsters alive came with hefty bounties.
Naturally, harder monsters meant bigger payouts.
In that sense, ogres were bounty kings.
“Kim Kwang-sik bet me a two-month salary that Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun wouldn’t get over 100 million. Give this lunatic an earful.”
“I bet 50 million plus one month’s salary.”
“You idiots gambling in front of officers?”
The mood grew rowdy.
Kim Min-jun calmed the hunters, then asked if that was all they thought he’d get.
“So...”
“No way?”
The room went dead silent in an instant.
Kim Min-jun held up two fingers.
“Two... hundred million?”
“Yeah.”
Not 100 million—200 million.
The hunters’ jaws dropped.
Hunter Command was notoriously stingy with bounties.
The kind where you’d gripe, ‘We went through hell for that?’
“Crazy...”
“For real? Two hundred million. Two hundred million.”
Even that cheapskate Hunter Command shelled out big for this one.
What usually took two months—sometimes nearly three—wrapped up in a day.
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun. At 200 million, you gotta treat us big, right?”
“I’ll treat when I’ve got time. More importantly, full Second Battalion dinner this weekend. Got the division commander’s okay.”
“Woo!”
“For real?”
“The division commander approved? Insane!”
The barracks erupted at the dinner news.
Monster outbreaks had been frequent lately—no battalion dinners.
Not even squad ones.
“Master Sergeant Kim Min-jun?”
“Where you going?”
As the hunters chanted ‘Booze! Booze!’, Kim Min-jun quietly stood.
“Training room.”
“Whoa...”
“Crazy...”
His casual tone left them stunned.
Skipping training even on the day he got a 200-million bounty.
“Talk about hardcore.”
“You could rest easy today, right?”
“This is my rest. Move aside.”
Kim Min-jun pushed through the buzzing crowd toward the training room.
He’d planned to take it easy.
But now there was a change he wanted to check right away.
Ding.
Perfect timing—the message popped up.