Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: Battalion Feast
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[The efficiency of your Perpetual Engine has increased!]
[Your Perpetual Engine stat has risen by 1!]
The Perpetual Engine—a stat I'd only recently acquired.
For some reason, the rate at which it generated magi had sped up.
"Let's see if I can guess the answer."
As soon as I entered the training room, I assumed a stance and closed my eyes.
I only knew about 50% of what there was to know about the Perpetual Engine.
The info that had flowed into my head upon acquiring the stat was limited to the basics.
The rest, I'd have to learn through experience.
Swish...
With my eyes closed, I could sense the subtle movements of the Perpetual Engine.
The efficiency of the Perpetual Engine.
In other words, when it came to boosting magi generation speed, the power of imagery was key.
'Simple is best.'
In my case, I imagined a massive gear inside my body.
Ever since getting the new stat, that is—except for the bare minimum downtime.
'Twenty-one hours a day. Even while eating, fighting monsters, or training, I never let up.'
And that wasn't all.
I'd even gone out of my way to procure an actual gear and taste it.
Of course, I did it somewhere out of sight so the other hunters wouldn't think I was nuts.
I wasn't born with overwhelming talent.
I'd just put in relentless effort.
Sure, my speed at handling a black mage's magi was faster than most.
'There are two things needed to grow the Perpetual Engine stat.'
One was imagery training.
The other was feeding it magi absorbed from outside sources.
'No infusions lately, so it has to be the first one. Finally paying off.'
Feeling a swell of pride, I lost track of time as I trained the Perpetual Engine.
It was a rare stat, and the method to raise it was equally unique.
Stats like strength, agility, or stamina could be boosted through physical training.
Or by slaying monsters and earning experience.
But the Perpetual Engine? Killing monsters did jack for it.
Only specific actions could improve both its production efficiency and the stat itself.
"It's like this stat was made just for me."
Lost in training, six hours slipped by before I knew it.
Felt like I'd just blinked.
[Your Perpetual Engine stat has risen by 1!]
"It's been ages since I trained this seriously—first time since getting the Perpetual Engine."
I could feel the magi generation speed picking up as the stat rose.
It was a tiny difference, sure, but stacked up, it'd become impossible to ignore.
"Alright. Motivation's surging. Let's go all day."
That day.
Kim Minjun spent the night in the training room.
**
The weekdays passed, and the weekend arrived.
All the hunters of the 2nd Battalion had gathered at the BOQ in their fatigues.
"Whoa. Insane. Check that out."
"Huge. Booze, booze."
"How many cases of beer is that?"
"Isn't that pork belly? We're done for today."
They swallowed hard as the transport squad hunters endlessly hauled in booze and meat.
A battalion feast on the parade ground in front of the officers' quarters.
This was an insane perk—maybe once, if ever, during your entire enlistment.
"Alright. Just for today, alcohol is permitted for 2nd Battalion enlisted. Keep it in moderation."
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood!"
The battalion commander's brief address ended, and the feast kicked off.
Sizzle...
Pork belly piled nonstop onto the charcoal grills.
The hunters speared a piece each, then shouted in unison.
"Sergeant Kim Minjun! Thanks for the grub!"
"Thank you!"
"Wooo!"
A full battalion feast.
At the BOQ, no less.
All thanks to Kim Minjun capturing that ogre alive.
"If you pass out on the ground, you'll know what's coming. Stick to the line and drink."
"Yes, sir!"
"Got it!"
Kim Minjun waved it off like no big deal and headed somewhere.
To the table with the battalion commander and company commander.
"Whoa. Been thinking this for a while, but Sergeant Kim Minjun's so chill."
"No kidding. Captured an ogre alive, pocketed 200 million in reward, and doesn't brag once."
"Dude. And that's not all? Heard he's been hitting the training room for personal sessions every day since."
"No way... Possible? Schedule's brutal these days—end of day, I'm out cold."
The hunters shot admiring glances at him sipping booze with a calm expression.
He'd rocketed through the ranks from private to officer without a trace of arrogance.
Instead, he encouraged the stragglers, helped them out, led them.
You wouldn't find another officer like Kim Minjun in the ROK Army—or hell, the whole world.
"I hope Sergeant Kim Minjun sticks around here forever."
"Tell me about it. Without him, every hunter serving here would've gotten seriously hurt."
"Lately it's been bullshit nonstop. Irregulars popping up like clockwork? Nowhere generates dungeons like Cheorwon."
They chatted away, heaping praise on Kim Minjun.
Meanwhile.
"Hahaha! I've been riding your coattails a ton lately!"
At the officers' table, the same topic flowed.
The battalion commander, especially chipper, downed shots with booming laughs.
"Sergeant Kim Minjun! Just doing what needed doing, sir."
"Capturing an ogre alive is 'just doing your job'? Makes me wanna try some 'necessary' feats myself."
"I'd be thrilled to bag a live orc."
Laughter erupted around the table.
Kim Minjun's massive achievement.
It had skyrocketed the 104th Division's evaluations.
Hunter Command viewed them favorably now, promising no skimping on support.
"It's a good day, so forget rank. Drink easy."
"Thank you, sir!"
The ones reaping the biggest benefits were naturally the division commander and the 2nd Battalion commander.
"But I've got a few points of concern."
Amid the cheerful banter.
Captain Kim Sangdeok—freshly transferred—shattered the vibe.
Maybe irked that all talk centered on Kim Minjun.
"First, no matter how skilled he is, he acted alone. If he's ever commanding troops down the line, that's extremely dangerous."
The battalion commander's brow twitched uncomfortably.
The company commander shot him a "drop it" look, but Captain Kim Sangdeok pressed on.
"Sure, it ended perfectly with no injuries this time, but I can't guarantee it'll always go that way."
Silence fell over the officers' table.
Ignoring the stares, Captain Kim Sangdeok laid it all out.
TL;DR: Acting on impulse in any situation is wrong.
'Whoa. Spotted it when he first nitpicked me—this guy's no ordinary punk.'
Kim Minjun eyed Captain Kim Sangdeok, smirking inwardly in ridicule.
Not in a good way, mind you.
Ordinary in the bad way.
'Even half-assed, I'd outpace him, but he's shaping up for less.'
Guess he was itching to find fault. Fat chance.
I'm a perfectionist.
More importantly, time to watch the battalion commander dress him down.
"Training officer."
"Captain Kim Sangdeok!"
Just as that thought hit.
The battalion commander spat the words, pissed.
"Quoting the manual like a training officer— so what was the result?"
"The result... ended with capturing the ogre alive. But..."
"Did any soldiers get hurt? Where'd you get this idea that solo action is always wrong?"
Hunter forces draw strength from group action, true.
But that didn't mean solo was forbidden.
"The moment the ogre broke expectations and charged out of the dungeon. Sergeant Kim Minjun reacted faster than anyone. Bought time for the troops to fall back. You think that's some casual resolve?"
"Th-that..."
"Let me ask you this. Back around 1986, a gate popped up in downtown Seoul. Nearly a hundred monsters swarmed out. In that mess, a lieutenant threw himself in to cover the troops' retreat and protect civilians."
An officer who'd charged into a monster-infested hell, knowing he'd die.
Was that officer wrong too? The question followed.
"No, sir..."
The battalion commander's voice swelled, drawing eyes from the rowdy enlisted.
Captain Kim Sangdeok sensed it going south, but he'd crossed the line ages ago.
'Whoa. He's ripping him a new one.'
Logically shredded.
By rank, demolished.
No wonder the mugunghwa isn't pinned on just anyone.
'And this seals it.'
The battalion commander was firmly in my corner.
Captain Kim Sangdeok got dusted like lint and slunk off to the bathroom.
The battalion commander, mood soured, told everyone to carry on and left the BOQ.
"Minjun. Don't sweat it. You did nothing wrong. Company commander and I saw it with our own eyes."
"Yeah. That Kim Sangdeok punk's caused headaches in every unit he's been in. Don't take it to heart."
The company and platoon commanders clapped his shoulder.
Far from pissed, I'd enjoyed the show—and now they were consoling me to boot.
"Thank you, sirs. I'm totally fine."
"If he wasn't the training officer, he'd never make long-term service. Tch."
The other officers piled on the Kim Sangdeok bashing.
How long had he been here? Already pulling every cringey move in the book.
'This is how the army should be. My side's got way more numbers anyway.'
Kim Minjun sipped his booze, quietly curling his lips.
Kim Sangdeok.
The moment I outrank you, I'll show you hell.
**
"Ugh. Because of that training officer asshole, the feast lasted barely two hours? For real?"
"First time I've seen someone mouth off at the battalion commander. Ever."
The battalion feast wrapped in two hours.
Normally it'd run dawn to dusk, but the commander's sour mood killed it.
"That's why I took you squad out on a platoon outing."
Right now, Kim Minjun had led his squad outside the base.
Dragging the grumblers to a beef joint.
"You know I've got 200 million burning a hole in my pocket? Order whatever, no holding back for my sake."
"Gonna burn through 200 mil in one day with our orders."
"Only the priciest! Nothing but the expensive stuff!"
The squad whooped, ordering premium beef like maniacs.
'Was gonna treat these guys someday anyway—didn't think it'd be today.'
No need to skimp on my own squad, unlike other hunters.
These were the guys I'd rolled with since private.
"Um... excuse me. Are you Hunter Kim Minjun by any chance?"
"Yes. That's me. Something wrong?"
As the mood heated up.
A woman from the opposite table approached.
"Crazy..."
"Whoa..."
The squad members, hearing her words, grumbled like it couldn't be real.