Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 001
Chapter Title: Discharge (1)
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Soo Dae-hyun was on his way home after nearly three years of service in the Republic of Korea Hunter Army.
Even though discharge was what every soldier dreamed of, his face didn't light up with pure joy.
His footsteps dragged like they were stuck in mud.
His heart weighed just as heavy.
He was the only one who had made it back alive from the front lines.
North Korea had fallen.
The cause? Trying to weaponize the magical beasts from the dungeons.
Monsters weren't animals humans could tame, and leaving the gates unmanaged without oversight was the fatal mistake.
People thought there'd be no need for military service once the enemy state collapsed.
But the Military Manpower Administration hadn't lost its function.
If anything, even more dangerous and tricky foes had emerged.
Magical beasts crossing into Korea via Guard Posts and the Military Demarcation Line.
To block the hordes, the Republic of Korea had forcibly conscripted Awakeners.
Service terms doubled from one and a half years to three.
Normally, upon awakening, you'd get an exemption for tackling domestic dungeons instead of service.
But during wartime, all C-Rank and below were drafted regardless.
B-Rank and up weren't forced, though.
High-rank Awakeners were national assets that even the country had to handle with care.
Forcing them risked them leaving the nation.
Any country would roll out the red carpet for B-Rankers and above—citizenship, housing, cars, full support.
Naturalization would be a massive national loss, so they were exempt from the draft.
Instead, they were assigned to guilds and called up to the front lines as needed.
Soo Dae-hyun had awakened as F-Rank and been drafted by force.
Most of the dragged-in Awakeners were low-rank Hunters like him.
Bad luck—he'd awakened suddenly on the very day news broke of North Korea's fall.
Prior to awakening, he was already exempt anyway.
His parents had died in an accident when he was young, and he'd grown up in an orphanage.
When he was drafted into the army, Soo Dae-hyun didn't feel wronged or despairing.
He'd lived off the nation's taxes until then, so he enlisted with the mind to repay that debt.
And now, that debt was paid.
Six months shy of discharge, he'd been honorably discharged amid disciplinary action.
An accident had erupted while clearing a Dungeon Gate near the Military Demarcation Line.
His comrades of many years had died pointlessly due to a military blunder.
...Only I survived. Just me.
During the dungeon raid, Soo Dae-hyun had caught some unknown illness.
The nation offered no real treatment, of course.
His condition wasn't something a hospital could fix at its root.
The country had tossed aside the soldier who'd devoted himself for two and a half years like yesterday's trash.
Soo Dae-hyun boarded a bus from Cheorwon to Seoul.
He slumped in the back corner, chin on hand, staring out the window at the scenery.
"The bus will depart shortly!"
Drinking in the land he'd defended, he slowly closed his eyes.
His eyelids felt as heavy as mountains, piled high like snow in a blizzard.
He couldn't fight the drowsiness.
Slipping away—his eyes shut.
.... Familiar faces after so long.
He walked through a dark cave.
It stretched on endlessly deep.
They were raiding a dungeon.
Everything felt vividly real.
The chill wind seeping from within, the moss on the walls, the dank dungeon stench.
As the rearguard by trade, Soo Dae-hyun—overjoyed at seeing his comrades after so long—clapped a hand on one's shoulder.
Crunch.
The moment his hand touched the shoulder, his comrade's head snapped around 180 degrees.
His face was ashen like cinders, eyes vacant and unfocused.
Black sludge oozed from his eyes as his mouth gaped open.
[It's your fault. Why'd you survive? You should've died with us! Why only you!!!]
A chilling voice thick with resentment.
Not his comrade's.
The comrades passing ahead turned, then charged at Soo Dae-hyun like mad.
They were no longer human.
Monsters mutated into horrors!
Rotting flesh and discolored skin like the undead.
They throttled his neck, tormenting him.
'I'm sorry.'
Amid agony like his body torn asunder, he accepted death without resistance.
He should've died with them that day.
Then.
"Hey! Over here!"
Someone shook his shoulder, jolting him awake.
"Hah, hah."
Soo Dae-hyun snapped alert, gasping for breath.
"Are you okay?"
The woman now sitting beside him looked concerned.
Bobbed hair, pale skin, subtle makeup highlighting sharp features. She could've passed for a celebrity.
'......Ah.'
Soo Dae-hyun felt hollow realizing it had all been a dream. So vivid, too.
"Sorry."
He apologized first—a habit from service.
Civilians would force apologies even when soldiers weren't at fault.
Bowing his head so often to injustice had eroded his self-esteem.
"Oh, no need to apologize. You just looked exhausted."
She scratched her head awkwardly, like it itched despite not.
"Uh, discharged today? Or on leave?"
She'd guessed leave from his uniform insignia.
Soo Dae-hyun's were three bars.
Demoted to Corporal right before discharge.
They'd pinned the blame on the sole survivor, disciplining him as victim-turned-perpetrator.
Thanks to a PTSD diagnosis and pleas from soldiers from other companies who'd fought alongside, he'd only missed promotion.
The Ministry of National Defense hadn't wanted a scandal, making it possible.
"...Discharged."
Hunters had three ways to discharge.
First: Honorary Discharge.
Second: Full-Term Discharge.
Third: Grow to B-Rank.
The third was hardest.
Initial awakening rank rarely grew.
An F-Rank hitting even D was a miracle.
Soo Dae-hyun had reached A-Rank in the fires of war.
He could've discharged but didn't apply.
He knew his comrades would die without him.
Couldn't just abandon them.
But an accident mid-op dumped all the blame on him, forcing the honorary discharge.
"Wow, congrats. Must've been tough."
Her simple words pierced his heart like a needle.
No one had ever said that to him.
In this world, Awakeners serving was just expected, and sacrifices inside got ignored under the guise of minor perks.
Dozens, hundreds dying barely made headlines.
"Thank you."
Army service had soured him on civilians.
Merchants scamming soldiers, reports just for looking scary despite doing nothing.
Always mocked, being dismissed.
Yet a stranger said the one thing he'd craved most.
It soothed his scars a bit.
Tears trickled down his cheeks.
She handed him a handkerchief.
"Snow's really coming down, huh."
She glanced out the window so he wouldn't feel embarrassed.
A kind heart to match her pretty face.
Before he knew it, they'd arrived at the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal.
"Don't know your story, but hang in there. Thanks for protecting the country."
She meant it.
"Thank you too."
Soo Dae-hyun left first.
After parting, he took the subway.
'Ah, the handkerchief.'
He'd forgotten to return it.
He regretted not grabbing her, swapping numbers.
He was her type, but the mood wasn't right; now he was second-guessing about not asking.
*
He headed to Hope Orphanage, where he'd grown up.
Soo Dae-hyun's parents had died to a monster when he was little.
"Big bro!"
"Oppa!"
The kids mobbed him the moment he opened the door, hugging him tight.
Their warm touches melted his frozen heart.
"Dae-hyun, you're here?"
"Welcome back. Good boy. My kid!"
The Director and caretaker greeted him warmly.
"Long time no see. You two been well?"
Nearly a year since last visit.
Leave restrictions kept him away.
They were busy; and his unit didn't allow visits.
No that he's back home, the discharge finally felt real.
The Director spread her arms wide.
"My son."
Soo Dae-hyun stepped into the embrace.
He's grown tall now, but her arms still feel sun-warmed and cozy, like a mother's.
"I'm home, Mom."
*
The next day.
He hit the bank with his discharge papers to cash in his military savings.
"Sorry, sir."
The teller checked his ID and papers, looked troubled, and called a higher-up.
Basic training special savings: 100% payout as promised, but with a catch.
Honorary discharges might not qualify fully.
"See here in the fine print..."
Some tiny text at the bottom.
"Applies only to three full years of service, so you might not qualify."
"Just six months short, but I didn't choose to be discharged."
"Sorry, policy is policy."
A bolt from the blue.
All that saved money's benefits gone.
Soo Dae-hyun had about 80 million won saved.
Through living with minimal expenses, and the army covered the rest.
It's not much.
Accumulated in two and a half years.
In a life-or-death warzone, it was peanuts.
He walked out with the raw 80 million.
Sharp wind nipped his nose.
80 million for a war survivor.
Dungeons would've netted him triple the amount.
Disillusionment with the nation hits hard.
Not why he'd enlisted. (Forced draft.)
This was too much.
His patriotic heart repaid with betrayal.
Now, he has to save from scratch.
*
He rented a semi-basement in Seoul.
His orphanage offered a couple months of stay, but he didn't want to burden them; he used his savings for a quick place to stay.
2 million deposit, 400k monthly.
A moldy 3-pyeong hole; the cheapest around.
He could afford better, but he needed the cash.
With the orphanage facing a complex redeveloping, there was a demolition order.
So he didn't want the kids to be separated.
He donated 50 million to the orphanage, 20 million for a deposit.
The director refused, saying—"you risked life for it"—but he forced it.
She'd raised him to adulthood after his parents were gone.
The last 10 million: used for suit and gear for interviews.
Soo Dae-hyun job-hunted right after his discharge.
Gov revived military points amid Awakener backlash when he enlisted.
Extra points for public gigs like Hunter Association.
Build career stably, then aim for joining a big guild.
This is his post-discharge plan.
A year ago, big guilds scouted him; now, only lowly low-rank guilds instead.
Who hires a healer without a Heal skill?
Guilds? no, even going through dungeons will be tough.
Three months later.
Forsythia bloomed, snow melted—but his reality stayed frigid.
The hunter military points have been abolished.
Non-Awakeners and draft-dodging Hunters cried foul; but congress still scrapped it.
Pre-election, lawmakers hustled for once.
Awakeners under 10%; non-90%+.
Votes went for non-Awakeners.
GP monsters have become more quiet, so the crisis is deemed over; now the soldiers are forgotten.
This was now his third interview after three tries.
He has much lower specs than his rivals.
Hunter specs hinged on dungeon clears.
Soo Dae-hyun rarely entered; only fought monsters outside gates.
His rank: D-Rank.
Discharged Hunters usually reach C min; his measured way low.
This was his third chance.
Tense silence, like a dungeon.
Three interviewers firing questions; his turn.
"Oh, Hunter Army?"
"Job's Healer? But why is there no skill submission?"
Honorary discharge, no Heal—they eyed him different.
"Huh? Honorary discharge. Then..."
One paused at his record.
"Hmm. Not even Sergeant, just Corporal? Proper service? This is kinda..."
Soo Dae-hyun clocked them as draft-dodgers.
These were young interviewers, ~about 10 years younger than him.
Most Hunters discharge honorably.
Ridiculous.
His reason: PTSD.
Heal unusable from PTSD.
Post-dungeon survival, his skill vanished.
A vicious curse hit him stripping all of his skills.
Pre-incident, he was a rare A-Rank Healer.
Company commander, exec officer, battalion head—division wanted him; Association scouted.
But becoming a D-Rank made him an outcast.
His reward for his noble sacrifice: 'discharge.'
Army deemed him unfit, quietly processed out.
The sole survivor, and yet he bore all the blame.
"I did my time."
But Soo Dae-hyun didn't quit.
One lesson the army taught.
"In Cheorwon, I met..."
Enlisted F-Rank, grinded to A via bloodsweat.
Wove Hunter Army tales to hook them.
No-phone army: honed storytelling to kill time.
Gauged curiosity well.
But that was it.
A Healer without a Heal is worse than a porter.
Text in his basement.
[Interview Result]
- Hello, Hunter Association recruiter. Your qualities are... (excerpted)... regrettably, we can't proceed with Soo Dae-hyun.
Rejected.
Frustrated, he stepped out.
Bought soju at convenience store.
Post-discharge, booze untouched—but today, drinkers awaited.
His destination: comrades' columbarium.
Not a national cemetery; but an ossuary for the fallen.
Devoted lives to the nation, but got nothing—like him.
Gulped soju.
Sacrificed youth, lost vision.
Watched comrades die helpless.
Nation gave hate, scorn, despair, emptiness, rage.
This all felt unjust.
So damn unjust—curses, tears flowed.
Sob, whimper—
The winter snow melt pooling, now streaming.
Post-discharge days were hellish.
Not just job fails.
Fallen comrades haunted, tormented him.
Gazing at them, he thought:
...If I die like this, then maybe then I can get some peace?
Then.
Ring~
[Mom]
A call from orphanage Director.
Dae-hyun ignored it.
He hated her seeing him pathetic.
[My son. Super busy lately? Kids whining for big bro/oppa. Come eat sometime. - Love, Mom.]
Her text steadied him.
His death would grieve her and the kids.
He dumped his half-bottle of soju.
Start over, like always.
Association job or not, fine.
'First, job—'
Ring~
Standing, he got another call.
An unknown overseas number.
He tried ignoring it, but he fat-fingered the accept button instead.
Now he had to pick it up.
He was going to hanging up when—
"Dae-hyun hyung. Long time no see."
The voice of an old comrade, discharged before him.