Chapter 5
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Change
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Only after Drill Sergeant Kate finished speaking did I hurriedly make my way back to the barracks. Even as I hurried off, her gaze bored into my back, sending chills straight down my spine.
"Oh, you've been waiting a while, huh? Sorry about that. The vibe was pretty intense."
My tall comrade was still standing silently at the barracks door, pulling CQ duty. But her eyes were clearly fixed on the corner by the duty desk where the trainees were getting punished.
"...You're lucky you didn't have to do it."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Got lucky."
Only after I reached her side did she slowly turn her head to look at me. It was time to switch roles.
The nameless giant of a comrade handed me the reflective vest that shift workers slung over their shoulders. I snatched it up quickly and started putting it on by myself.
But she hesitated for a long time, staring at me intently, as if something felt off to her.
"...Should I help you put it on?"
Even with barely enough sleep time as it was, her kind offer to help me with the vest was admirable. But I already knew how to do it.
It was slightly different from the standard Korean army style, but the look and method were almost identical.
So there was no need for her help at all.
I just hoped she'd get to savor a few more precious minutes of that delayed bedtime because of us.
"..."
But the tall girl tilted her head, looking down at me. The horns sprouting from her head were striking.
"You put it on by yourself just fine."
Her brown eyes blinked. She seemed like she wanted to say something to me, but noticing that everyone else in the barracks had finished their shifts, she belatedly opened the door and went inside.
It seemed my actions were drawing her interest. Drill Sergeant Kate was the same way. The people of this world seemed to hold men to pretty low standards.
But damn it,
I've already done this crap for a year and a half.
It'd be weirder if I couldn't do it.
...Anyway,
By my standards, she was the one who seemed more unusual, with those horns and all.
There wasn't a hint of clumsiness or awkwardness in her movements as she passed through the barracks door. A normal first-day trainee would be tense and fumbling with everything, but she was incredibly calm and composed.
I had no idea how she managed that. Even I was a mess on my first day at training camp. That's what normal is supposed to be...
The horned girl naturally started changing out of her fatigues into PT gear, glancing my way through the glass panel in the door every so often.
Glance—
I wondered if I should turn away to avoid her gaze, but worried it might cause a misunderstanding, so I just stared blankly into space instead...
"..."
In the end, my eyes were drawn to the giant woman anyway. More eye-catching than the horns on her head was her [explosive volume].
Even though I tried not to notice, my gaze kept drifting to those feminine curves. It was an instinctive pull I couldn't control.
"Ahem."
Both she and I
ended up spending an awkwardly ambiguous time together.
5:41 AM,
The first dawn at the training center...
The sun would rise soon,
but it was still pitch black out.
As I carried out my first CQ duty shift, I mulled over the various different races standing before me and this army’s system in my mind.
How is that woman so tall and pretty? Should I call her handsome or beautiful...
But why the horns?
In a world full of such diverse races living together, why does an army like this even exist? And why does it have to resemble the Korean army so much?
Why am I here doing this?
What reason brought me to this place? Was it just bad luck? Or am I some chosen one like in novels or movies?
Maybe I'm destined to save this isekai...
Nah, that's ridiculous. What kind of isekai story is this? Just dump a random twenty-something guy in the army and make him pull CQ duty.
Zero plausibility. Fine, an isekai army is cool. But why do I have to wear these fatigues and spin in circles like the Korean army?
"..."
All sorts of thoughts raced through my head. Monologuing alone like this made time fly by surprisingly fast.
An hour didn't feel that long. The other duty personnel were dozing off or scowling at the glass inside the barracks, but I just stood there blankly, wallowing in the irony of it all.
In a way, it was pure comedy. Not just any comedy, but the cheap, childish kind.
Imagine a clown in ridiculous makeup running around doing stupid tricks, then splat—falls flat. Everyone laughs hysterically until the show's over and silence falls.
Pum-pum, pum-pum-pum—
But this surreal space where I stood was filled not with silence, but with [unpleasant noise]. A familiar trumpet blare that could trigger PTSD echoed across the entire training center.
The overall feel was a bit different from the Korean army's, but the melody and instrument combo felt almost the same. That godawful tune any veteran had heard to death.
"Wake up— Wake up."
Drill Sergeant Kate spoke into the mic, and every light inside the barracks flicked on. It was still dim outside, but the merciless training center interior was flooded with unrelenting brightness.
"All recruits and permanent staff in the barracks, wake up immediately. Repeating: All recruits and permanent staff in the barracks..."
A phrase all too familiar.
Contrasting with it,
the surreal scenery inside the training center, packed with unreal elements.
"Ugh, what the hell..."
"So damn loud."
Trainees still half-asleep and clueless started waking up in a daze. Some, facing the horror of a 06:30 reveille, clutched their faces in despair.
But trainees didn't even have time to despair. They had to neatly fold and square away the blankets and pillows they'd slept under.
"Didn't you hear wake up!? Everyone, wake up!"
The instructors started yelling as they roamed around. Fresh off their first night, the trainees now had to learn the [training center rules] amid the instructors' barking and irritation.
"Giving you 5 minutes from now. Sort your bedding and change into fatigues within 5!"
An all-too-familiar and predictable scenario for me, but for trainees who'd barely slept after tossing all night, it would be grueling.
But on the flip side,
for the instructors, it was a [joyful time] to legally vent their rage and create living hell.
"Echo it back! Assemble in 5 minutes!"
"Assemble in 5 minutes...!"
A faint smile played on the instructors' faces.
Only I,
with my familiarity to this situation, could witness their [happiness].
Bang—!
"Move it, faster!"
The instructors kicked doors like they were ready to smash them, scaring the trainees. Of course, they'd have to fix any real damage themselves, so they kept it within limits.
"Look at that form! Straighten up!"
An instructor who looked furious stormed into our barracks, bellowing.
"Barracks 2-2, get your shit together! Everyone up!"
Startled by the oppressive atmosphere, the comrades flailed around in panic.
"5 minutes. Sort your beds and blankets completely. First day, so everyone change into fatigues. If after 5 minutes your blankets or beds aren't squared away perfectly, or your fatigues aren't on right... I'll show you what hell really is!"
"Yes, sir!"
That only made their movements clumsier. They rushed to fold blankets and square them, but tense and fumbling alone, the angles were off and folds uneven.
Only two people in the barracks stayed calm.
Me, and the tall woman.
Bedding I'd folded dozens, hundreds of times. I tidied my bunk like I was back home. Speedy and precise.
While others struggled with angles, mine was flawless. From the top blanket to the mattress cover—everything squared perfectly.
Now to change into fatigues. Normally it'd be PT gear, but this hellish training center wanted to hit them with a massive task from day one.
Having barely survived the monstrous bedding ordeal, the trainees struggled with unfamiliar fatigues.
Even quick learners with nimble hands rarely nail something new perfectly on the first try.
But changing into fatigues was a breeze for me. It looked way too much like Korean army fatigues. Like an upgraded version based on them.
So it took me less than 30 seconds. After a year and a half wearing similar gear daily, how could it not be fast?
The barracks was still chaos, but I'd completed every order and waited leisurely.
...Or not just me being leisurely.
"..."
There was also one giant woman silently watching me. She'd succeeded in tying her boots perfectly and dressing in spotless fatigues, just like me.
We two overcame the massive hurdle of the training center's first chaotic morning. Even some instructors entering did a double-take.
"...At, attention! 30 seconds left. Echo it! 30 seconds!"
"30 seconds!"
On a normal first-morning routine of tormenting trainees, seeing two already finished with bedding, changed, and ready for roll call seemed to short-circuit their brains.
"10 seconds left!"
"10 seconds...!"
Most were just now buckling belts and frantically lacing boots. Boots especially would feel alien.
So they grunted and struggled. It'd be weirder if they handled issued gear perfectly day one—no need to get too down about it...
—Atteeen-tion!
A booming voice from the hall, and instructors entered each barracks. Ours was...
"Everyone, attention."
Drill Sergeant Kate, whose cat ears and tail now felt familiar.
"...All of you, a total mess. You're not civilians anymore—you're trainees. Never folded a blanket yourself at home because Daddy did it? Like newborn puppies, all sloppy."
Trainees near the door trembled and sweated coldly under her barbs. But she had no intention of going easy just because they were scared.
"Nos. 145, 146, 147, 148—up on your bunks, front leaning rest position."
"Fr-front leaning rest...!"
Push-ups in groups of four.
"149, 150, 151, 152—you too, front leaning rest."
"Sh-should we take off our boots to get up...?"
"What?"
Asking something stupid earned an instant [glare of contempt] from Kate. No joke—it was venomous enough to kill with a look.
"You joking? Head to the deck and front leaning rest."
"Front leaning...!"
Scary woman. Perfectly suited to be a training instructor.
"You four too. Can't even look at you."
"Fr-front leaning...!"
Now she stood before me, the dwarf, the tall horned woman, and some nameless elf woman, swishing her tail and perking her ears.
"No. 158, huh."
She looked like a kid saving the best bite for last. Her stoic face somehow seemed excited.
"Hmph."
Her prickly face and red eyes lingered on me longest.
Her red eyes trembled. Was she flustered or disappointed? I couldn't tell, but Kate blinked wide-eyed a couple times, then spun around abruptly.
"...Good. Not bad. Everyone, learn from 158 and 159."
I couldn't see her face with her back turned, but for some reason, her tail stuck straight up erect, and her ears twitched nonstop.
At the same time, my tattoo prickled again.
I knew without checking.
Like during the CQ shift change,
I'd earned another [Achievement].
The [D-728] tattoo on my wrist flickered with light.
It blinked blue for a moment, then...
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722 Days Remaining
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...showed a pretty drastic change...?