Kim Minjun applied for PVP with Dungeon Power Fighter Lover, gifting them a merciless death.
“Ah, hold on a second.”
He leaned back on his chair and took a sip of his drink for a moment.
Suddenly, a question occurred to him.
How long will it take to regain my strength by gathering mana the normal way?
Of course, even without mana, his high stats would allow him to quickly rise through the ranks of non-commissioned officers, even officers.
However, Kim Minjun’s goal was to quickly gain stars.
The important thing here was “quickly.”
Right now, my rank has many restrictions on my actions. Even if I get promoted later to corporal or sergeant, I won’t be that free.
In that case, he had no choice but to move secretly during his vacations.
“I need mana. Then I need to find a dungeon with mana. Let’s start by searching for information on the internet.”
Kim Minjun briefly examined various posts while browsing through different online communities.
“What is this guy doing?”
An eye-catching post was uploaded.
[Title: Hey, this place is crazy.
I discovered this while hiking; doesn’t it look like a dungeon entrance? Hunters were wearing gas masks and standing guard.
I unknowingly entered the restricted area and almost got into big trouble.
I thought it was strange that a poisonous smell was coming from the mountain, and I would have collapsed if I stayed a bit longer.
My head is still throbbing.
Anonymous 1: Are you crazy? Why did you post this here?
Anonymous 2: You’ll get caught. I’m not kidding. Delete it quickly.]
“That one is definitely a dungeon.”
A single photo uploaded by an anonymous user.
It contained an image of a location reminiscent of a mine entrance and soldiers standing guard.
“A poisonous smell… The probability of it being mana is high, right?”
Fortunately, it wasn’t too far away.
It was taken on a mountain in Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province, which was worth visiting because it was close by.
“You stupid. You shouldn’t upload things like this carelessly.”
The post was quickly deleted because of reports, so it would likely be caught soon.
The regular army may not know, but the Hunter Army was extremely sensitive to these kinds of issues.
If unlucky, they could even be imprisoned.
Anyway, thank you. I think I found a good dungeon thanks to you.
Kim Minjun immediately headed toward Hwacheon.
“Nice. There’s definitely mana.”
As soon as he entered Hwacheon, a faint scent of mana drifted toward him.
At this level, ordinary people wouldn’t notice.
“It’s also a problem if people keep ignoring this.”
Regardless, it wasn’t a good sign that mana was leaking from the dungeon.
“Two hunters at the dungeon entrance.”
Kim Minjun arrived near the dungeon and lowered his posture.
“Did I nail it properly?”
He hadn’t even entered the dungeon yet, but the scent of mana was quite strong.
It was no wonder the hunters standing guard were wearing gas masks.
I’m still a private first class.
Kim Minjun used Corruption on the two hunters.
Swoosh.
“Ah, damn… Why does my stomach suddenly hurt?”
“I’m sorry! My stomach also hurts suddenly.”
“…You too?”
“Kuek! I’ll bear with it for a moment… I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“Hey. People can’t come in here anyway. Let’s deal with it quickly and come back. Ugh! It should be fine for about 5 minutes.”
“Understood!”
The hunters on guard clutched their stomachs and ran into the woods.
Kim Minjun seized the opportunity and entered the dungeon.
[You have entered the dungeon.]
“Nice.”
As soon as he entered, the corners of his mouth involuntarily rose.
This dense and rich mana.
It was a jackpot.
“But why is it so dense? There are no monsters here.”
There was no sign of any monsters.
The empty dungeon was just filled with mana energy.
“Let’s absorb the mana energy first.”
Kim Minjun stretched out both his arms.
Swoosh!
Then, the mana energy filling the dungeon was sucked into his palms.
[You have absorbed a certain amount of mana energy.]
[Mana stat increases by 1.]
[Mana stat increases by 1.]
[Mana stat increases by 1.]
Messages appeared incessantly.
How refreshing it was to experience this after a while.
[Having absorbed a certain amount of mana energy, Night Walker has been unlocked.]
[Corruption skill is enhanced.]
He felt satisfied since one of his previous skills had been unlocked.
“Lucky me.”
Kim Minjun opened the status window, imitating a movie actor’s line.
[Kim Minjun
The founder of the “Seria-noona is my favorite character” church.
Strength: 60
Agility: 60
Stamina: 60
Mana: 15
Owned Skills: Corruption (D), Night Walker (E)]
“Wow, just the skill I needed popped up.”
The skill Kim Minjun regained was Night Walker.
It was an essential skill for his rank as a Private First Class.
Night Walker was a shadow-shaped summon.
It needed to be fed mana energy at regular intervals if released outside.
Although the cost-effectiveness wasn’t great, it was a summon that did its job well.
Its ability was entering the target’s body to extract information. In other words, it was an information-gathering summon.
“Come out.”
Swoosh!
Kim Minjun summoned the Night Walker.
Then, his shadow wavered and grew darker.
“Is it because my mana stat is low that it’s much weaker?”
Currently, it can only be active during nighttime hours.
“No, it’s fine. This is enough harvest.”
Kim Minjun decided to spread Night Walker in the base once he returned.
Even with this, he still had a hint of regret.
If he waited patiently with the heart of a blacksmith, there’s bound to be a chance for a breakthrough.
“Before returning to the base, I just need to buy the gifts the senior soldiers like.”
Kim Minjun purchased items to bring back to the base.
**
Thursday’s return.
Another training session was scheduled the next day, but Kim Minjun felt like he was flying.
He had unintentionally discovered a dungeon overflowing with mana energy and regained some of his lost strength.
With this, he was one step closer to his goal.
‘While going around here and there, try it slowly on people who look like they have a high rank. Don’t hurt them. Do it gently.’
Swoosh!
Minjun’s words caused the Night Walker hidden in his shadows to hide underground.
All he had to do now was wait for the fish to bite after casting the hook.
“Salute! Private First Class Kim Minjun! I have returned from my vacation!”
“Oh! The hunter who became a private first class in the shortest time!”
“You even got a vacation from the division commander? He even put the rank insignia on you himself!”
“Yes! That’s right! I got you all these. They’re not much, but I thought of you and bought them!”
As soon as Kim Minjun entered the barracks, he handed out cigarettes to his seniors.
He also handed them a must-have book for men.
“Hey, why did you buy so much? Cigarettes are expensive these days.”
“You should have only bought one magazine, not so many.”
Despite their words, they seemed pleased.
This was military life.
“Our barracks don’t have any other Privates. Even after getting promoted, you’re the youngest.”
“It’s okay.”
He didn’t really care.
After taking the promotion exam, he would have become a Corporal anyway.
“Minjun, congratulations. You’re already a Private First Class like me.”
Private First Class Lee Dongjin congratulated him on his promotion, saying that Minjun would quickly become a corporal at this rate.
“Thank you.”
“Ah. And you know there’s a main weapon training tomorrow, right? Don’t relax too much just because you’re back from vacation. Sergeant Lee Seungho is very sensitive these days.”
“Yes! Understood.”
That must be because of the pigeon… no, Corporal Kim Kwangsik.
“By the way, maknae. I saw the promotion exam attendance list when I passed the guard office. Your name was there?”
“What? Don’t you have to apply for that in advance? He couldn’t have applied when he was a Private?”
“Did you get such a benefit because you’re an excellent soldier, maknae?”
At the Sergeant’s words, the other seniors’ gazes focused on Minjun.
“Actually, when I was in training camp, the battalion commander offered me a suggestion.”
Kim Minjun honestly told his seniors the facts without hiding anything.
His seniors wore incredulous expressions at his following explanation.
“Wow. They say not to stand out too much in the military, but this is what they mean.”
“Doing well is a problem, doing poorly is a problem, and being right in the middle is the answer.”
“You must have had a hard time, maknae.”
“No, it’s fine! I’m okay!”
He really was fine.
He was already excited about the upcoming promotion exam.
Ah, come on, Saturday.
**
The next day, in front of the training field, was the day of the main weapon training.
The hunters’ faces were full of dissatisfaction.
“Ah… life.”
“I had a feeling my vacation request would get rejected. Damn it.”
It was because of the battalion commander’s order there was also preliminary training for the promotion exam.
It was only natural since they’d have to undergo training all day, even though the shooting training had just ended.
“Alright. Everyone, cheer up! The battalion commander specially ordered this, so make sure you train diligently! Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Understood!”
“Since the promotion exam is tomorrow, approach the training with a sense of tension!”
“Yes!”
The promotion exam proceeded in the order of written and practical tests.
The written test was at a level where one could pass if they only knew the most basic knowledge.
Think of it as the written test for a driver’s license.
On the other hand, the difficulty level jumped significantly starting from the practical test.
If the pass rate for the written test among hunters was 99%, the practical test was 3%.
But it was harder getting more than one promotion point.
‘Let’s see. The practical test examines main weapon training, stat test, and monster handling abilities.’
Kim Minjun listened carefully to the instructor’s explanation.
Passing the test was already a foregone conclusion.
However, he thought that if he could get a perfect score, he might be able to earn one more promotion point.
“From now on, we’ll conduct main weapon training! Privates, don’t choose any other weapon and just grab a knife!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
The knife was the most straightforward weapon to handle.
Anyone who had gone through training could achieve a certain level of proficiency, and it wasn’t too difficult to train with.
“Listen up. What the instructor teaches you is just the textbook military swordsmanship. It’s not good to just follow swordsmanship blindly. While the basic framework is based on the hunter army swordsmanship, modify it according to your style. Got it?”
“Yes! We understand!”
There’s no need to handle monsters in the same way.
It was more important to kill them more quickly and reliably.
“Privates and Private First Class should not be greedy and should follow the instructor’s movements.”
“Understood!”
The hunters widened their gaps and took their positions with their main weapons.
However, privates were given wooden training knives.
“Privates, just watch me and follow along! Don’t look anywhere else!”
“Yes!”
The privates started to imitate the instructor’s swordsmanship with awkward movements.
“From stance 1 to stance 4, the strength of the lower body is important! However, don’t indiscriminately put strength into it!”
“Understood!”
“Widen the gap between your front and back foot!”
“Yes!”
“Hey! You opened it too wide! Narrow it down!”
“Yes! Understood!”
For Kim Minjun, this swordsmanship was nothing special.
However, the other privates seemed to struggle just to follow the basic steps.
Swordsmanship is definitely better on the Isgard side.
The hunter army swordsmanship felt, how should I put it, too honest?
Should I start with a military sword too?
Back in the other world, he had tried handling any weapon he could get his hands on.
Of course, since it didn’t suit his main profession as a dark mage, it was only for a short time.
“From stance 1 to stance 4, repeat 10 times. Execute!”
“Execute!”
Kim Minjun repeated the sword movements leisurely.
