“Everyone wake up! Get up quickly and put on your gas masks within 3 minutes!”
The object falling from the sky was a small box in military olive drab.
Given the Hunter Army insignia and the skull mark, it was clear the object had been dropped by the unit.
“Kim Minjun! You too, put on your gas mask and wake up the squad members!”
“Corporal Kim Minjun. Understood!”
Poisonous gases occasionally occurred in variable-type dungeons.
The identity of the box was a special gas modified to be non-harmful to the human body.
“Everyone, wake up and put on your gas masks!”
Zzaak! Snap!
“Wha, what the! What’s this?”
“Put on your gas masks right now!”
“Crazy! What the hell!”
“It’s an emergency! Special gas will be released soon!”
“Special gas? What kind of training is this on the first day!”
Kim Minjun entered the tent and slapped the cheeks of his seniors with all his might.
It was a somewhat violent act, but time was of the essence.
As First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin said, all squad members had to wear their gas masks within 3 minutes.
“Fire! Who can turn on the light!”
“Hey! How many minutes left!”
“Less than 2 minutes!”
“If you inhale the special gas, you won’t be able to come to your senses! Everyone, stay alert!”
“Yes, yes!”
The current time was 4 a.m.
While corporals and sergeants hurriedly put on their gas masks, privates and private first classes struggled to do so.
In the pitch dark, putting on a gas mask was not an easy task.
“Kkuk! The strap is tangled!”
“Stay calm! The more you fuss, the more tangled it gets! Stay still!”
Kim Minjun calmed the squad members down and helped the flustered juniors.
Pshiiiiii-
The moment the last hunter put on their gas mask, the special gas began to be released from the dropped box.
Yellow smoke.
The effect of the special gas was similar to the CS gas used by regular troops.
Breathing became impossible, yet it was not lethal—that’s what it was like.
The problem is that it’s more than ten times spicier than CS gas.
Even a single breath of special gas could leave you with a cough lasting half a day.
It would be quite a struggle to perform mobility training under the influence of that gas.
Of course, Kim Minjun was an exception, as the mana inside his body automatically purified it.
“All members have completed putting on their gas masks!”
“Everyone dismantle your tents and leave this area immediately!”
“Understood!”
Following First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin’s orders, the squad members quickly dismantled their tents and left the area.
Only after moving for more than 30 minutes were they given the signal that it was safe to remove their gas masks.
“Whew…!”
“What kind thing to wake up to?”
“I almost got seriously fucked.”
The hunters finally took off their gas masks with expressions of relief.
“Corporal Kim Minjun, thank you so much. I would have inhaled a lot of special gas if it weren’t for you. The strap got tangled in the middle…”
“Wow. My cheeks are still numb. I couldn’t get up well in the middle of it, but thanks to you, I survived.”
The seniors approached him to thank him for saving them.
“Corporal Kim Minjun. It was due to your quick discovery. You were lucky.”
“Lucky my ass. It’s extremely difficult to wake up at dawn and put on a gas mask within 3 minutes.”
“Not a single member of the squad inhaled the gas. Well done.”
“Thank you.”
It was said that whenever gas was unexpectedly released, usually more than 30% of the squad would fail to put on their gas masks in time and end up inhaling the gas.
And that would directly affect their performance scores.
“Kim Minjun.”
“Corporal Kim Minjun!”
“You detected the special gas faster than the platoon leader. Well done.”
“Thank you!”
First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin also praised Kim Minjun without reservation.
His response had been that perfect.
“Everyone keep moving! But I’ll give you a break in the middle!”
“Yes!”
The squad members continued to move along the mountain path.
“Keulluk! Keulluk!”
“Keheuk! Keuk!”
Along the path, hunters who had not responded in time to the special gas were seen suffering, coughing painfully.
They had inhaled the gas because they hadn’t reacted promptly.
“It looks like that squad got hit properly. They’re lagging behind a lot.”
“We are the 2nd squad… right.”
“If we had inhaled that, we would have been coughing all day long. Just the sound of coughing is horrible.”
“Who is it? Who’s making that coughing noise!”
“Crazy bastard! The platoon leader will hear you. Shut up, will you.”
Starting the first morning with the release of special gas during training.
Indeed.
As First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin explained, the intensity of the training had increased significantly.
“It’s the second day of training… Do you remember what we did on day two?”
“How would I fucking remember something from four years ago, you crazy bastard.”
While the sergeants frowned and talked amongst themselves…
“Platoon leader! There’s a casualty ahead!”
An officer with the word “casualty” attached to his neck was spotted.
“Is this the variety of situations the platoon leader was talking about?”
“Oh man, damn it.”
From the second day of Hunter Mobility Training, officers acting as casualties were waiting at certain intervals.
The hunters had to care for these casualties as they made their way to their destination.
This was a situation that hadn’t occurred in the last mobility training exercise.
“Prepare the stretcher!”
“Understood!”
Under First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin’s command, the hunters took out a stretcher and carried it to the injured.
“Then, we’ll lift!”
“Uh-huh. But it looks like your platoon dealt well with the special gas? Who’s the platoon leader here?”
The officer’s eyes shone as he looked at the squad members showing no signs of abnormal symptoms.
They were both acting as the injured and serving as training supervisors.
“First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin!”
“I purposely released the gas at dawn, and you handled it excellently. No one inhaled the gas, right?”
“Yes! That’s correct!”
“Good. Keep up the good work.”
“Understood!”
The platoon leader’s lips curled slightly at the captain’s continued praise.
Minjun, you did well.
First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin, perhaps feeling good for a moment, gave Kim Minjun a thumbs-up.
He seems to be in a good mood.
It was an unexpected gesture during training.
“Then we’ll depart!”
“Uh-huh. It’s only the second day, so do your best.”
“Yes!”
After quickly checking the injured person’s condition, two hunters began to transport him, sharing the load.
“Change formation!”
“Yes!”
They didn’t forget to change formation in anticipation of a monster attack.
“Platoon leader! 200 meters behind us, there’s a monster!”
During the move, as the slope became treacherous, the troops unleashed the monsters.
It was a Darkball, a creature that was shaped like a soccer ball.
“Send the injured to the front first! The rest of you, prepare to fire while maintaining formation!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
The Darkball was a monster that would cling to its designated prey and suck blood like a mosquito.
Once attached, it was difficult to detach without considerable strength.
Therefore, the best response was to shower them with mana bullets from a distance to prevent them from approaching.
“Everyone, prepare to fire!”
“Prepare to fire!”
Kim Chulmin quickly assessed the situation and gave the firing order to the squad members.
“Open fire!”
Boom!
The hunters positioned themselves and began firing mana bullets at the approaching Darkballs.
“Argh!”
“Aim calmly!”
Shooting on a steep slope made the hunters’ stances unstable.
Naturally, the accuracy of the mana bullets decreased.
Although one platoon fired mana bullets, they only managed to take down about 15 Darkballs.
It was only thanks to First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin’s support fire that they managed this much.
Twang! Thump!
“Urgh!”
“Hey! Use your gun to block them!”
“The moment you get hit by that thing, it’s hell!”
The remaining eight Darkballs had already closed in, baring their sharp teeth at the hunters.
“Platoon leader! At this rate, someone will get injured! Please let me provide support!”
Meanwhile…
Kim Minjun, who had been carrying the stretcher, sought permission from the platoon leader.
The hunters were somehow managing to fend off the Darkballs, but injuries could still occur if things continued this way.
Not a single injury on my watch.
As long as I was here, our squad must achieve a perfect score!
Kim Minjun’s eyes blazed with eagerness.
“The Darkballs attached themselves to the hunters’ guns. It’s tough to fry them off with just ordinary strength. If you think you can’t do it, don’t bother.”
First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin looked at his face for a moment before replying.
It was as if he was saying, if you’re confident, then try.
“Yes! Understood!”
The platoon leader’s permission was granted.
Kim Minjun leaped high into the air from the back of the formation.
“Uh? What, what’s that?”
The officer who was being carried on a stretcher was flustered by his retreating figure.
To be burdened with heavy military gear yet still able to leap that high…
It’s right to act like that if you want to handle the situation perfectly.
But how often could one handle the situation perfectly in this training?
Especially since the intensity of this training was unusually high.
In other words, it was training designed to inevitably result in injuries.
I’ll have to see if the platoon leader’s judgment is correct.
The officer propped up his upper body, deciding to watch how things unfolded.
“Ah! You damn piece of shit! Just come off already!”
Thwoong! Thud!
The Darkball remained stuck to the hunters’ guns, not budging at all.
It wasn’t difficult to handle the Darkballs in this state, but if handled carelessly, it could damage the guns.
Maintaining the guns in stable condition was also included in the training performance criteria.
The hunters had to wait until the Darkballs grew tired; that was the best course of action.
“Stay still! I’ll handle this!”
“Uh? Minjun?”
“Hey! If you touch the gun wrong, it’ll break! If it breaks, you’ll be in big trouble later!”
Instead of replying, Kim Minjun inserted his hand inside a Darkball’s mouth.
And then…
Whack! Splurt!
He removed it as if throwing an object and flung it far away.
“Uh…”
“Uh?”
The rest were the same.
“Snap out of it, everyone!”
“Finish off the ones that got away!”
Boom!
Seizing the moment, two hunters bombarded the Darkballs with mana bullets.
They were Sergeant Lee Seungho and Corporal Kim Kwangsik.
“The dark bolt has been dealt with!”
Thanks to the cooperation of Kim Minjun and the two men, the remaining monsters were neatly finished off.
“Everyone, check your guns! If any hunter’s weapon is broken, report it to the platoon leader immediately!”
“There’s no issue!”
Kim Minjun’s quick response meant that not a single gun was broken.
Clap, clap, clap, clap—
“Man, I’m just an injured supervisor, but I can’t help but praise that.”
Once the situation was over, the officer applauded, praising the excellent handling.
“But it’s only the second day. Don’t let your guard down until the end.”
“Understood!”
“Yes!”
After a brief period of reorganization, the squad members departed.
As Kim Minjun moved to the front of the formation, someone tapped his shoulder and passed by.
It was Sergeant Lee Seungho.
“Just keep it up. Well done.”
“Corporal Kim Minjun. Thank you.”
He said just that one cool line before checking on the other squad members.
Just like a sergeant, taking care of things on his own.
Kim Minjun smirked at Lee Seungho’s side profile.
***
Time passed, and training entered its third day.
If they could barely handle the second day, the third day was hell.
Monsters attacked without regard to time, devouring the hunters’ stamina.
The squad members had already gone through roughly more than ten battles.
“Ah… I’m dying. I feel like I’m going to collapse.”
“This is insane. Why is the intensity of this training like this?”
Exhaustion was clear on the faces of the squad members.
Their moment of relaxation was brief.
“Everyone, halt!”
First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin seemed to have spotted something and signaled them to stop.
