Ding.
[Your Agility stat has increased by 1.]
It actually increased?
It was unexpected.
For other hunters, their stats would have skyrocketed, but not for him.
Since he had trained with already high stats, it was inevitable that his stat growth would be slower.
Just a single point increase from the training center to now.
He hadn’t expected any increase at all, yet it did go up.
If one were to make a game analogy, it felt like a level 100 adventurer had hunted tens of thousands of Level 1 snails.
Better than nothing, I suppose.
***
Special obstacle training went on all morning. The trainees were only left with the tightrope walking as the last course.
“Today’s attitude towards training is better than yesterday’s. Let’s keep up the good work for the remaining schedule! Got it?”
“Yes!”
They were now lined up at a training ground with only minimal safety equipment.
“Wow, this is insanely scary.”
“The rappelling we did earlier seems like child’s play compared to this…”
The hunters swallowed dryly, looking down the cliff.
In the last survival training, the tightrope walking had been merely procedural, but this time it was the real deal.
“The length of the tightrope bridge in front of you is 100 m. The left line is Number 1, and the right line is Number 2. You will hold these lines and cross one by one. Understood?”
“Yes!”
“Trainee number 206! What is the reason we’re doing this training?”
Kim Minjun asked a question to one of the trainees during the explanation.
“Tightrope walking is mainly used in dungeon raids when encountering impassable terrains like swamps or poison ponds through normal means.”
Son Eunseo answered perfectly, as if it were nothing special.
I asked because she seemed distracted, but oh well.
To demonstrate, Kim Minjun attached the safety line to the rope.
This training must be the hardest for the other hunters.
When the regular army did tightrope walking training, the distance was about 50 m.
In contrast, the Hunter Army had to rely on a single rope to move across double that distance, 100 m.
If that were all, it might be manageable, but the training captain released flying-type monsters along the way.
Small pecker. It looked just like a woodpecker on the outside.
Although the small pecker was a low-tier monster like the hound, it was practically a devil when tightrope walking.
Especially when wearing an 80kg power suit, it was quite difficult to counter the beast.
This training was meant to take hits from the start.
The point of this training was to minimize physical damage while crossing.
“Trainees will watch the skilled instructor’s demonstration and follow well! Understood?”
“Roar!”
“It doesn’t matter if you fall while wearing the power suit! So don’t be scared! Understood?”
“Roar!”
Below the rope was a safety net made of special material.
So safe that, even if trainees in power suits fell in heaps, there was no worry.
“Trainee number 00! Ready to cross!”
Kim Minjun placed his right ankle on the rope, taking the crossing stance.
He maintained the perfect posture for a certain period, so the trainees could watch and follow well.
“Cross!”
At another instructor’s command, Kim Minjun began to cross the tightrope bridge.
This speed should be about right.
Normally, he would have crossed quickly, but currently, he was an instructor.
He needed to slow down deliberately for the sake of the trainees.
“Now, releasing the monsters!”
As he passed the 50 m mark, the training captain on the opposite side released two small peckers.
“Kikikiki!”
“Kiki!”
Then, small birds with long beaks attacked Kim Minjun.
Swish!
Swoosh!
Swish!
The small peckers relentlessly targeted his head, arms, legs, and other parts.
Ah shit. I almost killed these things.
Remembering the training captain’s order not to kill the monsters, he simply waved his arms and legs about in defense.
“Kiki!”
“Kikikiki!”
When their attacks continued to miss, the creatures became even more enraged and swung their beaks with all their might.
Don’t mess with me.
Kim Minjun glared at one of the small peckers and flicked it on the forehead.
“Kieek….”
One of the birds, seemingly frightened after being flicked, ran away backward.
“Kie, kikik!”
The other, fluttering its wings, also put distance between them.
“What the…?”
The training captain quickly reeled in the small peckers by pulling on the ropes tied around their necks, surprised by their sudden behavior.
“Move out!”
As Kim Minjun’s demonstration ended, the hunters looked on with dumbfounded expressions.
“What was that? Just flicked it and it’s done?”
“He’s really a stat monster. Didn’t he just explain that this training was supposed to involve getting hit no matter what? And he didn’t get hit at all?”
“Maybe it’s just that, the small peckers are scared of that move.”
“Oh, really?”
Afterward.
The hunters tried flicking at the small peckers as they crossed the rope, but what came back at them were furious pecking attacks from the enraged small peckers.
“Eek! It doesn’t go away!”
Pfft. Even the division commander’s daughter can’t do anything about it, huh?
Kim Minjun lifted the corners of his mouth as he watched Son Eunseo struggling.
For some reason, watching our squad member and her get harassed like this is kind of fun.
***
Day 2 of training passed, and then came Day 3.
“Finally, it’s here! The trench combat day!”
The day for trench combat training, which Kim Minjun had been eagerly waiting for, had arrived.
“Do you actually enjoy training that much?”
“Just do it all by yourself.”
Seeing Kim Minjun humming a tune, the squad members spoke as if they were fed up.
“I’ll let you in on some valuable information. The squad that wins the trench combat gets a squad outing permission from the training captain.”
“Oh?”
“Really?”
The mention of a squad outing made the squad members’ eyes light up.
The other hunters nearby who had heard this were no different.
“Kim Minjun. Are you also fighting in the trenches?”
“Sergeant Kim Minjun! I am, too.”
“Really? Be careful when you meet me. I ranked first in the last trench combat.”
Sergeant Choi Seungwoo, who had experienced hell during the previous PT exercises, patted Kim Minjun’s shoulder as he passed by.
Oh? Look at this guy?
It seemed that feelings had built up due to the PT exercises.
“Attention! We are entering the third day of survival training! The training captain has decided to observe the trainees’ attitudes today and will decide whether to grant leisure time on the last day!”
“Roar!!”
“Roar!”
In front of the trench combat arena, the training captain mentioned leisure time, an unexpected gift.
‘Wow… Really?’
‘I didn’t expect anything from the intensity of this training?’
At his words, the trainees’ eyes sparkled with motivation.
Normally on the fourth day of guerrilla training, as a gesture of acknowledgment for their hard work, trainees were given recreational time, as a sort of incentive for training.
This time, they hadn’t expected any, but now there was a glimmer of hope.
‘Even if I faint in the middle, I’ll go all the way!’
Leisure time was a great opportunity for male and female hunters to build camaraderie.
They decided to take the trench combat seriously.
“Alright! The winning squad will receive an outing pass from the training captain. Conversely, the squad with poor performance will be subjected to PT exercises by the instructor.”
The training captain emphasized that even in trench combat, it should be approached as if it were real combat.
Oh, wow, mud. So, this is trench combat.
And there was a hole big enough for one platoon to enter.
Kim Minjun waited his turn with excitement.
“All trench combat will be decided in a single match, regardless of gender or rank, and will proceed by squad!”
“Roar!”
While the instructors were finishing the team organization, the hunters scanned Kim Minjun’s squad.
“Look. The checks are already coming in.”
“It’s because Minjun is here. Just his strength and agility stats are monster-level!”
“Rather than that, let’s form a formation. The front should be Lee Seungho and Kim Minjun.”
Although it was not a leave pass but a squad outing pass, the hunters prepared for the trench combat with enthusiasm.
“The second platoon’s second squad and the third platoon’s third squad will start!”
“Roar!”
Kim Minjun’s squad was chosen for the first match.
The opponent included Sergeant Choi Seungwoo.
It was the squad that had won the last trench combat.
“Kim Minjun, I’ll show you the magic of beating a 60-strength stat with my 40.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“No, crazy! But why is there a staff sergeant on their side!”
The squad members were dismayed to see an officer included in the third squad.
“Luck is also a skill. If you’re resentful, you guys know what to do… right?”
Choi Seungwoo crouched down, lifting the corners of his mouth.
“Should we… change the formation?”
Kim Minjun’s squad members quickly exchanged opinions in a panic.
“Keep the formation as it is, and me and Kim Minjun will take on that staff sergeant and Choi Seungwoo. The rest of you, make sure they can’t get close to us in the meantime.”
“Understood!”
At the command of Sergeant Lee Seungho, the squad members took their places.
“…”
About 10 seconds of silence flowed among the squad members.
Beep!
“Let’s goooooo!”
“Woaaaaaah!”
At the sound of the training captain’s whistle, each squad member shouted and clung to each other.
“Aaaaaah!”
“Just bite and hold on! Don’t let them get close to Minjun and Seungho!”
“Aaaaah!”
The rules of trench combat were simple: they just had to push the opponent outside of the trench.
Of course, punching or kicking was prohibited.
“I’ll take on Kim Minjun!”
“Alright. Let’s finish this quickly and rest.”
While the squad members were pushing each other and splattering mud, Sergeant Choi Seungwoo and the staff sergeant calmly walked to the center of the trench.
“Sergeant Lee Seungho. Can’t you even fall behind?”
“You better do well yourself, you brat.”
“Understood.”
Now, let’s test the skill now.
He had been itching to use this skill since earlier.
I’ve already activated Mana Singularity.
With this, his mana was completely odorless and colorless.
Shall we aim for a 5-second cut?
Kim Minjun used the Mana Grasp skill.
Then, a colorless mana formed into a large hand, pulling Choi Seungwoo toward him.
“Ugh, huh?”
Choi Seungwoo was suddenly pulled by force, rolling forward.
“Oh, Sergeant Choi Seungwoo. You might need to lose some weight.”
Kim Minjun naturally grabbed his side and lifted him over his head.
“What, what was that! Crazy!”
“Sergeant Choi Seungwoo. You rolled so flamboyantly, I thought I was watching a lamb.”
Whoosh!
“Eek!”
Just like that, the confident Choi Seungwoo was thrown out of the trench in just 10 seconds.
Oh, those two seem evenly matched.
Turning his gaze, he saw Sergeant Lee Seungho arm wrestling with the staff sergeant.
“Aaaaah!”
“Roar!”
Sergeant Lee Seungho was slightly being pushed back.
Let’s leave that alone for now. It’s a one-on-one fight between men; it would be tactless to interfere.
First, his squad members!
Mana Grasp!
Kim Minjun used mana grasp on squad members about to be thrown out of the trench.
Then, like ghosts, the squad members rolled back to him.
“What was that just now?”
“Wow, crazy. I don’t know. Something pulled me suddenly.”
“But Sergeant Lee Seungho was taken down!”
One of the squad members pointed toward where Lee Seungho was.
“Give up, you guys.”
There stood the staff sergeant, stretching his neck and shoulders.
