The identity of the bead was a Red Marble, commonly known as the Lottery Potion.
How did they say this comes into existence?
Was it said that various plants, affected by the dungeon’s effects, created them?
Of course, this was just a hypothesis, and they hadn’t been able to identify a definitive cause.
Anyway, what a catch!
Kim Minjun quickly pocketed the Red Marble.
According to the manual, he should report to the platoon leader and submit it in its original form.
Unless it gives me performance points, it’s just a cash reward.
But to exchange the potion for just a few hundred thousand won?
Absolutely not.
He was going to consume it himself.
To exchange this, they should at least bring a Dungeon Power Fighter level 15, huh?
I’ll have to find a chance to consume this later.
Sssss—
The Night Walker had already clung to his side, moving as though asking for praise.
“Yes, well done. Keep finding more like this. That way, I can quickly—”
Kim Minjun was about to give a satisfied compliment when he frowned upon checking the remaining mana in the bead.
“This crazy bastard! This is indeed a type of potion, but at best it’s between low and medium grade! I said to use mana efficiently!”
Sss….
The Night Walker looked dejected and tried to hide in the ground.
“The ghost act isn’t over yet. Come back.”
Because he still had to trick his squad members.
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
“Aaagh!”
Kim Minjun scared the other hunters a few times.
“What university did you attend, Son Eunseo?”
“Just a four-year college in Seoul.”
“Oh? Me too. What major? It doesn’t seem like the humanities.”
“I’m in science.”
Kim Kwangsik and Son Eunseo were climbing the hill.
‘As if that guy could be anything but a man.’
To gain the attention of the silent Son Eunseo, Kim Kwangsik brought up various topics.
“Excuse me, rather than that, could you help me out?”
“Oh! Sure! Just tell me anything.”
Upon her request for help, Kim Kwangsik’s eyes lit up.
He was about to give up because his charm wasn’t working, but who knew such an opportunity would arise.
“When Kim Minjun comes to scare us, let’s rush him and beat him up for real. I’ve been informed in advance about his disguise.”
“…Why suddenly Sergeant Kim Minjun?”
Kim Kwangsik asked, puzzled, to which Son Eunseo replied with an angry tone.
“That damned guy! Do you know how long he kept us in the gas chamber during the chemical and biological warfare training? Fifteen minutes—fifteen minutes! It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen such a demonic bastard!”
“…Fifteen minutes? We got out in less than 10…”
“Argh! Just thinking about it makes me furious! How am I supposed to know the names of characters from dungeon-world-whatever!”
She seemed quite angry about the chemical and biological warfare training incident, swearing one after another.
‘Wow… Sergeant Kim Minjun was an angel to us.’
Kim Kwangsik just quietly kept his silence.
Look at these kids, aren’t they cute?
Meanwhile, as Kim Minjun watched the scene, he decided to do his best to scare them.
Whoosh!
Kim Minjun thrust his face in front of theirs.
“Woah, fuck!”
“Eek!”
Kim Kwangsik stepped back in fear, but Son Eunseo swung her fist amidst it all.
She seemed to have quite a lot of pent-up feelings against him.
999 years too soon!
He easily dodged her attack.
And whispered something in her ear before disappearing.
“Oh man, that’s crazy. What kind of makeup did he use to make it so creepy?”
Kim Kwangsik managed to calm his startled heart briefly.
Then, Son Eunseo, trembling, shouted,
“I don’t give a damn about Serian or whatever!”
What Kim Minjun mentioned was the answer to the question given during the training.
***
The next day.
On the 5th day of survival training, the hunters had only the discharge march left.
The discharge ceremony was just briefly conducted formally.
“Our division is currently designated as needing improvement in training. Always maintain tension and engage in training and various missions diligently! Understand?”
“Yes!”
The battalion commander handed two papers to the company commander and immediately left the survival training ground.
“Lee Seungho, Kim Minjun.”
“Sergeant Lee Seungho.”
“Sergeant Kim Minjun.”
“Yes. This is for you two. Make sure to keep it well, so it doesn’t get crumpled.”
“Understood.”
The papers were the commendations for the Outstanding Instructor and Survival King.
“The 2nd Company’s 2nd Platoon is doing well lately. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
The company commander pinned the Survival King medal on Lee Seungho’s chest.
What? No medal for the outstanding instructor?
Kim Minjun stared at Lee Seungho’s chest.
“What is it?”
“Sergeant Lee Seungho, since you became the Survival King because of me, you might as well give me the medal you’re wearing.”
“I did nothing but trench combat.”
“Without me, we couldn’t have won. Who else earned the squad a day out?”
“Shut up. I barely refrained from killing you during the chemical and biological warfare training.”
“I was lenient with our squad members. I made sure other squad members stayed a full 10 minutes or more.”
The juvenile conversation between the sergeants continued briefly.
“Hey! Kim Minjun! You beat the staff sergeants and got the Outstanding Instructor award?”
“Sergeant Lee Seungho, just give that meaningless medal to Minjun.”
The squad members approached them to talk about their plans for the squad outing.
“We still have the discharge march left. You have to walk more than 60 km. We’ll talk after it’s over.”
Kim Minjun waved at them, pointing proudly at the military vehicle.
Obviously, as an instructor, he was exempt from the discharge march.
“I’ll be arriving early and resting.”
“Ah… being an instructor seems enviable at times like this.”
“That shit. Hope the tire bursts on the way.”
Kim Minjun waved at his squad members and boarded the military vehicle.
They looked at his departing figure with a hollow expression.
“Wow. Kim Minjun!”
Upon returning to the base first, First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin warmly welcomed him.
“Loyalty! Sergeant Kim Minjun! Returned early after completing instructor duties!”
“Yes. You’ve also received the Outstanding Instructor commendation? Lee Seungho got the Survival King.”
“That’s correct.”
Showing him the Outstanding Instructor Commendation, Kim Chulmin’s face brightened.
“Wow. I thought it’d be difficult with the staff sergeants included! Just rest now. Training was supposed to continue till today, but the others won’t be back in the base until evening.”
He said to take a good rest since there wouldn’t be many people in the base anyway.
He seems to be in a really good mood.
Kim Minjun immediately headed to the training room.
Others might have needed to relieve fatigue, but who was he?
A dark mage who had reached the pinnacle in another world.
“Better work hard on raising my stats if I want to earn stars quickly.”
He looked around, then took out the Red Marble he had acquired in the survival training ground.
Gulp.
“Wow, tastes like a mix of spicy chicken and spicy seafood noodle.”
As soon as he swallowed, a spicy taste followed by a message appeared.
[You have consumed the item.]
[The effect will be applied according to the consumer’s disposition.]
[A harmful effect is applied.]
“Dang.”
It was a dud.
But what sort of significant harm could a harmful effect do, anyway?
The mana would cleanse it on its own anyway.
Sssss—
[The harmful effects are being cleansed.]
[The cleansed energy is being applied.]
“Huh? What’s this?”
As he waited patiently, the mana inside him brought about an unexpected result.
[Due to the effect of the cleansed energy, the grade of your Strength skill increases by one level.]
[Your Strength has been upgraded to Grade D!]
“Did this really just happen?”
It was a bust anyway, but to transform it like this.
“Lucky me.”
With this, he achieved a Strength stat of 70.
The steady increase in his stats was also thanks to a skill unique to him.
Considering that the stat cut-off for the Hunter Military Academy was around 50, Kim Minjun’s stats were truly monstrous.
“But being in the Hunter Military Academy doesn’t mean everything just because of high stats.”
Indeed.
To enter the Hunter Military Academy, not only did you need good stats, but above all, you needed to study hard.
After all, one would be in a position to command soldiers.
“Let’s see whether graduating from a prestigious four-year university and getting stars is faster, or climbing up from an ordinary soldier like me is quicker.”
While the hunters were out on a march, Kim Minjun repeated his training in the gym.
***
“Ah… life.”
“It’s over! Finally! This damn survival training is done!”
After dinner time, the hunters returned to the base looking like they had just come back to life.
There was talk of additional temporary training for a while, but that was a problem for later.
“You all did well training for four nights and five days! Tomorrow is a combat rest day, so take a good rest today and tomorrow. Recover from the fatigue you’ve accumulated.”
“Yes…”
“Understood…”
“And Lee Seungho. Good job on receiving the survival king.”
“Sergeant Lee Seungho! Thank you.”
After First Lieutenant Kim Chulmin’s brief announcements, the squad members sluggishly finished their showers and leaped onto their beds.
“Guess it’ll be morning when I open my eyes again.”
“Man… this survival training was crazy.”
They were so exhausted that they fell asleep in less than a minute.
“You guys should go to sleep too. No need to be cautious.”
“Thank you.”
“Sergeant Kim Minjun. Then… I’ll go to sleep first.”
Following his words, the privates, who had been cautious, one by one, went to sleep.
I’ll just play with my smartphone before I sleep.
As soon as he took out his smartphone, he received a message notification as if on cue.
What? How did she get my number?
The sender was Son Eunseo.
– Son Eunseo: Excuse me.
– Kim Minjun: I’m going to block you.
– Son Eunseo: Wait a moment! Just a…
As he was about to ruthlessly block her, Son Eunseo quickly replied, saying she had something to say.
– Son Eunseo: Kim Minjun. Your squad received squad outing, right? We have one too, so do you want to use it together?
What the…?
Why was she suddenly acting like this?
Was this what they called hitting on someone?
But I’m not really interested.
Just as Kim Minjun was about to send a rejection message.
“Sergeant Kim Minjun! No, please!”
Kim Kwangsik, who had been sneakily watching, suddenly spoke up.
“What now?”
“This kind of opportunity doesn’t come by in a lifetime! Please think of me, including the other seniors and juniors! Sergeant Kim Minjun, you’ll go on to become an officer, right? Then, mental care for the soldiers is basic!”
Kim Kwangsik pleaded, noting that it wouldn’t hurt to get close to Son Eunseo, as she was also the division commander’s daughter.
“Alright, let’s go. I’ll do it just this once because you treated me well when I was a private.”
His argument did have a point, so why not just go along with it.
“Keke! As expected, Sergeant Kim Minjun! Thank you!”
The guy even went so far as to wake up his sleeping peers to share the news about the squad outing.
– Kim Minjun: But how did you get my number?
– Son Eunseo: I asked Kim Kwangsik to tell me.
– Kim Minjun: Ah.
“Kim Kwangsik!”
“Corporal Kim Kwangsik!”
“Who told you to give out my number? Do 100 push-ups.”
“Begin!”
He started the push-ups with a happy heart.
– Son Eunseo: Then, let’s go next weekend.
– Kim Minjun: Sure.
As Kim Minjun was coordinating the schedule with Son Eunseo.
– “Sir Kim Minjun! I finally found you!”
Lee Bonggu, who was operating outside the base, contacted him.
