Even though they wore protective suits, it was a training exercise against aggressive monsters.
Nine out of ten trainees only took defensive positions, constantly getting their protective suits torn apart by the monsters.
However, Kim Minjun showed no fear toward the hounds and instead displayed a powerful aura that made the other creatures curl their tails behind them.
“Don’t get distracted, and maintain your positions properly!”
“Yes, yes!”
After dealing with one hound, Kim Minjun shouted at his fellow trainees to stay focused.
“Stop retreating and charge forward! The more you back off, the more they’ll look down on you!”
The remaining two hounds would have charged long ago if it weren’t for him.
In that case, their formation would quickly collapse, creating a huge gap in their defense.
“Two of you would have died if this was a real battle. Those in the front must suppress the monsters from rushing in recklessly!”
“Ah, understood!”
“Why are you raising your tone with me, you punk!”
“Sorry!”
While giving his team a piece of his mind, Kim Minjun also pointed out their shortcomings and advised them on ways to improve.
“Is that guy really a trainee?”
“Are you talking about Kim Minjun? Yes… he is.”
“He’s not like a Hunter Army Sergeant who regressed to the day before enlisting or something, right?”
“…That’s only possible in novels.”
The instructors marveled at the changes brought about by Kim Minjun alone.
Originally, the trainees would have received low evaluation scores.
However, thanks to the command of one trainee, the hounds were defeated faster than any other group they had accompanied so far.
“Let’s rate them as average and Kim Minjun as excellent.”
“I agree.”
After confirming the situation was over, the instructors moved toward the trainees.
Now, all they had to do was exit the dungeon with the last group and report to their platoon leader, marking the end of this batch of trainees’ training.
“From tomorrow, we have a 4-night-5-day field training exercise. Being a hunter instructor isn’t easy.”
“Do you have any other plans, Corporal Kim Hojun?”
“Why? Do you want to grab a drink?”
While the instructors were chatting,
Drrrr-
With an ominous sound, the dungeon shook as if there was an earthquake.
“Damn it… Send a message quickly before the dungeon closes! Hurry!”
“Yes, yes!”
The instructors hastily took out their communication devices and reported the emergency situation.
Kim Minjun’s peers were also at a loss in the face of this sudden turn of events.
“Hey, what’s going on? I thought the situation was over?”
Looking at Kim Minjun, they asked what had happened.
“This is a variable-type dungeon, and it’s an open-type. Just think of it as an open door but suddenly closing.”
Kim Minjun’s nonchalant answer.
The trainees held their heads in dismay as they looked at the quickly sealed dungeon entrance.
“Is this even possible?”
“The dungeon turned into a closed-type right after we defeated the hounds and were about to leave?”
It was a training ground where countless hunter trainees had passed through.
It was also a place where instructors and nearby unit leaders would visit, like going to a gym after work.
In other words, it was supposed to be a safe dungeon with virtually no variables.
“Corporal Kim Hojun! It’s no good. The dungeon changed too quickly.”
“Is communication not working?”
“That’s right!”
“First, gather the kids!”
Upon verifying that the dungeon was completely cut off from the outside, the instructors called the trainees together.
“You must have noticed, but there’s been a change in the dungeon.”
Corporal Kim Hojun continued speaking as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
“We’ll wait here for an hour, as the manual states. We’ll move forward if there’s still no change in the dungeon entrance.”
There’s only one way out of a closed-type dungeon.
It’s to eliminate all the monsters inside without leaving a single one.
The exception is when an open-type dungeon turns into a closed-type.
In that case, waiting patiently could make it revert to an open-type.
Six trainees with no real combat experience and two instructors.
On top of that, the instructors only went in to manage and supervise the trainees.
They didn’t have any proper equipment with them.
If we encounter the wrong monster, it’s game over.
Because they couldn’t predict which monsters would appear in a dungeon with variables.
“Everyone, move forward. Line up.”
An hour had passed, but there was no sign of the dungeon entrance opening.
Corporal Kim Hojun led the trainees and started moving deeper into the dungeon.
“Ah… we’re screwed. On the last day of training, this shit happened?”
“We’re all dead if even goblins appear.”
The trainees followed the instructors with extreme tension.
It smells familiar… but I can’t quite place it.
Kim Minjun sniffed at the unique smell emanating from the dungeon interior.
He had smelled something like this in Isgard before.
“Is communication still not working?”
“No, there’s no signal at all.”
“You, can you handle a goblin barehanded?”
“…It’s difficult without equipment.”
“The situation is fucked up.”
The instructors walking ahead spat out curses at the hopeless situation.
It’s challenging without a main weapon.
Corporal Kim Hojun also took more than 10 minutes to kill a single goblin without using his primary weapon.
It was only a matter of time for the guys in the back, even if they wore protective suits.
Protective suits were made for training purposes.
Since they were designed solely for defense, they weren’t much help when dealing with monsters.
On top of that, they were stupidly heavy, so their stamina was quickly depleted.
I can’t use them as human shields.
The defensive performance of the protective suits was excellent.
If he had entrusted the frontline to the trainees, their chances of survival would be higher, but he couldn’t do that.
They were the ones who had persevered through the same hellish training he had experienced.
Would he, a veteran who had cleared numerous dungeons and become a corporal, assign inexperienced trainees to the front lines?
It’s not possible.
His conscience wouldn’t allow it.
As Kim Hojun lowered his head and moved forward…
“Ugh…”
“Urk!”
Starting with him, even the instructor behind him foamed at the mouth and fainted.
“Instructor!”
“Are you alright?!”
The trainees reflexively ran toward the instructors upon seeing the scene.
“Fall back! You’ll end up just like them if you come any closer.”
Kim Minjun quickly grasped the situation and pushed his fellow trainees back by their shoulders.
After making sure they retreated more than 30 meters, he ran forward.
Is this the smell of mana?
He had a feeling that the familiar smell was mana.
I won’t let you get away!
After telling everyone to wait at the entrance, Kim Minjun concealed himself.
“No, dude! Are you crazy?”
“Come back! We have a training manual!”
“Kim Minjun! You’re really going to get screwed!”
His fellow trainees shouted at Kim Minjun and tried to stop him.
But instead, he sped up with a delighted expression.
***
Kim Minjun moved toward the direction where the mana became denser.
The instructors fainted even though they were this far away.
Judging by the concentration of mana, it wasn’t an ordinary monster.
In Isgard, most monsters contained mana, but Earth was different.
They said it occasionally appears in the frontline military units.
About once a month.
At most, one or two monsters.
The probability of encountering a monster containing mana was low.
It’s a treasure for me.
Ordinary humans lose consciousness the moment the mana seeped into their bodies, causing them to have a seizure.
The same goes for the Isgardians.
In their case, they wore special protection that blocked mana when facing monsters.
“What are you?”
A moment later.
Kim Minjun’s face expressed disbelief and astonishment as he faced the problematic monster.
“Urur…”
“Why are you here?”
A dark hound, a monster that could be seen in Isgard, was right in front of him.
Hounds and dark hounds.
Though only one word was added, dark hounds were overwhelmingly stronger.
A trainee who had undergone training could handle a hound.
But the black ones were powerful enough to require several skilled Hunter Army soldiers to deal with them.
“You annoying thing. But I’m glad to see you now. I needed some mana.”
Kim Minjun experienced hell during his first year after being summoned to Isgard.
At that time, he couldn’t handle mana properly, so he had to risk his life to catch one dark hound.
“Kreyaak!”
The dark hound let out a threatening howl and opened its mouth to attack.
“Why don’t these things have any progress?”
Anticipating its move, Kim Minjun kicked the ground and threw his body forward.
It took about 3 seconds for the dark hound to attack.
For him, it was plenty of time.
“Kruk.”
Kim Minjun, who reached the dark hound in just 1 second, grabbed its neck and tore it apart like ripping it off.
The creature spewed black blood violently as it screamed.
Sssss-
At the same time, the mana inside it leaked out and began to fill the dungeon.
“You’re still disgusting.”
Kim Minjun snorted and absorbed the increasingly dense mana.
As he raised his hand, the smoke spreading outside changed direction and entered his body.
The reason dark hounds were troublesome was because of the mana they released after dying.
“The smell of blood is terrible.”
In addition, the blood flowing inside the dark hound’s body contained poison.
If an ordinary person comes into contact with poisoned blood, their skin will rot within 3 days.
That’s why the Isgardians killed the dark hounds from a distance and had their priests block the leaking mana.
“Hoo, it’s been a while since I’ve felt mana surge within me.”
Kim Minjun took a deep breath as he felt the mana rising inside his body.
There was a substantial amount of mana condensed in that dark hound.
If one compared his body to a smartphone battery, it was charged from 0% to only about 5%.
“But why is this thing on Earth?”
Although recharging his mana unexpectedly was nice, meeting a dark hound on Earth made him uneasy.
Of course, it could have emerged from the dungeon, but there had been no records of dark hounds appearing so far.
“No, it doesn’t make sense that a monster could travel between dimensions.”
Only those who had reached the peak of being a dark mage or ones capable of using divine powers like the Saintess could perform dimensional travel.
It was a highly advanced technique with many restrictions.
Kim Minjun casually lifted the dark hound’s corpse, thinking it was nothing to worry about.
“I need to have this thing’s corpse if I want to report it.”
After sucking out all its mana, the dark hound looked no different from an ordinary hound.
***
At the same time…
The instructors lying near the dungeon entrance regained consciousness and got up.
“Ugh!”
“I feel like shit. Are you guys okay?”
Corporal Kim Hojun, recalling the situation before losing consciousness, hurriedly checked the trainees’ condition.
Fortunately, it seemed like everyone else was alright.
“Instructor, but…”
“But what?”
“Kim Minjun went deeper into the dungeon.”
“What did you say?”
