The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 27 : Hunter Mobility Training – 1

“Private Jin Cheol-ho!”

The Hunter who was dozing off at the back of the formation was a new recruit who had recently been assigned to the unit.

He had red eyes and looked exhausted even at a glance.

“Hey, have you lost your mind? We’re doing Hunter mobility training, not some other training, and you’re dozing off?”

“I’m sorry…”

“Should I gather the senior members of your barracks?”

“No, sir! I’m sorry!”

Captain Kim Cheol-min glanced at him for a moment, but didn’t say anything separately because he had a busy schedule ahead.

“Get yourselves together and focus on the training. If you don’t receive this training properly, all members of the 2nd platoon, from privates to sergeants, will be gathered. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

“We understand, sir!”

Probably because of the new recruit’s behavior just now, Sergeant Lee Seung-ho scolded his squad members with a stern face.

Lee Seung-ho, who was already sensitive about training, was angry that a private was dozing off during the once-in-four-years mobility training.

And Captain Lee Seung-ho saying those words meant that he was very angry.

“Everyone, get your minds focused! From now on, for the next 3 days and 4 nights, think of this as real combat and move accordingly, got it?”

“Yes, sir!”

“We understand, sir!”

Led by Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min, the Hunter mobility training began.

The squads departed at regular intervals.

The Hunters, fully armed, left the guard post and headed towards the mountains.

“We’re going up two mountains.”

The distance the Hunters had to travel was about 100 km.

Except for the fact that they would be facing monsters in real-time, it was no different from mountainous marching.

Step by step.

The squad members climbed the mountain road tens of minutes.

They were on high alert, scanning their surroundings with tense expressions.

From now on, they would encounter monsters randomly within the unit.

“Is it starting from Nol-bu?”

Kim Min-jun felt the presence from the upper part of the mountain and looked up.

Nol was a relatively easy-to-deal-with lower-ranked monster, but depending on the situation, it could become difficult to handle.

“There are about 20 of them.”

Since Nol was a beast-type monster, it freely utilized the terrain like the mountains.

On the other hand, the Hunters were climbing the rugged mountain road fully armed.

As they were carrying heavy armor, their strength was naturally limited.

“Enemy spotted 150m ahead!”

“Everyone equip your weapons and get into formation!”

“Understood!”

Thud thud thud thud.

The enemies descended from the mountain in a mass.

Following the instructions of the platoon leader, the hunters equipped their weapons and took their positions.

“Don’t rush in towards them! Let them come to us!”

“Yes!”

Normally, they would have taken care of them already, but this was a training situation.

With situations like this constantly arising over the next 3 days and 4 nights, they needed to preserve their stamina as much as possible.

“Grrrr!”

The enemies circled around the hunters, testing their defenses, and when the hill started to shake, they charged.

“Grrrk!”

“Hey! Brace your legs and hold on!”

When one of the hunters stumbled, another hunter behind quickly raised their hands to support them.

The damage would be greater if the formation broke.

“I’ll take care of this!”

Meanwhile, Kim Minjun slashed at the neck of one of the enemies with his military knife.

“They’re coming from the sides too! Three of them!”

“Hold on a little longer!”

Perhaps due to the heavy armor, the hunters’ response was slower than usual.

“I’m getting uneasy about that.”

When he turned his gaze, he saw that the enemies were focusing their attacks on the hunters at the rear.

They must have found the weak spots by circling around the hunters.

“I need to provide cover.”

Even though they were lower-ranked monsters, there was no room for complacency for this reason.

The synergy that occurred when the enemies formed a group was tremendous.

“I’ll go support the rear formation for a moment!”

Kim Minjun swiftly moved towards the formation at the rear.

Thud! Thud!

After deeply thrusting his knife into the necks of the enemies, he grabbed the hand of a fallen senior hunter and helped them up.

“Phew, thanks Minjun. My stamina would have been depleted greatly from the start.”

“Sergeant Kim Minjun. No problem. I’ll return to the formation immediately.”

“Nice. Your timing was good, Minjun.”

It took only 10 minutes to take care of all the enemies.

The other squads were definitely faster compared to the average time of over 20 minutes it took them.

“We’ve collected all the corpses!”

“Spray the medicine and move right away!”

“Yes!”

The hunters gathered the scattered bodies of the monsters in one place and sprayed them with special medicine.

It wouldn’t have been necessary if they were inside a dungeon, but this place was a training ground.

“Attention, everyone!”

“Attention!”

When it became 6 p.m., the squad leader who was leading the hunters gave the signal to stop.

“From now on, we set up tents and prepare for camping!”

“Understood!”

The squad members looked relieved as they finally had a moment to relax.

On the first day of training, they didn’t have to deal with any additional monsters from 6 p.m. to midnight.

In fact, this was insider information known only to the experienced sergeants.

“Ah, what were the people who made this thinking? How are four people supposed to fit into this cramped tent?”

“It’s probably because of the money. They’re probably spending a lot of defense budget on this.”

“I don’t need anything else, just please keep the mosquitoes out. Please.”

The hunters divided their roles and started setting up military tents.

“It’s definitely smaller than I expected.”

Hunter’s tents were generally smaller than regular military tents.

They were made of special materials to withstand monster attacks, so the price of one small tent was over 10 million won.

Since they had to extract the maximum efficiency with the minimum cost, it was natural for them to be small in size.

“Minjun, is this your first time setting up a military tent? This one is for hunters, so it might be a bit difficult.”

“You’re really fast. Can you help us too?”

The seniors rolled their eyes as they watched Kim Minjun skillfully set up the tent.

This spot was already an awful place to set up tents, and his dexterous handiwork was impressive.

“Sergeant Kim Minjun, understood.”

Kim Minjun smirked and helped the other seniors set up their tents.

“It’s easy for him to say.”

In fact, it had become second nature to him when he was in this world.

“In that world, we used to cut down trees on the spot, pile them up, and gather leaves like a dog… Let’s skip the detailed explanation.”

After setting up the tents, the squad members listened to the squad leader’s brief communication.

“After you’re done setting up the tents, make sure you can have a meal! Finish your meal within 30 minutes! Understood?”

“Yes!”

The hunters took out their combat rations and ate while quietly chatting.

“Ah, I’m already feeling regret on the first day of training.”

“Today is supposed to be the easiest day.”

“Tomorrow will probably be a lot harder.”

For them, these 30 minutes were the only resting time of the day.

Crunch!

“Ouch….”

Kim Min-jun took a bite of the biscuit-shaped bread and frowned with a disgusted expression.

“Oh, this familiar taste….”

It reminded him of the rations he used to eat in Isgaard.

They were really disgustingly tasteless.

“Oh, Min-jun. Is this your first time eating combat rations?”

“Sergeant Kim Min-jun. Yes, sir.”

“Well, they taste really terrible.”

“I’d rather eat 10 pounds of cake. Agree?”

The casual conversation with the squad members was short-lived.

Mealtime passed quickly.

“Attention, everyone!”

“Attention!”

Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min gathered the attention of the hunters.

“In preparation for emergency situations, maintain individual military readiness for sleep, understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Then, from now on, we will form the night shift team.”

The early morning was the time when the most monsters appeared in the unit.

It was done to push the hunters to their limits.

“Please, let it be the first or last shift.”

“Or at least after the last shift.”

The squad members silently prayed for a chance to rest.

“Nice! It’s the first shift!”

“Ah… It’s ambiguous….”

“Ha. Is this a real story at 2 a.m….”

As the night shift team was decided, the hunters’ faces were filled with mixed emotions.

Some hunters were in tears, while others smiled with joy.

“I hope we can recover from fatigue even a little.”

Kim Minjoon smirked as he watched the other hunters.

He thought to himself, “Hunter training is nothing for someone with as much stamina as me.”

But for the members of his squad, every day was a challenge.

“Starting from today until the end of training, the squad leader will take turns with me for the night shift. Be prepared to encounter tough situations with me as your hunter partner.”

Even though it was a brutal time slot, the squad leader was going to take turns with him?

“3 a.m….”

“That’s not it…”

“I must avoid it at all costs.”

“Please, don’t let me be the one to get caught!”

It was a situation that must be avoided at all costs.

“Sergeant Kim Minjoon, I’ll do it!”

At that moment, Kim Minjoon raised his hand and stepped forward.

“I, I survived.”

The squad members breathed a sigh of relief and gave him grateful looks.

“Alright. Sergeant Kim Minjoon, your shift is from 3 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.”

“Yes, understood.”

Although Kim Minjoon was assigned the night shift, he didn’t really care about his sleep schedule, so he readily agreed.

“The squad leader also mentioned that this hunter training will be of a higher intensity!”

While the previous training only involved facing monsters, this time they would be encountering more diverse situations, he explained.

“Other officers always emphasize that adaptability to different situations is crucial! Understood?”

“Yes!”

The intensity of the training had increased.

Upon hearing those words, the hunters, especially the sergeants, swallowed hard.

The training they had four years ago was already grueling, and they couldn’t predict how much harder it would be this time.

“If nothing happens, you can go to sleep right away!”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

In the end, only time would tell.

The squad members went into their tents, thinking that the first day would be uneventful.

After some time passed, it was 3 a.m.

Kim Minjoon went outside the tent for his night shift.

There hadn’t been any incidents since evening.

“Reporting for duty.”

“Alright. Your shift is from now until 4:30 a.m. Report immediately if anything happens.”

“Yes, understood.”

Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin nodded.

Because it was a training situation, his tone was more formal than usual.

“Training is important for officers too.”

Naturally, it had to be that way.

Other officers might take it easy and turn a blind eye, but Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin showed no signs of doing so.

And he even volunteered for the night shift during the time that hunters normally avoided.

It was his way of showing consideration for his squad members.

“About 30 minutes left now.”

As time passed, it was 4 a.m.

As Kim Min-jun walked, scanning his surroundings.

“Hmm? Something’s coming.”

He sensed a presence in the sky.

Not a monster, but definitely something falling towards their direction.

“The captain probably hasn’t noticed it.”

It was inevitable.

Dawn.

And who would notice an object falling silently from the sky?

“Captain! It looks like a situation is about to arise.”

“What? Tell me more.”

Kim Cheol-min responded with a puzzled look at his words.

Clearly, there was no sign of a monster’s presence around.

“It’s coming from above.”

Kim Min-jun raised his hand, pointing at the sky.

“That…?”

The object became clearer as time passed.

Kim Cheol-min realized what it was and quickly began to wake up his squad members