The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 28 Hunter Mobilization Training – 2

“All members, wake up! Put on your gas masks within 3 minutes!”

A small box in military colors is falling from the sky.

With the Hunter Corps mark and a skull emblem engraved on it, it was an object dropped by the unit.

“Kim Min-jun! Put on your gas mask and wake up the squad members too!”

“Sergeant Kim Min-jun, understood!”

Toxic gas rarely occurs in the variable dungeons.

The contents of the box were a special gas modified to prevent harm to the human body.

“Everyone, wake up and put on your gas masks!”

Clank! Clank!

“Ah, what the hell!”

“Put on your gas mask right away!”

“Are you crazy! What’s going on!”

“It’s an emergency! The special gas will be released soon!”

“Special gas? On the first day of training!”

Kim Min-jun entered the tent and slapped the ears of his seniors with all his strength.

It was a somewhat aggressive behavior, but time was crucial.

As Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min said, all squad members had to put on their gas masks within 3 minutes.

“Fire! Can someone turn on the lights!”

“Hey! We have only a few minutes left!”

“Less than 2 minutes!”

“If you inhale the special gas, you’ll lose your senses! Stay alert, everyone!”

“Yes, sir!”

The current time is 4 a.m. in the early morning.

Sergeants and corporals quickly put on their gas masks, but privates and lance corporals struggled with it.

It was not easy to put on a gas mask when you couldn’t see anything and had to take it out and wear it.

“Argh! The straps are tangled here!”

“Calm down! The more you rush, the more tangled the straps get! Stay still!”

Kim Min-jun calmed down his squad members and helped the frantic juniors.

Poooosh-

As soon as the last hunter put on his gas mask, the special gas began to spread from the dropped box.

Yellow smoke filled the air.

The effect of the special gas was similar to CS gas used by the regular military.

It’s like being unable to breathe but not dying even if you drink it.

“The problem is that it’s more than 10 times spicier than CS gas.”

If you drink even a sip of the special gas, you will have coughing fits for half a day or more.

It would be quite challenging to complete the mobilization training while under the influence of that gas.

Of course, Kim Min-jun was an exception as his body’s magi would purify it automatically.

“All members have completed putting on their gas masks!”

“Everyone, dismantle the tents and evacuate this area immediately!”

“Understood!”

Following Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min’s orders, the squad members quickly dismantled the tents and evacuated the location.

After moving for more than 30 minutes, the signal to remove the gas masks finally came.

“Phew…!”

“What’s going on while I was asleep?”

“I almost choked for real.”

The hunters finally took off their gas masks with expressions of relief.

“Sergeant Kim Min-joon, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, we would have been exposed to the special gas. The rope got tangled in the middle…”

“Wow, my cheeks are still numb. I can’t wake up in the middle of the night, thanks to you, I survived.”

The seniors approached him and thanked him for saving their lives.

“Sergeant Kim Min-joon, it’s thanks to you that we found it quickly. We were lucky.”

“Luck? It’s not easy to put on a gas mask in less than three minutes when you wake up in the middle of the night.”

“Not a single member of the squad drank the gas. Well done.”

“Thank you.”

It is said that more than 30% of the squad members fail to wear their gas masks in time when gas is released unexpectedly, resulting in them inhaling the gas and it affecting their performance scores.

“Kim Min-joon.”

“Sergeant Kim Min-joon!”

“You detected the special gas faster than the squad leader. Well done.”

“Thank you!”

Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min also praised Kim Min-joon generously.

His response was so perfect.

“Let’s keep moving like this! However, I will give you a rest break in the middle.”

“Yes!”

The squad members continued to move along the mountain trail.

“Kelluk! Kelluk!”

“Kyaek! Kyaek!”

Hunters coughed painfully at every mountain trail they passed.

They were hunters who had swallowed the gas because they failed to respond to it in time.

“It looks like the other squad got hit hard. They fell far behind.”

“Since we are 2nd squad… yeah.”

“If I had drunk that, I would have coughed all day. Just the sound of coughing is dreadful.”

“Who is it? Who’s making the coughing sound?”

“You crazy bastard! Squad leader, can you hear this? Shut up, please.”

To think that the special gas was released from the early hours of the first day of training.

Indeed.

As described by Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min, the training intensity has increased significantly.

“It’s the second day of training today… What did we do on the second day?”

“How would I know what happened four years ago, you crazy bastard.”

As the sergeants exchanged conversation with furrowed brows,

“Sergeant! There’s a casualty up front!”

An officer with the word “casualty” attached to his body was seen.

“So, this is what you meant by various situations?”

“Oh, shit.”

Starting from the second day of Hunter Mobility Training, officers in charge of casualties were stationed at designated intervals.

The Hunters had to take care of these casualties and safely transport them to their destination.

This situation was not present in the previous mobility training.

“Prepare the stretchers!”

“Yes, sir!”

As instructed by Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min, the Hunters took out stretchers and approached the casualties.

“Alright, let’s lift!”

“Umm, by the way, did your squad handle the special gas well? Who’s the squad leader here?”

The officer’s eyes brightened as he looked at the squad members who showed no symptoms at all.

They were not only in charge of casualties, but also served as training supervisors.

“Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min!”

“You handled the gas dispersal at dawn very well. There were no Hunters affected, right?”

“Yes, sir! That’s correct!”

“I see. Keep it up in the future.”

“Yes, sir!”

The corners of the squad leader’s mouth slightly lifted at the officer’s praise.

“You did well, Min-jun.”

Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min raised his thumb at Kim Min-jun, perhaps feeling good in the moment.

“Alright, let’s move out!”

“Um, it’s only the second day, so do your best.”

“Yes, sir!”

After briefly checking the condition of the casualties, two Hunters shared the task of transporting them.

“Change formation!”

“Yes, sir!”

They also didn’t forget to change formation in preparation for monster attacks.

“Squad leader! Monsters 200m behind us!”

While moving, they encountered Dark Balls, monsters in the shape of soccer balls.

“Send the casualties to the front! The rest, maintain formation and prepare to fire!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Understood!”

Dark Ball is a monster that attaches to the designated target and sucks blood like a mosquito.

Once it attaches, it’s difficult to detach unless you have considerable strength.

Therefore, the best approach was to keep them at a distance by shooting magical bullets from afar.

“Prepare for a group attack!”

“Prepare to fire!”

Kim Cheol-min quickly made a decision and gave shooting orders to his squad members.

“Fire!”

Bang!

The hunters took their positions and started shooting at the approaching dark balls from afar.

“Stay calm and aim!”

Due to the steep terrain, the hunters’ posture was unstable, resulting in decreased accuracy of their magic bullets.

Although one squad managed to shoot down about 15 dark balls, it was all thanks to Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min’s support.

Thwung! Thwong!

“Ugh!”

“Hey, block them with your guns at least!”

“It’ll be hell once they bite you!”

The remaining 8 dark balls came dangerously close to the hunters, baring their sharp fangs.

“Captain! We might have casualties at this rate! Let me provide support!”

Meanwhile, Kim Min-jun, who was carrying supplies, sought permission from the captain.

Although the hunters were managing to fend off the dark balls, there was still a possibility of casualties.

“I won’t allow a single casualty.”

As long as I’m here, our squad must get a perfect score!

Kim Min-jun’s eyes burned with determination.

“We need to detach the dark balls clinging to the hunters with force. It’ll be difficult with just brute strength. If you think you can’t do it, don’t try.”

Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min looked at him for a moment before giving his answer.

It was a challenge for him to try if he was confident.

“Yes, understood!”

The captain gave his permission.

Kim Min-jun leaped high towards the back of the formation.

“Huh? What, what’s going on?”

The officer who was carried in the supplies looked shocked at his back.

Despite carrying heavy military gear, he could leap so high.

“Acting like that is the right way to handle it perfectly.”

But how many situations would allow for perfect handling in this training?

This training was intentionally designed to be high-intensity, meaning casualties were inevitable.

“I’ll have to see if the captain’s judgment is correct.”

The officer raised his upper body and decided to observe how the situation would unfold.

“Damn it! Get away from me!”

Thwung! Thwong!

The Dark Ball stuck to the hunters’ guns without any movement. It wasn’t difficult to handle the Dark Ball in this state, but hastily handling it could damage the guns. Keeping the guns stable was also included in their training performance. It was best for the hunters to wait until the Dark Ball was exhausted.

“Stay still! I will handle it!”

“Huh? Minjoon?”

“Hey! If you mishandle the gun, it will break! If it breaks, you’ll be scolded a lot later!”

Instead of answering, Kim Minjoon put his hand inside the Dark Ball’s mouth.

And…

Snap! Splat!

He easily pulled it out as if throwing away an object and threw it far away.

“Uh…”

“Uh?”

The others did the same.

“Everyone, snap out of it!”

“Finish off the ones that flew away!”

Kuwaang!

Seizing the opportunity, two hunters fired magic bullets at the Dark Ball.

They were Sergeant Lee Seung-ho and Corporal Kim Kwang-sik.

“Dark Ball handled, sir!”

With the cooperation of Kim Minjoon and the two hunters, the remaining monsters were neatly taken care of.

“Everyone, check your guns! Report to the platoon leader immediately if you have any malfunctioning guns!”

“No issues, sir!”

Thanks to Kim Minjoon’s quick action, there was not a single malfunctioning gun.

Clap clap clap clap-

“Well, I’m just a wounded and supervising officer, but I can’t help but praise that.”

After the situation was over, the officer applauded the excellent handling.

“But it’s only day 2. Don’t let your guard down until the end.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Yes!”

After a brief rest, the platoon members set off. As Kim Minjoon moved towards the front of the formation, someone bumped into his shoulder.

It was Sergeant Lee Seung-ho.

“You’re doing well, just keep it up.”

“Sergeant Kim Min-jun, thank you.”

After saying just one cool word, he checked the status of other squad members.

“He’s doing well on his own, like a sergeant.”

Kim Min-jun smirked as he looked at Lee Seung-ho’s profile.

**

As time passed, they entered the third day of training.

While they managed to hold on until the second day, from the third day onward, it was hell.

Monsters attacked without regard for time, depleting the hunters’ stamina.

The squad members had been through more than ten battles so far.

“Ah… I’m going to die. I feel like I’m going to collapse.”

“This is insane. Why is the intensity of this training so high?”

The fatigue was evident on the faces of the squad members.

They relaxed their tension for a moment.

“Everyone, stop!”

Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min noticed something and sent a signal.