The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 5

Chapter 05: “Hunter Army Airfield-3”

Oh.

That’s what they’re saying.

Kim Min-jun laughed heartily after promising to enjoy even the portion of those who failed to achieve their goals, saying, “You fools.”

“You damn fool.”

“Please just die already.”

The other trainees just shrugged their shoulders, their appetites being the only difference between them.

“Everyone, pay attention!”

The squad leader on the platform gathered everyone’s attention.

“We’re approaching the last week of training, and barely half of you have passed the standards. This batch is much less capable than the last one.”

In truth, the difference wasn’t that great, but the squad leader deliberately exaggerated it.

“If you’re placed in a unit after completing training like this, more than half of you will die within a month. Am I lying?”

Of course, this was also an exaggerated fact.

The squad leader created a sense of crisis by telling such lies every time to raise the trainees’ capabilities to the maximum.

“Enough complaining. I’ll offer a reward.”

Since he whipped them, now it was time to offer the carrot.

“We have less than seven days until the end of training, but the dungeon adaptation training at the end is the most highly evaluated.”

The squad leader said he would give a reward vacation to one trainee who performed well in the dungeon adaptation training, which could be used at any time.

“Of course, unless there’s an emergency situation, you’ll be exempted from training.”

Not just one day, but a two-night, three-day reward vacation.

And it’s a valid vacation even after entering the unit.

At this point, the soldiers should have been fired up.

“Huh? Why are their expressions like that?”

The squad leader was puzzled by the unexpected bleak reactions.

The trainees’ expressions seemed resigned, as if the owner of the vacation had already been decided.

“I’ll eat well this time too, guys.”

Kim Min-jun gave his classmates a thumbs-up.

Military life.

Is it more enjoyable than you thought?

“Wow. This is crazy. Is this what Hunterria is?”

“How many layers of beef patties are there?”

The trainees cheered at the sight of the hamburger, which was called the last supper.

If you ask why Hunterria is called the last supper, it’s because the worst training that would strip the souls of the soldiers was coming after this.

“Even if we have to go, isn’t Hunterria okay?”

“Why are you talking like we’re going to die?”

Kim Min-jun laughed sardonically as he watched his colleagues eating with sauce smeared all over their mouths.

“Hey, this is insane. If I knew it was this good, I would have signed up for the military sooner.”

After hearing his colleagues’ praises, Kim Min-jun took a bite of Hunterria.

Chew chew-

“Wow, this is crazy!”

Juices from the patty overflowed from his mouth, he couldn’t help but let it out.

This hamburger was better than any normal one, it was worth at least 20,000 won if you bought it outside the military.

“The neighboring training center has a place called the Military Restaurant.”

“Is the Military Restaurant good?”

“If you eat there, you’ll get constipated.”

“I’d rather eat Lotteria than eat that.”

Kim Min-jun continued to chat noisily with his colleagues, without any superior to stop them.

Before graduation from the training center, the worst training was waiting for them, so there was no need for any discipline.

***

In preparation for the dungeon adaptation training that would take place in the afternoon, the trainees received theoretical education in the morning.

“In the dungeon, you never know what situation may arise. Let’s start with item number one….”

It was the trainees’ last and most important training, but the lecture was like a lullaby from their platoon leader, and they nodded off one by one.

It was understandable since they had only engaged in high-intensity training, except for minimal rest time, since their arrival at Hunter Army Training Center.

“What is this? A skill?”

Kim Min-joon, who had also slept for about an hour a day, felt an odd sleepiness whenever he heard his platoon leader’s voice, despite not feeling physically tired.

“Okay, that’s it for today. Let’s all approach the training as if it were real combat.”

The platoon leader didn’t bother to wake up the more than half of the trainees who were already asleep. On the contrary, he preferred it that way, so they would experience the full intensity of the dungeon.

***

2 PM.

The trainees were lined up near the dungeon, which was nearly 1 km away from their base.

They looked at the dungeon entrance, which looked like a cave, and swallowed their dry saliva.

“This is the dungeon we explained in the morning, and it’s our training ground.”

The squad leader took out a small command baton and pointed to a spot.

“From now on, you will form groups of six and enter that variable dungeon.”

It was a variable dungeon that changed its internal structure in real-time.

Normally, dungeons disappeared when all the monsters inside were defeated, but sometimes they remained in the same state. In that case, they became an excellent training ground for hunters.

“You will face the hounds inside the dungeon for an hour. You can use any means necessary. We will mainly focus on your crisis response and combat skills.”

As soon as the squad leader finished explaining, military vehicles lined up.

“Growl!”

“…Are we supposed to face that?”

The trainees saw hounds, a monster they had never seen in real life, and broke out in a cold sweat.

And when they saw the thick protective suits lined up in front of them, they could anticipate what kind of training they were going to receive.

“If you’re afraid of just the hounds, why did you join the hunters!”

The squad leader rebuked the frightened trainees.

Hounds were the weakest monsters among monsters.

They were monsters that trained soldiers could handle easily if they cooperated well.

“Are you going to act like this even when you get to your unit!”

“No, sir!”

“Do you want to get slapped in the face by your squad leader?”

“No, sir!”

“Then put on your protective suits and get ready quickly!”

Under the squad leader’s orders, the trainees moved busily.

“What is this, they made it so crudely.”

Kim Min-jun also put on a suit following his colleagues.

The suit didn’t consider comfort at all.

It felt like a compressed thick metal plate.

It was amazing that such a crude suit cost 50 million won each.

“Is this the last training?”

Kim Min-jun glanced at the hounds trapped behind bars.

Some of them stared back while others avoided eye contact as if they were frightened.

“After completing the training camp, we will begin our actual hunter life.”

If you compared training camp life to a game, it would only be completing the tutorial level, he remembered the assistant’s words.

“Trainee No. 128 Kim Min-jun. I have a question for the squad leader.”

“Go ahead.”

Kim Min-jun raised his hand, eager to get rid of the crude metal plate as soon as possible.

“If I take care of that hound, will the training be over?”

“Yes, as long as you handle all of them within the time limit, there won’t be a problem.”

It was a situation where the squad leader gave a warning not to get overconfident like the others, but since the one asking was Kim Min-jun, who overwhelmingly topped the training score, the squad leader answered the question obediently.

“Hey, even if you were the best in training, that’s different.”

“Hey, you’ll really hurt yourself like that. It’s not just training, it’s like a real battle.”

Even though he was Kim Min-jun, his colleagues agreed that it was impossible to handle the hounds in a short amount of time.

“I just want to take off this protective suit quickly. It’s frustrating.”

He didn’t care much about it himself.

“We will now begin dungeon adaptation training! Group 1!”

“Yes!”

After a moment, assistants who would perform the roles of supervising and protecting trainees simultaneously arrived, and training began.

“Oh, crazy!”

Kim Min-jun, who had planned to finish the training quickly, ended up being in the last group.

He was in a situation where he had to wait without moving until the other trainees finished.

“Hey, when the hounds rush at you, don’t panic, just grab them by two legs and fold them in half like this. Like this.”

Kim Min-jun passed on a tip to his fellow trainees on how to kill a hound in 10 seconds.

“That’s crazy talk.”

“That won’t work even if Sergeant Lee Seung-ho comes.”

Of course, he was treated as a lunatic by his fellow trainees.

“Hounds released!”

“We’ll release them!”

It had been about 20 minutes since Team 1 entered the dungeon.

Following the sergeant’s orders, the assistant released the hounds’ restraints at the entrance of the dungeon.

The three hounds, now free, disappeared smoothly into the dungeon.

“It’s amazing that the hounds aren’t rushing at us.”

“It’s their monster instinct. Imagine being locked up all day and thinking there’s a house right in front of you. You wouldn’t leave without eating.”

Kim Min-jun waited quietly for his turn while chatting with his fellow trainees.

“Ugh…ugh…”

“Ugh….”

An hour passed, and Team 1 emerged from the dungeon.

Judging from the footprints and claw marks on their tidy protective suits, they seemed to have gone through considerable trouble.

“Team 1, good job. Fall back and wait.”

The sergeant wrote a detailed evaluation form based on the statements of the soldiers who had gone into the supervising role.

“Next, Team 2! Go in right away! And let me make it clear, if you ask about or disclose the contents of the training, you will be forcibly discharged.”

The trainees who were trying to extract information from the sergeant’s stern warning flinched and backed off.

“Next!”

The training went smoothly, and finally it was time for the 30th order, the last one.

“If it was going to be like this, why did we wear the protective suits in advance?”

Kim Min-joon grumbled at the suit that didn’t let even a single breeze through as he entered the dungeon.

It had been 30 minutes since the 30th order entered the dungeon.

Kim Min-joon yawned and followed his comrades.

It would have been easy if they had just waited at the entrance and dealt with the hounds all at once, but then the other trainees wouldn’t have been trained.

“There’s no one else as considerate as me.”

He had rolled around in this world enough to save it, and gained strength to return, but the other trainees were different.

They had to learn as much as possible from the training center.

“They should be coming soon.”

“Okay. Take your positions. Think about up to four hounds.”

The soldiers seized the advantageous terrain to face the hounds, then moved to their respective positions.

Kim Min-joon took the middle position.

He intended to take care of all five of his comrades.

“They’re coming!”

After a while.

Three hounds ran towards the trainees, drooling.

“Don’t be scared, just fight! The protective suits are strong!”