The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 06: “Hunter Army Airfield-4”

No matter how much protective gear they wear, it is a training exercise against violent monsters.

Out of 10 trainees, 9 of them only take defensive positions and have their protective gear chewed on by the monsters.

But Kim Min-joon is not afraid of the hounds at all and even emits a force that makes other creatures tail behind.

“Don’t get distracted and take your position properly!”

“Yes, sir!”

After dealing with one hound, Kim Min-joon shouted at his colleagues to snap out of it.

“Don’t keep retreating defensively, charge forward! They’ll underestimate us if we keep backing away!”

If it wasn’t for him, the remaining two hounds would have charged forward long ago.

In that case, the position would collapse quickly, creating a big hole in the formation.

“If this were a real situation, two of you would be dead. Those at the forefront need to pressure the monsters from charging in recklessly!”

“Oh, I understand!”

“Why are you yelling, man!”

“Sorry!”

While scolding his colleagues, Kim Min-joon also pointed out their shortcomings and told them what to fix.

“Is he really a trainee?”

“Are you talking about Kim Min-joon? Yes… he is.”

“He didn’t regress to the day before enlistment as a hunter or anything like that?”

“…That’s only possible in novels.”

The instructors clicked their tongues while observing the changes brought about by Kim Min-joon.

Originally, they were trainees who would receive low evaluation scores.

But under the command of one of their fellow trainees, the hounds fell faster than any other group they had traveled with.

“Let’s put them in the middle and Kim Min-joon in the highest rank.”

“I agree with that.”

Confirming that the situation had ended, the instructors moved towards the trainees. Now, with the last group, they left the dungeon and reported to the squad leader that this training session was over.

“Looks like we’ll have a four-night, five-day break starting tomorrow. Hunter Instructor, this is all you can handle, right?”

“Do you have any other plans, Private Kim Ho-jun?”

“Why? Do you want to grab a drink?”

As the instructors chatted, suddenly…

Drrrrrr…

With an ominous sound, the inside of the dungeon shook like an earthquake.

“Damn it… Send a message on the radio before the dungeon closes! Quickly!”

“Yes, sir!”

The instructors quickly took out their radios and reported the emergency situation.

Kim Min-jun’s colleagues didn’t know what to do with this sudden turn of events.

“Hey, what’s going on? Didn’t the situation end?”

The trainees looked at Kim Min-jun and asked what had happened.

“This is a variant dungeon. It’s an open one. Just think of it as a closed door to a dungeon that was open.”

Kim Min-jun gave a calm response.

The trainees wrapped their heads and clenched their fists as they looked at the suddenly crowded dungeon entrance.

“Does that make sense?”

“At the timing when we’re about to catch all the Hounds, it suddenly changes to a closed dungeon?”

This was a training ground where countless Hunter trainees had passed through. It was a place where instructors and officers from nearby units came and went like going to the gym after work. In other words, it was a relatively safe dungeon with almost no variables.

“Private Kim Ho-jun! This is not good. The dungeon has changed too quickly.”

“Can’t you use the radio?”

“It’s not working!”

“First, let’s gather the kids!”

The training assistants confirmed that the dungeon was completely blocked from the outside and called the trainees together.

“As you all may have noticed, there has been a variable in the dungeon.”

Corporal Kim Ho-jun continued his speech with a nonchalant expression.

“Wait here for an hour as per the manual. If there are no changes at the dungeon entrance, we move forward.”

There is only one way to get out of a closed dungeon, which is to eliminate all the monsters inside without leaving a single one.

The exception is when an open dungeon is changed to a closed one, in which case it can return to being open if one waits patiently.

“There are only six trainees with no real combat experience and two assistants here.”

Furthermore, the assistants were only there to manage and supervise the trainees, and they were not equipped with any real gear.

“If we encounter the wrong monsters, it’s over.”

Since they didn’t know what kind of monster would appear in the variable dungeon.

“Everyone, move forward and line up.”

An hour had passed, but there was no sign of the dungeon entrance opening.

Corporal Kim Ho-jun began to lead the trainees inside the dungeon.

“Ah… we’re screwed. Why did something like this happen on the last day of training?”

“We’d all be dead even if only goblins came out.”

The trainees followed the assistants, tense and nervous.

“It smells like… something familiar.”

Kim Min-jun sniffed the unique smell inside the dungeon.

He had smelled that odor before in Isgarde.

“Is the radio still not working?”

“Yes, the signal is completely jammed.”

“Can you fight goblins without any gear?”

“…It would be difficult without any equipment.”

“The situation is not good.”

The assistants who were walking ahead muttered harsh words as they faced the hopeless situation with no solution.

“If we don’t have our main weapons, it’s tough.”

Private Kim Ho-joon also knew that it takes more than 10 minutes to defeat a single goblin without using his main weapon.

“Even though the guys behind us have protective suits, it’s only a matter of time.”

Protective suits are equipment made solely for training purposes and are not helpful for defeating monsters because they are designed for defense only. They are also heavy and quickly deplete stamina.

“We can’t rely on them to shield us.”

The protective suits have excellent defense capabilities, and they would increase the chances of survival if given to trainees in the front. However, they couldn’t do that. Those who had cleared numerous dungeons and were promoted to privates could not deploy inexperienced trainees to the front.

“It’s not possible.”

His conscience wouldn’t allow it.

As Kim Ho-joon moved forward with his head up, he suddenly heard a sound.

“Crack…”

“Ugh!”

Starting with him, the assistant beside him also foamed at the mouth and fainted.

“Assistant!”

“Are you okay?”

Trainees, seeing the scene, instinctively ran towards the assistants.

“Get back! If you come forward, you’ll end up like them.”

Quickly assessing the situation, Kim Min-joon grabbed his classmates’ shoulders and pushed them back.

After confirming that the trainees were more than 30 meters behind, he ran forward.

“He must have had the magic with him.”

He had a feeling that he smelled something familiar, and it turned out to be magic.

“I will never let you go!”

“Kim Min-jun told the assistants to wait at the entrance and then hid his appearance.

“What are you crazy?!”

“Come back! We have a training manual!”

“Kim Min-jun, you’re really dead!”

His colleagues shouted at Kim Min-jun.

However, he only accelerated with a joyful expression.

**

Kim Min-jun moved towards where the magic was getting thicker.

“The assistants fainted when the distance was this far away.”

Judging by the concentration of magic, this was no ordinary monster.

Most monsters in Isgard carried magic, but Earth was different.

“They occasionally appear in the front-line army.”

Once a month at most.

At best, there were two monsters.

The probability of encountering a monster carrying magic was low.

“This is a treasure for me.”

When magic seeps into the body of an ordinary person, they have seizures and lose consciousness.

It was the same for the people of Isgard.

In their case, they wore a special charm to protect them from magic and fought monsters.

“What are you?”

Later on, Kim Min-jun’s face showed surprise and embarrassment when he faced the problem monster.

“Eurrr…”

“Why are you here?”

It was a Dark Hound, a monster that one could only see in Isgard.

Hounds and Dark Hounds.

With just one extra word added, the Dark Hound was overwhelmingly stronger.

The hound is trained to a level where even trained soldiers can capture it.

However, the black one requires several skilled hunter soldiers to take it down.

“That disgusting thing. But I’m happy to have it in times like this. I needed some magic.”

After being summoned to Isgard, Kim Min-joon experienced hell for the first year.

At that time, he couldn’t handle magic properly, so even catching one black dog was a matter of life and death.

“Kre-e-ak!”

The Dark Hound made a threatening growl and was about to attack.

“How did these guys not evolve at all?”

Kim Min-joon anticipated his actions, and with a running start, he launched himself forward.

It took about three seconds for the Dark Hound to attack.

For him, it was a very relaxed time.

“Kreuk, kreuk.”

In just one second, Kim Min-joon reached the Dark Hound, grabbed its neck, and tore it apart.

The creature spurted out black blood and died.

Simultaneously, the magic inside the creature came out and began to fill the dungeon.

“It’s still filthy.”

Kim Min-joon sniffed and absorbed the increasingly thick magic.

As he raised his hand, the smoke that had been extending outside turned and flowed into his body.

That’s why the Dark Hound is difficult to deal with.

It was because of the magic that was released after they died.

“The smell of blood is disgusting.”

In addition, the blood flowing through the body of the Dark Hound contains poisonous substances.

Normally, when a person is turned over, the skin rots within three days.

That’s why the Isgardians dealt with the Dark Hounds from a distance, killing them and preventing the magic from coming out with the priests.

“Phew, the magic feels like it’s burning inside me after a long time.”

Kim Min-joon took a deep breath as he felt the energy of the magic filling his body.

There was a considerable amount of magic condensed in the Dark Hound.

If he were to compare his body to a smartphone battery, it would be charged from 0% to 5%.

“But why is this guy on Earth?”

Although it was good timing to recharge the magi unexpectedly, it was unsettling to encounter the Dark Hound on Earth.

Of course, it could have appeared in a dungeon, but there was no record of Dark Hounds appearing until now.

“No, even so, it’s impossible for a monster to teleport between dimensions.”

Only those who have reached the peak of a black magician or a saint who can use the power of a god can teleport between dimensions.

It is a highly advanced technology with many restrictions.

Kim Min-jun thought it was nothing and lifted the body of the Dark Hound.

“If I want to report it, I need this guy’s body.”

After absorbing all of its magi, the Dark Hound had the same appearance as a regular hound.

At the same time,

The assistants who were lying near the entrance of the dungeon regained consciousness and stood up.

“Turn it off!”

“This feels really awful. Are you guys okay?”

Corporal Kim Ho-jun quickly turned his head, recalling the situation before losing consciousness, and checked the trainees’ condition.

Fortunately, everyone seemed to be fine except for themselves.

“But, sir… Kim Min-joon went inside the dungeon.”

“What did you say?”