The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 07: graduation

“Kim Ho-jun also breathed a sigh of relief inwardly for a moment. The trainees explained the situation after they collapsed.

“So, he suddenly acted like that?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

…”

Normally, it would have been a pointless thing to leave the training center right away, just like committing suicide to move alone in attacking the dungeon.

However, this situation was inevitable.

The assistant instructors who had to protect the trainees safely lost consciousness first.

“Get up right away and go find Trainee Kim Min-jun.”

“Assistant, assistant! Over there!”

“What?”

At the cry of one trainee, their eyes naturally turned back.

“What’s that…?”

“That, is that a Hound?”

“Yes, it is. But… it’s much bigger than usual.”

One trainee walked over with a calm expression, carrying the Hound on his shoulder.

The assistant instructors suspected that they might not have fallen into a hallucination when they saw Kim Min-jun carrying the Hound alone.

“This crazy guy… did he catch that big guy alone?”

Kim Ho-joon breathed a sigh of relief for a moment. The trainees explained what had happened after they collapsed.

“So, he suddenly did that?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“….”

Normally, it would have been a futile action to leave the training camp immediately, but it wasn’t as suicidal as moving alone to conquer the dungeon.

But this situation was unavoidable since the instructors who had to protect the trainees safely lost consciousness first.

“Get up right now, and go find Private Kim Min-joon.”

“Sir, sir! Over there!”

“What’s wrong?”

At the cry of one trainee, their gaze naturally turned back.

“What the…?”

“That’s a hound, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but… it’s much bigger.”

One trainee walked towards them with a peaceful expression, carrying the hound on his shoulder.

The instructors doubted whether they were not in a hallucinatory state when they saw Private Kim Min-joon carrying the hound, but his overwhelming performance during training was not a surprise.

“I think the entrance is open. We should go out now.”

“That hound… did you catch it alone?”

“Yes. I caught it alone.”

After Private Kim Min-joon answered, Kim Ho-joon, a sergeant, shook his head once and sent the trainees out first.

“Kim Min-joon. Report today’s events to the platoon leader in detail.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Report everything that happened to you. We have nothing to say about this incident. It’s unacceptable to let trainees faint and leave them.”

Very rarely, there were guys among the excellent trainees who could handle hounds alone.

In terms of riders, one or two out of thirty riders.

Of course, there had never been a trainee who killed such a large hound before.

“If it weren’t for him, we would all be dead.”

If Kim Min-jun hadn’t been part of the 30th squad, a disaster would have almost occurred.

No matter how many trainees there were, they would have been no match for a hound of that size.

“But… what the hell was that earlier?” Kim Ho-jun shifted his gaze to the lifeless body of the hound.

He had suddenly lost consciousness inside the dungeon.

There was no way a hound could possess such an ability.

“Damn it. I should report it for now. I’ve already had enough sleep for today.”

The assistants left the dungeon first, followed by Kim Min-jun.

Ding-

“What’s this?” A message appeared before him.

“An error has been fixed.”

Error? What error are they talking about?

Kim Min-jun scoffed at the rude message.

“This damn system is a problem in this world and in the other world.”

Ding-

Did the system even understand what he said?

With the notification sound, a status window that he hadn’t seen before appeared.

[Kim Min-jun]

Founder of the ‘Sister Seria is My Best Character’ cult.

Power: 60

Agility: 60

Stamina: 60

Magic: 10

Possessed skill: Decay (E)

“This is a bit weird.”

The status window only showed stats and skills, with no level displayed.

Kim Min-joon checked the word “Seriya Nuna” and rubbed his forehead.

“Why is that showing up in my status window?”

“Seriya Nuna is my favorite character” was a group I created just for fun when I reached the pinnacle of dark magic.

I named the characters in Dungeon Fighter Online as a way to separate myself from the cultists who followed me around like stalkers.

Although I named them to be disliked, ironically, Miss was the one that people liked.

“I’ve become a lot weaker.”

When he returned from Isgard, he used most of his magic power.

In addition, he had anticipated a stat decrease due to the penalties of dimensional transfer, but he didn’t expect it to be this low.

“With these stats… let’s see. I can jump over a sergeant level, but…”

Only one skill remained in his status window, which was previously filled with skills.

“Maybe it’s because my magic stat is only 10. What can I do with just Decay?”

With such low stats, even using the Decay skill on a hunter would only have a mild effect.

“If this were a novel, ‘Life of a Dark Mage Starting from Level 1′ would be perfect.”

Compared to the trainees who were his peers, his specs were like a monster.

On the last day of training, most of the trainees’ stats were in the late 10s to early 20s. However, with this level of ability, they were far from achieving their goal.

“I reached max level in another world, can’t I do it here too?”

Just wait, Dungeon & Fighter company.

For the sake of Neo Play, which is being delayed by monsters, we’ll quickly regain our strength.

On that day, Hunter Army Training Camp was completely turned upside down. The last team, Team 30, went in and the dungeon was closed. On top of that, even monsters that instructors found difficult to handle were taken care of by a single trainee.

Normally, after the final training, trainees are promoted to the rank of Private. Then, they go through a brief disbandment ceremony and are given free time until they receive their assignments.

However, this time, such a thing did not happen for this group.

“Oh, our class is cursed.”

“Of all times, why did such a crazy thing happen on the last day of training?”

The trainees who had just been promoted to Private, still wearing their combat uniforms, were waiting in the Internal Affairs Division.

“Did you see Kim Min-jun? He caught a hound by himself.”

“Oh, that thing he carried on his shoulder?”

“Is it true that two instructors were foaming at the mouth and passed out?”

With no access to TV, chatting was the only entertainment for these privates.

“I think Kim Min-jun will become a sergeant within two years.”

“Hey, no matter how tough the promotion exam is, most of the hunters who finish their 5 years of service end up leaving as privates. And there are even more hunters who don’t have any talent. I’ve seen hunters who were discharged as privates before their service was up.”

As they talked about Kim Min Joon,

“Reporting for duty! Private Kim Min Joon here,”

Kim Min Joon faced the battalion commander.

“What’s going on here?”

There was a senior officer standing next to the battalion commander, looking nervous.

“You can go now.”

“Yes, sir!”

The platoon leader quickly got up from his prone position next to the battalion commander and left the room.

Although he hadn’t done anything wrong, Kim Min Joon felt a twinge of guilt.

“The platoon leader is responsible for not properly checking the dungeon, so he deserves to be disciplined. Don’t you agree?”

“Private Kim Min Joon! Yes, sir! I agree!”

Kim Min Joon agreed with the battalion commander’s words for now.

No one knows how to deal with the variables that occur in the dungeon.

Except maybe for himself during the prime of the Black Mage era.

“Is it time for a cup of coffee?”

“Yes, sir! Thank you.”

The battalion commander brought out a can of coffee and handed it to Kim Min Joon.

“Take a seat comfortably. I really appreciate what you did,” he said.

Despite his words, Kim Min-joon maintained an upright posture on his chair.

“It’s a bit much for a private to lean back on his chair in front of a Lieutenant.”

“If it weren’t for you, the trainees could have really died. I heard even the instructors couldn’t handle it?”

“The instructors suddenly had seizures, so I moved alone! I’m sorry!”

“Sorry about what? I’m trying to figure out what reward to give you.”

The battalion commander showed his white teeth and smiled happily.

If even one trainee is seriously injured at the Hunter Army Training Center, there will be a problem with his promotion.

Not only that, hungry journalists would come running to the scene.

“He can’t be sent to an ordinary unit.”

Previously, when he saw the corpse of Hound with his own eyes.

Battalion commander Choi Seung-beom felt that Kim Min-joon had to be placed in the front line.

Sending such a talented person to an ordinary unit was no different from a national loss.

“Surely they said they needed more personnel in Gangwon-do.”

Choi Seung-beom cleared the area with frequent monster appearances among the crowded units.

“This is the perfect place.”

After examining the map for a while, Choi Seung-beom turned his gaze to Kim Min-joon with a determined look.

“I have a proposal for you. Will you listen?”

“Yes!”

“I heard from the squad leader that you have excellent training results.”

The suggestion from the battalion commander was this:

Instead of going to the Hunter Army unit in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, he would allow him to take the promotion exam right away.

“Privates cannot take the promotion exam for a year. But if there is a special exception, things change.”

In other words, if he goes to the front-line unit in Cheorwon, he can take the promotion exam without waiting for a year.

“Really… this is an insane exception!”

If he were like other hunters, he would have cursed inwardly.

But Kim Min-jun was an exception.

As long as he could quickly rise in rank, it didn’t matter where he went.

Even though the pass rate for the promotion exam for privates is not even 5%, what does it matter to him?

“I don’t care how difficult the promotion exam is.”

If he were an ordinary hunter, he would have despaired, but it was a great opportunity for Kim Min-jun!

While all the soldiers go through a year of private life, he can skip that process.

“This is definitely a great opportunity.”

I think the promotion exam is held twice a year.

As the rank increases, the scope of activities also widens, so he must go.

“I understand. I’ll do it that way.”

“That’s great. You are a true soldier. I’ll tell the unit that you are doing well, so don’t worry too much.”

It was the moment when the decision to go to the most hated front-line army unit, Cheorwon, by hunters was made.

********

As time passed, the day for these soldiers to leave their unit was approaching.

Their fellow soldiers packed their belongings and quietly waited for the officers who would come to see them off.

“You’re seriously the craziest person I’ve ever met.”

“I knew it from the moment he started playing Dungeon Fighter Online. I’m telling you the truth, there’s not a single decent person who plays that game.”

“Well, hey? Isn’t DFO one of the best games out there?”

The fellow soldiers were shocked to learn that Kim Min-joon, who had finished top of his class, was being assigned to Cheorwon, Gangwon Province.

Out of all the units, why did he have to go to Cheorwon, and on top of that, the guy who finished first in training?

“You guys wouldn’t understand. I have an amazing life goal, and everything is for that.”

Kim Min-joon waved his hand, telling his fellow soldiers to leave quickly.

“What is it? Trying to hit level 100 on DFO or something?”

“I hit 30 levels just last night. That’s easy.”

“Wow, you’re crazy.”

The fellow soldiers left one by one, leaving Kim Min-joon alone in the barracks.

“Are you getting in or what? Why are you so late?”

He never thought he would be the last one waiting, especially since they were both from Gangwon Province.

“Soldier Kim Min-joon.”

An hour passed before an officer finally arrived in a military vehicle.