The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 12: pigeon

As they were thinking that it was a pity for Kim Min-jun, Kim Kwang-sik quickly threw the monster stuck to the drum set far away with the entire drum set.

“Kim Kwang-sik! It took 1 minute and 20 seconds! You should have dealt with it right away!”

“I’m sorry, Sergeant Kim Kwang-sik!”

“When the mana doesn’t work, you have to throw yourself away right away! Will you do the same in a real battle?”

“No, I’m sorry!”

“You’re receiving taxpayer’s money, but you can’t protect the people, can you?”

“No!”

The instructor scolded Kim Kwang-sik like crazy as soon as the training time was over. If he was a private or a corporal, he would have just given him a warning, but as a sergeant, there was no leniency.

“1 minute and 20 seconds for a sergeant… He seems pretty confident, but is he really?”

Kim Min-jun laughed inwardly and thought about how he could give him a hard time.

“Show him what speed and accuracy really mean.”

It was his turn again, and Kim Kwang-sik was the civilian.

Seeing the burning eyes of the guy, he felt that he was going to be humiliated in some way.

“Civilian position!”

“Position!”

“Release the monster!”

The ceiling opened, and a monster rat was released.

“They rotate with three monsters: the monster rat, Arma Gadeon, and the hound.”

As the hunters assigned to the easiest level, Hound, completed their training leisurely with times in the 40-second range, the monster they were up against, the Monster Rat, was considered to be of moderate difficulty.

“To me, all three monsters are on easy mode,”

Kim Min-joon thought, as he aimed his mana gun at the Monster Rat.

“Watch closely how I do this.”

“Help me! Save me!”

Kim Kwang-sik, playing the role of civilian, didn’t just scream.

Thumping and kicking nearby objects, he drew the Monster Rat’s attention.

“Huh? He’s using his head a bit,”

Kim Min-joon thought as he watched Kim Kwang-sik cause a commotion.

“I’m going to show you something amazing from now on.”

Sss-

A faint magical scent seeped from Kim Min-joon’s body.

The scent was so faint that an ordinary person wouldn’t even notice it, but a monster would react differently.

“Kik? Kirilik?”

As soon as it caught the scent, the Monster Rat quickly turned its head.

There was a human causing a scene right in front of it, but that wasn’t the problem.

“Kiririlik!”

There was a monster in this place that even it couldn’t handle.

It had to run away!

The monster rat, which made that decision, jumped towards the ceiling it came from.

“Oh my. Was it really necessary for you to do that for me?”

Kim Min-joon didn’t miss that opportunity and pulled the trigger of his mana gun.

After all, he was told to demonstrate his ability to use the mana gun, so he had to use it.

Tang! Tung!

The power of the mana gun wasn’t that high.

It was at the level of attracting or driving away monsters.

However, if even such a mana gun hit the weak spot of the monsters, the story would be different.

“Kiri-yi-ik!”

Both of the magic bullets fired by Kim Min-joon hit the monster rat’s eyes.

“The mana gun is definitely a bit difficult. It almost missed.”

The monster rat fell from the sky and fainted.

Blood flowed from its two eyes.

“There are 45 seconds left.”

Kim Min-joon approached Kim Kwang-sik to pick him up.

“No way, did you hit the monster rat’s eyes with the mana gun from that height? How did you….”

“Sergeant Kim Kwang-sik, you should be acting, shouldn’t you?”

“Oh.”

Kim Kwang-sik felt the gaze of the training center and quickly immersed himself in acting.

“I, I can’t move! I’m scared!”

“Now it’s okay! You can leave right away!”

“I’ll just stay here! What if those guys come back if I leave?!”

“Calm down! There’s no chance of that happening!”

Kim Kwang-sik waved his arms wildly.

Kim Min-jun caught him while pretending to be scared and left the training ground.

Kim Min-jun’s time was 35 seconds.

Compared to Private Lee Byung-im, it was a very good score.

“I wish you moved faster. You were too slow.”

I expected about 30 seconds, but it took 35 seconds.

“Kim Min-jun. 35 seconds. Excellent.”

As soon as they came out, the trainer nodded.

“Private! Kim Min-jun! Thank you!”

“I knew the giant rat was going to come running. It means the response was fast. On top of that, you accurately hit the weak spot of the giant rat with the mana gun.”

The trainer drew the attention of other hunters.

“Everyone, pay attention! You need to move fast like Private Kim Min-jun to save people’s lives in real combat! You have to move with your body, not just your head! Got it?!”

“Yes! Got it!”

The trainer seemed very satisfied and said to just follow his example.

“Hey, your dorms must be nice, right?”

“We got an S-grade rookie. He fired 19 shots in regular shooting.”

“If you’re a hunter, you should be able to do that much.”

“Seung-ho, you’re not that different from the rookie, only five seconds apart.”

The sergeants continued to praise them.

Seung-ho replied that it was only natural, but he seemed somewhat satisfied from his expression.

“I wish I cut 30 seconds.”

If I had just followed my heart, I would have done it that way, but for him, training was just a game.

As I enjoyed it to a certain extent, my speed slowed down a bit.

“We’re done with shooting practice with this.”

The training went smoothly, and it wasn’t until after 6 PM that it ended.

“Well, you worked hard practicing shooting all day today. Go return your firearms and have dinner first.”

“Yes, thank you!”

“The training supervisor was satisfied with your training attitude today, so he’s sending you back early.”

“Yes, thank you!”

As the hunters were about to leave the building…

“Oh, I forgot. Everyone, please pay attention for a moment!”

The education supervisor stopped the hunters.

“Uh-oh, what is it?”

“Well, we’ve been training all day today…”

“Please!”

The hunters who were quick-witted turned their heads with anxious looks.

“It’s going to snow tomorrow morning, so after dinner, please gather in front of the hospital until 8 PM. Since it’s going to snow a lot, the sergeant will also be there.”

“Uh…”

“Snow…”

At the supervisor’s instruction, the building was filled with a sigh.

On top of that, they had to help the sergeant with the work.

They all had no choice but to respond, but their faces were filled with dissatisfaction.

“The education supervisor naturally knows that you’re having a hard time. If the supervisor has time later, he will treat you to a cool drink and chocolate pie each to give you strength.”

“Understood…”

And they only had one drink and a chocolate pie.

As soon as the hunters came out, they vented their frustration as if they were crazy.

“Hey, this damn base. It’s almost summer, but it’s snowing?”

“Ah! If only I had worked harder at the training camp!”

“We shoot in the morning and afternoon and work at night! This is the military!”

“Who even eats chocolate pies these days? I’m sick of strawberry Montcel too.”

Especially the corporals were full of dissatisfaction.

If they were receiving such intense training, couldn’t they just use outside labor for simple tasks?

The answer was no.

Due to the security law of the Hunter Army, civilians were not allowed to even set foot near the base.

Therefore, family visits were completely prohibited.

“Hey, privates. Do your work quickly. Got it?”

“Yes! Understood, sir!”

The corporals got annoyed with the privates who were just standing there and vented their frustration unnecessarily.

“Hey, newbie.”

“Private Kim Min-joon.”

While moving to the barracks,

Kim Kwang-sik told Kim Min-joon to stop for a moment and answered that it was the start.

“A man doesn’t speak with one mouth. Don’t worry about other senior officers and do whatever you’re told.”

“What? Why?”

The other hunters’ attention was drawn to his actions.

“I bet the newbie and I on a special shooting training time attack, and I lost.”

“What kind of bet?”

“The loser has to listen to the winner’s words for 24 hours.”

“Wow, what a jerk. He did that with the youngest one? He has no conscience.”

“Minjoon, if you had lost, you would have been humiliated. He’s the guy who made the rookie mimic a pigeon for 24 hours straight.”

“But he lost anyway. Hey, youngest one, show him what hell is.”

The seniors told Kim Kwang-sik to take it like a man and accept the consequences, rather than coddling him.

In truth, it was Kim Minjoon who proposed the bet, but the seniors naturally assumed it was Kim Kwang-sik.

“No, the bet was proposed by the youngest one…”

“Sergeant Kim Kwang-sik, prepare yourself.”

Kim Minjoon cut Kim Kwang-sik off quickly.

“Ha, fine. Just say it. I’ll do anything.”

“From now on, Sergeant Kim Kwang-sik is a pigeon. Begin.”

“Coo…I got hit!”

Kim Kwang-sik began mimicking a pigeon, lowering his posture and taking duck-like steps while bobbing his head.

Seeing him, other sergeants held their stomachs and laughed.

Private and second-class soldiers trembled, worried that Kim Kwang-sik might become angry and lash out, but there was no sign of that.

“Kim Kwang-sik, what a cheerful guy.”

Seeing an enthusiastic senior mimicking a pigeon, Kim Minjoon snickered.

“Tsk, Kim Kwang-sik is crazy again.”

Meanwhile, the instructor watched Kim Kwang-sik, who was imitating a pigeon, and rolled his eyes.

****

Inside the soldier’s mess hall,

“Minjun, you did really well with training today. You’ll have to do some night work later, so hang in there a bit longer despite being tired,” said a superior.

“Private Kim Minjun. I’m fine, sir,” Minjun replied.

During the meal, Private Lee Dong-jin, who was sitting next to him, spoke up.

“They say it’s going to snow tomorrow, but the work itself should be simple.”

He had come to take care of them, as the sergeants were becoming nervous due to the snow.

“Thank you for your hard work, Private Lee Dong-jin. Didn’t you get a time of 57 seconds in the special shooting training?”

Except for Private Dong-jin, most of the privates went over the 1-minute time limit.

It meant that Dong-jin was the only one who passed the special shooting training.

If he can keep up that level of ability, he might even make it to sergeant.

“I just ate a lot, that’s all. But more importantly, we should gather a bit earlier today.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Okay.”

After mealtime was over, Minjun and the other privates, including Hunter, gathered in front of the barracks 30 minutes before the start of their work.

Today, the sergeants seemed very unhappy, probably to avoid giving any excuse for being scolded.

“Ah, there’s an LCK league starting tonight.”

“What’s up with their mood, really.”

“They put us through this and still expect us to wake up at 6. What a drag.”

The sergeants arrived at the field hospital with faces full of complaints, and soon after, Sergeant Kim Cheol-min appeared.

“Well, everyone’s tired from training today, right? It’s just a simple task.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Let’s finish quickly and I’ll let you go in right away.”

Contrary to Kim’s words, the number of workers exceeded six squads, indicating a significant workload.

“Alright, everyone take as much sandbags as you can carry and let’s go down the hill.”

A considerable number of people started to descend the hill with sandbags on their shoulders.

“Good luck.”

“Fight on.”

The Hunter guards at the entrance wore an uneasy expression.

According to the weather forecast, it will start snowing from 3 am tomorrow, so it was the Hunter’s duty to spread sand so that the officers can safely climb up in their cars.