The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 30 : Hunter Mobilization Training – 4

A hunter sitting against a tree, possibly injured in the ankle.

His name was Seo Sang-byeong, a corporal.

“More than half of their squad has dropped out.”

“This mobilization training is definitely tough.”

“Ah, I’m getting sleepy just talking about it. I’ll just shut my mouth.”

“Just keep talking. I’ll fall asleep the moment you shut up.”

Nearly half of the members of 4th Platoon, 4th Company, 4th Battalion were exhausted.

“I’m sorry….”

Eventually, the exhausted female hunters declared to give up the training.

It was determined that they would only burden the other squad members like this.

Then, the medical hunters who had been waiting behind them supported them and left the training ground.

“Well, if it wasn’t for me, more than 10 members of our squad would have dropped out.”

Kim Min-jun lost himself in thought for a moment.

As he looked around him.

There were squad members who looked like they could collapse any moment, and squad members who showed off their walking-while-sleeping skills.

Their exhaustion was clearly at its peak.

“There’s no regulation that prohibits helping other platoon members from other companies.”

In fact, they were even given training scores for doing so.

While Kim Min-jun was pondering what to do, the squad members arrived right in front of 4th Battalion, where 4th Platoon was located.

“Reporting! I am Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min. Are there any critically injured hunters here?”

“Oh, no! There are no critically injured hunters. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“I see. We…”

While the squad leaders were exchanging polite words with each other.

“I’m sorry! Corporal Seo Sang-byeong! I’m really sorry!”

One female hunter approached Seo Sang-byeong and bowed her head in tears.

She seemed to have realized something, and Seo Sang-byeong wrapped her successor around her and took the injury instead.

“It’s a fracture.”

Kim Min-jun looked at her ankle and immediately understood her condition.

“It’s a bit regrettable that the treatment is not perfect.”

Although it seemed like she had fixed it with splints, it looked unstable.

“Well, it’s not a big deal to help, anyway.”

They were fellow hunters even though they were from different companies, after all.

“Squad leader, I have a brief duty to attend to.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The emergency treatment of Corporal Seo Sang-byeong seems to be in an unstable state. Can I take a look?”

At that, Lieutenant Kim Cheol-min looked surprised.

“Min-jun, you know how to do that too?”

“Yes, I have some experience.”

“Don’t touch it rashly, it could be a big problem.”

“I’m confident.”

“Well then, try it. If something goes wrong, it’s your responsibility.”

“Yes!”

As soon as Kim Min-joon received permission from the squad leader, he approached Corporal Son Eun-seo.

“Step aside for a moment.”

“Huh? Yes…”

He cleared the other squad members around and checked the condition of Son Eun-seo’s ankle again.

“Mr. Kim Min-joon? What are you doing now?”

“The splint is unstable. Just stay still.”

He skillfully adjusted the position of the splint and stabilized the fractured area.

“That should do it. You know there’s still over 15 km left, right? You can’t walk like this.”

In the end, he had to give up in the middle.

Whether you give up on the first day of training or the last day, it’s the same.

You won’t receive any performance scores at all.

Now it’s the last day, and it would be very disappointing for her.

“I’m feeling better now. Just a little more to go… Ouch!”

“It doesn’t look good at all.”

“Ugh…”

Son Eun-seo tried to get up but felt pain and sat back down.

It might be okay if it were his arm, but his leg would be too much.

“I should be able to walk 15 km with one leg.”

As Kim Min-joon tried to get up, an idea suddenly came to him.

“Wait, can’t I just carry her with me?”

He still had plenty of stamina, and the other squad didn’t have any patients to transport.

He could easily cover for one person.

“And she’s different from the other hunters.”

Because she’s the general’s daughter.

It wouldn’t hurt to help her out for the future.

“Squad leader, can I carry Corporal Son Eun-seo while moving?”

“What?”

Kim Minjun reported to the platoon leader after making a decision.

When Kim Cheolmin, the second lieutenant, heard those words, he became lost in thought.

“One person, and Sergeant Soneun.”

If it had been another hunter, they would have refused without hesitation.

But Kim Minjun looked in good condition at a glance, and his ability to handle situations so far had been outstanding.

“If you can take responsibility for what you said, then do it.”

“Yes! I understand!”

If he left it as it is, Soneun might limp even with one leg, so Kim Cheolmin eventually decided to give permission.

“You heard, right? Are you going to give up training like this? Or do you want me to carry you?”

“…I want you to carry me.”

Soneun agreed without resistance to being carried by Kim Minjun.

“The platoon leader is getting in the way. Should I just lean on one shoulder?”

As he tried to take off his backpack, Sergeant Lee Seungho came up and grabbed it abruptly.

“Sergeant Lee Seungho?”

“I’ll carry the platoon leader.”

“I can carry him.”

“Handle emergency situations properly.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Although the platoon leader weighed close to 90kg, it wasn’t a big deal for him, but if Sergeant Lee Seungho said so, what could he do?

Following the manual, Kim Minjun lifted Soneun up and started walking.

“Right. You do that.”

“Even if I ask you to carry me, I can’t do it, I’m telling you.”

“Is he really a human? Can someone that skinny make any sense?”

Normally, he would have looked at them with envious eyes, but the fatigue of the platoon members had reached its peak.

Their interest in the two of them was brief.

“We’ve all done well so far! We’ll reach the base in just 10 more kilometers! Is there anyone who wants to give up?”

“No, sir!”

“Listen to their voices! Do you want to give up?”

“No, sir!”

Second Lieutenant Kim Cheolmin encouraged the hunters whenever they were struggling to the extreme.

“If you’re having a hard time, feel free to tell me anytime. I’ll give up for you.”

“It’s okay. It’s lighter than a rock.”

“Lighter than a rock…what?”

“I have an amazing ability to estimate weight by instinct. Want me to guess? The front is 5. The back is…”

“I’ll close your mouth, so please be quiet!”

On the other hand, Kim Minjun was still in good condition to chat with Soneun.

He maintained his best condition by sleeping only one hour a day.

“Think of it as an investment.”

“Investment?”

“Your father is the battalion commander, isn’t he?”

“Well, I don’t think Kim Minjun will benefit much from me.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway.”

As the battalion commander’s daughter, how could he not benefit from it?

He could never give up!

“I will definitely repay you later.”

“Do as you please.”

He calmly replied, but didn’t let down his guard against his surroundings.

The success of the squad members in dealing with monster attacks was also thanks to Kim Min-jun.

“Ah… Please don’t let only monsters come out. Please.”

“I might die like this.”

“This is hell, hell. The training intensity has been changed from normal to hell mode.”

Time passed and it was already 10 p.m.

Only 2 km remained to the destination.

The hunters’ walking speed had significantly slowed down, possibly due to reaching their physical limits.

The squad leader also noticed this and slowed down the pace.

“At this rate, we will arrive around 11 p.m.”

Kim Cheol-min, the lieutenant, was also in a tired state, but he didn’t show it outwardly.

Unlike other squad members, not a single hunter in his squad had given up on training.

“I must not let my guard down until the very end.”

The most dangerous time is when you let your guard down.

Just as he was thinking that.

“Kiiiiik!”

“Squad leader! A monster has appeared in the sky!”

“Damn! Everyone, get into formation!”

“Yes, sir!”

A black talon, a flying type monster, appeared.

“Yeah, it’s definitely vicious.”

Kim Min-jun was amazed at the cruelty of hunter training.

“They were going all out even in the early morning, and now they’re releasing flying type monsters in front of our destination?”

It was already night, and the body of the black talon was also black.

Moreover, the body was as small as a sparrow, making it a difficult target to handle.

“The hunters’ condition is at its worst.”

It would be impossible to resist against that monster.

The squad members confirmed the monster and showed desperate expressions.

We are so close to our destination, but of all the monsters, why did such a difficult one appear?

“They’re lucky in my eyes!”

Kim Min-jun scanned them all with his eyes while licking his lips.

It was a chance to absorb all the achievement points!

“Everyone, fall back like this once…”

“Squad leader! Give me a chance!”

“Kim Min-jun?”

“I can handle it all at once!”

Kim Cheol-min’s lieutenant didn’t hesitate for long.

In fact, retreating at this point would only buy them some time.

The physical and mental strength of the squad members had reached their limit.

“If it doesn’t work, we’ll retreat immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

With the permission of the squad leader, Kim Min-jun took out the mana gun from his waist.

The supervisor watched, his eyes sparkling.

“To handle it with a mana gun, all squad members need to create an opening…”

At this point, many squads were delayed or scattered.

“All the squads that have made it this far have struggled against these monsters.”

The black hook monster was a creature designed to test the mental strength of hunters in extreme situations. Despite its small size and agility, it was an airborne monster.

“I can’t just ignore them and pass by.”

“They stick stubbornly. If you bite them wrong, your flesh might get ripped off. Of course, they’ll die soon after being injected with a special drug.”

The 2nd Platoon and 2nd Squad are currently transporting three injured patients.

“These guys have bad luck.”

After dealing with all the Black Hooks while protecting the three patients.

It would be quite challenging to reach the destination on time.

“This will be tough even for him. It’s night time too.”

The supervisor’s gaze lingered on Kim Minjoon for a moment.

“Let’s see how he handles it for now.”

Meanwhile,

Kim Minjoon was detecting the presence of the Black Hooks.

“Eight of them. It’s the perfect time to use Magi Blast. They won’t be visible in the darkness anyway.”

Even for himself, hitting the weak spots of the Black Hooks at night was slightly difficult.

“Dark Arrows.”

In that case, he just had to use the skill together.

Thwung! Thwack!

Kim Minjoon fired his Mana Gun and simultaneously shot Dark Arrows.

“Kee-yiik!”

Sweep! Sswwish!

With the arrows made of magi, the bullets from the Mana Gun were fired.

Thud. Thud.

With each shot, the bodies or heads of the Black Hooks were pierced and fell to the ground.

The time it took for him to deal with the Black Claws was barely a minute.

“Huh? W-What did you just do?” Son Eoseo, who was carried on his back, asked in surprise.

Even though he’s carrying himself, he’s only using a mana gun to catch the Black Claws?

In a situation where nothing is visible?

It would have been easier to hit a grain of rice from a distance.

“Well… what’s that guy?”

The director was the same.

The director stood up from his seat and checked the bodies of the monsters.

“All 8 of them are dead… I heard 8 shots fired exactly…”

That means he killed them one by one with a single shot.

“He processed all those small ones by himself, even though he wouldn’t have been able to see anything in the dark?”

It’s an unbelievable level of concentration, considering he must have reached his physical limits.

“Squad leader! All clear!”

“Confirmed! Move out with all available force, including reserves!”

“Yes, sir!”

The director was only briefly surprised. Once he confirmed that the Black Claws were dealt with, the hunters moved towards their destination with determination.

“2nd Company, 2nd Platoon, 2nd Squad, all clear!”

11:30 PM.

Including Son Eoseo, who was part of a different company, all the hunters completed their hunter mobility training.