“Why should I get a 1 point!”
Haeseong Park immediately protested.
Munho Park just smirked and kindly explained the reason.
“As I said earlier, Cadet Haeseong Park wasted quite a bit of time arguing with the SWAT Hunter Team to prove their identity. Even after they showed you their ID, you refused to believe it and got agitated by their provoking words, even risking a confrontation. Because of that, you arrived here 15 minutes late.”
“How am I supposed to put up with suddenly being treated like a villain?”
“A Jaeger is a special agent who hides their identity and acts for the success of the mission. If you let your emotions sway you that easily, you’re not qualified to be a Jaeger. You only got 1 point because you at least arrived. If you’re dissatisfied with the assessment, then I won’t bother teaching you anymore—just leave now.”
Munho Park showed no leniency whatsoever.
At the mention of expulsion, Haeseong Park became mute, like a fish caught with its mouth shut.
“Cadet Heeju Lim, your case was similar. Do you admit it?”
Cute-faced Heeju Lim, perhaps acknowledging her mistake, bowed her reddened face deeply and quietly answered, “Yes.”
Heeju Lim, with her youthful appearance, had only recently awakened her Mystery, so she was eager to show it off.
When she heard that a villain had boarded the bus, she immediately boasted she would catch the guy herself, only to get into an argument with the SWAT Hunter Team and waste time.
“Next, Cadet Taeseok Jo and Cadet Irina.”
The two named let out a deep sigh, as if already expecting their scores wouldn’t be good.
“Sharp wits are good. The assessment for both of you is 3 points.”
“Ah….”
“Sigh.”
Their names were called right after the 1-pointers, so it was obvious their scores wouldn’t be great either.
Still, hearing the 3 points directly didn’t feel good.
“You two, in fact, did nothing. You complied with the SWAT Hunter Team’s inspection and waited quietly until it ended. As a result, you arrived about 5 minutes early. That’s why you get the base score of 3 points.”
Neither had any complaints.
Perhaps because both were timid, they just stayed put, worried they might not arrive at the designated time if any trouble occurred.
“Next. Cadets Jiwoon An and Sora Min?”
At Munho Park’s call, the two looked startled.
They thought they had completed the mission pretty well, so it was odd their names were called when there were still six people left.
“You helped the SWAT Hunter Team directly apprehend the suspected villain and kept to the designated time, so your score is 5 points.”
“What, we actively helped the Hunter Team and only got 5 points? Does that mean the other four caught the ancestor of all hunters or something?”
Twenty-three-year-old Jiwoon An was heir to a famous guild, but since this was a place for training Jaeger secret agents, he tried to hold back his temper as much as possible.
He was always ahead of others, and never once made the wrong choice, so he couldn’t help but bristle at a middling score.
“You know the answer yourself, so what are you asking for? Like you said, you helped the SWAT Hunter Team very actively. But, did anyone say they were real? Did you confirm whether the villain was genuine?”
“Didn’t that cadet get points taken off for arguing with the Hunter Team?”
“You only didn’t lose more points because you at least suspected whether the SWAT Hunter Team was real. That could have even earned you bonus points. But neither of you bothered to check their ID properly or doubt a thing. As a Jaeger, suspicion is fundamental.”
At Munho Park’s explanation, Jiwoon An half-opened his mouth but couldn’t say a word.
“Now there’s four left? Let’s see… Next is Cadet Tae-yang Shin.”
Cadet Tae-yang Shin, whose name was called, was the one who had stolen the Hunter Team’s SUV and driven it here.
Among this batch of Jaeger cadets, Tae-yang Shin’s looks rivaled Kim Seojun’s.
He had just the right amount of cockiness, eyes that looked down on others, and a sharp gaze that gave an impression of temper.
He was the same age as Kim Seojun—twenty.
But his status was far beyond what Kim Seojun could hope to match.
The undisputed top company in Korea was ‘Han Group,’ but close behind in second place was a giant foundation.
Its name was ‘Cosmo.’
Tae-yang Shin was the son of the chairman of Cosmo Foundation.
Two years ago, he had entered the 1st Academy, only to drop out, saying there was nothing more to learn.
He then went to the US and was admitted to MPIT with excellent grades.
Even at MPIT, Tae-yang Shin was seen as a rising talent, and right before his third year, he came back to Korea during break and, after catching the eye of a Jaeger Numbering Agent, participated in this camp.
Confident in his abilities, he was sure he’d stand out at this Jaeger camp.
“Cadet Tae-yang Shin’s assessment is 8 points. Impressively, while the SWAT Hunter Team was distracted searching for the villain on the bus, you snuck out, stole their vehicle, and found your own way here. That was an excellent decision.”
Unlike with the others, Munho Park praised Tae-yang Shin’s way of handling the mission.
But Tae-yang Shin himself was not satisfied.
“An excellent decision gets 8 points?”
“Of course. The method you chose was excellent, but one thing was lacking.”
“And what’s that?”
Tae-yang Shin stared at Munho Park with blazing eyes as he said he was lacking.
“Pride. If you don’t learn to suppress your pride, you’ll never break past 8 points.”
“….”
Tae-yang Shin said nothing.
He knew Munho Park wasn’t wrong.
But Tae-yang Shin had no intention of holding back his pride.
He’d rather not be chosen as a Numbering Agent than bow his pride.
“Next, Cadets Chulmin Choi and Hwi Yang. Both of you scored a perfect 10. This is the first time in my 12 years as an instructor that two perfect scorers appeared at once.”
Though they received Munho Park’s genuine praise, neither looked happy.
Chulmin Choi looked indifferent, as if it was only natural, while Hwi Yang looked bored and uninterested.
“These two saw through the SWAT Hunter Team’s disguise. After subduing them, they called for real Hunters and wrapped things up neatly. They never exposed their abilities in the process and arrived here escorted by real SWAT Hunters. That’s why they got perfect scores.”
From Munho Park’s perspective, it was the highest praise.
But all the cadets were focused on something else, hardly reacting to Munho Park’s compliment.
What drew their attention was the evaluation of Kim Seojun, who had yet to be called.
Everyone but him had received their evaluations.
But since there were already perfect scorers, everyone was dying to know what Kim Seojun’s score would be.
Would there be a disastrous 0-pointer? Or would he fail to even enroll and get expelled?
Or, perhaps…
“Only one left, right? Cadet Kim Seojun. What do you think your assessment is?”
Instead of telling him, Munho Park asked for Kim Seojun’s own thoughts.
Kim Seojun’s answer was simple.
“If the result were bad, you wouldn’t even ask that question, would you?”
Munho Park burst out laughing at the answer.
“Hahaha! That’s true. Cadet Kim Seojun, your score is 15. You’re the first to score over 12 in the admission assessment.”
“So someone did get 12 before?”
“Yes, there was a cadet who graduated the Jaeger training camp with the best score in history.”
Munho Park looked off into the distance, reminiscing.
Just then, an instructor standing beside him coughed, bringing him back to attention.
“Oh dear, I was getting too sentimental. Anyway, the reason Cadet Kim Seojun got this incredible 15 points is simple.”
Everyone focused their attention to hear what Munho Park would say.
And then, Munho Park spoke.
“No one knows how Cadet Kim Seojun arrived here. He took the same bus as all of you, disappeared without a trace, and reappeared here. That’s why it’s 15 points.”
No one had expected that.
Not even the instructors knew how Kim Seojun arrived here.
Nine cadets’ gazes all turned to Kim Seojun at once.
“Listen well. Becoming a Jaeger agent is by no means easy. Our Jaeger’s goal is not to become a hero, but to flawlessly fulfill our given missions for the nation and its citizens.”
As Munho Park looked over the ten cadets and spoke, everyone braced themselves.
“To become a Jaeger agent—especially a Numbering Agent—you must know how to hide yourself as much as possible, always be ready to dive deep into enemy territory, and be prepared to risk your life. Breaking the enemy’s plans and stealing their secrets without a trace is also Jaeger’s goal and significance. Don’t forget this. Understood?”
“Yes! Understood!”
Seemingly satisfied with the cadets’ vigorous answer, Munho Park beamed.
“Good. Then, that’s the end of the admission ceremony. We’ll now move to the camp, where everything for the real training is ready. Everyone, board your vehicles immediately.”
With the ceremony over, Munho Park pointed to one side of the open space.
There, five SUVs were lined up in a row.
“Two per vehicle. You Jaeger wannabes aren’t going to bicker over seats like children, are you? Move quickly.”
Munho Park got into the front passenger seat of the leading vehicle, and the other instructors took the passenger seats of the rest.
The cadets hesitated for a moment.
They needed to pair up since it was two per car, but since they were all awkward with each other, no one knew what to do.
At that moment, Kim Seojun grabbed Irina’s wrist.
“What are you doing? He said to move quickly.”
“Uh? Oh.”
Kim Seojun confidently boarded the fourth vehicle with Irina.
Only then did the other cadets board the vehicles without hesitation.
Once inside, the paired cadets exchanged glances for the first time.
Munho Park watched everything through the side mirror from the front passenger seat of the first car.
Arms folded, he smirked and murmured quietly.
“They’re adapting faster than other classes. Let’s go—to the chick pen.”
Vroooom
The vehicles carrying the ten Jaeger cadets began to move swiftly down the road.
*****
The main training location for aspiring Jaegers was at the summit of Sunghak Mountain.
At just over a thousand meters above sea level, the summit of Sunghak Mountain was surprisingly dotted with old buildings that had the air of a research lab.
There were three two-story buildings that looked at least 20 or 30 years old.
A dirty vacant lot, scattered with weeds, and rusted equipment like iron bars and ladders for physical training were left neglected.
The vehicles carrying the trainee cadets drove up the unpaved road all the way to the summit.
Even so, the training center entrance was set up with barricades like a military base, making entry difficult.
As the vehicles entered through the gate, one building’s entrance noisily slid open.
Apparently, the parking lot was inside the building, so all the vehicles went in.
Inside, the building was just an empty warehouse.
When all five SUVs stopped atop five circles drawn at the warehouse center—
Beeeep
There was the sound of a switch being pressed,
Boom.
The entire floor beneath the vehicles began descending at once.
Wuuuuuuung
The warehouse floor was a huge elevator.
As the outside view changed to dark metallic walls, Munho Park’s voice flowed from the speakers installed in every car.
-This is the Jaeger Camp, the flower and the heart of Jaeger, where you’ll spend the next month. It’ll take about ten minutes to reach the main building, so if you’re curious about anything, ask the instructors riding with you.
No sooner had Munho Park finished than Irina, who sat next to Jinhyeok, questioned the instructor in the passenger seat.
“Can you tell me how many Jaeger agents are here?”
“Hmm. I don’t know exactly, but I’d guess about 60 Jaeger agents. There are 360 people in total. Aside from the Jaeger agents, everyone else is soldiers. There’s a military unit stationed here to protect this place.”
“That’s more than I expected. Are all the Jaeger agents here regular agents? Are there any Numbering Agents?”
“Right now, probably just regular agents. Numbering Agents are always busy.”
“Ah… I see.”
Irina looked very disappointed at the news there were no Numbering Agents.
“In about two weeks, you’ll get to meet them. They’re looking forward to this class too, and said they’d like to personally lead your training.”
“Really? So we’ll see them in two weeks?”
“Sure. Would I lie to you? Hahaha.”
The instructor riding with Kim Seojun and Irina had quite an easy-going personality.
Even when Irina peppered him with questions, he answered them all without the slightest sign of annoyance.
Then, all of a sudden—
Clunk
The descending floor jolted slightly, and the previously pitch-black walls disappeared, revealing a vast underground space.
On three sides of the huge square elevator structure where the cars stood, there was a massive cavern.
Only the rear wall remained; the front and both sides opened onto the cavern.
The elevator was quickly descending from the center of one side of the cavern.
The cavern’s size was almost unimaginable.
It seemed like the entire Sunghak Mountain had been hollowed out.
The height was at least 50 meters, and even just one side appeared to be over 500 meters long.
And that was not all.
Below, the cavern was packed with enormous equipment and structures.
On one side were the latest tactical armored vehicles and all kinds of vehicles, as well as some extremely unique flying craft.
Next to that was a miniature city, forest, beach, and fields, clearly built for tactical training.
And in the most remote corner was a huge prison-like structure made of iron bars, clearly built to contain monsters.
“Unbelievable…”
Irina let out a gasp of amazement.
Who would have guessed that under those shabby buildings was such a state-of-the-art facility?
“There’s still more to surprise you.”
The elevator was almost to the cavern floor.
But it didn’t stop.
It went right past the cavern floor, descending even deeper.
And the scene outside the window—
There was yet another cavern.
Even larger than the one they had just seen.