Chapter 03: Stop Poking, Start Piercing

“Did everyone sleep well?”

“Yes!”

“Nothing unusual?”

“Yes! That’s right!”

“Good. Kill a lot of monsters today.”

Morning roll call.

The duty officer briefly checked the soldiers’ conditions.

Then came calisthenics and a jog.

There wasn’t much difference between a regular army or the Hunter Army during roll call.

Except for the harsher training.

‘What’s this? Why am I not even out of breath?’

During the jog, Kim Hyun-joon realized his body felt lighter.

The morning run for the Hunter Army was over 10km.

No matter how awakened you were, running that distance at speed without rest should leave anyone gasping for breath.

But he didn’t even feel winded—he felt like he could run even farther.

‘Is this the effect of the Mana Circulation Technique?’

If it was like in the game, that would be it.

In the game, the Mana Circulation Technique made your body much tougher.

“Hey, you punks! You wanna run like that?”

“Sorry!”

“If you’re sorry, then run faster!”

“Yes!”

Glancing behind during the jog, Kim Hyun-joon saw Corporal Kang Chul-soo kicking at the juniors.

Even in the Hunter Army, violence was severely punished.

Even in the notorious Violong Unit, violence was extremely rare.

But in training situations, a certain amount was tolerated.

So Corporal Kang Chul-soo was taking advantage of that to harass his juniors.

Even though they weren’t really running that slow.

‘Before the regression, I was in there too.’

But this time, he was out in front, not lagging behind, so Corporal Kang Chul-soo’s kicks couldn’t reach him.

‘That’s right. Keep living like that. I’ll keep moving ahead.’

After finishing the run and returning to the unit, the duty officer beckoned for Kim Hyun-joon to come over.

“Private Kim Hyun-joon!”

“Yeah. Hyun-joon, I heard you got mana?”

“Yes! That’s right. I got it last night!”

He hadn’t reported it yet, so someone in the barracks must have done it first.

Most likely, it was Sergeant Yoon Sung-jin, the magic soldier.

“Is that so? Not many of the new privates this round are worth much, but at least we’ve got one! You’re excused from today’s duties—go see the medic for an exam.”

Only a little over half the soldiers in the Hunter Army could use mana.

And most of those were in the magic corps.

Once someone had mana, they automatically became a subject of interest.

“What? He got mana?”

“Can someone really just get mana overnight?”

“Man, I’m so jealous.”

All eyes turned to Kim Hyun-joon at the news.

Jealous looks, and some with envy.

Compared to the senior privates and corporals with no mana, it was natural they’d be jealous that a mere private had awakened so soon.

“That punk says he’s got mana? Is he just making it up to skip duties?”

Corporal Kang Chul-soo tried to protest, but clamped his mouth shut at the sound next to him.

Because—

“I checked and reported it. You got a problem?”

It was Sergeant Yoon Sung-jin’s curt remark.

“No, sir. I didn’t know.”

No matter how much of a devil you are, you’re still just a corporal.

You can’t mess with a sergeant.

Especially not when it’s Sergeant Yoon Sung-jin, the magic soldier with a bright future.

Corporal Kang Chul-soo, properly cowed, hurried off to eat breakfast.

‘Chul-soo, even after making corporal you still have no sense.’

After receiving some instructions from the duty officer, Kim Hyun-joon was excused from the day’s duties.

A private, skipping out on duties without even worrying about his seniors.

His mouth practically curled up in a smile.

The medical office was in the building next to the personal training room.

“Salute! Private Kim Hyun-joon reporting!”

“Ah, you’re the one who awakened mana in a day?”

When Kim Hyun-joon entered with a knock, the medic who had been lounging in his chair straightened up.

The man with bleached blond hair was Captain Choi Soo-ho.

The medic of the Violong Unit.

‘…Heard he got called out so many times for improper dress.’

His uniform was tossed carelessly in a corner.

He was wearing casual clothes more suitable for lounging at home.

Just a white lab coat thrown over the top.

He could get away with it only because he was a medic.

Even the army couldn’t be strict with a medic possessing holy attributes.

“You’re the first I’ve seen who got mana in a single day. Go lie down over there.”

“Yes, sir.”

After lying down on a cot, Choi Soo-ho wheeled over some equipment.

Then, holding a device like a giant magnifying glass, he inspected Kim Hyun-joon’s body.

“Your mana hole’s formed quite stably. If it were a circle, you’d have been a magic soldier. Too bad.”

“I’m just grateful to have a mana hole at all.”

“Don’t be so bland. But your mana is pretty unique. You see this wavelength?”

He pointed to the monitor as if showing off… but honestly, Kim Hyun-joon couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

“From the wavelength, you can guess the nature of the mana. It’s different for every hunter. Hyun-joon, your wavelength….”

Captain Choi Soo-ho peered at the monitor with a serious expression.

Was something wrong?

Just as Kim Hyun-joon started to worry—

“It’s a type I’ve never seen before, so I have no idea.”

“Ah… I see.”

It was nothing after all.

It made sense, since he’d acquired the mana hole as a hidden trait.

“Examination’s over, but can I check your body out more? That unique mana is tickling my researcher’s curiosity.”

He sounded oddly threatening as he muttered about how tough the new soldiers were these days.

Though it was meant as a joke.

“I’m fine, sir. Then I’ll be going! Salute!”

“Running off just ‘cause I teased you? Go on.”

After Kim Hyun-joon left, Choi Soo-ho’s gaze grew serious.

He looked intently at the chart again.

“So it’s Kim Hyun-joon, huh? I think this guy’s gonna be big.”

The sticky mana settled in Kim Hyun-joon’s body was truly a new type.

So there was almost no information about it.

Even so, there was something he could tell.

Kim Hyun-joon’s mana was the strongest he’d ever seen.

But Choi Soo-ho didn’t bother telling him that.

A private still needed to learn discipline—no need to fill his head with hot air already.

‘Thought skipping duties meant I could relax.’

Kim Hyun-joon ended up dragged around from the medic to the officers all day.

Various questionnaires, and questions about whether anyone in his family or relatives had awakened mana.

— Normally we wouldn’t do all this, but since you awakened mana in a day, Hyun-joon, it’s a special case.

It was only after the work day ended that he could return to the barracks.

“Hyun-joon, you saw the medic, right? Is it really true you got mana?”

“What’s your secret? Did you feel anything special before awakening?”

“Did you take some expensive elixir or something?”

As soon as he returned, the seniors crowded around.

All of them were senior privates or corporals with no mana.

‘Didn’t expect this much attention for awakening mana.’

Their expressions were all serious.

It was understandable.

This was about the time they’d start worrying about their futures.

Even after being discharged from the Hunter Army, unless you gave up the path, mana would always be a shadow on your record.

There were even rumors that major guilds would reject applicants without mana at the document stage.

“It just happened all of a sudden. I felt my body getting warm.”

He had no intention of telling the truth to anyone.

After all, he’d gotten the hidden trait by regressing—why would he share it?

But since their faces looked so serious, he at least described the feeling he’d had that day.

The sense of warmth was real.

‘Chul-soo, your face looks even worse than usual today.’

Turning to look, Corporal Kang Chul-soo was sitting on his bunk, face full of complaints.

He was obviously annoyed that Kim Hyun-joon had awakened mana.

‘Looks like he wants to harass me, but with all the other seniors crowding me, he can’t do a thing.’

After answering the seniors’ questions, Kim Hyun-joon quickly changed into his activity uniform and left the barracks.

Saying he was off to the personal training room.

He didn’t give Corporal Kang Chul-soo a chance to stop him.

“Let’s try the tutorial today.”

Inside the personal training room.

Kim Hyun-joon brought up his trait window and selected the tutorial option.

[Are you ready to become a Spearman?]

[Do you believe you have the qualities of a Spearman?]

[Why do you wish to become a Spearman?]

He went through the appearing questions, and then a target popped up before his eyes.

[We will now test your qualifications. Please attack the target with your spear.]

Kim Hyun-joon, familiar with the process, took a practice spear from the weapon locker.

There was no need to doubt the hidden trait anymore.

‘Just the fact that I formed a mana hole proves this trait is real.’

Even today, so many soldiers had been shocked.

How could a private awaken a mana hole overnight?

The thought made him laugh.

Kang Chul-soo didn’t have mana, after all.

Returning with the practice spear, he got into position.

His most familiar stance: the thrust.

From private to sergeant, he’d always been confident in his thrust.

He must’ve killed hundreds—no, thousands—of goblins with a thrust.

Swish!

With his form set, he thrust the spear hard at the target.

[That was a truly pathetic thrust!]

Confident in his move, Kim Hyun-joon was struck by the system’s harsh judgment.

[You have none of the basics down. You’re just poking the spear forward with no concept!]

[We don’t see any qualities of a Spearman, but that’s fine!]

After those blunt blows of truth, he felt dizzy for a moment.

Was all his training so far worthless?

‘…Come to think of it, the instructor who taught me spear technique as a private was actually a sword instructor.’

That’s right.

Proper spear instructors were rare, only found at the Hunter HQ.

It was understandable, since spear mastery was tough and tricky.

He’d started off on the wrong foot from the beginning.

But that was fine.

Now he had a chance to redo that first step.

[The basics of spear technique are Lan (攔), Na (拿), and Chal (扎).]

The tutorial system began explaining kindly.

Lan: turning the spear outward to push away.

Na: turning it inward to draw in.

Chal: thrusting as a counterattack.

He understood those concepts.

But in the Violong Unit, where there was no real spear instructor, actually training Lan, Na, and Chal was practically impossible.

Trying to train alone had never worked out.

[Now, repeat Lan, Na, and Chal with the correct form, 100 times each.]

[Lan (攔) 0/100]

[Na (拿) 0/100]

[Chal (扎) 0/100]

As he wondered if he could manage it, a hologram appeared before his eyes.

It was a hologram of an adult male, about his height.

Holding a spear, the hologram swung it as if to demonstrate.

Slowly, not hurried.

“So I’m supposed to copy that.”

This wasn’t in the game he used to play.

There, with a single click, the protagonist mastered it in a second.

“Pretty considerate.”

Recalling the hologram’s demonstration, Kim Hyun-joon repeated Lan, Na, and Chal.

The motions were awkward, broken up, clumsy.

[Lan (攔) 0/100]

[Na (拿) 0/100]

[Chal (扎) 0/100]

Of course, the count didn’t increase.

If the form wasn’t right, it wouldn’t count.

“…Can I even finish this today?”

That thought crossed his mind, but instead, Kim Hyun-joon was smiling.

Because now he was sure he could learn real spear technique.

Even if it was a hidden trait teaching him instead of a person—so what?

Just think of it as taking the latest online class.