Chapter 09: First Place is the New Normal

“I will now begin the promotion test.”

The examiner’s brief explanation came to an end, and the test officially began.

The first test item was physical endurance.

If you complete the training course within the designated time, you pass.

Starting from the outskirts of Hunter Headquarters, the course circled all the way to a steep hill, totaling about 30km.

You had to finish 30km within 50 minutes.

That meant running fast without a break.

Of course, there was an exception here.

If you were a Magic Trooper, you passed as long as you finished 30km within 80 minutes.

The passing criteria for strength and agility were also lower than those for other combat units.

Depending on the unit a soldier belonged to, the passing criteria differed slightly.

Some might complain about these different standards, but in exchange, the magic evaluation for Magic Troopers was extremely strict.

Because of this, there weren’t many soldiers who complained about the grading method.

“Everyone, make sure to warm up thoroughly!”

“Yes, sir!”

Ten minutes before the test.

While the Privates were warming up in front of the starting point, murmurs began to rise among them.

‘Is that Private Park Ye-rin?’

‘I heard from someone in the Black Horse Division that she’s as pretty as an idol, but I thought he was exaggerating.’

‘She’s even better than most idols.’

‘Isn’t the Black Horse Division Commander famous for being handsome too? I guess genes really do matter.’

‘Phew. I don’t even dare talk to her.’

The attention was focused on Private Park Ye-rin.

It was only natural.

The Division Commander’s daughter taking the test would be of interest to the soldiers, not to mention her striking appearance.

On top of that, her snow-white hair, reaching down to her shoulders, drew even more attention.

Private Park Ye-rin seemed used to this kind of situation and warmed up without much care.

‘She looks even better in person than in photos.’

That was Kim Hyun-joon’s assessment of Private Park Ye-rin.

‘If the unit allowed that white hair, it must be a side effect of her Trait.’

That was the end of his interest in appearances.

‘I want to beat her at least once.’

Kim Hyun-joon was more fired up by the desire to defeat a so-called elite soldier.

“From the first row, get ready to depart on my signal!”

“Yes, sir!”

Soon after, the promotion test truly began.

At the examiner’s whistle, the Privates sprinted forward.

Kim Hyun-joon, who was in the 10th row, pushed ahead as soon as they started and quickly overtook the others.

Before long, he was leading the pack.

‘Good. I can handle this.’

With such a long distance, pacing was important, but Kim Hyun-joon could manage.

His well-trained stamina was the reason.

He maintained the lead until they passed the halfway point.

Change occurred at the halfway mark.

Looking back, he saw Private Park Ye-rin gradually closing the gap between them.

‘What’s this? Isn’t she a Magic Trooper? Is this right?’

The sticker on her uniform showed she was indeed a Magic Trooper.

Yet Private Park Ye-rin seemed to have better stamina than most combat troops.

‘Magic Troopers usually lag behind others in basic stats.’

The same went for strength and agility.

Because of their specialization, Magic Troopers’ stats were focused on mana, and their training was geared toward magic.

It was a natural phenomenon.

But Private Park Ye-rin, as if it was nothing special, kept closing the distance.

‘You have to be at least that good to go from Private to Captain.’

Kim Hyun-joon sped up even more.

His breath came heavier.

His muscles began to scream.

Still, he didn’t stop.

He wanted to defeat the soldier everyone called elite.

The gap, which seemed to be closing, widened again, and soon Kim Hyun-joon disappeared entirely from Park Ye-rin’s view.

‘…Who is he?’

Meanwhile.

Private Park Ye-rin was slightly flustered by the current situation.

Among the Privates, she was sure there was no one who could beat her.

Yet now, she was already falling behind another Private.

Of course, there was a reason she was so confident she would take first place in this promotion test.

She had awakened her powers from a young age and taken rare elixirs.

Furthermore, thanks to starting magic education right after awakening and all kinds of training, her average stats were high.

Her level was about to reach 3.

Despite being a mage, her physical ability was said to be close to a Senior Private’s.

Yet, that assessment felt hollow—she couldn’t even catch up to a single Private.

‘Stamina won’t cut it. I’ll stick with this pace.’

Private Park Ye-rin decided it was impossible to catch up by speeding up, so she kept her pace.

Stamina was her weakest area.

She could make up for it in the next test.

***

As soon as the endurance test ended, Privates who failed to meet the standards dropped out in droves.

It wasn’t uncommon to see soldiers dropping out, given the tougher test criteria.

“Soldiers who failed the test, follow the instructor’s orders.”

For the promotion test, failing even one category meant failing overall.

After just one stamina test, nearly 30% of the Privates had dropped out.

“Ah… Why did the test have to get so hard when it’s my turn?”

“Why is it so tough just to lose the Private badge?”

Privates left Hunter Headquarters with dazed expressions.

Their supervisors didn’t scold them too harshly.

Even the officers could see this test wasn’t easy.

“Soldiers, follow the instructor’s directions to the next test site.”

Soon, those who passed the endurance test rested briefly before moving on.

The next test was strength.

In an indoor facility, they had to push a machine modeled after a monster as hard as possible.

‘I almost got in big trouble here before regression.’

Kim Hyun-joon had nearly failed the strength test before he regressed.

The robot, modeled after a goblin, moved around unpredictably.

And it was heavy and strong, not easy to push at all.

“If you push that machine to the designated line within the time limit, you pass. If your foot crosses the red line, you fail immediately, so be careful.”

After the examiner’s explanation, the Privates entered the box-shaped facility one by one.

The inside was covered with transparent glass, so everyone could watch the test from outside.

‘This looks doable.’

‘Right. I really thought I’d die during the stamina test.’

The Privates chatted quietly, thinking this test would be manageable.

“Ughhh!”

“Come on… Move already!”

Of course, it wasn’t that easy.

Once the test started, not many managed to push the goblin robot properly.

Some couldn’t even push it to the line within the time limit.

‘You have to drag that robot to the line and then push, but it never stays still.’

Having experienced this test before regression, Kim Hyun-joon knew the struggle well.

Just dragging it to the line took more effort than expected.

While many failed, a successful candidate finally appeared.

“Private Park Ye-rin, pass.”

She had easily pushed the machine beyond the designated line.

And in just 1 minute and 30 seconds.

In fact, she didn’t just meet the Magic Trooper standard; she even exceeded the regular soldiers’ standard.

‘Isn’t she a Magic Trooper? Why is her strength so high?’

‘I heard she got 2nd in the stamina test, too.’

‘Is this normal for a Magic Trooper? The average for regular soldiers is 3 minutes and 30 seconds.’

While the soldiers whispered, the examiner called the next name.

“Private Kim Hyun-joon! Get ready.”

“Yes, sir!”

Coincidentally, Kim Hyun-joon was next.

“Hey. Good timing.”

As he entered the testing area and saw the machine, Kim Hyun-joon grinned at the goblin robot.

The very one that had tormented him so much before regression.

This time, he was determined to show his true strength.

[4:59]

As soon as the signal sounded and he saw the timer start counting down, he closed in on the moving machine.

He grabbed it by the side and pushed it to the starting line.

Creak. Creak.

The goblin robot struggled, but it couldn’t resist Kim Hyun-joon’s strength.

‘I just had a Power Elixir recently. That’s not enough to stop me.’

Compared to before regression, his overwhelming stats now made it easy to push the robot.

“Private Kim Hyun-joon, pass. Well done.”

The result was a dominating first place.

He pushed the goblin robot all the way to the end of the scoring line.

On top of that, he had the fastest time among all the Privates.

Out of the five-minute time limit, he only needed 40 seconds.

The examiner even praised Kim Hyun-joon’s relaxed manner.

Clap, clap, clap.

When Kim Hyun-joon returned to his spot, the other Privates all started clapping as if on cue.

‘What’s this? Is it that impressive?’

Maybe it was because the examiner praised him.

He felt a little embarrassed, but not bad.

‘Kim Hyun-joon…’

Meanwhile.

Private Park Ye-rin only pretended to clap and stared quietly at Kim Hyun-joon.

Once could be a fluke, but she had now lost first place twice.

Moreover, this latest test saw Kim Hyun-joon set a new record among Privates.

‘I was supposed to be first.’

She was sure she would come first, but things weren’t going her way.

A slight crack began to form in Private Park Ye-rin’s pride.

No one else would know, but for her, this was a big deal.

Her upbringing had made her pride especially strong.

‘I won’t lose next time.’

Without even realizing it, Kim Hyun-joon had become Park Ye-rin’s rival.

Likewise, Park Ye-rin had become Kim Hyun-joon’s rival without him even knowing.

***

‘Lost again…’

The agility test that followed also ended with Kim Hyun-joon in first place and Park Ye-rin in second.

The test was to dodge 10 rubber arrows shot suddenly by an instructor from the archery unit; Kim Hyun-joon dodged nine, taking first place.

Park Ye-rin dodged eight and took second.

From stamina, to strength, to agility—second place in them all.

In the mana test, Park Ye-rin scored overwhelmingly high and claimed first, but she felt no particular excitement.

For a Magic Trooper like her, first place in the mana test was expected.

Besides, for units other than Magic Troopers, the mana test wasn’t very important.

Since there weren’t many soldiers who could use mana, the scoring ratio had been revised several times.

‘Kim Hyun-joon… He’s not on the level of a Private.’

From the strength test onward, Park Ye-rin felt something unusual about Kim Hyun-joon.

After going through the agility and mana tests, her suspicion became certainty.

Kim Hyun-joon was no ordinary Private.

He had even used mana.

‘Did he awaken at a young age like me? Or does he have some kind of special Trait?’

For that, he didn’t seem very skilled at using mana.

‘I’ll think about it later.’

Park Ye-rin shook off her thoughts.

The test wasn’t over yet.

***

A break was given before the practical test.

The promotion test, which had started in the morning, was now reaching its final stage.

“Hyun-joon. You were flying out there today.”

The supervising officer, who had looked completely disinterested earlier in the morning, now beamed at Kim Hyun-joon.

“The battalion commander already knows you came first in the stamina, strength, and agility tests.”

Because there had hardly ever been an outstanding candidate from the Wyvern Battalion in a promotion test, both the commander and the supervisor were excited.

They hoped this time the battalion might finally have a top candidate.

“I was in good condition today. I’ll aim for first in the practical test too.”

“Just because you feel good doesn’t mean you’ll always come first, you rascal. You’ve done well so far, so don’t hurt yourself trying too hard.”

After patting his shoulder a few times, the supervisor left, grinning from ear to ear.

‘If the sergeant’s this happy, the battalion commander must be thrilled.’

If he could claim first in the practical test as well, how pleased would they be?

Of course, regardless of the officers’ reactions, Kim Hyun-joon planned to give his all until the very end of the test.