Chapter 11: The 2.5-to-3 Upgrade

The three names called out by the Personnel Staff Director were the top scorers in this promotion exam.

First place was Kim Hyun-joon, second was Park Ye-rin, and third was Kim Kwang-tae.

"There. Move a little more to the side. That's it."

"Private Park Ye-rin, stay right there. Private Kim Kwang-tae, just a little more to the right."

"Yes!"

The top scorers of the promotion exam lined up, adjusting their spacing from the left as the instructor directed.

Seeing a soldier holding a camera in the back, it seemed they intended to take a commemorative photo.

"The three soldiers standing on the stage today have all shown outstanding performance in this promotion exam."

Colonel Kim Young-gil offered words of encouragement for their continued progress, and then, starting with Kim Hyun-joon's insignia, replaced them one by one.

"Private First Class! Kim Hyun-joon!"

"Private First Class! Park Ye-rin!"

"Private First Class! Kim Kwang-tae!"

For the other privates, this was the end, but things were different for the top scorers.

Next to their new rank insignias, a badge in the shape of the Hunter Headquarters mark was added.

First place received gold, second place silver, third place bronze.

‘I actually took first place.’

Kim Hyun-joon looked at the gold badge next to his insignia and grinned.

To an ordinary person, it might look like a cheap, tacky badge, but to him, it was more valuable than pure gold.

First place in the promotion exam.

Before regression, that was something he couldn’t even dare to imagine.

Let alone being a top scorer, he’d barely scraped by, passing the test with difficulty.

But this time, he’d even overtaken Private First Class Park Ye-rin, who was called an elite, and taken first place.

Compared to before regression, his promotion was over six months faster.

The effort he’d put in, even cutting down on sleep, hadn’t been wasted.

‘It feels like I’m overreacting for getting just one more bar…’

Still, today was undeniably special.

Of course, all of this was thanks to the hidden trait.

There was a reason why the seniors always parroted that birth and traits were important.

And this was despite not even fully utilizing his hidden trait yet.

‘I wonder how much my performance score factored into this.’

He started to feel a delusion that he might make it to Corporal in no time.

Of course, that really was just a delusion.

There’s a wall between Private First Class and Corporal.

He decided not to get complacent.

"This concludes the promotion exam."

Time passed, and the promotion exam came to an end.

The soldiers boarded the return buses according to their guiding officers' instructions.

"Kim Hyun-joon, right? I won’t lose next time."

As Kim Hyun-joon was about to get on the bus, someone spoke to him.

He turned his head and saw Private First Class Park Ye-rin with a sulky expression.

As expected of the division commander’s daughter, it seemed she could move around alone... or not.

Behind her was a guiding officer from the Black Horse Unit, looking rather troubled.

"I’m going to take first place again next time."

With the relaxed confidence of a victor, Kim Hyun-joon boarded the bus, giving a casual wave as a bonus.

"...So full of himself."

Private First Class Park Ye-rin stared at the bus leaving Hunter Headquarters for a while, then turned away.

And she made sure to remember the name Kim Hyun-joon.

---

At the same time.

Viryong Unit Battalion Commander’s Office.

Colonel Woo Hyun-seok, sitting in his chair, received a call on his smartphone.

— Loyalty! This is Sergeant First Class Yoo Hyun-tae, who was in charge of guiding the soldiers in the promotion exam!

"Alright. How did the exam go?"

— Private First Class Kim Hyun-joon took first place as the top scorer in the promotion exam.

"First place?"

— Yes, sir.

Colonel Woo Hyun-seok double-checked the news several times before hanging up.

"Hahaha! I knew Kim Hyun-joon was something else!"

Honestly, he hadn’t expected first place, or even for Kim Hyun-joon to be a top scorer.

As long as he got promoted smoothly, that was enough.

But against all expectations, he’d taken first place.

Even beating Private First Class Park Ye-rin, the daughter of the Black Horse Unit’s division commander.

"How many years has it been since a soldier from our unit took first in the promotion exam…"

Even if it was just a promotion exam for privates, first place wasn’t a light achievement.

Especially since it was the exam held at Hunter Headquarters.

And he’d even beaten Private First Class Park Ye-rin, the elite of the Black Horse Unit, making it all the more remarkable.

"He’s still just a Private First Class, so I’ll have to keep an eye on him…"

Colonel Woo Hyun-seok felt his hands itching.

He wanted to push Kim Hyun-joon even further.

But for now, it was too soon.

Even getting the promotion exam moved up for him had been pushing it.

"It was worth the effort."

Though some officers tried to stop him, Colonel Woo Hyun-seok trusted his instincts and gave Kim Hyun-joon the chance.

And as if in return, Kim Hyun-joon took first place in the promotion exam.

"Good kid."

There wasn’t anything special happening tomorrow, so maybe he’d organize a company dinner.

It was a sudden thought.

---

The next day.

From the morning, Viryong Unit was in an uproar.

— This is the duty officer broadcasting. At 12:00 today, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Company, 3rd Platoon will have a company dinner. All personnel are to gather in front of the drill field on time.

It was because there was suddenly an announcement about a company dinner for the 3rd Platoon.

"What? 3rd Platoon dinner? For real?"

"Does that mean we’re off duty today?"

"Where’s Kim Hyun-joon! I heard he took first in the promotion exam? Why didn’t you tell us?"

"Kim Hyun-joon! You amazing bastard!"

The seniors, having only just heard about his promotion, rushed to Kim Hyun-joon and shook his shoulders vigorously.

"Private First Class Kim Hyun-joon! It was just luck!"

"Would luck alone get you first place? Wow, this guy’s a real ace."

"I told you, when he took down that irregular monster last time, he was already ace material."

"How long has it even been since you transferred in as a Private, and you’re already a Private First Class?"

The seniors, excited like children, bounced around in glee.

Their downtrodden attitude from earlier was already a thing of the past.

"But what’s that in your hand?"

"Corporal Kang Cheol-soo told me to clean his boots, so I was about to head outside."

"Hey, put that down. Kang Cheol-soo, you bastard! Clean them yourself!"

"Why’re you yelling at me all of a sudden?"

"If you have a conscience, you shouldn’t be making him clean your boots, man."

They even started scolding Corporal Kang Cheol-soo.

"Hey. You go clean them."

"Private First Class! Son Seok-joon! Understood!"

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere, Corporal Kang Cheol-soo ended up tossing his boots to another junior.

‘Cheol-soo, got a stomachache from the morning, huh?’

Kim Hyun-joon had known it all along.

He’d seen the look on Cheol-soo’s face when he noticed the Private First Class insignia.

That’s why he’d been nitpicking, telling him to clean his boots for no reason that morning.

‘Guess he really thought I’d fail.’

But what now?

He’d beaten even the elite from the Black Horse Unit and taken first place.

Thanks to that, the battalion commander was in such a good mood that he allowed a company dinner even on a weekday.

‘Because of me, everyone gets off duty and even gets a dinner, so cheer up, Cheol-soo.’

Seeing Corporal Kang Cheol-soo’s crumpled face, Kim Hyun-joon felt all his fatigue from yesterday melt away.

---

A little before 12:10 p.m.

The 3rd Platoon soldiers gathered in front of the drill field in their activity uniforms.

"Hey! You guys going to conquer a dungeon or something?"

"Run yourselves ragged!"

"We’re off to a company dinner~ Nya-nya-nya-nya!"

The senior soldiers teased those assigned to work details or dungeon raids.

No matter how old they got, at twenty, they were still kids at heart.

"You punks, why’re you teasing the ones going for dungeon raids? You think I’m throwing this dinner because I like you?"

At that moment, Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo, the 3rd Platoon leader, showed up and told the seniors to cut it out.

"The only reason you’re getting a company dinner today is thanks to Private First Class Kim Hyun-joon. You all know the battalion commander never allows company dinners on weekdays, right?"

"Yes, sir!"

"This is all because Hyun-joon took first place in the promotion exam. Be good to your juniors."

"Yes, sir!"

"Your voices only get loud at times like this. We’re having pork belly and somaek today, so get things set up properly."

The platoon erupted in cheers at the mention of pork belly and somaek.

The reason soldiers went wild for company dinners was because drinking was allowed.

In the Hunter Forces, drinking was generally prohibited unless it was a special occasion.

No one knew when or what kind of situation might occur.

If a monster suddenly appeared and a soldier was drunk, could he fight properly?

So after duty, soldiers would sometimes try to cheer themselves up with non-alcoholic beer from the PX.

"Hey, hey. Hyun-joon. Put that down."

As Kim Hyun-joon was moving chairs and tables to prepare for the dinner, the seniors stopped him themselves.

"Since we’re having this dinner thanks to you, you shouldn’t be carrying anything heavy. Just hold onto this."

What the seniors pointed to was a plastic bag full of pork belly.

Honestly, how heavy could a plastic chair be?

The seniors were just in a good mood.

"Yes! Thank you!"

Kim Hyun-joon, in a good mood from taking first place in the promotion exam, decided to go along with it and put the chair down.

‘Still the youngest, even as a Private First Class, but at least my pay went up.’

His base salary, which had been 2.5 million won, jumped to 3 million after his promotion.

Just by adding one more bar, the leading digit changed.

‘They say even corporals can fly when there’s booze involved.’

The dinner setup was finished in no time.

All thanks to the seniors’ experience and quickness.

"If only you worked this fast during training. Whenever there’s booze, you guys lose your minds."

The platoon leader clicked his tongue a few times and started putting meat on the grill.

"Don’t drink too much. You know what happens if tomorrow’s duty is affected, right? There won’t be a second dinner."

"Yes, sir!"

"If I catch you making pancakes on the floor, I’ll kill you myself. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"You only answer well."

And so began the full-fledged company dinner.

"For Kim Hyun-joon!"

"For him!"

With the sizzling meat, paper cups clinked together in a toast.

"Hyun-joon. Since you took the exam yesterday, you saw Park Ye-rin, right?"

"Yes, I did."

"I hear she’s really pretty. Is she, really?"

As the drinks flowed and the atmosphere warmed up, the seniors started chatting up Kim Hyun-joon one by one.

"In my opinion, she’s prettier than an idol."

"Wow… that pretty?"

"It’s a real waste for her to be in the Hunter Forces."

But in the end, they never asked about the exam—just girl talk, mostly.

Were there any pretty girls?

How pretty was Private First Class Park Ye-rin, and so on.

"Ugh. Why do you guys only talk about girls? You’re like wolves."

As the talk didn’t seem to end, Private First Class Jung Ye-na slipped into the conversation.

"So, Hyun-joon. Is Park Ye-rin prettier than me?"

"Um… I’m not sure. It’s hard to say."

Kim Hyun-joon, who was about to answer ‘yes’ without hesitation, quickly changed his response.

It felt like he shouldn’t say it straight out.

"You hear that? I get asked for my number when I go out too, you know?"

"Hmm. Is that so."

"Comparing yourself to Park Ye-rin? Where’s your conscience?"

"What’s wrong with me? I was really popular in high school!"

Unable to hold back, Private First Class Jung Ye-na and the corporals started bickering.

Maybe it was the drinks, but everyone was chattier than usual.

‘This is the difference between the regular military and the Hunter Forces. The regular military is all men.’

Seeing one Private First Class and two corporals squabbling made Kim Hyun-joon laugh.

These kinds of scenes could only happen because men and women lived together in the unit.

Even among the same platoon, the men tended to be more gentle with the women.

"You’re out of booze, so this is the last of it. Clean up properly after, okay?"

In the thick of the lively atmosphere, the platoon leader got up, saying he had something to take care of.

"Don’t go back to the barracks before duty hours end. If you get caught, you’re dead."

"Yes, sir."

He told them to spend the remaining time doing combat sports or physical training, then left the base.

The drinking session didn’t even last an hour before it ended.

They’d gone through the whole box of booze, after all.

‘Just how much do they love drinking?’

Kim Hyun-joon clicked his tongue inwardly, watching the seniors passed out drunk.

They must have really been craving alcohol to drink nonstop like that.

‘Looks like the dinner is pretty much over, and since there’s time left, maybe I should do some training.’

As Kim Hyun-joon started to clean up, someone grabbed his arm.

"Hyun-joon. The party’s not over yet—why are you cleaning up already?"

It was Private First Class Jung Ye-na.