Chapter 14: Jung Ye-na’s Ledger

The dungeon raid, with Kim Hyun-joon at the center, was underway.

Thanks to the support of the two Shield Bearers, it was much easier to take down the monsters.

The Shield Bearers did their best to block the attacks of the Paralysis Slimes.

They even knew to fall back when he gripped his spear and used his skill.

Because of this, he had more stamina left than he’d expected.

‘This skill is even better than I thought.’

Of course, the skill played a big part too.

Thanks to Spiral Slash’s wide attack range and powerful force, he could wipe out a whole group of Paralysis Slimes in a single strike.

‘If I didn’t have the skill, there’s no way I could have done this.’

With his current level of spear technique, he’d barely be able to imitate it.

It was another moment when he realized just how great the skill’s correction was.

‘Now I understand why people praise Shield Bearers so much.’

Before his regression, he’d never had the chance to raid a dungeon with Shield Bearers.

There were a couple reasons: first, there simply weren’t many Shield Bearers.

Second, other squads or companies always tried to recruit them as mercenaries.

Which meant that a spear soldier with no real skill, like Kim Hyun-joon, never had a chance to join.

‘Reliable, really reliable.’

At this rate, getting to the end of the dungeon wouldn’t be impossible.

As the raid progressed,

“I think I can do it too!”

“I want to try as well!”

Two Sword Soldiers, who’d been waiting in the back, bravely stepped forward.

Was it because Kim Hyun-joon was taking down the Paralysis Slimes so easily?

Or maybe they were jealous he was monopolizing all the monsters.

“It’s not as easy as it looks. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Yes!”

Since it was true that Kim Hyun-joon had been dealing with all the monsters alone, as a superior, he couldn’t just refuse them.

“Gahk!”

“Ugh-urk!”

Fighting one at a time and fighting three at once are two completely different things.

The two Sword Soldiers who’d confidently rushed forward were soon dragged back by the Shield Bearers.

They’d been hit by the poison of the Paralysis Slimes.

“Stay still! I have an antidote potion, so calm down!”

Thanks to the quick action of the officer, there was no serious problem.

‘Did they really think it’d be that easy? Even I have to focus.’

Kim Hyun-joon turned his head, watching the Sword Soldiers cough as they lay on the ground.

How easy must he have made it look for the Sword Soldiers, who’d been nervous at first, to try and step up like that?

In the end, he benefited by being able to gulp down all the experience points.

[You have slain a monster.]

[You have slain a monster and obtained 15 Gold.]

[You have slain a monster.]

[You have slain a monster and obtained 12 Gold.]

[The dungeon has been cleared.]

After calming the Sword Soldiers, the raid continued and finally ended after taking down six more Paralysis Slimes.

[Your level has increased.]

[All your stats have increased due to your level up!]

A string of holograms appeared before his eyes.

Kim Hyun-joon quietly curled up his lips in a smile.

Because he’d practically monopolized the Paralysis Slimes from the middle onward, his level had risen.

‘I’ve already leveled up? Sweet, so sweet.’

He hadn’t expected at all that he’d level up in this raid.

There usually weren’t many chances for a mercenary, filling in for another squad’s vacancy, to actually take down monsters.

He’d thought he’d be satisfied if he managed to get three or so.

‘But I think I took down ten on my own.’

An unexpected opportunity allowed him to practically hog all the experience.

Of course, it was all thanks to the Shield Bearers’ support and pouring out mana recovery potions.

If even one of those was missing, he’d have been lucky to take down half as many.

‘I’d better skip personal training today.’

With shaking limbs, he put all his strength into making his way out of the dungeon, when—

Thwack!

Someone tapped him on the back.

“Kim Hyun-joon. You’re better than I thought, huh?”

It was Corporal Seo Jin-woo.

He was so strong that Kim Hyun-joon almost toppled forward.

“I was actually considering stopping you when you volunteered to raid on your own earlier, but now I’m glad I didn’t.”

He showered him with compliments, saying it was the first time he’d seen a Private First Class take down Paralysis Slimes so well.

The other Shield Bearers felt the same.

“Private First Class Kim Hyun-joon. Not at all. It was thanks to your support that I could move so freely.”

“We just did what we always do. We’ve never even worked together before, but you moved really well.”

Being told outright that he’d done well made him feel a bit embarrassed for no reason.

“We caught, what, sixteen Paralysis Slimes in total?”

“Something like that.”

“Why were so many Paralysis Slimes grouped up in a D-rank dungeon? Isn’t the difficulty wrong?”

“It was hard because we raided without suits, that’s all.”

“Is it fair that the Private First Class mercenary got all the experience for the Paralysis Slimes…?”

“Hey. If it wasn’t for Kim Hyun-joon, we’d have had to withdraw halfway through. Then another squad would’ve gotten all the spoils.”

Of course, there were some soldiers who were dissatisfied.

It was natural, so Kim Hyun-joon told them he’d hold back a bit next time.

‘But next time, I’m going to squeeze out even more.’

Of course, that was just for appearances.

If he got another chance, he’d scoop up every last bit.

---

“All Sword Soldiers, go see the medic and get checked out properly.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And Jin-woo, bring the guys who investigated this dungeon in front of me right now.”

“Corporal Seo Jin-woo. Understood.”

As soon as they returned to the unit, the soldiers moved according to the officer’s orders.

Judging by his expression, he seemed pretty angry.

‘If I were a sergeant, I’d be just as upset.’

The only reason today’s raid didn’t lead to a big accident was because it was a low-grade dungeon.

If it had been B-rank or higher, some soldiers could have died in the worst case.

That’s how important the dungeon investigation team’s job was.

They had to identify the dungeon’s structure, the monsters that appeared, and any other hazards before forming the raid team.

‘Completely different monsters came out than what we were prepared for.’

Because of the Paralysis Slimes’ characteristics, the Archers were useless, and the Sword Soldiers couldn’t use their full strength without suits.

“Get your heads down, you bastards!”

As soon as the investigation team stepped into the drill ground, they got a punishment drill.

The soldiers rolled around, covered in dirt from head to toe.

‘Taking a physical punishment is the better outcome. If we went strictly by the book, you’d all be in the guardhouse.’

Watching the investigation team get disciplined, Kim Hyun-joon headed back to the barracks.

---

“Kim Hyun-joon. I heard you went around cutting down Paralysis Slimes on your own?”

“You and the Shield Bearers wiped out the dungeon halfway through? Is that true?”

As soon as he entered the barracks, seniors who’d heard about the raid approached him.

It was almost unheard of for a mercenary, especially a Private First Class, to act like that.

He brushed it off, saying he’d just gotten lucky, which made the seniors sigh in disappointment.

“Can you really take down Paralysis Slimes in a row just because you’re lucky?”

“Hyun-joon must have a ton of stamina, huh?”

“Ah, I should’ve been there!”

“If you took them all down, you must have leveled up.”

He had, in fact, leveled up from the raid.

‘My level is 3. The Corporals here are all between level 3 and 4.’

Level is the most basic measure of a Hunter’s strength.

The average level for a Corporal is about 3.5.

By Hunter ranking standards, that’s around the lower end of C-rank.

‘I was still just level 1 at this point in my previous life.’

He’d never realized how hard it was to raise even a single level before his regression.

Even after making Sergeant, he struggled at level 5.

But now?

He’d gotten a rapid promotion to Private First Class, and he’d already hit level 3.

He was starting to catch up to the Corporals.

‘They say that even passing level 10 puts you at the Mugunghwa level.’

If things kept going like this, aiming for Mugunghwa wasn’t just a dream.

No, maybe he could go even higher.

‘Cheol-soo, you don’t have long left.’

Sergeant Kang Cheol-soo, who always tried to pick a fight with him, was level 4.

He was confident he could beat that guy even now.

But now wasn’t the time.

Level, stats, rank—he didn’t want to lose in any category.

He planned to completely crush him in every way.

---

“Do you know where Private First Class Jung Ye-na went?”

After finishing his duties and tidying up, Kim Hyun-joon went looking for Private First Class Jung Ye-na.

Thanks to the mercenary spot he hadn’t expected, he’d gained a lot today.

He figured he should at least say thank you.

“Private First Class Jung Ye-na went to the archer training facility.”

“Really? Thanks.”

He asked the female soldiers around and then headed to the archer training facility.

‘I heard this place is pretty nice too.’

Even before his regression, he’d been here a few times, and it was still an impressive facility.

Various moving targets equipped with artificial intelligence.

An abundance of training bows and arrows.

On top of that, a clean and sturdy interior.

‘The spear training facility is barely better than a local gym.’

Compared to that, the difference was like night and day.

It was understandable—Flying Dragon Company put a lot of emphasis on archers.

Archers always produced top results in every drill.

‘And every unit supports Mage Soldiers well, too.’

Every unit had a favored class, and it was fun to find out which.

“Aren’t you going in?”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

Realizing he was blocking the entrance, Kim Hyun-joon quickly stepped aside.

Since Spear Soldiers weren’t allowed in the archer-only facility, he decided to wait for Jung Ye-na to come out.

‘There she is.’

Private First Class Jung Ye-na was shooting arrows near a pillar.

Each shot hit the target dead center.

The farther away she stood, the less accurate she was, but for a Private First Class, her skill was excellent.

‘No wonder she made it to Sergeant so smoothly.’

She probably never failed a promotion exam.

‘How many times did I fail to make Sergeant?’

As he was lost in thought,

“Huh? Hyun-joon. Were you waiting for me?”

Private First Class Jung Ye-na came out after finishing her training, eyes wide at seeing him.

She clearly hadn’t expected him to show up.

“Salute. Private First Class Kim Hyun-joon. That’s right.”

“You should’ve told me. I would’ve come out sooner.”

“I thought you were focused, so I waited. It was fun watching you train, too.”

“Ah... I didn’t do very well today, though. I’m not in top condition.”

He didn’t know why she suddenly started adjusting her workout clothes.

Regardless, Kim Hyun-joon expressed his thanks.

“Thanks to you, today’s dungeon raid went really well.”

“What? You came just to say that? Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I did anything special.”

She waved it off like it was nothing, but to Kim Hyun-joon, it meant a lot.

Not everyone could recommend a mercenary spot to another Private First Class.

“Would you mind waiting a second?”

Private First Class Jung Ye-na took out a small notebook and drew a line with a pen.

[Debt]

He hadn’t meant to look, but the notebook’s title caught his eye.

What was that about?

He was curious, but didn’t ask further.

For some reason, he felt like he shouldn’t.

“By the way, Corporal Seo Jin-woo said you were really good. He almost never gives compliments.”

“Thanks to you, I was able to clear the dungeon easily.”

Kim Hyun-joon offered to return the favor if she ever needed something.

“Huh? I didn’t recommend you for the mercenary spot just to get something from you. I wasn’t even sure it’d work out.”

“But it did, didn’t it? If I get something, I have to return more. That’s how I do things.”

“What, acting all cool all of a sudden.”

Despite what she said, she seemed pleased and said she’d remember it.

“I’ll make sure to save it up. At least until you make Sergeant.”

“I just made Private First Class not long ago.”

“That’s why I’m saving it. Anyway, I should get going now.”

Just what kind of favor was she planning to ask?

‘Don’t worry. Whatever you’re expecting, I’ll repay it and more.’

Of course, not now, but maybe when he made Sergeant.

As he turned to go back to the barracks,

“Private First Class Kim Hyun-joon!”

A Private from 3rd Platoon came looking for him.

Judging by the sweat on his forehead, he’d been searching for a while.

When Kim Hyun-joon asked what was going on, he got an unexpected reply.

“The Company Commander wants to see you?”