Chapter 26: Restoration and Runestones

“Do you know what this is?”

“It’s a rune stone. It’s an item exclusively for mages.”

Private First Class Park Ye-rin answered with a calm face, but she was actually feeling anxious inside.

She had to find that rune stone and take it without anyone knowing… but Kim Hyun-jun had found it first.

‘I’m sure. That is a rune exclusively for my attribute magic.’

Checking the color and shape of the faintly glowing rune, it was the kind that helped with frost magic.

“I don’t know much about runes, but looking at it, it seems to amplify the power of the frost attribute?”

Flinch.

At Kim Hyun-jun’s words, Private First Class Park Ye-rin’s shoulders trembled slightly.

He didn’t even have an item measurer, so how on earth did he know that?

“You have the frost attribute, don’t you, Park Ye-rin? Isn’t this a bit too perfect? The timing is great.”

“…I am not sure myself.”

Kim Hyun-jun spoke in a playful tone, but she maintained as calm an expression as possible.

If.

If this matter were to truly grow larger, it could become controversial.

“Hmm.”

In the meantime, Kim Hyun-jun, who was peering at the rune stone, seemed to be thinking about something before handing it over to Private First Class Park Ye-rin.

“This would be perfect for you to use, Park Ye-rin. Use it right now while no one is looking.”

There was no use for a spearman who wasn’t a mage to have it, and hiding it was also difficult.

Especially in the case of rune stones, mage soldiers could sniff them out like military dogs.

‘I wondered why a rune stone would pop up while I was digging. My hopes were up for nothing.’

In this situation, it was better to just give it to Private First Class Park Ye-rin.

Since she was the Division Commander’s daughter, perhaps he could get something out of it later.

“Why are you just giving this to me?”

“That’s because it’s helpful to you. I’m a spearman, so it’s of no use to me.”

Kim Hyun-jun said that even if he reported it honestly, it would only be taken away.

“Even if they say they’ll give a reward, it won’t be much compared to a rune stone. It’s only right that you use it.”

“…I understand.”

As if she wasn’t the rigid type, Private First Class Park Ye-rin looked around before placing the rune stone in both hands and clutching it tightly.

Saaaaa.

The letters engraved on the rune stone faded, and the energy inside flowed into her.

The rune stone, now devoid of the rune, became a pebble that could be seen anywhere.

‘Elite mage soldiers are human too, after all.’

Kim Hyun-jun chuckled as he watched Private First Class Park Ye-rin, who had her eyes fixed upward.

She was checking the effects of the rune stone through the system.

It seemed she liked the effect.

“Thank you.”

A moment later.

Private First Class Park Ye-rin bowed her head.

She seemed blunt, but her gratitude was clearly contained within.

“The rune stone I just absorbed. It had an effect that increased frost magic damage.”

Even though he hadn’t asked, she told him what kind of effect she got.

“I just… felt like I should let you know.”

Since he was the one who found the rune stone, she felt like she should tell him something.

Seeing her looking restless made him laugh for no reason.

“Don’t mention it. We’re the ones who took 1st and 2nd place in the promotion exam.”

“Next time, I will definitely win….”

Responding momentarily with a surge of emotion, Private First Class Park Ye-rin quickly shut her mouth.

Then, she took out a note from her combat uniform pocket and wrote something down.

“This is my number. Contact me when you need help.”

She handed over her contact information, saying she would help if there was anything she could do.

“Hey. I didn’t help you because I wanted something.”

“It’s because my heart isn’t at ease. Rune stones aren’t easy to come by.”

After declining a few times out of politeness, Kim Hyun-jun accepted the contact information as if he had no choice.

‘If you can’t help, it means the Division Commander can’t help either.’

Of course, he was smiling widely on the inside.

In fact, he had readily given up the rune stone knowing it would turn out like this.

From what he saw during the promotion exam, she just didn’t talk much, but her personality didn’t seem bad.

“Don’t go around saying you absorbed a rune stone. We’ll both be dragged away.”

Kim Hyun-jun gave a moderate wave of his hand and then headed elsewhere for work.

Private First Class Park Ye-rin watched his retreating figure for a moment.

“He’s a strange person.”

That was the thought that occurred to her while looking at Kim Hyun-jun.

***

As time passed, the three days of civilian support were completed.

[Your Stamina stat has increased by 1!]

‘What. This actually goes up.’

During that time, Kim Hyun-jun had unexpectedly gained a few things.

Placing the Division Commander’s daughter, Private First Class Park Ye-rin, in his debt.

The fact that his stamina stat rose from working hard.

― Looking at Hyun-jun, he works incredibly well. He seems to have a lot of experience.

And, gaining favor with the officers of the same unit for his incredible digging skills.

…He wasn’t sure if the last one was a good thing.

Anyway, it was a satisfying three days.

Originally, the civilian support was just to earn performance points.

“I don’t know if the smell of dirt will ever come out of this uniform.”

His combat uniform was covered in mud from head to toe.

It was because he went out for civilian support almost every day.

It was a relief that he could use the washer and dryer since he was a Private First Class.

Since Privates could only do hand laundry.

It was a truly wretched and evil habit.

He felt he should get rid of it once he became a Sergeant.

“Hey! Kim Hyun-jun! I heard you saw Park Ye-rin!”

As soon as he entered the barracks, his seniors swarmed him as if they had been waiting.

“This punk supposedly got Park Ye-rin’s number.”

He wondered when the rumor had spread, as they already knew he had received contact information from Private First Class Park Ye-rin.

How on earth did they find out so quickly?

Perhaps because it was the military, rumors regarding relationships between men and women tended to spread particularly fast.

“What? How the hell did you get Park Ye-rin’s number? I heard there’s a truckload of guys who got rejected after hitting on her.”

“Hey. Hyun-jun didn’t get it, Park Ye-rin gave it to him first?”

“Crazy. Is that for real? That’s possible?”

Fortunately, they seemed to know nothing about the rune stone.

When he gave a moderate answer, responses mixed with jealousy and resentment came back.

“Hyun-jun does look somewhat handsome, but is he that good?”

“Hey. That’s the same thing as saying he’s good-looking, you punk.”

“Haha. Me? I haven’t had my number taken by women very often.”

“What do you mean, you punk. These days, even Jung Ye-na is following you around.”

To be honest, he felt no inspiration even when hearing he was handsome from men.

In the midst of that, Corporal Kang Cheol-su glared at him as if something displeased him.

He seemed to be even more like that whenever talk about women came up.

Even so, it wasn't scary at all.

“Hey. Are you guys kids? Why are you fighting so childishly?”

While the barracks became noisy for a moment, the Platoon Leader, Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo, opened the door and walked in.

“Loyalty!”

At Sergeant Yoon Seong-jin’s salute, all the soldiers returned to their seats.

“You all know there’s training scheduled in a few days, right?”

The guidance for the upcoming training followed.

Normally, everyone would have groaned at the mention of training, but this time was different.

“Yes!”

Everyone answered energetically with bright voices.

It was because this training was a walk in the park for regular hunter soldiers.

The name of the training was Villain Response Training.

Here, a villain referred to a hunter who committed crimes.

Dealing with them was also the responsibility of the hunter army.

It was natural that the regular police or the military could not handle them.

Since they weren’t ordinary criminals.

‘I guess so. Regular hunter soldiers like us rarely have to go to the scene. This training won’t be much.’

That was how it looked to Kim Hyun-jun.

Before his regression, he had almost never been deployed to an actual scene while in the Biryong Unit.

A villain is a person, not a monster.

It meant they were hunters just like the soldiers.

Unlike monsters, they used their heads in various ways, so from the hunter army’s perspective, they were quite a headache.

‘Large-scale groups even operate like civilian guilds.’

Just as the police had difficulty catching large-scale criminal groups, the hunter army also struggled against villains depending on their scale.

‘Villain-related missions also require high expertise.’

Furthermore, it was much more dangerous than dungeon raids.

There were many more unexpected situations compared to regular dungeons.

So, these kinds of tasks were usually handled by special hunter units.

“If I catch you slacking off during training, you’re dead. You should at least show a minimum amount of sincerity, shouldn’t you?”

“Understood!”

Therefore, what regular hunter soldiers did was formal villain response training.

The training intensity was low, and the duration was short.

The Platoon Leader also knew that fact, so he just gave a moderate warning and moved on.

‘Hmm. He looks okay.’

Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo glanced at Kim Hyun-jun before leaving the barracks.

In fact, the reason he stopped by the barracks separately was to check on Kim Hyun-jun’s condition.

He might have been tired from the civilian support until recently, but he looked energetic on the outside.

‘Even if the Battalion Commander has his eye on him. Can a special promotion really happen that easily?’

He wondered if he was making a soldier suffer for no reason by saying he would give him a special promotion.

During his time as a Platoon Leader, he hadn't seen a single soldier receive a special promotion.

No matter how much the Battalion Commander pushed, there were limits.

They were particularly strict regarding promotions.

‘In the military, even being outstanding is a problem.’

The Battalion Commander’s interest would fade over time.

Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo left the barracks with that thought.

***

That night, Barracks 3.

The Corporals and Sergeants lying on their beds were watching TV with comfortable faces.

If difficult training were scheduled, they would be busy sleeping early, never mind the TV.

The fact that they were up late meant the intensity of the scheduled training was low.

“How long has it been since we watched soccer?”

“It’s cozy, so cozy.”

The soldiers, who had applied for late-night TV privileges after a long time, intended to watch the sports leagues until late at night.

Time passed like that until the deep dawn.

A time when everyone was in a deep sleep.

A Private on night watch duty entered Barracks 3.

‘Private First Class Kim Hyun-jun.’

It was to wake Kim Hyun-jun.

‘What is it. Did something happen?’

Kim Hyun-jun raised his body with a groggy face.

The Private replied in a quiet voice that the Platoon Leader was calling for him.

‘He told you to change into your combat uniform and come to the Platoon Leader’s office.’

‘Okay. Thanks.’

Checking the time, it was 3 AM.

For what reason was he calling only him out of the squad members?

“Loyalty!”

When he headed to the Platoon Leader’s office after changing, several other soldiers were also gathered.

Most of them were Privates First Class.

“Uh. Sorry for waking you while you were sleeping. A support request came in from the Special Task Force.”

The Platoon Leader’s explanation followed.

‘What? A real villain appeared?’

Kim Hyun-jun couldn't help but be surprised.

A villain had appeared at a point 10km away from the unit.

It was puzzling.

Before his regression, a villain had never appeared during this period.

“A, a villain?”

The faces of the Privates First Class hardened at the word villain.

It was because regular hunter soldiers rarely encountered villains.

“Everyone seems surprised because I suddenly mentioned a villain, but don’t worry too much.”

The Platoon Leader reassured the soldiers.

Saying that the only thing they had to do was stand guard so that civilians could not come near.

“The Special Task Force is cornering them. You guys just need to stand guard at the designated locations.”

They wouldn't encounter them under normal circumstances, and even if they did, they just had to report the location.

“Would I send you guys if it was dangerous? You’re all Privates First Class. Just think of it as simple guard duty.”

Once the explanation reached that point, the soldiers seemed somewhat relieved.

“Still, you need to know the basics, so make sure you familiarize yourselves well.”

“Understood!”

The Platoon Leader informed them of the villains’ gender, age, and personal details.

“Looking at the current situation, it seems like it’ll be over within 3 hours at the longest.”

At the words that they would be given separate post-duty sleep time after standing guard, the soldiers’ faces relaxed.

‘Simple guard duty.’

While packing his weapons according to the Platoon Leader’s instructions, Kim Hyun-jun wanted to meet the villain.

He was curious about how effective his current strength would be, but.

‘If I’m lucky enough to catch one, wouldn’t that become my performance points?’

If he could catch a villain by any chance, it would lead directly to performance points.

And not just ordinary points, but major performance points.