Chapter 32: The Road to Ranger King

"No training is meaningless."

This is what the instructors in charge of training always say.

'Looking back, they were absolutely right.'

Starting with guerrilla ranger training, then winter training, Hunter ATT, Hunter RCT, Hunter KCTC, Hunter Hoguk training, and so on….

The larger and more grueling the training, the more soldiers learn and gain from it.

Experience points.
Various stats.
Tactical capabilities as a soldier, and more.
Some soldiers even awaken related traits.

Before his regression, Kim Hyun-jun did not agree with those words.

Back then, he couldn't handle the training properly.

Lacking the necessary skills, he tried to keep up through sheer spite, but he only ended up damaging his body. The training efficiency was non-existent.

Ranger training was the same. The soldiers who completed the five-day, four-night training well took home various stats and experience points.

However, the Kim Hyun-jun of that time didn't get any stats; he just had to suffer from a sprained ankle.

'It's different now.'

This time, not only did he plan to complete the training perfectly, but he also intended to take everything there was to take.

Among those goals, he was aiming for the title of Ranger King. The Ranger King is a sort of award given to the single soldier who completes the ranger training with the most outstanding results.

'Actually, even if you win Ranger King, you don't get much.'

It’s just a cheap-looking badge and training points that go toward your performance record.

Nevertheless, he wanted to receive the Ranger King title more than anything. Regardless of the prize, it was a symbol of being number one. It also meant he had mastered the training.

He remembered how much he had envied that cheap-looking badge before the regression.

'Ranger King. I will definitely win it.'

Since he had already taken first place in the previous promotion exam for Private First Class, he had become ambitious. He felt a greedy desire to take first place in this training as well.

***

Inside the Biryong Unit’s ranger training grounds.

The soldiers, having finished their entry march, moved busily to set up tents without even having time to rest.

"Move it, move it!"
"Ak!"

Tents were pitched side by side. The Privates and Privates First Class moved more nimbly than usual.

This was because senior soldiers became sensitive during the ranger training period.

"If you hammer it like that, the tent will shake. Give it here."

Kim Hyun-jun helped his juniors who were working clumsily.

Since he was now a Corporal, he could have slacked off appropriately, but he chose not to.

Instead, he even dug the drainage ditches himself. It was because the sight of his juniors overlapped with his own past self, who had struggled so much before the regression.

'Back then, Kang Cheol-su used to grind me down so much.'

Of course, that wasn't the case now. Back then he was a Private, and now he was a Corporal.

Looking at Corporal Kang Cheol-su now, he was quietly preparing for training.

Cheol-su was reading the room, likely thinking that if he said anything, the reaction would come back poorly for him.

'Cheol-su. You've grown, too. Usually, you would have been bullying the juniors.'

Was this what it felt like to have room to breathe? He had felt it before the regression, but the difference between one stripe and three stripes was truly the difference between heaven and earth.

***

The soldiers, having finished setting up the tents, gathered in front of the parade ground for PT drills.

They were wearing training uniforms made of thick, heavy material, and the weight of the clothes alone exceeded 30kg.

It was clothing they had to wear from now until the end of training.

"From now until the end of training, all responses will be unified as 'Ak!' Do you understand!"
"Ak!"
"Is that the best your voices can do!"
"Ak!!"
"All this instructor wants from the trainees is the will to accomplish this training. Do you understand!"
"Ak!"

The ranger instructor, wearing a red hat and black sunglasses, ran the soldiers ragged before starting the PT drills.

Punishment for being slow.
Punishment for failing to maintain ranks and files.
Punishment for low voices.

In fact, from the instructor's perspective, this was a way to domesticate the soldiers for the efficiency of the training. It was a necessary process because an entire battalion-sized force was being trained at once.

"Ranger assistant, forward."
"Ranger!"

As time passed, the PT drills began in earnest. Starting with the soldiers spreading out their formation intervals, the ranger assistant demonstrated the movements first.

Just like the regular army, there were 14 movements. They were the types of calisthenics the soldiers had to perform.

'Damn it. As long as we catch monsters well, that should be enough. Why make us do PT?'
'Ah… I just want to pass out.'

The majority of the soldiers grumbled inwardly, but Kim Hyun-jun, thinking of this as an opportunity, participated in the training diligently.

'I really half-assed it back then.'

Compared to before the regression, all his specs were vastly superior, yet the training did not feel easy. Every muscle in his body screamed in unison.

Especially during PT Number 8, the full-body twist, he found himself naturally tensing his face.

'Don't let even a single movement slide.'

It was difficult now, but later it would all become his strength. To conquer high-grade dungeons, robust physical stamina was the foundation.

"Grrrgh…."
"Gahhh!"

Of course, Kim Hyun-jun was only at this level because he had prepared in advance; the other soldiers were on the verge of death.

Regardless of whether they were Privates or Sergeants, everyone was following the training with veins bulging in their faces.

Even an awakened Hunter is ultimately just a person.

Since the training intensity was much higher starting this year, the ranger grounds were filled with the sounds of groans and suffering.

"Keep your posture straight!"
"Raise your legs higher! Lift them above your head!"
"Trainee number 45! Why do your legs keep dropping!"

Whether the soldiers were struggling or not.
The ranger instructors and assistants worked the soldiers hard.

'Hmm. I've liked that trainee since a while ago.'

The ranger instructor, observing the trainees, nodded slightly as he looked at Kim Hyun-jun.

Even when training a battalion-sized group all at once, an outstanding soldier stands out.

Unlike the other trainees, he was performing the PT drills faithfully according to the manual, so it was impossible not to notice him.

Of course, the instructor didn't show it outwardly. It was only the first day of training. It remained to be seen if that trainee would perform well until the end.

***

Day 2 of ranger training.

The faces of the soldiers had become drastically haggard compared to the previous day.

Because of the increased training intensity, everyone was out of their minds.

'When I thought about how I got through this before the regression, I realized the assistants just let it slide.'

This was a fact Kim Hyun-jun realized after gaining some leeway in the training and looking around.

The assistants appropriately overlooked the soldiers who looked like they truly couldn't go on. Before the regression, he had been one of those subjects.

Well.
It made sense.
If a soldier actually stopped breathing during the drills, it would be a headache for the assistants as well.

It was a fresh thought, but he realized being an assistant wasn't easy either.

"Ah… why does the PT on the morning of Day 2 feel harder than Day 1?"
"Tell me about it. And we’re going straight to the obstacle course after this? Damn it. I can't help but swear."

On the way to the special obstacle training course after finishing the morning PT drills.

The soldiers groaned, saying they were going to collapse. Such soldiers were not one or two.

The same went for Jung Ye-na or the other PFCs who usually would have struck up a conversation several times. She was walking toward the obstacle course while clutching her legs.

'Should I have given her something other than the Goblin Archer Essence? Something helpful for stamina.'

That was the thought that suddenly occurred to Kim Hyun-jun when he saw her.

***

"Dungeon internal environments vary. Trainees must be able to cope with diverse environments."

Inside the special obstacle training course.
The ranger instructor wearing sunglasses delivered explanations along with various precautions.

There were 14 types of obstacles.

Walking a single wire at high altitude.
Climbing a steep slope using a single rope.
Rappelling from a high altitude while relying on a rope, and so on.

Looking at the overall course, it didn't seem much different from the regular army, but there was a major difference.

They had to overcome the obstacles while carrying weapons suitable for their respective combat branches. And, training monsters were chasing them.

Depending on the situation, the soldiers had to avoid the monsters, use their weapons to drive them away, or use the training structures to eliminate them.

"Man… I feel it every time I see it, but spearmen are really at a disadvantage in times like this."
"It looks like the spear is actually getting in the way."

Swordsmen, mages, and archers utilized their equipped weapons reasonably well.

However, more than half of the spearmen could not.

"Ugh! Why is this getting caught?"
"It's driving me crazy, getting in the way of everything."

There were spearmen struggling because their spears got caught in the training structures, and those who failed to complete the course because the spears they were carrying were a hindrance.

It was one of the disadvantages of the spear, a long-reaching weapon. Because of this, the majority of the spearmen avoided engaging with the monsters.

'Look at all that experience points.'

But Kim Hyun-jun was the opposite. He observed the surrounding environment closely and shifted his grip on the spear this way and that.

He even took the time to meticulously eliminate the chasing monsters one by one to gather experience points.

As a result, the advantage of the spear's reach was actually demonstrated.

The monsters were also unable to adapt well to the training structures.

Just by poking them with a pushing motion or swinging the spear to the side from a distance, the monsters fell from the high altitude and died.

'Why are they so scared? The safety devices here are very sturdy. The netting installed below won't tear even if an orc falls on it.'

To say that, however, his past self before the regression had also crossed the training course with trembling legs.

Regardless, his completion time was generous, so his training score was in the top tier. However, because he insisted on catching every single monster, he didn't finish in first place.

"Looking at Hyun-jun, it's like he's intentionally making the training harder for himself."
"Tell me about it. Who else would catch every single one of those things?"
"I was next to him during PT yesterday, you know? He did it perfectly according to the manual until the very end."
"Crazy… he took all of that? My whole body is sore even though I slacked off."

The members of the 3rd Squad shook their heads as if they were fed up, but,

'They aren't releasing many monsters.'

Kim Hyun-jun was actually disappointed that he couldn't catch more monsters.

"This concludes today's training."

The second day of training ended only after evening had passed.

With expressions that said they were finally saved, the soldiers returned to their tents and lay down one by one.

Still, they had to eat, so they fumbled around to take out their issued combat rations and prepare their meals.

"Who's in charge of the Kkulmatdashi? You brought enough, right?"
"Hurry up and take it out."
"Private First Class! Son Seok-jun!"

At the seniors' words, PFC Son Seok-jun took out the Kkulmatdashi as if he had been waiting and distributed them one by one.

It was one of the driving forces that allowed the soldiers to endure ranger training and an indispensable essential item.

"Hey. You want to trade two chocolates for one Kkulmatdashi?"
"What are you talking about? I wouldn't trade even if you gave me five."
"Then two chocolate pies?"
"Wow. This guy is crossing the line. Just get lost."

Hyenas from other tents, consisting of Corporals and Sergeants targeting the Kkulmatdashi, approached, but the members of the 3rd Squad growled and drove them away.

"Corporal Kim Hyun-jun, please take yours too!"

In the meantime, PFC Son Seok-jun handed a Kkulmatdashi to Kim Hyun-jun as well.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Actually, he had packed a few in his pocket, but since he was being offered more, he didn't refuse.

In ranger training and winter training, Kkulmatdashi was a magical sauce. The more you had, the better.

'Even bland and crumbly fried rice becomes three, no, four times more delicious with just one Kkulmatdashi.'

He didn't usually eat it, but strangely, during training like this, it was a sauce he couldn't get enough of.

"Hey. Are you crazy? Why are you giving me this? This is the wild vegetable flavor. Is there no meat flavor?"
"Private First Class! Son Seok-jun! That… all that's left now is the wild vegetable flavor. I'm sorry."

It was understandable why Corporal Kang Cheol-su was grumbling after receiving the wild vegetable flavored Kkulmatdashi.

Well.
Wild vegetable flavor was a bit much.
The artificial taste was too strong.

***

The ranger training continued.
Hunter-style CBRN training to deal with toxic gases generated in dungeons.

After repeating the obstacle courses and PT drills, the soldiers were suddenly facing the final training session before leaving the camp.

The soldiers just wanted to return to the unit regardless of the final training, but Kim Hyun-jun was different.

'Will I be able to beat those guys this time?'

The shield-bearers, whom he hadn't even dared to challenge before the regression.
He wanted to defeat them.

That was because the final training was one where shield-bearers had the advantage.
Not just a little, but a lot.