Chapter 33: The Iron Fortress in the Mud

That training was trench fighting.

It was the training often called the highlight of Ranger training.

One might ask, what does trench fighting have to do with monsters? How often would one actually fight a monster inside a trench?

However, the Hunter Army was still an army. This meant that fostering comradeship and unifying the organization was also important.

In that respect, trench fighting was an excellent form of training.

"Trench fighting or whatever, I just wish it would end quickly."

"The shield bearers will probably sweep everything again anyway."

"Those guys do nothing but eat and pump iron..."

The soldiers preparing for training inside the tent grumbled.

Regardless of gender, jumping into a trench and mixing it up was fine, but... the problem was the shield bearers.

Since trench fighting involved pure physical confrontation, the shield bearers, who possessed superior physical strength, took the victory every time.

Although mana could be used, its application was limited. Since the outcome seemed predetermined, everyone lacked motivation.

"Hey! Breaking news!"

While everyone was in a mood to give up, this time was different.

A Sergeant had brought news to the 3rd Squad that the platoon members who won would be granted squad overnight passes.

"I heard the intensity of this training is high, so the rewards have been increased accordingly."

"Bullshit. How do you know that? Do you think the military is that rational?"

"The Ranger assistant instructor this time is my friend."

"...It looks like it's for real."

At that moment, the eyes of the Corporals and Sergeants changed sharply. Their dead fish eyes transformed into eyes burning with motivation.

They looked ready to take down monsters with their bare fists.

'They say a leave pass can make even a Sergeant dance.'

Watching them, Kim Hyun-jun let out a smirk. It was because he was seeing the same scene as before his regression.

At that time, the seniors had participated in the trench fighting with passion at the mention of overnight passes.

Of course, the result was a crushing defeat. The overnight passes went to the platoon with the most shield bearers.

'What about now?'

Perhaps he could create a different result than back then. He felt it was worth a shot.

***

Trench fighting takes place inside a large, wide trench filled with water.

It was closer to a sport than actual training.

Since they formed teams by platoon to compete against others, it was one of the few training sessions the soldiers could actually enjoy.

"To the platoon members who win this trench fighting, I will grant squad overnight passes!"

"Whoooaaaa!"

The rumor spread by the Sergeant was true.

At the words of the Ranger instructor holding the megaphone, the soldiers let out a thunderous roar and stripped off their shirts. It was a roar that seemed like it might even scare a monster away.

The female soldiers prepared for the training wearing light short-sleeved shirts.

"1st Platoon and 2nd Platoon of the 1st Company, 3rd Battalion, move to your positions."

"Sir!"

Following the instructor's orders, the soldiers moved into the trench. Everyone doused themselves with water, steeling their resolve.

'Hey. You know if we get first place, right? We can coordinate our schedule with the female soldiers' squad and hang out together.'

As if by agreement, the same topic of conversation arose in each platoon. The effect was incredible.

Tweet!

As soon as the whistle signaled the start of the match, everyone began to charge with grim determination.

"Aaaaaah!"

Soldiers trying to take the flags held by each platoon mixed with those trying to defend them. Muddy water splashed all over their bodies, but no one cared.

The difference from the regular army was that the use of mana was permitted, albeit restricted to physical reinforcement.

"Push forward!"

"Hey! Don't ever let them take the flag! Use your mana!"

"I got it, so just look straight ahead!"

The Sergeants holding the flags released mana to reinforce their body parts. They ran faster or pushed with greater strength.

By the time one reached the rank of Sergeant and had awakened mana, it was possible to wrap mana around parts of the body.

Tweet!

"1st Platoon, 1st Company, 3rd Battalion, victory!"

"2nd Platoon, 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion, victory!"

The matches ended almost anticlimactically fast. It was due to the difference in the presence of mana awakeners.

"Ah, this is seriously unfair."

"We don't have a single mana awakener."

There were platoons cheering and platoons in despair. It was meaningless for the losing platoons to complain.

This was because of the Ranger instructor's comment: "Are you going to complain about not having mana when a monster rushes you?"

The training continued in that manner, and soon it was the turn of the 3rd Platoon, 3rd Company. Kim Hyun-jun, who had taken off his shirt, went down into the trench and warmed up moderately.

"Wow..."

"Whoa..."

However, the gazes from those around him were unusual.

"Was Hyun-jun's body always that good?"

"Didn't he barely have any muscle when he was a Private?"

The soldiers marveled at how he had built that body in such a short period, while...

"Corporal Kim Hyun-jun's body is really nice. Look at those abs... amazing."

"I think they'd be harder than stone."

The female soldiers stared intently at various parts of Kim Hyun-jun's upper body. One female soldier even went as far as to ask if she could touch his abs.

It made sense. Compared to the shield bearers who had simply bulked up their muscles mindlessly, Kim Hyun-jun's body was well-balanced.

It was an aesthetic physique like something out of a movie. It wasn't excessive, nor was it lacking; it was a good-looking body.

'I've been thinking my body's gotten better lately... I guess it wasn't just my imagination.'

Kim Hyun-jun felt awkward at the passionate reactions of his platoon members.

His body before obtaining the hidden trait had been perfectly ordinary. It was the kind of body where you couldn't find a single muscle on the surface.

'I never really thought about building my body.'

It had just naturally happened as he followed the high-intensity training route of the hidden trait. His stats increasing as he leveled up probably helped as well.

However...

"Wow. It's like a complete washboard."

"Hey. What are you touching so slyly?"

When he looked down, Private First Class Jung Ye-na, who had approached him at some point, was rubbing his stomach.

Feeling unnecessarily embarrassed, he pulled the female soldiers away.

"Hyun-jun. You defend it."

Before the official match began, Sergeant Yoon Sung-jin handed the red flag to Kim Hyun-jun.

Considering that Sergeants usually protected the flag, this was a rare occurrence.

Sergeant Yoon Sung-jin was a magic soldier. As a magic soldier, he handled mana well. Coating and reinforcing his lacking physical parts with mana was nothing to him.

"I'm better at taking it than defending it."

Despite that, the reason he handed the flag, which directly determined victory or defeat, to Kim Hyun-jun was that he trusted him that much.

"I won't let it be taken."

Kim Hyun-jun accepted the flag, telling him to leave it to him.

Before the regression, forget the flag—he was told to just go to anyone and grab their ankles and hold on.

Thinking about that time, he couldn't help but feel a sense of nostalgia.

"3rd Platoon, 3rd Company, victory!"

Starting with the first match, the 3rd Platoon took successive victories. Despite the concentrated attacks from the other soldiers, Kim Hyun-jun did not budge.

"Uuuuugh!"

Even the shield bearers of the platoons called the favorites to win were no exception.

They tried to take Kim Hyun-jun's flag with veins popping in their faces, but not a single soldier succeeded.

Even though he was merely wrapping mana around his hands and feet.

'I squeezed out my mana every single day for this moment.'

Kim Hyun-jun succeeded in withstanding the mindless strength of the shield bearers.

It was the moment he could truly feel the results of the training he did through his hidden trait.

While he was still clumsy with other parts, he could manage to put strength into his hands and feet.

"What kind of grip strength is that? Damn it."

"You couldn't take it either?"

"Yeah. He wouldn't budge. A lump of iron would be lighter."

Since he defended the flag like an iron fortress to bring victory, even the shield bearer Sergeants shook their heads.

They were human gorillas who, despite not having awakened mana, could easily handle a 1,000kg total in the Big Three lifts.

Nevertheless, they couldn't overwhelm a single spearman with strength.

Perhaps their pride was wounded because of that, as the shield bearers said they would go back and grab weight plates immediately.

'The shield bearers really are monsters.'

Of course, it wasn't easy for Kim Hyun-jun either.

He had barely managed to hold on despite desperately wrapping himself in mana to respond.

The other soldiers were easy, but he had to be tense against the shield bearers.

If he hadn't prepared for this training in advance, wouldn't the flag have been taken in less than ten seconds?

It was a moment where he felt the shield bearers were impressive all over again.

"The winner of this trench fighting is the 3rd Platoon, 3rd Company, 3rd Battalion."

Since even the shield bearers couldn't stop Kim Hyun-jun, winning was a natural result.

"Aaaaah! The overnight pass is confirmed!"

That day.

Smiles never left the faces of the 3rd Platoon members who had secured their overnight passes.

It was understandable. The Flying Dragon Unit was a place that rarely gave out day passes or overnight passes, including vacations.

"Are you jealous? If you're jealous, you should bring a reliable platoon member like Kim Hyun-jun too."

"Want to go tease the shield bearers?"

"If we go tease them now, we'll have to seriously worry for our lives."

The 3rd Platoon members who returned to their tents went around busily bragging about their overnight passes to the other platoons.

They were soldiers who remained childish despite their age.

***

The Ranger training, which lasted five days and four nights, reached its final stage.

The Ranger training would conclude with the completion of the march back to the unit.

"Corporal Kim Hyun-jun, please come forward to the platform."

"Corporal! Kim Hyun-jun!"

The dismissal ceremony was held after packing up the bivouac site.

Kim Hyun-jun, who hadn't missed a single minor training session during that time, received the Ranger King award.

"The way you participated in training sincerely and seriously was impressive."

Even the Ranger instructor, who was stingy with praise, went as far as to speak.

"Corporal! Kim Hyun-jun! Thank you!"

The Ranger King badge was pinned to his chest. It was a tacky design, but it was a valuable badge to him.

Was it not proof that he had taken first place in the training he had aimed for?

And it wasn't just the Ranger King title. As he worked hard in training, various stats had naturally risen.

'Every stat went up by 1. Stamina went up even more.'

The stats, which hadn't budged for over ten days after reaching Level 4, went up during the five-day, four-night training period.

The hard work in training had paid off.

He got the Ranger King title, the squad day pass, performance points, and stat increases.

It was a training session where he gained a lot in many ways.

"Corporal Kim Hyun-jun! Thanks to you, I was able to complete the training well too."

As the training reached its end, Private First Class Jung Ye-na, who had recovered her energy, clung to him especially closely.

She even went so far as to say she was enjoying life lately thanks to the Goblin Archer's Essence he gave her before, and that she would repay the favor for a long time.

"Wow. It was like this earlier too, but I can really feel your abs even through your clothes."

Why was she slyly touching his stomach again?

"I get it, so stop touching me."

Kim Hyun-jun had to struggle to peel her off.

***

"I'm going to die, seriously."

"I'm going to do nothing but sleep until tomorrow. Don't wake me up."

As soon as they arrived at the barracks after the return march, the squad members collapsed as if falling over.

Since the training schedule was grueling, combat leave was granted the next day for the soldiers to recover their condition.

— Announcement from the duty office. You all worked hard during training, so make sure to shower before you go to sleep.

As if knowing this, a broadcast flowed out precisely telling them to please wash before sleeping.

"Everyone, good job with the training."

"You worked hard, sir!"

The squad members just splashed some water on themselves before collapsing onto their beds and falling asleep.

The barracks became quiet in an instant.

Kim Hyun-jun shook off the temptation of sleep and got up, heading toward the personal training room.

He was tired from the Ranger training, but not as much as the other soldiers.

'More than that, my hands have been itching because I haven't been able to hold a spear properly for five days.'

The same went for the mana cultivation technique he had been practicing in his spare time.

Since he couldn't do those exercises out of the sight of others during the Ranger training period, he had no choice but to skip them.

'I hope my skills didn't get rusty in the meantime.'

That probably wasn't the case, but he couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

He had skipped the training he did every day for over four days.

"More than that, I want to quickly increase my proficiency in Imperial Spearmanship."

It was a thought that occurred to him as he warmed up in the personal training room.

Currently, his proficiency from the 1st to the 8th forms of Imperial Spearmanship was at the 'Average' level.

He wanted to raise it by one more level and truly make the spearmanship of the hidden trait his own.

"Since they gave a skill as an intermediate reward, they might give something even better at the end."

He was also quite looking forward to the rewards the hidden trait provided.

That day.

Despite it being the day the Ranger training ended, the lights in the personal training room did not go out throughout the dawn.