Chapter 42: Response Training

Heo Yong-pal, flustered, quickly yanked his hand free from the spear lodged in the window frame.

Then he rapidly backpedaled, widening the distance between himself and Kim Hyun-jun.

The distance opened in an instant.

The massive body, easily looking over one hundred kilograms, moved with surprising agility.

“Do you have some kind of trait or skill? You’re fast on your feet.”

Instead of chasing Heo Yong-pal, Kim Hyun-jun checked on the Special Task Force soldiers sprawled on the floor.

It would be troublesome if any of them were taken hostage.

“We’re reporting to the platoon leader, but there’s no response!”

The Special Task Force soldiers who were on the radio looked visibly shaken, as if something was not working properly.

‘Guys. Do you really think equipment that good would malfunction?’

They probably knew exactly what was going on and were deliberately choosing not to intervene.

That was the Special Task Force policy.

Unless it was a truly critical situation, they did not interfere, even in live combat.

It was to harden the soldiers through real experience.

‘Well, I guess there’s a reason they’re called a special unit.’

Seeing a few Privates and Private First Classes panicking, Kim Hyun-jun figured they were still green rookies.

He left the Special Task Force soldiers alone and shifted his gaze back to Heo Yong-pal.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

In the meantime, Heo Yong-pal rummaged through his pocket with his uninjured hand and splashed a recovery potion over his wounded arm.

“Damn it. That hurts like hell. I’ll need proper treatment when I get back.”

After clenching and unclenching his injured hand, Heo Yong-pal reset his stance.

He was tougher than he looked.

“Yong-pal. The place you’re going back to is villain prison.”

“Hey! Who do you think you are, talking down to me?”

Heo Yong-pal lowered his stance again and tried to approach Kim Hyun-jun.

But closing the distance like before was difficult.

Thud!

Just when he thought he had slipped past a sharp thrust, the spear shaft whipped toward his head.

“Guh….”

If it had been an ordinary spear shaft, he could have ignored it, but it was wrapped in mana, and the impact was severe.

If he blocked or dodged that, another thrust inevitably followed.

“Damn it! What are you?”

Heo Yong-pal was a former boxer.

On top of that, he possessed the Light Footwork trait.

A trait that permanently increased the Agility stat by five.

Thanks to that, he could move quickly despite his massive frame.

Against straightforward attacks, he should have been able to dodge easily.

But the problem was the irregular attacks mixed in.

The spear spun and twisted unpredictably, looking chaotic while perfectly blocking every possible approach.

“Ice Field.”

Crack!

On top of that, whenever there was an opening, the female mage tried to freeze his feet.

“Huff. Huff.”

By the time he snapped back to his senses after being dragged around, his breath was already up in his throat.

“Already tired? I haven’t even done much.”

Unlike the panting Heo Yong-pal, Kim Hyun-jun looked completely relaxed.

The enemy’s intentions were obvious, and Private First Class Park Yerim’s magic had landed at just the right moments.

“Do you think you’ll win just by getting close to me? I’ll admit, you’re strong.”

For such a heavy build, he was fast and powerful.

But that was all he had.

Fast? Kim Hyun-jun could handle that on his own.

Strong? Mana could cover that easily.

And if he got too close?

He could simply push him back using his trained body and spear technique.

Still, there was one variable.

The man was a villain, but also a human.

Unless there was an order to kill, even villains could not be killed carelessly.

‘Even having good skill performance can be a problem.’

If he used vital-point thrusts and the man died, it would be a disaster, which was why Kim Hyun-jun had relied on fundamentals.

Even so, it was more than enough.

“Shut the hell up!”

An enraged Heo Yong-pal charged again, but the result was the same.

That strange pulling force knocked his balance off, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Several more holes opened up in his arms and legs.

‘Guh… Hyung Gudongbeom. This isn’t what you said.’

Heo Yong-pal finally collapsed, swaying.

Blood streamed down his body.

He had been told to go rough up a few low-level Hunter Corps grunts as an example.

He had come here lightly, without even preparing his equipment properly.

The ones he had taken down really were nothing special.

But this spear-wielding bastard—what exactly was he?

The attacks were varied beyond simple thrusts, leaving no room to respond.

Each blow carried heavy power.

Even when he raised a guard, the pain seeped into his bones.

Brute force pressing down did not work at all.

Just what level was that guy, anyway?

Even lowballing it, at least five, right?

‘Damn it.’

He had underestimated him and paid the price.

In the end, with restraints clamped onto his limbs, Heo Yong-pal was subdued.

“When my boss hears about this, he’ll kill every last one of you!”

“That’s what villains always say.”

Kim Hyun-jun brushed the blood off his spear without caring and turned to give Private First Class Park Yerim a thumbs-up.

Thanks to her frost magic, the fight had been several times easier.

No wonder mage soldiers were treated so well.

“I didn’t really do much.”

From Park Yerim’s perspective, that was true.

All she had done was cast a few support spells.

Even then, she had been conservative, avoiding high-powered magic.

Just in case it hit Kim Hyun-jun.

In other words, Kim Hyun-jun had practically handled the villain alone.

“For that fat guy, ice magic must’ve been especially disastrous.”

“I get it, so stop already….”

Despite her embarrassment, Kim Hyun-jun kept praising her frost magic.

She turned her head sharply, clearly flustered.

“Mr. Kim Hyun-jun. We’re sorry about earlier.”

“We didn’t expect to let our guard down like that… we have no excuse.”

Inside the vehicle returning to base after everything was over, the Special Task Force soldiers apologized one by one.

They even bowed, saying no one had been seriously injured thanks to him.

‘What’s with these prideful guys?’

They were apologizing sincerely, and there was no reason not to accept it.

Kim Hyun-jun told them it was fine.

If anything, thanks to their lapse, he had been able to take down the villain cleanly.

‘Still, even I have to admit he was pretty fast.’

And his punches were powerful too.

That was impressive, considering he was wearing old, worn-out gauntlets.

An ordinary Private First Class would not have blocked that; their bones would have shattered.

Kim Hyun-jun had endured only because he had steadily trained and raised his specs.

His current level was four, but his stats had long surpassed level five standards.

At this point, he was curious what level that fat guy actually was.

“By the way, are soldiers in the Flying Dragon Unit all like this?”

As the conversation continued, a Sergeant asked with a suspicious look.

He said Kim Hyun-jun’s specs were far beyond those of a normal soldier.

“I agree. We have spearmen in the Special Task Force too, but I’ve never seen anyone handle a spear like you, Mr. Kim Hyun-jun.”

“And you were clearly experienced when engaging a villain. You even prioritized our safety.”

Sudden, unexpected praise.

Feeling awkward, Kim Hyun-jun realized again just how strong that fat guy had been.

“Well, I did place first in the Private First Class promotion exam.”

“…That’s completely different from this.”

“Oh. And I’ve been training consistently.”

“We’re a special unit too, so our training intensity is pretty high….”

The Special Task Force soldiers let out quiet sighs.

Rather than thinking they were inadequate, it was clear Kim Hyun-jun was simply exceptional.

How many soldiers could move like that in a first-time situation?

“Oh, right. And she placed second in the promotion exam.”

Mid-conversation, Kim Hyun-jun pointed at Private First Class Park Yerim.

“Why am I suddenly involved?”

She shot him a subtle glare, asking if he was teasing her.

“Why not? Second place is still impressive.”

Amused by her reaction, Kim Hyun-jun added a few more remarks.

Getting closer had its perks.

Teasing was fun.

Kim Hyun-jun was granted the rest of the day off from combat duty.

They told him to rest after capturing the villain Heo Yong-pal.

Since it had not been that exhausting, he headed to the training facility to loosen up a bit.

“Corporal Kim Hyun-jun.”

Just as he finished stretching and reached for his spear, a familiar voice called out.

It was Second Lieutenant Park A-young.

She looked as though she had rushed over, her uniform top slightly disheveled.

“Attention! Corporal Kim Hyun-jun reporting!”

“Attention.”

Barely returning the salute, she went straight to the point.

“Have you ever considered joining the Special Task Force?”

“…Did I hear that right?”

A heavy straight pitch right off the bat.

Kim Hyun-jun could not help but be startled.

Second Lieutenant Park A-young was known as a strict platoon leader, and this was unexpected.

“We investigated the villain you captured. He was level five.”

A level five villain.

He had felt strong, but who would have thought he was hiding among such weak villains.

In dungeon terms, the man had been a boss monster.

‘Yong-pal! Thank you!’

Catching the strongest one meant earning the most achievement points.

Kim Hyun-jun silently expressed his gratitude to the restrained Heo Yong-pal.

“I know this is sudden, so the Special Task Force is willing to offer some accommodations for the time being.”

Second Lieutenant Park A-young kept pressing without giving him time to think.

Contrary to her appearance, her personality was fiery and decisive.

“I’m sorry. I think it’s too early to decide.”

Kim Hyun-jun answered politely.

It was too sudden, and at present there was little merit in joining the Special Task Force.

After all, the Special Task Force specialized in capturing villains.

Compared to the regular Hunter Corps that focused on dungeon clearing, their level-up speed was inevitably slower.

‘They are stronger than same-level hunters, sure. They even issue expensive elixirs to compensate for level gaps.’

What Kim Hyun-jun wanted was to capture villains and clear dungeons on schedule.

He wanted both.

Since it was impossible to have everything at once, he declined for now.

“Hm. Understood. I rushed things. We’ll talk again if the opportunity arises.”

Second Lieutenant Park A-young stopped pressing and left the training room.

Cool on the way in, cool on the way out.

“Doesn’t look like someone who’s given up, though.”

Still, it was settled for now.

Kim Hyun-jun stopped worrying about it and called for Private First Class Park Yerim.

Since they would return to the unit tomorrow, he might as well make full use of her until the end.

“She said she’d be here in one hour, so I’ll work on spear training until then.”

Ding. Ding.

As he went to grab a training spear, a notification from his hidden trait appeared.

‘No way?’

He had a feeling.

This was not a normal mission notification, but a hidden one.

After confirming no one was nearby, he carefully opened the trait window.

“Yes!”

What greeted him was a notification that a hidden mission had been completed.

He had been disappointed that no sudden mission had triggered during the fight with Heo Yong-pal, but this worked out fine.

[Hidden Mission]

Engage in combat with a villain and neutralize or kill them. (Level five or higher)

Reward: Steps of the Demon Spear Mage.

“So this time, the reward is a skill.”

Not just any skill, but a mobility skill he had only ever admired because of its price.

Also called footwork, a skill that greatly enhanced mobility.

The cheapest footwork skill had been around four thousand gold.

In other words,

By subduing and capturing Heo Yong-pal, he had gained benefits worth over four thousand gold.

“Yong-pal. You really do give generously.”

Just how much he had gained thanks to that fat guy.

Kim Hyun-jun decided to remember the name Heo Yong-pal for a while.

“I’ll try out the rewarded skill after returning to base. For now, it’s mana training.”

What would the footwork skill feel like?

He would find out after returning to base.