Chapter 44: Proposal

“If a high-output engine were installed on your feet, would it feel like this?”

With every step he took forward, it felt as though an invisible force was powerfully propelling him from behind.

The same sensation applied when he moved backward.

No matter the direction, activating the skill while in motion resulted in explosive acceleration.

Twice as fast? Not even close.

It felt at least three times faster.

“What is this? Can you suddenly become that fast?”

Even Private First Class Jeong Yena, who had deliberately been keeping her distance, noticed the change at once.

‘Seeing mana wrapped around his feet, it must be a movement skill… but do they normally make someone that fast?’

Among archers, possessing a movement skill was not particularly rare.

However, as far as she knew, there was no archer whose speed increased to such an extreme degree.

“Ugh. This is making me dizzy.”

With his overall movement speed rising so abruptly, even locking onto him became difficult.

If simply aiming was challenging, then landing an arrow was bound to be even harder.

From the moment Kim Hyunjun activated his skill, Private First Class Jeong Yena’s accuracy began to decline noticeably.

“Not bad.”

Meanwhile, Kim Hyunjun felt thoroughly satisfied with the skill’s performance.

Even with the correction effect applied, his proficiency was still lacking.

Because he had yet to fully adapt to the increased speed, he ended up taking several hits from rubber arrows.

And that was not the only issue.

The mana consumption was overwhelming.

Although Private First Class Park Yerin had taught him how to control mana with greater precision, maintaining the skill for a prolonged period was still impossible.

Even so, it did not matter.

In fact, it felt good.

Mana was not a critical concern.

As long as he continued to level up and train steadily, that problem would naturally resolve itself.

‘It is already this strong. What will it be like once I completely master it?’

How incredible would the synergy be between this skill and spear techniques?

The thought alone brought a smile to his face.

“Haah. Hah. Corporal Kim Hyunjun… I think my arm is about to fall off.”

After signaling surrender and saying she could not shoot anymore, Private First Class Jeong Yena dropped onto the floor and asked him to help her up because she was exhausted.

Kim Hyunjun pretended not to hear and simply thanked her instead.

“I think I shot over two hundred arrows.”

“You worked hard. It really helped. The personal training room is too small.”

“Just because you made corporal, does that mean you can work your junior like this?”

As they left the shared training facility,

Kim Hyunjun responded to Private First Class Jeong Yena’s playful complaints by saying he would buy her some frozen food.

“I worked hard for a long time, so I am getting the most expensive one.”

“Go ahead.”

“Then I am getting lots of frozen chicken.”

Her eyes sparkled brightly.

‘No matter how expensive it is, it is still just the post exchange.’

That was what Kim Hyunjun believed—until he ended up spending over fifty thousand won at the post exchange.

He had not anticipated her sweeping up frozen chicken like that.

Still, as long as she was satisfied, it was fine.

“Grab some drinks too. You cannot eat all that without something to drink.”

“As expected of Corporal Kim Hyunjun. You have great sense.”

He added drinks to the pile as well.

After all, she had fired a tremendous number of arrows to help him test his skill.

The next morning.

In front of the battalion commander’s office.

After straightening his uniform one more time, Kim Hyunjun knocked.

“Oh. Hyunjun? Come in.”

“Loyalty! Corporal Kim Hyunjun!”

“Yes. It is just a light counseling session. Why are you so tense?”

Colonel Woo Hyunseok greeted him with a bright smile.

He expertly prepared instant coffee, dropped in several ice cubes, and handed it over.

“Thank you, sir!”

At first glance, he appeared to be nothing more than a gentle middle-aged man, but that impression was merely superficial.

He possessed the strength to clear a B-grade dungeon alone.

While colonels could differ in level, even the lowest among them would likely exceed level ten.

Three Mugunghwa insignias were not awarded through seniority alone.

“So. How has military life been lately?”

“Yes, sir. Each day feels rewarding.”

“Haha. Our Third Company commander has been having a hard time lately. I should tell him to learn from you.”

The counseling session began with light, casual conversation.

After roughly ten minutes, Colonel Woo Hyunseok shifted to the main topic.

“From the battalion commander’s perspective, Corporal Kim Hyunjun is too valuable to discharge as he is.”

The words that followed genuinely surprised him.

At most, he had expected reward leave or prize money for capturing a villain.

Instead, an entirely unexpected proposal was placed before him.

“It may be premature to conclude, but the battalion commander intends to recommend you for second lieutenant.”

If he chose long-term service rather than discharge, they would push for his promotion from sergeant to second lieutenant.

That alone was an enormous advantage.

‘There is only one route from enlisted to officer.’

It required a special recommendation from someone at the battalion commander level or higher.

Naturally, such recommendations were rare, and the screening process was rigorous.

Jumping from enlisted soldier to officer was no trivial matter.

‘There have been cases of sergeants becoming second lieutenants.’

But the number was exceedingly small.

If even two emerged in a single year, that was considered many.

“The first offer. There is another. When I support someone, I do so boldly.”

The second benefit was just as astonishing.

While on leave, after submitting a simple report, he would be permitted to personally clear dungeons.

Furthermore, he would be allowed to take military equipment with him during leave.

“However, this applies only to D-grade dungeons. If your skills are proven, C-grade would not be impossible.”

He had never expected such terms from the conservative Hunter military—especially extended to a single enlisted soldier.

‘Even the battalion commander’s own son would not receive benefits like this.’

The thought crossed his mind.

‘There is no reason to hesitate.’

It felt comparable to a major civilian guild offering extravagant incentives to recruit a hunter.

For Kim Hyunjun, who had intended to pursue long-term service from the beginning, it was irresistibly appealing.

As he momentarily absorbed Colonel Woo Hyunseok’s aggressive proposals,

‘Hmm. I pushed quite hard, yet he is still thinking.’

The colonel misinterpreted his silence as hesitation.

That misunderstanding was understandable.

Compared to the Hunter military, civilian guilds offered far higher salaries.

Their support items were superior in quality.

Overall treatment was significantly better.

Under such circumstances, the more anxious party was Colonel Woo Hyunseok.

‘I planned to bring this up once he reached sergeant, but he surpassed my expectations.’

Who could have foreseen that after being sent to villain training, he would capture a level five villain?

‘I must secure him, even if I have to press harder. My intuition tells me this type of soldier appears once in a century.’

After a brief pause for thought, the colonel revealed his final card.

“You may also retain the rewards from dungeons you personally clear. Just submit a simple report.”

He was exercising the full extent of his authority.

He might face criticism from above for some time, but that was manageable.

In his judgment, Kim Hyunjun possessed that level of potential value.

“Corporal Kim Hyunjun will not disappoint the battalion commander’s expectations! I will work hard!”

He could not withstand the threefold barrage of benefits.

He gave the answer the battalion commander desired, formally declaring his intention for long-term service.

“Hahaha. You may think it over further. Are you certain about answering so quickly?”

“Yes, sir!”

In situations like this, hesitation only created the impression of calculation.

To extend such benefits to a single soldier, the battalion commander must have invested considerable thought and preparation.

“I will repay your expectations!”

“Yes, yes. Continue as you have been, and that will be more than enough.”

Colonel Woo Hyunseok smiled, evidently pleased with the decisive response.

‘Second lieutenant? I have no intention of stopping there.’

Kim Hyunjun had no plans to end his climb at second lieutenant.

He intended to rise as high as possible using this opportunity.

Of course, first he would need to make sergeant.

The following day.

After completing his duties, Kim Hyunjun entered the barracks while humming quietly.

‘They said the benefits should be processed within two months at most… perhaps I will use leave then.’

By military standards, two months was relatively fast.

He could wait that long without difficulty.

‘I had been worried about handling items if I secretly cleared dungeons, but in a few months, even that concern will disappear.’

As he changed into his activity uniform, a conversation among corporals drifted to him from across the room.

“When I go on leave this time, I am buying a quest commission ticket from the exchange.”

“What? Why buy that? Just use a proxy service and sneak into a dungeon.”

“That has no romance. If I hit the jackpot from a commission ticket, who knows? It might rain experience points.”

“You are crazy. Just buy a lottery ticket.”

Corporal Han Jihan spoke enthusiastically about purchasing a quest commission ticket to grow stronger during leave, while the others shook their heads in disbelief.

‘Quest commission tickets. Their efficiency is poor.’

That was Kim Hyunjun’s assessment.

A quest commission ticket was essentially a request issued by the system to a hunter.

Like a game, if certain conditions were fulfilled, the system would grant a reward.

At first glance, it might appear appealing, yet few hunters actively sought them.

Even a single rare-grade ticket was expensive.

Prices easily climbed into the several-million-won range.

Moreover, compared to the purchase cost, the rewards were disappointing.

Often, it would simply spawn a level one slime.

‘Spending several million won for that is not cost-effective.’

It was commonly said that clearing one dungeon was more worthwhile than using ten of those tickets.

In short, quest commission tickets were items collected by wealthy hobbyists with unusual tastes.

Or occasionally purchased by dopamine-driven hunters chasing a jackpot.

Nothing more, nothing less.

Since Corporal Han Jihan was buying one in hopes of striking it big, he was likely seeking that thrill.

‘And they only come in rare grade to begin with…’

Then, without warning, a memory flashed through his mind.

‘Wait. How did I forget that?’

He recalled that the quest commission ticket Han Jihan intended to buy concealed a hidden secret.

Its structure was designed so that only one person would reap an enormous benefit.

‘Thanks, Jihan.’

He had already received reward leave for capturing the villain Heo Yongpal and had been planning to use it soon.

‘Strike while the iron is hot.’

Two days later.

Kim Hyunjun stepped outside the base on his reward leave.

He had not originally planned to take leave at this time, but because of Corporal Han Jihan, he did.

“Since I am on leave, I should visit home first… but there is somewhere I need to go.”

He intended to stop by the item exchange before anything else.

It was the place where hunters sold items acquired from clearing dungeons.

As the only nationally certified exchange, trading activity was high and item listings were abundant.

With multiple branches available, purchasing lower-grade items was relatively straightforward.

“The Hunter military ID carries the same validity as a civilian hunter license in situations like this.”

As long as he could verify his status as a hunter, transactions posed no issue.

The same applied to enlisted soldiers in the Hunter military.

Only unauthorized item imports were prohibited; item trading itself was permitted.

Provided it was not illegal.

Kim Hyunjun intended to purchase ten quest commission tickets.

“Up to nine, nothing special occurs. But once you collect ten, the story changes.”

He was preparing to fulfill the condition necessary to utilize the knowledge he retained from before his regression.