Chapter 57: FiveSergeant Kim Hyeon-jun

"Salute! Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun!"

"Right. You worked hard yesterday."

Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo patted Kim Hyeon-jun’s shoulder vigorously. After a moment, he pulled out his smartphone and showed it to the squad members as if to flaunt it.

It was a news article. A common story about a dungeon being cleared and civilians trapped inside being rescued.

"I heard there was a civilian giving you guys a hard time, right? Look at this."

A few specific articles stood out.

[50-year-old Man Caught Trespassing and Causing a Disturbance in a Dungeon Revealed to be a Broadcast Reporter. Current Position: Department Head.]
[The Reporter in Question Has Been Handed a 6-month Suspension.]

The man who had caused a scene, refusing to move unless a stretcher was brought to him, had ended up being disciplined by his workplace.

"Phew. That feels good."

"It's only right that people like that get what’s coming to them."

The squad members looked relieved. Since they were soldiers and couldn't talk back to civilians, they felt vindicated.

"But that’s not the important part."

Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo reached into his pocket and pulled out a rank insignia. It was a Sergeant's insignia with four bars.

"Platoon Leader? No way..."

Everyone looked back and forth between Kim Hyeon-jun and the Platoon Leader with wide eyes. The Platoon Leader gave a single nod.

"That's right. Hyeon-jun’s special promotion to Sergeant has been confirmed."

Before Kim Hyeon-jun could even say anything, the Platoon Leader replaced the insignia himself.

"Sergeant! Kim Hyeon-jun!"

"Right. The report about you taking down that Ice Troll almost entirely on your own went all the way up. Good job."

There was a reason the promotion had been decided so quickly.

"Word is that the monster was in the middle of mutating into an Irregular."

"......I’m sorry, sir?"

"Gasp! I did hear that the cold air it was emitting was unusual..."

That was the result of the dungeon investigation team’s analysis of the Ice Troll’s carcass. Because of this, there had been several meetings. They had to decide whether to record it as defeating an Irregular monster or a standard Boss Monster.

"There are rumors that the Battalion Commander exerted quite a bit of influence."

In the end, they decided to record it as an Irregular monster. Thanks to that, the special promotion was finalized. In other words, luck and timing had aligned perfectly.

"Of course, this result also took into account the achievements you've built up until now, Hyeon-jun."

It was said that it had barely passed after a strict evaluation.

"Thank you, sir!"

A special promotion to Sergeant. For Kim Hyeon-jun, it was a total surprise. While the quick rescue of civilians played a part, the decisive factor was surely the Boss Monster. Killing an Ice Troll alone, and in such a short time, clearly far exceeded the level of an ordinary soldier.

"I'm glad it ended well. The investigation showed it was a pretty dangerous situation."

A variant stronger than the reported Boss Monster had appeared. There was no cold-weather gear, and the environment inside the dungeon was brutal. They might have been able to clear it, but more than half the squad would likely have been injured.

The fact that there were almost no casualties besides a few soldiers with mild frostbite was all thanks to Kim Hyeon-jun.

"Plus, it wasn't a scheduled support mission; it was a sudden task dumped on us by another unit."

Exhibiting skill beyond the standard even in an unexpected situation—that, too, had influenced the special promotion.

Come to think of it, he had wondered what more he would have to do to earn a special promotion. At the time, they hadn't even had cold-weather gear.

'I was going to give up on the special promotion if it didn't work out even after basically soloing an Ice Troll.'

It seemed the military wasn't as rigid as he had thought.

"So, Hyeon-jun is the top dog of these barracks now? Those of you who used to mess with Hyeon-jun better watch out."

The Platoon Leader left the barracks after leaving behind that playful warning.

"...."

"...."

Silence filled the barracks after the door closed. Most of them looked absolutely stunned. A soldier reaching Sergeant from Private in less than one year of service in the Hunter Army—something they had only heard of in rumors had just happened in Barracks No. 3.

"What's wrong? Why is everyone so quiet?"

When everyone acted awkward, Kim Hyeon-jun was the first to speak. Since they were squad members who lived together, they adapted quickly.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun. I only just became the senior-most man here, and you're already snatching it away? I haven't even been Squad Leader for long; I bet I'll lose that to you next."

Corporal Han Ji-han was the first to speak to Kim Hyeon-jun with formal respect. It was playful but natural. It was because he had already accepted that Kim Hyeon-jun would reach Sergeant first.

"You really are amazing every time I see you."

The other Corporals had similar reactions. However, there was one Corporal who showed a noticeably different response... naturally, it was Corporal Kang Cheol-su.

"...."

Corporal Kang Cheol-su kept his eyes fixed on the floor. Kim Hyeon-jun walked up to him and gave a wide grin.

"Kang Cheol-su-cheol-su. Are you not going to doubt me this time?"

"...Corporal Kang Cheol-su. No, sir."

The look on Corporal Kang Cheol-su's face was quite a sight. His complexion was so poor that someone might have mistaken him for being ill.

"Is that so? I guess even our Cheol-su can grow. I remember you tried to tackle me pretty hard last time..."

Kim Hyeon-jun patted his shoulder lightly. Then, he grinned, saying they should get along well in the future. He said it and smiled that way at only one person.

That expression looked like the smile of a villain one might see in a movie.

'Wow... Kang Cheol-su is screwed.'

'I mean, Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun suffered a lot because of that guy when he was a Private.'

'He really messed with the wrong person. Doesn't that guy have over one year left until his discharge?'

'Just imagining it is terrifying. We better stay on his good side too.'

The other squad members swallowed hard at the sight. It was because Kim Hyeon-jun had started establishing discipline the moment he became a Sergeant.

In the Hunter Army, it wasn't uncommon for ranks to be reversed among soldiers. This was because the promotion exams were incredibly difficult. In such cases, people usually treated those with more seniority with some respect, like using formal speech even if the rank had been flipped.

However, the fact that he started off with informal speech just now meant he had no intention of doing that. It was a sign that he had a lot of pent-up resentment. The other Corporals had to worry if the sparks would fly toward them as well.

'Wow... my direct senior really is an elite.'

Only Private Yu Dong-ha, who still lacked experience, failed to understand why his seniors were so tense. It made sense. To Private Yu Dong-ha, Kim Hyeon-jun was an angelic senior who looked after even the smallest things.

***

That evening, at the public training facility. Kim Hyeon-jun was warming up his body.

'To think that thing was mutating into an Irregular.'

He had thought the cold air it emitted was strange, and there was a reason for it. If it had fully become an Irregular, there likely would have been many casualties since he didn't have a skill to block the cold.

'Well, it turned out fine.'

Anyway, the problem was that the power of the Annihilation Spear was much stronger than expected. As soon as he became a Sergeant, he was called by the Company Commander to write an incident report. Rather than trying to blame him, it seemed the Commander was curious about how he had killed the Ice Troll.

'I made up a decent excuse... but I definitely shouldn't use it whenever I want.'

Even now, every muscle in his body was screaming. It felt like his muscles might snap if he used it twice. This part would have to be solved through steady growth.

Still, things had worked out. Along with becoming a Sergeant, he had cleared consecutive missions for his hidden trait and acquired a lot of gold.

**[Current Gold: 4,300 gold]**

His gold had surpassed 4,000, making it the largest fortune he had gathered so far. This was enough to go shopping for equipment.

'Now that I'm a Sergeant, isn't it about time I got some private gear?'

It might be a bit late to complain about gear, but military-issue equipment wasn't that great. In terms of item grades, they were somewhere between Common and Rare. Take the issued spear he used a few days ago, for example. After killing the Ice Troll, it became completely unusable and had to be discarded.

Of course, military gear had decent durability. The problem was that their performance was inferior compared to private gear of the same level.

'They don't say "item carry" or "gear carry" for nothing.'

He had done well in his military life so far, and the Battalion Commander viewed him favorably... so he thought it was worth putting in a request. Although one could technically request private gear even as a Private, the important thing was the unit's permission.

There was no way they would allow a Private to have private gear. Private gear was a privilege enjoyed by Sergeants who had served well.

'I'll talk to the Platoon Leader about this tomorrow morning.'

Having finished his warm-up, Kim Hyeon-jun turned his gaze toward Private Yu Dong-ha. The reason he was at the public training facility was to help train his direct junior, Private Yu Dong-ha's trait. He had experienced his first real combat yesterday, and while he didn't make any mistakes, his control over his Gigantification trait was unstable.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun. Thank you for making time for me. But I feel like I'm taking up your time... I'm sorry."

Private Yu Dong-ha spoke hesitantly. Even though he was his direct successor, Kim Hyeon-jun was a Sergeant. The difference between one bar and four bars was truly massive. Kim Hyeon-jun had told him to speak up if he had any difficulties when he first arrived, but Private Yu Dong-ha had been too intimidated to say anything. He was only here because Kim Hyeon-jun had brought it up first.

"What do you mean, taking up my time? It's fine. Training your trait helps me, too."

This wasn't just a polite lie; it was the truth. Private Yu Dong-ha’s stats while using Gigantification were not low at all. Sparring with him would only be a help, not a hindrance.

'Who knows. I might get another chance to catch a villain.'

That was why Kim Hyeon-jun intended to train Private Yu Dong-ha through mock duels. Fighting a person was different from fighting a monster.

"Then, here I come!"

"Whenever you're ready."

The mock duel began. Private Yu Dong-ha, holding a shield, activated Gigantification.

*Sssss.*

His small frame swelled up like a balloon. It wasn't just swelling; angry muscles defined themselves across his body. His height increased more than twofold. His bulk grew to match that of an orc. Private Yu Dong-ha, who used to look up at Kim Hyeon-jun, was now looking down at him.

'He's definitely decent.'

It was completely different from the Gigantification he had seen before his regression. Back then, he had looked like a deflated rubber balloon, but now he felt full of life and power.

*Thump. Thump. Thump.*

The giant Private Yu Dong-ha charged at Kim Hyeon-jun with his shield raised. The distance closed in an instant.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun! I'm attacking!"

A downward strike came from above. Kim Hyeon-jun held his training spear horizontally and blocked the attack.

*Boom!*

A heavy sound echoed loudly. A sudden gust of wind brushed past Kim Hyeon-jun’s face.

'He’s pretty strong.'

A heavy shock vibrated through his entire body. Even though his current level and stats were by no means low, he couldn't block it effortlessly. He hadn't used mana, but he had to put quite a bit of strength into it.

'As I thought.'

That was the thought Kim Hyeon-jun had after finishing the light spar. Private Yu Dong-ha was full of potential. He was already stronger than most Privates First Class; what would he look like after growing more over time?

As his senior, he looked forward to it. At the same time, he felt a bit of pity. To think the reason he couldn't show his power before the regression was that he wasn't eating well.

*Grumble.*

As soon as the Gigantification wore off, Private Yu Dong-ha’s stomach began to growl.

"I-I'm sorry. My control over the trait is still poor... I'm always hungry after it ends."

"You can learn that slowly."

Kim Hyeon-jun took his junior straight to the PX. He had no intention of letting him be weak because he couldn't eat.

"Sergeant Kim Hyeon-jun. I'm already grateful for what you bought me last time. I'm really okay."

To Private Yu Dong-ha, who was waving his hands in polite refusal, Kim Hyeon-jun gave a small smirk and replied.

"Dong-ha. I'm a Sergeant."

And a Sergeant's basic pay started at 6 million won.