The Dark Mage’s Return to Enlistment

Chapter 10: shooting-1

“It’s amazing. How can you hit the target so well without missing a single shot? How did you do in shooting during your training?”

“I scored full marks with 20 shots.”

“What about during the second round of shooting?”

“I probably did the same.”

“Wow, that’s impressive. Did you receive any rewards or recognition?”

“Yeah, I got a phone call.”

“A phone call?”

“Yeah, my squad leader insisted that I call the Neo Play customer center, and I did it twice even though I didn’t want to. They told me to stay strong and encouraged me. Most trainees would have called their parents, but I had no one to call. It was tough to find a place to call.”

“Sounds like your company cares.”

“Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, I’m done with shooting. You’re better than me at it.”

“No, thank you.”

After 20 more minutes, Lee Dong-jin said it was time to get up. For Kim Min-jun, shooting training wasn’t helpful, but it did help pass the time.

“Some of the senior soldiers got in trouble for missing the target during shooting. But it’s okay if you don’t do well, just do your best. Some of the senior soldiers hit the target at first, but of course, physical punishment is rare nowadays.”

“If I get in trouble, will you get in trouble too, Private Lee?”

“As a senior soldier, I probably will. But it’s fine. I’m used to it, and I have a lot of free time as a private. Don’t worry about me.”

Lee Dong-jin replied casually and left the room. Kim Min-jun watched him leave and chuckled to himself.

“You will never be in trouble.”

Why?

There will be a shooting training after this.

I will show you what shooting is.

**

10 a.m.

Hunters gathered in front of the training ground for shooting training.

“Ah… shooting right after being assigned to the military.”

“Look at the training schedule. It’s ridiculous.”

The hunters complained and grabbed their guns.

The general shooting training uses a gun with modeling similar to the M16.

Special shooting training is designed to develop shooting skills in special situations.

“Since they told us to bring mana guns, special shooting might be like a hostage situation.”

“If it’s a mana gun, it’s a sure thing.”

The experienced sergeants grumbled that it was obvious and wore a pistol-shaped mana gun on their waist.

“All squad leaders, report the number of personnel.”

“First squad, 12 members! Current personnel, 12! No problems!”

“Second squad, 11 members! Current personnel…”

The hunters finished checking the personnel in front of the training ground and moved to the shooting training site.

As the magic bullets are used, the durability of the building is very high.

Although it appeared to be a shabby old facility, it was said to be able to withstand a swarm of low-level monsters for about 10 minutes. However, it was said that it couldn’t even last 5 minutes against intermediate-level monsters. Is this the best they can do?

“Minjoon.”

“Private Kim Minjoon.”

“Do you know that there’s no time limit for shooting? Don’t worry even if the senior hunter urges you. The most important thing is how many shots you hit.”

“I understand.”

While listening to the shooting precautions, Private Lee Dongjin spoke in a small voice.

“Just think of it as a test at first and relax.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Hunter guns were more difficult to handle than those of regular soldiers. Monsters weren’t affected much by the ammunition used by the regular army. Therefore, most hunters used magic bullets, and adjusting the zero point would only help a little. In the end, one had to practice more shots and get used to it by intuition.

“At least one hit on target one!”

“At least one hit on target two!”

“At least one hit on target three!”

Kim Minjoon was assigned to the second target.

“Would you like to see the shooting skills of the new recruit?”

A sergeant was standing right behind in the queue.

“I heard you were the top soldier in the training center? That’s because you shot with zeroing adjustment. You should think of this as real combat.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Our unit doesn’t go easy on new recruits. You have to shoot well, or you’ll get punished.”

“Okay, I understand.”

As expected from the Hunter army.

Even the private who had been assigned to the unit for just one day was not spared.

“Don’t worry about time and take it slow. We’ll wait patiently.”

“Yes, understood.”

The sergeant yawned and looked ahead.

“Entire squad, prepare for shooting!”

“Prepare for shooting!”

“Entire squad, load magic bullets!”

“Load magic bullets!”

A moment later.

Under the voice of the education center flowing through the speakers, shooting training began.

“Shoot from the prepared squad!”

Ku-waang!

With a roar as if a cannon was fired, magic bullets were launched.

The hunters momentarily narrowed their eyes but did not take their eyes off the target.

“We should spend more on national defense.”

This was a disadvantage that occurred because they had to modify firearms with minimal cost.

In the past, there was an incident of a dungeon break occurring near Seoul, and monsters pouring out.

At that time, people complained to the military about the loud noise, and some even demanded compensation for developing sudden hearing loss.

Of course, now the treatment of the Hunter army has improved, but their shooting training is similar to that of the regular army.

If they hit the target about 30 meters away, the training is considered successful.

Bang! Bang!

The shooting range was filled with loud noise.

Kim Min-joon aimed at the target and pulled the trigger, thinking that it was not difficult, but it felt different from training camp.

The long-range weapon he trained with in this world was a poorly-made gun that had to be reloaded one bullet at a time, like garbage.

The bullets also flew in strange directions and sometimes got stuck and didn’t fire.

Compared to that crappy gun, this one was a piece of cake.

Without hesitation, he fired 20 shots and finished the training in just two minutes, which was an outstanding achievement for a Hunter, given that their average was only 10 shots.

However, Kim Min-joon was disappointed that one shot missed the target.

The sergeant who was waiting behind him brought back the targets with an expression of disbelief after the shooting ended.

“One, two…does this even make sense?”

He looked intently, as if trying to pierce through the target, to see if he had missed anything.

“Is this good enough?”

“…?”

The sergeant nodded with a bewildered expression.

Even though he had been in the military for over three years, he didn’t have the skill to hit 19 shots.

And the MX16 wasn’t a gun that could be handled with luck alone.

“Wow… Look at that. What private hits 19 shots?”

“Just a machine? What’s your name?”

“Private! My name is Kim Minjoon!”

The other hunters who had finished shooting belatedly stared in amazement at Kim Minjoon’s target.

Even the officers were the same.

“Look at this. It looks like 10 shots hit just his head.”

“He was said to be the best soldier, and it wasn’t just a rumor.”

As they grumbled for a moment,

“Don’t waste time, prepare for the next shot!”

The eyes that had focused on Kim Minjoon disappeared as the drill instructor spoke.

“Ah, the sergeant looks like he’s been surpassed by a recruit. Can you shoot?”

“Private Kim Minjoon. Thank you.”

After patting Kim Minjoon on the shoulder, the sergeant took aim and fired.

“Entire squad, prepare for the shot!”

“Prepare for the shot!”

After the normal shooting was over, the sergeant hit 14 shots.

Slightly higher than the average of the Hunter Brigade.

“Ah… I aimed with all my might and only hit 14 shots.”

The sergeant expressed regret.

“Retrieve the targets and wait in place.”

“Wait!”

After the shooting practice, there was a short break.

“Are you Kim Minjun?”

“Yes, Private Kim Minjun!”

“Hey! Let’s take a look at the target!”

“Yes, understood!”

As the break began, hunters crowded around to see Kim Minjun’s target. He handed it over to the seniors who admired the paper with holes in the head.

“Wow, crazy! 19 shots!”

“All 19 shots went to the head?”

“How is that even possible?”

“Minjun, how did you do it?”

“I shot as I learned in the training center!”

“How many shots did you hit in the training center?”

“I hit all the shots!”

The other hunters were impressed by his achievement.

“Has anyone ever hit 19 shots before?”

“No, wasn’t the best shooter among the sergeants only able to hit 17 shots?”

“That’s right, it was around there.”

It was an overwhelming record, and the hunters were busy examining the target for a while.

“Try handling a gun similar to K98 when you go to this world. Think that you’ll die if you can’t hit a single shot. Of course, if you answer, ‘I practiced shooting to death in this world,’ you’ll attract attention as a curious soldier. At times like this, it’s best to just say that you did your best. Anyway, try to do well in the special shooting this afternoon. I have a feeling you’ll do well in that too.”

“Private Kim Min-joon! Thank you!”

“Yeah. You’re not just an outstanding soldier for nothing.”

The senior soldiers patted Kim Min-joon’s shoulders.

“Well, that concludes the regular shooting training. You all did a great job. Especially Kim Min-joon!”

“Private Kim Min-joon!”

“Yeah. It was your first time shooting, but hitting 19 out of 19 shots? You did well. Keep showing us that kind of performance in the future!”

“I understand!”

With the praise from the instructor, the regular shooting training was over.

“Insane. I’ve never seen the instructor give such praise.”

“Hey, even an officer would have a hard time with that.”

Other hunters were swept up in the mood and started applauding.

Clap, clap, clap!

“Seriously, what is this…”

Kim Min-joon touched his nose, feeling uneasy.

“After returning, everyone needs to maintain their guns and gather in front of the battalion at 1 PM. Understood?”

“Yes! I understand!”

On the way back from the shooting range, the soldiers who had shown little interest in Kim Min-joon at the barracks approached him and bombarded him with questions like crazy.

“If you score a perfect score, you get a six-day vacation! I envy you.”

“Isn’t there anything for 19 hits? If I were the instructor, I would give you something, really.”

The senior soldiers regretted as if it were their own business, “If only you had hit one more.”

“Hey, teach me some tips for shooting the MX16 well. I’ll buy you a PX.”

“I feel like if you calculate with your head and shoot, you’re more likely to miss. I think intuition is important.”

“What the hell, he’s a prodigy.”

“Is that your answer, rookie? What’s the difference between you and Faker, who makes money by hitting minions with a little bit of HP left?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Just kidding. Anyway, it’s great that an elite soldier like you has joined us.”

The soldiers patted Kim Min-joon’s shoulder and told him to do well in the afternoon shooting as well.

“You did well in regular shooting. Do the same in special shooting.”

Then, in the middle of their conversation, Sergeant Lee Seung-ho spoke and disappeared in an instant.

“Oh. Sergeant Lee Seung-ho is very strict when it comes to training. He seems to like your performance.”

“But how many shots did Sergeant Lee Seung-ho hit?”

“He probably hit 16 shots?”

“He hit well, but he still didn’t hit as well as the rookie?”

“I can hear everything, shut up.”

“Yes…”

The hunters continued their chat like that and started cleaning their guns as soon as they arrived at the barracks in preparation for the afternoon shooting.