“What?! How are you going to do that without a weapon?”
“I will take weapons from those bastards and use them.”
“Gu Yun-ho! Does that make any sense right now?”
“I will make it work.”
I added with a resolute expression.
“I am confident.”
As I said that, I briefly met Corporal Jeong Ye-som’s eyes. She knew me better than anyone. She judged that there was no way I would act like this without some kind of plan.
“Fine. Let’s do it. But don’t get hurt. If you do, I won’t let you off.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Meanwhile, all five Garoks had set foot on the ground. They had narrow heads like greyhounds with protruding snouts, and their overall appearance was clearly similar to Gnolls or Deriphons.
But there was one decisive difference.
Their weapons.
Large, broad kitchen knives.
They were on a completely different level from crude clubs.
FWOOSH!
Ignoring the Garoks’ threatening appearance, Corporal Jeong Ye-som manifested her magic.
A ball of fire coiled over her hand.
Without her staff, her firepower would be weaker, but it should still be more than enough against Garoks.
“Flames, burn everything!”
In a situation like this, drawing aggro first was the priority. Corporal Jeong Ye-som began hurling fireballs one after another.
Before long, all the Garoks’ attention focused on her.
Raising their kitchen knives, the bastards charged toward Corporal Jeong Ye-som.
I moved into the opening.
“Over here!”
At my shout, three of them changed direction toward me.
A massive kitchen knife swung at me.
An attack I had already anticipated.
I sharply leaned back and let the knife sweep past me.
The other two were charging in from both sides.
I calmly waited for their attacks.
WHOOOSH.
Two kitchen knives slashed diagonally through the air. Garoks were characterized by putting tremendous force behind every single strike.
That makes them easy to deal with once you know how.
SWISH.
I simply twisted my body at the right moment.
Neither the next attack nor the one after that so much as touched the hem of my clothes.
What I could not see before my regression is crystal clear to me now.
Clear enough that even with my low physical capabilities, I can react to all of it.
WHOOOSH.
The instant I slipped past another attack, I kicked the bastard in front of me with all my strength.
THUD—!
Its right leg buckled. The bastard flailed as though it were drowning. Even the kitchen knife in its hand wobbled wildly.
I quickly snatched it away.
SHING.
The ring of the blade was exquisite. The bastard finally regained its balance and flew into a rage, attacking me, but a Garok without its kitchen knife was nothing more than a tiger without its teeth.
SLASH—!
I seized its arm with my left hand and brought the kitchen knife in my right down hard.
THUD.
Something long dropped to the ground.
Its forearm.
“SKREEEEEE!”
Just as the squeal of a pig being slaughtered rang in my ears, the other two attacked me again. Their kitchen knives swung mercilessly, aiming for my entire body.
But I could still see everything.
I avoided the attack from the left by merely ducking my head, while I completely shut down the one from the right with [Efficient Parry].
CLANG—!
That dull clang was always satisfying to hear. I pushed back in turn, making the bastard stagger.
What came next was obvious.
I grabbed its head with my left hand, then drew the kitchen knife across its throat.
The blade had enough depth that it did not take much force to sever all the blood vessels.
“Ghk.”
The bastard died after letting out only a final death cry, without even managing to close its eyes.
After seeing its two friends brutally killed, the last bastard began backing away.
Even a vicious monster follows its instincts when faced with the fear of death.
But Garoks are strong and nothing more. Their speed is terrible.
I caught up to it in a single burst and swung the kitchen knife using [Slash].
Empowered by the Ability, the strike grew even more powerful.
SWOOSH—!
A red line appeared across the bastard’s chest. It was not a simple slash that merely left a mark, but a critical blow that tore its flesh open.
THUD.
Its knees dropped helplessly to the ground. The ownerless kitchen knife rolled beside it. The eyes that had been blazing with a razor-sharp gleam were half rolled back.
Then, along with a cheerful sound, a notification appeared.
DING!
《Opponent has been put into a state of complete shock.》
《New Ability [Groggy] unlocked.》
《Consecutive successful attacks can now force an opponent to their knees.》
Most Abilities only unlock when both Proficiency and Understanding are sufficiently developed.
But this [Groggy] also requires fulfilling the special condition of putting an opponent into a ‘state of complete shock.’
Regardless of the opponent’s level, hitting that exact degree is extremely tricky.
Too hard, and they die.
Too weak, and I end up getting hit instead.
Just right, and it only drains Stamina.
That was why, before my regression, I could not even dream of it for a long time.
‘What an unexpected windfall. I wasn’t even thinking about [Groggy].’
Forcing an opponent to their knees is possible even without the help of an Ability.
But that requires the opponent to be exhausted or injured enough.
By contrast, [Groggy] activates immediately as long as I land consecutive attacks.
I can make someone kneel before me even when they’re still perfectly fresh!
Then I just have to drive a blow into a vital point like the head or heart.
How useful is that?
“Yun-ho!”
Corporal Jeong Ye-som had finished her battle in the meantime.
Two charred lumps lay sprawled on the ground.
A still-hot ball of fire slowly circled above them.
“Private Second Class Gu Yun-ho.”
I waved to signal that I was fine.
I had clearly dominated the fight itself.
My checkered shirt was soaked red, but not a single drop of my own blood was mixed in.
Not once had I been in danger.
But my physical capabilities are still holding me back.
To exaggerate a little, it felt as though I had just made a forced march up a mountain in full combat gear.
“Huff, huff.”
Well, I won. That’s what matters.
Before my regression, I would not even have had the luxury of worrying about my physical capabilities or anything else. I would have ended up like that instead. I glanced at the Garoks, now cold corpses, then turned to the side again.
“Nice!”
I high-fived Corporal Jeong Ye-som as she hurried over. Excited, she even pulled me into a hug.
The soft sensation pressing against my chest.
They really are big.
“You will get blood on you.”
“So what if I get a little on me?”
She smiled brightly, then gently patted my head.
“So there was a reason our Yun-ho said that earlier, huh?”
“What do you mean?”
“When you said you were confident.”
Her voice suddenly became rather serious.
“That’s why I’m sorry.”
“What? Why are you suddenly apologizing?”
“I’ll be honest, I doubted you. If it hadn’t been such an urgent situation, I probably would’ve just told you to stay back.”
“Ah.”
“But I didn’t expect you to fight this well.”
“I understand. If it were me, I would have said ‘get lost,’ not ‘stay back.’”
“Pfft. No need to go that far.”
It was worth going that far.
Because I really had been that kind of bastard.
“A bastard without the skill to back it up only causes trouble for the comrades around him by joining a battle. Corporal Jeong Ye-som made the correct decision. You have no need to feel sorry.”
“Hey. When you put it like that, I feel even worse.”
“Then buy me as much frozen food as I want when we get back to base tomorrow. I will gladly eat it as your apology.”
“Sure. I can buy you as much as you want.”
And with that, the situation was resolved.
Just in case, we looked around the area surrounding the Dungeon, but there was nothing else unusual. No more Garoks came bursting out, either.
Since it had exploded as soon as it formed, there was no real need to go inside.
“Wooooow. Hunters really are something.”
“Where did those Hunters come from? Are they with a Guild?”
“They took down monsters like that in an instant… They’re both incredible.”
“The woman using fire magic was amazing too, but what was with that guy? He just kept dodging every one of those monsters’ attacks.”
The civilians who had left the street or fled inside buildings began gathering one by one.
Before I knew it, they all had phones in their hands.
CLICK, CLICK. As if photographing celebrities who had appeared on the street, they captured Corporal Jeong Ye-som and me on their cameras.
When I raised my head, flashes were going off above us as well. It seemed some people had been filming from higher up.
Then.
“What in the world! What happened here?!”
Hunters in military uniforms came rushing onto the scene.
Could they be the neighboring unit’s five-minute response team?
I did not know their exact affiliation, but a V was marked on the combat helmet of the person at the front.
Corporal Jeong Ye-som and I immediately saluted.
“Loyalty! We are soldiers of Flying Tiger Battalion!”
Then we gave our report.
“A short while ago, a Dungeon that formed right here exploded, and five Garoks….”
There was nothing complicated about it.
“…and so, the two of us worked together to eliminate all five Garoks. That is all.”
We only had to report the situation exactly as it had happened.
The Staff Sergeant asked,
“Well done. By the way, what are your ranks?”
“I am a Corporal.”
At Corporal Jeong Ye-som’s answer, the Staff Sergeant looked as though they had expected as much. Even if Garoks were not especially high-level monsters, dealing with such an unexpected situation seemed to require at least someone of Corporal rank.
Then I spoke.
“I am a Private Second Class.”
“…Private Second Class?”
“That is correct.”
“Flying Tiger Battalion has a real gem on its hands. A Private Second Class managed something this impressive.”
A real gem, huh.
They would never say that if they knew my reputation back at the unit.
Even officers from other platoons said things like, ‘If someone like Gu Yun-ho gets assigned to your roster, it’s actually a loss. All he knows how to do is clean up after everyone else.’
It’s fine.
I can change my reputation from now on.
Starting with today’s Modang Station incident.
***
The incident received far more extensive and intensive coverage than I had expected.
― If the two Hunters had not been passing by Modang Station at that time, you are saying there could have been significant casualties?
― That is correct. Because it was a weekend night, there is a high chance people would not even have understood what was happening at first. Drunks who wandered over without knowing what was going on would have fallen victim to the Garoks’ knives.
― Those two Hunters truly did something remarkable.
― Yes. They saved the lives of dozens of civilians.
The coverage continued even after our overnight pass ended and we returned to base.
Corporal Jeong Ye-som and I reported our return not in the operations room, but in the Company Commander’s office.
“Hahaha! Well done, well done. Our Private Second Class Gu Yun-ho and Corporal Jeong Ye-som have brought honor to Flying Tiger Battalion.”
Captain Oh Jun-beom usually referred to me with things like, ‘Hey, you there, you, any one of you.’
Now I had become ‘our Private Second Class Gu Yun-ho,’ dripping with affection.
Maybe this is why people need to succeed.
“Saving civilians without backing down in any situation is both the mindset and qualification of a Hunter. I am glad you seem to have followed your Company Commander’s teachings well.”
Says the man who works the company to the bone just to pad his own record.
The words hovered on my lips, but I did not bother saying them aloud.
“Loyalty! Yes, that is correct. Ah! Yes, understood.”
Captain Oh Jun-beom was taking a call from someone high up, holding the phone in both hands.
“Then, goodbye, Battalion Commander. Loyalty!!”
It was Lieutenant Colonel Park Ui-cheol, commander of Flying Tiger Battalion.
“Haha, good news. The Battalion Commander says he will present you with commendations tomorrow.”
“What commendation are you referring to?”
“What commendation do you think?”
Captain Oh Jun-beom gestured with the tip of his chin toward the wall beside the door. Photos of a small number of soldiers were hanging there.
Beneath them were the words:
「Heroes Who Brought Glory to Flying Tiger」.
I could not help but be shocked.
“A commendation for the Heroes Who Brought Glory to Flying Tiger.”
Flying Tiger Battalion had been established for well over fifteen years. In all that time, only three people had ever earned that distinction. That was how much weight being named one of the Heroes Who Brought Glory to Flying Tiger carried.
“You know, right? Han Jae-woo, the Master of Blue Riser, was one of our Heroes Who Brought Glory to Flying Tiger too.”
“!!”
“Starting tomorrow, you two will carry on that honor as well.”
GULP. I swallowed hard.
Han Jae-woo.
A man who had risen from rock bottom to the very top, an iconic figure in that regard and a living legend.
My heart began pounding wildly at the thought of sharing the same honor as him.