11. Field Training
After the midterm exams ended for the 3rd years, there was something the remaining students had to do during the vacation period.
It was the hunter field training in preparation for graduation.
This was a mandatory task for 3rd years, regardless of whether they were from a private or public academy.
It was because it was an important process to find out one’s aptitude as a hunter.
It was a relatively safe job of assisting and supporting hunters’ work from the rear, but that didn’t mean there was no possibility of losing one’s life.
Because of that, many students voluntarily dropped out even after working hard up to this point because they were scared.
After all, voluntarily going to a dangerous place where one could lose their life required that much courage.
“Are the application forms done with this?”
Yoo Jun-sang asked, tapping and organizing the stack of application forms.
The classes determined in the 1st year at Cheongsol Academy continued the same until the 3rd year.
Therefore, the atmosphere in the class was good and the bonds were that deep.
That’s why Yoo Jun-sang’s expression couldn’t help but be dark.
The number of participation application forms was less than the number of children remaining in the class.
There was no need to separately check who were the children who couldn’t participate.
They all had gloomy expressions, were crying, or weren’t even in their seats to pack their bags.
“Sob sob, I’m sorry. But I’m too scared…”
“It’s okay, Da-hee. What are you sorry for? You did nothing wrong.”
“Damn it! I really wanted to do it. After coming this far…”
“Jae-ha Seo, you bastard. Why are you bowing your head in shame? Raise your head, you jerk. No matter what anyone says, you did your best.”
Giving up even after enduring up to this point was difficult and required great courage.
Students who couldn’t acknowledge their fear and forcibly went to the battlefield mostly panicked and lost their lives.
Even when they stood on the battlefield with determination, their minds went blank when their lives were in danger, so how much more so would it be for them?
However, among them, there was an oddball who was looking forward to the field training more than anyone else.
“It’s obvious, but… you’re really amazing. Han Seol, how can you be unfazed even in this situation? My heart is pounding like it’s about to burst right now.”
“Because there’s nothing new.”
“Nothing new about what?”
“The act of killing and being killed.”
“…”
Seong Yu-ra couldn’t tell if Han Seol was joking or being serious.
It was impossible to deny the fact that he was the same age as them and had spent 3 years together, but his atmosphere seemed very awkward, as if he were a different person.
“Don’t worry. We won’t have much to do even if we go anyway. If we just do what we’re told and don’t stand out, there won’t be anything particularly dangerous.”
“Th-that’s right, isn’t it? Somehow, I feel a bit relieved when you say it.”
“Of course, if we’re unlucky and get placed under incompetent guys, there’s nothing more dangerous than that.”
“…”
* * *
The summer vacation that some had been waiting for and others had hoped would never come began.
Unlike the 1st years who went home and the 2nd years who remained at the academy to train, the 3rd years took a bus to the nearest hunter command branch.
“So this is Sangam-dong Hunter Command Branch…”
“Wow… It’s huge!”
“If the branch is this big, how big would the headquarters be?”
The students who arrived at the Sangam-dong Hunter Command Branch couldn’t close their gaping mouths.
While the students were looking around inside the branch, the branch head, who had finished the handover with the escorting instructor, approached the students and greeted them.
“Can I have everyone’s attention here? Welcome, prospective hunters from Cheongsol Academy. I am Bang Jong-hyun, the head of this Sangam branch. Starting today, you will be divided into teams and will be practicing the battlefield that you will be part of as hunters for a month. Of course, it will be a very dangerous practice where you may lose your life if you’re not careful, but don’t worry. The hunters who will be guiding you are all veterans with more than 10 years of experience.”
Fortunately, what Han Seol was worried about didn’t happen.
Most of the hunters guiding the field training were veterans with more than 10 years of experience.
Usually, hunters consider retirement in their late thirties or early forties, which is their 20th year of experience, so 10-year hunters who are experienced and physically in their prime are guiding the students.
“If any of you ignore and do not follow the guiding hunter’s instructions independently, it will lead to a big accident, so you must listen carefully to the guiding hunter’s words and act accordingly. Also, what I and the faculty members of Cheongsol Academy want from you in this field training is not to earn merits. We just hope that you will accumulate the overall experience of the field atmosphere, how veteran hunters deal with situations, the threat of monsters… and how they plan hunts and improvise in the face of that threat. That will be your great asset and a sturdy lifeline in the future.”
“Yes! Branch Head!”
“I like the resounding answer from Cheongsol’s students. Hohoho!”
With that, the branch head’s speech ended, and they began dividing into teams and assigning guiding hunters.
Hunters with more than 10 years of experience also received various benefits such as tax exemptions, pensions, and compensation after retirement according to the number of times they took on the role of a guiding hunter.
Because of that, quite a few people applied for it even if they had to risk being tempted.
Some people also applied for this job out of a sense of duty to nurture the next generation.
“Were you here?”
The person who came to find Han Seol was none other than Han Ji-woong.
As obvious as it may sound, he had also applied for the hunter field training.
“Do you see those guys over there?”
Han Seol threw his gaze in the direction Han Ji-woong pointed with his chin.
There were academy students wearing different uniforms from theirs, and they looked obviously noble at a glance.
“They’re from the private Sehwa Academy. They’re noble young masters and ladies that lowly beings like us can’t even look up to. And I heard that the top-ranking students from such academies are directly assisted by guilds for their field training. Isn’t it infuriating? Even though we have the 1st and 2nd place students in our year, they don’t even glance at us.”
“Is that a big problem?”
“I thought so too, but according to a close senior who graduated last year, it could be a problem.”
Even though Jeong Seong-min also graduated at the end of last year, he didn’t say a single word like this.
Han Seol inwardly cursed Jeong Seong-min as a useless bastard and listened to Han Ji-woong’s words.
“As I said before, the top ranks of Sehwa are taken by each guild, but not all of them are like that. The remaining leftovers will be mixed with us to form teams.”
“Mixing students from Sehwa and Cheongsol?”
“Yes. It’s because hunters have to do their part no matter when, where, or which team they belong to. Anyway, a crappy situation could occur here…”
“You mean they discriminate based on money.”
“As expected, you catch on quick.”
Their conversation was small, so no one could hear it, but at least it was clear to see that the students from Sehwa were looking down on the students from Cheongsol.
“If this were normal, it wouldn’t matter. If it’s not a particularly dangerous situation, there’s no problem at all, but… when such a situation arises, the story becomes different.”
In the same situation, if you had to save one of the rich kid and the poor kid, who would you choose?
Of course, it’s human greed to choose the rich kid, right?
That way, you could at least hope for compensation, so if you became a hunter for money rather than a sense of responsibility, you would be even more likely to do so.
“What’s the reason you’re telling me this?”
“Because I don’t want you, of all people, to die for such a ridiculous reason. Well, you’re not the type to die from something like that, but anyway, we still have one more chance left, don’t we?”
“Aren’t you tired of it?”
“As if. And I’d prefer if the other guys didn’t know about this as much as possible. It could cause unnecessary strife from the start, and it’s not like that situation will definitely occur.”
Han Seol nodded, and Han Ji-woong returned to his class.
Han Seol didn’t tell the other kids about this fact, but instead, he asked Park Sang-tae, an instructor he was usually friendly with, to make sure Seong Yu-ra and Yoo Jun-sang could be on the same team as him.
“Three people… Luckily, there’s a team with extra spots. Alright. But keep this a secret from the other instructors.”
“Thank you.”
Instructor Park Sang-tae, with whom he had an evaluation match during the 1st year midterm exams, gladly accepted Han Seol’s request.
* * *
“Are we really on the same team? Awesome…!”
“I smell something fishy…”
Seong Yu-ra was surprised and moved by the fact that she, Han Seol, and Yoo Jun-sang were on the same team, but Yoo Jun-sang was different.
He knew that their team was formed like this after Han Seol talked with Instructor Park Sang-tae, whom he was usually friendly with.
“There shouldn’t be any problems.”
“There won’t be any problems since you’re here. That’s why I’m more worried that we might develop a habit of relying too much on you.”
Yoo Jun-sang’s words were sincere.
After the 1st semester midterm exams, they had always acted as a team of three whenever it was evaluation season.
It was definitely reassuring and comfortable to have Han Seol on the same team.
However, there were times when it was chilling to suddenly lose a sense of crisis while indulging in that sense of security.
“The fact that you’re thinking like that means there’s no need to worry about that. The problem is that girl who is happy like a naked thunder god.”
Han Seol pointed his chin at Seong Yu-ra, who was innocently happy that she was on the same team as him and Yoo Jun-sang.
“Hahaha…”
Yoo Jun-sang could only let out a hollow laugh while looking at her.
And as Han Ji-woong had heard, the remaining two spots were filled by two young masters from Sehwa Academy, completing the team of five.
“Nice to meet you, friends. I’m Lee Jun-mo, a 3rd year 4th class dealer from Sehwa Academy. Although it’s a short time, I look forward to working with you.”
“I’m Park Sung, a 3rd year 3rd class attacker. Nice to meet you.”
Lee Jun-mo had a gentle impression with droopy eyes, and Park Sung seemed to have a frank personality with a sporty haircut revealing his forehead.
Both of them didn’t seem to have any elements that would flaunt being from a rich family or cause problems, as far as Han Seol could see.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Seong Yu-ra, this guy is Yoo Jun-sang, the class president. And that expressionless stone statue is Han Seol. The three of us are in the same class.”
“Is that so? Then you must have more experience coordinating with each other than us. We’ll do our best not to interfere.”
“I’ll try my best too!”
After finishing the introductions, the team that would become their guiding hunters approached the five of them.
“Nice to meet you, students. I’ve been watching from afar, and I like the heartwarming atmosphere. I’m Cha Ha-neul, an attacker with 10 years of experience. And this person is…”
“I’m Gong Sang-hun, a tanker. I’ve been coordinating with him for over 5 years. Nice to meet you, our future juniors.”
“And this is Oh Seong-hee, the dealer. It’s already been 7 years since I’ve been coordinating with her.”
“Nice to meet you. Ah~ This reminds me of the old days. I was once like you guys…”
The attacker had an experienced aura, the tanker was like a small but solid stone, and the dealer naturally exuded a relaxed atmosphere.
These were the veteran ‘pro hunters’ with over 10 years of experience as hunters.
