Chapter 1679 – 1679. Hunter Vs Vampire
“Recruits! You’re not nervous, are you?! Get down!”
‘Shit.’
I immediately dropped to the floor at the instructor’s command.
From my experience in Dark Moon, I know that being slow here will only get you more grief.
It’s often said that in the military, being average is the best. That’s true if you’re just going to stay in the military for a short time before being discharged. But if you’re aiming for promotion, whether it’s the military or anywhere else, you have to be better than others. That’s how you get benefits.
‘This isn’t the military. It’s just a company training camp.’
If you fail here, you have to go back. And since they even rank you based on your evaluation scores, you have to do better than everyone else.
“This class has a lot of quick-witted recruits.”
The instructor said with a satisfied smile. I rolled my eyes around, looking at my surroundings. Everyone was lying on the floor. They were all men with a certain amount of muscle. It was clear that they had been filtered out in the first round.
“One means down, two means up! Reporting is mandatory! One!”
“One!”
“Two!”
“Two!”
We repeated push-ups. Sweat began to bead on the foreheads of the men, including mine.
‘Damn it. Normally, I wouldn’t even break a sweat with this much exercise….’
Due to my physical abilities being adjusted, my current stats are just above average.
“One!”
“One!”
“Two!”
“Two!”
In less than ten minutes, my mouth tasted metallic.
The reason those damn instructors are suddenly acting up is probably some pointless power play. I want to get up and kill them all right now.
‘Hold it in. Hold it in. I can’t ruin my plan from the start. Doing whatever I want isn’t always the answer.’
Think of it like a game.
No matter how fun a game is, using cheat codes makes it less enjoyable. Winning while following the rules of the game is the true test of skill and brings a sense of accomplishment.
‘I’ll use cheat codes when things get really unbearable. I can still hold on for now.’
Just as the men were about to collapse, the instructors stopped the drills.
“Get up! I’ll tell you today’s schedule! You will be provided with dorms and supplies, and there will be individual interviews with the head instructor. The interviews won’t be long, so be polite and sincere! One word to you all: do your best!”
The instructors divided the people and took them away.
I headed to the dorms with a group of people.
I was worried because the training camp was so similar to the military, but the dorms were newly built, with one room per person. There was even a private bathroom, making it feel like a studio apartment.
‘If it were the military, we’d be living in groups. This is better.’
I was lying on the bed after receiving my supplies when it happened.
“Recruits number 20 to 30! Come down to the first floor of the dorms and wait!”
I was number 25.
I got up from the hard bed, sighed, and took out a cola from my inventory, gulping it down. Originally, you weren’t allowed to bring cigarettes or even food.
‘Screw that. I have an inventory.’
If I put the trash I made back into my inventory, it’s a perfect crime. There’s no way I’ll get caught.
‘Why do I have to put trash in my inventory?’
I walked over to the window with the empty can. The back of the dorm was a mountain. I looked around. After confirming that no one was watching, I threw it into the mountain. Even if someone found the cola can, they would think an instructor had drunk it and thrown it away. The trainees were thoroughly searched, and even their smartphones were confiscated.
‘Well, the one I turned in was a fake smartphone that I don’t usually use.’
Actually, it doesn’t matter if it’s fake or real.
No matter which smartphone I touch, it has the Leisure Life app installed. The same goes for tablets. The Leisure Life app is only visible to me, and only I can operate it.
When I came down from the second floor to the first floor of the dorm, the trainees, including me, were sitting on chairs. The instructor was standing in front, putting on a serious face. I looked around and sat in an empty spot.
‘Seeing them here confirms that this is the start of the original story.’
I checked the two men sitting in front of me. The numbers on their gray shirts were 21 and 22, respectively.
They are the protagonist and supporting character of the original story.
The man with the sharp features is the protagonist, Choi Sangwoo. Quiet, he was sitting still, looking straight ahead.
‘According to the original setting, he’s a quarter werewolf.’
Choi Sangwoo’s grandmother is a werewolf. His family was recently murdered by a vampire lord. Choi Sangwoo’s reason for joining the company is to avenge his family. He is chasing the vampire lord who is the target of his revenge.
‘That’s the supporting character, Ji Hyunseong.’
Number 22. A punk with orange hair. In reality, he has a pretty good personality, and he was quietly talking to the people sitting around him.
‘Despite his punkish appearance, he has a good personality.’
Ji Hyunseong has a huge debt at home. He joined the company to pay off that debt. The company is performance-based, but the base salary is much higher than other large corporations.
‘In the original story, Choi Sangwoo and Ji Hyunseong are the top two in the training camp.’
And Choi Sangwoo is a promising prospect. Because he inherited some of the werewolf blood, his physical abilities are overwhelmingly superior to ordinary humans.
‘That’s in the original story. Here, I’ll take first place.’
About 30 minutes passed. The instructor called my name.
“Recruit number 25! Go to the head instructor! Go to that building!”
“Yes.”
I answered briefly. If I said anything unnecessarily long, they would definitely say something about it. My experience in [Dark Moon] tells me that.
The head instructor’s building was smaller than the dorms, but it was more luxurious. The building itself seemed to be made for the head instructor alone.
I faced the head instructor in the reception room.
He was an old man with white hair. But because of his overwhelming presence, he didn’t feel old. He was a well-honed warrior who wouldn’t look out of place on the battlefield.
“Trainee number 25, Seong Yujin.”
“I am Head Instructor Hong Deoksu. Sit down.”
I sat down in front of him. I quickly scanned the table. There were five documents scattered on the table. It was information about me.
[Using Moment. Remaining stacks: 6]
I used Moment. In the slowed time, I quickly scanned the contents of the documents.
Seong Yujin.
Age 22. Hometown is Gwangju. He was a university student but dropped out to join the company. His reason for joining was revenge against vampires. In this world, my parents were killed by vampires. There was other information as well. Kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school. Relatives and friendships. One person’s life was summarized in five documents.
“I see you practiced kendo.”
“My father was a kendo master. I’ve been practicing steadily since I was young.”
It was information written in the documents. I was a 4th dan in kendo. I had been practicing kendo steadily, but I was at the level of an ordinary person. It meant that I hadn’t devoted my life to kendo.
“That’s what it says. Is your reason for joining also revenge?”
“Yes. I want to find the vampire bastards who killed my parents and kill them all.”
My goal is to stop the vampire lord’s conspiracy. It’s not difficult. All I have to do is kill all the mosquito bastards, including the vampire lord.
I spoke while acting angry, and Hong Deoksu silently took a sip of water from a paper cup.
“…Is revenge not a valid reason?”
“It doesn’t matter. It’s a common reason. Most of those who join the company hate vampires. They are much more trustworthy than those who join for money.”
“Then there’s no problem.”
“There’s no problem. That’s why it’s even stranger.”
“Huh?”
“Most trainees are intimidated and tremble in front of me. It’s natural for newbies. But you don’t seem intimidated at all. Aren’t you afraid of me?”
“I’m not particularly afraid.”
“You’re not particularly afraid. The head instructor isn’t an enemy, is he?”
“If I were an enemy, would you be afraid?”
“If you were an enemy, I’d have to kill you.”
“Haha. Interesting. I smell danger from you. I’ve seen many trainees so far, and there have been quite a few who smelled as dangerous as you. Do you know what happened to them?”
“I don’t know. This is my first time here. What happened to them?”
“They either died like bugs or became high-ranking officials in the company. The ratio is about 9 to 1.”
“……”
“I’ll be watching with anticipation.”
The interview ended there.
• • •
Life in the training camp was terrible.
The instructors’ control and training were even more severe than in a regular military training camp.
We woke up at 5 a.m., ran, showered, and then ate breakfast. After breakfast, we were educated about vampires. Their abilities, habits, and characteristics.
In the afternoon, combat training followed. We learned not only shooting but also swordsmanship. The reason was that swords were better than guns in close combat.
“Don’t allow vampires to get close. The basic method of hunting vampires is to shoot them with silver bullets from a distance. If you unintentionally engage in close combat, a silver-plated sword or knife will be more helpful than a gun.”
Vampires were basically more physically capable than humans. In fact, the probability of a human winning in close combat was not high. The only reason we could resist was because of the silver-plated swords, which were a weakness of vampires.
“Recruits! Listen carefully! Vampires are divided into four classes! Slave, Common, Noble, and Lord! Slaves are the slaves of vampires! Their physical abilities are slightly better than humans, and they are like the minions of vampires. Common refers to ordinary vampires. Nobles are vampires with special abilities. Lords are monarchs. There are less than five of these monsters in the entire world.”
He said, spitting, that at least five veterans were needed to catch a noble-class vampire.
At that moment, Choi Sangwoo raised his hand.
“Recruit Choi Sangwoo! Permission to ask a question!”
“Do you not hunt vampire lords?”
“The location of the vampire lords has not been confirmed! They are monsters who have lived for at least 100 years! Even if we knew their location, it would take at least dozens of veterans to kill them!”
“Are there no weaknesses of the vampire lords?”
“The characteristics of vampires are the same! Their bodies burn in sunlight, and they are weak against silver! But don’t underestimate the vampire lords. They have developed special coating liquids to overcome sunlight, and even if you have silver weapons, their combat power is beyond imagination! I will not take any more questions. Recruits! I will show you a video! It’s an actual vampire hunting video, so watch carefully!”
The instructor played the video.
