Before long, Park Jinsung was the only one left standing.
‘Endure it, I must endure. I can hold on a bit longer.’
Superhuman endurance. A result of observing and learning from Ahn Sungho.
For Jinsung, even the slightest demerit was unacceptable.
To earn the rank of Private, he had to surpass that damned 10th Platoon leader.
‘Ughhhhh!’
He needed to gain recognition somehow! Or suppress him so completely he couldn’t even peep! He had to make it impossible for him not to award points.
Every single bonus point had to be swept up to secure the rank of Private.
‘I’m still at ease!’
“Everyone, stand up! Hurry!”
“10th Platoon leader, I’m sorry, but it’s about time to let them out. Aren’t you focusing too much on the 3rd Squad…?”
Ju Ye hinted subtly, but the 10th Platoon leader didn’t seem to listen.
Too much CS gas had been used. Any more would deviate from the essence of training.
“Everyone! PT!! Prepare for PT!!”
“Cough! Ex, execute!”
Only Jinsung barely managed to spread his arms. He was trembling, but even that was incredibly impressive.
‘Really remarkable mental strength. He joined the club led by the squad leader, and it seems his value has indeed increased.’
Even the strict Ju Ye was genuinely impressed.
All the other squad members were crawling on the ground. His willpower seemed to be made of steel, too substantial to be dismissed merely as physical strength.
‘The bonus points are mine…!’
Ready to monopolize the bonus points.
Even a slight delay in time would necessitate giving all the points to Jinsung.
“Tch… 3rd Squad, exit!”
The 10th Platoon leader, biting his lower lip hard, opened the door to the chemical warfare room.
Creeeak.
“3rd Squad is coming out!”
“Ugh. What’s this? It’s too strong?”
The 4th Squad members waiting outside the chemical warfare room grimaced.
Shadows emerged through the murky CS gas clouds. Naturally, the eyes of those outside were drawn towards the door.
The 3rd Squad was a special platoon, recognized by other platoons.
The White Jade Goblin, Kim Seyun, and Byun Kiyoung were top talents in the 10th Platoon, running side by side in skill.
“Huh? Why isn’t everyone coming out?”
“What’s going on, they’re not coming out?”
The 3rd Squad, containing the 10th Platoon’s top talents, was expected to perform magically, even if one didn’t want to expect much from them.
“Look, they’re all being carried out?!”
“The instructors are carrying the 3rd Squad members!”
The magical platoon of the 10th Platoon was far more disastrously broken than the previous two.
“Ugh. Was CS gas always this potent?”
“Crazy. It’s too potent.”
There was a variety among them: some were carried by instructors, some were dragged out, and some barely crawled out.
“So, is the entire 3rd Squad getting points deducted?”
“No! Look there! One is still left!”
“Where? Oh!”
The weakest F-grade was walking out, staggering. An indescribable pressure was felt from his figure stepping out of the door center.
‘Ugh. I feel like dying.’
Honestly, walking out was just a bluff. He wanted to rush out right then and there.
But Park Jinsung chose to walk out, declaring,
‘…I’ve won.’
He proudly proclaimed this to the 10th Platoon leader.
“Wowww! It’s the F-grade! The F-grade survived!!”
“Even Byun Kiyoung and Kim Seyun were taken down…”
“Crazy. Isn’t this CS gas legendary? Why is it so potent?”
The 4th Squad, about to enter, was terrified, while the 1st and 2nd Platoons, who had finished, were in awe.
“Phew.”
Jinsung maintained composure until the very end.
He slowly let the CS gas on his body dissipate with PT exercises and gently washed his face with water.
As Jinsung approached, the chemistry teacher blatantly stepped back.
“Chemistry teacher, since all my superiors are down, I’ll report on their behalf.”
“Cough, cough. Okay, just step back a bit.”
“Victory. Reporting for the 3rd Squad. Total members 11, absent 10, reason for absence: failed to complete chemical warfare training, present members 1. End of report.”
Wowwww….
The entire 10th Platoon looked up to Jinsung.
With his face and even his pupils stained red, Jinsung seemed like a ghost that even other ghosts would praise.
A water ghost dripping with tears, snot, and saliva. A water ghost proudly pouring it all out.
The 3rd Squad’s water ghost spoke to the 10th Platoon leader still inside the chemical warfare room.
“Hehe, teacher. I’d like to request those 10 bonus points.”
* * *
To others, it seemed like Jinsung had changed after the chemical warfare room, but in reality, it was since the last battle against Pest.
Jinsung had transformed.
Currently, as an F-grade two-time champion, he was achieving results that were impossible for his rank.
Firstly, his basic physical fitness was extraordinary.
In terms of physical endurance alone, Jinsung’s side almost always had the upper hand. Regardless of whether others used their Edeyas or not, Jinsung dominated them all.
At some point,
He even surpassed Kim Seyun, who wielded a goblin, in terms of stamina. And his true worth shone brightly during individual performance evaluations.
**Midterm Performance Evaluation for the First Half of the Year**
– **Basic Soldier Skills, Daytime Surveillance Ability**
– 1st Place: Trainee Park Jinsung (0 enemies undetected)
– 2nd Place: Corporal Kim Seyun (3 enemies undetected)
– 3rd Place: Corporal Byun Kiyoung (7 enemies undetected)
*10th Platoon Leader’s Evaluation: Someone must have tipped him off. He even caught those with camouflage abilities without missing any.
– **Basic Soldier Skills, Nighttime Surveillance Ability**
– 1st Place: Trainee Park Jinsung (0 enemies undetected)
– 2nd Place: Corporal Kim Seyun (10 enemies undetected)
– 3rd Place: Corporal Byun Kiyoung (17 enemies undetected)
*10th Platoon Leader’s Evaluation: It’s pitch-black at night. Normally, even with prior information, it’s hard to detect anyone at this evaluation level, which is strange. He misses no small sounds. His intuition is monstrous.
– **Crawling**
– 1st Place in Applied Crawling: Trainee Park Jinsung
– 1st Place in Low Crawling: Trainee Park Jinsung
– 1st Place in High Crawling: Trainee Park Jinsung
*Special Note: In all crawling evaluations, he was more than 5 seconds ahead of the 2nd place.
*10th Platoon Leader’s Evaluation: I can say without a doubt that his crawling skills are of national level.
– **Individual Combat (Enemy Position Capture)**
– 1st Place: Trainee Park Jinsung
– 2nd Place: Corporal Kim Seyun
*Special Note: Kim Seyun ran in a straight line, but Park Jinsung used a zigzag pattern.
*10th Platoon Leader’s Evaluation: With this level of physical ability, it’s a waste not to utilize it more.
– **Concealment**
– 1st Place: Trainee Park Jinsung
*Special Note: Nobody could find him until the platoon leader declared the end of the exercise. The exercise was delayed for over an hour just for one trainee.
*10th Platoon Leader’s Evaluation: I thought he had left the evaluation area.
Park Jinsung ranked first in every performance evaluation.
The personal evaluations given by the 10th Platoon leader gradually became more positive.
‘They can’t say anything now.’
It was the result of gritting his teeth and making an effort. He intentionally created a significant gap to leave no room for objections.
Initially, it was dismissed as ‘just a coincidence’, but from the second time onwards, the widened pupils of the onlookers were quite a sight.
By then, there was no one in the entire 2nd Company who could match Park Jinsung’s pure physical abilities.
“Crazy.”
“Is he going to increase his overall combat ability at this rate?”
“Does everyone under Sergeant Ahn Sungho turn out like this?”
While it’s true that HT helped him become stronger, Park Jinsung was already capable of making a noticeable difference even before joining HT.
‘I must get that rank insignia!’
The desire for the rank of Private fueled Jinsung’s determination.
Jinsung no longer intended to hide his capabilities. He thoroughly ignored the surrounding gazes.
‘I’ve always been able to beat you guys easily! I’ll show you! Even with an F-grade Edeya, I can become strong!’
‘I can do this!’
Taming the Edeya, Ahn Sungho style.
A healthy body harbors a healthy mind.
Jinsung continued his training solely to control the Complete Murderous Intent. He believed that by becoming stronger while still being F-grade, he would eventually subdue the Complete Murderous Intent.
“I will overcome myself!”
Jinsung’s training continued during breaks and lunchtime.
“Wow, he’s doing push-ups even during lunchtime.”
“Don’t even mention it. During breaks, he was insanely doing squats.”
“Did he really do the invisible chair during class? Straight into squats, for real?”
Over time, a group of followers began to mimic Jinsung.
Pleased.
The noticeable increase in HT applicants and Ahn Sungho’s laughter was an open secret.
It was truly the era of Jinsung.
Mostly lower-grade members secretly followed Jinsung’s lead.
“Hey, trainee.”
“I will overcome myse—oh, Deputy?”
Kim Seyun approached Park Jinsung with an expression that seemed to say she was witnessing something unbearable.
“Stop showing off and let’s go eat lunch already.”
“I can’t. I have to finish this first.”
“Argh! I swear I’ll hit you! I’ve already been waiting for 30 minutes!”
“Oh dear, well, you should have gone ahead and eaten.”
“You, I was waiting to eat with you!! Hmph… Whatever… So, how much more do you have left?”
“I still have 100 squats and sit-ups left.”
“Shut up.”
Clench.
Kim Seyun grabbed Park Jinsung’s shoulder tightly.
“Ouch! That hurts! Do you know your face and grip strength don’t match at all?!”
“Hmph. That’s what happens when you’re always holding a sword. Wait a minute… what did you mean by that?”
“Argh! I’m sorry, let go, please, aaargh!!”
In agony, Park Jinsung hobbled to the cafeteria, half bent over from the pain. Kim Seyun had gripped him so tightly that even the sturdy military uniform had wrinkles.
“Hey, show-off, keep it down. People are staring.”
“Oh dear. Has my nickname been downgraded to ‘show-off’ now? And isn’t this something Deputy could solve by just holding on a bit more gently?”
In front of the cafeteria, sergeants who had finished training late were waiting. Park Jinsung and Kim Seyun attracted attention for both good and bad reasons.
The famous 10th Platoon. The famous Goblin. The famous F-grade.
Naturally, the F-grade was the easiest target. The sergeants hadn’t yet heard about the performance evaluation results.
A muscular sergeant, sweating profusely, frowned at Park Jinsung.
“Hey.”
“Eh? Oh, victory. Did you call me, Sergeant?”
“Jinsung, come here for a sec.”
Quick-witted Kim Seyun hid Park Jinsung behind her. But the towering muscular sergeant picked out Park Jinsung from above.
“Not the Goblin, you. Yeah, you there.”
“Ah, Sergeant… are you referring to me?”
“Trainee brat is being slippery. Hurry up and come out, will you?”
Shoveling on a hot day, and by a sergeant no less!
The muscular sergeant needed someone to vent his frustration on. He had no interest in the 2nd-year monster Goblin, but the soft-looking guy next to her caught his eye.
Kim Seyun held Park Jinsung’s hand and stood her ground.
“Hey, trainee. Just stay behind me.”
“But the opponent is a sergeant. It’s better if I just take the heat alone.”
Park Jinsung gently detached Kim Seyun’s hand as he spoke.
‘…?’
Kim Seyun’s eyes widened in surprise.
The firm grip she had was effortlessly loosened. It was even firmer than when she grabbed his shoulder…
“Hey. Are you part of that famous 10th Platoon’s magical platoon?”
“Ah, so the ‘magical platoon’ nickname was real? I thought we were just joking among ourselves.”
“Look at this guy talking back. Huh? Are you crazy? Are you?”
The muscular sergeant repeatedly pushed Park Jinsung’s forehead with his index finger.
“Sergeant! Has our squad member done something wrong?! Your actions seem a bit excessive!”
“Ah, it’s alright, Deputy.”
Park Jinsung smiled and stopped Kim Seyun.
“Did you guys lease this place? What’s with all the noise, huh?”
“Ha-ha. My apologies.”
“Is saying sorry enough?!”
“Ha-ha-ho-ho. Not everything, no.”
“Huh? You, the F-grade brat, still have the nerve to laugh?”
“I’m generally a smiling person, ah, truly sorry.”
Park Jinsung’s head kept tilting back due to the muscular sergeant’s shoving. Despite this, Park Jinsung maintained his smile to the end.
“Is that so? The 2nd Company’s 10th Platoon manages its subordinates like this, huh?”
“Ah, not at all. It’s just that I’m quite lacking, that’s all.”
“If it’s not because of the platoon, what then? Perhaps it’s your family’s upbringing?”
“……”
Park Jinsung, who had been smiling all along, erased his smile for the first time.
Chilling.
The atmosphere froze in an instant. The sudden cold demeanor gave the illusion that time had stopped.
Leave a Reply