Chapter 11 – Let’s Do It Properly

Time passed.

Se-min practiced Form-Intention Fist alone.

Through this, Se-min could contemplate how the will responded to the aura, how that aura fortified the body, and thus, whether form and intention were aligned.

“Kehehehe.”

His eyes gleamed sharply.

His martial arts progressed day by day, and his senses also grew sharper.

The peerless art of Tai Chi Wisdom made him a superhuman who could raise a wind in empty air and see distant scenery up close as if it were right before his eyes.

Se-min’s wooden sword slashed through the air.

Se-min’s sword wind fluttered the skirt of a woman passing by on the opposite riverbank.

“White…”

A clear vision that allowed him to see that shape vividly!

Someone smacked the back of Se-min’s head.

“Kehh!”

“What do you think you’re doing right now?”

Kim Seon-ha, wearing jogging clothes, was standing there.

As his senior Raider, she began to beat Se-min up.

“To use the sacred aura!”

“Wa-Wait!”

“For harassment!”

“You hit my bone! Wait! Argh!”

“Trash!”

After a moment, Kim Seon-ha tapped Se-min on the head as she spoke.

“Hey, if you do that again, you’re dead.”

“S-Sorry…”

Se-min got up stumblingly. It was a subservient gesture that strangely provoked aggression. Kim Seon-ha raised her fist again, and Se-min flinched pitifully.

“Huu…”

Kim Seon-ha caught her breath and lowered her hand.

“I’ll be watching you from now on.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’m glad I ran into you, actually…”

She regained her composure and continued speaking.

“Let’s call our previous bet a tie.”

“Why?”

“It wasn’t decided, after all.”

In the individual match, Se-min and Bang Yu-bi had to stop right before clashing. Their kill scores were comparable, and the exact scores were not disclosed.

Only the pass status and overall ranking were given to the candidates.

“Because anything other than the individual match is not suitable for comparison.”

“How about the written test? My written score was high. According to the self-grading result…”

“Be quiet.”

“Yes.”

Se-min nodded.

“Well, what meaning is there in winning or losing anyway? Huhuhu.”

Kim Seon-ha’s brow furrowed at his strangely relaxed attitude.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Is there any reason not to be?”

“Hmm…”

Kim Seon-ha smirked and nodded.

“Right. The announcement came out yesterday, didn’t it?”

“Yes. A letter came.”

“What’s the result?”

After the Raider qualification exam ended, the final results were notified.

Se-min took out a sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.

Seeing it, Kim Seon-ha’s eyes widened.

“No way!”

“Is this something to be surprised about?”

“Now I can’t even ask you to join our company.”

The peak of the South Korean raid industry was the Big Three.

Hosan Company, led by Joo Ho-san, the number one ranked Raider in the country.

Limitless Association, which established the Korean-style aura method.

CCC (Courageous Citizen Corps), where former military members formed the core.

Contact had come from all three places.

In addition to the Big Three, several mid-sized companies and enterprises claiming to be small elites approached to recruit Se-min.

However, it was not yet time for him to belong to anywhere.

“What about Miss Bang Yu-bi?”

“Passed, of course.”

“Tell her congratulations.”

“Yu-bi says she wants to decide the match.”

“Raiders do not fight one another. Don’t you know that?”

“We can just do a sparring match. What, are you scared?”

“Scared?”

Se-min shook his head solemnly.

He resolved to walk his own righteous path.

He would become a Raider who truly saved people, not for money and fame.

“Because a Raider’s opponent is not a fellow Raider, but magic beasts! My sword is a life-giving sword.”

“Ugh, so annoying.”

***

Hwang Jeong-hun was greeting his disciples one by one in the administration office.

“Thank you for everything during this time.”

Yu Jin-se, a young man with dyed yellow hair, bowed his head.

Hwang Jeong-hun smiled and patted his shoulder.

On the notice Yu Jin-se showed, his ranking was recorded along with the word ‘Pass’. It was in the upper-middle tier.

Although he had been an arrogant student who trusted only his aura numerical value, he changed his mind after his defeat to Se-min and devoted himself to training. He had realized what it was that Hwang Jeong-hun truly wanted to teach him.

“Do not neglect your training. A Raider must train for a lifetime.”

“Yes. I will do that. By the way, what about that guy…?”

He meant Se-min, the opponent who had handed him defeat for the first time.

Hwang Jeong-hun shrugged his shoulders.

“Se-min has already come and gone.”

“I see. That guy was no joke in the individual match. He seemed to have become much stronger than back then.”

Yu Jin-se had also taken the individual match as a candidate for the second exam. In the process, he was able to witness Se-min’s performance firsthand. By now, it was a level he could not hope to reach.

“The industry is narrow. There will be many times you’ll run into each other in the future. Since you are alumni of sorts, help each other out.”

“I understand. I’ll visit you again next time.”

“Congratulations on passing.”

Yu Jin-se bowed his head and left the administration office.

Leaning back in his chair, Hwang Jeong-hun thought of the successful candidates who had come to report to the academy. They were all people who deserved it.

As he was organizing his thoughts and checking the lecture schedule, his cell phone rang.

The caller ID was restricted.

“This is Hwang Jeong-hun.”

[Long time no see.]

Hwang Jeong-hun’s face stiffened at the thick voice ringing in his ears.

“What’s the occasion?”

[There was an interesting fellow in this exam.]

“And?”

[I looked into it, and they said he learned under you.

“……”

[Like teacher, like disciple, is it? Everyone was surprised where such a guy popped out from. Did you hear about the final in-depth evaluation? You know what this subject was, right?]

“It was an essay.”

[Right. That fellow’s answer was a masterpiece. Do you know?]

“I didn’t ask.”

[That guy…]

“There is no need to tell me. I would appreciate it if you didn’t call again in the future.”

Hwang Jeong-hun ignored the other party’s response and turned off his phone. And he let out a low sigh.

He was no longer his past self. He was merely an ordinary instructor teaching Raider candidates at a private academy.

There was no need to get any further entangled with them.

Suddenly, his cell phone vibrated again. A text message had arrived. It was the man from earlier.

Hwang Jeong-hun checked the content.

Frowning, he suddenly smirked.

Soon, his shoulders trembled as he chuckled.

Soon, Hwang Jeong-hun began to laugh out loud. His laughter echoed through the administration office for a while.

He had wanted to raise aura-aptitude holders into true Raiders.

Those around him mocked him for being old-fashioned.

Still, it seemed he had not been wrong.

***

Se-min expressed his gratitude and said farewell to the people he was thankful to one by one.

Kim Deok-bae and the gym men also offered well-wishes to Se-min.

“No pretending you don’t know us later just because you made it. Hahaha!”

“What are you saying? This place is the home of my heart. I will return.”

During the period when Se-min was frustrated by his stagnant aura and cooped up in his room, he miraculously met the transcendents and began his rehabilitation, and as his first step, he entered the Self-Strengthening Gym.

Everything started here.

Se-min looked around the gym. New members who didn’t know him were glancing over while lifting barbells.

Bodybuilding was a lonely sport.

Nam-a-dang-ja-gang.

It was, after all, the path to becoming strong on one’s own.

They were also walking that path.

“Brother!”

“I will look forward to the day we meet again.”

“I will return.”

Ryu Gwan-cheol, the gym middle-aged man he had first met at the gym, smiled warmly and patted his shoulder.

“Director, thank you so much for everything during this time.”

Kim Deok-bae and Se-min exchanged glances.

Se-min had learned the spirit of moving forward while carrying regret from this man, Kim Deok-bae, who had been a light-heavyweight Asian champion and was now the director of a gym.

He was a true man.

Se-min hugged Kim Deok-bae tightly.

“Oh my, I really dislike these embarrassing farewells.”

“I love you!”

“Good grief.”

***

Lastly, Se-min stopped by the hospital.

Park In-jae was focused on reading, turning the pages with one hand, not even knowing Se-min had arrived.

With a title like ‘Praise the Orc’, it was a bizarre title, but how interesting could it be to make the kid grin repeatedly?

“In-jae.”

“Hyung.”

The kid raised his head.

Although numerous IVs were attached to his body and his torn arm was wrapped tightly in bandages, his face was bright.

“Have you been well?”

“Of course. Hyung, do you like novels? This is really fun.”

“I don’t read such third-rate novels.”

Se-min put the things he had brought into the refrigerator, opened a drink, and handed it to Park In-jae.

Park In-jae received it with the hand he had been using to read the book.

Se-min tried not to look at Park In-jae’s empty shoulder.

“Are you holding up okay?”

“Yes. The nurse is really pretty.”

“Where? Where is she?”

“How would I know?”

“Stop your heart for a moment. Then she’ll come.”

“I tried, but it won’t stop.”

Se-min shrugged and sat on the edge of the bed.

“When will you be discharged?”

“There’s still a long way to go. I plan to just study until then.”

“Study?”

As far as he knew, Park In-jae was a kid who had built a wall against studying.

“Since I won’t be able to do physical work anymore, I have to study. I’m actually smart, I just didn’t do it before. Hyung, do you know the quadratic formula? You don’t even know what Pythagoras is, right?”

“Are you looking down on me because I only graduated middle school?”

“Do you know it?”

“No.”

“Hehehe. See?”

Se-min ended up laughing as well.

He felt like he was learning from Park In-jae once again.

Park In-jae had lost his arm.

His dantian was also destroyed.

In the past, he himself had despaired and shut himself in his room just because his aura did not increase. Although it was said to be due to blocked meridians, could he say it was not his own weakness?

On the other hand, instead of despairing while dwelling on what he had lost, the kid was thinking about what he could do with what remained.

He was a strong human.

“In-jae.”

His mind was made up.

Se-min spoke to Park In-jae.

“I’ll fix your arm. It will take time, though.”

Park In-jae’s eyes went round at Se-min’s words.

With the gates opening and monsters appearing, countless possibilities opened up through their byproducts and biological components.

It was an era where artificial arms could be gifted to those who had lost theirs.

Of course, the cost was astronomical, and the materials were extremely scarce. It was not something anyone could achieve.

Se-min had promised that to Park In-jae.

“Sure.”

Park In-jae nodded readily.

“I’ll trust you, Hyung, so give me a new arm. A cool one.”

“Yeah. Just trust me.”

Although he could gift him an arm in the future, he could not restore the dantian where aura gathered.

That was regrettable.

“Then, trusting only you, Hyung, I’ll aim to become a firefighter starting today.”

“A firefighter?”

“Yes.”

Park In-jae smiled broadly.

“Because being a firefighter is the best job, no less than a Raider.”

They had once agreed at the gym that being a Raider was the best job.

However, the reason was different for each of them.

What about now?

Se-min smirked and ruffled Park In-jae’s hair.

“Well, I’m off.”

The shorter the farewell, the better. Se-min turned around.

Park In-jae shouted toward Se-min’s receding back.

“Hyung, when can I see you again?”

Se-min stopped.

He opened his reluctant mouth to answer.

“Probably in two years…?”

“Cheer up, Hyung. I’ll visit you.”

Se-min smiled bitterly and waved his hand behind him.

“Don’t bother coming.”

Lee Se-min, he was a man.

A man had a lot to do.

Yesterday, the notice that flew in from the Raider Bureau read as follows.

Although you are a talented individual, unfortunately, due to a limited capacity, you will not be able to join us.

We hope to meet you under better circumstances next time.

Dammit.

Se-min grabbed his head. Along with the rejection letter, there was one more document sent by the country.

It was a military enlistment notice.

Dammit!

Lee Se-min.

Failed the Raider exam.

Enlistment in active duty decided!

Come to the cradle of national defense!

Strong friend, Republic of Korea Army!

***

Explanations of Fists and Kicks

Cloud-Ascending Steps

Three Talents Swordplay

Grand Purity Sword Method

There were many martial arts to master and much to do.

However, there was no way.

Quest

Pass the Raider qualification exam and become an official Raider.

Quest Reward: 100P

Since he had failed the Raider qualification exam, he could not receive quest points, and therefore could not view new posts.

As he could no longer postpone his military service, he had to hold onto Form-Intention Fist until he took the exam again after discharge.

Of course, Form-Intention Fist was a genuine martial art that became richer the more it was practiced, but he still felt frustrated.

“Huu…”

His precious youth, the two years when he could do anything, was blocked by military service.

“This is the tyranny of the state…”

Moreover, the enlistment date was right next week.

There was not even a physical examination.

Indiscriminate enlistment!

When Se-min asked Hwang Jeong-hun of Taeseong Academy for advice, he had replied like this.

‘Buy a sword and take it.’

‘Pardon?’

Telling him to buy a weapon and go; it was not even a military joke from the eighties telling him to bring a K2 rifle when enlisting.

‘It’s no joke. Everyone uses a different weapon, do you think the military will provide it one by one? All aptitude holders bring at least their own weapons. You really haven’t prepared anything.’

Somehow it made sense.

So Se-min was now trudging toward the Raider equipment shop.

The broad daylight sky was yellow. Even the crow’s cawing seemed to mock him.

Why on earth was that bastard hovering above his head? Was it showing off its freedom by cawing and flying high, noticing that he was a poor soul soon going to the military?

“Welco…!”

Even the clerk, who had greeted him warmly, noticed Se-min’s rotten complexion and trailed off.

“…me?”

“Yes. I’m coming in.”

The clerk scanned Se-min up and down.

He was a clerk who dealt with numerous Raiders who could be called wealthy if they were. He seemed to already be steeped in prejudice, judging a person by their appearance.

Right, let’s see how accurately you judge. Se-min thought, raising his chin.

The clerk spoke.

“You are enlisting.”

“…!”

Prejudice and stubbornness often worked properly.

Meeting someone who recognized his situation at once melted Se-min’s frozen heart.

“That’s right…”

“Oh dear…”

The two fell silent, dropping their heads.

However, the clerk was a professional. He quickly recovered his energy and recommended products to Se-min in a bright voice.

“Sometimes people who enlist come here too. What kind of weapon do you use?”

“I use a sword.”

“You use a cool weapon. What kind of type?”

“I like claymores.”

“As expected, just for show…”

“Excuse me?”

“…is what many who use it think, but compared to that, claymores are the symbol of two-handed swords, so they are practical and there are many good products! Follow me.”

“Ah, yes…”

He followed him.

The types of equipment in stock were diverse.

In the section labeled swords, items ranging from small daggers to one-handed swords, two-handed swords, saw-toothed swords, and gently curved sabers were on display.

“Claymores, along with Japanese swords and zweihanders, are weapons with a deep history of being for show. Many people who dislike modern designs look for them. The claymore line from Ironheart is well-made.”

“For show?”

“A deep style. Excuse me, my tongue got twisted.”

Se-min nodded his head and examined the swords. To be exact, he was browsing the price tags attached to the swords rather than the swords themselves.

It was expensive.

The flashier they were, the more expensive they were.

When Se-min could not bring himself to say it was expensive and looked around distractedly, the clerk reacted quickly.

“However, since Ironheart is too expensive, many people who enlist use domestic products. How about something like this?”

In the place where the clerk guided him, there were roughly crafted swords. Compared to the luxury weapons he had just seen, they felt crude, but they looked sturdy.

“Actually, if it’s a two-handed sword, they are all pretty similar, so rather than trying to look cool and ending up in the grave… I mean, you should YOLO. You only live once. Try holding it once.”

Se-min lifted one of the two-handed swords.

It felt right.

It did not shine or look like a work of art with an excellent finish, but it was an iron sword faithful to the basics.

Looking at the trademark, the manufacturer ‘Geoseong Metal Industries’ was indicated on the hilt of the blade.

It gave off a strong vibe of a small-to-medium manufacturer silently walking its own path.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Excellent choice. Word of mouth says it’s the best value-for-money product. It’s a jackpot item. They use a decent magic core, and because you can swing it without worry, Raiders call it a rough sword.”

It was a soul-less voice, but the introduction was flashy.

Se-min felt his energy being drained by the clerk and paid quickly.

With this, his bank balance plummeted to the bottom.

But what did a balance matter when enlisting?

It was all loans anyway. A bleak future would not even show if it got a little darker.

“This is a freebie.”

The clerk handed him something.

It was a watch.

“A soldier’s watch. It has a built-in vibrating alarm function. You know why it’s needed, right?”

“……”

“It’s a must if you don’t want to become a misfit. Well then, happy soldiering! By the way, ‘happy soldiering’ is short for happy military life.”

He wanted to beat him up.

Se-min just nodded weakly and turned around. The clerk cheered him on from behind.

“Soldier, fighting!”

As he walked with the iron sword on his shoulder, people stared at him. It was a gaze of envy. However, Se-min was not pleased with their attention.

When Se-min frowned, people gradually avoided his eyes.

He hummed a song with a devil-may-care attitude.

“Roaming around the fishy-smelling harbor… as if it were my own world…”

***

“This bastard brought his own private weapon?”

“What a crazy bastard.”

Se-min sat in a rigid posture, staring intensely 45 degrees upward, trying to endure the hazing of the seniors circling around him.

“There’s always a fool like this once a year. Have you ever seen soldiers buy their own rifles when they enlist? Have you?”

“I’m sorry!”

“Right, who told you to buy a weapon?”

“P-People around me did!”

“Who around you?”

Hwang Jeong-hun.

Damn.

The sweet-talking clerk.

Dammit.

Their mocking expressions flashed by.

“Who? Do you have sausages stuck in your ears?”

“M-My academy teacher did!”

“You got fooled by an instructor? You must have the worst personal relationships. You should have lived properly, kid.”

Se-min flinched at the menacing faces pushed in front of him, feeling like he was about to cry.

Only last week, he was treated well by society as an aura-aptitude holder, but how could he have known he would be treated like this all of a sudden?

On the day of his enlistment, he headed to Nonsan.

In Nonsan, he took a different path from ordinary enlistees. The instructors immediately handed him his military uniform and flew him off in a helicopter without a word.

That place was here.

He was now.

In the DMZ.

Here, there was a unit composed of aura-aptitude holders.

“What are you going to do, Gil-hun? It seems you got a misfit as your direct successor.”

“I’ll make a man out of him.”

“Yeah, you go ahead and suffer.”

Like Se-min, these were people who had failed the Raider qualification exam repeatedly and were dragged in because they could no longer postpone enlistment. In other words, most of them were former Raider aspirants.

So everyone was in great shape.

With muscular bodies and even short hair, everyone looked like gangsters.

“Hey, rookie.”

“Yes!”

“Come out.”

Private First Class Yu Gil-hun, who was his direct senior, led Se-min.

As they stepped out of the barracks, soldiers outside were training while wielding aura. When Yu Gil-hun saluted, Se-min followed suit in a daze.

“Flatten your palm. Put it against the brim of your cap.”

“Yes!”

The place he took Se-min was the PX.

“Earlier, Corporal Yoon Woo-jae went overboard because a new recruit arrived. This isn’t a place that enforces discipline like that, so relax your face.”

“Yes!”

“What do you want to eat?”

Se-min came up with the most textbook answer.

“I want to eat Chocopie!”

“You wanna die?”

Yu Gil-hun smirked.

“Are you cosplaying a soldier? This isn’t that kind of place, punk. Chocopie is what real grunts eat.”

Entering the PX, half of it was a commissary and half was a restaurant. A group of soldiers was eating sweet and sour pork and black bean noodles.

Se-min widened his eyes at the unimaginable sight.

“Oh, Yu Gil-hun!”

“Aren’t you spending your salary too carelessly?”

“Since there’s no joy in living, I should at least eat something delicious. Is he a rookie?”

“Yes. He arrived today.”

“Teach him well. It’s tough lately.”

“Understood.”

Yu Gil-hun sat down with Se-min.

“Choose whatever you want. Until your salary card comes out, it’s on your direct senior.”

“Do we get paid?”

“Yeah. It varies depending on performance, but it does come.”

Hearing Yu Gil-hun’s salary amount for this month, Se-min’s eyes grew wide.

It was about the salary of an average office worker.

“Just quickly choose what you want to eat. I’ll have pork cutlet.”

“I’ll have bulgogi bibimbap.”

“This punk is eating something expensive.”

The food came out in an instant.

Se-min tried to eat in a disciplined right-angle manner but ended up getting smacked by Yu Gil-hun.

“Eat comfortably.”

“Yes!”

Se-min stuffed the bulgogi bibimbap into his mouth while looking around.

The atmosphere certainly looked relaxed. He had wondered if it was hell when the scary-looking senior was hazing him earlier, but now he could even see a private joking with a sergeant.

“Do you know what kind of place this is?”

“I don’t know. I just came thinking it was a regular military.”

“Yeah, everyone comes without knowing.”

Yu Gil-hun spoke while chewing a large piece of pork cutlet.

“You signed a pledge in Nonsan, right?”

“Yes.”

He had even pressed his thumbprint on an unknown document. As he recalled, the content was roughly about confidentiality.

“Think about one thing. What would happen if Raiders couldn’t block the magic beasts?”

“Pardon?”

“What? Pa-rdon?”

Aura surged from Yu Gil-hun’s knife. Se-min quickly corrected himself.

“I didn’t hear you clearly!”

“Right. That’s it. Watch out.”

Yu Gil-hun withdrew his aura, stabbed his knife deep into Se-min’s bibimbap bowl, snatched a large piece of bulgogi, and put it in his mouth.

“Wha if Raiders card block the magig beasds? (What if Raiders can’t block the magic beasts?)”

Se-min deduced the meaning with superhuman concentration.

“It would be disaster!”

“Right, what kind of disaster?”

“Well…”

Se-min went blank.

Thinking about it, it was true. To him, magic beasts were ultimately beings to be defeated by Raiders, and he had never thought about what would happen if they were left alone.

He had heard that there was once a crisis in the Southern Hemisphere where the system was underdeveloped, but now the magic beasts had been completely driven away. Magic beasts could not survive for long outside the gates.

In modern times, magic beasts were like slightly dangerous oil fields or gold mines.

You kill the monsters and sell their corpses.

But what if Raiders couldn’t block those magic beasts?

When Se-min could not answer, Yu Gil-hun stood up from his seat.

“Are you done eating?”

“There’s still some left…”

“Get up.”

His bowl was already completely empty. It was a combat meal fitting for an active-duty soldier.

Se-min glanced at his own bowl, which was not even half-eaten, with regretful eyes and followed Yu Gil-hun.

In the center of the barracks, a tall, slender pole was erected. Se-min thought it was a flagpole.

“Follow me.”

Yu Gil-hun spoke and climbed up the pole in an instant.

“…!”

It was incredible movement. He shot up the pole in an instant, soaring upward. A faint haze of aura shimmered from his body.

“Come up! You can do this at least, right?”

Yu Gil-hun shouted from above. Se-min also gathered his aura.

It was a technique he was trying for the first time.

Se-min instantly kicked off the ground and climbed the pole.

He followed up to the spot where Yu Gil-hun stopped, at a speed no less than his. The scenery below gradually grew smaller.

“Not bad.”

“No, sir!”

“Right. Come up higher.”

They climbed even higher. Wrapping their legs to hold the pole and gripping it with one arm, they secured their bodies.

“Do you see over there?”

“Over there is…”

“It’s beyond the DMZ.”

“Huh?”

Only then did Se-min understand.

No wonder it was strange.

It made no sense in the first place for such a unit to exist in the DMZ.

“That is our job.”

Beyond the northern wire fence.

Magic beasts were roaming in packs.

“Beyond that is hell.”

A giant monster resembling an elephant appeared and attacked the pack of magic beasts. Small magic beasts and the large magic beast clashed. A magic beast he had never seen before paced around them like a hyena.

The north was the territory of the magic beasts.

“Are you scared?”

“No, sir!”

Se-min gripped with his trembling hands and shouted.

Now, it was starting anew.