Second week of enlistment. The grueling morning training had finally ended.
"Ughh, I feel like I'm gonna dieee..."
Trainee #33, Park Daegil, felt like his whole body was one giant bruise. Dragging his feet toward the lunchroom for the sugary water meal, he heard an annoyed voice behind him.
"Hey, could you move it?"
"What did you just say, you punk?"
Even a trivial comment set Park Daegil off.
The trainees, who had been beating on each other like madmen, harbored a lot of resentment. No matter how quickly they recovered, swinging fists at each other didn't exactly build friendships.
"You got a death wish, huh?!"
"Come at me, bastard!"
The atmosphere grew tense—one spark away from a full-blown fight. Then came a cold mechanical voice: click-clank.
— Conflict detected. Applying military law violations.
"Eek..."
"Y-Yafi, wait, it's not like that—"
— Conflict detected. Applying military law violations. Corporal punishment under review: Whipping.
"HIIIK!"
This was the problem. Even when the trainees' stress hit the roof, they couldn't blow off steam because their overseer wasn't human—it was a machine.
And once, when a trainee had dared to resist, he'd actually been whipped across the calves by Yafi. Ever since then, no one dared act out.
Just as it seemed they were going to get whipped for sure, a savior appeared.
"Yafi! His Majesty is calling you!"
— Recognized.
At Hari's words, Yafi stopped the execution mid-swing and vanished. Only then did the trainees exhale in relief.
"Whew... Are you both alright, Hunter Park Daegil, Hunter Han Jonghyuk?"
"Th-thank you, you saved us."
"Geez... That soulless bastard..."
Naturally, the hunters' frustration turned toward Yafi.
Completely devoid of empathy and acting strictly according to programmed protocols, Yafi drew everyone's ire. On the other hand...
"Man, what would we have done without Assistant Manager Han?"
"Thanks for the late-night snacks every night. Sniff..."
Hari had been bringing midnight snacks to the starving hunters who were surviving on nothing but sugar water.
If not for the sweet potatoes and potatoes she snuck in, the hunters would've quit ages ago—
—Not that we actually would've!
—Still, it's thanks to Hari that we're barely hanging in there!
Han Hari was like an angel saving them from the cruel oppression of the merciless Yafi. Without her, the training would've been even more unbearable.
Watching the grateful hunters, Hari gave a slightly awkward smile.
'Hmm… I definitely can't tell them I got permission from His Majesty.'
Leon had assigned roles to the two main figures at the training camp: Yafi and Hari.
Good cop, bad cop.
Carrot and stick—an age-old psychological tactic.
Yafi wielded the whip, and Hari gave the carrot. If it had just been cruel discipline alone, discontent would've exploded, but Hari's presence helped suppress it.
"Ahem. Have you all finished your meal?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!!"
After finishing their sugar and salt water meal, Leon began the afternoon session with his usual lecture.
"The water, sugar, and salt you consume come from the blood and sweat of our farmers. Always eat with gratitude."
"Yes! Thank you!!"
So what was Leon's role in this good cop/bad cop dynamic?
The untouchable.
He was the general who made surprise visits to the barracks.
Humans naturally freeze up and hold back complaints when faced with someone on an entirely different level of authority.
"Rejoice, trainees! Have you eaten well? I am glad, for it brings me joy to see you all well-fed."
— Huh?
— Wait… Did he find out we've been eating the midnight snacks?!
"And for all of you, this Lionheart King shall conduct a special tactical training session! Since you've been stuffing your faces like pigs, you must be brimming with energy!"
— We're not brimming with anything…
— Please have mercy…
The hunters muttered among themselves. Tactical training? They were glad it didn't involve beating each other, but something felt… off.
"Ah, before that, I've prepared a reward to boost your motivation."
At Leon's command, Yafi and Hari brought forth a large red object and set it before the trainees. Its identity was easy to guess.
— Th-that's the heart of an Orc Warlord!
— He's giving that away as a prize?!
The Heart of an Orc Warlord—an item dropped by a powerful monster classified at a minimum of A-rank.
When consumed, it significantly boosts strength and stamina, making it a life-changing, multi-million-won-grade unique enhancer highly sought after by low-ranking Hunters.
And there were five of them.
"You'll be divided into squads of ten for tactical training. During the graduation gate raid in two weeks, each squad will select the most outstanding member, and they'll be awarded one of these."
— Ooooh!
— Jackpot! This is insane!
In an instant, morale that had been worn down by two weeks of hellish training and sugar-salt water meals skyrocketed. It was clear this was exactly what Leon had been aiming for, as he continued speaking with a satisfied expression.
"Your role on the battlefield is to be an unbreakable wall. A wall must never fall—no matter the situation!"
In short, they were to be tanks. The trainees' standard gear consisted of shields paired with either spears or swords.
"Raise your shields! Form up! You must hold your formation and block my charge!"
"...Excuse me?"
The afternoon training involved squads of ten.
On the wide-open Naju plains, now harvested and bare, one squad stood tightly packed with large shields. Behind them, forty more trainees waited, seated.
"In gate battles, except for rare exceptions, the majority are melee engagements. And the foundation of melee combat is, without question, formation warfare."
Breaking the enemy's formation while maintaining your own—an obvious principle.
"Everyone not suited to long-range combat will undergo shield training. In your modern terms, this means you're all going to be tanks."
The trainees began murmuring in confusion. Gu Daeseong raised a genuine concern.
"Your Majesty… Are you saying that everyone who isn't a ranged fighter has to be a tank?"
"That is correct."
The murmuring turned to commotion. Understandably so—there were only two archers in Squad 1. Originally long-range fighters, sure—but the remaining eight were all expected to be shield bearers?
"If we all carry shields, then who's doing the damage?"
"Two archers won't be enough to carry DPS..."
Gu Daeseong was well-versed in the structure of Hunter strike teams.
Modern Hunters had gate-optimized tactics.
A rare, high-value tank would hold aggro while damage dealers chipped away at monster numbers using precise skills. Long-range classes were great against mobs, but from mid-boss tier upward, they were more support than slayers.
So obviously, if everyone became a tank, who was going to do the actual killing?
'To be a tank, you need the right kind of skills. That's how you survive monster attacks.'
These entry-level Hunters didn't even have a single unique skill. How were they supposed to tank anything?
"Do not question it. Your sole role is to withstand the enemy's charge. That alone will suffice. Focus only on that."
Don't worry about anything else. Just block. That was the command.
"I shall now charge. Not at full power, of course—brace yourselves and try to stop me."
Leon, mounted on his horse, faced the ten shield-bearing Hunters.
The divine beast, Stallion. The Hunters had already witnessed its absurd agility. But seeing that Leon wasn't even holding a weapon, they felt a bit relieved.
— It's just a horse.
— Even orcs get their heads kicked off by horse hooves, though.
— No way he'd actually try to do that to us… right?
And then it happened.
[Aura of the Lionheart]
◆ Effects:
Legion Buff: Charge Defense
Legion Buff: Fortification
Legion Buff: Battalion Enhancement
Legion Buff: Valor
Legion Buff: Lightened Armor
Legion Buff: Toughened Skin
Legion Buff: Heavy Strike
Legion Buff: Arcane Reinforcement
Legion Buff: Ranged Resistance
Legion Buff: Sharpened Vision
Legion Buff: Anti-Infantry Massacre
Legion Buff: Corruption Resistance
The overwhelming sensation of omnipotence they'd felt inside the orc gate—it was back, and now it flowed through them.
He was really going to let them train under the full effect of all these buffs? Would it even count as training at that point? The sheer volume of enhancements was almost comical.
"Defend yourselves! A knight is charging!"
Knight or not—with buffs like this, there were ten of them tightly packed in formation with shields. What could a single rider possibly do against that?
"Let's go, Stallion."
At Leon's command, the white horse began moving forward.
Clip-clop. Hoofbeats echoed across the field. Gu Daeseong and the others in Squad 1 gripped their shields tightly and readied themselves. Then—the speed picked up.
It took less than a second for the clip-clop to turn into BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.
Not even a sports car had acceleration like this.
"W-wait—huh?!"
Just seconds ago, Leon and Stallion had looked like a small figure 30 meters away—now they were overwhelming their field of view.
His presence was so fierce, so overwhelming, the Hunters felt like they were about to be plowed by a runaway dump truck at full speed.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM──!!
The sound of hooves rang in their ears, and the vibrations climbing up from their legs shook their entire bodies.
The arrogance of modern people, used to cars, trains, and airplanes—thinking "it's just a horse"—was shattered in an instant.
All that remained was one shared emotion:
"You want us to stop that?"
"This is insanity!"
Not even the Courage buff granted by Lionheart could override their primal fear.
"Uaaaah!"
"Help! I don't wanna die!"
The frontmost trainee dove to the side. The second line scrambled out of the way shortly after.
Unluckily, Gu Daeseong, holding his shield upright in the third line, failed to dodge and took the charge head-on.
"...Huh?"
At the moment of impact, Gu Daeseong saw system messages pop up:
Charge Defense, Fortification, Battalion Enhancement, Courage, Lightened Armor, and Toughened Skin all activated at once.
And yet—
Keen Sight recorded the moment his comrades—who just moments ago stood by his side in formation—vanished into tiny dots in the distance.
Gu Daeseong, hurled by sheer force and succumbing to gravity, didn't regain consciousness for three hours.
"Tch tch... Even with the blessing of Lionheart, this is the result? Absolutely pathetic. Next squad, step up!"
The trainees who witnessed Gu Daeseong's body being launched turned pale.
— The f** was that?*
— He literally flew.
— We're supposed to block that?
— I'm not ready to die yet...
That day, not a single person managed to stop Leon's charge.
A Month Later — Since the Cheongju Gate Raid
In the United States, in the Tower of Magic, the Archmage Reynald Shellman knelt before a well-guarded jewel, offering his daily prayer.
"O Great Being! Please, whisper once more to your lowly servant!"
Since the Cheongju Gate raid, the voice that once granted knowledge from the Gem of Wisdom had gone silent.
And the cause, without a doubt, was Leon Dragonia Lionheart, the sole survivor of the Cheongju Gate raid.
Reynald had tried to investigate the disappearance of the voice from the gem—but information on Leon was extremely scarce.
Should he retaliate? If he eliminated the man, would the being return?
But Leon was someone even that great being had feared and fled from. He was the man said to have overwhelmed the Cheongju Gate's ultimate killing machine—Jagd Spinner.
Planning anything against such a person required extreme caution.
"Damn it... when's the voice coming back? Is it even coming back at all?"
He had offered so many live sacrifices in the meantime! After a month of patience, Reynald's frustration was bubbling over.
"F***ing demons are so damn expensive—"
— BZZZZT!
"O Great Being! I never doubted your return for a moment!"
Reynald immediately snapped into groveling mode and glanced at the Gem of Wisdom.
[Ugh... Why the hell do I have to clean up this mess…]
"O Great Being?"
[Ahem! You fool. Bow down! Lower your head!]
"Y-yes, sir!!"
Reynald dropped into a full bow. The voice sounded a little different, but the malevolent aura radiating from the gem was unmistakably powerful.
[I shall teach you the truths and wisdoms of the cosmos. But you must revere me and offer proper sacrifices.]
"Of course, O Great One! What should I prepare? A live offering? Or perhaps enslave more Hunters from a Gate like last time?"
[No. For now, just do what I say. First order of business—]
The voice continued from the gem:
[Enchant this gem with spatial teleportation magic. I want to be able to shoot it into space if necessary.]
"…Excuse me? What do you mean by that?"
[Just shut up and do it, you little sh*t!]
Somehow… the tone had gotten cheaper. But Reynald complied, casting a spatial warp spell on the box housing the gem. The destination: outer space.
[Good, good. Nicely done.]
"A-are you certain? I thought the gem was a vessel for your descent… Wouldn't it be better to open a Gate instead of launching it into space—?"
[Are you nuts?! I'm not setting foot in that damn heaven-forsaken pit again!]
"...Huh?"
[Listen closely. I am not stepping foot on a planet where that freak of a man still breathes.]
"Just who is he…?"
[…]
There was silence. The gem didn't respond for a long time, as though recalling some traumatic memory, caressing its lips in a moment of deep, terrible reflection.
[I will find a way to kill him. Now is one of the few opportunities, with the Holy Grail Knights and his army out of the picture. Get yourself into the same Gate as him—no matter what!]
"U-understood!"
Reynald obediently listened to the voice beyond the gem.
For the knowledge it provided was still incomparably vast and powerful, and he was once again awed by the gem's brilliance.
[…Please just die already…]
Though, the voice on the other side sounded deeply lacking in confidence.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE- https://ko-fi.com/s/b4089e7f26