Finally Got Stronger but Ended Up Regressing

Chapter 19: It Doesn’t Work on Me (6)

17:30, Barracks.

“Private Gu Yunho, returning after intensive training.”

Combat boots were lined up under the bed. It seemed the seniors had returned early today as well.

There were only a few people in the barracks, perhaps they had gone to the internet cafe as a group.

Corporal Song Jihan, who was watching TV, greeted me warmly.

“Oh, you worked hard today too, Yunho.”

“Thank you.”

And Corporal Byun Jitak, who was lying down with his legs crossed, tapping on his phone. For some reason, he didn’t look happy.

Did he get sick while eating?

If that’s the case, I hope he suffers for about a week.

I disarmed and organized the squad situation board. Only then did I realize why Corporal Byun Jitak was acting like that.

‘Right, Corporal Kwak Woohee is returning today.’

Even someone like Corporal Byun Jitak, who acts like an outlaw, has someone who makes him cower.

That person is Corporal Kwak Woohee.

She has a faster military number, and she is recognized for her skills within the company.

Naturally, she has the trust of the officers.

No matter how much Corporal Byun Jitak tries, he can’t even lift his head in front of her.

‘Actually, aside from everything else, Corporal Kwak Woohee has such a strong personality.’

These days, she would be the epitome of girl crush. Clunk, the dormitory door opened just then.

“Hey guys, I’m back~”

A woman about 175cm tall, with limbs as long as a model’s. She glanced around the dormitory with sharp eyes and smiled at Corporal Byun Ji-tak.

“Ji-tak, your military life seems to have gotten a lot easier? Even crossing your legs while lying down.”

“Co, Corporal Byun Ji-tak!”

Not expecting her to return so early, Corporal Byun Ji-tak was startled and stood up. The head that never bowed was now bent like a reed.

I immediately stood at attention and saluted.

“Loyalty!”

“Hello to you too, Yun-ho.”

She went to her bed and started unbuttoning her combat uniform one by one. This woman who made Corporal Byun Ji-tak tremble was none other than Corporal Kwak Woo-hee.

“Anything happen while I was gone?”

“No, nothing happened.”

Corporal Kwak Woo-hee set up a screen and changed clothes.

Her experience showed even here.

She quickly came out in her activity uniform.

“Nothing happened, you say.”

She said, tying her long hair up with a hair tie.

“A hero who brought glory to Biho came from our squad.”

Because it was so widely covered by the media, and because the honor of bringing glory to Biho was such a big commendation, Corporal Kwak Woo-hee had already heard the news.

“Yun-ho, what happened? Explain it to me.”

“Private Gu Yun-ho, well, you see…”

Regression.

That one word would explain everything, but saying that might earn him a smack on the back.

Are you kidding your senior right now?

Does that even make sense?

Wasn’t that the reaction Corporal Jung Ye-som had before?

“Loyalty! Corporal Kwak Woo-hee, have you returned!”

Just then, Corporal Jung Ye-som came in. Her hands were wet, as if she had just been to the bathroom. She wiped her hands on her activity uniform and neatly clasped them together.

“I’ve been waiting for your return. Did you have a good vacation?”

“Yes, thanks to our Ye-som.”

“Hehehe.”

Even the tough Sergeant Jeong Yesom was just a meek lamb in front of Sergeant Gwak Woohee.

“So, what were you talking about?”

“We were talking about the youngest receiving an award.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Come to think of it, our Yesom also received one, right?”

“Sergeant Jeong Yesom! Yes, that’s correct.”

“Great, then you tell the story. You were there fighting together, so you should know well.”

“Ah, well, you see…”

Thanks to Sergeant Jeong Yesom, I could just sit quietly and listen.

After hearing everything, Sergeant Gwak Woohee looked at me with a peculiar gaze.

Sitting on the bed, she beckoned with her finger.

“Private Gu Yunho!”

I quickly went and sat next to her. She cupped my face with both hands and stared at me for a long time.

As if looking at some strange object.

“It’s definitely the Gu Yunho I know, but…”

“Private Gu Yunho. Yes, that’s correct.”

“But how can someone change so drastically overnight? It’s fascinating, fascinating. Truly fascinating.”

“We’ve been saying the same thing about Yunho lately.”

At Sergeant Jeong Yesom’s words, Sergeant Gwak Woohee finally took her hands off my face.

“What is it?”

“It’s not an ability, but rather an awakening of oneself, something like that?”

“Oh.”

It was an absurd statement, but Sergeant Gwak Woohee responded surprisingly seriously.

“It makes sense. Considering the way Yunho has been acting.”

Sergeant Gwak Woohee was never the type to coddle anyone. If anything, she was more likely to scold.

I had been scolded a lot too.

But I never felt bad about it.

‘Yunho, you are definitely an asset to our squad. Who else would handle the monster corpses and byproducts if not you? But that’s not why you’re here. You’re here because you want to be a hunter. So remember, you have to work harder. Harder than anyone else.’

She encouraged me in her own way, just like Sergeant Jeong Yesom did.

“Anyway.”

Therefore, Corporal Kwak Woo-hee was happier than anyone else about my change.

“That’s great, our youngest. Now you finally look like a hunter.”

You finally look like a hunter.

It was truly a pleasing thing to hear.

*

The next day, on the third day of intensive training.

The privates gathered early in the morning on the west side of the empty dungeon.

There were six small colosseum ruins there.

The walls were all collapsed, and there were no stands to speak of, so it was essentially just a single arena.

“The final battle item will be conducted here. The arenas of each colosseum will be your training grounds.”

A circular arena. Given the state of the walls and stands, the condition of the arena was obvious at a glance.

Traces of destruction and cracks everywhere.

But it was a fight between privates anyway.

Their swordsmanship or magic wouldn’t be affected.

“I will now announce the match list.”

Even though they were grouped by similar levels, the fighting styles varied greatly depending on their specialties. Therefore, who their opponent was could be considered the key point of this battle item.

The privates held their breath and looked up high.

When the instructor threw a round orb, a large parchment unfolded in the sky.

As if a notification had appeared.

It was a type of magical tool that engraved letters in the air.

The parchment was as large as a screen in a large concert hall.

The privates began to look for their names there.

Who was my opponent again?

I thought it was Woo Chan-young or Oh Chan-young.

As I scanned the parchment, I found my name in a completely different place.

Private Koo Yoon-ho, 3rd Company, 3rd Platoon, 3rd Squad.

The name next to it was not Woo Chan-young or Oh Chan-young, but Cho Tae-kwang.

The very Cho Tae-kwang with whom I had a severe conflict in the cooperative item yesterday.

‘It’s different from before the regression. Did the opponent change because of the Modang Station incident?’

Perhaps the appearance shown during this intensive training might have had an impact.

At that moment, a gaze flew towards me.

A man with a grim expression and a shaved head was looking at me with a sneer.

It was Private Jo Taekwang.

Just by looking at his expression, I could tell what he was going to say to me.

“Ah, seriously, even if I get paired up, why does it have to be with Gong Eunsol? There’s no way to deal with ice magic.”

Private Shim Jaehun, who was grumbling next to me, asked.

“Who are you paired up with?”

“Jo Taekwang.”

“Oh man, you’re unlucky too.”

He belonged to the same 2nd Company as Private Jo Taekwang.

“Be careful. Even if nothing else, his physical strength is among the top five in the entire company.”

“I’ve seen it too.”

“Really?”

“Yes. We were in the same squad for the cooperation drill yesterday.”

“Then you must know well. I once saw him hunting monsters, and with that ridiculously large axe, he just… Oh, if it were me, I couldn’t handle it.”

Private Shim Jaehun shuddered as if recalling something horrible.

“Compared to you, I’m at least better off. Gong Eunsol is still below Jo Taekwang.”

In terms of pure strength, that would be true. Meanwhile, all the privates had finished checking.

“Has everyone confirmed?”

“Yes!”

“Good. Now, let’s move to the designated colosseum in order.”

“Yes!”

I was in the first training ground. Since I couldn’t hold a weapon until the sparring started, I moved with my bare hands.

The first match in the first training ground was, coincidentally, Private Shim Jaehun from earlier.

The opponent was Gong Eunsol.

A magic soldier specializing in ice magic.

“Didn’t they say they’d pair up people of similar levels? The difference is too big.”

“Shim Jaehun can swing a sword too. He always scored well during training.”

“But still, it’s Gong Eunsol, Gong Eunsol.”

“Well, you can already see the ending.”

Private Gong Eun-seol and Private Shim Jae-hoon were probably evaluated similarly.

The problem was compatibility.

Private Gong Eun-seol, who handled ice magic, was also skilled in close combat, unlike other magic soldiers.

That was immediately proven in the duel.

“Wow, look at the ice spreading. It’s brutal, brutal.”

“He’s completely tied up and can’t move.”

As soon as the duel started, a stream of ice cooled Private Shim Jae-hoon’s legs.

Then, ice arrows were shot in succession.

The extreme cold that even froze the combat uniform.

Private Shim Jae-hoon barely escaped and tried to counterattack, but it was no use.

An ice barrier was already erected in front of Private Gong Eun-seol.

Even though it was all low-circle magic, the level of connection and rotation was very high.

It was natural.

‘Gong Eun-seol. She was promoted directly to sergeant with just ice magic.’

The duel didn’t last even two minutes.

Private Shim Jae-hoon, whose body temperature dropped rapidly, surrendered.

“Winner of the first match, Private Gong Eun-seol.”

There were several such matches after the first one.

Matches where the ending was visible even before they started.

The match I had in the afternoon was particularly like that.

“No matter how you look at it, against Jo Tae-kwang? Isn’t this a bit too much? He won’t stand a chance in terms of strength.”

“Is it because of the Modang Station incident? Sure, he did well there. But his opponent was Garok. And it was more about the way he handled it rather than pure strength.”

“The officers are overreacting. Just because he did well recently, how could they pair him with Jo Tae-kwang?”

“That’s what I’m saying. If Koo Yoon-ho ends up in the medical unit, it’s all the officers’ fault.”

Most of the privates predicted my defeat.

Some were even worried about me being hospitalized.

I didn’t care and stepped into the duel arena.

Opposite me was Private Jo Tae-kwang, holding that great axe from yesterday.

The operations officer, who acted as the referee, spoke.

“The method allows free combat as long as you don’t aim for the head or heart. Do both of you understand?”

“Yes!”

“Good. It starts as soon as the whistle blows.”

I took a deep breath slowly.

I felt a thick murderous intent from the opposite side.

“I couldn’t sleep last night because I wanted to beat you to death, what the hell is this?”

“-“

“Heh, I guess the heavens are on my side.”

So talkative. I didn’t respond and gripped the sword with both hands. Perhaps thinking I was nervous, Private Jo Tae-kwang kept giggling.

“Alright, get ready.”

The operations officer put the whistle in his mouth. Beeeep, the sound breaking the silence echoed through the training ground.

A giant figure charged at me like a thunderbolt.

“Die!”

The great sword that had shattered the bodies of the Jabbricks yesterday was raised high in the sky. Private Jo Tae-kwang, with veins bulging in his neck, swung it down.

I lightly met it with my sword.

Clang!!

What spread with the dull sound was the intense spark of the blades.

At the same time, Private Jo Tae-kwang’s hand trembled.

“?!”

But I was the same. Although there was no problem blocking it with [efficient parrying], the difference in basic physical strength caused pressure throughout my body.

Swoosh!

The great sword, drawing a large arc, was swung at me once again.

Slow but heavy.

It carried even more force.

But the power of the awakened parrying was much stronger than that.

Clang!!

The great sword bounced off from the repulsive force. Private Jo Tae-kwang’s eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“W-what the hell…!!”

He hurriedly readjusted his grip on the great sword after retreating a few steps. Charging like a wild buffalo, he suddenly started to regroup.

“What, what kind of trickery is this?”

“Do you care?”

“You, you crazy b*stard!”

He lunged at me again. Each time, I just extended my sword to match his movements.

After blocking him three or four times, I got my chance.

Thud!

I twisted my body and kicked Private Jo Tae-kwang hard in the side. But he only staggered for a moment before regaining his balance.

His noisy mouth started up again.

“I don’t know how you’re blocking my attacks, but in the end, I’ll win. Anyway, with your strength, you can’t do anything to my [Tough Skin].”

[Tough Skin] is an ability that literally makes the body tough. That’s why he could withstand the attacks from the Zabricks yesterday.

But you know what?

“That doesn’t work on me.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“You might understand if you get hit.”

Now it was my turn to charge.

I had already figured out the path of his attacks.

Block what needed to be blocked, dodge what needed to be dodged, and look for openings.

Swish!!

I struck. The horizontally drawn sword touched Private Jo Tae-kwang’s torso. His combat uniform tore, and a little blood oozed out.

It was tough, indeed.

“Die!”

Private Jo Tae-kwang swung his sword wildly. It was a reckless barrage with no technique to be found.

There was nothing more to block.

I just dodged, stabbing and slashing at the gaps.

At some point, the offense and defense completely reversed.

Private Jo Tae-kwang was now the one getting hit unilaterally by my sword.

“You, you damn…!!”

Yet his mouth was still alive.

“You, you can’t do anything to me anyw-“

“No, I told you it doesn’t work on me.”

I unleashed five consecutive strikes. Then I followed up with another seven consecutive strikes. When the combination of [Stabbing] and [Slashing] exceeded a dozen times, Private Jo Tae-kwang’s body momentarily stiffened.

Thud.

The large figure, soaked in red, collapsed helplessly. The continuous attacks had put him in a [groggy] state.

“?!!!!!!”

Private Jo Taekwang’s eyes widened to the point of tearing.

Abilities can exhibit god-like powers depending on their compatibility and level.

Such powers that cannot be defied.

This was the latter.

Private Jo Taekwang, completely [groggy], knelt before me.

I raised my sword vertically.

The blood-stained blade glinted in the sunlight.

Terrified, he urgently shouted towards the operations officer.

“P-please, spare me!”