Chapter 80: Joining the Military (5)

Chapter 80: Joining the Military (5)

Blam!

Kang Jin-Ho's K2 rifle spat out a flame just as the target began rising up. It had just started to rise when it was forced back.

'What a hassle...'

He knew he could hit his targets while standing up, so this exercise in assuming different positions to shoot depending on the distance puzzled him to no end. Who would always stick to lying flat to shoot at distant enemies or stand up against nearby ones in actual combat situations anyway

Training to find an optimal shooting posture to snipe targets regardless of distance seemed like a far wiser way to spend time for Kang Jin-Ho. He felt that this training wasn't meant to enhance the combat capabilities of the recruits but was only done for the sake of training. It felt as if the real purpose of this was to waste everyone's time inconveniently. Besides...

'Why train us in this manner, then make us do real shooting lying flat on the ground '

The entirety of the morning training consisted of charging forward and then aiming from various awkward positions. But the afternoon target practice involved the recruits entering trenches and fixing their rifles on the tripods to fire. What on earth was that waste of energy all about

Kang Jin-Ho came across several more unacceptable quirks of the Korean military so far, but he chose not to express dissatisfaction with them. That decision was partly influenced by his father's advice. Mostly though, he knew he would get nothing in return for trying to change the system.

Despite the rising dissatisfaction level in his mind, Kang Jin-Ho's body still moved rhythmically as the targets were replaced in front of him.

Blam! Blam!

All of his shots were on target and not a bullet missed.

"Recruit No.100, full marks!”

“Full marks!”

Kang Jin-Ho fired and accurately hit his targets twenty times out of twenty. After getting the full marks, he climbed out of the firing lane. The instructor jotting down the records of the recruits looked up from his desk to glance at Kang Jin-Ho. "You got full marks "

“Sir?”

The instructor smirked. "That's not bad, recruit." Nêww chapters will be fully updated at novelhall.com

“Thank you, sir.”

Kang Jin-Ho exited the firing range, inspected his rifle, then took a seat. While waiting, he quietly stared at the firearm in his grip.

'Was this why '

Countless martial experts existed in Zhongyuan, yet only a few seemed to be barely hanging on in the modern era. Kang Jin-Ho couldn't figure out why until he finally got the chance to shoot some live ammo.

Their disappearance was simple: regular experts could not defend against firearms.

Of course, high-level experts should be able to defend against guns pretty easily. But such experts could only be counted on two hands back when Kang Jin-Ho was still living in Zhongyuan. Not only that, but guns also had a massive advantage with their speed.

One would need at least one year of training to be halfway good at using swords to kill people. There was a proverb in gangho that spoke of one hundred days for a blade, one thousand days for a spear, and ten thousand days for a sword. It meant that you would need a hundred days to master a knife while a thousand days were needed to become proficient with a spear. And to become an expert swordsman, you had to train for ten thousand days.

Kang Jin-Ho had never believed in that maxim. Even then, he still thought that a minimum of a hundred days was necessary to familiarize yourself with a weapon. What about a gun, though

It had been only half a day since Kang Jin-Ho began his training with a firearm. Sure, he did get his rifle way before that and received a class on its internal structure. But that knowledge was meant for the upkeep of the weapon and not to help him out in combat situations. So the actual firearm training he received amounted to only half a day, and that was it...

Kang Jin-Ho only needed that time to become more or less proficient with the rifle. It was a similar story with the other recruits, as well. They couldn't hit their targets 100% of the time as Kang Jin-Ho had done, but most were able to get over 50% accuracy rating already.

'50% isn't even the most impressive part, though.'

An arrow would barely travel the range of 200 meters. However, one would shoot arrows as a means to attack a large group of enemies indiscriminately, and using bows required an even longer time to train than most weapons. Compared to that, a gun could turn even a regular person into a killer in just half a day. In that sense, firearms were like unstoppable sorcery.

To fight barehanded and win against some random idiot with minimum firearm training, one would have to be a martial expert with over a decade of harsh training under their belt.

A decade of training versus just half a day of simple instructions? Was there any need to even weigh the two options

The ones who needed combat personnel would freely hand out their firearms, and those firearms would easily crush the martial art experts on the battlefield. When additional troops were in need, the generals would choose to stick guns in soldiers' hands instead of training them in martial arts. And just like that, martial art experts must have gradually disappeared from this world in that manner.

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes. “What does that mean?”

“No, it's nothing.” Ji Yeong-Hwa sighed grandly and stared at the distant skies above. “This world is so unfair...”

Unfairness existed in video games, too, but developers tried their best to maintain the game's balance. Yet this game of 'Military Grunt Quest' seemed to be broken and incredibly unfair. At the very least, the game should avoid pitting one against a super-high-level player during the tutorial, no

Ji Yeong-Hwa groaned in defeat.

'Fine, I can accept that. The balance might be out of whack. Fine!'

He could forgive this level of imbalance after imagining the sheer difficulty of getting the balance right for over six-point-something billion people on Earth. In that case, at least the appearance patch should come as standard, no?!

What was anyone supposed to do when the high-level player with nonsensically OP stats also came equipped with devastating good looks? Ji Yeong-Hwa tried hard to soothe his bitter heart, then stared at Kang Jin-Ho observing the scenery before them without any expression on his face.

“This world is so unfair.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at him. “Mm ”

"It's nothing." Ji Yeong-Hwa kicked the stock of his rifle a couple of times in frustration. Unfortunately, an instructor passing by caught him doing that, and the poor recruit had to madly roll around in the dirt for a while.

***

One of the most puzzling things Kang Jin-Ho had discovered in the boot camp was getting time off during weekends. Sure, a working week consisted of five days in the modern era, but the idea of fresh-faced recruits getting weekends off seemed rather unthinkable to Kang Jin-Ho. This unexpected time off left him in deep despair.

Normally, the recruits would welcome the chance to get some rest with open arms. Unfortunately, Kang Jin-Ho wasn’t what you'd call 'normal.’ For instance, the recruits would be happy about the prospect of resting their bodies that had suffered from a week of abuse. However, Kang Jin-Ho didn't feel much fatigue. Of course, his physique was different from his peers.

He would obviously not feel tired from such a soft training regime. Even if he did feel some fatigue, his physique would automatically recover from it in no time at all. Hence, the weekend was nothing more than days of boredom Kang Jin-Ho had to overcome.

He chose to sit down cross-legged and meditate to pass the time. However, it seemed that some people found his actions quite the eyesore.

“Hey!”

Kang Jin-Ho opened his eyes at a hostile voice addressing him.

“You... Sh*t, man. It's the weekend, yet what the hell are you doing, man?”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly at the recruit trying to pick a fight with him. The recruit, with an impressively large frame, was glaring daggers at Kang Jin-Ho. Scary-looking tattoos rippled on his skin beneath his vest.

The recruit's face seemed familiar. He must be the guy using the next bunk. Kang Jin-Ho never held much interest in his fellow recruits, yet he still remembered this guy's face. It was all because of how often they ran into each other.

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head at the recruit emanating naked hostility in his way. “What is it?”

The tattooed recruit growled. "Stop squatting on your ass like that. Can't you see that everyone is uncomfortable because of you "

Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and stared at the recruit. His wordless glare led to the recruit's expression crumpling in anger. He suddenly began charging toward Kang Jin-Ho.

“H-Hey, man! What are you doing?”

The other recruits quickly rushed in to stop the tattooed man.

He angrily roared, “What am I doing?! Am I the only one who finds that punk an eyesore? Look at all the sh*t he does, guys! Being oblivious has limits, know what I mean?! How many times did we get screwed over by that punk? Ah ”

“Come on, man. Being good at something isn't a crime, you know.”

"You think I'm mad because I suck?! No, I am not! Be like everyone else and do it in moderation, and we'll all be happy campers, but that bastard wants to save his hide at our expense and keeps showing off! Look at him now! We're all trying to relax, but he's f*cking meditating? Let me ask ya, how uncomfortable do you all feel with that bastard around you?!"

Only then did Kang Jin-Ho figure out what was going on here. He uncrossed his legs and got up. “It seems that I've inconvenienced you somehow.”

“Hey, did you all hear that punk? See how he talks as if he’s looking down on you? Hey, you dipsh*t, come here! Come over here, I dare you.”

Kang Jin-Ho's eyebrows quivered slightly. He wanted to resolve this misunderstanding through dialogue if he could, but a barrage of insults was quickly evaporating that thought out of his mind.

“Hmm. What will you do if I go over there?” Kang Jin-Ho began walking over to the tattooed recruit.