The Hero In The Military academy Suit

Chapter 19

 Part 01No Medicine for a Mad Dog

‘Look over there, it’s the 3rd dorm, the 9th-year students.’

‘They’re the ones who fought that instructor and won, right?’

‘They look way scarier than the rumours.’

‘They look pretty tough.’

As I crossed from the medical building to the dormitory, I could hear whispers and glances being thrown my way.

Sometimes, it’s annoying having such good hearing; you end up overhearing things you didn’t need to know.

‘Scary-looking? Nah, I’m objectively handsome.’

This is all because of that idiot, Urshus.

He’s got a bear-like body.

I slapped his back for no reason.

“Quit looking so scary, relax.”

“???”

Urshus blinked in confusion.

A while later, a small celebration party was held on the first floor of the welfare building, where the PX and the cafeteria were located.

Since this world had a mix of modern training facilities and a game-like fantasy setting, the snack bar was filled with a mix of modern items and fantasy game aesthetics.

Thanks to Cory’s dad’s credit card and my prestige as a former sergeant, I was able to show off.

“Wow.”

“l……!”

Of course, the result was a huge success.

There were things like mayonnaise tuna on crackers and a greasy noodle sausage combo.

These were recipes I remembered from when the main character, Hugo, used them to “mild” (or whatever) a food-loving heroine.

‘It wasn’t intended for you guys, but oh well. Guess it’s fate.’

It was a joy to watch them eating it greedily.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

I asked Ludwig.

“I don’t eat such basic meals.”

“Shut up and just eat it.”

Of course, my words didn’t work.

I grabbed a tuna cracker and shoved it into Ludwig’s mouth.

He looked angrily at me, glaring, but his eyes grew wide, and he ended up making a dumbfounded face, almost like a question mark appeared above his head.

“Did I kill you?”

“……? ……??”

It was like seeing a cat growl and then calm down with a treat.

At that point, I could probably scratch his chin, and he’d stay still.

Ah, so this is what they mean by ‘buffing.’

When I call it a ‘magical’ taste, it becomes a magical taste.

It’s way better than that junk they serve at the South Korean Army PX.

Even Ludwig, who had just been watching, started eating without any care for his dignity.

“Hey, don’t eat it all by yourself.”

I quickly snatched a garlic chicken drumstick that was about to go into Ludwig’s mouth and shoved it into my own.

The look of defeat on his face was priceless, so I almost took another one, but I nearly got hit with his power.

The two-hour after-party ended with huge traces of food consumption.

“Sorry, Cory. Must’ve been a lot.”

“Huh? Nah, it’s fine. This much is nothing.”

“Oh… I see. A rich kid’s son.”

When I added it up, the total came to about 450,000 gold.

450,000 gold is about the same as 450,000 won in Korean currency.

I know it sounds like a convenient shortcut, but it was easier for me when I was writing.

Calculating exchange rates and prices is way too much for a rookie writer.

The currency is gold coins, but their actual gold content is practically nonexistent.

Anyway, spending 450,000 gold at the PX meant I was flexing hard.

“Done eating? Let’s go take a bath.”

“Sounds good.”

Cory responded right away, and Urshus nodded.

All three of us turned to look at Ludwig.

“What are you looking at me for? We’re not that close to bathing together—”

“Men, take him away.”

Cory and Urshus immediately grabbed Ludwig’s arms.

“Hey, hey, don’t be too rough with the injured guy. And, hey, kid. You know using powers against fellow recruits gets you kicked out, right?”

“Ugh, let go!”

“Of course, a hot steam bath is the best way for men to bond.”

We dragged him into the military hot steam bath.

“Oh… mmm… ooh…”

“Wow.”

“……!”

That’s when I realized why Ludwig hated being called “kid.”

“With a face like that, but not acting like it…”

“I’ll never call you ‘kid’ again. You’re a fine guy.”

[Starstrike]

“You crazy idiot, you’re getting kicked out!?”

“Shield soldiers, forward!”

Clang, clang, clang!

Soldiers with shields half their height moved in perfect unison, widening their stance.

“Shield up!”

It was as if arrows were raining down from above, and all the shields shot up into the air at the same time.

“Shield down!”

With the next movement, the shields lowered, and Instructor Alexa’s clear, sharp voice echoed through the air.

“Spearmen! First rank!”

Whoosh!

The spearmen, closely following behind the shield bearers, thrust their spears with all their strength.

“Archers, aim! Fire!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

A hundred arrows soared in parabolic arcs.

Then came the bullets from the gunmen and the lightning-like magic attacks from the mages.

“Weapon change!”

At Alexa’s shout, the spearmen, archers, and gunmen who were in the centre all switched to swords.

They then quickly moved into their well-practised formations, performing first and second-rank sword strikes in quick succession.

The sight was worlds apart from the chaos when they first started training.

It finally looked like a proper regular army.

The 21st batch of recruits had entered the final phase of their 4th week of training.

That meant we were almost halfway through.

Week 5 would cover camping, hunting, and other survival skills for isolated situations.

Week 6 would focus on intense individual combat training.

Week 7 would be real combat training with actual monsters involved.

Week 8 would be the final exam.

After the first major event just before graduation from the training camp, we would finally enter Hero Academy.

That’s when the prologue would end and the real story, with all the academy-style drama, would begin.

‘In the novel, this took about five chapters… but experiencing it firsthand feels way longer.’

In reality, finishing the training camp doesn’t make you super strong right away.

This place was just about laying the groundwork, teaching the basics needed to fight monsters and some fundamental knowledge and skills.

The real growth of the main characters happens once they enter the academy.

You could think of it as a waste of time, but for me, it was invaluable.

It was time to understand the world, gather background knowledge, and, most importantly, adapt to this body—Russell Ashgreen’s body.

Now I’ve almost mastered full-body control to the point where it’s hard to tell where Russell ends and I begin.

I’ve reached a level of harmony.

Once morning formation training ended, I quickly shoved some food into my face, took a quick nap, and then the afternoon group training began.

This was pretty much my standard weekly routine.

And by the way, if anyone tries to wake me from my deep sleep, they’ll learn the hard way that fists speak louder than words.

Our sociable friend Cory and his group learned this a few times when they disturbed my nap, getting a face full of ground as a result.

From that point on, thanks to the deep bonds of friendship among my training comrades, there was never an ant in sight near my nap spot.

It was always peaceful.

“Russell, you up?”

“Yeah, yeah. Had a good sleep.”

The high clock tower that faced the training field showed that there were only 10 minutes left until afternoon training started.

I woke up just in time.

I’m such a hard worker.

“But what’s with them?”

“Some friends who wanna join the afternoon training. Can we let them?”

“Is this a daycare or something? Why are you always walking around with a group of kids?”

Four new recruits were hanging around Cory.

I had no idea when he became friends with them, but every time I looked, Cory’s group changed.

His social skills were a bit too much, honestly.

“I don’t think our King of Chairs would like it.”

“…Probably better than calling him that.”

As expected, Ludwig’s face was full of displeasure.

Urshus didn’t seem to care at all.

“Hey, you good with this?”

“Do whatever you want. You were gonna do it anyway.”

“True.”

That prickly little kid finally got sucked into Cory’s dazzling charm.

Looks like future big shots are born with a special ability.

I jumped up, patting my butt.

“If they wanna get a good beating, I’ll let ‘em join.”

“Oooh!”

The cheers of the lively guys rang out loudly.

It was like this after the whole “drill instructor corn popping” incident.

Since Ludwig and I are both a bit tough to approach, and Urshus barely speaks, soldiers have started approaching Cory, the easiest target, asking to join in on training.

I don’t get it—why follow me around when all we do is get beaten up?

They’re like masochists or something.

“All right, get in position. Today, we’re going full snow-capped boar mode.”

I kindly helped my comrades set up their formations, then smashed them to pieces without mercy.

I threw each one to the ground four times, and only then did I start to feel a bit of sweat and loosen up my muscles.

And while we were training, I found out something interesting: [Hunting Time] and [Prey Registration] don’t activate during training.

It seems those skills only trigger when one of the fighters has true “hostility” or when they’re in a “life-or-death” fight, like a real showdown.

If it’s not that extreme, there needs to be a huge, almost deadly gap between me and the opponent.

So, in short, you can’t stack the [Prey] stats by using training as an excuse.

The activation conditions are too vague, so I’ll need to research more.

“All right, go on and get out of here.”

By the time the 4-hour afternoon training ended, it was time for the drill instructor’s workday to finish too.

I asked my wobble friend to return the training armour and started stretching to loosen up my body.

Today, I’d finish with a thousand thrusts and a thousand horizontal swings.

“Russell, over here.”

Just as I was about to start my training, a group of soldiers from the other side of the field walked toward us.

And the one leading them was someone I recognized.

‘Is that… Denas?’

It was a surprise appearance.

He’s the main tank who joins the protagonist’s team later on.

At the start, he’s more of a rival and kind of an antagonist.

His nickname is “Zombie Denas,” and later, he’s called “Immortal Denas.”

The meaning is pretty much the same, but I guess the style changes depending on how you use it.

Anyway, he’s not a one-dimensional, expendable villain.

He had his sense of justice when he clashed with the protagonist.

“What’s going on?”

I’d been avoiding getting involved with the main characters before the storyline properly kicked in, so I wasn’t expecting him to come find me first.

Could Conrad have sent him?

“It’s kind of awkward to bring this up suddenly, but…”

Denas continued in a flat, emotionless voice.

“How about we have a match?”

Figures.

It’s been quiet, and now I know why.