Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 78

“Move it, you bastards!”

“Do you still think this is society?”

“You’re slacking off!”

“Sit down, number!”

As soon as they turned the corner of the building and entered a blind spot out of sight of their parents, the drill instructors’ tone completely changed.

The soldiers, who had been walking along with the instructors in a daze, were startled and looked around.

“Don’t be spacing out, you bastards!”

Kang Jin-ho watched the scene with indifferent eyes.

He understood that it was impossible to control nearly a thousand soldiers with kind words and gentle gestures when there were only a dozen or so instructors.

However, no one would feel good about being cursed at without any reason.

‘So this is the military.’

The most efficient way to control a large number of troops is very simple: coercion and example.

You threaten the other party, and to show that the threat is real, you make an example of a couple of them.

Here, it seemed they were using physical punishments as an example.

In the Demonic Cult [a fictional, often villainous, martial arts sect], when a new member joined, they would find fault with them and pick out a couple of those deemed not strong enough and behead them.

There were instructors who would behead them right away and others who would kill them cruelly, but the effect was similar.

Those who were dazed would see people dying in front of them and become filled with venom, obeying the instructors absolutely.

Although the degree was different, this place was using a similar method.

It was a bit bitter to see evidence that modern humans had not developed much compared to the humans of his time.

“Hey, you bastard! Aren’t you going to sit down?”

A drill instructor, seeing Kang Jin-ho standing blankly, immediately cursed at him.

Kang Jin-ho sat down without a change in expression.

There was no point in fighting with them. All that awaited him was a clean discharge and re-enlistment. He had barely enlisted after all that fuss, and a forced discharge was not an option.

“You bastards, you’re not getting it together! Do you still think you’re civilians? You’re soldiers now!”

“Line up quickly! Don’t show your teeth!”

But it seemed that others were not like that.

Every time the red-hatted instructors raised their voices, some people visibly flinched.

After that initiation, they moved to the auditorium, and the classification of the recruits began.

After listening to curses and pointless yelling for a while, the classification was finally over, and they could go to their barracks.

‘I’m bored.’

He should have enlisted with someone.

About 30 people were assigned to a room. Just as they were about to catch their breath, another loud noise was heard.

“It’s mealtime. Get ready!”

“Food!”

“I heard it’s terrible…”

Muttering voices were heard, and soon after, an instructor entered the barracks and led the recruits out to the parade ground.

He could feel the hardships of both the recruits and the instructors at the same time.

The recruits were having a hard time, having to wait and move as they were told just to eat a meal, and then having to stand and wait again. But the instructors, who had to take that many people in and out repeatedly, didn’t look comfortable either.

‘Very inefficient.’

He had heard that the military was like that, but it felt like he was witnessing the epitome of inefficiency.

Finally, it was his turn, and he was able to enter the cafeteria, receive his meal, and sit down.

The faces of those who had received their trays were all filled with dissatisfaction.

They didn’t expect it to taste good, but they wished it at least felt like food. The rice was almost like a lump of dough, and the side dishes were all wilted and felt like mush.

Without any expectations, he took a bite, and a taste beyond his imagination spread in his mouth.

“Wow, they expect us to eat this?”

“This is too much, isn’t it?”

He couldn’t help but complain.

“Don’t open your mouth while eating!”

Then where are they supposed to eat?

Did that instructor know what he was saying?

The atmosphere in the entire cafeteria was not good, but Kang Jin-ho was eating his meal particularly well.

The person next to him, who had been watching Kang Jin-ho eat, spoke to him.

“Is it good?”

“It’s not bad.”

“This?”

He looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, but Kang Jin-ho didn’t feel the need to respond.

When he was young in the Central Plains [a historical region in China], he never even dreamed of eating cooked rice like this. He had often climbed mountains, peeled tree bark, and eaten grass, almost dying from stomachaches.

Compared to that life, this meal was enough to be called a feast in the Central Plains.

‘They’ve got it easy.’

Of course, the value of humans is adjusted to their respective living standards, so he didn’t want to criticize them.

Even if he told someone complaining about the side dishes that there were piles of people starving to death in Africa right now, would they even understand? Everyone can judge based on their own standards.

Fortunately, the food here was edible for Kang Jin-ho, and he was able to finish his meal quite deliciously.

After the meal, they had to return to the barracks.

The first impression the military gave Kang Jin-ho was boredom.

He had nothing to do, and he had to kill time blankly, so it was hard for Kang Jin-ho to endure the boredom.

The recruits in the same barracks were all unable to hide their anxiety, but Kang Jin-ho had no such feelings, so it felt like time was passing even slower.

“Lights out.”

Finally, night came, and the lights were turned off.

Kang Jin-ho, who had settled into his spot, looked at the dark ceiling and realized once again that he had enlisted.

‘Two years…’

To be exact, 21 months. It was a long time if it was long, and a short time if it was short.

Could he gain something during that time?

Kang Jin-ho closed his eyes and tried to sleep. That was something he would find out on the day he was discharged.

There wasn’t anything special at the recruit training center.

After a physical examination, they received their clothes, were classified into specialties, and then moved to the new recruit training camp. That was all they did at the recruit training center. So, for the next two days, he had nothing to do but endure the boredom.

Finally, on the last day, Kang Jin-ho was able to board the bus heading to his unit.

“Make sure you have your toiletry bag!”

“Don’t be spacing out!”

He was just starting to get used to the instructors’ tone, and now he had to go somewhere else. It was a bit of a shame.

As soon as he got on the small bus, Kang Jin-ho leaned his head against the seat and closed his eyes.

Since there was nothing to do, he thought he would just sleep.

“Hey, do you know where we’re going?”

The person sitting next to him suddenly started talking.

“No.”

He answered simply and pulled his hat down.

The bus drove for a while and then stopped. Kang Jin-ho opened his eyes and looked to the side.

He saw an old barracks.

‘Is this the place?’

He would be spending five weeks here.

Once he entered the training camp, it felt more comfortable than when he was at the recruit training center. Just the fact that he didn’t have to waste time pointlessly made Kang Jin-ho feel like the perceived difficulty had dropped by half.

And when the training that required him to physically do something began in earnest, it was like a stage was being set up just for Kang Jin-ho.

“Forward, march!”

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Kang Jin-ho had been controlling his body for decades. He was used to moving his body in millimeter units, not just on the surface but also by manipulating his internal energy. For him, drill training was just like a child’s play where he just had to walk and go where he was told.

‘What is this guy?’

The instructor who was guiding them stared at Kang Jin-ho with wide eyes.

Of course, it wasn’t that there were no recruits who stood out from the first training. Since it was a physical activity, recruits with a knack for it would learn several times faster than other recruits.

However, even if new recruits usually followed the movements similarly, they couldn’t get the subtle angles right, so they didn’t look good.

Especially, recruits wearing the CS uniform and the issued hat from the training camp didn’t look good no matter what they did.

But….

‘What is this guy? Is he a North Korean soldier?’

The instructor shuddered as he watched Kang Jin-ho walk. His toes had been landing exactly in place since earlier. This wasn’t a new recruit training course; it felt like he was watching a North Korean military parade.

‘They’d go crazy if they saw him in the honor guard.’

It was like picking up an ace.

“About… face!”

Kang Jin-ho’s body turned around without wavering.

The instructor was amazed as he watched Kang Jin-ho turn around without any twisting, at a precise speed that was neither too fast nor too slow.

“Trainee number 100.”

“Trainee number 100, Kang Jin-ho!”

“Well done. Step aside and rest.”

“Thank you.”

The instructor pulled Kang Jin-ho aside and gave instructions to the remaining recruits.

“Forward, march!”

And then, a side effect occurred.

After seeing Kang Jin-ho’s drill, which was like a knife, the instructor became irritated when he saw the new recruits’ steps not matching properly.

“Match your steps! Steps! Left foot! Left foot! Is that all you can do!”

The instructor’s voice began to rise.

“What can you do if you can’t even do drill properly! Sit! Stand! Sit! Do it properly! Properly!”

Only then did the other recruits realize what was going on, and they glared at Kang Jin-ho, grinding their teeth.

However, Kang Jin-ho didn’t pay any attention to their gazes and sat comfortably, resting.

‘Easy.’

He thought that the military might be different, but it was no different from anything else.

Compared to the Demonic Cult’s initiation ceremony, where they would give you a small knife and release you into the mountains to survive for a month while fighting wild animals, this was just like playing.

Moreover, they gave you food on time and let you sleep on time.

It was a training that someone with properly functioning limbs could not possibly fail.

‘Is it like this in other countries too?’

Since South Korea has conscription, it felt like the training course was designed so that even recruits with average physical abilities would not fail.

If it were a country with a volunteer military system instead of conscription, they would train at a higher intensity. It seemed like a desperate measure to increase the quantity rather than the quality of the troops, but when he thought about whether those who received this training would be able to play their roles in actual combat, it seemed unnecessary.

‘But well, compared to the military in the Central Plains…’

Compared to the Central Plains, where they would immediately conscript farmers, give them basic military training, hand them a spear, and send them to the battlefield, the training here was systematic and modern. He had to admit that.

Moreover, he had just entered the camp, and this was just the training camp.

To know what the South Korean military was like, he would have to go to his assigned unit to come to a conclusion.

“Left foot! Left foot! Match your steps! Match your steps! Can’t you do it properly! I said match your steps!”

Listening to the instructor’s voice getting louder and louder, Kang Jin-ho was lost in his own thoughts. Unfortunately, Kang Jin-ho couldn’t hear the sound of his fellow recruits grinding their teeth.