Rude’s hand holding the enlistment order trembled. Overwhelmed by confusion, his inner thoughts spilled out without being filtered.

Guild leader Kang Soojin’s gaze shooting at him was stern.

‘It seems like it’s real… Did I mess up.’

[Yeah, you should’ve participated at least as Phone Rude, the Lord of Chaos chuckles, biting his tongue.]

I… am going to the military… Guys…

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“That, in the old days, it’s like being in the reserve forces.”

“R-Really?!”

Kang Ihyun smiled while looking at Rude.

Though the expression seemed to carry a certain condescending sentiment of ‘How did you survive not knowing anything all this time,’ Nari decided to brush it off lightly.

Handing a decaffeinated Americano that he got from the office cafe to Rude, Kang Ihyun said, swirling soy milk and coffee with a straw.

“Since North Korea collapsed twenty years ago due to the dungeon break. It’s been a long time since the conscription system changed to the volunteer system. But hunters are different again.”
Twenty years ago, at the moment when gates, dungeons, and Awakened Ones first appeared, North Korea collapsed. And the place where North Korea used to be became a chaotic state filled with monsters spawned by the dungeon break.

South Korea, having somewhat recovered from the dungeon break, held numerous meetings on how to deal with North Korea. However, since it had become a land of monsters controlled by non-human entities due to the Dungeon Break, the reality was that they couldn’t muster the courage to enter.

Meanwhile, the front lines had become a mess due to monsters descending from North Korea, and conventional weapons were ineffective. The skills of Awakened Ones were required.

Therefore, instead of being a country in a ceasefire, South Korea had now become a country that had to worry about monsters coming from what had become a dungeon, rather than worrying about the country that was now a wasteland.

And ten years later, when all the hunters from every guild didn’t participate in clearing the 1st-grade gate emergence, the government, sensing something, passed a bill recruiting all hunters as reserve forces.

Furthermore, under the name ‘Special Soldier,’ they recruited hunters with very generous conditions and began managing the areas beyond the ceasefire line.

“And that is the foundation of the War God. So, War God is one of the four major guilds and, uniquely, it’s not a private company but a public one.”

“Really? Is that so?”

“Well, how did you not know this? This is a practice question worth one point on the Hunter Registration written exam.”
“Originally, it’s a national rule to forget the contents of the exam scope while submitting the exam paper, isn’t it?…”

Awakened Ones and hunters were different. Among the Awakened Ones, many did not live the life of a hunter, and the country respected that by keeping the two separate.

The Awakened One, Shin Bitnari, was only an ‘Awakened One,’ not a ‘hunter,’ so there was no military duty. Therefore, there were no related letters, messages, or emails. However, Rood was registered as a ‘hunter,’ making him subject to military duty.

“If you don’t receive texts or letters, the country directly interferes with the system to notify you through alert messages.”

“…Rood is a fictional character… I just ignored it.”

Rood had a hunter registration card, but he didn’t have a resident registration card. So… No one would have imagined that the country would send a draft notice even to the secondary character Rood!

Even after joining the guild, no one had ever imagined it!

Of course, all of this happened because Rood didn’t know that he was a secondary character.

As expected, the Military Manpower Administration and the National Tax Service were as formidable institutions as ever. Rood ground his teeth against it.

[That’s why I ignored it, and now you’re complaining. Chaotic Dominator tuts.]

Rood held his head in his hands. Kang Ihhyun looked at Rood, laughed, and reassured him not to worry too much.

“Well, you only need to go regularly for about 32 hours a year. It’s like being summoned for reserve forces… It’s not like the old days when you had to serve for a full two years.”

“…”
Ugh, Rood held his head again. Sensing something ominous, Kang Ihhyun raised an eyebrow and asked, “Why are you acting so ominous?”

“I have a week…”

“What?”

Rood handed another official document hidden behind the arrest warrant to Kang Ihhyun. The contents were even more disturbing than before.

“…Although, considering the accumulated penalty points for dodging military service, Rood’s hunter qualification should have been revoked long ago, recognizing the contribution of the hunter to the defense of the Republic…”

As Kang Ihhyun murmured and read the official document, his voice trembled. It was an absurd content that was written there!

“…Tackling gates in the northern region for a week… to clear it…”

“Yes! I’m doomed!!”

Originally, if the hunter qualification is canceled, it is impossible to reapply for several years, so the country would have shown as much consideration as possible. Still, for Nari, it was an enormous revelation.

How can he spend a week in another guild? Moreover, there is a three-shift system here, and Kang Ihhyun is the one to partner with. There, he would have to be with people he doesn’t know at all every day!

And even in the military, there might not be individual rooms. How would he take a shower, and how would he sleep!

Saying something like, “I’ll go home for a moment, freshen up, and have a good night’s sleep~^^,” would be a perfect way to have his hunter qualification confiscated!

However, there was no way to avoid it. All hunters in the Republic of Korea over the age of 19 fulfill their military obligations.
This was a matter explicitly stated to be aware of when registering as an awakened being and also when registering as a hunter.

After worrying for a while, Rood tightly held Kang Ihhyun’s hand. When Kang Ihhyun looked down, he saw Rood, whose eyes were shining brightly.

“Really… I’m really sorry… Please help me a bit…”

“What?”

“Please go to the military with me… Please… Please go with me…”

“What?! I don’t want to! I already finished my conscription this year!”

“I can’t go alone, you know! How can I endure it there!”

“I hate the military too! Even if I like you, I can’t go to the military with you!”

“Please help me! You’re the only one I have!”

Nari grabbed Kang Ihhyun’s hand and pleaded desperately. It was a full-scale operation to go to the military together with her partner.

Kang Ihhyun, with surprised eyes at Nari’s last words, hesitated for a moment, then covered his mouth with a slightly reddened face.

“Um, well…”

“Hmm?”

“Is it true that there’s no one else but me?”

[Nari, as cute and pitiful as possible! Pitiful face! Assisted by the Lord of Chaos.]

Following the assistance, Nari, with the most pitiful appearance of a lamb, nodded her head and looked up at Kang Ihhyun. Slightly, Kang Ihhyun glanced at Rood.

“Yeah, yeah, there really is no one else but you. Please help me, really, there’s no one else but you.”

“Um! Well, now that I think about it, since it’s only a week… If I negotiate well, I might be able to skip the reserves for 7 years…”

“Yeah!! So let’s go together!!”
Slightly, Kang Ihhyun, still in a state of unresolved hesitation, glanced at Rood. At that moment, Nari’s bombshell statement followed.

“I really can’t go to the military alone. There… there… I know someone there! Please help me!”

“Y-yes… Yes?”

“My high school classmate received an S-rank evaluation and is working at the Guild!”

“What?!”