“Oh my, Sujin. Your face looks great these days. There have been many good things happening at the temple lately. Congratulations.”

“Hoho, Jangmi, didn’t you also have good things happening recently? I heard you even got a rank 3 member. Congratulations.”

“Oh my, thank you. But that kid is still far away… I’ll have to teach them a lot.”

Hahaha, hohoho, oh my, congratulations. No, it’s thanks to you.

In the meeting room of the Korean Awakener Association, where sunlight sparkled and the fragrant scent of tea lingered, four guild leaders were laughing and building camaraderie.

It was the second half settlement report meeting of the top 4 guilds, one of the biannual settlement reports.

The regular meeting of the top 4 domestic guild leaders, pretty tea, laughter of haha hoho… and the knife hidden within!

Kang Sujin sipped her tea with a smile, suppressing the tension that felt like butterflies dancing in her stomach.

Even though she was also a renowned guild leader of a temple, these situations were not easy.

The conversations of people who were leaders of a group should never be taken at face value.

She had the sense to see through things from growing up in her household, but the way of speaking of the guild leaders who had clawed their way up from the bottom was no joke.

They were the ones who used even more grandiose language than the young ladies in the romance novels popular these days.

For example, the words from earlier, “Sujin, your face looks great ㅎㅎ” actually meant…

“You got the rank 1 guild and safely dealt with the rank 3 encroacher this time? Must feel good monopolizing both domestic rank 1 and 2, huh?”

As expected of the Baekya guild leader, a person skilled in business acumen. Not to be taken lightly. To respond, she had to mention the recent rank 3 “Red Demon King” Min Jaeyun who joined Baekya.

“By the way…”

Next to the Baekya guild leader, the Mago guild leader looked at Kang Sujin. Kang Sujin was startled and wiped her sweat.

Given the Mago guild leader’s personality, it was obvious he would get straight to the point. His mouth slowly opened.

“Now that the rank 1 has also entered the secular world, shouldn’t he do the things he has been neglecting?”

“No, you know. Sir Rude is very exhausted from subjugating the encroacher gate. And our guild has a duty to protect him…”

The Mago guild leader pushed up his horn-rimmed glasses and stared at her. His sharp black eyes pierced through her.

“This is also the duty of all hunters. Rather, in this situation, it might be good for him to get away from the secular world for a while and focus on training.”

Damn, his constellation matches his incarnation, his words are well-spoken. As Kang Sujin looked to the side for help, there was a soft laugh and the sound of a teacup being put down with a clink.

The Baekya guild leader was smiling with a confident expression.

“That’s right. The reverse hermit card came out today when I was thinking about Sir Rude. It’ll be troublesome if he delays what he has to do any longer.”

The eyes of Baekya guild leader Baek Jangmi and the Mago guild leader shone ominously. Kang Sujin glanced sharply to the side.

The Gunshin guild leader, who had been silent for a while, rested his chin. The sunglasses covering the scar across his face flashed!

Kang Sujin shuddered. She felt her position here getting narrower and narrower. There were no more excuses to make. Slowly, the Gunshin guild leader’s mouth opened…

“Doesn’t matter if he’s tired, bring him…”

“Hiik.”

“To fulfill his national defense duty… I’ll be waiting in Gangwon-do…”

Kwakwang-! As if in a scene from a 2000s anime, the sound of lightning striking was heard in Sujin’s head…

‘It’s over, Rude. I can no longer protect you…’

[This is the timeline separator]

“Military Manpower Administration Military Service Notice

Mr. Rude, your special military training enlistment date and time is December 20th at 10:00 AM.

Please enter the guild ‘Gunshin’ headquarters, and note that there will be no automatic deferment if you do not enlist, so be careful not to be disadvantaged due to not participating in training.

For other inquiries and information related to military service, please check the Military Manpower Administration and guild ‘Gunshin’ websites, and the civil service consultation number XXXX-XXXX.

Thank you. [Military Manpower Administration]”

Is this for real?

“I’m sorry… This was the one thing I couldn’t protect.”

Is this seriously for real?

“But I did all I could! I can guarantee it! This is too much of you! How can you ignore the draft notices for 6 years… The country even sent you messages through the system…”

“…”

Am I really going?

“The Gunshin guild leader was trembling at the mention of your name… I couldn’t say anything after hearing that!”

“Is this for real?”

“Sir Rude!”

Rude’s hand holding the enlistment order trembled. He was so flustered that his true thoughts spilled out without filtering.

Guild leader Kang Sujin’s eyes staring at him were sharp.

‘I guess it’s real… I’m screwed.’

[You should have at least participated in the phone Rude version, the Chaos Ruler clicked his tongue disapprovingly.]

I’m… going to the military… guys…

[This is the timeline separator]

“That’s just like the reserves in the old days.”

“R-Really?!”

Kang Ihyeon smiled at Rude.

His expression seemed to say “How did you live until now knowing nothing…” with a pitying look, but Nari decided to let it slide.

Ihyeon handed Rude a decaffeinated Americano from the office cafe, saying to get it together at least with this, and took a latte for himself. Stirring the soymilk and coffee with a straw, Ihyeon said,

“It’s been a long time since it changed from conscription to voluntary enlistment, since North Korea was destroyed by the Dungeon Break 20 years ago. But it’s different for hunters.”

20 years ago, the moment gates, dungeons, and Awakeners first appeared. North Korea was destroyed.

And the place where North Korea used to be became a land teeming with monsters created by the Dungeon Break.

South Korea, which had somewhat recovered from the Dungeon Break, held several meetings on how to deal with North Korea, but it had already become a land ruled by monsters, not humans… a land of demons that they couldn’t even dare to enter.

Meanwhile, the border areas were devastated by monsters coming down from North Korea, and conventional weapons were ineffective, so the skills of Awakeners were needed.

Therefore, South Korea now had to worry about monsters coming over from what used to be the country it had been in a truce with, instead of that country.

And 10 years after that, when all the hunters from the guilds did not participate in the subjugation of the 1st grade gate, the country seemed to realize something and passed a bill to make all hunters reserves.

In addition, under the name of “special soldiers,” they began managing the areas beyond the truce line by recruiting hunters with very generous conditions.

“And that’s the foundation of Gunshin. That’s why Gunshin is the only public corporation among the top 4 guilds, not a private company.”

“Really? So that’s how it was.”

“Wait, how do you not know this? This is a 1-point question from the written exam for hunter registration.”

“It’s the national rule to forget the exam content as soon as you submit the test paper…”

Awakeners and hunters were different. Even among Awakeners, there were many who did not live the life of a hunter, and the country respected that and separated the two.

The Awakener Shin Binnari was just an ‘Awakener,’ not a ‘hunter,’ so she had no military duty. So she didn’t receive any related mail, text messages, or emails. But Rude was registered as a ‘hunter,’ so he was subject to military duty.

“If you don’t receive texts or letters, the country directly interferes with the system and sends you notification messages.”

“…Rude is a phantom character… So I just ignored them…”

Rude was a character who had a hunter registration but no resident registration. So… But honestly, who would have imagined that the country would send a draft notice even to Rude, who was a side character!

I never imagined it even after joining the guild!

Of course, all of this happened because they didn’t know Rude was a side character.

Rude gnashed his teeth.

[I told you, why did you ignore it, the Chaos Ruler clicked his tongue disapprovingly.]

Rude clutched his head. Ihyeon laughed and told Rude not to worry too much, saying,

“Well, you only have to go for about 32 hours a year periodically. It’s really like getting called up for reserves… It’s not like the old days where you had to go for a full 2 years.”

“…”

Euh-heuk, Rude clutched his head again. Ihyeon, sensing something ominous, raised an eyebrow and asked,

“Why do you look so grim?”

“It’s a week for me…”

“Pardon?”

Rude handed Ihyeon another official document that had been hidden on the back of the order. It contained even more disturbing content.

“…Based on the accumulated penalty points for evading military service, Rude’s hunter license should have already been revoked, but in recognition of the hunter’s contribution to the national defense of Korea…”

Ihyeon’s voice trembled as he read the document in a mutter. Because there was absurd content written in it!

“…It will be overlooked by subjugating gates in the northern region for a week…?”

“Yes! I’m screwed!!”

Originally, if a hunter’s license is revoked, re-application is not possible for several years, so the country was being as considerate as possible, but it was still an enormous thing for Nari.

How can you stay with another guild for a whole week?

Even here, there’s a 3-shift system and Ihyeon is a decent partner, but there, you have to be stuck with complete strangers every single day!

Moreover, if it’s the military, there probably won’t be individual rooms. How do you shower, how do you sleep!

If you say, “I’ll go home for a bit to get fluffy and have a good sleep~^^”, wouldn’t that be perfect for getting your hunter license confiscated for real!

But it was unavoidable. All hunters in Korea over the age of 19 have a military duty.

This was stated as something that had to be acknowledged when registering as an Awakener and a hunter.

After worrying and groaning for a while, Rude firmly grasped Ihyeon’s hand and raised it.

Looking down, Ihyeon saw Rude’s eyes shining brightly.

“I’m really… really sorry but… Please help me…”

“What?”

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

“What?! No! I already did my call-up this year!”

“You know I can’t go there alone!! How am I supposed to endure there!”

“I hate the military too! No matter how much I like you, Rude, I can’t go to the military with you!!”

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

Nari pleaded earnestly, holding Ihyeon’s hand. It was a grand operation to go to the military together with his partner.

Ihyeon looked surprised at the last words, then pondered for a moment with a slightly reddened face, covering his mouth.

“Hmm, ahem…”

“Hm?”

“Am, am I really the only one for you?”

[Nari, make the cutest and most pitiful face! A pitiful face! The Chaos Ruler will assist.]

Following the assist, Nari nodded while looking up at Ihyeon with the most pitiful lamb-like appearance. Ihyeon glanced at Rude.

“Yes, yes you’re really the only one. Please help me… You’re really the only one…”

“Euhm! Hmm… Now that I think about it, since it’s a week… If I negotiate well, I might be able to get out of 7 years of reserves too…”

“Yes!! So let’s go together!!”

Ihyeon glanced at Rude, not having fully erased his hesitation yet. Then Nari’s bombshell remark followed.

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

“What… what?”

“My high school classmate got an S-grade and is working at Gunshin!”

“What?!”