Jaiden suddenly had time to spare after he stopped taking theoretical classes. But just leaving Jaiden alone was not giving respect to their reputation as the worst academy in the Empire. So the professors wanted to figure out how good he was by knowing how Jaiden would respond to certain actions. They also wanted to figure out how skillful he was.

“Number 13.”

“Yes!”

“You’ll move with us from now on.”

Several men with military uniforms moved with Jaiden. These men looked nothing like knights. The guns and several other weapons strapped on their bodies seemed to be a great indication of this. 

“Are you rangers?”

“It seems like you have a good eye there, huh? I heard that you have been active since day one.”

“I know, right? I heard that you're good at weapons too? You should come to us and become a ranger later.”

“That’s right. We’ll treat you nicely. There’s no one better than rangers when it comes to gaining hands-on experiences.”

Jaiden’s single sentence made all of the men happy. They began to chatter and babble about how proud they were to become rangers. Perhaps it was also because of their pride as rangers that they treated Jaiden nicely whenever he answered them with a bit of wit and knowledge here and there. 

At first, they wanted to scare Jaiden and figure out how good he was but when they left the academy, they were all singing praises to Jaiden as if he was their child that grew up well. 

When they heard that he had already slaughtered the lowest-ranked monsters, the goblins, they immediately passed over their area and went straight to the level above the goblin’s area. 

“This is a safe area with only low-leveled monsters but you know that there are mutants too. Right?”

“Yes.”

“From now on, we will be going to the area where the hobgoblins and the goblin warriors are.”

“We have to be careful since we’re at the border of the goblin and the gremlin-infested areas.”

Jaiden nodded his head at the rangers’ warnings. He also made sure to check the weapons that he had brought. 

There were guns that were similar to the guns in the real world here too but there were also a variety of weapons that were created and developed with this world’s unique technology. There were even weapons here that did not fit the times. These items that did not fit the times were due to magic alone. 

From what he had heard, the people here had been living like in the middle ages just 200 years ago. In other words, rapid progress had been made ever since that time. There was an incident that happened 200 years ago that led to the appearance of dungeons. Ever since then, the scientific system of this world has long become mixed.

However, there was no historical data left about that time. So he was still not sure of the authenticity of the rumors that he had heard. He was so busy looking into the monsters back then so he did not have the time to check about the authenticity. In addition, he was also not interested enough to dig deep and look into the history of this world.

Anyway, thanks to the mixture of magic, science and technology, grenades and other modern-like weapons were dangling all over Jaiden’s body. He was equipped with flash bombs, smoke bombs and bombs of various types. There were even two cartridges filled with magical bullets loaded on the outside of the compartment on his shoulders. His armor was also fortified and was much stronger than a modern bulletproof vest from the special forces. It even had compartments and pouches that allowed him to carry ammunition, daggers, waters, maps and lanterns.

Normally, they wouldn’t need to carry water and food since there was a subspace pouch. However, these pouches sometimes tend to fail in the presence of mana fog so it was necessary for them to carry around a small amount in case of emergencies. 

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s go then.”

There were only four people moving out together. However, the three men that accompanied Jaiden were all veterans. In addition, Jaiden had accumulated a lot of experience in his previous life. This was a line-up that was heavily experienced in battle so they could easily deal with the monsters that they expected to face.

“Shall we see what our junior can do?”

After spotting a few goblins from a distance, the rangers turned to Jaiden. Jaiden just nodded his head as he pulled his dagger out. He moved quickly and assassinated the goblin all at once. 

During the beta test, he trained to assassinate in order to cover his poor talents and performance so doing something this simple was easy for him. 

‘There’s nothing that I haven’t done because I lacked the talent.’

Jaiden couldn’t help but to laugh bitterly when he remembered his past. His past where he learned all kinds of killing techniques and movements just so he could survive. 

“Ho… Is that an assassination technique?”

Jaiden just smiled bitterly when he heard the ranger’s words. The ranger next to him shook his head when he saw the other man talking. It was customary in the Northeast to never ask about a person’s past. After all, some people came to the Northeast to enlist and hide from their past. 

“This… Sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

Jaiden nodded his head showing that he was alright as they continued their operations.

This time, their goal was to check whether there was a mana core or not. In case of a formal military operation, the first thing that they needed to check was the presence of a dimensional crack. But since he was only nine years old, he was only tasked to look for mana cores for teaching purposes. 

Occasionally, dimensional cracks would appear and spread out contaminated energy in the surrounding area. Even if the dimensional crack was removed, the surrounding area would already be contaminated with the dimensional mana. The large quantity of dimensional mana would then cause an abnormal surge of mana. This was how a mana core was created. 

Mana would turn into a mana stone if it continuously piled up in one area. And if the mana stone continued to absorb mana, then a mana core would be created. A mana core was an item that could create mana by itself.

One would believe that having more mana was not a problem but even though mana is helpful to humans, it was also a great factor in the strengthening of monsters. This meant that mana was both beneficial and harmful to humans. 

Mana cores could amplify mana by itself so there would be problems if this was left behind. For example, if a mana core was left in a goblin stronghold then the goblins would become stronger. Strong enough to be on par with ogres. 

Therefore, it was more important than anything else to search and collect the mana cores for their defense. 

If Jaiden compared it to his real world, then it was no different from the intensive management of an area for decades due to excessive radiation. The northeastern part of the country was also managed intensively for more than 100 years due to the fact that it was an area where large-scaled cracks had occurred before. It was just like an area where a nuclear power plant accident had occurred. 

“We found a group of goblins 30 meters ahead. We estimate that there are more than twenty in the group.” 

“We found three gnoll warriors 1 kilometer to the left.” 

“There are gremlins 700 meters to the right. The area is estimated to be close to the gremlin area.”

The rangers kept on checking what monsters were around them through the magic tool Hawkeye. At the same time, they continued to kill monsters that were not stimulated easily as they searched the terrain for the area where a mana core might be located. 

During this process, Jaiden was also asked to kill monsters or go to a search point so they could test him. It was like a jjam, but the task was too easy for the rangers that it was a bit vague to call it jjam.

The problem was that it was now going on for one day, two days and three days. So Jaiden was already starting to get tired. No matter how much mana he had in his body, he was still just a child so he was bound to lose stamina. 

“This… It seems like we don’t have much to teach you.” 

“That’s right. It looks like you know most of the things about survival. Right?” 

“Hmm… I think we’ll have to teach him more of the rangers’ skills to say that we have taught him…” 

The rangers looked at him in embarrassment.

The basic thing about survival was moving like the skills were engraved in your flesh. He knew how to distinguish between grass and edible plants. He also knew how to determine his location. He even marked the trees so he wouldn’t get lost. He also knew how to look at maps and how to deal surprise attacks. Even his stealth and observation skills were excellent. Especially with monsters. It seemed like he knew how to distinguish where the monsters had passed by to some extent. His handling and use of weapons were also superb. In a nutshell, one could say that he had already mastered the basic skills of a ranger. 

“How are you so good at using guns, let alone swordsmanship? Where did you learn?” 

“I studied a bit.” 

Jaiden smiled bitterly at the ranger’s question. In fact, Jaiden was actually most familiar with a gun. He used guns when he served in the military in his real world and he always carried a gun during large-scaled wars in his previous life here. 

He had seen other people wield only a sword with their mana. They looked like they could easily swing them and slash at their opponents. In fact, they looked like they were just scoring a goal with how easy it looked. He had seen them so often with other people and other users of the game but they still died one by one. 

There were a lot of ways to become strong. They could use magic spells, swords, spirits, magical engineering, druid charm and many other methods. Many users who had obtained them had quickly become strong. But it was him and not them who survived until the very end. 

He survived thanks to all the knowledge that he had learned. From killing monsters to survival methods. All of these had helped him to survive, albeit desperately. 

“Hmm… He can’t take the test like this.” 

It was necessary for them to push Jaiden to his limits so they could know the way to teach Jaiden in the future more clearly. So they did something crazy.

The ranger suddenly showed his true skills. He shot and killed the monsters around him. In an instant, the surrounding area was engulfed with the scent of blood. 

“What did you do…” 

Jaiden looked at the ranger in surprise. However, the ranger just smiled as he spoke to him.

 “We’ll be two kilometers ahead of you. Follow us there.” 

“If you do that, then we’ll finish this test immediately.” 

After leaving those words, the rangers moved forward first. Then, the monsters that smelled the blood started to appear one by one.

“This crazy…” 

Jaiden hurriedly tried to catch up to the rangers while muttering abusive language against their crazy actions. 

First and foremost, he needed to get out of this area that was reeking with blood. He quickly detonated a smoke bomb when he saw a variety of wolves gathering in the surrounding area. He also threw another bomb as he bounced off another on another side. Then, a group of goblins suddenly attacked Jaiden. They shot their poisonous saliva over at Jaiden. There were also dozens of gremlins that were roaming around in the air. They looked like they were hunting for prey as they swooped in and aimed for Jaiden and the goblins. 

Jaiden quickly scanned the terrain before throwing a flash bomb and jumping down. If it was just about surviving and not killing monsters, then using flash bombs and smoke bombs were already effective enough. Jaiden actually used those bombs so he could widen the path that he was going to take.

He couldn’t help but grit his teeth as he followed the rangers’ tracks. He fired bullets and threw his daggers to keep the monsters that he encountered in check while he moved to find the traces of the rangers. 

When he finally arrived where the rangers were, he couldn’t help but be shocked when he realized that there was only one person standing in front of him.

“Heok… heok… Is… it the end?” 

There was only one ranger that stood in front of him while the other two watched from a distance in case Jaiden was attacked by a monster. However, the rangers’ expression stiffened when he really broke through the monsters and reached the place where they were.

The training that they asked Jaiden to do was actually a test for those who wanted to apply to become rangers. This was one of the tests included in one of the worst training that the soldiers underwent. It was one of the tests conducted during Hell Survival. 

He was not even a graduate yet so they did not expect much from him. They did not even expect him to pass this test since he just entered the school. And although the real test for rangers was much brutal and harder than this, his performance for his age was already more than surprising enough. 

“Hmm…”

“This is a bit difficult.”

“I know, right?”

The rangers looked at Jaiden with a difficult expression on their faces. 

“Since you’re already here, would you like to get a Ranger’s Certificate before you graduate from the academy?” 

“Yes?” 

Jaiden stared blankly at the rangers. He couldn’t help but look wearily at the rangers that were laughing wickedly. 

“Shall we have the youngest ranger ever?” 

“Sounds good.” 

“That’s right. If we just let him go like this then he might get taken in by the knights. Then all that we did was for nothing. Shall we roll him for a bit longer?” 

“Let’s make a monster ranger!” 

The rangers that accompanied him all reached a consensus. They stayed in the forest far longer than their scheduled outing so they could make Jaiden into a proper ranger. 

Of course, there was an added bonus in the process of rolling hard in the forest with the rangers. Unlike the first time when they were only trying to teach Jaiden the basic skills in survival, they were now teaching him skills that he should learn in the ranger’s formal training. After all, Jaiden already knew most of the basic things about survival. 

Later, Jaiden took off his polite mask as he cursed at them. He was rolled so hard to the point that he even begged them to let him go. 

Jaiden was only able to return after being rolled hard in the forest for 15 days due to the greed of the rangers. However, this was not the end. This time, the knights were the ones to come to Jaiden. They must have heard about the rangers’ greed for Jaiden so they came here to try and drag Jaiden to them. 

All Jaiden could do was stare at the bright blue sky with hazy eyes as he mumbled to himself…

“Ah… I just want it all to end.” 

***

Notes

[Jjam] 짬 – from jjambap. Jjam means experienced or gaining experience. So they’re basically saying that Jaiden was gaining jjam/experience.

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