I Became a National ‘Disaster’ Level Monster

Chapter 131 Side Story 1- A National Disaster-Level Monster Enlists (1)

This was back before I met Jae-won.

It was right after my first encounter with the Monster Group and just before the plan for the withdrawal of U.S. Forces Korea was in place.

After fully recovering from the injuries I had sustained in the battle with Amaterasu, I was discharged from the hospital and, while waiting for the next main story, was doing Meister work at the Hunter Association’s workshop as usual.

Then, one day—

“Shin-woo, you’ve got mail.”

“Mail…?”

In this day and age, I was surprised to see a letter addressed to me arriving at the workshop of the Hunter Association.

At first, I didn’t think much of it.

After all, it was during a lull before the next main story, so I figured it was probably just an advertisement or something. I opened it casually, but—

“W-what the hell is this?!”

It was the kind of thing every Korean man dreads: a picture of that infuriating cartoon guy giving a thumbs-up. Below it, the letter instructed me to prepare for enlistment. I left the workshop immediately and called Uncle.

***

“Oh, this seems like a mistake from the Ministry of Defense.”

“Phew… I almost had a heart attack…”

“Dad! The Ministry of Defense is under your command! You need to manage things properly!”

“Honey, even I think this was a bit much. How could such a mistake happen to a person?”

“…Is this really something to be so mad about?”

“””Of course it is!!”””

I almost ended up enlisting before I could even save the world.

As our family gathered around the dinner table, we were all glaring fiercely at Uncle Seok-gyu, and it was obvious why: because of this wrongly delivered enlistment notice.

“Dad! Shin-woo is part of the Hunter Association! Why should he go to the military? That’s completely unacceptable!!!”

“Even you, a soldier, are hardly ever around. And now you want to make Shin-woo go through that too? Have you lost your mind?!”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Uncle, can I burn this letter?”

“Why burn it? Just throw it away…”

“Uncle, if I don’t burn this today, I won’t be able to sleep. So, is it okay to burn it?”

“…Sure, go ahead.”

With the approval of the Army Chief of Staff, I happily skipped to the kitchen, ready to burn this cursed enlistment notice immediately.

Having been through the military once in my past life and having had my life ruined, no matter how much the welfare system had improved, going back there? I’d rather have my monstrous identity exposed and wage war on the entire world.

With those thoughts in mind, I prepared to burn the dreadful document…

“Sniff… Sob…”

“H-honey?!”

“Dad… are you crying?”

“Uncle?”

Just as I was about to drop the letter into the fire, I heard sobbing.

“I-I just…”

“…?”

“?”

“I just wanted… to visit my son’s base like other families… hug him when he graduated from boot camp… and maybe even go on missions together… I just wanted that… sob sob…”

Uncle Seok-gyu was crying, tears and snot streaming down his face.

As it turned out, the story behind this was quite different from what we thought.

“…So, you did this just to see my reaction?”

“Yeah… Our family has three members in the Hunter Association and only one soldier… I thought it would balance things out to have two Hunters and two soldiers…”

“But still! Do you realize Shin-woo ran straight home the moment he saw this and went straight to you?!”

“I didn’t think Shin-woo would hate the military *that* much…”

As it turned out, the enlistment notice wasn’t a mistake.

Uncle hadn’t intended to actually send me to the military; he’d just wanted to see how I’d react. He had purposefully sent the enlistment letter to my workshop, pretending it was a mistake, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he’d get a strong son to serve alongside him.

But of course, his plan had failed spectacularly.

After all, I had once served in the military in my previous life, only to end up with a crippled leg and lose my place on the national karate team. For me, the Korean military was nothing more than a cesspool, regardless of how much better the benefits might be now.

Moreover, if I were to start my military service, I’d be stuck during the main story, unable to move freely unless I managed to get some leave.

‘There’s no way this can happen… for the sake of the world.’

Though I felt sorry for Uncle, there was no way I could do military service again, even in this new life.

“Sniff… Sob…”

As if that wasn’t already clear.

“Waaaaahhh—!”

“Honey, please stop crying. This is embarrassing.”

“Dad, no matter how much you want it, you can’t send Shin-woo to that closed-off prison!”

“I’m so lonely! All the people under me are busy taking care of their children, nieces, and grandkids! I want to do the same too!”

This was what we call a national-level tantrum.

As Uncle lay down on the floor, throwing a fit, it felt like an earthquake—about magnitude 2—was shaking not only the house but the entire neighborhood.

“Honey, if you don’t stop, they’ll issue an earthquake evacuation broadcast.”

“Dad, I just got a message saying there’s an earthquake in Gangnam. So stop it already.”

“Waaaahhhh—!”

Oh man, poor Uncle.

Looking closely at the enlistment notice, I saw that it had me joining the “Hunter Military Branch.”

Of course, this branch didn’t exist in reality; it was an original military division from the *Hunter’s Blood* universe.

The enlistment conditions were simple: males under 30 with experience working for the Hunter Association. Their main job? Handling the cleanup of monsters defeated by other military units.

In simpler terms, they were like the military version of the Hunter Association’s monster-cleaning crew.

‘Let’s see… two weeks of boot camp, followed by three months of active duty. After that, I can choose whether to extend or discharge.’

Compared to regular conscripts, who served for 18 months, it was a pretty short stint.

The timing would cut it close, but I’d be able to finish just before the next main story arc started.

But still, military service is military service.

‘I’m not going. No way.’

Recalling the hell I went through in my past life, I was determined not to experience it a second time.

I felt bad for Uncle, but I had to let him down quickly.

“Uncle, but I’m already part of the Hunter Association, remember?”

“Waaaaahhh!”

I tried to shatter his illusion as gently as possible.

“On top of that, some of my subordinates are causing chaos with their military cliques or something… Why am I always fighting alone…”

“Military cliques…?”

Suddenly, something flashed through my mind: the original storyline.

It was the Second Military Coup of South Korea.

During the early development of *Hunter’s Blood*, there were plans for that kind of plot. But as the game progressed, the focus shifted to highlight the strength of monsters, and such storylines were scrapped.

In the end, the generals who harbored such ambitions were wiped out by an angel who appeared ten years ago at Busan Harbor.

But I had already dealt with that angel ten years ago.

“Hmm…”

I was the only one who knew this.

I figured it would probably be fine, but if the plot was disrupted because of this, it would be a huge headache.

So—

“Uncle…”

“Yeah?”

“This military service… I only have to do it for three months, right?”

“W-what?!”

“Hey, Han Shin-woo! Are you crazy?!”

“Shin-woo, are you really serious about this?”

I decided to think positively.

After all, in this universe, South Korean soldiers weren’t the pitiful, overworked A-class soldiers from reality. The treatment was more like that of the U.S. military, and since I was joining the Hunter Military Branch, the enlistment letter mentioned I’d receive some decent perks.

So, as much as I hated the idea of it—

“Well, my father is a soldier, so I guess I should experience military life again…”

“Again?”

“Hahahaha! That’s right! We’re a military family, after all. I can’t be the only soldier!”

And so, I reluctantly stepped into hell once more.

As Uncle guffawed heartily, pleased with himself, it wasn’t long before—

“Shin-woo, listen carefully!”

Now that I had agreed to become a soldier, even for a short time, Uncle’s face became stern as he gave me a serious warning.

“Even though you’re my son, I will *never* give you special treatment!”

“Honey, what nonsense are you spouting?”

“Dad! What if Shin-woo gets bullied or something?!”

“Of course! If he faces any injustice, I’ll help him to the best of my ability. But! If he doesn’t even do the basic training, then he can’t call himself a soldier!”

Uncle… was he seriously planning to train me as a proper soldier?

As he made his declaration with a strict and solemn expression, I felt a little disappointed that I wouldn’t be getting any special treatment. But at the same time—

‘Actually, maybe this is for the

best.’

A new recruit just arrived at the unit!

And that recruit happens to be the son of the Army Chief of Staff!

…If I stood out too much, it would only make things harder for me, and since I only planned to serve for three months, it might be better to keep a low profile.

‘I’ll just have to quietly figure out which officers are involved in creating these cliques.’

If I could gather evidence and pass it to Uncle, he’d take care of the rest.

Until then, I just had to endure my military service in silence.

Having made up my mind to join the Hunter Military Branch for three months, I finally set my enlistment date for a week later.

“Shin-woo, aaahhh—!!”

“Sophia, it’s only three months. And if you really want to see me, you can visit during my leave.”

“I want to see you *every* day!”

Thus, I found myself once again at Nonsan Army Training Center, saying goodbye to my family.

“Shin-woo, it’s just three months. If anything gets too tough, call your dad right away. Got it?”

“Yes, Auntie. I’ll be back in three months.”

“Good. Do your best. Oh, and your dad can’t come to see you because he’d stand out too much.”

“Haha. That’s better. It’ll be easier for me.”

“Waaaaahh, Shin-woo…!”

But unbeknownst to my family—

In the office of the head of the Nonsan Training Center…

The head, who was responsible for overseeing all the soldiers in the center, was trembling.

“Ch-chief of Staff, sir—!!”

“Hey! Keep your voice down, or people will know I’m here!”

“D-did I hear that right…?”

“Hey, Commander, do you have a spare non-commissioned officer uniform and cap?”

“Huh? W-why do you suddenly need that, Chief?”

“I want to try being a sergeant here for the next two weeks. Is that okay?”

“…Excuse me?”

The current Army Chief of Staff was preparing to switch from an officer to a non-commissioned officer for a brief stint.