The internal atmosphere of a D-Rank Gate was usually one of casual confidence for veteran Hunters, but for the forty cadets of the first "Wolf Unit," it felt like the epicenter of a storm. The air inside the cavernous dungeon was thick with the scent of damp moss and the metallic tang of mana.
Standing on a jagged outcrop overlooking the primary cavern were two figures who didn't belong to the cadet corps: Song Chiyul, leaning casually on his sword, and Park Beom-seok, the massive B-Rank tanker whose shield now bore the silver crest of the Korean Hunter Association's elite division.
"They're bunching up again," Beom-seok grunted, crossing his massive arms. "The healers are too far back. If a wolf-Stalker breaches the flank, they're dead meat."
Song Chiyul didn't take his eyes off the formation below. "Patience, Beom-seok. They haven't seen a real threat yet. Fear is the best teacher, and the Chief was very specific about the 'curriculum' for today."
Below them, the cadets—mostly E and D-Rankers who had been taught in the academy. In the center of the formation was a young man with a hoodie pulled low: Sung Jinwoo. He wasn't the leader; officially, he was just another E-Rank grunt. But his movements were different. He didn't look at the monsters; he looked at the spaces between the monsters.
Suddenly, the cavern floor erupted. A swarm of Desert Arachnids—massive, sand-colored spiders with venom-dripping mandibles—poured from the crevices.
"Contact!" screamed the squad leader, a former C-Ranker named Kim. "Shields up! Mages, fire on my mark!"
In the old world, this would have been a chaotic scramble. Healers would have panicked, and DPS hunters would have competed for kills. But under the two months of Jinchul's "Modern Combat Integration" training, something else happened.
The tankers didn't just stand still; they locked shields and began a rhythmic advance, creating a "kill zone." The mages didn't cast high-mana explosions; they used low-level "Stun" and "Slow" spells in rapid succession, conserving mana for a sustained engagement.
"Look at them," Chiyul whispered.
"Their growth is... unnatural," Beom-seok noted, his brow furrowing. "Two months ago, they were a bottom-tier E-Rank & D-Rank. Now, they are moving a like single unit"
"The Chief's idea which was just a seed," Chiyul replied cryptically. "But the seed... the seed is something else entirely."
The raid lasted fifty minutes. By the end, three hundred Arachnids lay dead. The cadets were exhausted, their uniforms torn and stained with green ichor, but not a single one had sustained a critical injury. In the old system, a D-Rank raid of this scale would have had a 15% casualty rate.
Chiyul tapped his sword on the stone. "Time to report to the Chief. The 'Wolf Unit' is no longer a concept. It is a weapon."
In theAssociation
"Chief, the hunt was a tremendous success. If they train more, we can deploy them to low ranked gates quickly" reported Chiyul to Jinchul who was sitting in his chair looking at the report.
Jinchul just nodded while going through the report of the recent hunt
"We need to find their specialization, have them go through the respective trainings we have scheduled. We need to separate them into scouts, assassins, rangers, mages, healers, swordsman, spearman, shield bearers and close combat. Sword & Spear, Chiyul you will drive it. Shield & Close combat, Seok take care of it. For Healing, Byung-Gyu is already training them."
"Then we will segregate them into units, they can form the team comprised of it but the unit trainings needs to be carried out without fail except for assassins. For Assassins, Taeshik you need to handle it as we cannot move them as units in the future. Train the best on both monster & human hunt, we need to have shadows under you."
"Yes Chief" saluted Seok & Chiyul
"Sure Chief, It was getting boring for me. Now it will be fun, those rogue hunters have gone into hiding, we need more people to track & kill them." laughed Taeshik while cleaning his dagger.
"Use them wisely, they are not cannon fodders" Jinchul warned Taeshik to which he nodded.
" For Scout & Rangers, Kim & Lee will need to take care of it. But I need you to prepare the reports regularly for me and president's view. For mages, they need to train on the accuracy & timing, have someone skilled take care of it."
"Sure Chief, we will take care of it" Kim & Lee both nodded
" Great, I am expecting the best from you all" Jinchul nodded and closed the meeting. He then walked towards President's room.
Knock Knock
"President, it's me Jinchul" Jinchul knocked
"Come in Woo" Gunhee responded to Jinchul who was looking into the documents. "Sit and give me few minutes"
Jinchul sat across the president while holding the reportand waited for few minutes.
"Tell me Jinchul, what have you brought me now" Gunhee asked Jinchul.
Jinchul gave the report he was holding to Gunhee while replying "President, here is the report of the academy trainees, they have conquered a D rank hunters with few C Rank supporting them"
"So you are saying, no B & A rank supported them?" questioned Gunhee
"Yes Chiyul & Seok were there but they did not step in because this was not dungeon with a boss" replied Jinchul
"Within 2 months of training, if they can do it this well. Then what about after an year" Gunhee asked with a smile
"Do not worry, President. Our main aim with these trainees is to hunt the low rank dungeons which is of higher number as we also hunted those rogue guilds" replied Jinchul
" And it will also help us in other places to contain the outbreak. Really really good, I can see the the association becoming strong enough to help Korea" laughed Gunhee
"That is for sure, President" Jinchul also laughed along with him
"Thank you Jinchul without you this will not happen. When do you want to take my place" questioned Gunhee with a smile
"It is my duty President and no, I do not want to be a President atleast for few years" Jinchul replied while shaking his head smiling.