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Luke had been monitoring the recruits and cracked a smile at Ian. As he had expected, there was something different about him.

The will to never give up.

He could see he had tenacity and a desire to benefit from training. That's why Luke took a liking to Ian.

He’ll be a perfect match there.

Luke thought as he lifted his hand.

"That's enough."

“Fuu…”

“Huff. Huff.”

Everyone collapsed where they stood, panting. They hadn't finished their 10,000 swings yet, but Luke had never actually expected them to.

“Lunch begins after a five-minute break.”

“Understood!”

“Listen while you rest, however. For the next two weeks, you’ll learn the fundamentals of swordsmanship, and I will be evaluating you during that time."

One recruit raised his hand to pose a question.

"What's the matter, Baker?"

“Are there benefits to receiving a good evaluation?"

"First of all, it’ll affect which unit you’re assigned to. If you get the highest score, you can even go to the capital."

“Woah…” Some of them marveled.

Ian didn't understand what going to the capital meant, so he turned to Jason who was sitting beside him.

“Is there anything good about being assigned to the capital?”

"Well... For starters, you have the honor of protecting the capital as a soldier. Also, if you butter up your superiors there, it’s easy to get a promotion. Plus, you’re practically safe since you’ll rarely have to risk your life to fight in the war.”

“Oho.”

In other words, they could live a comfortable life with no fighting the moment they were assigned there. On top of that, so long as they were good to their superiors, a promotion was easy. It truly seemed like a life of leisure.

With my circumstances, is it better to go to the capital…? Or should I head somewhere else?

Of course, he had concerns. Ian liked being comfortable just as much as the next person. He had been in an army before. He wouldn’t hesitate to say he utterly hated it. 

With that in mind, getting assigned to the capital certainly seemed like a good thing.

But… If I go there, it will obviously stunt my growth.

Ian did not desire that. He was a swordsman. Actually, he had been half of a swordsman who couldn't use mana until recently. Then he had come here and could not only see mana, but he could actually use it. There’s no way he would simply opt for comfort.

Ian was a man who desired strength, he was not someone who would let his opportunities slip by.

I want to be the strongest.

Such an aspiration was sown in his heart.

He had been scorned all his life. People had looked down on him ever since he was a little child because he did not have parents.

He hated it. That was why he’d taken up the sword.

He knew that everyone respected hunters, so he thought that if he became one, he could proudly stand before anyone. He thought he'd never be looked down upon.

Ian had worked hard to gain recognition for his skills with the sword, wielding it time and again until even hunters of the same rank called him a sword genius. He was talented, but not enough to be called a genius. 

No matter what I did… I couldn't sense mana.

As a result, he continued to live a life of scorn.

However, he didn't give up. The sword was his only hope. Perhaps, it was an instinctive reaction to protect himself. If he was to be on his own, the most secure path was to gain everyone’s respect and become unsurpassable in his swordsmanship.

Yet, he had failed time and again. His life had its ups, but it had been mostly down. He was far from unsurpassable.

But now, things could be different.

A master.

A swordmaster, one who stood above all swordsmen.

He could actually imagine it. It wasn’t impossible. Ian had a leveling system¹; if he exploited it, it would be plenty possible.

Achieving this other Ian’s goals in addition to my own would be beneficial as well.

Here… he could become the strongest.

His heart raced at the thought.

Ian raised his hand.

With the leveling system, the fastest way to get stronger was through combat. Therefore, the place he could do that the most was in the army. He decided to make full use of that.

Luke turned to him.

"What is it, Private Ian?”

"Where is the most dangerous unit?"

"…Dangerous unit, you say? No trainee has ever asked me that before.”

"It seems like this is the first time you had a recruit as talented as me.” Ian replied with a smirk.

He knew full well his own capabilities. His body had already been ingrained with years of training. He was stronger than any of the other recruits.

"Puhaha! I like it. I admit, I've never had a trainee like you, Private Ian, but why are you asking?" Luke inquired with an expectant grin.

Ian briefly pondered over how he should respond, but it didn’t take him long to come to a conclusion

Ian knew that Luke liked hard workers, so it would be okay to answer him frankly.

"I want to be strong. To the point of being unbeatable."

“…….”

The recruits stiffened while looking at Ian. Even Luke was speechless.

He peered into Ian's eyes for a moment, smirking when he realized he was serious.

"Good. I'll root for you."

"Thank you."

"Hm… The most dangerous unit... I haven't thought about it before, so I’m not sure, but I think I know the perfect place for you.”

"Which is that?"

"We usually call them the Devil Platoon."

"…What kind of unit are they?" Ian tapped the floor as he asked.

The Devil Platoon… Ian knew from the name that it was the place for him.

"Exactly as it sounds, a platoon for the devils. They specialize in dealing with opponents that are not human… the other beings.”

"Other beings?"

Luke grinned when Ian asked.

“Demons.”

[Ding! You have been given a quest.]

***

The next two weeks went by quickly.

Ian did his best in every drill, and his scores far surpassed the other recruits. Now, the final exam was approaching. Ian stared at the window that floated in front of him. It was a quest notification he had received two weeks earlier.

[To the Devil Platoon!]

You, who’s determined to become the strongest.

Your admission to the Devil Platoon is underway.

However, getting assigned to this unit will be a difficult task. You must excel in every drill and top all the recruits.

If you give it your all, you will be accepted into the Devil Platoon. If you slacken in the slightest, you will be guaranteed rejection.

Always stay alert, and act quickly and precisely.

-Progress: 82% 

-Quest Completion Reward: <Key to Destiny>

“Hmm…”

Ian swept his hair back.

There was only one test left, yet the progress bar was only at 82%, which meant the final exam made up a large portion.

Though 18% was a bit extreme, it wasn’t hard to understand why. Once he saw the subject of the final exam, it made complete sense.

“An Orc…”

Ian looked at the green creature in front of him. It was like a cross between a pig and a human, and like any other monster, it wasn’t pleasant to look at. Just seeing its broad nose and thick mouth was enough to know that it was a terrible monster.

Ironically, Orcs were creatures that appeared everywhere, especially following goblins. Ian was in luck; he had encountered this monster before. 

"The Orc in front of you has been starving for two days and is famished. Any recruit here know what that means?"

"It means it’s out for blood!"

Luke nodded at the recruit’s reply.

"Exactly. You will all be fighting this vicious monster now." 

“…….”

The recruits shrank back as if they hadn’t expected to actually fight the Orc.

Ian, however, nodded nonchalantly.

"Everyone, get into position. I’m monitoring you all so the likelihood of injuries is low, but a mistake could still cost you. Fight your hardest." Luke said as he prepared to open the entrance to the wooden cage where the Orc was locked up.

The recruits each grabbed a sword and took their stance in a panic. Ian positioned himself in the middle and quietly stared at the monster.

The cage opened.

“Chwak!” The Orc roared out and charged straight at the recruits.

It instinctively slammed down its fist against the weakest link, and the man barely managed to raise his sword to block it.

Ian tensed up slightly, seeing the Orc move faster than he had anticipated, but he recovered quickly and dashed towards it. 

He swiftly swung his sword.

The Orc raised its head to look at Ian, their eyes locking.

Ian felt uncomfortable for some reason seeing its gaze full of hunger. He tightened his grip on his sword.

“Hyap!”

Since he didn’t pour mana on the sword, he couldn’t cut through its thick skin with a single blow. However, he was able to attack with enough force to push it back.

“Chwik!” The Orc shrieked, rolling on the ground. Its left shoulder was half severed and bleeding green.

Seeing the Orc getting beaten, the recruits began to charge toward the monster as if their courage was renewed.

Ian took a breath.

He was going to kill it before the others got to it.

Besides, if the recruits intervened, they could injure themselves from each other’s attacks. They had been training to pass the exam for two weeks now, but none of them were prepared to actually fight an Orc, and they were all on edge. There was a good chance one of them would slip up.

“Chwak!” The Orc roared once again and launched at Ian, its eyes, burning with anger.

Ian easily dodged the monster’s wobbly fist. Soon after, the monster lost its balance and stumbled with a heavy thud. One of its shoulders had been destroyed, and it had difficulty maintaining its balance while attacking.

Ian nimbly stepped forward and broke the Orc's balance, its massive body toppling to the ground.

It was a breeze after that.

Ian held the sword down from its hilt and struck it down.

Spurt.

Green blood gushed out.

The other recruits followed and started to hack away at the monster.

Ian knew it was dead, so he pulled out his sword and stepped away, subduing his heavy breathing.

The excited recruits brandished their swords, unaware that the Orc was already dead.

Ian turned around to look at Luke. Luke was staring at him, his face stiff.

Ian had killed the Orc all by himself. It would normally take three soldiers to handle such a creature.

Stupefied, Luke shook his head and wrote something down on his chart.

Moreover...

[The quest <To the Devil Platoon> has been completed!]

Footnotes

¹ They called it a “level-up” system in the Korean text. It has been altered to a “leveling” system in English.