NOVEL WEB Chapter 105 - Education
Chapter 105 Education
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Special forces soldiers are made.
In other words, special forces soldiers are trained, not simply selected. This doesn’t mean that they randomly pick anyone off the street and start training them from scratch, but rather, they start with ‘qualified candidates’ who have proven ambition, vision, physical stamina, and mental resilience.
Their foundation was precisely that—ambition, vision, immense physical stamina, and mental resilience. This was why there were no women, or very few, within the unit.
The basics were exactly that—basic. This meant that no matter what happened, they couldn’t waver or crack. There was no place for special forces soldiers who became completely exhausted after just a few hours of operation or whose mentality broke down at the first sign of hardship, and such soldiers simply didn’t exist.
However, looking at it the other way around, if the basics could be filled in any way, it meant that there could indeed be female special forces soldiers.
This was also why there were many female players in the Dark Zone.
If the game could compensate for the physical conditions that are almost impossible for women to naturally possess, then from there, by accumulating actual combat experience, they could transform into excellent agents.
Swift and precise suppressive fire and maximized first-shot accuracy. The former is why we conduct live-fire training, and the latter is the goal that must be achieved through it.
“Swift and precise suppressive fire and maximized first-shot accuracy. The former is why we conduct live-fire training, and the latter is the goal that must be achieved through it.”
Anthony Owens.
As a Delta Force Sergeant Major, my operations team superior, and my training instructor, his words remained in my memory without a single mistake, even after four years. He was that impressive of a person.
Anyway, what I wanted to say was that the correction system forming the basis of the Dark Zone provided Harmony with a tremendous advantage where she didn’t need to worry about physical problems at all.
In other words, this meant that through literal ‘refinement,’ she could transform into an excellent operator. And since I had already obtained her consent, what an appropriate opportunity this was.
Watching her sit stiffly at the shooting range, swallowing hard, I spoke.
“I’ll give you a problem. It’s not difficult, so don’t worry.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Why are you so nervous? Just be yourself.”
Then, I opened my mouth slowly.
“You’ve probably heard a lot about the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, also known as Delta Force. Then, how many rounds do you think a Delta operator expends in a day on average?”
“Um… 1200 rounds?”
“Surprisingly close. That’s correct. To add more context, a squadron expends at least 600,000 rounds a month.”
I almost accidentally said the official name of ‘The Unit,’ which is still classified. I must have been quite out of it. Of course, the name might be slightly different here.
Anyway, the point I wanted to make was that Tier 1 units are literally ammo-eating monsters. This was not limited to just rifle rounds; it included pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, sniper rifles, heavy weapons, and even rockets and missiles.
The reason they shoot so much is simple.
Without such an amount, it would be impossible to meet Delta’s extreme standards, and if one failed to meet those standards—whether they were a newcomer or a 20-year veteran—they would be dismissed without a second chance.
And by doing so, they became monsters capable of hitting any target.
“Do you understand why I’m telling you this?”
“…Yes. Six hours is short. And Yoo Jin, you’re starting to scare me.”
“Hehe. So you weren’t scared of me before?”
“Oh, no, that’s not it.”
I beckoned her over with a finger.
Although I couldn’t say I was teaching with all my might, she was still my first student. So, at the very least, I couldn’t make her feel that I was teaching half-heartedly.
And if Harmony wanted to face more trials with me, this might be an unavoidable encounter with fate.
Looking her over from head to toe, I spoke slowly.
“Is that setup the most comfortable for you?”
“Right now, it feels more like I’m just using the given weapon casually… I haven’t tried many yet, so I’m not sure.”
“Right. Then, let’s talk about the HK416 you’re currently holding.”
Charging handle.
Handguard.
Stock.
Pistol grip.
Foregrip.
Tactical light and the laser sight on top.
Scope.
Muzzle attachment.
Do all these fit your preferences? And if they do, is it set up to maximize Harmony’s shooting ability? She likely didn’t know. She hadn’t tried many other guns yet.
In the past, I had owned at least 15 guns, including two pistols, three submachine guns, three rifles, two designated marksman rifles, a machine gun, two sniper rifles, a shotgun, and more.
Of course, this was quite an unusual case, but ultimately, the reason for doing this was to find out which gun suited me better and which setup was right for me.
For me, back then, recoil control was never an issue, so this process didn’t take long, but it was a brutal ordeal that could take at least a week.
However, applying this process as is would require an excessive amount of time, so my goal had to be slightly modified—to match the person to the gun.
When I requested the gun, Harmony handed it to me after checking the chamber without a word. After shouldering it, I checked various things. The tactical light attached to the foregrip and the laser sight on top had extension buttons, allowing them to be operated without issue while gripping.
After checking the chamber and setting the selector to safe, I handed it back to Harmony.
It was time to get serious.
“Load the rounds.”
“Yes.”
She skillfully took out the magazine. Soon, I heard the click of the chamber being loaded. The sound signaling a round being pushed into the chamber. The sound of planting the seeds of death.
I activated a basic shooting range on the hologram window. My lips moved slightly but soon stopped. From now on, it was time for Harmony to figure out how to overcome the situation before her.
“Prepare to fire.”
“Yes!”
Click.
Selector set to single-shot.
I popped up the holographic targets.
The shooting began.
───Bang! Bang! Bang bang!
As the gunfire filled the shooting range, I checked what I could do. From the area of the shooting range to the type of enemies, and finely adjusting the light and dark, brightness control, and creating various unexpected situations.
Through the first shooting session on a Saturday, I would comprehensively assess what Harmony lacked—something that would have been very useful when I was there, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
[Notification: Lights OFF.]
“…!”
The shooting range instantly turned into pitch darkness. It was as if everything before her eyes suddenly disappeared.
Through the floor, I felt Harmony’s anxiety and surprise in the dark room. Her body flinched, and the vibrations transmitted through her shoes to my body. The snake’s unique vibration detection. And infrared detection.
I saw Harmony panicking in the darkness.
A moment passed.
Flash.
Thud! Thud! Thud thud!
Soon after, a thick beam of light leaked from around the barrel. She had quickly turned on the tactical light and resumed shooting as fast as she could.
If Harmony were actually part of a unit, the shooting would have been immediately halted, and there would have been comments like, “What are you doing? Why are you so slow? Get your act together?” But that wasn’t necessary here. This wasn’t a real battlefield.
It was time to simulate the next situation.
I forcibly turned off the tactical light and spoke through the comms.
[Short-range communication: There’s a hostage situation in the dark. Activate the night vision function and mark the enemy with the laser sight.]
Flustered.
Various logs appeared on the holographic screen I was watching. Harmony activated the night vision and fumbled around with her fingers, pressing the tactical light button—which, of course, didn’t work because I had disabled it.
She seemed to have pressed the wrong button.
After another moment of fumbling, a green infrared laser cut through the darkness. The laser shone on the head of a terrorist holding a hostage at gunpoint, and a silent shot, previously set up, was executed.
How much time had passed as I tested various things?
With a wave of my hand, I removed all of it, and the lights in the ceiling turned back on, the targets disappearing like melting snow.
I called out to her as she continued to be on guard even after the shooting had ended.
“How was it?”
“Pardon?”
“Did your body move as you wanted?”
“…Ugh.”
She ejected the magazine and cleared the round from the chamber before securing the weapon.
Adjusting the sling and placing the magazine in her pouch, Harmony walked to a chair with a somewhat dejected expression.
As she plopped down, she spoke.
“…I thought I had improved a lot from following Yoo Jin around, but I’m still nowhere near there. I guess I expected too much.”
“A month is long, but it’s really not enough time to get proficient at something. But Harmony has grown remarkably fast.”
“Really…?”
She was a person whose emotions could swing easily.
However, as always, there were still many qualities she needed to acquire and train in before she could confidently say, ‘I can handle this.’
And one of those qualities was reflexes.
Quickly moving my fingers, I set up the shooting range again. Five enemies. Two of them were holding hostages. The given time was 5 seconds. It wasn’t to determine success but to assess her current level.
I patted her shoulder
and spoke.
“Prepare.”
“Pardon?”
“Start.”
“Uwaaah…!”
Five enemies appeared, surrounding her within a 120-degree radius.
It took her 3 seconds to insert the magazine and begin aiming, and another 5 seconds to take out six enemies. Why six instead of five? Let’s not ask. She achieved a double kill.
The sound of her plopping down was the second time today.
[Notification: Situation terminated.]
“Ah, who does this without saying anything!”
“If I tell you in advance, the effect diminishes. It’s to keep you on your toes.”
“…I guess so.”
“And don’t worry. Harmony can always ask me to set these up whenever you want.”
I sent her the live-fire training data I had just generated.
As she scrutinized the data, Harmony’s eyes lit up.
“Wow, this has all sorts of interesting settings.”
“You can practice with these even without me, oh dear.”
Click.
I wasn’t holding the rifle. That left only the pistol. Reflexively, I drew my pistol and grabbed a pistol magazine with my left hand, smoothly inserting the magazine as if clapping, then quickly chambered a round and scanned the surroundings.
There were seven enemies, three of whom were using hostages as shields. Spent shells ejected rapidly. From left to right, sequentially. It took less than 3 seconds for seven casings to hit the floor.
All had holes in their heads, except for the hostages.
I sat back down, catching my breath as Harmony’s eyes sparkled beside me.
“Wow, that’s really amazing. Isn’t aiming with a pistol harder?”
“You just need to shoot until you no longer notice such things.”
“…What were you, Yoo Jin?”
What should I say?
Unfortunately, it was a question I couldn’t answer now.
“Who knows.”
So, I just dodged it lightly.
Barely the first 20 minutes of the six hours had passed.
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