ALL NOVEL Chapter 3 - It was disgusting being with you all! Let’s never meet again
The sweetest water in the world, they say.
It was said to be like the spring water someone finds just before dying in the middle of a desert.
The fruit of freedom’s name was earned only after enduring the deepest exploitation.
And at this moment… I was getting a taste of it.
“I’m discharged! I’m discharged! I’m finally out of this hellhole! I don’t have to live face-to-face with those bitches anymore!”
When I was graduating from the military academy, I used to imagine tears of blood would stream down my face the moment I was discharged.
It felt natural to think that way.
After all, for a soldier, being discharged is akin to being fired.
Since the day I entered this world, my goal has always been to survive until the end and earn my stars. I made countless promises to myself that I would endure any hardship to achieve that.
But this moment?
Now, at 29 years old, I was packing my bags for the discharge.
Instead of crying tears of blood, I found myself humming a tune, unaware of it.
If I were to cry at this moment, it wouldn’t be out of despair or frustration. No, it would be tears of pure joy.
‘Is this how sergeants feel when they’re discharged? No… this is even better than that. Sure, they could count the days until their discharge, but I… I spent every single day in hell, without any hope or promise of it ending!’
With that thought in mind, I began packing my things at a speed I’d never achieved before in my life.
My room, tucked away in the guild annex, looked more like a warehouse, filled to the brim with belongings. Yet, there wasn’t much I needed to take with me.
Most of my work-related equipment, firearms, and gear assigned to soldiers, had to be left behind.
Since I was discharged for “occupational reasons,” I didn’t even need to bring my military uniform; there was no requirement to join the reserve army or civil defense.
Still… I should take my boots. They’re solid hiking boots, and they look good too.
In the end, all I needed to bring were my boots and my dog tags. Apart from those, I packed a book, my diary, and my cell phone, things I always carried with me anyway.
As for the instant coffee and biscuits piled in the corner of my room, I decided to leave them behind for whoever would take my place.
After handling all the little details,
I turned my gaze to the things that took up the most space in the room,
dozens of notebooks and books piled high like a mountain.
These were the fruits of my labor over the past three years: meticulously organized habits, strategies, and data about the Abyss, compiled from my time on the battlefield. Countermeasures, tactics, and battle strategies, everything I’d documented and developed as an adjutant.
About 70% of my room was filled with these handwritten notes.
My hands brushed over them as I looked through the pile.
They filled me with a sense of pride, a physical reminder of how hard I’d worked these past years.
But…
I had no intention of taking them with me.
It wasn’t just the sheer quantity of the materials. I’d already decided that I no longer cared about this part of my life.
And no, I wasn’t leaving them behind out of consideration for my successor.
After all, the guild master would surely bring in an expert far more competent than me. Someone like that wouldn’t need the haphazard materials I had put together.
No, the truth was simple: I didn’t feel any loyalty to this country, this guild, or this life anymore.
Beyond that, it was hard to throw them away myself, given the blood, sweat, and tears I’d poured into them over the past three years.
So, I made up my mind.
I left all the documents and data I’d spent years compiling where they were. After placing the last of my belongings into a small box, I sealed it with blue tape.
The box was surprisingly light compared to the weight of what I’d left behind.
It felt symbolic like it was foreshadowing the free and happy life awaiting me.
With no regrets, I carried the box and left the room that no longer belonged to me. Shortly after, I arrived at the camp exit.
With this, my military life was officially over.
All that lay ahead was a new chapter of my life as a civilian.
Feeling that thrilling reality sink in, I turned back one last time and shouted at the top of my lungs toward the place where my former colleagues, those women, were surely still stationed.
“It was disgusting being with you all! Let’s never meet again!”
The C-class hunters guarding the entrance flinched slightly at my outburst.
After giving them a bright, cheerful smile, I took out my phone and left the guild’s group chat. Then, without hesitation, I blocked every single member of it.
Of course, not before uploading a video, I’d been dying to share.
It was a scene from an anime I watched as a child.
The heroine, dressed in an elegant gown, waved her hand and shouted joyfully…
That famous clip.
The one I’d always dreamed of using at least once.
***
“What’s Going On?”
“Yes?”
“What’s the matter?”
“Wait… what is this?”
Inside the dormitory, three or four hunters were in the middle of refining their weapons.
These were B-class hunters belonging to the 28th Hunter Guild. As they stared at their phones, a dazed expression crossed their faces, the incomprehensible video and message on their screens catching them off guard.
The video showed a cheerful farewell, along a message in the guild group chat:
[Goodbye everyone! I’m throwing off all the shackles of this world and leaving in search of my happiness! Wishing you all the best~~! ]
[ Lee Jinhyun has left the chat room ]
It took longer than expected for the hunters to process what had just happened.
“Why did the adjutant leave?”
“I have no idea. Did he block us? But it’s not like he wasn’t invited. What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“The adjutant? Blocked us? That doesn’t sound like him… What the hell is this?”
Adjutant Lee Jinhyun, who had practically been managing the guild’s group chat and regularly delivered announcements unrelated to military secrets, had suddenly left without warning.
The only thing he left behind was a farewell video.
This unexpected departure threw not only the hunters in the dormitory into confusion but most of the members of the 28th Guild as well.
Among those reacting with concern, the A-class hunters stood out. They were more aware of the guild’s internal dynamics and the subtle power plays among the leadership.
“Hey… Don’t tell me…”
“No way… That can’t be, right?”
“Be honest. You’ve all seen it, haven’t you? The way those S-class hunters treated the adjutant?”
The hunters exchanged uneasy glances, recalling the countless times they’d seen Lee Jinhyun reporting to the executive office or handling other tasks.
Even as A-class hunters, they’d always felt powerless to speak up. The S-class hunters, who outranked them in authority and combat power, wielded their status like a bludgeon.
Yet, the A-class hunters weren’t blind, they had seen how the adjutant was treated by the four S-class executives.
“I always thought something like this would happen eventually, but still… To think he got discharged so suddenly?”
“Well, honestly, he held out for a long time, didn’t he? If I was in his position, I wouldn’t have lasted four days, let alone four years.”
“Yeah… that’s true.”
“Honestly, if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have left quietly like this. I’d have uploaded a video full of insults and rage before disappearing completely.”
The A-class hunters chuckled awkwardly, masking their unease with fleeting sympathy for their now-former adjutant.
However, the laughter didn’t last long.
Deep down, they weren’t so much worried about Lee Jinhyun as they were concerned about their own futures.
“Hey… if the adjutant left like this, what will happen to the 28th Guild?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, obviously…”
The words hung in the air, unfinished.
The A-class hunters exchanged heavy glances, each too hesitant to put their thoughts into words.
As hunters who spent more time on the frontlines than the S-class members, they had a clear picture of what was coming. It wasn’t a pleasant one.
No one wanted to say it out loud, but the thought had already formed in their minds.
Finally, the one with the bluntest personality broke the silence, stating what they were all thinking.
“What the hell are we supposed to do now?”