Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

‘This will be the last.’

Two years had passed since Myung-jun obtained the first piece, and only now he managed to acquire the fifth and final piece.

However, those two years brought no pain to Myung-jun. Compared to the thirty years he had been trapped in the underground of the Ministry of National Defense, the two-year wait felt like a moment.

Avoiding the gaze of over thirty cameras in his workshop, Myung-jun looked at his right palm while tightly holding the last piece, [Tolles Thorns] in his left hand.

There, a unique sentence was engraved, resembling a magical circle with five small circles drawn within it.

Except for one circle, each contained a magical array with distinct symbols.

[Emotion]

As Myung-jun exclaimed silently in his mind, a hologram-like message appeared before his eyes, reminiscent of item descriptions in a game.

Contained within it were the messages that Myung-jun had read countless times over the course of over four years, including preparation time, messages he could recreate with his eyes closed.

[Description: An item that allows the user to transfer their consciousness and abilities to a specific moment in time within a certain range of an era of anomaly.

While physical abilities cannot be transferred, it is possible to transfer abilities engraved on the soul back to the past.

An item desired by those who are more eager for a second life than their own lives, discarding a reality tinged with regrets.]

[Crafting Completion: 85%]

[Sentence Base Crafting: Complete

Alvena’s Eye: 1/1

Greta’s Fang: 1/1

Holorodr’s Heart: 1/1

Gorlion’s Beak: 1/1

Tolles’ Thorns: 0/1]

Even obtaining just one of them could buy a large building in New Manhattan – a special magical circle that requires not less than four 12th rank crafting materials.

It was a one-of-a-kind ’13th rank’ item that transcended the barriers of time and space, sending the user’s consciousness back to a specific point in the past.

‘And soon, it will be mine.’

After taking a deep breath, Myung-jun used his fingers to grasp the small thorn held in his left hand.

Then, with his right palm, he placed it onto the only empty circle etched there.

Despite repeating the process four times already, Myung-jun expected the excruciating pain that awaited him, a pain far beyond what he could endure.

“Ughhh!!”

The pain was intense.

Even though he had experienced it several times before, this time it felt as if he is being cut.

No, the previous pain felt like tearing his muscles apart all over his body, while this pain felt as if someone was ripping his nerves from the inside. However, with superhuman patience, Myung-jun desperately endured the unbearable pain spreading throughout his body.

If he were to show the momentary pain, he couldn’t bear to those who were monitoring him now, he would regret not the past 30 years, but the next 30 years. To avoid revealing the tears that flowed down his face Myung-jun tightly closed his eyes while clenched his teeth.

Then, using his left hand to hold his right wrist, he poured all his strength into his muscles, just to make sure he wouldn’t lose consciousness and collapse. In order to avoid being noticed by the surveillance cameras, he tried to conceal his suspicious movements.

In his mind, Myung-jun fervently prayed for the pain to subside throughout his entire body. Yet, instead of vanishing, the pain intensified, gnawing at his nerves even more than before.

The pain was so severe that Myung-jun had to reconsider whether his plan had been flawed from the start.

‘Ah, I can’t take it anymore!! Whether it’s regression or whatever, I might just die right now!!’

In a situation where he couldn’t even scream, various thoughts raced through Myung-jun’s mind.

Wasn’t the idea putting the item that should be placed in the equipment into his own right hand itself is an absurd plan?

Shouldn’t he have first considered whether his body could withstand the burden from the item? Or, perhaps, this item never meant for human use in the first place?

Amidst the excruciating agony, Myung-jun even felt a sensation creeping into his ears, almost like an illusion. As if someone was mocking him for his foolishness.

<What a reckless idiot. Are you even human? How could you even think of putting a 13th rank item into your own body?>

‘Shut up!’

<Hey, you ignorant fool! Even the pain you felt four times earlier must have been beyond what a human can endure. You should have taken that as a warning and stopped there. Well, since you didn’t die, so I guess you thought even if you keep on going, yoy won’t die, right? Living this long and still coming up with such a fresh crazy idea – I’ve never seen anything like it?>

‘For God’s sake, shut up!’

<Do you have a death wish or something? There’s someone crazy enough to bring a sealed entity and try to summon it into a body like a puppet. You, huh? Is your class also a Rank-12 Master Smith? Then, of course, you should’ve known that to use a Rank-13 item, you need a Rank-12 base. Did you deliberately put it in your body despite knowing this? Are you some kind of suicidal maniac?>

“I said shut the hell up!!!”

In response to the persistent voice echoing in his ears, Myung-jun involuntarily yelled out, momentarily blocking the endless reproachful agony he was enduring.

However, despite Myung-jun’s wish, his unusual behavior was immediately detected by the observers monitoring him.

[Sergeant Cha Myung-jun, immediately stand up, spread your arms, and stand in front of the camera.]

‘Damn—!!’ It’s all because of these hallucinations.

Thinking that everything might revert to nonsense due to the illusion in his mind, so he forced himself to stand up from his seat, ignoring the pain coursing through his whole body.

As a result, drops of sweat covering his entire body poured down to the floor as if it were raining.

[We will now conduct a special inspection. Sergeant Cha Myung-jun, are there any issues with your current state?]

‘I have to answer.’

With a desperate smile, Myung-jun tried to sneer at the camera, but the pain he felt throughout his body prevented him from doing so.

Finally, unable to withstand it any longer, Myung-jun opened his mouth, fearing that his pain would explode in a scream.

But when he didn’t answer, a voice from the speaker mounted beneath the camera urged him again.

[Please respond, Sergeant Cha Myung-jun.]

<What is this, are they treating you like a prisoner?>

Myung-jun ignored the voice in his ears.

Then, the voice in his head spoke to him.

<Alright. I don’t know the details, but for now, I need to assess the situation, so I’ll borrow your memories for a moment.>

‘What!?’

Before Myung-jun could even reply, a splitting headache surged in his mind. And even before that headache completely disappeared, the tormenting voice that had been haunting Myung-jun’s mind returned to his ears.

<Heh, this guy’s a real freak, isn’t he? Alright, the assessment is done. I’ll lend you some strength. I’ll take care of the pain that comes from dealing with sealed entity for a while. Make sure you get it right.>

Before the words of the voice could even finish, Myung-jun felt the excruciating pain that had tormented him so much abruptly vanish. In response, Myung-jun urgently spoke towards the camera before even assessing the situation.

“I’m fine!”

[Doesn’t seem like it.]

“I guess I got a bit pissed off while reminiscing about the old days. You try being trapped for 32 years regardless of your will. Can you manage not to yell while thinking about the past?”

[Remove your clothes.]

“Do we really have to go that far?”

[For someone who blew up half of theMinistry of National Defense building ten years ago, this is nothing. Or would you prefer a full-body scan?]

Myung-jun let out a sigh as he undid the buttons on his combat uniform.

Then, the scream that had been echoing in Myung-jun’s ears a moment ago resounded once again.

< Ughhhh, goddamn it! Hurry up and finish it! I’m dying here!!!>

‘I endured it for ten minutes. It hasn’t even been thirty seconds, and you’re already complaining?’

<You, who endured it for ten minutes, are the abnormal!>

‘Sorry but hold on a little longer. It will be over soon.’

Myung-jun unfastened the buttons on his clothes a bit faster. Then, wearing only his underwear, he stood in front of the camera, spreading his arms. Intentionally exposing the back of his hand while making sure his palm was not clearly visible.

“Is it good?”

[You’re not holding anything, are you?]

Myung-jun tilted his palm downward in an exaggerated manner Then, accompanied by a relieved sigh, the sound from the speaker reverberated.

[Inspection completed. You may put your clothes back on. And try not to reminisce about the past unnecessarily. Don’t get angry and blow up the Ministry of National Defense Department building again for no reason.]

“I’ll be as considerate as possible.”

[Think positively. After all, once you leave here, you’ll be the top priority target for kidnapping or assassination by governments around the world. Sure, you won’t have your freedom here, but at least you’ll live safely without lacking anything, won’t you? This massive facility was built not only to keep you contained but also to protect you.]

In response, a glint of anger flashed in Myung-jun’s eyes. As if he had heard something he couldn’t stand to listen to.

Filled with anger from the pain that had been tormenting him just moments ago, Myung-jun angrily gestured his middle finger towards the camera.

“You damn bastards! When did I ask for protection? After serving in the military for two years, they lock me up in the basement, tricking me who’s about to be discharged, and keep me imprisoned, torturing me for 32 years! Who protected me? You sons of bitches, go to hell…”

The man in the dark room, who had been staring at the monitor, lifted his head as the profanity-laden tirade reached his ears.

Although he had told Myung-jun to think positively, he could sympathize with the reason behind the trapped man’s anger. He quickly grabbed the microphone and spoke.

[I made a mistake, Sergeant. No one can deny your anger. But it’s also true that countless lives were saved due to your sacrifice. As one of those people myself, I wanted to lessen the anger in your heart a bit. Even though very few people know of your existence, humanity as a whole owes you a tremendous debt.]

“If you can think even a little bit that way, please don’t talk to me. Just leave me alone. Today’s a day where I’ll explode even more than usual.”

With those words, Myung-jun slumped onto the bed in a corner. Then, the voice that had been emanating from the speaker, which had stopped to listen to the exchange, remained silent as it continued to watch Myung-jun’s form.

Creating an atmosphere where it would be awkward for the voice to deliberately engage him in conversation, Myung-jun urgently spoke to the voice that had been echoing in his mind.

As he acted to deflect suspicion, he believed that the enigmatic voice was carrying the tremendous pain he had been enduring.

‘Whoever you are from another world, it’s okay.’

He barely managed to finish his thought in his mind before the pain surged back so overwhelmingly that Myung-jun couldn’t help but groan.

‘Ughhhh!’

<Haah… Haah… I really almost died.>

‘Th… ank… you…’

<What? You’re thanking me in the middle of this? Do you have the time to thank me now? You really have strong mental fortitude, don’t you?>

However, ‘thank you’ was the last thing Myung-jun could say.

He couldn’t even think anymore, the pain coursing through his entire body was so intense.

In that situation, the only word Myung-jun could think of in his mind was just one.

‘Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

He wanted to curl up his body and open his mouth towards the ceiling and let out a scream so loud that it would burst his vocal cords. However, Myung-jun suppressed his instincts with superhuman mental strength. And the enigmatic presence that watched him sighed deeply and spoke to Myung-jun.

<Sigh… I really think I’ll regret this decision 100%, but I’ll help. I’ll endure half of it.>

Suddenly, Myung-jun felt the pain that had been coursing through his entire body fade away.

No, the pain was definitely still there.

Compared to the excruciating pain from before, it had considerably lessened, making it feel as if it had disappeared. Myung-jun felt a sense of relief and gratitude towards the enigmatic presence for allowing him the mental space to think.

‘Thank you, really.’

<Aaaaargh!>

It seemed that the enigmatic presence couldn’t withstand even half the pain while holding a conversation. During their suffering, the two beings unleashed imaginary screams and cries that no one could hear. And when the pain finally began to subside, Myung-jun managed to focus his fading consciousness on the digital clock hanging on the wall.

‘It’s 10:42…’

The excruciating pain that had felt endless had finally come to an end. Eight hours had passed since Myung-jun had inserted the final piece into the puzzle.

‘It’s over!’

Curious about the enigmatic presence that had helped him, Myung-jun wanted to know who it was. But he had no strength left to ask.

He collapsed right there on the spot.

As Myung-jun lay there, two eyeballs that seemed to resemble a face stared down at him from his right palm.

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