Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

156 – Don’t Die in Front of Me

 

Myung-jun felt a sense of urgency.

He was moving at high speed, scorching the surroundings as he went, but the number of monsters approaching him was decreasing the further he advanced.

This was one of the main reasons Myung-jun had always emphasized the importance of Seekers when clearing gates.

“Damn… If only Kei or Arin were here, I would have cleared this already…”

The space inside the gate was vast.

Not just vast in the sense that it was large, but so immense that it was hard to encounter its boundaries. That was the nature of a gate.

In such a place, even the strongest Awakener could fail to find the boss before the clear time expired if they took the wrong direction. Hence, Myung-jun had intended to lure the boss to him by causing as much commotion as possible.

However, the method Myung-jun had frequently used in previous gate clearings was ineffective in this enhanced gate, where the difficulty had been adjusted.

Unlike the previous monsters that would charge blindly at intruders, the enhanced gate’s monsters possessed high intelligence, enough to understand the concept of ‘fear.’

Myung-jun was seriously contemplating whether he should change direction.

Although he had brought ample ammunition and missiles, it wasn’t enough to sustain an endless war of attrition.

Confirming that there were no monsters around, Myung-jun took a deep breath and commanded Nautilus.

“Activate the photon scanner.”

[Activating photon scanner.]

In an instant, particles of light burst from the body of the floating Nautilus, scattering in all directions like confetti at a party. The light particles sparkled briefly before disappearing into the air.

[Scan complete. Current scan range approximately 2km. Detected 32 hostile creatures within range.]

“Is there any particularly strong entity among them?”

[Individual scans indicate that all 32 creatures possess energy levels similar to the monsters previously eliminated.]

“Damn it. Are there any Awakener within the range?”

[No Awakener detected within the range.]

Myung-jun pondered.

If he was lucky and there was a Seeker in the direction he was heading, he could quickly track the boss. But if not, he might fail to clear the gate.

After some thought, Myung-jun issued the next command to the waiting Nautilus.

“Eject the high jump system.”

[Support parts request confirmed. Ejecting high jump system.]

In an instant, the doors of the hangar mounted on Nautilus opened, and parts with dozens of thrusters fell out.

They flew towards Myung-jun, spewing flames.

-Clank, clank, whirr-

The auxiliary parts, matching the color of Myung-jun’s Elimination Suit, attached to the legs and back of his power armor. The components on his back unfolded like wings.

With the assembly complete, Myung-jun’s power armor now resembled a winged robot.

“Stand by at the current location and maintain vigilance. Eliminate any detected monsters and notify me if any Awakener are detected.”

[Order confirmed. Standing by in vigilance mode at the current location.]

After issuing the command, Myung-jun bent his knees, taking a jumping stance.

Then, with a burst of flames from his entire body, he leaped into the air.

“Activate motion recognition cameras fully.”

Despite the heavy weight, Myung-jun soared up to 1km in the air in an instant. He activated not only the main camera but also all the auxiliary cameras attached to his Elimination Suit.

He began to scan all moving objects within a radius of several kilometers.

This was Myung-jun’s exit strategy to quickly resolve whichever he found first—either the gate boss or the rescue target Seeker. However, his decision to include all moving objects in the scan range backfired.

[Movement detected on cameras 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 17.]

The cameras, designed by Soojung, were overly high-performance, capturing and reporting even tiny objects like passing ants.

Myung-jun hastily revised his command to narrow the search range.

“Only detect movements larger than 1 meter and 30 centimeters.”

[Command revised, updating detected targets. Movement detected on cameras 2, 7, and 12.]

“Show me.”

Hoping that the rescue target Skyler’s group might be detected, Myung-jun looked at the screen.

However, the movements captured by the cameras were all monsters hiding in the nearby mushroom forest.

Just as Myung-jun was about to end the search and descend to the ground, the AI system embedded in his Elimination Suit spoke.

[New movement detected on camera 6.]

“Show me.”

The screen displayed a different scene, but Myung-jun couldn’t see anything.

It wasn’t because the moving object was too small, but because it was too far away.

“Zoom in so I can see it with the naked eye.”

[Zoom complete. Restoring broken images with resolution enhancement process.]

Finally, Myung-jun spotted something that looked like a human figure and almost let out a cry of joy.

However, upon counting the number of moving figures, he instinctively felt that something was wrong.

“One… two… three… Why is one missing?”

[Apologies, but I cannot answer that question.]

“I’m not asking you! Thrusters to maximum output! Fly to that direction immediately! Nautilus, cancel vigilance mode and follow me!”

[Thrusters adjusted to 120% output. Nautilus canceling vigilance mode. Tracking user location.]

With the characteristic sonic boom of breaking the sound barrier, Myung-jun’s Elimination Suit, floating in the air, emitted a long trail of smoke as it flew at tremendous speed towards Skyler’s group.

Moments later, Myung-jun, clad in his massive power armor, descended like a meteor behind Skyler’s group, who were running towards him.

The shockwave from his landing scattered the monsters chasing Skyler’s group in all directions.

However, Myung-jun knew well that the enhanced gate’s monsters wouldn’t be taken down by mere shockwaves.

“Activate Force Blade.”

[Nemesis Force Blade activated. Energy infusion starting. Molecular disintegration field generated.]

Ignoring the dazed expressions of Skyler’s group, Myung-jun charged towards the monsters still reeling from the shockwave.

The numerous thrusters attached to his power armor simultaneously spewed flames, accelerating Myung-jun’s movements to incredible speeds.

-Slash! Slash! Slash!-

Watching Myung-jun wield the Nemesis Blade with the skill of a seasoned swordsman, cutting down the monsters, Skyler found herself staring in awe.

The sight of the 5-meter-tall giant robot moving fluidly and slicing through the monsters was as impressive as a scene from a movie.

The tough skin of the monsters, which wouldn’t bleed even if hit directly by a missile, split apart like a well-ripened watermelon the moment it touched the blade of Myung-jun’s Nemesis Blade.

The thick green blood that gushed out turned into green gas clouds upon contact with the blue light enveloping the blade.

Moments later, Myung-jun had sliced through over 200 monsters with just his sword when a warning sound rang in his ears.

[Warning. Nemesis Blade output decreasing. Molecular disintegration field deactivated.]

[Warning. High Jump System output insufficient.]

At that moment, Myung-jun, who had confirmed the arrival of Nautilus, threw his blade and said,

“Disengage High Jump System. Retrieve the Nemesis Blade along with it to Nautilus.”

Instantly, the support parts attached to Myung-jun’s Elimination Suit detached and flew towards Nautilus along with the discarded blade.

Now, with the support parts removed and his Elimination Suit looking more streamlined, Myung-jun turned to Skyler’s group and asked,

“Do you know where the boss is?”

At this point, after spending considerable time on the search since entering the gate, the rescue operation itself wasn’t the main issue.

No matter how safely Myung-jun protected Skyler, if he failed to deal with the gate boss within the time limit, the moment the overflow began, everyone inside the gate would be annihilated.

Thus, Myung-jun skipped the pleasantries and asked Seeker Skyler about the gate boss’s location to avoid wasting time.

Understanding Myung-jun’s intention, Skyler urgently pointed south and said,

“James is trying to lure it this way!”

Myung-jun grumbled as he responded to Skyler,

“Why do things I didn’t ask for?”

“I just wanted to help a little…”

“Well, there’s no time to argue. We’ll talk later. Nautilus, how much time until the High Jump System is recharged?”

[Checking. Minimum recharge time required: 33 minutes and 23 seconds.]

“James will die before then…”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Myung-jun spoke to Skyler.

“Are you the Seeker Skyler I’m supposed to rescue?”

“Yes… Yes? Oh, yes, that’s me.”

“Please help me for a moment.”

Suddenly, Myung-jun’s Elimination Suit knelt down.

The hatch opened, revealing Myung-jun in the cockpit.

“Get in.”

“What? Where?”

“Where else? It’s a single-seater, so obviously on my lap. Hurry up, we don’t have time.”

As Skyler, flustered, sat on Myung-jun’s lap, he closed the hatch and said,

“Hold on tight. If you don’t, you’ll get hurt.”

Seeing the cockpit hatch rapidly closing towards her, Skyler forgot her embarrassment and hugged Myung-jun tightly.

With a flushed face, Myung-jun, holding the controls, said to her,

“I said to hold on, not to hug me.”

“What? Oh!”

Startled by Myung-jun’s words, Skyler pulled back, hitting her head on the screen.

Myung-jun chuckled and spoke to Nautilus.

“Nautilus, switch to boarding mode.”

[Command confirmed. Landing complete.]

With every step the power armor carrying Myung-jun and Skyler took, their bodies jolted up and down.

As Myung-jun walked towards Nautilus, he jumped from the ground and boarded the Nautilus.

[Boarding confirmed. Locking mechanism engaged. Floating thrusters activated.]

As Nautilus, carrying Myung-jun, floated into the air, Myung-jun looked towards where Robert was.

He spoke with a slightly apologetic tone.

“Sorry, but it’s impossible to carry three people.”

“It’s okay. Just go and save the captain quickly.”

“Use this instead.”

To protect Robert while he was away, Myung-jun used a protective cage he had once used to protect Deki from Hee-cheol.

Although it had no offensive capabilities, the cage could block any attack from most monsters. After securing Robert inside the cage, Myung-jun directed Nautilus towards the direction Skyler had pointed earlier.

He then spoke to Skyler, who was still embarrassed and rubbing her head.

“Don’t get any weird ideas and just guide the way. I have a girlfriend.”

Skyler nodded, and Myung-jun said,

“Nautilus, full power deployment.”

[Full power deployment. Brace for impact.]

In an instant, Nautilus spewed massive flames from all its rear thrusters and shot towards James’s direction at incredible speed.

The objective was to eliminate the ‘Gate Boss,’ the condition for clearing the gate.

It was a speed that Skyler, nestled in Myung-jun’s arms, had never experienced in her life.

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