Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

159 – Close Combat Specialist

Myung-jun’s encounter with the monster ‘Ursafex’ took place in a 5th-grade gate, which was not particularly challenging for him. Unlike typical gates where numerous subordinate monsters had to be eliminated to defeat the boss, this gate had the peculiar condition of requiring the elimination of only one creature. Although this was an unusual condition that Myung-jun had never seen before, he didn’t pay much attention to it. After all, the gate was only 5th-grade, and he believed that no matter how strong the monster inside was, he could handle it with his skills.

However, Myung-jun’s expectations crumbled the moment he encountered the beast, which slowly approached on all fours with its massive body.

‘If nothing else, its hide was incredibly tough.’

Surprisingly, Ursafex, which appeared in the 5th-grade gate, deflected the ultra-hard penetrator rounds of the ‘Spear’—rounds that could easily pierce through the bones of even 8th-grade monsters—as if they were mere BB pellets. The highly corrosive chemicals of the Chemical Missile ‘Juice Maker,’ which would reduce most monsters to a puddle of blood upon contact, had no effect. Even the ‘Amaterasu,’ with its nearly 40,000-degree flames that could vaporize tungsten, was shrugged off with a casual shake of its body.

Moreover, Ursafex’s claws were so sharp and hard that when they struck the Nemesis Force Blade wielded by Myung-jun, more than half of the thick sword was sliced off. Realizing that both ranged and close combat were ineffective, Myung-jun decided to keep his distance and relied solely on ‘shock’ to bring down Ursafex. No matter how tough its hide was, it couldn’t completely negate the damage from the impact.

Although the process involved pouring out enough ammunition to level an entire city, the cumulative damage from Myung-jun’s bombardment eventually took its toll on Ursafex, causing it to collapse, coughing up blood.

‘It might have been easier to deal with Banara.’

Unbeknownst to Myung-jun, Ursafex was actually one of the top candidates among the 12 Heavenly Lords in the Beast King’s domain ruled by Banara. Not just any candidate, but the most promising one among them. Myung-jun had brutally crushed the budding potential of a rising star who would have otherwise gained combat experience across numerous universes to challenge Banara’s throne. He brought back the spoils of war, Ursafex’s corpse, and attempted to process its hide.

However, the hide that deflected the Spear’s rounds also resisted Myung-jun’s hammer. Despite using all his blacksmithing knowledge, Myung-jun ultimately deemed the giant bear hide ‘unworkable.’

“Neither heat, cold, nor any chemical attack can alter its state. The only option is to wear it as is,” Soo-jeong remarked to Myung-jun, who stared at the hide with a hammer in hand, looking perplexed.

“To fight while wearing a 20-meter bear hide, you’d need to be enormous…”

“Well, it would be nice if we could at least cut it…”

As Myung-jun was about to give up, Soo-jeong suggested using the Knights, a legacy of Cain, as a last resort. Instead of the Nemesis Force Blade she had made, she proposed using the Nemesis Blade built into the Knights.

Fortunately for Myung-jun, wielding the greatsword at full power while riding the Knights, he was finally able to cut through Ursafex’s hide. Soo-jeong then used the cut hide to create the external armor for Myung-jun’s ‘Ursafex.’

However, the two soon realized a significant problem with their creation.

“No matter how much we try, it’s hard to fight proficiently in the form of a bear.”

The primary reason Myung-jun abandoned close combat against Ursafex was due to its overwhelming prowess. Beyond its claws that could cleave the Nemesis Force Blade in two, Ursafex’s movements, which fully utilized its monstrous physical specs, were so powerful in close combat that even the strongest Awakened would be brutally defeated.

Myung-jun even summoned Lee Ho-chang, the Liberal Clan’s top close combat specialist, to the training room in the subspace to face a virtual Ursafex. However, Ho-chang surrendered with both hands raised after just ten exchanges.

“I’d rather fight a grizzly bear naked. That thing is a complete monster.”

Intrigued by not just Ursafex’s hide and claws but also its exceptional combat style, Soo-jeong copied the combat data recorded in the simulation and integrated it into Nautilus. The result of all these efforts was the ‘mechanical beast’ Ursafex that Myung-jun was now piloting.

As the battle commenced, the mechanical Ursafex began to overwhelm the enhanced gate boss, Grimpanther, right from the start.

“Roarrrr!!!”

Sensing the terrifying energy in Ursafex’s claw swipe, Grimpanther leaped into the air to avoid it. At that moment, as if waiting for Grimpanther to jump, Ursafex’s massive 100-ton shoulder rammed into the airborne Grimpanther. Although Ursafex’s movements were clearly slower than the speed Grimpanther had shown Myung-jun, Grimpanther couldn’t dodge any of Ursafex’s attacks and took them head-on.

This was due to the difference in the ‘level’ of close combat experience between Ursafex’s combat AI, copied by Soo-jeong, and Grimpanther.

Watching all this from a first-person perspective in the cockpit, Myung-jun and Skyler were eating chocolate bars while observing Ursafex’s ‘auto-combat.’

“Munch… Is there no popcorn?”

“Even with the shock absorption system, the shaking is too intense for popcorn.”

“That’s true.”

Although Myung-jun also wanted to munch on popcorn, the acrobatic actions of Ursafex, unfolding at terrifying speeds, caused significant jolts in the cockpit despite using Soo-jeong’s special shock absorption system. However, this unique shaking provided an experience akin to watching a 4D movie for the two inside.

“Roarrr!!! (Don’t mess with me!!!)”

At that moment, Grimpanther, who had been slammed into a mushroom tree by Ursafex’s shoulder, roared furiously and swiped its claws. Simultaneously, Grimpanther darted to the left at a speed too fast to see, intending to use the visible slash as a decoy to move to a more advantageous position. However, knowing it wouldn’t take damage, Ursafex’s AI blocked the slash with its forehead and spun its body to deliver a roundhouse kick in Grimpanther’s direction.

But Grimpanther’s speed was too fast, and Ursafex’s hind leg narrowly missed Grimpanther’s chin.

“Roarrr! (Hahaha! You missed, fool! Huh?)”

Thinking the attack had missed, Grimpanther laughed, but suddenly felt his limbs go numb. He realized that the seemingly missed attack had actually shaken his brain to paralyze his entire body.

In a situation where victory seemed impossible, Grimpanther’s only hope was to rely on Ursafex’s animal instincts. The fleeting moment of relief when an attack succeeded as planned. However, Ursafex’s AI, a true close combat specialist that Soo-jeong had decided to copy, shattered Grimpanther’s expectations by immediately executing the next attack, waiting for no moment of complacency.

Ursafex’s ultimate move, which sealed off both the attack and evasion means of a fast opponent while fully utilizing its absurd durability and power, was the Bearhug.

“Grrr! Grrr! Roarrr!!!”

The sight of a bear-like beast, standing 15 meters tall at the shoulder, hugging the waist of a 25-meter-long panther-like beast, evoked the image of a primal battle between mythical creatures. In this myth, the giant beast resembling a black panther suffered the agony of its waist being crushed and its innards bursting within the embrace of the bear-like beast.

“Graaaah!!!”

Even with its waist caught, Grimpanther, with its feline-like form, could still swing its limbs to some extent. It slashed at Ursafex with all its might, aiming to free itself. The slash, sharp enough to cleave an Assault Striker in half along with its shield, failed to cut even a single hair on Ursafex’s hide.

Moments later, a horrifying sound began to emanate from Grimpanther’s waist, which was being compressed beyond its limits.

-Crunch. Crack. Crack… Crunch…-

The sound of internal organs bursting under pressure and the breaking of massive ribs, thick as tree trunks, created a dreadful symphony that conveyed the pain Grimpanther was experiencing. Grimpanther first vomited the contents of its stomach onto Ursafex’s shoulder, then spewed thick, dark red blood over the mess it had already made.

After what felt like an eternity to Grimpanther, the inevitable sound echoed from its waist.

-Crunch! Thud!-

With a sickening crunch, Grimpanther’s waist finally gave way. Ursafex, having eliminated its target, tossed the limp body of Grimpanther aside like a ragdoll. It then roared loudly, as if to declare its victory to the world.

“Roarrrr!!!!”

[Target eliminated. No life signs detected. Terminating Beast-type Target Elimination Protocol ‘Ursafex.’]

Listening to Ursafex’s roar echoing in the cockpit, Myung-jun wore a bitter smile. While Skyler, lacking a translation implant, heard it as a simple victory declaration from a beast, Myung-jun understood its exact meaning.

The combat AI of Ursafex, which had effortlessly defeated an monster that had given even Myung-jun a hard time, was saying:

‘That was pathetically weak!!!!’

Having secured an easy victory through Soo-jeong’s ‘auto-combat’ AI, Myung-jun reverted the Elimination Suit to its original form. He then exited through the gate, returning to the real world where Soo-jeong and Biden awaited.

Outside the gate, Soo-jeong, who had not left her spot since Myung-jun entered, greeted him. She looked at Myung-jun’s power armor emerging from the gate with an expression akin to a newlywed wife welcoming her husband back from a business trip.

However, her expression turned deadly as she saw the cockpit slowly open. Sitting on Myung-jun’s knee, where no one but Soo-jeong should be, was a blonde woman with a ponytail.

And it was only after seeing Soo-jeong’s rapidly changing expression that Myung-jun realized he had forgotten to let Skyler down.

“Myung-jun.”

“Se…senior?”

“I sent you to rescue someone, and you come back from a date? Care to explain what’s going on? Because I just. Don’t. Get. It.”

At that moment, President Biden, seeing Soo-jeong’s unusual reaction, hastily stepped in to defuse the situation.

“Haha. How about we all take a short break since everyone must be tired? We also need to hear about the increased difficulty of the gate that Myung-jun mentioned.”

“Mr. Biden.”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

Soo-jeong dismissed the polite suggestion from the President of the United States, the leader of the world’s most powerful nation, with a single word. Her voice dripped with coldness, not directed at Myung-jun, whom she knew would never cheat, but at the audacious woman sitting on his knee.

“You, the lady sitting there?”

“Ye…yes?! Yes!”

“Let’s have a little chat. No one follow us. Unless you don’t value your life.”

Watching Soo-jeong take Skyler away, Myung-jun briefly considered following but shook his head and stepped out of the cockpit. He knew that any misunderstanding would naturally be resolved through their conversation. Soo-jeong was not someone who couldn’t understand unavoidable circumstances.

Just as Soo-jeong had her duties, it was time for Myung-jun to attend to his.

“President Biden.”

“Shut… shut up? My goodness… Even if today’s youth…”

Ignoring Biden’s shocked muttering, Myung-jun called out.

“Mr. Biden!”

Startled by Myung-jun’s shout, Biden looked at him and, regaining his composure, nodded and spoke.

“You’ve done a great job. I should have said that first.”

“No need for thanks. It wasn’t for free anyway. Right now, I need you to gather the relevant parties for an urgent report.”

“Relevant parties? Who do you mean?”

“The key officials from the EDF in the US, the Dungeon Agency in Japan, the EDA in Korea, the Ministry of Abnormalities in China, and all other Awakener-related organizations that can be assembled.”

The reason Myung-jun asked President Biden to call upon the global Awakener management organizations was to report the overwhelming ‘difficulty increase’ of the purple gate, which had become nearly impossible to clear without using his trump card.

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