Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Episode 047 – Buying Gates

A café located slightly away from the center of Sejong City. Hee-cheol, who had come to find Myung-jun, was feeling betrayed as he listened to Myung-jun’s demands.

The person responsible for causing him the most stress due to the ongoing overtime work lately was now presenting him with unreasonable requests.

Hee-cheol reconfirmed the contents and asked Myung-jun, as if to make sure,

“Let me ask again. Do you want the clearance rights for the Rank 1 Gates, which the government currently possesses, for five of them, and one clearance rights for Rank 2 Gates as well?”

“That’s correct.”

“In return, you, Myung-jun, will deliver the next batch of the promised wire coating equipment to the Korean government?”

“You’ve understood it well.”

“Do you think this demand makes sense?!”

“It’s just six Gates, and they’re all low-Rank. Haven’t you heard the saying, ‘Don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish’?”

“But…”

Myung-jun knew why Hee-cheol was reacting this way, not because of any reasonable arguments but because of Hee-cheol’s reluctance. Gates offered the chance to gain a vast amount of resources and Crystal Stones in a short time when cleared, but they also had the characteristic of continuously spawning Monsters if left unattended.

Under the premise of control, it was far more profitable to hunt Monsters that respawned reasonably rather than taking the risk of clearing Gates. Moreover, the phenomenon of ‘Overflow’, where Monsters poured out from inside Gates, could be controlled by injecting Crystal Stones from respawning Monsters.

However, Myung-jun knew that Hee-cheol’s reluctance wasn’t due to these rational reasons. Hee-cheol’s current refusal was an expression of his determination to get more out of Myung-jun’s seemingly endless abilities.

“The frequency of Gate occurrences has increased recently, but not all Monsters emerge with Gates. In most cases, there are no Gates, and only low-Rank Monsters appear sporadically. Therefore, the number of Gates under the control of the Korean government is not as significant as you think. Moreover, all of them are thoroughly managed for the enhancement of EDA Awakeners.”

In other words, Hee-cheol’s argument was that ‘the current value of Gates at this point is very high’. However, Myung-jun reminded Hee-cheol that there were times when such arguments worked and times when they didn’t.

“It seems you’re overlooking something important.”

“What is it?”

“If you’re dissatisfied, you can simply let go and request it from the U.S. government. The reason I contacted EDA in the first place was to keep my promise to stay in Korea until the relevant law was passed. But if you’re still not satisfied, there’s nothing I can do. The U.S. has vast expanses, so there will be plenty of leftover Gates.”

Myung-jun intentionally emphasized the fact that he had no attachment to Korean soil, and upon hearing these words, Hee-cheol had no choice but to give up on getting something more than what Myung-jun had proposed.

“This is the location marked on the map where five Rank 1 Gates are located. As for Rank 2 Gates, we haven’t secured them yet, so we’ll need to locate them. Moreover, once the Awakener-related bill passes, it will become even harder to acquire them. Gates that occur on private property have a clause that states the owner of the land has ownership…”

“Then, let’s make a deal. We’ll give you a grace period until the law is revised for the coordinates for the Rank 2 Gates. If you can’t provide us with those coordinates by then, we’ll add five more Rank 1 Gate coordinates.”

“Five more?! No matter how you look at it…”

“If there’s no such penalty, you could handle the information about the Rank 2 Gates discovered by the government in complete secrecy. Besides, you’re talking about the clearance rights for Gates as if they’re of immense value. Soon enough, landowners will start begging you for help since they’ll be overwhelmed by Monsters pouring out from all directions. Leaving them unchecked will lead to an overflow of Monsters, and Awakeners are still lacking in numbers and strength to clear them all.”

Currently, modern weaponry could deal with Monsters at a manageable level, and governments around the world had some flexibility. However, Myung-jun knew that such a period wouldn’t last long.

The frequency of Gate appearances was increasing, and the Ranks of Monsters appearing in the fields were rising. This would inevitably lead to tremendous chaos worldwide.

‘Before that happens, I need to secure a large number of points somehow and establish a foundation for Awakeners to act freely.’

With this goal in mind, Myung-jun had managed to extract five Gate coordinates from EDA Director Moon Hee-cheol, who held all Gate-related authority in South Korea. He immediately began planning with his clan members for Gate operations.

Currently, Myung-jun was the only person in the world who knew the ‘method to forcibly increase the Gate Ranks’, and he intended to use it.

Myung-jun gave orders to his clan members after moving to the first Gate’s location in Gyeonggi Province, Osan City.

“It’s about time we arrived, so let’s deactivate our camouflages.”

“Camouflages?”

“Most likely, armed soldiers are guarding the area near the Gate. Of course, I obtained Director Moon Hee-cheol prior permission, but to enter the operation area in civilian vehicles, we would need to explain a lot. However, if we deactivate our camouflages and enter in this armored vehicle…”

“They’ll figure out who we are.”

As Myung-jun deactivated the camouflages, the appearance of the unique vehicle, different from any existing military armored vehicle, was revealed.

Even from a distance, the distinct appearance left no doubt that the people inside were not ordinary civilians.

“Pardon us! Are you Cha Myung-jun and his party?”

As expected, the soldier who had been guarding the temporary checkpoint near the Gate approached and spoke to them as he recognized Myung-jun’s group.

Upon receiving their identification, the soldier, while still curious, looked over the vehicle from various angles.

Observing this, Myung-jun’s companion, Byung-tae, proudly remarked, “Impressive vehicle, isn’t it?”

“It’s quite unusual. Was it custom-made?”

“It’s my ability. I can summon vehicles of this kind to hunt Monsters.”

“I don’t see any weapons, though…”

“Here are the weapons.”

As Byung-tae pressed the button, the front of the vehicle transformed like a robotic entity, and a drill that had been inside protruded forward. The drill bit, which looked like it could effortlessly grind through thick reinforced concrete, exuded an eerie and intimidating presence, just a mere brush against it.

“Wow, it looks deadly.”

“Do you see this?”

“At least among the weapons carried by Awakeners who have visited here, it appears to be the best.”

“Haha! Is that so? Hehehe.”

“Byung-tae.”

As Byung-tae chuckled as if he had received praise, he immediately straightened up in response to Myung-jun’s voice coming from behind. With a serious tone, he addressed the soldier.

“Has the identification been completed?”

“Yes. Yes?! Oh! Everything is in order!”

“As you’ve been informed in advance, you must hand over all nearby troops.”

“That’s not a problem. We’ve already prepared for withdrawal and were waiting. Personally, I would love to see Awakeners hunting inside the Gate, but…”

“That won’t be possible. Well then, we’ll excuse ourselves.”

As Byung-tae, who had moved near the Gate, stopped the vehicle, a drone was launched from inside to scan the surroundings. Multiple cylinders protruded from the roof of the vehicle and spread out in all directions.

“It seems like there are no hidden eyes watching. Thermal imaging shows nothing, and I wonder if there are any cameras for remote monitoring?”

“Near the Gate, there’s no communication signal, so it’s unlikely.”

“Oh? Does that mean we can’t communicate with each other either?”

In response to Byung-tae’s question, Soo-jeong shook her head and said,

“No. All the communication equipment we use is based on Myung-jun’s abilities. As long as we use dedicated equipment, we can communicate with each other without any problems. In my opinion, we should be able to enter right away, but Myung-jun, what do you think?”

“Well, I…”

“Is it bothering you?”

“Right now, that gate is a Rank 1 gate, but by the time we enter, it will likely become a Rank 3 or higher gate. Even with my abilities, the inside is a very dangerous place. I’d prefer it if you didn’t go in. It’s too risky.”

“Hehe. You’re worried about me? But if that’s the case, it’s fine!”

Soo-jeong playfully offered her fist to Myung-jun.

“After all, I have the world’s strongest boyfriend to protect me by my side.”

“Even though there’s two single guy here older than you and still unmarried, as much as youth is great, shouldn’t you refrain from expressing your affection too openly?”

“Hey, you two, is this the right time for lovey-dovey stuff? How about I install a self-destruct button in a nice place for you?”

“Oh, it looks great! Youth is the best, as expected! If you love someone, you should express it outwardly!”

Amidst their playful banter, Soo-jeong flashed an adorable smile.

Seeing Soo-jeong like that, Myung-jun chuckled and tossed a blood-soaked crystal at the Gate outside the window. Then, he gave an order to Byung-tae.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes! We’re on our way!”

As all clan members rode in Byung-tae’s AFV and slowly entered the Gate, a slightly larger-than-human-sized Gate began to tremble and expand. After a moment, the Gate returned to its original size as if nothing had happened, silently undulating with an ominous crimson aura, unlike when they entered.

***

“You all probably know, but the key to this operation is not securing points but gathering specific information about Myung-jun’s abilities. So please follow the plan as I have told you before.”

Wearing a giant armored suit, Ho Chang emitted mechanical sounds throughout his body as he lowered large boxes behind Byung-tae’s vehicle. Then, Byung-tae opened the boxes and began assembling the components inside one by one.

It was a modular turret designed by Soo-jeong for today’s operation.

“Hmm… Should we give it a try?”

Following Soo-jeong’s instructions, Myung-jun conveyed his intentions to the assembled turret. The turrets immediately started moving as if they were alive, following Myung-jun’s commands.

“Hmm, it seems to be working properly. Just as expected, it only consumes points when summoned from the pocket dimension to the real world.”

“So, for efficiency, it would be better to summon it in advance and use it when needed, right?”

“That would be a good idea at the beginning.”

“At the beginning?”

“Right now, the point cost for summoning the turret is manageable, but as the Ranks of Gates available for clearing increase, the number of points we’ll earn will also increase. However, advanced equipment like Ho Chang’s armored suit or Byung-tae’s AFV consumes a significant amount of points every time they are summoned from and put back into the pocket dimension. So, it’s better to take them out and use them as needed.”

Today’s test was to check if the turrets loaded onto Byung-tae’s AFV could be reassembled and operated properly within the Gate’s interior space. After confirming that all the turrets functioned without any issues, Soo-jeong checked Ho Chang’s equipment status.

“How is it?”

“How much does one of these boxes weigh?”

“Well, it should exceed 250 kilograms at least.”

“Even though I’m throwing dozens of them, I don’t feel any weight at all. The strength augmentation function is quite terrifying. It’s a bit difficult to put on and take off, though.”

“If the Chameleon Suit prioritizes convenience and mobility, then the Lifting Suit you’re wearing now is designed with a focus on the transportable weight. However, it requires additional equipment for durability.”

Ho Chang’s Lifting Suit, unlike other suits that can be summoned freely from the pocket dimension, required the use of a giant device resembling something out of Iron Man 1 to put on. Similarly, when taking it off, it needed to be disassembled with the help of equipment in the pocket dimension.

In other words, it completely sacrificed mobility and convenience in favor of strength augmentation and durability.

“In Normal Mode, it can handle up to 20 tons, in Lifting Mode, up to 120 tons, and in Full Open Mode, it can support up to 1,200 tons.”

“1,200 tons?! Will there ever be a need to move something that heavy?”

“Because we have it, we developed it, right? Currently, we don’t have enough points to make it, but we’re planning to create dedicated equipment for that suit. We pushed the limits of the Lifting Suit’s performance because the equipment for it is so heavy.”

“So, you mean it’s like having half of the armor now?”

“Even if it’s just half, in terms of destructive power, it’s top-notch among all armors. Today’s battle also serves as a combat performance test for the Lifting Armor, so please do your best!”

“Got it!”

Ho Chang, wearing the giant robot-like exosuit, awkwardly saluted and returned to his position. The real combat test for the Liberal Clan members clearing the Rank 3 Gate began.

Soo-jeong requested Myung-jun to distribute the turret’s direction appropriately so that they could respond to enemies from any direction. Then, she turned on the power for the central antenna-shaped equipment in the middle.

Immediately, a visible translucent violet ripple began spreading in all directions.

“Seniors? What is that…?”

“It’s a lure beacon. Since Ho Chang here is wearing equipment that moves at almost walking speed, it wouldn’t be feasible for him to run around everywhere for hunting. So, I created a device that emits waves affecting all monster within a 20km radius, dealing damage-like effects to them. When I activate this… soon…”

Suddenly, vibrations began to be felt from all directions simultaneously, as if the ground was trembling.

And from the direction where the source of the vibrations seemed to be, Myung-jun’s group could see a horde of monsters charging toward them as if they were insanely enraged.

Watching the wave of anomalous entities rushing toward them with expressions that seemed as if they had a personal vendetta, Myung-jun smiled slightly.

“Well, there’s no need to run around.”

Then, he stood up from the box he was sitting in, instead of a chair, he raised both fists, ready for action.

“So, shall we get started?”

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