Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 11

“Brother!!!”

“So-eun!!!”

A sibling reunion that took place after a long period of 30 years.

Myung-jun couldn’t hold back his tears upon meeting his younger sister, whom he hadn’t seen for almost 30 years.

This was compounded by his guilt from the past when he couldn’t properly protect her and their grandmother before his regression.

‘She must have been desperately searching for this useless brother until the very last moment.’

When Myung-jun enlisted in the military at the age of 20, So-eun was only 13 years old, merely in the 6th grade of elementary school.

After they lost their parents at a young age, Myung-jun practically raised her.

Growing up under a grandmother who was stingy with affection, So-eun became heavily dependent on Myung-jun.

Then came the call of duty from the nation.

Young So-eun couldn’t understand why the country had to take her brother away. She mistakenly thought it was because she was bothersome, causing Myung-jun to leave.

When she reached middle school and the time apart from her brother grew longer, she began to understand that Myung-jun, as a Korean, had to serve in the military. But on his enlistment day, she cried so much that Myung-jun could hardly take a step away.

And her attachment to her brother continued even after Myung-jun was discharged from the military.

“Hehehe… Brother… Hehe.”

Wearing her school uniform, So-eun sat close to Myung-jun, eating the braised ribs he gave her, smiling with her eyes red from crying.

Myung-jun, with similarly teary eyes, diligently served the tender ribs to his younger sister.

“Goodness! What is a little girl like you doing? Get off right now!”

“Look, grandma. She must have felt lonely during her sensitive years, right?”

“That’s right! Brother! Grandma always nag me!”

Myung-jun gently stroked his adorable sister’s head and asked,

“Did you listen well to grandma while I was away?”

“Of course! How well-behaved and obedient I was!”

“Oh dear, stop lying. Just a few months ago, you pestered grandma so much about buying a cell phone. She was about to lose her hair over it.”

“All my friends have one!”

“If your friend has a baby, will you have one too?”

Myung-jun said, laughing at his grandmother’s words.

“Did you buy one for her?”

“Grandma needs to know about these things. Even when I go near the store, young folks grab this old lady and spew words so fast, I’m afraid I might get scammed. They mention something like 85,000 won or 99,000 won, but I should be able to know what’s right and what’s good.”

“Then I’ll take So-eun with me later to buy a cell phone.”

“Why bother? Won’t that cell phone or whatever it is just distract her from her studies? Your father grew up just fine without such things at that age.”

“Times have changed. And they’ll keep changing.”

With billions of lives potentially at stake on D-day, Myung-jun’s expression became cold and stern.

His grandmother, with a voice full of genuine concern, asked while touching his shoulder,

“Is something bothering you?”

“Have you seen the news about the recent monster attacks lately?”

“I did. They said something was spotted in the countryside, some creature that’s neither a tiger nor a wild boar, wandering around causing panic.”

“I encountered one of those monsters while I was in the military. 21 soldiers, including me, were deployed in an operation against it. All of them, except me, died.”

“Oh my God!”

“Brother?! Is that true?! Are you hurt anywhere?”

For a moment, So-eun, who was enjoying the ribs, frantically checked Myungjun for injuries.

He gently took her hand and reassured her,

“So-eun, I’m alright.”

“But still…”

“I’m sitting right in front of you after being discharged in good health, aren’t I? I’m not hurt.”

“My goodness, what kind of beast could kill armed soldiers like that?”

“The monsters appearing in the news die when shot. The one I met doesn’t die even after being shot.”

“You mean it can’t be killed with bullets?”

“More precisely, it can barely be harmed with .50 caliber anti-material sniper bullets. Most of the high-speed small caliber bullets used by the military just bounce off. That’s what we were armed with at the time.”

Myung-jun, with a calm voice, shared the information he knew.

He mentioned that the appearance of these grotesque monsters will increase as time goes by, and they won’t be limited to rural areas but will also appear in the middle of cities. And with time, monsters that cannot be taken down with bullets will increase in number.

When his grandmother asked how he knew this, Myung-jun vaguely mentioned that his squad was involved in researching these creatures.

At that moment, So-eun, who was listening with a fearful expression, gripped Myung-jun’s hand tightly.

“Brother, does that mean monsters that killed your comrades will appear everywhere? If bullets don’t work, even the police can’t stop them, right?”

“Indeed, with the weapons the police have, they would struggle even with a Rank 1 monster, let alone a Rank 2 one. But don’t worry. More and more people equipped with abilities to fight these monsters will emerge.”

“Ability? What ability?”

In response to his grandmother’s question, Myung-jun replied,

“We called those people ‘Awakener’. They essentially have weapons like swords or bows that can defeat monsters that bullets can’t harm, kind of like superhumans.”

“People use superpowers?”

“Yes.”

“So-eun.”

“Yes, grandma.”

“Go and get the phone number of a mental hospital. Oh my goodness!! Our ancestors!! They took a perfectly fine man to the military and turned him into a delusional patient!”

“Grandma!”

“Superpowers?! Hey! Even if such monstrous creatures roam the world, how can you say people use superpowers! Have you ever seen fire coming out of a person’s hands?!”

Grandma, thinking that Myung-jun is showing signs of PTSD due to the deaths of his colleagues, shouted with teary eyes. But Myung-jun remained calm, lowering his head.

“No, I haven’t seen it.”

“Then why are you talking nonsense about people using superpowers?”

“Grandma! Brother isn’t the type to make stuff up. He must have had a reason to say so.”

“You, go get the phone number of a mental hospital! We need to fix your brother’s head!”

However, the words that followed from Myung-jun were enough to silence them both.

“I didn’t need to see it, because, grandma, and So-eun, I am one of those ‘Awakener’.”

The moment Myung-jun finished speaking, silence fell upon the noisy dining table.

Shortly after, Myung-jun ‘s younger sister So-eun, with teary eyes, began to shout, tugging at his sleeve.

“…..”

“…..”

“………”

“………”

“Waaah! Grandma! Brother’s talking nonsense!”

“Mental hospital! Mental hospital!”

“The militaryyyy! The military ruined my brother!!”

Seeing the chaotic atmosphere at the dining table, Myung-jun let out a deep sigh.

Gently freeing his sleeve from So-eun, who was still holding onto him and shedding tears, he shouted loudly and intentionally at the two of them.

“CALM DOWNNN!!!”

The two of them, frozen in place, stared at Myung-jun.

Myung-jun smiled and said,

“Now, I’m going to show you a magic trick. After seeing this, you’ll understand that my ability is beyond human comprehension.”

He took a tissue from the box on the table, placing it on his palm and closing his eyes for a moment. Surprisingly, the tissue began to glow in a faint blue light.

“What?! What did you do, brother?!”

Instead of answering his sister’s question, Myung-jun handed her the glowing tissue.

“tear it.”

“The tissue?”

“Just do as I say.”

“Eeek!! Huh?! Huh!?!? Huh?!?!”

“It doesn’t tear, does it?”

“How did you do that?”

“That’s my ability, [Attribute Transformation]. While retaining the external characteristics of an object, it changes the intrinsic properties of the object. This tissue still retains the structural properties and weight of the original pulp material, but its toughness has been transformed to be over 20 times tougher than Kevlar used in bulletproof vests. In other words, it’s become a ‘bulletproof’ tissue that even bullets can’t penetrate.”

“Wha?!? Really?!!?”

Despite her repeated attempts to tear the tissue with all her strength, So-eun couldn’t damage it at all. Eventually, even the grandmother tried using a knife, awl, screwdriver, and hammer to pierce the tissue, but it was as if the tissue was made of steel, remaining unscathed.

In the end, both Myung-jun’s grandmother and younger sister had no choice but to acknowledge the truth of his words. If Myung-jun had just shown them a sturdy object, it might have been different, but what lay before them, apart from its toughness, was still a light, white ‘tissue’ that seemed like it could easily be torn. The two, having never seen such a light yet strong material, couldn’t help but marvel at Myung-jun’s ability.

The excited So-eun, elated about the fact that her most adored brother had superpowers, bombarded Myung-jun with numerous questions.

“Brother, can you turn a piece of iron into gold?”

“I can change its weight properties to make it as heavy as gold or prevent it from rusting, or even change its conductivity to the level of gold. But I can’t change its appearance. So, I can make an iron that functions just like gold, but I can’t create gold itself.”

“Then, can you change my school uniform into an indestructible material?”

“I can. If you want, I can make it bulletproof.”

“Wow! Brother, you’re amazing!”

“Anyway, as I’ve shown you, people like me who have awakened to these special abilities are called the ‘Awakener’. And those Awakener can sufficiently defeat monsters that bullets can’t penetrate.”

“Well… I can’t help but believe when you show me like that…”

The still shaken grandmother, fidgeting with the tissue, responded.

Myung-jun, with a serious expression, addressed the two,

“However, there are problems with stopping monsters as an Awakener. Firstly, the number of Awakener is extremely insufficient compared to the increasing number of monsters. Currently, we’re encountering Rank 1 Monsters that we can control and somehow capture those bulletproof ones. But soon, when Rank 3 Monster that even heavy sniper rounds can’t penetrate appear, the world order as we know it will crumble.”

“But if your ability is as amazing as you say, can’t you just make a nail or knife that can kill the monster?”

Upon hearing his sister’s keen question, Myung-jun affectionately stroked So-eun’s hair.

“Exactly. With my ability, I can create bullets that can penetrate the impenetrable skin of the monsters.”

And then he nodded at So-eun and said,

“That’s why I hid this fact from the country. The Korean government and the Ministry of National Defense don’t know that I possess this ability.”

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