Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 37

[News from the Blue House (South Korea’s presidential office). The government has confirmed that the content announced by the White House in the U.S. at midnight is indeed true and was information prohibited from being leaked under international agreements. Furthermore, the government has officially recognized that some of the accidents in various military units over the past year and some missing persons cases nationwide are related to this announcement.]

[The Ministry of National Defense stated that they are currently responding to the ongoing gate situation in the country through a special unit composed of Awakeners, and they are doing their best to prevent harm to the citizens.]

[Currently, the government classifies the frequency of appearances of these monsters in Korea and the locations of the gates as top secret. They announced that they will establish a special management agency for gates and these monsters once related regulations are in place.]

[In response to the U.S. White House’s announcement, governments worldwide expressed concerns about the ‘Asset Law’, which would incorporate any Awakeners as strategic assets of the U.S. just by their request. In response to these criticisms, the U.S. government argues that since it’s being done in the form of asylum, there is no issue in international law. Today, we have invited an international law expert to the studio to discuss this issue.]

Everywhere in the world, mysterious gates were appearing, and from these gates emerged monsters that could deflect bullets. Capturing these monsters provided a chance to gain ability, an announcement that captivated the attention of everyone worldwide.

At the same time, the establishment of a new federal agency in the U.S. called the Gate Security Department and its announcement of the “Asset Law” to bring all Awakeners worldwide under U.S. influence also elicited a wide range of reactions.

Immediately after the U.S. announcement, the Chinese government announced its own “Awakener Outflow Prevention Law”, prohibiting their Awakeners from traveling or seeking asylum abroad. They also announced the establishment of an agency similar in function to the U.S.’s, named the “Central Military Commission Special Power Department”, promising the best treatment to Awakeners returning to China regardless of their abilities.

Following this, various countries announced the establishment of their own management agencies and introduced policies to prevent the U.S. government from taking their Awakeners.

Within just one day, major organizations like Japan’s ‘Dungeon Agency’, Germany’s ‘Hunter Support Department’, France’s ‘Special Ability Management Department’, Australia’s ‘Monster Management Agency’, and Russia’s ‘Anomaly Response Center’ were created.

Watching all this international news translated in real-time through their multilingual implant devices, Myung-jun’s clan members, seeing the world change drastically in just a day, began seriously discussing their future plans.

“Although it differs by country, the core of their announcements seems similar. Preventing their own Awakeners from leaving while trying to attract those from other countries. Was this what you anticipated, Captain?”

Hearing Ho Chang’s question, Myung-jun nodded in agreement.

“In the newly changed world, the crystals that can be obtained by hunting the monsters will become a resource more valuable than gold.”

By attaching various substances obtained from the Monsters to the crystals and processing them accordingly, various effects could be gained.

A new fuel that can be used in cars like gasoline but doesn’t produce carbon emissions.

An ultra-efficient battery that weighs only a fraction of current batteries but has tens of times the capacity.

A new material that can stably induce nuclear fusion reactions at room temperature.

A growth stimulant that can accelerate the growth of plants and animals by more than tenfold.

The materials that can be made using the crystals possess efficiency beyond common sense, so in the future, crystals will hold a strategic value more important than oil.

Moreover, given the situation where the primary energy source for devices that can fully defend an area from increasingly powerful monster attacks is crystals, it is natural for each country to focus on securing Awakeners, who are key to crystal distribution.

“The era of waging war over oil is over. Now, a country that has many strong Awakeners will have greater national power.”

“But aren’t the existing weapon systems already strong enough? They say you can kill up to Rank 2 Monsters with guns, right?”

“That’s true based on the current situation. However, the types of Monsters will diversify over time. Some will emit special frequencies that shut down all electronic equipment within a certain range or prevent all ignition reactions in the area. That’s why we need Awakeners. The abilities of the Awakeners inherently reduce the effects of abilities emitted by Monsters of equal or lower rank.”

“Reduce, you say?”

“It means you might take more or less damage depending on compatibility. For example, an Awakener with fire abilities would be resistant to an monster using poison, and if the rank difference is significant, it may even completely nullify it.”

Myung-jun began to explain the basic concept of Monsters to his clan members.

The Monsters appearing now are the most basic of basic types with merely physical attack reduction effects, and future Monsters will have incredibly diverse types and effects.

And just as the strength of Awakeners doesn’t solely depend on their rank, Monsters also exist that have strength transcending their ranks.

“For example, a certain type of monster can generate poison gas that turns all living beings within its range into bloody pulps. An Awakener with close-range abilities would find it very difficult to approach such an monster.”

“Are Awakeners affected even if their rank is high?”

“Of course, they’ll have higher resistance than ordinary people, so they can function to some extent within the poison gas, but they won’t last very long.”

“Then how do you hunt such Monsters?”

“We would either organize a party primarily consisting of Awakeners with long-range abilities to engage in sniping or include Awakeners in the party with area-purification abilities to neutralize the poison gas during combat.”

Then Soo-jeong interjected into Myung-jun’s explanation, speaking to the clan members.

“Of course, this applies to general Awakeners, we are a bit different. The foundation of Myung-jun’s abilities is to attach the necessary type of attachment using points.”

“What do you mean?”

“Simply developing a poison gas purification device and attaching it to vehicles or armored suits would suffice for our activities. Depending on what upgrades are developed, we can increase durability or attack power, and even enable underwater activities. Of course, the problem is that points made by consuming crystals go into all these development processes.”

“So, securing crystals would be our top priority for now, as their value will skyrocket over time.”

Hearing Ho Chang’s words, Myung-jun stood up and spoke.

“Yes, that’s why I plan to focus on training all of you for the time being.”

“Training?”

“Yes, training. Currently, the fastest way to collect a large amount of crystals is to overrun a Rank 1 low-level gate and clear it solo. When you overrun a Rank 1 gate, it turns into a Rank 3 gate, and within it, regular monsters of Rank 3 and 4 and a boss monster of Rank 5 will appear. We have only three members capable of combat, excluding the non-combatant Soo-jeong. If each of the three can clear one overrun gate, we will be able to secure a large amount of crystals faster than any government organization in the world.”

“Just asking for reference, how strong was the bullet-dodging guy who almost killed you?”

“He was on the cusp between Rank 2 and 3. Strong for a Rank 2, but not quite at a Rank 3.”

“So, Captain, you’re saying we should solo-clear gates teeming with monsters stronger than the bullet-dodging guy?”

“Of course, it would be impossible in our current state. Fortunately, we have training equipment in this space that can replicate monsters exactly as they are, based on the memories of our clan members. For now, let’s train up to the point where we can individually take down a Rank 5 boss monsetr, using my records of clearing a Rank 3 gate as a basis.”

“Shouldn’t we start training gradually from Rank 1?”

“I would like to, but we can’t. The only gate I’ve cleared was a deliberately overrun Rank 3 gate. They say if you don’t have teeth, you fight with your gums, right? So, we have no choice but to go Spartan from the start.”

“What if we absolutely can’t clear it with our current abilities?”

Instead of answering Ho Chang’s question, Myung-jun smiled at Soo-jeong.

Then Soo-jeong confidently thumped his chest and spoke to Ho Chang.

“Don’t worry, I will develop and attach the necessary weaponry based on real-time combat data analysis! Whether it’s Mark 2 or Mark 3, I can make as many as needed!”

Leaving Soo-jeong’s boastful assurance behind, the two of them began their hellish special training from that moment on.

***

“QUAAAAAAK!!”

“What the hell! How did the Captain face these insane monsters even before awakening?!”

A single armored vehicle was speeding crazily through the ruins filled with structures so bizarre they could hardly be believed to be man-made.

From the automated turret mounted on the vehicle, bullets were being fired crazily at monsters the size of rhinos that were chasing the vehicle.

[Warning!]

[Multiple Night Stalkers approaching!]

Suddenly, a beast with a massive weight lunged at the vehicle, causing a loud crash and a strong recoil on the steering wheel.

“Aaaaaah!!”

[Warning!]

[External armor damaged]

[Auto turret destroyed]

[Time remaining for auto-repair 1 minute 30 seconds.]

“Get off! Get off!”

Byung Tae swerved the steering wheel crazily, causing the vehicle to sway from side to side.

Then, the monster that had been biting off the vehicle’s armor from above lost its balance and fell to the ground.

“How the hell do you expect us to kill a monster that can even bite through armor with a vehicle!”

Listening to Byung Tae’s scream full of complaints, Myung-jun turned to Soo-jeong and said,

“Senior, can’t we improve the firepower of the vehicle-mounted turret?”

“We can, but then the performance of the vehicle will decline.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I don’t understand it, but if Byung Tae attaches anything other than ‘driving’ functionalities, the driving performance significantly decreases. The same principle applies to Ho Chang’s armored suit; if we attach long-range equipment other than ‘defense,’ the performance of the armor declines.”

“So, if they equip functionalities that aren’t suited for their type, some kind of penalty is applied?”

“That’s my guess. When I tried fitting an enormous shield, the overall performance actually decreased.”

“Hmm… So, you’re saying that specializing in a main category is better than trying to be versatile?”

“That’s what I think.”

“Hmm…”

“What should we do? Should we reduce driving performance to enhance turret firepower?”

“Won’t we get caught because we’re already too slow? If we get even slower, we’ll be buried by Night Stalkers, you know?”

“Then what?”

Pondering Soo-jeong’s question, Myung-jun fell into thought for a moment.

Then, as if something occurred to him, he spoke to Soo-jeong.

“Senior, you said the driving performance decreases if we attach long-range equipment, right?”

“Yes.”

“And if we attach driving-related equipment, the overall performance increases?”

“Yes. I don’t know the principle behind it, but that seems to be the case.”

“Then let’s attach a blade-mounted drill at the front of the vehicle.”

“A drill?”

“Instead of running and fighting, let’s modify it so that we just smash right through them.”

Then, Byung Tae’s voice, who had been listening to the conversation via communication, echoed through the speaker.

[What!? A blade-mounted drill? Hahaha! That’s a great idea! Attach it right now! I’ll grind these damned things to dust! You’re all doomed!]

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