Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 33

033 – Negotiation

“Of course, it’s not absolute. For starters, to face high-level Awakener, the equipment provided should also be made from high-level materials. However, regardless, the core of the ability is that civilians can effectively counter Awakener or Monsters using the existing weapon systems.”

“Well, if you think about it, you could make a fortune if you set your mind to it. After all, world leaders and billionaires would be willing to pay just to possess this technology.”

“Of course, if I just set my mind to it, I could do that. But I will release this technology.”

At this point, Ho-Chang and Byung-tae stood up and exclaimed towards Myung-jun.

“What?! Are you saying you’re a rookie in this field?!”

However, Myung-jun calmly lifted the cup of tea in front of him, took a sip, and then took a quiet deep breath. He then addressed the two with a composed voice.

“Everyone, imagine if you suddenly had $100 trillion right now. But there’s no one else left on Earth except for you. Would that money have any meaning?”

The two men thought carefully about Myung-jun’s words and replied, confused.

“No, it wouldn’t. Money has value not only because of the person who possesses it but also because of the person who receives it.”

“Exactly. Essentially, money carries value under the fundamental assumption that society, as a system, is functioning normally. To achieve this, humanity as a species should be able to actively control disasters like the Gate incident. Moreover, even if we freely release this ability, each government will still manage Awakener according to their preferences. My ability will become an essential skill required to manage Awakener by governments.”

“Do you agree with this opinion, Miss?”

When Ho-Chang asked, Soo-jeong looked at Myung-jun with affectionate eyes, then nodded her head and said with a gentle smile.

“I hope Myung-jun’s plan goes as he says.”

“Damn, that makes it 2:2 then.”

“Why do I count in?”

“Then why not? If you’re willing to give up a chance that could be worth trillions, or even more, just because of your pride?”

However, contrary to what Ho-Chang had expected, Byung-tae, who would usually jump at any mention of money, showed a completely different tune and responded to Ho-Chang with a different tone.

“After all, this isn’t my ability, right? You say we control our abilities ourselves, but does that mean we have the right to exploit them recklessly?”

“But, as Myung-jun put it, he’s our boss and leader. If the leader is willing to give up trillions, isn’t it worth following?”

“I don’t know. Honestly, I used to like money because I needed money to enjoy the cars I liked. But things are different now. I find more satisfaction in a car made by Mr. Myung-jun’s ability than any car I could buy with money. So, if he wants to do something, I think it’s right to let him do it. I’m not smarter than him, and even if I combined my brain with my hyung’s brain, that girl’s brain is still much better.”

In the end, with Byung-tae’s betrayal, the situation turned to 3:1, and Ho-Chang had to give up on trying to convince them.

Upon deeper reflection, even without Myung-jun’s ability, it seemed they could easily find opportunities to make a fortune with their current abilities.

‘Maybe this young man’s words are right. If civilians need to capture those Monsters to become Awakener, then the more civilians become awakened, the more the value of weapons will increase.’

However, what was important now was that the Government was tracking Myung-jun and his group. In such a situation, Ho-Chang wanted to know about Myung-jun’s plan.

“Fine. Mr. Myung-jun, or should I call you the Commander?”

“Are you acknowledging me as the leader?”

“Well, since I’m on this ship, I might as well dedicate myself to it wholeheartedly. Besides, that ability to summon Armed suit I used earlier is essentially a power of a commander, right? So, calling you Commander wouldn’t be unreasonable.”

“Alright. Let me make one promise. As long as none of you betray me first, I will never abandon any of you first. Even if it means facing the entire world’s governments.”

Ho-Chang felt an impulse to kneel, despite it being an unbelievable declaration coming from a young man who had just turned 20. It felt like encountering a lord you could trust and entrust your entire life to, a feeling he had never experienced before. The Myung-jun he was looking at exuded such unique charisma.

‘Could it be compared to a mountain? I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of life he lived to radiate such an aura at his age.’

Perhaps Myung-jun’s true ability was not the absurd hyper-realistic Sci-Fi technology, nor the ability to redefine the world’s order through attribute transformation. Perhaps it was the charisma he exuded. With this thought in mind, Ho-Chang turned to Myung-jun and asked,

“Can I ask the next question?”

“As many as you want.”

“Actually, despite the many information our Commander has already revealed to us, it still seems like he’s withholding something important from us.”

“Why do you think that way?”

“It’s just a hunch. In this line of work, there are times when we end up protecting individuals who are evading the law to flee overseas, people who are hiding from debt collectors, or those being pursued due to grudges. And there’s a commonality among these clients.”

“What’s the commonality?”

“They want to hide information about the beings chasing them. They often hide information to avoid the fear of being refused protection when they openly share everything, or to prevent the cost of the request from becoming excessively high.”

The difference in protection fees between a situation where the target is just a single stalker with a camera and one where there’s a group of nearly a hundred well-prepared organization members armed with sharp knives was naturally significant.

Currently, Ho-Chang’s intuition, developed over years of experience, was telling him that Myung-jun might be hiding something from him.

When Ho-Chang pointed it out, Myung-jun’s expression darkened for the first time. After a moment of contemplation, Myung-jun looked directly at Ho-Chang and spoke.

“Mr. Ho-Chang, you’re more interesting than I anticipated. Yes, to some extent, what you’re saying is correct. And the reason I wanted to conceal that information is not that different from the reasons you mentioned.”

“Are you saying that besides the government agencies you encountered before, there are other entities targeting you and Soo-jeong?”

Looking at Myung-jun nodding without saying a word, Ho-Chang continued.

“Are you saying that there are entities targeting both Mr. Myung-jun and Ms. Soo-jeong, apart from the government agency we encountered back then?”

“That’s correct.”

“Then let me say one more thing. As you mentioned earlier, most clients tend to hide information about the entities targeting them. We always take that into account and prepare accordingly for each request. But sometimes we might think the other side who we though would bring sushi, only to find them showing up with a loaded gun. Or like in this case, when we thought we were dealing with a simple request to monitor someone’s daughter, it turned out to be a crazy government agent wielding superhuman abilities. Isn’t that right, Soo-jeong?”

“Yes.”

“In such situations, did the other side run away when they realized they were dealing with a stronger opponent?”

“No. Mr. Ho-Chang always did his best to protect clients, even when facing opponents, he knew he couldn’t defeat.”

“Exactly.”

Ho-Chang’s voice was filled with a sense of pride, claiming that while he may have failed in certain cases, he had never given up.

“Just as the Commander said, there may be opponents even he can’t handle, and they might threaten our lives. We might face a miserable end due to their overwhelming power. But that’s also my choice. Rather than regretting the results I’ve chosen, I prefer to thoroughly understand the upcoming threats and prepare for them. That’s just my style.”

Myung-jun thought there was logic in what he said. After all, the secret of his ability was something that would eventually need to be revealed, not something that could remain hidden forever. Of course, revealing the truth wouldn’t necessarily mean that Ho-Chang wouldn’t join them anymore, but Myung-jun’s thought was that anyone could betray at any time, given the opportunity.

Ultimately, persuaded by Ho-Chang’s words, Myung-jun decided to take the risk and explain to everyone about the dangers his ability posed.

“Very well. As Mr. Ho-Chang mentioned, we’re already on this ship together. And maybe the reason Awakener who join us are referred to as ‘crew’ by the system has something to do with that.”

“That means…”

“Let me tell you about the part that Mr. Ho-Chang is curious about. I will explain the current situation of the Earth, the enemies we will face, and the ultimate goals we must defeat. But before that explanation, there’s something I’d like to ask Mr. Ho-Chang.”

“Feel free to ask.”

“Mr. Ho-Chang, have you ever encountered a ‘god’?”

Followed by Myung-jun’s explanation, it was the story of the moment he had encountered the ‘goddess’ who had granted him the unique occupation of [Mechanic].

*********

“Finally!”

The dazzling light emitted by the crystal that didn’t seem to belong to this world even at a glance. Myung-jun’s hand reaching out toward it was trembling with excitement. It was a daring gamble to clear a Rank 3 Gate using only the unique perk he obtained from his regression, without even receiving a ‘Class’. In the process of hunting down various monsters and occasionally collecting energy from the crystals, he finally stood before the gigantic boss. Myung-jun couldn’t hide his excitement at the fact that he could obtain a different Class other than the [Blacksmith] for the first time.

What kind of profession would he acquire? In his mind, he imagined various possibilities while he attempted to make contact with the crystal. However, the moment he was about to make contact, he was stopped by a voice that gave him chills, a voice he had never heard before in either his before regression or after.

“Stop right there. If you don’t want to die, stay right where you are.”

The distance between Myung-jun’s fingertip and the crystal was a mere 1 centimeter. However, he realized that his body wasn’t moving at all in response to the voice of the seemingly weak girl. Moreover, he understood that the owner of that voice was most definitely not a human from Earth. He bit his lips to keep them from trembling, and with all his strength, Myung-jun forced out a question to the owner of the voice.

“Who are you?”

“Who are you? Well, well. You seem a bit arrogant. Should I first teach you some manners?”

In an instant, Myung-jun heard a sound like a small girl with an elementary school appearance flicking her tiny fingers. Accompanied by a sound as if thick flesh was bursting due to pressure, Myung-jun’s right leg exploded like a balloon.

Pwaaang!!! –

“Grraaah!”

Even in the midst of the excruciating pain that seemed to obliterate his mind, Myung-jun’s response wasn’t a scream but a counterattack. Even though his legs were targeted by his opponent, Myung-jun silently thanked her in his mind and pulled the trigger of the modified slingshot he held to launch an attack. He gathered the last of his energy, reserved in case of any potential failure that could arise, for an escape through the gate.

Myung-jun’s attack on her might not have been as powerful as his attack on the mud giant, but it had the power to destroy a modern tank weighing about 40 tons in a single blow. However, the special ammunition made of titanium that he and Soo-jeong had designed and fired from the slingshot disintegrated like it had been exposed to the flow of time as soon as it was about to hit the girl’s body.

And as Myung-jun watched in real-time, his face turned into astonishment.

‘How?!’

What surprised Myung-jun was the way she blocked the attack. It was because she possessed a power that could turn titanium, a material known for its ‘non-corrosive’ property and used for artificial joints and other internal parts of the human body, into a pile of dust that rusted in an instant. And to Myung-jun’s knowledge, there were only twelve beings in the universe who possessed such power.

“Twelve Divine Beings?!”

The term “Twelve Divine Beings” came out of Myung-jun’s mouth. It referred to the twelve divine beings, the ultimate bosses of all the events that humanity had to fight until the end to resolve in order to deal with the Gate incident before Myung-jun’s regression. These beings were considered the final challenge, and only twelve of them existed in the entire universe.

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