Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 55

055 – You’re not ready yet.

In gate strategy, what is the most advantageous ability? Is it the ability to withstand any attack and not die, or is it explosive firepower that can melt even the boss with a single shot?

In response to Ho-Chang’s question during training, Myung-jun answered as follows:

“Assuming that you have the minimum firepower required for boss tactics, the advantageous order of names for gate strategy is as follows. The first is the ability to eliminate numerous different monsters spread over a wide area in a short period of time with a wide-area attack ability. The second is the ability to secure a safe resting space during combat when such an ability is not available. The third is the long-range attack ability that allows sustained combat without stamina consumption, even without the first two abilities.”

Gate strategy is a global war where you have to fight hundreds to thousands of different monsters. And it’s not just simple monsters, it’s creatures with durability and armor capable of deflecting tank shells, and claws that can tear through tank armor. Moreover, this tendency becomes more extreme as the gate’s rank increases.

“In extreme cases, some gates may require hundreds of personnel for tactics, and it may take several months to clear the gate. Just like monster types vary for each gate, the gate clearing conditions also become more diverse as the rank increases.”

“So, what’s the worst among them?”

In response to Ho-Chang’s question, Myung-jun recalled his pre-rebirth memories.

He hadn’t seen them directly, but he had seen numerous books and combat reports while making equipment.

As Myung-jun, who had made almost all the equipment of top rankers worldwide by himself, he knew all the information about various types of gates and monsters that occurred before his rebirth. And in those memories, Myung-jun could recall a particular type of gate that was described in the most terrifying manner.

“The worst is the Survival Type.”

“Survival Type?”

“The gate clearing condition is to survive for a specific amount of time.”

“Oh, that actually seems easier, doesn’t it? Just build a base and defend until you die, right? There’s a saying like that, right? The attacker must have three times the forces compared to the defender.”

“The problem is that the enemy’s numbers are dozens or even hundreds of times more than ours. Moreover, in the case of the Survival Type, although the number of monsters attacking at once is predetermined, there is no limit to the number of attacks. Unfortunately, you could be attacked 24 times every hour at 1-hour intervals for 24 hours straight.”

“It sounds terrible.”

“That’s why, as soon as you enter the gate and see the Survival Type warning, you should build the defense line as sturdy as possible and divide the team into three parts. Two teams for defense and one team for rest, changing shifts every 8 hours. Or, while two teams defend the base, one team searches and eliminates the gate boss on a detour strategy. Neither of them is an easy task.”

“If the leader were to face such a situation…”

“I would simply summon turrets to create a defensive line and advance in a straight line across the entire area with a wide-area attack towards the direction of the boss. Frankly, I could probably clear it on my own.”

“Then I…”

“Don’t even dream about it, Ho-Chang.”

Unfortunately, even among awakeners, there was a significant difference in rank depending on the type of ability.

Some gates may seem impossible to clear for some, while others may clear them too easily.

In the world before the regression, the reason [Doll Master], Moon Hee-cheol’s ability, was considered a top-tier ability was precisely for this reason.

The ability to consume one’s own stamina by directly moving the body and fighting and the ability to remain still and have other means fight instead.

Myung-jun and Hee-cheol’s abilities could clearly be classified under the latter.

“Mr. Ho-Chang! It’s impossible anymore!”

Ho-Chang, who was reminiscing about his conversation with Myung-jun, snapped out of it at the shout in his ear and looked ahead. There, EDF Gate Strategy Team 5 members, who were desperately blocking the onslaught of monsters with a defense line as instructed by Ho-Chang, were present.

“Don’t come! Don’t come!”

James Gunner, the team leader, summoned numerous chains, which were blocking the monsters like a net, and Lena Dunham, a lighting user, was madly firing lighting toward the clustered monsters. Robert, a weapons specialist, had thrown his beloved Colt Python to the ground and was wildly firing an XM7 in his hand. And Earl Brown, the last member of Team 5 participating in today’s strategy, was crossing a pile of corpses and wielding a great sword to cut down the monsters that crossed the final defense line.

However, even with the defense formation designed to make the most of their abilities, it was impossible to block the powerful monsters of a Rank 3 gate. The bunch of chains that James had summoned was constantly breaking in front of the monsters’ claws, Lena’s lighting were unable to penetrate the monsters’ thick skin, and most of the bullets Robert had fired, except for a few, failed to penetrate the thick armor of the monsters.

Only Earl Brown’s great sword, which was wielded like a maniac, was steadily reducing the number of monsters, but his great sword’s movements had significantly dulled since the start of the battle.

‘This won’t work. They’re not utilizing their abilities at all.’

Finally, Ho-Chang decided that reorganization was necessary and relied on his power armor. Then, like a giant wrecking ball, he rushed in a straight line toward the swarm of monsters with his shoulders forward.

“Rrraaah!”

– Bang, bang, bang! –

The monsters flew in all directions as if a leather drum had burst open, and Robert lowered the gun he was holding.

The monsters who had been repelling his bullets, which had the power to penetrate tank armor, like feathers until now, burst like water balloons as soon as they came into contact with Ho-Chang’s power armor.

But Ho-Chang’s attack did not end there. Deliberately going into the midst of the monsters, he began to attack all the surrounding monsters one after another, as if playing with his power armor, which was fluttering like fins.

– Boom! –

– Kwaaang! –

– Kwaaargh! –

One by one with punches, sometimes on the side, sometimes targeting the forehead. The moment Ho-Chang’s attack made contact, the monsters’ sturdy bodies burst like balloons with a huge shockwave that seemed to ripple the space. And it all happened at an extremely fast speed, making it hard to follow with the naked eye.

Ho-Chang’s attack style was a unique one created by combining Myung-jun’s advice and Soo-jeong’s upgrade, along with Ho-Chang’s own skills.

– Kwaaang! –

Watching another different monster burst, James, with an astonished expression, said to Robert, “What is this incredible attack power? It seems to completely ignore defense, doesn’t it?”

Ho-Chang, who had showcased a different level of combat power, took only 2 minutes to clear out the monsters that all five team members had struggled to block.

Then, covered in bits of flesh and blood, Ho-Chang approached James and the others.

“In the case, there should be metal cartridges shaped like small gas tanks. Please hand them over.”

When Lena placed her hand on the large metal case that Ho-Chang had brought when entering the gate, the box opened wide with a sound reminiscent of a robot transforming, showing capsules with “Decontamination Cartridge” written on them. When Ho-Chang connected it to the side of his powered suit, liquid was drawn in with a sound, and small protrusions appeared from various parts of Ho-Chang’s powered suit.

“Step back.”

Immediately, like car windshield washer fluid, decontamination detergent sprayed out from Ho-Chang’s entire body and began washing away the contaminants on the power armor. After a while, Ho-Chang, who returned in a clean state, began speaking to the five team members.

“There will probably be a change in the attack pattern next time, so you might have some spare time. Let’s try to fix the problematic parts in the use of your abilities. The most problematic part is Mr. James’s ability, as the team leader.”

“Me? Is there something wrong with my ability?”

James, who had never thought his own ability would be pointed out first, asked in a loud voice. Ho-Chang began explaining.

“The way you use the chains is too inefficient.”

Based on Ho-Chang’s observations, James’s chains were a skill that allowed for the adjustment of the thickness, length, quantity, and strength of the chains within a desired range.

By shortening the length of the chains, you can increase their strength and the number of chains. However, James was simply using the method of summoning several long chains.

“If you shorten the length of the chains, couldn’t you increase the strength and the number of them?”

“That’s true, but if they’re too short, they won’t be of any help in battle.”

“That’s where you went wrong. You don’t have to hit the wall with chains all the time just to block the enemy.”

Ho-Chang explained. No matter how strange monsters were, they were ultimately just a four-legged beast. Therefore, if you destroyed their feet, you could easily block the opponent. Ho-Chang said that it would be easier to block the enemy by timing it just right to grab the ankles of the monsters, rather than summoning long chains.

“In one of the traditional Japanese martial arts, Aikido, it’s said that you can suppress your opponent by just grabbing one finger. The key is where the opponent’s center of gravity is. If you aim for that, no matter how large the opponent is, you can easily defeat them with a single short chain.”

Ho-Chang also pointed out the attack styles of the other team members.

“Mr. Robert’s ability was to increase the power of the firearms he used, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“However, in the end, that depended on the basic performance of the weapons he carried, so to increase firepower, he needs to use heavy weapons. In addition, such weapons are usually subject to ammunition weight restrictions. Mr. Robert should use means to increase firepower while using light ammunition.”

“For example…?”

“It means using penetrating rounds that focus on penetration and driving iron stakes into the monsters’ bodies. Then, Lena can use those iron stakes like a lightning rod to fire lightning bolt.”

“You’re talking about coordinating abilities, aren’t you? That method would indeed allow both of you to make the most of your firepower.”

“Lena seems to shoot lightning bolt from her fingertips. So, try to practice summoning lightning bolt from the air, if possible. The best way is to directly insert lightning bolt into the brains or spinal cords of the monsters.”

“Huh? Is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but it wouldn’t hurt to try. If it’s possible, instead of forcibly extracting a million volts from your fingertips, you can effectively paralyze the monsters with a battery-level weak current.”

Upon hearing Ho-Chang’s words, Lena looked at her palm. Then, clenching her fist, she said to Ho-Chang.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Finally, Mr. Brown…”

When Brown, who had finally come to his turn, looked at Ho-Chang with sparkling eyes, Ho-Chang thought for a moment and then spoke to him.

“Let’s get you trained on how to handle a greatsword. Mr. Brown, your ability is powerful, but currently, you’re using the greatsword like a child would swing a butter knife. If Mr. Brown becomes more proficient with the sword, he will become that much stronger.”

As the five team members listened to Ho-Chang’s specific advice, they imagined their strengthened selves in their minds. Then, they spoke to Ho-Chang.

“If we master the things you mentioned, can we become as strong as you?”

In James’s expression that Ho-Chang observed, sadness was evident. It was the sorrow of a destiny that could once again go its separate ways due to the hierarchy of abilities, even after breaking through the odds and awakening.

It was a facial expression that evoked his past when he underwent Myung-jun’s hellish training.

“Everyone seems to misunderstand. I wasn’t strong from the beginning.”

“What?!”

“Even though you’re so strong?”

“Well, I might look that way now, but in the early days right after my awakening, my ability was truly nothing more than defense. I was certain I wouldn’t die, but on the other hand, I had an incomplete ability that couldn’t annihilate the enemy.”

“But now, Mr. Ho-Chang, you can blow up monsters with just a single punch, can’t you?”

“It’s the result of pure effort.” Ho-Chang said.

Originally, his ability was to instinctively grasp the vulnerable points of attacking opponents and disrupt their attacks. However, he was trained by Myung-jun to use his ability in the opposite way.

“My original way of attacking was to strike the weak points of the opponent with the least force possible. Seeing that, the leader of our clan said this, ‘If you can identify the parts to strike with the least force, you can also identify the parts to strike with the most force.’ He said that this point is where you can deal the maximum damage to the opponent.”

Hitting the upper part of a see-saw won’t make it move. But if you hit the lower part with the center of gravity, the see-saw won’t absorb the shock and will fly far away from its original position.

If you apply an even stronger shock at a faster speed, it can explode completely.

What Myung-jun demanded from Ho-Chang was precisely that.

“Remember, Mr. Ho-Chang is not an ordinary person, he’s an awakener. That means he can deliver damage that is impossible by common sense with a power beyond human. If we secure the necessary power, then striking the part with the center of gravity removed will cause the most damage.”

While Myung-jun proposed the ‘method’ of attack, Soo-jeong supplemented the insufficient ‘power.’

After Soo-jeong completed the fist upgrade parts attached to Ho-Chang’s power armor, she explained the modified parts.

“The new gloves, the ‘Impact Fists’, have a railgun that operates with superconductive magnets inside. It doesn’t actually fire bullets, but at the exact moment of impact, it delivers a high-speed blow to the wrist using internal weights. In other words, when Mr. Ho-Chang’s fist reaches the opponent, it simultaneously strikes the opponent from behind, like a sledgehammer.”

The result was a powerful shockwave that could blast the different monster’s body apart with a single punch.

And thanks to this method, Ho-Chang could achieve not only the ultimate defense but also the ultimate offense.

“Of course, even with all this support, ultimately, it’s me who uses this ability. If the center of gravity is off by a little bit, the damage sharply decreases, and if the timing is wrong, the enemy doesn’t explode, instead, they might fly to the opposite side. I practiced countless times through actual combat until I could create shockwaves in every attack. And I made the new ‘ability’, which had been just an idea, my own.”

‘Even seemingly bad abilities can become stronger depending on how they’re used.’

Myung-jun often used to say that what limits an awakener’s ability is not the ability itself but the awakener.

The limit of the ability is decided when you think that this is all you can do.

However, Myung-jun also pointed out that merely imagining the limits of the ability is not enough; it requires effort to make that imagination a reality.

Now, like gold and jewels, Ho-Chang, who was following Myung-jun’s words, said to the five team members in front of him.

“Of course, it’s tough. Your life may be at risk, or you may really suffer and not acquire the ability you want. Or maybe a completely different ability may manifest. But one thing I can certainly promise is that the harder you work, the more you will be rewarded.”

In response to this, James spoke to Ho-Chang with a determined expression.

“Alright, I’ll do it.”

“Me too.”

“I’m in.”

“Tell us what we need to do. No matter how hard it is, we will definitely overcome it.”

Hearing everyone’s determination, Ho-Chang got up from his seat.

Then, he spoke to the EDF 5th team members looking at him.

“Then let’s get started. The timing is right, after all.”

“Timing?”

“I mean the timing for the next assault.”

Saying this, Ho-Chang was reminiscing about the ‘hellish’ training he had experienced in the past and was smiling slightly.

“After all, nothing beats real-world training.”

Although Ho-Chang spoke with a warm voice, those words sounded like an auditory hallucination in the ears of the 5th team members, as if saying, ‘I can’t do it alone.’

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