Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Chapter 03

Hearing the words from his right hand, Myung-jun spoke towards his palm with a determined expression.

‘Good, Time Keeper. Do I need to make an oath now? While you may think that my power is insignificant in front of powerful being who guard the time, but I am an Awakener with some significance on Earth. I’m capable of providing whatever you need. If it’s something required to go back to the past, I’ll do it. In order to uphold my promise from 34 years ago, and for the sake of the Oath Keeper who risked everything to assist me.’

<Alright. For now, there are certain aspects where our purposes align to some extent. Originally, my existence sealed into five pieces was likely just a playful of destiny, serving as the Guardian of someone else destiny on this star.

If my existence was intact, I’m sure I would have intervened in this situation. So, they must have manipulated destiny to ensure I’m being sealed.>

‘How long were you sealed for?’

<Approximately 10,000 years.>

‘The appearance of Gates and otherworldly entities on Earth began roughly 33 years ago. So, does that mean the Guardian who sealed you calculated events even 10,000 years ahead to seal you?’

<Sorry, but that’s not exactly how it works. To put it simply, a guardian power is more like a collection of desire. Guided by that energy, destiny is automatically reshaped to produce the desired outcome.

What the guardian power probably wanted was to elevate someone on Earth to the level of a Hero or an Overlord. To achieve that, a formidable antagonist was needed, hence the rise of the the Villain.

So, the one under their protection is likely a high-ranking Awakener, possibly among the top Rankers. In the end, that guardian seeks to play with the destiny of countless lives on this planet, by play hero game. Moreover, they are not alone in this attempt.>

‘Not alone, you say?’

<It’s not as if a single Guardian wins wars. Once a war breaks out, countless spirits are born within it.

Unlike Oath Keepers, who value individual beliefs, Guardians of spirits gather in packs, like gangs. And when anomalies occur, they swarm and tear it apart. The Earth, as it stands, is completely submerged in the midst of that flow.

To revert all these changes to the state it was 32 years ago, you’d need a transcendental power of destiny to overpowers every flow of stars.>

‘Where can we find such power?’

<It’s simple,> the Time Keeper replied.

<Use the power of those bastards against them.>

*********

[Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert!]

[All non-combat personnel in the underground, cease all operations immediately and evacuate to the surface shelter!]

[This is not a drill!]

[All non-combat personnel, stop your current tasks and proceed to safety zones on the surface for evacuation!]

The sound of the sirens alone makes people nervous. It was as if the alarms and warning lights were giving a sense raid Korean Gate Response Strategic Research Institute located deep underground, which can be called as the safest place in the world.

Simultaneously, in the hallways where evacuation had been completed, thick barriers made of special alloy began to descend with a metallic sound. It is as if they were trying to stop something that will come out from within

At that moment, in the Situation Room located at the centre of the underground section of the research Institute, administrators were desperately struggling to control the situation, their expressions filled with urgency.

“All personnel in Section 36B have completed evacuation!”

“There is a requestion from Researcher from section 15D if we should escape with research data?”

“If you want to live, leave everything behind!”

“Blocking of all passages from 37th to 14th floors is complete!”

“Disable all surveillance cameras in completed sections.”

“Cameras off? Wasn’t there a situation where the observation subjects in the lowest level escaped? To track its location, we should keep the cameras on…”

“Information about that subject must not be preserved in any data! If you happen to see its appearance, I’ll have to neutralize you for security reasons. So, follow orders without asking questions!”

“Understood!”

“How’s the motion detectors?”

“They are functioning normally, but they can’t identify what’s moving inside. We can only detect movement in certain areas, but should I turn it off?”

“Leave it be. Is there a way to track the current moving target separately? Like distinguishing the movement of the subject that came from below, not the one that came from above.”

“We’ll trace the movement paths of the deployed personnel and mark them in yellow, and the movements of the subject that emerged from below will be marked in red.”

“Status of the specialized barriers?”

“We will display the situation of the barriers currently blocking the expected movement path of the subject on the monitor.”

As the agent typed on the keyboard, the screen switched to a new display. There were numerous thick lines marked with numbers like C-755, forming a maze-like pattern on the surface, some were in green, while others were in red. And at present, the many lines that were once green were rapidly transitioning to fiery red.

“Special barrier made from materials of rank 10 or higher in just 15 seconds?! What in the world was trapped underground…”

“Don’t be curious, and don’t even try to find out. Just think simply. A dangerous subject from underground is attempting to escape above ground. What is the location of the Institute members, including General Moon Hee-cheol?”

“Currently, nearly 20 personnel are approaching the target through a bypass route on the 15th floor underground. Estimated time until contact is 2 minutes. Estimated contact location is the specialized substance research wing on the 25th floor underground.”

“Alright. Then have the available personnel immediately contact the equipment suppliers currently under contract with the research Institute. Once the situation is under control, we’ll need to reinforce the damaged equipment as quickly as possible. Additionally, for the newly installed barriers this time, order them to be custom-made using special materials of rank 11 or higher.”

“All those barriers with rank 11 materials? That sounds like it will consume an enormous amount of resources. Moreover, how much will the final damage be, and even if all the institute members are deployed, is it possible to contain the situation?”

“The situation will be contained. The personnel currently deployed in the underground research wing are, without a doubt, some of the world’s top tier Awakener.”

“The deployed personnel are making contact with the target!”

An anxious voice echoed through the Situation Room.

*********

“HAHAHAHAHA! Die, all of you!”

<You need something living in order to kill, but the entire floor is filled with inanimate object.>

‘That’s true, but seriously, can we really go back to the past like this?’

<If everything goes according to my plan. The flow of destiny that has started moving to hinder you will lend you the power to willingly return to the past. By the way, for a human, you’re quite strong, aren’t you?>

Myung-jun lowered the mini-gun he was holding. The handheld Gatling gun, which had poured out explosive rounds close to 6,000 rounds per minute, was proving its formidable destructive power, as the reddened barrel continued to rotate, demonstrating the immense firepower that had been showcased just moments ago.

-Thump-

“Here goes another ten of billions. The bullets fired now are all special grade, so each shot would cost around 300,000 won.”

As soon as he said that, Myung-jun waved his hand in the air, summoning a massive sniper rifle with a barrel the size of a young child.

Holding it, Myung-jun aimed the barrel towards the special barrier right in front of him.

<Is it some kind of dimensional pocket-like ability?>

‘[Inventory]? It’s different. My ability is [Armory], only equipment I’ve created can be registered into it. When I choose the mass production delivery perk, every time I make a weapon, a prototype weapon gets registered in Armory. I can summon and use those as I wish.’

<So, are you saying that you can freely use rank 12 weapons too?>

‘Not exactly. What I can do is limited to pulling the trigger at best. It’s impossible for me to unleash the skills or potential attached to the weapons. Even though I’m a Master Class, my profession is still that of a blacksmith in the production class. So, I intentionally avoid using swords or bow-type equipment. They don’t really show their true power when I handle them.’

<How about guns then?>

‘As long as you pull the trigger, they fire, so they’re somewhat usable. The main reason my equipment allows non-Awakener to catch these otherworldly entities is that I’ve designed versatile weapons like guns to deal damage to them. Of course.’

As Myung-jun pulled the trigger, a beam of light shot out from the muzzle of the anti-materiel sniper rifle instead of a bullet.

The powerful beam pierced through six heavy-duty special barriers that were impervious even to missiles without leaving a scratch.

Myung-jun pulled back the reloading handle attached to the gun. Then, a cartridge with intricate patterns engraved in it, emitting a faint blue light on its surface, shot out from the cartridge ejection port and fell to the ground.

‘The base firepower itself is on a different dimension from the conventional weaponry humans used.’

<Incredible. With that kind of power, it should be able to deal damage to even a 10th rank entity, right?>

‘Even that is only about a quarter of its original power. If used by an awakened individual with marksmanship abilities, the power could be amplified by four times. Originally, this weapon was custom-made for Zone Volter, the top ranker in marksmanship abilities at 12th rank. While creating custom equipment for the 12th rank, the finished product went to Zone, and the prototypes were registered in my armory.’

<Are you saying that all the weapons you’ve created so far are stored in your pocket dimension?>

‘Half right, half wrong. There’s a limit to the storage capacity of the armory, so most low-rank equipment has been disassembled for materials.’

<So, how many pieces of equipment are left?>

‘About 20,000.’

<An amount that, if you set your mind to it, you could form an army.>

‘But the issue is that even among the registered weapons, I’m mindlessly consuming the highest-ranked ones just to attract attention.

The equipment itself can be reused after recharging, so it’s not an issue, but the real issue lies with the mana stones.

To recharge high-rank weapons, high-rank mana stones are needed, and I don’t have a enough reserve of them.’

<Weren’t you the only person on Earth capable of making rank 12 equipment?>

‘That’s right.’

<But you’re saying you lack Mana Stones?>

‘Ten years ago, in order to escape, I blew up half of the Ministry of National Defense. After that, the amount of materials and Mana Stones I can obtain has been strictly controlled. Given this situation, the mana stones collected now are all secretly accumulated, while evading the surveillance. Still, even though there’s a significant amount beyond what an ordinary person can imagine, it’s not enough to utilize all the equipment in my armory.’

<Plenty of weapons, but a shortage of ammunition.>

‘Correct.’

As the conversation went on, Myung-jun performed five additional shots and then tossed the anti-material sniper rifle he was holding onto the ground. Then, he extended his hand into the air and summoned a new weapon.

Gazing down the corridor with a hole pierced through it, he spoke aloud.

“Still, there’s enough to blow up over half the lab, so don’t worry about running out of ammo. General.”

No response came.

Instead, the sound of military boots walking along the metallic corridor was the answer.

The long corridor that Myung-jun had pierced with the anti-material sniper rifle was amplifying the approaching presence’s footsteps even louder, and Myung-jun stood still in place, thinking that the approaching footfalls were bothering his ears.

Then, the Guardian, taken aback by Myung-jun’s inaction, whispered to him.

<Aren’t you attacking?>

‘I will not.’

Mentally responding so that the opponent wouldn’t hear, Myung-jun added a sentence to help the Guardian understand the situation.

‘Even if I did, it wouldn’t make a difference.’

If people around the world were asked to choose the strongest person among all Awakener, they would probably pick Colonel Oh Jong-myeong or Colonel Park Chan-yook, who are ranked first and second in the rankings.

And if you were an American, you would probably pick [The ParaBellum], the only American among the ‘Five Guys’ who ranks in the top five globally, John Bolter.

And Myung-jun knew the names and abilities of all the rankers listed from first to a thousandth.

He was the one who made each and every weapon they used.

And Myung-jun was absolutely sure who the strongest person among those numerous rankers was.

Even with the public rankings, the fact remains that I, who couldn’t even get into the top ten, was strong to the extent that even if the top twenty highest-ranked Awakener joined forces, they wouldn’t be able to defeat me.

And the reason for this strength ironically lay in the ‘equipment’ that Myung-jun provided.

However, in his current state, he was unarmed, wearing only the military uniform no body armour at all. Despite the opponent’s appearance being almost unarmed, Myung-jun felt an overwhelming pressure as if a massive army was closing in on him.

Amidst this pressure, the opponent opened their mouth, exuding an oppressive aura that felt as if a thousand people were speaking at once, directed at Myung-jun.

“Sergeant Cha Myung-jun. I’m sorry, but for the sake of safety, we’ll have to detain you at this moment. Don’t make any hasty moves. If you do, you’ll experience consequences even more severe than ‘back then’.”

<That…?>

The Time Keeper had not referred to the person in front of Myung-jun as ‘that person’.

The term ‘person’ didn’t seem appropriate, as a strange pressure was emanating from the opponent’s aura, making it feel unfitting to describe them as a human.

Therefore, the Time Keeper referred to the person in front of him as ‘that thing’, as if referring to an object rather than a person.

Upon this, Myung-jun, who completely understood the Time Keeper’s sentiments, mentally told the Keeper.

‘Yeah. That is none other than the existence that erased my presence from the world 34 years ago and is now the director of the Gate Response Strategic Research Institute under the Ministry of National Defense of South Korea. General Moon Hee-cheol.’

<Quite peculiar. Despite not having a single weapon, there’s an ominous aura as if my whole body will shatter the moment I move. How should I put it? It feels like facing not just one person, but an entire army? What on earth could his class be?>

‘A class that can equip its own equipment onto the bodies of other beings to fight in its place.

Furthermore, it’s a class capable of exhibiting extreme abilities based on the level of the possessed equipment.

A class that can single-handedly use hundreds of 12th-rank equipment I’ve created.

And with just a single body, the only class capable of solo clearing a 12th-rank gate,

[Doll Master]

A doll master who manipulates an army of dolls covered with my strongest equipment.

That is the ability of General Moon Hee-cheol, also known as the ‘One-Man Army’, controlling a legion of one.’

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