Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

166 – Pride

Myung-jun’s production-type Awakener class adopted a curriculum that focused on manually processing materials higher than the students’ grades without relying on their Awakener abilities. As a result, high-grade materials worth tens of billions were being discarded at an alarming rate.

Moreover, Myung-jun deliberately selected rare and difficult-to-process materials for the students, as easier materials yielded less experience. This approach led to a daily deficit of hundreds of billions in the training process.

However, this level of deficit did not negatively impact the financial situation of the Liberal Clan. The official opening of Liberty City coincided with the academy’s establishment, and the massive Electricity-based Fuel (E-Fuel) production facility, occupying a quarter of the city, began full-scale operations.

Designed by Soo-jeong, the E-Fuel production facility synthesized eco-friendly fuel by electrolyzing water to produce hydrogen and combining it with carbon dioxide captured from the air. This E-Fuel mimicked the properties of traditional fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel, allowing existing internal combustion engines to operate with zero carbon emissions.

Despite its many advantages, E-Fuel had a critical drawback: the energy required to produce it far exceeded the energy it could generate. Before Liberty City’s E-Fuel production facility, the power consumption to produce fuel for a 100 km drive was seven times that of an electric vehicle for the same distance.

Soo-jeong’s E-Fuel production facility significantly improved the efficiency of the existing system and allowed the use of decision stones as a power source. The facility, designed to cover more than a quarter of the world’s oil consumption, began supplying alternative fuels processed into natural gas, gasoline, diesel, and kerosene to major cities across Japan through pipelines. These fuels were then exported worldwide via port cities like Osaka.

As a result, Japan, which previously had no oil reserves, quickly became the world’s largest supplier of alternative fuels. The massive foreign currency earned from E-Fuel exports provided the Liberal Clan with immense wealth, enough to build several cities of similar scale.

The cost of monster materials consumed in Myung-jun’s production class seemed trivial in comparison. The challenge was that rare materials were difficult to obtain regardless of the amount of money available. However, Myung-jun resolved this issue with a simple solution.

The educational institution ‘Icarus,’ created for Awakener training, did not only have classes that consumed materials. To procure the vast quantities of rare materials needed for the production class, Myung-jun restructured the combat-type Awakeners’ training curriculum to focus entirely on practical combat training.

While one side was turning materials into waste, the other side was ensuring a steady supply of those materials. Thanks to this, Myung-jun, who was in charge of the blacksmith-type Awakener class, and Seung-ho Park, who handled the alchemist-type Awakener class, saw the combat-type classes relentlessly challenge powerful gates, collecting materials and decision stones at a frantic pace.

These were not just any high-grade gates but the purple reinforced gates deemed ‘unconquerable’ by most countries. Clearing two to three reinforced gates daily was no easy feat, even for the world’s most talented Icarus trainees.

However, Liberty City’s medical pods, which could restore even the gravest injuries to their original state as long as the trainees didn’t die, and the custom equipment provided upon enrollment, empowered the trainees to clear these reinforced gates. The trainees, intoxicated by the rapid growth and power, voluntarily plunged into the gates.

For them, the gate-conquering curriculum at Icarus felt like an extreme sport, allowing them to challenge gates far stronger than their abilities without the risk of losing their lives.

“When the Striker was first unveiled, I thought the era of Awakeners leading gate conquests was over. Even the weakest Striker surpassed the combat power of a Grade 4 Awakener. But after joining Icarus, I understand why the captain called the Striker a ‘mass-produced’ unit,” said Luthando Sithole, dispatching an monster charging at him.

Lucas Gauthier, fending off a horde of monsters with a tablet in hand, glanced at Luthando while repositioning a drone on the screen.

“What do you mean? The Striker is still strong.”

“It is strong. The problem is that its strength is limited to the specs of the equipment itself. The Striker can be piloted by non-Awakeners, but it doesn’t get stronger if an Awakener pilots it. As the grade of the Awakener increases, their combat power surpasses that of the Striker.”

Luthando was right. Myung-jun’s Striker was designed to allow non-Awakeners to exhibit combat power beyond that of Awakeners, but it wasn’t structured to utilize the abilities of an Awakener effectively. In the more challenging reinforced gates, this inherent strength was insufficient.

“If we had relied solely on the Striker’s strength and built an army of millions of Strikers, humanity would have faced annihilation by the increasingly powerful gate monsters. Knowing this, the captain focuses on nurturing stronger Awakeners rather than creating stronger Strikers.”

“That sounds like you agree with the captain’s philosophy.”

“I do. Sometimes, it feels like the captain has come from the future.”

The members of the Liberal Clan that Luthando had observed held an almost religious belief in their clan leader, Myung-jun. After witnessing Myung-jun’s actions and decisions at the academy, Luthando found himself wanting to join that group.

In a rapidly changing world, the members of the Liberal Clan seemed to live without any worries about the future, focusing solely on their tasks. For them, Myung-jun’s decisions and judgments were akin to a religious doctrine.

Even when encountering unprecedented forms of monsters in the reinforced gates with the trainees, they would think, ‘The captain will take care of it if we report it.’

When a rapidly growing trainee hit a growth wall and struggled, they would say, ‘Let’s consult the captain. He’ll know what to do.’

Although Myung-jun didn’t handle every task personally, he had an innate talent for knowing exactly who to delegate tasks to in order to achieve the best results. Luthando envied the members of the Liberal Clan for this reason. He knew that to become one of them, he needed to be among the top ten students who had the option to choose their desired clan.

However, even for the exceptionally talented Icarus trainees who had passed rigorous selection exams, achieving a top ten gradeing was no easy feat. Unfortunately, most of the over 200 Icarus trainees, including national representatives and general applicants, shared Luthando’s ambition.

‘No matter what, I must be in the top ten and become a member of the Liberal Clan.’

This was a common goal among the civilian applicants, excluding the national representatives who were required to return to their respective countries after graduation. The hard-hitting curriculum of the Awakener training institution ‘Icarus,’ established by the Liberal Clan, provided ample opportunities to realize such ambitions.

Luthando gazed at the horde of monsters pouring over the ridge with eyes burning with desire. The wave of thousands of monsters, which would have made him scream and flee in terror before joining Icarus, now appeared as mere experience points for his growth.

‘The captain said it. An Awakener’s growth is determined by the magnitude of the crises they face.’

As he bent his knees to charge into the swarm of thousands of reinforced monsters, there was not a trace of fear in Luthando’s eyes. He had reliable comrades by his side, ready to save him the moment he was in danger.

Luthando turned to his most trusted friend and comrade, Lucas Gauthier, who had survived countless life-threatening situations with him.

“Lucas.”

“What?”

“Let’s do that thing we did last time.”

“The thing where we barely survived with our lives?!”

“But we grew tremendously because of it. Have you ever read Dragon Ball?”

“You mean the Japanese manga Dragon Ball?”

“Yeah. The Saiyan Vegeta gets stronger every time he recovers from near-fatal injuries. Right now, I’m that damn Vegeta. And we have medical support that can heal all our wounds like Senzu Beans, don’t we?”

“Luthando, that’s only good for a few times. Do you know what the medical team said when I brought you back last time, all torn up? They asked if you had a death wish. How many times do you plan to cheat death?”

“How many times, huh…”

Luthando turned his head to the left. There, he saw Edward Taylor, an Attacker from the Liberal Clan, roasting monsters several times stronger than those charging at Luthando with his blazing spear.

Seeing this, Lucas turned his head in the same direction and exclaimed in horror, “No way, that’s insane. The members of the Liberal Clan are monsters!”

“To become a comrade of monsters, I must become a monster myself. For that, I’m willing to risk my life as many times as it takes.”

“Damn it. This time, I might really die. No matter how much your defense has improved since last time, my attack power has also increased significantly.”

“Good. It wouldn’t be bad to see whose growth rate is faster.”

As Luthando clenched his fist, the protective glove on his hand slid forward. The red protective gear encasing his fist reflected a nearly transparent black light, the result of Masashi’s successful processing of the Grade 5 material, ‘Abatorodon’s Shell.’

“What’s that, new gear?”

“It’s from the production class. I got it from Fujiwara Masashi, an Awakener in the production class.”

Lucas was familiar with the name Masashi. Despite entering Icarus with a lower grade than Reinhardt, the highest-graded production-type student of this cohort, Masashi had quickly achieved Grade 5 and was now challenging Grade 6 materials. Lucas wondered how his friend had managed to obtain equipment made by Masashi, which was highly coveted by both general and national representatives.

“I promised him three pieces of Grade 6 rare materials in exchange.”

“But you don’t have any Grade 6 materials right now.”

“I’ll earn them. Consider it an investment. So back me up with everything you’ve got. If we mess up, your team’s best tank might end up in debt.”

Lucas gave a wry smile as he watched Luthando’s fiery determination. He then touched the tablet he was holding and said, “I’m glad our main tank has acquired new gear that’s hard for others to get, but next time, consult with us before making promises. Your promises are as good as the whole team’s promises.”

Suddenly, Lucas’s fingers moved swiftly across the tablet. Simultaneously, numerous metal parts that looked like pieces of armor flew out from the massive metal backpack strapped to his back. Each part was encased in a slightly transparent material with a faint black hue.

Seeing this, Luthando looked at Lucas in disbelief and said, “Don’t tell me…”

“What? Why? Great minds think alike.”

“How much did you promise for all that?”

“Twelve pieces of Grade 6 material.”

“Damn.”

“I originally planned to repay it myself, but now we’ll do it together. After all, my strength is our team’s strength.”

“You’re a crazy bastard, but I can’t blame you. That gear is ultimately for me, right?”

“Exactly.”

As Lucas pointed his finger at Luthando, the power armor parts floating in the air ignited and flew towards Luthando. With a series of mechanical sounds, Luthando’s form transformed into a massive steel knight.

“Is this another Knights module?”

“It’s similar but different. If the module we used during the entrance test was Mark 1, this is more like Mark 3 in terms of performance. Every major part of the armor, except for the drive unit, is made from Grade 5 materials processed by Masashi. And they’re all handcrafted.”

Watching the enormous flames erupt from Luthando’s boot, shaped like a horseshoe, Lucas shouted, “Go, Luthando! Turn those damn meat chunks into hamburgers!”

With a tremendous roar, Luthando’s black-clad form shot towards the monsters like a cannonball. He created a river of corpses from the horde of massive monsters, which easily numbered in the hundreds.

It wasn’t a metaphorical or symbolic ‘like a cannonball’—it was a literal, physically overwhelming charge that surpassed the impact of a cannonball.