Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

146 – Etiquette Lesson

The tests, organized into groups of ten, were being conducted simultaneously across Liberty City to save time.

Among them, three groups were composed of eleven members to accommodate the total of 233 test participants.

While there were non-Awakeners like Lucas among them, most participants were Awakeners with strength surpassing that of ordinary humans, resulting in considerable damage during the testing process.

Apart from infrastructural damage like roads being torn up by powerful attacks or building windows shattering, there were also a significant number of injuries due to the intense, near-real combat tests.

However, all the damage was within the recoverable range meticulously calculated by Soo-jeong. She mobilized a large number of ECVs to repair the damaged buildings and used medical pods within the academy area to treat the injured in real-time, allowing the tests to continue.

During this process, many applicants who had visited Liberty City for the tests and got injured fiercely protested to Lee Soo-bin, who was in charge of managing the injured.

“Is this a normal test!? I almost died for real!”

“Damn it! Are you trying to kill us all!?”

Such protests were understandable.

The purpose of the test was to observe responses in extreme crisis situations, which inevitably led to injuries due to the high difficulty level.

Moreover, one of the evaluation criteria was how calmly one could perform their duties in the face of actual pain, so Soo-jeong had deliberately adjusted the mock monsters’ attack power to a level that would cause ‘barely non-lethal’ injuries.

Naturally, severe injuries like broken bones and ruptured organs were common, and Lee Soo-bin, who was responsible for transporting the injured, ignored the applicants’ complaints with her characteristic sleepy eyes.

“Sorry, but Liberty City is an autonomous region of the Liberal Clan. Protesting to the Japanese government or filing a lawsuit in international court won’t help.”

“Then I’ll file a lawsuit in the court within Liberty City!”

“You must have signed a document stating that injuries during the test are acceptable, right?”

“If I had known those injuries meant my knees would bend backward and my organs would burst, I would never have signed!”

“Oh, stop whining. You got injured because you couldn’t respond properly to the given crisis. If your team had worked together and synergized, you would have finished without any injuries. Why blame us for your inability to fight?”

As the applicants’ protests grew more intense at Soo-bin’s words, her patience finally ran out.

“Ah, forget it. I’ll just knock you all out.”

With that, Soo-bin demonstrated her new technique, recently acquired from the Gate Research Institute in South Korea.

Using her striking halo, she knocked out the applicants by hitting them on the neck.

As her halo flew around and started beating the applicants, dull thuds and screams echoed everywhere.

Soon, no conscious injured applicants remained around her.

“Good. I should have done this from the start.”

Soo-bin then carelessly tossed the injured onto the floating medical stretchers that had followed her and flew off to the medical pod area.

The space, which had been filled with protesting injured applicants just moments ago, was now left in awkward silence.

Only a few applicants, who had come to take care of the injured but were now terrified by her brutal beating, remained speechless.

As the tests for the general applicants concluded amidst their suffering, Myung-jun began the tests for the national representatives who had applied to the academy.

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“Do we have to take the test as well? I heard that since we applied through the allocated TO, we would be automatically accepted.”

The Awakeners who had come to Liberty City representing their respective countries looked at Byung-tae with puzzled expressions when he mentioned starting the test.

Then, Ito Kei, who was standing next to Byung-tae, began to explain with a smile.

“Of course, as you mentioned, you will be automatically granted admission based on the promised TO for each country. However, separate from the entrance test, we need to test your abilities to determine the curriculum and group assignments for the classes that will follow.”

The blonde woman who had just asked Byung-tae a question looked at Kei and said.

“Oh? An elementary school student? Are you also a member of the Liberal Clan?”

“Sorry, but I am also one of the instructors. Please call me Instructor.”

Looking at Kei, who spoke clearly with her big eyes, the blonde woman had an expression as if she wanted to hug her because she was so cute.

Then, Byung-tae, who had a rough appearance, blocked Kei and spoke to the woman.

“Well, you’ve heard the explanation, so let’s start the test right away.”

“What kind of test is it? Surely, you’re not saying we have to form groups and fight against robot monsters like the general applicants, right? I could destroy them all by myself in 5 minutes.”

“Haha. Of course, we know that you are the best talents selected from your respective countries. So, the test will not be the same as the general applicants.”

“Then what kind of test?”

“The best way to verify skills is a 1:1 duel.”

Byung-tae got into the driver’s seat of the sports car he had arrived in with Ito Kei.

Then, with the assistance of auxiliary parts flying in from all directions, the vehicle began to transform into a stylish bipedal robot.

As the transformation completed, the sports car, originally a dark red color, turned into a 3-meter-tall transforming robot, revealing patches of its original color. An applicant, who had been staring at the robot in a daze, muttered.

“That’s really awesome.”

“Don’t be fooled by appearances. The more complex a machine is, the higher the risk of malfunction compared to simpler equipment.”

While the transformation feature provided versatility to respond to various situations, it also had the downside of reduced durability and increased weight due to the numerous components required for the transformation. The blonde girl, who pointed this out, asked Byung-tae.

“Am I right?”

“To some extent. But it doesn’t matter. No matter how weak the durability of my custom equipment, Dog Fight, is, it will be impossible for you to defeat me.”

“Sorry, but it would be better not to underestimate us, even if you are a member of the Liberal Clan.”

As she said this, she extended her right arm, and a giant sniper rifle appeared out of thin air.

The rifle, which looked more like a game item than a real gun, was a deep blue color. At the same time, an exoskeleton that looked like robot parts began to envelop her entire body.

“A custom equipment owner? Judging by the weapon, she seems to be a long-range type.”

“German national representative applicant and owner of the Awakening class ‘Mobile Turret.’ World ranking 43rd, Sophie Müller. I sincerely ask for your guidance.”

Seeing her smile, which carried a hint of mockery as if saying, “What can someone not even in the top 100 world rankings do?” Byung-tae thought to himself.

‘Just as the boss said.’

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“If the purpose of the practical test for general applicants is to assess ‘response ability,’ the purpose of the practical test for national representative applicants is to ‘instill etiquette.'”

At the meeting to select ‘instructors’ for the national representative applicants’ test, Myung-jun addressed the selected instructors.

Then, Arin, who had applied as an instructor for the Seeker class, raised her hand and asked Myung-jun a question.

“Etiquette lesson? Is that necessary? The instructors have much higher world rankings.”

“The problem is that those world rankings are not an accurate measure of actual strength,” Myung-jun explained.

The current ‘Awakener Rankings’ announced by major media were based solely on subjugation records.

The current world rankings compared who had conquered the highest-grade gates among Awakeners worldwide.

And among those who succeeded in conquering the same grade of gate, the rankings were further divided based on the number of subjugations within that gate.

While this was the only way to somewhat objectively measure the abilities of each Awakener without equipment like a scouter, Myung-jun explained that the world rankings themselves did not accurately reflect true abilities.

“For a simple example, let’s look at Byung-tae here. He has focused on transporting goods and personnel within the Liberal Clan, so his world ranking is outside the top 100. Byung-tae.”

“Yes, Boss.”

“If you were to fight Luis Pereira, who is ranked 9th in the world, who do you think would win?”

“In the forest? Or in the city?”

“In the city.”

“Then I would win.”

At that moment, Pereira, who was about to protest Byung-tae’s words, stood up in anger, but Myung-jun glared at him, stopping his actions. He then spoke to Pereira.

“It’s not just Byung-tae who thinks so; I think so too. Mr. Pereira’s Awakening ability is strongest in the forest, but in the middle of a city where the only trees are street trees, his ability is reduced to about 1/10th.”

“But there’s still a difference in ranking…”

“That’s why the ranking is wrong. And most Awakeners, especially those who are confident in their abilities, tend to ignore the rankings. The rankings are not based on actual fights. Even among the national representative applicants, there are probably some who think they can beat Mr. Pereira in the city.”

“Are you saying that even if their ranking is lower, they think they are stronger in an actual fight?”

“Exactly. Especially some Awakeners specialized in interpersonal combat are dissatisfied with their given ranking. Many Awakeners think, ‘That person is just specialized in hunting monsters, but that doesn’t mean I’m weaker than them.'”

“So, that’s why ‘Etiquette lesson’ is necessary?”

“Yes. It’s important to make it clear from the start that they are here to learn and that you, standing in front of them, have enough ability to teach them.”

“So, how do we inject this etiquette?”

Hearing Orleans’s question, Myung-jun responded with a mischievous smile.

“I believe that beating and violence are humanity’s most powerful methods of discipline since prehistoric times.”

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As Myung-jun had said, the Awakeners who had applied here openly showed an attitude of underestimating Instructor Byung-tae.

Although Byung-tae’s equipment looked splendid, they thought that it was separate from actual combat ability or were confident that their abilities were stronger than Byung-tae’s.

This was the same for the national representative applicants being tested elsewhere.

“I’ve always been curious. Just how strong is Mr. Perraudière, who is called the hero of Europe?”

“Since becoming an Awakener, there hasn’t been anything my spear couldn’t pierce. I want to test if Mr. Ho-chang’s defense, known as the world’s strongest tank, is as solid as the rumors say.”

Awakeners who wanted to prove their strength by defeating the instructor in the entrance test and overturn their low rankings began to stand in front of the instructor with their respective custom weapons.

The instructors watching this scene all smiled, recalling what Myung-jun had said.

‘Just keep them alive. As long as they’re alive, we can fully heal them.’

Seeing Byung-tae, who was exuding killing intent as he switched all the weapons on his suit to targeting mode, Kei sighed quietly.

Then, he spoke to the group of applicants who were still looking at him with eyes full of admiration.

“I will be in charge of the Seeker class test. This place is dangerous, so let’s move to the test site.”

As Kei said this, he deliberately brushed past Byung-tae and whispered quietly.

“Byung-tae hyung, make sure to record the fight for me later.”

“Hehehe… That’s what I wanted to say. Watching me beat up these arrogant brats will be just as entertaining as your side.”

“Okay. Let’s exchange recordings later.”

“Deal.”

Sophie Müller, who didn’t understand what they were muttering about, felt displeased.

She was already irritated that they weren’t focusing on her, and seeing the two of them whispering with smiles on their faces made her even more annoyed.

She deliberately pulled the charging handle of her gun hard, making a loud noise.

– Click! –

Byung-tae turned to look at her, and she spoke to him in a voice filled with displeasure.

“It seems like you’re underestimating me, someone ranked 43rd in the world, even though you’re not even in the top 100. Let me make it clear, I am much stronger than my ranking suggests. I only neglected gate subjugations because they were bothersome.”

For a moment, she involuntarily took a step back.

Byung-tae, who had heard her declaration, was looking at her with the happiest smile in the world.

His face bore the smile of a beast eyeing a delicious prey.

“Hehehehe… Then let me make it clear too. You’re not the only one stronger than your ranking.”

As he said this, Byung-tae, as if to repay the sound Sophie had made earlier, loaded all the weapons mounted on Dog Fight at once.

– Click. Click. Click. Whirr. Click. Click. Whirr. Click. Click. Click. Boom. Click. Click. –

Hearing the endless, dreadful sounds that made one wonder just how many weapons were mounted, Sophie unconsciously tightened her grip on her gun.

She steeled herself and muttered inwardly.

‘It’s okay. I’m stronger. At least in long-range combat, I will never lose.’

At the moment she steeled herself, Byung-tae, who had finished preparing the last weapon, spoke to her.

“Shall we begin? The enjoyable and delightful ‘Etiquette lesson’ time?”

Byung-tae’s declaration, filled with anticipation.

It marked the beginning of a brutal training process that would blatantly show why the ‘instructors’ personally selected by Myung-jun were chosen for their positions.

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