Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

027 – Bang!

Soo-jeong ran toward the target location at the maximum speed she could achieve. Enduring the sharp pain with each step and suppressing the rising urge to curse from within. Running forward in this way, she still didn’t know the exact location of the gate that Myung-jun had entered. However, with her superhuman concentration, she followed the leftover of battle that Myung-jun had left behind, scanning the route that seemed to have the highest possibility.

‘It seems a branch is broken over there. Judging by the sap dripping, the branch must have been broken tonight.’

The leftover of battles spread all around. The wounds on the trees made by the slingshot Myung-jun had created were evident. In the narrow field of vision that was not well-visible in the darkness, she relied on the faint sense of unfamiliarity to trace Myung-jun’s hunting route.

‘He caught quite a lot.’

As she became increasingly confident that she was heading in the right direction, a sense of relief began to settle in her heart little by little. And at that moment, a sharp pain pierced through her thigh.

“Ahhhhh!!”

Soo-jeong, who had been running, fell forward while holding her thigh where the pain struck. She quickly grabbed her left thigh, where the pain was, and looked back urgently. However, she couldn’t sense any presence of the being that had attacked her.

“Where the hell…?”

Considering the possibility of long-range sniping, she soon dismissed it. The densely packed trees would make it impossible to snipe her from a distance in this limited field of view.

However, no matter how she examined the situation, she couldn’t find the opponent who had thrown the dagger that pierced her thigh. She started checking her own condition by inspecting the weapon that had penetrated her while passing through her thigh.

“For now, I need to stop the bleeding and buy some time.”

Without even knowing the identity or location of her opponent, and in a situation where she was clueless about the distance between them, Soo-jeong desperately spun her mind. And then she concluded that the attacker was using some kind of ability.

‘In a forest like this, they might have come tracking me in camouflage like Ghillie suite, but if that were the case, there should have been some noise. And it’s not like something got stuck in my thigh, the part with the thickest muscle in the body. It would have taken incredible speed to throw a needle through there using a metal dart. It’s not a move that can be done with just a light gesture. Then, what’s left is…’

“I never expected an Invisibility awakener to be tracking me. I’m sorry, but if you’re going to kill me anyway, could you at least show me the face of the person who wants to kill me? Will you reveal your identity?”

Then, in the middle of the forest where she was clearly watching, as if a hologram was revealing itself, a human figure appeared.

The figure that appeared in such a manner was surprisingly a slender woman in a striking white bodysuit.

“That’s fascinating. How did you find out that I’m an awakener?”

“Even humans have their limits in concealing their bodies. Abilities that can explain things beyond the scope of logical explanation can only be attributed to abilities.”

“What I’m curious about is how an ordinary civilian like you knows about the existence of abilities.”

“If I answer, will you spare my life?”

“Sure. I have a few questions as well, so I’ll spare you if you answer.”

That’s what she said, but Soo-jeong was well aware that after hearing all the responses, the woman was intending to kill her. And the opponent also knew very well that Soo-jeong’s intention was just to buy time with conversation. Despite this, the fact that she revealed herself in front of Soo-jeong was due to her absolute confidence in her ability.

‘No matter what cards she holds, she can’t beat my ability to conceal.’

The woman, who had come to this conclusion, looked down at Soo-jeong who had stopped the bleeding and asked,

“The pain must be severe, but you seem calmer than expected, especially for a girl your age. Are you from a military background, perhaps?”

“I’ve simply trained myself to handle situations like this. Of course, I haven’t practiced enduring pain to this extent.”

Soo-jeong’s words were indeed true. During the process of planning with Myung-jun, she had separately studied emergency treatment methods to deal with potential injuries. As a result, she had acquired a decent level of emergency treatment skills, even capable of basic suturing.

“Next question. Why did you come into this forest?”

“As an Awakener, you must know about awakening methods. I came to this forest for my boyfriend’s awakening.”

“How did your boyfriend learn about awakening?”

“He said he learned about it while participating in a special form reconnaissance operation during his military service.”

“Hmm… So does that mean your boyfriend isn’t an Awakener yet?”

“According to what I know.”

‘This is strange. If he hasn’t awakener yet, why did the commander instruct us to secure Myung-jun’s body secretly? How did they know what ability would manifest?’

Observing the attacker’s state of confusion, Soo-jeong inwardly cheered. However, the attacker’s dilemma didn’t last as long as Soo-jeong had hoped. Rather than dealing with problems that had no clear solutions was much more comfortable for her by simply obeying orders.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Last question. You may or may not know, but in order to become an Awakener, you have to make contact with a special crystal inside this monster’s body. However, I’ve discovered a significant number of battle remnants up to this point. This implies that your boyfriend might have awakened already. But why isn’t there a single crystal shard?”

“Well, because the ultimate goal isn’t awakening.”

“What do you mean?”

“My boyfriend’s goal isn’t just capturing that monster to awaken. The purpose is to find the gate that is expected to be nearby and clear it. So right now, he’s probably fighting inside the gate.”

“What?!!? Are you talking about?”

The attacker woman exclaimed loudly in an instant. As someone who had seen many strong Awakener fail to clear gates, Soo-jeong’s words sounded like suicidal thoughts to her.

“Based on your expression, you seem convinced that your boyfriend was sent into the gate. I’m sorry, but if that’s true, your boyfriend is probably dead. Even if he managed to capture the monster outside the gate and awakened an incredibly powerful ability, to develop that ability, he would have to hunt creatures around here that are beyond comparison. Even my senior who hunted over 100 monsters outside couldn’t clear the gate and return. So, your boyfriend, who has probably just awakened his ability, would likely have died as soon as he entered.”

The attacker continued, looking at Soo-jeong with an almost pitying expression, despite the fact that Soo-jeong could see the disbelief in her eyes.

“Even after hearing that, you don’t seem shaken?”

“Well, I trust my boyfriend. It hasn’t been long since we met, but in that short time, I’ve seen that Myung-jun is someone who does what he says he will. And someone who will never break a promise. So, he will definitely clear the gate and come back. And he will defeat you and your colleagues.”

“I’m sorry, but before that, he’ll probably be crying over his girlfriend’s lifeless body.”

“In the end you didn’t intend to spare me even If I answered all your questions.”

“Didn’t you expect this? Yet, you answered my questions to buy time, knowing that. We both used each other. And as a result, only your death remains. Don’t blame me. After all, this is all about following orders.”

The woman in the suit said as she pulled a long needle from her thigh.

“With the next attack, I’ll pierce through your heart without much pain. So that you can go to your destination comfortably.”

Even in the face of death, Soo-jeong was still defiantly looking at the executioner in front of her with shimmering eyes. No, a small smile was actually playing at the corners of her lips. Like a victorious smile that suits someone who senses victory. Without hiding her smile, Soo-jeong spoke into the empty space behind her,

“Did you hear? They probably had no intention of sparing you in the first place. So, there’s probably no need for us to show any mercy here. What do you think?”

In that moment, the woman in the white suit suddenly solidified her expression and tumbled backwards. In the place she had vacated, a gunshot and a bullet whizzed through the air.

“That’s right. If they’re coming out like that over there, there’s no need for us to be merciful here either. While their side seems to be driven by orders, our side strictly follows business decisions.”

The expression of the woman in the suit twisted upon hearing the voice. The bullet had clearly come from the left, yet the voice of the young man had come from the front. Suspicious of the presence of another accomplice, the man who appeared in a burst of agility, not letting her guard down, spoke to her in a stammer.

“In a dire situation where the heroine is in crisis, the protagonist appears coolly.”

In response, Soo-jeong smiled and addressed Myung-jun.

“In comics, the heroine usually gets saved just before a bullet pierces her thigh.”

“But I’ll make sure revenge is much harsher than in comics.”

“If that’s the deal, then I’m fine with it.”

“In that case, I’m about to kill you. Since a little while ago, you were trying to kill senior, weren’t you? So, you wouldn’t feel unjustified, right?”

“While you don’t seem like an Awakener, did you hide an accomplice nearby? Showing too much confidence isn’t a good idea. There’s nothing more embarrassing than appearing cool and then losing miserably.”

“Well, I might not look like an Awakener?”

“I don’t know since I’m not an Awakener myself, but Awakener can sense each other’s presence. You can’t see them, but you can feel their strength through an overwhelming feeling, even though it’s not visible. And you don’t seem strong at all.”

“Perhaps that’s because I’m an Awakener with a production ability.”

Surprised, Soo-jeong asked Myung-jun.

“What? You’re not a combat type?”

“It doesn’t matter. Although I have a production ability, I’ve gained an ability that can easily overpower most combat types.”

“Then what if it’s not an ordinary ability?”

In an instant, the woman who had been standing right in front of them seemed to waver like a mirage and disappeared into thin air. Then, a deep voice echoed from a completely different location.

“My awakened ability is [Invisibility]. Its level is beyond techniques like optical camouflage or camouflage patterns to deceive the eyes. It’s a different dimension of invisibility. Humans can never find me with their eyes. And that goes for the eyes of your accomplice too. Can you block a lethal attack that comes from an invisible place using your [Production] ability? I propose a deal. Our goal is to capture you, Myung-jun. So, I won’t kill you. If you surrender quietly, I’ll spare you any pain.”

“What about senior?”

“I can’t. There were orders from above to kill all of you.”

“What if I said that if you hurt her, I will commit suicide?”

“Do you think knocking you out would be difficult for me?”

But even in the face of such a threat, Myung-jun’s expression remained relaxed. It was as if the magic like ability of invisibility meant nothing to him. Myung-jun addressed Soo-jeong.

“Senior, can you see?”

“No. It’s called an ‘ability,’ and I was wondering just how amazing it was. Now that you mention it, it’s worthy of being called an ability. It’s a level of invisibility that modern science can’t reproduce.”

“As a senior, haven’t you developed something like a stealth suit?”

“That involves bending emitted laser beams to distort their accurate form or implementing technology like displays attached to the surface to reproduce the image from the opposite side. It’s not a technology that can make you completely invisible like that. It actually seems like magic. I wonder about the principles?”

“Hmm… But senior, do you know? That ability has a fatal weakness.”

“What is it?”

“Although it allows the passage of light, it doesn’t let ultraviolet light pass through. Of course, if that person’s level is higher, I’m not sure, but at the current level, it seems they haven’t reached that point. I can detect her accurately with my summoned [Turret].”

“Darn it!”

In an instant, the hidden woman’s form rippled like a mirage and a gunshot echoed through the air, along with a bullet. The woman hit by the bullet screamed and fell to the ground.

“Aaahhh!”

“I thought being hit by a bullet would cancel the invisibility, but I can’t see any blood. If it weren’t for the scream, I wouldn’t have known I hit her.”

At that moment, the turret summoned by Myung-jun started aiming at a distant point by turning its barrel. This was evidence that the fallen assailant had begun to flee, avoiding Myung-jun’s attack.

‘I need to escape the detection range for now.’

She had her own calculations. As far as she knew, summoning abilities had a fatal weakness: summoning distance. Although Myung-jun’s ability could counter her own, it only mattered as long as they were within the turret’s firing range. Considering that Myung-jun had only recently developed his ability, she judged that the distance at which Myung-jun could summon the turret would likely be no more than 100 meters.

However, even though Myung-jun was aware of her escape, he paid no attention to it. In fact, he was more focused on extracting disinfectant from a vial and applying it to Soo-jeong’s wounds.

“Do you really not need to chase after her?”

“It’s okay. She’s probably trying to escape beyond the turret’s summoning range.”

“But isn’t that risky?”

“Well, if I’ve awakened as an Awakener who capture Rank 1 to Rank 2 monsters, then my initial level would be low as an Awakener. The summoning range would probably be limited to around a radius of 100 meters. The problem is, before I gained this ability, I had already caught dozens of Rank 3 monsters. I even defeated a Gate Boss close to Rank 5. That accumulated experience remained intact until I awakened.”

“So, you mean…”

“Yes, you got it.”

Myung-jun grinned.

“At the moment, my level is 37, and the deployable range for summoning is over 1 km.”

Suddenly, from the other side of the forest, the sound of dozens of turrets rotating simultaneously could be heard. The chilling sound of dreadful reloading accompanied it, followed by the continuous sound of a machine gun. Hearing this, Soo-jeong could only think to herself: Even if it were an stealth grandmaster coming, the assailant from earlier would end up as minced meat, without a doubt.

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