Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

194 – Preparation

After concluding the meeting, Myung-Jun immediately began working with Soo-Jeong to create equipment to counter the overflow occurring in South Korea. It was clear that facing Banara, who had invaded Earth in a much stronger state than in the Amazon, would be impossible with just the academy personnel, without the Liberal Clan members.

Even though the Awakened instructors at the academy were among the best in the world, Myung-Jun judged that their combined strength alone would not be enough to defeat Banara. However, Myung-Jun had already prepared a secret weapon to confront Banara.

“Is this all the crystals the South Korean government has? They’ve gathered quite a lot,” Soo-Jeong remarked, looking at the pile of crystals that sparkled like jewels.

In front of her was a massive heap of crystals that Myung-Jun had demanded as an advance payment from the South Korean government for handling the overflow.

“This still won’t be enough, so we’ll have to use our own points to cover the shortfall. We already spent a lot of points forcibly summoning the Knights during the infection incident, so we’ll be broke for a while,” Myung-Jun said.

“Let’s hope it’s worth it,” Soo-Jeong replied.

What Myung-Jun intended to do was to unlock the second seal of ‘Cain’s Legacy,’ which he hadn’t touched since the Amazon incident. He believed that if he could obtain something as useful as the Knights, it would greatly aid in resolving the current crisis.

However, upon entering his inner world and checking the sealed door of Cain’s Legacy, Myung-Jun spoke in a disappointed voice.

“I’ve accumulated quite a bit since then, just in case, but it’s still not enough points.”

Despite extracting every last crystal, even the lowest grade, from the South Korean government, Myung-Jun couldn’t gather enough points to break the seal.

Seeing this, Soo-Jeong smiled and spoke to Myung-Jun.

“Really? Then I’ll just use what I’ve accumulated,” Soo-Jeong said.

“What? What do you mean by what you’ve accumulated?” Myung-Jun asked, puzzled.

“Did you forget? A quarter of Liberty City is dedicated to manufacturing alternative fuel using crystals. More than half of the internal combustion engines worldwide now use fuel made in Liberty City instead of oil. Naturally, the revenue from that has been piling up in the clan’s account to an absurd level. Since we don’t have much use for the money, I’ve been converting a portion of it into crystals and materials.”

“How much do you have?”

“About three times the amount the South Korean government scraped together. In fact, even before Liberty City was operational, I had been saving a portion of the profits from equipment sales like a savings account.”

“Wasn’t that saved for emergencies?”

“Yes, but if this isn’t an emergency, then what is?”

With that, Soo-Jeong converted all the accumulated materials into points. Seeing that the points were now sufficient to break the second seal, Myung-Jun held Soo-Jeong’s hand and said, “Thank you. I always seem to be saved by you, senior.”

“No need to be overly grateful. I saved it for times like this. And whatever Cain’s second legacy is, it’s bound to be something incredible, like the Knights. I’m already excited about what equipment we can create with that technology.”

“I hope it’s something that won’t disappoint you, senior.”

With those words, Myung-Jun closed his eyes and focused on his inner world. The massive door he had seen when he unlocked the first seal appeared before him. Embedded in the door were one large, radiant red orb and five gray orbs.

Myung-Jun raised his hand towards the second orb next to the red one. Just like when he unlocked the first legacy, numerous system messages appeared, and a familiar message window popped up before his eyes.

User verification – Succession process complete.

You can now access the Keeper’s Legacy from this moment.

Currently unlocked legacies: Knight Protocol, Aura Metal Process>

What Myung-Jun had hoped for was additional equipment with dramatic performance, similar to what he received when he unlocked the first legacy. However, the second legacy left by Cain was something entirely different from what he expected. It was a facility capable of producing a new material called Aura Metal and blueprints for equipment that could be made using this material. Compared to the first seal, which required nearly twice as many points to unlock, the result seemed disappointingly modest.

“This is…”

The first thing Myung-Jun saw when he opened his eyes was Soo-Jeong’s face, her eyes sparkling with anticipation just like his before he unlocked the seal. As soon as he opened his eyes, she bombarded him with a storm of questions about the second legacy.

“How was it? What did you get? It must be something incredible, right? Blueprints for a new power suit? Or maybe a lightsaber that can cut through anything? A particle gun that disintegrates anything it touches at the atomic level? The plans for a Death Star that can destroy a planet in one shot?”

“Well… it’s this,” Myung-Jun said, summoning a sample of Aura Metal into his palm and showing it to Soo-Jeong.

The shiny metal lump looked so ordinary that it was hard to believe it was the result of investing so many points.

“This is… all?”

“This is… all of it.”

“What is this? Sorry, Myung-Jun, I’m not mad at you, so don’t misunderstand. But do you know how hard it was to gather all those crystals, and this is all we get? Is Cain’s Legacy just a huge deal for the first seal and the rest are all garbage? What exactly is this?”

“Well, it’s called Aura Metal. It’s a metal that responds to the user’s mental waves. What I got from unlocking the second seal is the facility to produce Aura Metal and the blueprints for equipment that can be made using it. The equipment seems to be some sort of operating system rather than weapons…”

Soo-Jeong, who had been venting her frustration, perked up at the word “blueprints.” One of her favorite things was examining the design techniques of equipment not created by her.

She immediately grabbed the Aura Metal from Myung-Jun’s hand and said, “Hmm… I think I need to see the blueprints to determine how valuable this is. So, even though we have a mountain of work to do…”

“You can go to the lab right now. I’ll handle the rest,” Myung-Jun reassured her.

Soo-Jeong, despite her innocent appearance, let out an enthusiastic cheer of “Kkyah-ho!” and disappeared into the subspace. About eight hours later, she returned to her original spot, looking as if she had been through a tremendous shock, and called for Myung-Jun. Beside her was a cylindrical mechanical device with small thrusters attached all around it. However, Myung-Jun was more concerned about Soo-Jeong’s serious state than curious about the new equipment.

“Senior, are you okay?”

“Huh…? Oh, yes, I’m fine.”

“What’s this next to you?”

“Hmm… How should I explain this…? Oh, right. First, I need to say this. Myung-Jun.”

“Yes, Senior.”

“I think Cain is a being beyond our common understanding.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“Both. Remember how I complained before going to the lab? About how we spent so many points just to get this hunk of metal?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“I need to correct that. That hunk of metal is indeed worth every point spent. That ‘mental resonance’ attribute it has is truly extraordinary.”

Saying this, she took a small piece of metal from her pocket and placed it on the table. The metal piece, after countless experiments and development processes, had shrunk to about one-tenth of its original size when she first received it from Myung-Jun. Placing the thumb-sized metal piece on the table, Soo-Jeong smiled at Myung-Jun.

“Watch closely. I’m about to show you some magic.”

As Soo-Jeong stared at the metal piece, it astonishingly began to move on its own across the table.

“It’s moving?”

“Shh. That’s not all.”

Responding to her will, the metal piece not only moved around but also started to change shape. First, it took the form of a small toy soldier, then transformed into something resembling a car, and finally into a bullet-like shape. Watching the metal piece morph as if it were made of liquid, Myung-Jun spoke.

“Could it be that Aura Metal…”

“That’s right. It’s a material that can change its form according to the user’s thoughts.”

Hearing this, Myung-Jun immediately directed his consciousness towards the metal. However, the metal, which had been actively moving just moments ago, completely ignored his thoughts and showed no reaction.

“I know what you’re thinking, but if anyone could control it with their thoughts, it would be a completely useless material. The remarkable aspect of Aura Metal lies precisely in that,” Soo-Jeong explained.

“So, it only responds to the designated user’s thoughts?”

“Exactly. To be precise, a piece of the generated lump must be in contact with the user’s body to be controlled. Right now, I have a part of the sample in the form of a ring, which is why it responds to my commands.”

“Hmm… Can its strength be altered like my Attribute Transformation ability?”

“No, while its form can change, its strength is fixed. Not even your Attribute Transformation ability can alter the strength of this metal. It’s not a single substance but a collection of tiny nanobots at the atomic level.”

“If its strength can’t be adjusted, then it’s not suitable as a weapon material…”

“Of course, you can’t make weapons out of it. But you can integrate it into a weapon’s operating system, allowing you to change the weapon’s trajectory with just your thoughts. In simple terms, it means you can create weapons like the light rings Soo-Bin uses, making them accessible to other Awakeners.”

Soo-Jeong mentioned that while this characteristic was valuable, the true worth of Aura Metal lay in its second attribute.

“If this material only had the first attribute, Cain would have named it something like ‘Psychic Metal.’ But it’s called Aura Metal. The feature that gave it this name defines its core value.”

“What is that attribute?” Myung-Jun asked.

Soo-Jeong paused for a moment, then let out a deep sigh as if to release the fatigue accumulated during her research.

“It’s the ability to amplify and channel the user’s aura. This metal can enhance the user’s aura and direct it with precision. Imagine being able to focus your aura into a weapon or tool, increasing its effectiveness manifold. That’s the true potential of Aura Metal.”

“This metal has the characteristic of enhancing awakener energy according to the user’s will. Just using a weapon with a small amount of this metal mixed in will give it abilities far superior to any equipment we’ve made so far. Essentially, any equipment containing this metal will provide the user with an enhancement greater than any buff. Moreover, just as it’s unaffected by your Attribute Transformation ability, this metal’s inherent properties can ignore the effects of other awakened abilities.”

Myung-Jun was speechless. As a blacksmith who had crafted countless pieces of equipment for awakeners, he immediately recognized the immense value of the material she described. The features of Aura Metal she mentioned held a value several times greater than an army of Knights.

If thoughts alone could convey intentions without the need for complex operations or voice commands, they could create power armor and awakened weapons with performance several times better than current models. Additionally, with the attribute of enhancing the user’s awakened abilities, Aura Metal was akin to the ‘Philosopher’s Stone’ of materials.

‘With equipment made from this metal, we might be able to take down Banara without the Liberal Clan members,’ Myung-Jun thought.

He then turned his gaze to the cylindrical mechanical device beside Soo-Jeong and said, “If what you’re saying is true, then that must be a new weapon using Aura Metal?”

Soo-Jeong smiled and looked at the mechanical device. Without any command, the device’s thrusters ignited, lifting it into the air. It opened its front part, revealing a cylindrical barrel that resembled a gun muzzle.

“That’s right. Without any manual operation, it can fly freely and attack targets at will, just like the funnels in Gundam animations. I’ve decided to call this type of weapon, which I’ll be making from now on, the Mind Spear.”

With a trembling voice, Soo-Jeong uttered the name she had given to this new type of weapon, created using unknown, limitless technology. It was the moment when a completely new type of weapon, never before used by humanity, was named.