Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense - Chapter 81

081 – New Member Benefits

“…Ah, and if you have the materials, you can also replicate specific item using crystal point. For example…”

Soo-jeong manipulated the tablet and spoke while scanning through recent replication records.

“Most recently, Mr. Byung-tae replicated a 1926 vintage Macallan Michael Dylan, which was valued at 1.7 billion in an auction.”

Upon hearing this, Taylor looked at Byung-tae with an astonished expression.

“Wait. Byung-tae, didn’t you sell that to me for 2.3 billion just a while ago…?”

“Darn it. Did I get caught?”

“Caught? No, didn’t you sell the replicated item at a higher price than the original?!”

“Didn’t you hear what Soo-jeong said? It’s exactly the same as the original, right?”

“The problem is selling it for three times the price!”

At that moment, Myung-jun raised his hand, interrupting Taylor, and spoke to Byung-tae.

“Is it true?”

“Well, but…”

“Please return the money. Why would a wealthy person like you do such a thing?”

“It was so amusing to see him enjoy it without knowing it was a replica…”

“No wonder why someone who only drinks soju suddenly bought expensive whiskey.”

“Hey, there’s still a lot to explain, right?”

When Soo-jeong spoke with a slightly strained voice, everyone fell silent.

And then, Soo-jeong’s explanation that had started 30 minutes ago continued.

Finally, when her explanation ended, Taylor, overwhelmed by the numerous merits, diligently summarized what she had heard.

“So, summarizing, by becoming a leader’s subordinate, I can use a medical capsule that can heal incurable diseases even in a dying state within a month, replicate whiskey worth tens of billions as long as I have the original, store equipment developed by Miss Soo-jeong in a separate space and retrieve it from anywhere, even receive a dedicated class tailored to each person’s personality? Furthermore, you can endlessly fight against enemies fought in reality and virtual training spaces without the risk of injury?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Then count me in. Of course, there’s no guarantee that the new dedicated class will be stronger than my current awakening ability, but the benefits outweigh the risks. And although it’s just my feeling, I strongly sense that the real ‘merit’ hasn’t been explained yet.”

“Well, it’s better to leave the real pleasure after becoming a subordinate. Anyway, does that mean Taylor has also decided to join?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s start right away. There’s an important meeting that only ‘subordinates’ need to hurry for now.”

Just as Myung-jun invited Soo-jeong, Ho-chang, and Byung-tae to join, he extended the invitation to the rest of the members.

“Awakener Ito Kei. Will you become the fourth crew of my ability ‘Mechanic’?”

“Gladly.”

[The crew incorporation through agreement has been completed.

The awakening ability of the new crew has been detected.

Searching for recommended Class suitable for the ability… Search complete.

From now on, the Class of the Awakener Ito Kei is Trace Librarian.

With the addition of a new crew member with a new Class, new equipment has been unlocked.

▶ Ranger Suit Type – Tracer has been unlocked.

▶ Registered users can summon and wear the Ranger Suit in the sub-space.

▶ Used Ranger Suit can be returned to the sub-space.

▶ The development tree for additional attachments for the Ranger Suit has been unlocked.

You can produce prototypes in the prototype lab and equip them.]

“Woah! This is amazing!”

Myung-jun, leaving the excited Kei behind, approached Soo-bin.

Once again, he extended his hand to her and asked.

“Awakener Lee Soo-bin. Will you become the fifth crew of my ability ‘Mechanic’?”

“Haaam… I’ve been saying yes since earlier, haven’t I?”

[The crew incorporation through agreement has been completed.

The awakening ability of the new crew has been detected.

Searching for recommended Class suitable for the ability… Search complete.

From now on, the Class of the Awakener Soo-bin Lee is Battlefield Exterminator.

With the addition of a new crew member with a new Class, new equipment has been unlocked.

▶ War Suit Type – Exterminator has been unlocked.

▶ Registered users can summon and wear the War Suit in the sub-space.

▶ Used War Suit can be returned to the sub-space.

▶ The development tree for additional attachments for the War Suit has been unlocked.

You can produce prototypes in the prototype lab and equip them.]

“Exterminator. I like it.”

The last turn was Taylor’s.

Approaching him, Myung-jun, who had been considering until the end, asked him again.

“Mr. Taylor. Looking at the previous two, it seems like higher-level Classes related to existing abilities are opening up, but even so, it doesn’t mean the restriction against betrayal is lifted. If you become a crew member, no matter what happens in the future, until the very end, you must stand with the Liberal Clan and destiny. Are you really okay with that?”

Upon hearing this, Taylor looked at Myung-jun with a determined gaze and replied.

“Even if my ability is reset, I would have accepted this proposal.”

“In that case, excellent. Awakener Edward Taylor. Will you become the sixth crew of my ability ‘Mechanic’?”

“I’ll do that.”

[The crew incorporation through agreement has been completed.

The awakening ability of the new crew has been detected.

Searching for recommended Class suitable for the ability… Search complete.

From now on, the Class of the Awakener Edward Taylor is Blazespear Champion.

With the addition of a new crew member with a new Class, new equipment has been unlocked.

▶ War Suit Type – Incinerator has been unlocked.

▶ Registered users can summon and wear the War Suit in the sub-space.

▶ Used War Suit can be returned to the sub-space.

▶ The development tree for additional attachments for the War Suit has been unlocked.

You can produce prototypes in the prototype lab and equip them.]

After everyone’s crew joining process ended, a new window appeared before Soo-jeong.

[New class-related technologies have been unlocked.

From now on, you can access design information for new equipment and manufacturing facilities.

With the addition of the new class, the types of knights that can be developed have expanded.

New facilities have been added to the research lab.

New blueprints have been added to the data room.]

Suppressing the desire to immediately go to the sub-space and research the newly registered technology in the data room, Soo-jeong addressed the new crew members.

“Your joining allows us to develop new equipment. However, it will take time to develop new equipment for three crew members. Please bear with the existing equipment for now.”

“Um… There was a word ‘sub-space’ on the window that appeared a while ago. Is that where the captain summons the turret?”

Kei looked at Myung-jun with puppy-like eyes, as if asking for a treat after hearing the word ‘wait’.

In response, Myung-jun smiled at Kei and nodded.

“Yeah. Crew members can store equipment in the sub-space and summon it whenever they want.”

“Can people also enter that sub-space?!”

“Do you want to try?”

“Yes!”

“But right now, we have a meeting…”

As Myung-jun looked at Soo-jeong and said that, she chuckled and burst into laughter.

Then, in a gentle tone towards Kei, he spoke.

“Just for 10 minutes.”

“Yee-haw! Hurry! How do I get in?!”

“I’ll do the first transfer. Come here.”

Myung-jun placed his hand on Kei’s head, who had rushed up in front of him.

With a dazzling light, Myung-jun and Kei disappeared from the conference room.

Shortly after, Myung-jun returned to the conference room with light and addressed the other two.

“Who’s next?”

After sending Taylor to the sub-space, Myung-jun, finally, asked Soo-bin.

However, Soo-bin, with a tone indicating she wasn’t particularly interested, responded to Myung-jun.

“Well, we have all the time in the world ahead of us… But for now, I’d like to rest for at least 10 minutes…”

“We have individual bedrooms, you know…”

Before Myung-jun could finish speaking, Soo-bin forcefully leaned her head against Myung-jun’s hand as if delivering a blow.

In response, Myung-jun smiled and sent her into the sub-space.

And after 10 minutes.

Myung-jun, regretting his earlier decision, took Ho-chang and entered the sub-space.

“Just 10 more minutes! Just 10 more!”

“I understand your sentiment, but there’s a more urgent meeting right now.”

Ho-chang caught Kei, who was trying to escape, and hoisted him onto his shoulder, hugging himside tightly.

Then, like Kei, shouting for just 10 more minutes, he grabbed Taylor’s legs resisting at the door and brought them back to the conference room.

Meanwhile, Myung-jun moved to Soo-bin individual room, who was asleep and helped her up.

“Did you sleep well?”

With half-closed eyes, still seeming somewhat insufficient, she looked at Myung-jun and said,

“This bed is better than any I’ve ever slept in. If possible, I don’t want to leave here.”

“If you have no work, you can stay. There’s a window over there where meals and clothes are provided on request.”

“What about laundry?”

“You can toss it in and press a button for new clothes to appear.”

“…They’ve been using such wonderful things just among themselves…”

“But we can’t just accept anyone, right? For now, let’s return to the conference room. After the meeting, I’ll let you sleep all day.”

Contrary to Myung-jun’s expectation, she got up from the bed without much resistance.

Then she held Myung-jun’s hand, returning to the conference room with him.

In the conference room, Kei and Taylor, still excited, bombarded Soo-jeong’s group with questions about the sub-space.

“How do we use the replication equipment? How many points does it cost? Can I copy anything I want? Gold? Diamond rings?”

“There was so much equipment I’ve never seen before. Can I use anything? When will my exclusive suit be ready? I said I’d join first, so naturally, my suit will be made first, right?!”

Watching the two excited individuals, Ho-chang, scratching his head with a pained expression, muttered softly.

“To get this excited just by seeing that, they’d faint if they saw the ‘giant robot’ in the armory.”

“A giant robot?!!?!”

“Wait, did I just hear that correctly?! There’s really a robot? Not a small one like the Armor Suit Ho-chang wears, but a real, walking several-meter-tall robot?!”

“Carry me! I want to ride too!!”

Seeing Kei jumping up and down from the floor, shouting, Myung-jun sighed softly.

Then, as if to instantly silence the chaos in the conference room, Ho-chang shouted loudly, making everyone close their mouths.

“Quiiieeettt!!!”

Thankful to Ho-chang, Myung-jun addressed the clan members looking at him.

“Let’s proceed with the meeting. Among today’s agenda is the discussion about the mentioned robots.”

Once all crews were seated, Myung-jun began explaining the new ability he had unlocked in Brazil, information even Soo-jeong, Myung-jun’s closest aide, didn’t know.

“People often call me Master of the Turret, but my exact Class is a Mechanic. It means, apart from summoning turrets, my ability includes others. In fact, I can use all kinds of equipment you use. From Ho-chang’s Armor Suit to the newly unlocked Ranger and War Suits.”

It was a surprising fact.

Myung-jun had never worn an Armor Suit during external activities.

“I can understand you’d want to ask why I haven’t used it so far, but there’s a reason. If word gets out that I can summon all kinds of suits from the sub-space, it will attract more attention. So, I’ve intentionally leaned towards a more aggressive approach.”

Then Taylor raised a question to Myung-jun.

“But Leader, don’t you use Armor Suits sold to the public by Liberal Clan? Those should have no restrictions?”

“I don’t wear them because they’re heavy. It’s much more convenient to summon a turret with a shield generator than to fight while wearing them.”

“Then, can I summon your turret or wear Ho-chang’s specially developed power armor?”

The answer to that question came not from Myung-jun but from the developer, Soo-jeong.

“You can, but it won’t be efficient. All the equipment I developed uses the energy from crystals installed inside the equipment or the energy emitted from Awakeners. For example, what Taylor uses, the ‘Blaze Spear’, utilizes Taylor’s unique energy to produce flames.”

To help understand, Soo-jeong used the analogy of a car engine.

“Diesel, gasoline, or kerosene all burn, but the properties of each fuel are different. Likewise, the energy from all crystals or from Awakeners has unique characteristics. For instance, Taylor’s gear is best suited to convert energy into high-temperature flames, while Ho-chang’s is best for defense.”

She explained that even if they obtain crystals from these entities, the efficiency is extremely low.

“If Taylor needs 100 energy to heat the Blaze Spear to 8000 degrees, to achieve the same temperature with crystal energy, it would require more than ten times the energy. Using a crystal with a similar wavelength can reduce it to about 2 to 3 times, but it will never reach the efficiency level of the Awakener. That’s why we call it ‘exclusive equipment’.”

Moreover, Soo-jeong explained the weaknesses of Myung-jun’s ability, summoning equipment directly in the sub-space consumes an immense amount of crystal energy based on the equipment’s Rank or mass.

and because of that issue, he can’t summon the giant robot ‘Knights’, summoned during the Amazon incident, directly onto the road.

As Soo-jeong explained the cost of putting the Knights summoned into the sub-space, the expressions of the crew listening turned to shock.

“Does that mean it costs money every time you summon a robot?”

“It does when you summon it directly from the sub-space. So, the best way is either to produce parts in the sub-space and assemble them in reality to move to the operation area or to use a huge caterpillar that can carry hundreds of tons of robot weight hundreds of kilometers, or to have a pre-assembled robot walk to the operation area on its own. Of course, even in those processes, crystal energy continues to be consumed.”

“I roughly understand. Can I ask one more question then?”

“Go ahead.”

“The last topic we discussed before this meeting was ‘How to respond to the new decree announced by the Korean government.’ And to handle that response, the term ‘officers’ of the Liberal Clan, or rather, the crew, as the correct term. You said that only those crews could participate in the meeting. So, how does the Leader’s ability you explained so far relate to how we’re going to confront the new decree?”

At Taylor’s question, a smile crossed Soo-jeong’s lips because the topic she was about to explain next was precisely about “that.”

“That’s a very good question!”

Soo-jeong walked briskly towards the large monitor on the conference room wall.

Using a tablet, she displayed a prepared screen and asked everyone.

“What do you all think this is?”

Beside her, with a playful expression, there was a blueprint of a massive spacecraft that resembled a space battleship as if introducing a new toy.

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