Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

045 – Humphreys U.S. Army Base

The day after Myung-jun arrived at the Humphreys Base in Pyeongtaek, a Korean negotiating team, including the director of the EDA, Moon Hee-cheol, came to meet him. There were a total of five members in the delegation to keep Myung-jun, who was confirmed to have unrivaled abilities in Korea.

Among them were Moon Hee-cheol, the director of the ‘EDA’, a government agency overseeing matters related to the Awakener in Korea, Oh Beom-gyu, in charge of diplomatic tasks at the EDA, Park Moo-sik, in charge of Gate-related incidents at the Executive Office, Kim Ki-hwan, a prosecutor who is part of the judicial branch and responsible for legislative revisions, and Lee Sang-gyu, a congressman overseeing the Gate Special Committee.

In response, the U.S. government also formed a team of five negotiators, including Holmes, who is in charge of overseeing the Gate incident for the U.S. military in Korea, Marshal Brook, head of the EDF (Earth Defense Force), Henry Moody, a Deputy Attorney General in charge of asset law, Janet Reno, a Democratic Senator, and William Everts, a Republican Representative.

In the negotiation room, the representatives of both countries sat across from each other. Myung-jun and his companion, Soo-jeong, sat at the head, with Ho Chang sitting opposite them.

The main objective of the Korean delegation was to keep Myung-jun and his group active within Korea while retaining their Korean citizenship. In contrast, the U.S. wanted to integrate Myung-jun as an American citizen under the official recognition of the Korean government.

Ho Chang thought the negotiation would be a bidding war of lavish offers from both sides. However, it mostly revolved around questions and answers regarding Myung-jun’s demands. Myung-jun’s demands were geared toward legal support for Awakeners to freely operate amid the Gate incidents.

One of the Korean negotiators, Prosecutor Kim Ki-hwan, asked, “Clause 7.6 of your demands suggests that any harm caused by an Awakener to civilians or other Awakener will be resolved among the Awakener themselves. Does this mean that Awakeners are not subject to Korean law?”

Myung-jun, received Kim Ki-hwan’s question and replied in a calm voice.

“Let’s take an example. If an Awakener were to murder a civilian, who would carry out the punishment?”

“The judicial system of the Republic of Korea would execute it, like the police.”

“Can the police stop an Awakener? Let’s think about it realistically. Human law ultimately operates on the premise that any human, in the end, dies when shot, regardless of their equality.”

Myung-jun calmly responded, explaining that the police and existing laws were not capable of regulating the Awakener because of their extraordinary abilities. So, Myung-jun explained that because of this, the only means to control Awakeners is to rely on another ‘power’ rather than ‘law’.

“To put it simply, in martial arts novels, you often hear this phrase: ‘Officials and martial artists do not encroach upon each other.’ The reason this concept frequently appears is straightforward. Basically, people in martial arts are either murderers or violent offenders. But to investigate each of these crimes one by one…”

“They are too powerful. I’ve read some martial arts novels myself. So, let me ask another question. In many martial arts novels, those in the martial world often condemn each other. Do you anticipate that the future world will flow in such a way, Mr. Myung-jun?”

“To be honest, the threat that ‘if you commit a crime, the police will come after you’ doesn’t frighten me or other Awakeners at all. The so-called power of the South Korean police is like a sandcastle that can be toppled with a single flick. However, the fact that we can face punishment from fellow Awakeners if we engage in wrongdoing is information that can indeed put pressure on each of us.”

“To address such issues, isn’t there the EDA? Isn’t there a way to enforce the law through government-affiliated Awakeners?”

“To do that, the abilities of Awakeners are too strong, and South Korea’s laws are too lenient.”

Myung-jun was explaining how applying the concept of self-defense to Awakeners is essentially meaningless. He compared it to putting one’s life on the line when facing an Awakener who can massacre dozens with a single attack, as requiring the establishment of ‘legitimate self-defense’ first.

He explained that applying the Youth Protection Act to Awakeners could be problematic. Giving a blanket pardon to Awakeners, whose bare bodies could be considered lethal weapons, would be akin to handing out a license to kill.

“Let’s say, for example, that a psychotic elementary school student becomes an Awakener and slaughters people in a public square. Suppose I subdue him. I’ve done what I should do, but under Korean law, I’d be considered a criminal for attacking a minor. And even if I were found not guilty, I’d spend a lot of time in court proceedings. What I want is not to waste more time in court than on the actual Gate operations.”

“Don’t you want to be above the law, then?”

“I don’t want to be completely above the law. If necessary, the government can create special law enforcement units made up of Awakeners. The point is that to subdue an Awakener, ‘force’ is necessary.”

“So, if you’re subdued by EDA (presumably a government agency), are you willing to face trial?”

“Whether I’m willing or not isn’t important. I’d lose because I’m weaker. But what I want to say is that laws become useless against stronger beings.”

As more Awakeners emerge and their power becomes an issue, things would naturally flow as he described. His demands weren’t about shaping the world as he wanted, but rather, accelerating the inevitable.

“A new set of rules is needed to handle beings that are beyond human. That’s the basic concept of the ‘Standard Legislation’ that I have proposed to both the U.S. and Korean governments.”

“Why do you need a provision that says Awakeners are automatically discharged from the military if their abilities are awakened during military service? Haven’t you already completed your military service?”

“Think logically. How can you force military service on an Awakener? If they get upset, it could cause an incident, better to let them go immediately to avoid unnecessary casualties.”

“Awakeners could be a powerful asset for national defense. Isn’t it too much to ask to give that up?”

“Then offer them a high salary or other incentives to keep them. What I want to say is that it’s difficult to constrain Awakeners with legal responsibilities or a sense of duty.”

Negotiators nodded. His argument, while seemingly ignoring all existing laws, had its own logic.

If Awakeners decide to break the law, there’s no solution other than using ‘force’, as he said. He also suggested a proper way for governments to utilize the ‘power’ of Awakeners in the age of Gates.

“If you really need the abilities of Awakeners for national defense or public security, you could invest in military budgets to provide incentives for them to stay. But I recommend an on-demand approach.”

“On-demand?”

“Submit requests on a case-by-case basis to private clans. Whether it’s to participate in Gate subjugation operations led by the Ministry of National Defense, or to subdue an Awakener wreaking havoc on civilians. That way, Private clans that include Awakeners will respond to government requests.”

The negotiators began to understand the true intent behind his proposal as they continued the conversation. He was talking about new rules for dealing with entirely new types of beings, such as ‘Gates’, ‘Monsters’, and ‘Awakeners’, that humanity had never encountered before.

The goal is to find the most logical and rapid way to secure social peace and order while coexisting, where existing laws for ‘humans’ and the abilities of ‘Awakeners’ clash.

They understood why the U.S. government accepted his radical demands so quickly. If the Awakeners are as powerful as he says, then the world will inevitably follow the path he outlined.

“Your demands seem to be about accelerating something that would happen naturally over time. Why the rush?”

After pondering the question for a moment, he replied, “I’m rushing to establish a system that accommodates Awakeners because I’m certain the current situation will not remain as it is.”

“If it’s not going to stay the same?”

“The equipment I sent to the U.S. is made from materials I obtained from hunting a Rank 4 Monsters in a Rank 3 Gate. That means there are monsters stronger than the Rank 1 and 2 ones currently appearing worldwide. Over time, creatures so powerful that conventional weapons can’t handle them will appear globally. The only way to stop those creatures will be Awakeners.”

He hoped to accelerate the growth of as many Awakeners as possible before D-DAY, and for that goal, he explained that responses by private organizations at the clan level would be faster than the current gate-response strategy under the control of the government.

Humans are animals that move by desire, therefore, many people would voluntarily head towards the gates, without the government needing to forcibly push them, if they knew there was money and power to be gained. Myung-jun explained that the ‘clan’ system he created would be at the center of this flow.

“All the requests I have made are solely to establish that foundation. I’m not asking for money or absolute power. I can easily obtain such trivial things with my own abilities. All I ask is that, even if you can’t help me, don’t obstruct my path.”

The Q&A session ended with that. What remained was a decision from the South Korean government. The negotiation team that briefly requested a break from Myung-jun informed the Blue House and the National Assembly of the negotiation contents and waited for the final outcome. A conclusion was reached within a few hours.

“The South Korean government will fully accept Myung-jun’s proposed legislative amendments.”

Of course, the promise made here did not immediately result in a legislative proposal. Myung-jun’s demands were a simple list of minimum conditions, and an enormous supplementary process was needed for that list to become law. However, the South Korean government promised to pass a new bill that would fulfill all of Myung-jun’s demands as quickly as possible, with the help of the National Assembly.

In return, Myung-jun promised to stay in South Korea for the time being and assist with the South Korean government’s handling of the gate situation. What was unexpected was that the U.S. government did not present any special cards to keep Myung-jun.

Initially, if Myung-jun’s demands were accepted, the U.S. government could also request tasks from him, who was part of a private clan. However, the U.S. government was able to obtain a promise that if his clan were to set up overseas branches, the first one would be in the U.S.

Finally, once all the negotiations were completed, Myung-jun was able to leave the U.S. military base with a relieved feeling, joined by his colleagues. And there was Byung Tae, waiting for Myung-jun as if awaiting a comrade released from prison.

“Is it all over?”

Upon hearing Byung Tae’s words, Myung-jun nodded, and Byung Tae opened the car door for him.

“Then, please get in. I’ll take you wherever you want.”

Ho Chang sat in the front passenger seat, and Myung-jun sat in the back seat with Soo-jeong.

Byung Tae, who was driving, then asked Myung-jun,

“I thought there would be a war, but it ended more smoothly than expected?”

“Well, both the U.S. and South Korean governments probably thought the risks of monopolizing our clan outweighed the benefits. They must’ve thought it was more profitable to let us do as we wish, rather than holding onto us at great expense.”

“Weren’t they influenced to think that way?”

When Soo-jeong asked with a smile, Myung-jun responded with a small smile.

Then he gave a command to Byung Tae.

“Let’s go.”

“Where shall I take you?”

“First, let’s head to Sejong City.”

“Sejong City? Not Seoul?”

“The gate situation is occurring nationwide. There’s no need to establish the clan’s headquarters in the capital just because it has a high population. It would be more advantageous to place the headquarters in a location near the center of the country so that we can quickly access any area.”

“Are you saying….”

“Yes. You’re correct.”

Myung-jun said with a smile,

“Let’s go check out some real estate.”

Myung-jun’s declaration was a historic one, deciding the location of the headquarters of the world’s first Awakener-established, strongest Awakener clan, ‘Liberal’.

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