Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

059 – Suspicious High School Student

After concluding their weekly Monday meeting, the team leaders, with sparkling eyes, moved toward their respective positions. As Myung-jun, who was also about to leave the meeting room, noticed something strange as he was seemingly contemplating the end of the meeting, he fixed his gaze on the tablet where Soo-jeong was concentrating, as if she hadn’t realized the meeting had ended.

“Senior? Why are you looking like that?”

When Myung-jun spoke to her, Soo-jeong looked at him with a surprised expression. Then, as if it was nothing, she removed the tablet and spoke to him.

“No, there’s something strange.”

“Well, 99.99% of the matters you handle are strange, Senior. If even you say something is strange, it must be incredibly unusual. What is it?”

Soo-jeong smiled slightly at Myung-jun’s strangely convincing words. Then she handed the tablet she had been looking at to him.

“This is the CCTV of the 1st-floor shopping area, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“It’s not the location; it’s the person.”

Myung-jun scrutinized the tablet screen once more and said that he had no idea.

“I don’t know. Anything different about her?”

“Do you see the high school girl in the school uniform?”

“Ahh, yes.”

“What’s so strange about her?”

“She’s one of those high school students coming to take photos for Instagram, right? Doesn’t seem particularly unusual…”

“Usually, that’s the case. However, isn’t it strange that the same high school girl, wearing the same uniform, has come to hear the same explanation dozens of times? Especially…”

After manipulating the tablet once again, Soo-jeong showed Myung-jun what she had been looking at. There, on the screen, was a photo of the high school girl who had been recorded on the CCTV, holding a trophy and featured in a news article.

[Engaged in a new competition for drone pilots, striving in the rapidly growing gate exploration market. A 17-year-old Korean high school student wins the championship at the 1st World Seeker Grand Prix, defeating tough competitors from around the world.]

“Oh, so that’s why she couldn’t take her eyes off the drone sales counter.”

“That’s right. Nowadays, you can find drones even in the toy section of a mart, but the drone I made is beyond comparison with those. If we had to compare, it’s like comparing a rocket model made of Lego with a real, functional rocket.”

“Hmm… but she seems to have talent, yet no money. She comes every day to watch but can’t buy.”

“Look more into the article.”

As Myung-jun continued reading the article, he soon wore an expression of disbelief.

In the following part of the article, shockingly, it was written that she was a novice in drone piloting.

[In reality, I participated in the preliminaries on behalf of a friend. My childhood friend had been preparing for this competition for a long time, but we ended up having an argument while spectating.]

Here’s the story of the incident:

The whole incident began when she got angry at a friend who kept skipping extracurricular activities due to drone competition practice. She challenged her friend, saying, “Doesn’t seem that difficult,” which led to her friend getting furious and proposing a drone competition.

During their first bet on the drone, where they only ate and operated the drone, she defeated her friend with pure “beginner’s luck.” Her friend, shocked at being beaten by her “beginner luck,” offered her drone for the competition, so she decided to participate.

Upon hearing this absurd interview content, Myung-jun chuckled with disappointment. Then he returned the tablet to Soo-jun.

“So, a novice who doesn’t even know much about drones, and to top it off, a high school girl, with a custom-made machine from her high school friend, competed against pro drone pilots and high-performance advanced drones and won the championship? It’s like something out of a comic.”

“What’s even funnier is that after winning, she said, ‘My friend’s drone was a piece of junk, it was hard to win with that. If only the drone was better, I would have won more easily. The equipment couldn’t keep up with my reflexes.’ “

“That’s an interview from the winner? Wow, the other participants must have been pretty annoyed.”

“For a while, they called her the greatest aggro player. But her talent is real. Even I referenced the competition footage quite a bit during the development of the Canary drones. She almost controls the drones as if they’re an extension of herself.”

“So, she was lucky to win the competition, and it got her interested in drones, eventually leading her to become interested in drones produced by our clan?”

“That’s right. In fact, almost all existing drones are lightweight with an electric motor and operate using helicopter-like buoyancy. But Canary drones are different. They don’t have engines or motors at all. They operate in an anti-gravity state with electromagnetic propulsion. This allows them to reach speeds over two times faster than traditional drones and have an unrivaled turn rate.”

“Do drones need to have such specs?”

“Yes, fundamentally, Canary drones are designed to conduct reconnaissance flights while avoiding attacks from flying-type monsters within gates. Additionally, they must evade long-range attacks from ground-based monsters. To do this, they need to be able to avoid ground-launched anti-aircraft missiles without breaking a sweat.”

Listening to Soo-jeong’s explanation, one question came to Myung-jun’s mind. Even if there are drones that can move at such high speeds, are there humans capable of controlling them? When he pointed this out, Soo-jeong nodded with a smile.

“Right. So, the code number for the Canary drone is CNA-03, not 02. We only made one 02 version because there was no one capable of piloting it, so it was never mass-produced.”

“Granted it’s limited to ground vehicles, but won’t Byung-tae be able to control one? Or should I say, drive one? I’m sure his reflexes are exceptional.”

“If Byung-tae controls it, it’s possible, but he used to vomit like crazy after two minutes.”

“Wouldn’t that mean if even Byung-tae can’t handle it, it’s an unusable item?”

“That’s how it’s been so far.”

When Soo-jeong looked at the tablet like that, Myung-jun understood her intention.

“So, are you thinking that she might be able to do it?”

“I’m not sure, but just in case.”

Myung-jun looked at his right palm for a moment, then nodded to Soo-jeong.

“So, go ahead and do as you wish, Senior.”

“Huh?”

“You want to give the prototype drone to that high school student for testing, free of charge, right? If you want to do that, go ahead.”

“Is it really okay?”

She questioned because the drone that Myung-jun wanted to hand over was not an ordinary item; it was a ‘Relic’ class equipment.

In general, Soo-jeong categorized her weapons into three grades. The first was the ‘Prototype’, created without sparing high-quality materials and crystal stones, with no concern for cost, purely for experimental purposes. The second was the ‘Mass-produced’ version, derived from the prototype after compromising on performance for mass production. The third and rarest one, even among prototypes, was the peculiar equipment that even Soo-jeong couldn’t understand how it performed – and this was the ‘Relic’ class.

In the Liberal Clan, which was teeming with various experimental equipment, the Relic-class equipment was still scarce. One of the most representative examples of Relic-class equipment was the Hell Blaster Turret, which Myung-jun used to construct the Liberal Clan.

With just one of these turrets, they could turn a 15-story high-rise building into molten lava in three minutes, and despite being originally designed by Soo-jeong, it failed in mass production.

This meant that the Canary drone wasn’t just something she could lend to a high school student out of curiosity, but Myung-jun believed there was enough value to gamble on Soo-jeong’s idea.

“Senior, although Relic-class equipment is incredibly rare and unusual even if you make it, it’s still an ‘equipment’ after all. In the end, it’s operated by a person.”

Myung-jun’s words essentially meant that even the best equipment is meaningless if there’s no one capable of operating it.

“Still…”

Myung-jun was well aware of the reason for her hesitation. In the Liberal Clan, known for its insane performance equipment, everything that went into their experiments consisted of materials that Myung-jun and combatants like Ho-Chang had fought for, even putting their lives on the line. Soo-jeong felt indebted due to the comfortable position she had now in the lab, free from the threat to her life.

Recognizing this well, Myung-jun placed his hand gently on Soo-jeong’s shoulder, looking at her with unwavering eyes.

“Senior.”

“Yeah?”

“I know well that you’ve been feeling indebted to the members on the field. However, I don’t think there’s any need for that.”

“But…”

“Maybe other clans, but at least for the Liberal Clan members on the field, they all share one common thought when approaching a Gate operation. It’s the thought of ‘How cool will the new equipment that Senior developed show its performance?’ We always proudly wield the fantastic equipment you’ve made, and it feels like we become like James Bond, receiving new gear from the 007 series each time we go on an operation.”

Myung-jun said, “Without a doubt, there isn’t a single Liberal Clan member who resents with you being considered as one of the top two members of the clan and the most essential talent. Moreover, no clan member resents using the materials we’ve brought back for Senior’s research. So, if you want to give the equipment you’ve made to someone, do as you wish, Senior. We’re already so satisfied with what we’ve received from you.”

“Do you really think that way?”

“Yes. And I also think that you’re different from the others. When I first came to you, we didn’t know each other at all. But you recognized the value of my ability, which you didn’t even know about, and you gave me all your trust. You made your best decisions for my sake, even in life-threatening situations. Of course, I think you initially did it out of curiosity and greed because of my ability. But now, I believe it’s different.”

“Why do you think that way?”

“Because that’s what I think. I approached you with a reason at first too. However, even within the short time of less than a year, you and I have been through a lot. In the process, I saw the immense effort you’ve put in for both me and the clan. I believe it’s enough to change a person’s heart.”

Myung-jun knew.

Soo-jeong’s numerous inventions were the results of her talent, but they were also the products of her dedication. To create a single piece of equipment, she had to decipher future technologies that were beyond human comprehension.

And even now, Myung-jun knew that she was working hard, losing sleep every day, interpreting a vast amount of technical information. In a sense, it was Soo-jeong’s way of “putting her life on the line.”

“I don’t think Senior is just pursuing equipment development due to curiosity. On the contrary, I think she’s doing more than her best to ensure the clan members can tackle Gate operations safely.”

Myung-jun’s calm but truthful voice was piercing Soo-jeong’s heart, and he continued, “All authority over the disposal of equipment created in our clan is entirely up to Senior. So much so that I have to ask Senior even about the disposal of Relic-class equipment.”

“Do you really think that way?”

“Yes. The Liberal Clan isn’t ‘Myung-jun’s clan’, it’s ‘Myung-jun and Han Soo-jeong’s clan.’ It’s a clan of two people.”

While Ho-Chang or Byung-tae’s abilities could be replaced by others, no one could replace Soo-jeong’s unique abilities. Myung-jun’s confession, recognizing this fact, touched Soo-jeong deeply.

And for the first time, he saw the brightest smile on her face. Soo-jeong told Myung-jun, “I think you’ll be a great clan leader.”

“Why?”

“The most important quality a great leader can have is the ability to recognize others’ abilities.”

There’s a saying that goes, “A ruler shines through his knowledge of people.” It’s the ability to see a person for who they truly are. It’s the ability to make someone willingly lay down their life for you. It’s charisma.

Soo-jeong had seen Myung-jun’s charisma firsthand.

Certainly, it might be because she liked him, but she was confident that she wasn’t the only one who thought that way.

Six months after the Liberal Clan officially started its external activities, Soo-jeong had seen every clan member following Myung-jun in a fanatical manner. She decided to trust Myung-jun’s judgment once again.

‘If I make a mistake, it might just end up being a Relic-class equipment that only does good things even within the guild…’

With her determination solidified, Soo-jeong summoned a small drone into the air. It didn’t have propellers, it looked more like a floating spacecraft than a drone.

“Alright, I’ve made up my mind. I don’t know what the result will be, but even if I fail, I should be able to get operational data. Will you give this to that kid, and do it for free?”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

“Yes. But I won’t be the one to give it.”

Saying that, Soo-jeong extended the hand holding the drone toward Myung-jun.

“Me?”

“Just as you believe in me, I believe in your charisma as the clan leader. So I hope you can be the one to hand this over.”

Myung-jun received the drone from Soo-jeong’s hand. With a smirk, he said, “If that’s your judgment, Senior.”

“Yeah, that’s my judgment.”

Feeling Soo-jeong’s gaze on him through the CCTV, Myung-jun made his way to the lobby on the first floor, where he had seen the high school girl earlier.

In his hand was the scout-exclusive drone that Soo-jeong had handed to him, the “Night Stella.” As of the current moment, it was the most powerful Relic-class Awakener equipment, with only two of its kind in the world, even in the Liberal Clan, where the world’s strongest equipment was gathered.

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