Chapter 147: Anomaly

Chapter 147: Anomaly

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

147 – Anomaly

The national representative applicants firmly believed that the existing Awakener rankings, based on gate subjugation records, were meaningless and that their own rankings should be much higher.

Some even believed they were much stronger than the academy instructors selected by the Liberal Clan.

In their minds, they were the protagonists of this world.

To these applicants, Byung-tae and the other instructors from Icarus were showing firsthand what it meant to be a ‘world ranker.’

“What? Wasn’t it supposed to be easy to take down an instructor?”

Orléans Perraudière, who had provocatively challenged 20 applicants at once, saying that one or two wouldn’t even be a warm-up, spoke to the fallen applicants.

Around him, pieces of the applicants’ equipment, cut into dozens of pieces, were scattered along with a rapidly spinning ring of water.

At the same time, Luis Pereira, the leader of the Floresta Clan, who was said to be unable to exert even 1/10th of his power outside the forest, was also mocking the applicants with a humanoid tree giant glowing a dark hue by his side.

In the hands of the tree giant was a massive, muscular man struggling in mid-air, his neck gripped tightly.

“Ugh... Ugh... Ugh...”

“Oh, sorry. Was it hard to breathe?”

As the grip of the tree trunk holding the man’s neck loosened, he grabbed the trunk.

He then began to exert immense strength, his arm muscles bulging.

It was a strength that could crush even the sturdiest tree with just his grip.

However, no matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn’t make a scratch on the black tree giant’s arm.

“This isn’t even a forest... How?!”

“Well, they say my power is reduced to 1/10 outside the forest? That’s somewhat true. It’s just that your power isn’t even 1/10 of mine.”

With a gaze like an adult looking at a child, Pereira, ranked 9th among Awakeners worldwide, spoke to the applicants.

“So, show some respect to your instructors from now on, rookies.”

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“Damn it!! Just get hit already!!”

Unlike Orléans or Pereira, who were ranked in the top 10, Sophie Müller, who had confidently challenged Byung-tae, who wasn’t even in the top 100, was struggling against his combat abilities that far exceeded her expectations.

Her Awakening ability, ‘Mobile Turret,’ granted various effects such as recoil reduction, range increase, and attack correction for her firearms, but all of these were meaningful only if they hit.

– BOOM –

With a deafening roar that was hard to believe came from a rifle the size of an anti-materiel sniper rifle, her beloved weapon ‘Eisenspäherin’ fired.

The enormous recoil, enough to make a 40-ton self-propelled gun sway, was something no slender woman could withstand, but her special armor absorbed all the shock and transferred it to the ground.

At the same time, the ultra-high-speed special bullet, accelerated to more than three times the speed of sound, was fired at Byung-tae, but he easily dodged her attack with a simple mid-air twist.

“The power looks strong, but it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hit. Now, it’s my turn.”

Byung-tae unleashed the same attack that had already knocked out many applicants lying around Sophie.

It was an attack using non-lethal suppression rounds that, while not deadly, inflicted immense pain upon contact.

Sensing the danger, Sophie urgently shouted into the air.

“Siege mode disengage!”

In an instant, the anchoring spikes of her boots, which had been firmly fixing her to the ground and absorbing the recoil from her shots, retracted from the ground with a ‘thunk.’

As she pulled back, countless holes resembling a honeycomb appeared on the ground with a tremendous impact sound.

– Tatatatatatatatata! –

Noticing that Sophie now addressed him as ‘Instructor,’ Byung-tae’s lips curled up.

“Try if you can.”

At that moment, a massive beam shot out from her weapon, which had only fired live ammunition until now.

It collided head-on with the floating armor Byung-tae had summoned.

– Chiiiiiiiiik! –

The support armor of Dog Fight, made using materials from a grade 7 monster, melted away in an instant, but Byung-tae was not flustered.

His trust in the custom machine designed by Soo-jeong and personally made by Myung-jun was not so fragile as to be shaken by such an attack.

And as if to prove Byung-tae’s trust, Sophie’s attack, which had penetrated four layers of special armor, was stopped by the fifth layer.

Byung-tae then cleared the auxiliary armor in front of him and said to her,

“What to do now. I’ve blocked it.”

“Ugh... If only I had pierced through one more layer...”

“Sorry, but in a battle between Awakeners, a single misjudgment like that can cost a life. Just like the risk you would have faced if your attack, which gave up mobility, had failed.”

At that moment, the armor floating around Byung-tae flew back to its original position.

Simultaneously, numerous cannon-like devices began to attach to Byung-tae’s entire body.

Seeing the massive barrels enveloping Byung-tae, Sophie desperately tried to disengage Maximum Firepower Mode.

– Whirr, whirr, whirrr, click –

But just as it took 30 seconds to prepare, her equipment, which also took 30 seconds to disengage, was firmly locking her entire body in place, and ultimately, she could do nothing but watch Byung-tae, who was aiming at her, with eyes filled with terror.

“Is it my turn to show you my ‘Siege Mode’?”

All she could do upon hearing the chilling sound of loading was to shout at Byung-tae with a voice full of despair.

“I surrender!!!! I lost!!! Instructor! I won’t challenge you again!”

Imagining the immense pain, Sophie screamed involuntarily as she felt a sharp pain on her forehead.

Then, with a look of incomprehension, she slowly opened her eyes and looked towards Byung-tae.

The pain she felt on her forehead was certainly sharp enough to make her cry out, but it was nowhere near the level of excruciating pain she had imagined.

In front of her, Byung-tae was still aiming at her with a massive number of gun barrels.

Sitting in the open cockpit, he was spinning a toy gun around his finger.

It was only then that she realized what Byung-tae had shot at her forehead while her eyes were closed.

“BB pellet...?!”

Seeing her bewilderment, Byung-tae sent the turrets attached to his body back to their original positions.

He then slowly descended to the ground and spoke to her.

“Unless you’re absolutely sure you can win, never challenge an instructor.”

Sophie nodded vigorously and replied.

“Yes... Yes! I won’t challenge you again!”

“And gather the rest of the team and move to the waiting area.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

Leaving Sophie to wake her comrades, Byung-tae got into Dog Fight, which had transformed back into sports car mode, and drove out of the waiting area.

Holding the steering wheel, he shook his head and muttered.

“Damn, I almost got killed. I need to ask Soo-jeong to reinforce the armor parts.”

As he said this, Byung-tae firmly resolved in his heart never to recklessly challenge an opponent armed with equipment made by Myung-jun.