Chapter 156: Don't Die in Front of Me

Master Smith Under Ministry of National Defense

156 – Don’t Die in Front of Me

Myung-jun felt a sense of urgency.

He was moving at high speed, scorching the surroundings as he went, but the number of monsters approaching him was decreasing the further he advanced.

This was one of the main reasons Myung-jun had always emphasized the importance of Seekers when clearing gates.

“Damn... If only Kei or Arin were here, I would have cleared this already...”

The space inside the gate was vast.

Not just vast in the sense that it was large, but so immense that it was hard to encounter its boundaries. That was the nature of a gate.

In such a place, even the strongest Awakener could fail to find the boss before the clear time expired if they took the wrong direction. Hence, Myung-jun had intended to lure the boss to him by causing as much commotion as possible.

However, the method Myung-jun had frequently used in previous gate clearings was ineffective in this enhanced gate, where the difficulty had been adjusted.

Unlike the previous monsters that would charge blindly at intruders, the enhanced gate’s monsters possessed high intelligence, enough to understand the concept of ‘fear.’

Myung-jun was seriously contemplating whether he should change direction.

Although he had brought ample ammunition and missiles, it wasn’t enough to sustain an endless war of attrition.

Confirming that there were no monsters around, Myung-jun took a deep breath and commanded Nautilus.

“Activate the photon scanner.”

[Activating photon scanner.]Alll latest novels at novelhall.com

In an instant, particles of light burst from the body of the floating Nautilus, scattering in all directions like confetti at a party. The light particles sparkled briefly before disappearing into the air.

[Scan complete. Current scan range approximately 2km. Detected 32 hostile creatures within range.]

“Is there any particularly strong entity among them?”

[Individual scans indicate that all 32 creatures possess energy levels similar to the monsters previously eliminated.]

“Damn it. Are there any Awakener within the range?”

[No Awakener detected within the range.]

Myung-jun pondered.

If he was lucky and there was a Seeker in the direction he was heading, he could quickly track the boss. But if not, he might fail to clear the gate.

After some thought, Myung-jun issued the next command to the waiting Nautilus.

“Eject the high jump system.”

[Support parts request confirmed. Ejecting high jump system.]

In an instant, the doors of the hangar mounted on Nautilus opened, and parts with dozens of thrusters fell out.

They flew towards Myung-jun, spewing flames.

-Clank, clank, whirr-

The auxiliary parts, matching the color of Myung-jun’s Elimination Suit, attached to the legs and back of his power armor. The components on his back unfolded like wings.

With the assembly complete, Myung-jun’s power armor now resembled a winged robot.

“Stand by at the current location and maintain vigilance. Eliminate any detected monsters and notify me if any Awakener are detected.”

[Order confirmed. Standing by in vigilance mode at the current location.]

After issuing the command, Myung-jun bent his knees, taking a jumping stance.

Then, with a burst of flames from his entire body, he leaped into the air.

“Activate motion recognition cameras fully.”

Despite the heavy weight, Myung-jun soared up to 1km in the air in an instant. He activated not only the main camera but also all the auxiliary cameras attached to his Elimination Suit.

He began to scan all moving objects within a radius of several kilometers.

This was Myung-jun’s exit strategy to quickly resolve whichever he found first—either the gate boss or the rescue target Seeker. However, his decision to include all moving objects in the scan range backfired.

[Movement detected on cameras 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, and 17.]

The cameras, designed by Soojung, were overly high-performance, capturing and reporting even tiny objects like passing ants.

Myung-jun hastily revised his command to narrow the search range.

“Only detect movements larger than 1 meter and 30 centimeters.”

Myung-jun grumbled as he responded to Skyler,

“Why do things I didn’t ask for?”

“I just wanted to help a little...”

“Well, there’s no time to argue. We’ll talk later. Nautilus, how much time until the High Jump System is recharged?”

[Checking. Minimum recharge time required: 33 minutes and 23 seconds.]

“James will die before then...”

After a brief moment of contemplation, Myung-jun spoke to Skyler.

“Are you the Seeker Skyler I’m supposed to rescue?”

“Yes... Yes? Oh, yes, that’s me.”

“Please help me for a moment.”

Suddenly, Myung-jun’s Elimination Suit knelt down.

The hatch opened, revealing Myung-jun in the cockpit.

“Get in.”

“What? Where?”

“Where else? It’s a single-seater, so obviously on my lap. Hurry up, we don’t have time.”

As Skyler, flustered, sat on Myung-jun’s lap, he closed the hatch and said,

“Hold on tight. If you don’t, you’ll get hurt.”

Seeing the cockpit hatch rapidly closing towards her, Skyler forgot her embarrassment and hugged Myung-jun tightly.

With a flushed face, Myung-jun, holding the controls, said to her,

“I said to hold on, not to hug me.”

“What? Oh!”

Startled by Myung-jun’s words, Skyler pulled back, hitting her head on the screen.

Myung-jun chuckled and spoke to Nautilus.

“Nautilus, switch to boarding mode.”

[Command confirmed. Landing complete.]

With every step the power armor carrying Myung-jun and Skyler took, their bodies jolted up and down.

As Myung-jun walked towards Nautilus, he jumped from the ground and boarded the Nautilus.

[Boarding confirmed. Locking mechanism engaged. Floating thrusters activated.]

As Nautilus, carrying Myung-jun, floated into the air, Myung-jun looked towards where Robert was.

He spoke with a slightly apologetic tone.

“Sorry, but it’s impossible to carry three people.”

“It’s okay. Just go and save the captain quickly.”

“Use this instead.”

To protect Robert while he was away, Myung-jun used a protective cage he had once used to protect Deki from Hee-cheol.

Although it had no offensive capabilities, the cage could block any attack from most monsters. After securing Robert inside the cage, Myung-jun directed Nautilus towards the direction Skyler had pointed earlier.

He then spoke to Skyler, who was still embarrassed and rubbing her head.

“Don’t get any weird ideas and just guide the way. I have a girlfriend.”

Skyler nodded, and Myung-jun said,

“Nautilus, full power deployment.”

[Full power deployment. Brace for impact.]

In an instant, Nautilus spewed massive flames from all its rear thrusters and shot towards James’s direction at incredible speed.

The objective was to eliminate the ‘Gate Boss,’ the condition for clearing the gate.

It was a speed that Skyler, nestled in Myung-jun’s arms, had never experienced in her life.