Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 157
Episode 157 [Unexpected Omens – 3]
—————————==
Lee Hyun-wook stood alone in the dark in a huge room.
He closed his eyes and extended his metal control as far as he could in all directions.
The subject randomly sensed all the metal in the vicinity, but…
‘…there really isn’t any?’
There wasn’t even the tiniest bit of metal in this area or beyond this room.
It was an independent space within Yggdrasil made entirely of sacred tree trunks.
‘Then it’s okay to open [City Cleaner] here.’
Of course, Lee Hyun-wook could not detect anything other than metal, such as dirt or stones, but Donald Harris, an S-class elementalist, summoned the ‘Earth Spirit’ and examined the area for stones and dirt.
At that time, the spirit of the wind flew in and made the words of Donald Harris in the distance sound like waves.
– Hmm, if it were a spirit colony, I could actually control it…
but an S-class elementalist would have been able to suppress the runaway spirit colony.
– …But if I do that, I might end up becoming one of my subordinates.
As mentioned earlier, Donald Harris was ‘banned’ from Lake Chad’s spirit world, so
his relatives – spirits who shared mana with him – were also unable to enter the spirit world.
– But really… can you control it?
“Yes you can.”
Donald Harris, as the best elemental expert in the player world, could not easily let go of his concerns. Even if there were no materials with earth properties around, taming them was a different matter. – But just in case, your metal manipulation skills… what
? Never use it, no matter the situation.
What he said was not a joke. If you hastily used a skill like ‘Strong Body’, your entire body could be torn apart. That’s how strong the ‘attribute control’ of a spirit that runs rampant and prepares for self-destruction is the strongest.
– No matter how much I think about it, I think you need to have ‘spirit affinity’ or ‘spirit control’ to be able to control it…
“Yes, I know. But I have one item that can do that.”
– Hmm, I don’t know what it is, but if there’s a problem, I’ll intervene, so just know that.
“Yes, thank you.” Lee Hyun
-wook
walked over to a wooden box placed on one side of the room. When he
opened the wooden box, he found a large glass tube inside.
‘This is a city vacuum cleaner.’
At first glance, it looked like a vacuum tube amplifier, but inside the glass tube were quite complex devices and magic circuits. Dozens of earth spirits were trapped inside it in the form of a ‘colony’. [Item information] – Name: Spirit Prison (
Skilled
) )
– Effect: Can trap spirits. (43/50)
’43 spirits who love freedom more than anything else are trapped in this small container…’ It’s been
several years since they were forcibly trapped in that small place. How could one not be angry in such a situation?
No, it was strange that they did not go crazy, and most of them were probably already crazy.
That was not all. Those 43 creatures were ‘bound’ as one being and could not be separated. In
large numbers, they were transformed into ordinary spirits. It was a failed experiment to create the ‘Spirit King.’
‘The moment you open this, angry spirits will come out and start running rampant.’
Lee Hyun-wook carefully turned and unlocked the lid-shaped lock at the top of the spirit prison. At
that moment—
p—u——!
The entire spirit prison exploded as if a frag grenade exploded.
“Huh—!”
Lee Hyun-wook flew several meters and the moment he fell, he rolled on the floor and got up. This was
Lee Hyun-wook’s first time opening this, so he didn’t expect this reaction.
“Damn… I didn’t know it would explode like this…”
Right hand grip . It was torn and bleeding. For the above-mentioned reasons, I couldn’t activate the rigid body, but because my body was greatly strengthened with ‘rigid bones’ and ‘dragon power’, I was able to prevent my hand from completely flying away. Go—oh—oh—oh—— Bottom of the
front
. Black energies bloom and swirl from within the remaining spirit prison.
‘They come out.’
「Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
’’?
Among the voices filled this space.
Among the voices, the one that stands out the most is the one of hatred towards Lee Hyun-wook .
These were cries:
“Kill human being—”
“Let’s chop him down with a stone and bury him in the dirt—”
“Ugh, where is this place?”
“Wait a minute, are you saying you want to kill me, even though I’ve never met you?”
Lee Hyun-wook raised both hands to emphasize that he had no intention of fighting, but it was useless.
「Yes, I will kill all humans!」
「I will take revenge on evil humans!」
「Oh, I was sleeping well. What happened?」
The throbbing needles of mana filled with murder surged like waves and surrounded Lee Hyun-wook.
However, Lee Hyun-wook stood tall and smiled.
“So… what and how are you going to kill me?”
At that moment, the spirits that were pouring out their evil words as if they were rapping all of a sudden fell silent.
“…”
The spirits were floating in the air and spinning slowly, looking like they were looking around.
“…No, no, no. !」
「How can this be?」
「There is no stone, clay, or iron!」
They realized that there was no material with specific ‘properties’ that could be different.
「That’s nonsense! Unless it’s the sky or the sea, a space like this cannot It can’t exist!”
Even the anger that was so strong that I lost my senses had no choice but to collapse in the face of helplessness.
“If you’re looking for something like metal, how about this?”
At that time, an item appeared from the engraving on Lee Hyun-wook’s right wrist.
Shishishishi——
「—It’s there!」
That was the ‘iron golem’s core.’ Since it was metal, they reacted sensitively.
‘Metal creation—’
Lee Hyun-wook then created metal from his grasp.
“Oh, humans create metal!”
However, they were sucked straight into the core of the ‘Iron Golem’ without any time for the spirits of the tribe that produced them to snatch them. In this way, a very small iron golem was born, measuring 105cm and 25.5kg.
“Oh, it’s a metal doll!”
“I have that!” Since
it was the only metal in this place, 43 earth spirits rushed towards it.
They seemed to be struggling with thirst, like people who discovered an oasis after crossing the desert.
– caution! The master authority of ‘Iron Golem’ is lost due to an unknown force!
Yes. A total of 43 earth spirits were possessed by the ‘Iron Golem’ at the same time.
‘Okay, I got caught.’
Just then, Lee Hyun-wook took out another item from the left engraving.
[Item Information]
– Name: Athena’s Golden Reins (Hero)
– Effect
1) Battlefield Controller: The maximum number of followers increases significantly for 15 minutes. (+50)
2) Raising Spirits: If you give this rein to a monster, you can tame it into a ‘subject’.
It was an item used by ‘Bellerophon’, a hero in Greek mythology, when he tamed ‘Pegasus’.
Lee Hyun-wook cast it on the small iron golem, which was waddling as if it had not yet adapted to the situation.
– Use Athena’s golden reins to ‘capture’ the monster. (Level 1)
* All abilities of the monster are temporarily greatly reduced. (-30%)
“Kwaaah—let go of this—”
The thing started jumping around, but now it was just a small 25.5kg metal doll.
Lee Hyun-wook pressed down with force and wrapped the reins around his hands twice to hold them more tightly.
– Use Athena’s golden reins to ‘capture’ the monster. (Level 1)
* All abilities of the monster are temporarily greatly reduced. (-30%)
And the longer the golden reins are worn, the greater the reduction in the monster’s abilities.
‘And in the end, I can completely subdue him and make him one of my subjects.’
However, Lee Hyun-wook had no intention of subjugating them by force. Doing so was dangerous, not only because the spirit’s power could not be maximized, but also because it could be betrayed at any time.
“Now, why don’t you all just calm down and listen to me?”
「Hey, let go of this!」
「I got caught again this time…」
「No, I don’t want to get trapped again!」
「If you make a contract with me, I can grant your wish!」
“what? “You made a contract with us?”
“You don’t have the right to do that!”
“But don’t you need to hear it?”
“Yes, listen to it. It’s your wish… revenge, right?” 「
Shut
up—!」
At that point, I felt the resistance fading somewhat.
“What now?”
This seemed to have really stimulated their desires.
“What did you say you can help me with?”
“Oh, it’s frustrating… Just listen!”
Among the various voices flowing out, there were also voices that had not yet let go of reason.
Lee Hyun-wook eased some of the pressure on the golden reins and spoke in a soft voice.
“You guys remember, right? A place called the Elementalist Association and the Black Elementalists…”
Here, the Black Elementalists refer to those who subjugate spirits through force and treat them like slaves. Those with such tendencies carried out terrible experiments on these 43 spirits.
‘The current vice president of the Spiritualist Association and the woman who will later become the head of [Black Door]…’
As Lee Hyun-wook, she was also one of the key villains that had to be dealt with at some point.
“I remember that bad girl—!”
“I have to kill those bastards…”
Whether they were captured by force or coaxed, they knew who their enemy was.
Lee Hyun-wook focused his attention on that very point by stimulating the most intense desire for anger—revenge.
“Yes, I promise with my life that I will give you a chance to kill them.”
“Is that… really me?”
“No, don’t trust me!”
“But I want revenge so bad!”
“And I will take away all the spirit stones those children have and help you become spirit kings.”
Just as humans have a desire for self-realization, all spirits had a dream of becoming a spirit king.
“But how good are you that you’re so confident!”
“So you’re telling us to believe that a guy who isn’t even an elementalist is us?”
“Haha—yes, that’s right…”
At that time, Hyunwook Lee produced metal from his body and turned it into 2kg of iron. made beads.
– Use Athena’s golden reins to ‘capture’ the monster. (Level 1)
* All abilities of the monster are temporarily greatly reduced. (-30%)
“Oh, it’s a metal that can be controlled!”
“Can you control it? “If you can, do it.”
The earth spirit colony began to pull the metal, and Lee Hyun-wook also stretched out his left hand.
Sung——
An iron ball vibrating back and forth in the air with force applied in all directions….
Hook— Chin—
But in the end, the place it arrived was in the palm of Lee Hyun-wook’s palm.
“What!”
Now that these guys’ strength has decreased by half and their anger has subsided,
Lee Hyun-wook’s control over metal was able to surpass their control over their properties.
“Wow—that’s a considerable level of metal control!”
“What makes you think they’re stronger than us?”
And the beings called spirits were quite proud of the ‘area’ they controlled.
In that respect, there was a high possibility that he would be recognized if he beat them in an earth attribute power struggle.
“Okay, if you’re as strong as me, wouldn’t we be able to kill those guys together?”
“Honestly, I think this is possible…”
“But why on earth are you showing me such goodwill?”
“Ugh! I doubt it. Let’s kill it first!”
“Of course, I can’t do that for free, and you guys can help me with my work. “You have to give it to me.”
“As expected, their intention is to use us! Aaaah!」
「They fooled us like this, too. You can’t be fooled!」
「Ah- that’s so loud! “Just listen to the end!”
“Calm down and think carefully. I was the one who released you from that spirit prison in the first place.”
“I guess so…?”
“Then I would have attacked and taken away those Black Elementalists, right?”
“Ah… Is that so?”
“Of course, you haven’t seen it for yourself, but it’s true. So it’s not difficult the second time.”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s words, the spirits began to stir. It seemed like they were having a meeting(?) or something.
And since they had been subdued by Lee Hyun-wook in the first place, there seemed to be no reason to worry for too long.
After a while—
“Okay, I’ve decided!”
Until just now . It was the voice of a boy so innocent that it was hard to believe that he was the one who was running away. The
small 108cm metal doll was waving its arms and talking, so it really felt like a kid.
Now that I think about it, out of all the voices out there, it was the one that never let go of the strings of reason.
” Let’s make a temporary contract! You’re not an elementalist, so a subordination contract has a lot of restrictions!”
“Hehe—I’m glad we can still talk.”
“And now I’m going to come out and talk as a representative, so just know that!”
At that moment, a system message appeared in front of Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes.
– Would you like to make a ‘contract’ with the land spirit colony? (Y/N)
* Earth elemental colonies will have the authority to ‘share’ your mana.
* Since you are not an elementalist, you cannot gain additional effects.
Anyone can make a contract with a spirit, but unless it is an elementalist trait, it is virtually impossible. As a player, there was no need to borrow the power of a spirit that did not suit you well.
‘But if it’s an earth spirit, it will have the best synergy with my abilities.’
Blah blah blah——
Lee Hyun-wook stripped the metal from the iron golem and recovered only the core.
However, strange symbols began to be engraved on its surface.
‘Item information has changed.’
[Item Information]
– Name: Elemental Basel (Special)
– Effect: Unknown
Since Lee Hyun-wook is not a spiritist, he needed a separate space for the spirits to stay.
The earth spirits modified this iron golem’s core so that it could fulfill its role.
“Okay, from now on, your name is… Maru.”
Maru Sun is a Korean word meaning ‘the world.’
“Hmm… That’s so special? What does it mean? Everyone is making an uproar about it.”
“…It doesn’t have much meaning.”
“And is it a condition of the contract that you give it a name?”
“No, just use Maru.”
Immediately afterward, stems began to open left and right on one wall of the room,
and Donald Harris walked in.
“…Do you have the Prophet trait?”
He asked that question with all his might, and Lee Hyun-wook couldn’t help but make a puzzled expression.
“Otherwise, how come they always do such strange things?”
“Haha—is that so? I’m always a bit lucky.”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to tame a colony of spirits…”
he said, looking somewhat displeased with a frown on his face.
But what was behind that expression was a strange wonder.
“Hmm—I guess what Emilia was praising so much was just her falling for men…” ***
「
So, you’re giving me a grade 1 spirit stone as a down payment for the contract?」
Maru was inside the backpack behind Lee Hyun-wook’s back. He asked,
“Okay, so try to be quiet for a little while. “It feels like I’m talking into thin air.”
Hyunwook Lee was currently walking through the ‘commercial district’ of Yggdrasil. And of course, I was wearing camouflage to hide my identity, but since everyone around me was my eyes and ears, I needed to be as careful as possible.
“Should I have written in the contract that mutual communication is important?” “
…Why are you so fine after being imprisoned in the spirit prison for so long?”
“Hehehe—don’t you think this is just crazy?”
Oh, that could be true.
“Anyway, a level 1 spirit stone is definitely good for you, right?”
“That’s true, but… it seems a bit expensive for a contract deposit, doesn’t it?”
‘0| The kid is a bit quick-witted, isn’t he?’
The reason I went out of my way to obtain an expensive, highest-grade spirit stone was to ask for a favor. I was
scheduled to enter Lake Chad’s spirit world tomorrow, and I had to entrust these guys with guidance.
‘At that time, I will have to leave everything to this guy’s guidance. The more you do it, the more it can become out of control.’
I needed to hold on to my heart in case those crazy spirits might have other intentions.
The method, of course, was money. If you stick to this person, good things will come out of you…
“Hmm, anyway, just stay quiet for a little while.”
Hyunwook Lee was looking down at the magical city of Yggdrasil in the Republic of Chad from Hugin’s perspective.
I had visited this brilliant city several times in my past life, but this was the first time I had seen it as well as it did now.
The buildings, with their refreshing feel due to the appropriate combination of white and blue, gave a strange sense of stability.
‘When I first came to this area, several major terrorist attacks had occurred.’
And at that time, the atmosphere was grim because a saint who was one of the pillars of Yggdrasil had also been assassinated.
‘This was when the South Tower was still in good condition?’
South Tower It was the name of the magic tower on the west side and was high enough to be seen from quite far away.
Later, when the World Wizard Player Forum was held there, a villain carried out a terrorist attack.
“Oh—that elementalist guy over there has quite a lot of potential?”
Hearing Maru’s words, Lee Hyun-wook turned his head to an alley.
There was a street stall in a dark alley, and the owner was a player.
– Player (LV: 34)
And the three people standing in front of him were all players.
– Player (LV: 29)
– Player (LV: 41)
There were as many players as there were ordinary people on the streets of Yggdrasil.
This was because players from all over the world came to study or travel abroad.
‘But when the invasion begins, everyone will run away…’
There were few players who were righteous enough to jump into a disaster that had nothing to do with them.
But at that time, an unexpected variable was caught in Lee Hyun-wook’s field of vision.
“huh?”
This time it wasn’t a player, but a monster.
To be precise, it was a monster that had ‘polymorphed’ into the player.
Even that…
– Dark Elf Elementalist (LV：61)
“…What is this again?”
And there were more than just one or two of those guys.
Walking at a certain distance, riding in a car, drinking cola at a restaurant…
– Warrior of the Dark Elf Forest (LV: 59)
– Hunter of the Dark Elf Forest (LV: 41)
– Dark Elf Forest Hunter (LV: 48)
It seemed like the Dark Elves had come for a preliminary inspection prior to the invasion.
‘If this is the case… you stepped on his tail unintentionally?’
Lee Hyun-wook began to secretly follow their footsteps.
And as a result of overhearing their conversation through Hugin, I caught one shocking word.
– …Completed securing the Spirit King’s daughter.