Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 196

Episode 196. [ Hero, Accumulated Power – 1 ]

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Lee Hyun-wook was sitting at the Order Tower in Laputa.

On the large table where his gaze rested, a map of the Indian Ocean was spread out as a hologram, and on it the positions of ships were indicated with red dots… but there were no red dots floating on the sea.

Currently, dozens of ships coming to the Korean Peninsula carrying all kinds of material items from all over the world were stranded at the port.

A few hours ago, as many as three ships and three frigates sank after being attacked by an unidentified person in succession, and there was not a single survivor.

What captain would want to traverse the open sea when such a terrible thing is happening? Even if there was a man with such stubbornness, the crew would have thrown him overboard and turned the ship around.

In other words, supply was paralyzed ahead of the war.

This incident became a big issue in less than a day, and as influential media outlets around the world reported on it, it began to spread as if preparations for the war against the devil were disrupted.

– War materials on their way to Korea are stranded… Will they be outwitted even before the war begins?…

– One ominous omen after another… Can humanity survive?

Even so, anxiety was growing as news came that the Demon King was appearing all over the world and subjugating monsters.

The fact that preparations were being made to deal with the devil, led by Lee Hyun-wook, was widely publicized, but things were not going well on the surface, so doubts and concerns could not be raised.

It was a feeling similar to the instinct of a protected person.

‘But I’ll soon turn things around.’

Lee Hyun-wook had a clear understanding of the enemy’s cards.

In his eyes, this seemed like an opportunity, not a crisis.

He said, looking at the holographic map again.

“If Team Leader Lee mobilizes many high-ranking wizards to measure the mana concentration on the sea surface, certain parts will be completely different. And those parts will be connected like a road.”

– Are you saying that this is a way to track an unidentified attacker… a crocodile monster called Leviathan? Team

leader Kyo-Jun Lee’s voice came out of the Mana Messenger.

“Yes, that means we can know the path it moves. And if you sprinkle ‘troll blood’ around it, you can attract Leviathan… You’ll need at least 100,000 liters.”

– But the blood of trolls… I don’t know where you got this information, but is it really reliable?

There was a question in his voice.

This ship attack incident occurred suddenly and without anyone expecting.

But isn’t Lee Hyun-wook coming up with a solution as if he already knows everything?

Even if it was Lee Hyun-wook’s opinion that he had always been able to see through the situation like Solomon and pull out all kinds of items at the right time like a gadget detective, he couldn’t help but want to know the source of such a serious incident.

And Lee Hyun-wook had a cheat-like excuse for times like these.

“Yes, Leviathan, we can know because the information about that monster is recorded in Laputa.”

– Ah… As expected. How on earth was Laputa… Yes, this is a long story.

Of course, this wasn’t true.

But it was a story that everyone could believe.

The reason Lee Hyun-wook knows the whole process is because he discovered Leviathan in a past life. This was because the New Zealand guild that hunted them produced a four-part documentary about their achievements.

And it was one of the must-watch events for a strategy team leader planning a strategy. –

Then save as much troll blood as possible . Let’s see.

“Yes, please. That will be the bait to attract him.”

The ‘bait’ would soon be ready.

The next thing we needed was a ‘net’.

– We also maintain contact with Lee Seong-yoon’s side and the King’s side. There are… about 7 hours left for both sides to arrive.

That’s right, the Water Spirit King and the Gravity Wizard Lee Seong-yoon. These two would act as the ‘net’.

“Yes, I will also use ‘World Bridge’ and go in that direction, so please pass it on to the two of you as well.”

– Yes, then I will prepare.

The so-called operation [Moby Dick] has begun.

‘The last thing we need now is a way to suffocate.’

In other words, a ‘harpoon’ was needed.

However, it had not been properly secured yet.

‘But it is actually in my hands.’

Lee Hyun-wook cut off communication with team leader Lee Kyo-jun and checked his watch.

‘Now 11 minutes…’

Finally, after 11 minutes, a hero would be elected.

With him, the harpoon would be secured.

Lee Hyun-wook turned his head and looked at the TV. I saw it.

– Now, in about ten minutes, it will be decided who the hero is!

The anchor of one broadcast was raising his voice, and like during the presidential election, each broadcasting station was broadcasting a special program related to the ‘election of a hero.’

– Now, the most powerful . No matter what anyone says, the candidate for the hero is Lee Hyun-wook, Steele! However, many players have argued over his qualifications, but there have been quite a few unexpected answers, right? – Yes, that’s right! Now, with just ten minutes left

until the selection of the hero, players who made an unexpected choice are… We’ve compiled the interview. Let’s watch it together!

The screen soon turns and Alain Giam appears.

– I support Steele Lane. And now, as everyone knows, I am helping more than anyone else. I am the fuel for the train called Steele Lane. I can tell you that there is.

He was making continuous statements in support of Lee Hyun-wook as if he had now completely become Lee Hyun-wook’s person.

‘Okay, I’m looking forward to what he will ask me again this time.’

To Lee Hyun-wook, Alain Giam was the so-called goose or goblin that laid the golden egg.

Before tearing open the belly of such a being, he contacted Alain Giam several times a day and pretended to trust him.

And yesterday, he invited him to Laputa for food. He said he would treat him well and even sprinkled some groundbait on it, but since it was a place called Laputa that had been shrouded in mystery until now, he couldn’t hide his good feeling. ‘If you pull it slowly like this, it will bring you more and more golden eggs.

‘

The person who appeared on the screen next was none other than DS Edward Woods.

– I also think that Steele Lane is the perfect owner of the hero’s perk. If he is…

he will definitely do well. The other man standing next to him is Japanese. It was ‘Hurricane’ Kodo Koshiro.

The two seemed to be currently preparing their own response in Tokyo, and Kodo Koshiro also nodded.

– Well, I don’t really trust a person named Lee Hyun-wook, but he is the only one at the moment. I think so. … No matter what, conquering the world quest is the top priority.

Unlike Edward Woods, who maintains a poker face, he couldn’t hide his shocked expression, but he still seemed to have made a rational decision. ‘But it’s

clear that they are not villains . So, if we work together, it will be of great help.’

In his opinion, the problem was that we both had too much pride.

But now that we seemed to have a perfect hierarchy, it seemed like we wouldn’t be holding on to our pants like we did before.

In this way, we were in direct conflict with the name Steelane. Even powerful players insisted that he should be a ‘warrior.’

If you think rationally, you can see that he is a unique candidate.

Next, a few more interviews appeared, and the screen soon shifted back to the studio.

– Now, 60. Seconds left!

It was a tense moment, as if just before the exit polls for the presidential election were announced.

– Oh! Four! Three! Two! One! One!

At that moment, a single line of system messages appeared in front of the eyes of players around the world.

– (!) The hero who will fight against the devil has been elected!

***

Lee Hyun-wook checked the system message that appeared before his eyes.

– Congratulations! You have been selected as the one and only ‘warrior’ who will fight against the devil.

At that moment, a strange feeling occurred . I felt energy enveloping my entire body.

“Huh…”

This was power. Indescribably powerful power… I had a strange and intense feeling, as if a hot snake was climbing into a coil and seeping through my entire body. –

The event buff ‘Hero Perk’ is being applied.

1) All abilities are greatly increased. (+200%)

2) Resistance to all status abnormalities is increased (+100%)

3) The Demon King’s special barrier can be ignored. You can.

The options for this hero’s special ‘event buff’ were truly enormous. As far as Lee Hyun-wook knew, there was no single buff or achievement more powerful than this. ‘…A

200% increase is a whopping 3 times increase.’

And in addition to this, the [War Hero] achievement effect was also being applied, because the Demon King’s invasion was also classified as a war event. With that,

another 50% increase was applied.

‘… Ability level increase of 250%, which is 3.5 times the total. And this all overlaps.’

So….

– Current weight of metal that can be controlled: 308441kg

Total was 308 tons

Lee Hyun-wook took out AD-2 from the wrist imprint and summoned four Moglei in it one after another.

Hung— Hung— Hung— Hung—

He had four At the same time, metal control was granted to the Mowglai.

‘Previously, due to the lack of metal control, the mass liberation of the remaining three, except for the number 1 Mowglai, had to be maintained at level 3.’

The so-called strongest Mowglai No. 1 is 100 tons. And the original Mowley No. 2 is 50 tons, and the remaining replicas No. 3 and 4 are 25 tons each. In other words, to

handle these 4 pieces in 4 stages at the same time, 200 tons of metal control was required. For a while, I had no choice but to use only one Mogley.

‘Now I can swing it to my heart’s content.’

In front of Lee Hyun-wook, four Moghlays were lined up side by side.

Just by moving a short distance, the wind blew, perhaps due to their enormous mass.

‘…With these, you have four harpoons.’

No matter what weapon was used, there would be no harpoon better suited to catching a giant sea monster.

‘But this alone might not be enough, so I prepared something special. I was planning to use it to shoot down the Flower of Death… but I guess I’ll have to test it now. ‘

Hyunwook Lee raised his head and snapped his fingers at the Talos ‘speaker’ hanging from the ceiling.

“Do you have any instructions for the master?”

“Contact the lab now and tell them that they will be mobilizing Project [Gauss].”

We were also researching ways to better utilize this Mowglai through ‘magic engineering.’

The goal was to shoot down the Flower of Death….

The prototype of that terrifying project had been completed.

“Yes, I understand! And Director Woo Seong-moon’s mana communication is waiting. Shall we connect right away?”

“Hmm? Director Woo, why… Yes, connect me.”

Hyun-wook Lee nodded, and Seong-moon Woo’s voice came out of the speaker.

– This is Woo Seong-moon.

“Yes, Chief, what’s going on?”

– First of all, the hero perk… I don’t know if I should congratulate you on that. It’s packaged well in many ways, but isn’t it actually a VIP seat for Saji? ”

Haha—but you still have a good weapon.”

– I will do my best to collect ammo for that weapon. But… the intelligence we just received says that an item has been delivered to top players in each country.

“yes?”

– But… the name of the item is ‘The Devil’s Invitation’.

About 30 minutes later, Lee Hyun-wook was able to receive an invitation from the devil, secured by Director Woo Seong-moon.

[Item Information]

– Name: Demon King’s Invitation (Special)

– Effect: When you infuse mana into this place, you will be moved to a secret space. (However, it may be rejected.)

‘What on earth is the intention of this…’

Lee Hyun-wook looked at the item for a while, but could not find any additional information.

At that time, additional information could be obtained through TV.

– Oh, the news just came in! An unspecified number of media outlets around the world are revealing that they have received messages from the devil. That’s the same for our MBS.

Lee Hyun-wook frowned and approached the TV.

– To summarize, he says that he is a player from another dimension and has no intention of destroying this world, but rather improves it in the right direction!

“…What kind of trick are you planning?”

– He also said that he was recruiting players to follow him… and emphasized that he could give them a perk called a ‘title’. I don’t know what this is, but

Lee Hyun-wook realized what the devil’s trick was.

‘…is trying to cause division.’

It was a psychological operation to shake things up just a little as the entire planet went into battle mode centered on Lee Hyun-wook.

And it seemed to work to some extent.

– A merciful demon lord? Can we trust the game’s system messages? Fundamental skepticism rises…

– If the Demon King is a player, controlling monsters is revolutionary. “We must negotiate rather than antagonize.”

– Some raid experts say the game is already tilted. “As long as shipping is blocked, war preparations will be greatly disrupted”

– One pessimistic view that humanity cannot withstand the power of the devil’s monster army…

Negative articles like this started pouring in again.

Lee Hyun-wook’s war preparations went very smoothly, but there was no way the whole world would know that.

That said, he wasn’t a businessman and couldn’t reveal the secret weapons he was preparing by holding a promotional event to show that they were alive and well just because the world’s expectations were dropping.

On the other hand, the devil’s actions were clear, and due to the nature of the news, negative information was shown more prominently… It was perhaps natural that the scales of the world were gradually tilted toward confusion and despair rather than fighting spirit or hope.

However, just because the world turned negative did not mean the battle was lost. That’s why I tried not to pay attention…

‘…the part about giving that title down bothers me.’

Since the Demon King is also a player, there is a high possibility that he received something called the ‘Demon King Perk’ during this World Quest.

In that case, it was reasonable to assume that the ‘title’ was also one of the quest goals.

‘I don’t know what kind of buff I’ll get every time I charm more players, so I can’t watch in vain.’

Of course, the vast majority of players would not make such a foolish choice. But aren’t there sometimes people who are social misfits or dark-hearted?

Just like in the past, when the terrorist organization called IS was at its peak, crazy people appeared from all over the world who wanted to join IS.

And just in time, an amazing promotion was being prepared.

About thirty minutes later, I received a Mana message from team leader Kyo-Jun Lee.

– Chik 一 Leviathan’s location has now been discovered. And two water spirit king gravity wizards are on the scene, preparing to cast a net.

“Yes, I will be there soon.”

And then Kang Hee-seol sent a mana message.

– Now, I have mounted the prototype of my other masterpiece project [Gauss] on the Pridwen! This draws mana from the Pridwen’s engine, so when I activate it, the Pridwen will stop for a while. And since you have to load the projectile in advance, please tell me when you reload the Mowgley!

“Okay, I’m going now.”

I was planning to send out a public service announcement to the world that would raise awareness of what would happen if one were to fall for the devil’s whispers.