Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 26
26. Cheongdam-dong, unexpected incident – 1
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“······How was that possible?”
After Lee Hyun-wook’s report was over, General Choi Jeong-cheol asked quietly.
“Well, looking at your profile, it says you can control 300g, but when I listen to the story you just reported, it seems like you moved several times that amount. I heard wrong, right?”
He speaks quietly with a warm smile on his face.
However, Lee Hyun-wook knew very well that he was not an easy person.
After a few years, he will be called one of the guardians of Korea.
‘Anyway, a Necromancer is the most vigilant, and he’s a person who tried to assassinate him early.’
Six years later, Choi Jeong-cheol blocks the first invasion of the Necromancer Legion from the north.
The 10,000 undead troops, the immortal legion that persistently survives without dying, are swept away with the same persistent burning flames, reducing them to a heap of ashes that cannot be regenerated.
‘If Inferno is a rocket cannon that can fire indefinitely, Choi Jeong-cheol is a tactical nuclear bomb that can only fire one shot.’
This was possible because, as an ‘Archmage’, the best characteristic among wizards, it excluded all other magic and focused only on range and destructive power.
Although it was deformed, it became a reliable military power.
But in the end,
both the fire of Seoul and the fire of Busan went out, and the Korean Peninsula was immersed in darkness.
······After a short thought, Lee Hyun-wook nodded and answered Choi Jeong-cheol’s question.
“My abilities improved as I was reminded of the message that I had recently beaten an achievement. As the Brigadier General said, I was able to control 15 kg instead of 300 g, and I also gained some skills.”
The increase in ability was opened at a reasonable level of 15 kg.
“Well, it’s an achievement…”
In this game, the ‘achievement system’ was as uncommon as the ‘quest’.
“To be exact, when I caught the third elite monster, I received an achievement called [Dunjae’s Rebellion]. I think it may be an achievement that can be obtained due to a trait that cannot increase ability.”
We added plausible details that were prepared in advance.
Choi Jeong-cheol seemed a little worried, but soon his eyes of suspicion disappeared.
It was a time when there was still no room for growth even in the ‘F grade’.
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no other explanation other than the achievement.
“······Yes, such an achievement is quite possible.”
Choi Jeong-cheol looked back at Kim Kang-seok.
And he smiled meaningfully.
“Battalion Commander, then this guy can no longer be considered an F grade?”
“Brigade Commander, in my opinion, your qualifications as a soldier have already gone far beyond their limits.”
“Hahaha, yes, I admit it. “The battalion commander was a friend who had reason to praise him.”
According to the formula that it cannot grow, it would be grade F, but its actual combat power is grade C or higher.
With this, Kim Kang-seok thought that even the biggest obstacle to his appointment as an officer had been removed.
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, I’ll say it again, you did a great job. “I didn’t just carry out the operation well as an AMT member, but I should say that I saved countless lives… so, should I say, an aspect of society?”
Choi Jeong-cheol stretched out his short arm and tapped Lee Hyun-wook on the shoulder.
“Then there must be a reward, right?”
It was also natural.
“Is there an item you want? “Tell me about magic armor or something else.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t know what items were in the brigade’s arsenal.
‘I don’t need armor because something similar will happen once metal absorption is over.’
That’s why I couldn’t pinpoint something and talk about it…
‘I’ll have to ask for the weapons that I’ll need soon.’
Hyunwook Lee nodded.
“Yes, thank you very much. There are a few items you need…”
“Okay, please speak comfortably. I will instruct you.”
“I want to have a weapon with holy power. Two one-handed swords would be fine.”
Divine power (神聖力) is literally a sacred power.
It was the basis of Priests and Paladins, and was the opposite of the power of darkness.
In other words, it is very effective when dealing with undead or ghost types.
‘Sacred power must be steadily increased for the future.’
This time, it was because of a certain name that came to mind.
Meanwhile, Choi Jeong-cheol looked puzzled.
“Well, I guess your abilities have nothing to do with divine power?”
“you’re right. But… this time, I felt the need to have weapons with various attributes.”
“Why?”
“The spider-type monster that appeared in this Unlucky event had virtually negligible physical damage. It would be an AMT operation to not know what kind of characteristics and attributes you might face with monsters like this… I suddenly thought that it would be really difficult when facing monsters with strong vitality, especially the undead series, so I picked up a weapon with divine power. I was thinking of getting one.”
Choi Jeong-cheol nodded as he made a plausible appearance.
“Oh, you are a thorough friend. You have an attitude of learning through experience, which is great!”
“thank you.”
“Okay, I’ll tell the governor and he’ll pick out a few good guys, so you can take as many as you want.”
Choi Jeong-cheol did not attach much importance to things like military posture, so this line may not have been a big score, but Kim Kang-seok was happy with every word he said and was smiling happily.
“······ah! And shouldn’t you place another stick on your chest this time, battalion commander?”
“Yeah, I was going to ask that anyway. “If you allow it, I will handle it.”
From corporal, one more pole meant sergeant.
In other words, it is a special promotion.
The normal promotion came about two months later.
‘This… seems like they are building a dictionary to make him an officer…’
Lee Hyun-wook realized what these two people’s intentions were for giving them special promotions.
I’m sorry, but I wasn’t going to fall for that plan.
“Then, starting in a few days, you will become Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook?”
“thank you. “I will work harder in the future.”
“Hmm no. “If you work harder than you are now, you’ll be in big trouble!”
“······yes?”
“For that, you’ll have to catch at least Drake! ha ha ha!”
Choi Jeong-cheol joked and laughed heartily.
***
Lee Hyun-wook asked the brigade commander for one more thing.
‘Brigade Commander, I hope my face is not known because of this incident.’
There was absolutely no advantage to having your face revealed to the world.
However, this was a welcome decision from the AMT perspective as well.
They would get tired if civilian guilds kept an eye on the soldiers they were trying to raise.
Therefore, Lee Hyun-wook’s existence was not revealed in the news covering this incident.
-······The activities of AMT soldiers during the Seoul Station Unlucky event incident are being reported one after another. It is said that just one soldier saved about 800 citizens from monsters before King Han Taesan entered, but the identity of that soldier has not been confirmed.
– ······Citizens who were stranded at Seoul Station say with one voice that it was the AMT soldier who saved them rather than King Taesan Han, and that the hero deserves attention.
Of course, there was a movement to cover in detail.
It was only natural that it would be the biggest concern of the world at the moment…
‘Anyway, after 4 days, a big issue that will bury everything will explode.’
The Unlucky event at Seoul Station was literally a precursor.
The full-fledged occurrence of the 4th wave that will begin soon…
All the gossip up until now was going to no longer matter.
And Lee Hyeon-wook also intended to prepare for that time from now on.
however······.
– (16:19:59) left until metal absorption.
“It’s half a day…”
‘Mananan mac Rir’s Secret Armor’ was not an item that was easy to digest.
Even though the internal furnace was running at 150% efficiency to the point where daily life was possible, 16 more hours were needed.
“Hehe… As expected, it’s still hard to absorb hero grade items.”
Of course, there was a lot of work to be done in the meantime.
First of all, I planned to cash in on the ‘reward points’ given by the brigade commander.
‘What I got from this reward was 8000 points…’
In cash, it is about 12 million won.
And yesterday my salary came in, so I had 2.3 million won more.
Lee Hyun-wook bought a large number of items that could be converted into cash at the PX item shop.
And then I called Park Cheol-soo, and that very evening, Park Cheol-soo came to see me.
It was possible because it was not far from Singil to Namsan.
Lee Hyun-wook sat down with Park Chul-soo in the meeting room.
“I’m sorry for telling you to come and go. Because I’m in a position where I can’t move…”
“It’s okay, what’s going on?”
Lee Hyun-wook first held out a paper bag.
It was 4 bottles of premium powdered milk.
“Once you take this. “I heard it was the best, but I don’t know what he eats, but I gave it a try.”
“Ah, thank you for everything…”
He then handed over the orbs and asked them to cash them all and invest in stocks.
“Oh, and brother, I have one more thing to ask you. I want you to go to Blacksmith Alley.”
“Blacksmith’s Alley? “Why are you there?”
On Master Kang Jeong-du’s business card, I wrote down what I wanted to order from him and handed it out.
“An iron ball filled with divine power? Oh okay. Why do you need that?”
“It’s all because it’s useful. If you tell Master Kang my name, he will take care of it.”
“Not only will the investment in the Seongsu manufacturing industry, but the price of items imbued with divine power will soon rise… Are you really hoarding?”
As expected, he was quick-witted to think in relation to the stocks that Hyunwook Lee told him to invest in.
However, since he didn’t tell me anything conclusive, there was no way I could get the pulse right.
“Is it possible to hoard money with only 3 million won?”
“Well, okay anyway. But are those stocks really going up? Wasn’t there any news about it?”
“Hyung, just wait a moment. And be sure to invest, too.”
“······.”
“Brother, believe me.”
“Okay, I got it.”
Soon the cataclysm will start and it will go up like the bitcoin of the old days…
Hyunwook Lee swallowed the words.
***
“Why is there no one?”
When Lee Hyun-wook returned from the meeting room, the dormitory was empty.
He was planning to take them all to training, but maybe they all went to a PX somewhere… With that in mind, he took his water bottle and went out of the barracks.
Even though my body’s furnace was running, I still couldn’t neglect exercise.
Since it was necessary to wear combat uniform to use the training ground, Lee Hyun-wook changed into combat uniform.
And on the way to the training ground…
“······uh! “Are you here?”
The squad members, including Ahn Min-tae, were gathered near the iron bar.
And there were quite a few soldiers from other squads.
They turned their heads at Lee Hyun-wook’s appearance as if they had made a promise.
And then each person started saying hello one by one.
“Ah, Corporal Lee Hyun-wook! Thank you for your hard work!”
“Thank you for your hard work hehe…”
No matter how you look at this…
‘I feel like I’m getting attention from these sweaty boys, right?’
Hyunwook Lee couldn’t help but feel a strange burden.
Anyway, it was like there were fifteen people stuck to four iron bars.
saturation
Until a few days ago, there wasn’t even one…
“······Hmm, why are there so many people?”
“ah! Would you like to use this bar?”
A private from the 4th squad said as he came down from the iron bar.
“No, you use it. I have to go to the training ground.”
“uh? Then may I go with you?”
The guy followed Hyun-wook Lee with a shy expression.
We didn’t even pretend to know each other normally, but we were very blatantly pretending to be friends.
But there was not one such guy, but three or four.
It was that much that they openly followed, and there were also children who quietly followed them from a distance.
‘Why are they like this?’
Ahn Min-tae smirked and came closest.
“Wow, they look like kids following a taffy seller. Look at those expressions, expecting even a piece of candy to fall.”
“What is that metaphor? Ahn Min-tae… Are you from the generation that followed the taffy seller?”
“Well, wouldn’t it have just looked like that?”
However, when he arrived at the training center, Lee Hyun-wook heard a funny story.
“······Junmo, did he train for a duel?”
“Yes, that’s right. So I just went to the infirmary.”
Whenever a group of new recruits move in, the seniors’ bad taste kicks in.
The goal was to conduct duel training among new recruits.
Park Jun-mo was also such a toy before he became a private first class, but his record was…a total loss.
I really wasn’t good at Jijiri.
“Ha infirmary? Did it break again?”
“Haha no. It is the opposite.”
“······huh?”
“After breaking the opponent’s nose, I electrocuted him and made him lie on his back.”
······Oh what’s going on?
When Lee Hyun-wook made that expression, Ahn Min-tae smiled and explained.
“That bastard, Park Jun-mo, has been going crazy lately, saying he wants to follow Corporal Lee Hyun-wook’s example. “I am now doing 5 sets of 7 to 8 pull-ups, and I am also proud of the strength training I do regularly.”
When I thought about it, it seemed like my talent for dealing with electricity had improved considerably at Seoul Station.
“Oh, so it couldn’t be…”
Lee Hyun-wook looked around.
Do these guys who have been following Lee Hyun-wook think that there is something great about Lee Hyun-wook since Lee Hyun-wook has completely changed and even Park Jun-mo has shown improvement?
‘What can I say, I feel like I’m the first instructor in Daechi-dong…’
Lee Hyun-wook didn’t know it, but there was a joke going around in the company that said, “If you win Lee Hyun-wook’s coin, you’ll be in trouble.”
At that time, one more person approached.
“I······.”
It was Lee Won-seok, a large private.
He was carrying a training sword on one shoulder.
“······Corporal Lee Hyun-wook?”
As the guy’s thick voice rang out quietly, everyone around him couldn’t help but become nervous.
This is because I thought that the relationship between the two, who had been fighting not long ago, was not that good.
Lee Hyun-wook also wondered if this kid had lost his senses and was trying to start a fight again.
“······.”
However, it was quite different from then.
Above all, my friends in the gang that he carried around like a folding screen were also looking in this direction hesitantly from a distance.
“If you have time, I have something to tell you.”
“What?”
“······Would you like to duel with me one more time?”
At that remark, someone swallowed dry saliva.
Are you really thinking of applying for a ‘revenge match’ after sharpening your sword after your last loss?
“······.”
A moment of silence…
Then Lee Won-seok looked embarrassed for a moment.
“ah! So… I’m not just starting another fight or anything, but to be honest…”
“······.”
“That’s because I want to learn what my problem is!”
Wonseok Lee bowed his head.
“I want to apply to become a non-commissioned officer, but I feel like I’m not good enough!”
“······.”
This was an embarrassing situation as well.
The guy who used to hang out with Oh Sang-guk and Kwak Jin-cheol and act like a bully would bend his pride and teach Lee Hyun-wook, who had beaten him, a lesson… Lee Hyun-wook chuckled
.
“Great.”
“yes?”
“I wish I had a living, moving training partner, so come up.”
Lee Hyun-wook said as he climbed into the battle box.
“Ah… huh…”
Lee Won-seok’s expression turned white.
Because it reminded me of the last nightmare.
“Why don’t you like it?”
“Oh no! As long as you teach me, you can beat me as much as you want! But Corporal Lee Hyun-wook? “I wish you would stop strangling that mo’s neck…”
Hyunwook Lee shed his eyes.
“High-ranking orcs sometimes use grappling and ground techniques. Are you, a tank, planning to run away if you encounter those guys?”
“ah······.”
Then he tapped my cheek and jumped up to the battle box.
“yes! Then I will prepare to pass out!”
To be honest, the interest and requests of the company members in this situation were quite annoying.
but······.
‘Very useful.’
Lee Hyun-wook thought it was a good thing.
4th wave·······.
It was necessary to use a battalion force to overcome the long, long hell that was about to begin.
According to original history, after the 4th wave, there
were only 7 people from the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion who survived… including me.’
Yes, it was virtually annihilated.
‘But this time it will be different.’
Lee Hyun-wook looked at the company members who were training hard.
‘If they follow my words, they will not simply survive…’
He released his wrists and stood facing Lee Won-seok.
‘······It could eat up the entire 4th wave.’
If controlling and attacking one gate is like sea fishing, the 4th wave was like hunting and dismembering a huge whale.
In other words, it was never a problem that could be solved alone. Like operating a whaling ship sailing through the ocean, multiple crews had to work together.
And as if to support his aspirations, a system message appeared before his eyes.
– Metal absorption is complete. (Mananan Mak Mir’s Secret Armor)
* Maneuverable metal weight increased. : 2961g
‘I finally absorbed hero grade armor.’
– Current weight of ‘metal’ that can be controlled: 21358g,
an increase of 2.9kg at once. Metal control has exceeded 20kg.
But this was just the beginning.
– congratulations! By satisfying special conditions, the ‘rigid body’ skill is greatly enhanced!
As the swallowed metal was an ‘armor’ item, it naturally fused with a similar ‘rigid body’.
All of the options attached to hero-grade armor had some of them ‘skilled’.
Just as Hyunwook Lee was about to check the details…
– Hook- Ah, from the administrative department…
Something unexpected has begun.
– ······ Corporal Lee Hyun-wook Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, please go to the battalion commander’s office immediately. This is a call from the battalion commander. The transmission has ended.
I couldn’t even guess what the battalion commander was calling me on a Saturday morning.
Lee Hyun-wook immediately headed to the captain’s office.
And the moment I opened the door to the battalion commander’s office and walked
in, “If I send you there, all of my kids will die!”
Lee Hyun-wook
couldn’t help but be embarrassed for a moment.
It was because I had never seen Kim Kang-seok screaming.
There was someone sitting in front of him.
It was Warrant Officer Cheon Myeong-ho, a raid tactics instructor for the Black Tiger Unit.
The two turned their heads and looked at Lee Hyun-wook.
Their faces hardened.
······Anyway, what does this mean that everyone is dying?