Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 3

3. Return of an F-class player – 3

———————=

Park Jun-mo was in a cold sweat as he climbed the stairs of the barracks.

“I am Corporal Lee Hyun-wook…”

“huh?”

“This is Corporal Kwak Jin-cheol, the deputy on duty today.”

“Oh, I know. I saw you in the morning.”

The reason Park Jun-mo brought up this story was to tell people to be careful.

Corporal Kwak Jin-cheol hates Corporal Lee Hyeon-wook.

It was a story so famous that even Park Jun-mo, the youngest member of the squad who had moved in only three months ago, was familiar with it.

‘······ Corporal Gwak Jin-cheol was brutally broken by Corporal Lee Hyeon-wook. Even though it was when I was in second class.’

It was very embarrassing to lose to an F-class, the lowest class in dueling training.

Anyway, after that happened, it seemed like the 2nd squad leader at the time was quite upset with Kwak Jin-cheol, who was the youngest member of the 2nd squad. It was an unprecedented humiliation for Kwak Jin-cheol, and he said he could be heard sobbing early that morning.

Of course, this was a year ago, and things have changed since then.

Kwak Jin-cheol, who grew up gradually, was promoted to D-class. And he was in charge of the role of the best ‘dealer’ in the company.

After that, in order to restore his honor, he again requested duel training from Lee Hyun-wook…

‘Corporal Lee Hyun-wook refused everything, which made me hate him even more…’

It started from then.

It is said that Kwak Jin-cheol secretly started harassing Lee Hyun-wook based on the position he had built in the company.

However, Lee Hyun-wook, who was lacking in all aspects, would have had no choice but to endure.

‘By the way… isn’t Corporal Lee Hyun-wook also enduring and then exploding?’

Park Jun-mo worried about that as he watched Lee Hyeon-wook walking down the hallway.

No matter how angry he is, Corporal Lee Hyeon-wook, who has no standing, can’t do anything about it.

I’ll probably end up in a bigger humiliation.

If it squirms, it will get trampled harder.

However, contrary to Park Jun-mo’s worries, Lee Hyun-wook was in a very peaceful state.

‘I still have to exercise more to digest the metal I swallowed in the morning, but it’s annoying.’

Lee Hyun-wook has experienced something so terrible that it cannot be compared to the level of absurdity of these kids. I wasn’t so soft on the inside that I could get personally annoyed by such trivial conflicts.

‘Still, it will become a distraction in the future, so I have to cut it off now.’

Absurdity restricts freedom.

And the constrained freedom makes it impossible to use time smoothly.

In other words, it hinders growth.

That cannot be tolerated.

‘Everyone will be surprised because my change is so sudden, but it doesn’t matter.’

I often heard that something had changed since the regression. If it could be heard from all sides, it meant there was a clear sign.

However, Lee Hyun-wook had no intention of hiding the fact that he had changed 180 degrees.

‘I have a lot of time, but I shouldn’t waste it.’

The enemy he will have to deal with in the future is the axis of evil that has encroached on the entire world. There was no time to worry about cause-and-effect relationships or order in the midst of a battle of strength within the company.

‘It might be better to quickly take control of the troops.’

It may seem absurd for a soldier to take control of a unit, but this is A·M·T. There is always a battle, and what makes the ‘ball’ in that battle is the ‘place’.

Now is the time when a single strong soldier is more valuable than a cutting-edge combat weapon.

For example, a single Class A ‘tank’ player is evaluated as having much greater power than hundreds of tanks.

In that respect, if you perform the best in the big and small battles that will occur in the future, you will be able to reap quite a variety of benefits during the remaining ‘player duty mission period’.

Ability items, colleagues, money, forces, etc…

If you don’t do that…

‘Villain. ‘It’s not like you can overcome them just by increasing your abilities.’

You can never change the worst future.

***

Meanwhile, the remaining members of Squad 5 were gathered in the central hallway.

Click-click-click-

The periodic sound of the ballpoint pen button filled with discomfort. The person who made that sound was Kwak Jin-cheol.

He was leaning against the wall, wearing a duty deputy armband and holding a pen in one hand.

“hmm······.”

He let out an exasperated breath and glanced at his watch.

Gulp –

Several members of the 5th squad swallowed dry saliva at that action. This was because two streams of steam were already rising from his nostrils.

That wasn’t a good sign.

“Do I have to wait for you this long?”

“······.”

In the tense silence, Kwak Jin-cheol’s teeth were seen heating up like steel in a furnace.

“huh? why no answer? Are you ignoring me too?”

“no!”

“You guys in the support squad… haven’t you been able to come to your senses since we evacuated Sergeant Kim?”

“sorry!”

Sergeant Kim Ho-jong was the 5th squad leader who is currently hospitalized in a military hospital. He was a person who obediently took on chores and was truly liked by the subjects of his bad habits.

One of them jokingly said that Kim Ho-jong was the ideal ‘head of the flock’ from a shepherd’s perspective.

This is because even if the shepherd dogs did not bark ferociously, they would lead the pack in the direction they wanted.

‘But that pinch hitter Lee Hyun-wook is starting to go out without a care in the world?’

Kwak Jin-cheol, the self-proclaimed candidate for the next shepherd, laughed out of embarrassment.

At that time, two people appeared at the end of the hallway.

Kwak Jin-cheol clicked his tongue.

“Look over there, the two foolish sheep that got lost are finally crawling back.”

They were Lee Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo.

At that moment, Kwak Jin-cheol’s expression suddenly became distorted.

“hey! Don’t you run!”

Along with the excess, gray smoke rose from Kwak Jin-cheol’s mouth.

but······.

“huh? what? Did those bastards really turn around…”

The two did not run.

Park Jun-mo was startled by Kwak Jin-cheol’s shout and tried to run, but Lee Hyun-wook grabbed his shoulder. In Kwak Jin-cheol’s opinion, it was a truly amazing scene.

“······.”

Park Jun-mo didn’t know what to do, and Lee Hyun-wook took his time and the two walked slowly.

Soon, the two classmates, Lee Hyun-wook and Kwak Jin-cheol, faced each other.

“Why did you call our squad?”

At Lee Hyeon-wook’s short question, Kwak Jin-cheol snorted. Again, smoke came out.

“why? why? What is work? Hyunwook Lee, I didn’t even know that in that time…”

“no.”

Hyunwook Lee took a step closer and stopped talking.

“I asked why us. Even in the morning, we worked on the drainage at the back of the headquarters. But isn’t it a bit strange that we’re doing it again?”

“what?”

“Take the other kids. This is absurd.”

At Lee Hyeon-wook’s words, Kwak Jin-cheol was at a loss for words.

‘As expected, I get embarrassed when I go out strong.’

It was as Lee Hyun-wook expected. Kwak Jin-cheol opened his mouth and then closed it again.

No matter how widespread the absurdity of an organization is, if the victim opens his mouth and demands justice, the perpetrator is bound to be momentarily embarrassed.

Nine times out of ten, unless you’re an idiot.

This is because the perpetrator feels ashamed of himself. That’s why he mainly touches people who don’t resist and continues bullying in ‘silence’.

‘In my previous life, everyone, including me, had never been so strong.’

To put it simply, it was a completely unexpected reaction from Kwak Jin-cheol.

“You know very well that this is absurd, right? Kwak Jin-cheol.”

Hyunwook Lee asked again.

“······.”

Kwak Jin-cheol already felt that something had dried up. However, he smiled as if it was as absurd as possible. But the corners of his mouth were quivering slightly.

“Hey Hyunwook Lee. Is it a day or two? Why are you acting like an amateur?”

Yeah, it’s usually like this.

People who know that they are making a mistake try to rationalize it when their mistake is exposed by saying that it is all like that.

At that point, Hyunwook Lee nodded.

“It’s more of a problem because it’s not just a day or two. So absurd. Our squad also has the right to rest time to maintain combat power and training time to increase combat power. in fairness. So, divide the work evenly.”

“training? haha! Class F trains? Hey, a goblin passing by will laugh. Are you going to train?”

This too was too obvious a repertoire. I have experienced personal attacks citing F-class status countless times in my past life. There was no way the damage would come.

“Okay, from now on, our squad will be training, so let the others do the work. Please note that this is guaranteed training time. “This is stipulated in the A·M·T barracks living regulations, so if you have any complaints, go to a higher level and not me.”

“What a crazy bastard…”

He countered with such correct words that I couldn’t win with words. Kwak Jin-cheol, unable to bear it any longer, rolled his eyes and shook his head.

But Lee Hyun-wook did not back down. But that didn’t mean he was fighting with Kwak Jin-cheol. There was coldness in his eyes, and Kwak Jin-cheol unconsciously avoided his eyes… and glared at Park Jun-mo.

“······her! Look at this baby? Did you suddenly open your mouth? People are saying that Lee Hyun-wook is a bit strange these days and that something has changed, but he really has changed. You just turned around…? huh?”

Embarrassed and excited, Kwak Jin-cheol’s neck swelled and orange heat bubbled up inside his throat. It was ready to burst into flames at any moment.

“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook. “Stop now…”

Then the squad members started to stop Lee Hyun-wook. It was because if the problem got worse, it was Lee Hyun-wook who would be angry.

However, Lee Hyun-wook did not blink an eye. Rather, he smiled leisurely as if it was funny to see Kwak Jin-cheol so excited.

“Hey, don’t waste your energy, just call the other kids. we go in Let’s go guys…”

“Hey! Order the lieutenant on duty now! “Rebellion… No, rebel?”

It was an order from the adjutant on duty… Kwak Jin-cheol seemed to be trying to refute it logically. But he wasn’t that smart and his efforts were in vain.

“okay? Then, is there an officer on duty?”

“······what?”

“Don’t you know that the duty adjutant is the deputy officer on duty? If you are there, it must be an order from the officer on duty. Then I’ll go and ask myself. Did you order our squad?”

Kwak Jin-cheol had no choice but to shut his mouth again.

‘Where did this guy suddenly come from studying regulations? What on earth… Where did you pick this up and make me angry with such a complicated story?’

If it was just a battle of energy while spitting out harsh words, Kwak Jin-cheol was confident. Because of his personality, he has been fighting in such an ignorant manner throughout his life.

However, when I attacked him with logic and grounds like this, I was speechless and panicked, and then I started to lose my temper for some reason.

“······.”

Kwak Jin-cheol looked towards the administrative unit where the officer on duty was.

‘The officer on duty today… damn it, it’s Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha!’

An executive who was indifferent to this issue, especially a former soldier and non-commissioned officer, could have taken Kwak Jin-cheol’s side. Several such executives passed through Kwak Jin-cheol’s mind.

‘Sergeant Kang Seong-choon, who is scheduled to work tomorrow…’

But Seo Eun-ha was not.

She was a B-class player with the characteristics of a ‘Paladin’.

And perhaps similar to those characteristics, her values were also very noble and she was even the second daughter of General Seo Baek-jin, the commander of the [Army Holy Knights].

In other words, he had enormous influence beyond the rank of lieutenant.

‘Damn…’

If such a woman found out about this situation… beyond causing trouble, a very big problem would arise with Kwak Jin-cheol’s identity. She was not the type to tolerate absurdity.

‘Does this guy even know this and is pulling this trick? They’ve planned everything and are trying to screw me over…’

I was embarrassed, so I started to feel all kinds of victim consciousness.

“Hey, Kwak Jin-cheol. Why are you not talking?”

“······.”

“You have nothing to say? Then I will have to speak directly to the officer on duty.”

Lee Hyeon-wook said that and passed Kwak Jin-cheol.

“hey! hey! hey! Aren’t you standing there?”

It was then.

“······Adjutant on duty.”

Someone from the administration team came out.

It was a tall woman.

She was wearing a black military uniform from A M T and a black beret.

Pure white skin and clear features even without any makeup.

So, I look at him once in a while, but when I run into her cold eyes, I turn my head.

“there. What’s going on?”

Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha, the officer on duty, asked in a stern voice.

“Oh no!”

Although Kwak Jin-cheol denied it, Seo Eun-ha looked suspiciously.

“Well, I have something to go up to the main office for a moment.”

“ah! Is that so?”

“Please take care of the administrative team. But you don’t need that much work at Yuyugo. Because they asked me to send only three people. And I can see the people who worked in the morning… Hmm, I guess it’s not just the privates who are working?”

“ah! no. No need to worry. “We will handle it reasonably well.”

Seo Eun-ha nodded and turned around, and Kwak Jin-cheol gave her a raised hand salute.

Just with Seo Eun-ha’s appearance and a few words, Kwak Jin-cheol’s feelings became much more complicated. He stared blankly at Seo Eun-ha’s back and did not turn his head.

Lee Hyun-wook opened his mouth first.

“You said it yourself that you would handle it reasonably, so we will go in without worrying.”

“······.”

“Guys, what are you doing? “Let’s go in.”

Lee Hyun-wook turned around and Kwak Jin-cheol could no longer hold on.

The 5th squad members standing in the central hallway watched and had no choice but to follow Lee Hyun-wook in.

Park Jun-mo watched the situation in cold sweat and was the last to turn around.

At that moment, Kwak Jin-cheol’s muttering was heard.

“Me ·····

It was an evil voice.

Park Jun-mo sensed that something bigger than this would happen in the future.

***

“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, why on earth are you doing this these days? What were you thinking about just now?”

Lee Hyun-wook’s successor, Ahn Min-cheol, asked.

Naturally, the most embarrassed were the 5th squad members. Rather than feeling grateful for blocking the absurdity with my whole body, I felt more burdened.

It was already dark before my eyes how that person, Kwak Jin-cheol, would retaliate in the future. Doesn’t Kwak Jin-cheol get along well with the sergeants who are powerful figures in his company?

“Mincheol.”

“······yes.”

“don’t worry. “Everything will be okay.”

“······Do you feel bad if I don’t believe Corporal Lee Hyun-wook’s words?”

“No, it’s normal to think that way. Just wait and see. “Everything will be normal.”

Even though he assured that, the atmosphere in the 5th squad that day was cold.

However, Lee Hyun-wook didn’t care at all whether he was ignorant or not.

He just kept training and exercising over and over again.

***

It was that night.

Park Jun-mo went to the outdoor dryer to collect laundry and heard a conversation coming from the smoking area right next door. It was a coincidence.

“······Fuck! “That bastard Lee Hyun-wook must have done something wrong.”

It was Kwak Jin-cheol’s voice.

He was, after all, still feverish after the incident this morning.

Fire!

At that moment, a dark light spread into the drying shed.

“uh! hey! “I’m burning all my cigarettes, man!”

“No matter how hard you try, be careful of your abilities within the territory! If the battalion commander sees it, there will be an uproar.”

“I understand.”

The people talking to Kwak Jin-cheol seemed to be the 2nd squad leader, Sergeant Oh Sang-guk, and the 3rd squad leader, Sergeant Kim Kang-jun. They were worthy of being called the real power of this company.

“Whew… Anyway, you’re saying that bastard really did that?”

“It’s real. Should I just skip this?”

“No. How dare an F-rank bastard fight against our ace?”

It was Oh Sang-guk, the second squad leader, who said that.

He looked favorably on his successor, Kwak Jin-cheol, and even selected him as the next squad leader, so there was no way he could ignore this incident quietly.

“I almost melted that bastard’s face.”

“Jincheol, this is not something you should deal with on your own.”

“Then what should I do? I’m really very hot. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night.”

In response, Oh Sang-guk exhaled a long puff of cigarette smoke and then slowly opened his mouth.

“If that bastard suddenly has pride, well, that pride needs to be trampled on. Great. If something like this happened, Choi Young-joon, who would roll his eyes and make a fuss, isn’t that kid gone sick right now? Uhhhh!”

“Oh, well, it would have been more of a headache if Sergeant Youngjun Choi had been there at a time like this.”

“yes. “If only that scholar bastard was there…”

It was as if the villains were conspiring.

Park Jun-mo tried to suppress the sound of his breathing as much as he could while slowly washing the laundry.

“Lee Hyun-wook, I heard he’s been going in and out of the training ground these days?”

“you’re right. Training for an F-level subject sucks.”

“Well, then, there are privates who train hard, like Won-seok and his classmates, right?”

“Ah, you mean Barbarian? He already talked about whether or not he should go up to C-class.”

It was a fairly high level trait among the Barbarian close combat series. And Private Won-seok Lee, mentioned here, was the 3rd Private, and was already one of the people mentioned as the company’s ace.

It was even rumored that he might be commissioned as a noncommissioned officer soon. That’s why the seniors couldn’t treat them carelessly. One day, he might suddenly come back as an executive.

“uh. He was really fucking strong. Did you see him tearing apart goblins with his bare hands during the last operation?”

“Yeah… that was really crazy. No matter how strong, who would think of tearing it apart with their bare hands? “That bastard also has the temperament of an idiot.”

During the last operation, Private First Class Lee Won-seok became quite famous by performing such an antics.

As a madman who enjoys killing.

“Anyway, if you send them in, give them some talent, make them train for duels, and then beat them up, they will take care of their poor pride. If you say you won’t do it, you can make a fool out of it again.”

“Oh, that seems like a really good idea.”

“Yes, Jincheol. The problem is how to deal with it. Stay calm. I will tell Wonseok.”

“thank you. “I’m really able to survive my military service thanks to Sergeant Oh.”

Park Jun-mo felt a chill run down his spine. He listened only to that point and came out of the drying yard.

“Ah…what should I do…”

Lee Hyun-wook was a really good person.

However, no matter how much Park Jun-mo thinks about it…

He was a person who had absolutely no power to protect himself.

***

10 p.m.

“I will turn off the lights to go to bed.”

When the lights went out, Lee Hyun-wook took out a lock he had put behind his pillow and very boldly put it in his mouth.

Gulp –

Then, strangely enough, the heavy lock went down my throat like a vending machine sucking up banknotes.

As it has the ability to absorb metal, it can be easily swallowed when accompanied by the will to eat.

Of course, metals of a size that could not be put in one’s mouth were impossible.

– Until metal absorption (03:59:59) left.

‘By the time I leave for night guard duty, I’ll have gained about 60g more.’

It was honestly so convenient to be able to level up even while sleeping.

He checked his current ability status before going to sleep.

– Current weight of ‘metal’ that can be controlled: 1297g

This was enough to move 4 daggers at the same time.

‘At this level, we will be able to respond to the incident that will occur at dawn.’

A small disturbance was expected to occur during the night shift today.

And if you use the commotion well…

‘Very big gains will come one after another.’