Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 30
30. Cheongdam-dong, Red Gate – 3
———————==
Cheonghwa strategy team leader Park Ki-taek was staring blankly at the sky while receiving healing from a healer.
As a team leader in his own right, he constantly thought about what to do next.
“······.”
Then, a thought occurred to me and I jumped up.
“hey! This is not going to work! hey! Taeseop!”
“yes?”
“Boss mob…let’s just kill it!”
At his words, everyone on Cheonghwa’s attack team raised their heads.
Gulp –
In particular, Kim Tae-seop swallowed his dry saliva with a mesmerized expression.
When your name was called, it meant you had to do something.
Besides, didn’t you just say sniping?
Kim Tae-seop was that ‘sniper’ characteristic.
“······yes? “Are you sniping me?”
“Even if we return here alive, it’s the only way we won’t be kicked out of the guild.”
It was the 4th attack team that invested a lot of money and time.
If the raid was ended with a contribution of 0%, the guild leader would not stand still.
“Are you telling me to steal it now?”
Steal literally means stealing.
However, it meant stealing monster items that belonged to other players in the game.
“Hey, aren’t you a sniper? It’s natural for a sniper to hide behind you and kill you secretly with one shot, but what kind of law is there for Steele? That’s not even determined by the system! Isn’t it?”
“Ah um…”
Although it was quite far-fetched, it was the best justification.
“I have to accumulate my contribution, but wouldn’t I use my ‘seed rights’ to secure the ‘Spear of Achilles’? If AMT claims ownership of the spear and things become complicated… ··· Well, of course the guild will make a good deal and secure it, but we will just leave.”
Achilles’ Spear, a hero-grade item whose price could not be set, lay dormant here.
The previous owner, [Gukwang Group], ranked second in the Korean business hierarchy, along with the body of his second grandson…
‘It’s all because of such a proud bastard who was left behind even though he was wearing great items!’
This was the point when the first attack on Red Gate failed.
Koo Dong-hoon, the grandson of [Gukwang Group], the second-ranked member of the Korean business hierarchy who had just signed a contract with Cheonghwa Guild, brought his gang out to take advantage of it.
The idea may have been to conquer dungeons that had previously failed to capture them and make a name for themselves as a brilliant new talent, but it seems that he even gained the support of my grandfather, the chairman of the Gugwang Group.
So, after the Gukwang Group lobbied the Cheonghwa Guild, a team was organized around Dong-Hoon Dong.
The item I received from my grandfather at that time was the ‘Spear of Achilles’…
What is the result…
However, the Gugwang Group was in an uproar, asking for at least the spear to be taken out, even though they didn’t know about Dong-hoon Koo’s body.
That’s because it was an item that was difficult to value at the highest level among hero grades.
According to rumors within the guild, they agreed to compensate 8 billion won if recovery is successful.
‘It costs 8 billion won just to return it…’
It meant that its true value was truly enormous.
Nevertheless, the reason why the Cheonghwa Guild bothered to hand it over was to maintain the relationship with the Gugwang Group.
As such, the Cheonghwa Guild’s business was at stake with that item.
“The situation is already bad, but in order for our guild to secure that seed right, shouldn’t we have some level of contribution?”
“but······.”
The seed right was the right of the party who first gained ownership of the dungeon to be the first to choose ‘compensation’.
In this case, I was naturally planning to choose ‘Spear of Achilles’.
But if the contribution is 0%… what kind of right can you claim?
That’s why Park Ki-taek chose the last resort.
steal······.
“Hey Taeseop, this is a real opportunity for you. I would be in a fucking hell anyway… All you have to do is shoot an arrow into the boss monster’s heart at the critical moment, and you’ll become the hero of the guild and go out and get the Ferrari you’ve wanted so much! “You are the one who protected Achilles’ spear. Why don’t you give me a generous bonus?”
“Fe Ferrari…”
Kim Tae-seop thought for a moment and stood up, holding the arrow.
Didn’t he come in confident that he was going to risk his life anyway?
“Huh… I understand.”
“oh! Have you made up your mind?”
“Already, that guy over there, a corporal or something, was unlucky, so I’ll give him a big slap in the back. But as long as I’m aiming for a vital point, I’m really counting, right?”
He slaps me on the cheek and pulls down the ‘Iron Taegung’ that was wrapped around my shoulder.
Then, Park Ki-taek, who was lying ill, jumped up and patted Kim Tae-seop on the shoulder.
“okay! That’s cool, you bastard! can do!”
With the support of his teammates, C-rank 2nd tier sniper Kim Tae-seop’s ‘steal’ operation began.
***
“Don’t let your guard down yet and be alert to your surroundings.”
At Lee Hyun-wook’s words, the 8 members of the platoon swept everywhere, aiming the tips of all weapons in all directions.
Huuuu –
A gust of wind blew away all the sand dust that had risen from the fierce battle.
There was no movement.
“Currently… there is no identified enemy.”
The battle is over.
Of the 44 that had attacked, 32 were killed and the rest escaped.
It was a perfect victory.
From the moment the iron balls in the sand exploded under the feet of the group of gnolls, the victory was already in jeopardy. There were only about 20 gnolls that became immobile with just one hit.
Moreover, as something suddenly exploded under their feet, the fear that something like that might happen again grew in their minds, and they were unable to move freely.
In other words, with just one blow, their fighting spirit was completely erased.
After that, it was literally wiped out with a systematic response according to Lee Hyun-wook’s order.
“But I… I just reached level 18 through a battle.”
Ahn Min-tae said.
“Oh great! Did you level up again?”
“Yeah, haha, I want something like this…”
There was emotion on his face.
It was because the level, which had been stagnant for months, rose by 3 in just a few days.
Kobold Gate Seoul Station Unlucky Event to this Red Gate…
Unprecedented experience points poured in.
“and! Congratulations, Corporal Ahn Min-tae!”
“I just reached level 17, so I’ll catch up soon!”
In this way, everyone except Park Joon-mo, who is in F grade, has experienced a level up.
This was very encouraging.
The average level of the 1st company, the company’s first combat unit, was about level 23.
Indeed, it might not be long before the 5th squad catches up with the 1st squad.
‘As expected, he’s growing well.’
If I had stayed below level 15, I would not have been able to handle the 4th wave.
And in fact, the first to be wiped out was the weakest Squad 5.
Even that… it happened on the first day of the wave.
‘by the way······.’
Lee Hyun-wook felt a sense of heterogeneity in an instant.
‘It looks like a rat caught up with me…’
In the distance, behind the hills, I felt a ‘wag of metal’ moving.
Lee Hyun-wook closed his eyes and carefully scanned the metal.
‘This······.’
One of the metals felt familiar.
‘······It’s a clock.’
I knew it because I had touched it once.
Before entering the gate, the thing that bothered Lee Hyun-wook was the watch of Kim Tae-seop, Ahn Min-tae’s training camp classmate.
And crucially, small moth-like metals that are densely gathered in one place…
It was a quiver of arrows.
This made it clear that the owner of the watch, Kim Tae-seop, was also an archer.
‘······ Furthermore, he is a sniper.’
Lee Hyun-wook even took a close look at the weapons of the Cheonghwa Guild raid team and figured out their strength.
This is because it was fundamental to understand and analyze the opponent’s strength before a joint attack.
At that time, Kim Tae-seop’s bow-cheoltaegung was equipped with a dot sight with an optical zoom, and his utility belt was equipped with a ‘sharpshooter’s potion’ that dramatically suppresses body tremors.
It was a typical item setting for a sniper.
‘The reason I’m following you now is to snipe the boss monster…’
Other than the common act of saying ‘steel’, there is no reason for a sniper to be so excited.
Since they had no position at all, their intention was to secure ‘contribution’ with one decisive blow.
As much as that, the score given by the ‘Boss Monster’ was considerable.
‘But this is a bit stupid to not notice that I can sense metal…’
If you know one thing, you can become a useful player if you know at least five sixes, if not ten, but even with the abilities Lee Hyun-wook has shown so far, you couldn’t expect him to be able to detect metal, and he followed you around like that with metal all over his body…
It was just pitiful.
‘After all, things like player ratings are useless…’
Lee Hyun-wook smiled and turned his head.
I decided to pretend I didn’t know.
“Now let’s move forward again. “You’ll soon face a boss mob, so relax again.”
because······.
‘That’s good, I can use it at a crucial moment.’
Raiding was about taking advantage of everything that was available.
Even if it’s another player…
***
Kim Tae-seop was running through the desert.
‘Yes, as the team leader said, if I make a good effort this time, I can go higher in the future!’
He was actually one of the players that the Cheonghwa Guild was paying attention to.
First of all, among the archer class, the sniper trait was quite rare and highly utilized, and one ‘skill’ he had greatly increased his sniping ability.
[Skill Information]
– Name: Sneak Shoot
– Grade: D
– Effect: Consumes mana (100) when hiding to deliver a fatal blow. (+440%)
Level growth Players were able to obtain a skill ‘randomly’ every 5 levels, but Kim Tae-seop obtained this skill, which boasts the best synergy with the sniper trait, when he was only level 10.
In other words, he was the best prospect in the mission of sniping boss monsters.
Meanwhile, it wasn’t that difficult for him to travel through this hot and dry desert.
– ‘Roughland Mobility’ skill is functioning.
Because he possessed this skill, he was able to run in most adverse conditions.
We quickly caught up with the AMT special attack platoon that had gone ahead.
however······.
“uh? Oh sir…”
They were under attack in the middle of the desert.
A group of over forty gnolls formed a shield square and were squeezing in from three directions.
The 9 players were in pretty good positions, but…
“Wow, fuck… are they all going to die?”
Either way, things didn’t look very good.
The group of gnolls was allowed to approach without causing any damage.
Before we knew it, the siege had narrowed to less than 100m.
“But if they die, won’t that end for us too?”
When that thought occurred to me, I wondered if I should provide support fire.
If I started sniping here, I would be able to kill at least 5 or 6 of them in no time.
“no······.”
But I endured it.
This was because if he stepped forward for no reason, he could become a target while standing separately.
“No, I’m asking why you’re not doing anything… Shouldn’t we keep them in check so they don’t come near…”
My stomach burned the whole time I watched it.
It seemed like those nine people would be torn to pieces by the gnolls at any moment, and if that happened, the attack strategy would have been in vain.
But then something unbelievable happened.
Whoops! Whoops! Whoops!
“omg! “What is it?”
The floor suddenly exploded, like a natural disaster.
Kim Tae-seop had no idea what was happening.
Whoops! Whoops! Whoops!
However, the attack caused dozens of gnolls to turn upside down.
And that was where it started.
The nine players who had shown static movements moved in unison.
They poured out their cherished skills one after another and drove the gnolls who had collapsed in line.
It was an instant.
The gnolls did not respond properly.
How to say… It seemed that I had already lost my temper.
Ah-oh-oh!
A howling sound was heard from afar, as if urging an attack, but it was no use.
“You crazy…what on earth is that bastard?”
At the center of all these movements was a man called Corporal Lee Hyun-wook.
After defeating the single battle without loss, the AMT soldiers advanced again.
And about 20 minutes later, we encountered another ambush.
This time, it was a surprise attack that came out all at once after hiding in the sand.
“omg! I think there are about 60 of them…”
Perhaps more wary of an unidentified explosion rising from the floor than of an attack from a piece of metal, the group of gnolls abandoned their defensive attitude and chose to charge from all directions.
Although it was the enemy’s strategy, it was so excellent.
If they stick together and lead to a ‘melee’, all of Lee Hyun-wook’s biggest weapons, such as a storm explosion using metal, will be blocked…
However, the operation could not be carried out.
It wasn’t for any other reason.
‘What is it? What’s so organized?’
It was because the AMT soldiers responded so well.
Instead, four people holding shields, including Lee Hyun-wook, ran forward first to greet the enemies.
They fell from their allies’ gunners and wizards and stood tall in the correct position, attracting ‘aggro’.
‘······what?’
At first glance, it seemed that the friendly forces’ ‘rear line’ was not protected… but that was the optimal position to block the ‘muddy fight’ that the enemy wanted as much as possible by widening the distance between the friendly forces.
Immediately after, the flame magic that the wizards had prepared in advance was released.
Per-huh! Per-huh!
They exploded in the ‘interruption’ of the gnoll group.
Then, for a moment, the ‘backward’ gnolls had no choice but to hesitate and retreat,
while the ‘leading’ gnolls rushed forward at even faster speeds to avoid the flames.
To put it simply, the distance between the front and back of the gnoll line widened significantly.
In other words, the offensive was halted with just two fire magic shots.
“-Now!”
I heard Lee Hyun-wook’s cry.
At the same time, they concentrated their firepower on the leading gnolls and literally melted them.
The Gnolls from the rear, who came to their senses belatedly, jumped in, but…
“······ Each faction is different.”
Before the mud fight began, the front and back split apart and each was swallowed up.
‘What on earth is this… It’s so simple, but so accurate, right?’
At first glance, there was no particularly complex linkage.
‘Simple tactics······.’
That was the correct answer.
It was simple and clear, so everyone was able to do their job properly without any mistakes.
In other words, it was the most efficient tactic.
Kim Tae-seop could not help but admire them every moment as he followed them.
‘But they say that’s… the first attack?’
For Tae-seop Kim, this was also his first attack.
However, for this day, I trained for quite a long time and even took a special tactical lecture from the Cheonghwa Guild’s popular strategy team.
So, to some extent, I knew.
‘That’s actually a textbook…’
How amazing are their judgments and movements…
And at the same time, I was even envious.
‘How many experience points did I have to eat instead?’
In just a few hours, just nine people wiped out over a hundred gnolls.
Furthermore, if it was a red gate, the bonus experience would be considerable…
He must have leveled up several times.
‘Crazy… I’ll be able to raise it to at least level 2 or level 3.’
This was a huge opportunity that did not come easily to low-level players.
As a result of moving forward without any hesitation, we arrived at a place that seemed like an ‘oasis’.
Around a small watering hole, there was a row of crude huts.
It seemed to be a village of the gnoll race, and just looking at it, it was a place where a ‘boss monster’ could appear.
‘Hu… Okay, this is not the time to be admiring. Now the target appears.’
Kim Tae-seop recalled his goal and prepared the Cheoltaegung.
At that time, a ‘target’ was detected in his eyes.
‘It’s him. That guy is the boss.’
Among the group of gnolls whose numbers had been greatly reduced after several battles, a gnome with gray fur was seen.
It was a head taller than an ordinary gnoll, so it was likely to be over 2m long.
With the appearance of this guy, the final battle ‘boss battle’ began.
“Uh, what is it…”
However, a much more overwhelming scene than the last battle unfolded, which is colorless with the expression of a boss battle.
It had to be that way.
The group of gnolls had already been weakened by numerous defeats.
On the other hand, the players were rather stronger.
It was because he repeatedly ‘leveled up’ through overwhelming victories.
“That’s ridiculous… It’s really just between them…”
The outcome of the battle seemed to have already been decided.
‘No, it’s useless if you can’t catch the boss mob.’
Kim Tae-seop came to his senses and turned his attention to the boss monster.
But before I knew it, Lee Hyun-wook and Old Alpha Male were fighting.
Heung-Heung-Heung-Heung-
He pulled out two very large Kukri and swung them around, and Lee Hyeon-Wook controlled five or six iron balls and two daggers to chase the guy.
However, Lee Hyun-wook’s attack could not reach the guy’s body.
Chae-Aeng!
Old Alpha Male swung his Kukri at incredible speed and easily defeated them.
visor! visor! visor! visor! visor!
Even if I fired five or six at the same time, he swung his arms around and knocked them all out.
The incredible visual acuity and agile movements
felt like watching a master in a martial arts world.
‘······As expected, are the boss monsters different?’
It was then.
Whoops!
With an explosion, an ‘iron ball’ exploded near Old Alpha Male’s face.
However, unlike regular gnolls, there seemed to be no significant damage, perhaps because the leather was thick.
‘Well, isn’t that the maximum firepower that person can produce? ‘If that thing gets blocked, you can’t win, right?’
But Old Alpha Male’s defense power did not end there.
The moment the iron ball exploded and the fragments flew out, something translucent was visible around the guy’s body.
that······.
‘······crazy! Do you even have a magic shield? finished!’
This meant that effective damage could not be inflicted unless the magic shield could be penetrated.
In other words, that person did not have the ability to catch the boss monster.
but······.
“Hehe… Anyway, my one shot will work.”
Kim Tae-seop laughed.
It was because he felt that it was his turn to step forward.
He wasn’t a sniper for nothing.
There was only one hit that was enough to offset the magic shield.
“Yes, I knew very well that you were a really great guy, whether it was Lee Hyun-wook or not.”
He took out a sniper arrow with a thin plate of ‘orihalcon’ on the tip and hung it on the string.
Kigigi-
And aimed precisely at Old Alpha Male’s chest.
“I’m sorry······.”
But he had a smile on his face.
“······Life is real life, bastard. I hope you learn a little more from this opportunity.”
If we let go of this protest, this steel plan will succeed.
His arrowhead would pierce the old alpha male’s heart accurately, and his ‘contribution’ would be secured.
also······.
The backs of those AMT guys were going to get pretty hot.
That was a bit of a thrill.
But at that moment-
“-Ack!”
He screamed in sudden pain.
This was because the watch on his left wrist bit his arm again.
“What the hell!”
And because of that…
Too-ung-
I ended up misplacing the taut protest.
“uh······.”
Hissing –
it was clearly flying towards the target, but it missed somewhat –
that is, it was at an angle that could not have been a fatal blow.
“Oh, no······.”
And Old Alpha Male, who must have heard Kim Tae-seop’s screams,
turned his head this way and prepared to swat away Kim Tae-seop’s arrow. On the other hand
, Lee Hyun-wook moves again
as if he knew it and didn’t care at all, but rather used that moment as an opportunity.
At that moment, Kim Tae-seop realized.
‘No way…’
Wristwatch… Strange pain…
Hyunwook Lee······ The ability to manipulate metal······.
“······Did you know from the beginning that I was following you?”
I couldn’t believe it.
But the scene that happened next was even more unbelievable.
“what!”
In the blink of an eye, Old Alpha Male was torn apart.