Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 5
5. Occurrence of a gate within the compound – 2
———————
The purple shimmer seen about 300m ahead was a gate.
‘I’m almost there.’
As Lee Hyun-wook climbed the mountain path, his steps quickened. His eyes were only looking at the floor in front of him, but his unique senses were expanding in all directions, detecting metal almost everywhere.
His metal detection ability is currently capable of detecting objects weighing about 500 grams from about 102 meters away.
And I was thinking of using this ability to ‘identify’ the location of the monster.
‘Metal, to be exact, you have to catch moving metal.’
There was a lot of metal everywhere in the unit.
Things like barbed wire fences, post posts, etc. interfered with the identification work. However, what Lee Hyun-wook wanted to capture was moving metal, that is, the blade that the goblin carries.
And then…
Beep-big-
– W This is guard post number 6! We were surrounded in an instant! It’s a goblin! A dozen goblins are heading towards the guard post! It’s a gate! The compound gate has opened! Please apply immediately!
Simultaneously with the urgent radio call, gunshots rang out in quick succession from a short distance away.
Ta-da-da-da-dang!
Lee Hyun-wook and Park Jun-mo lowered their posture at the same time.
Park Jun-mo went down and took a shooting stance, but Lee Hyun-wook did not stop and moved forward.
Whoops!
Soon, light flashed ahead.
It was lightning magic.
In that split second, the appearance of guard post number 6 was revealed. There seemed to be a ‘Lightning’ type wizard among the guards at guard post 6, and I saw a goblin being hit by it and flying away.
Kiyi…
In Lee Hyun-wook’s memory, the sentries at guard post number 6 were ‘gunners’ and ‘wizards’.
‘Those guys didn’t last very long. It will probably collapse soon.’
There was a lantern at the guard post and the surrounding bushes were cut short, but it was quite difficult to spot small, agile monsters like goblins at night and shoot them accurately.
In other words, it was impossible to block the approach of a group of goblins unless there was a warrior type player.
“This is guard post number 5. We are on our way to support post 6 right now.”
Lee Hyun-wook made the radio call like that while climbing the mountain path.
– This is the command and control room, guard post number 5! Wait a moment…
The voice of the soldier who was speaking like that cut off, and soon another voice came out.
– hey! Number 5! Number 5! Aren’t you F graders? No, who the fuck put F-ranks on duty together?
It was a man.
The voice appeared to be the commanding officer in charge of the command and control room.
– hey! Because we started with a 5-minute wait! You’re just stuck at the guard post! For no reason, Lee
Hyun-wook turned down the volume on his walkie-talkie.
This was not because the angry voice of the commanding officer on duty was annoying, but because the noise could expose their location.
and······.
‘There is a 5-minute waiting period, but it takes quite a while to start from the barracks and climb the mountain.’
I experienced it in my last life. After waiting for the five-minute standby, guard post number 6 suffered miserably.
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook! “Didn’t the commander on duty just tell you not to go up?”
“Junmo, if we don’t go, they will get seriously hurt. And maybe die.”
“ah······.”
But honestly, Lee Hyun-wook was more attracted to the considerable benefits he could gain from that gate rather than the thought of having to save the sentries for guard post number 6. That was why it moved so quickly.
‘An elite monster is killed on the spot and drops a pretty good item.’
Goblin Shaman.
Commonly, there are monsters classified as ‘elite monsters’, and when hunting elite monsters, you can obtain much better items than regular monsters.
Hyunwook Lee lowered his stance. At the same time, I set the ‘adjustment’ with a single shot.
Beep-big-
– W This is guard post number 6! Corporal Kim Jeong-ok is injured! Quick, quick! evil! Please save me quickly!
The bewildered voice coming from the walkie-talkie seemed to be the second-in-command of guard post number 6.
At that very moment, Lee Hyun-wook raised the muzzle of his gun.
‘after! I finally feel it.’
Still nothing was visible. However, the ‘moving metal’ is finally starting to be felt.
It weighed about 300g…
It was clearly a ‘crude dagger’ carried by goblins.
Lee Hyun-wook fired at those points without hesitation.
Ta-ang! Ta-ang!
After two gunshots, a scream and the sound of something falling down were heard from the bushes in front.
Kiyi….
A 5.56mm bullet hit the goblin’s head. Of course, an ordinary bullet cannot penetrate a monster’s skull, but if it hits the head properly, it can cause a concussion and knock it down.
Ta-ang!
It fired again. This time, the sound of falling was heard. It was also a hit.
At that time, lightning magic was shot again from guard post number 6.
Whoops!
As a result, the world was bathed in white light for an instant, and his field of vision widened…
At that moment, Park Jun-mo saw.
“uh?”
ki-i!
Marie’s goblin was lying down in the bushes and then launched itself at her…
“Oh no!”
Park Jun-mo hurriedly raised the muzzle.
“······ah!”
At that moment, he realized that he had not loaded the bullet yet.
He quickly pulled the bolt and tried to load, but the thing was already right in front of him.
Wow!
There was no time to react.
Park Jun-mo fell back and covered his head with both arms.
Sigh!
At the same time, the sound of flesh being pierced was heard.
“······uh?”
But somehow, his body was fine. On the other hand, he confirmed that the goblin that had been charging at him had fallen forward.
And there was an M9 bayonet stuck in the back of his head.
“ah······.”
Beyond that, Lee Hyun-wook was looking this way.
When he lightly raised his left hand…
Pyuuuk –
The M9 greatsword was pulled out from the back of the goblin’s head and stopped high in the air.
“Look at that, Park Jun-mo. “I told you I couldn’t even catch a goblin with a body like that.”
That’s what he said a while ago.
“Ah… I’m sorry…”
“Come to your senses and wake up. And instead of using guns, use whatever magic you are good at. Only then can things change.”
After saying those words, Hyunwook Lee turned his head straight ahead. Then the M9 bayonet floating in the air lay down horizontally and followed his gaze and shot out into the darkness.
It was to chase the enemy.
Shhh!
The bushes where the great sword passed were cut down and scattered in disarray in the light of the lantern. Lee Hyun-wook ran into it and continued aiming and shooting.
Ta-ang! Ta-ang!
And before he knew it, three more daggers emerged behind his back.
It was a crude dagger, a weapon dropped by a goblin.
“······uh?”
Yes. He was now piloting a total of four daggers.
‘To change… can it really change?’
Park Jun-mo couldn’t believe that the man in front of him was ‘F-class’.
The three daggers flew menacingly as if they had become giant wasps, then burrowed into the bush.
The shot was so fast and accurate that one could mistake it for a hawk gliding toward the surface.
Park Jun-mo suppressed his rough breathing and focused on the situation that was happening.
Ta-ang! Ta-ang! Ta-ang!
Goblin screams erupted intermittently between loud gunfire.
Park Joon-mo watched the whole process in a daze.
‘······ has changed. It has definitely changed.’
Park Jun-mo was the first to notice that it wasn’t just his attitude that had changed.
***
‘As expected, it’s easy.’
Nine goblins were the number of monsters that Lee Hyeon-wook dealt with in just three minutes.
Although his body and abilities were old, his memories of his past life did not volatilize. I have defeated not only low-level monsters like goblins, but also monsters powerful enough to overthrow a nation.
To be honest, I was confident that I could handle this with just one dagger.
Before he knew it, Hyunwook Lee was close enough to identify guard post number 6.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook went behind them.
Since every goblin was holding a crude dagger, Lee Hyun-wook accurately identified their location and was able to avoid them without difficulty.
and······.
‘found.’
I found a goblin wearing a strange outfit near the gate. Tattoos covering his entire body, flashy accessories, and a head taller than an ordinary goblin…
That was the ‘Goblin Shaman’, the boss monster and elite monster of this gate.
‘If I don’t suppress it right away, all the goblins will come running to me.’
I held Lee Hyun-wook’s breath and aimed at his knee.
Ta-ang! Ta-ang! Ta-ang!
It was an accurately aimed shot, firing three shots at once.
Three bullets hit his knee.
Wow!
At the same time, a dagger was shot from behind Lee Hyun-wook’s back.
However, like an ‘elite monster’, it sensed the dagger’s approach and immediately raised a small wooden shield to cover its body.
Boom! Boom!
The two daggers were blocked by the shield, but
it was ‘useless.’
Whoosh –
the other one turned in the air and passed by the shield. He had mastered the art of controlling ‘flight trajectories’ by controlling a large number of metals for many years.
Sigh!
The dagger plunged into the guy’s side, causing his dirty body to stumble greatly.
Wow!
Even though it was a fairly fatal blow, the guy did not lose his spirit. He pulled out the dagger stuck in my side and the dagger stuck in my shield and threw it over the gate behind me.
I couldn’t control the metal that had passed into another dimension like that.
Did you notice how the dagger works?
‘As expected, it lives up to its name.’
But nothing changed.
“then······.”
Lee Hyun-wook’s senses were able to detect numerous metals within about 150 meters.
“······Let me borrow yours for a moment.”
Hyunwook Lee stretched out his hand towards the goblin shaman.
He was wearing a lot of jewelry around his neck and forearms, some of which were pieces of metal. When Lee Hyun-wook moved it, the long necklace instantly began to wrap around its owner’s neck.
······Ke kek!
The strangled Goblin Shaman dropped his shield and grabbed the back of his neck.
Qua-duk!
I did break my necklace with that much grip…
“No matter how urgent it is, you can’t turn a blind eye to it.”
Suddenly, a crude dagger hanging from the guy’s waist rose into the sky.
The guy raised his head in surprise.
Even if it was an elite monster, something like this seemed unexpected.
The next moment, the dagger fell towards the top of the guy’s head.
Sigh!
The guy’s body collapsed vertically.
Boom –
that was the end.
However, Lee Hyun-wook did not relax. When the goblin shaman was eliminated, the goblin group under his command fell into chaos and became a ragtag group, but there were still many of them left.
Ta-da-da-dang!
They literally hunted down the remaining monsters using accurately aimed shots and multiple daggers.
At the same time, he lifted up the ‘metal’ that had fallen on the floor and raked it into his pocket.
Most of them were shell casings, sometimes mixed with small bluish stones.
Mana Stone.
It was an item dropped by almost all monsters and an otherworldly energy source. Although its name is stone, it is actually made of metal.
And if Lee Hyun-wook swallows this, not only the ‘total amount of metal’ but also the ‘total amount of mana’ will increase.
He walked over to the goblin shaman’s body, scraping the metal together.
‘It must have fallen…’
He used his ability to move metal – metal control – and swept around the Shaman. Miscellaneous metals were detected around the guy’s body.
Most of them were accessories.
But what he was looking for wasn’t such trivial things.
‘······found.’
Soon something very heavy was detected.
Ugh – chin!
He pulled it out and held it in his left hand. It was a solid lump of black metal.
– Obtained ‘Adamant’.
“······This?”
Adamant.
It was an item called legendary metal.
It is a very precious magic metal used to make top-tier weapons, and it is the hardest material among them.
For a player in the tank position, acquiring armor made of this adamant alloy was a lifelong goal. And as such, it was also an extremely expensive item, costing over a million won per 10g.
‘I can’t believe I already got this…’
Lee Hyun-wook quickly put the object, which was about 6cm in diameter, in his mouth without worrying about who would see it.
Gulp-gulp-
As expected, it was so big that it was difficult to swallow, but I managed to push it down my throat.
– caution! There is already ‘metal’ being absorbed. Delayed absorption occurs.
The previously swallowed lock had not yet been digested, and a penalty called ‘delayed absorption’ was activated. To put it simply, it was ‘indigestion’, but the absorption time increased significantly.
– (09:48:51) left until metal absorption.
In some ways, it was a somewhat inefficient choice…
‘But if I didn’t do this, the military would have collected it.’
According to AMT regulations, all items obtained through military operations become military property.
That was the reason why I only took a few Mana Stones instead of sweeping them all away.
If you are too greedy, you could arouse suspicion, and if you are subject to intensive inspection, it will be a pain in the ass.
It was then. A white light burst from
somewhere
and soared into the sky, painting the entire area pure white.
It was not a single burst of light like a lightning spell, but a beam of light bright enough to bury nearby warning lights.
‘It’s Holy Light.’
That was one of the basic skills possessed by divine players.
‘A paladin has finally arrived.’
The officer on duty was Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha.
“······Stand behind everyone!”
With a shout, she landed in front of guard post number 6.
She grabbed the longsword with both hands and looked around.
Normally, he would have been equipped with a shield and iron armor, looking like a true knight, but now he was in a hurry and was running with only his weapon.
“Help the injured and get away from the gate… Huh?”
But it was after everything was over.
Seo Eun-ha put on a blank face and began to look around once more.
And then my eyes met with Lee Hyun-wook, a soldier standing alone in the blood-stained bushes.
“······what? “What happened?”
Looking at her with a somewhat bewildered expression, Lee Hyun-wook calmly raised his hand and saluted.
“······.”
It was a scene she couldn’t understand.
***
Soon the five-minute team arrived, and after that, the battalion commander came down from the official residence.
Lee Hyun-wook was ordered to return to the dormitory and wait for a while.
And how long has it been…
– Hook! It is preached by the administrative division. Corporal Lee Hyeon-wook······ Please go to the command and control room immediately. It’s a call from the battalion commander. I preach once again…
The voice was Kwak Jin-cheol, the deputy on duty, and for some reason, I felt depressed.
Due to his personality, when he heard the news that Lee Hyun-wook was active, he must have started to feel sick to his stomach.
Hyunwook Lee stood up as if he had been waiting.
‘It’s a reward.’
The F-level player completely prevented the gate from occurring within the compound.
In some ways, it was the same incident as a private catching a spy.
It was worthy of a generous reward.
‘In that case… I’ll have to ask for it.’
Although military life is very limited, the benefits that can be gained during this period are considerably greater than expected.
‘One of the undervalued potential items is in the battalion armory.’
For quite some time, there have been items with ‘detailed information’ hidden, like an F-rank player whose ability improvement method will be shrouded in a veil.
It is called ‘potential item’.
The performance of items is always fixed. Item abilities can be improved through ‘strengthening’, but like any other game, the success rate of strengthening is not very high, so there was a risk.
However, potential items ‘grow’ according to certain requirements without such restrictions.
A list of them was written on one side of the notebook Lee Hyun-wook wrote down after returning.
‘If you ask for it as a reward, I will give it to you without difficulty.’
At a time when even the potential of an F-level player had not yet been revealed, only one person knew the value of that item.