Steel-Eating Player - Chapter 75
Episode 75. [Hidden Stage, Ruins Exploration-2]
——————————==
Shanghai was once the most prosperous city in China. It was.
It was humanity’s largest population center with over 24 million people, and a huge city full of skyscrapers… But it had now turned into a kingdom of black orcs.
It was unable to block the third wave and ended up being eroded—another world.
The result was a dramatic change in geography from a warm, humid climate to a dry steppe climate. However, it was definitely not an environment like the Mongolian desert seen on Earth.
It was a land of wild beasts, where rats the size of elephants and spiders the size of buffaloes appeared, and an incomprehensible land where poisonous plants of all kinds grew like reeds and lightning struck from time to time.
After the erosion, the Chinese government attempted restoration several times, but was ultimately unsuccessful. And for now, I’m practically letting go and just preparing for the moment when they push out of Shanghai…
Now, that strange area is ruled by Stonnox, the king of the world boss monster Black Orcs.
Now, two cars were driving towards that place.
It
was a car carrying agents of the 59th Department of the Public Security Ministry of the People’s Republic of China. They were a secret department unknown to the public, and their main mission was exchange with the Black Orc Kingdom in Shanghai, that is, diplomacy with monsters.
“Chief, I can see the Redwood Wall ahead.”
At the driver’s words, Section 59 Chief Wang Ping, who was riding in the passenger seat, raised his head.
His eyes caught the sight of a 7-meter-high red wooden fence surrounding the former Shanghai city.
That was the border of the ‘kingdom’ built by the Black Orcs
. Everyone, be nervous, because there is no such thing as law or humanity out there… As the car they were in approached, the huge door on one side of the wooden fence began to slowly open. Kugugugugu—— “Huh… Now, from now on, the black
devil
. “We are entering their den.”
That’s how they entered the Orc territory, and after that…
“Hmm…”
They were waiting for someone for two hours inside a hut.
No, it was decorated like a hut, but this was the 60th floor where Starbucks was originally located. It was the first floor lobby of the building. The new rulers, the Black Orcs, had turned the human building into a nomad’s hut. “
Ugh, I tried to hold back, but the stink is no joke here…”
“Damn, Orcs don’t even wash their lives? ”
As humans also have unique smells for each race, the smells of other races felt particularly unpleasant.
“Hey, you all better keep your mouths shut. Unless you want an ax stuck in your head.”
Their leader Wang Ping grinned as he said that. But that wasn’t a joke, it was real.
He knew more about orcs than anyone else, as he had visited the Redwood Great Wall more times.
“Rather than bashing my head in, I would challenge him to a duel, but at your level, I will definitely lose.”
Still, since all of these players were B-grade or higher, there was no way they would lose in a one-on-one match against a regular monster that was not a boss monster.
However, they already knew that the orcs guarding the south gate of Hongmok Great Wall were monsters of the same level as B-grade warrior players, and sometimes even A-grade or higher.
“So, even if a fight breaks out, I will pretend not to notice, and even if I see blood, it will be buried without a word. You know that the world shouldn’t know that we came here in the first place, right?”
It was quite a controversial issue for a player from one country to visit the world of monsters.
Buk-buk-
Then, as heavy steps approached them, they closed their mouths without even thinking about who was the first to speak.
Soon, a black ray passed through the tent surrounding them. Monsters appeared.
They were 2m 60cm tall, had thick muscular bodies that no human could possess, had black skin, huge tusks, and red eyes…
The appearance of a demon that could only be found in legends seemed to have been recreated before their eyes.
Gulp—
all kinds of terrible things . These players have fought countless bloody battles with monsters, but at this moment, I felt my body shrinking without realizing it. Throw——!
The
black orc threw a huge ax down on the ground.
An item made of unusual material. Just put it down. Just by putting it down, the marble floor cracked. The
red eyes of the Black Orc—warrior Smakt—turned to Wang Ping.
“Wang Feng…”
A loud voice flowed from a huge sound box in front of him. Just standing there felt like my skull was pounding.
“It’s been a while, Commander Sumakt.”
“Okay, there’s something I want to ask you.”
Straight to the point. Wang Pyeong knew that these tribes did not like small talk.
“Yes, please say so.”
“Did you humans think that encountering a group is a game and accept quests?”
It was a question that came out of nowhere.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Maybe we’re getting something similar.”
“…yes?”
“Not long ago, our shamans predicted our path, and the king approved them.” Wangpyeong tilted his head
at the incomprehensible words.
At that time, a black orc named Sumakt threw something on the desk.
Tang—
That was a key. A brass-colored geometric pattern carved with great precision…
Wang Feng picked up the key.
– You have obtained the ‘auxiliary key’ of Ancient Heritage.
Ancient Heritage You can guess what this means. He did not go.
At that time, Sumakt added a word:
“You know that a flying island has appeared in a small land beyond the sea of Laputa, right?”
“No way…”
“That’s the key to get in there.”
And……
– (!) The quest has arrived.
‘Huh quest?’
[Hidden Quest]
– The path of an ancient civilization ‘follower’…
You have a special opportunity to come into contact with a hint of ancient heritage.
That special item will lead you to old glory.
However, you will have to choose one of two paths: either be loyal to the ‘successor’ of the ancient legacy and gain ’employee’ authority, or kill the ‘successor’ of the ancient legacy and rob the ‘right of succession’.
* Do you accept the quest? (Y/N)
In context, it was clear that this was a quest related to Laputa, above Seoul.
‘Why is this happening here… Oh no way!’
Black Orcs, including Sumakt, are intelligent monsters, so they could be considered ‘NPCs’ in game terms. In other words, Wang Feng interpreted that the Black Orc was now giving him a quest.
“A few days ago, dwarves, so-called dwarves, opened a ‘gate’ and appeared in our land.”
Dwarf Wang Feng had heard the name of that race several times:
‘According to reports from the intelligence department, small groups of dwarves have appeared in Russia and Australia.’
In this way, one by one, monsters with intelligence comparable to humans were appearing all over the world.
“When we killed them, the key came out, and at that moment, the shamans received a certain ‘divination’. The cage that the builders of Laputa had stolen a long time ago. We will retrieve the progenitor’s [war gear]…”
In other words, with the advent of Laputa, the dwarf race began to appear, and the Black Orcs also began to move as they were given a certain ‘goal’.
If this is a tangle of simultaneous special phenomena…
‘…it means that some major event is beginning.’
Wang Feng had a hunch that this series of events were in one huge flow.
“Um, but Sumakt… why are you handing this over to us?”
“What we ask of you is very simple. “We are going to hit Laputa together.”
What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden, playing together?…
Wang Feng looked at Sumakt, trying hard to hide his surprise.
“…….”
His red eyes did not move at all.
‘At least it can’t be a joke.’
This cruel race doesn’t know how to joke…
“Well… I don’t think we have a good reason…”
Laputa appeared on Korean soil. So, of course, it belonged to Korea.
Hitting that place… Needless to say, it meant war.
“Oh really? Don’t you want to own that island of Laputa?”
“…….”
“There’s no way you wouldn’t like it. If you say so, that’s an outright lie.”
Sumakt was the first to show his teeth and laughed.
“Wang Feng, let’s be honest, that huge island is a treasure that you humans all want to have, right?”
“It would be especially drooling if your kingdom fell while dreaming of being the best in the world…”
Wang Feng reluctantly nodded,
‘As expected, these Black Orcs are very wicked.’
In the world, they were known to be barbaric and ignorant, but that was a lie.
No, it certainly was that way at first. A fighting race that only knew battle and conquest…
However, as their intelligence was designed from the beginning, they were rapidly absorbing human knowledge.
‘And they have fought with us several times and understand our situation very well.’
As Sumakt said, China was at a dead end, if not downfall. Immediately
after the first wave swept through California, the United States was shaken and China took hegemony.
However, a few years later, the second wave broke out in Shanghai. The whole of China is shaken.
But the loss of Shanghai was only the beginning…
‘We waged an all-out war for three years to restore Shanghai. But it was a huge failure…’ As a
result, China lost 4 S-rank players. In addition to the 25 A-grade players, 2355 players lost their power, and the Suzhou region was plundered, causing the national power to decline rapidly. Meanwhile, several
countries, including Korea, rose rapidly.
However, a wave opened in Seoul not long ago. ‘
At that time… our government knowingly or unknowingly made us happy.’
If Korea resists the wave, its neighboring countries will benefit.
‘…But Korea perfectly blocked the wave.’
Thus, an unprecedented reward called ‘Laputa’ was given to that land.
‘Laputa, or magic engineering… it is an important industry that determines future hegemony.’
Until now, items that ‘dropped’ from dungeons were the most important assets. However, comparable ‘manufactured items’ were gradually appearing. In other words, in the future,
that field will become a key industry in the future, and Korea will become a leader in all aspects, including economy, defense, and diplomacy. China will be at the forefront, and China will go down the path of downfall…
As Wang Feng was thinking this, Sumakt’s deep voice came into his head.
“The secret that you are interacting with us will be guarded fiercely. “You don’t have to worry.”
The secret private organization of the public security organization to which Wang Feng belongs, ‘Dark Star’, was aiming to take over the government, and one of the methods was to form a secret relationship with the Black Orcs, who were no different from their greatest enemies.
And Smakt also knew that fact, so he made a semi-forced proposal to Wang Feng.
“Wang Feng, as you said, it is a game. This is your chance to take a chance and become a winner.”
Wang Feng had a hunch.
That an inevitable war would soon break out….
***
Finding the hidden stage was the most valuable opportunity during the dungeon raid.
‘Because most of the items above the legendary level appear in the hidden stage.’
However, finding the hidden stage was incredibly difficult, and the reason was very simple.
This was because the size of the world dungeon beyond the gate was larger than expected.
‘On average, a C-level dungeon here is about the size of Jeju Island.’
Therefore, finding the ‘hidden stage’ within it was no different from finding a needle in the sand.
‘But like a puzzle, there are hints everywhere.’
However, Lee Hyun-wook was well aware of the mechanics of the ‘puzzles’ encountered within the dungeon.
He had his team search for the orc corpse. The fact that the hidden quest appeared immediately after wiping them out can be interpreted as the ‘trigger’ activating the quest at that very moment.
Soon……
“Team Leader Lee, I found something unusual here!”
Lee Jeong-jun found something. He approached Lee Hyun-wook and held it out.
“Hmm, it looks like a watch, but what on earth is it used for?”
– Obtained an unknown mechanical device (special).
[Item Information]
– Name: Unknown
– Effect: Unknown
There was something like a mechanical device embedded in a circular metal frame the size of a palm.
At that moment, Lee Hyun-wook felt a sense of déjà vu.
‘This… I’ve seen something exactly like this somewhere.’
Lee Hyun-wook had seen items like this a few times, so he knew how to use them right away.
He lifted it towards the sun.
Huh——
Then, like a prism, the sunlight passed through and was widely dispersed, casting a shadow on the floor.
– congratulations! You have found the ‘hint’ of the hidden stage.
The shadow was a kind of map, and the path to the hidden stage seemed to be depicted in quite detail.
“Oh, how did you figure it out so quickly?”
The person who was so impressed was an unexpected person: Park Mu-han, the leader of the Cheonghwa Guild strategy team.
After witnessing Lee Hyun-wook’s skills, he began to behave more obediently than expected.
Then, they hoped for a joint attack. To put it simply, I wanted to go with them.
‘…You have to be careful when you suddenly do this because you may have other intentions.’
And that was probably Lee Hyun-wook’s intention to observe his abilities up close.
‘That must have been one of the things Hae-na Hae-na ordered… In this situation, it actually worked out well.’
While Lee Hyun-wook is searching the ‘Hidden Stage’, he will be in trouble if the Cheonghwa Guild attacks the dungeon. Therefore, Lee Hyun-wook readily accepted Park Moo-han’s proposal for a cooperative attack.
‘Anyway, it’s impossible to hide the power anymore, so all you have to do is not show a few moves.’
So the two guilds crossed the desert together.
Woowoowoo——
Hyunwook Lee kept only one airdrop device and put the rest in the trailer.
It was impossible to operate 12 in the first place, no matter how much ‘ether engine’ there was.
Each airdrop consumes 50 mana per second. That’s why I couldn’t spare a few minutes, but the reason I used all 12 just now… To be honest, it was to discourage the Cheonghwa Guild strategy team.
‘Well, it seems like the intention worked.’
How long has it been since we moved like that?…
“There’s something on the sand dune over there! It’s a triangular sculpture!”
On the map I saw a while ago, there was a triangular mark near the entrance to the ruins.
‘In other words, the entrance to the ruins is near here.’
Hyunwook Lee immediately launched ‘Hugin’ and searched the surroundings thoroughly.
‘…There is something at the bottom of the sand.’
In the middle of the flat desert, he felt a huge lump of metal.
‘If it was a lump of metal this size, I could have found it even if I didn’t take the hidden quest…’
Lee Hyun-wook flicked his Living Armor and dug into the sand nearby . I did so.
And soon, I succeeded in excavating a circular iron gate with a diameter of 4m.
– You have contacted the hidden stage ‘Nome A3 Ruins North Gate’.
* Three ‘marks’ are required to open the gate.
However, entry is limited . It was
a sign…
“Team Leader Lee, there are three grooves here… I think the item we got earlier will go in?”
As Lee Jeong-jun said, there were three circular grooves next to the door.
Lee Hyun-wook inserted the mechanical device containing the map into one of the grooves.
Clunk—
Then it clicked together correctly and the circular iron door moved slightly counterclockwise.
“But… I heard that I need two more to open the door. Where can I get these?” ?”
Yes, in order to enter the hidden stage, you need to obtain two more of these ‘marks’.
Everyone looked embarrassed at this.
“Well, we just came out after killing an orc… shouldn’t we have to fight again?”
“Hehe… It’s going to be a tough journey. Maybe we’ll have to kill a boss monster.”
However, Lee Hyun-wook had a completely different thought.
‘Wait a minute… This is a place I saw once, right? The A3 ruins…’
Only then did Lee Hyun-wook realize the identity of the ‘déjà vu’ he had been feeling a little while ago.
‘I visited this place in my past life. It’s a hidden stage. This is… a theme-sharing hidden map.’
This ‘Hidden Stage’ map was not usually connected to just one dungeon. In
some cases, multiple dungeons with similar themes shared one hidden stage.
‘The hidden stage I found in the dungeon where I obtained the Anvil of Hephaestus. It’s the same.’
In this dungeon, the ‘Hammer of Hephaestus’ appears. And later, when Lee Hyun-wook was conquering the dungeon that contained the ‘Anvil of Hephaestus’, he discovered this ‘Hidden Stage’. So, the dungeons related to Hephaestus’ items share this hidden stage. In other words, it
meant that it was a dungeon that Lee Hyun-wook had already conquered once.
‘Such a coincidence… it’s very good.’
He slowly looked at the door.
It was a huge, circular iron door, locked securely on eight hinges.
Ig reached for one of the hinges,
and—
‘Smash!’
Bang——!
The hinges were crushed and the thick iron door shook.
At the same time, a red message appeared before everyone’s eyes.
– Warning! If you enter in the wrong way, you may be punished!
“Now ! wait a minute! Is this okay? “If you carelessly ignore the system’s warning message…”
Park Moo-han sensed that the system message was unusual and went out to dissuade Lee Hyun-wook.
Gang——!
However, Lee Hyun-wook ignored Park Mu-han’s words and smashed the hinges one by one. It started.
Gang——!
Faced with such reckless behavior, Park Mu-han had no choice but to lose face and slowly back away.
“Team leader! No matter how great you are, this is an action that will cause real trouble…”
Park Mu-han used numerous strategies. I was able to intuit it through. The troublesome element of this ‘puzzle’ didn’t exist for nothing. If you try the wrong method, you will face punishment that you cannot easily bear.
But Lee Hyun-wook, whether he knew it or not, was recklessly tearing off the hinges…
Kang——!
Soon the last hinge was torn off.
Then, as he raised both hands, a heavy iron gate soared into the air.
Koo-gu-gu-gu——!
The door to the ruins opened like that—a cold wind burst out from the deep darkness.
Fuuuuu——
– Caution! You opened the ruins the wrong way!
* Punishment (ancient sentinel group) is granted!
“Fuck you, run away!”
Park Moo-han shouted to his team members,
“Uh-huh—”
Then all of the Cheonghwa guild members were distraught and hid behind the trailer. Since it was a B-grade, tier 1 player who was embarrassed, and no one else, it was clear that something uncontrollable had happened.
“What is it? What’s starting?”
Even the members of the Hope Guild were embarrassed by the reaction and took a step back.
However, Lee Hyun-wook was still standing tall in front of the entrance to the ruins.
‘The punishment of this dungeon is… machines appear as expected from the gnome dungeon, the founder of magic engineering.’
Kk-ri-ri-ri-ri–!
Soon, strange sounds resounded from deep in the darkness.
Kk-ri-ri-ri-ri——!
It was the sound of an enormous number of things crawling on the floor.
And then , As they reached the sunlight, their true identity was revealed. They were
scorpions
made of steel—a swarm of scorpions that could number in the thousands.
‘And the machine… is metal. ‘
Lee Hyeon-wook raised his left hand toward that place.
“Shredding—!”
Bu—bur—bur—bur—bur—burb—!
As soon as the things named Punishment rose to the ground, they began to explode as if melting.
The fragments They bounced in all directions and piled up like white seashells on the red sand.
Bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu!
Mu-han Park and the members of the Cheonghwa guild who were hiding behind the trailer looked at the scene blankly. Just like that
. How many minutes passed?…
“You’re safe now. “Let’s go in.”
That’s how the punishment ended so vainly.
“Ah…”
Park Mu-han looked at the scene with a blank expression.
Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook entered the hole with 12 Living Armors in front of him.
– He entered the gnome’s ruins (A3).
At the same time, he remembered his previous life . Memories—I remembered when I conquered this hidden stage.
‘If you defeat the guardian guarding the center of the ruins, there are two doors behind it.’
Here, the ‘guardian’ was a concept similar to a boss monster in a ruins.
‘But at that time, only one door could be opened.’
And beyond that door, there was a ‘legendary level’ item.
‘That’s why I was so curious about the other door that couldn’t be opened. Could it be that it’s mythical level?…’
So, instead of closing the dungeon, it was left open and used all kinds of methods for several months. He attempted to open the door, but no matter what method he used, he was unable to open the door.
Lee Hyun-wook touched the ‘Master Key of Ancient Heritage’ in his inner pocket.
‘This is the key that can lead to that place.’
Otherwise, there was no way the Hidden Quest would have been activated.
Lee Hyun-wook felt his heart beat for the first time in a long time at the thought of witnessing a secret that he could not even unlock in his previous life.