The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 107
107fury.
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A huge fireball crashed down and shook the earth..
The sky turns bright red for a moment,
Soon the whole world turned white.
My vision had completely stopped..
And the only thing that rings in my ears is a tinnitus ringing..
Go-oh-oh-oh-oh——
A hot wind and sandstorm blew in from the front, beyond the foot of the mountain..
How much time has passed like that?…….
Vision that had lost its function slowly began to recover..
"……Oh, really we didn't get any damage.?”
Although it was only a few hundred meters away from the meteorite impact point, the three people suffered no damage during the heat storm..
As Lee Hyun-wook said, he received some absolute ‘protection’..
"Because it's one of the features of this item..”
Hyunwook Lee held up the ‘Okeanos Guidance Device’.
Yellow light was emanating from it..
"Well, if not, it would be a complete suicide item.?”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded and took a step forward..
As we passed the mountainside, the sight of trees uprooted unfolded, and the land beyond was completely turned upside down and radiating heat..
“……The area is still hot so be careful..”
Cheeeeee……
As I got closer, I felt the loose soil boiling from the hot air, and occasionally I stepped on tree roots that had turned into charcoal..
They cautiously approached the center of the meteorite impact..
"So there's a lot of treasure out there.?”
“……Big, it looks like there's a bomb right now..”
Kim Se-hee and Lee Jeong-jun still said that with an anxious look..
However, a different thought was floating around in Lee Hyun-wook’s head..
'……It was clearly said in the news that the large debris was headed to Jeju Island..’
Mana scattering will soon subside and radio waves will be restored. I'll have to confirm it then, but Lee Hyun-wook doesn't think he heard it wrong..
‘Really, I'm trying my best to eat this country somehow.?’
Lee Hyun-wook clicked his tongue and said, “Tsk.”.
The villain has been aiming to seize hegemony in Asia for a long time, but he has repeatedly failed to take over South Korea, one of the most important buttons. However, I don't give up and keep pushing forward..
'It's not that I don't understand why you do it that way..’
China took over through the second wave, and in Japan, devil worshipers were taking root. Rather than swallowing up a few more countries in Southeast Asia, they wanted to secure the last 'big axis'..
‘And above all… … You want Laputa?’
In other words, Seoul was a key point that they could not give up..
then…….
'……That much, I also stubbornly block it..’
In fact, it could have been a good thing. What if the villains don't plan out of sight, but rush towards the 'trench' built by Lee Hyun-wook... … All you have to do is load your machine gun and wait..
And at the decisive moment, crossfire is fired..
'Also, they won't know I got this…….'
Even if the villain knew all kinds of dark information, there was no way he knew everything. In particular, this Oceanos guidance device escaped their detection in a previous life and became someone else's property..
And there were things there that were useful for strategy..
"excuse me! there is something!”
Jeongjun Lee shouted. Before we knew it, we were getting closer to the collision point..
The three went down the slope of the meteorite crater..
"Uh, what is it? Isn’t that a tombstone??”
It looked more like a rectangular tombstone than a meteorite... … All kinds of patterns were engraved on the surface of a stone block measuring about 1.5 meters..
The meteorite that fell here earlier was said to be a 'fragment of the solar chariot', but it was a mythological motif and not a real chariot..
Cheeeeee——!
The ground around the monument is bubbling..
"Pfft, sorry, but I can't go any further..”
The closer I got, the stronger the heat became. Lee Jeong-jun couldn't even get close, and Kim Se-hee backed away, wrapping a curtain of wind around her body..
Only Lee Hyun-wook blocked the heat by thickening his body..
He stretched out his left hand and placed it on the surface of the monument..
- ‘Would you like to open 'Unknown Object'??
"……You two, please stand back..”
Hyunwook Lee said that and concentrated on strengthening his left hand..
And the moment you infuse mana into the tombstone—
Pu—huh——!
There was an explosion, and the floor around the monument went out and flames erupted..
- The region was selected as ㅣ.
* The average temperature within a 5 km radius of the monument increases by 8 degrees..
* A ‘fire-element ecosystem’ will be created within a 10km radius of the monument..
* The melting point of all metals is greatly reduced.. (-30%)
* When ‘quenched’ here, the strength increases significantly.. (+30%)
* All metals produced here are of the highest quality..
* Additional effects are granted when enchanting fire properties here..
‘This is a blessing that fell from the sky.’
A deceptive wide-area continuous buff could promote the development of the magic steel industry, which was an effect that could feed a nation..
‘If we move Laputa here someday, the synergy will be pretty good.?’
Then, all kinds of items poured out of the collapsed floor. Most of them were red orbs, grade 1 to 3 advanced fire orbs..
But there was something else that was really important..
He pushed dozens of orbs to the sides like stones. Then, other items appeared inside..
Among them, I saw an item in the shape of a bracelet..
- ‘Obtained ‘Helios’ Blessing (Hero)’.
‘This is a very helpful item in conquering Phaethon..’
This item offsets a certain amount of the flame attacks emitted by the flame giant, allowing you to withstand the attack that is nothing short of a volcanic eruption..
However, Lee Hyun-wook left even that behind and took out the largest object that was buried deepest in the ground. that… … It was a huge iron box..
‘Okay, this is it..’
[Item information]
- Name: Chest of Eternal Fire (Legendary))
- Effect: Gives the ‘fire’ attribute to the items contained in this box..
If you manufacture a furnace-shaped 'object' with this, it turns into a facility that can change the common dungeon steel into an 'orb of flame'..
'In a previous life, Vietnam established an arsenal based on this.?’
The weapons made there had a significant level of fire properties and some were equipped with an 'explosion' effect, so Lee Hyun-wook used to import 'explosion sticks' from them..
‘It was a scam. To be exact, it was a scam when I used it.’
The firepower of the metal controlled by Lee Hyun-wook was actually maxed out at 'crushing' unless it had its own skill, and that was quite disappointing..
'It doesn't work well against enemies with good defense.…….'
However, in the case of metal with an explosion effect enchanted, it can be raised to the level of a 'missile' accompanied by a flame explosion..
"uh… … Why are there so many??”
Kim Se-hee asked while standing at a distance..
"But I don't think I have time to check them all..”
"yes? What happened again??”
“Earlier, we need to check where the second meteorite landed..”
"ah! Now that I think about it, I think I heard it was Jeju Island..”
Lee Hyun-wook was busy again..
First, I contacted team leader Kyo-jun Lee and explained about the meteorite in Gangwon-do. He also expressed doubt that Lee Hyun-wook induced the meteorite, but once again claimed that it was a 'exclusive quest' related to Laputa..
"And I heard that the meteorite also fell on Jeju Island..”
- Yes, that's right. Do you know the identity of that meteorite? Those two meteorites were originally one, so they must be related..
“I don't know exactly, but it's probably a bad event..”
- Damn it, I'll just convey that to the manager..
"Yes, we will get back to you when we have new information..”
And I immediately called Park Cheol-soo..
"Brother, will you buy me some of the stocks I'm talking about with your spare money??”
- Uh, yeah?
Park Cheol-soo asked suspiciously at the stock story that came out of nowhere..
Lee Hyun-wook had accumulated tens of billions of won in funds through various methods, including 4th wave rewards and red player bounties..
And he was working hard to make that money using future knowledge, but all of the work was handled by Park Cheol-soo..
"Heading towards the ‘magic mobility’ industry right now… … There are companies like those in the United States and Chad.?”
Magic mobility literally refers to technology related to transportation using mana as a power source, and airships were a representative example..
Although no company has yet achieved specific results in this regard, it has been evaluated as a future food source and value investments are continuing..
- hey! What does that mean all of a sudden? No, Hyunwook, it’s more about the meteorite that fell in Gangwon-do. Maybe that forest we bought?…….
"That's right. I'll tell you later, so take care of that first..”
- No, always tell me later…….
"—Brother, please do me a favor right now before the market closes.!”
He hung up the phone and immediately sent a Mana messenger to Yeo Sang-min..
"Immediately tell Soiler and gather all the dwarven craftsmen..”
- yes?
Like Park Cheol-soo before, Yeo Sang-min also asked in a puzzled voice..
- Well, if it’s everything… … There must be about one hundred and fifty people.?
"Yes, it's all necessary work..”
- uh … … What should I tell them that we are convening??
Lee Hyun-wook paused for a moment and then answered briefly..
“……They say they're preparing for war.”
***
In a dark underground facility, a small light came on..
It was no ordinary space. It was an air-raid shelter installed 11 floors underground, with magic shields and silence magic..
There was a man sitting in front of the desk in the center of the place..
“……I can't stand it because the government is determined to bite me..”
He was the guild's master, Ki Baekjun..
And now, I was talking to someone on a magic line..
"shit! That can only be done for a day or two, but that's the limit now! Every time we touch Lee Hyeon-wook, we wither and die little by little.!”
It was as if I had touched a beehive by mistake, or rather, as if I had mishandled a gas fire, I was swept away by harsh repercussions every time I touched Lee Hyun-wook..
Recently, they have even been strangling Ki Baekjun by bringing in evidence of the dark deeds of the Taesan guild, from where he got it..
Thus, Taesan, the third largest guild in Korea, was falling..
“…… So what does Chairman have to tell me??”
The ‘Chairman’ simply ordered him to wait. I wondered if this was what it felt like to be vomited on for months now..
“……yes?”
But just now, for the first time in a long time, a new order came down..
“no, right now……."
He grabbed the phone tightly and gritted his teeth..
“……If disaster strikes Jeju Island, the Korean Peninsula's power will have no choice but to focus there, so do you mean to target Laputa then??”
In other words, it was the commonly called ‘empty house burglary’..
“haha……."
Ki Baekjun smiled bitterly in misery..
"Are you serious about me personally attacking Laputa??”
That meant becoming a criminal—a red player..
‘In fact, since it has lost its usefulness, it is meant to be used as a disposable card.?’
But I'm not as angry as I used to be..
He was at a dead end anyway..
"under… … Once that operation is resolved, I will leave this land. Fuck it, of course you have no choice but to leave, but please do so..”
At this point, he decided to escape from Korea. His homestead had already dried up and died, so he had no regrets about this country..
But his eyes widened when he heard the voice on the other end of the phone..
A very interesting story flowed into his ears.,
Ki Baekjun unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth and let out a wicked smile..
"Oh, is that really true? Haha - with that method, we can definitely kill all of the top players in this country by disguising them as accidental deaths. A disaster in the Jeju sky, that's a fun idea..”
Just now, a great disaster has struck Jeju Island..
A large reinforcement force will be dispatched there soon.…….
They were not able to land on Jeju Island and were scheduled to be buried in the water..
"good… … This is my favorite scenario after a long time..”
***
It was true that an unidentified meteorite fell on Baekrokdam in Jeju Island..
And it quickly became clear that it wasn't just a meteorite..
- ……This is a helicopter overlooking the meteorite impact site in Baeknokdam, Jeju Island! You can see gray smoke rising from Baekrokdam, as if a volcanic eruption had occurred.!
A broadcasting station's helicopter was flying in the Jeju sky..
- And there was a huge hole dug inside Baeknokdam.!
It was clearly a crater, a trace of a meteorite impact..
and in it…….
Ku—de—de—de——!
A fire giant about 20 meters in size began to soar out..
- omg!
That scene was caught on camera.,
Only the heavy breathing of the cameraman and anchor filled the audio..
At that moment, its huge hand flew towards the helicopter..
- uh! Ugh… … A giant monster extends its hand this way.!
……Fortunately, it was out of reach..
at that time—
Fu—hua—ah—ah——
A long pillar of flame spewed out from the monster's grasp.,
At the end of the scene, the news screen cuts back to the studio..
- ah.......
Accordingly, an emergency evacuation order was issued throughout Jeju Island..
And the country's best players came together to urgently convene a consultative body to respond to the national crisis..
Hyunwook Lee also remotely observed the meeting..
Soon, Team Leader Kyojun Lee began the first briefing..
"Okay, let's all look at this..”
As soon as the briefing started, a video appeared..
"This is a video sent by Team 13 of the AMT Maritime Search Team returning to the Jeju Naval Base, about 30 minutes after the meteorite impact..”
Soon, coastal cliffs unfolded in the shaking screen..
Doo doo doo doo——
Rotor sound, probably video taken from a military helicopter.
- Platoon leader, Hallasan Mountain is on fire.!
- Damn, monsters come out of meteorites, they're probably not aliens?
While I was hearing that conversation,
A large amount of red powder began to fly towards them..
Tap—tap—tap—tap—tap—
At first glance, it just looked like a spark.…….
Something like that was filling the Jeju sky..
- What is this! It's unavoidable?
- Too many… … uh! The aircraft burst into flames.!
Cheeeeee——
The moment they touch the aircraft, don't they ignite? And the fire spread so quickly that there was no time to do anything..
- Damn it, that's not just a spark! Oh, it's a monster!
Immediately after that scream, a series of louder explosions were heard..
And this time the screen turned off again..
I could tell without saying that they were wiped out..
“……The spark-like flying object you just saw is a ‘Red Wisp’, a type of evil spirit. Although they are very small, one animal can burn down a forest, and there are tens of thousands of them scattered throughout the island. In other words, access by plane or ship is difficult..”
Immediately after, a satellite map of Jeju Island appeared on the screen..
It looked like the photo was taken with a thermal imaging camera.,
Red dots were scattered along the coastline..
"All those dots are ‘Red Wisps’..”
He went on to explain that it is impossible to escape 'Red Wisp' as it has the habit of rushing at you when it detects mana..
In other words, it was virtually impossible to land on Jeju Island using ordinary means of transportation, and a large number of flying objects were needed, covered in magic metal and equipped with a 'mana engine' that could maintain a magic shield for a long time..
To put it bluntly, it meant that ‘unfairness’ was necessary..
- that… … Can't Inferno control those flames? No matter how many of those things come at you, you'll be able to just push them away.?
One of the video conference participants mentioned inferno. Surely, Inferno, the fire controller, could control such things..
But team leader Lee Gyo-jun shook his head..
"Yes, we tried to contact you too... … Inferno is currently in the process of attacking the Red Gate that occurred in Gimhae two days ago. When you look at the size of the gate... … I think it will take about 3 more days..”
Then shouts poured in from all directions..
- greatness… … In that case, airship would be the answer. It may be difficult to use just one or two, but isn't there Lee Hyun-wook's and the Holy Knights' which are a little bigger than that? At least use that…….
At that point, Team Leader Kyojun Lee shook his head again..
"As it happens, the AMT Holy Knights have also entered into an operation to attack the very large ‘ghoul’ dungeon opened in Cheongju. And because it’s the Red Gate too… … It will take about 3 days to complete the strategy..”
At this, cackling sounds were heard from all directions..
- No, is there all this ridiculous timing??
- After all, the most important personnel are all absent........
It was a situation I couldn't help but wonder if it was a coincidence..
“……We also have doubts about this..”
Only Lee Hyun-wook understood that questionable coincidence as inevitability..
‘They're all probably a strategy to divert attention from the villain..’
Some gates are opened by ‘guidance’ by villains. Like in the 4th wave, the main force was probably stolen in advance..
"Okay, but I'm sure I don't have time to wait for them. Even at this very moment, civilians are in danger. Even setting aside the strategy, we must find a way to transport Jeju residents inland..”
- How can we escort civilians when we can't go in??
- If you make a wrong move, you'll all die.…….
At that time, a new face appeared on the list of video conference participants..
- ah! My name is Seo-yoon Kang.!
It was the appearance of the 4th ranked Korean player..
- Everyone, fortunately, the company has just decided to support the airship! It is said that three airships were docked in Japan at the time to support the aftermath of the incident in Okinawa, Japan.!
Then sighs of relief came from all over the place..
- after… … As expected, CEO Kang is always a problem solver.!
As a very large international company, it has been a leader in the magic mobility industry, producing and operating ‘manufacturing-type non-processing’ for a long time..
‘But that's not technically unfair.’
That's just to make a fuselage made of magic metal fly, you attach a lot of flight stones, and the mana to supply it is supplied with a mana battery..
And the method of propulsion still used the ‘jet engine’..
In other words, it was an object made up of all kinds of material items haphazardly joined together..
When compared side by side with 'item-type airships' such as Pridwen or Oryongger, it was overwhelmingly inferior in terms of performance and energy efficiency..
‘The maintenance cost of just one aircraft is equivalent to that of three aircraft carriers.…….'
But now, even that was necessary. Without borrowing that, many of the player's troops could not land on Jeju..
- That airship is a 130-seat model, correct??
- oh… … If that's the case, landing on Jeju Island would be possible.!
But Lee Hyun-wook was clicking his tongue inside..
‘Wicked bastards, you're using this trashy tactic again!…….'
is an American company headed by Gordon Price..
In other words, this airship support also contained the villain's plan..
‘maybe… … They're trying to bury us all at once..’
It was a very obvious move, and I had used that move several times in my past life..
But that was then.
"Everyone, this is Director Woo Seong-moon. Let me just say something.."
Everyone was silent at this.
Woo Seong-moon, he was actually the person in charge of this meeting..
If he spoke, it meant it was a pretty important issue..
however…….
“……We will not borrow Blue Tree's airship..”
It could not have been a remark that broke the spirit of this meeting.,
- yes? What do you mean?
- Then there might be another way.?
Confused voices pouring in from everywhere,
Woo Seong-moon nodded at this..
"Yes that's right.”
He looked at Lee Hyun-wook’s face on the screen..
"……We also have a fleet ready.”
***
And at the same time, Laputa's airship port was busy..
They were gray dwarf craftsmen, including Soiler..
"No, it makes sense to fix that whole thing in 12 hours.!”
"after… … Still, it makes sense, we ended it somehow.!”
They were sweating profusely and giggling about how good it was..
“Ugh, I must have been sweating, I want to have a beer, but I can't.?”
“hmm… … It won't be okay if you just take one sip at a time……."
Then someone screamed, “Quack!”.
"—yes no!"
It was Yeo Sang-min.
He was running panting from the Order Tower..
“Guys, get ready to leave right now.!”
At the same time, something rose from the airship port of the Order Tower..
Wooooow——
That was Lee Hyun-wook’s Friedwen..
"Oh my! We can't be late either.!”
“Yeah, I guess I'll use it if I'm offended by the landlord.!”
Then the dwarves began to move busily and board the 12 airships lined up at the airship port in the upper residential area..
They were tattered airships that the dwarves had ridden not long ago, but the exterior repair work had been completed at Lee Hyun-wook's request..
So now it has a pretty decent silver-white appearance..
"ruler! Everyone listen carefully! Move safely as instructed.—!”
Soiler shouted and followed Fridwen's tail. After that, a total of 12 dwarf airships flew one after another..
At that time, Lee Hyun-wook's voice flowed from all the airships..
- Now, let's go outside the dome of Laputa..
"Hahaha—good! let's go!”
- And please… … Please drive safely.
Soon, Lee Hyun-wook's Friedwen escaped out of the transparent dome..
This was followed by a procession of dwarf airships.,
In other words, a bunch of airships appeared in the sky over Seoul..
Wooooow——
Their shadows covered the area around Seoul Station.,
Citizens had no choice but to raise their heads in unison..
"uh… … Look over there!”
"omg! Hey, what is that??”
In the blue sky, silver-white airships that appeared in a huge floating city pass through the Seoul sky in a regular line..
The scene was also broadcast on the conference screen..
- No, what is that?…….
- No way is that…….
While the audience was in an uproar, Woo Seong-moon opened his mouth..
"It is an airship fleet with Lee Hyun-wook's Fridwen as its flagship..”
It was the moment when the concept of ‘aircraft fleet’ appeared in this world..
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