The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 116
116fury.
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Lee Hyun-wook was walking quickly through the black market alley following HPA members..
- ……Right alley, no problem..
In Sophie Green's Mana Messenger, her colleague David's voice came out..
He was now far ahead, acting as a sort of scout..
“……No matter how bad this neighborhood is, if something like that happens, there will be an uproar. Stray cats that control the trash cans in the alleys also have their own rules and use their claws..”
Sophie Green whispered.
The general image is that the black market is a lawless place where violent crimes are rampant, so even if murders occur, they are overlooked..
But the black market here in Chennai was a little different..
Lee Hyun-wook remembered the armed players stationed like guards throughout the black market..
'They are members of the guild that rules this place. AKA market managers, market keepers…….'
As only one guild held hegemony, order was maintained through force..
But just now, Lee Hyun-wook killed every single one of the assailants, including William Peel..
In other words, since a brutal massacre took place in the market, the ‘market keepers’ would soon move..
"even… … There is a high possibility that the 'Ndoz Alliance' members also have collusion with the guild..”
It had to be that way. CAR's military wing, the 'Ndoz League', is currently under economic sanctions from the international community, so it has been unable to import or export weapons through normal channels..
Therefore, they would supply the necessary supplies through the black market, which was an illegal route, and would naturally maintain a close relationship with the black market..
But then, unfamiliar voices entered Lee Hyun-wook’s ears..
- ……The kids who died there were arms dealers from Africa.?
- Well, I heard that’s the case? I heard she bought a lot of living armor and put it on the ship. Why did she suddenly search it all??
- Fuck, if they're going to fight, they'll fight on their own land. Are you making us tired too?…….
Lee Hyun-wook was ‘eavesdropping’ on all the mana messengers around him with Hugin floating in the sky.,
Such conversational sounds were coming from one of them, Mana Messenger..
'This conversation is clearly a market keeper..’
He slowed his steps and grabbed Sophie's shoulder..
"Sophie, you need to take a left at the next intersection..”
Lee Hyun-wook has been polite to them ever since he became clear..
But at his words, Sophie gave a puzzled look..
“yes? What does that mean all of a sudden? The direction of our accommodation is—”
“—Market keepers will soon enter the market on the right..”
And after a while, David, who was ahead and watching the surroundings, also said the same thing..
- Right alley, Market Keeper appears, go left..
Sophie couldn't help but look surprised at this..
From a long distance away, I noticed it before David, who was ahead of me.…….
"uh? what? How did you know first??”
"That's it... … It's a skill.”
It was probably an obvious answer, but Sophie looked puzzled..
"Ah, then maybe that… … What skill was it that helped you find out the authenticity of the potential item??”
The potential item she was talking about was 'White Lotus Painting Piece No. 8', and Lee Hyun-wook seemed to think that it was thanks to some skill that he realized that it was the key to the hidden stage..
Lee Hyun-wook did not answer but made a shrugging gesture. It was a silent affirmation.
“and… … It seems like you have a variety of skills. But, how is that so??”
Player skill acquisition is usually limited to one ‘lineage’..
For example, among the warrior class, those with sacred power characteristics are often called 'paladins', and most of the skills they can obtain are related to close combat, defense, and divinity. In other words, it grows along a ‘family tree’, also called a ‘Tech Tree’..
In that respect, it is unlikely that a paladin will acquire skills related to 'information acquisition', and the same applies to characteristics that are focused on 'firepower' like Lee Hyun-wook..
'This woman feels puzzled at that point..’
In fact, many of Lee Hyun-wook's skills did not conform to common sense..
This is because the effect was 'transferred' by absorbing the metal item..
‘In that respect, my ability to absorb metal is truly deceptive..’
Like Lee Hyun-wook, absorbing the abilities of items, monsters, and players to form skills.,
Such a growth method would later be called the ‘predatory growth privilege.’.
Among growth methods other than level, it was the best characteristic with an unrivaled growth range..
‘And the most terrible thing of all... … It was definitely a necromancer..’
That guy... … Gain new skills by ‘cannibalizing’ players.
You must be level 80 or higher or have the Heart of Play, which is an extra-level growth attribute..
'……Many S-rank players fell prey to it..’
That was one of the reasons why necromancers were so damn strong..
After thinking for a moment, Lee Hyun-wook opened his mouth..
"what… … There are only a few skills based on my characteristics, and most of them are item skills..”
Since this is an era where the predatory growth perk is not known, Lee Hyun-wook made a plausible explanation..
"ah… … It looks like you have a lot of really great items..”
Since the majority of items with skills were ‘Hero’ grade, that was a great thing..
“Well, that's why I'm aiming for the hidden stage to get those high-quality items..”
"but… … That's the easiest way to increase power. But you are very diligent, aren’t you? You suddenly decided to go all the way to Africa and 'farm' for items.……."
With that one word, it would have been understandable why Lee Hyun-wook wanted to conquer the Hidden Stage so much..
After a while they entered an old hotel..
3On the floor, room 311, Sophie knocked on the old door twice, three times each..
Clap—
“Um, Sophie… … There won't be any rats behind you.?”
A black man asked that through the slightly open door..
I heard earlier that this man was a liaison officer for HPA's Western India branch..
"Okay, don't worry, I checked..”
"And this is him, Lee Hyun-wook… … That's right, I can tell just by looking at your face..”
He recognized Lee Hyun-wook, as if he had been contacted in advance, and offered to shake his hand with a grin..
"It's truly an honor. The steel fleet you showed off recently is really cool..”
"Oh, thank you.”
"I'd like to ask you where you got that amazing thing, but I'll hold back for now..”
Even after entering the dormitory, they held their breath and watched their surroundings for a while..
And only after concluding that there was no need to worry about an attack right now, Sophie spoke up..
"Hyunwook Lee, that… … The right to attack.”
She paused for a moment, then continued speaking as if she had made up her mind..
“……I can give you 100%, not just 10%..”
Lee Hyun-wook was waiting for this proposal..
And I already guessed what those conditions would be..
"Well, it’s a transfer of full power… … It's quite unconventional, but of course it's not free.?"
"That's right, instead of providing it to us, we'd like you to help us in a big way..”
Perhaps because she thought that was a bit of an unreasonable request, Sophie avoided Lee Hyun-wook's gaze..
"therefore… … In the Central African Republic civil war, would you like to fight on the side of the resistance? Is that what you mean??"
Lee Hyun-wook asked back directly, and Sophie faced Lee Hyun-wook with a stern face..
"Yes, that's exactly what you mean. Please destroy those bastards of the ‘Ndoz League’, the tyrants of CAR..”
Before you know it, everyone in this room is looking at Hyunwook Lee with a nervous expression..
The firepower he has shown so far was enough to rival the player military in Africa..
In that respect, it would have seemed to them like a strong rope that suddenly fell from the sky..
Sophie then continued her speech with a somewhat appealing tone..
“……We cannot defeat the Ndoz Alliance with our strength alone, the Resistance Army and the HPA. So, I tried to get help from the guild by selling the hidden stage access ticket..”
"hmm… … But why do you want to hire me instead of such a large guild??”
"Ha, that's because their movements are very suspicious. At first, they said they would push out the Ndoz Alliance, but then they suddenly said something different about maintaining peace... … That's when you appeared.”
Words are ‘ah’ different and ‘uh’ different. And ‘reinforcement forces’ and ‘peacekeeping forces’ are completely different..
In other words, he would rather trust one person named Lee Hyun-wook than the suspicious Old Peace Guild..
Lee Hyun-wook, who heard that far, nodded slowly..
"Yes. That will be fine. Resistance, let me help you.”
The acceptance so readily was so unexpected that the HPA members were unable to hide their surprised expressions..
"Is it really true??”
"Ha—Steelrain is on our side.……."
"Oh my god, thank you god.”
They each expressed different exclamations..
"But let me be clear about this. I can't stay on the battlefield for long.”
"yes? uh… … War can't end quickly.?”
"I will intercept the enemy's core forces for a short period of time and render them incapable of war..”
In other words, the Ndoz Alliance will lose its power and fall out, so the resistance will take care of the rest..
In fact, it was a welcome condition even on the resistance side..
Because the biggest concern when bringing in external forces was interference in internal affairs after victory..
"is it so. Whatever it takes, we just need to turn the tide so the resistance can win..”
Lee Hyun-wook had no intention of dragging it out for a long time..
‘Just two days after arriving in CAR..’
The CAR civil war was just a phase, the real event was.
***
Lee Hyun-wook called Go Jin-hwa and told him that something had come up and that he should return to Korea first..
She couldn't hide her embarrassment, but since it was Lee Hyun-wook's decision, she followed it without saying anything..
And 30 minutes later, Lee Hyun-wook and HPA members left the hotel and exited the black market..
"Still, you still have to be careful. Indra's Spear Guild has a presence all over Chennai.."
They boarded a van prepared in advance and moved to the dockside where the 'safe house' was located..
On the way, Sophie began explaining the current situation in CAR—Central African Republic..
CAR, a landlocked African country that had been experiencing repeated civil wars even before the world turned into a game.,
And now, it was the ‘Ndoz League’, the player military, that held the hegemony of the country..
"......Those bastards are demons.”
That's how Sophie defined the Ndoz Federation..
They gathered all of their country's players and forced them to work as miners in the 'Dungeon Steel Mining Site', and those who opposed this had their hands and feet cut off and then sent to the 'Mana Extraction Plant'..
How cruel is that?…….
‘Mana extraction plant, which binds the player so that they cannot move and extracts mana from their body..’
And every time mana naturally recovers, it continues... … Pull it out until it dies..
To put it metaphorically, it turns living humans into mana generators..
The inhumane act became known all over the world, and condemnation continued from countries around the world..
But that was all. In the end, it was someone else's business, the world got angry for a moment and then quickly forgot about it..
“under… … A real hell is being neglected, where all kinds of evil deeds are committed..”
Still, the Player Humanitarian Alliance did not stand by and ignore such a situation..
However, because they are ultimately a 'human rights group', they did not have enough force to turn the tide.,
As it is now, it was best to simply support the resistance from the outside..
"Ah, but if possible, I don't want my identity to be revealed until the crucial moment..”
The moment the van stopped in front of a warehouse on the dockside, Lee Hyun-wook put on a mask and said that..
"uh… … Does that mean you shouldn't tell us either??”
“Yes, isn’t there a risk of information being leaked??”
"ah……."
"Sophie, if that happens, my enemies will prepare a way to catch me..”
In many ways, it was not good for the fact that Lee Hyun-wook was here to be revealed..
‘That also means letting the villains know that I have vacated Laputa.…….'
Of course, if something happens in Seoul, you can use Friedwen's 'Emergency Return'..
But no matter what, moving secretly was the safest way..
"But, we… … I have to report it to the higher-ups..”
Their original mission was to win the bid for 'White Lotus Painting Piece No. 8' at the auction house..
Once that is secured, the contract with the guild will be fulfilled..
In other words, in order to select Lee Hyun-wook instead of Old Peace Guild, consultation with higher-ups was necessary..
Regarding this, Hyunwook Lee summed it up in one word:.
"Sophie, first report that you did not secure the item..”
She looked at Lee Hyun-wook with an expression that asked what he was talking about..
"If you do that, won't the contract with Old Peace be automatically terminated??”
“No, that's true, but……."
"After that, I will arrive and speak directly to the resistance leadership..”
She looked troubled, but in the end, she had no choice but to do as Lee Hyun-wook wanted..
With the help of a big man like this, it wasn't difficult to do at least once something that would get you criticized by your superiors..
After a while, as Lee Hyun-wook wanted, Sophie reported the failure of the operation to her superiors..
however… … Immediately after that, an unexpected problem occurred..
"Ha, this is a bit confusing. A new order came right away. Since they say they couldn't secure that item, the need to return disappears... … So, I'm asking you to support the operation in this area..”
It was an operation to attack the Ndoz League's 'container ship' that was about to leave Chennai Port at sea..
I had heard of such a thing when William Tell appeared, and Lee Hyun-wook also knew about it..
"Damn, they're sending the three of us there so we can help with that mission.?”
“Hey, what does this mean? You're giving me water because I failed an important mission, right?!”
They complained and complained about being demoted or given punitive duties by their superiors..
Even though this was a noble human rights organization, its internal situation seemed to be no different from that of an ordinary guild..
"Ah, this… … Hyunwook Lee, are you okay? Somehow, I found a place I had to go through..”
They looked at Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes. But Lee Hyun-wook looked like he didn't care..
"Anyway, I told you in the beginning.?”
“yes? What do you mean??”
"I'll take care of that troublesome boat..”
That's what Hyunwook Lee said right after he dealt with William Tell in the alley of the black market..
But they had no idea that things would really turn out like this..
Sophie looked relieved and began to explain the situation..
"Now, what is loaded on that ship are ‘puppet weapons’ to be supplied to the so-called ‘puppet masters’..”
"A puppet master... … Is the famous war mercenary involved in the CAR civil war??”
"Yes, the Ndoz Alliance hired him four months ago, and since then the resistance has been on a losing streak..”
There are two reasons why the Ndoz League side has an overwhelming advantage in the current CAR civil war..
‘As far as I know, the Enchantress Twins and the Puppeteer are the two powers..’
Among them, the ‘Puppet Master’ is an unidentified mercenary player whose identity has never been revealed.,
When appearing on the battlefield, he was famous for always sending his alter ego, a 'wind-up doll'. And he runs a sort of puppet army with monsters like 'Living Armor' and 'Battle Wax Dolls' as his followers..
"He's a really troublesome player. The main body is not on the battlefield, but it controls the army and drives it away..”
During the last battle, 65 battle wax figures and 40 living armors were mobilized to forcibly break through the resistance's firepower - it is said that seven villages occupied by the resistance were captured in just one day..
Since they are not living beings, they move forward without fear and engage in proper 'tanking'. After shaking things up like that, the follow-up infiltration by the player unit of the Ndoz Alliance.......
“……Even if you know that, you can’t stop it. It lacks firepower in absolute terms..”
The three HPA people who had seen that scene shook their heads at the same time..
"under… … It's already such a headache, but if a container ship loaded with living armor departing from Chennai today arrives at CAR, now it's really... … It will be an irreversible inferiority..”
Even in Lee Hyun-wook’s memory, the ‘Puppet Master’s’ power was quite impressive..
Of course, it was nothing compared to the necromancer, and it was worse than Kang Xi-seol's 'magic machine corps'..
Still, it was clear that it was a force worthy of being called a one-man army..
The most ideal way to deal with players who act like ‘subordinates’ is to…….
‘……It's so simple. It's blocking the increase in number of people..’
There is a limit to the number of dolls a puppeteer can create..
Therefore, I had to find a monster that could ‘secure master authority’, such as Living Armor..
In other words, the correct answer was to attack the container ship and block the power increase..
"I… … However, if Lee Hyun-wook wishes for his identity not to be revealed, it would be difficult to ask for help with this operation. When you attack that ship, your identity will inevitably be revealed..”
Sophie said that and made a bitter expression..
He went on to say that the container ship was on strict alert. In other words, even if there was a raid from the sea, there would be great resistance, and there was a strong possibility that Lee Hyun-wook's existence would be discovered in the meantime..
But Lee Hyun-wook shook his head..
"Oh, that's okay. I may be able to attack more secretly than you think..”
“……Anyway, Hyunwook Lee's unique metal boxes, you'll recognize them when you see them.?”
From a third party's perspective, Lee Hyun-wook's firepower was great, but he was by no means stealthy..
"I won't attack from the outside..”
“……yes?”
“I mean, I'm gonna shake them up from the inside out.”
"No way, you're saying you're going to infiltrate that ship.?”
"no, not that either.”
The expressions of the three people were filled with puzzlement at Lee Hyun-wook's continued denial..
"Are you sure that ship is full of living armor??”
"yes? Ah, well, it's the most suitable item for a 'doll' that a puppeteer can obtain..”
Lee Hyun-wook’s last words were even more meaningful..
“If I capture that container ship... … Please give me some of the goods on the ship..”
***
A few hours ago, William Tell and his group were massacred at the black market.,
Ndoz Federation's container ship 'Black Factory', which was anchored in Chennai, sailed normally..
This is because it was necessary to arrive at CAR as quickly as possible and reinforce the puppet master's power..
And when the ship entered the open sea, five rubber boats were blocking the route..
“after… … You can see the Black Factory over there. But will they really not find us??”
"It's okay, we have stealth magic on us so you won't be seen..”
They were also members of the HPA and were tasked with attacking and taking over the Black Factory..
They looked through binoculars to see a huge container ship approaching at the edge of the horizon..
"hmm… … Team leader, I don’t feel well. It's much better protected than I thought..”
At those words, a middle-aged man raised his binoculars..
Indeed, at first glance, they were much more heavily armed than expected..
The number of guards on deck alone is about twenty.…….
There were even a lot of items in the form of support firearms installed..
If you approached that ship incorrectly, you would be reduced to ashes without even a single bone..
"Damn, I heard there was a commotion in Chennai? I think it's because of that……."
"Yes, I think that's probably the cause. Wouldn’t this be difficult??”
He is armed beyond imagination. With just 26 people here... … It seemed impenetrable..
At that time, someone's voice flowed through their Mana Messenger..
-Chick— Oh, this is Sophie Greene..
"Hey, I heard you're supporting our operation, where are you??”
- It's nearby now..
He looked around but saw nothing..
"No, but what happened in Chennai? The target's defenses have been greatly strengthened.!”
- hmm… … First, let’s talk about the operation, shall we? We're trying to hit first.—
hey! What are you talking about? Hey Green, you know we're in charge of this operation.?”
- ……We'll give the signal, get ready to board the ship..
"Damn it, what on earth does that mean! They were determined to ruin the operation.?”
- Sorry, it's too long to explain... … I thought it would be quicker to just show it..
"what?"
- now… … Let me take a look at the deck.?
The operations team leader did as she said and raised the binoculars. …….
“……uh?"
An incomprehensible scene was unfolding on the deck..
Containers loaded on a container ship, inside were dolls that were passed on to the puppeteer..
But then the door is opened, the chains are cut, and something walks out..
"Those are Living Armors... … Isn't it??”
"But why is it moving now??”
Iron-armored giants, magic circuits engraved on their bodies emit a blue light..
And he started killing the unsuspecting deck crew..
A mutiny on board that no one expected began..
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