Novels online

The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 150

150fury. 

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"—hey! Kim Kang-sik, what are you doing with these high-ranking people?!”

Commander Jeong Sang-sik screamed and got up from his seat..

Then he glared at Colonel Kim Kang-seok as if he was going to grab him by the collar at any moment..

Next to him, Edward Woods and Director Hwang Yeon-soo were sitting with stern faces..

"yes? What do you mean?”

“What the hell is that, nigga!”

What he was pointing at was the TV. Now, breaking news was coming out..

- ……This is the Paldalsan Labyrinth site. It's been an hour since Lee Hyun-wook and Steele Rain arrived on the scene. According to the news that just came in, Lee Hyun-wook's attack team has entered the labyrinth.!

That was a situation that had been predicted since yesterday, so it was a scene that was nothing special..

However, as Kim Kang-seok said earlier, Captain Seo Eun-ha, a 'qualified candidate', appeared on TV.…….

"Well, now… … Captain Seo follows who and who… … where did he go!”

She was with Lee Hyun-wook. No matter how you look at it, it was a situation where Lee Hyun-wook hit the player..

Those who came to her assuming that she was a ‘qualified person’ could not help but be devastated.…….

“……Commander, I don't know why you're acting like this all of a sudden. What mistake did I make??"

"What, man?”

"As I mentioned earlier, Captain Seo was deployed in a very important operation. That's it.”

Kim Kang-seok was uncharacteristically joking. That's how much I wanted to pick them, and it was a success..

Edward Woods still had an expressionless face, but his face was bright red unlike usual..

Director Hwang Yeon-soo, who had been watching the scene, sighed and shook his head..

“Ha— General Jeong, you are worse at managing young troops than I thought.?”

"Oh no… … Deputy Director Hwang, that’s not it.……."

A Samsung general gets angry at a word from the future power..

Kim Kang-seok found the scene not only ugly, but disgusting..

“Deputy Director Hwang, it is not too late. I will order you to bring Captain Seo in right away..”

At those words, Hwang Yeon-soo snorted..

"Fuck, do you think that's going to work? And if you do that, the picture becomes a mess. under… … The English gentleman here came to visit us politely himself. What would people think if he did that? yes?”

For a moment, a heavy silence fell in the battalion commander's office..

“Ha—well, it doesn’t matter. Even if General Jeong doesn't do his job well, I do it well..”

"......."

"And the colonel treated me like a hero. That's so arrogant.……."

Hwang Yeon-soo snorted while looking at Kim Kang-seok and jumped up from his seat..

"But in just a few days, you will realize that your social attitude is very wrong.."

He whispered meaningfully and took Edward Woods out of the battalion commander's office..

***

At that time, Lee Hyeon-wook was standing in front of the left door at the fork in the labyrinth entrance..

- Would you like to open the door to ‘Dragon Lair Ruins (Labyrinth)’ now? (Y/N)

* ‘Dragon Lair Ruins - 1 ‘entry ticket’ is consumed. (I have 3 copies))

As such, the number of times this labyrinth door could be opened was limited.,

The ticket was given as a reward for capturing Aji Dahaka..

‘And this labyrinth was originally designed to be attempted multiple times..’

Since the hint was given at the last gate in the first place, at least two entry certificates were needed..

‘But I only have 1 and it's enough.’

Ku—gu—gu—gu——!

Soon the huge door opened, a distant darkness spread out, and a chilling wind came out..

"and… … It feels more like a royal palace than a labyrinth.?”

As Park Jun-mo said, it felt luxurious, like the hallway of a European-style mansion. However, everything seemed distant and big, as if I was in a land of giants, and there was so much darkness that I couldn't see the end..

and…….

That's it—

In the darkness, along with an unidentifiable breathing sound, blue eyes appear in the distance..

But the strange thing was that the eye lights were also coming out from the walls, ceiling, and floor..

"What are those… … It looks like it's crawling out of the wall.?”

As Lee Jeong-jun said, maggots came out from all sides and fell to the floor with a thud..

"That's probably a draugr.”

Hyunwook Lee said.

Draugr, a ghost guarding tombs in Viking mythology, was an undead soldier that looked like a mummy at first glance. It often appeared in tombs or ruin-type dungeons..

“You shouldn't let down your guard just by looking at the appearance. Depending on the level of the summoning subject, the power varies greatly..”

“Well, since this is a dragon rare ruin, we can assume that they are above average.?”

- Dragon Lair Ruins Draug (LV)：81)

‘Still, each one is not that strong..’

The problem is, as we saw earlier, dimensional cracks occur in the ceiling, walls, and floor, and they pour out..

From the moment you step into that labyrinth, you have to fight constantly, without a break..

In other words, it was a place where you had to gather your treasure and leave as quickly as possible rather than quietly adventuring..

“……Wow, it keeps crawling out from all over the place, looks like it needs a lot of attention..”

However, Lee Hyun-wook had the best tank corps that could not feel any fear..

"Advance—"

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—

Living Armor and Iron Golem stand shoulder to shoulder and move forward while maintaining formation..

Like this, the plan was to advance using 45 Living Armor and 15 Iron Golems as shields..

If Talos, the 'Bronze Sentinel', joins in, they can push forward like a tank corps..

「You can leave the front to us.!」

And the crystals of magical engineering that had been studied over the years began to shine one by one..

The first was the ‘Graveberpalo’, a magic machine gun that went one step further..

Two-two-two-two-two——!

As many as 25 Graverpalos spewed fire at the same time, literally crushing the approaching draugr. A few of them came through the fire net and approached. At the forefront, iron golems stood tall like a rock wall..

The draugr's great sword and ax filled with gloomy power struck the Aiur golem's body..

Wow——!

In one blow, the solid metal body was cut like tofu..

However, if there was no intelligence to target the core, the strike was useless..

Gurgling— Gurgling—

Pieces of metal scattered on the floor were absorbed into the iron golem's body..

Then, soon enough, the part that had been cut began to recover completely.?

“Wow—this battle system is simple, but it’s no joke.?”

"Iknow, right. Tremendous firepower, absolute defense.……."

Even the players of the Hope Guild who followed behind couldn't help but be amazed..

But that didn't mean they were playing around. They have no chance like now.

“So, what is everyone doing! Free experience is coming in droves.!”

At Kim Se-hee's cry, the Hope Guild members used their skills in unison - wiping out the approaching draugr..

"There is no chance like this unless you attack together with the boss.!”

"okay! I need to get to level 35 here today.!”

Players of the Hope Guild eagerly used wide-area magic with the feeling of wondering what the hell was going on..

Bang—bang—bang—bang——!

"Oh, I'm really gaining experience points.?”

“Wow, I already leveled up 1.!”

Among the excited players, Lee Hyun-wook opened his mouth..

"There are quite a few draugr respawns here. Let's go hunting a little more..”

Everyone cheered for this.

But for Seo Eun-ha, the sight was just amazing..

"Wait a minute, hunting?……."

But it was truly a hunt, or rather a massacre, taking place right before our eyes..

Two-two-two-two-two——!

4A hallway that divides into four directions, with camp in the center in all directions. No, I swept away the swarms of insect-like draugr that were pouring down from every direction, including the ceiling, the walls, and the floor, as if catching bugs..

"Ah, no, this is it now… … You could call it a raid.?”

It was a scene she couldn't easily understand. Her raids so far have been pretty tough. No matter how easy the monster was, she had to hit it directly, so there was a risk of being killed or injured. So she always had to be careful, but now she... … It was not so much stable as it was peaceful..

‘Huh—is it possible to automate raids too? If this happens... … Will players lose their jobs in the future??’

Is it really worth worrying about such nonsense? She was quite shocked..

“……Lee Hyun-wook, you are controlling all of those things.?”

Seo Eun-ha asked Lee Hyun-wook with a dumbfounded expression, and Lee Hyun-wook nodded..

As a result of applying the 'Golden Reins of Athena' obtained earlier, the maximum number of followers increased significantly..

‘Now you can control up to 93 aircraft..’

In other words, we can operate twice as many numbers as we do now, but we did not need to use excessive force..

"Oh, and if you apply the front buff, Captain Seo will also receive experience points..”

Even now, the guild members under Lee Hyun-wook were happily eating experience points like that..

“I guess that's what we commonly say when we go out with our boss.?”

Kim Se-hee added something like that, but Seo Eun-ha looked like she didn't know what she was talking about..

"......Wow?”

"Oh, when you were young, you never played computer games or anything like that.?”

“huh....”

Kim Se-hee smiled with an embarrassed expression and then explained..

"Uh, so… … This means you can easily gain experience..”

Of course, there were many cases where high-level players helped low-level players grow, but such arrogance was something that should be avoided as it could put the entire attack team in danger..

‘But in this way, you can definitely receive experience points stably..’

Come to think of it, in addition to Lee Hyun-wook, the growth of Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo, both of whom were originally soldiers, was also remarkable..

"Honey—now!”

Sehee Kim created a gust of wind that tore through the left hallway, tearing a dozen draugr into small pieces..

Kwa-ga-ga-ga——!

The dozens of winds that made up that gust were all sharp ‘knives of wind.’.

"—Down the hallway on the right, I'll take a sweep!”

Park Jun-mo's cry, sparks began to fly loudly from his palm..

Rumble——

The scene where dark clouds were created near the ceiling was mysterious even to Seo Eun-ha..

and......

Blah blah blah——!

Inside, lightning rained down and reduced dozens of draugr to ashes..

Until recently, he was literally at the level of a soldier, and no matter how much he was an ace, he was far below her........

‘……Now honestly, you're on the same level as me.?’

Looking at the tremendous growth, it will catch up in a little while... … I felt somehow deprived.

‘Lee Hyun-wook, how on earth are you raising the people around you so quickly??’

This sense of alienation and awe that I have felt towards Lee Hyun-wook for a long time... … It got bigger as time went by.

“Sister, I think it would be a waste of opportunity to just watch..”

“Oh yeah… … I guess I should help too.……."

Seo Eun-ha eventually joined the hunting ranks and was able to gain quite a bit of experience..

***

After moving forward for about 8 hours without stopping, we finally arrived in front of the ‘last gate’..

Go—oh—oh—oh——

A 10m high iron gate was blocking the street..

‘This is the final gateway.’

And a red lock sign appeared on its surface..

- (!) You can only enter the area if you meet ‘special conditions’..

When Lee Hyun-wook approached and placed his hand, letters began to appear on the door..

- This door can only be opened by those who are ‘qualified’.

"The person with those qualifications is now me.?”

Seo Eun-ha raised the ‘sword with unknown power’ and asked, Lee Hyun-wook nodded..

She slowly walked forward and placed her right hand on the door panel. OK…….

thud——!

There was a loud noise and the sound of something moving inside the wall, and then the door began to open..

Ku—gu—gu—gu——

A huge hall, presumed to be the last room of this labyrinth, unfolded..

When I looked up, I saw a chandelier. It seemed as big as a helicopter..

"Wow—is this a place where dragons actually live? Everything is really big..”

And there was a staircase in front, and at the end of it was a large box..

'......There it is.'

Inside that box was a ‘dragon egg’..

But of course I couldn't take it right away..

Gradually—

Because the box was guarded by a large draugr..

- Guardian of Dragon Lair (LV)：115)

As he slowly raises his head, blue flames burn fiercely in his eyes..

「Where is this... mere humans…….」

The moment he grabbed the large sword stuck in the ground and pulled it out, the ground rang..

The size of the sword alone was about 4m, and the guy's height seemed to be 6m..

yes——

At that time, a small magic circle appeared in the very center of the hall..

"—something is coming!”

The players predicted a magic attack and prepared to defend, but nothing happened..

yes——

The tiles on the floor near the entrance started to glow, creating an arrow shape..

“……what? Are you telling me to step on that magic circle??”

Someone said that and it was right.

Lee Hyun-wook turned his head and looked at Seo Eun-ha..

"Captain Seo, didn’t something like a system message appear in front of you??"

She nodded but couldn't take her eyes off the 'Guardian of the Dragon Lair'.

- (!) To prove your worth, compete solo against the ‘Guardian of the Dragon Lair’.

* If you win the match, you will be eligible to obtain 'hidden rewards'.

* If you win with the help of others, you will only receive ‘specified rewards’..

"Um, are you saying that I have to catch that thing by myself??”

Lee Hyun-wook asked pretending not to know, even though he already knew it well. but she didn't answer.

"......."

She was currently looking at the ‘Guardian of the Dragon Lair’ and trying to figure out his ‘level’..

"......."

Players who have reached a certain level develop 'intuition'. In this way, you can feel the mana more deeply, feel the power, and distinguish between those you should fight against and those you should not dare to fight..

‘That feeling is a very important element in raids..’

It was the sense of a leader who could avoid the death of not only himself but also his team members..

Soon she nodded with a frown..

"I don't want to sound weak... … I think this is a bit too much……."

Her intuition—that is, her instincts—was warning her that if she attacked him one-on-one, she would die..

"That thing seems stronger than most boss monsters, right??”

Well, if it was a level 115 boss monster, it was something that would only appear in a very large event..

In other words, if you could catch it 1-on-1, you would be proving that you were the best player in the world..

‘Yeah, Eunha Seo is not at that level yet..’

She was an excellent tank and strategy team leader, not a warrior who could destroy the enemy on her own..

However, just because it was difficult, it was not a style that could be avoided unconditionally at this important moment..

“……But here, there's no other way?”

"Yes, I think there is no other way.”

In response to his response, she took a step forward..

I wasn't sure I could win. No, I couldn't win..

"If I die... … Find the next batter from the Holy Knights..”

But even though I said this, I wasn't even sure that I was going to die..

At least Lee Hyun-wook won’t let that happen..

"Well then, I'll lend you some items so you don't die..”

At those words, Seo Eun-ha looked at Lee Hyun-wook with a blank expression..

"Just like Captain Seo gave me a bracelet..”

"you… … I've brewed that several times.?”

"Yes, it was quite touching. I'll return the favor now.”

Tongue—

He took an AD-2, took something out of it and started putting it on the floor..

It was a set of black armor, including a helmet, upper body, lower body, and greaves..

"This is a full plate armor set with 85% adamant..”

For tank position players, armor made of full adamant is considered a lifelong dream..

It was the same for Seo Eun-ha. But now, it was right in front of me.

She slowly reached out and picked one of them up..

[Item information]

- Name: Adamant Armor Top (Skilled)

- Effect: Most impacts cannot even scratch this armor..

It is a skill level manufacturing item. In other words, it was equivalent to hero grade..

Let's put on all that armor.…….

- <Adamant Armor Set (5/5)〉Effect is activated!

* Ignores all physical damage to a certain amount. (-30%)

* Deals additional damage when in contact with the opponent. (+20%)

“……No, this was something that existed in reality.?”

Of course, at this point, it was inevitable that such a thing would not exist..

'This is what William Bernard, the dimension shifter, wore..’

It would have been 7 to 8 times more effective than the full plate armor that Seo Eun-ha is currently wearing..

"Captain Seo, just keep it..”

Seo Eun-ha looked surprised again, and today she was surprised so often that it was embarrassing..

"Now, I can't give you this, I'm lending it to you..”

What kind of belt was that... … It was ‘Megingijord’..

"Hey, I'm legendary level.……."

Lee Hyun-wook took it out of AD-2 like taking camping gear out of a backpack and placed it on the floor..

And then, as he continued to rummage around in AD-2's subspace, it looked like he was going to pull something out again..

"Oh, and are you immune to electric shock??”

"That's natural. I'm a paladin?”

The best advantage of the Paladin class was that it had some immunity to all attributes..

"Well then, that's a relief. There is something that can be used as a set with that belt..”

thud—

What he put down was a hammer with a short handle..

“omg!”

I knew what it was without even having to check..

“……Well, it's Mjolnir.?”

It was an item that caused a stir in the world for a while after Lee Hyun-wook introduced it..

"If you use it with Megingijord, the current option will be added as a set effect. Oh, and......."

That wasn't the end.

Tongue——

What I brought out this time were ‘Achilles’ shield’ and ‘Achilles’ spear’..

"Now, hold a shield in one hand, strap a spear behind your back, and take out the spear at a dangerous moment. This will make you invincible for a moment, giving you some time. If used well, it is also good for counter feeding..”

She nodded with a blank expression and did as Lee Hyun-wook told her..

"Okay, I guess I can do this now.?”

Lee Hyun-wook asked that question and smiled..

It felt like something a third-generation chaebol would coolly say after spending a lot of money..

"Okay, if it’s like this… … Even if it's different, it's definitely bound to be different.?”

And only then did Seo Eunha realize. Why are so many talented people falling into the arms of private guilds rather than AMT? … Is this like the thrill of increasing specs through making money??

On the other hand, I felt a strange sense of excitement as I watched these incredible things being put out at random..

I felt like I could do great things if I stuck to this person..

“……thank you.”

“yes?”

“—Oh no!”

She put on the items provided by Lee Hyun-wook and moved forward, feeling an exhilarating sense of fulfillment..

"Phew— Anyway, because you believed in me and supported me like this.……."

She walked forward, holding Mjolnir in her right hand and Achilles' shield in her left..

“……It's my turn to prove it?”

Confidence suddenly bloomed on her face..

If she based it on overwhelming items, her skills would be doubled..

And since I was confident in my fighting sense, I had high expectations for myself..

however.......

‘I've been worried about that since a while ago.…….'

Something else was caught in Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes..

His eyes landed on a plain wall in one corner of the hall..

because…….

- Hidden stage ‘Emperor’s Secret Space’ entrance

That kind of writing was hanging there, clearly visible to Lee Hyun-wook..

‘weird… … In a past life, no one had ever found a passage like that.?’

It was probably detected by the upgraded 'Insight Lens' this morning..

‘Well, the hidden stage hidden in this level of labyrinth is... … What on earth?’

Whatever it was, there would be a reward that Lee Hyun-wook did not know about and that was beyond his imagination..