The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 18
18. Explosive growth and opportunity - 3
=============================
“ha-ah!”
Lee Hyun-wook took a deep breath..
Every time he exhaled, gray smoke spewed out like Kwak Jin-cheol..
The room was already filled with thick smoke..
But the fire alarm didn't go off because he had taped up the area around the sensor..
‘almost done.’
He rolled off the bed and started crawling somewhere..
The goal is the refrigerator.
I barely managed to reach it, stretched out my trembling hand and took out a bottle of mineral water..
Gulp-gulp-gulp-gulp-
Every time the cold water passed down my throat and touched my stomach, white vapor rose..
The furnace does its job, melting and boiling everything that enters the body. And absorb completely.
‘I feel like dying.’
I've had that thought countless times, but I knew it wouldn't happen..
Because it was a pain I had already experienced many times..
He slowly scanned the message that appeared before his eyes..
- Current steerable metal weight: 17,499g
Now it's a whopping 17.5 kg..
If you were to move a 300g dagger, you could move about 60 daggers at the same time, and in this case, the force exerted on each dagger would be about the amount that Lee Hyun-wook swings with one hand..
Additionally, the metal detection ability was improved so that even 500g of metal could be detected from 135m away..
‘36hour······.’
He was trapped in this room and only absorbed metal, and as a result, all of the 11kg of metal that had been piled up on the floor disappeared..
But the aftereffects were formidable..
Green lines stood out on his skin. For some reason the color of the blood vessels had changed..
- caution! 'Addicted' to poisons of various natures.
“Ugh······.”
Numbness, tingling, nausea, dizziness, things like that took over my whole body..
Symptoms of poisoning occurred by swallowing metal enchanted with poison properties..
However, this symptom was a kind of adaptation process..
- Level 2 resistance to poison is being created. (81%)
‘It's being done right.’
Resistance ranges from level 1 to level 3, and as the level increases, adverse reactions and damage caused by poison decrease. If you go beyond that, you will become 'immune' and will not die from most poisons..
Of course, that would have involved swallowing an unimaginably large amount of poison..
‘······Step 2 is enough for now..’
That wasn't all.
- congratulations! Succeeded in breaking through the first potential and acquired a ‘characteristic skill’.
A ‘characteristic skill’ is given whenever your metal control exceeds a certain level, such as 10kg, 100kg, or 1,000kg, and you have just overcome the first hurdle..
The skills gained through this are······.
[Skill information]
- Name: Metal Shredding
- Grade: D
- Effect: Consumes mana to 'crush' a certain amount of metal.
* Mana consumption varies depending on the amount of target the skill is applied to..
‘As expected, I got something timely..’
He caught his breath and stood up..
And then I reached out for the nail clippers that were on the table in one corner of the room..
yes-
The nail clippers floated into the air..
‘······shredding.’
The moment you think like that,
T-that-jeong!
The nail clippers exploded with a series of explosive sounds..
Like a piece of wood being ground into sawdust, the fragments bounced in all directions, scratching the wallpaper, table, and bed..
Pa-ga-ga-gak!
A few pieces even flew towards Lee Hyun-wook’s face..
Shhh!
The moment when your face will be torn apart,
yes-
Debris stood tall in the air..
They flew in a circle, followed Lee Hyun-wook's gaze, and began to pile up neatly on the table..
It's a shame because this was a small nail clipper. If it exploded with a sword several times larger... No, if it were applied to tens of kilograms of metal, the destructive power would be beyond imagination..
“Okay, okay······.”
He overcame the crushing pain and smiled..
***
Lee Hyun-wook was standing at Yeongdeungpo Station..
- A.M. 11:31
19 hours until return from vacation,
And there were 14 hours left until ‘that thing’ happened..
‘Until then, there is one thing left to do..’
This vacation, Lee Hyun-wook had two main goals:.
The first goal was literally to significantly increase 'metal control' and further establish a stable metal supply plan, which was neatly resolved by making a deal with craftsman Kang Jeong-du as planned..
And the second is······.
‘······money.’
Money, the simple and most important word, that's what I needed..
‘There may be many reasons why we lost to the villain, but the most important one is money..’
Gordon Price's 'dark money' moved behind the scenes, bribing those in power, hiring players, and buying items..
So very slowly, but completely, we took control of everything..
‘Gordon Price, it would be impossible to have more wealth than him, but at least you should be able to avoid getting caught up in his money games..’
Hyunwook Lee calculated his assets..
‘There is about 7 million won left in the bank account.······.’
Also, three grade 5 orbs exchanged for reward points and one additional grade 3 orb obtained from an orc, roughly calculated, totaled about 11 million won..
‘A total of 18 million won······.’
It was shabby.
Even if he saved up all his wealth, it was nothing compared to Gordon Price, the owner of , who at this point is already worth tens of trillions of dollars..
But knowing the future meant knowing where and when money would accumulate..
‘The 4th wave will occur soon, and I know what industries will be revived after it..’
In other words, if you invest in such a 'stock' early on, even if it is only a small amount, it will soon snowball..
‘But I won't be able to pay attention to the entire process..’
You may be able to manage the first few pennies via the Internet, but as the amount increases, the time required to do the work inevitably increases..
Moreover, there will be numerous incidents in the future, most of which will involve fighting at the risk of one's life, so there was a need to focus on improving one's abilities and training..
In other words, we needed someone to professionally manage our assets..
A person who is astute about the flow of money, is sincere in his work, and above all, is trustworthy.······.
‘······There is only one person that comes to mind.’
His name was Park Cheol-soo, Lee Hyun-wook's high school senior..
‘He may just be running a small guild now, but he will become the best player agent in the future..’
Moreover, as an 'analyst' type player who would lead the game in the future, he was also a benefactor who found Lee Hyun-wook's 'way to increase his ability', which he had not known about for 10 years..
‘Following Kang Xi Seol, this is the second human resource that needs to be secured..’
Perhaps people could be a more important resource than money..
***
When I stood in front of Lee Hyun-wook's office on the second floor of an old commercial building near Singil Station.,
Clink!
The sound of something breaking was heard from inside..
“No, fuck! brother! Really, don’t make me hit you.!”
It was a voice that seemed to threaten someone..
‘This voice is Lee Won-cheol..’
That was the name of a gangster who was Lee Hyun-wook's high school classmate..
And the person he was threatening was none other than the guild master, Park Cheol-soo..
‘That guy was one of Park Cheol-soo's cold teeth..’
Park Cheol-soo was Lee Hyun-wook and Lee Won-cheol's senior in high school..
Although they are said to be their seniors, they are eight years apart. By the time Lee Hyun-wook and Lee Won-cheol graduated from high school, Park Cheol-soo had already joined a famous guild and was working as an assistant manager..
Then one day, through the introduction of the vice-principal who was once Park Cheol-soo's homeroom teacher, the relationship began when Park Cheol-soo agreed to help younger players..
‘Among the people I know, there are few people as selfless as Cheolsu.······.’
He helped the juniors he had established a relationship with until the end. I even told you that one of the reasons I decided to start my own guild was to take care of my juniors who had nowhere else to go..
‘However, Lee Won-cheol repaid that favor with a slap in the face..’
Hyunwook Lee took a step closer to the office door..
Then, Park Cheol-soo's voice - a voice that sounded uncharacteristic of a guild master - was heard..
“That's... Woncheol, you know that we didn't receive a few requests this month... Your salary was all raised from my savings. I'm really sorry, please be patient..”
“No, I don't know about that. If the master finds quality work, won't the guild members jump in and make money? Who are you blaming for not doing your job properly??”
Lee Hyun-wook looked inside through the slightly open door..
The cigarette smoke exhaled by Lee Won-cheol, a large man in a leather jacket, passed over the desk and splashed into the face of Park Cheol-soo, a man in a wrinkled shirt. He didn't seem to have the slightest hint of etiquette..
“Cough! Cough! Well, I keep looking for work, but you all turn me down.······.”
“Oh, fuck, really.!”
Park Cheol-soo was startled and cringed at Lee Won-cheol's shout..
“brother! Is event expenses a request? huh? Oh, it's really bad······.”
“······.”
“When it comes to requests, I have to bring something that feels like a request. Me and the kids are going to work with a sense of duty! Fuck, the security guard is a fart? Isn't that right, guys??”
When Lee Won-cheol said that and turned around, the three men sitting on the sofa nodded in agreement..
“Yes, that's right! I also want to run something like ‘Operation Gate’ like other guilds..”
“Really, work isn't fun at all these days..”
“Ah, honestly, I'm thinking about just going to another guild..”
Those three were guild members recruited by Lee Won-cheol, and were actually Lee Won-cheol's limbs..
‘From this time on, the guild master was Park Cheol-soo, but the real power was Lee Won-cheol..’
At that time, Woncheol Lee was a player with considerable potential. I reached grade C 3 years after awakening..
And just like that, Lee Won-cheol, who had become very arrogant, was blinded by greed and decided to repay the favor with betrayal..
‘Even that method was really petty and dirty..’
This guy took control of the guild by secretly forcing guild members he didn't like to resign and then filling their positions with younger brothers he knew..
All of this happened while Park Cheol-soo was on the run due to various personal reasons, and eventually he swallowed up the guild whole and sold it to another guild..
Without waiting any longer, Lee Hyun-wook opened the door and went in..
Jingling- Jingling-
When the bell hanging on the office door rang, Park Cheol-soo instinctively got up from his seat..
“Uh, welcome to 50... Yes.?”
“uh? Hyunwook!”
“Ha, what is this again?······.”
Three people recognized Lee Hyun-wook..
They were Park Cheol-soo, Lee Won-cheol, and their female classmate, Kim Ji-yeon, who works as an administrator in the guild office..
“Hey, Tin Pilot, what's your business here??”
Lee Won-cheol said that and flicked the cigarette ash onto the floor..
Lee Hyun-wook and Lee Won-cheol, their relationship has not been very good for a long time..
No, it was very bad..
“Hyunwook, it’s been a long time... How have you been??”
Jiyeon Kim asked in an atmosphere that momentarily became awkward..
Then Woncheol Lee snorted and snorted..
“Even if a soldier bastard gets along well, how well can he get along??”
“······.”
“Oh, I don't know because I didn't try it because I immediately fell into the guild, but I guess my life is at the bottom.······.”
Lee Hyun-wook didn't say anything, just casually walked in and sat down on one side of the sofa. He then took a quick look around the office and made eye contact with Park Cheol-soo..
“Cheolsu hyung, I came because I had something to say to you, but I’m busy.?”
“Ah, uh, that's it, Hyunwook, that's it now······.”
“-hey!”
When Lee Won-cheol shouted out of nowhere, all eyes except Lee Hyun-wook were focused on him..
“······I have so much to say, damn it, if you've seen your friend for the first time in a long time, shouldn't you first say hello, you idiot... I just said a few words, but you're going to chew them all up, you're out of luck.······.”
At those words, Lee Hyun-wook's gaze, which was looking at Park Cheol-soo, very slowly shifted to Lee Won-cheol..
“······Woncheol Lee.”
“What, you bastard! Why are you making your voice so solemn??”
“I'm not your classmate, I'm asking the guild master as a guest, so you can keep your mouth shut..”
In an instant, Lee Won-cheol's veins appeared on his forehead..
At the same time, the three men sitting on the sofa, Lee Won-cheol's loyal younger brothers, began glaring at Lee Hyun-wook with hostility, and a heavy tension settled throughout the office..
“Hahaha... This F-grade bastard got beaten up in the military and got so sick of it that he lost his old memories... I was already in a bad mood, but hey - you're gone after you smoke all of this..”
“······.”
“Our Hyunwook, you came because you wanted to be beaten like you were in middle school for the first time in a long time, right? right?”
Lee Won-cheol poured out all kinds of foul language and put out his cigarette in the ashtray on the desk..
“It's already unfolded. It's too late to fry, you bastard.”
Then, he lifted the ashtray and brought it close to his mouth, causing phlegm to boil in his throat..
“Ka-aak! Tsk!”
however······.
“······huh? uh? what!”
Although he obviously spit it into the ashtray, the spit landed on Lee Won-cheol's thigh. And the aluminum ashtray he was holding was······
yes-
······It escaped from his hand and floated in the air..
The left side of Lee Won-cheol's face trembled..
It was clear to anyone who saw that this was what Hyunwook Lee was doing..
“Ha... Lee Hyun-wook, this, this bastard······.”
Won-cheol Lee kicked off his chair, stood up, and walked towards Hyun-wook Lee..
“······you really fell behind!”
As he was a 'fighter' type player, he was able to do his job even without any special weapons. He was so confident that even if he had to fight an orc with his bare hands, he would win..
“Whoa, Woncheol, no.!”
“hey! do not do that!”
Park Cheol-soo stood up in surprise and Kim Ji-yeon screamed, but there was no way he would stop..
But at that moment, something really strange happened..
Tsk-leuk!
Lee Won-cheol's pants and skull-patterned belt came undone on their own in the blink of an eye.,
“uh?”
He fell to the floor as if someone had grabbed him and pulled his pants off entirely..
Just like that, Lee Won-cheol's yellow Winnie the Pooh panties were revealed to the world, and even······.
“······100 million!”
There was even a comical scene where Lee Won-cheol tripped over his pants and fell down..
“······Tongue, bro.!”
That wasn't the end.
The belt moved like a snake, sliding over my hips and thighs, tying my ankles together and joining them together..
Tsk-leuk!
Without even lifting a hand, his legs were immediately captured..
“으, 이, 이, 개새끼가! hey! What are you doing! Catch that bastard!”
Lee Won-cheol's cry of evil,
But the three loyal younger brothers sitting on the sofa could do nothing..
“Uh, uhh······.”
He just stood up hesitantly and looked at Lee Hyun-wook and Lee Won-cheol alternately with wide-open eyes..
“uh······.”
While all this was happening, Lee Hyun-wook sat leaning on the sofa and did not move at all..
Without even looking at Lee Won-cheol, he said this in a very calm voice..
“Cheolsu-hyung, I don’t have much time, so can we talk for a moment right now??”
And in the meantime, bizarre scenes continued..
S-s-s-s-
Gray lines spontaneously crawled out of the black bag Lee Hyun-wook had put down, writhing like living snakes, and began to approach Lee Won-cheol, who was struggling on the floor..
It was an iron rope, commonly called wire rope..
S-s-s-s-
“Ouch! what's this! Save me, save me!”
The scene where the thick rope rushed as if it were alive was truly bizarre..
Lee Won-cheol struggled and tried to run away, but he didn't even have time to put on his pants properly..
4The needles of the stem, like an anaconda, tied up Lee Won-cheol's body..
“······Ugh!”
As they watched Lee Hyun-wook subdue Lee Won-cheol, a level 21 C-grade player, without even lifting a finger, the people in the Hope Guild could not help but gape..
Park Cheol-soo nodded slowly..
“Yeah, that's right, Hyunwook... You've changed a lot... What do you want to talk about??”
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