The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 20
20. Seoul Station, Unlucky Event - 2
=========================
Approximately 10 minutes before gate opening.
Yongsan, 3rd Port Horse Brigade Headquarters, Brigade Commander's Office.
“······what? Colonel Kim, that doesn't sound like anything you're saying right now.?”
Kim Kang-seok, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Port Horse Brigade, was hearing harsh words from someone..
The person yelling at him was Colonel Koo Jin-tae, chief of staff of the 3rd Port Horse Brigade..
“Chief of Staff, I am also seriously thinking about what I am saying..”
“No, this isn't a serious issue, man.!”
Kim Kang-seok just reported three recent incidents in front of the brigade commander and chief of staff..
These were the Goblin Gate incident within the compound, the Kobold Gate incident in Itaewon 2-dong, and the Namsan Oak Gate incident..
And it was not left out that at the center of it all was F-grade player Lee Hyun-wook..
The response so far has been very good..
It was even evaluated that the soldiers were well trained..
however······
At the end, when he expressed his desire to raise Lee Hyun-wook into an officer, the atmosphere turned cold..
“They are now saying that they will commission soldiers, especially grade F, as officers. Who can say that this is right??”
“······.”
“Ha... do you really think this makes sense??”
Amid the chief of staff's criticism, Kim Kang-seok looked at General Choi Jeong-cheol, commander of the 3rd Port Horse Brigade..
“······.”
He sat with his legs crossed and said nothing..
However, the fact that he did not stop Gu Jin-tae's harsh remarks meant that he also agreed to some extent..
However, Kim Kang-seok did not give up his will..
“Chief of Staff, I do not believe that the quality of an AMT officer lies in his/her ability to play as randomly assigned by the game..”
“what?”
“······Rather, I am convinced that this soldier has the will to overcome everything called this system and to fight in any situation....”
“hey! Kim Kang-seok! Why are we digging in the ground and recruiting troops to fight? Already, all players who have completed the player training center are entering private guilds, so who on earth will apply to become an AMT officer if an F-ranked person is commissioned as an officer? You know that if this continues, there will be a movement to abolish AMT.?”
If a Grade F becomes an officer, the reputation of AMT will be tarnished, that's what Koo Jin-tae thought..
‘It's unfortunate, but honestly, it makes sense..’
Kim Kang-seok also acknowledged this..
Now, the battle against monsters was no longer a mission to save humanity..
Powerful players want fame and money.
Creating an environment that can satisfy them... That was undoubtedly one of AMT's biggest challenges..
However, if you ask an officer candidate to stand next to an F-rated player,······.
‘······There's no way you'll be happy.’
At that time, Choi Jeong-cheol slightly raised his left hand..
“······Chief of Staff, stay still for a moment..”
“Brigadier, this isn't really true.······.”
Gu Jin-tae tried to protest, but stopped talking when he saw Choi Jeong-cheol's smile..
It was definitely a friendly smile... but it felt quite different to them..
“Chief of Staff, I also want to say something..”
“ah! sorry. Please tell me, Brigadier General..”
Gu Jin-tae, who was furious, bowed his head..
AMT 3rd Port Horse Brigade Commander, Brigadier General Choi Jeong-cheol.
With his short, stocky build, bald head, and cute appearance reminiscent of an old bulldog, he looked particularly small as he sat in front of the bear-like Kim Kang-seok, but no matter how good a player he was, he wouldn't dare ignore him..
The reason was simple.
This is because he was a grade A player ranked 31st in the Korean player rankings..
It is one of the few 'tactical weapons' that can cast 'large-scale wide-area magic' alone, and in particular, it burns down an island on the southern coast that the 'Fishmen' have conquered, killing hundreds of fishmen as a whole. Anyone who knows how he was roasted······.
“Hmm, fun. The commanders are so upset about the F grade, hehe.······.”
You could read the fear hidden in this gentle face of his..
Even Kim Kang-seok felt the majesty of this man and was tensed without knowing it..
“Well, I think the battalion commanders all have their own thoughts. But, the battalion commander seems to have already seen something in that friend... I think it would be good to take the test a few more times, but it will be okay.?”
“yes of course.”
“Okay, an officer's commission is not like a Japanese police officer's sword, beak, or armband during the Japanese colonial period, nor is it something that can be put on and taken off so easily, so I need to be sure. you understand my thoughts?”
He laughed as he said that..
Even though he received a positive answer, Kim Kang-seok did not feel at ease..
‘If this is the Brigadier's test, it is practically impossible..’
While Kim Kang-seok considers mindset as the top priority as a soldier, Choi Jeong-cheol places only importance on ability. He would not be liked if he did not produce perfect results..
It was then.
smart-
At that time, someone knocked on the door of the brigade commander's office and cautiously entered..
He was the deputy chief of staff to the brigade commander..
I don't know what's going on, but his expression wasn't very good..
“Brigadier General, this is a call asking for none other than the 1st Battalion Commander. It seems like an emergency..”
An emergency call... Kim Kang-seok instinctively stood up..
“Okay, hurry up and get it, battalion commander..”
“yes!”
Kim Kang-seok quickly went out..
And a moment later, Kim Kang-seok, who came back into the brigade commander's office, did not look very good..
He opened his mouth without even sitting down..
“Brigadier General, this is news of a gate occurring in the 1st Battalion's guard area. But that place······.”
I stopped talking and swallowed dry saliva..
“······This is Seoul Station..”
“Seoul Station? That's really not good.”
“And I don't know why, but······.”
Kim Kang-seok handed the tablet PC he had brought from somewhere to the brigade commander..
A video started playing.
It was a real-time scene screen through a drone cam, but Seoul Station was not actually visible..
To be precise, Seoul Station was hidden by something..
“dome?”
It was a black dome.
A huge black dome closed Seoul Station like a lid..
“you're right. The entire Seoul Station was covered in a black dome like this..”
Choi Jeong-cheol was also impressed at that point..
“It's a big deal. This is it.”
“Yes, that's how I see it. There seem to be various restrictions... It is estimated that up to a thousand civilians are isolated inside..”
The basic characteristic of the unlock event was to ‘isolate’ a certain area..
“Write - There must be a level restriction on access to the event area, right? If that's the case, I don't think the station security guard alone can survive.······.”
“I'll have to check the exact information, but I'm guessing it was definitely accompanied by such conditions. I'll report back to you to confirm it accurately..”
Choi Jeong-cheol nodded and stood up..
“ah! Now that I think about it, that F-rank friend probably won't be level 15... How about giving him a rescue mission this time? With that test I mentioned earlier..”
“that is······.”
Choi Jeong-cheol presented the test earlier than expected, but Kim Kang-seok couldn't help but look embarrassed..
“Why, what's going on??”
“Brigadier, that friend is already in the dome..”
“······huh?”
“While returning from vacation, it was reported that he had arrived at Seoul Station with a female non-commissioned officer. However, right after that, an unlock event occurred at Seoul Station..”
Choi Jeong-cheol nodded..
“Oh my, what should I do about it... Well, anyway, it could be a test. It would be enough just to survive in it with my bare body..”
“······.”
“Battalion commander, go quickly. This isn't normal. Inevitably, many people will be sacrificed, but we must somehow save at least one more person..”
“Yes, I understand!”
It's ironic. After saying that he would risk someone's life to do a 'test', he then talks about his 'mission' to protect someone's life..
But this was the realistic mindset that a soldier must have, having to protect other lives - the lives of citizens - even by sacrificing and taking lives..
***
Ugh-uh!
With an explosion, pieces of the spider's skin burst and flew in all directions..
First the back, the second the tail, and then the legs, one after another..
The spider, whose skin had been peeled off in the blink of an eye, looked like a crayfish that had shed its skin. Even the broken pieces of skin dug into the tender flesh, causing her green fluid to ooze out..
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
It was a pain that no one, no matter how big he was, could endure, and he had no choice but to let out a weak cry and step back..
It was then.
Kung-goo-goo-goong!
A series of vibrations on the floor,
It was Lee Hyun-wook’s side..
When I turned my head, I saw another spider rushing towards Lee Hyun-wook, stomping its eight feet..
“Wow! It's dangerous!”
someone shouted.
However, Lee Hyun-wook did not move from his spot at all..
yes-
This time, I just raised my left hand..
‘Venomous armored spider, this is probably its first appearance..’
It was the first monster to appear at this point..
However, Lee Hyun-wook already knew everything about that terrible creature..
‘Its metal body contains a poisonous gas. If you explode it carelessly, you will be in big trouble..’
He concentrated his control of the metal towards his outstretched left hand..
You can feel the metal without necessarily reaching out, but it acts as a kind of antenna..
In other words, you can focus your power on a more precise point..
That's how I sensed the hard skin of the very heavy metal lump that existed there..
“······You can't help it, you're in my hands.”
Lee Hyun-wook muttered softly..
Regardless of its strength, the metal monster was just an easy prey for Lee Hyun-wook..
He was able to not only control the bodies of those things at will, but even crush them like this..
‘can virtually dominate.’
Lee Hyun-wook grabbed the guy's skin and shook it as if he was tearing it off..
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
With just that small gesture, the guy began to scream in pain and struggle..
that was just the beginning.
‘······shredding!’
- mana (131/159)
Ugh! Ugh! Ugh-uh!
This time too, its hard shell broke into small pieces and rained down in all directions..
“Huh, wow! What, what??”
The Seoul Station security team leader stood awkwardly behind Lee Hyun-wook and let out an exclamation..
“Me, crazy······.”
In his opinion, it was a truly absurd scene..
How could an AMT player, even just a single soldier, subdue such an enormous monster so easily?······.
‘And, that is clearly a mechanism similar to the abilities of S-rank players.!’
Frankly speaking, players with level growth characteristics from Grade E to Grade A do not display overwhelming ‘mystery’..
Of course, if you grow as your level goes up, you may feel like a ‘superhuman’ one day.······.
‘······warrant!’
I couldn't give the impression that it was like some kind of 'miracle' or 'power' that transcended humans..
However, S grade was different..
The abilities they demonstrated could have been called ‘power’ rather than ‘skill’..
The ability to go beyond simply being an outstanding warrior and sweep the battlefield with a single wave of the hand... the power to be treated as a tactical or strategic weapon in one person's body.······.
‘2A year ago, an inferno burned down a contaminated building in Busan..’
Of course, it could not be said that the power that the man was showing right now was on the same scale as the power of Inferno, an S-rank play. If you compare closely, it would be nothing more than the blood of a new foot..
But the impression was definitely similar..
There was a glimpse of a mystery that transcended the superhuman..
It was then.
The man slowly raised both hands, wondering what else he was going to do..
S-s-s-s-s-
Then, the hard pieces of spider skin that fell on the floor began to wriggle one by one.······
Huh-huh-huh-huh-huh-
The next moment, they all flew vertically at the same time, as if drawn by a magnet..
“······omg!”
Everyone gathered at the entrance raised their heads at the mysterious sight..
Those unbalanced pieces of metal sparkled, reflecting the light from the ceiling LED lights..
“and······.”
someone was impressed.
Yes, at first glance it was a beautiful scene..
Like some installation art made of crystal..
However, the moment he dropped both his raised hands to the floor,
The genre has changed.
Cho-left-left-left-left-!
They instantly turned into a swarm of fierce wasps and flew towards the spider..
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Hundreds of pieces of metal began tearing the spider's flesh, little by little, all at once, tearing the spider's thick flesh to pieces..
“and······.”
“Are you the security guard at Seoul Station??”
“······yes?”
The security team leader, who was watching the scene in fascination, made eye contact with Lee Hyun-wook, who was looking at him..
“Ah, yes! you're right!”
The security team leader was suddenly using polite language without even realizing it..
“Control the citizens and go up to the 3rd floor. Because of the ‘unlucky event’, you won’t be able to go out right now. So, we need to evacuate citizens to a place that can prepare for a second eruption in the future..”
“Oh, I definitely should.!”
“Oh, and that spider can spew venom..”
“······Poison, you mean??”
“Yes, I saw something leaking out of the shell. I think it's in gas form.”
“Ah, yes!”
Gas, the guard realized that meant preparing gas masks..
He immediately instructed his team members on what he had heard from Lee Hyun-wook..
“ruler! Everyone wake up and we do our job! We have to protect our citizens!”
7The station guards began their duties again..
“everyone! Please calm down and listen to us.!”
It was not easy to control hundreds of people in panic, but people in this era who experience gate incidents as a daily basis followed the player's control without hesitation..
“Okay, we're going to the third floor right now! You must move slowly and methodically!”
So, I followed hundreds of people up the stairs and moved to the third floor..
Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook was throwing metal at two poisonous armored spiders to suffocate them, while organizing the future route in his head..
‘2You had to survive at least two eruptions, the first eruption, the third eruption, and then the dome would open..’
however······.
‘There's always a hidden path in a game.’
Lee Hyun-wook already knew another way..
***
Unlucky event, the area where those hellish rules were applied wasn't that wide.
No, maybe I should say that Seoul Station is incredibly spacious..
“Looking at it, it seems that only the reception rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors of Seoul Station are isolated..”
3While taking refuge in the reception room on the floor, one of the station guards said so..
And the guess was right.
However, the number of isolated citizens alone seemed to be more than 800..
However, there were only 7 station guards guarding that section, so no matter how you look at it, it was the worst situation in which they had virtually no choice but to be exterminated..
It certainly would have happened if an AMT soldier hadn't appeared out of nowhere and saved them all..
Everyone recognized that fact and considered it fortunate.······.
“This really sucks, fuck.······.”
Yang Joo-seop, one of the citizens stranded there, was not very pleased with Lee Hyun-wook's appearance..
‘What on earth is that bastard? Why is someone with such abilities here??’
He glared at Lee Hyun-wook, the player who was suffocating the poisonous armored spider, with blazing eyes..
At the same time, I read a line of system messages floating in the air in my field of vision..
- (!) You failed to achieve the main quest '#1' goal..
It was about a quest given to him failing, and it was because of Lee Hyun-wook..
‘Oh, shit! Where did that bastard suddenly come out of? There's no way a player with that level of ability could take the subway or train, so why are they standing at Seoul Station? That's AMT too······.’
Yes.
Yang Joo-seop, he was a ‘villain’.
At this point, the existence of the villain has not yet been clearly defined..
An era in which nothing was made public, such as how they were born or what purpose they worked for... The villains were given some kind of 'quest' and were eating away at the world little by little..
However, Yang Joo-seop was not yet an official villain..
- You are currently a ‘villain candidate’. Raise your level by completing quests!
* Once you have accepted the quest, if you do not perform it properly, it will be ‘game over’..
Not just anyone could become a villain.
First of all, this quest to become a villain candidate was not given to just anyone..
Even if you received the quest, the probability of clearing it was not very high..
I even said it all because the penalty for failing the quest was game over, i.e. death..
Only after completing several life-threatening missions was he able to become an official villain and join a 'secret organization' made up of true villains..
In the case of Yang Joo-seop, if he completed just one more quest here today, he would be promoted to official villain.······.
“It's ruined because of that dog, and if you look at the opportunity, put a knife behind your back.?”
He muttered like that and then got startled for a moment..
It was because I made eye contact with Lee Hyun-wook..
“······.”
He turned his head and was looking directly at Yang Joo-seop..
But his eyes, his pupils, were somehow strange..
I could feel the hostility... no, life inside..
gulp-
Yang Joo-seop felt a chill down his spine for a moment..
1A year ago, when he was in E-grade, he went on a gate blockade operation for the first time and felt an unexplainable sense of anxiety that was much stronger than when he made eye contact with an orc..
‘Well, what is that...is it staring at me??’
I was shocked for a moment without realizing it, but he soon snorted and turned his head away..
“Fuck, what do you know! I guess I just happened to find out, maybe I knew what it was.?”
He said that and chuckled..
In the first place, the world still doesn't know the existence of villains..
If you keep your head straight and follow the plan, there is no way you will fail..
Yang Joo-seop thought so and secretly left the group to clear the remaining quests..
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