The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 4
4. Namsan, a gate occurs within the compound - 1
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At 3:30 in the morning, someone approached Hyunwook Lee’s bed..
“······Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, you need to wake up..”
It was on watch duty..
“Uh, it happened..”
“yes.”
Hyunwook Lee was on his third night shift and had been up for about 10 minutes..
Every day, I swallow a piece of metal before going to sleep, and when absorption is complete, I wake up and swallow another piece..
Even sleep was being controlled in order to grow as quickly as possible within the given environment..
‘And now, around this time, my eyes open on their own..’
- Metal absorption is complete. (General metal)
* Steerable metal weight increased. : 61g
- Current controllable ‘metal’ weight: 1,358g
I gained 61g by completely absorbing the metal and lock I ate before going to bed..
‘To lift something like a spear or long sword, you need to weigh at least 3 kg..’
It would be quite useful to move multiple daggers simultaneously and attack the enemy from all directions, but to deal with monsters as large as orcs, a single powerful blow was needed..
That was difficult with just a dagger, and the best way was to use a greatsword or long spear to drive it into a vital spot. In order to play a role in the battlefield, you had to reach that level as quickly as possible..
He rummaged through a drawer and took out something..
As expected, it was a broken lock, and I swallowed it..
gulp-
‘······Well, there are 6 left..’
On the first day of the retreat, we collected as much metal scrap as possible, such as broken locks and metal hinges, from the company's recycling center, but now we are almost all gone..
As expected, it was impossible to obtain high-quality metal within the military. However, it was not a good choice to officially 'distribute' the method of increasing ability by making it public..
‘It's not time to tell the world yet.’
The fact that Class F can grow will not be revealed until several years from now..
There was absolutely no need to bring the timing forward, and it was obvious that if we hesitated, unexpected problems would arise..
‘If this fact becomes known... he will grow even faster..’
There was one of the worst villains that I wish had grown up as late as possible..
A disaster-like person who killed Busan's best player 'Inferno' and his colleagues and took over fortified Busan in just 3 hours... Perhaps a being with potential greater than Lee Hyun-wook.······.
Commander of the Legion of Death, Necromancer)
If possible, it would be best to kill it before it grows..
And for the future, it was necessary to refrain from disclosing information as much as possible. Information released hastily can serve as a strategy hint to the enemy..
‘And tonight, since that incident happened... I have to go on vacation in three days..’
While thinking about this and that, he put on his combat uniform and combat equipment commonly called Jangguryu..
The combat uniform of Lee Hyun-wook's unit, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Port Horse Brigade, was black. Since his guard area was the Seoul area and he mainly engaged in street fighting, the appropriate camouflage color was naturally black..
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, are you ready??”
In the darkness, a low whisper was heard from the corner of the living room..
It was the voice of Park Jun-mo, the second-in-command on duty at the guard post today. As the youngest, he seemed to have prepared quickly..
Hyunwook Lee stood up silently and walked towards the door, and Junmo Park followed behind him..
As I went straight into the administrative unit, the deputy on duty, Kwak Jin-cheol, glared at me blatantly..
‘Oh my, look at that expression..’
It was truly a spectacle..
He still wasn't able to let go of his anger, so he was full of grumpiness..
Normally, he would have thrown out a word here, but the officer on duty, Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha, seemed to be watching him, so he couldn't do that..
Well, how much do you care about that noble paladin that he isn't even asleep when it's almost 4 a.m.? The guy who usually dozed off······.
“······Okay, officer on duty, the person on duty is here..”
Seo Eun-ha, who was reading a book, looked up after hearing Kwak Jin-cheol's report. She was her FM, as they say, but her eyes were half closed, as if she was having a hard time getting over her early morning drowsiness..
“Okay, this is the 3rd stop.?”
“Yes that's right.”
The officer on duty and the deputy on duty used the keys they each wore to open the 'A space weapon box'..
Ooh-uh-
It was a small safe-shaped weapon box, but its interior radiated a mysterious light as if it were connected to another world. Like this, all AMT weapons were stored in space rather than in physical storage..
“Now, everyone, release your weapons..”
Lee Hyun-wook put his hand into the sub-space weapon box..
Then a message was printed in front of me..
- The authorization qualification has been confirmed..
* K2C1 Rifle (289007-B)
* M9 Greatsword (Enchanted)
Unlike general military units, AMTs are permitted to use ‘personal weapons’. As each soldier had different characteristics, they were able to equip and use weapons that suited their characteristics..
However, in Lee Hyun-wook's case, all he had was one 'enchanted' dagger. Aside from being F-class, it was because there was no clear ability to use a specific weapon..
“Well, corporal, that's it for you.?”
Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha also cautiously asked if she was curious..
“That's right.”
“······okay.”
Most AMT scenes are armed with 'items' such as bayonets or spears. Park Jun-mo, who was right next to him, was also a wizard and was holding a small wooden 'wand'... Lee Hyun-wook just looked shabby..
In such a case where firepower was weak, there was no choice but to use the official weapon, the K2C1 rifle, as the main weapon..
Of course, it was not possible to effectively suppress monsters with normal weapons, but it was still able to inflict some effective damage to small monsters such as 'goblins' and 'kobolds'..
The two were led by Lieutenant Seo Eun-ha and received ammunition from the 'ammunition depot' at the entrance to the barracks..
“30 bullets in the upper right corner, nothing more..”
“30 bullets in the upper right corner, nothing more..”
The two sentries checked the magazines and combined them. A total of 30 rounds, these are live ammunition..
“Yes, always pay attention to the safety of the control stick and the direction of the muzzle, and never be distracted by the thought of protecting the lives of your comrades, as gates may arise at any time not only in the nearby area but also within the compound..”
Seo Eun-ha's overly serious line... Lee Hyun-wook couldn't help but laugh at that sight. This is because she was quite different from the Seo Eun-ha he remembered from the distant future, and later on, she came to hate this rigid military system..
But at that moment, I made eye contact with her..
“······huh? Corporal, what's funny??”
Seo Eun-ha’s eyebrows twisted..
“it's nothing.”
“······Yes, keep your wits about you and get to work..”
“Yes, I understand.”
With those words, she walked into the barracks..
Lee Hyun-wook laughed again at the sight of him walking stiffly while wearing a stiff-edged beret..
176Because she was 1.5 inches tall, she looked very majestic and even looked comical. Of course, in the eyes of others, this is what a true soldier looks like..
‘Now that I think about it, Seo Eun-ha was at the peak of her faithfulness around this time..’
I found it funny that Seo Eun-ha was such a boring person..
Well, that's usually the case with officers who have just been commissioned.······.
‘It's fun to vividly see the dark history of someone I knew well..’
Of course, we didn't know each other very well at this time..
If you think about it, corporal and lieutenant, class F and class B... it's a class gap that makes it impossible to become friends in the first place..
However, a few years later, Lee Hyun-wook realized how to improve his abilities and grew up to be appointed as the team leader of a guild's 'gate strategy team'. Surprisingly, Seo Eun-ha joined the team as a new member..
However, I don't know what he had been through, but at that time, he had a somewhat nervous personality, and maybe it was because he had just joined the guild right after being discharged, but he was somewhat untidy, like he was new to society..
Even when he was drunk at a company dinner, he complained about how difficult it was and complained about it.······.
‘Hey, Hyunwook Lee! Listen carefully! My sister... black! Sister! Do I have to live with being scolded by you like that? When I became a lieutenant! huh? You were only a private! Oh, you know? You can't do that to me! Hehehe······.’
Every time we fought, I took an overly aggressive position and said something several times, but it must have been building up, so it ended up blowing up once..
‘Well, we became closer that day, but.’
However, the image that remained in Lee Hyun-wook's memory, Seo Eun-ha's comical appearance... began to spread into another memory..
Lee Hyun-wook tried to shake off the memory, but failed..
‘shit.’
Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul was turned into ruins..
She was crying even then.
‘Lee, Lee Hyun-wook... I must, live, live... protect you.······.’
However... it wasn't alcohol, he was crying soaked in his own blood..
“······.”
Lee Hyun-wook felt a bitterness in his taste buds for a moment..
She too was killed by villains..
As a main tank, he died while protecting Lee Hyun-wook, who was the main dealer..
***
The unit to which Lee Hyeon-wook belonged, the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Port Horse Brigade, was stationed halfway up Namsan Mountain..
‘We don't know when and where the unknown phenomenon called 'gate' will open. Therefore, AMT units are deployed throughout the city and are dispatched to take initial action as soon as the gate opens..
‘But today, the gate opens not in the nearby city center, but right here, in Namsan..’
It was an occasional occurrence for gates to be opened within military garrisons..
And it was better that way.
It was possible to attack the gate with little civilian casualties, and on the other hand, the by-products of the gate could be consumed by the military without having to be shared with the civilian guild..
After arriving at the guard post and changing shifts with the previous worker, Lee Hyun-wook checked his watch..
- am 04:05
‘It was about 10 minutes before the gate opened.?’
Lee Hyun-wook reached down to his waist and opened the cover of his greatsword..
“I... Corporal Lee Hyun-wook?”
At that time, Park Jun-mo spoke to me..
When Lee Hyun-wook looked at Park Jun-mo, he hesitated, as if he was about to say something..
“I, I, overheard something..”
At first glance, it seemed like the story would be long..
But I didn't have time to talk seriously now..
“Wait a minute, shh..”
“······.”
The incident will happen soon.
“I didn't hear anything just now?”
“······yes?”
Park Jun-mo turned his head and looked towards the barbed wire fence..
In the darkness, only an orange light appeared occasionally..
“Uh, I'm fine······.”
It was natural. I haven't heard anything yet.
But Lee Hyun-wook started shining the lantern on the ridge as if there was really something there..
“No, not the barbed wire fence. I heard it in the back, on the ridge of the compound..”
“If so, isn't it probably something like an elk??”
Lee Hyun-wook shook his head and pointed at the walkie-talkie fastened to his shoulder..
Beep-big-
“Command and control room, this is guard post number 5. A suspicious sound was detected. Please check nearby CCTV..”
This walkie-talkie shared a frequency with all guard posts and command and control centers in the compound..
After a while······.
Beep-big-
- Chi-Jik- This is the command and control room, and after checking the CCTV, there is no problem... but just in case, this is being disseminated to all guard posts. Don't be distracted while on guard duty and be sure to keep a close eye on the company..
Beep-big-
- Chik - Uh, but we plan to use the 'abnormal wave observer' when identifying another abnormality... Uh, keep a close eye and do not leave the guard post until the cause of the problem is accurately identified..
The 'abnormal wave observation device' referred to here is a 'player-created item' created through magical engineering, and when operated, it was able to observe mana waves within a certain area..
In other words, it was a machine that detected whether a gate occurred. Of course, it could not be used carelessly because it required a considerable amount of 'mana stones' for one use..
Hyunwook Lee paused for a moment and then radioed again..
“This is guard post number 5. I can still feel the presence of people coming from the direction of guard post number 6. It is a popular show for many people. Request to recheck CCTV. This does not appear to be the movement of a typical wild animal..”
Lee Hyun-wook said that and pulled the bolt..
Clap-
The sound of loading and the chamber swallowing bullets rang out loudly..
“uh······.”
It was perhaps natural that Park Jun-mo's expression turned pale..
“······Corporal Lee Hyun-wook?”
The sound of a bullet being loaded is something soldiers fear more than anyone else..
Lee Hyun-wook even stood firm..
‘It's time to start soon.’
In fact, Lee Hyun-wook didn't sense anything either..
However, the series of reports made to the command and control room so far have all been a kind of 'foundation' to move one step faster..
This is because it will be late if you move to the area immediately after the gate is fully opened and a commotion occurs..
Lee Hyun-wook went down the stairs of the guard post and motioned for Park Jun-mo to follow him..
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook? Is it okay for us to be like this??”
Park Jun-mo was dumbfounded, but had no choice but to follow Lee Hyun-wook..
right then······.
Beep-big-
- Chick- Ah! This is guard post number 6! There's a problem! Multiple unidentified creatures approach!
As if they had been waiting, an urgent radio call came in..
“uh! Corporal Lee Hyun-wook! If it is guard number 6······.”
This was the place where Lee Hyun-wook had just said that he had identified the abnormality. And it was only about 800m away from guard post number 5..
Park Jun-mo looked at Lee Hyun-wook..
Was what he saw real??
Lee Hyun-wook was glaring into the darkness..
‘It has begun.’
Far away, in the darkness, I saw a purple shimmer..
6It was right in front of the second guard post..
“omg! crab, gate!”
Park Jun-mo must have caught it too, so I screamed without realizing it..
Soon, a group of goblins pouring out of that gate will occupy guard post number 6. The sentries respond, but the guard post is eventually taken over and they suffer near-serious injuries..
‘Fortunately, Seo Eun-ha arrived just then, and the sentries saved their lives..’
In that incident, Seo Eun-ha received a commendation from the battalion commander in recognition of her quick response..
‘Sorry, but I'll take the credit this time..’
Lee Hyun-wook raised the muzzle of his gun..
At the same time, a large sword began to slowly rise into the air from his waist..
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