Novels online

The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 44

44fury. 

=================================

Gyeryongdae, Daejeon Metropolitan City

There were people who influenced the Republic of Korea..

They were representatives of large guilds and high-ranking government officials..

However, most of them were holograms projected by mana crystals, so it was in fact a remote meeting, and the agenda was, of course, the closure and erosion of the 10km radius of Seoul Station.-

In other words, it was the 4th wave..

"Hmm, this is... … It's just table talk..”

The best people in Korea gathered together, but their response to the current situation was unclear..

"you're right. What difference would there be if we gathered together and wasted time like this??"

"Well, honestly, I have to admit it now... … there's nothing we can do.”

It seemed so irresponsible and incompetent, but it was true..

Really, there was nothing that could be done..

Wave Zone did not have entry ‘conditions’ like during the Seoul Station Unlucky event..

No front access - meaning no one can get in or out..

"I can't even hear the internal situation properly.……."

Although it was possible to communicate through 'mental connection' between advanced wizards, it was still quite limited, and communication occurred once every 30 minutes at most..

“……Now, what I mean is, we need to quickly prepare for the post-Wave world.!”

There were even claims to give up active response altogether..

Since there was no way to use force outside the wave zone, the idea was to not pay attention to what happened inside and focus on 'post-action measures' while waiting for the access restrictions to be lifted in 5 days..

"wait a minute……."

Of course, not everyone was so indifferent..

A woman in a white shirt came forward to raise a counterargument..

"Now, are you saying that you are going to just leave over a million citizens in the wave zone alone??”

She was Kang Seo-yoon, ranked 4th in the Korean player rankings..

"And as for preparing for the aftermath of erosion, wow - do people who know what happened to the eroded cities say that now? This is an unprecedented situation that could result in the loss of not only the wave zone but also the entire Seoul metropolitan area. Shouldn’t we first think about preventing erosion from happening?!”

It was such an obvious statement, but the crowd's reaction was just shocking..

“Hey, CEO Kang, who wouldn't want to save Seoul? But there has to be a way.”

"you're right. What can be done in a situation where it is difficult to communicate with the troops inside, let alone deploy troops?……."

"Of course. The only time we can intervene is five days later, and preparing for then is a much more reasonable strategy. Choice and focus are needed to save this country, not just Seoul..”

In response to each protest, Kang Seo-yoon held her head..

"Fuck, it’s easy to rationalize it like that… … Still, does it make sense to just let go?……."

"-Well, what now?!”

Kang Seo-yoon jumped up from her seat..

She wasn't a hologram, she was actually in this conference room..

"Well, let me say one more thing.."

"......."

"Everyone, isn't there a guild member you can contact within the wave zone? If you come together and respond to those plays with one force, it is still quite a force. Isn't it??”

"......."

“Is there a guild master who identified the number of guild members in the wave zone and gave instructions for response??”

"......."

"......Yes, probably not. Still, it's a bit weird that there isn't even one person..”

"......."

"The guilds have been looking out for themselves and keeping each other in check, so even in times like this, they don't work together. It's not too late now, so we need to instruct our guild members to work together to respond.!”

Even though she insisted, the response was still one of shock..

"Ha - CEO Kang, the wave is not normal, do you think they'll just say yes and go out to their deaths just because we told them to? I don't understand why CEO Kang doesn't know that while running the guild.?”

"that's right. Some may step forward out of a sense of justice, but most will remain quietly hidden..”

Players of this era were the best, so they were essentially freelancers..

Even though I belonged to a guild, there was no need to obediently follow the guild's orders if there was nothing to regret. As long as your level is high, you can always move to another guild and make a living..

But in reality, how much will they follow the command to go out and violently oxidize the enemy??

Kang Seo-yoon slammed the desk..

"If you don't act like a human being, I'll have to make you do it even if it means making you look bad.!”

"-What, what??”

"Okay, from our Zmunnarae guild, we will reward you with an item..”

Everyone looked like they were asking what that meant..

"Each time a player within the wave zone removes an erosion factor, we will award one 'Heroic Grade' item and one 'Legendary Grade' item to the most active player..”

This meant that they would respond proactively, even if it meant offering compensation..

But it's a legend…….

As soon as those words came out of her mouth, many people in the audience raised their heads..

"......Yeah, you guys suck too, right? Yes, please spread this news to your guild members.."

"greatness......."

But did you think that was a reasonable way to respond?,

Guild masters who joined her plan began to appear one by one..

"Then, we at Osang Group will bet $30 million on the group that eliminates the erosion factors..”

"Okay, Haitai Guild will also contribute $20 million.!”

In this way, a total of 50 million dollars, or about 55 billion won in Korean won, was added to the compensation. Of course, it is difficult to make a simple comparison because the won began to bottom after the 4th wave began, but it was a huge amount of money..

Kang Seo-yoon clicked her tongue as she watched the situation..

"You're such an idiot, you have to buy money to solve the national crisis........"

It was definitely a wrong era somewhere..

***

Thump-thump-

The undead elite monster, Zombi Troll, was a very unique monster..

A case where a troll with the greatest resilience was cursed with a type of magic and became a member of the family of death.,

Therefore, it does not feel pain and no matter how much damage is done, it recovers instantly..

Even if damage is inflicted with the undead's weakness, 'holy power', even that is recovered..

As a person dealing with it, it's really... … It was indescribably difficult..

iron-puck-

Such a terrible monster has now broken into pieces and fallen on the road..

"No, that's ridiculous.……."

Jeongjun Lee, the man who stood in front of AMT, couldn't believe what was happening before his eyes..

Eating hundreds of zombies as experience points was amazing, but this is really…….

‘How on earth is that possible??’

I couldn't understand it even after seeing it..

That's why Lee Jeongjun once again recalled the scenes that took place before the zombie troll fell..

'……First, the cargo bays of two trucks were opened..’

It contained a huge number of weapons..

When an AMT commander of unknown rank named Lee Hyun-wook raised his hand, the weapons came to mind.-

Sh-shh-sh-sh-sh-!

Like missiles, hundreds of spears flew out on their own and began to lodge in the body of the zombie troll..

Bur-bur-bur-bur-buck-!

But there was no way that physical damage alone could stop that big troll..

No, it didn't seem to have even caused the slightest shock, let alone stopped it..

Even though he had spears scattered all over his body, he continued to advance without heeding anything.…….

Thump-thump-thump-thump-

Even his steps became faster..

Now, there are only about 200 meters left until you get trampled by that guy.,

Until then, Jeongjun Lee…….

"eww! Cow, don’t you know it’s no use? If you want to save your men, retreat now.!”

......I was in a daze and shouted like that..

I wanted to just leave them and run away, but if I had that kind of personality, I wouldn't have made up my mind to save the refugees at the Jangchung-dong community center in the first place..

I didn't want to see these brave soldiers die in vain..

However, Lee Hyun-wook only frowned for a moment and did his job without paying any heed..

There was no fear in his eyes. As if he was sure to win…….

Even the soldiers under his command broke out in a cold sweat, but remained faithful to their respective tasks..

"-Ahn Min-tae, are you ready for the freezing magic??”

"yes! A total of 21 rounds are prepared..”

When he gestured, the wizards rushed forward and fired freezing magic..

Blah blah blah blah---

All of them hit the troll's upper body, forming a solid 'ice restraint'..

But this time too, it was no use..

Even with dozens of spears attached to his body and half of his body frozen, he never stopped..

Thump-thump-thump-thump-

Before I knew it, it came very close. only fifty meters-

The rotten smell emanating from its body began to sting the tip of my nose..

'There is nothing I can do now. We have to leave them behind and run away on our own..’

With those thoughts in mind, Jeong-Jun Lee turned around and motioned for his colleagues to go quickly, but one word from Hyun-Wook Lee stopped them in their tracks..

"shredding-.”

Puh-uh-billion-!

"……uh?”

With the explosion, a large part of the zombie troll's upper body was blown away..

In particular, his left arm was completely cut off, and he spun around in the air, spraying blood in all directions.,

bang-!

He broke the show door of a commercial building and entered..

"What, what??”

It was a scene that made no sense in common sense..

I saw an iron ball explode and blow off a zombie's ankle, but its destructive power was not enough to affect a troll. The skin and flesh of zombie trolls are incomparably tougher and harder than those of zombies..

Then how on earth…….

'……ah! It's because of freezing magic.!’

Yes, that was possible..

A spear is driven in first, and then a freezing spell is fired on it to rapidly cool it..

When that happens, its blood coagulates and becomes tightly entangled with the tip of the spear..

Like your tongue sticks to cold ice cream-

In that state, if the metal exploded - that's exactly what would happen, a terrible and destructive phenomenon would occur..

It was a simple, but ingenious blow that caused enormous damage..

‘Oh, this is an extremely extraordinary attack. Raid using everything.’

But even then, Lee Jeongjun could not feel at ease..

Ugh......

Even with that massive attack, the zombie troll did not fall..

He only hesitated for a moment, then took another step forward..

thud-

‘After all, he's still undead! Just because one arm is cut off doesn't mean you can catch it.!’

Even if I used up all those weapons and skills to cut off an arm, I couldn't retire it..

And if such a fight is repeated, he will recover from his wounds and his allies will run out of weapons.…….

He displayed great strategy and ability, but unfortunately, he was an opponent he could not defeat..

however…….

Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-!

Suddenly, a strange sound began to be heard from inside the guy's body..

Then the big guy started convulsing and shaking. And from every orifice of the body, including the wounds and cuts, blood poured out like a pipe pouring something out..

Pududududu-----

That was his intestines.

To be exact, it was crushed intestines..

"uh……."

After thinking for a while, Jeongjun Lee finally realized what had happened..

‘crazy… … Zombie trolls, from the inside... … I changed it!’

The moment the spear embedded in the body exploded, countless pieces of metal must have entered the body, and by exploding and manipulating them again, the organs were literally ground from the inside..

Ka-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-!

Even a zombie troll couldn't withstand such a crazy attack..

Just like that, the huge body collapsed onto the asphalt with a loud thud..

......That was it..

Lee Jeong-jun recalled once again what he had seen and finally realized.

'What is this person? and… … I have a situation to interfere with... … It wasn't at all?’

At that moment, Lee Jeong-jun made eye contact with Lee Hyun-wook and was startled..

"Ah, that……."

Lee Hyun-wook’s eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. But that alone made my heart sink..

"What you know isn't everything in the world.”

Lee Jeong-jun's spirit came back in that short story..

“……Just because it was AMT, did you think you couldn't do it??”

Lee Jeong-jun could not refute and became completely dumb..

Lee Hyun-wook turned around and slowly looked at the terrible scene he had created..

Now that the battle is over, we have to collect the compensation and do maintenance..

‘I've used up a lot of weapons, but I still have some left..’

In addition to taking out half of the battalion's weapons, he also asked the battalion's engineers and blacksmiths to improvise weapons to be used solely for 'shredding' purposes..

And in the case of iron beads, a large quantity was ordered from Kang Jeong-du a point before the wave started, so there were still 3 boxes (1,650 pieces) left..

"Park Jun-mo, bring out only 4 sacks..”

"Yes, I understand!”

Soon, Park Jun-mo brought the sack and opened it wide, and Lee Hyun-wook stretched out his hand towards the bloody battlefield..

Then, between the piles of undead corpses, something rose up..

It was a ‘mana stone’, an energy source that drops when you catch a monster… … It was truly a huge number..

Chow la la la——

They flew under Lee Hyun-wook's control and began to enter the sack..

"and… … Corporal Ahn Min-tae, how much is this??”

"Even at 60,000 to 80,000 won per piece, I think it would be about 45,000 won..”

While the company members were admiring the huge number of mana stones,

In Lee Hyun-wook's hands, there were three real items that were not just random items, but really great items..

‘As expected, the income is large..’

first thing first,

- ‘Obtained ‘Secret Key (Event)’.

‘It is a wave event item. A lucky box must have been created somewhere in Seoul..’

It was a box that could be opened with a key, and high-value items could be obtained inside it..

Of course, such boxes were randomly generated, so it wasn't easy to find them..

If you could find it, you would receive special benefits that could not be obtained through other routes..

Then the second,

- ‘Obtained 'Spirit Stone (Grade 3)'.

‘This is a real stone, so I can't swallow it, and I have to give it to Kim Se-hee, an elementalist..’

And finally…….

- ‘Obtained 'Orihalcon'.

3Of all the dogs, the one I was most satisfied with was, of course, the legendary metal ‘Orichalcum’..

‘Orihalcone is a metal with greater value than adamant..’

Adamant costs 1.3 million won per 10g, but orihalcone costs more than 100 times that price..

It has the highest magic affinity, making it virtually the best among magic metals..

And from Lee Hyun-wook's experience in his past life, it was one of the few metals that could increase magic resistance..

However, regardless of the price, it was a very rare metal, so it could not be absorbed freely..

‘So, it is a skill that you should eat as much as possible when you can..’

gulp-

Lee Hyun-wook swallowed the precious orihalcon in one mouthful..

However, it was not possible to activate the body's furnace to absorb it quickly..

This was because all of the mana was devoted to the previous battle..

- mana(12/1681)

This is how many large mana potions I drank during the entire battle..

- caution! You have used too much mana. If you forcefully promote mana recovery, side effects will occur..

Mana potions could not be taken more than this. As explained, side effects would occur..

"Taeyong Choi, be very vigilant around your surroundings. There might be one more zombie troll.”

"Yes, don't worry!”

However, considering that it hasn't appeared yet even with this much noise, fortunately it doesn't seem to be anywhere near here..

Lee Hyun-wook checked his watch..

- 18:01

The sunset was already setting. As night came, some undead would become more violent..

‘I have to hurry..’

At that time, someone approached me.

"I......."

It was Lee Jeong-jun and his colleagues..

Their expressions had changed quite a bit..

Just now, his face was blushing and he was a bit condescending and tried to teach him, but now his face had turned yellow and he was not sure what to do..

He bowed his head..

"I am truly sorry! I think I made too many presumptuous comments.!”

Perhaps through some quick self-reflection, he bent his waist to ninety degrees and expressed his apology, but his forehead almost touched his knees. Although he said some harsh things, he didn't seem like a bad person..

"I truly, sincerely apologize! I crossed the line in thinking that I had to save the citizens first.!”

"Yes, I know you meant to give good advice. However, what he said contained a narrow-minded frame that those who belong to a certain group will always be below standard..”

"Yes, that's right. Actually, at first, I really blocked the way forward with that thought in mind... … I am truly, truly shameless and embarrassed..”

Lee Hyun-wook nodded..

As long as he reflected and came out favorably, there was no need to throw him out..

And if it was available, it would be even better.

"Well then, we will escort you, so would you like to take the citizens north??”

"Oh, by any chance, where……."

“DDP Station has a small shelter, so I think you should go to Dongdaemun Station, which has a large shelter..”

But for some reason, an inexplicable expression of disapproval began to spread on Lee Jeong-jun's face..

"Well, that's it.……."

"yes?”

"actually… … We were there a few hours ago.”

"Um, what happened??”

"It's not a big deal, but this is really……."

Jeongjun Lee explained what had happened in the last few hours..

He and his colleagues were near Dongdaemun Station before the wave occurred..

This was because he was in charge of security duties for a certain guild event that lasted until dawn..

At that time, a wave broke out and I took refuge in the Dongdaemun Station shelter along with the event attendees..

"……While I was in the shelter, around 8 a.m., a rescue signal came in..”

"There was news that the magic shield at the Jangchung-dong community center was broken.?”

"Yes, we said we would save those people and come back, ha… … My employer came out against it. But how could they leave over a thousand citizens in danger? We said we would go out on our own, so that guy……."

Jeongjun Lee let out a long sigh once again..

"They threatened us and told us not to think about coming back once they fired us and left. They said they would never open it even if I came. Well, there were a lot of zombies gathered around DDP, so I tried to go south..”

Lee Hyun-wook tilted his head..

"I don't quite understand. Who is that person and what right does he have to prevent him from entering the shelter??”

“that is......."

Jeongjun Lee swallowed dry saliva and opened his mouth..

“He is a re-elected member of the National Assembly and a C-grade player that you will know just by hearing his name. He is also the actual majority shareholder of <Jonggak Guild>, which was holding a shitty event until yesterday morning..”

Lee Jeong-jun spoke with a quite serious expression, but Lee Hyun-wook was still calm..

The expression on his face was like, “What does that have to do with anything?”.

"Oh, so, given his personality, he may not really open it. Because it's really the stubbornness of stubborn bulls.……."

Lee Jeong-jun emphasized it again, but Lee Hyun-wook lightly shook his head..

"Monopolizing public shelters is a serious crime that endangers the lives of others. If you don't open it, we will forcefully break it in, arrest you, and detain you. In some cases, they may be killed after warning..”

"ah……."

"If you treat someone obediently who only values ​​your life, you will inevitably lose more lives. it's okay. No need to worry."

"Oh, that's true.……."

"Then let's go. We don't have time because we have to take the citizens with us..”

After saying those words, Lee Hyun-wook got into the car..

Lee Jeong-jun had a hunch..

Soon, there will be quite a commotion…….