Novels online

The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 7

7. leopard and buffalo - 2

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

Lee Hyun-wook looks back on his past life dozens of times a day..

Every time that happened, the only emotion he felt was regret..

‘In this life, I have to become a real genius..’

In other words, I had heard him called a ‘genius’ even in my last life..

‘Even though I'm just a failed genius······.’

He relaxed his shoulders and brought out the voice of a man from his past life..

‘Hyunwook Lee! You pathetic bastard, aren’t you ashamed? How many years have you wasted living with such crazy talent??’

This voice that criticizes Lee Hyun-wook like that is a man who will later be called ‘Sword Saint’.,

At this point, Choi Young-jun was a sergeant..

‘Have you ever wondered how many lives you could have saved if you had just come to your senses??’

His voice was reprimanding, but what he meant was a high level of high praise..

‘Hyunwook Lee, to be honest... you are much better than me. I'm serious.’

It was better than the Sword Saint... Lee Hyun-wook at the time did not believe it. He thought it was just exaggerated encouragement..

But Choi Youngjun’s expression was always serious..

‘So, even now, keep your head straight and do what you can as hard as you can... to protect us. somehow. you have such talent.’

A natural sense specialized in fighting, swordsman Youngjun Choi called such talent ‘the heart of a warrior’..

A primal genius that is not easily revealed in today's era where there is no need to take someone's life to protect one's life and that of one's family... Lee Hyun-wook said that such a thing is latent in his DNA..

‘I think that was almost right.······.’

However, even if you have such a thing, it is useless if you do not use it properly. Lee Hyun-wook's talent was rotted away for quite a long time under the stigma of being grade F.,

failed miserably.

‘But not in this life.’

He once again brought up the past as regret and ruminated on it..

A collapsing city, a fallen comrade, a helpless ending.······.

‘Grow in every way so it never happens again.’

Beep-

When the signal sounded one minute before the duel began, Lee Hyun-wook raised his head and faced his opponent..

“Hehe, Corporal Lee Hyun-wook? Are you sure you don't mind??”

A muscular man stood holding a plastic training sword..

Barbarian Lee Won-seok, he put his right foot forward early and placed the center of gravity of his upper body quite far forward..

‘That posture means you're going to rush in..’

It was the prepared posture of a wild beast aiming for its prey..

However, even if I pointed at the wrong target, I was wrong for a long time..

Lee Hyun-wook was also a beast..

It's also a seasoned beast..

‘My elbows are lifted and my shoulders are tense. As soon as you rush in, a large cutting attack appears..’

His natural senses and considerable combat experience allowed him to guess the enemy's intentions..

Whether he knew it or not, Lee Won-seok was laughing and swinging the training sword in his right hand..

On the other hand, Lee Hyun-wook was empty-handed..

According to the rules of duel training, only plastic training weapons could be used, and since there was no suitable weapon for Lee Hyun-wook, he just climbed into the fight box with his bare hands..

“It wasn't my intention, but the number of onlookers increased. Ugh······.”

Even though Lee Hyun-wook did not answer, Lee Won-seok continued talking to himself..

Lee Hyun-wook looked around and, as Lee Won-seok said, quite a number of onlookers had already gathered..

Not only soldiers from the same company but also soldiers from neighboring companies gathered together, making it seem like there were about 30 people..

They were gathered in groups of twos and threes, betting on how many minutes a private could turn a corporal into a blood clot..

‘What is not intentional······.’

Contrary to what this guy said, this situation was largely due to someone's intention. He probably planned to embarrass Lee Hyeon-wook and spread rumors in all directions to gather onlookers..

Well, this kind of duel training is a special spectacle in boring military life..

It was a very interesting issue, especially the battle between a promising successor and an incompetent predecessor..

“Still, we will do our best to help you. Wouldn't it be so ugly if you were hit hard by your successor??”

Beep- Beep- Beep-

Before I knew it, the beeping sound was ringing loudly, and Lee Won-seok laughed bitterly. He had a confident expression..

belt-ing!

The bell signaling the start of the duel rang and the magic wall blocking the center disappeared..

Lee Hyun-wook relaxed his body and slowly took his right foot back.,

“Ooh-ahhh!”

Lee Won-seok pushed in roughly like a brown bear..

‘also.’

It was as expected.

Without any particular movement, Hyun-wook Lee simply extended his right hand forward and sensed the ‘small metal’..

And I pulled it in the opposite direction of his movement..

OK······.

“······Ugh?”

The guy running straight ahead flinched for a moment..

This is because I felt resistance as if someone was holding my pant legs and stretching them out..

“eww! What, what?!”

Metal zippers on combat boots. Lee Hyun-wook only applied 2,558g of force to that small point, but even if the weight is the same, a vastly different force is applied depending on where the force is concentrated..

‘You may not be able to push him away or stop him, but you can shake him off balance..’

And the breakdown of balance in the fight meant that a fatal ‘gap’ had occurred. Lee Hyun-wook pushed the metal material of the stadium floor and struck forward with the recoil..

Suddenly!

His left fist and quick jab hit Lee Won-seok's face, causing his head to tilt back significantly..

“Pfft! Holy shit!”

The guy let out a loud growl and swung his training sword sharply towards the bell..

Bu-ung!

It was a blow that was not very organized and had too much force..

Lee Hyun-wook easily avoided it by lowering his upper body..

‘As expected, it is a style that only believes in its strength and charges forward. All you have to do is watch out for one anomalous blow..’

Bung- Bung-

Lee Won-seok's attack only cut through the air in vain. And that kind of reckless movement was bound to inevitably reveal gaps. Lee Hyun-wook waited for that moment..

‘It's right now.’

The moment the attack with a large trajectory missed, I lowered my head and dug into the guy's lower body..

“······huh?”

He grabbed the guy's left leg with both hands and pulled it, using 'metal control' to push the metal zipper of his right combat boot outward. Then again, the balance broke down.······.

“Ugh!”

Two legs as thick as an old tree rose into the air at the same time..

Coo-ung!

The large figure fell backwards with a heavy sound..

It was a perfect single lag timing tackle..

However, Lee Hyun-wook did not bother to climb on top of the guy and quickly widened the distance behind him. Because if I was caught by that big guy, I might not be able to move..

But that alone caused cheers of confusion to erupt from all directions..

“and!”

“uh? No, that's ridiculous.!”

“What did you just do? How did you do it?”

Because it was a scene no one expected..

“Ugh, what the fuck... I think the floor of the battle box is too slippery..”

Lee Won-seok jumped up and shouted as if everyone could hear him. There was no damage from a single fall..

However, his face started to turn red..

‘Fuck, I can't believe I was treated like this by a mere F grader.······.’

I felt humiliated after being defeated by an opponent I thought would easily win. In other words, it was anger. He grinned and adjusted his dueling greatsword..

“Huh, no matter what, since he was a senior, I tried to beat him up moderately.······.”

A blood vessel sprouted on his forehead..

Munching-

And the training sword he was holding was crushed. It was a barbarian’s unique ‘body strengthening’ skill..

“······I can't stand being treated like this. I'll kill you halfway.”

Soon a more violent attack began..

***

As soon as the battle started, Lee Hyun-wook's attack worked, but after that, Lee Won-seok had the upper hand..

Bu-ung! Bu-ung!

“Uh, uh, if you hit just one of those properly, it will stretch out.?”

“I'm good at dodging, but I'm no match for him.······.”

The twisted atmosphere brought smiles to the faces of Oh Sang-guk and Kwak Jin-cheol again..

“See, I told you?”

“Well, hehe... I guess I was worried for no reason..”

When a tackle followed a blow to the face, Kwak Jin-cheol screamed without realizing it..

I was just wondering, but I was surprised to see Lee Hyeon-wook perform an effective attack right in front of me..

But it seemed like that was all there was to it..

“From what I can see, it will be over in 1 minute. One hit will knock you out, that thing..”

Oh Sang-guk crossed his arms and predicted triumphantly..

It was then. Someone came up behind them.

“Hey, Oh Sang-guk.”

“······uh? Loyalty! Thank you for your hard work.”

The officer on duty today was Sergeant Kang Seong-chun. And next to him was a middle-aged man with the rank of 'warrantor' wearing a black combat uniform.······.

“omg! Look over there!”

For some reason, the eyes of the soldiers watching the duel training turned towards him one by one. And then they started shaking as if they had seen a famous person..

“That's not the Black Tiger unit's mark.?”

“uh? It's real! It's a black tiger unit.!”

The black tiger-shaped unit mark attached to the warrant officer's combat uniform was something everyone reacted to when they saw it..

Black Tiger (黑虎), the name meant the most elite special forces under the AMT..

“Oh Sang-guk, what is going on here??”

“Ah... it's duel training. I think there was quite a bit of interest, perhaps because Wonseok came up..”

To Boss Kang Seong-chun's question, Oh Sang-guk answered hesitantly. He ordered Lee Won-seok to be beaten to death, but it would not have been possible to push him to that level if there were executives..

however······.

“oh! Wonseok? It just worked out well.!”

I don't know what's going on, but Kang Seong-chun looked somewhat excited..

“Senior, that big guy over there is the barbarian I mentioned earlier. The guy who tore up goblins during his first mission. Although he is not as good as Sergeant Choi Young-jun, he is a promising player with a bright future ahead of him..”

“Um, yeah?”

“Yes, let's take a look. You'll be hooked..”

Warrant Officer Cheon Myeong-ho of the Black Tiger Unit crossed his arms as if he was interested..

Bu-ung! Bu-ung!

The situation was still Lee Won-seok's one-sided offensive. The opponent was busy avoiding his powerful attack..

“The cub also has some strength! How is it? Isn’t it quite a thing just by looking at it??”

“Hmm... The barbarian used the 'Brawl' skill..”

“Isn’t it like it’s going to tear the air apart??”

“······What would you do if you just ripped the air??”

“That guy is a home run hitter even if his batting average is low. Soon I'll hit a grand slam home run.”

Kang Seong-chun spoke in a fuss and Cheon Myeong-ho slowly raised the corner of his mouth. He smiled very meaningfully and placed his hand on Kang Seong-chun's shoulder. And shook his head and sighed..

“Ha, Seongchun.······.”

“Yes, sir, why are you doing this??”

“So you're still in C grade..”

“······yes?”

Seongchun Kang opened his eyes wide at the unexpected words..

“Senior, why are you suddenly criticizing me??”

“Take a look. That big thing is going to break apart soon..”

“no, what is that······.”

Kang Seong-chun was not the only one surprised by those words. Oh Sang-guk and Kwak Jin-cheol, who were standing next to him, reflexively turned their heads. Even though he was an executive of the Black Tiger Unit, it was a decision that the party could not understand..

“I'm sorry, but Private Lee Won-seok's opponent is an F-level player..”

Oh Sang-guk was momentarily embarrassed and intervened without even realizing it..

I was worried that he might have been rude, but the warrant officer just looked at the duel training with a kind face and answered without even looking at Oh Sang-guk..

“Look at the overall movement, i.e. the situation, not the apparent power..”

What a situation... Actually, these three people didn't even know what that word meant..

Anyway, I looked at the situation again, and Lee Won-seok was still pushing him roughly and Lee Hyun-wook was busy dodging with his bare hands..

There was nothing else to see..

“Where are you going?······.”

The three people looked puzzled, and the warrant officer chuckled..

“To put it simply, the levels are different in the first place..”

“Yes, it is different. I'm in D class and may soon become C class..”

“No, not that grade..”

“What kind of level is that??”

Cheon Myeong-ho's eyes were suddenly scanning the F-class soldier, Lee Hyun-wook. Looks like it's very fun.

“level of talent.”

Sigh!

Everyone turned their heads at the heavy sound..

Lee Won-seok, who suddenly threw away his training sword and clenched his fist, swung his right hand, and Lee Hyun-wook's guard was raised to block..

But the force was so strong that even though he blocked it, his body seemed to float for a moment..

“and!”

“Crazy, what is that power??”

Exclamations erupted from all directions..

“Senior, look at that. Even if you dodge it well, if you happen to get hit or two, it will just go to goal..”

“Seongchun, open your eyes and look again. If a home run batter doesn't hit a home run, he ends up striking out..”

“hmm······.”

Suddenly!

This time there was a louder sound..

“······uh?”

This time it was an attack by an F-class corporal. The 'outside leg kick' turned to the right was a hit..

The next moment, the barbarian's legs started shaking..

“What... is that just a kick? what is the sound······.”

“For a moment I thought the stadium wall was shattered..”

If the people who heard it felt that different, the person who was hit directly······.

“Fuck, shit, shit! Bah, what did you just do??”

I felt scared.

‘Why does barely kicking hurt so much??’

Lee Won-seok took a step back without realizing it..

The moment I was hit with a leg kick that flew like a whip from the right, my legs lost all strength. It felt as if I had been cut with a knife and all the blood was draining out..

‘This is an F-level attack?’

As he was unable to hide his embarrassment, Lee Hyun-wook approached him again, taking steps, and Lee Won-seok hesitated in embarrassment..

But even that was a ‘gap’ in Lee Hyun-wook’s eyes..

‘It opens again. You don't know how to block a kick.’

Lee Hyun-wook aimed for the same position once again..

Ugh!

“evil!”

In the end, a loud scream erupted..

Lee Won-seok reflexively swung both his fists, but Lee Hyun-wook easily dodged them by stepping back..

‘As expected, the movements are too obvious..’

Moreover, when effective damage was inflicted on the legs, the movement became much slower..

- mana (25/30)

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook’s ‘mana’ was falling. In other words, he was using a skill.

‘It is impossible to withstand a rigid body attack with your bare body..’

I used the skill obtained just before, Strong Body, on my right leg and did a leg kick..

‘It must hurt like being hit with a piece of iron..’

Lee Hyun-wook smiled and looked into Lee Won-seok’s eyes..

At first, it contained the exuberance of a wild beast, but soon changed into the madness of an excited ape..

But now it's like······.

‘My eyes became like a frightened deer..’

Jeopuk- Jeopuk-

Now Lee Hyun-wook walked straight ahead without even stepping..

however······.

“Ugh, ugh······.”

Lee Won-seok, the big barbarian just stumbled backwards..

“······.”

The training ground became quiet due to an unexpected situation..

Among them, only the voice of the Warrant Officer of the Black Tiger Unit rang softly..

“If a leopard were to fight a buffalo by force alone, it would naturally break up miserably.······.”

He smiled, raised his index finger, and pointed at Lee Hyun-wook..

“······In the end, the leopard catches and eats the buffalo. In a confrontation between the two, the difference in power is not important..”

In Cheon Myeong-ho's eyes, he saw a leopard suppressing his anger and going hunting..