The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 74
74fury.
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Approximately 10 minutes before gate entry.,
The Cheonghwa guild strategy team was currently experiencing feelings of doubt quite a few times..
The reason was the two trailers brought by the Hope Guild..
The objects inside were extremely strange, but what was even more incomprehensible was.......
"......Wow, look at that. It looks like they're really trying to drag that thing in.."
It seemed like they were trying to get the trailer itself into the gate, and were checking the entry route..
"Wow, what nonsense… … I don't know that car engines stop inside the dungeon.?”
The world has turned into a game. And the game has rules.
In the ‘dungeon’ inside the gate, modern civilization loses its function, that was the basic principle of this game..
In other words, all vehicles, whether internal combustion engine or electric power source, are reduced to tin cans in the dungeon..
"Um, but that sounds like a ‘mana engine’?”
"what? Hey, where did you get that expensive—uh… … It's real?”
They took the container off the trailer and started attaching it to some giant sphere..
yes——
The sphere was heavily engraved with magic circuits..
mana engine,
It was a very valuable item as it was literally a device that used mana as a power source to run machines..
"Wow, how did they get that? It can only be made in the Republic of Chad, so it would be very expensive.……."
"Iknow, right. Isn’t that where all the money earned from wave rewards was spent??”
However, as far as they know, there have been very few cases of this famous technology being used..
Until now, there was virtually no way to efficiently supply mana as the engine's power source, and the only feasible method was to prepare a huge number of 'mana batteries'..
But that method costs a lot of money..
In other words, it was a foolish strategy that never made sense..
"Hmm, no matter how much you can run the mana engine, what's the use if it's so slow??”
Even if all of that was covered, the 'output' was not good, so it would not be able to achieve very fast speeds..
And being slow was a pretty fatal problem..
In a dungeon where you never know when and where something will happen, you have to be prepared for any emergency at all times, and more than anything else, you have to be extremely careful about limiting your mobility..
"This is very unsettling. Don’t you think we’ll have a hard time because of them??”
"Ha, that’s right… … Just by looking at it, it smells like a wealthy guild.……."
As I looked at the Hope Guild, 10 minutes had already passed and gate entry had begun..
"—Enter the Cheonghwa Guild first.!”
1The Cheonghwa Guild's strategy team entered by car..
Taking a lesson from the Cheongdam-dong Red Gate incident not long ago, they raised their shields above their heads and slowly stepped into the gate..
- caution! You have entered a dangerous area.
* 24You can leave after some time.
As I waded through the system messages, a dry breeze hit my face..
Whoa whoa——
“1Team is alert to the surroundings, and Team 2 identifies geographical features..”
As soon as I entered, the leader of the strategy team, Muhan Park, gave that instruction..
The first thing to do immediately after stepping into the dungeon was to understand the terrain..
"Damn, it's the red desert of all deserts. I got a bad map..”
Prior to entering the gate, the 'analysis team' analyzed the gate and found out that the inside was a dry climate, that is, a desert terrain. However, there were more than dozens of desert terrains that appeared in the dungeon..
And this time, it was the ‘Red Desert’ where violent giant monsters live..
“hmm… … If it's an alliance of Orc tribes in the Red Desert, isn't it quite a high-ranking entity among Orcs??”
"That's right, the 'longbow' they use made from the sinews of desert buffalo is quite powerful, so be careful..”
And 180 seconds later, the Hope Guild entered the dungeon..
Wooooow——
As expected, with two trailers in front.…….
Park Moo-han approached the Hope Guild with a somewhat disapproving expression..
“Write—well, it might take a while to get ready, but let’s go first..”
"Yes, we don't mind. Let's start first.”
Lee Hyun-wook, the man called the savior of Seoul, slowly looked around as he said that..
Park Moo-han even twisted Lee Hyun-wook’s leisure time..
"Ha, and because he is such a famous person, I wasn't going to give him advice... … That trailer... … If you move around with something that slow, you could be in real trouble..”
Even though he spoke with explicit force, Lee Hyun-wook still did not look at Park Mu-han..
He looked at each of the landmarks in the area as if examining them one by one, and then answered a beat late..
"Ah, yes… … Thank you for your concern, but we are fine..”
"No—true! Because we're not okay……."
"Oh, yeah, just take care of it and don't call for help later..”
With those words, the two attack teams moved some distance away..
“Hey… … Hope Guild they are really slow.”
There was no way a trailer driven by the Mana Engine would be fast..
Moreover, the engine itself was not designed for actual driving, so it was like a move that actually gave up mobility..
How long has it been like that?…….
"—2O'clock, a group of orcs appeared!”
Orcs appeared one by one on a sand dune about 300 meters away..
As a high-level orc appearing in the Red Desert, it was slightly larger and better armed..
"It seems like the scouting party just took a quick look, thought it was worth a try, and came rushing in..”
The number was about 300, which was by no means a small number..
And that wasn't the end.
"manager! There's a group of orcs approaching at 7 o'clock! I see over a hundred!”
As expected, since the Orcs are an intelligent race, they adopted a siege strategy..
Park Mu-han flew a magic drone to determine the exact size of the Orc army..
'A total of four hundred and fifty... … Well, it's a number that's enough to win. Still, there's going to be quite a fight..’
Park Moo-han was the leader of the strategy team who played in higher-level dungeons..
At this level, no matter how difficult the situation was, I didn’t blink an eye..
However, that didn't mean I was letting down my guard..
'First, pay attention to longbow attacks, widen the distance, and slowly hit with ultra-long-range magic..’
No matter how good your skills were, it was foolish to clash head-on with the Orc troops. Use various magic to destroy metallurgy, and when their ranks become loose, charge in and crush them..
‘Orcs are balanced monsters in all aspects, so they are difficult to attack, so you must not let your guard down..’
Park Muhan had a feeling that it would be quite a long battle..
But then, an unexpected problem occurred..
“—Team leader, look over there! It looks like the Hope Guild will soon be attacked by a horde of orcs.!”
As it happened, the Hope Guild's strategy team was standing in the path where the orcs approached at 7 o'clock..
They were still moving slowly, escorting the huge trailer..
"what? No, pair! What on earth are they doing now?—!”
There were already over a hundred orcs approaching that direction, and it looked like they were about to collide in just a few minutes..
And coming face to face with a large Orc army... … It was crazy.
“……What should I do? If they're that slow, they'll be surrounded and wiped out.!”
Park Mu-han felt his irritation rising as he looked at the frustrated look of the Hope Guild..
"driving me crazy… … Call them right now and tell them to abandon their damn trailer and come running towards us.!”
“yes!”
"Gunners, prepare support fire immediately! Oh, what? A hero who saved Seoul? It's all so damn……."
Although I was disapproving of the Hope Guild, I didn't want them to die..
No matter how obnoxious it was, we were the same species, humankind.…….
however…….
"uh! Something is starting to emerge in the trailer for Hope Guild!”
"—what?”
With those words, Park Muhan looked towards the Hope Guild through binoculars..
Really, something was taking off one after another in Hope Guild's first trailer..
that… … It was a black iron box..
“What is that... … I could fly?”
Before entering the gate, they had seen the black box through the gap in the door of the trailer..
"and… … I thought you just packed a cooler full of food.……."
In fact, there was no more reasonable estimate than that. Otherwise, what kind of box is worth taking into the dungeon??
But at this moment, its appearance began to feel quite different..
Wooooow——
Blue light spreads across the black steel surface, and the heavy box rises very gently into the air. It does not rise due to any driving force, but rather rises due to buoyancy.…….
"That thing on the surface is all magic circuitry.……."
They looked at the scene blankly, blocking the sunlight with their hands..
A total of 12 aircraft were flying freely, but no noise was made..
They were lined up in the sky, reflecting the intense sunlight pouring down on the desert..
Hung— Hung— Hung— Hung—
I had no idea what it was, but…….
For some reason, it couldn't have been a mysterious and magnificent scene..
“……Team leader, have you ever seen anything like that??”
To that question, Park Muhan slowly shook his head..
"No, this is my first time seeing it too..”
He was ranked 151st among Korean players..
And so far, there must have been more than 90 attack operations..
But something like that... … I saw it for the first time in my life.
They formed a single line and approached the group of orcs at a very slow speed..
“……So what are you trying to do by flying like that??"
From the outside, I had no idea how it worked..
Ahhh——!
Suddenly, a group of orcs approached the Hope Guild and began to measure the performance of their longbows..
And at that very moment—the bottoms of the twelve metal boxes opened simultaneously..
Ki—i—ing——
From there, a blue light began to spread out..
In front of that strange scene, the orcs raised their heads with blank expressions..
Within—
Lights flashed from the box, and something came out, in large numbers, at high speed..
Two-two-two-two-two-two——!
With that, the group of orcs collapsed as if they had been bombarded with machine guns..
The red sand dust of the red desert rose like a blood mist, and its terrifying firepower was felt indirectly..
“……Hey, what on earth is that?!”
It was only then that the members of the Cheonghwa guild began to perceive the unidentified object quite differently..
‘It's like a scene where a squadron of Apache helicopters fires cannons at the infantry..’
It now looked more like a combat helicopter than an ordinary metal box..
Two-two-two-two-two-two——!
In the attack that lasted for about ten seconds, half of the orc group disappeared..
"......."
Even Park Mu-han, a B-tier 1st tier who had been through all sorts of hardships, could not help but open his mouth wide..
‘Huh—what kind of skill is that? It seems like a control system…….'
With Park Moo-han’s binoculars, I looked toward the Hope Guild again..
Lee Hyun-wook, a man well known as the commander of the Steel Company.…….
He began to slowly raise his hands.
Then the projectiles that were fired—the iron balls rose into the air and returned toward the box..
‘I'm reloading!’
Immediately after, the metal boxes began to shine again, chasing the fleeing orcs..
Two-two-two-two-two-two——!
In just two attacks, over a hundred orcs literally melted away..
And before we knew it, 22 units of ‘Living Armor’ had landed from the second trailer..
They had bright blue eyes and were moving their heavy metal bodies on their own..
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—
Then, the Orcs grabbed a 3m hammer and an ax and began to advance towards the pile of corpses..
They had already defeated all the orcs, but they wanted to deal with those who were still alive..
“Hope Guild, let's start the finishing work.!”
And after that, 18 players followed with weapons in hand..
It looked like a special force advancing with an armored vehicle in front..
"No, how do they move?……."
Of course, there were many cases where wizards used 'control magic' to manipulate Living Armor..
However, it was a non-mainstream magic that was evaluated as ineffective in many ways..
This was because a considerable amount of mana was consumed just to roll a single piece of armor..
But now, only one person was controlling the 12 flying boxes and 22 living armors..
‘Nonsense. That's impossible as far as I know.’
He stared blankly at the scene of the Hope Guild killing the surviving orcs..
"finished……."
I expected it to be a long fight, but it was over in just a few minutes..
“……uh! manager! The Orc troops at 2 o'clock begin to retreat..”
Now that I think about it, the Orc unit that appeared from 2 o'clock was a very large main force of sorts..
But after witnessing that ridiculous scene, he seemed to have lost his will to fight..
It was truly overwhelming firepower, to the point where the brave Orc troops decided to retreat..
however…….
Wooooow——
12A dozen flying boxes crossed the desert and began tracking them..
Draw it——!
Having witnessed their terrifying destructive power, I fired my longbow from afar as they approached..
However, the tip of a longbow is also ‘metal’..
‘It's quite far, but it's reachable.’
Hyunwook Lee was able to give them 'metal control' based on Hugin's expansion of his senses..
yes——
Dozens of arrows fired with powerful tension stopped tall in the air..
Ugh—?
The orcs were completely embarrassed in front of an incomprehensible scene.,
Punishment made of steel rained down on their heads..
Two-two-two-two-two-two----!
This time it wasn't the end.
"shredding—!”
The iron balls fired like bullets exploded, carrying enormous physical energy and bouncing in all directions. As if a cluster bomb exploded, a steel storm blanketed a vast area..
Qua—and—and—and—and—and——!
The moment they reach the ground, a sandstorm rises with earth-shattering tremors..
Even though Okra had a strong body, he could not survive in such a steel storm..
Hundreds of them were knocked to the ground by that blow, and even if they were lucky enough to escape the firepower,…….
Deep—! Deep—! Deep—! deeply—!
A spear was summoned from the subspace of the airdrop device and accurately intercepted those guys one by one..
Out of about 300 orcs, only about 50 survived and escaped..
"......."
No one on the Cheonghwa Guild strategy team was able to open their mouths as they watched the scene..
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—
Soon, the 22nd Living Armor and 18 Hope Guild members arrived at the pile of orc corpses..
It was the same as before, but it was a destructive and cruel pattern..
“Wow, it seems like it's really easy to earn experience points and mana stones with this team leader..”
Lee Jeong-jun and other members of the Hope Guild were amazed again by hunting with Lee Hyun-wook after a long time..
"Really, I gained the experience I gained in a year in just a few days.?”
"But, wow… … Where on earth did you get such a ridiculous weapon??”
He pointed to Jeongjun Lee's airdrop device and asked, and Hyunwook Lee smiled without saying a word..
‘To be honest, I had no idea I would get this firepower so quickly..’
At this time, magic engineering was developing mainly in the Republic of Chad, but it was not yet at the level of replacing player abilities. Therefore, it cannot be used as the player's personal weapon..
'However, thanks to my Ether Engine abilities, I have been able to utilize it to a timeless level..’
And it could be said that Kang Jeong-doo's amazing skills also played a role.,
That was also thanks to the fraudulent buff granted to all of Seoul with the appearance of Laputa..
- Chik— Ah, this is the Cheonghwa Guild..
Park Moo-han’s voice flowed through Lee Hyun-wook’s Mana Messenger..
"Yes, you say it..”
- Chick—a while ago… … I don’t know… … Hmm, sorry for being rude. I've been rolling around in dungeons for quite a few years, and to be honest, this is the first time I've ever seen anything like that in my life. I think that’s why I didn’t believe it..
When I witnessed Lee Hyun-wook's skills in action, I had no choice but to accept the fact that I had been denying..
"Yes, I understand everything..”
- The rumored steel rain... … It was real. It was an admirable ability..
Ten years have passed since the world turned into a game..
I think humanity has adapted to this shit game and is now understanding and controlling it..
Therefore, many concepts were ‘fixed’..
‘A representative example is the artificial system of player ratings..’
The world is ruled by common sense.
And common sense is not absolute knowledge, but an artificially entrenched concept..
If something happens that goes against that common sense, the world does not easily accept it..
No matter how much it claims to be true, many people think it is fake news or false information. And this is even more true for people who think they have reached a certain level in a field..
If the world they know is shaken, it means their authority is threatened.…….
‘So, it's hard to believe that Grade F was active..’
But, then.......
yes——
Hyunwook Lee heard something, an alien vibration, ringing in his inner pocket..
What it is…….
[Item information]
- Name: Master Key of Ancient Legacy
- Effect: Unknown
"Why is this suddenly……."
- (!) Quest has arrived.
‘Quest, is it related to Laputa??’
[Hidden Quest]
- The path of the heirs of ancient civilization…….
You have a special opportunity to obtain an ancient legacy..
That special item will take you back to old glory.
* Would you like to accept the quest? (Y/N)
Ancient civilization, this seemed to refer to the race that founded Laputa..
Lee Hyun-wook accepted the quest without hesitation..
[Hidden Quest]
- The path of the heirs of ancient civilization…….
1) Explore the hidden stage ‘Nome Ruins’ in this dungeon! (Proceeding)
2) Stop the guardian of the ruins! (Proceeding)
* Reward: Ancient Coin of the Underground Kingdom (10))
‘Hidden stage, it's in this dungeon.’
A hidden stage is a space hidden within a dungeon, a phenomenon that is very rarely discovered..
And most dungeons are closed without even realizing that such a thing exists, but later, after learning the value of hidden stages, the value of 'Explorer' type players skyrockets..
As such, it was also a place where very rare items rested..
'But, if you are a gnome…….'
Gnome, traces of them can be found as items or objects, but as far as Lee Hyun-wook knows, it was the name of an ancient race that never appeared..
'And they are also the founders of magic engineering..’
Come to think of it, the 'Hammer of Hephaestus' was scheduled to appear in this dungeon..
In other words, since it is a dungeon that spits out items related to the blacksmith series, there seemed to be a 'hidden stage' related to it..
It seemed that an opportunity had come to continue to develop magical engineering, this powerful and unrivaled power..
‘In this field, I can be overwhelmingly ahead of those villains..’
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