The Player Who Eats Steel - Episode 79
79fury.
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The airship 'Friedwen' began to slowly lower its altitude towards Laputa..
Wooooow——
It was a smooth movement, more like sinking in water than landing. During that short swimming time, Park Jun-mo kept holding on to the window frame and exclaiming in admiration like a child riding an airplane for the first time..
"Wow, wow......."
Dozens of skyscrapers floating thousands of meters in the sky radiated sunlight and flashed different lights from time to time. The blue sky behind them felt like the sea, and the clouds felt like water mist..
It was only natural to be fascinated by the mysterious and magnificent scenery..
However, Lee Hyun-wook’s impression was quite different..
'also… … It's noticeably different from what I remember of Laputa..’
When I faced Laputa’s true appearance, I felt a strange sense of strangeness..
Lee Hyun-wook had infiltrated Laputa in his previous life, so he remembered seeing this city up close. And the Laputa in his memories... … It was a fortress of villains called the ‘Devil’s Castle’..
And unlike now, it had a somewhat bizarre design with a dark red color and tentacles sprouting out..
‘Yes, it was a long way from this beautiful appearance..’
At that moment, that hellish memory began to unfold before my eyes..
A strong memory from my past life, a corner of it... … Lee Hyun-wook was also on the airship at that time..
Whoa whoa——
The black sea and the black sky, in that magnificent darkness where there is no distinction between top and bottom.,
He was staring blankly at the dark red Laputa hanging on the distant horizon..
At that time, someone's urgent voice struck my ears..
“—shit! The unidentified weapon at the bottom of Laputa is functional again.!”
At the same time, the lower part of Laputa opened and red light was seen leaking out..
- caution! 'Sudasanar bombing' begins in the area.
The edge of the night sea began to turn red with a strong warning message..
A dazzling red light that feels like the beginning of a sunrise…….
"shit! Warn the sea fleet!”
“—Yes, it's late!”
Everyone had no choice but to cover their eyes as the red rays shot out from Laputa. A lump of intense energy that could be mistaken for sunlight fell toward the Allied naval fleet besieging Laputa..
Qua—ah—ah—ah—ah—ah——!
Binge drinking, binge drinking again—I was deafened by the continuous binge drinking..
coo coo coo coo coo coo coo…….
After that long blow, half of the fleet was destroyed and the rest were swept away by the tsunami..
"......."
The airship 'Gate Sentinel', which was heading towards Laputa, had no choice but to stop in despair.,
Those in it could do nothing but remain silent..
Then, a man broke the silence..
“……Now all that's left is us. And in other words, only we can do it."
His voice was so strong that it felt like a ray of hope blooming in despair..
"Everyone, listen carefully. We cannot give up on this operation. must succeed."
"......."
"If we hesitate here and turn away, we will end up in a dead end. However, I am confident that if we overcome that obstacle, we will definitely encounter a new horizon..”
The man who boosts the morale of the heroes is the commander of the Laputa invasion operation.,
His name is… … It was Gordon Price..
'okay… … Landing on Laputa was the worst trap ever..’
It was an impregnable fortress and at the same time a labyrinth from which one could not escape. Those who were called the hope of humanity had walked into the abyss, led by a wrong guide named Gordon Price..
That day, 13 S-class players were captured by the villain's mad scientist group 'Black Door'... … It was used as material for a terrible biological experiment and ended up becoming food for strengthening the necromancer's abilities..
But at this moment, the sight of Laputa before his eyes was clearly different from the ‘Devil’s Castle’ in his memories. Instead of the gloomy black red of his memories, it was shining bright white..
'……Perhaps it was shaped differently depending on various requirements..’
Yes, this is a game and different branches lead to completely different results. Since Laputa appeared by blocking the wave, it appeared to be beneficial to humanity..
‘therefore… … The incredible weapons and technologies I experienced back then are now under my control..’
Laputa was a city, a research facility, an armory, and a military base..
In other words, it could be seen as one huge society in which all functions were gathered together..
By obtaining this, Lee Hyun-wook had completely swallowed up a very large part of the future..
"Uh, I think we'll land soon..”
Prydwen landed in the airship port of the tallest skyscraper in 'Upper City'..
‘This is the Order Tower, the control tower that manages the entire Laputa..’
After getting off at Pridwen, the group crossed the translucent sky bridge and stood in front of the door to the 'Order Tower'..
Then, a neutral voice flowed into Lee Hyun-wook’s ears..
「Laputa's 'master authority' confirmed.」
coo coo coo coo coo coo coo——
The huge door opened slowly like a castle gate..
「Welcome to the Administrator. My name is Laputa’s assistive artificial intelligence..」
‘Talos… … I never thought this voice would sound so lovely.’
Talos, Laputa's artificial intelligence... … The scene of all kinds of turrets being hit came to mind, along with a warning message to eliminate intruders. And at the end, it appeared as the 30m-tall ‘Orihalcon Giant’..
‘Even the King of Fist, Hantaesan, was unable to block Talos’ kick and flew away.…….'
After walking down a long hallway, they soon encountered a facility that really looked like a 'control tower'. It was a circular structure with all the walls made of glass, allowing one to look down on all sides of Laputa..
yes——
At that time, something like a round ball came down from the ceiling..
And the surface of the ball—an emoji-like expression appeared on the screen..
「(^_^) hello! Welcome to Laputa’s command tower, ‘Eye in the Sky’.!」
"—omg! Is this a monster??”
Park Jun-mo said that and took a step back. Sparks crackled in both his hands..
Since most of the 'beings' that appear in this game are monsters, it was natural for them to react like this..
Then Talos' expression changed to a confused one and he climbed up to the ceiling as if running away..
「(0_0) evil! You must not attack me! Repairs will be expensive! Also, there is a risk that this Laputa system will not work for a while, so we earnestly request that you do not do so.!」
Then, as if avoiding Park Jun-mo, he turned at a distance and approached Lee Hyun-wook, with a tearful expression on his face on the screen.?
「Ugh, Laputa’s manager… … My name is Talos, whom I greeted earlier..」
‘What, it's overkill... … I didn't know it was this kind of character…….'
I wondered if it was the giant who was stomping A-grade players to death like bugs..
"Yes, nice to meet you. You'll be supporting me, probably?”
「(^_^) Yes, that's right. You can ask anything and give instructions anything..」
"In that case, I would like you to explain what I can do from now on, focusing on the important things..”
At this moment, what I was most curious about and most needed was how to use this huge object..
「ah! The manager values practicality! However, when you first enter, it is common to tour this glorious city all the way, so why not start with that course??」
"No, I don't think it would take several weeks to look through everything here, so let's check the features first..”
「Yes, I will. But as you can see just by looking at it, Laputa is a huge facility! Because there are so many functions, the explanation may be a bit long. Please understand this point.!」
After that, Talos really started giving a lot of explanations.…….
‘Hmm, useless.…….'
This artificial intelligence guy… … It seemed like he lacked sense. When I asked him to explain the functions, he recited almost all aspects of life, hobbies, research, functions, air defense, etc. that can be done in Laputa like a manual..
'......There is no need for me to learn all these trivial things..’
‘Opening’ this Laputa was not something Hyunwook Lee could do alone. And in the long run, it would be necessary to train and deploy a large number of specialized personnel so that Lee Hyun-wook would not have to worry about it..
‘And one of them… … You can get it right now.’
One of the key crew members of the super-massive airship to be built in the future was now wandering around as an independent. Lee Hyun-wook planned to find the man as soon as he went down to earth..
"Talos, other than those trivial features, um… … There must be some special function?”
「yes! There are a lot of special things about it. Magma sauna or 1km skydiving…….」
"No, I mean… … I'm talking about special privileges that only administrators can use..”
At those words, he looks like he's holding his chin as if he's thinking about it..
「ah! You are talking about! Yes, can you explain right away??」
I finally understand.
Existences such as the World Tree and Laputa would later be called ‘transcendent objects’..
Just by existing, they bring powerful blessings to the area..
However, if an administrator intervenes and adjusts, the function could be greatly improved..
'That is exactly what the World Tree is used for..’
Donald Harris, manager of the World Tree, bestows a wide-area healing blessing on the area once every six months..
Excluding Saint Emilia Müller, this is the highest level of wide-area healing magic, and it was meant to revive the old energy concentrated within the World Tree and at the same time increase the 'life force' of the area..
‘The magic herbs from Chad that grow during that period are so effective that they are worth the price..’
Even if there is a World Tree area during that period, all diseases disappear as if they have been washed away..
Therefore, around that time, the number of pilgrims visiting the World Tree can reach millions..
Of course, the Republic of Chad strictly controls entry, so not everyone can enter.…….
‘So, Laputa can also be used to great advantage in that way.’
Lee Hyun-wook briefly imagined a future in which Laputa would exert a production capacity greater than that of a developed country..
however.......
「Um, but… … Many of the special features are currently unavailable.」
“……Why?”
And so the explanation began again..
It begins with the story of the gnomes who were the designers of Laputa long ago. To summarize,…….
After Laputa was attacked by an unidentified enemy, the five factions of Laputa moved to different dimensions and secluded themselves, taking the important core parts that make up Laputa..
‘Well, this is just an obvious backstory.?’
Lee Hyun-wook listened to the middle of the story, then sighed and waved his hand..
“Okay, that means you have to find the gnome ruins and retrieve some 'parts'.?”
「Yes, that's right! As expected, you understand quickly.!」
Simply put, it meant that in order to use unlocked functions, you had to complete quests. Even if you get such great privileges, it was designed to promote gradual growth as a 'game'..
'The fact that I obtained from the gnome ruins was part of that. It's really annoying.…….'
「By the way, some default permissions are still available.」
“okay? Show me that at least.”
「(^_^)7 yes! I'll prepare it right away!」
[Laputa: Power Craft Features]
1) Wide Area Blessing (Applying))
2) Bali Balbir designation (applicable))
Unfortunately, there seemed to be only these two at the moment..
1The 'regional blessing' was a blessing given to the entire area of Seoul..
“2Burn, what is Balibalbir??”
「Yes, Laputa is a floating city and can 'bless' the area below it.」
"yes, i know that.”
「However, Bali Balvir is a function that provides concentrated benefits to a small area..」
Balibalvir was the name of the region ruled by Laputa in.
In other words, it could be seen as designating a place where Laputa's influence would be maximized..
"Ah, you could think of it as some kind of designation as a special zone for magical engineering.?”
「Yes, that's the correct interpretation!」
It’s a magic engineering special zone… … There was no need to worry about where to use this..
"Okay, use that now..”
Then, a map of Seoul appeared in front of Lee Hyun-wook, and he chose the area near Kang Jeong-du's workshop..
「Can we apply the region as ‘Balibalbir’??」
"Yes, it applies..”
- 'Balibalvir' has been applied to the area!
* The experience level increase rate of production players will increase significantly.. (+50%)
* The ‘production success probability’ of all items increases significantly.. (+50%)
* ‘Unexpected birth in failure’ is applied with a certain probability.. (10%)
‘Okay, we added another wing to Kang Jeong-du..’
This seemed to have laid another foundation for a 'super gap' in magical engineering..
***
After reviewing a few more functions, Lee Hyun-wook took out the Eye of Horus piece number 3 (legendary)..
‘If you absorb this, your eyes will change... … There's no better place to faint than here..’
gulp—
- (Unknown time) left until metal absorption.
As expected, since it is a legendary grade item, ‘unknown time’ appears..
Even if the body's furnace was running at full capacity, it would take a considerable amount of time, so he informed Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo that he might faint and that this was not a chronic illness but a way to increase his abilities..
"ah… … So, all you have to do is stay by my side and take care of me all day long.?”
"Anyway, Team Leader Kim… … Whenever I look at you, you always think negatively.?”
Kim Se-hee's characteristic was that she made noises that were not even in her mind at every moment..
However, when Lee Hyun-wook pointed that out, he looked quite embarrassed..
"—yes? Well, well, when am I? what the……."
"Anyway, since you don't have to be next to me and there's a training ground here, it's an opportunity for Team Leader Kim to grow as well..”
"hmm… … Training ground? under… … So that means you should study on your own all day long.?”
Kim Se-hee didn't look very interested..
“Team Leader Kim, I know you just said something negative.?”
"......."
"Anyway, it's too early to be disappointed. Even though the training ground here is different, it will be very different.."
"but… … With this kind of ultra-advanced facility, well, the scarecrow is gold.……."
Kim Se-hee was about to speak but stopped..
This time, just like Lee Hyun-wook said, I was being sarcastic without realizing it..
"Oh, well……."
Lee Hyun-wook chuckled and shook his head..
"No, you can gain experience while training..”
Only then did Kim Se-hee look surprised..
“……yes?”
Experience and level growth were absolute factors for players. However, experience can only be gained by hunting monsters, so leveling up is something you have to risk your life to achieve..
But now, it is possible to use cheats to safely gain experience while training..
“no way… … That's not a total scam?”
Yes, it was a transcendental object because it had a function that was close to fraud..
"Oh, of course, it doesn't involve as much as actually catching monsters. Still, almost any environment, that is, almost any monster, can be simulated. That's right, Talos?”
- (★_★) Yes, that's right! Laputa's 'World Stone' is manipulated to create a realistic environment, providing an experience almost similar to reality to those undergoing training.!
‘Okay, now we have a way to unleash Kim Se-hee's potential..’
Kim Se-hee was originally scheduled to join the Black Tiger Unit and grow into the best assassin specialist..
As a result, he became associated with the Black Orc King ‘Stonox’..
Lee Hyun-wook was worried about how to give her a growth environment beyond that of the Black Tiger Unit..
‘There is nothing more effective in improving a player's skills than dealing with monsters..’
If this was a training facility in Laputa, I would be able to grow through intense practical experience..
"Oh, and finally……."
Lee Hyun-wook looked at Park Jun-mo..
"Talos, perhaps… … Will lightning strike Laputa too??”
Laputa is located several kilometers above the ground..
In other words, it was the perfect place for lightning to strike during bad weather..
- Yes, that's right. During bad weather, an average of 21 lightning strikes occur, all of which are converted into energy..
“okay? Is it possible to predict when lightning will strike??”
- Based on the current weather conditions, there is a 95% chance that lightning will occur this evening..
Lee Hyun-wook grinned at those words and placed his hand on Park Jun-mo's shoulder, and the boy flinched..
"Park Jun-mo, don’t you have a fear of heights or something? Here, I think we should go up to the top of the tower.?”
Then Park Jun-mo lowered his head and started muttering something..
“Ah, as expected… … The ominous premonition was real……."
"huh? Park Jun-mo, are you scared? It's not like I still have an F-grade mind.?”
“……Oh no, no!”
「Player Park Jun-mo, symptoms of health abnormality detected, heartbeat is abnormally fast!」
"......."
As a result, the three were scheduled to have grown even further when they descended to earth..
‘And next time I come up, I'll have to gather the manpower to move this Laputa..’
If only I could roll this transcendental object normally.…….'
Lee Hyun-wook would be able to recreate the terrible scene he experienced in his previous life, in reverse..
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