A Player Who Eats Metal

Chapter 51: The Center of Hell

Chapter 51: The Center of Hell

< Chapter 51: The Center of Hell – 3 >

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On his way to meet with the Taesan Guild, Lee Hyunwook communicated with a Mana messenger in the car.

"......Commander, I'll leave it to you."

He hastily made some requests to the Commander for the upcoming battle.

―Alright, we'll prepare as quickly as possible. Contact us and we'll be on our way, so don’t worry.

"Thank you."

―And... please be careful. As you know, as time passes, the waves get exponentially stronger. So, today it would be much stronger than yesterday.

"Yes, understood."

This was the truth.

There were countless reasons why the waves were referred to as the worst disaster,

But the biggest among them was that the ‘raid difficulty' increased over time.

Simply put, the monsters that appear during the wave evolve into increasingly challenging forms.

For example, the number of ‘Hell Rats' that they faced yesterday would have exponentially increased.

A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, hundreds of thousands, eventually up to a million...

Once a certain number is exceeded, they ‘evolve' and develop a passive skill,

Like emitting a ‘gas' that forms a ‘poison fog', a kind of ‘special option'.

‘The swarm of Hell Rats that appeared with a green fog and devoured everything was truly the worst.’

Although the Hell Rats were overwhelmed by the Steel Battalion yesterday, by this afternoon their numbers would be unbearable. That's why Lee Hyunwook set them as the primary target.

Otherwise, more than half of the shelters in the wave zone would have been overrun by the Hell Rats.

‘The next biggest threat is the Multiracial Black Magic Association.’

While the Hell Rat swarms caused the most civilian casualties in Seoul,

The Multiracial Black Magic Association caused the most player casualties.

They kidnap humans and offer them as sacrifices to evil gods.

In doing so, they gradually obtain powerful black magic spells,

By the fourth day of the wave, they manage to create a black magic entity called ‘Chimera’.

‘...It was a top-tier monster comparable to a Dragon Hatchling.'

Many players were mobilized to eliminate it, but they repeatedly failed.

Ultimately, the number of player casualties in that operation reached 1,855.

‘Today, we will eliminate it before it grows, along with some trash.'

At that moment, the car stopped.

"We have arrived. We're about 500 meters from the agreed location."

Lee Hyunwook looked out of the window upon hearing the driver's words.

It was an apartment complex in Apgujeong-dong.

"Good. We move on foot from here on."

Following his orders, 15 troops disembarked from a transport truck.

The rest were on standby at the A Elementary School shelter.

"Stay on your guard and move slowly."

It was possible that the Taesan Guild had set a trap, so they had to be cautious.

"...Over there! Is that the Steel Battalion?"

As they approached the meeting point, a voice was heard.

"It's here, up there! Come inside!"

A man was waving from a third-floor window of a commercial building.

"Split into three teams and maintain distance as you ascend."

Lee Hyunwook remained cautious till the end, but fortunately, nothing happened.

Inside the spacious third floor of a gym, more than twenty players were gathered, looking exhausted as if they had just finished a battle.

A man with glasses approached Lee Hyunwook.

"Ah! You're here!"

Who is he? Lee Hyunwook scanned his face, thinking he might recognize him if he was a villain.

But if he couldn't immediately recognize him, then he might not be that significant...

"Hello, I am Choi Minseong from the Taesan Guild."

The moment he heard the name, it clicked.

‘Choi Minseong... So, Chu Gyoyong is here too.'

Choi Minseong himself wasn't a very significant name.

‘Chu Gyoyong is the important one.'

Monster Tamer Chu Gyoyong, the leader of the strategy team Choi Minseong belonged to, was a player with the unique ability to control monsters.

Lee Hyunwook shook hands with Choi Minseong, once again scanning the surroundings.

‘At a glance, there are 24 people, much more than expected.'

If all of them were to charge at once... honestly, it would be difficult to handle.

Facing monsters is one thing, but taking on well-trained elite players is on a completely different level...

"Are all of you here from the Taesan Guild?"

"No, not all. Those over there are players who gathered from the elementary school shelter. They united their forces with the intention of rescuing the civilians. They come from different guilds like Cheonghwa Guild and Goryeo Guild."

"...I see."

"Well, although we are the main group, there are only 6 of us."

Six people... Lee Hyunwook didn't entirely believe that.

Considering that they might have hidden some people in the shelter to confirm the arrival of the Steel Battalion,

There could be others inside pretending to be unrelated third parties.

However, there was one odd thing.

‘Choi Minseong is here, but the actual team leader, Chu Gyoyong, isn't.’

He wondered if Chu Gyoyong might be hiding somewhere, but then again, there was no apparent reason for him to do so.

‘...Ah, they've split their team.’

For the fourth wave, what Ki Baek-jun prepared was a total of ‘3 player cards'.

Five Slaughterers / Gong Hyun-joon, the Mad Scientist / Chu Gyoyong's strategy team

‘But I've already burned through 2 of their cards.’

Considering one of the Erosion factors has been eliminated, they must be feeling desperate,

Leaving the last remaining ‘Chu Gyoyong strategy team' with no choice but to move in split groups.

As the leader, Chu Gyoyong must be somewhere near another Erosion factor.

"It's a good thing their forces are divided."

Hiding his thoughts, Lee Hyunwook looked at Choi Minseong.

"Do you have an idea where the captives are being held?"

"Yes, you can see it from here. Right there."

Choi Minseong pointed out a location as he approached the window.

Among numerous apartment complexes, there was a department store.

But... its appearance was highly unusual.

"The ‘Erosion' has already progressed significantly."

"Yes, it looks like a devil's castle..."

The massive department store building was covered in something that looked like the roots of centuries-old trees.

Moreover, there were trees resembling baobabs growing in the rooftop garden,

With black birds flying above them, but they weren’t crows.

Yes, it had transformed, resembling the castle of a demon king from legends, and was still changing.

By this afternoon, the entire vicinity would be covered in such scenery.

"...I heard you attempted an assault to rescue the civilians, but it failed?"

At that question, Choi Minseong showed a bitter expression.

"Yes, we tried attacking once... But those bastards... as we approached, they began dropping civilians from the rooftop to their deaths. It’s like they knew exactly what we wanted."

Hearing Choi Minseong's words, Lee Hyunwook felt a surge of disgust.

That expression, those words, all full of pretense.

Pretending to be sorrowful while he himself might be inducing the death of civilians...

"In the end, to prevent the pointless sacrifice, we had no choice but to retreat without any results. Moreover, there's a ‘barrier' around the entire department store, so sniping from the rooftop of nearby apartments is also impossible."

A barrier... Looking back at that place, it was enveloped in a purple shimmer.

It was a mechanism capable of blocking magic from outside.

"Hmm, I have a method."

At Lee Hyunwook's words, Choi Minseong raised an eyebrow.Điscover new chapters on

"...A method?"

"Yes, I'll explain. Please gather the people."

Soon after, Choi Minseong summoned the players.

"Everyone! The commander of the Steel Battalion has a plan! Let's hear it."

Lee Hyunwook looked around at the players and began,

"The pattern they've shown so far is consistent. They use unidentified black smoke to knock people unconscious and then kidnap them to their main base without killing them. They don't discriminate between civilians and players."

The players nodded in agreement.

"In that case, the easiest way to get inside is... to get kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?"

At that, almost all the faces in the room scrunched up in disbelief.

"...What?"

A little child, sitting hunched next to Park Junmo, asked.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine."

"...But soon, you won't be."

The boy's eyes were filled with tears.

"...Huh?"

"One by one, they take us... sob... those monsters..."

"Oh..."

"They... they eat us."

Park Junmo placed his hand on the boy's head.

"No, it's going to be okay."

"......"

The boy looked unconvinced.

"Haha— What's your name?"

"Ah, I'm Shin Ji-ho."

"Really? Wow! How did we meet just like this? You're Hee-mang's friend, right?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

Shin Ji-ho looked genuinely surprised.

Park Junmo had previously asked a little girl named Hee-mang about her friends' names.

"You see, Hee-mang asked me to save Ji-ho. So, I came to rescue you."

"Huh? Came to rescue... me? You weren't captured?"

Grrr—

Outside, two orc guards were lurking.

Park Junmo whispered very softly.

"Yes, I genuinely came to save you. Don't worry."

But then...

"Pfft—!"

Laughter erupted from somewhere.

It was Park Ji-hyun, a member of the Taesan Guild.

She was crouched on the floor, shaking with mirth.

She seemed to be holding back her laughter for some reason...

"Puhahaha—! Vice-captain, I'm sorry! It's just too funny!"

In the end, she burst out laughing.

"Hey! Pfft! What do you mean you came to rescue? You dumbass! You were captured! Puhahaha—!”

Seeing her reaction, Choi Minseong let out a deep sigh and stood up.

"Seriously... you..."

Strangely enough, the ropes that had bound their wrists were now undone.

"No, it's just too funny hearing him try to act all cool in front of the kid, saying he came to rescue! Ah— I'm crying from laughter!"

At Choi Minseong's signal, two of his subordinates approached Lee Hyunwook, forcibly opened his mouth, and retrieved a small piece of metal hidden beneath his back molar, which was intended for escaping. They then placed it into what looked like a leather pouch.

"Now, there should be no more metal for you to control'."

Park Junmo finally realized that the situation was turning out much stranger than he had anticipated.

"What, what, what's happening... Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, what's going on right now..."

Even more surprisingly, the two orc jailers opened the iron bars and entered, standing tall behind them as if they were part of the same gang.

‘...They're traitors!'

He was completely fooled.

That's what Park Junmo thought.

But he didn't give in to despair so easily.

‘No, I can't give up yet.'

He glanced sideways at Lee Hyunwook, preparing for a counterattack.

Though his hands were tied, making it hard to aim properly, he could still use his ability.

Stealthily, a current started flowing from his bound wrists—

"Stay still, Park Junmo—"

Lee Hyunwook cautioned him.

"Yes, you're indeed sharp. Just keep being calm and let's have a deeper conversation."

Two men made Lee Hyunwook and Park Junmo kneel, and Choi Minseong stepped forward.

"Mr. Lee Hyunwook, I have many questions. Firstly, how did you get rid of the erosion factor?”

Lee Hyunwook didn't answer.

"I heard it wasn't the guardians... Hmm, is it a coincidence or just...?"

"......"

"Sigh— Exercising your right to remain silent isn't very smart here."

"But..."

"Oh, yes, finally thinking of speaking?”

Lee Hyunwook lifted his head to look up at Choi Minseong.

"Choi Minseong, I have some questions for you too."

"...Yes?”

"Why did you set up this place like this?"

At that odd statement, Choi Minseong tilted his head in confusion.

"Set up...? What do you mean?"

However, at that moment, Lee Hyunwook smiled.

"It's a perfect place for a private conversation, isn't it?"

"......"

"Wait, soon all the monsters that might disturb us will disappear."

"...The hell are you talking about?"

"There's a spectacle about to rain down from the sky, so they'll all be drawn to that..."

Unable to comprehend what he was hearing, Choi Minseong furrowed his brows.

But then...

Boom—!

A loud explosion made the building tremble.

"...What, what's happening?"

"Deputy Chief, it seems like something is exploding above us?"

Boom—!

Another loud blast, yes, something powerful was definitely exploding overhead.

Boom—!

Lee Hyunwook nodded.

"It's an air strike. While it won't break through the barrier, it'll create enough of a commotion to divert all the monsters' attention elsewhere."

"...What?"

"...In simpler terms, we can now talk privately down here."

Earlier, what Lee Hyunwook had requested from Kim Kang-seok,

It was an aerial bombardment.

"...Who are you?"

All sense of composure vanished from Choi Minseong's face.

"Choi Minseong, you know where the ‘Barrier Creation Object' is, right? You're going to have to tell me."

Zzzzzz—

A strange sound echoed. It came from behind Lee Hyunwook.

"...Well then, let me show you firsthand how I removed the Erosion Factor—!"

Sssssh!

At that moment, the rope binding Lee Hyunwook's wrists tore apart,

And Lee Hyunwook pointed his left hand at Choi Minseong.

From his wrist, a spear jutted out.

"—Kuh!"

In a flash, Choi Minseong's figure disappeared into thin air and reappeared in a corner of the prison cell.

The spear of Achilles seemed to miss its mark—only to change direction,

And impale two orc guards rushing at Lee Hyunwook.

While this was happening, Lee Hyunwook stood firmly on his feet.

And once again, a peculiar sound started resonating from his entire body.

Zzzzzz—

"Huh?"

Then, Park Junmo saw it.

All over Lee Hyunwook's body, black crystals began to sprout on his skin,

And simultaneously, a sinister aura began to envelop him...

"Park Junmo—"

Park Junmo looked up at Lee Hyunwook.

"...I told you we came to rescue the civilians, so prepare yourself to send them to safety.."

Sharp, leopard-like claws emerged from his fingers.