Player who eats steel – Branch Manager
1. Return of an F-rank player – 1
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Everyone has genius.
It’s just that most people never discover that genius in their lifetime.
But how would your life change if you realized your genius only at the end of your life?
Will this late-arriving joy make life happier?
‘······No, no.’
Regarding that, Hyunwook Lee was able to say for sure.
‘On the contrary, it is a terrible pain.’
In his experience, late discovery of talent was like opening ‘Pandora’s box.’ With indescribable helplessness and regret, we are bound to a cycle of pain where only hope and torture exist.
‘Even if I realized my abilities, I couldn’t change anything.’
Hyunwook Lee was now lying on the skyscraper, covered in blood.
Around him, his colleagues were rolling around as cold corpses, and it seemed like Hyunwook Lee was the only one alive and breathing.
At that time, five or six figures slowly descended from the sky and surrounded Hyeonwook.
‘Villain’
were human players, but they sold their souls to the devil and led the invasion of Earth.
One of them approached and opened his mouth.
“Seoul’s last hero, the Steel Emperor, has rusted and collapsed.”
Steel Great Emperor (鋼鐵大帝) That was what this world called Lee Hyun-wook.
‘It’s a bit childish, but it was nice to be recognized even if it was belated…’
Soon, the shoes arrived right in front of Hyeonuk.
He moved his gaze with difficulty and looked at the person. The tall man with pomaded hair was Gordon Price, the head of the global company Blue Tree.
“Go Gordon, you traitorous bastard…”
By the time it was revealed that Gordon, the man who possessed the greatest wealth on the planet and was once the biggest supporter of heroes, was a ‘villain’, many heroes had already disappeared due to the ‘dark beast’ he wielded.
And from that moment on, the fall of mankind began.
“Hyunwook, I must admit now that you were a very difficult opponent.”
As he said that, he stretched his arms up to the sky.
“The sight of thousands of knives and spears rising all at once following your fingertips and pouring down like a heavy rain… It’s true that the power of the awakened Iron Emperor was difficult even for us to handle.”
He slowly lowered his arms and gave a gentlemanly smile.
“That’s why I really wanted to tell you this someday.”
He pushed his face into Lee Hyun-wook’s ear and whispered softly.
“······Thank you so much for not being able to fully demonstrate your amazing abilities.”
he grinned.
To hear that I am grateful to the man who annihilated mankind…
Anger welled up inside. But I couldn’t move my body. It was because he had suffered irreparable wounds. Grinding his
teeth
in unbearable anger. To the extent that my gums were hollowed out…
Talent that I realized late was the worst like this.
However, on the contrary, it was a great fortune for the enemies.
‘If I had figured out how to use this ability a little sooner… would it have made a difference?’
It was a vague regret.
About 12 years ago, Hyunwook Lee awakened as a ‘player’ and gained the ability to control 300g of metal.
Of course, 300g was only enough to move a dagger at most.
However, as with all abilities, I believed that the ‘amount’ and ‘method’ that could be manipulated would increase gradually as I grew up.
However, over the past 10 years, Lee Hyun-wook’s abilities have not changed at all.
The reason was simple. Because they didn’t know how to develop their abilities.
He practiced moving metal thousands of times a day and even slept in a room made of steel. So, I tried countless ways.
But it was all useless.
‘But I never thought that swallowing steel would have been the answer.’
Absorbs steel by ‘eating’ it. It was two years ago that I realized this extraordinary method.
Immediately after, Lee Hyun-wook persistently swallowed the steel.
Because it took time to digest, it was not possible to eat indefinitely, but it swallowed steel even while sleeping, and the weight of the metal it could control slowly but surely increased.
Now able to control 4,145 kg, he can throw a truck like a toy, shake and tear down a building, and move thousands of steel weapons to create a storm.
As a result, he earned the title ‘Steel Emperor’.
But that was all.
No matter how great their potential was, they could not catch up with those who were already far ahead.
“Hyunwook, if you had been given a little more time, wouldn’t you have lifted the entire building we were standing on and dropped it like a giant meteorite? Hahaha… that must be pretty unfortunate for you?”
Gordon, softly sarcastic…
‘Yeah, that’s a shame! I’m so sorry!’
If we had realized at least three or even two years earlier, we would have eaten and digested dozens of times more steel and moved hundreds or thousands of tons of steel. Then things might have really been different.
“Look over there. “Your city, Seoul, is collapsing.”
Gordon grabbed his head and turned it away.
Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-
With a heavy roar, the buildings of Yeouido began to sink. A cloudy dust storm rose there, rolling in like waves and covering the red waters of the Han River, which was filled with dead bodies.
A grotesque ensemble of cries and screams echoed throughout the city. That hellish orchestra crawled into Hyun-wook’s ears.
My head hurt.
thud······.
A large city where as many as 10 million people lived and breathed is dying horribly before our eyes.
“ah······.”
Lee Hyun-wook just let out a small sigh. There was nothing I could do.
“Hyunwook, thank you for your hard work. But honestly…”
Gordon sneered sarcastically.
“It was so bad.”
Gordon turned around at the end. At the same time, someone strode forward and raised a huge wooden hammer. His left foot stepped on Hyeonuk’s chest. couldn’t escape
Suddenly, a hammer fell over his head.
Kwa-jik!
That was the end.
The miserable life of having a genius ability but not being able to use it properly has come to an end.
***
For a split second, Lee Hyun-wook was immersed in darkness.
The next moment, I saw a light somewhere in the distance.
He stuck his head out there.
“······omg!”
He let out a heavy breath and opened his eyes. At the same time, he reflexively brushed his hair.
“uh?”
The head that should have been shattered… was attached very well.
‘It must have been exactly right?’
Lee Hyun-wook felt the powerful blow that crushed his head.
No matter how much I thought about it, the damage was not something that could be easily recovered. No, he should have recovered and died immediately in his sleep.
‘What happened? Could it be that he fell into the afterlife?’
He thought about it and looked around.
But this place was quite familiar.
Rubbing my eyes and looking again, here it is…
“crazy······.”
This was the dormitory where he served in the military.
“Why…?”
If he had fallen into the afterlife, it was clear that he had fallen into hell.
Then the door opened and someone came in. He was a raven-haired private in a black combat uniform.
“Corporal Lee Hyun-wook, are you awake? “It’s time for dinner.”
Lee Hyun-wook jumped up from the bed.
“What… Joo Jun-mo? “Are you Park Jun-mo?”
“Private First Class Park Jun-mo! yes? “What do you mean by that now?”
This guy was the successor to the squad that died while fighting a monster during his military service.
“Uh… Yes! “Of course it’s me!”
Are you really going to fall into the afterlife and be greeted by acquaintances who went before you?
But this guy was just as foolish as he was back then.
What can I say…
it’s like returning to the past.
“······uh?”
Shake!
Lee Hyun-wook hurriedly opened the casket and looked at himself in the mirror inside.
‘What the hell is going on?’
The face reflected in the mirror was definitely younger. It was the face of someone in his early twenties.
It was confusing.
“Corporal Hyunwook Lee? Are you okay? “The complexion…”
“······It’s not okay.”
How did this happen?
After reporting that he couldn’t eat dinner because he didn’t feel well, Lee Hyun-wook returned to the dormitory and sat down.
And while holding my short hair, I tried to understand the current situation.
“after······. “You have to think calmly.”
But no matter what I thought, I had no choice but to accept what I saw now.
“I went back to the past, to be exact…8 years ago, when I was 22.”
Soon, a ‘system message’ that only the ‘player’ could see appeared in one corner of his field of vision.
– Current weight of ‘metal’ that can be controlled: 300g
As expected, it was still only 300g.
‘And based on past lives, this information will not change for the next six years.’
During those six years, his life was miserable. Seven months from now, he will be discharged as a sergeant. And with the stigma of being an F-class player, he gets a job as a contract worker for the ‘Hunter Guild’.
It was a hard-won job, but in reality, he was just an extra who supported famous heroes. The extras who risk their lives in the same way, but no one pays any attention or support…
‘Still, I was able to stand side by side with the heroes after I realized how to grow my abilities.’
but······.
“……Now I know how to change all of that, right?”
There was no need to wait until then.
He opened the tube and pulled out a small clip.
‘Eating metal, absorbing metal, controlling metal.’
It’s simple, but it’s an extraordinary method that goes beyond common sense.
I put the clip in my mouth.
As it touched my tongue and teeth, the bitter taste peculiar to iron caught my nerves.
Nausea came up.
The body of the past had not yet adapted to this unfamiliar sensation, so it instinctively rejected this abnormal behavior.
However, reason from the future forced the eccentricity.
Gulp-
Then…
– congratulations! I realized how to grow my abilities.
– Until metal absorption (00:09:59) left.
A countdown began before his eyes.
Then, when all of that time disappeared…
– Maneuverable metal weight:
changed to 301g.
weight.
Although it was only 1g, the weight of metal that could be handled increased.
I remember the first time I saw this message. To think that the terrible puzzle that had bound him all his life could be solved so easily… I was both disappointed and thrilled.
“after······.”
He held his breath and closed his eyes. And slowly raised both hands.
Ung –
The heterogeneous sensations transmitted to the fingertips… Tickling, tingling, cold, hot, these mysterious feelings meant that they were connected to some ‘object’ far away.
When he opened his eyes, dozens of paper clips appeared
in his palm
and were spinning.
“Yes, in this life…”
As he stretched out his left hand forward, the clips that had been flying through the air gathered neatly on top of his palm.
“I will become a real genius.”
The genius, who was supposed to be asleep, woke up rather early.
And the impact was truly enormous.
