Steel-Eating Player Chapter 102

Episode 102 [ Okinawa, Unlucky Event – 2 ]

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“…Wow, what is this experience point? ? “It’s awesome, right?”

Sehee Kim was amazed as she watched the level up message appear before her eyes after defeating the level 62 monster ‘Incarnation of Eldjotun’.

She just reached level 50. Considering that I was level 34 when I was discharged from the military, it was truly an incredible growth rate.

“Team Leader Kim, does your experience come in that well?”

Park Jun-mo, who was standing next to her, asked,

“Oh, come to think of it, you don’t even know what this exhilarating taste is?”

It was fun that could not be felt as a growth characteristic other than the level.

“I only know the taste of being struck by lightning.”

“Well, that might be exciting in a different way, right?”

Park Jun-mo nodded with a slightly depressed expression.

“So, I wonder if this is what’s going on right away. Doesn’t President Lee get experience points just by touching the wiper from behind?”

That kind of slang was still used often.

Lee Hyun-wook chuckled at those words.

“That’s right, that’s why I brought him here. “I want to do it right.”

“That’s right. I didn’t understand the big picture again…”

In fact, when I told her that I was going to the Okinawa Unlucky event, she secretly grumbled that I was only taking her to places that were too dangerous.

Of course, it was true that this was a dangerous place.

‘If I had come in without knowing the strategy, I would have been hit too.’

Thump—thump—

“Oh, I think there are still a few more?”

“Iknow, right. “It’s not time to relax yet.”

Five minutes later, a total of 16 of them fell down on the roadside.

Meanwhile, other players took refuge in a building, took off their thick winter clothing, and surrounded themselves with all kinds of freezing magic.

But….

“Ugh, I’m running out of mana now.”

In any case, cooling the surrounding temperature with freezing magic was only a temporary measure and could not cool down all of this boiling air. Since I was only prepared for the cold, I was defenseless

against the heat.

“I’m suffocating… The exhaustion is getting worse. ”

“I’m already at stage 2. Phew—”

At least the priest-type ‘protection’ magic was effective, but…

“I’d like some protection magic, too.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. “It’s cooldown time now.”

Even this had its limits.

This ‘hell heatwave’ wasn’t just high temperatures. It was quite difficult to endure as all kinds of ‘debuffs’ were systematically given.

Kim Se-hee looked at the scene of their suffering.

On the other hand, the three people here were in no different condition than usual.

The reason is….

– ‘Effectiveness of Twilight Clover’ is in effect. (00:13:11)

It was thanks to an item prepared by Lee Hyun-wook.

“…But did you ever expect a situation like this?”

Lee Hyun-wook shook his head at Se-hee Kim’s question.

“Well, it’s not anticipation, it’s preparation, right?”

“Wow, sometimes I wonder if there’s something magical about it?”

She said it as a joke, but it was actually something more.

At that time, Tai Nagano approached.

She stumbled, drenched in sweat.

Lee Hyun-wook supported her.

“How did this happen? How on earth did you guys…”

Lee Hyun-wook held out a small bottle of potion to her.

[Item Information]

– Name: Essence of Twilight Clover (Small)

– Effect: When taken, you become immune to heat-related abnormalities for 30 minutes. (However, it only has a 30% attenuation effect on fire attacks.)

This was also a special item delivered by Emilia Müller.

This time it wasn’t the World Tree, but it was a potion made by brewing ‘Twilight Clover’, a rare magical herb that grows around the World Tree.

This was such a rare item that I had to ask where I got it, but it was one of the items whose export is controlled by the Republic of Chad.

“Ah… I’m sure this will block out this terrible heat.”

“Yes, but not many, so not everyone can use it.”

She drank the potion and gradually felt better.

“I, Mr. Lee Hyun-wook, but—”

“—Are you asking how I expected this situation to happen?”

A question along the same lines as the one Kim Se-hee had just asked was asked.

She nodded blankly.

“As I said twice before, we are well-prepared.”

At those words, she looked down at the potion she had received from Hyunwook Lee.

Does it make sense to carry something like this around on a daily basis as a precaution?

“Rather than saying it was just preparation, it feels like they knew it. They said they wouldn’t even wear this winter clothing before entering…”

She started to have reasonable suspicions.

At this, Lee Hyun-wook smiled.

“I just… guessed it. Of course, I didn’t predict the heat, which is the exact opposite of the cold. If even S-rank players suffered in the beginning, I was afraid that something would happen as soon as I entered, so I avoided wearing thick winter clothing. It would probably hinder my movement. Because it works.”

“Ah…”

“When I conquered my first dungeon, I had to take down arrows raining down from above my head as soon as I crossed the gate. “It’s all experience.”

Again, this time around it was plausible.

“If you have that kind of opinion, I wish you could at least present it to us…”

“Well, were you in the mood to listen to me?”

“…….”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t tend to use unnecessary force.”

She blushed. Yes, even if she thought to herself… the situation right before she came in here wasn’t an appropriate atmosphere.

“Ah…”

While she was at a loss for words, Lee Hyun-wook turned around.

Then, he began to dissect the body of ‘Eldjotun Avatar’.

Crumbling—crumbling—

“Huh? What are you doing now…”

He boldly cut open the hot chest and pulled out something.

– You have obtained ‘Blazing Heart’.

This giant’s heart was in the form of a red jewel.

Chii-i–!

And it was extremely hot. If it weren’t for the hard body, I would have been burned even if I had taken the blessing of the twilight clover.

‘Isn’t this a pretty good material item?’

Although it is not as good as the ‘Agni Crystal’ mounted on the Shotgun Black Rhino, it seems to have a considerable heat output, so it would be useful.

‘This has an explosive function, so if you cover it with metal and add a stabilizer… you could make a kind of guided bomb.’

Maybe it’s because the exclusive blacksmiths make such amazing items, but when I see these material items, I start thinking about how to use them.

‘And if alchemy develops, we might be able to replicate this, right?’

We go further and think about how to utilize alchemy to invest in the future.

Tai Nagano, who was watching the scene, couldn’t help but ask.

“Why are you collecting that now?”

“Well, this is a material item. “It’s farming.”

Lee Hyun-wook said as if it was natural.

“No, that’s not it… That item contains heat. If you keep it on your body, the debuff will actually worsen.”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“Huh? Oh, and I don’t have time to be like this right now!”

Crumbling—clunking—

“No, I really don’t understand. Why are you collecting that?”

Lee Hyun-wook lifted his head and pulled out another heart.

“That’s it… it’s preparation. This is the fourth time I’m saying this.”

“No, what on earth are you preparing for with that…”

Soon she realized that it was pointless to keep asking. What was

important now was not understanding that person.

‘What was important now was… surviving.’

Therefore, she suppressed her doubts and pride and opened her mouth,

“…Then what should we do from now on?”

No matter how deep the emotional rift between Korea and Japan is, I did not feel foolish enough to not be able to rely on Koreans in this situation. *** Lee Hyun-wook

gave

out ‘Essence of Twilight Clover’ only to warrior players, and they supported the rest. I decided to move.

At first, I thought about summoning and using ‘Fridwen’, but I gave up that idea the moment I saw a swarm of insects crossing the sky. Why—a—a—

aeng——

Those weren’t just a swarm of insects. It was a hellish creature that emitted hot plasma from its tail and melted everything it touched.

‘And there are villains, so it’s not good to burn them carelessly.’

We soon

entered Urasoe City, Okinawa.

The blood-red sky and the gray heat rising from the ground… The silent city center glowed as if it was boiling.

“…We. The original destination was ‘Urasoe 2nd Shelter.’”

Tai Nagano, the head of the rescue team, said so at the entrance to the city center.

Before the operation, I heard an explanation from Koga Shizuoka, an escapee from the first rescue team, who said that the first rescue team members took refuge in that very shelter. However, she did not say what she said

. He shook his head in denial.

“…But now that I think about it, I can’t believe it.”

Then everyone looked at her with a puzzled expression:

“Look at this situation now. It’s the exact opposite of the man’s explanation. “We just believed what the man said and prepared for the cold… and we almost got wiped out.”

“……”

“And I thought about what ‘Loki’s prank’ was. Loki is a trickster and a master of transformation, right? Maybe…”

Lee Hyun-wook nodded.

“It seems plausible. Doppelgängers are a phenomenon that often appears.”

However, the facts were not plausible, but correct.

Shizuoko Koga, the only one of the first rescue team who escaped and testified to the situation inside the dome while crying, was not actually a player. ‘

…the real Shizuoko Koga died inside.’

And Shizuoka, who went outside, was a ‘doppelganger’.

Here, a ‘doppelganger’ imitates the dead. It absorbs the dead person’s memories from when they were alive and uses them to deceive the player.

However, Bin cannot wear items or use skills. As it is a tin can, experienced players will quickly notice its presence.

‘But just by deceiving it for a moment, you can put it in danger.’

Just like this second rescue team.

As soon as the second rescue team entered, it would probably have disappeared into black smoke and there would have been a lot of chaos outside. In this way, the

system presented trials in various ways.

“But now, as a shelter , “We have no choice but to move.”

Tai Nagano nodded at Lee Hyun-wook’s words.

It was also true that there was no other choice right now.

Still, the shelter would offset the hellish drinking to some extent, and

it was a place where rescuers suffering from debuffs could recover their stamina.

Thump—thud—

then the earth shook.

“Oh shit—”

Nagano Taiga muttered and pulled out his staff.

It seemed like incarnations of Eldjotun were lurking throughout the city. They were crawling out of the alleys, holding up street lights and trees. “I’ll take care of it, so

everyone go back. “Please stay back.”

“Well, the Korean team worked hard earlier, so I’ll help them too.”

A cold energy flowed from the tip of her wand.

But Lee Hyun-wook blocked her path.

“It’s not Nagano. “Save your freezing magic.”

One AD-1 floating above Lee Hyun-wook moved.

Something slowly flowed out of the lower subspace there.

Ugh——

The giant sword Moglei came down in front of Lee Hyun-wook.

When he lightly stretched out his left hand, the Mowglai flew across the ground and roughly hit the ankles of the black giants.

Fur-burr-burr-burr-burr——!

With that single blow, seven Eldjotun self-defenders fell to their knees at the same time.

“-going!”

After that, Park Jun-mo ran.

Stop it——!

A spiderweb-like current traveled across the floor and crushed them. They were supposed to get up by regenerating their ankles through incredible recovery speed, but they had no choice but to stop for a moment due to being electrocuted, and that was followed by Kim Se-hee. The swords of the wind shot out and pierced their eyes.

That’s it——!

They were confused and confused by that combined attack.

“Now, we hit them one by one! “Finish it!”

Then Mogulay—

bur—bur—bur—bur——turns and returns again!

This time, the attack was aimed at the head, not the legs. The cut surface—red lava gushing out from the throat melted the asphalt.

Chi-i-i-i-!

Seeing that sight, Nagano Tai stuck out his tongue again.

‘What is it that you could kill in one go… did you share the experience points?’

In other words, it was not a battle for survival, but literally a hunt.

‘Lee Hyun-wook… In reality, he is stronger than I thought.’

This overwhelming feeling… I realized once again that watching a phenomenon on video and seeing it in person are very different feelings.

And when I heard that Lee Hyun-wook wanted to participate in this operation, I remembered a short conversation I had with a colleague about him.

“Really, don’t you think Lee Hyun-wook is crazy about pretending to be a hero?”

“I know? “I don’t think I can tell when I’m excited and when I’m not wearing it.”

“And even if it looks great on video, it doesn’t seem like much in real life. Why does he appear like a hero when an S-class person is trapped inside?”

“Tsk, tsk, anyway, I think the kids in that country are overly exaggerated.”

…She felt embarrassed for some reason.

‘Yes, I just wanted to ignore them without knowing how cool they were…’

Lee Hyun-wook started removing their hearts again.

It was a scene that other players could not understand.

“…But why does that person keep collecting that stuff?”

“That’s right. I wish we could get to the shelter quickly…”

But no one raised any objection.

Because I knew full well that I could survive because of him.

But that was then.

“Huh? Look over there!”

From afar, not a giant but an ordinary human appeared.

“…Huh? Who is there?”

“Are you sure this is the second rescue team?”

We encountered Shinichi Kato, a survivor of the first rescue team.

***

The first rescue team said they are currently staying in a shelter. That didn’t mean they had given up on the attack, however, and they said that they were searching for a way to attack by sending out ‘search teams’ in shifts every hour.

‘As they believe, a solution exists somewhere on this map.’

And Shinichi Kato also came out of the shelter on the search mission, but was attacked by monsters and separated from the group.

“Ha…”

He took a sip of water and looked around anxiously.

“There are a lot of Eldjotun incarnations around here.”

“Oh, it’s okay. “That guy just took care of it all.”

He looked at the person Tai Nagano pointed to.

A black metal box hovered above his head.

“ah?”

He realized who the item symbolized.

“Is that person Hyunwook Lee?”

“yes that’s right.”

“Why is that person here…”

“We all survived thanks to that person.”

At that time, Hyunwook Lee approached.

“…Did you say Mr. Kato?”

“Yes, Mr. Lee Hyun-wook, it is an honor to meet you like this.”

He bowed his head politely:

“Now, take this.”

Hyunwook Lee held out something to him.

“This is…”

“Yes, it will help you withstand the heat wave of hell.”

It was the ‘Twilight Clover’s Blessing Potion’.

“I heard there aren’t many of these, so I wonder if you

can give them to us like this…” “That’s because Mr. Kato needs to guide us.”

The group headed to the shelter under the guidance of Shinichi Kato.

“By the way, Kato, is Koga Shizuoka…”

Tai Nagano mentioned the name of the ‘escaper’. It was confirmed that he was really the messenger sent outside by the first rescue team. That was what I was trying to say.

But then a completely unexpected question came up:

“That friend… died the moment he entered the room.”

“Huh? Are you sure you saw him dead?”

“Yes, his body is in the shelter. “Why are you doing that?”

At those words, she turned to Lee Hyun-wook.

“As expected…”

It was the moment when it was confirmed that Shizuoka Koga was a fake.

“Huh? Nagano, why are you doing that?”

“Oh, Kato, so…”

She explained that the man testified that he came out of the dome alone and that the place was covered with ‘cold air.’

Then Shinichi Kato’s eyes widened.

“Yes? Oh no, is that really true? “Are you a doppelgänger too?”

“Is that what you mean by Loki’s prank?”

“If it’s real, it’s a really nasty trap. Crazy…”

The god of Norse mythology, ‘Loki’, was said to enjoy using transformation techniques to annoy others. The field name [Loki’s Mischief], which was seen upon entering, also matched the current situation to some extent. ‘

But As far as I know, Loki doesn’t actually appear.’

However, traps related to him appeared one after another,

the representative example being a doppelganger that steals another person’s appearance.

“Wow… what kind of situation is this?”

Shinichi Kato muttered in displeasure. It seemed like he was somewhat shocked by the fact that he had been toyed with by his doppelgänger.

As such, in raids, not only did you have to face puzzles at times, but you also had to face traps of quite malicious difficulty.

‘This game that has encroached on our world is not kind at all.’

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-wook kept a close eye on the [Iron Eagle] guild members.

“Ugh…”

“Damn, I feel like Texas barbecue.”

No matter how much of a villain they were, they didn’t know the environment inside this place.

That’s why they went through the same hardships and almost died the same way.

Lee Hyun-wook didn’t miss the moment when the guys were making such a fuss.

He secretly planted ‘Fly Eye’ in the guys’ bags .

At that time , A fork in the road appeared.

“But isn’t the shelter in this direction closer and bigger? “It says there is a level 2 shelter just 1km straight along the road?”

Nagano Tai asked that while looking at the map.

“…Oh, that shelter was hit.”

“Huh? Then what happened to the refugees?”

“That’s it… let’s go.”

Shinichi Kato made a bitter expression and walked to the right.

At that time, Lee Hyun-wook suddenly asked.

“But isn’t it a bit hot, Gato?”

“…yes?”

Shinichi Kato looked somewhat puzzled.

“I asked if you needed any more potions. It seems like there’s a bit of a distance to the shelter, but the condition of our guide, Mr. Gato, is important.” ”

Ah, thank you, but the potion you gave me earlier still has about 10 minutes left to take effect. “It would be better to save it and use it later.”

He bowed his head as if thanking him for caring.

“Oh… that?”

Lee Hyun-wook’s feet slowly stopped.

“It was just… water.”

Everyone stopped at that one word.

“…Water?”

asked Tai Nagano.

“What was in the bottle I gave you was not a potion.”

“If I really gave it to you, there’s no way you wouldn’t know, right?”

Hyunwook Lee nodded.

“Yes, but if you’re not a player, you can’t tell.”

NPCs and monsters cannot see the ‘system message’. That means they cannot ‘intuitively’ distinguish the ingredients of the potion. “

Gato, you can endure this hellish heat wave even after drinking plain water?”

Shinichi Kato He slowly turned his head.

And before I knew it, an airship appeared behind Lee Hyun-wook.

Woo-woo–!

And from there, 30 AD-1s poured out and began to cover the sky in the area,

their shadows casting over Lee Hyun-wook’s head.

Hyunwook Lee looked at Shinichi Kato and asked briefly.

“……Body Snatcher, are you the boss monster?”