Episode 107 [Blessing and disaster, two meteorites – 2]
——————=
A huge fireball crashed down, shaking the earth.
The sky turns bright red for a moment
Soon the whole world turned white.
My vision had completely stopped.
And the only sound that rings in my ears is a tinnitus.
Go—oh—oh—oh—oh——
Hot winds and sandstorms blew from beyond the foot of the mountain in front.
How much time has passed…
My vision, which had lost its function, slowly began to recover.
“…Uh, really we didn’t suffer any damage?”
Although it was only a few hundred meters away from the meteorite impact point, the three people suffered no damage even in the heat storm.
As Lee Hyun-wook said, he received some absolute ‘protection’.
“Because it’s one of the functions of this item.”
Hyunwook Lee held up the ‘Okeanos Guidance Device’.
Yellow light was emanating from it.
“Well, if that weren’t the case, wouldn’t it be a complete suicide item?”
Hyunwook Lee nodded and took a step forward.
As we passed the mountainside, we saw trees uprooted and the ground beyond them completely turned upside down and radiating heat.
“…The area is still hot, so be careful.”
Cheeeee…
As I got closer, I felt the loose soil boiling from the hot air, and occasionally I stepped on tree roots that had turned into charcoal.
They cautiously approached the center of the meteorite impact.
“So you’re saying there’s a huge treasure over there?”
“…It looks like there might be a bomb right now.”
Kim Se-hee and Lee Jeong-jun said that while still looking anxious.
However, a different thought was floating around in Lee Hyun-wook’s head.
‘…The news clearly said that the large fragment was headed to Jeju Island.’
Mana scattering will soon subside and radio waves will be restored. He would have to confirm it then, but Lee Hyun-wook didn’t think he heard wrongly.
‘Are you really trying your best to survive this country?’
Hyunwook Lee tsk and clicked his tongue.
The villain has been aiming to seize hegemony in Asia for a long time, but he has repeatedly failed to take over South Korea, one of the most important buttons. However, he doesn’t give up and keeps pushing forward.
‘It’s not that it’s completely incomprehensible to do that.’
China took control through the second wave, and Japan’s devil worshipers were taking root. Rather than swallowing up a few more countries in Southeast Asia, they wanted to secure the last ‘big axis’.
‘And more than anything… you want Laputa, right?’
In other words, Seoul was a key point that they could not give up.
then….
‘…I am just as persistent in blocking it.’
In fact, it could have been a good thing. What if the villains don’t plan out of sight and rush towards the ‘trench’ built by Lee Hyun-wook? All you have to do is load the machine gun and wait.
And at the decisive moment, the crossfire is fired.
‘And they won’t know I got this….’
Even if he was a villain who knew all kinds of dark information, there was no way he knew everything. In particular, this Oceanos guidance device had escaped their detection in a previous life and became someone else’s property.
And there were things there that were useful in conquering [Phaeton].
“There! There’s something!”
Jeongjun Lee shouted. Before we knew it, we were getting closer to the collision point.
The three went down the slope of the meteorite crater.
“Huh, what is it? Isn’t that a tombstone?”
It looked more like a rectangular tombstone than a meteorite… All kinds of patterns were engraved on the surface of a stone block about 1.5 meters in size.
The meteorite that fell here earlier was said to be a ‘fragment of the solar chariot’, which was a mythological motif and not a real chariot.
Cheeeee——!
The ground around the monument is bubbling.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t go any further.”
The closer I got, the stronger the heat became. Lee Jeong-jun couldn’t even get close, and Kim Se-hee backed away, wrapping a curtain of wind around his body.
Only Lee Hyun-wook blocked the heat by thickening his body.
He stretched out his left hand and placed it on the surface of the monument.
– Would you like to open ‘Unknown Object’?
“…You two, please step back.”
Hyunwook Lee said that and concentrated his strength on his left hand.
And the moment you infuse mana into the tombstone—
Pur—un——!
The floor around the tombstone went out and flames erupted.
– The area has been selected as [Sanctuary of Fire].
* The average temperature within a 5 km radius of the monument increases by 8 degrees.
* A ‘fire-element ecosystem’ will be created within a 10km radius of the monument.
* The melting point of all metals is greatly reduced. (-30%)
* When ‘quenched’ here, the strength increases significantly. (+30%)
* All metals produced here are of the ‘highest quality’.
* Additional effects are given when fire attribute enchantment is performed here.
‘This is the blessing that fell from the sky.’
The deceptive wide-area continuous buff could promote the development of the magic steel industry, which was an effect that could feed a nation.
‘If we move Laputa here someday, the synergy will be pretty good, right?’
Then, all kinds of items poured out of the collapsed floor. Most of them were red orbs of high grade 1 to 3.
But there was something else that was really important.
He pushed dozens of orbs to the sides like stones. Then, other items appeared inside.
Among them, I saw an item in the shape of a bracelet.
– Obtained ‘Helios’ Protection (Hero)’.
‘This is an item that will be very helpful in conquering Phaethon.’
This item offsets a certain amount of the flame attacks emitted by the flame giant, allowing you to withstand its attacks, which are no different from volcanic explosions.
However, Lee Hyun-wook left even that behind and took out the largest object that was buried deepest in the ground. It was… a huge iron box.
‘Okay, this is it.’
[Item information]
– Name: Chest of Eternal Fire (Legendary)
– Effect: Gives the ‘fire’ attribute to the items contained in this box.
If you manufacture a furnace-shaped ‘object’ with this, it turns into a facility that can change the common dungeon steel into an ‘orb of flame’.
‘Vietnam in a previous life established an arsenal based on this, right?’
The weapons made there had a significant level of fire properties and some were equipped with an ‘explosion’ effect, so Lee Hyun-wook used to import ‘explosion sticks’ from them.
‘It was a fraud. To be exact, it was a scam when I used it.’
The firepower of the metal controlled by Lee Hyun-wook was actually maxed out at ‘crushing’ unless it had its own skill, and that was quite disappointing.
‘Because it doesn’t work well against enemies with good defense…’
However, in the case of metal enchanted with an explosive effect, it can be raised to the level of a ‘missile’ accompanied by a fiery explosion.
“Uh… why are there so many?”
Kim Se-hee asked, standing at a distance.
“But I don’t think I have time to check them all.”
“Huh? What happened again?”
“We need to check where the second meteorite landed earlier.”
“Ah! Now that I think about it, I think I heard it was Jeju Island.”
Lee Hyun-wook was busy again.
First, I contacted team leader Kyo-jun Lee and explained about the meteorite in Gangwon-do. He also expressed doubt that Lee Hyeon-wook induced the meteorite, but again claimed that it was a ‘exclusive quest’ related to Laputa.
“And I heard that the meteorite also fell on Jeju Island.”
– Yes, that’s right. Do you know the identity of that meteorite? Since those two meteorites were originally one, there must be a connection.
“I don’t know exactly, but it’s probably a bad event.”
– Damn, I’ll just convey that to the manager.
“Yes, I will contact you again when I have new information.”
And he immediately called Park Cheol-soo.
“Brother, can you buy some of the stocks I’m talking about with your spare money?”
– Huh?
Park Cheol-soo asked suspiciously about the stock story that came out of nowhere.
Lee Hyun-wook had accumulated tens of billions of won in funds through various methods, including 4th wave rewards and red player bounties.
And he was working hard to make that money using future knowledge, and all of the work was handled by Park Cheol-soo.
“Right now, there are companies in the ‘magic mobility’ industry like [Blue Tree Air] in the U.S. and [Gold Griffin] in Chad, right?”
Magic mobility literally refers to technology related to transportation that uses mana as a power source, and airships were a representative example.
Although no company has yet achieved specific results in this regard, it has been evaluated as a future food source and value investments are continuing.
– hey! What does that mean all of a sudden? No, Hyunwook, it’s more about the meteorite that fell in Gangwon-do. Maybe that forest we bought….
“Yes, that’s right. I’ll tell you later, so take care of that first.”
– No, I always say it later…
“—Hyung, please ask me right now before the market closes!”
He hung up the phone and immediately sent a Mana messenger to Yeo Sang-min.
“Tell Soiler immediately and summon all the dwarven craftsmen.”
– yes?
Like Park Cheol-soo before, Yeo Sang-min also asked in a puzzled voice.
– If it were all of them… it would be about one hundred and fifty people?
“Yes, it’s all necessary work.”
– Uh… what should I tell them we’re convening?
Lee Hyun-wook paused for a moment and then gave a short answer.
“…They say they are preparing for war.”
***
In a dark underground facility, a small light came on.
It was no ordinary space. It was an air-raid shelter installed 11 floors underground, and it was a place where magic shields and silence magic were used.
A man was sitting in front of a desk in the center of the place.
“…The government is determined to bite us, so we cannot endure.”
He was Ki Baekjun, the master of the [Taesan] guild.
And he was now talking to someone on a magic line.
“Damn it! It only lasts for a day or two, but now we’re at our limit! Every time we touch Lee Hyun-wook, we dry up little by little and die!”
Every time I touched Lee Hyun-wook, I was swept away by harsh repercussions, as if I had touched a beehive by mistake or if I had mishandled a gas fire.
Recently, they have even been strangling Ki Baekjun by bringing in evidence of the dark deeds of the Taesan guild, which he did not know where he got it from.
Thus, Taesan, the third largest guild in Korea, was falling.
“… So what do you want Chairman to tell me?”
The ‘Chairman’ simply ordered him to wait. I wondered if this was what it felt like to be vomited on for several months already.
“…yes?”
However, a new order has just been issued for the first time in a long time.
“No, I mean now….”
He grabbed the phone tightly and gritted his teeth.
“…If disaster strikes Jeju Island, the power of the Korean Peninsula will have no choice but to focus there, so are you saying we should target Laputa then?”
In other words, it was what is commonly referred to as ‘robbering from an empty house.’
“haha….”
Ki Baekjun smiled bitterly in misery.
“Do you really mean that I personally went out and attacked Laputa?”
That meant becoming a criminal—a red player.
‘You mean he’s going to use it as a disposable card now that it’s practically useless?’
However, I was not as angry as before.
He was at a dead end anyway.
“Ha… Once that operation is resolved, I will leave this land. Of course I have no choice but to leave, but please make sure to do so.”
At this point, he decided to escape from Korea. His home called [Taesan] had already dried up and died, so he had no regrets about this country.
But his eyes widened when he heard the voice on the other end of the phone.
A very interesting story flowed into his ears.
Spirited Jun unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth and let out a wicked smile.
“Oh, is that really true? Haha—if we do that, we can definitely treat all of this country’s top players by disguising them as accidental deaths. A disaster in the Jeju skies is a fun idea.”
A great disaster has just struck Jeju Island.
A large-scale reinforcement force will soon be dispatched there…
They were not able to land on Jeju Island and were scheduled to be buried.
“Good… This is my favorite scenario in a long time.”
***
It was true that an unidentified meteorite fell on Baeknokdam in Jeju Island.
And it quickly became clear that it was not just a meteorite.
– …This is a helicopter overlooking the meteorite impact site in Baeknokdam, Jeju Island! You will be able to see gray smoke rising from Baeknokdam, as if there was a volcanic eruption!
A broadcasting station helicopter was flying in the Jeju sky.
– And there was a huge hole dug inside Baeknokdam!
It was clearly a crater, a trace of a meteorite impact.
And within it….
Ku—de—de—de——!
A fire giant about 20 meters in size began to soar out.
– omg!
The scene was caught on camera.
Only the heavy breathing of the cameraman and anchor filled the audio.
At that moment, its huge hand flew towards the helicopter.
– uh! Ugh… A giant monster is reaching out this way!
…Fortunately, it was out of reach.
at that time-
Fu—hua—ah—ah——
A long pillar of flame spewed out from the monster’s grasp.
At the end of that scene, the news screen went back to the studio.
– ah…….
Accordingly, an emergency evacuation order was issued throughout Jeju Island.
And the [National Gate Response Committee], a consultative body where the best players in the country gathered together to respond to national crises, was urgently convened.
Hyunwook Lee also remotely observed the meeting.
Soon, Team Leader Kyojun Lee began the first briefing.
“Now everyone, let’s look at this.”
As soon as the briefing started, he showed a video.
“This is a video sent from Team 13 of the AMT Maritime Search Team returning to the Jeju Naval Base about 30 minutes after the meteorite impact.”
Soon, coastal cliffs unfolded on the shaky screen.
Dududududu——
The sound of the rotor seemed to be a video taken from a military helicopter.
– Platoon leader, Hallasan is on fire!
– Damn, monsters come out of meteorites, so they can’t be aliens, right?
While I was hearing that conversation
A large amount of red powder began to fly towards them.
Tap— tap— tap— Tap— tap—
At first glance, it just looked like a spark…
Something like that filled the Jeju sky.
– What is this! Is it inevitable?
– Too many… ugh! The aircraft caught fire!
Cheeeeeee——
Don’t they ignite the moment they touch the aircraft? And the fire spread quickly and without any time to do anything.
– Dammit, that’s not just a spark! It’s a certain monster!
Immediately after that scream, a series of louder explosions were heard.
And this time, the screen turned off.
It was obvious without saying that they were wiped out.
“…That spark-like flying object you just saw is a ‘Red Wisp’, a type of evil spirit. Although they are very small, one animal can burn down a forest, and there are tens of thousands of them scattered throughout the island. In other words, access by plane or ship is difficult.”
Immediately after, a satellite map of Jeju Island appeared on the screen.
It looked like the photo was taken with a thermal imaging camera.
Red dots were scattered along the coastline.
“All those dots are ‘Red Wisps.’”
He went on to explain that ‘Red Wisp’ has a habit of rushing towards you when it detects mana, so it is impossible to escape it.
In other words, it was virtually impossible to land on Jeju Island using ordinary means of transportation, and many flying objects equipped with ‘mana engines’ that were covered in magic metal and could maintain a magic shield for a long time were needed.
To put it bluntly, it meant that ‘unfairness’ was necessary.
– Can’t… Inferno control those flames? No matter how many times they rush at you, you’ll be able to just push them away, right?
One of the video conference participants mentioned inferno. Surely Inferno, the fire controller, would be able to control such things.
But Team Leader Lee Gyo-jun shook his head.
“Yes, we tried to contact you, but Inferno is currently attacking the Red Gate that occurred in Gimhae two days ago. Considering the size of the gate, it will likely take about three more days.”
Then shouts poured in from all directions.
– Great… Then, of course, airship would be the answer. It may be difficult with just one or two, but isn’t there Lee Hyeon-wook’s [Friedwen] and the Holy Knights’ [Oryongeo], which is a little bigger than that? Using that at least…
At that point, Team Leader Lee Gyo-jun shook his head again.
“As it happens, the AMT Holy Knights have also begun an operation to attack the very large ‘Ghoul’ dungeon opened in Cheongju. And since it is also a red gate… it will take about 3 days to complete the attack.”
At this, cackling sounds were heard from all directions.
– Are there all these ridiculous timings?
– After all, the most important personnel are all absent…
It was a situation that could not help but be surprising, considering it to be a coincidence.
“…We also have doubts about this.”
Only Lee Hyun-wook understood that questionable coincidence as inevitable.
‘It’s all probably a strategy to divert the villain’s attention.’
Some gates are opened by ‘guidance’ by villains. Perhaps, like during the 4th wave, major forces were taken away in advance.
“Now, but it is clear that there is no time to wait for them. Civilians are in danger even at this very moment. Aside from the attack, we must find a way to escort Jeju residents inland.”
– How can we escort civilians when we can’t go in?
– If you make a wrong move, you will all die…
At that time, a new face appeared on the list of video conference participants.
– ah! This is Kang Seo-yoon!
He was ranked 4th in Korean player rankings.
– Everyone, fortunately, [Blue Tree] has just decided to support airships! At that time, three airships were docked in Japan to support the post-processing of the Okinawa incident!
Then sighs of relief came from all over the place.
– Huh… As expected, CEO Kang is always a problem solver!
[Blue Tree], a huge international company, has been at the forefront of the magic mobility industry, producing and operating ‘manufacturing-type non-processing’ for a long time.
‘But strictly speaking, it is not unfair.’
That’s just to make a fuselage made of magic metal fly, a lot of flight stones are installed, and the mana to supply it is covered by a mana battery.
And the method of propulsion still used the ‘jet engine’.
In other words, it was an item made by randomly combining all kinds of material items.
When compared side by side with ‘item-type airships’ such as Pridwen or Oryongger, it was overwhelmingly inferior in terms of performance and energy efficiency.
‘The maintenance cost of just one aircraft is equivalent to that of three aircraft carriers…’
But now, even that was necessary. Without borrowing it, many of the player’s troops could not land on Jeju.
– If your airship is a 130-seater model, right?
– Oh… if that’s the case, landing on Jeju Island would be possible!
However, Lee Hyun-wook was clicking his tongue inside.
‘You wicked bastards are using this trashy tactic again…’
[Blue Tree] in the United States is a company headed by Gordon Price.
In other words, this airship support also contained the villain’s plan.
‘Maybe… they want to bury us all at once.’
It was a very obvious move, and I had used that move several times in my past life.
But that was then.
“Everyone, this is Director Woo Seong-moon. Let me just say something.”
Everyone was silent at this.
Woo Seong-moon was actually the person in charge of this meeting.
If he spoke, it meant that it was a fairly important issue.
however….
“…We will not borrow Blue Tree’s airship.”
It could not have been a remark that broke the spirit of this meeting.
– yes? What do you mean?
– Then there are other numbers, right?
Confused voices pouring in from everywhere
Woo Seong-moon nodded his head.
“Yes that’s right.”
He looked at Lee Hyun-wook’s face on the screen.
“…We also have a fleet ready.”
***
And at the same time, Laputa’s airship port was busy.
They were gray dwarf artisans, including Soiler.
“No, it makes sense to repair all that in 12 hours!”
“Hehe… But we somehow ended up making sense!”
They were sweating profusely and giggling about how good it was.
“Wow, I must have been sweating. I’d like to have a beer, but I can’t, right?”
“Hmm… it wouldn’t be okay if I just took one sip at a time…”
At that time, someone screamed.
“—yes no!”
That was Yeo Sang-min.
He was running from the Order Tower, panting.
“Guys, get ready to leave right now!”
At the same time, something soared from the airship port of the Order Tower.
Wooooow——
That was Lee Hyun-wook’s Friedwen.
“Oh my! We can’t be late either!”
“Okay, if I’m going to be hated by the landlord, I’ll use it!”
Then, the dwarves began to move busily and board the 12 airships lined up at the airship port in the upper residential area.
They were shabby airships that the dwarves had ridden not long ago, but the exterior repair work had been completed at Lee Hyun-wook’s request.
So now it has a pretty decent silver-white appearance.
“Now! Everyone listen carefully! Move safely as instructed!”
Soiler shouted and followed Fridwen’s tail. After that, a total of 12 dwarf airships flew one after another.
At that time, Lee Hyun-wook’s voice flowed from all the airships.
– Now, we will go outside the dome of Laputa.
“Hahaha—okay! Let’s go!”
– And please… please drive safely.
Soon, Lee Hyun-wook’s Friedwen escaped out of the transparent dome.
This was followed by a procession of dwarf airships.
In other words, a group of airships appeared in the sky over Seoul.
Wooooow——
Their shadows covered the area around Seoul Station.
Citizens had no choice but to raise their heads in unison.
“Uh… look over there!”
“Gasp! What is that?”
Silver-white airships appear in a huge floating city in the blue sky and pass through the Seoul sky in a regular line.
That scene was also broadcast on the [National Gate Response Committee] meeting screen.
– No, what is that….
– No way is that…
While the audience was in an uproar, Woo Seong-moon opened his mouth.
“This is an airship fleet with Lee Hyun-wook’s Friedwen as the flagship.”
This was the moment when the concept of ‘aircraft fleet’ appeared in this world.
