23. Seoul Station, F grade and S grade – 2
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Seoul Station incident Lee Hyun-wook remembered the incident called that.
Part of Seoul Station was forcibly closed due to an ‘unlucky event’, leaving hundreds of people isolated for 6 hours and eventually resulting in 745 deaths. It was the most devastating monster disaster that occurred during the same period.
Perhaps it deserved to be recorded as an incident that revealed the blind spots of Korea’s ‘gate response system’…
‘Shortly after that, the fourth wave occurred and hundreds of thousands of people died and were buried.’
Therefore, later on, unfortunately, the lives of the 745 people who disappeared here are not considered very important. They are just a few sacrificed as a warning before a bigger disaster occurs…
But now every single one of them was alive.
“Oh mom, I’m scared…”
“Shh, son, it’s okay. The players over there will save us.”
“Is dad coming to get us?”
“Then let’s wait a little while.”
Those people who would normally have been prey to the spiders were gathered in one place like this.
But it was still an uneasy situation.
“······Can they really stop the monsters for 5 hours?”
The fears and doubts that the weak have no choice but to have…
It was only natural that there were only 40 ‘low level’ players who had to trust them.
The helpless civilians watched their backs and swallowed dry saliva.
Gulp – Gulp –
As time passed, the surface of the gate began to shake violently.
All of the 40 players were holding their breath and glaring at that place.
‘Tanks’ such as warriors and knights stood blocking the stairs and escalators, while archers and wizards lined up on the terrace and raised their weapons.
Silence –
faint but heavy breathing could be heard everywhere.
Shh-i-
And before I knew it, they were all wearing gas masks.
This is because Lee Hyun-wook maintained that the poisonous armored spider emits some kind of poison.
How long had passed like that? In an instant, the gate stopped shaking… and
then, with a flash,
the gate spewed out light in all directions and at the same time vomited out two hideously large spiders.
Flash-blink-
like that, a total of 4 animals appeared twice.
The number was twice that of the first division.
‘······came out.’
Everyone thought so in their hearts, but only harsh breaths came out of their mouths.
Ki-Rit! Ki-Rit!
Disgusting cries and heavy movements… As they started to raise their bodies and move, the reception room on the second floor of Seoul Station seemed narrow.
“atmosphere······.”
In the silence, only Lee Hyun-wook’s voice rang softly.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-
The sound of eight earth-shaking footsteps shook my heart.
“atmosphere······.”
Lee Hyun-wook raised his right hand above his head and extended his left hand toward the guy.
‘It only bursts one shell. On the back, in a place where other players’ attacks can easily hit…’
If Lee Hyun-wook used his abilities in earnest, he could easily subdue a few poisonous armored spiders, but he did not intend to rip off all of the spiders’ skin like he did in the first battle.
‘You must conserve your mana as much as possible.’
– Mana (159/159)
* Recovers 5 per minute.
There would be several times more monsters than in the first eruption, so it was necessary to conserve mana.
‘You’ll need a lot of mana to deal with him next…’
Thinking that far, Lee Hyun-wook clenched his left hand tightly.
– Mana (151/159)
8 mana evaporates and
boom!
With a roar, the poison armor spider’s back shell exploded.
The guy got scared and shook his body, and at that moment, Hyunwook Lee’s right hand fell to the floor.
“······Fire a magic attack with the broken part!”
The wizards who were crouching raised their bodies and used the magic they had prepared in advance.
Per-huh!
The fire magic explodes and
boom!
Lightning magic exploded.
The magic shot hit the hole in the back that Lee Hyun-wook had previously opened.
Then, with a crack-sound, a crack occurred in the vicinity, and a fairly large area of the skin began to be crushed.
On top of the ‘bare skin’ of the considerable area exposed in that way…
“Now! Shoot!”
Ta-da-da-da-da-dang!
As soon as the security team leader gave the order, a volley of physical attacks, including guns and arrows, were fired.
Aimed shots into the hole in the broken shell poured down like monsoon rain, green blood burst out, and soon sticky flesh fell out in clumps.
“good! It works!”
Meanwhile, even among those physical attacks, Lee Hyun-wook’s ‘Iron Ball’ was different.
A one-sided shooting attack penetrates the surface of the target and inflicts only one internal injury.
However, in the case of the iron ball controlled by Lee Hyun-wook, it ‘continues’ moving even after penetrating the surface.
‘Cut out all the internal organs.’
Lee Hyun-wook felt a circular metal writhing inside the guy’s body.
Of course, I still lacked control, so my movements slowed down every time I got hit here and there, but if the iron ball moved around inside my body independently of that force, the pain would have been beyond imagination.
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Within the body of the venomous armored spider, Lee Hyun-wook’s iron ball bounced like a ‘pinball’, tearing the fascia, knocking the intestines, and severing blood vessels.
If it somehow penetrates, it can cause lasting internal injuries.
and
‘Shred!’ Lee
Hyun-
wook felt the iron ball bursting inside his body and scattering into dozens of pieces.
The man writhed in unbearable pain as his internal organs were split open.
And soon…
The heavy body sank to the floor
.
“······Gotcha!”
A short cheer –
but now it was just one cow. Lee Hyun-wook straightened out his hand toward the next target, and the others followed Lee Hyun-wook’s actions and pointed their weapons in that direction.
Ugh!
Once the shell on the back of one of the animals was exploded again, magic and physical attacks continued in order, causing effective damage without any commands.
“Damn they look this way!”
The poisonous armored spiders also began counterattacking.
After approaching the third floor terrace, it pointed its tail in this direction and spewed out something.
Push-sh-ee-ee!
“Ugh! It’s gas!”
However, since he was already wearing a gas mask, he was able to avoid inhaling the unknown gas.
however······.
“Ugh…”
“My body… seems to have stiffened…”
“It’s paralyzing gas!”
Players began complaining of paralysis.
‘As expected, that paralyzing gas penetrates and acts not only on the respiratory tract but also on the skin.’
This was the reason why Hyunwook Lee swallowed ‘poisonous’ metal over the course of 36 hours last night.
A poisonous gas that is not life-threatening but instantly paralyzes the body. This is the poisonous armored spider’s weapon.
As a result, only he was able to move in a completely normal manner.
“But it hasn’t completely hardened yet, so everyone stay focused!”
The security team leader turned around his stiff neck and shouted.
“uh! A skeleton was spotted near the right!”
Before I knew it, a group of skeleton soldiers were running out of the franchise hamburger shop.
But they couldn’t be embarrassed.
It was thanks to Lee Hyun-wook’s confirmation of the ‘double gate’ phenomenon in advance.
“Everyone in the 5th squad aims and fires at those!”
When Ahn Min-tae gave the order, the guns of the 5th squad moved.
Ta-dang! Ta-dang!
“I’m guarding the stairs, so don’t worry and shoot slowly!”
The shooters’ fingers were slowly hardening due to the paralyzing gas, but they took each shot as calmly as possible, believing that Ahn Min-tae and other tanks were watching their backs. Every time the bullet
hit,
the fragile skeleton body was crushed one by one.
“They just look like normal skeletons! Very weak!”
“Okay, keep sweeping! Everyone is doing great!”
And since it was a gate opened to contact the villain in the first place, it wasn’t that threatening.
On the other hand, the members of the 5th squad felt a strange surge of excitement at this moment.
The feeling that they could do it… Following the last Kobold Gate battle, they were realizing once again that they were not completely useless.
‘We can fight like this…’
Confidence grew as the experience of success continued.
‘Corporate Lee Hyeon-wook was right when he said that grades are nothing!’
Then some quality hidden in the tension began to function.
They immersed themselves in their respective roles.
About 15 minutes later…
Whoo-whoo-whoo-
The gunfire finally stopped.
As the thick smoke cleared, the shabby second floor reception room was revealed.
There was no movement of the corpse pieces scattered everywhere.
“······finished.”
The secondary eruption from two gates was prevented without a single casualty.
One by one, they took off the gas masks they were wearing.
“Really… I had no idea you could do it so perfectly.”
The security team leader said with a laugh, and one of the citizen players agreed with him and stepped forward.
“I agree too. As a C-rank warrior, I have also worked on the guild strategy team and closed down dungeons several times, haha, but this is the first time I have experienced such an efficient and stable battle.”
Their gaze shifted to Lee Hyun-wook.
“Honestly, this is all thanks to Corporal Lee.”
“I completely agree.”
It was an undeniable fact.
It wasn’t just his ability to shred metal.
It was probably the worst moment, when it was natural to choose to hide rather than fight, but it was thanks to Lee Hyun-wook’s cool-headedness that he did not lose his will to fight in the face of those monsters.
Lieutenant Lee Hee-min watched this from a distance.
‘That bastard…’
Now, I couldn’t find any fault with the people around me regarding Lee Hyun-wook.
Even the dissatisfied expression that had appeared on his face without his knowledge disappeared.
‘······It’s really amazing, isn’t it?’
Because I had no choice but to admit it.
Before this battle began, Lee Hyun-wook revealed that he had achieved an achievement and gained an increase in his abilities. But… I didn’t know it would be to this extent.
Lee Hee-min felt a sense of self-destruction for a moment.
‘What have I done so far?’
But his emotions were soon replaced by something else: embarrassment.
This was because a system message in red letters appeared before my eyes.
– caution! [Additional events] will be granted due to players’ amazing achievements.
“What is this!”
“······Additional events? what is that!”
The message was printed in front of not only Lee Hee-min but also everyone in this dome.
Unlucky Event This unfortunate ordeal upon mankind is by no means kind or benevolent.
It literally pushes the player down the worst-case numbers until the end.
‘Of course, after overcoming all of that, great luck is given…’
Lee Hyun-wook rolled up the iron ball and waited for the next message.
– Boss monsters are scheduled to appear. (00:15:00)
‘As expected…’
Lee Hyun-wook expected this.
This is because it was already announced once before.
– An ‘unlucky event’ will occur in the area!
* You can enter the area, but you cannot leave it.
* Entry level restrictions are imposed on the area. (LV. 15)
* To escape, survive for 6 hours or defeat the ‘boss monster’!
Among the 3rd escape methods above, the ‘first condition’ of surviving for 6 hours was developed as if it could be easily met, so the system intentionally forced the ‘second condition’.
‘It’s no longer fun, is it?’
No one can understand the intention of the system.
There was only one thing that could be done.
All you have to do is put aside your doubts and survive.
“ah······.”
“Boss boss… It’s not an elite monster, but a boss monster appears directly?”
Everyone put on their faces in shock.
Then, one by one, without anyone saying anything, they started looking at Lee Hyun-wook.
“What should I do now?”
But the moment they looked at his face, they were able to regain their sense of stability for unknown reasons.
“Everyone, we will have to prepare for battle again without any time to rest.”
It was because Lee Hyun-wook’s expression, saying that, was as calm as before.
***
Gu-u-u-u-u-u-
A loud noise and vibration erupted from somewhere in the Seoul Station plaza, shaking the entire area.
“What is this all of a sudden!”
People lowered their posture and turned their heads.
“uh? Look over there!”
Someone pointed to the dome.
Dom was crying.
– 05:01:12
* A boss monster has appeared!
And such letters were added below the surface numbers of the dome.
A boss monster…
The situation inside the dome was being relayed, albeit vaguely.
“The boss monster… has appeared? “Is there a case like this?”
Boss monsters rarely come out of the ‘gate’.
Therefore, it was the strongest monster that could be encountered during ‘dungeon raiding’.
But what on earth is going on in there?
A little while later, Kim Kang-seok was standing in front of the microphone about this matter.
And as a commander, I briefly briefed on the current situation…
“Commander, I have a question!”
“I have a question here too!”
Soon questions from reporters began pouring in.
“Is it true that countless civilians are being sacrificed inside the dome and there is nothing we can do?”
“And what do we mean by the appearance of a boss monster?”
“yes? Please tell me!”
It was an undeniable fact that civilians were dying there.
A lot of that too…
However, it was too sensitive a statement to make publicly.
“As I mentioned earlier, our rescue team entered the dome 30 minutes ago. A civilian rescue operation is currently underway. “I cannot tell you any other details about the operation.”
Therefore, Kim Kang-seok only planned to give such a formal answer.
“But I heard that the level to enter the dome is 15 or lower. So, isn’t that a combat power that makes it difficult to carry out a rescue operation properly?”
“······These are soldiers who have received professional training. “I will risk my life to carry out my mission.”
“Then how many civilian casualties do you think there will be?”
“······We cannot speculate at this time.”
In the end, he did not give a single specific answer regarding civilian casualties.
However, the news was already reporting that many victims had occurred.
Some places even published unfounded news that more than 800 people had already been sacrificed, and an expert even said that there was a possibility that rescue teams could be wiped out.
Of course, those words didn’t make sense.
It wasn’t immediately confirmed, but
everyone thought it was bound to happen that way.
“I heard that the dome will disappear in the next five hours! “So is it true that we should just continue to wait like this without further action until then?”
“Oh, that’s not it. Additional rescue teams will be dispatched.”
Reporters tilted their heads at the thought of an additional rescue team.
“yes? This time, it would be a rescue team made up of level 15, but it is still useless…”
Kim Kang-seok raised his hand and cut off the reporter.
Then he exchanged glances with someone and nodded.
“Well, this is something that hasn’t been decided yet, so I couldn’t tell you about it during the briefing, but I’m telling you because I just received a report that it has been confirmed.”
Kim Kang-seok paused for a moment and then opened his mouth again.
“······We plan to dispatch a rescue team without levels soon.”
The reporters’ clamor had to stop for a moment.
“uh? “If you don’t have a level…”
At that moment, a gust of wind blew out of nowhere.
Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-
A large transport plane with two propellers flew in from beyond the building in front of Seoul Station.
The blue flame shape of the Blue and White Guild was engraved on the white painted background.
“······I arrived just in time.”
When Kim Kang-seok said that and raised his head, all cameras moved in that direction.
Before the transport plane even landed, the door opened and someone jumped to the ground about 10 meters below.
And it landed very lightly on the floor.
“······uh!”
It was a tall man with long hair tied in a string.
He was wearing a green sweatshirt from a famous sports brand, with a glimpse of black scale armor underneath, and was carrying a sports duffel bag on one shoulder.
“uh! look over there! Ha, it’s Hantaesan!”
As reporters flocked towards him, Kim Kang-seok let out a long sigh.
‘Hantaesan, I’m glad he came.’
Han Taesan is a man whom the world calls ‘King of Kwon’.
He was an S-rank player ranked 2nd in Korea and 9th in the world, and as evidenced by the black scale armor under his sportswear, he was also a ‘Drake Slayer’.
“okay! “If you are S-rank, you can enter the dome because there are no levels!”
“nice! “No matter how precious an S-rank person is, they step up in times like this!”
However, contrary to his great reputation, he was rarely seen in official images because he did not come out in person unless a large-scale gate was opened.
“hello? Yes, team leader! Breaking news! Tahoe is out of its burrow! Yes, it has been six months!”
That’s why he is called ‘Taho’ (惰虎), a lazy tiger.
Of course, being so lazy didn’t mean his growth stopped.
Because he is S-class, which is a ‘growth characteristic outside of level’, he was able to continue to grow in a ‘special way’ that only he knew without having to fight.
That’s why every time he showed up after a long time, he got stronger one step at a time.
How strong will he become this time?
Player reporters couldn’t help but be excited.
“Ha, Mr. Han Taesan! Are you entering the dome right now?”
At a reporter’s question, Han Tae-san frowned.
“Well, I’m the only one right now. It’s annoying, but I can’t help it.”
It’s annoying, but no one could say something like that in the face of such a disaster.
However, Tahoe was different.
Since he had long been associated with the image of a geek or a bad boy, his eccentricities were viewed as a unique charm rather than an object of criticism.
“ah! Mr. Taesan Han! Are you taking this opportunity to work with the Cheonghwa Guild again?”
“In that case, what is the remuneration for this activity?”
At that question, Taesan Han frowned and let out a scolding curse.
“Get out of the way.”
At his single word, the reporters following him all stopped.
“Do I really need to have a microphone in my mouth when people are dying in there?”
As soon as I said that, the reporters started to back away.
“It’s not like it’s a swarm of flies, it’s really annoying and yammering next to you…”
Han Tae-san reached the stairs leading up to Seoul Station and took out a brass-colored gauntlet from his bag.
And then I turned my head and looked for someone.
What caught his eye was Yoo Hae-na, a woman wearing sunglasses with purple lenses.
“hey! Harmful! “We decided to have dinner once this work was over!”
“······.”
He shouted and ran into the dome.
Yoo Hae-na was wearing sunglasses but was frowning.
***
King Taesan Han did not really care whether civilians died or not.
‘Anyway, there are more people starving to death than being hunted by monsters, so why…’
However, he was not a villain or a cynic lacking morality.
I just thought that the future of humanity was more important than the immediate humanity in front of me.
‘It’s obvious that someday something bad will happen that will destroy even the S-class, but it’s a foolish waste of emotions to compare it to the joy of a few people dying now. Even if we prepare for the future, it’s not enough…’
When that moment comes, Han Taesan himself will not be safe.
With that thought in mind, he was strengthening himself every moment, every day.
“At a time like this, I need to keep improving my abilities!”
But what can I do? They say there is no other way than Han Taesan that can solve this problem…
I had no choice but to come out after 6 months of closed training.
But honestly, on the other hand…
‘The reward here is at least rare level, and if a boss monster appears, it will also be at hero level, right?’
This kind of unlock event was appealing because the rewards were quite generous.
No matter how high the grade is, it is useless if there are no good items.
Han Tae-san relaxed his neck and shoulders and entered the dome.
however······.
“······what is this?”
The moment he entered the reception room on the second floor of Seoul Station, he couldn’t help but frown.
“Ah shit… “If you’re going to be like this, why did you call me?”
When I realized that I had made a mistake, I became irritated.
