Episode 64. [ Conspiracy, Quest, Demon – 1 ]
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The Steel Company and their commander, Sergeant Lee Hyeon-wook, who saved Seoul. …
Those two names were the most mentioned in the world at this moment.
The media has been pouring out reports related to the Steel Company all week, and
celebrities have also commented on it through their SNS, and
naturally, it has been consumed as the top story on the Internet.
So, a huge amount of rumors were being produced. There were even conspiracy theories
going around that the Steel Company was actually a special force secretly raised by the government, or that
they were all S-ranks who had hidden their powers but were forced to reveal themselves, or even worse, that the
4th wave itself was a fabrication and that the Steel Company was also a fake. .
However, since they did not appear directly in front of the camera, there was no way to confirm their identity…
“…Did that guy just say he was a member of the Steel Company?”
“Yes, didn’t you say you were the commander as well?”
All of the troops of the 2nd Platoon, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Port Horse Brigade located in Incheon were looking at Lee Hyun-wook’s face.
“Wait a minute, if you are the steel company commander…”
“Isn’t that Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook, the hero who saved Seoul?”
They were skeptical at first, but…
“…Oh, that’s right. It was that face!”
Soon, people who recognized Lee Hyun-wook’s face began to appear.
‘Hmm, I didn’t expect you to already recognize his face…’
Although Lee Hyun-wook was extremely reluctant to be exposed, his identity had already spread widely.
Past activities of the Face Class member Etc….
Of course, in this day and age, it was nearly impossible to completely hide one’s identity. I
was already feeling tired, but there were also advantages to being famous.
“Platoon leader, that person is Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook.”
“Yes, it’s the same face I saw on the news this morning.”
Since they were able to understand the situation like this, there was no need for a sore mouth.
Lieutenant Lee Tae-gyeong’s face stiffened at the soldiers’ reaction.
She checked Lee Hyun-wook’s name tag again.
‘Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Anti-horse Brigade. ….’
Yes, the identity of the savior of Seoul he knew was a perfect match.
Suddenly, the guard disappeared from her face and a sense of awe began to appear.
They couldn’t even suppress that small underground parking lot, so they called for support. Isn’t this man the hero who worked all over the 4th wave and achieved the greatest achievements?…
“Ah, Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook… How did you get here…”
“Can I take a quick look?”
“Huh? Oh yeah…”
Lee Tae-kyung and the other AMT troops retreated hesitantly.
“I’m sorry, but can I borrow your weapon?”
At that moment, a soldier ran out, held out his long sword, and bowed his head.
“Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook, if you use a long sword, would it be okay for me to use my weapon?”
He even made an expression of honor as he said that.
‘No, what is this…’
It was an absurd response, but at the same time, it seemed like I could understand their feelings.
The most despised AMT soldier in the player world was being called a hero.
As a fellow soldier, he couldn’t help but feel a special admiration.
“Hmm… no. “This is all I need.”
As Lee Hyun-wook said that and slightly raised both hands,
the ‘M9 (Enchant)’ bayonet, a basic supply item, emerged from the soldier’s waist.
“Let me borrow a few of these.”
Soon, a total of 17 bayonets rose into the sky from the waist of all the platoon members.
Hung——
Everyone raised their heads and stared blankly at the scene.
“Wow…”
“This is it…”
Actually, I couldn’t say it was a very great scene.
In a world where magic exists where flames explode and ice walls rise, throwing a few bayonets into the air wouldn’t be very powerful.
However, since I had heard several scary rumors that a man named Sergeant Lee Hyeon-wook was driving the ‘Rain of Steel’, even this trivial scene could not help but feel very special.
Under their somewhat burdensome gaze, Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo came next to Lee Hyun-wook.
“Hmm, do you know that people are looking at them like they are looking at celebrities?”
“…I’m already tired.”
“So what are you going to do now?”
Even to Kim Se-hee, it didn’t seem easy to enter the underground parking lot.
“Those vines are filling up the entrance, so if you approach, they will immediately grab you and drag you in.”
A writhing movement was seen in the darkness inside the underground parking lot.
If you got even a little closer, dozens of vines would rush at you and entangle your limbs.
But Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.
“It’s dangerous. So I’m not going to go in right away.”
“Huh? How could you do it without going in…”
At that time, Hyunwook Lee took something out of his pocket.
Wing—
That was the magic engineering item ‘Fly Eye’ developed by Kang Jeong-du.
Hyunwook Lee closed his eyes and performed ‘mana transfer’ and ‘mana connection’ to it.
– ‘Cli Eye (Prototype)’ and ‘Mana Connection’ begin.
* Mana reduction per second: 2
Then his sight was focused on Fly Eye’s camera.
– ‘Synced’ with ‘Fly Eye (Prototype)’.
* Available actions are:
1) Night vision
2) Self-destruct command
The magic circuits engraved inside that little mechanical device—I felt like I could read them.
No,
rather than ‘understanding’ it by reading it, it seemed more appropriate to ‘gut it’ instinctively.
I was able to do it automatically, without any understanding process, just like moving my limbs.
‘I’m still dizzy, but I think I’ll get used to it.’
Hyunwook Lee moved the fly eye around. I felt like a little bee.
Ugh——
It flew quietly and quickly and entered the entrance to the underground parking lot.
It was dark inside, but I could see through the darkness without difficulty using Fly Eye’s ‘Night Vision’.
Kooddudd——
Hell’s Grasp The red vines filled the space, writhing and making a strange sound like twisting a rubber glove.
It was a strange scene, like looking into a jar full of snakes.
Fortunately, however, it didn’t seem to respond to the small, quiet movements of ‘Fly Eye’.
‘Okay, let’s go a little further in.’
Soon, I found a single point from which many vines sprouted.
Thump—thump—
it was a heart-shaped piece of flesh.
‘That is the core of the Hell Grip.’
It was rooted like blood on the ‘pink moss’ that was scattered on the floor.
‘As expected… someone intentionally created an environment for the hellish clutches to thrive.’
Who on earth and why… I couldn’t figure out the reason yet, but I was certain that if I destroyed that core, all of the vine bundles would be neutralized.
‘Well, should you try using the self-destruct function? Um…’
But Lee Hyun-wook had no choice but to hesitate.
Currently, the value of ‘Fly Eye’ is quite high.
Quite precious flight stones, magic circuits engraved to operate the mithril alloy body, etc…
It seemed like they would probably cost hundreds of millions each.
‘Still, you have to test it at least once. A problem could arise at a critical moment…’
So, the moment he approached the core and gave the command to self-destruct—his vision returned to the main body outside the underground parking lot.
And…
blah——ugh——!
A blue light burst from the entrance to the underground parking lot and the building shook.
“Huh…”
“So what happened?”
The AMT troops behind me murmured in confusion. They had no idea what the explosion was.
However, what surprised me was that Kim Se-hee and Park Jun-mo seemed to be the same.
“Did Sergeant Lee Hyun-wook just do that? Or…”
“That’s right, I was testing some new technology.”
“Ah….”
“The guy blocking the entrance is dead, so you will be able to enter now.”
Anyway, it was a better destructive power than I expected.
It seemed like he had engraved a magic circuit containing an explosion spell.
‘As expected, Kang Jeong-doo would not have used magic engineering often, but his skills are considerable.’
Lee Hyun-wook approached the entrance to the underground parking lot with 17 M9 bayonets in front of him.
“Oh, by the way, you two, please wait at the rear. “For now, I will enter alone.”
“…Yes? Why?”
“Neither of them can do damage to the ‘tree property’.”
Kim Se-hee is ‘Wind’ and Park Jun-mo is ‘Electricity’. Both of them were poor at wood.
To be honest, the same was true for ‘metal’, but Lee Hyun-wook had the power to overcome his competition, so it was okay.
“No, but going in alone is a bit… .”
Lee Hyun-wook has always done well on his own. Kim Se-hee knew that well.
Especially the way he threw himself towards Cheongryong Mountain…
But I couldn’t help but be worried because I had just seen him faint.
“It’s okay. “If anything happens, I’ll give you a signal right away.”
“But wouldn’t it be better if we followed right behind?”
Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.
“It’s dark inside, and those vines are everywhere, so it could get into trouble in many ways.”
This meant that it could be a hindrance rather than a help.
Kim Se-hee pursed her lips.
“Oh yes—but a bayonet alone would be a bit much, so why don’t you take some proper weapons?”
She held out a long sword she had brought from the workshop.
But Lee Hyun-wook shook his head again.
Then he spread both hands…
blah blah blah——
Metal began to sprout from his palms.
It twisted into a spiral . It grew longer and longer and soon became a single solid spear.
At first glance, it seemed like the body was producing steel.
“Oh no, what the hell… “What are you?”
Looking at such a magical scene, Kim Se-hee licked her tongue.
In the case of Lee Hyun-wook, a new skill is given every time he exceeds the 10kg, 100kg, and 1000kg units.
And this was a skill he had acquired recently when his metal control power exceeded 100 kg.
[Skill Information]
– Name: Metal Generation
– Grade: D
– Effect: Consumes mana to ‘generate’ a certain amount of metal.
* The quality of the metal is proportional to the level of ‘rigidization’.
* The amount of mana consumed varies depending on the number of targets to which the skill is applied.
‘My current rigidification strength is probably higher than that of rare-grade weapons.’
– Current controllable metal weight: 131451g
***
Lee Hyun-wook placed the ‘Fly Eye’ right in front of his forehead and advanced into the darkness based on its vision.
There were a lot of red vines scattered on the floor near the entrance, and it looked like the ‘core’ had just burst and dried up.
‘But it won’t be just one.’
Looking at the huge amount of vines encroaching on the underground parking lot, I could guess that there were a few more.
Sure enough, three red vines were crawling like snakes towards his ankles, and Lee Hyun-wook quickly fired four bayonets.
Deep—! Deep—! Deep—! Deep—!
The bayonet pierced the vines and stuck in the ground, restricting their movement.
But that wasn’t all there was to the vines.
Chop——!
Five or six vines flew from the ceiling at the same time, instantly restraining Lee Wook’s left and right arms.
“Kuh—!”
However, Lee Hyun-wook was not easily dragged along.
Since he had already been hardened all over his body, his physical strength had increased several times.
In that state, I put all the metal control in my arms and pulled it back.
‘Okay, it’s pretty bearable.’
Quad-dead——!
Rather, the vines that were clinging to the ceiling began to tear out, and while pulling the vines tautly, at the same time using the M9 bayonet, he struck down the middle part of the vine and cut it off. “Hehe… Now, my physical strength is at a usable level
. ?”
With this level of physical strength, it was enough to compete with B-class warriors.
Of course, if that branch uses ‘skills’ and attacks, the story will be different.
‘found.’
I soon discovered the second ‘core’.
He attempted to ‘create metal’ over his left hand.
Blah blah blah——
Steel erupted from his palm and instantly turned into a sharp harpoon.
He threw it like a javelin, and although he threw it carelessly, the harpoon, which flew like a guided missile, hit the core exactly and at that very moment— ‘
—shatter!’
Fur——billion——!
With perfect skill linkage, the second ‘core’ was shattered in one fell swoop.
Then, the grip of the third Hell was unusually hanging from the ceiling.
However, it was much easier to finish because the number of vines was clearly reduced by removing the two earlier.
‘This is the end of the three so far.’
After confirming again that there were no dangerous elements, he spread out the fly eye and searched the parking lot.
Soon, they found the kidnapped people on the wall in one corner.
They hung entangled in the red roots.
‘Fortunately, they are all still alive.’
He was poisoned by a paralyzing poison, which slowed his blood circulation and lowered his body temperature, but he was not in critical condition.
‘But this must not be torn away carelessly. There must be a healer.’
Because root-like roots had penetrated all over the body and had become entangled with the blood vessels, healing magic was needed to remove them at the same time.
Otherwise, life could be at risk due to excessive bleeding.
But at that time, Lee Hyun-wook felt a sense of strangeness.
Movement—that is, I felt the movement of metal.
‘As expected… there is someone.’
This was expected as I thought there was someone who planned this in the first place.
He turned his head, following the movement of the metal. There was an iron gate deep in the parking lot.
It was the entrance to the machine room.
Inside, a number of metals were busily moving around.
Lee Hyun-wook took out another fly eye and sent it towards it.
But then…
– You can synchronize with ‘Mana Messenger (Intermediate)’.
‘…what?’
A system message related to mana connection came to mind.
But out of nowhere, a mana messenger…
I was just wondering where and what kind of mana messenger this meant.
‘ah! Could it be that the mana messenger is being used by the person inside?’
Come to think of it, Mana Messenger was also a magic engineering item.
I thought that ‘connecting mana’ to it… might mean being able to ‘wiretap’ it.
‘…If that’s true, it’s a truly ridiculous ability.’
Communication using mana was slow and limited compared to communication using radio waves.
That’s why, except when radio waves are disrupted, it’s usually rarely used.
However, there was one overwhelming strength… it was not easy to wiretap.
‘Eavesdropping on mana communication requires a high-ranking wizard… no, a high-ranking wizard.’
This was only possible for wizard players who were the most specialized in ‘mana detection’ and ‘flow analysis’, and it
was a skill so difficult that even Major Moon Tae-ho, a wide-area magic control officer specialized in those areas, did not dare to attempt it.
‘But if you can eavesdrop on it like hacking…’
Lee Hyun-wook slowly approached that direction.
– ‘Mana Messenger (Intermediate)’ and ‘Mana Connection’ will start.
* Mana reduction per second: 1
‘It becomes real.’
– ‘Synchronized’ with ‘Mana Messenger (Intermediate)’.
* The available operations are as follows:
1) Connect communication
2) End communication
And soon you start to hear conversation sounds.
– Yes, the grip of hell that was just placed at the entrance has been pierced. Still, they won’t be able to find us because they’ve cast an ‘optical illusion spell’ here. Yes, the work is in the final stage.
A secret voice…
This seemed to be the voice of a person in the machine room.
– Okay, this work is being completed, so I will join you at the agreed upon location in 20 minutes.
This was the voice of someone talking to him on the phone.
– Yes. Have you heard what the current quest progress is?
– Don’t worry about that, the master will take care of it… We just have to do what we are told to do. In any case, the ‘devil’ will be summoned to Seoul soon.
– sorry. I almost did something presumptuous. I will diligently dig up the ‘fragments of disaster’.
As expected, the content of the call was extremely suspicious.
‘Anyway, it’s a quest…’
As always, this ‘quest’ wasn’t given that easily.
If it was a group that could be plotting in Seoul at this very moment…
‘Are the villains moving faster than expected?…’ If it
wasn’t clear yet, he had a intuition that a ‘variable’ had occurred.
‘First of all… we need to make sure.’
Lee Hyun-wook approached the machine room and stopped about 10 meters away.
Clang—
Using his metal control, he opened the door and plunged Fly Eye inside.
Wing——
But there was no one in the machine room.
No, it was invisible.
Perhaps, as mentioned in the previous call, ‘optical illusion magic’ was working.
– …It looks like someone came nearby. We will contact you again.
It seemed like he had noticed Lee Hyun-wook’s approach.
‘It looks like they probably installed a monitoring device at the entrance to the machine room.’
Anyway, mana communication was cut off like that…
– …I got closer. Everyone, don’t make a sound.
‘…What are you still hearing?’
Surprisingly, even when I was not on a call, I could even hear voices around me through Mana Messenger’s ‘speaker’.
It was a perfect eavesdropping.
– …Well, it’s still one guy. How do we quickly dispose of it?
– No, it looks like there’s a group gathered outside. If you touch it wrong, you’ll be in trouble. Our number one goal is to be stealthy. However… if you get too close, you might get caught, so deal with it quickly and hide the body inside.
– Yes, then I will prepare it.
That’s right…
Lee Hyun-wook took out an item.
[Item Information]
– Name: Ring of Gyges (Heroic)
– Effect: When mana is infused, it becomes invisible for 30 seconds.
This was an item obtained after attacking the last erosion factor.
Lee Hyun-wook trusted this item and decided to go a little further, walking slowly into the machine room.
It wasn’t a very large space, but as expected, there was no one there.
‘…Yes, it’s inside the wall.’
The movement of five metals was being detected beyond the wall.
– He just came into the machine room. If it gets closer, deal with it secretly.
Hyunwook Lee pushed ‘Fly Eye’ into the wall.
As expected, it passed through the wall naturally. It seemed that this wall was ‘optical illusion magic’.
Soon, a panoramic view of the interior of the wall unfolded before his eyes.
It was a dark cave, but torches were lit on both sides of the passage.
‘This… seems to be an event map…’
There was no way a space like this could exist in the basement of an ordinary shopping mall.
There was obviously a special ‘event map’ created for some reason.
‘And it’s probably related to their quest.’
Lee Hyun-wook was annoyed by the word ‘devil’ in the previous conversation.
If it was the devil he knew… it was not something that could be easily overlooked.
‘It’s as tricky a monster as the world boss monster.’
But the unidentified man said he was scheduled to be summoned to Seoul.
In order to get accurate information, it was necessary to go inside.
He boldly threw himself into the wall and infused mana into Gyges’ ring.
– uh! Looks like he’s in!
– Crazy guy, he seems to have good sense, but he’s out of luck!
But…
– Oh, that guy’s appearance… has disappeared from nowhere!
– what? What kind of nonsense is that? Uh….
The next moment, the whole group held their breath.
He was alert in all directions with his five senses open to look for intruders.
But they could find nothing and
could only hear one sound.
Blah blah blah—-——
It was a strange sound, as if something hard was coming out from behind my back.
