A Player Who Eats Metal

Chapter 26: Cheongdam-dong, an unexpected event

< Chapter 26: Cheongdam-dong, an unexpected event – 1 >

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“…How was that possible?”

As soon as Lee Hyunwook’s report ended, General Choi Jung-chul asked in a quiet voice.

“Hmm, looking at your profile, it says you can control up to 300g, but listening to the story you just reported, it seems like you moved several times that amount. Didn’t I hear it wrong?”

He speaks gently, with a warm impression and a smile lingering on his lips.

However, Lee Hyunwook knew well that he was by no means an easy person.

Because he would be called one of the protectors of South Korea in a few years.

‘He is a figure who the Necromancer tried to assassinate early on because he was extremely cautious of him.’

In 6 years, Choi Jung-chul will block the first invasion of the Necromancer legion descending from the north.

He manages to turn the undead army, numbering up to 10,000 and constantly reviving, into unregeneratable ash heaps, sweeping them away persistently with blazing flames, just as the undead were stubbornly resurrecting.

‘If Inferno is a rocket launcher that can shoot indefinitely, Choi Jung-chul is a tactical nuclear bomb with just one shot.’

As an “Archmage,” the best characteristic in the magician line, it was possible because he focused on range and destructive power, excluding all other magic and aiming for growth.

That way, he became a grotesque but definite military force.

But in the end, both the fire of Seoul and the fire of Busan went out.

Both flames went out, and the Korean Peninsula was plunged into darkness.

…After a brief thought, Lee Hyunwook nodded and answered Choi Jung-chul’s question.

“Not long ago, a message popped up saying I achieved an achievement, and my abilities improved. As you said, Commander, I can control not 300g, but 15kg now, and I gained some skills.”

15kg, openly showing an increase in ability at a reasonable level.

“Hmm, achievement…”

In this game, the ‘achievement system’ was as rare as ‘quests.’

“To be precise, I obtained an achievement named ‘Rebellion of the Dull’ when I killed the third elite monster, and I suspect it’s an achievement that can be obtained by a characteristic that cannot increase its abilities.”

He added plausible details he had prepared beforehand.

Choi Jung-chul seemed somewhat contemplative but soon withdrew his suspicious gaze.

It was a time when there wasn’t even the slightest hint that ‘F-rank’ could grow yet.

No matter how he thought about it, achievement was the only explanation that made sense.

“…Yeah, if it’s such an achievement, it’s quite a possible story.”

Choi Jung-chul looked at Kim Kang-seok.

And he gave a meaningful smile.

“Battalion Commander, then we can’t technically see this guy as an F-rank anymore, can we?”

“Commander, from what I see, he has already far surpassed the limits in terms of the qualifications as a soldier.”

“Hahaha, yes, I admit it. He was a guy worthy of the Battalion Commander’s praise.”

According to the formula that it can’t grow, it would be a rank F, but the actual combat power is above rank C.

At this point, even the biggest hurdle for officer commissioning was cleared… Kim Kang-seok was thinking.

“Corporal Lee Hyunwook, I must say it again, you did a great job. Not only did you perform well as an AMT member, but you saved countless lives… Yes, maybe I should say you protected a part of society…”

Choi Jung-chul reached out with a short arm and tapped Lee Hyunwook’s shoulder lightly.

“There should be a proper reward then, shouldn’t there?”

As expected, it was only natural.

“Is there any item you want? Say, a magic armor or something, just mention it.”

Regrettably, he did not know what was in the brigade armory.

‘I don’t need armor, something similar will come out after metal absorption is completed.’

Therefore, he couldn’t pinpoint and talk about anything…

‘I’ll need a weapon soon… Yeah, I should ask for that.’

Lee Hyunwook nodded his head.

“Yes, thank you very much. There are a few items I need.”

“Alright, feel free to tell me. I’ll arrange it.”

“I would like to have a weapon imbued with holy power. About two one-handed swords would be nice.”

Holy power, as the name suggests, is a sacred force.

It is the basis for priests and paladins, and it is the opposite of dark power.

In other words, it’s very effective when dealing with undead or ghost series.

‘I need to gradually increase the holy power for the future.’

Again, it was because of a certain name that came to mind.

On the other hand, Choi Jung-chul had a puzzled expression.

“Hmm, your ability isn’t related to holy power, is it?”

“That’s correct. But… I felt the need to have weapons of various attributes this time.”

“Why?”

“The spider-like monster that appeared in the recent Unlucky Event had practically ignored physical damage. Given that AMT operations might involve facing monsters with various characteristics and attributes… Especially when facing undead series with tenacious vitality, I suddenly thought it would be really troublesome, so I was thinking of equipping weapons with holy power.”

Choi Jung-chul nodded understandingly as he wrapped his explanation plausibly.

“Oh… You’re meticulous. It’s great that you have an attitude to learn from experiences!”

“Thank you.”

“Okay, I will tell the logistics to pick a few good ones, you can take as many as you want.”

Choi Jung-chul wasn’t very strict about military postures, so such a conversation wouldn’t score big points, but Kim Kang-seok was very pleased with every word, smiling warmly.

“… Ah! Shouldn’t we add one more stripe to his chest this time, Battalion Commander?”

“Yes, I was going to ask about that myself. If permitted, I will take care of it.”

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Adding one more stripe from Corporal meant promotion to sergeant.

In other words, it was a special promotion.

The normal promotion was due in about two months.

‘This… seems like they are pre-building to make me an officer…’

Lee Hyunwook realized what the two were intending with the special promotion.

Sorry, but he had no intention of falling for that plan.

“So, you will become Corporal Lee Hyunwook in a few days?”

“Thank you. I will work even harder in the future.”

“Hmm, no. It will be a big problem if you work harder than now, you!”

“…Yes?”

“You should at least catch a Drake if you do that! Hahaha!”

Choi Jung-chul joked and laughed heartily.

* * *

Lee Hyunwook asked the brigade commander for one more thing.

“Brigade commander, I hope my face remains unknown through this incident.”

There was absolutely no benefit to having his face exposed to the world.

Moreover, this was a welcome decision from the AMT’s perspective.

If civilian guilds started eyeing the soldiers they were nurturing, it would become troublesome.

Therefore, Lee Hyunwook’s existence was not revealed in the news covering this incident.

―… Seoul Station Unlucky Event, the heroic actions of an AMT soldier are being reported successively. Before Fist King Han Taesan stepped in, a single soldier reportedly saved about eight hundred citizens from the monsters. However, the identity of that soldier remains unconfirmed.

―… The civilians who were isolated at Seoul Station say that it was that AMT soldier who saved them, not Fist King Han Taesan, and that the hero rightfully deserves recognition, voicing this unanimously.

Of course, there were obviously movements to investigate the matter in detail.

It was naturally the biggest topic of interest in society for now…

‘Anyway, in 4 days a big issue that will bury all of this will explode.’

The Seoul Station Unlucky Event was merely a prelude.

The imminent onset of the fourth wave…

All the gossip until now would soon become irrelevant.

And Lee Hyunwook was also preparing for that time from now on.

However…

[ Time left until Metal Absorption (16:19:59) ]

“Half a day…”

The ‘Mana Nan Mak Liru’s Secret Armor’ was not easy to absorb.

Even while operating the internal furnace at 150% efficiency, which allowed normal daily absorption to get faster, it still required another 16 hours.

“Whew… indeed, I’m not yet ready to absorb a heroic tier item.”

Of course, there were many things to handle in the meantime.

First, he planned to cash in the ‘reward points’ given by the brigade commander.

‘I got 8,000 points from this reward…’

In cash, it amounted to about 12 million won.

Furthermore, he had received his salary yesterday, adding another 2.3 million won.

Lee Hyunwook bought a large number of items to cash in at the PX item shop.

He then called Park Cheolsu, and Park Cheolsu visited him that evening.

It was possible since Sindaebang-dong was not far from Namsan.

Lee Hyunwook sat across from Park Cheolsu in the visitation room.

“Hyung, sorry for calling you out like this. Since I am in a situation where I can’t move around…”

“It’s fine, what’s going on?”

Lee Hyunwook first handed over a paper bag.

It contained four cans of the highest-quality infant formula.

“Take this first. They say it’s the best one. I don’t know what the kid eats but I chose this.”

“Ah, why did you… Thank you.”

Next, he handed over orbs and asked him to cash them in and invest in stocks.

“Ah, also hyung, I have one more favor to ask. Could you go to the blacksmith alley?”

“The blacksmith alley? Why?”

He wrote down what he wanted to order on the business card of the craftsman Kang Jung-du and handed it over.

“Steel balls imbued with sacred power… Uh, okay. But why do you need these?”

“It has its uses. Just mention my name to Master Kang, he will take care of it.”

“With the investment in the holy water manufacturing business, soon the price of items containing sacred power will rise… Ah, you’re not planning to hoard, are you?”

Connecting it to the stock Lee Hyunwook advised to invest in, he was quick-witted. However, since he didn’t give a definitive explanation, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason.

“No, can hoarding be done with just 3 million won?”

“Hmm, anyway, I got it. But those stocks… are they really going to rise? There was no related news.”

“Hyung, just wait and see. And make sure to invest yourself.”

“…”

“Hyung, trust me.”

“Okay, I got it.”

Soon, with the onset of the great disaster, it would skyrocket just like Bitcoin did back in the day…

Lee Hyunwook swallowed those words.

* * *

“‘What’s going on, why is no one here?’”

When Lee Hyunwook came back from the visitation room, the living quarters were completely empty.

He was thinking of taking everyone to training, but could it be that they all went somewhere like the PX…? With this thought, he grabbed a water bottle and went outside the barracks.

Even though his internal furnace was operating, he couldn’t afford to be lazy with exercise.

To use the training ground, one needed to wear a combat uniform, so Lee Hyunwook changed into it.

And at the crossroads to the training ground…

“…Ah! Have you arrived?”

Near the horizontal bar, there were squad members including An Min-tae gathered.

And there was also a considerable number of soldiers from other squads.

As if they had promised, they turned their heads upon Lee Hyunwook’s appearance.

And they each started to greet him one by one.

“Ah, Senior Soldier Lee Hyunwook! Good job!”

“Yo-you’ve worked hard, hehe…”

Looking at this situation…

‘I feel weird being the center of attention among these guys reeking of sweat…’

Lee Hyunwook couldn’t help but feel a strange pressure.

In any case, it was a scene where about ten people were attached to four horizontal bars.

It was saturated.

Just a few days ago there wasn’t a single person…

“…Hmm, what is it, why are there so many people all of a sudden?”

“Ah! Are you going to use this horizontal bar?”

One private from the 4th squad said as he came down from the horizontal bar.

“No, you use it. I need to go to the training ground.”

“Ah? Then can I go with you?”

The guy followed Lee Hyunwook with an awkward expression.

Though they usually didn’t acknowledge each other, he was blatantly acting friendly.

But it wasn’t just one person like him, there were several.

This was to the extent of openly following him, and there were also kids who secretly followed him from a distance.

‘…Why are they doing this?’

An Min-tae stuck close to him with a sneaky smile.

“Wow, they are like kids following a yeot seller, looking with those expressions, hoping for a piece of yeot to fall off.”

“What kind of analogy is that, An Min-tae… Are you from the generation that followed yeot sellers?”

“Well, isn’t it just like that?”

However, when they arrived at the training ground, Lee Hyunwook heard a funny story.

“…Junmo, did he do duel training?”

“Yes, he did. So he just went to the medical room.”

Whenever a group of new soldiers transferred in, the senior soldiers would activate one of their bad hobbies.

It was to let the new soldiers duel against each other.

Park Junmo had also been such a plaything until he became a private first class, and his record… was a complete defeat.

He really had zero talent for it.

“Ha, the medical room? Did he get beaten again?”

“Haha, no, it’s the opposite.”

“…Huh?”

“He broke the opponent’s nose and then shocked him with electricity, making him lie down on the stretcher.”

…Oh, what happened?

As Lee Hyunwook made that expression, An Min-tae explained with a snicker.

“That Park Junmo, he has been making a fuss lately about wanting to follow Senior Soldier Lee Hyunwook’s example. It’s commendable that he’s now doing 7~8 sets of pull-ups and diligently training to control his ability.”

Come to think of it, it seemed like his ability to control electricity had improved quite a lot at Seoul Station.

“Oh, so he wasn’t…”

Lee Hyunwook looked around.

These guys who were keenly following him now, seeing not only the completely changed Lee Hyunwook but also the slightly improved Park Junmo, were they thinking that there was something amazing about Lee Hyunwook?

‘It feels like I’ve become a 1st-tier instructor in Daechi-dong…’

Lee Hyunwook didn’t know, but within the company, there was a joke going around as a playful rumor, “If you ride the Lee Hyunwook coin, it will moon.”

Then, one more person approached.

“Excuse me…”

It was the big private, Lee Won-seok.

He was carrying a training greatsword on one shoulder.

“…Senior Soldier Lee Hyunwook?”

As the guy’s thick voice quietly echoed, everyone around couldn’t help but tense up.

This was because they thought the relationship between the two, who had exchanged blows not long ago, was not very good.

Lee Hyunwook also wondered if this guy was not sober and was trying to pick a fight again.

“…”

But it was a very different scene from that time.

Above all, the gang he used to carry around like a folding screen, his own classmates, were far away, shrinking and looking this way.

“If you have time, I have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“…Would you have another duel with me?”

At that statement, someone swallowed dry saliva.

Was he sharpening his knife since his last defeat and now requesting a ‘revenge match’?

“…”

A moment of silence…

Then Lee Won-seok suddenly looked panicked.

“Ah! No, that’s… not because I want to start a fight or anything, but to be honest…”

“…”

“I, um… I want to learn what my weaknesses are!”

Lee Won-seok bowed his head.

“I, I want to apply to be a non-commissioned officer, but I feel like I’m lacking!”

“…”

This was also a flustering situation.

Oh Sang-guk and Kwak Jin-cheol, the guy who used to hang out with those guys and engage in thug behavior, was bending his pride, asking Lee Hyunwook, who had beaten him up, to teach him a thing or two…

Lee Hyunwook chuckled lightly.

“Good.”

“Eh?”

“I’ve wanted a live moving training partner myself. Come up here.”

Lee Hyunwook said as he stepped onto the combat box.

“Ah, that… uh… ”

Lee Won-seok’s face turned pale.

It was because he recalled the nightmare from the last time.

“Why, you don’t like it?”

“No, no, it’s not that! I am more than willing to be beaten up if you teach me! But, Corporal Lee Hyunwook, could you please not strangle me, uh, neck… ”

Lee Hyunwook rolled his eyes.

“The high-ranking orcs use grappling and ground techniques, too. Are you, a tanker, planning to run away when you encounter those guys?”

“Ah…”

Then, the guy slapped his own cheeks and jumped up onto the combat box.

“Yes! I’m also prepared to be knocked unconscious!”

This phenomenon, the interest, and requests from the company members, to be honest, was quite bothersome.

However…

‘It’s very useful.’

Lee Hyunwook thought it was rather a good thing.

The fourth wave…

To withstand the long, impending hell, it was necessary to utilize the battalion force.

If history were to repeat itself, the number of people who would survive from 1st Battalion, 1st Company, after the fourth wave would be…

‘…only seven, including myself.’

Yes, it was virtually annihilation.

‘But this time will be different.’

Lee Hyunwook looked at the company members diligently training.

‘If these people follow my words well, it’s not just about surviving…’

He loosened his wrists and faced Lee Won-seok.

‘…we could potentially capture the whole fourth wave.’

Controlling and conquering one gate was like sea fishing, while the fourth wave was akin to hunting and dismantling a massive whale.

In other words, it was not a problem that could be solved alone. Just like operating a whaling ship navigating through the ocean, many crew members had to work together.

Supporting his ambition, a system message appeared before his eyes.

Metal absorption has been completed. (Mana Rampart Mirror’s secret armor)

The amount of metal you can control has increased: 2,961g

‘It absorbed the hero class armor, finally.’

Current ‘metal’ control weight limit: 21,358g

With a sudden increase of 2.9kg, the metal control power broke through 20kg.

But this was just the beginning.

Congratulations! Meeting special conditions, the ‘Strengthening’ skill is massively enhanced!

The swallowed metal was an ‘armor’ item, hence it naturally fused with something similar, ‘Strengthening’.

Options that were attached to the hero-class armor merged with it, some of them became ‘skill-ified’.

As Lee Hyunwook was about to check the detailed contents…

Attention- uh, transmitting from the administrative section…

Something unexpected started.

…Corporal Lee Hyunwook, Corporal Lee Hyunwook, please come to the battalion commander’s office immediately. You are being called by the battalion commander. End of transmission.

Being called by the battalion commander on a Saturday morning, he had no idea what it was about.

Lee Hyunwook headed straight to the commander’s office.

The moment he opened the door to the battalion commander’s office,

” …If you send him there, all our guys will die!”

The loud voice of Kim Gang-seok,

Lee Hyunwook couldn’t help but be stunned.

He had never seen Kim Gang-seok raise his voice.

Someone was sitting in front of him.

It was Lieutenant Chun Myung-ho, the raid tactics instructor of the Black Tiger unit.

The two turned their heads to look at Lee Hyunwook.

Their faces were sternly stiff.

…Anyway, what does he mean by “everyone will die”? What on earth is going on?