A Player Who Eats Metal

Chapter 57: Last Erosion Factor

<Chapter 57. Last Erosion Factor -3>

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Lee Hyunwook stared directly into the approaching hell from inside the command vehicle.

The ‘black fog’ that flowed out from Cheongryong Mountain was devouring the city center.

“Is, is that really… all bugs?”

Kim Se-hee asked from the backseat.

“Yes, it seems so.”

“Oh, crazy…”

Insects swarming like locusts that ravage crops, moving in flocks and consuming everything in their path… However, the problem was that what these creatures consumed wasn't mere crops, but the ‘city' itself.

‘That's why they were later nicknamed <City Predators>.’

Today was their grand debut.

Why—e—a—a—a—ing—!

As they moved forward, the nauseating sound of flapping wings grew louder, echoing in the head.

The upper parts of the buildings that these creatures passed by seemed to melt away.

They were actually gnawing with their jaws, but it happened so fast that it seemed as if it was melting.

“Cra, crazy…"

The driver murmured with a groan.

It was a natural reaction.

Accelerating toward such a nightmare willingly is by no means an easy task. In fact, it was pure madness.

Why—e—a—a—a—ing—!

As the distance narrowed, the nauseating sound grew louder and louder, and everyone inside the car let out curses and prayers.

If the monsters they had faced until now could somehow be taken down,

This felt more like an unmanageable disaster, naturally making them feel less courageous…

However, as always, Lee Hyunwook remained calm.

‘On the outside, it might look the most ruthless, but there's actually a clear method to its destruction.’

That was the reason Lee Hyunwook considered it as the last among the four erosion factors.

The Ironclad Insect was a swarm of bugs with a metal exoskeleton, maintaining very close proximity to each other, entwining as they flew. They formed a massive storm of steel, which was their weapon.

‘But what would happen if a lightning-like strike hit right in the dense center of that swarm?’

The hard shell of these creatures—metal, is naturally one of the strongest conductors,

And inside it, they are merely organisms made of flesh and blood.

Simply put, they possessed the perfect characteristics for electrocution.

‘…A very interesting scene is about to unfold.'

Lee Hyunwook lifted his mana messenger.

"Pak Junmo, are you ready?”

―Chiiik— Ready!

Right now, that ‘lightning' was prepared.

Lee Hyunwook's gaze landed on the lead armored reconnaissance vehicle.

On the roof of the vehicle, where originally machine guns or the like should be mounted,

Now, a very special object was placed there.

‘Hammer of Thor, I'm looking forward to it.'

The artisan-grade support weapon, the Hammer of Thor, made from a hero-class item,

Its ‘spear tip' was aimed at the sky in front.

"—Fire!”

The moment Lee Hyunwook's command fell,

The Hammer of Thor began to emit a dark light.

Chi—ee—ee—ing—!

The spear called ‘Blessing of Indra',

From its tip, an enormous amount of current was released.

They writhed as if they were about to scatter in all directions at any moment,

But drawn by some powerful force, they condensed into a single point.

And thus, a large electric field, resembling a blue thread tangled into a Moebius sphere, saw the light.

At that moment, Pak Junmo pulled the trigger.

Zzong————!

For a moment, the world turned dark blue.

The electric sphere shot out like a cannonball and struck the center of the black undulating wave rushing in like a tide.

Pa—za—za—za—za——!

The electric sphere transformed into currents that spread out like a spider web. Using the metal bodies of the Ironclad Insects as conductors, it reached hundreds of meters out— wrapping the entire swarm in an instant.

But it was just the beginning.

"Pak Junmo, show what you've got.”

On Lee Hyunwook's command, Pak Junmo stretched out his hands towards the rampaging lightning and began to spread them wide.

Pa—za—za—za—za——!

Then, the wild currents intertwined with the swarm of bugs began to move following his hand gestures, expanding to cover even more area.

It was a mysterious and imposing scene, like ‘volcanic lightning' striking inside volcanic ash.

“Wow…”

Ironclad Insects, paralyzed by the electrocution and their nervous systems disabled, started to fall to the ground.

"—Move quickly!”

In the meantime, the Steel Battalion halted their formation, and all forces gathered on the road.

Lee Hyunwook also stepped out of the vehicle, assessing the situation, and once again raised his mana messenger.

"Now's the time! Pour out all lightning magic!"

At his command, all the mages fired the ‘lightning magic' they had prepared in advance.

Zzje—zje—zje—zje—ing——!

Although it couldn’t compare to the Hammer of Thor, about ten lightning spells fired simultaneously, resonating loudly.

Various shock-effect items obtained from the government arsenal were then mobilized.

Archers fired arrows with an electrical enchantment,

Mages sent disposable items like ‘shock bombs' through wind magic,

And Lieutenant Go Jin-han indiscriminately fired ‘electric bullets' as the artillery of the devil.

And Lee Hyunwook also launched the ‘Cloud-hunting Dark Sword'. (Unsu Am-su)

Shh——

The moment it positioned itself in the center of the Ironclad Insect swarm—

‘Lightning Release—!’

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The skill of the Cloud-hunting Dark Sword, once its potential was unleashed, erupted with electricity, instantly electrocuting dozens.

Pa—za—za—za—za——!

More than half of the Ironclad Insects were swept up by the electrical storm, stopping their flapping wings and plummeting desolately.

Ter—der—der—der—der—der—

The sound of those metal beasts crashing to the ground resonated loudly.

It was, truly, an extensive lightning attack that could never have been produced by a single squad.

"This… isn’t a joke…"

Even Lee Hyunwook was taken aback and murmured to himself.

To be honest, until yesterday, he hadn't planned on confronting them head-on during this ‘last event’.

Facing them head-on would have been insanity. If they were engulfed, it would mean annihilation…

So, the plan was to wait for the ‘reinforcements' from all over Seoul to arrive.

But as you can see, they managed to repel them with pure firepower.

‘The new equipment graciously granted by the government and Park Junmo's unexpected awakening made quite the big difference.’

Thanks to those two favorable circumstances, this became possible.

The swarm of Ironclad Insects eventually dispersed in all directions.

"Hey! They're retreating!”

"Great, we did it!”

The countless defeated insects twitched and buzzed on the asphalt, and the gunners, leading with the tanks, cautiously approached and shot them one by one.

Meanwhile, a bus presumed to be carrying civilians entered the ranks of the Steel Battalion.

"You're safe now! We'll protect you!”

And so, the situation was resolved.

‘But it's too early to let our guard down.’

As clear as the Ironclad Insects' weakness was, their strength was equally evident.

‘Their numbers are more than during the Hell Rat incident. And they replenish quickly.'

He kept his eyes on Cheongryong Mountain.

From the gate there, countless bugs must still be pouring out.

"An Min-Tae, this is good enough. Get the civilians and retreat. The swarm will come back soon."

"Yes, understood.”

As Lee Hyunwook had said, the scattered remains of the bugs began to regroup from the distance.

In still staggering numbers, from a bit further away, they would appear like a storm cloud.

Lee Hyunwook felt that this moment was even more dangerous.

‘They'll be back soon. And… if it turns into a war of attrition, we're at a disadvantage. We need to leave this place within 10 minutes.'

He looked at Pak Junmo.

"Ugh…"

He had exerted control over the current after chugging a ‘mana recovery potion,' and he seemed to have overexerted, even bleeding from his nose.

Not just Pak Junmo, nearly all the lightning weapons that had just been used were now on ‘cooldown'.

Meaning, that if they were attacked again right now, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"These bugs are infinitely replenishing! If you don't want to be devoured, prepare to move as fast as possible!"

An Min-Tae shouted at the top of his lungs, urging swift action.

But then…

"—Huh? Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, look over there!"

Choi Tae-Yong yelled out, pointing somewhere.

"It seems like that swarm of bugs is already… returning!"

"—What?"

Hearing that, even Lee Hyunwook couldn't help but be taken aback.

He turned his head to look in the direction of Cheongryong Mountain.

"Damn…"

Indeed, from that vicinity, a line of black ripples extended out and streamed towards them.

There were at least twice as many as they had just defeated, and they were flying at an incredible speed.

Having already unleashed their firepower once, they couldn't possibly face this number now.

‘It's much faster than expected. Why the hell…'

While the Ironclad Insects naturally engaged in group behavior, responding as a collective when a member is attacked,

Something was amiss here.

No matter how much monsters ignored natural laws, they usually had a certain ‘process.'

For instance, the surviving individuals might return to the nest and send a signal about the attack…

‘There's definitely such a mechanism in monster behavior.'

But responding from the ‘nest' just a few minutes after the battle? That was impossible.

Which meant…

‘There must be a controller nearby.'

In other words, Lee Hyunwook realized that a special case, like the ‘Demon's Bell' that controlled monsters, was intervening.

He turned and shouted to the entire squad.

"Find a building with an underground parking lot in the vicinity right now!”

"Yes!”

"No! We don't need a parking lot! Find a place to hide, even if it means abandoning all the vehicles!"

Lee Hyunwook corrected his order.

They had to be willing to make bold sacrifices.

Being complacent would lead to annihilation.

‘I was careless…'

He had intended to quickly strike and retreat after rescuing the civilians on the bus.

‘But who could have expected them to act so quickly and drastically…'

Had he needed to turn a blind eye to the sacrifice of civilians?

For a moment, such a thought crossed Lee Hyunwook's mind.

‘No, if Pak Junmo and I give it our all, we can fend them off somehow.'

He had overcome many crises in his past life.

Though he had been smoothly navigating through this life, it was unrealistic to think he'd never face a crisis.

Various scenarios crossed his mind, and soon, he made a judgment that it was feasible.

But then, an eerie light shone on his face.

Woong—

He turned his head to find the source of this unexpected glow.

"Huh?"

At that moment, a thick beam of light fell from the sky.

Zzje—er—er—ong——!

It was a teleportation.

Everyone who had been moving hastily paused in surprise, slowly taking steps back.

From within that beam of light, several figures began to emerge.

Step—Step—

Soon, the face of the figure in the lead was revealed.

‘General Choi Jung-chul?'

Archmage Choi Jung-chul stood there, holding a large metal staff.

Behind him were the elites of AMT: Kim Kang-seok, Seo Eunha, Choi Young-jun, and others.

"Oh, come to think of it…"

They had agreed to join forces to find the Erosion Factors first and had been sharing coordinates in real time.

Upon hearing about the large-scale battle here, they seemed to have immediately used teleportation.

‘It must have consumed a huge amount of mana to use it so boldly… Anyway, the timing is perfect.'

General Choi Jung-chul smiled, looking at Lee Hyunwook.

"…It seems the Steel Battalion has led us to this last moment."

Lee Hyunwook saluted him.

Choi Jung-chul nodded and raised his staff, pointing it towards the area near ‘Cheongryong Mountain', from where the swarm of armored insects was pouring out.

"Corporal Lee Hyunwook, is there an Erosion Factor in that small mountain hidden behind that building over there?"

"Yes, based on the current circumstances, it seems very likely."

"Hmm… It seems to be going berserk due to some additional event. I think I need to calm it down a bit."

Choi Jung-chul turned his gaze to Kim Kang-seok.

"Battalion Commander, it might get a bit hot. Tell the troops to stay clear."

At his words, Kim Kang-seok turned and shouted.

"All forces take cover! Beware of the heat storm!"

With a voice as mighty as his stature, his orders echoed.

Following his command, all the forces took cover behind alleys, trucks, and other structures, the civilians among them.

Choi Jung-chul then began to walk forward alone.

Step by step.

Remarkably, the Brigadier General was approaching the swarm of monsters all by himself, and no one followed.

It wasn't because they were afraid of the monsters, instead, they were concerned about getting caught up in Choi Jung-chul's skill.

Of course, among them, only Kim Kang-seok and Lee Hyunwook from his past life had witnessed his magic firsthand.

However, even without direct experience, Choi Jung-chul's capabilities were infamous, and one would instinctively react to its presence.

Waa—ee—ee—ee—eeng——!

Meanwhile, the sound of the flapping wings of the armored insects grew closer.

But for some reason, it felt quieter than before.

The towering figure, Choi Jung-chul, stared at them, raising his staff.

At that moment, a crimson ray of light burst from the tip of his staff.

Zee—ing——

The beam stopped high in the air, and energy concentrated at that point, forming a small, ‘harmless' fireball.

Then, in an instant, that small fireball began to devour the oxygen around itself…. and started growing.

Goo—oo—oo—oo—oo——

The temperature of the space changed drastically, causing convection currents and a fierce gust of wind swept the area.

‘Could that possibly be…'

In the blink of an eye, it grew to over 50 meters in size.

A blazing massive sphere of flame above… It had a striking resemblance to the sun, except his size of course.

"Ugh—"

Even hundreds of meters below, the heat was enough to make one's face burn and blur the air.

‘Indeed, the Semi Armageddon. He's burning all his mana to deliver a full-blown strike!"

Choi Jung-chul tilted the devastating sphere towards Cheongryong Mountain.

Kwa—gwa—gwa—gwa—gwa——!

The massive fireball, as if it were a satellite of Earth, began to move in an arc.

And all the armored insects in its path turned to ashes and disappeared.

Kwa—gwa—gwa—gwa—gwa——!

It obliterated them. The scene was so destructive that the term "obliterate" wasn't an overstatement.

Even those not directly hit couldn't withstand the intense heat and spiraled in all directions.

The swarm of monsters that looked threatening was rendered powerless as easily as a swarm of mayflies.

"Wow…"

In front of General Choi Jung-chul's extensive flame magic, which made the earlier achievements of the Steel Battalion pale in comparison, everyone was left speechless.

Even Lee Hyunwook, who knew of his capabilities, was freshly astonished.

‘The firepower of the Archmage still manages to overcome my expectations and imagination even now…'

Of course, years later, the even more developed strike of Choi Jung-chul still stood out.

‘It was him who first distorted the always expressionless face of the Necromancer.'

In this way, Choi Jung-chul had a single-strike power focused solely on ‘range' and ‘destructiveness'—a tactical weapon-grade strength.

Therefore, it wasn't suitable for most situations, but when it came to sweeping away large numbers, he was the best.

‘And normally, they shouldn't be a good match…'

Metal is typically resistant to fire damage.

This was something Lee Hyunwook knew all too well.

Numerous players skilled in fire magic had failed to penetrate his armor and fell.

Hence, when hunting armored insects, one would usually avoid using fire magic.

But ultimately, the fire that can smelt metal by vaporizing everything with its intense heat—

That was the flame magic wielded by Choi Jung-chul.

Soon, like a setting sun, or a meteor, the Semi Armageddon hid behind tall buildings, casting a shade that made the world a tone darker.

Close by was Cheongryong Mountain…

Kwa——ah——ang——ah——!

With a deafening roar, the mountain was obliterated and disappeared.

Koo—gu—gu—gu—gu——!

A hot wind mixed with sand reached their location.

"Ugh!"

Lee Hyunwook used his cloak to shield himself from the scorching wind.

But at that moment, he realized something.

‘Even after that attack, the Erosion Factor didn't seem to dissipate.'

There was no system message signaling the end of the wave.

Meaning, it wasn't over yet.

Perhaps the swarm of armored insects protected the Erosion Factor, surrounding it layer upon layer like when Buddha bees kill giant hornets with heat.

And Choi Jung-chul's powerful strike would have a significant ‘cooldown' period, making it unusable for a while.

‘So, it's essentially starting all over again.'

Before he knew it, Choi Jung-chul was looking back at him.

"Well, how about it? You've been given some time to come up with a plan, haven't you?"

* * *

Seoul's Erosion Response Headquarters was busier than ever before.

The news of the third Erosion Factor's strategy succeeding, and subsequently, an ‘additional event' had started.

And then…

"Director! We've received word that the last Erosion Factor has been found!"

A report had just come in from the 3rd Horseman Brigade General, Choi Jung-chul, indicating the discovery of the last Erosion Factor.

Upon hearing this, Kang Seo-yoon rose from her seat and took a deep breath.

"It's finally here… Yes! Where is its location?"

"It's in Cheongryong Mountain in Gwanak District!"

"Great! The real final moment has arrived!"

She walked towards the terrace, looked down at all the staff of the headquarters, and raised her voice.

"Contact every player within reach and tell them to gather there, to combine their strengths, to save Seoul!"

The staff began to relay the message to all players within the Wave Zone.

The location of the last Erosion Factor had been made public.

If they could just concentrate enough power now…

‘We can truly save Seoul…'

Achieving the unparalleled feat of Wave subjugation wasn't an impossible task anymore.

Kang Seo-yoon felt her heart pounding as she sat down.

"Sigh…"

Then, she suddenly turned her head to look somewhere.

Seated there was Woo Seong-moon, the Director of the National Gate Response Strategy.

‘He was indifferent for the last two days, and now he seems utterly engrossed?'

Such inconsistency was irksome to her.

‘Come to think of it, it's about time… to dig deeper into the real reason.'

She approached him, crossed her arms, and looked down at Woo Seong-moon.

"Director Woo, it's about time you tell me."

"…Huh? What are you talking about?"

Caught off guard, Woo Seong-moon asked with a puzzled look.

"Do you think you're the only one with inside information? I have ears and eyes everywhere."

"…What?"

"After analyzing the Wave Zone with the A-rank analyst players, you immediately rushed here."

Analyst players had the ability to ‘interpret' various in-game information.

Thus, given enough time to a top-tier analyst player team, they could potentially extract minor to major details about the wave.

And this time, it seemed they had stumbled upon significant information.

"Back then, you analyzed the Wave Zone and got some intel. That's why you boldly opened up the second armory to distribute everything. So… you got a piece of very enticing information, didn't you?"

"……"

"Don't tell me you're planning to secretly stash and reap the rewards once the people inside risk their lives to tackle the Wave?"

Challenged by Kang Seo-yoon's piercing gaze, Woo Seong-moon chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

"Ha-ha — you don't need to worry. The item in question is absolutely impossible to hide."

"Why can't it be hidden?"

"Because… it's incredibly, incredibly large."

Woo Seong-moon started to spill the beans on what he knew.

"Ms. Kang, isn't the Wave event kind of like a large-scale regional quest?"

"Well… I suppose you could see it that way. We've never completed one, so I'm not entirely sure…"

"Exactly. So, if we complete it…"

At that, Kang Seo-yoon clapped her hands, an expression of realization on her face.

"…We'll get a massive reward. Wait! Did you find out what the reward is?"

Woo Seong-moon nodded, and Kang Seo-yoon's eyes sparkled.

She couldn't even begin to imagine the magnitude of the reward for conquering something as vast as the Wave. Even a regional quest like the ‘Unlucky Event', which was on a much smaller scale, had ‘hero' grade items as rewards.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind, and she swallowed hard.

"Could it be… a Mythical grade item?"

Until now, an item of <Mythical grade> had never publicly appeared, but the possibility of its existence was extremely high.

However, Woo Seong-moon shook his head.

"No, it's not that. And perhaps, it might be even more valuable than a Mythical grade item."

"…What? What could possibly be more valuable than a Mythical grade item?"

"Ms. Kang, in your opinion, among all the items and objects that have appeared so far, which do you think is the most valuable?"

Upon hearing the question, Kang Seo-yoon pondered for a brief moment before slowly lifting her head to meet Woo Seong-moon's gaze.

"The World Tree… is that what you're referring to?"

In the heart of Africa, in the Republic of Chad, stood the sacred tree…

This entity had a far greater impact than any item, object, or power introduced in the game so far.

If it weren't for the World Tree, dealing with the Gates would have been much more challenging.

"Yes, the World Tree sprouted in place when we conquered the ‘Blue Gate', the most difficult type of gate. So, if we overcome the much more challenging Wave… it seems likely that some object will be created in the skies above Seoul."

"What on earth… could that be?"

Woo Seong-moon leaned back in his chair, fingers interlaced.

Then, looking into the void, he slowly began to speak.

"The City of Magic Engineering, Laputa… that's the only result from our analysis."

The legendary floating island from myths was set to appear above Seoul.

Kang Seo-yoon couldn't possibly predict what that would entail or the ripple effects it would cause.

At that moment, Woo Seong-moon raised his index finger to illustrate a point.

"But, there's a problem."

"…What is it?"

"The token that grants access to the deepest part of the World Tree, all the way to the Core, where did it originate from?"

Currently, the World Tree resides within the territory of the Republic of Chad. However, Chad only monopolizes the various products derived from the World Tree.

Everything else was a privilege that was allowed solely to a single player, referred to as the ‘Administrator of the World Tree.'

"Well… naturally, it was obtained from the Blue Gate dungeon. The World Tree itself was a reward for conquering the Blue Gate, and the ‘token', or whatever grants administrative rights, was likely one of the items that could be obtained from the dungeon, right?"

"Yes, then wouldn't some special rights concerning Laputa be acquired by someone within that Wave Zone?"

That argument made sense.

Kang Seo-yoon nodded with a smile.

"So… what you're saying is that someone inside there will hit an unprecedented jackpot in history."