A Player Who Eats Metal - Chapter 53: Heroes of Seoul

<Chapter 53. Heroes of Seoul – 2>

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The moment Lee Hyunwook ordered the ‘sky opening,’ an unexpected change occurred.

BOOM!

Before the portal could be created, an unidentified roaring sound began echoing from the sky.

All the players and all the monsters simultaneously looked up.

And where their gazes met, something strange was happening.

In the sky, crimson letters appeared.

―Warning! Due to the remarkable achievements of some players, an <Additional Event> will be granted.

“…It’s a global announcement!”

From an apartment rooftop where a sniper player was preparing, one man shouted out.

A <Global Announcement> was not a ‘system message’ visible only to players, but a message that could be seen by everyone, including unspecified civilians, usually appearing in the sky in massive letters.

Meaning, that everyone within the Wave Zone would have seen that message.

“What on earth is happening now?”

“Damn… It’s definitely not going to be good.”

After most global announcements, disasters ensue.

History had proven that time and time again.

Then, the sky message began to change.

[Warning! A <World Boss Monster: Chimera> will appear within the Wave Zone]

“A World Boss Monster?!”

Everyone was shocked.

“Insane, this can’t be… Just when things seemed to be going well, what is this…”

“Has… Has this ever happened before?”

A World Boss Monster,

Among numerous boss monsters, was the most powerful and terrifying.

World Boss Monsters typically appeared after a ‘Wave’ and became rulers of that area.

Examples include ‘Ancient Red Drake’ in California, USA, and the ‘Orc King’ in Shanghai, China.

But now, such a creature was said to appear on the second day of the Wave.

It was like the final boss appearing at level one, something that went against all norms.

“We need to run away, now!”

A man shouted, getting up.

But another man, seemingly his companion, grabbed his arm.

“Bro! The hostages haven’t all been evacuated!”

“Shut up and follow me! Can’t you see the situation?”

“…Huh?”

“You still don’t get it? What’s inside that writhing egg isn’t just a regular creature!”

Their gaze turned to the department store rooftop, specifically the black altar.

The grotesque lump of flesh there, covered in throbbing veins and translucent membranes, was wriggling with an increasing intensity.

And something inside looked ready to burst out any moment.

“Damn it! That’s the Chimera! Once it hatches, we’re done for—!”

His words were convincing.

Everyone knew how powerful a World Boss Monster could be.

They all remembered the ‘Ancient Red Drake’ incident in California three years ago.

In just one day, 30 of the world’s top 100 rankings disappeared.

That creature was beyond any player present.

“Then sorry, but I… I want to leave too.”

“Yeah, we have to save ourselves first…”

One by one, the sniper players began to choose to flee.

Choi Tae-yong and the Steel Battalion members could only blankly watch their retreating figures. They knew that without a different order, there was no retreating.

And still, no new orders came.

In other words, the Steel Battalion’s operation would proceed.

“Sergeant Lee Hyunwook… What on earth…”

Their gazes inevitably landed on Lee Hyunwook, who still stood alone on the rooftop.

* * *

“…I expected it, but it’s indeed a huge deal.”

Lee Hyunwook murmured as he looked up at the sky.

While everyone who saw the message despaired, Lee Hyunwook, who stood closest, wore a smile. He knew exactly what that message implied.

‘The World Boss Monster, Chimera, is about to hatch. Astonishingly, 2 days earlier than originally scheduled…’

He could see the wriggling flesh, the egg sac, on the altar made of dark bricks.

The cursed monster, Chimera, born of black magic, human sacrifices, and terrible rituals…

Originally, it would be born on the 4th day of the Wave, which means two days from now.

All the barriers and monsters here were actually mechanisms to safely nurture the Chimera.

However, after the aerial bombardment and the barrier’s destruction, numerous players started flooding in.

Consequently, the original plan of the ‘Multiracial Black Magic Association’ had to change,

It seemed they deemed the situation too risky and overwhelming to hold on, and decided to hatch it now, albeit prematurely.

In other words, they were hurriedly summoning an unfinished Chimera.

‘Had it resurrected fully in two days, it would’ve been impossible to confront. Now, it’s like a premature baby.’

In other words, it was a golden opportunity to easily hunt down a very valuable prey.

―Chiick…Will we proceed as planned?

A somewhat tense voice, using polite language, came from the mana messenger.

Understandably, they seemed quite flustered by the message in the sky.

“Regardless of what happens, stick to the plan.”

―Chiick.. Understood. Commencing link magic immediately.

Soon, the mages of the Steel Battalion lined up in the department store parking lot, and began their casting.

Lee Hyunwook only watched for a moment, then looked forward again.

Rooaaar!

Dozens of monsters were rushing towards him.

Lee Hyunwook put tension in his left arm, and with a light swing from right to left…

Swoosh!

His greatsword, Mogley, cleaved horizontally, slicing five orcs in half.

Gasp!

Seeing his tremendous strength, the approaching creatures hesitated.

Indeed, it was a sight to be fearful of.

With Lee Hyunwook taking one step forward, they retreated two steps.

However…

Roooar!

Their eyes suddenly turned red, and they began drooling.

‘It’s the berserk spell of a black mage.’

Lee Hyunwook looked towards the ‘altar.’

Around it, figures in red robes gathered. Most were pouring some black energy into the Chimera on the altar.

A few seemed to be casting the berserking spell in his direction.

“Such futile efforts.”

Under the berserk spell, the monsters would lose their fear and charge like madmen.

But just because they weren’t scared, didn’t mean they could withstand Mogley.

With a few hand gestures, Lee Hyunwook dispatched them all, moving forward.

Suddenly, a massive shadow blocked his way.

Thud- Thud- Thud-

A troll. Since they couldn’t stop him with mere orcs and goblins, they sent this green giant.

The creature wielded a massive axe, its blade alone looking bigger than a human torso.

Roaaar!

The troll roared and raised its giant axe towards Lee Hyunwook.

In that instant, Lee Hyunwook gripped Mogley with both hands and reinforced his entire body.

Zzzing—

His strength surged exponentially, and he channeled all his ‘metal control’ into the tip of Mogley.

With all his might, he swung at the incoming axe blade.

Crash!

The two massive metal pieces collided, causing a tremendous shockwave.

“Kuk—”

Lee Hyunwook’s feet slightly left the ground, and he was pushed back about 30 cm.

‘Kuk! I’m not yet ready to face a troll head-on.’

However, from the start, I never thought of defeating that giant with sheer force.

Clang-clang-clang—Boom—!

In the moment when a fiery spark arose between the two clashing pieces of metal,

Lee Hyunwook used that spark as a smokescreen and shot his ‘Failnaught’.

The foe couldn’t react in time, and the Failnaught pierced his left eye.

Thud—!

For a brief moment, since he lost half his vision, the troll staggered backward in surprise.

‘Now’s the time!’

Lee Hyunwook dashed towards the foe’s left—outside his narrowed field of vision, swinging Mogley very low.

Swish—Crack—!

With that strike, the foe’s left ankle was severed, and he lost his balance, falling forward.

Thump—

Then, with the foe’s neck exposed, the forceful Mogley came crashing up.

Thwack—! Thwack—! Swish—Crack—!

It only took three strikes to sever completely that thick neck.

“Phew…….”

Lee Hyunwook caught his breath and walked around the troll’s corpse.

Just then…

Whooosh—!

A dark beam of light began to pour from the altar into the sky.

At the same time, the bloody egg sack burst open after a final bloating, and bright red blood spurted out everywhere like a faulty fountain..

A chimera, that’s the creature who was being born.

“Well, if you come out all together like this, I should be thankful, right?”

The black mages who stood on both sides removed the blood-soaked veil with long staffs.

The wriggling mass of flesh slipped out as if it were sliding and rolled down beneath the altar.

Kneeee…

[The World Boss Monster ‘Chimera’ has appeared!]

It was a monster of an unknown form, measuring 7 to 8 meters in length.

Its entire body was covered in numerous tentacles, making it look at a glance like a huge lump of worms.

The head, visible between the gaps of the tentacles, resembled the head of a newly hatched bird.

It had rough pinkish skin, large eyes, and something resembling a beak…

Keheeeeee!

When the creature let out a powerful shriek, its beak split into four directions, and eight tongues shot out.

‘Sure enough, it looks far less intimidating than what I remember.’

Indeed, having been born two days early, even its appearance was not yet complete.

―Chiik— Link deployment completed—!

Just then, welcome news came.

Beams of light fired by the mages of the Steel Battalion converged in the air above the department store.

Soon after, with a thunderous noise, a massive passage—a portal, opened.

At last, the sky had opened.

“That guy, having just been born, is about to get a load of bitterness…”

Lee Hyunwook smiled.

―Chiik— Battalion armory portal deployment complete! Valid for 3 minutes!

“Good, from now on… I’ll give that monster a birthday gift it will never forget!”

Lee Hyunwook exclaimed, reaching out towards the portal and closing his eyes.

Inside the portal, he felt the cold metal masses lined up in the battalion’s armory.

He began to pull them all out for a vacation.

Shi—shi—shi—shi—shi—shi—!

Hundreds of heavy weapons fell and poured violently towards the department store rooftop.

The previously frenzied monsters just stared blankly at that sight with dazed expressions.

Kwa—wa—wa—wa—wa—wa—!

As the steel rain struck down, dozens of monsters that were guarding the altar fell in a heap.

It was a devastating blow.

‘But it won’t work against the Chimera.’

Although more than half a dozen spears were lodged in the Chimera’s body, it didn’t appear to have suffered significant damage.

It simply seemed annoyed, moving its tentacles to pull out the spears embedded in its body and throwing them away.

“However, this time, that’s not the main event.”

Among that steel rain, some ‘huge things’ were mixed in.

[‘Master authority’ for the living armors can be secured.]

Yes, a total of 12 living armors were falling along with the steel rain.

They were free-falling lifelessly, like jointed ball dolls,

But when Lee Hyunwook reached out and granted control over the metal…

Woong—

All 12 of them lit up with a deep gleam at the same time.

And just before hitting the ground, they corrected their posture.

Thump—thump—thump—thump—thump—thump—!

It was a stable hero landing.

Thud—thud—

The members of the Living Armor Assault Unit rose to their feet.

Kneeee—!

Seemingly startled by the impact, the chimera let out a ghastly scream and stood upright.

Perhaps because it was newly born, it couldn’t move properly and wobbled,

But it seemed displeased with the living armors that had invaded its territory, and it lashed out with its tentacles towards them.

“No, not yet. There’s a special gift still waiting for you.”

Lee Hyunwook’s hand was still pointed toward the portal, pulling out the last item.

Chya—ra—ra—ra—ra—!

It was a bunch of chains.

To be precise, they were long chains imbued with holy power, and sharp ‘hooks’ were attached at both ends.

‘Good, it’s been perfectly made in such a short time.’

This too was a work of Kang Jeong-du.

When Lee Hyunwook communicated with the battalion leader this morning, he requested such a chain to be made.

He said the reason was to restrain the zombie troll,

But in reality, it was prepared for that enormous monster, the ‘chimera’.

Jelgeurok— jelgeurok—

The living armors picked up those chains and hurled them towards the chimera.

A total of six hooks embedded themselves into the chimera’s soft body. As the living armors exerted force simultaneously, pulling on the chains while weaving them to trap its limbs, the massive body of the chimera collapsed helplessly with a thud.

Kkeueeeeee!

It struggled to rise but to no avail. Given its recent birth, it was still weak.

Facing the restrained creature, the remaining six began to throw powerful spears.

However, the dark mages weren’t just going to stand by and watch this happen.

They had only momentarily hidden to avoid the steel rain,

But they regrouped near the altar, stretching their hands together towards the sky.

Goooooo!

Then, from their palms, a purple magic circle sprang up,

And soon, higher than the portal, a purple cloud began to form.

Woorooroo—!

‘That’s… a wide-area lightning magic spell.’

Upon seeing that omen, Lee Hyunwook couldn’t help but tense up. Lightning magic is far more destructive and instantaneous than standard electrical magic, and any lapse in attention could turn him to dust.

For a moment, the world turned white as the lightning struck the rooftop.

Zzzeong—!

One of the living armors that was hit directly shattered into pieces.

Zzzeong—!

Another bolt of lightning and a second living armor was horrifically disintegrated, scattering in all directions.

In a brief moment, a total of three living armors were retired.

Numerous onlookers swallowed their dry saliva.

The situation didn’t look favorable at all.

However, this was actually the moment Lee Hyunwook had been waiting for.

‘—Now’s the time.’

All the attention of the dark mages guarding the chimera was focused on the living armors.

In other words, their guard against Lee Hyunwook had been lowered.

As always, he didn’t miss an opening shown by the enemy.

He raised his left hand towards the sky and then swung it down forcefully towards the ground.

Puh—euk—!

A fierce roar, it was indeed Mogley.

It pierced through the chimera.

Kkeueeee…

However, unlike the zombie troll, it didn’t die from that single blow.

But this time, that wasn’t the end.

“Shockwave—”

Lee Hyunwook muttered so.

Then, Mogley began to vibrate.

Woong—!

Mogley’s actual mass amounts to several tens of tons.

It was just that its mass was ‘sealed’ and suppressed by magic.

Unleashing that condensed mass momentarily to produce a massive shockwave was the skill,

And that was the Shockwave.

Lee Hyunwook activated it while Mogley was embedded in the creature’s head,

For a moment, the massive body of Mogley quivered as if it was about to explode right away…

Boom—ooom—!

A massive wave burst out, exploding. The surrounding air vibrated like ripples, the dark mages standing nearby were blown away, and the altar made of black stones crumbled.

Naturally, the chimera’s ‘fragile’ head burst out into pieces.

Whudududu— whudududu—

Like exploding an old pumpkin, its flesh scattered in all directions.

[Congratulations! You have defeated the World Boss Monster ‘Chimera’ alone!]

At the same time, the ‘global announcement’ floating in the sky was replaced.

[The ‘World Boss Monster (Chimera)’ that appeared in this area has been defeated.]

“It’s done.”

It was an event that occurred just 5 minutes after the world had plunged into despair due to the appearance of the World Boss Monster.

Because of this, the world was bound to be in a state of bewilderment for a while.

[Congratulations! You have achieved a special accomplishment.]

Given that he defeated such a tremendous entity known as the World Boss Monster, it was only natural that he received an achievement.

However, there was no time to check the details right now.

Though the chimera was defeated, removing the Erosion Factor was the most pressing issue.

To do so, it was first necessary to clean up the pesky dark mages.

Those villains were currently unconscious, caught in the aftermath of the Shockwave.

Lee Hyunwook sent out Failnaught.

Shi—eek—!

However, a black sphere flying from somewhere deflected Lee Hyunwook’s Failnaught.

“So you’re the real boss monster?”

A red orc with skin as red as the robe he wore, a Red Orc.

It was unmistakably the ‘High Dark Mage’, the boss monster of the Multiracial Dark Magic Council.

He glared at Lee Hyunwook for a moment, then abruptly turned his back.

Using teleportation, he appeared about 20 meters away, on a railing.

Could he be trying to flee?

But fleeing while leaving the Erosion Factor behind didn’t make sense.

However, the orc gave a sly grin and looked down below the railing.

Following his gaze, Lee Hyunwook looked in the same direction… and couldn’t help but be horrified.

“Damn it—!”

Hundreds of civilians were emerging from the underground parking lot, following the lead of Park Junmo.

“What are you thinking now…”

Judging by his sinister smile, Lee Hyunwook’s suspicion was right.

‘He intends to kill the civilians and absorb their souls!’

From the beginning, the chimera was a creature made based on human life force.

In other words, that guy was a dark mage who dealt with ‘life force’.

He intended to massacre humans and use their souls to replenish his strength.

If a lightning bolt struck the hundreds of civilians, dozens would die in an instant.

“Park Junmo— Dodge now!”

Upon hearing the shout, Park Junmo looked up.

And his eyes met with the dark mage looking down at them.

But it was already too late.

Zzzeong—!

A bolt of lightning spat out from the purple clouds and struck towards the civilians.

However…

Fajijijiji—

The lightning bolt that was speeding at the speed of light… suddenly halted in mid-air 2 meters above the heads of the civilians.

“…….”

Before anyone realized, Park Junmo’s right hand was pointing toward it,

And between his fingers, a blue current was flowing.

“Gasp—!”

…Even Park Junmo looked surprised.

Lee Hyunwook was equally astonished.

‘Park Junmo… his precision in controlling current has reached a considerable level.’

Regaining his senses, Park Junmo directed both hands toward the rooftop.

The halted lightning bolt shot in that direction.

Boom—!

However, its accuracy wasn’t that great, hitting the 4th floor of the department store instead.

Immediately after, Park Junmo wobbled and his nose bled profusely.

Seemingly, exerting beyond his control took a toll on him.

“You did well—!”

In the meantime, Lee Hyunwook charged at the mage, launching Failnaught.

But at that very moment, the mage’s palm once again pointed towards Park Junmo.

Zzzeong—!

A second lightning bolt dropped.

Park Junmo, seemingly weakened from the previous shock, appeared unable to fend it off.

However, he guided the lightning bolt towards himself, far away from the civilians.

Kwa—ang—!

The lightning bolt struck, and the asphalt cratered as if a meteor had landed.

But yet again, something strange occurred.

“What, what’s this…?”

He was certainly hit directly, but Park Junmo was absolutely fine.

Moreover, the blue current wriggled and was absorbed into Park Junmo’s body.