A Player Who Eats Metal - Chapter 66: Conspiracy, Quest, Demon

< Chapter 66: Conspiracy, Quest, Demon – 3 >

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[Author’s Note: To address some parts that may have felt coincidental in Chapters 63 to 65, the following revisions have been made. Apologies for any confusion.

1)Devil’s Claws: These plant-like monsters that appeared in the underground parking lot are not just mere guards, as the demon summoning ritual called “Abaddon” proceeds, a ‘hellification’ progress across Seoul by using them as mediums, including those present at the other ‘event maps’.

2)Of course, the government was also aware of the ‘hellification’ phenomenon occurring throughout Seoul, and even before Lee Hyunwook contacted Woo Seong-moon, it wasn’t that they were completely unaware but rather had a degree of awareness of the situation.

3)However, the government was unable to pinpoint the cause and locations of the ‘hellification’ since they couldn’t discover the ‘event maps’, so they weren’t aware that this incident signified ‘Abaddon’s Summoning’.]

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The master of Taesan Guild, Ki Baek-jun, was on a call with someone.

“Abaddon’s summoning will proceed without a hitch. Yes, the current quest progress is 61%.”

The conversation was about the demon summoning happening in Seoul right now.

“As you might have heard, the South Korean government has been continuously requesting aid from ‘Saint Dome’. Though the 4th wave emergence was stopped, undead monsters are still rampant. It’s strange that the Saint hasn’t appeared now that the demon summoning has been detected…”

Saint Dome is the world’s largest ‘sanctuary’ located right below the World Tree trunk in the Chad Republic. The priests and knights residing there are world-class, making it the number one enemy fortress that must be eliminated by villains who wield dark powers.

“Above all… it’s inappropriate to just stand by and watch as Seoul, the city where Laputa appeared, deteriorates further, right? Not only the government of this country but the whole world would want that… Such vested interests will surely forcibly summon the Saint to use a massive purification skill.”

Yeah, the important keyword of this incident was not ‘demon summoning’ but ‘saint summoning’.

“To be honest, without the power of the Saint, there’s no other way to stop the demon, Abaddon’s summoning. In 36 hours, all the necessary shards of calamity will be gathered and the threshold will be met. Until then, for someone here to find the 20 hidden places throughout Seoul… isn’t that nonsensical? Haha—”

He heard something over the phone, chuckled bitterly, and nodded.

“……And I’ve prepared the next backup plan just in case. You don’t need to worry.”

* * *

“And… I would like you to grant access to the <Government’s No. 1 Armory>.”

At Lee Hyunwook’s bold request, Woo Seong-moon could only feel puzzled.

“The 1st Armory…?”

During the wave, he had provided access to the <Government’s No. 2 Armory> for the Steel Battalion.

It was a timely choice. Ultimately, it contributed to saving Seoul.

Of course, a considerable number of items were lost in that operation, including a surprising amount of rings, but it was for the sake of saving Seoul, so losing a few dozen items wasn’t too much of a big deal.

The only puzzling thing was… why it was needed at this moment, he couldn’t understand.

What needs to be done now is to track the hidden ‘event map’.

In simple terms, they needed to move quickly, so a large amount of weapons would only be a burden.

“Do we really need to mobilize many weapons in this situation?”

In response to that question, Lee Hyunwook shook his head.

“Ah, you misunderstood. It’s not that we need many weapons like last time.”

He spread out his index finger.

“Just one will do.”

“Hmm, what kind…”

“It’s ‘Huginn’ which is known to be stored in the 1st Armory.”

Huginn, in Norse mythology, is one of a pair of ravens kept by the supreme deity ‘Odin’, who roams the world collecting all sorts of information to report back to Odin.

Based on such mythology, the item named Huginn was also designed as a legendary-grade item specialized in ‘information acquisition’. And through various channels, it had become a possession of the South Korean government.

Using Huginn, one could expand all senses—or a specific sense up to 50 times.

And if that ability is applied to the current Lee Hyunwook, the detection range of the <Demon Pursuit Squad> also increases by 50 times, thereby dramatically enhancing the efficiency in tracking the ‘event map’.

‘Thinking of Huginn here…’

Woo Seong-moon was newly amazed.

The more he saw Lee Hyunwook, the more impressive he seemed.

Unusually for his young age, he had mature insight.

But… he wasn’t proficient in all aspects.

‘Of course, knowing a lot doesn’t mean knowing everything…’

He knew the existence and function of Huginn and even thought of its application momentarily,

But he couldn’t know the hidden critical issue with the item Huginn.

For a moment, he had hope in this man, but it seemed like he couldn’t entrust everything to him.

Woo Seong-moon sighed bitterly.

“Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, I’m sorry, but Huginn, that item is essentially inoperable at the moment.”

“…Can I know the reason?”

“Huginn, of course, yes, it’s an item with tremendous effects as famous as it is…”

There existed one fatal flaw with Huginn that wasn’t publicized.

“…But just activating that item consumes a tremendous amount of mana.”

Normally, skills embedded in items didn’t consume mana, but there were exceptions.

“Unless you’re a grand mage with a total mana amount of over 10,000, even if you use it while wearing a top-tier ‘mana tank’, you won’t be able to sustain it for even 5 minutes. So it’s practically useless.”

Initially, if it was an item that could be easily used, it wouldn’t have been locked away in the armory.

Such items were referred to as ‘Over Handicaps’. They certainly carried immense functions, but were practically unusable due to ludicrous penalties attached to them… a sort of white elephant items.

However, at that point, Lee Hyunwook slightly smirked.

“Director Woo, I can do it.”

“…Yes?”

Woo Seong-moon wondered how many times he had replied with ‘Yes?’ today.

Every time they encountered a hurdle, Lee Hyunwook was stepping forward claiming he could handle it.

It almost seemed like he was teasing him.

“…You don’t mean to say that your total mana amount is over 10,000, do you?”

“Yeah, let’s leave it as that.”

“Heh— what… what kind of achievement did you accomplish to…”

Lee Hyunwook’s mana was currently at 59,441 and even the ‘recovery rate’ was overwhelming.

Having digested the Dwarf-made Great Mountain Engine and created the ‘Ether Engine’,

It was natural since his heart itself had now become a mana generator.

Unaware of such inside information, Woo Seong-moon carried a face of utter disbelief.

“…I’m telling you once again, I would appreciate it if you could trust me.”

Woo Seong-moon looked dazely at Lee Hyunwook’s face.

‘Certainly… he’s filled with solid confidence. There must be a basis.’

Woo Seong-moon slowly nodded.

“…Alright. However, for now, let’s bring Huginn and test it.”

Upon Woo Seong-moon’s words, the mage aides opened a portal leading to the <Government’s No. 1 Armory>,

And shortly after, a government agent emerged from it holding a large hard case.

“As requested, this is Huginn.”

A senior mage holding the position of a security officer unlocked the multiple security spells placed on it and opened it.

Clank—

Inside, there was a black sphere about the size of a bowling ball.

Lee Hyunwook cautiously picked it up.

[You have acquired the Dormant Huginn (Legendary).]

[Item Information]

-Name: Dormant Huginn (Legendary)

-Effect: Activates when mana is infused.

Lee Hyunwook held the item with both hands and infused mana into it.

Woo-woo-woo—

Then, the sphere slowly unfolded, and before long, it took the shape of a black raven.

Of course, it was not an ordinary raven.

Feathers that seemed more like scales—no, metal, radiated clusters of brilliant blue light from its body. And a curious ambiance was created as a blue gleam slowly rose from its pupils.

‘And the fact is, it’s designed as a mechanical life form created with ancient magical engineering.’

So later on, Kang Hee-seol and the seven dwarves used this as a basis to create the ‘Imitation’,

Launching dozens of replicated Huginns and Muninns into the sky, making them the eyes of the magical mechanical legion.

Of course, no matter what, they couldn’t catch up to this ‘original’.

[‘Huginn’ is activated, all senses are expanded up to 50 times.]

-Mana reduction per second: 24~120

If the effect of this item is maximized, a whopping 120 mana is consumed per second.

Thankfully, Lee Hyunwook’s heart could currently produce about 98 mana per second.

‘Effectively 22 per second… good, it can be maintained for almost an hour.’

He closed his eyes and felt the ‘sense expansion’ through Huginn.

[Your senses are synchronized with ‘Huginn’.]

He felt his senses explosively reach out in all directions.

The sound of a bug crying far away in some corner…

The smell rising from the trash discarded on the floor…

Even the hum of an aircraft passing overhead at this moment was clearly perceived.

“Hu….”

He wondered if this was what it felt like to become a beast.

With eyes closed, Lee Hyunwook sent Huginn flying out of the underground parking lot.

Shh—!

“Uh—”

“Ah—!”

As the legendary item disappeared from sight, the government agents let out bewildered voices of panic.

Only Woo Seong-moon calmly observed Lee Hyunwook’s reactions.

Currently synchronized with Huginn, he was soaring towards the sky.

Whooosh—

How high had it gone…?

‘…I can see it.’

Lee Hyunwook’s view was overlooking the landscape of Seoul.

And within it, he felt some wriggling dark energies.

[You have discovered the quest target ‘Demon’s Secret Altar’.]

[You have discovered the quest target ‘Demon’s Secret Altar’.]

Yes, the <Demon Pursuit Squad> buff was functioning, indicating the ‘targets of the quest’.

Lee Hyunwook chuckled in disbelief.

‘No, at this rate, it seems like it’ll be found too quickly?’

He had just flown Huginn for a test and already discovered two.

The harmony between the skill acquired by digesting a legendary grade material item and a legendary grade information item,

In some ways, it was only natural that this level of impact occurred.

Meanwhile, Woo Seong-moon and his assistants were blankly staring at him.

He was closing his eyes, smiling at whatever he was seeing.

“Wow, it’s already been 5 minutes…”

“No, how much mana do you have, to…”

Just then, Huginn returned and perched on Lee Hyunwook’s shoulder, and he opened his eyes.

Kee—ing——

He heard some mechanical operating sound echoing in his ears from within Huginn.

This proved that he could operate Huginn without any strain, as long as he didn’t go all out.

Lee Hyunwook folded Huginn back into a sphere—into its dormant state, then looked at Woo Seong-moon.

“Director Woo, it seems I can operate it sufficiently.”

“He— Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, your total mana is…”

Woo Seong-moon unconsciously asked so, then stopped his words.

“Hmm….”

He thought now wasn’t the time to dig into the details of this S-ranked player.

And it was also extremely rude to ask each other’s ability informations among players.

What was certain was that there would be only a few players worldwide who could handle Huginn like that.

“So Director Woo, will you follow my plan now?”

Woo Seong-moon nodded without hesitation.

Now, in name and reality, Lee Hyunwook became the center of this countermeasure operation.

“So, what are you planning to do with Huginn, tell me what you need.”

Woo Seong-moon said so and gestured, and assistants from each field approached and prepared to execute.

“First, please mobilize as many wizard players as possible.”

“Um, it would be nice if you could specify what kind of wizards are needed.”

It wasn’t discernible what his plan was with just the idea of doing something with wizard players.

“Yes, enough wizards to open dozens of portals in the skyscrapers all over Seoul.”

Lee Hyunwook added one last remark.

“…We might finish it quicker than expected.”

* * *

“—Stand by all teams in 5 minutes!”

Lee Hyunwook was standing on the rooftop of a building in Yeouido.

Behind him, government agents including Woo Seong-moon were busily moving around, carrying out various tasks.

‘If Huginn is launched, all quest targets within at least a 5km radius will be visible.’

However, the demon’s secret altars were scattered all over Seoul.

Hence, it was impossible to scour all over Seoul depending on Huginn’s flight.

To begin with, Huginn couldn’t stray more than 2km away from the user. It was a limitation caused by the fact he couldn’t fully maximize his operation time due to his ‘lacking’ mana recovery.

The solution to this was…

“Currently, 450 wizards are positioned on the rooftops of 50 high-rise buildings throughout Seoul.”

As such, Lee Hyunwook requested to open 50 ‘portals’ throughout Seoul.

That is, by going back and forth between the 50 locations as if space-jumping, and operating ‘Huginn’— scanning the area quickly.

Thus, accurately specifying the locations where ‘the Demon’s secret altars’ were,

And the ‘assault teams’ on standby in the relevant area will surround the buildings and wait to enter.

‘And after confirming the location of all the secret altars, attack them all at once.’

Minimizing the chance for them to notice and respond, making a clean sweep, that was the plan for this operation.

For this, 450 wizards and 85 assault teams were prepared.

If it had been Lee Hyunwook alone, or even if he had numerous comrades, this synchronization and timing would have been impossible.

It was possible solely due to the ‘government’s’ power.

‘Indeed… having the government’s backing provides a significant advantage.’

And furthermore, it was possible only because of the existence of a person like Woo Seong-moon.

A true-blue bureaucrat dedicated solely to national security…

However, Woo Seong-moon was scheduled to be assassinated just two years later.

After that, the government’s power would be eroded by villains.

‘Already, governments around the world are falling into their clutches, and South Korea is no exception…’

Of course, his intention was to prepare counters for such a situation from now on.

“3 minutes for standby—!”

Soon, all the wizards gathered in one place and began deploying ‘bi-directional portals’,

And from the tips of their wands and staffs, magical energy was being released, converging into one point.

“Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, it’s about time you get ready.”

“Yes, I am already prepared.”

“Understood. I’ll give you the signal shortly.”

At that moment, Woo Seong-moon approached Lee Hyunwook.

“Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, I should’ve mentioned this earlier but…”

“Yes?”

“Actually, we have sought assistance from the Holy Maiden for resolving this issue.”

The S-class priest, Holy Maiden Emilia Mueller, who is residing in ‘Saint Dome’ of Chad Republic, hadn’t responded to any relief requests over the past few years.

However, the story would certainly change if the whole of Seoul was in crisis.

Indeed, in his previous life, she also participated in the recovery operation of the eroded Seoul…

“Fortunately, we received a positive response, and we were preparing to welcome her.”

Yes, with the Holy Maiden’s wide area blessing magic, it was possible to prevent hellification and block the summoning of demons.

However, the cost required to deploy that single magic was astronomical, which was the problem.

“So if signs of failure appear in this plan… to avoid making things worse, we intend to wait until the Holy Maiden arrives, rather than pushing it recklessly. Above all, the safety of Seoul is the most important. Please… keep that in mind.”

Lee Hyunwook nodded his head.

“There won’t be any failure.”

And at this point, Lee Hyunwook was certain of the real reason the villains were summoning demons.

‘It was indeed because of the Holy Maiden.’

Lee Hyunwook had some sense that there was a hidden intention in their movements.

While a demon was certainly a powerful entity as strong as a ‘World Boss Monster’,

Still, summoning one so openly was a strange act.

They advertised the summoning of the demon, making it possible to respond in advance…

‘It’s definitely bait to lure out the Holy Maiden.’

Originally, they planned the assassination of the Holy Maiden as an extension of the 4th wave,

But since it had fizzled out, they devised a new method.

‘And once I handle this, there’s no need for the Holy Maiden to be mobilized.’

Then, a strong wind blew from behind him.

“A3 row bi-directional portal deployment complete—!”

With the opening of the portal, the atmosphere in the area rippled.

Soon, Huginn returned and landed on Lee Hyunwook’s right shoulder,

And he turned and walked towards the first portal.

‘Of course, they won’t give up and will keep targeting the Saint. I need to keep an eye on further variables.’

Like this, Lee Hyunwook always considered and prepared for variables.

However, the reality was, Lee Hyunwook himself was the biggest variable.

It was once again a moment where he turned the handle of the truck named ‘villain’ in the reverse direction.