Steel Eating Player - A Player Who Eats Steel

The day of his first vacation since his return dawned.

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was a system message.

[ Congratulations! By meeting special conditions, a new 'skill' is granted ]

[Skill Information]

-Name: Breath Room (Flame)

-Grade: D

-Effects:

-Internal Furnace: Metal absorption becomes faster. (+50% ~ 250%). As the efficiency of the furnace increases, the pain inflicted on the body intensifies.

-Fire Breath: You can store a portion of metal in the Breath Room and release it as 'Breath'. (1 time per 3kg)

-The skill grade will improve when hidden conditions are met.

He had completely absorbed the Demon's Medal (Inferno), leading to the formation of new internal organs named 'Internal Furnace' and 'Breath Room'.

"Whew…"

With this, the pain that had tormented him for two days seemed to wash away.

Furthermore, having gained a decent skill, he felt he could start his vacation refreshingly.

'The timing was perfect. I can absorb a lot during this vacation.'

One of the must-haves in a soldier's vacation plans was, of course, delicious food.

Commonly referred to as civilian food, one of the rules of a successful vacation was to eat as much of what couldn't be consumed in the military.

Although slightly different in context, Lee Hyunwook also had a lot of eating plans.

'I will spend almost all of my time this vacation absorbing metal.'

During his 3-night, 4-day vacation, even Lee Hyunwook himself couldn't fully gauge how much he could grow. However, it would be incomparably more than before.

"An Min-tae, take good care of the squad. Make sure they exercise consistently."

"Yes, don't worry, and rest well."

"Oh, and don't just exercise, do combat training and NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) defense training too."

"Uh, the gas mask… are you talking about that?"

"Yes, what would have happened if we didn't use the gas masks properly during the last battle?"

"Ah… I understand. It's a bit of a hassle, but I'll fit it in."

The mention of the gas mask had its own reasons.

A time would come soon when they would live with their gas masks on.

"Park Junmo, especially focus on your ability training. Your ability is useful, isn't it?"

"Yes! I've realized that, thanks to Corporal Lee Hyunwook!"

"Don't just pay lip service."

"It's true!"

Park Junmo, like Lee Hyunwook, had tremendous potential due to his growth traits outside of levels.

However, the question was when he would discover the method for such growth.

After reporting to the administrative division, Lee Hyunwook went down to the command and control room and received 'Mana Messenger', an emergency contact item for those on leave.

This item, which looked like a pager, could communicate through mana rather than radio waves, allowing for communication even in situations where radio signals were disrupted due to mana dispersion.

[ Level 3 Mana Messenger (Send/Receive: 3 times) ]

Of course, the number of uses was extremely limited.

"Oh! Hello!"

At that moment, someone greeted Lee Hyunwook warmly.

It was Sergeant Choi Seon-ah.

"Salute. Platoon Leader, are you boarding the leave vehicle?"

"No, I'm on vacation too! My first vacation since the transfer! Hehe."

Choi Seon-ah looked extremely excited, like a puppy going for a walk for the first time in its life.

After removing her bulletproof helmet and tactical vest, she appeared much smaller, further emphasizing her non-military-like appearance.

The two chatted about various topics while waiting for the leave vehicle.

Most of the conversation revolved around the operation that took place the day before yesterday.

"To be honest, I didn't know that Corporal Lee Hyunwook was that amazing. Why have you been hiding all this time?"

It was a tricky question.

"Well, I only found out recently that I could do this."

"Really?"

"Yes. I just followed orders until now and never had the chance to fight."

"Wow! You were a hidden genius!"

Genius… Lee Hyunwook chuckled.

"Not at all. I still have a lot to learn. I'll be counting on your guidance."

"Actually, I'm the one who should be asking for guidance! Given that Corporal Lee Hyunwook is technically older than me, has more field experience, and is more skilled, I feel like there's a lot I can learn from you."

"I'll do my best to assist you."

"Hehe, thank you."

Soon after, a 15-seater bus arrived.

"All those on leave, board quickly!"

Upon hearing the shout, the vacationers began to board the bus.

There were six of them in total.

"Driver, is this all the leave-takers for today?"

"Yes, just the six."

A mage player-looking passenger, colloquially one, was seated in the co-pilot seat, and in the back seat, a corporal holding a shield was nodding off. He was the vehicle escort.

The bus soon departed.

"Where's your home, Corporal Lee Hyunwook?"

"I live in Suwon."

"Oh? That's close to me! I live in Hwaseong."

"Is that so?"

"Oh! Where did you go to high school?"

High school? It was a typical question for someone in their twenties.

Meanwhile, he could hear the conversation of two soldiers in the back seat.

"That guy in front, he's the one, right? The F-class hero from the 1st company?"

"… I think so? Was his name Corporal Lee Hyunwook?"

"Should we ask if those rumors are true?"

"Hehe, it's all nonsense. If he's F-grade, he must be weaker than us."

They seemed like soldiers from the headquarters company and were openly discussing about Lee Hyunwook.

Lee Hyunwook didn't pay them any mind.

'It would be strange to hope for silence.'

However, Choi Seon-ah seemed to have overheard that conversation too, as she looked uneasy.

She seemed torn, probably wondering if she should say something in her capacity as the deputy commander of the 2nd platoon, but lacking the courage to do so.

Just then.

"Stop!"

The look-out shouted that,

Bang!

Something flew and hit the front of the bus,

Screeeech!

The bus came to an abrupt stop.

"Ah!"

As Choi Seon-ah's body lurched forward, Lee Hyunwook grabbed and settled her back in her seat.

"Gasp! What just happened?"

Black smoke began to rise from the bus engine.

"Uh? The engine won't start!"

As Lee Hyunwook looked out the window, they were still on the mountain path, near the mid-slope of Namsan.

"Damn it, what's this? Hey! Raise the shield!"

As the lookout shouted, the startled escort soldier hurriedly raised his shield and accidentally struck the ceiling with it.

Simultaneously,

Crash!

A heavy object flew into the bus, shattering the window.

In that split second, Lee Hyunwook could tell.

It was metal.

A chunk of metal weighing about 3.5kg,

Right before it crushed the driver's head…

Whoosh!

Lee Hyunwook used his 'Control' ability to stop it in its tracks.

"Eek! …An axe?"

The driver, in shock, buried his head on the steering wheel.

'What on earth is happening?'

He couldn't exactly remember, as he hadn't been on leave in his previous life at this time.

However, suddenly, snippets of some memories flashed by.

Although he hadn't experienced it directly, he vaguely recalled the details…

'Right, it's the incident where two died.'

Namely, the ambush of the 2nd battalion's leave bus…

Boom!

Something struck the bus's automatic door.

Boom!

The door buckled under another impact.

"D-damn! What do we do?"

"We don't even have weapons now, do we?"

During leaves, all weapons had to be stored in the battalion's armory, so they were all unarmed.

No matter how skilled they might be with AMT (assumed context: a type of combat skill or martial technique), they couldn't fight without weapons.

The next moment…

Crash!

The automatic door was completely torn off.

And behind it stood something massive.

A muscular figure over 2 meters tall, a skeleton seemingly twice the size of a human's…

Growl…

This creature was an Orc.

"Oh, no!"

"No way!"

The giant squeezed himself through the gap of the torn door.

An Orc, a medium-sized monster with the grip strength to strangle a bear with its bare hands, could easily fold a human in half.

The escort soldier raised his square shield to confront the beast, but he was overwhelmed by its intimidating presence and took a step back.

"Oh Dong-jin! What are you doing? Stop that Orc from entering!"

The lookout officer shouted.

He was squatting on the floor, making a call somewhere.

"How can I stop it alone…"

The escort soldier replied in a trembling voice, raising his shield.

Thud-

With an average weight of 190kg,

The Orc's left foot stepped onto the bus, causing it to shake heavily.

Bang!

"Argh!"

While they were in a standoff at the bus entrance, something broke the rear window of the bus and entered.

It was, predictably, an Orc's 'throwing axe'.

"There's another one at the back!"

"Gasp! There's one more in the forest! Look for something we can use as a weapon!"

They were being surrounded from all sides.

Running away seemed impossible, and for a soldier to respond seemed insane.

Lee Hyunwook pulled Choi Seon-ah, who was sitting by the window, inside.

"It's dangerous near the window."

"Wha- What do we do? Should I contact the battalion…"

"Yes, please do that."

However, even though they were only 10 minutes away from the battalion, the battalion's 5-minute mobilization would not arrive in time.

'If everything goes as expected, two people will die.'

Fortunately, Lee Hyunwook had already saved one of them.

By stopping the axe that had come through the front window, he prevented the driver's skull from being shattered.

Lee Hyunwook looked around.

'…Three in total. They're Orc scouts.'

Orcs are a race smarter than Kobolds.

Of course, they have a strong sense of primitive discipline, so they may feel more brutish than evil.

However, that doesn't mean they fight stupidly.

Every individual is a very experienced warrior; they were top-notch in straightforward frontal combat.

'Thus, apart from a player's capabilities, facing an Orc head-on with mediocre skills is out of the question.'

Both the escort soldier and the lookout officer didn't seem skilled enough to face the Orc.

Crash!

At the entrance, the Orc's 'battle axe' struck down on the escort soldier's shield, creating a loud noise.

"Uh, huff!"

The escort soldier's knees wobbled.

In retaliation, he thrust the sword he held in his right hand towards the Orc's body but…

Thunk!

It was blocked easily.

"Damn it!"

The next victim was likely to be that escort soldier.

'I need a weapon.'

Lee Hyunwook closed his eyes.

[ Current controllable 'metal' weight: 5,499g ]

'…It's the axe.'

He felt the two 'throwing axes' that had come through the front and back windows.

Woong-

Lee Hyunwook exercised his control and lifted them.

"Move that shield out of the way."

"…Pardon?"

Without explaining, Lee Hyunwook grabbed the soldier's shoulder and forcefully pulled him back, making him fall.

Immediately after, the gap that had been created was filled by a flying axe.

Whizz-Thunk!

It lodged into the orc's left shoulder.

He aimed precisely for the head, but in that split second, the orc had shifted.

Kraaaaah!

It was still a significant hit. The orc cried out and stepped back.

"May I borrow that shield?"

"Ah, yes…"

"And the sword."

"Here, take it."

Lee Hyunwook, holding a shield in his left hand and a sword in his right, walked out of the bus.

'Yesterday, the battalion commander told me I wouldn't stand a chance against even an orc…'

While dining in the officers' mess, they had overestimated Lee Hyunwook's combat capability as C-grade, indicating it would only be effective against smaller monsters, and that facing even an orc would be too much.

Perhaps that assessment was accurate.

That was, based on the skills Lee Hyunwook had 'shown' thus far.

'…It can't be helped, but I guess I'll have to raise his expectations a bit more.'