Steel Eating Player - A Player Who Eats Steel

The reason why 'Red Gate' in Cheongdam-dong turned into a 'Murder Gate' was simple.

'The danger increases as you repeatedly battle monsters that are intelligent and live in groups.'

Because as time passed, they 'learned.'

Therefore, they began to use more various and tricky 'unpredictable patterns.'

That is, after the first strategy failed, one had to think a bit more and then attempt the second strategy.

The monsters inside the gate would have also become increasingly malevolent as the rounds repeated…

'Especially in the case of some boss monsters, they act much more intelligently.'

Just like a group of humans yields entirely different results depending on who the leader is, the group led by the 'Old Alpha Male' among the same monsters was quite dangerous.

He knew how to observe and ponder.

He would have watched humans coming in through some 'passage-gate' that they had to go through and reached the conclusion that it wouldn't just end with one time.

'And he ponders. The most effective method of killing…'

What he came up with was to 'launch a concentrated attack' as soon as they passed through the gate.

It might have been a simple thought, but it was very effective.

Because it maximized the advantage of their overwhelming numbers, and in this vast wasteland, there was hardly any place for the players who had just passed through the gate to hide.

That method worked until the fifth raid.

But history changed.

It had to.

No matter how evil they were…

"In one breath, strike them down."

Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-

They could never, never have imagined that hundreds of arrows, bolts, and crossbows they fired would stop in mid-air, divide, and then pour down like hail above their heads.

"Wow… what is that…"

Along with someone's admiration, following Lee Hyunwook's fingertip, a steel storm raged.

Pa-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-

As the storm fell over the hill, a thick dust of sand rose.

The monster troops were swept away in an instant, and dozens were collapsed in one breath.

It was just the beginning.

After they fell vertically, they rose again and were shot horizontally this time.

Like a 'swarm of locusts,' they flew in groups, scraping away everything.

And then…

'…Rotation.'

A dark whirlwind began to crush the hill.

The storms of steel scraps and sand intertwined, making a loud noise.

Shii-Shii-Shii-Shii-Shii-

Although they were small pieces of steel, they clung to the fur, rotating and eventually inflicting wounds on the skin. As they brushed past eyes or necks, they were quite lethal.

Kkang! Kkae-Kkang! Kkang! Kkang!

The sound of a pack of dogs howling echoed across the wilderness.

"Ah? They are running away!"

Utterly unable to respond, the gnolls began to flee in panic.

'But the damage isn't over here. They will continue to weaken.'

Because the ends of those steel pieces – the tips of the gnoll arrows – were coated with 'poison'.

In other words, if they were injured even slightly by the storm of steel fragments, they would have been poisoned.

"How do we… pursue…?"

Knowing it was an absurd thing to say, An Min-tae asked.

Lee Hyunwook shook his head.

Moving recklessly within the dungeon was suicidal.

'Probably about half of their forces were there, and the other half is waiting in the rear.'

Much larger forces and traps must have been waiting for them.

"…Bah, what was that just now? Was that your doing?"

The leader of the Cheonghwa Guild's raid team, Park Ki-taek, asked.

The entire Cheonghwa Guild turned into surprised rabbits.

Meanwhile, arrows were stuck in Park Ki-taek's left shoulder and thigh, and the wounded areas were turning purple. It was obviously due to the 'poison' that was applied to the tips of the arrows.

'The poison… It's not strong but it's the blood of the desert mana toad that gradually drains health and mana.'

It seemed the old alpha male realized that the most terrifying weapon handled by humans was a 'skill', hence it was raising a lot of frogs that harbored mana-draining poison.

"I did hear that you have the ability to control metal, but to this extent…."

Park Ki-taek couldn't hide his amazement.

The Cheonghwa Guild side, including Park Ki-taek, had heard information about the AMT Special Raid Squad, and they knew that they had been active in the Seoul Station Unlucky event.

But frankly, deep down, or rather openly, they were underestimating them.

An Unlucky event below level 15 would obviously be a lower rank compared to this Red Gate dungeon, and no matter how outstanding the AMT soldiers were, who were considered the lowest rank, they were just ground level…

However, it didn't seem like that was the case.

Lee Hyunwook reached out to the Cheonghwa team leader, Park Ki-taek.

Park Ki-taek thought he was being helped up and tried to shake hands, but Lee Hyunwook shook his head.

"No, that, lend me your shield."

A shield…

Bewildered, Park Ki-taek dropped his hand, wearing an awkward expression.

"Huh? Why do you want my shield to him?"

"Hmm… if you don't want to get out of here, well, someday I will bury you with that shield."

"..."

Park Ki-taek couldn't retort.

They had a healer, but out of 14 people, a whopping 11 were hit by arrows, including the healer.

Moreover, 2 were in critical condition, needing concentrated care.

Thus, Cheonghwa guild's raid team was in a difficult position to act any further.

'Even though we suffered damages, taking time to recover is one option.'

As a team leader, Park Ki-taek constantly sought ways.

But, well…

He wondered what kind of offense the cruel Gnoll tribe would launch when night comes, and how to respond by leading this injured troop… everything already seemed too far away.

'We have to do something before the night comes.'

If they were to face the night in this wasteland, they would experience an even deeper hell.

In that case, there was only one option,

They had no choice but to trust the AMT special raid squad…

'Damn, it seems like even if we survive, it won't be a good situation…'

They had already thoroughly disgraced the guild.

But for now, survival was the priority.

"…Fine, take it."

Lee Hyunwook accepted the round brass-colored shield offered by Park Ki-taek.

"Is this a mithril alloy? Quite light."

"..."

Indeed, it seemed like the Cheonghwa guild spent a good amount of money.

"We might have a few trolls attacking from here, but you can handle that much, right?"

"…Of course."

"Then, we have no choice but to explore it ourselves. Since we have to do everything on our own, from beginning to end without any help, don't talk nonsense and testify properly after the raid is over."

"…Yes."

Park Ki-taek nodded with a bitter expression.

The distribution of rewards obtained from dungeon exploration was decided by mutual agreement, which was reached during a strategy meeting held by the responsible persons from both sides just before entering the gate.

As a result, currently, the Cheonghwa guild, which was relatively considered to have the upper hand in terms of power, had secured a contract to take a whopping 70%, holding also the right to first choose the items, commonly known as 'seed rights'.

'But now, we might only be able to take 20%, no, even just 10%…'

But that was literally a prior agreement.

It can change at any time depending on the raid situation.

Even if we somehow managed to conquer this dungeon, it was practically the same as AMT raiding it alone.

In other words, the content of the prior agreement had no choice but to be overturned.

'Practically, AMT will monopolize everything…'

On such concerns of Park Ki-taek, Lee Hyunwook's voice was the nail in the coffin.

"Listen well, the Cheonghwa guild's raid team is practically out. We proceed just by ourselves."

Practically out…

It was true.

From the very beginning…

But the mood wasn't good on AMT's end either.

"Hmm… So what do we do now?"

"Can we raid this with just us?"

No matter how great Lee Hyunwook was, half of their allies had been incapacitated.

And the Gnolls, being as wicked as they were, wouldn't fall for the same trick twice.

"Eh? Corporal Lee Hyunwook, look over there!"

Sure enough, over the sand dune, a few Gnolls appeared, each holding a sizable 'wooden shield'.

They protected their bodies with the shields, then dragged down the colleagues who had been lying on the dune.

"Like this… wouldn't Corporal Lee Hyunwook's attack not work well?"

If they appeared holding a bunch of shields like that, the efficiency of the shrapnel attack could only decrease significantly.

The shrapnel attack was a method of inflicting damage by unleashing a storm-like assault that scratched the skin countless times.

But the moment it was blocked somewhere, its speed reduced, and its destructive power had no choice but to decrease significantly.

Then…

Ah-wooo!

A howling was heard from somewhere.

"Damn, what is this now…"

This was them exchanging messages over long distances.

In other words, it meant that they were systematically moving to catch the intruders who entered their territory to prey on them.

Only then did it feel real again.

The fact that we were standing in those beasts' territory...

Everyone looked at Lee Hyunwook with worried eyes.

"Yes, honestly, we are overwhelmingly at a disadvantage."

"..."

"But we can definitely turn this around. Do you remember the boss monster at Seoul Station, the Queen Spider?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

The Queen Spider with overwhelming might that seemed absolutely unbeatable...

Although it was eventually turned into a mess by Han Tae-san's appearance, until then, they had managed to knock it out and bind it using a combination of water-metal-electricity-ice, even going as far as peeling off its shell.

If they had a bit more time, they could have caught it even without Han Tae-san.

"During the raid, we must use everything we have and even more, we have to utilize all the surroundings, meaning the terrain."

"Terrain, you say?"

"Yes, this time we have to take advantage of the terrain."

But they didn't understand the meaning of his words.

"Terrain… what aspect are you referring to?"

Park Junmo asked.

"Park Junmo, what do you see with your eyes right now?"

"Uh..."

Park Junmo looked around the surroundings once.

The place where they were standing resembled a barren wasteland, and beyond those sand dunes, it was a desert.

"All I see are just sand and dead trees..."

Lee Hyunwook nodded his head.

"Yes, we use that."

…Use the sand?

Until that moment, no one could understand what Lee Hyunwook was saying.

* * *

Lee Hyunwook favored weapons in the form of 'beads'.

'It has a perfect center of gravity, making it easy to control.'

Weapons like long spears could demonstrate vastly different movements depending on where the control of the metal was placed.

However, controlling a bead was remarkably clear.

You just need to focus the force at the 'center'.

'Moreover, there is no worry of it getting caught anywhere.'

If he were to control hundreds, thousands of weapons simultaneously in the future, it was bound to become difficult to exhibit delicate movements.

Like controlling a swarm of sardines or hornets, it was best to control them in a certain flow, but in such cases, there were always instances where some would 'deviate' by getting caught somewhere.

But the beads were different.

They were small, spherical, and smooth, so even if they got caught somewhere, they would quickly break free.

It was the same now.

Sssssss…

Lee Hyunwook was moving 20 steel beads out of his sight, yet none of them got stuck anywhere.

Sssssss…

In the desert sands, they were moving beneath the surface like beetles in the desert.

Whoooosh…

A sandstorm suddenly blew in.

"…Ugh!"

Except for Lee Hyunwook, everyone was experiencing walking in the desert for the first time. Since they were born in South Korea, a place where they had no occasion to experience a desert, adapting was challenging in many ways.

It was hot, dry, and blinding.

'Fortunately, one could say this level of environment is a relief.'

As they headed to higher-level dungeons, unimaginable levels of hellish landscapes would unfold…

"…Stop."

The leader, An Min-tae, raised his hand and pointed somewhere.

It was a heap of sand piled up densely.

Lee Hyunwook had previously warned that gnolls often lurk in such places.

Following this, the archer, Private First Class Choi Tae-yong, stepped forward.

Flick-

The arrow he shot lodged into the spot, and as the sand dispersed, something was revealed.

It was a gnoll corpse.

It seemed to have died while retreating after being wounded by Lee Hyunwook.

"Phew, scared me. I really thought a gnoll appeared…"

Before An Min-tae's grumbling could finish,

Ah-woo-woo-woo!

From not a far distance, the real cry of a gnoll was heard.

This was not a good sign.

"The saying… turned true…"

Everyone lowered their stance and looked around.

"Corporal Lee Hyunwook! Over there, they are coming out from behind the rocks!"

Following Park Junmo's outcry,

Just as he said, a group of gnolls raised their bodies unanimously from behind a pile of rocks.

Krrrrrr…

About 20 in number, but they were holding wooden clubs instead of knives or spears.

Even the arrows had their tips removed and the shafts were sharpened.

'As expected, old alpha male… They've certainly noticed my ability.'

It seemed like they had not only noticed his ability to control metal but also prepared for him breaking it, catching on right away.

Furthermore, having been badly beaten in previous encounters, they equipped themselves with wooden shields and wore thick hoods.

With such preparations, they could avoid taking fatal damage from metal fragments.

"…Be careful of poisoned arrows and hide behind the shields."

An Min-tae and the other two tanks stepped forward, raising their shields.

Lee Hyunwook also raised the mithril alloy shield he had snatched from Park Ki-taek.

The rest moved at 'angles' where they could be protected by the tanks' shields and lowered their stances.

"Hey! They're coming out from behind the tree at 3 o'clock!"

"No, they're coming from behind!"

Ten of them revealed themselves from behind the tree.

And up to twelve from the back…

In total, there were 44.

"Damn, we're surrounded!"

It was a trap.

They had been lying in ambush at various places, waiting for the players to venture this deep.

"Park Junmo, are you ready for the lightning attack?"

"Yes, I can now fire at level 7!"

Until he faced the kobolds, he had said that level 4 was the maximum.

Of course, his ability hadn't enhanced.

It was just that his fine control ability had improved through numerous practices.

Clearly, they all had become much stronger than they were a few days ago.

And they were planning to continue to grow stronger in the future.

"That's right, since sand is an insulator, strike the gnolls directly."

"Yes!"

Park Junmo inhaled sharply and swung his wand boldly.

Zzaa-ang!

In an instant, there was a flash of light, and two who were holding arrows bounced up and crashed into a pile of rocks.

Crash-Aang!

To put it mildly, it was a remarkable accuracy rate.

"… Kk, well done."

"They are hesitating."

With that powerful blow, the gnolls who were tightening the encirclement momentarily stopped.

But it was only for a moment.

Ah-woo-woo-woo!

Once the howling resounded again, they started moving once more.

It seemed as if the orders came from the old alpha male.

He must be watching from somewhere.

Shh- Shh- Shh- Shh-

As the distance narrowed, they started firing arrows.

But the hastily shot arrows were neither fast nor accurate.

"Focus on dodging the arrows, let them surround us, let them approach."

"…."

"Wait calmly, they will not rush until the distance is sufficiently reduced."

Just as he said, the gnolls slowly approached until the distance was reduced to 100 meters.

Then, they started standing shoulder to shoulder, thump-thump.

"Uh? What is that…"

It was like forming a shield wall, somewhat similar to the Roman Testudo formation.

'They have devised a proper way to block my skill.'

Front, side, even overhead, they intended to almost perfectly block the shrapnel attack by stacking shields.

Though he could somehow squeeze shrapnel through the gaps between the shields…

'…Without speed and volume, it would only serve to annoy the enemy.'

As mentioned before, shrapnel was effective only when it stormed in like a wind.

A single point of wind practically had no power, but when that wind gathered and tangled to become a typhoon, it had the strength to uproot trees and bring down buildings, a principle just like that.

"Corporal Lee Hyunwook, the distance has narrowed to about 50 meters."

Like a pack of wolves hunting, they slowly began to threaten.

Krrr…

The pressure was immense.

Even though they no longer showed fear as they did before, everyone was trembling.

"Hoo…"

It felt like they could be swallowed up by them at any moment.

Before they knew it, they were close enough to sense the strong foul smell unique to wild animals coming from the gnolls…

"Good, keep waiting…"

Everyone was holding their breath, looking at Lee Hyunwook's mouth.

He closed his eyes, sensing the metal.

Metal beads scattered around…

There…

"…Crush."

He infused them with mana.

Puh-uk-! Puh-uk! Puh-uk!

With a roar, the sand erupted from beneath the gnolls who were closing in with their shield wall.

Puh-uk! Puh-uk! Puh-uk!

Specifically, the 'metal beads' buried beneath erupted in explosions like landmines.

Though they built a defense using shields covering every aspect, there was one place they couldn't shield, beneath their feet.

And, just like the attack they experienced at first, it was absolutely an unexpected strike.

Crash-Aang! Bang!

Dozens of fragments severed the gnolls' toes, tearing their calves and thighs.

In that instant, about 20 were brought down.

Shrapnel, sand, fur, blood – all intertwined and shot into the air.

Whoosh-thump-thump-

The ambitious shield wall devised by the old alpha male collapsed far too easily.

"It's not enough to just guard above."

Following the storm of shrapnel pouring from above, it was an explosion of shrapnel bursting from beneath.

This was exactly the method Lee Hyunwook mentioned, utilizing the terrain.

"No matter how cunning they are, they are beasts."

Saying so, Lee Hyunwook raised his left hand.

"…Let's start hunting."

As he had resolved earlier, Lee Hyunwook intended to use this red gate as 'nourishment'.