The Steel Battalion that saved Seoul and their commander, Sergeant Lee Hyunwook…
Those two names were currently the most mentioned in the world.
The media had been pouring out coverage related to the Steel Battalion during the entirety of this week.
Celebrities chimed in through their social media accounts.
Naturally, on the internet, they became the hottest topic.
Thus, countless rumors were being generated.
There were claims that the Steel Battalion was actually a special unit secretly nurtured by the government,
or that all of its members were S-class individuals who had to reveal themselves due to circumstances.
Even conspiracy theories circulated, suggesting that the 4th Wave was fabricated and that the Steel Battalion was fake.
However, since they didn't appear directly in front of cameras, it was impossible to verify their true identity.
"Did that man just say he's from the Steel Battalion?"
"Yes, didn't he also say he's the commander?"
All soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Company of the 2nd Cavalry Brigade based in Incheon were looking at Lee Hyunwook's face.
"Wait, if he's the commander of the Steel Battalion…"
"That's Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, the hero who saved Seoul, right?"
At first, they were skeptical…
"…Yes, that's the face!"
Then, people began to recognize Lee Hyunwook's face.
'Hmm, I didn't expect them to recognize my face already…'
Lee Hyunwook was extremely cautious about revealing himself, but his identity had already spread far and wide.
Face, rank, affiliation, past deeds…
Of course, in this day and age, it is nearly impossible to completely hide one's identity, except for the villains.
Although he was feeling tired of all the attention, there were benefits to being famous.
"Commander, that man is Sergeant Lee Hyunwook."
"Yes, I saw his face on the news this morning."
With this self-assessment, there was no need to explain further.
Seeing the soldiers' reactions, Lieutenant Lee Tae-kyung's face tightened.
She double-checked Lee Hyunwook's name tag.
'Sergeant Lee Hyunwook from the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Cavalry Brigade…'
Yes, it matched perfectly with the hero of Seoul she knew.
Before she realized it, her apprehension had disappeared, replaced by a sense of reverence.
While they couldn't suppress even a small underground parking lot and had to call for support, this man was the hero who moved freely during the 4th Wave and achieved great things.
"Ah, Sergeant Lee Hyunwook… Why are you here…?"
"May I take a look?"
"Huh? Oh, sure…"
Lieutenant Lee Tae-kyung and the AMT soldiers hesitantly stepped back.
"Excuse me, could I possibly borrow a weapon?"
At that moment, a soldier rushed forward, offering his sword and bowing his head.
"Sergeant Lee Hyunwook, if you use a sword, would mine be acceptable?"
He even looked proud offering it.
'What's going on…'
It was an unexpected reaction, but he could somewhat understand their feelings.
AMT soldiers, often looked down upon in the player community, now regarded him as a hero.
Being soldiers, they couldn't help but admire him.
"Uh… no, this will do for me."
As Lee Hyunwook said that and slightly raised both his hands,
A standard-issue 'M9 (Enchant)' Dagger floated up from the soldier's waist.
"I'll borrow a few of these."
Soon, 17 Daggers soared into the air from the waists of all squad members.
Woong—
Everyone looked up, staring blankly at the scene.
"Wow…"
"This is that thing…"
In truth, it wasn't an especially incredible scene.
In a world where flames burst and ice walls rise, making a few daggers levitate wasn't all that impressive.
However, given the terrifying rumors that Sergeant Lee Hyunwook wielded the "Rain of Steel", even this minor spectacle felt quite special.
Amidst their slightly overwhelming stares, Kim Se-hee and Park Junmo approached Lee Hyunwook.
"Do you see they're looking at us like we're celebrities?"
"…I'm already tired."
"So, what will you do now?"
From Kim Se-hee's perspective, entering the underground parking lot didn't seem easy.
"The vines are completely blocking the entrance. If we approach, they'll grab us."
Movements wriggled in the darkness inside the parking lot.
If they got a bit closer, dozens of vines would rush out and bind them.
However, Lee Hyunwook shook his head.
"It's risky. So, we won't go in directly."
"Huh? If we don't enter, then how…"
At that moment, Lee Hyunwook pulled something out of his pocket.
Whing—
It was the 'Flying Eye', a magical engineering item developed by Kang Jung-du.
Lee Hyunwook closed his eyes, performed a 'Mana Transfer', and established a 'Mana Link' with it.
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[Flying Eye (Prototype) 'Mana Link' initiated.]
-Mana decrease per second: 2
His vision then synchronized with the camera of the Flying Eye.
[Flying Eye (Prototype) 'Synchronized'.]
-Available operations are:
1)Night Vision
2)Self-Destruct Command
He felt like he could read the magical circuits etched inside the small machine.
No,
It wasn't reading and 'understanding', but rather instinctively 'sensing'.
Like moving arms and legs, it could be done spontaneously without any process of understanding.
'It's still dizzying, but I think I'll get used to it.'
Lee Hyunwook tried moving the Flying Eye here and there. It felt like being a tiny bee.
Woong—
The device silently and swiftly flew into the entrance of the underground parking lot.
The inside was darker than expected, but through the Flying Eye's 'Night Vision', he could see clearly.
Koodoodoo—
Like hellish tendrils, those red vines filled the space, writhing and making a strange sound as if beating on rubber gloves.
It was a grotesque scene, like peering into a jar filled with wriggling maggots.
Fortunately, the 'Flying Eye's' small and quiet movements didn't seem to trigger any response.
'Good, I'll go a bit further inside.'
Soon, he discovered a single point from which all those vines were emanating.
Thump— Thump—
It was a piece of flesh shaped like a heart.
'That must be the core of the Devil's Claw.'
It was releasing root-like veins over the 'pink moss' spread on the floor.
'As I thought… someone intentionally created an environment for the Devil's Claw to thrive.'
Who and why… Although he couldn't yet ascertain the reasons, he was certain that destroying that core would incapacitate all the tendrils.
'Hmm, should I try the self-destruct function? Hmm…'
However, Lee Hyunwook was hesitant.
Currently, the 'Flying Eye' was quite valuable.
Its valuable flight stone, mithril alloy body, and the magical circuits inscribed for its operation…
Each unit probably had a value in the billions.
'Still, I should test it at least once. There could be issues during critical moments…'
So, as he approached the core and commanded the self-destruct—his vision darkened and returned outside the underground parking lot, back to his main body.
Instantly…
Kaboom—!
A crimson flash of light burst from the entrance of the underground parking lot, causing the building to shake.
"Whoa, what was that…?"
"Exactly, what just exploded?"
Behind him, the AMT soldiers murmured in confusion. They had no idea what caused the explosion.
It seemed Kim Se-hee and Park Junmo were equally surprised.
"Was that you, Sergeant Lee Hyunwook? Or…"
"Yes, I was testing a new technology."
"Ah…"
"The thing blocking the entrance is dead now. We should be able to enter."
At any rate, the destructive power was better than expected.
It seemed that a circuit with an explosion spell had been engraved.
'As expected of Kang Jung-du; even though he hasn't dealt much with magical engineering in the past, his skills are impressive.'
Lee Hyunwook, with the 17 M9 daggers at the ready, approached the entrance of the underground parking lot.
"Ah, but you two should stay behind. I'll go in by myself."
"…Huh? Why?"
"You both can't deal damage to 'wood attribute', right?"
Kim Se-hee was of the 'wind' attribute and Park Junmo was 'electricity'. Both attributes were disadvantageous against wood.
The same honestly applied to 'metal', but Lee Hyunwook had the power to overcome these elemental disadvantages, so he was fine.
"No, going in alone seems…"
Kim Se-hee knew Lee Hyunwook always managed on his own.
Especially when he threw himself towards Cheongryong Mountain, that was truly…
But she had just seen him pass out, so she couldn't help but worry.
"Don't worry. If anything happens, I'll send a signal immediately."
"Still, wouldn't it be better if we followed right behind you?"
Lee Hyunwook shook his head.
"The inside is dark, and those tendrils are everywhere. It could be problematic in various ways."
What he meant was that they might be more of a hindrance than help.
Kim Se-hee pursed her lips.
"Ah, yes— but with just those daggers, it might be insufficient. Shouldn't you take a proper weapon?"
She offered him a sword she brought from the workshop.
However, Lee Hyunwook shook his head again.
Then, he held out both his hands…
Zhezhezhezhe—
Metal began to sprout from his palms.
It twisted in a spiral, lengthening until it formed a solid spear.
At a glance, it looked like he had produced steel from his body.
"Wait, what… What exactly are you?"
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Watching such a magical scene, Kim Se-hee was awestruck once again.
In the case of Lee Hyunwook, every time he surpassed 10kg, 100kg, and 1,000kg, he was granted a new skill.
This was a skill he obtained recently when his metal control surpassed 100kg.
[Skill Information]
-Name: Metal Creation
-Grade: D
-Effect: Consumes mana to 'create' a certain amount of metal.
1)The quality of the metal corresponds to the level of 'Hardening'.
1)Mana consumption varies depending on the quantity of the applied skill.
'Given the current level of my hardening, its strength should be higher than that of a rare-grade weapon.'
[Current controllable metal weight: 131,451g]
* * *
Lee Hyunwook made a second Flying Eye levitate right in front of his forehead, moving forward into the darkness using its vision as his guide.
On the floor near the entrance, red tendrils sprawled out, seemingly dried and dead from the recent explosion of the 'core'.
'But it won't be the only one.'
Given the vast amount of tendrils that had infested the underground parking lot, he could anticipate the presence of a few more.
Sure enough, three red tendrils slithered like snakes toward his ankles. Swiftly, Lee Hyunwook launched four of his daggers.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
The M9 daggers pierced through the tendrils, pinning them to the ground, and hindering their movement.
But the tendrils weren't done yet.
Swoosh——!
From the ceiling, about six tendrils lunged simultaneously, binding both his left and right arms in a blink.
"Tch—!"
However, Lee Hyunwook didn't get easily overpowered.
Having already hardened his entire body, his strength was amplified several times.
Channeling all his metal control into his arms, he yanked them backward.
"Good, quite resilient."
Kwadududu——!
Instead, the tendrils that had been attached to the ceiling started getting torn away. While tautly pulling the tendrils, he controlled the M9 daggers to strike at the middle of the tendrils, severing them.
"Whew… my strength is becoming quite useful now, isn't it?"
At this level of strength, he could even wrestle with a B-grade warrior.
Of course, the outcome might change if that warrior were to utilize their 'skills'.
'Found it.'
Soon after, he discovered the second 'core'.
He slowly raised his left hand and began tensing up his arm.
The sharp spear edge gleamed in the sunlight coming from the entrance.
He hurled it like a javelin. Despite being thrown without any particular guidance, the spear flew like a guided missile, accurately striking the core and in that very moment—
'—Shatter!'
Puhh——uck——!
With a perfect skill combination, he instantly shattered the second 'core' into pieces.
Subsequently, the third Devil's Claw was peculiarly hanging from the ceiling.
However, having already eliminated the previous two, the number of tendrils was noticeably reduced, allowing him to handle it much more easily.
'That's the end of it, all three are gone.'
After confirming there were no more threats, he expanded the vision of the 'Flying Eye' to search the parking lot.
Soon, he found the kidnapped individuals in a corner against the wall.
They were hanging, entangled in the red roots.
'Fortunately, they are still alive.'
They were paralyzed from a toxin, slowing their blood circulation and dropping their body temperature, but they weren't yet in critical condition.
'However, we can't just recklessly remove them. We need a healer.'
Tiny roots had burrowed into their bodies, intertwining with their veins, so simultaneous removal and healing magic was necessary.
Otherwise, excessive bleeding could endanger their lives.
Then, Lee Hyunwook felt an odd sensation.
Movement—a sensation of metal movement.
'As expected… there's someone here.'
Considering someone had orchestrated this whole situation, it was an anticipated development.
He turned his head following the metal movement. Deep within the parking lot, he saw a metal door.
It was the entrance to a machinery room.
From within, multiple metal objects moved about busily.
Lee Hyunwook took out another 'Flying Eye' and sent it in that direction.
But then…
[You can synchronize with the 'Mana Messenger (Intermediate)']
'…What?'
A system message related to Mana Link appeared.
Suddenly mentioning the mana messenger…
He wondered which mana messenger, in which location, was being referred to—it was baffling.
'Ah! Could it be the mana messenger being used by someone inside?'
Thinking about it, the mana messenger was also a magical engineering item.
Connecting to it through 'mana'… might mean he could potentially 'eavesdrop'.
'…If that's true, it's an unbelievably powerful ability.'
Communication using mana was slower and more limited compared to communication using radio waves.
For this reason, unless there was radio interference, it was rarely used in everyday scenarios.
However, it had one overwhelming advantage… it wasn't easy to eavesdrop on.
'Eavesdropping on mana communication requires a high-level mage… no, an elite mage.'
Only magic-users specialized in 'mana detection' and 'flow analysis' could accomplish this,
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Even Lieutenant Moon Tae-ho, who specialized in this area as a wide-range magic controller, wouldn't dare attempt such a difficult technique.
'But if I can hack into it and eavesdrop…'
Lee Hyunwook slowly approached in that direction.
[Synchronizing with 'Mana Messenger (Intermediate)' has begun.]
-Mana reduction per second: 1
'It really works.'
[You are now 'synchronized' with the 'Mana Messenger (Intermediate)'.]
-Available operations are listed below:
1)Connect to the communication
2)End the communication
Soon after, voices from a conversation began to emerge.
―Yes, the Devil's Claws we set at the entrance have been breached. Still, we've placed an 'illusion spell' here, so they shouldn't be able to find us. Our task is nearing completion.
A secretive voice…
It seemed to be the voice of someone inside the machinery room.
―Alright, our side is almost done too. Let's meet at the agreed place in 20 minutes.
This was the voice of someone communicating with the first individual.
―Excuse me, have you heard the current progress of the quest?
―Don't worry about that. The master will handle it… We just have to do our jobs properly. Anyway, the 'demon' will be summoned to Seoul soon.
―My apologies. I almost overstepped my bounds. I'll diligently mine the 'Fragments of Calamity'.
Indeed, the content of their conversation was very suspicious.
'But a quest…'
As always, these 'quests' weren't easily assigned.
And if it was assigned to a group, especially a group that might be plotting something in Seoul at this moment…
'Are the villains moving faster than anticipated…?'
While it wasn't certain, Lee Hyunwook had an intuition that an unexpected 'variable' had been introduced.
'First of all… I need to confirm this for sure.'
Lee Hyunwook approached closer to the machinery room and stopped about 10m away.
Clank—
Using his metal-controlling abilities, he opened the door and sent the Flying Eye inside.
Whoosh—
However, no one was inside the machinery room.
Or rather, they were invisible.
Likely, as mentioned in the earlier conversation, an 'illusion spell' seemed to be in effect.
―…It seems someone is approaching. I'll contact you later.
They seemed to have noticed Lee Hyunwook's presence.
'It seems they have set up a surveillance device at the entrance of the machinery room.'
Either way, the mana communication had ended…
―…He's close. Everyone, stay silent.
'…What? I can still hear them.'
Surprisingly, even when not in a call, he could still hear surrounding sounds through the mana messenger's 'speaker'.
It was really perfect eavesdropping.
―…Yes, there's only one guy. Should we deal with him quickly?
―No, it seems like there's a group gathered outside. If we mess up, it'll be a headache. Our primary goal is to move discreetly. However, if he gets too close, we might be discovered, so swiftly handle him and hide the body inside.
―Yes, I'll prepare then.
So they say…
Lee Hyunwook took out an item.
[Item Information]
-Name: Ring of Gygax (Heroic)
-Effect: Become invisible for 30 seconds when infused with mana.
It was an item he obtained after conquering the last Erosion Factor.
Lee Hyunwook, trusting the item, decided to venture a bit further. Slowly, he entered the machinery room.
It wasn't a vast space, and there was no one in sight.
'…Yes, it's behind the wall.'
He detected the movements of five metal objects beyond the wall.
―He just entered the machinery room. Prepare yourselves to attack if he enters the illusion.
Lee Hyunwook sent the Flying Eye through the wall.
Sure enough, it smoothly passed through the wall, which seemed to be under an 'illusion spell'.
Soon, the view inside, behind the wall, was revealed to him.
It was a dark cave, with torches lit on either side of the passage.
'This seems… like an event map…'
There was no way such a space existed underneath a regular building.
It was clearly a special 'event map', likely related to their quest.
'And I'm concerned about the word "demon" mentioned in the earlier conversation.'
If it was the demon he knew of… it was not something to be taken lightly.
'It's a monster as tricky as a world boss.'
But they mentioned summoning it in Seoul.
He needed to go further in to gather accurate information.
He boldly threw himself inside the wall and infused mana into the Ring of Gygax.
―Hey! He seems to have come inside!
―Damn, he's sharp, but unlucky!
However…
―Huh? He's… gone, disappeared out of thin air!
―What? That's impossible, wait…
In the next moment, they all held their breath.
Searching for the intruder, they heightened their senses and were on high alert.
But they couldn't find anything.
The only sound they could hear was…
Creaking——
From behind them, a strange sound, as if something hard was growing, echoed.