Chapter 107
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Blessing and Disaster, Two Meteors - Part 2
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A colossal fireball slammed into the earth, shaking its very axis.
The sky, dyed crimson for a fleeting moment,
soon turned stark white.
Their vision was completely gone.
And in their ears, only a high-pitched ringing—
Whoooooosh—
From ahead, beyond the mountain slope, a scorching blast of wind and sand swept over them.
How much time had passed...?
Their sight, which had failed them, slowly began to return.
“…Huh? We’re really completely unharmed?”
Despite being only a few hundred meters from the meteor’s impact point, the three of them had taken no damage from the thermal blast.
Just as Lee Hyun-wook had said, they had received some form of absolute ‘protection’.
"It’s one of this item’s functions."
Lee Hyun-wook held up the ‘Okeanos Guidance Device’.
A yellow light was emanating from it.
"Well, if it didn't, it would be a suicide item, wouldn't it?"
Lee Hyun-wook nodded and started walking.
As they crossed the slope, a scene of uprooted trees unfolded, and the land beyond was completely overturned, radiating heat.
“…The area is still hot, so be careful.”
Ssssss...
As they drew closer, they could feel the dry, brittle soil sizzling from the heatwave, and occasionally stepped on tree roots that had turned to charcoal.
They cautiously approached the center of the meteor’s impact.
"So you’re saying there’s some incredible treasure in there?"
“…Ahem. Right now, it looks more like there’d be a bomb.”
Kim Se-hee and Lee Jeong-jun said, still looking uneasy.
But a completely different thought was swirling in Lee Hyun-wook's mind.
'...I'm sure the news said the large fragment was headed for Jeju Island.'
The mana scattering would dissipate soon, and communications would be restored. He'd have to confirm it then, but he didn't think he had misheard.
'Seriously, they're desperate to devour this country, aren't they?'
Lee Hyun-wook clicked his tongue.
The Villains had long aimed to seize hegemony in Asia, but they had repeatedly failed to secure one of the most crucial pieces: South Korea. Yet, they refused to give up, attacking again and again.
'It's not that I don't understand why they're going to such lengths.'
They had seized China through the Second Wave, and the demon-worshipping faction had taken root in Japan. Rather than swallowing a few more Southeast Asian countries, they were trying to secure the last 'major pillar'.
'And above all... they must want Laputa, right?'
In other words, for them, Seoul was a key point they couldn't afford to give up.
If that was the case...
'...And I'll be just as relentless in stopping them.'
In a way, this could be a good thing. If the Villains weren't plotting out of sight but instead charged straight into the ‘trenches’ he had built... all he had to do was load his machine gun and wait.
And at the decisive moment, unleash a crossfire.
'Besides, they won't know I've obtained this...'
No matter how much dark information the Villains possessed, they couldn't know everything. In his past life, this Okeanos Guidance Device, in particular, had eluded their detection and fallen into someone else's hands.
And it contained things useful for raiding <Phaeton>.
"Over there! There's something!"
Lee Jeong-jun shouted. They had unknowingly gotten close to the impact site.
The three of them descended the slope of the meteor crater.
"Huh, what's that? Isn't that a monument?"
It looked less like a meteor and more like a rectangular stone monument... a 1.5-meter-tall stone slab with all sorts of patterns engraved on its surface.
The meteor that had fallen here being called a ‘fragment of the sun chariot’ was merely a mythological motif; it wasn't a literal chariot.
Ssssss—!
The ground around the monument was boiling.
"Ugh, I'm sorry, but I can't go any further."
The heat intensified the closer they got. Lee Jeong-jun couldn't even approach, and Kim Se-hee took a step back, wrapping herself in a veil of wind.
Only Lee Hyun-wook, thickening his Hardening, could block the heat.
He reached out his left hand and placed it on the monument's surface.
- Would you like to open the ‘Unknown Object’?
"...You two, please step back."
Lee Hyun-wook said, concentrating Hardening into his left hand.
And the moment he infused mana into the monument—
BOOM—!
An explosion. The ground around the monument sank as flames erupted.
- This area has been designated as the <Sanctuary of Fire>.
* The average temperature within a 5km radius of the monument will increase by 8 degrees.
* A ‘Fire-Attribute Ecosystem’ will be established within a 10km radius of the monument.
* The melting point of all metals will decrease significantly. (-30%)
* ‘Tempering’ performed here will significantly increase strength. (+30%)
* All metals produced here will be of the ‘Highest Grade’.
* Fire-attribute enchantments performed here will gain additional effects.
'This is the blessing that fell from the sky.'
With such an overpowered area-of-effect persistent buff, it could accelerate the development of the magical steel industry. These were effects capable of sustaining an entire nation.
'If I move Laputa here someday, the synergy will be quite good, won't it?'
Then, all sorts of items poured out from the sunken ground. Most were red orbs—high-grade fire orbs from Grade 1 to 3.
But the truly important things were elsewhere.
He swept aside dozens of orbs as if they were pebbles. Underneath, other items were revealed.
Among them was a bracelet-shaped item.
- You have obtained ‘Helios’s Protection (Heroic)’.
'This is the item that will be a great help in raiding Phaeton.'
This item nullified a certain amount of the flame attacks unleashed by the Giant of Blazing Calamity, allowing one to withstand its onslaught, which was akin to a volcanic eruption.
However, Lee Hyun-wook pushed even that aside and pulled out the largest object buried deepest. It was... a massive iron chest.
'Yes, this is it.'
[Item Information]
- Name: Box Containing Eternal Fire (Legendary)
- Effect: Grants the ‘Fire’ attribute to any item placed in this box.
If he used this to manufacture a furnace-shaped ‘object’, it would become a facility capable of turning common dungeon ore into ‘Flame Orbs’.
'In my past life, Vietnam established an armory based on this, didn't they?'
The weapons made there possessed a considerable level of fire attribute, and some were even equipped with an ‘explosion’ effect. As such, he used to import and use ‘explosion rods’ from them.
'It was broken. To be precise, it was broken when I used it.'
The firepower of the metal Lee Hyun-wook controlled was, without any inherent skills, effectively capped at ‘crushing’, which was a significant drawback.
'After all, it wasn't very effective against enemies with high defense...'
But with metal enchanted with an explosion effect, he could elevate its power to a level akin to a ‘missile’, accompanied by a fiery explosion.
"Uh... why is there so much stuff?"
Kim Se-hee asked, standing at a distance.
"But it looks like we don't have time to check everything one by one."
"What? Did something else happen?"
“We need to check where that second meteor fell earlier.”
"Ah! Now that you mention it, I think I heard it was Jeju Island."
Lee Hyun-wook got busy again.
First, he contacted Team Leader Lee Gyo-jun and explained about the meteor in Gangwon Province. He, too, questioned how Lee Hyun-wook had guided the meteor, but once again, Hyun-wook passed it off as a ‘dedicated quest’ related to Laputa.
"And I heard that meteor also fell on Jeju Island."
- Yes, that’s correct. Do you happen to know the identity of that meteor? The two were originally one, so there must be a connection.
“I don't know the specifics, but it's bound to be a bad event.”
- Damn it. I'll report that to the Director for now.
"Yes. I'll contact you again if I get new information."
Then he immediately called Park Cheol-su.
"Hyung, can you buy some stocks I'm about to mention with our surplus funds?"
- Uh, huh?
Caught off guard by the sudden talk of stocks, Park Cheol-su asked quizzically.
Lee Hyun-wook had amassed tens of billions of won through various means, including the Fourth Wave rewards and Red Player bounties.
He was also diligently growing that money using his knowledge of the future, and Park Cheol-su was in charge of handling all of it.
"Right now, in the ‘magic mobility’ industry... you know companies like America's <Blue Tree Air> or Chad's <Gold Griffin>?"
Magic mobility. As the name suggested, it referred to technology for transportation powered by mana, with airships being the prime example.
No company had yet produced concrete results in this field, but it was being evaluated as a future growth industry, attracting value investments.
- Hey! What's this all of a sudden? No, Hyun-wook, more importantly, about that meteor in Gangwon Province. Is it possible that the forest land we bought...
"Yeah, that's right. I'll tell you later, so please handle that first."
- No, you always say you'll tell me later...
"—Hyung, please do it right now, before the market closes!"
He hung up and immediately sent a mana message to Yeo Sang-min.
"Relay this to Soiller immediately. Summon all the dwarf craftsmen."
- Sir?
Like Park Cheol-su before him, Yeo Sang-min asked back with a bewildered voice.
- Sir, if you mean all of them... that would be about one hundred and fifty people.
"Yes, it's a job that requires all of them."
- Uh... what reason should I give for the summons?
Lee Hyun-wook paused for a moment before giving a short reply.
“...Tell them we're preparing for war.”
***
In a dark underground facility, a small light flickered on.
It was no ordinary space. It was a bomb shelter built eleven floors underground, protected by a magic barrier and a silence spell.
A man sat at a desk in the center of the room.
“...The government is tearing into us with full force. We can't hold out.”
He was Ki Baek-jun, the master of the <Taesan> Guild.
And right now, he was on a call with someone via a magic line.
"Damn it! We could handle it for a day or two, but we've reached our limit! Every time we touch Lee Hyun-wook, we slowly wither and die!"
It was as if they had poked a hornet's nest—no, as if they'd mishandled a gas fire. Every time they provoked Lee Hyun-wook, they were swept up in a violent aftermath.
Recently, he had even started presenting evidence of the Taesan Guild's dark deeds—procured from who knows where—tightening the noose around Ki Baek-jun's neck.
And so, Taesan, the third-ranked guild in South Korea, was on the verge of collapse.
“...So, what message does the Chairman have for me?”
To him, the ‘Chairman’ had only ordered him to stand by. This had been going on for months, and he wondered if this was what it felt like to be cast aside after being used.
“...Pardon?”
But just now, a new order had come down for the first time in a long while.
“No, so you're saying..."
He gripped the phone tightly and ground his teeth.
“...When the disaster falls on Jeju Island, the entire peninsula's military power will inevitably be focused there. Are you telling me to aim for Laputa then?”
In other words, it was what they called an ‘empty-house raid’.
“Haha...”
Ki Baek-jun wore a bitter, miserable smile.
"You're telling me to personally lead the attack on Laputa? Are you serious?”
That meant he was to become a criminal—a Red Player.
'Basically, since I'm no longer useful, they're going to use me as a disposable card, is that it?'
But unlike before, anger didn't boil up inside him.
He was already cornered with no way out.
"Ha... If I carry out this operation, I'm leaving this land. Shit, I'll have no choice but to leave anyway, but you must make it happen.”
He decided to take this chance to escape South Korea. His foundation, <Taesan>, was already withered and dead, so he had no lingering attachments to this country.
But as the voice on the other end of the line continued, his eyes widened.
A very interesting story was flowing into his ears,
and Ki Baek-jun found himself raising the corners of his mouth in a bitter smile.
"Ah, is that really true? Haha—with a method like that, we can certainly take care of this country's high-rank Players, all of them, disguised as an accident. A disaster in the Jeju sky... what an interesting idea.”
Just now, a great disaster had fallen upon Jeju Island.
Soon, large-scale reinforcements would be dispatched there...
They were scheduled to be buried at sea, never setting foot on Jeju Island.
"Good... It's been a while since I've heard a scenario I like.”
***
It was true that an unidentified meteor had fallen into Baengnokdam on Jeju Island.
And it was quickly revealed that it was no ordinary meteor.
- ...This is a helicopter overlooking the meteor impact site at Baengnokdam, Jeju Island! As you can see, gray smoke is rising from Baengnokdam, as if a volcano has erupted!
A news station's helicopter was flying over Jeju.
- And a massive crater has been gouged out inside Baengnokdam!
It was clearly the mark of a meteor impact, a crater.
And from within it...
Gr-r-r-rumble—!
A fire giant, approximately 20 meters tall, began to rise.
- Gasp!
The scene was captured perfectly by the camera,
and only the ragged breaths of the cameraman and the anchor filled the audio.
In that moment, its massive hand flew toward the helicopter.
- Oh! Ahhh... The giant monster, it's reaching for us!
...Fortunately, it was just out of reach.
Then—
Fwooooosh—
A long pillar of fire shot out from the monster's grasp,
and with that final scene, the news broadcast cut back to the studio.
- Ah...
Following this, an emergency evacuation order was issued for all of Jeju Island.
And the <National Gate Response Committee>, a council where the nation's top Players gathered to respond to national crises, was urgently convened.
Lee Hyun-wook also attended the meeting remotely.
Soon, Team Leader Lee Gyo-jun began the initial briefing.
"Now, everyone, please look at this.”
As he started the briefing, he displayed a video.
"This is a video sent from the A.M.T. Maritime Search Team 13, filmed about 30 minutes after the meteor impact as they were returning to the Jeju Naval Base.”
Soon, a coastal cliff appeared on the shaky screen.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
The sound of rotors; it seemed to be footage from a military helicopter.
- Platoon Leader, Hallasan is on fire!
- Damn it, a monster coming out of a meteor... It's not aliens, is it?
As such conversation was heard,
a large amount of red powder began to fly toward them.
Tap— Ta-tap— Tap— Tap—
At a glance, they looked just like sparks...
But such things filled the Jeju sky.
- What is this! Is it unavoidable?
- There are too many... Huh! The helicopter is on, on fire!
Ssssss—
The moment they touched the fuselage, didn't they just ignite? And in an instant, before anyone could react, the flames spread.
- Damn it, those aren't just sparks! They're mo-monsters!
Right after that scream, a series of larger explosions were heard.
And once again, the screen went black.
It was clear without being said that they had been wiped out.
“...Those spark-like flying objects you just saw are a type of evil spirit called ‘Red Wisps’. They are very small, but a single one can burn down a forest, and tens of thousands of them are scattered across the entire island. In other words, approaching by aircraft or ship is difficult.”
Immediately after, a satellite map of Jeju Island was displayed on the screen.
It was a photo that looked like it was taken with a thermal imaging camera,
and red dots were densely packed along the coastline.
"All of those dots are ‘Red Wisps’.”
He went on to explain that ‘Red Wisps’ have a habit of unconditionally charging at any detected mana, making it impossible to evade them.
This meant that landing on Jeju Island with ordinary means of transport was virtually impossible. What was needed was a large number of flying objects equipped with ‘mana engines’ that could maintain a magic barrier for an extended period while clad in magic metal.
To put it bluntly, they needed ‘airships’.
- Um... Can't Inferno control those flames? No matter how many of them attack, he should be able to just push them away, right?
Someone among the video conference participants mentioned Inferno. Indeed, Inferno, the controller of fire, would likely be able to control such things.
But Team Leader Lee Gyo-jun shook his head.
"Yes, we also tried to contact him, but... Inferno entered a Red Gate that appeared in Gimhae two days ago. Given the scale of that gate... it will likely take about three more days.”
At that, cries of frustration erupted from all sides.
- Ahem... Then I suppose airships are the only answer. One or two won't be enough, but we have Lee Hyun-wook's <Pridwen> and the Holy Knights' slightly larger <Oryonggeo>, don't we? We could mobilize those at least...
At that point, Team Leader Lee Gyo-jun shook his head again.
"Unfortunately, the A.M.T. Holy Knights are also engaged in an operation to clear a massive ‘Ghoul’ dungeon that opened in Cheongju. And that's also a Red Gate... so it's expected to take about three days to clear.”
At this, sounds of tongue-clicking came from all around.
- Seriously, could the timing be any more absurd?
- Of all the times for our most critical personnel to be unavailable...
It was a situation so suspicious it was hard to dismiss as mere coincidence.
“...This is a point we also find questionable.”
Only Lee Hyun-wook understood this suspicious coincidence as an inevitability.
'This is all part of the Villains' diversionary tactics.'
Some gates could be ‘induced’ to open by the Villains. They had probably diverted our main forces in advance, just like during the Fourth Wave.
"Now, what's certain is that we don't have time to wait for them. Civilians are in danger as we speak. Clearing the threat is secondary; we must find a way to evacuate the residents of Jeju to the mainland.”
- How are we supposed to evacuate civilians if we can't even get in?
- If we make a wrong move, we'll all just die...
Just then, a new face appeared in the list of video conference participants.
- Ah! It's Kang Seo-yoon!
It was the appearance of Korea's 4th-ranked Player.
- Everyone, thankfully, the <Blue Tree> corporation has just agreed to provide us with airships! It, it seems three of their airships were docked in Japan to assist with the aftermath of the Okinawa incident!
At that, sighs of relief came from all corners.
- Phew... Representative Kang is always the problem-solver!
The mega-conglomerate <Blue Tree> had long been a leader in the magic mobility industry, producing and operating ‘manufactured-type airships’.
'But strictly speaking, those aren't airships.'
They were just fuselages made of magic metal, lifted by a massive number of flight stones, with mana supplied by mana batteries.
And they still used ‘jet engines’ for propulsion.
In other words, they were objects haphazardly pieced together from all sorts of material items.
Compared side-by-side with ‘item-type airships’ like Pridwen or Oryonggeo, they were overwhelmingly inferior in terms of performance and energy efficiency.
'The maintenance cost for a single one is said to be equivalent to three aircraft carriers...'
But right now, they needed anything they could get. Without borrowing even those, a large force of Players couldn't land on Jeju.
- If it's their airships, we're talking about the 130-passenger model, correct?
- Oh... If we have those, landing on Jeju Island might actually be possible!
But Lee Hyun-wook was clicking his tongue inwardly.
'Those vile bastards, using this trashy trick again...'
America's <Blue Tree> was a corporation with Gordon Price as its head.
In other words, this offer of airship support was also part of the Villains' scheme.
'Probably... they intend to sink us all at once.'
It was a painfully obvious trick, and they had used it several times in his past life.
But just then.
"Everyone, this is Director Woo Seong-mun. Allow me to say one thing."
At this, everyone fell silent.
Woo Seong-mun. He was, for all intents and purposes, the host of this meeting.
If he was speaking, it meant the matter was quite important.
However...
“...We will not be borrowing Blue Tree's airships.”
It was a statement that couldn't help but break the flow of the meeting.
- What? What do you mean by that?
- Then you must have another way?
Flustered voices poured in from all sides,
to which Woo Seong-mun nodded.
"Yes, that's right.”
He looked at Lee Hyun-wook's face on the screen.
“...We have a fleet of our own ready.”
***
And at that same time, Laputa's airship port was bustling.
They were the Gray Dwarf craftsmen, including Soiller.
"Seriously, servicing all of those in just 12 hours? Does that even make sense!”
"Hoo... But I guess it does make sense, 'cause we somehow finished it!”
They were drenched in sweat, yet they chuckled as if something was incredibly amusing.
“Kuk, worked up a good sweat. I'd love a beer, but I guess not, huh?”
“Hmm... If we just have one sip each, it should be fine..."
Just then, someone shrieked—
“—No, you can't!"
It was Yeo Sang-min.
He was running breathlessly from the Order Tower.
“Uncles, get ready to depart immediately!”
At the same time, something shot up from the Order Tower's airship port.
Whoooosh—
It was Lee Hyun-wook's Pridwen.
"Aigoo! We can't be late either!”
“Yeah, can't get on the landlord's bad side!”
At that, the dwarves moved busily, beginning to board the twelve airships lined up at the airship port in the upper residential area.
These were the same ragged airships the dwarves had arrived on not long ago, but their exteriors had been repaired at Lee Hyun-wook's request.
As a result, they now had a rather respectable silver-white appearance.
"Alright! Everyone listen up! Move safely, just as you were told—!”
Soiller shouted, falling in behind Pridwen's tail. Behind him, a total of twelve dwarf airships followed in a line.
Just then, Lee Hyun-wook's voice flowed into all the airships.
- Alright, we are now exiting Laputa's dome.
"Uhaha— Alright! Let's go!”
- And please, I'm begging you... please fly safely.
Soon, Lee Hyun-wook's Pridwen slipped out of the transparent dome.
The procession of dwarf airships followed,
In other words, a fleet of airships had appeared in the skies of Seoul.
Whoooosh—
Their shadows covered the area around Seoul Station,
and the citizens below couldn't help but raise their heads in unison.
"Uh... Look over there!”
"Gasp! Wh-what is that?”
Against the blue sky, silver-white airships emerged from the giant floating city, passing through the skies of Seoul in a neat formation.
The scene was also broadcast on the screens of the <National Gate Response Committee> meeting.
- No, what on earth is that...
- Don't tell me that's...
As the attendees murmured, Woo Seong-mun opened his mouth.
"It is an airship fleet, with Lee Hyun-wook's Pridwen as its flagship.”
It was the moment the concept of an ‘airship fleet’ appeared in this world.