Chapter 74
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Hidden Stage, Ruin Exploration - 1
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About ten minutes before they were scheduled to enter the gate, the Cheonghwa Guild’s raid team was experiencing a growing sense of bewilderment.
The source of their confusion was the two trailers the Hope Guild had brought with them.
The items inside were strange enough, but what was even more incomprehensible was…
“...Wow, look at that. I think they’re actually planning to take those inside.”
They were checking the entry path, seemingly intending to bring the trailers themselves into the gate.
“Come on, that’s ridiculous… Don’t they know vehicle engines stop working inside dungeons?”
The world had turned into a game, and games had rules.
One of the fundamental principles of this game was that modern technology ceased to function inside the ‘dungeons’ beyond the gates.
In other words, whether powered by an internal combustion engine or electricity, all vehicles were reduced to useless hunks of metal in a dungeon.
“Hmm, but that looks like a ‘mana engine,’ doesn’t it?”
“What? No way, where would they get something that expensive— Huh… it really is.”
They watched as the containers were detached from the trailers and connected to a massive sphere.
Whirrr—
The sphere was covered in intricate magic circuits.
A mana engine.
It was an extremely rare item, a device that used mana as a power source to operate machinery.
“Wow, how did they get their hands on that? Only the Chad Republic can make them, so it must have cost a fortune…”
“I know, right? They must have spent all the money they earned from the wave defense on that thing.”
However, as far as they knew, this vaunted technology was rarely used.
This was because there was currently no efficient way to supply mana—the engine's power source. The only feasible method was to prepare an enormous number of ‘mana batteries.’
But that method cost an astronomical amount of money.
In other words, it was a foolish strategy that made no financial sense.
“Hmph, even if they can run a mana engine, what’s the point if it’s that slow?”
Even if they managed to cover all the costs, the ‘output’ was so poor that it wouldn’t be able to achieve much speed.
And being slow was a critical problem.
Inside a dungeon, where danger could strike from anywhere at any time, one always had to be prepared for the unexpected. Limiting one’s mobility was something to be avoided at all costs.
“This is making me nervous. Don’t you think we’re going to suffer because of them?”
“Ha, you’re right… They reek of a nouveau riche guild that just struck it rich.”
As they watched the Hope Guild, ten minutes passed, and the gate began to open.
“—Cheonghwa Guild is entering first!”
The Cheonghwa Guild’s raid team began to enter.
Having learned a lesson from the recent Red Gate incident in Cheongdam-dong, they held their shields above their heads and slowly stepped into the gate.
- Warning! You have entered a hazardous area.
* You may exit after 24 hours.
Passing through the system message, a dry wind swept across their faces.
Fwoosh—
“Team 1, secure the perimeter. Team 2, assess the terrain.”
The moment they entered, the raid leader, Park Mu-han, issued his orders.
The first thing to do upon setting foot in a dungeon was, without a doubt, ‘terrain assessment.’
“Damn it, it’s a red desert of all things. We’ve drawn a bad map.”
Before entering, the ‘Analysis Team’ had determined the interior climate was arid, a desert biome. However, there were dozens of types of desert terrain that could appear in dungeons.
And the one they’d gotten this time was the ‘Red Desert,’ home to ferocious, giant monsters.
“Hmm… If it’s the Orc Tribe Union of the Red Desert, those are some of the higher-tier orcs, aren’t they?”
“That’s right. The ‘longbows’ they make from desert buffalo sinew are quite powerful, so be careful.”
And 180 seconds later, the Hope Guild entered the dungeon.
Vrooom—
As expected, they were led by their two trailers…
Park Mu-han approached the Hope Guild, his expression one of slight annoyance.
“Tsk—You guys look like you’ll take a while to get ready. We’re going to move out first.”
“Yes, we don’t mind. Please go ahead.”
Lee Hyun-wook, the man known as the Savior of Seoul, spoke as he slowly surveyed the surroundings.
Park Mu-han found even Hyun-wook’s relaxed demeanor grating.
“Ha, and I wasn’t going to offer any advice since you’re so famous, but… those trailers… you could get into real trouble dragging something that slow around.”
He spoke with deliberate emphasis, but Lee Hyun-wook still wasn’t looking at him.
He was examining the terrain feature by feature before finally responding a beat later.
“Ah, yes… Thank you for your concern, but we’ll be fine.”
“No—damn it! *We* won’t be fine…”
“Ah, yes, then do as you please, and don’t come asking for a rescue later.”
With that, the two raid teams moved on, keeping some distance between them.
“Wow… The Hope Guild is really slow.”
A trailer powered by a mana engine was never going to be fast.
Furthermore, the engine itself wasn’t designed for actual driving, so their movement suggested they had all but given up on mobility.
How much time had passed since then…
“—Orc pack spotted, two o’clock!”
On a sand dune about three hundred meters away, orcs began to appear one by one.
As expected of the high-tier orcs from the Red Desert, they were slightly larger and better armed.
“A scout must have just swept by, figured they could take us, and now they’re swarming in.”
Their numbers were around three hundred, by no means a small force.
And that wasn’t all.
“Team leader! Another orc group is approaching from seven o’clock! Looks like over a hundred of them!”
As expected of orcs, an intelligent race, they had opted for a pincer strategy.
Park Mu-han launched a magic drone to get an accurate count of the orc forces.
‘A total of about four hundred and fifty… Well, it’s a number we can definitely win against. Still, it’s going to be a bloody battle.’
Park Mu-han was the leader of a raid team that operated in higher-level dungeons than this.
No matter how difficult the situation at this level, he wouldn’t bat an eye.
However, that didn’t mean he was being careless.
‘First, we’ll keep our distance, watch out for their longbows, and slowly wear them down with ultra-long-range magic.’
No matter how skilled you were, a frontal assault on an orc army was foolish. The plan was to chip away at them with various spells and, once their formation loosened, charge in and break them.
‘Orcs are well-balanced monsters in every aspect, making them tricky to deal with. We can’t let our guard down.’
Park Mu-han anticipated a long fight.
But just then, an unexpected problem arose.
“—Team leader, look over there! The Hope Guild is about to be attacked by the orc pack!”
As fate would have it, the Hope Guild’s raid team was positioned right in the path of the orcs approaching from seven o’clock.
They were still moving at a snail’s pace, escorting their massive trailers.
“What? No, damn it! What the hell are they doing—!”
Over a hundred orcs were already closing in on them, and a clash seemed imminent within minutes.
And facing a large orc force head-on was… insane.
“...What should we do? At that speed, they’ll be surrounded and wiped out!”
Watching the Hope Guild’s frustratingly slow progress, Park Mu-han felt a surge of irritation.
“This is driving me crazy… Contact them immediately and tell them to ditch those damn trailers and run over to our position!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Archers, prepare support fire! Ugh, what? Hero who saved Seoul? It was all bullshit, just as I thought…”
He might have looked down on the Hope Guild, but he didn’t want them to die.
No matter how annoying they were, they were fellow humans…
But then…
“Huh! Something is coming out of the Hope Guild’s trailers!”
“—What?”
At those words, Park Mu-han raised his binoculars to look toward the Hope Guild.
Sure enough, from the Hope Guild’s first trailer, something was launching into the air, one after another.
It was… a black, steel box.
“What is that… It can fly?”
They had caught a glimpse of those black boxes through the trailer doors before entering the gate.
“Wow… I just thought they’d packed a bunch of iceboxes full of food…”
Honestly, there was no more reasonable assumption. What other kind of box would one bring into a dungeon?
But now, in this moment, its appearance felt entirely different.
Whirrrrr—
A blue light spread across the surface of the pitch-black steel, and the heavy box rose smoothly into the air. It wasn't propelled upward by some force, but rather floated as if by buoyancy…
“That surface… it’s all magic circuits…”
They shielded their eyes with their hands, staring blankly at the scene.
A total of twelve units were flying freely, yet there was no sound.
They reflected the intense sunlight pouring down on the desert as they lined up in the sky.
Whirr— Whirr— Whirr— Whirr—
They had no idea what these things were…
But for some reason, it was a mysterious and magnificent sight.
“...Team leader, have you ever seen anything like that before?”
To that question, Park Mu-han slowly shook his head.
“No, this is a first for me too.”
He was ranked 151st among South Korea’s Players.
And he had participated in well over ninety raid operations to date.
But something like this… he had never seen it in his life.
They formed a line and approached the orc pack at a speed that was by no means slow.
“…So, what are they going to do, just fly over there?"
From the outside, it was impossible to guess how they operated.
Graaaah—!
The orc pack, having closed in on the Hope Guild, began to draw their longbows.
And at that very moment—the bottoms of the twelve metal boxes opened in unison.
Zeeeeeng—
A deep blue light began to glow from within.
Faced with this strange sight, the orcs lifted their heads with blank expressions.
Then—
Light flashed from the boxes, and something—a great many somethings—was ejected at high speed.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
With that, the orc pack collapsed as if riddled by machine-gun fire.
The red sand of the desert kicked up like a bloody mist, giving a sense of the terrifying firepower.
“...Wh-what in the world is that!”
Only then did the Cheonghwa Guild members begin to see the unidentified objects in a completely different light.
‘It’s like watching a squadron of Apache helicopters firing their chain guns at infantry.’
What had looked like ordinary metal boxes now resembled attack helicopters.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
After about ten seconds of a continuous barrage, half of the orc pack had vanished.
“……”
Even Park Mu-han, a seasoned Tier 1 B-rank Player, couldn't help but gape.
‘Hah— what kind of skill is that? It seems like a control-type, but…’
Park Mu-han looked through his binoculars at the Hope Guild again.
Lee Hyun-wook, the man known as the commander of the Steel Platoon…
He was slowly raising both his hands.
As he did, the projectiles that had been fired—steel beads—rose into the air and returned to the boxes.
‘He’s reloading!’
Immediately after, the metal boxes pursued the fleeing orcs and once again unleashed their light.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!
With just two barrages, over a hundred orcs had literally been erased.
And by now, 22 ‘Living Armors’ had disembarked from the second trailer.
Their blue optic lights glowed as their massive metal bodies moved on their own.
Clank— Clank—
Gripping 3-meter-long hammers and axes, they began to advance toward the pile of orc corpses.
They had already felled all the orcs, but this was to finish off any that were still breathing.
“Hope Guild, let’s begin the cleanup!”
Behind them, 18 Players followed, weapons in hand.
They looked like a special forces unit advancing behind armored vehicles.
“No way, how are those things moving too…”
Of course, mages sometimes used ‘Control Magic’ to manipulate Living Armors.
But it was considered a niche magic, deemed inefficient in many ways.
It consumed a significant amount of mana just to operate a single suit of armor.
But now, a single person was controlling twelve flying boxes and twenty-two Living Armors.
‘Impossible. As far as I know, that’s impossible.’
He stared blankly as the Hope Guild finished off the surviving orcs.
“It’s over…”
What he had expected to be a long battle was over in just a few minutes.
“...Huh! Team leader! The orc unit at two o’clock has started to retreat.”
Come to think of it, the orc unit that appeared at two o’clock was the larger one, a kind of main force.
But after witnessing that unbelievable scene, they seemed to have lost their will to fight.
The firepower had been so overwhelming that even the famously brave orcs had decided to retreat.
However…
Vrooom—
The twelve flying boxes shot across the desert, beginning to pursue them.
Groooar—!
Having witnessed their terrifying destructive power, the orcs fired their longbows from a distance as they approached.
But the arrowheads of the longbows were also ‘metal.’
‘It’s quite far, but I can reach.’
Based on Hugin’s sensory expansion, Lee Hyun-wook was able to exert his ‘Metal Control’ over them.
Whirrr—
Dozens of arrows, shot with powerful tension, came to an abrupt halt in mid-air.
Grrr—?
The orcs, utterly bewildered by the incomprehensible sight, were stunned.
Above their heads, a punishment made of steel rained down.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat----!
This time, that wasn't the end of it.
“Shatter—!”
The steel beads, fired like bullets, exploded, releasing immense physical energy and ricocheting in all directions. Like a cluster bomb detonating, a steel storm blanketed a vast area.
Boom—bang—bang—bang—bang—bang—!
The moment they hit the ground, the earth shook, and a sandstorm erupted.
No matter how tough the orcs’ bodies were, they couldn't survive in such a steel storm.
Hundreds of them fell in that single strike, and even if they were lucky enough to avoid the direct firepower…
Thwip—! Thwip—! Thwip—! Thwip—!
Spears were summoned from the aerial deployment devices' sub-space, precisely picking off the survivors one by one.
Of the three hundred orcs, only about fifty managed to survive and flee.
“……”
The members of the Cheonghwa Guild raid team who had been watching were all speechless.
Clank— Clank—
Soon, the 22 Living Armors and 18 Hope Guild members reached the pile of orc corpses.
It was the same pattern as before, but destructive and brutal.
“Heh, as expected, when we’re with Team Leader Lee, earning experience and mana stones is just too easy.”
Lee Jeong-jun and the other Hope Guild members were once again in awe, hunting with Lee Hyun-wook for the first time in a while.
“Seriously, I feel like I’ve gained a year’s worth of experience in just a few days.”
“But, wow… where on earth did you get such an unbelievable weapon?”
Lee Jeong-jun asked, pointing at the aerial deployment devices, and Lee Hyun-wook simply smiled without a word.
‘To be honest, even I didn’t know I’d get my hands on this kind of firepower so quickly.’
In this era, magitech was developing, centered around the Chad Republic, but it wasn't yet at a level to replace a Player’s abilities. That was why it wasn't utilized as a Player's personal weapon.
‘But thanks to my Ether Engine ability, I can utilize it at a level that transcends the era.’
And Kang Jeong-du's incredible skill also played a part, as did the ridiculous buff granted to all of Seoul when Laputa appeared.
- *Ksshh*—Ah, this is the Cheonghwa Guild.
Park Mu-han’s voice came through Lee Hyun-wook’s mana messenger.
“Yes, go ahead.”
- *Ksshh*—Earlier… I didn’t recognize you… ahem, I apologize for my rudeness. I’ve been rolling around in dungeons for a few years myself, but honestly, I’ve never seen anything like that before. I guess that’s why I couldn’t believe it.
Having witnessed Lee Hyun-wook's skill firsthand, he had no choice but to accept the fact he had been denying.
“Yes, I understand completely.”
- So the rumored Steel Rain… was real. It was an admirable ability.
Over a decade had passed since the world turned into a game.
Humanity had adapted to this damn game and now believed they understood and controlled it.
As a result, many concepts had become ‘fixed.’
‘The artificial system of Player ranks is a prime example.’
The world is governed by common sense.
And common sense is not absolute knowledge, but an artificially fixed concept.
When something happens that violates that common sense, the world doesn't easily accept it.
No matter how much one insists it’s the truth, a significant number of people will dismiss it as fake news or false information. And this tendency is surprisingly stronger in those who believe they have reached a certain level of expertise in a field.
For their known world to be shaken is for their own authority to be threatened…
‘That's why it's so hard for them to believe that an F-rank could achieve so much.’
But then…
Vmmm—
Lee Hyun-wook felt an unfamiliar vibration from his inner pocket.
It was…
[Item Information]
- Name: Master Key of an Ancient Legacy
- Effect: Unknown
“Why is this suddenly…”
- (!) A quest has arrived.
‘A quest? Is it related to Laputa?’
[Hidden Quest]
- Path of the Ancient Civilization’s Successor…
You have obtained an ancient legacy through a special opportunity.
That special item will guide you to an old glory.
* Would you like to accept the quest? (Y/N)
An ancient civilization. This seemed to refer to the race that built Laputa.
Without hesitation, Lee Hyun-wook accepted the quest.
[Hidden Quest]
- Path of the Ancient Civilization’s Successor…
1) Explore the hidden stage ‘Ruins of the Gnomes’ in this dungeon! (In Progress)
2) Deactivate the Ruins’ Guardian! (In Progress)
* Reward: Ancient Coin of the Underground Kingdom (10)
‘A hidden stage. It’s inside this dungeon.’
A hidden stage was a concealed area within a dungeon, a very rare phenomenon.
And most dungeons were cleared without anyone ever realizing such a thing existed. Later, after the value of hidden stages became known, the worth of ‘Explorer’ class Players skyrocketed.
As such, it was also a place where extremely rare items lay dormant.
‘But, Gnomes…’
Gnomes. Their traces were found in items and objects, but as far as Lee Hyun-wook knew, they were an ancient race that never actually appeared.
‘And they were the founders of magitech.’
Come to think of it, ‘Hephaestus’s Hammer’ was scheduled to drop in this dungeon.
In other words, since this dungeon dropped items related to the blacksmithing class, it seemed a related ‘hidden stage’ also existed.
It seemed an opportunity had arrived to continue developing his powerful and unique magitech.
‘In this field, at least, I can get overwhelmingly ahead of the Villains.’