Magnets and Iron Veins
Suddenly, one guy popped into his mind.
“By the way, what’s that bastard up to?”
“That bastard?”
“Yeah, that weird fucker.”
“Oh, my friend?”
Rudolph’s friend, Asrahan.
Once a user who’d sent chills down his spine with his sheer strangeness, and a pain in the ass who’d pick a fight every time they crossed paths.
“Yeah.”
“He says he’s on some important quest these days. Bet he’ll come sniffing around once it’s done.”
“Me?”
“Yep.”
“Sigh, why the hell again?”
“Why? To duel you one-on-one and win, duh.”
Rudolph let out a guttural chuckle.
“Don’t even think about ditching him—he’s stubborn as a mule.”
“Figures.”
Annoying as hell, sure, but his skills were solid enough.
Maybe I can use him.
Mu-hyuk flashed a playful grin.
“That guy still PKing?”
“Nah, quit that shit. Disbanded his guild too.”
“Hoo, why?”
“Dunno. Lost interest, he said. Same here.”
“Hmm.”
Good riddance to getting hooked on PK thrills.
Of course, if it was just about fun, PK was top-tier content. But the second it controlled you, you lost everything.
Plenty of player-versus-player action would drop soon enough. No rush to flex then.
“So he’s into bets?”
“Loves ’em.”
“Perfect.”
Conditions met.
If he played this right...
He glanced at Rudolph.
Could probably rope him into a similar deal.
A sudden chuckle escaped him.
Makes me sound like the villain.
He shook his head to clear the stray thought.
“Let’s hunt.”
“Huh?”
“No, snag some properly.”
“I am trying.”
Rudolph’s hands blurred into motion.
Bang! Pababa-bang!
Arrows rocketed out in a deadly fan, blistering speed.
Looked casual, but every shot brimmed with raw destructive punch.
A few monsters in range took arrows to the body—their agonized howls said it all about the power packed in.
Only issue? The goddamn noise rattling his eardrums.
“Ugh, too loud.”
He dug in his ear, eyes locked forward.
Turns out the arrows weren’t just about brute force.
Cold spewed from the tips, flash-freezing chunks of monster flesh.
Mobility tanked hard. The slowed beasts couldn’t dodge the charging Armor Cavalry.
Accelerated thrust!
Weapons lanced out at terrifying velocity.
Pook! Pook!
Not content to pierce—they cleaved bodies clean open. Mu-hyuk, watching leisurely, bent toward a fallen monster.
Dissecting the corpse.
Dissecting yielded a strength-trait bone. Into inventory, then repeat on the next.
Corpses despawned fast—not a huge haul. But with more dying, no downtime.
Dissecting the corpse...
Bones stacked neatly.
Combat wrapped up meanwhile.
“Hmm.”
He eyed the traits, then approached Burtan. Yanked out an awkwardly shaped bone.
Burtan’s Strength (0.13) decreases.
Too bad—strength dipped.
Whatever.
Slot in a fresh one right away.
Burtan’s Strength (0.17) increases.
Net gain: +0.04.
Dexterity at work.
If luck soured, a bad pull could tank 0.23—not perfect. Still, solid odds for a stat bump.
This one too.
Yanked another bone from Burtan.
Burtan’s Knowledge (0.13) decreases.
Knowledge took a hit this time.
Burtan’s Strength (0.17) increases.
Strength compensated.
Swap after swap.
Replaced everything he had, then crafted three weapons.
Rest over, Mu-hyuk lured monsters with skeletons and kept the pack hunt rolling.
Took another hour to finally push past the entrance.
Hmm.
Mu-hyuk’s face darkened.
What to do about this?
Developing the iron ore fill zone needed laborers—and they’d trek this path constantly.
Monsters spawning like this? Dead men walking. And Mu-hyuk couldn’t babysit forever.
There was a way to stall respawns long-term: assemble an NPC subjugation squad. Kept monsters away four weeks.
Do it again? Six weeks clear.
One more? Eight.
Build it up gradually. Issue: no NPCs available now.
Fine, just mark the spot.
Small mercy—monster density thinned after the entrance.
Spread out.
Full focus on scouting.
“But why here?”
“Hunting.”
“Pack’s good, but...”
Rudolph cocked his head.
Not prime territory.
“Gotta grow the village first.”
“Huh?”
“Village chief?”
“Yeah.”
“No way that’s allowed?”
“Was.”
Rudolph’s eyes bugged out.
“So you’re chief now. Sticking around to build it up?”
“Yep.”
“Ah, that’s why hunting nearby...”
Mu-hyuk’s chief status was public knowledge by now—straight from Illusion TV.
Knowing didn’t mean doing, though. Emperor’s personal appointment? Good luck.
Classic “know it, can’t do it.”
Why else spill it freely?
Plus, players loved the content. Dreams of their own chiefdom, maybe even lordship.
Not this mine, though.
Sneak-mining risk—he’d keep it hidden. Some theatrics required.
“I’m out.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Need a break.”
“Ah...”
“You?”
“Log off, solo hunt. Or rest.”
“Cool.”
Mu-hyuk killed Illusion TV and logged out. Ten real minutes later, reconnected.
“Huh?”
“Uh...?”
Eyes met with seated Rudolph.
“Back already?”
“Yeah. You still here?”
“Was heading out.”
“Go on.”
“You...?”
“Dipping again.”
Rudolph chuckled darkly.
“You think I’m a moron?”
“Ahem.”
“Secret business, huh? I’ll stand guard. Hunt a bit, then village rest.”
“Yeah...”
Mu-hyuk awkwardly watched him go.
Sharp as a tack.
TV off—time to move for real.
“Skeleton Summon.”
Stuck shop-bought magnets to skeleton legs, dispersed them.
Command Authority
Secured vision, scanned meticulously.
Skull Snake, veer right more.
Dig in there.
Hold—stop. Hide behind tree.
Good. Advance.
Steered clear of monster scraps. Summons scattered pure for recon—no upside to scraps.
Slow, precise commands. Tricky spots? Left to the elites with authority.
Handy as hell.
Grinning, he dove into the search.
Same moment.
A surveillance nook tracking their person of interest.
Illusion HQ, upper floors.
Corner office: two guys, instant ramen fueling screen stares.
“Nothing special?”
“Sigh, anything else and I drop dead.”
“Same, wiped out lately.”
“Tch, silver lining. Dark user’s off in his own plot now.”
“Yeah. Who knows later.”
“No crisis now. Story’s ages off anyway. That freedom’s what makes it fun.”
“Fair.”
Dark arc shelved.
Gazes locked on one feed. Unmoving.
Skeleton swarm.
Center: user chilling. Deeds so far? Head-shaking stuff. Missed the leg magnets, apparently.
“That user though.”
“Chief popping early was quick, but no real snag.”
“Not that...”
The grim-faced one, Woosun, spoke up.
“Mountains got a mine.”
“Mine?”
“Iron ore. More precise: filled deposit now. Develop it, boom—mine.”
“Crazy. Skip details. For real?”
“Iron there?”
“Yeah! Real?”
“Dead serious.”
Silence crashed down.
Iron mine discovered? Village skyrockets, city overnight. Mu-hyuk lords up, perks galore.
“Lord perks?”
“Tons. Loopholes. Hot one: guild wars? Pull a trick...”
“Crushes future content.”
“Bingo.”
“Hmm, no guarantee he knows or pulls it.”
“True, but...”
Woosun pressed on.
“Look at his track record.”
“Sigh, point.”
“More I think, wilder. Acts like he knows everything. Never stumbled like normies...”
“He has.”
“Right, yeah. He did.”
Black mage Zikera’s experiment nightmare.
Mental hold? Miracle.
Even they’d winced watching.
“But net win for him.”
“Yep.”
“So maybe sniffs out iron easy. Kneads future content like dough.”
“Hmm.”
“No stopping it.”
Woosun shook his head.
“One way.”
“What?”
“Seed hints. Nudge story forward a tad.”
“Ah...!”
“Can’t run it ourselves, but nudge players? Sure.”
“If they catch up.”
“Exactly the hitch.”
“Sigh, heavier by the minute. Report time.”
“Do it.”
Not their call anyway.
Just watchers. Reporters.
Decision: brass.
“Report?”
“Dinner on me. Hook me up.”
“Deal!”
Report drafted, sent up.
“Plans to grind there forever?”
“Hunt? Nah, searching.”
“Knows about the buried iron?”
“No shot.”
“Dungeon habit scan.”
“Hmm.”
Three more hours. Bellies growled.
“Starving?”
“Meat run.”
“Yeah...?”
Nothing popping meantime.
They stood.
“Quick bite.”
“Yep.”
They’d barely cleared out when Mu-hyuk, hustling somewhere, scooped a handful of sand. The magnet in his grip sucked up iron dust like a vacuum.