Chapter 76

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Since returning to the past, Lee Hyun-wook had been achieving what he couldn't in his previous life.

Compared to his previous life, he had realized the methods for ability growth several years earlier, preemptively obtained items that should have been taken by other characters, and secured significant benefits by thwarting the villains' schemes.

However, he well knew that even with all this, he was still insufficient to stop the villains.

"...No matter how fast my growth rate is, I can't catch up with the expansion of the villains."

This was akin to how a person with more money could grow their wealth faster.

Already, countries like the United States, China, and Germany were entangled in the villains' schemes.

The German Minister of Players, the Golden Cross Alliance in the United States, and the secret organization Dark City in the Chinese Public Security Department—these were the villains' henchmen who had infiltrated and established themselves in these countries after the 'Wave' occurred.

Of course, they hadn't yet taken control of the countries outright...

"...But it will happen soon."

Thus, the villains' power was growing at an unprecedented rate.

"I originally planned to gradually grow and exploit their weaknesses, even if it took a bit longer..."

However, a way to outpace the villains had emerged right now.

That was...

"...Magic Engineering."

This era was just beginning to explore the field of magic engineering.

The 'Magic Engineering Research' skill, an advanced skill for blacksmith players, had been 'updated' a few years ago, and with the appearance of the World Tree in Chad Republic, a blessing was applied to the area—various magical materials sprouted, leading to a boom in the item manufacturing industry.

"Even the villains have almost no foundation in magic engineering at this point."

In the original timeline, magic engineering would experience a significant boom in 3-4 years, influencing history. Even when Laftia was in the villains' possession, it developed rapidly.

But now, the best infrastructure, Laftia, is in Seoul, and in Lee Hyun-wook's hands.

Thus, the magic engineering-centered item manufacturing industry would develop much faster compared to his previous life.

"...I will stand at the forefront of this revolution."

Just as steam engine technology was the driving force behind the Industrial Revolution, leading to explosive growth in Western society, magic engineering could create a significant gap in this player society.

Thus, Lee Hyun-wook's goal narrowed.

Protecting this land, the Republic of Korea, and developing magic engineering on it—finding a hidden stage related to the founder of magic engineering, 'Nohm,' was a timely boon.

"In this game, Nohm is an advanced race of dwarves and a mentor race."

In other words, it was a place where one could obtain high-level magic engineering items.

Creak—Creak—

Lee Hyun-wook was currently leading the way through the ruins of Nohm with his Living Armor.

The corridor, made of white bricks, resembled an ancient temple, but beyond the walls, he could sense that it was all part of a massive mechanical device.

As they took each step, the metal mechanisms inside the walls moved.

Whirr—Clank—Whirr—Clank—

"Um... Team Leader Lee, there's a strange sound coming from the walls."

Lee Jung-joon tilted his head and said.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's probably the sound of a trap being activated as it detects our presence."

"Ah, it's nothing... I see..."

Since this was a kind of secret dungeon, it was filled with threatening elements.

Clank—Thud—!

Basic traps like arrows shooting from the walls and ceiling were to be expected,

Rat-tat-tat—Bang—!

but when they turned a corner, dozens of bullets flew at them,

Zap—Zap—Zap—!

and an electronic field that electrified the entire 5-meter space,

If they advanced blindly, even ten lives wouldn't be enough to survive.

However, since these traps were all metal-based, they were ineffective against Lee Hyun-wook.

Whirr—Whirr—Whirr—Whirr—

Everything that flew at them stopped in mid-air.

Lee Hyun-wook pulled them towards him and grabbed them.

- You have obtained Nohm-made Oryhalcon-Adamant alloy bullets (Rare).

- You have obtained Nohm-made Oryhalcon-Adamant alloy bullets (Rare).

- You have obtained Nohm-made Oryhalcon-Adamant alloy bullets (Rare).

Even a single bullet, which is essentially a consumable, was given a 'Rare' grade.

'Yeah, I got a lot of these here last time too.'

Lee Hyun-wook collected the small metal spheres and put them in his pocket. Even if he gave Kang Jung-doo all the support he could, he wouldn't be able to produce items of this quality.

- You have obtained Nohm-made Celestial Iron Arrows (Rare).

'This... While it's not as good as Pale Note, it's not bad as a secondary weapon.'

With the tip made of Celestial Iron, it could also cause an electric shock upon impact.

- You have obtained Nohm-made Current Generator (Rare).

'This will be useful someday...'

Each trap was made with ultra-advanced ancient technology, essentially making them valuable loot.

'Indeed, this is a goldmine. I need to take everything I can.'

Thus, Lee Hyun-wook intentionally triggered all the traps to collect the items they released.

In addition to the traps, 'mechanical monsters' occasionally appeared.

Mechanical scorpions, mechanical guard dogs, mechanical dolls, and automatic turrets,

Lee Hyun-wook defeated them, stripped off their outer shells, and extracted something.

- You have obtained a Nohm-made Mini Mana Generator (Rare).

Whirr—

A circular mechanical device, smaller than a mana stone, but a mana generator nonetheless.

- Name: Nohm-made Mini Mana Generator (Rare)

- Effect: Total mana 12,000, Mana production 5 per second

While producing 5 mana per second might seem low, considering that Lee Hyun-wook's heart—Aether Engine—currently recovers 100 mana per second, it was not insignificant.

'And the ability to produce mana itself is very rare.'

Seeing this, he regretted somewhat for destroying all the 'mechanical scorpions' that appeared in a group when he forcibly opened the entrance to the ruins, but it was an unavoidable decision.

Lee Hyun-wook secretly swallowed the mini mana generator.

Swallow—

Digesting this would likely increase his mana recovery speed.

'Indeed, there's nothing to waste here.'

Lee Hyun-wook felt as if this place was a giant gift box for him.

But the real gift was deeper inside, and he hadn't even seen the wrapping yet.

After a few hours, the winding stone corridor finally ended.

"Hey, there! It's a door!"

A massive door, from which a dim light was emanating, indicating a very large space.

"Alright, from here on, the terrain changes drastically, so we'll face completely different threats."

Lee Hyun-wook said this and advanced without hesitation.

Because he already knew what threats would appear here.

'Soon, the guardian of the ruins will appear. It was quite a tough opponent...'

The moment the entire team entered the door—

- Warning! I am enraged by this unlawful intrusion!

Thud—

As the entrance they entered through closed, something began to descend from the ceiling.

Whirr—Whirr—Whirr—Whirr—

The pulleys on the ceiling, connected to six thick chains, began to reel in.

And the massive object at the end of the chains quickly fell to the ground.

Thud—

- Warning! The guardian of the ruins, 'Bronze Watchman (Alpha)', has appeared!

Gee—Gee—Gee—Gee—

It was a metallic giant about 4 meters tall.

With a broad, long head like a tower shield and magical circuits covering its entire body, it had a strange appearance reminiscent of a Mayan warrior.

Its eyes soon glowed a bright blue.

And the six chains that restrained it were detached, as if releasing a vicious prisoner.

"Wow, just looking at it, it seems incredibly powerful!"

"The entrance is closed, and it feels very unsafe..."

Both Hope and Blue Flower guild members were intimidated by its appearance and took a step back.

But that wasn't the end.

Clank—Clank—

With the sound of metal interlocking, its body unfolded, growing about 1.5 times larger.

"..."

It then pulled out two blunt weapons from its back and began to advance.

Thud—Thud—Thud—Thud—

The Living Armors at the forefront instinctively moved to guard against it.

'But the Living Armors can't stop this monster.'

Sure enough...

Crash—

The Living Armor that was hit by the monster's blunt weapon was thrown like a can and embedded in the wall.

Bang—

- Your subordinate (Living Armor) has been disconnected.

A single blow reduced the 2-meter-tall armor to scrap.

"Damn!"

"Crazy..."

Seeing this, Park Mu-han and the Blue Flower guild's tank players had no choice but to step back. The Living Armors had a defense level comparable to C-grade tank players.

In other words, they could also be reduced to scrap with a single blow.

But Lee Hyun-wook, on the contrary, smiled.

'Yeah, it's been a while. This is the power of the combat machines created by Nohm.'

Moreover, this 'Alpha' version, as its name suggests, was an early model and not particularly powerful.

Lee Hyun-wook had tackled much larger Nohm ruins several times, where dozens of these machines would appear like minions.

'And the result of Kang Hee-sul's research on these machines is this.'

She could control hundreds of these monstrous weapons at once, launch imitation versions of Hugun and Munin into the sky, and clash head-on with the necromancer's death army in the 'Paju Ruins'.

'They were the best tank force.'

Leading with these, Lee Hyun-wook unleashed a steel rain and a ton of metal, creating a destructive chain.

Thus, he once defeated the necromancer in a direct confrontation.

'But this time, I can control the mechanical army as well.'

This was possible because his central nervous system had been replaced with a 'Signal Core' and his heart with an 'Aether Engine'.

To achieve this, Lee Hyun-wook planned to retire the 'Ruins Guardian (Alpha)', take it outside the gate, and provide it to Kang Jung-doo and Kang Hee-sul to create a prototype of the mechanical army.

'Good, within a short time, I will have a much more powerful subordinate than the Living Armors.'

With this thought, he took a step forward.

Whirr—

A single air drop device flew over his head.

The corridor was so narrow that only one could fit, but this one was enough.

"Team Leader Lee... It's made of metal, can't you break it like before?"

Behind Lee Hyun-wook, Park Mu-han asked with a tense expression.

But Lee Hyun-wook shook his head.

"Unfortunately, it's impossible with a boss monster."

"Ah, I see... Then facing this monster in this narrow space will be quite difficult..."

Park Mu-han honestly wanted to retreat.

To him, it was a monster that was too difficult to handle.

Even if they could defeat it somehow... there would definitely be significant casualties.

'No matter how valuable this hidden stage is, the safety of the team members comes first.'

Park Mu-han, though he tended to make hasty decisions, did not make reckless ones.

'But seeing that Lee Hyun-wook is not shaken, does he have some plan...?'

But after witnessing his performance multiple times, he couldn't help but remain silent.

'If he does something again this time... really...'

He couldn't help but expect Lee Hyun-wook's performance.

At that moment, the monster moved again.

Clank—

The sound of gears and chains interlocking was heard, and the monster's shoulders opened.

"Be careful! It's trying something!"

Inside, a red crystal appeared and emitted light, and countless small magic circles floated around it.

"Hey! It's a fire attack!"

As one