Level Up Machine

Chapter 110 The Abuse of Power (1)

“Oh ho, do you think you’re some kind of ranker?”

Han Jun-man looked at Yeong-sik with a mocking expression as he drew out a peculiar weapon.

The Eclipson Guild to which Yeong-sik belonged was a guild he’d never heard of, despite his extensive knowledge of the eastern continent. Even the highest-level summoner from such a guild would only be around level 50.

The summoners he hired this time were all high-level, with the lowest being above level 80. The man leading them was an impressive level 91.

A small guild like Eclipson could be easily crushed by these five alone.

Yet here he was, trying to face that power all by himself. Unless he was a ranker, it was an impossible task.

“Well, you’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

Yeong-sik smiled confidently as he looked at the five men.

Three of the men held swords, one had a shield and a hand axe like Gil-soo, and the leader held a blood-stained dagger in each hand.

“Mr. Han Jun-man, should I just take care of that brat?”

The man who seemed to be the leader asked in a low voice, looking at Yeong-sik with a bored expression.

“Yes. Make sure he never thinks of resisting again.”

“…Can I kill him?”

Han Jun-man hurriedly shook his head at the man’s question.

“No, absolutely do not kill him. No matter what happens, he must be captured alive.”

“Hmm… I understand. You do know capturing him alive is quite expensive, right?”

“Haha, I will fill your pockets handsomely.”

The man with the daggers grinned at Han Jun-man’s words. He laughed as he looked at Yeong-sik.

“Sorry about this, kid. Try not to hate us too much.”

With that, he took a step forward. One of the men with a sword stepped in front of him.

“Hehe, boss, you don’t need to bother with a kid like him. Let me handle this.”

“Alright. Gi-cheol, you take care of it alone.”

“Leave it to me!”

The man called Gi-cheol responded in a spirited voice. The others stepped back leisurely. From their reactions, it seemed he was the youngest in the group.

“So… they said you’re a 61st-cycle summoner?”

Gi-cheol grinned wickedly as he looked at Yeong-sik. He lowered his body slightly and raised his sword.

“Let me give you a harsh lesson in life!”

Boom. He stomped his foot roughly and charged at Yeong-sik. His sharp sword swung towards Yeong-sik’s shoulder.

Swoosh.

“Ugh…”

Yeong-sik brought his head towards the sword aimed at his shoulder. Gi-cheol let out a hurried gasp.

Han Jun-man’s words, “Don’t kill him no matter what,” flashed through his mind.

“Damn it?!”

Gi-cheol cursed roughly and twisted his sword. The blade veered off in a completely different direction, leaving his chest wide open.

Yeong-sik didn’t miss the opportunity and thrust his left hand forward as if punching. The blade pierced Gi-cheol’s chest.

-Thud.

“Argh?! Gurgle!”

“Gi, Gi-cheol!”

Dark red blood poured from Gi-cheol’s mouth. He looked down at his chest with a disbelieving expression.

“You, you’re a 61st-cycle summoner…”

Gi-cheol forced out his last words as his consciousness faded. The other men’s faces hardened.

“Damn! He’s not just a 61st-cycle rookie!”

Their leader shouted, his face contorting.

No matter how effectively one landed a critical blow, a low-level summoner couldn’t inflict significant damage. The body of a high-level warrior-class summoner was tough enough to act as armor on its own.

However, the rookie’s strike had easily pierced through Gi-cheol’s body, with the blade protruding from his back.

“Everyone, attack together!”

The man with the daggers ordered his subordinates in a hurried voice.

“Haaap!”

One man, holding a shield, charged at Yeong-sik. Yeong-sik raised his right arm towards him with a calm expression.

-Click.

His right hand bent, revealing two barrels.

“Uh..?”

“What, what is that?”

-Bang!

As if cutting through their confusion, intense flames burst from the barrels. The shotgun, with the ‘Explosion’ effect, destroyed the shield and tore the man’s body apart.

“Aaaargh!”

Women screamed at the sight of the dark red blood splattering everywhere. They fled the room with pale faces.

“A, a gun…?”

“What is this? What’s happening…?”

It felt like they were dreaming.

They looked at Yeong-sik with expressions of disbelief.

Yeong-sik slowly approached them. Their leader screamed in a fit.

“Ki-kill him now! Kill him!”

The thought of capturing him alive no longer crossed their minds. They were terrified by the appearance of an ‘abnormal’ being unlike themselves.

“Power Slash!”

“Double Strike!”

The two men with swords simultaneously charged at Yeong-sik, their blades glowing blue as they aimed for him.

Yeong-sik watched the rapidly swinging swords and slightly lowered his body. No matter how strong he had become, he couldn’t take a direct hit from summoners above level 80 without defense.

‘It’s fine as long as I don’t get hit.’

A buzzing sound came from Yeong-sik’s pupils, like a camera lens focusing. The surroundings seemed to slow down as if time had stopped.

While crouched, Yeong-sik observed the two swords swinging towards him. Instead of retreating, he moved his body forward.

He passed between the swords like a performer executing a stunt.

The men let out cries of astonishment. Leaning forward, Yeong-sik placed his hands in front of their abdomens.

Blue light gathered in his palms.

-Bang!

“Aaaaaah!”

The energy blast fired at point-blank range hit their abdomens. Their bodies exploded, splitting in half. Their shredded intestines scattered in the air.

“Ugh…!”

Han Jun-man bent over, covering his mouth, at the grotesque sight. His pale face turned towards the one responsible for this horror.

“A, ah…”

Seeing Yeong-sik drenched in blood, Han Jun-man’s body trembled. He realized something had gone terribly wrong.

“U-aaaaaah!”

Their leader, who was also terrified, turned and started to flee. Facing Yeong-sik was no longer an option.

In the blink of an eye, his subordinates, all at least level 80, were slaughtered. Even though he was higher level than his subordinates, his level was laughable compared to this monster.

‘A ranker?! No, this isn’t even a normal ranker!’

He recalled the divine prowess Yeong-sik had displayed. He had once seen a level 100 ranker fighting monsters.

Of course, he thought rankers were amazing back then.

But no matter what, the strength Yeong-sik showed now was beyond ‘extraordinary.’

‘Why is a ranker over level 100 here…!’

Rankers who surpassed level 100 to reach 101 or 102 were extremely rare, noticed, and renowned long before reaching that level. It was not a power an unheard-of person should have.

“W-where are you going?!”

Han Jun-man grabbed the man’s arm with a desperate expression. If he left, Han Jun-man would lose the shield protecting him.

“Get lost, you pig!”

-Thud!

“Aaah!”

The man roughly shook off Han Jun-man’s arm. Han Jun-man, who appeared to weigh close to 150 kilograms, rolled lightly on the floor.

The man ran towards the exit without looking back.

At that moment.

-Whoosh!

A thunderous roar like a jet taking off echoed through the room. The man turned his head towards the sound with a hardened expression.

“What?”

He wore a blank expression, forgetting even to run away. Instead of a terrified scream, a laugh of disbelief escaped his lips.

Yeong-sik’s right arm had been ‘fired’ and was flying towards him.

He couldn’t even think about dodging it and just stared. It felt like he was trapped in a terrible nightmare.

-Thud!

“Ugh…”

Yeong-sik’s right arm pierced through his chest. He looked down at the arm impaling his chest. The cross-section of the arm embedded in his chest wasn’t flesh and blood, but a complex mechanical structure.

“Gah!”

He stared at Yeong-sik with an expression of utter incomprehension. His knees hit the ground with a thud. Red blood spurted from his mouth.

“Eeek!”

Han Jun-man, seeing all the high-level summoners he had hired dead, turned pale and crawled into a corner, cowering. His pants grew wet.

Yeong-sik walked towards him leisurely.

“D-don’t come! Stay away!”

He flailed his arms and shouted desperately, as if having a seizure.

“Why are you so scared? Weren’t you just saying you’d teach me a lesson about the real world?”

“Eek! Th-that’s…”

“How about it? Shall we renegotiate the battery price now?”

Yeong-sik continued, looking down at Han Jun-man, who was cowering in terror.

Han Jun-man nodded frantically, as if he had lost his mind.

“I-I’ll do anything! Just please, spare my life…”

“Don’t worry. We’re business partners who share mutual benefits, aren’t we? Do you really think I’d kill you?”

Yeong-sik spoke in a friendly tone, patting Han Jun-man’s shoulder. Han Jun-man forced a smile and nodded awkwardly.

“Ha, haha! R-right! We’re business partners who share mutual benefits!”

“Exactly. Now you’re making sense.”

Han Jun-man looked at Yeong-sik with a hopeful expression as he nodded in satisfaction.

“So, you’ll buy each battery for 10,000 gold?”

“Th-that’s…”

Han Jun-man trailed off with a despairing look. Buying each battery for 10,000 gold was like handing over all the guild’s assets.

Yeong-sik reached out and gripped Han Jun-man’s shoulder. His shoulder crumpled like it was crushed in a press.

“Aaaaargh!”

“I thought we were understanding each other, but I guess I was mistaken.”

At Yeong-sik’s leisurely words, Han Jun-man began to cry and grovel on the floor.

“I’m sorry! I was wrong! I’ll give you 10,000 gold! 10,000 gold for each battery.”

“Hahaha. Alright. Ah… but honestly, even I think 10,000 gold is a bit too much. Let’s just settle the contract at 10 gold per battery.”

At Yeong-sik’s following words, Han Jun-man’s face turned pale. The reason he wasn’t happy about the drastic drop from 10,000 to 10 gold was because he understood the implication of that ’10 gold’.

In reality, 10,000 gold per battery was an unrealistic price.

No matter how wealthy the Goldrun Guild was, they couldn’t afford to buy tens or hundreds of thousands of batteries at that price.

But 10 gold was different. It was a price that the Goldrun Guild could buy at a certain ‘loss’.

In other words, this monster named Yeong-sik truly intended to parasitize the Goldrun Guild, gradually bleeding it dry.

“I-I understand. We will purchase at that price.”

Despite knowing all of this, Han Jun-man had no right to refuse. It was a situation where he had to forcibly swallow poison, fully aware of what it was.

At his response, Yeong-sik smiled brightly.

“Indeed, force is also a good business skill.”