Level Up Machine

Chapter 112 The Abuse of Power (3)

“W-What are you saying…”

Han Jun-man’s face turned pale.

On the Elnote Continent, the value of mining rights was incomparable to anything else.

In a world where battles with monsters could occur at any moment,

even ordinary housewives carried daggers for self-defense, showing a high reliance on weapons.

People could live without refrigerators. People didn’t die because they lacked air conditioning.

But weapons were different. On the Elnote Continent, weapons held a value more important than food.

Due to this situation, the demand for magic ores, which were used to make high-grade weapons like iron ore, was explosively high.

Fortunately, there were many mines spread across the continent, and mining technology itself was quite developed, so supply wasn’t severely lacking, but it wasn’t so abundant that the value of these resources dropped significantly.

“You have them, right? The mining rights for various minerals. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t have been able to supply such large amounts of iron ore until now.”

Han Jun-man’s face turned pale.

Originally, the mining rights for mines were owned by the state. The industry of weapon making significantly impacted national power.

But with the appearance of summoners and the increasing chaos, the Goldrun Guild had obtained the mining rights for dozens of mines through continuous lobbying.

Before selling the machine made by Yeong-sik, the main source of income for the Goldrun Guild was the sale of iron ore and magic ores based on their mining rights.

The foundation of the Goldrun Guild’s power. That was the mining rights.

“No, no matter what, I can’t hand over the mining rights.”

“Really? Then I’m afraid I’ll have to stop the battery supply too.”

“Wa-Wait, Yeong-sik! Please, anything but that…!”

Han Jun-man desperately grabbed Yeong-sik’s leg.

“If the Goldrun Guild goes bankrupt anyway, the mining rights will be snatched by other forces. If you give them to us first, we can help prevent the Goldrun Guild from going bankrupt.”

Yeong-sik smiled slyly and placed a hand on Han Jun-man’s shoulder. His shoulder trembled as if he had been plunged into icy water.

Han Jun-man looked up at Yeong-sik with a terrified expression.

A deal with the devil.

A vicious deal that would take everything in exchange for his soul. Han Jun-man instinctively knew there was no place left for him to escape.

“Ah, ah…”

A moan of despair escaped his lips.

“What will you do, Jun-man?”

Yeong-sik asked with a relaxed smile.

Han Jun-man trembled and lowered his head. His mind began to race desperately.

‘There’s only one way for me to survive here.’

A venomous gleam appeared in Han Jun-man’s eyes.

The only way for him to survive now was to eliminate Yeong-sik, the root cause of all this.

“I-I’ll hand them over. I’ll transfer all the mining rights of the Goldrun Guild to you, Yeong-sik.”

“Hooh.”

Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed at Han Jun-man’s response. A cold sneer formed on his lips.

“A wise choice.”

He pulled out a thick pen from his inner pocket. It was faintly glowing with a red light.

“Now, just sign the contract here.”

Yeong-sik handed him the pre-prepared contract. It was a contract stating that all mining rights and minerals owned by the Goldrun Guild would be transferred to him.

Han Jun-man tightly pressed his lips together and picked up the pen Yeong-sik handed him. The tip of the pen trembled in his grip.

Swallowing dryly, he signed the contract.

“Then, I will contact you later about the exact date for the transfer of the mining rights.”

Han Jun-man remained silent, his lips firmly closed. Yeong-sik chuckled softly, holding the contract as he stood up.

-Creak.

“I hope we continue to have a good business relationship.”

Before closing the door, Yeong-sik gave him a mocking smile.

Yeong-sik’s body disappeared through the door.

Left alone in the room, Han Jun-man slowly stood up. His body trembled violently.

“Now, there’s only one way left…”

Muttering to himself, he picked up a rolling liquor bottle from the table.

-Thud!

He swung the liquor bottle at his own face. Red blood dripped from his nose. He didn’t stop there.

-Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Argh…! Ugh!”

He continued to hit his face, arms, and chest with the bottle. Dark red blood splattered everywhere.

His face was now covered in horrific wounds, as if someone had beaten him.

Tears welled up from the pain that shook his entire body, but he couldn’t stop. He continued to harm himself until his nose was smashed and his cheekbones were bruised and blue.

“Gasp, gasp!”

Blood-tinged saliva dribbled from Han Jun-man’s mouth. With trembling hands, he reached for the communication orb.

-What is it?

An emaciated old man’s face appeared in the crystal orb. He looked so fragile that he might fall over if touched, but Han Jun-man knew well how vicious this old man really was.

“I-I’ve been attacked, Guild Leader!”

-Attacked, you say…?

“Y-Yes! The fool we had contracted with from the Eclipson Guild turned out to be a ranker!”

-…That summoner named Yeong-sik?

“Yes! He suddenly invaded the guild, killed all my guards, forced me to sign a contract, and then disappeared!”

-What kind of contract?

Even hearing that Yeong-sik was a ranker didn’t faze Park Do-hoon. He glared at Han Jun-man with a chilling gaze and asked about the contents of the contract.

“It was a contract for transferring the mining rights…! I think he targeted our guild from the beginning!”

– So, you signed that contract?

“I had no choice! He beat me up and threatened to kill me if I didn’t sign!”

Han Jun-man shouted in a desperate voice.

The only way he could survive was to convince Park Do-hoon that he had been forced into the contract by external coercion.

If this worked, he could even cover up the critical mistake he made with the battery price by blaming it on Yeong-sik’s coercion.

– So, you’re saying you signed it to save your own life.

“…I-I’m sorry.”

-…We’ll discuss your responsibility later. Now, which guild is that bastard Yeong-sik with?

“It’s a new guild called Eclipson Guild.”

– So, it’s a guild that’s acting recklessly because they have a ranker.

Park Do-hoon clicked his tongue with a fiery gaze.

– Prepare the mercenaries. Contact other guilds to gather forces. No matter the cost, gather as many as possible.

Rising from his seat, Park Do-hoon spoke in a chilling, curse-like voice.

Han Jun-man nodded frantically in response.

– They will pay dearly for their arrogance.

Park Do-hoon twisted his wrinkled lips into a sneer and laughed. It was time to show how the Goldrun Guild had survived in this world where power dictated everything.

– Be ready within three days.

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The communication ended with those words. Han Jun-man stared at the now inactive crystal orb with a stiff expression.

“Haa…”

A sigh of relief escaped his lips. Fortunately, Park Do-hoon didn’t immediately hold him responsible or threaten to kill him.

Park Do-hoon was a man strict with rewards and punishments.

Although he had made a big mistake this time, if he managed to resolve it well, there was a good chance he would be given another opportunity.

“Yeong-sik…!”

Han Jun-man muttered the hated name, his body trembling. He picked up the liquor bottle he had used to injure himself and threw it against the wall.

Crash. The sound of the bottle shattering echoed through the room.

“I won’t let you get away with this, you bastard!”

He kicked the table and shouted with excitement. The thought of brutally killing Yeong-sik, who had deceived him, made the corners of his mouth lift.

“Hmm…?”

At that moment, he saw an object before his eyes. It was the thick pen Yeong-sik had handed him when they signed the contract.

“Arrogant bastard!”

He picked up the pen that emitted a faint red light from its tip and threw it roughly. Crash! The pen hit the wall and shattered into pieces.

“Hoo… Hoo…”

He exhaled heavily and ran his hand through his hair.

It was time to prepare for revenge.

“I won’t let you get away with this, you bastard!”

* * *

The headquarters of the Leviathan Guild.

A young man was sitting in the office of the Guild Master, Park Si-a.

On the square screen placed on the table, a scene of Han Jun-man throwing things around the room was being displayed.

“What is this?”

Park Si-a, looking at the young man sitting in front of her, let her words trail off.

“This footage was taken through a miniature camera.”

“As you can see, it appears the Goldrun Guild has intentions to target our guild.”

Yeong-sik leaned back against the chair with a relaxed expression. Park Si-a looked at him with cold eyes and opened her mouth.

“You’re not the one who forcibly made a contract as Mr. Han Jun-man said, right, Yeong-sik?”

“Didn’t you see the scene of him self-harming earlier? I made a fair proposal based on the prices stated in the contract, and as a result, the Goldrun Guild, unable to bear the battery costs, chose to give up their mining rights instead.”

Park Si-a looked at Yeong-sik with suspicion.

Even if they couldn’t afford the costs, giving up all the mining rights, which could be considered the foundation of the guild, was an incomprehensible action.

“Ha?…”

Park Si-a let out a deep sigh. She recalled that the summoner Yeong-sik had tricked Kang Ha-rin into raising the stakes of their bet.

Anyone could see that Kang Ha-rin had acted recklessly and foolishly.

Therefore, she didn’t say anything further and just paid him the money.

The important point here was that Yeong-sik had the talent to make others act according to his intentions.

‘He must have used some trick again.’

Otherwise, there was no reason for the Goldrun Guild to transfer their mining rights.

“You haven’t forgotten the promise made between the Leviathan Guild and the Salvator Guild, right?”

Yeong-sik continued with a bright smile.

“The promise to protect the Salvator Guild from any danger for a year.”

Park Si-a raised her hand to her forehead as if she had a headache.

Regardless of the situation, she couldn’t stay still after vividly hearing Park Do-hoon’s words about attacking Salvator.

“…Understood. The Leviathan Guild will take the lead in resolving this matter.”

“Ha ha. Thank you, Si-a. Ah, our guild won’t just sit back and watch either, so we won’t lack in strength.”

If the Leviathan Guild, one of the three major guilds, and the elite summoners of the Salvator Guild joined forces, there was no way the Goldrun Guild could withstand it.

“Please take good care of this, Si-a.”

Yeong-sik extended his hand to her with a friendly smile.