Level Up Machine

Chapter 113 The Tyranny of the Weak (4)

– Clang! Shhhk!

“Aaagh!”

The sound of weapons clashing echoed everywhere. Summoners fell to the ground, bleeding, and screamed with terrified expressions.

“What, what’s this! Why is the Leviathan Guild here!”

“This wasn’t the plan! They said we only needed to destroy a new guild!”

They looked in panic at the summoners attacking them. The uniforms they wore belonged to the Leviathan Guild, recognizable by anyone in the East.

“Try not to kill them, just subdue them. We don’t want unnecessary trouble.”

At the center of the commotion, a woman with blue hair spoke in a cold voice. She was Park Si-a, the guild master of the Leviathan Guild.

“Haa, why do we have to deal with this too?”

Kang Ha-rin, who easily cut down two mercenaries hired by the Goldrun Guild, muttered with a dissatisfied expression.

She knew the contract with the Salvator Guild was for a year of protection, but thinking of Yeong-sik’s sly face, she felt she was being conveniently used.

‘Cunning bastard!’

He set the contract terms and did nothing while reaping all the benefits! Even now, Yeong-sik was nowhere to be seen on the battlefield, hiding somewhere.

Grinding her teeth, Kang Ha-rin couldn’t shake off the image of Yeong-sik treating the Leviathan Guild like his subordinates.

“Damn it, Kang Ha-rin! Why are you here!”

A muscular man shouted at her.

It was Bae Gi-dae, the leader of the Red Hawk Mercenary Corps.

One of the rankers active in the East, he had created a mercenary corps that took on various requests rather than focusing on hunting and dungeon exploration.

Hearing from Park Do-hoon that there was a good opportunity to crush a new guild with a ranker, he arrived in the Elnote Kingdom, enticed by the prospect. Many other guilds had also gathered their summoners for a substantial reward.

The summoners, including Bae Gi-dae, were fired up by Park Do-hoon’s promise of 100,000 gold for bringing back Yeong-sik’s head.

But what was this? The day before their operation, the elite unit of the Leviathan Guild suddenly attacked them out of nowhere.

The mercenaries, thinking they had accepted a simple task, were caught off guard.

“I don’t know either, you muscle pig!”

“How can you attack without knowing anything! That’s bullshit!”

“Blame that bastard Yeong-sik! Damn it! I’m being used by that bastard too!”

Kang Ha-rin swung her sword at Bae Gi-dae with a grimace. Clang! Bae Gi-dae, who blocked her longsword with his gauntlet, was pushed back.

Despite his large build making him look more powerful compared to Kang Ha-rin’s slender frame, reality was different. Kang Ha-rin overwhelmed him with her ruthless physical prowess.

“Ha-rin.”

“Huh? What is it, Tae-hwang?”

“I would like to face him myself.”

Cheon Tae-hwang, holding a golden glowing sword, looked at Bae Gi-dae with a fiery gaze. His eyes reflected his desire to test his growth with the sword he had obtained from the last dungeon raid.

“Fine.”

According to rumors, Bae Gi-dae’s level was 101. Before going to the Forgotten Tomb, Cheon Tae-hwang wouldn’t have stood a chance against such a formidable opponent, but things were different now.

No one knew his genius better than himself.

“Damn! This arrogant brat from the 61st cycle!”

Feeling disrespected, Bae Gi-dae scowled and roared. His muscular body, covered with bulging muscles, charged forward like a tank.

“Roar!”

Letting out a beast-like cry, Bae Gi-dae swung his fist.

– Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Ugh?!”

Cheon Tae-hwang was pushed back by Bae Gi-dae’s brute strength. His eyes sparkled sharply.

‘I can’t win with strength alone.’

The difference in physical stats due to the level gap was insurmountable with sheer force. The five swords orbiting around Cheon Tae-hwang targeted Bae Gi-dae’s blind spots and shot forward.

“What the hell is this bastard?!”

Bae Gi-dae frowned as he deflected the incoming swords aiming at his hips and armpits. Each sword strike was difficult to counter.

Bae Gi-dae felt as if he was fighting six swordsmen at once.

“Flash Cut!”

A golden streak of light sliced through the air. Bae Gi-dae hastily raised his arm to block the attack.

– Clang!

“Huh, huh?”

The gauntlet that blocked Cheon Tae-hwang’s strike was dented. He looked at his gauntlet with a bewildered expression.

His gauntlets, Mountain Gauntlets, an A-rank rare item that boasted durability comparable to S-rank rare items, were dented by the strike of a mere 61st cycle rookie.

“Damn it…!”

Bae Gi-dae’s face turned pale, realizing things had gone horribly wrong.

The sounds of weapons clashing, rough swearing, and screams filled the battlefield. An old man watched the chaotic scene.

His gaunt body, sunken eyes, and a face full of deep wrinkles—all these ‘weak-looking’ features were overshadowed by the intense madness in his eyes.

It was Park Do-hoon, the guild master of the Goldrun Guild.

– Step. Step.

“So, you must be Yeong-sik.”

Without turning his head, Park Do-hoon spoke to the approaching footsteps behind him. Yeong-sik, who had been walking toward him, paused briefly.

“Nice to meet you.”

“…This time, you’ve really taken a big hit.”

Park Do-hoon looked at the Leviathan Guild, which was overwhelming the mercenaries he had hired, with a twisted expression.

“There probably won’t be a next time.”

With a click, a blade sprang from the back of Yeong-sik’s hand. Park Do-hoon turned his body toward him.

“Surely you didn’t think Goldrun would collapse just from this?”

“Of course not. It would be troublesome if it did. After all, it’s a guild that will become a substantial source of money in the future.”

Yeong-sik chuckled and continued walking.

“You’re an arrogant bastard.”

Park Do-hoon glared at Yeong-sik with eyes full of madness. His attitude was confident, not one of someone cornered.

“Goldrun is everything to me. It’s a mountain of gold I built and refined from the ground up.”

“You’ve worked hard. Now, you can rest easy and watch Goldrun Guild prosper every day.”

Yeong-sik said with a cold smirk on his lips.

“Don’t worry. Goldrun Guild will become greater than any merchant guild. I guarantee it.”

Machines with performance incomparable to the magic tools of the Elnote Continent would make Goldrun Guild larger than any other merchant guild.

Of course, the wealth of the enlarged Goldrun Guild would be monopolized by the Salvator Guild.

“…So, your name is Yeong-sik.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll remember your face. The day I return, you will pay for your arrogance.”

“There will be no day of return. You will die here.”

Yeong-sik stomped his foot. Light from the booster on his back exploded forth.

– Paaaht!

Just before Yeong-sik’s blade pierced Park Do-hoon’s chest, his body blurred like an illusion. The blade’s edge passed through his body as if piercing the air.

“Hmm…?”

Yeong-sik frowned as he looked down at the blade that had passed through Park Do-hoon’s chest.

– Shhhh.

‘What the…?’

Park Do-hoon’s body started to dissipate into blue powder. It was a sight Yeong-sik had never seen before.

“Remember my words. I will surely…

Park Do-hoon, turning into powder, glared at Yeong-sik with eyes full of madness.

“…return.”

With those words, Park Do-hoon’s body completely disintegrated into powder.

Yeong-sik stared at the spot where Park Do-hoon had disappeared, his lips tightly shut.

Unexpected.

This was the first time his expectations were completely shattered while dealing with the Goldrun Guild.

“Damn it.”

Yeong-sik cursed and glared at the spot where he had disappeared. A slimy sense of unease spread throughout his entire body.

Although he didn’t know much about the person named Park Do-hoon, he could easily tell that he was no ordinary madman, just by Han Jun-man’s reaction.

That’s why, in the midst of the battle, he had tried to slip away and kill him alone.

But to think he would dissolve into powder and disappear. He couldn’t tell what kind of magic or item had been used, but it was completely unexpected.

“…Haa.”

Yeong-sik let out a deep sigh and opened his inventory. Inside his inventory were a total of ten drones.

These drones were much smaller and faster compared to the first drone he had made.

– Vrrrrr.

The ten drones flew into the air to search for Park Do-hoon, who had disappeared.

Even as Yeong-sik sent the drones into the air, he couldn’t shake the feeling that they wouldn’t be able to find him. He turned his body towards the place where the Leviathan Guild and mercenaries were fighting.

“In the end, I had to use this…”

In his office located in the Ixis Kingdom, Park Do-hoon frowned as he looked at the crystal hanging around his neck.

The Warp Stone. It was a spatial movement item that allowed instant transportation to a designated location without any casting time, but it could only be used once.

This was his last resort.

‘I need to gather my treasures and escape quickly.’

To somehow rise again and take revenge on that bastard Yeong-sik, he needed some basic funds.

Park Do-hoon wasn’t particularly worried about rebuilding his power from the ground up. After all, he had built Goldrun Guild from nothing. As long as he had some initial capital, he was confident he could create an even greater force.

With these thoughts, Park Do-hoon opened his room’s door.

His room was filled with old and shabby furniture. In his favorite rocking chair sat someone.

It was a young man with black hair and a gentle expression.

The young man sitting in the rocking chair turned his head towards Park Do-hoon, who had just entered the room.

“Are you Park Do-hoon, the guild master of Goldrun Guild, who has been selling ‘machines’ lately?”

“Who are you?!”

Park Do-hoon was startled by the sudden voice and took a step back.

“You… who are you?”

He looked at the young man with a puzzled expression. His office was a place secretly hidden to prepare against assassinations. Only a very few within Goldrun Guild knew the location of his office.

Yet here was a stranger he had never seen before, sitting there nonchalantly.

“Oh, nice to meet you.”

The young man spoke with a friendly smile.

“My name is Dantelion Type 1.”