Level Up Machine

Chapter 123 The Power of the Mechanical Legion (3)

The monster that emerged from the ground was a Giant Plant.

It was a plant-type monster with a body made entirely of sturdy wooden stems. Typically, these monsters were 5 to 8 meters tall, but the Giant Plant that appeared now was over 15 meters tall.

Yeong-sik’s eyes sparkled.

Only a boss monster among the Giant Plants could exude such an aura.

“Everyone, form a formation!”

Tiria’s shout echoed. Following her command, the resting guild members quickly formed a formation.

Choi Yu-na, Park Cheol-tae, and Kim Gil-soo took the vanguard, Tiria, Jeong So-rim, and Yoo Jin took the middle, while Ara, Chae-rin, Han Seong, Tae-yeong, and Hwang-hyeon took the rear.

Normally, Choi Yu-na’s position would be in the middle, but since Gil-soo’s level was too low to perform his role as a tank effectively, she had to take on the role of defending against attacks in the vanguard.

“Rooooaaar!”

With the appearance of the boss monster, dozens of Giant Plants swarmed in. These were the monsters that followed the boss monster, often called “minions,” serving as the boss monster’s sturdy shield.

“Tiria.”

“Yes, Yeong-sik.”

Tiria, with a wary expression, looked at the boss monster and responded to his words.

“I won’t be participating in the battle directly this time. I’ll focus on taking down the minions.”

“…Is it for the power assessment you mentioned before?”

“Yeah. So, assume I’m not here and command the battle.”

“…Understood.”

Tiria nodded heavily. A Salvator Guild without Yeong-sik. A year ago, it was a familiar sight, but now it felt strangely awkward.

[Notification: Master’s instructions requested.]

“Take care of the other monsters besides that big one. I’ll make sure to supply ammunition here if needed, so each of you can take what you need.”

[Confirming master’s orders. Deploying the android legion to eliminate the minions designated as ‘trash mobs.’]

Lacteon, having finished recharging, led the android legion to deal with the minions upon receiving Yeong-sik’s command.

The Giant Plants’ bodies were made of hard wooden stems, making it difficult to inflict damage with regular attacks, but they were surprisingly vulnerable to heavy weapons like missiles, making it not too difficult to exterminate them.

-Boom! Boom! Boom!

The B-grade androids fired their energy cannons to restrict the movements of the Giant Plants, while the A-grade androids steadily reduced their numbers by launching missile attacks.

‘It seems there’s no problem over there.’

Yeong-sik observed the guild members’ battle with sharp eyes.

-Bang! Crash!

The Giant Plant, standing 15 meters tall, moved frantically. Against it, the Salvator Guild members moved busily.

Yu-na and Park Cheol-tae, who were in the vanguard, were struggling to deflect the wooden stems aimed at the guild members. Kim Gil-soo was blocking minor attacks between them.

However, even though these were minor attacks, they were too much for Gil-soo, whose level was still rising.

Gil-soo couldn’t hold out for long and fell to the ground. Tiria stepped forward to guard the fallen Gil-soo. The formation became tangled, forcing Tiria to take the vanguard.

Gil-soo bit his lip roughly and tried to get up, but Tiria placed a hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

“Explosion!”

– Boom!

Chae-rin’s magic struck the Giant Plant’s body. The power was so immense that it was hard to believe she wasn’t a high-ranking member.

The terrifying explosion swept the surroundings, causing the Giant Plant to sway heavily.

However, after launching that single attack, Chae-rin knelt on the spot, panting heavily. To cover her, Hwang-hyeon and Ara launched long-range support attacks at the Giant Plant.

Even combined, their attacks couldn’t match Chae-rin’s firepower.

“Yu-na!”

“Got it!”

As Tiria blocked the attacks from the front, Yu-na, now with more freedom, stepped forward. She attacked the Giant Plant with dark red flames.

Han Tae-yeong enveloped her in a protective shield imbued with curse magic, and Yoo Jin used spatial magic to attack the Giant Plant.

“Ugh.”

After using his attack, Yoo Jin grimaced and clutched his left chest. The strain on his heart whenever he used his skills significantly reduced his combat endurance.

“Curse Cloud!”

Han Tae-yeong’s curse magic enveloped the Giant Plant.

However, the effect was minimal. Instead, it only seemed to enrage the Giant Plant further.

“Heal! Recovery!”

Han Seong frantically cast recovery magic on Yu-na and Park Cheol-tae, who were bearing the brunt of the attacks in the vanguard. As the sole healer, sweat poured down his forehead, indicating he was overexerting himself.

-Crack!

“Roaaaar!”

In the precarious battle against the Giant Plant, Tiria shone the brightest.

The six wings spread out behind her fluttered. A white light curtain appeared, protecting the guild members while simultaneously attacking the Giant Plant with lightning from her hands.

Tiria managed both defense and offense on her own.

-Crack! Crack!

Jeong So-rim thrust her long spear into the Giant Plant’s weak point. The amber sap lump between its stems was the Giant Plant’s weak spot.

“Roaaaar!”

If it were an ordinary Giant Plant, its body would have burst apart the moment its weak spot was attacked, but this was different for the boss monster.

The Giant Plant twisted its body wildly, swinging its wooden stems at the guild members as if it were using a frenzy skill.

“Judgment of Themis!”

– Fwoooosh!

A burst of intense light radiated from Tiria’s body, as if the sun itself had descended to the ground. The Giant Plant screeched and staggered backward.

Seizing the opportunity, the guild members gathered all their remaining strength and launched their final attack.

– Thud!

[S-grade boss monster ‘Giga Plant’ has been defeated.]

[Summoner ‘Yeong-sik’ did not contribute and will not receive any experience points or gold.]

Panting heavily, the guild members collapsed to the ground.

Yeong-sik, who had been observing the guild members’ battle, closed his eyes quietly.

‘It’s more serious than I thought.’

The battle had starkly revealed the guild members’ combat styles and their shortcomings, more than he had anticipated.

To put it bluntly, it was a fight carried entirely by Tiria. The weak vanguard and the inadequate long-range firepower had been glaringly apparent. Among the long-range attackers, Chae-rin was the only one who had managed to mount a proper offense.

If it hadn’t been for Yu-na and Tiria holding their ground in the front, they wouldn’t have succeeded in the hunt. Without those two, the outcome would have been disastrous.

‘It’s only natural, but still…’

The monster the Salvator Guild had just hunted wasn’t a mere elite or a regular monster—it was an S-grade boss monster.

Although each member of the Salvator Guild was as powerful as a high-ranking officer or guild master in other guilds, they were still not equipped to easily hunt an S-grade boss monster.

The Giant Plants were already known for their formidable defense. Imagining how much more terrifying the boss version would be wasn’t difficult.

Especially with the weak vanguard, maintaining formation was impossible, making a stable offense unfeasible. Park Cheol-tae had almost single-handedly fended off the boss monster, which naturally disrupted the formation.

‘But even so, failing to hunt a monster of that level is unacceptable.’

With the northern expedition in mind, he was certain that their current state would lead to failure.

“Everyone, you did well.”

Yeong-sik approached the guild members, who were collapsed and drinking health recovery potions.

“Pant, pant… How was it…?”

Park Cheol-tae asked in a slightly subdued voice, seemingly dissatisfied with the battle.

“There were many areas that need improvement.”

“…I thought so.”

“It’s okay. That’s why I didn’t participate in the battle today and observed you all. I’ve roughly outlined a plan for the weapons in my head. A few more observations, and I’ll be able to devise detailed strategies.”

“That’s a relief.”

Park Cheol-tae smiled with a somewhat relieved expression.

At that moment,

-Crack! Crackle!

“Roooar!”

“Is there still one more left?”

A Giant Plant crawled out from a crack in the ground. It seemed to be a minion that had come out late.

Lacteon approached Yeong-sik.

[Master, notifying that a remaining enemy has been identified. Requesting authorization to attack the target.]

“Understoo…

“Please wait a moment.”

Park Cheol-tae interrupted Yeong-sik just as he was about to authorize the attack. Yeong-sik looked at Park Cheol-tae with a puzzled expression.

“…I realized something in this battle.”

“Do you intend to face it directly?”

“No. It’s not me who will face it.”

Park Cheol-tae shook his head and moved towards where Gil-soo was crouching on the ground with a frustrated expression.

“Gil-soo hyung.”

“Ah, what is it, Cheol-tae?”

“…I have a suggestion.”

Park Cheol-tae furrowed his brows painfully and clenched his fist.

“Hyung, please face that Giant Plant one-on-one.”

At Park Cheol-tae’s sudden suggestion, Gil-soo closed his mouth tightly.

Face the Giant Plant one-on-one?

Although the Giant Plant had been overwhelmed by the android legion and seemed pitifully easy to capture, it was by no means a weak monster. In fact, it was stronger than monsters like ogres or minotaurs.

Yet, he was being asked to face it alone. It was understandable that Gil-soo couldn’t comprehend Park Cheol-tae’s intentions.

“And if you fail to awaken the ‘Guardian’ class even then…”

With a heavy expression, Park Cheol-tae continued firmly as if striking with a sword.

“Please refrain from participating in battles in the future.”

“What do you mean…”

“This is beyond the northern boundary. Even in a boss monster hunt, you won’t be able to play a significant role, hyung.”

Park Cheol-tae bit his lip painfully with each word.

Except for Yeong-sik, or rather, recently even more than Yeong-sik, Park Cheol-tae was closest to Gil-soo within the guild. For him, saying these words to Gil-soo was extremely harsh.

“It’s not a matter of whether Yeong-sik makes weapons for you or not. Right now, hyung…”

Park Cheol-tae clenched his fist so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand stood out.

“You’re a hindrance.”