Level Up Machine

Chapter 35 Liberation (3)

Boom!

With a heavy sound, intense flames burst out from behind Yeong-sik. His body shot forward like a bullet. Yeong-sik swung his blade roughly towards the man surrounding Yu-na.

Slash!

The blade extended instantaneously to a length of one meter, slicing through the man’s body. The man, unable to react to Yeong-sik’s sudden attack, allowed his sword to strike him.

Thunk!

“Ugh!”

Although the man had a higher level than Yeong-sik, he couldn’t withstand the acceleration from the booster used at nearly full power, coupled with the attack strength of the level 2-enhanced blade. The man’s body was deeply cut by the blade and flung backward.

“What are you doing, showing off all by yourself?”

Yeong-sik looked at her with disapproval in his eyes. Yu-na stared at Yeong-sik with a bewildered expression.

“What, what are you doing? Han-seong told you to stay by my side!”

She shouted at Yeong-sik urgently. Yeong-sik sighed deeply at her words and turned his body towards the Light Shield Guild members.

“I didn’t see Yu-na as that kind of person, but I’m a bit disappointed.”

Yeong-sik said in a cold voice as he took his stance. The Light Shield Guild members glared at Yeong-sik as if they were dumbfounded.

“Is that guy insane…?

“He said we can kill the men, so just kill him!”

Seeing Yeong-sik, who looked like a novice summoner without a single item, suddenly intervene, they scowled and shouted harshly.

A round chunk of ice flew towards them.

“Ice Boom!”

While Yeong-sik ran forward, Ara, who had been preparing magic, shot her spell at the Light Shield Guild members without hesitation. Tiny ice particles swept over them.

“These bastards…

But perhaps because of the large level gap, unlike Yeong-sik, whose sudden surprise attack had succeeded, Ara’s attack did not cause significant damage to them.

“How cute, struggling like that.”

Watching them, Hong Seung-gal smiled broadly. To him, the sight of summoners who didn’t even seem to be over level 50 struggling desperately was laughable.

Hong Seung-gal slightly raised his head and signaled to the guild members surrounding them. Five more guild members stepped forward towards them.

“No, I’ll go myself.”

“Huh? Th-there’s no need for you to go yourself, sir…”

Han Cheol-ho took a step forward and spoke to Hong Seung-gal with a surprised expression. Over fifty subordinates had gathered here, all of them elite guild members with a minimum level of 50.

Even if Choi Yu-na was a powerful summoner over level 90, with this many people, there was no need for Han Cheol-ho or Hong Seung-gal to step in personally.

“Don’t be arrogant, Hong Seung-gal.”

“…Y-yes, sir!”

Han Cheol-ho glared briefly at Hong Seung-gal before turning back towards Yu-na.

“…Han Cheol-ho.”

Yu-na’s face turned pale as she watched Han Cheol-ho approach her. She had heard plenty of rumors about him, the guild master of the sixth-ranked guild just below the top three guilds.

He wielded an A-rank rare item called the Radiant Shield and possessed inhuman strength and stamina. Known for standing out among top summoners using nothing but his shield, he was a formidable opponent.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn’t have feared facing him, but now she was surrounded by over fifty summoners. The thought of confronting Han Cheol-ho in such a situation was hopeless.

“Ugh.”

Swallowing nervously, she turned to Yeong-sik.

“…Please, buy me some time while I deal with Han Cheol-ho.”

She knew how unreasonable her request was, but she had no other choice. The situation was that dire.

“Hah!”

With a rough stomp, Yu-na charged towards Han Cheol-ho, leaving a trail of fire in her wake.

Han Cheol-ho smirked as he raised his shield.

“I really like you. I’ll enjoy playing with you for a long time.”

“Shut up, you horny bastard!”

The clash between Han Cheol-ho and Yu-na began. Yeong-sik watched their battle from the corner of his eye.

‘…A different league.’

From Yeong-sik’s perspective, their fight was so intense that he couldn’t find an opportunity to intervene. He swallowed hard and turned his gaze away from their battle.

Right now, he was barely managing to deal with the other Light Shield Guild members.

‘Barely managing is an understatement.’

Yeong-sik clenched his fists as he faced the men who were smirking at him. In truth, fighting them with his current strength was almost suicidal.

He looked at them with a nervous expression.

‘If only I had time to assess the situation…’

Yeong-sik regretted not releasing the security level in the dungeon beforehand. But in this tense moment, he didn’t have the luxury to use structural analysis.

“Hmph, arrogant!”

A Light Shield Guild member who had blocked Ara’s attack charged at Yeong-sik. He raised his blade to confront them.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

As he blocked their sword, a painful groan escaped Yeong-sik’s lips. The impact felt like facing a Stone Golem head-on, shaking his entire body.

Seeing his reaction, the man twisted his lips into a grin.

“Double Strike!”

The man’s sword split into two, attacking Yeong-sik simultaneously. In desperation, Yeong-sik activated his booster to retreat backward.

“What a useless trick!”

The men surrounded Yeong-sik to prevent him from escaping and began to attack. It was already challenging to deal with one summoner, and it was impossible for Yeong-sik to withstand the multiple attacks.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Yeong-sik’s body was thrown backward after being hit squarely by the mace wielded by a bearded man. Another man approached the fallen Yeong-sik.

“That’s why low-level scrubs should know their place and stay down!”

Thud!

The man kicked Yeong-sik’s head harshly, like he was kicking a ball. Yeong-sik’s head snapped to the side, and his body rolled across the ground. His body twitched a few times before finally going still.

“Yeong-sik!”

Seeing this, Ara rushed towards Yeong-sik with a panicked expression. Han-seong grabbed her shoulder, his face rigid as he reached out towards Yeong-sik.

“Recovery!”

Light emanated from his hand and flowed into Yeong-sik.

However, Yeong-sik, who had fallen to the ground, didn’t get up, completely unconscious. Ara and Gil-soo watched him with anxious expressions.

Han-seong’s face twisted as he stared down at the unmoving Yeong-sik. With eyes burning with fury, he walked towards the Light Shield Guild members.

“You bastards dare…”

Unlike his usual gentle demeanor, he now exuded a fierce, wrathful aura, glaring at them like a demon. The men flinched at his intensity.

“Huh, Hong! What can a mere healer do on his own?”

Embarrassed by their momentary fear, they shouted back in rough voices. Over ten Light Shield Guild members charged at Bae Han-seong.

“Holy Strike!”

Bae Han-seong countered them with one of the few offensive spells available to the priest class. Gil-soo stood in front of him to shield him.

However, the situation continued to deteriorate for the Salvator Guild. The overwhelming difference in numbers made it inevitable.

Then it happened.

“Explosion!”

Boom!

“Aaaargh!”

“Are you insane?!”

Lee Chae-rin, who had been continuously casting, finally unleashed her spell. A massive explosion swept through the area. Twenty summoners who had formed the perimeter were instantly killed by her attack.

“Huff, huff.”

“It’s now or never!”

Bae Han-seong, who had been waiting for this moment, grabbed the panting Chae-rin and shouted to Gil-soo and Ara. Gil-soo moved to retrieve Yeong-sik.

“There’s no time!”

Han-seong yelled urgently.

“But we can’t leave him behind!”

Gil-soo spoke as he lifted Yeong-sik from the ground, seizing the opportunity while the Light Shield Guild members were thrown into confusion. Even amid this chaos, he looked at Yu-na, who was fighting Han Cheol-ho, with a complicated expression.

“Hurry up!”

Han-seong shouted at him again. Gil-soo closed his eyes tightly and ran towards the gap in the encirclement created by Chae-rin’s magic.

“Ah, that’s enough. Where do you think you’re going?”

Hong Seung-gal blocked their path. Despite being greedy and vile, Hong Seung-gal was an experienced summoner who had survived countless battles.

He had quickly caught on to Chae-rin’s spell and had made his escape in time.

“Damn it…!”

While Hong Seung-gal blocked their way, the Light Shield Guild members regained their composure one by one and reformed the encirclement.

Despair spread across Han-seong’s face.

“Seeing you in person, you’re really something.”

Hong Seung-gal said this with a greedy look in his eyes as he stared at Ara. He picked up his weapon, a halberd, and licked his lips.

“Let’s finish this quickly and have some fun.”

The Light Shield Guild members who survived Chae-rin’s attack also smiled and nodded in agreement.

Ara looked at them with a disgusted expression.

Hong Seung-gal kicked off the ground and charged at them.

—

Static.

A noise, like static from an out-of-tune radio, echoed in his ears.

Yeong-sik slowly opened his eyes, still dazed.

He saw a vast expanse of machinery stretching endlessly before him. The machines beneath his feet were crushed and broken. He stood up at the summit of this mountain of metal.

Static.

His vision flickered, revealing scenes that didn’t belong in this mechanical landscape.

He saw Gil-soo lying on the ground, Han-seong gasping for breath as he bled, Chae-rin crying and wailing, Ara trembling with a pale face, and Yu-na being flung away after being struck by a shield.

Static.

The giant mountain of machinery disappeared, and the surrounding scenery came into sharp focus. The guild members’ devastated state was clear to see.

“Ah, uh…”

A faint, broken groan escaped Yeong-sik’s lips. His body began to tremble violently. He pressed his trembling hands against the ground and struggled to stand up.

Static.

[Detected surrounding danger.]

An all-too-familiar mechanical voice echoed in Yeong-sik’s ears.