Level Up Machine

Chapter 75 “I accept that proposal (3)”

“What?”

A scoff escaped Kang Ha-rin’s lips at Yeong-sik’s bold words. Her expression twisted roughly.

“Fine, so you’re confident, huh?”

She muttered, glaring at Yeong-sik with sharp eyes.

Park Si-a, unable to believe that Yeong-sik would respond this way, hardened her expression and said,

“I understand that you have some pride in your skills. But… haven’t you heard the rumors about Cheon Tae-hwang?”

“There’s no one among the 61st summoners who doesn’t know about him. He was spectacular from the start.”

Yeong-sik recalled when he first completed the tutorial.

Due to the ‘Adaptation’ system, Cheon Tae-hwang had absurd talent, to the extent that he had taken down the Orc Chieftain alone even before receiving his level limit and class.

“And what about his actions afterward?”

“Well… I’ve been busy with guild affairs. I haven’t heard any rumors about Cheon Tae-hwang since then.”

“Pfft. So that’s why you’re so confident?”

Hearing Yeong-sik’s answer, Kang Ha-rin snickered, looking at him.

‘His level seems quite high, but…’

Seeing his overflowing confidence, it seemed he had a hidden class and had raised his level quite high somewhere.

‘But.’

The smile on Kang Ha-rin’s lips grew deeper. No matter how high his level was, he couldn’t be compared to Cheon Tae-hwang, who had surpassed level 90 in just six months. No, even if he was at the same level, he could never beat Cheon Tae-hwang.

‘Because even I wouldn’t be able to beat him if we were at the same level.’

She licked her lips, recalling Cheon Tae-hwang’s terrifying talent. She approached Park Si-a and whispered in a small voice,

“Sis, since he’s coming out like that, let’s make him compete against Tae-hwang.”

“But no matter how you look at it, that’s…”

Park Si-a frowned, looking troubled. Making a bet against a fellow 61st summoner with Cheon Tae-hwang was practically cheating.

Kang Ha-rin continued in a persuasive voice to the hesitant Park Si-a.

“Or do you want to cross a dangerous river that might cause a dispute with the kingdom?”

Park Si-a swallowed at her sharp words.

Even though the Leviathan Guild’s power wasn’t inferior to the Elnote Kingdom’s army, protecting a traitor who had killed the king was too risky.

‘If we can settle this with just a 300,000 gold expenditure…’

Though 300,000 gold was an enormous sum, it wasn’t an unaffordable amount considering the value of that dungeon.

In that dungeon, something she, or perhaps all the summoners, craved was hidden.

“Alright.”

Park Si-a nodded with a complicated expression. She turned her gaze to Yeong-sik and spoke up.

“Then, you agree to settle this with a one-on-one match between Tae-hwang and Yeong-sik?”

“Yes, I agree.”

Yeong-sik nodded with a calm expression.

Kang Ha-rin cheered at his response, while Cheon Tae-hwang sighed deeply and shook his head. He was well aware of how extraordinary and absurdly powerful his own strength was.

If any summoner from the same round was summoned to this world, they would never be a match for him.

‘Hmm? Come to think of it…’

Cheon Tae-hwang tilted his head as he looked at Yeong-sik’s familiar face. It was a face he had seen somewhere before.

‘Ah, it was the Salvator Guild I saw at the Lizardmen habitat back then.’

Cheon Tae-hwang finally remembered where he had seen Yeong-sik. At that time, Yeong-sik had been looking at him with a dazed expression as he swept away the Lizardmen.

‘So it’s true that he’s a 61st round summoner.’

Although he had considered the possibility that this Yeong-sik might be lying about his round, if he had been at the Lizardmen habitat half a year ago, he truly was a 61st round summoner.

“Sigh.”

Cheon Tae-hwang sighed. He recalled Lekras, who possessed an incomprehensible power that he could not dare to challenge.

After fighting such a formidable opponent, having to engage in this kind of “scam” match was not to his liking. To him, fighting against weaker opponents was boring and meaningless.

‘But for the sake of the guild, I have no choice.’

He knew better than anyone how much support the Leviathan Guild had given him. If he could repay that support, he had to endure this much.

Park Si-a approached Yeong-sik and spoke in her characteristic cold voice.

“So, if Tae-hwang wins, you’ll help us explore the dungeon for 300,000 gold, and if Yeong-sik wins, we’ll protect the Salvator Guild for a year?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Yeong-sik nodded readily.

Park Si-a sighed as she looked at him. No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t shake off the strange feeling of guilt that they were cheating.

“Since it’s difficult to do it right now… come to us after the reward distribution for the guilds participating in this raid is finished.”

“Understood. Ah, of course, there will be a separate reward for the contributions of the Eclipson Guild in this raid, right?”

“Of course. If it weren’t for Tiria, Ha-rin could have been in danger. As for the Eclipson Guild… didn’t you take charge of protecting the right gate? You will definitely be rewarded for that.”

“Thank you. Then, I will contact you later.”

Yeong-sik said this and turned to leave. The Salvator Guild members followed him.

“Yahoo!”

As soon as the Salvator Guild’s figures disappeared from sight, Kang Ha-rin raised both arms and cheered. She pulled Cheon Tae-hwang’s shoulder with a broad smile.

“Haha. Tae-hwang, you have to show that arrogant guy a lesson, okay?”

“Haah. What if this ruins our relationship? You know better than anyone that we need the power of the angel to attack the ‘Grave of the Forgotten’, Ha-rin.”

“Uhm… I know, but that guy is just too arrogant!”

At the mention of the ‘Grave of the Forgotten,’ a heavy sigh escaped Kang Ha-rin’s lips.

“Ah! What on earth is that damned door made of that no matter how much we cut, it doesn’t get scratched?!”

“…I don’t know that either.”

Cheon Tae-hwang thought about the door blocking the lowest floor of the dungeon, and his expression hardened.

The door was so enormous that even the combined attacks of Kang Ha-rin of the White Sword Guild, Warlock Park Sang-jun, and Leviathan Park Si-a, considered the top power of the Leviathan Guild, couldn’t leave a scratch.

The only inscription on the door read, “Only those who bear the blood of an angel shall pass.”

“But Si-a, what’s in that dungeon that makes you so determined to reach the lowest floor?”

Kang Ha-rin turned to Park Si-a and asked. Park Si-a’s eyes sank deeply.

“…It’s a place worth that much.”

“Hmm. But why does it require the power of an angel to open the door? It’s such a gloomy place to be associated with angels.”

“That is…”

Park Si-a narrowed her eyes and continued.

“It might be related to the secrets of the Erman family.”

“The secrets of the Erman family? What are they?”

“I only briefly saw it in a book found in the ruins of the Ingrim Empire, so I’m not sure. But if what’s written in that book is true… I can understand why her power is needed to open the ‘Grave of the Forgotten.'”

“What on earth is it?”

Kang Ha-rin asked, her expression full of curiosity. Park Si-a touched her chin with a cold expression and replied.

“I’ll explain later. It’s still uncertain.”

“What?! That’s so unfair! Tell me now, sis!”

Kang Ha-rin whined as she followed Park Si-a, who had turned her body and walked past her.

* * *

The war was over.

The monster hunting party, composed of dozens of guilds and nearly 5,000 summoners, succeeded in annihilating the monster army that had breached the northern border and invaded the interior.

After Lekras’s death, some remaining Dragonians continued their resistance, but they were all subdued by Park Si-a, who joined the battlefield after dealing with the monsters.

The surviving summoners either cheered in joy at their victory or held the bodies of comrades they lost in the war, screaming in despair.

The thrill of victory and the sorrow of loss were fleeting. The summoners’ focus quickly shifted to the rewards for the war.

Their participation in the monster hunt was not out of a sense of justice, but because of the rewards prepared by the Leviathan Guild.

Fully aware of this, the Leviathan Guild hastened to gather the gold and rare items obtained from the war to distribute the rewards based on performance.

“The reward assigned to the Eclipson Guild this time is 42,000 gold, four B-rank rare items, and one A-rank rare item.”

Han-seong reported the rewards received by the Eclipson Guild to Tiria, who nodded as she checked the items Han-seong handed her.

“Distribute the rare items we received this time to the guild members according to their classes. And the reward money… Han-seong, can you manage it?”

“Of course. With the gold we got from the Light Shield Guild’s warehouse last time added in, it looks like we’ll have enough funds for the guild operations for a while.”

Han-seong smiled brightly at the thought of escaping the impoverished situation where they couldn’t provide items to new guild members. With this amount, they could even afford to purchase a guild house and embark on expansion projects.

“Yeong-sik, is there anything you need from the rewards this time?”

Tiria turned to Yeong-sik and asked. Yeong-sik, who was checking the rewards with Han-seong, shook his head.

“No, I don’t see anything I particularly need. Ah, this A-rank staff seems to suit Ara.”

Yeong-sik said, lifting a staff with a blue orb the size of a fist attached to it.

“But… are you okay with it, Yeong-sik?”

“With what?”

“Competing against that summoner, Cheon Tae-hwang.”

Tiria looked at Yeong-sik with a worried expression.

“Well, if things go as I think, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Are you planning to use that black armor?”

“No, of course, I need to keep that hidden.”

Yeong-sik shrugged as he replied. Tiria and Han-seong looked at him with puzzled expressions and asked.

“Then how are you planning to deal with Cheon Tae-hwang? Rumors can be unreliable, but even taking that into account, he seems to have accomplished so much that it’s hard to believe he’s a 61st round summoner.”

“Are you thinking of using the Forced Liberation? If so, don’t do it, Yeong-sik. We’ve heard that using it puts a lot of strain on you.”

Han-seong and Tiria spoke to Yeong-sik with worried faces.

Seeing their concerned looks, Yeong-sik smiled faintly and shook his head.

“Forced Liberation isn’t something I can use just because I want to.”

“Then…”

“I’m planning to use this.”

As he spoke, Yeong-sik took out a bottle containing a dark red liquid from his inventory.