Level Up Machine

Chapter 78 “I accept that proposal (6)”

“Haah. Haah.”

Cheon Tae-hwang gasped for breath. His eyes, fixed on Yeong-sik, were trembling violently. The sudden gunfire from his right hand was deeply etched in his mind.

‘Calm down.’

Cheon Tae-hwang thought as if hypnotizing himself. Back when he was on Earth, no matter how genius his abilities were, he wouldn’t have been able to face a gun.

But now, things were different. After undergoing the process of adaptation, he had gained levels, a class, and skills, granting him immense power unimaginable to ordinary humans.

‘Compared to the long-range attacks used by high-level summoners, it’s nothing.’

He sharpened his gaze, recalling the gunfire Yeong-sik had fired a moment ago. Though he was surprised by the alien weapon in this world called a gun, the attack was not as threatening compared to the long-range attacks used by high-level summoners.

What was actually more threatening was the blue energy projectile he used after the gun.

“Haap!”

With a short shout, Cheon Tae-hwang kicked off the ground. His body shot forward, creating an illusion of elongation.

-Click.

Yeong-sik, seeing Cheon Tae-hwang rushing towards him, pulled out a Gatling gun from his back. Despite the sight being more shocking than the shotgun, Cheon Tae-hwang did not show much agitation.

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―I?I―I―I~I?r!

The Gatling gun’s muzzle spat fire. Hundreds of bullets poured towards Cheon Tae-hwang.

“Veil of Swords.”

With a low murmur from Cheon Tae-hwang, four swords floating in the air intertwined chaotically. Hundreds of bullets bounced off the veil of swords, scattering in all directions.

A few bullets pierced through the veil and struck Cheon Tae-hwang’s body, but they did not inflict significant wounds on his superhumanly durable body. Pushing through the rain of bullets, Cheon Tae-hwang swung the Cheongwol Sword at Yeong-sik.

Clang!

Yeong-sik blocked the sword with his blade and extended his right arm. Cheon Tae-hwang’s eyes flashed sharply.

“The same method…!”

Cheon Tae-hwang focused on Yeong-sik’s right arm, maneuvering the four swords to block in front of him. While the Gatling gun’s bullets barely scratched him, it was different with a shotgun.

If he were to be hit by dozens of pellets at close range, even his tough body wouldn’t withstand it.

“It won’t work.”

Yeong-sik said in a calm voice as he ‘fired’ his right arm.

-BOOM!

With a loud explosion, Yeong-sik’s right arm, launched with a force on a different scale than the shotgun, smashed through the wall of swords, driving into Cheon Tae-hwang’s shoulder.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

With a dull sound, Cheon Tae-hwang’s body was pushed back. Yeong-sik rushed forward, grabbing his right arm that had struck Cheon Tae-hwang from the air.

**-Click.**

With the sound of gears meshing, his right arm, detached at the elbow, reconnected.

Cheon Tae-hwang clutched his shoulder, struck by the Rocket Punch, with one hand while looking at Yeong-sik with a dazed expression.

“Are you really human?”

“Who knows.”

Yeong-sik shrugged his shoulders and kicked off the ground. Cheon Tae-hwang’s right shoulder had taken a significant hit from his attack.

‘Fighting a swordsman who can only use one arm is no big deal.’

Thinking this, Yeong-sik pressed Cheon Tae-hwang even harder. Cheon Tae-hwang raised his sword with his left hand, barely managing to fend off Yeong-sik’s attacks as he retreated.

“Haah, haah, haah.”

“At this point, you should just give…”

Yeong-sik, who was about to tell Cheon Tae-hwang to give up, trailed off when he saw Cheon Tae-hwang’s eyes. Despite the overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation, Cheon Tae-hwang’s gaze shone so intensely that it could inspire anyone watching.

‘He’s not normal either.’

Yeong-sik let out a hollow laugh as he looked at Cheon Tae-hwang, who seemed to be filled with joy. For a swordsman, injuring an arm during battle was a critical wound, making immediate surrender quite reasonable.

However, Cheon Tae-hwang, as if finding this situation unbearably enjoyable, wore a deep smile on his lips.

“Whew.”

Cheon Tae-hwang took a deep breath. Staggering, he rose and thrust the Cheongwol Sword he was holding into the ground.

-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Four swords plunged into the ground around him, each impact shaking the earth with a heavy thud.

The sheer amount of magical energy converging around him made Yeong-sik’s body shudder.

“Tae-hwang, that’s…!”

Kang Ha-rin’s urgent voice called out to Cheon Tae-hwang. Sensing a faint unease in her tone, Yeong-sik extended his right arm towards the preparing Cheon Tae-hwang.

“Energy Blast.”

-Wooong!

Intense energy began to gather in his right arm. Unlike a typical villain from a hero story, he had no intention of just waiting while his opponent prepared something.

-Kwoooom!

The fully charged Energy Blast shot towards Cheon Tae-hwang. It was a powerful attack capable of instantly killing even a ranker if hit directly.

“Shingeom (Divine Sword).”

Cheon Tae-hwang’s closed eyes slowly opened. The enormous magical power gathered around him spread through the five swords.

“Unity!”

With a shout imbued with intense strength, brilliant light burst from the five swords. The blue light enveloping his entire body collided with Yeong-sik’s Energy Blast.

-Kwoooom!

The earth of the training ground turned over as a terrifying shockwave shook the surroundings. Thick dust covered the area like fog.

Yeong-sik looked at Cheon Tae-hwang, enveloped in dust, with a hardened expression.

Cheon Tae-hwang, having taken the full force of the fully charged Energy Blast head-on, stood unscathed without a single scratch.

“What the…”

Yeong-sik frowned at the sight of Cheon Tae-hwang, who showed no damage at all.

The Energy Blast he had just fired was powerful enough to harm even Lekras. It was an attack that Cheon Tae-hwang shouldn’t have been able to block perfectly with his current strength, yet he stood there completely unscathed.

The swords emitting a blue light around Cheon Tae-hwang’s body began to crumble like grains of sand. The five swords, now reduced to blue dust, started to be absorbed into Cheon Tae-hwang’s body.

Cheon Tae-hwang’s energy surged explosively, sweeping over the area.

“No way, the meaning of ‘Unity with the Divine Sword’ can’t be that he becomes one with a real sword…?”

Yeong-sik looked at Cheon Tae-hwang with a dazed expression.

“Haah….”

Cheon Tae-hwang, having absorbed the swords into his body, slowly exhaled the deep breath he had taken. The blue dust exhaled into the air gathered into the shape of a sword.

Cheon Tae-hwang, grasping the mass of power made of pure magic—what could be considered ‘Qi’ in martial arts novels—kicked off the ground towards Yeong-sik.

Bang!

The ground exploded as Cheon Tae-hwang, transformed into a beam of light, charged at Yeong-sik with his sword. Yeong-sik instinctively knew that if he tried to block that sword with his blade, his body would be cut in half.

Using all his strength, Yeong-sik boosted away from Cheon Tae-hwang, creating distance between them. Cheon Tae-hwang’s sword cleaved through the ground. The spot where his sword lightly touched the ground vanished as if it had evaporated.

“Tae-hwang! Stop! If you use that, your body…!”

Kang Ha-rin shouted anxiously at Cheon Tae-hwang. Ignoring her, Cheon Tae-hwang chased after Yeong-sik, kicking off the ground.

“Grit!”

Yeong-sik barely dodged Cheon Tae-hwang’s attacks, a groan escaping his lips. His expression darkened.

‘I really didn’t want to use this in front of so many people.’

Recalling the critical flaw of his newly acquired skill, Yeong-sik grimaced.

But given the situation, he had no other choice.

“Dragon Transformation.”

A low murmur escaped him. A static-laden mechanical sound echoed in Yeong-sik’s ears.

?Sss.

[Data triggering bodily transformation detected.]

[Transforming body structure to match the data.]

Shhhrk. Click.

Noisy metallic sounds emanated from Yeong-sik’s body. His body swelled, and sharp, silvery-white scales began to sprout. His pupils turned yellow, like those of a reptile, and his face transformed.

“Grrr.”

A beastly growl emerged from Yeong-sik’s mouth. Now transformed to resemble a Dragonian, Yeong-sik swung his blade at the charging Cheon Tae-hwang.

Crackle!

Cheon Tae-hwang’s sword, made from a mass of magical energy, clashed with Yeong-sik’s blade. The intense collision of the two energies overturned the surrounding ground.

Boom!

“Gah?!”

Cheon Tae-hwang was the one who lost the clash of strength.

Unable to withstand the overwhelming force, Cheon Tae-hwang’s body rolled across the ground.

Yeong-sik, with his elongated reptilian mouth, opened wide. Massive energy gathered at his mouth as if preparing a dragon’s breath. The position of the Energy Blast had shifted from his right arm to his mouth upon using Dragon Transformation.

-Wooong!

It wasn’t just the position that had changed. The Energy Blast now gathered an immense amount of energy, far surpassing the power it had when used through his right arm. It was so powerful that it truly gave the illusion of a dragon using its breath.

“Huff, huff…”

Cheon Tae-hwang, lying on the ground, staggered as he tried to stand up. Even in such a state, he lifted his sword to block Yeong-sik’s attack.

However, before he could even raise his sword, the blue light emitted by his sword scattered and disappeared into the air.

Cheon Tae-hwang’s body collapsed to the ground.

“Stop!”

Seeing Cheon Tae-hwang fall, Kang Ha-rin rushed towards him with urgent steps. Yeong-sik closed his wide-open mouth. The Energy Blast that had gathered at his mouth dispersed into the air.

“…We lost.”

Kang Ha-rin cried out in frustration, hugging the fallen Cheon Tae-hwang.

Hearing her declaration of surrender, Yeong-sik slowly nodded and deactivated his Dragon Transformation.

Though he didn’t know exactly what technique Cheon Tae-hwang had used, Dragon Transformation also rapidly consumed the user’s stamina and magic, making it impossible to maintain for long.

“Huff.”

“Ye, Yeong-sik…”

“Kyaaa!”

As he deactivated Dragon Transformation, the surroundings became noisy with the guild members’ shocked voices. Amidst them was even Ara’s scream.

“This is why I didn’t want to use it…”

Listening to the commotion around him, Yeong-sik scowled grimly.

A minor but undeniable drawback of the ‘Dragon Transformation’ skill.

It was that upon deactivation, the user was left stark naked.