Level Up Machine

Chapter 85 Grave of the Forgotten (3)

“Ugh?”

Yeong-sik felt dizzy as he opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a massive door.

On the door, simple letters were engraved: “Only those who carry the blood of the angel may pass through here.”

“Where is this?”

Yeong-sik lifted his head and looked around. Unlike the beige walls that gave off a warm feeling, he was surrounded by a dim, suffocating gray corridor.

‘Why am I in a place like this…’

Yeong-sik frowned as he gazed at the dark and gloomy passage. Although there was some light, it was as dim as the early dawn, making it feel as if he had stepped outside at twilight.

“Huh?”

At that moment, a woman’s groan reached Yeong-sik’s ears. It was a voice he had become entirely familiar with.

“Tiria?”

“Yeong-sik… Where are we?”

“I don’t know. Suddenly, we just ended up in this place…”

Yeong-sik remembered the intense light that burst out and enveloped Tiria’s body as soon as she touched the engraving on the wall.

‘Why?’

He couldn’t understand why the engraving, which had no trace of magic, suddenly emitted such a brilliant light when she touched it and why they were transported to this unknown place.

“Where could this be, Yeong-sik?”

Tiria stood up and looked around with an anxious expression. Yeong-sik shook his head with a deeply troubled look.

“I don’t know. Why we came here all of a sudden, where this place is…”

“Oh, that door…”

Tiria’s voice trailed off as she looked at the inscription on the massive door. A hypothesis flashed through her mind.

“Could it be… is this the entrance to the lowest level of the dungeon?”

“Hmm.”

Yeong-sik swallowed a short groan at her words. It made sense.

‘Come to think of it, I heard that a massive door blocked the way to the lowest level of the dungeon.’

Recalling what Park Si-a had told him before, Yeong-sik placed his hand on the gigantic door. A chilly sensation spread through his hand.

‘Is it so solid that even the Leviathan Guild couldn’t break through?’

Yeong-sik tilted his head and pulled out his blade, swinging it toward the door.

Clang!

With a clear metallic sound, the blade Yeong-sik swung bounced back. Despite using a slash attack to cut through, there wasn’t even a scratch on the massive door.

“I see why they said Tiria’s power was needed.”

Yeong-sik stared at the unimaginably hard door with a dejected expression.

“Yeong-sik…?”

Seeing Yeong-sik suddenly swing his blade at the door, Tiria called out to him with a puzzled look.

“That door must be the one blocking the lowest level.”

“Does that mean we moved directly from the entrance of the dungeon to right in front of the lowest level?”

She looked around in disbelief. Yeong-sik nodded heavily. Given the current situation, that seemed like the only possibility.

Vrooom.

At that moment, a faint light emanated from Tiria’s chest. She took out a communication crystal orb from the bag tightly strapped to her body.

“Hey, unni?! Are you alright?!”

Yu-na’s urgent voice came from beyond the crystal orb. Tiria responded to her as calmly as possible.

“I’m fine. Where are you now?”

“That’s what I want to ask! We’re still at the place where you disappeared.”

“We…

Tiria glanced at the massive door and continued.

“We’re not entirely sure, but it seems we’ve been transported to the lowest level of the dungeon.”

“The lowest level of the dungeon? What do you mean?”

“Can you put Guild Leader Park Si-a on the line?”

Tiria called for Park Si-a, who was most likely to understand this situation. Within seconds, Park Si-a’s voice came through, indicating she was right next to Yu-na.

“This is Park Si-a. Are you injured?”

“No. Yeong-sik and I are both unharmed. Do you have any idea why we were suddenly transported here?”

“That…

Park Si-a hesitated before letting out a deep sigh.

“It’s probably because Tiria is deeply connected to this dungeon.”

“I’m deeply connected to this dungeon?”

“More precisely, it’s because of the Erman family. There seems to be a device that transports descendants of the angel’s blood directly to the lowest level of the dungeon.”

“What?”

She couldn’t understand what connection her family had with this dungeon, something she had never heard of before.

“How long will it take to get from there to here?”

Listening to their conversation, Yeong-sik asked. Park Si-a responded in a low voice.

“It would take at least three days, even if we hurry.”

“Three days…”

Yeong-sik frowned upon hearing her answer. Park Si-a spoke in a worried tone.

“Please, do not enter the lowest level during that time. We have no idea what might happen.”

“I had no intention of doing something so reckless in the first place.”

Just the two of them entering the lowest level of the dungeon in their current situation? Given that they had no idea what dangers lurked at the lowest level, that would be nothing short of a suicide mission.

“We’ll wait at this entrance. Please come here as quickly as possible.”

“Yes. But…”

“What is it?”

“The guardians appearing on your side have not been completely dealt with. You must hide from them.”

Park Si-a spoke in a firm voice. From beyond the crystal orb, Yu-na’s exclamation could be heard, “What? Then that’s extremely dangerous!”

“Are the guardians that appear here strong?”

“Both of you should be able to handle them… However, the number of guardians in the lowest level is abnormally high. A prolonged battle will be dangerous.”

“Understood. We’ll hide as best as we can, so please come quickly.”

“Understood.”

The connection with Park Si-a was cut off. Yeong-sik clutched his forehead as if he had a headache.

“Damn it.”

He hadn’t expected that they would suddenly be separated like this.

“I’m sorry, Yeong-sik. It’s my fault for touching the engraving recklessly…”

“No, you couldn’t have known. More importantly, we need to find a place to hide.”

Who would have thought that lightly touching an engraving would transport them to the lowest level? Even if it had been Yeong-sik, he would have instinctively touched the engraving if he had seen it for the first time in a dungeon.

Yeong-sik turned his head to look around. However, the gloomy corridor offered no places to hide.

“There doesn’t seem to be anywhere to hide. Should we move?”

“No. Moving now would be even more dangerous.”

Yeong-sik stood sharply in front of the gray wall, his eyes flashing.

If there was no place to hide, they had to create one, even temporarily.

Zzzing.

Yeong-sik’s eyes glowed red, and two beams of light shot towards the wall. Even if the door with the strange inscription was unscathed, the passage wouldn’t be as sturdy.

Ssshh.

Smoke rose along the path of the laser as the dungeon wall began to melt. A narrow space, just big enough for two people to squeeze into, was carved out of the wall.

“Let’s hide in here for now.”

“H-here?”

Tiria blushed as she looked at the narrow space that required them to press their bodies together.

“Should I make it a bit wider?”

“N-no! If you make it wider, the wall might collapse, and it could attract the guardians! This seems like the best option!”

Tiria urgently stopped Yeong-sik from widening the space. Yeong-sik nodded at the reasonable suggestion and entered the narrow space first.

“Ahem. Then, excuse me.”

Tiria kept clearing her throat as she squeezed into the space where Yeong-sik was. Their bodies were completely pressed together.

“Ugh!”

“It’s really cramped, isn’t it?”

“No, no! This is something we can’t help! We can’t complain!”

Tiria shouted at Yeong-sik with a face red as a beet. Yeong-sik chuckled softly and used the severed exterior wall of the cave to block the entrance again.

“Ah…”

Once the entrance was blocked, pitch-black darkness descended between the two of them. Tiria extended her hand forward, and a soft white light glowed from her fingertips. It wasn’t too bright, but rather a gentle, soothing light.

“We’ll have to hide here like this.”

Fortunately, they had split the food and water between their individual inventories, so there was no need to worry about supplies for the next three days.

‘I can go without food for three days anyway.’

Perhaps because his body was mechanical, Yeong-sik could survive for long periods with minimal food and water compared to ordinary people.

“It’s so quiet…”

Tiria broke the awkward silence with a cautious voice in the confined space.

“Yeong-sik, you said you don’t have any memories of your past, right?”

“…”

Finding the silence unbearable, Tiria asked Yeong-sik a question. Hearing his answer, Tiria looked at him with a sympathetic expression.

“Aren’t you scared?”

“…Well, I was definitely scared at first. But now, not so much.”

“Why aren’t you scared anymore?”

“Because I’ve found people who are precious to me, even without those memories.”

At his words, Tiria let out a short gasp and blushed.

“But I still want to regain my memories.”

“Is it because of your body?”

“That’s part of it, but…”

Yeong-sik looked at the back of his left hand, where the name “Yeong-sik” was inscribed in characters only he could understand.

“I want to know what kind of person I was in the past, or if I was even a human to begin with.”

It felt like wandering alone in the vast ocean or endlessly walking down a fog-covered path.

This sense of uncertainty had never disappeared since he woke up.

He had no desire to live his entire life with such a feeling.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yes.”

Tiria nodded with a gentle smile.

“Why did you become the master of the Salvator Guild? It’s rare for natives to become guild leaders, isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

Tiria’s voice trailed off at Yeong-sik’s question, and her expression darkened.

“When the summoners first appeared here… About ten years ago, I made friends with some of them.”

She continued her story.

“They were all kind and warm people. But…”

She trembled slightly.

“When the first summoners appeared, they were treated horribly. Most of them became slaves or died on the streets. No country provided a place for the summoners.”

Yeong-sik nodded. He had heard this story before.

“All the summoners I became friends with died tragically. At that time, I couldn’t control the angel’s power at all, so I couldn’t do anything for them.”

She hugged her knees with a bitter expression.

“That’s why I created the guild to provide a place for the summoners.”

“I see.”

Yeong-sik nodded heavily, feeling the deep sorrow in her voice.

“And there was another purpose.”

“What was it?”

“To take revenge on the being that brought the summoners to this world.”

“Revenge…”

Yeong-sik tilted his head at the words that didn’t seem to fit her at all. He found it hard to understand Tiria.

It was natural for summoners, who were forcibly brought to this world from Earth and had to risk their lives in battles they had never experienced before, to have such thoughts.

But she was a native, not a summoner.

She had no reason to harbor vengeance against the being that brought the summoners to this world. In fact, it would have been more natural for her to be grateful to that being. If the summoners hadn’t appeared, the entire continent would have been destroyed by monsters.

Noticing Yeong-sik’s doubt, Tiria spoke with a faint smile on her lips.

“Did you know, Yeong-sik?”

She grabbed Yeong-sik’s hand with her trembling one.

“Actually, Yu-na’s sister was also summoned to this world. I heard she died before finishing the tutorial. Yoo Jin also had a younger sister. She died before joining the guild. There are countless summoners who have suffered horrible fates after being summoned here.”

“Listening to those stories repeatedly, I began to want revenge against the being that brought these people here. Is that strange?”

Yeong-sik shook his head at her words, filled with deep sorrow. Considering her kind nature, it wasn’t strange for her to have such feelings.

“I’ll join you in your revenge.”

“Thank you, Yeong-sik.”

“As a mere guild member, it’s natural to follow the will of our esteemed guild master.”

Yeong-sik placed his hand on Tiria’s head with a playful smile. She lowered her head, feeling embarrassed.

“And also…”

Yeong-sik recalled the sphere of light he saw after the tutorial ended.

“I need to find out why I was summoned here.”

People dragged here without knowing why. Forced to struggle for survival towards a purpose completely irrelevant to them: to kill the Creator.

Even without memories, Yeong-sik was one of those people. He couldn’t help but feel anger towards the being that summoned him here.

“For now, we should rest a bit…”

Thud.

Before Yeong-sik could finish his sentence, a footstep that shook the ground was heard beyond the wall.

“Guardian.”

His expression hardened upon hearing the footsteps.