Level Up Machine

Chapter 90 Clue of the Truth (2)

It was a gigantic sphere, likely about 30 meters in diameter.

The sphere emitted a brilliant blue light, reminiscent of a massive sapphire. Around the sphere, white luminous characters orbited, centering on the sphere.

“Wow…”

A short exclamation escaped from Ara’s mouth as she looked up at the sphere. It was a sight that naturally elicited an exclamation of “beautiful.”

Yeong-sik surveyed the space where the blue sphere was located. The enormous size and overwhelming presence of the blue sphere had initially captured all of his attention, but it wasn’t the only thing there.

Surrounding the sphere were four altars.

On the altar to the left of the sphere, two swords were embedded.

One had a black blade, and the other a red blade.

On the altar behind the sphere, a long sword with a golden blade was embedded, and in front, there was a platinum ring intricately engraved with an angel.

And on the right altar…

“What is that?”

Yeong-sik’s expression hardened as he saw the item on the right altar.

‘A memory… cube?’

On the altar lay an object that looked like a black cube split in half.

‘No.’

Seeing the bisected hexagonal object, Yeong-sik instinctively rejected the idea that it was a memory cube, something one could find inside a boss monster.

The shape was similar but different. This was something unlike any memory cube he had seen before, something ‘alien.’

‘This feeling…’

Yeong-sik felt his heart race. A sharp sensation spread through the back of his neck, making his body tremble slightly. A whirlpool of complex emotions—anger, longing, and regret—swirled in his chest.

This emotion contained too many things to be defined in a single word. It wasn’t the first time Yeong-sik had felt this way.

‘It feels similar to when I found the suit.’

Yeong-sik recalled the time he first discovered the Lacteon Type 2, a distant and lonely expression crossing his face. An inexplicable torrent of emotions shook his entire being.

‘Why?’

Yeong-sik frowned at the inexplicable emotion boiling up inside him. It felt as if his body was being controlled by something else.

It was a suffocating and unpleasant sensation, like two hands reaching out from thick fog to strangle him.

“What is this…?”

Amidst the unpleasant sensation, Tiria’s voice reached Yeong-sik’s ears. Breaking his reverie, Yeong-sik spoke in a low voice.

“I’m not sure. The items around us seem like rare items in this dungeon… but I have no idea what that thing in the center is.”

Shaking off his thoughts about the four items on the altars, Yeong-sik shifted his gaze to the blue sphere. What was important now was not the items on the altars but the enigmatic blue sphere.

“Miss Park Si-a, do you know anything about that sphere?”

Yeong-sik approached Park Si-a and asked. She had been targeting ‘something’ in this dungeon from the beginning. There was a high possibility that she knew about the mysterious blue sphere.

Park Si-a, with a blank expression, looked up at the sphere without responding to Yeong-sik’s question. Her clenched fist trembled slightly.

“Si-a unni? What’s wrong?”

Kang Ha-rin, puzzled by Park Si-a’s demeanor, approached her. Snapping out of her trance at Kang Ha-rin’s voice, she shook her head with a faint smile.

“Nothing. And Yeong-sik, you asked about that sphere, right?”

“Yes.”

Yeong-sik nodded, looking at her. Park Si-a continued with a somewhat bitter look in her eyes.

“If the records I read are correct… that sphere is a device that holds certain information.”

“Information?”

“Yes.”

Park Si-a approached the blue sphere and placed her hand on it.

“It’s about the creators of the monsters.”

Her words caused a stir. Both the members of the Leviathan Guild and the Salvator Guild widened their eyes, trembling slightly.

The creators of the monsters.

The entities that had destroyed the Ingrim Empire and were currently sending monsters across the continent to engulf it. They were the beings that the summoners had to defeat to return to Earth.

“Tiria.”

“Ah? Yes.”

“It seems we need your power to activate this sphere.”

Park Si-a looked up at the blue sphere, which showed no reaction despite her infusing it with magic.

Tiria swallowed nervously and nodded. Approaching the gigantic sphere, she carefully placed her hand on it.

Vroom!

As her hand touched the sphere, the blue light emanating from it intensified, and the characters orbiting it moved more intricately.

“O noble one who bears the blood of glory, may the records here pave the way for the return of honor.”

With a rigid voice, a projection appeared above the blue sphere.

“A map?”

What appeared above the sphere was a map depicting the entire Elnore continent.

“About twenty years ago, a massive explosion occurred in the northern part of the continent due to a monster invasion.”

Along with those words, an orange circle was marked on the map.

“Publicly, it was known as a natural disaster, but in reality, it was not.”

At the calm continuation of the voice, the summoners swallowed nervously.

“According to the investigation team, the massive explosion in the north was caused by a meteorite that fell from space.”

“What…?”

The summoners’ expressions twisted at the unexpected explanation. An explosion caused by a meteorite was an unforeseen reason.

“Afterward, beings using unknown objects to control the monsters appeared. They governed the monsters and bred them like livestock, causing their numbers to explode. We speculate that these beings came from another world.”

“…So, you’re saying the creators are aliens?”

Yu-na let out a hollow laugh, looking incredulous. Aliens? It was a very common theme, but hearing it in this context made the term seem utterly unrealistic.

“If you think about it that way, even we, the otherworlders, are extraordinary beings.”

Han-seong adjusted his round glasses and spoke in a calm voice.

“Wait a minute.”

Park Si-a’s expression hardened. Among the words the blue sphere had spoken, there was one term she couldn’t simply overlook, one that greatly disturbed her.

“…Beings, plural?”

“Ah…”

Her murmuring left the summoners looking horrified.

“Using their overwhelming power, they subdued the monsters and advanced toward the Ingrim Empire. The brave imperial army and the Eight Heroes joined forces to oppose them, but their power was too immense.”

“The creator… is not just one.”

Listening to the continued words of the sphere, Park Si-a muttered in a trembling voice.

The fact that the enemy they had to defeat to return to Earth was not just one but multiple beings was enough to plunge the summoners into deep despair.

Yeong-sik looked at the guild members, overwhelmed with shock, and kept his mouth firmly shut. For him, this wasn’t particularly surprising news.

He had already deciphered from the memory cube that there was more than one creator controlling the monsters.

‘Still, it’s understandable that this would be shocking to those hearing it for the first time.’

Yeong-sik clicked his tongue as he saw a summoner collapse to the ground in utter shock.

Unlike others, Yeong-sik had no memories of his past, so his desire to return to Earth wasn’t that strong.

But it was different for the other summoners. They had been forcefully dragged into this world from their peaceful daily lives through violent means. The desire to ‘return’ had been their greatest support up until now.

Now that they realized the final enemy they had to defeat wasn’t just one, their despair was inevitable. It was like being told that the final boss in an incredibly difficult game had multiple forms.

“Even… even dealing with one is already overwhelming…!”

Park Si-a bit her lip roughly and clenched her fist. Her shoulders trembled slightly. It was an unusual sight for Park Si-a, who always maintained her composure.

“The battle against those with powers beyond magic was devastating. The fertile plains were completely scorched, and the brilliant civilization of the empire turned to ashes overnight.”

Emotion began to seep into the voice emanating from the blue sphere. Yeong-sik realized that this was not an artificially created voice but a recording made by someone.

“After the fierce battle, the surviving remnants went into hiding, preparing for the return of glory.”

The white characters floating around the blue sphere trembled violently.

“Here, we have preserved the relics of two of the Eight Heroes and the Emperor’s Seal. O noble one who inherits the blood of glory, please use these relics to spread the name of Ingrim once more across the continent.”

“Relics of the Eight Heroes…”
Yeong-sik turned his head to look at the two swords with black and red blades, and the splendid golden longsword. He instinctively realized that these were the relics of the Eight Heroes.

‘If that’s the case.’

Yeong-sik’s gaze shifted to the altar on the right.

“They are powerful, but they are not invincible. For instance, we have successfully killed one of the extraterrestrial beings.”

“Oh.”

Exclamations of awe escaped from the summoners. The mere fact that these beings could be ‘killed’ brought them a measure of relief.

“By examining the corpse of the extraterrestrial being, we discovered some interesting facts about them.”

Static.

A faint noise reached Yeong-sik’s ears. He noticed the blue sphere’s form slightly distorting.

‘What’s this?’

Frowning, Yeong-sik focused on the blue sphere, eager to hear the ‘interesting facts’ it mentioned.

“The extraterrestrial beings are… composed of… The source of their power is…”

“What, what’s happening?”

“The voice is suddenly…”

The summoners looked around in confusion as static interrupted the crucial part of the message.

The blue sphere’s form began to distort more severely.

“What’s going on…”

Yeong-sik also looked at the increasingly distorted blue sphere with a tense expression.

The voice from the sphere continued, mixed with static.

“The extraterrestrial being we killed possessed advanced intelligence and… It even had a name. That being was called…”

“This is getting worse. What’s happening?”

“Tiria, what’s going on…”

“I don’t know why this is happening all of a sudden!”

Tiria, with a bewildered expression, poured more of her angelic power into the sphere. The distorted form momentarily returned to normal.

The voice from the sphere echoed through the chamber.

“It called itself ‘Lacteon.'”

Hearing the name clearly, Yeong-sik’s eyes widened.

“What did you say…?”

A cold, rigid voice escaped his lips.