Level Up Machine

Chapter 18: Joining the Guild (2)

– Whoosh!

A crimson sword moved.

As the two swords moved, scorching flames swept through the surroundings.

Jung Chan-hyuk, who stood in front of Yu-na, was engulfed by the flames and rolled on the ground, screaming.

Having dealt with Jung Chan-hyuk in an instant, Yu-na kicked toward his subordinates, who were staring at her with pale faces.

Intense flames consumed the area.

– Sizzle!

“Argh!”

The sound of burning flesh echoed.

Pungent smoke rose from their bodies.

With a level much lower than Jung Chan-hyuk’s, they couldn’t even think of blocking Yu-na’s sword, which was more than 40 levels higher, and were helplessly cut down.

“Hup!”

With a relaxed expression, Yu-na let out a short cry.

Her body slid forward, spinning half a turn.

Following the trajectory of her sword, flames once again incinerated the body of another summoner.

– Thud!

“Aaaaaaah!”

Yu-na, having spun her body halfway, kicked off the ground and extended her leg toward Jung Chan-hyuk’s last remaining subordinate.

The subordinate’s body was set ablaze from Yu-na’s kick.

Blaze Step.

It was her unique skill, causing intense flames to ignite with every step she took.

“Oh no…”

Seeing this, Jung Chan-hyuk’s scorched body trembled faintly as he groaned.

He desperately glanced around.

His eyes landed on Yeong-sik.

Yeong-sik was staring blankly at Yu-na.

“Arghhhhh!”

Jung Chan-hyuk lunged toward Yeong-sik, flailing as if in a seizure, intending to take him hostage.

Yu-na, who had just dealt with Jung Chan-hyuk’s last subordinate, quickly turned her head toward Jung Chan-hyuk with a panicked expression.

“Hah…! You!”

Seeing Jung Chan-hyuk, whom she thought she had killed, leap up and charge at Yeong-sik, Yu-na’s face twisted in anger as she chased after him.

However, the distance between her and Jung Chan-hyuk had increased significantly while she was dealing with his subordinates, making it impossible to stop him from reaching Yeong-sik.

“Damn it!”

Jung Chan-hyuk glanced back at Yu-na, who was chasing him, while extending his hand toward Yeong-sik.

He planned to escape this place by taking a hostage if necessary.

As he reached for Yeong-sik, he didn’t pay much attention to him.

After all, Yeong-sik was just a low-level summoner, around level 5.

Jung Chan-hyuk thought it would be no trouble at all to subdue him.

But.

“Blade.”

– Click.

A low voice came from Yeong-sik’s mouth.

A sharp blade shot out from the back of his left hand.

Jung Chan-hyuk, unable to imagine a weapon suddenly appearing from Yeong-sik’s previously empty hand, couldn’t react in time to his movement.

– Thud!

“Ugh!”

Yeong-sik’s body, which had been lying on the ground, sprang up.

The blade that emerged from Yeong-sik’s hand pierced Jung Chan-hyuk’s neck accurately.

Perhaps due to the significant difference in their basic levels, in a normal situation, such an attack would have completely skewered his neck. However, Yeong-sik’s attack only managed to cut about a finger’s width deep.

But that was enough.

The neck was a vital point where even a shallow cut could be fatal.

Jung Chan-hyuk grabbed his bleeding neck, screaming in agony.

“Ahhhh!”

In an instant, Yu-na dashed to where Jung Chan-hyuk was and swung her dual swords toward his back.

A ghastly burn appeared on Jung Chan-hyuk’s back, and the light in his eyes began to fade.

“Whew… Are you okay?”

Having swiftly dealt with Jung Chan-hyuk, Yu-na turned to Yeong-sik and asked.

Her gaze fell on the blade protruding from Yeong-sik’s hand.

Yeong-sik stood up and bowed his head.

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’m safe. Thank you.”

“Hmm. What’s your name?”

She sheathed her sword at her waist and looked Yeong-sik up and down.

Yeong-sik responded to her question in a calm voice.

“My name is Yeong-sik.”

“That’s an unusual sword. What kind of skill is it?”

She looked at Yeong-sik’s hand with an intrigued expression.

Yeong-sik hesitated for a moment before replying.

“It’s not a skill, but a weapon.”

“Oh, must be a hidden class. I’ve never seen a sword come directly out of someone’s skin before.”

She spoke with sparkling eyes.

Yeong-sik nodded with a composed expression.

Though she had saved his life, it wasn’t appropriate to reveal everything about his identity to someone he had just met.

‘She wouldn’t believe it anyway.’

A human body made of machinery was an absurd concept. Even Ara and Gil-soo wouldn’t have believed it if they hadn’t seen him firsthand.

“And the other two?”

“Uh, Kim Gil-soo,” Gil-soo replied with an awkward cough.

“Seo Ara,” Ara answered in a cold, firm voice, just as she had when she first met Yeong-sik.

Yu-na whistled and continued.

“Wow… No wonder they were after you so fiercely. What did you do on Earth?”

“…Model.”

“Model…? Wait, are you the actual model Seo Ara? Wow. I never imagined I’d see you in person.”

Yu-na said with an astonished expression.

Her beauty was enough to place her among the ranks of stunning women, but she wasn’t quite on the same level as Ara.

Feeling overwhelmed by Yu-na’s familiarity, Ara hid slightly behind Yeong-sik.

“Huh.”

Seeing this, Yu-na looked at Yeong-sik with an intrigued expression.

She instinctively realized that Yeong-sik was the leader of this party.

“I have a favor to ask.”

Yeong-sik spoke with a calm demeanor.

Yu-na smirked and nodded, finding his confident attitude amusing.

“What is it?”

“Choi Yu-na… that’s correct, right? I want to join your guild.”

Yu-na stared at him, her lips pressed tightly together. She hadn’t expected him to outright ask to join her guild.

“Why?”

Her gaze sharpened as she asked.

Yeong-sik responded without hesitation.

“Right now, we’re being targeted by a large guild called Light Shield. They’ve already lost their subordinates, so they won’t give up easily. For our safety, I want to join your guild.”

He spoke in a calm voice.

“…Do you even know what kind of place our guild is?”

“No. I only heard the name Salvator Guild a moment ago.”

Yu-na looked at him with a complicated expression.

Her guild had a very complex and tragic backstory. Once one of the greatest guilds, it had now fallen into ruin.

“Our guild isn’t what you think. At least not now.”

She spoke with a bitter voice, her expression showing a mix of anguish and anger.

Yeong-sik turned his head towards her and replied.

“Just having you there would be much safer than us being on our own.”

“Hmm.”

“Please.”

Yeong-sik spoke in a calm tone, but he was feeling quite anxious. He had wanted to level up more and gather strength before joining a guild, but now that they had clashed with a large guild, there were no other options.

For now, it didn’t matter what the story behind Salvator Guild was, or if it wasn’t as grand as he hoped. What mattered was that a powerful summoner like Choi Yu-na was part of it, and given her willingness to help, it was clear that it wasn’t a guild with a shady background like Light Shield.

“Haa… Fine. I’ll introduce you to the guild master.”

“Thank you.”

“Then, can I at least know your class and level restrictions?”

She asked, looking at Yeong-sik and his party.

In this world, such information wasn’t given out lightly, but given their current situation, they couldn’t refuse.

“Level 45 restriction and warrior class.”

Gil-soo was the first to answer her question.

She nodded with a subtle expression after hearing Gil-soo’s words.

It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t exceptional either.

“…Level 91 restriction, and I’m a Frost Mage.”

“Level 91, and it’s a hidden class?”

Hearing Ara’s words, Yu-na looked at her with great interest. A level restriction of 91 and a hidden class was quite impressive. If Ara leveled up and mastered her skills, she could potentially rival Yu-na herself.

‘So, just how impressive is this Yeong-sik guy?’

Yu-na looked at Yeong-sik with a face full of expectation. He was the leader of a group that included a summoner with a level 91 restriction.

She thought his specifications must be astonishing.

“My level restriction is 25, and my class is Mechanical Engineer.”

“Huh?”

Yu-na tilted her head in disbelief at his answer. The level restriction was one thing, but a Mechanical Engineer?

It was a class she had never heard of before.

“Hmm. Didn’t you have a weapon earlier that looked like it belonged to an assassin?”

“It’s a special weapon obtained through a mechanical engineering skill. My class is not an assassin.”

Yeong-sik replied without hesitation to her question.

She looked at him with a curious expression.

“Your level restriction is lower than I expected. And your class… it’s a production class?”

“Yes, it’s a production class.”

“Hmm… a production class.”

Yu-na looked at him with a hint of disappointment.

It was natural, but production classes had fewer combat-useful skills compared to combat classes. As a result, they often lost to other classes of the same level and were sometimes treated like slaves.

However, the weapons and items created by production classes were often good enough that large guilds would establish specialized departments for production, though they were not treated well even then.

In this world, strength was justice, after all.

‘And a Mechanical Engineer…’

She recalled the old mechanical products she hadn’t seen since coming to this world, wearing a complex expression.

“What can a Mechanical Engineer make?”

“Right now, I can make a hairdryer, a mini fan, and an electric shaver.”

Yeong-sik pulled a mini fan from his inventory and showed it to her.

“What?”

Yu-na let out a hollow laugh as she looked at these items, which felt out of place and even alien in this world.

The nostalgia for Earth, almost forgotten in her memory, stirred in her heart.

“Who would have thought I’d see these things here.”

She looked at the mini fan in Yeong-sik’s hand with a fascinated expression.

She turned to Yeong-sik and asked.

“Can I try using it?”

“You can’t use it.”

“What…?”

Yu-na looked at Yeong-sik as if he were speaking nonsense.

Yeong-sik gave a very realistic and fundamental reason why the mechanical products couldn’t be used.

“There are no electrical outlets.”

Yu-na stared at Yeong-sik with an astonished expression.

Saying it couldn’t run was no different froam saying it was just a piece of scrap metal shaped like a mini fan.

‘Isn’t this class just trash?’

The thought almost escaped her lips.