Level Up Machine

Chapter 24

Unexpected Jackpot (1)

[Quest – Lizardman Chieftain, Luderek]

Content: A new chieftain of the Lizardmen has descended from the north. Thwart Luderek’s plan to gather nearby Lizardmen tribes and attack humans, and eliminate him.

Reward: Chieftain’s Necklace (Rank: E), 20 gold.

“What is this…?”

Yeong-sik tilted his head as he stared at the quest window that appeared before him.

Bae Han-seong approached him.

“Did you find a quest initiation item?”

Bae Han-seong, who also had a message window pop up before him, asked Yeong-sik with a curious expression.

Yeong-sik nodded in response to his question.

“I’m not exactly sure what a quest initiation item is… but as soon as I found this wooden board, a message window appeared.”

“Haha. A quest initiation item is just what it sounds like. But you were lucky. You found a clue indicating the boss monster’s location right away.”

He said this while looking at the wooden board Yeong-sik held out.

Bae Han-seong frowned as he examined the Lizardmen’s script etched onto the board.

“Ugh. As expected, it’s in the monsters’ language. I can’t make sense of it.”

Hearing this, Yeong-sik firmly closed his mouth.

He could understand the words etched on the wooden board.

This wasn’t the first time he had experienced this.

The word “Yeong-sik” written on the back of his left hand was also in characters only he could read.

‘Why can I understand all these texts?’

Yeong-sik looked down at his body with a puzzled expression.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find the answer. After all, he knew nothing about himself.

‘Will the day ever come when I can understand?’

Yeong-sik raised his head with a gaze that felt somewhat bitter.

The world in front of him felt strangely unfamiliar. It was the sensation of being abandoned alone in an infinitely empty space.

“Yeong-sik? Is something wrong?”

On June 28th, Ara asked Yeong-sik, who was staring blankly into the air, with a concerned tone.

Snapping out of his thoughts at her words, Yeong-sik shook his head lightly and responded to her.

“No. It’s nothing.”

Saying so, Yeong-sik approached Bae Han-seong, who was turning a wooden board this way and that.

“So, if we follow the map drawn on this wooden board, we’ll find the boss.”

“Yes. I’ve been to this swamp area a few times, so I think I know where the place marked on the map is.”

At his words, Yeong-sik nodded and continued.

“By the way, the boss monster’s reward is really something. Just the gold reward is 20 gold…”

Twenty gold was equivalent to a hefty sum of 20 million won in Korean currency.

Considering that an elite monster gave 35 silver, it was clear how valuable the boss monster was.

“When we meet higher-level boss monsters later, this will be a small change. Just catching one will be a jackpot.”

Bae Han-seong shrugged and continued.

“And E-grade items are nothing to scoff at. Actually, the value of items is higher than gold. Since items are so rare in this world, even low-grade items are quite expensive.”

“I see.”

“Well, it’s better not to sell items and use them if possible. We’ll decide that later after checking the stats.”

Yeong-sik nodded at his words.

Bae Han-seong looked at the map and walked ahead.

“We struggled so much with the elite monster. Isn’t it going to be difficult to catch the boss monster?”

Yeong-sik lightly frowned as he recalled the elite Lizardman they had just defeated.

Although he and Ara hadn’t suffered any serious injuries, Gil-soo had sustained significant wounds that couldn’t be ignored.

Fortunately, they were injuries that could be healed with healing magic, but if they had been more severe, it would have been really dangerous.

As things stood, they were at risk of being killed in one hit by the boss monster, which was obviously stronger than the elite Lizardman.

If they were killed in one hit, healing magic and potions would be useless.

There was no way to resurrect a dead summon.

“Yes. To be honest, it’s impossible to catch the boss monster with our current strength.”

“So, what do you plan to do?”

Yeong-sik asked, and Bae Han-seong shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“I’ll help you. Even if it’s a pity about the experience points, the quest clear rewards aren’t bad, so we’ll just have to accept it.”

“Understood.”

Yeong-sik nodded in agreement.

There was no need to stubbornly insist on gaining experience here.

The quest rewards alone made it more than worth it to take down the boss monster.

‘At our current hunting speed, reaching level 15 shouldn’t be difficult.’

Experience points could be gained by hunting Lizardmen at any time.

Right now, the 20 gold quest reward felt far more tempting to him.

With that money, he could buy iron ore in the city and extract a significant amount of materials needed for machine manufacturing.

‘This time, I’ll spend some money to level up my skills.’

Yeong-sik felt the need to level up his skills in the Machinist class before moving on to hunt other monsters after leveling up in the Lizardmen habitat.

He was starting to find it increasingly challenging to face monsters with just his blade.

‘If I unlock the next level…’

Yeong-sik thought about the weapons and memories he could gain by unlocking the next level of security.

Both were more important to him than anything else at the moment.

Planning for the future, Yeong-sik headed towards the location of the boss monster.

* * *

“Here we are.”

Following the map led them out of the swamp and to a place where a vast canyon spread out before them.

Bae Han-seong clicked his tongue as he looked at the enormous canyon.

“As expected of a recently appeared boss monster, it’s located near the Northern Boundary.”

“Northern Boundary?”

Yeong-sik asked with a puzzled expression at the unfamiliar term.

Bae Han-seong nodded and explained.

“It’s the front line where monsters coming down from the north are engaged. It’s a place filled with high-level monsters that can’t be compared to here.”

“Oh?”

“Such places are defended by the three major guilds or the kingdom itself… But the monsters are so strong that sometimes the defense line breaks, and boss monsters like this manage to come deep inside.”

Yeong-sik stroked his chin with a look of interest at his words.

“Are the monsters coming from the north really that strong?”

“Of course. They are on a different level compared to monsters like orcs or Lizardmen that grow naturally within the boundary. Even a ranker could die if wandering alone.”

Bae Han-seong spoke in a firm voice.

At his words, Yeong-sik continued with a deeply thoughtful expression.

“But then, why would a low-level boss monster from such a fierce front line come down here?”

“It might have been deliberately released.”

“Deliberately released?”

Yeong-sik tilted his head, finding Bae Han-seong’s words difficult to understand.

Bae Han-seong nodded and answered Yeong-sik’s question.

“Yes. Sometimes, guilds send boss monsters inside the boundary to help beginner summoners grow. It’s easier for guilds to recruit people if the new summoners grow quickly.”

It was somewhat similar to catching young fish and releasing them back into the river. They were giving up immediate gains for greater future benefits.

“I see.”

Yeong-sik nodded, indicating that he understood.

Yeong-sik, recalling Han-seong’s mention of ‘native,’ asked another question.

“Then, not all monsters come down from the north?”

“No. Many monsters naturally exist within the boundary. Orcs and Lizardmen are such examples. Without those monsters, we’d have to level up at the Northern Boundary from level 1.”

Yeong-sik’s eyes sparkled with interest.

He turned his head to look at Bae Han-seong walking ahead.

Talking with someone knowledgeable about this world was incredibly helpful.

“How long have you been in this world, Han-seong?”

Yeong-sik asked the question that suddenly came to his mind.

“I’m a 43rd-round summoner. It’s been about three and a half years since I came here.”

Bae Han-seong replied with a voice that felt somewhat bitter.

He adjusted his round glasses with one hand and continued speaking.

“At first, I thought I would go crazy… but now this place feels more familiar than Earth ever did.”

“Don’t you want to return to Earth?”

Ara, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, asked him.

Han-seong replied in a low voice.

“Of course, I want to go back.”

His voice was firm as he answered Ara’s question.

There was a heavy, almost desperate emotion in his voice.

Ara couldn’t bring herself to say anything more to Han-seong and remained silent.

“The map indicates it’s around here, but… I don’t see anything.”

Having arrived at the space between the canyons, Bae Han-seong frowned and looked around.

All that could be seen were towering rock mountains on either side.

“Let’s look around this area.”

Following Bae Han-seong’s lead, Yeong-sik suggested, glancing around.

The party members nodded in agreement.

Yeong-sik’s group searched the area thoroughly, combing through the surroundings.

However, all they found were rocks; there was no sign of the boss monster.

“This should be the place…”

Bae Han-seong tilted his head and looked down at the wooden board.

“May I take a look for a moment?”

“Yes, of course.”

Bae Han-seong handed over the wooden board to Yeong-sik, who had reached out for it.

Yeong-sik accepted the board and reread the text written in the Lizardmen’s language.

‘According to the new leader Luderick’s command, move to the designated location at sunset.’

Though the others couldn’t read it, Yeong-sik could understand the writing on the board.

Yeong-sik looked up from the board and gazed at the sky.

He saw the sun, which had been high up, slowly beginning to set.

The sky, once clear and cloudless, was now starting to turn orange.

“Let’s wait here for a while.”

Following the instructions written on the board, Yeong-sik deduced that Luderick would appear at sunset. He crouched behind a nearby rock and suggested they wait.

Bae Han-seong tilted his head in confusion and asked Yeong-sik.

“Do you really think the boss monster will just come to us if we wait here?”

Yeong-sik hesitated, pondering whether to explain that he could read the Lizardmen’s script.

‘Should I just make up a special skill?’

That thought briefly crossed his mind, but he realized it would be difficult to convince them that his Machinist class had a script deciphering skill.

As Yeong-sik deliberated over how to respond, the orange hue in the sky grew more pronounced.

Then, it happened.

A faint metallic sound reached Yeong-sik’s ears.

“Hmm…?”

“This sound…”

Bae Han-seong also turned his head towards the direction of the sound, indicating that he had heard it too.

The sound was coming from deep within the canyon.

“…Let’s go.”

Yeong-sik began to move towards the source of the sound.

As they ventured deeper into the canyon, the clashing sounds of weapons and eerie howls grew louder.

Yeong-sik’s party quickened their pace as they approached the source of the noise.