Level Up Machine

Chapter 126 Machines and Weapons (3)

“Hmm… Then let’s move on to the next one.”

After the commotion that seemed like a storm had settled down, Yeong-sik swallowed a short sigh as if he found it hard to keep up with the situation.

In response to his words, the guild members focused on him with even more fervor than before. Their reaction was undoubtedly due to Jeong So-rim’s growth.

They had realized that the weapons Yeong-sik made not only improved in performance but could also elevate the user’s level to a higher plane, just like S-grade or higher weapons.

The improvement in weapon performance and the rise in personal level.

It was an opportunity to gain both powers that summoners desperately desired, so it was only natural for them to show such interest.

“Next is Chae-rin.”

“Yes!”

Thinking it was her turn, Chae-rin raised her hand and stepped forward. Even before Yeong-sik spoke, she placed the staff she was holding in front of him.

“First of all, everyone here probably knows Chae-rin’s strengths and weaknesses.”

“Y-yes, that’s right.”

Chae-rin nodded with an awkward smile.

Her strengths and weaknesses.

She possessed a powerful attack that could surprise even rankers, but the entire Salvator Guild knew that she would immediately fall into a state of mana exhaustion and be unable to attack for a while after casting a single magic spell.

“Having a strong attack is good. But collapsing right after using a single spell is too critical a weakness.”

“…You are absolutely right.”

“So this is what I’m going to make for you this time.”

Yeong-sik placed his hand on her staff and used his synthesis skill. With a blue light, a muzzle was formed at the end of the staff. Chae-rin, holding the staff, looked at the trigger attached to the handle with a puzzled expression.

“A gun? Are you telling me to shoot it when I’m out of mana to boost my strength?”

“No. Even if it’s a gun you can fire with your strength, it wouldn’t be better than a C-grade android.”

“Then what is this?”

“It’s a device that fires condensed oxygen bullets.”

“…Oxygen bullets?”

Chae-rin tilted her head at the unfamiliar term.

“The explosion you primarily use consumes a huge amount of mana. This device compensates for the reduced destructive power by emitting a large amount of oxygen at the place where you cast your spell. When you shoot the oxygen bullet, it releases a massive burst of oxygen to make up for the lack of destructive power.”

“Ah?”

A short exclamation escaped Chae-rin’s mouth. Basically, Explosion was a fire-based skill.

If a large amount of oxygen exploded where the fire-based skill exploded?

The flames generated by Explosion would consume the surrounding oxygen and cause an even more tremendous explosion.

In other words, it meant she could create a powerful explosion using only 10-20% of her usual mana.

“Of course, it won’t have the same destructive power as your usual Explosion. But at least it will prevent you from falling into mana exhaustion after one use.”

“W-wow… Thank you, oppa!”

Chae-rin clutched the staff with both hands, jumping with joy.

Although she seemed to live without worries, she had been quite troubled by the fact that she collapsed every time she used a spell during hunts.

“Hehehe! Here! This is your reward!”

*Smooch.*

Chae-rin, with a bright smile, suddenly kissed Yeong-sik on the cheek. Han Tae-yeong, who had been watching, scowled deeply at the sight.

“Chae-rin! What are you doing to Yeong-sik?”

“Huh? Tiria unni also kissed oppa before.”

“Well, that’s true, but!”

“Huh. Why are you making such a fuss over a kiss on the cheek, Tiria unni? Like a maiden… Oh, right. Tiria unni is a maiden.”

Chae-rin grinned slyly at Tiria. Tiria, red to her ears, shouted in a panicked voice.

“What are you talking about, Chae-rin!”

“Huh? Then are you saying you’re not a maiden?”

“Well, that’s not it, but…”

Tiria glanced nervously at Yeong-sik, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Before the commotion could escalate again, Yeong-sik quickly turned to face Ara.

“Next is Ara.”

Ara handed her staff to Yeong-sik with a tense expression. It was an A-grade staff she had obtained from the previous battle with Lekras.

“Ara, you mentioned before that Frost Mages can convert cold into mana, right?”

“Yes. But it’s not easy to find cold in nature… So I’ve rarely used it.”

The Elnote Continent had generally warm weather regardless of the region. It was nearly impossible to find a place where she could absorb natural cold. At best, she could convert the cold emanating from the magic stones attached to weapons into mana, but that wasn’t significant.

Basically, the staff itself was focused more on increasing magical attack power than generating cold.

Yeong-sik placed his hand on Ara’s staff and used the synthesis skill. A round orb appeared in the middle of her staff.

“It’s a device that produces rapid coolant for engines, like the one Lacteon used before. Place your hand on it.”

“Huh? This is…?”

Ara’s eyes widened in surprise as she placed her hand on the orb. She felt an intense cold tingling through the surface.

If she didn’t have the Frost Mage class, which specialized in handling cold, she would have instantly gotten frostbite from the intense chill.

“Ice-type spells usually have a debuff effect similar to curse magic, but their attack power is too low. However, if you utilize the Frost Mage’s ability to convert cold into mana, your attack power will be much stronger than before.”

“Th-thank you, Yeong-sik.”

She felt deeply moved that he had designed a weapon that maximized the characteristics of her hidden class, ‘Frost Mage,’ allowing only her to benefit from it.

A weapon that meant nothing to other magicians, but held significant meaning only for her.

She even felt a sense of relief, as if Yeong-sik was watching over her through the weapon.

“When higher-grade materials become available, I’ll upgrade your staff to emit much more powerful cold than it does now.”

“Hehe, thank you. I’ll look forward to it.”

With a slightly flushed face, she gently held Yeong-sik’s hand as he handed her the staff. A subtle atmosphere formed between them.

“Ahem!”

Tiria puffed out her cheeks and glared at the two of them. Yeong-sik chuckled and turned to the next person.

“Next is Grandpa Hwang-hyeon.”

“Heh heh. I’m looking forward to this.”

“For Grandpa Hwang-hyeon, it’s similar to So-rim’s situation. You can accurately target weak points but lack decisive attack power.”

“Indeed, that’s true.”

Instead of modifying Hwang-hyeon’s bow, Yeong-sik handed him dozens of arrowheads.

“Have you seen the movie ‘AvengXrs’?”

“…My granddaughter took me to see it once. I understand what you’re getting at with just that word.”

“There is a character who uses a bow in that movie. I thought of that character when coming up with this idea.”

Yeong-sik continued, handing over the arrowheads and shafts.

“Each arrowhead has different abilities based on its color. Red is explosive, green is acidic, blue is electric, and so on. Each arrowhead has its own power.”

“Oh, I see. This will certainly give me more options depending on the situation.”

“And just because it’s a machine doesn’t mean it can’t hold mana. If you use your original skills along with these, the power will increase even more.”

“Thank you. I will make good use of it.”

Using mechanical weapons didn’t mean one couldn’t use the skills they had been using. On the contrary, it was possible to create a more powerful destructive force through the synergy between the mechanical power and skills.

“As for you, Gil-soo…”

“I will wait for the next time, Yeong-sik.”

Gil-soo shook his head with a bitter expression, stroking the shield he held.

“I think it’s more important for me to focus on honing my shield techniques rather than relying on equipment for now.”

“…If that’s what you wish, I’ll make your weapon later.”

Yeong-sik didn’t oppose his opinion. Gil-soo surely had thought it through before saying that.

“Next, we have Yoo-jin, Tae-young, and Han-seong left…”

Yeong-sik looked at them and continued.

“For the three of you, it was difficult to synthesize with your existing weapons, so I made separate machines for you.”

“Oh…”

“What kind of item is it, hyung?”

Han-seong and Tae-young looked at him with expectant eyes.

“First, Yoo-jin, this is for you.”

“Armor?”

“To be precise, it’s a cardiac support device.”

“Cardiac support device?”

Yoo-jin tilted his head in confusion.

“You said your space magic puts a strain on your heart every time you use it, right?”

“…Yes, that’s correct.”

“With this, the strain on your heart will be significantly reduced.”

Yoo-jin’s eyes sparkled at Yeong-sik’s words. For him, who suffered pain every time he used his skills, there could be no better news.

‘If this really reduces the strain…’

He could even use the skills he had learned but couldn’t use due to the risk.

Yoo-jin immediately donned the cardiac support device that Yeong-sik handed him.

-Click.

“Ugh!”

A long needle extended from the cardiac support device, piercing his skin. Yoo-jin decided to test a skill.

“Rift.”

-Crack!

A fissure formed in the space, splitting a large tree in half.

‘I barely feel any pain.’

The effect of the cardiac support device was clear. The pain he usually felt whenever he used his skills was almost gone.

Seeing Yoo-jin’s amazed expression, Yeong-sik confirmed the effectiveness of his creation and shifted his attention.

“Next is Tae-young.”

Tae-young nodded with a mixture of anticipation and anxiety.

Yeong-sik handed Tae-young a device that resembled a wrist-mounted crossbow. Instead of arrows, it was equipped with a syringe filled with an unknown liquid.

“…What is this, hyung?”

“It’s an injector that shoots a virus. Your curse skill has too wide a range to be effective on a single target. By enchanting the liquid with your curse magic and shooting it like a gun, the virus in the liquid will spread the curse quickly.”

It worked on the same principle as Hwang-hyeon infusing his skills into arrowheads before shooting them.

This device would allow Tae-young to use his curse more effectively, which usually lacked focus due to its wide range.

“Hmm… I’ve never infused my skills into another object to shoot them… I’ll give it a try.”

Tae-young inspected the wrist-mounted crossbow with interest, seeming quite pleased with it.

Yeong-sik looked around at the curious guild members and let out a short sigh.

“I plan to give Han-seong this equipment.”

Saying this, Yeong-sik placed a somewhat heavy-looking item on the ground.

It looked like equipment used by firefighters to extinguish fires.

Seeing the backpack and hose, Han-seong’s expression stiffened slightly.

He had never seen a medical device in this form, but it felt oddly familiar.

“When you bring the light from this hose to an injury, it emits a healing beam…”

“Have you finally decided on Terran as your main race?”

“…Well, there’s a reason it’s considered overpowered.”

Han-seong chuckled and put on the backpack Yeong-sik handed him.

“Then let’s…”

Yeong-sik turned to the guild members who were looking at the weapons with amazement.

“Let’s go feel the power of these ‘overpowered’ items.”

Yeong-sik said with a half-resigned expression.