Level Up Machine

Chapter 132 Unresolved Questions (2)

The surroundings shook as if an earthquake had struck.

The nightmarish heat swept through the mechanical monsters. The bodies of hundreds of mechanical monsters melted, unable to withstand the heat of the photon cannon.

-Click. Click.

The mechanical monsters screamed and thrashed about.

A huge hole was torn open in the encirclement that had been pressing down on Yeong-sik and Tiria.

It seemed possible that if they called in the Salvator Guild members and continued the battle, they might be able to annihilate the mechanical monsters.

‘That’s not a good idea.’

The guild members were extremely exhausted from the battle.

Even though the retreat team still had some strength left, Tiria, who could be considered the core strength of the guild, was too exhausted to continue the fight.

Yeong-sik also couldn’t use other weapons for a while as a result of using the ‘Eclipse Cannon’.

If more mechanical monsters appeared while they were dealing with the current ones, the Salvator Guild would be unable to cope.

“Tiria, come here.”

“Huff, huff. Yes, Yeong-sik.”

Tiria, who had forcefully spread her eight wings, was breathing heavily and staggering as if she might collapse at any moment.

“Grrrrrr!”

A few mechanical monsters that had survived the explosion of the Eclipse Cannon staggered towards where Yeong-sik was.

-Sssss!

Yeong-sik looked at them and put on his suit again.

As he confirmed when he went to rescue Lacteon, there was still enough time left in the suit to escape the encirclement.

Yeong-sik picked up Tiria’s body and kicked off the ground.

Due to the recoil of the Eclipse Cannon, he couldn’t use the boost function.

However, even without using the boost, Yeong-sik, wearing the suit, could move with the agility of a top-ranked melee class fighter.

-Thud, thud, thud, thud!

With each kick, the ground caved in, propelling his body forward.

Although he couldn’t fly at supersonic speed like he could with the boost, he was still too fast for the confused mechanical monsters, who had been hit by the Eclipse Cannon, to catch up.

-Click. Click.

As Yeong-sik fled from the monsters, the surviving android army followed him, escaping from the mechanical monsters.

The C-grade androids had all disappeared due to their self-destruct attacks, and most of the B-grade androids had been destroyed in the initial clash with the mechanical monsters.

However, some A-grade androids had managed to survive the battle.

“Haap!”

Yeong-sik dodged several mechanical monsters attacking him and ran to where the retreating members of the Salvator Guild were.

Once he entered the dense forest, the mechanical monsters stopped their pursuit.

“Yeong-sik! Tiria!”

Yu-na shouted in a bright voice when she saw Yeong-sik carrying Tiria.

The guild members, who had been anxiously waiting, welcomed them with bright expressions.

“I can’t understand what’s going on all of a sudden. There was no information anywhere about such monsters being on the central continent…” Han-seong put his hand on his forehead with a confused expression.

The mechanical monsters appeared so abruptly that it seemed completely out of the blue.

They had no idea what these monsters were.

Yeong-sik also kept his mouth shut, deep in thought.

‘The monsters only launched their offensive after I scanned them.’

This meant that if he hadn’t discovered them, they might have remained hidden underground.

‘If these mechanical monsters had existed for a long time and hadn’t attacked the previous expeditions that advanced to the central continent…’

Yeong-sik’s expression hardened.

If that were the case, the situation was even more serious.

It meant that these mechanical monsters were part of a plan that the Creators of the monsters had been preparing for a long time.

“Han-seong, can I also check the information you received from the Leviathan Guild?”

“Of course.”

Han-seong handed Yeong-sik several documents. They were handwritten notes from the Leviathan Guild’s expedition.

As Han-seong had said, there was no mention of mechanical monsters in any part of the notes.

There were mentions of being attacked by monsters hidden underground and having to retreat.

However, the monsters that had attacked the Leviathan Guild were sand drakes, a well-known species.

After examining the documents, Yeong-sik looked up.

“…These mechanical monsters could be part of a plan hidden by the Creators of the monsters.”

“A plan by the Creators?”

Yeong-sik explained his theory to Han-seong.

As Yeong-sik spoke, Han-seong’s expression gradually hardened.

“…Indeed, that seems highly likely.”

The expeditions to the central continent had not been successful only from the east.

Powerful rare items, including relics from the Ingrim Empire, were abundant there.

Expeditions from the south and the west were also continuously advancing to the central continent.

Yet, there was no mention of mechanical monsters from any of these expeditions, which made no sense unless it was deliberately hidden.

“Then are you saying we can’t predict when the monsters hiding in the central region might launch an offensive?”

Tiria, who had been listening to their conversation, asked with a hardened expression.

Her face showed signs of exhaustion from the recent battle, but the topic Yeong-sik and Han-seong were discussing was too serious to ignore.

“We don’t know yet, but… if they’ve hidden the existence of the mechanical monsters, there must be a reason for it.”

Yeong-sik narrowed his eyes and continued speaking.

The expressions of the guild members became somber.

Yeong-sik, recalling the mechanical monsters that had attacked them, fell back into thought.

‘The Leviathan Guild is preparing for the northern conquest for a period of five years.’

He felt that this five-year period wouldn’t be given to the summoners.

If thousands of mechanical monsters were to attack the east, it would cause an unprecedented level of chaos, incomparable to what happened with Lekras.

In the worst-case scenario, the entire east could be destroyed by such a formidable force.

“…We should inform the Leviathan Guildmaster about this as well.”

Tiria, who had been contemplating for a while, spoke up.

Yeong-sik nodded in agreement.

“No matter how I think about it, this isn’t something the Salvator Guild can handle on its own.”

Trying to resolve this issue with just the Salvator Guild’s strength was foolish.

They needed help from other guilds.

‘It’s no longer a situation where we can afford to be greedy for Orichalcum.’

Without the strength to easily sweep away the mechanical monster horde, heading to the central region was too dangerous.

Yeong-sik buried his lingering attachment to the Orichalcum mine in a corner of his heart and continued speaking.

“For now, let’s go back to the guild house and think about it.”

Although it couldn’t compare to the central region, the area where the guild members were currently located was also filled with powerful monsters beyond the northern border.

Having lost most of the android army, it was dangerous to stay here.

After that, the Salvator Guild quickly returned to the guild house.

They encountered monsters several times along the way,

but the guild members, strengthened by Yeong-sik’s weapons, easily took care of the monsters and made it back inside the boundary.

“Finally…”

Exclamations of relief came from the guild members as they returned to the guild house. It had been a month since they had been home.

“Are you planning to contact the Leviathan Guild right away?”

“No. Since we’ve just returned today, let’s contact them tomorrow.”

Even though they had returned, Yeong-sik still had a lot to do.

Consulting with the Leviathan Guild about the recent events.

Manufacturing new androids to replace the nearly annihilated android army.

Repairing the heavily damaged Lacteon.

‘Repairing Lacteon is the problem…’

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that C-grade and B-grade metal cores were abundant, so it wouldn’t be difficult to manufacture the android army again.

The problem was the S-grade metal core needed for repairing Lacteon.

In the worst case, they might have to extract and use all 11 of the S-grade black cubes they had obtained for Lacteon’s repairs.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Yeong-sik fully realized the power Lacteon possessed during this expedition.

A strong ally capable of matching Yu-na, who possessed the legacy of the hero Ragna, in a one-on-one fight.

Additionally, Lacteon had the ability to command the android army in Yeong-sik’s stead.

Lacteon was worth investing S-grade metal cores in.

‘And I promised to repair him.’

There was always a twinge of emotion somewhere in his heart whenever he looked at Lacteon.

Furthermore, there was a reason he subconsciously gave Lacteon the name of one of the Creators of the monsters.

It was likely related to his lost memories.

Even when the other guild members went inside the guild house to rest, Yeong-sik headed alone to the warehouse.

He took out Lacteon, whose upper body was all that remained, from his inventory and immediately used his repair skill.

-Ding.

[The damage to this unit is severe, requiring six S-grade metal cores for restoration. Would you like to proceed with the repair?]

“Six…”

The total number of S-grade metal cores obtained from this expedition was eleven.

Using six for the repair would leave enough to enhance one of his weapons.

‘It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped.’

Yeong-sik invested the six metal cores to complete Lacteon’s repair.

-Whoooong!

A blue light exploded outward as Lacteon’s damaged body gradually returned to its original state.

[…Asking why you risked yourself for this unit.]

Lacteon, upon being repaired, immediately asked Yeong-sik in a questioning tone.

Yeong-sik chuckled at the voice that seemed somewhat angry.

[This unit is reprimanding the Master for an unwise decision. This is not a situation to laugh at.]

“Alright, alright.”

Yeong-sik raised his hand and patted Lacteon’s head.

It was like a father comforting an angry child.

[……]

Lacteon, without a mouth to show it, remained silent and his green eyes flashed before he turned away.

[…Thank you for saving me.]

Having said that, Lacteon walked out of the warehouse, seemingly trying to hide his embarrassment.

“…This is quite a strange feeling.”

Had it not been for his clumsy, bulky appearance, the situation might have been touching. Instead, Yeong-sik felt confused about whether to laugh or feel proud.

“Well, I should start manufacturing the androids again.”

There wasn’t much time to rest.

Yeong-sik walked to where the C-grade and B-grade metal cores were piled up in the warehouse.

Since it didn’t take long to manufacture them as long as he had the materials, he could make several hundred units if he worked through the night.

Just then.

-Creak.

“Yeong-sik.”

“Oh, yes. Han-seong. What’s going on?”

Yeong-sik asked with a puzzled expression as Han-seong, who he thought was resting in the guild house, entered the warehouse.

Han-seong’s expression hardened slightly as he spoke.

“We received an urgent message from the Leviathan Guildmaster.”