Level Up Machine

Chapter 20 Boss Monster Hunt (1)

She was a beautiful woman.

No, simply calling her beautiful was not enough.

She was so extraordinarily beautiful, it was as if a goddess of beauty had descended to the mortal world, like a vision of perfection brought to life.

Her radiant golden hair glimmered as if it were made of melted gold, and her sapphire-like eyes, flawless alabaster skin, and gentle smile could warm one’s heart just by looking at her.

A small beauty mark next to her light pink lips. Her dress hinted at her perfect figure.

Even Yeong-sik, who had grown accustomed to beauties while spending time with Ara, felt his breath catch momentarily.

“You are…

Yeong-sik turned his head towards her, trailing off his words.

Yu-na answered for him.

“I’ll introduce you. This is my sister, Tiria von Erman, the guild master of the Salvator Guild.”

“Nice to meet you. Please, just call me Tiria.”

Tiria, who had come down to the first floor, slightly bowed her head as she greeted Yeong-sik and his companions.

Yeong-sik and Gil-soo nodded awkwardly with slightly dazed expressions.

Seeing his reaction, Ara made a slightly pouty face.

“My name is Yeong-sik.”

“Yes, hello.”

Tiria smiled brightly and extended her hand to him.

Yeong-sik took her hand and introduced Gil-soo and Ara. After she had greeted all of them, Yu-na spoke to her.

“They are the ones who want to join the guild.”

“Hmm…”

At her words, Tiria sighed heavily and looked a bit troubled.

She spoke to Yu-na.

“How much do they know about our guild?”

“…I haven’t told them the specifics yet. I thought it would be better if you explained it yourself.”

“I see.”

Tiria nodded with a bitter smile.

As she took a seat, she spoke to Yeong-sik and his companions.

“Please, have a seat. I’ll explain about the guild.”

“Alright.”

Yeong-sik nodded and sat down. Gil-soo and Ara also took their seats.

Tiria turned her head towards Chae-rin and said,

“Could you bring us some warm tea?”

“Sure! Got it!”

Chae-rin raised her hand energetically and ran to the kitchen.

Yu-na watched her with a worried expression, concerned that she might trip.

The sound of bustling in the kitchen was soon followed by Chae-rin approaching the table with a tray full of teacups.

She wobbled precariously as she set the teacups on the table.

“Now, let me tell you about our guild.”

Tiria began to speak in a low voice.

“Our guild used to be as large as the current top three guilds.”

Tiria’s story began.

In the past, the Salvator Guild was one of the guilds known as the Four Great Guilds, holding considerable power in the eastern continent.

The reason the Salvator Guild fell into decline was due to none other than her status as the guild master.

When the Earthlings first arrived in this world, they were thoroughly oppressed by the native inhabitants who already held power.

However, as the Earthlings began to level up and form guilds, gathering strength, the situation started to change little by little.

Although having a high level didn’t mean they could single-handedly sweep away all obstacles, once high-level Earthlings formed organized groups, their power became something even the nations couldn’t ignore.

The countries found themselves unable to use their armies to deal with the Earthlings due to the threat of monsters descending from the north, leading to a peculiar state of coexistence between the guilds and the countries.

During this time, the Earthlings grew stronger individually, and the guilds developed power that made it uncertain whether even an army could defeat them.

Each kingdom came up with its own strategy to address this.

The Ixis Kingdom chose to cooperate by providing full support for guilds to hunt monsters, while the Marcia Kingdom opted to entice guild masters with high-ranking positions.

The Elnoth Kingdom, on the other hand, attempted to swallow the Salvator Guild by exploiting the fact that the daughter of the Erman Duke was the guild master.

At the time, the Salvator Guild was in the midst of a certain “plan” and firmly rejected the Elnoth Kingdom’s proposal, leading to a conflict between the Elnoth Kingdom and the Salvator Guild.

The Elnoth Kingdom resorted to methods so vile they were almost unspeakable.

They took her family and close acquaintances hostage, attempting to take control of the entire Salvator Guild.

Caught in an impossible situation, kind-hearted Tiria found herself unable to choose a side, leading to an internal conflict within the Salvator Guild between those who supported her and those who did not.

From the Earthlings’ perspective, their hard-earned guild was on the verge of being taken over by a kingdom, which led to many opposing this outcome. Eventually, those who supported Tiria dwindled to fewer than ten people, forcing them to live hidden in a secluded town.

“…That’s the current situation of our guild.”

After hearing her explanation, Yeong-sik remained silent.

The guild’s situation was worse than he had expected.

The remaining Salvator Guild members were in conflict with both the Elnoth Kingdom and the factions that had caused the previous internal strife.

‘This might be more dangerous than the threat from the Light Shield Guild.’

Yeong-sik thought sharply as his eyes glinted.

While the Light Shield Guild was just a guild, the Salvator Guild was at odds with an entire nation.

“Then I leave the decision to Yeong-sik and the others.”

Tiria, looking at Yeong-sik’s hardened expression, gave a bitter smile.

Yeong-sik gazed at her, lost in thought.

“Hmm… I’m not good at these kinds of decisions, so I’ll trust you to decide,” Gil-soo said, sighing deeply as he spoke to Yeong-sik.

Ara then spoke up.

“I… I’m against it. I don’t think it’s wise to join a guild that’s in conflict with a nation,” she said coldly.

Yu-na’s expression darkened slightly at her words.

Ara, with her high level of 91 and a hidden class as a summoner, was an invaluable asset.

Frankly speaking, even without Yeong-sik and Gil-soo, the guild’s strength wouldn’t be significantly affected, but Ara was different.

She was the kind of talent that even the major guilds would welcome with open arms.

“I have a question.”

Yeong-sik’s voice broke the silence.

Ara and Gil-soo’s attention turned to him.

Yeong-sik looked directly into Tiria’s eyes and asked,

“What kind of support can the Salvator Guild provide?”

Tiria looked a bit troubled by his question.

“Our guild is in hiding, so we can’t offer much support. We don’t have much saved up, so financial support is difficult. But we can provide a warm refuge and delicious meals. Although it feels awkward to say, I’m quite confident in my cooking,” Tiria said with a gentle smile.

Yeong-sik responded in a low voice,

“I’ve seen that Yu-na possesses considerable power. Could we not receive her protection while we grow stronger?”

Having a high-level summoner like Yu-na assist with initial hunts, similar to what the Light Shield Guild had offered, would allow for much more stable leveling.

Even if she couldn’t participate directly in combat due to experience point distribution issues, just having her as a safety net was valuable.

“Yu-na is quite well-known, so helping you directly would be difficult. But Han-seong, who isn’t as widely recognized, could assist you to some extent,” Tiria answered calmly.

Yeong-sik nodded at her words and continued.

“In that case, I’ll join the Salvator Guild.”

He spoke with a determined expression, indicating he had no further hesitation.

Given the dangerous situation, it was too risky for the three of them to continue on their own.

Moreover, it would take a significant amount of time to establish themselves again.

Yeong-sik had a goal of quickly gathering money, creating mechanical items, and leveling up his structural analysis skill.

Operating without the guild’s support would make these goals increasingly out of reach.

“Hmm. If that’s what you think…”

“Haa…”

Hearing Yeong-sik’s resolute voice, Gil-soo nodded, trailing off his words.

Ara looked at him with an exasperated expression but did not argue against his decision.

“Phew. It’s a relief. It’s been a long time since we’ve had new members,” Tiria said with a wide smile, clearly pleased to welcome new guild members.

Her smile was so radiant it seemed to light up the room.

“Now, please extend your hand to me.”

Tiria looked at Yeong-sik’s group as she spoke.

Following her words, Yeong-sik extended his right hand towards her.

Tiria wrapped his hand in both of hers and spoke softly.

“By the authority of the guild master, I welcome you as members of Salvator.”

-Whoom!

A bright light emanated from Tiria’s body, flowing into Yeong-sik’s arm.

*Ding!*

[You have joined the Salvator Guild!]

[As a guild effect, you will receive a 5% experience increase and a 0.5% attack power increase. These buffs will disappear if you leave the guild, join a duplicate guild, or are disciplined by the guild master.]

As the blue message window appeared before his eyes, the light was fully absorbed into Yeong-sik’s body.

Yeong-sik’s eyes sparkled as he read the message window.

‘So there’s a guild buff too.’

While the attack power increase was negligible, the 5% experience increase was quite appealing.

Yeong-sik thought joining the guild was an even better decision.

Following Yeong-sik, Tiria approached Gil-soo and Ara, taking their hands as well.

Ara still seemed reluctant, but after glancing at Yeong-sik, she finally took Tiria’s hand.

“Since we have new members, we should celebrate with a party.”

Having accepted Yeong-sik, Gil-soo, and Ara as members, Tiria smiled brightly.

At her words, Chae-rin jumped with joy, raising both hands excitedly.

Yeong-sik pondered Tiria’s words.

‘Family, huh.’

For someone who had no memories of his own, it was a very unfamiliar term.

However, Yeong-sik didn’t find the word unpleasant.

Yeong-sik and his companions went to the rooms Yu-na had shown them and unpacked their belongings.

They didn’t have much to unpack since they didn’t have many possessions to begin with.

The rooms weren’t large, but they were certainly better than the cheap inn they had been staying at.

After being assigned their rooms, they headed to the kitchen when they were informed that dinner was ready.

“Then, let’s toast to our new family members.”

Sitting at the head of the table, Tiria raised her glass of wine high as she spoke.

There was a slight awkwardness between the Salvator Guild members and Yeong-sik’s group, but Chae-rin’s bright demeanor gradually dispelled the unease.