Level Up Machine

Chapter 42 The Power of the Black Cube (5)

After the successful raid on the Light Shield Guild, Yeong-sik and his party split up and headed to Ruberin. This was because there was a troll habitat near Ruberin that they had targeted for their next hunt.

Naturally, Yeong-sik could not use the previous guild house.

So, he deliberately chose an inn far from the guild house.

Although there was some risk, considering the kingdom’s public security would start their investigation with Ruberin, Yeong-sik, Gil-soo, and Ara’s faces were completely unknown. No matter how skilled the Elnote Kingdom’s public security was, it wouldn’t be easy to find information on them.

“Phew. It feels like it’s been a while since the three of us traveled together.”

Gil-soo said as he unpacked in the inn room. On his back was the Radiant Shield used by Han Cheol-ho, the leader of the Light Shield Guild.

Yeong-sik chuckled and nodded at his words.

“Yes. Since joining the guild, there haven’t been many times for the three of us to be together.”

“Heh. It reminds me of the first tutorial.”

Gil-soo laughed with a voice tinged with nostalgia. Ara smiled faintly and spoke in a playful tone.

“Why are you talking like you’ve lived your entire life, old man?”

“Hmm. I may look like this, but I’m still a spry 40-something. Don’t treat me like I’m too old.”

Gil-soo smiled gently at her joke. It was a relaxed conversation, hard to imagine during the first tutorial.

“So, are you thinking of going after those trolls right away?”

Ara asked Yeong-sik, turning her head towards him. Yeong-sik shook his head slowly and replied.

“No. I think we need to prepare a bit first.”

“What preparation?”

Ara tilted her head in curiosity. Yeong-sik grinned as he answered.

“This time, I’m planning to try power-leveling.”

“Power-leveling?”

Ara frowned. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what power-leveling meant. She just knew how difficult it was to actually achieve.

Yeong-sik pulled a black hexagonal object from his inventory. It was the Black Cube he had obtained from Han Cheol-ho’s storage.

“Well, it’s a bit different from leveling up.”

Yeong-sik mumbled as he gazed at the Black Cube in his hand.

Unlocking the security level was definitely different from a regular level-up. However, the effect was incomparable to a normal level-up.

‘I hope a good weapon comes out this time.’

Yeong-sik recalled the fourth ability he had gained from the boost. The ability he had acquired was ‘Slow Motion,’ a skill that could drastically enhance his visual acuity, making it seem like time was moving slowly for three seconds.

In terms of pure ability, it was an incredible skill. In a critical combat situation where every second counted, being able to see as if everything was frozen for three seconds could give a decisive advantage.

However, this ‘Slow Motion’ had a cooldown time of 24 hours. It was not something he could use freely except in crucial moments.

Against stronger summoners or monsters, it would be a hidden card to turn the tide of battle, but its utility in hunting to level up was indeed limited.

Yeong-sik desired a weapon with powerful abilities that could be used as effortlessly as his blade.

“Then let’s take a good rest today.”

With that, Yeong-sik went into his room and took out the Black Cubes. There were a total of 42 Black Cubes obtained from Han Cheol-ho’s storage.

Yeong-sik laid the Black Cubes out on the bed and muttered in a low voice.

“Well then, let’s get started.”

He reached out his hand and touched one of the Black Cubes, immediately using his Structure Analysis skill.

Ding.

[You have successfully analyzed the structure of a D-grade Memory Cube.]

[The proficiency of your Structure Analysis skill has significantly increased.]

With a clear chime, a vision came to Yeong-sik’s mind.

—

A Rakan with jet-black skin was panting heavily. Sticky saliva dripped from between his sharp teeth. Around him lay the corpses of numerous Rakans.

The black Rakan glared at the entity responsible for this with blazing eyes. The figure was as hazy as if covered in mist, the image distorted as if affected by video noise.

Once again, the identity of this entity was unclear.

The lone black Rakan roared ferociously and approached the hazy figure. The blurry entity lightly flicked its fingers.

With overwhelming pressure, the black Rakan’s body was slammed to the ground. The word “overwhelming” was the only way to describe it.

The hazy figure approached the fallen black Rakan and let out a short sigh.

– “I don’t understand why I have to implant Cubes in such pathetic creatures. What on earth are they thinking?”

Grumbling, the figure placed a Black Cube against the black Rakan’s head.

– “Kill humans.”

With those words, the Black Cube burrowed into the Rakan’s head.

The Rakan twisted and screamed in agony.

“Argh!”

Yeong-sik clutched his head and sank to the floor. The vivid fear and pain the Rakan felt flooded into his mind. His breathing grew rough.

“Again, it’s the same.”

Yeong-sik recalled the time he used the Structure Analysis skill on Luderick’s Black Cube. It was exactly the same. Just like before, someone had artificially implanted a Black Cube into the monster’s body, commanding it to “kill humans.”

“Who is it?”

Yeong-sik frowned, recalling the voice from the vision. The form was too blurry to identify, but the voice felt strangely familiar.

“Is that the so-called Creator?”

Yeong-sik recalled what the enormous sphere of light had said at the end of the tutorial. The sphere of light had told the summoners to “kill the Creator who is making monsters in the north.”

If using Black Cubes to control monsters meant creating monsters, then the mysterious entity in this vision was the “Creator” who was the summoners’ ultimate target.

Before Yeong-sik could delve further into thoughts about the monsters’ Creator, a clear chime echoed, interrupting his train of thought.

Ding.

[The stat boost contained in the Memory Cube has been inherited.]

[Agility stat has increased by +3.]

“…What is this?”

Yeong-sik looked at the message window that hadn’t appeared before, feeling slightly bewildered. Quickly opening his stats window, he confirmed the increase in his agility stat.

“Is it because it’s a D-grade Memory Cube?”

The only difference between the previous Memory Cubes and the current one seemed to be the grade.

Yeong-sik’s eyes sparkled.

“If that’s the case…

This might be more of a jackpot than I expected,” Yeong-sik thought.

He reached out and picked up another Memory Cube, using the Structure Analysis skill.

Ding.

[You have successfully analyzed the structure of an E-grade Memory Cube.]

[The proficiency of your Structure Analysis skill has increased.]

With a familiar chime, a blue message window appeared. As before, memories of a monster bound by metallic restraints flashed through Yeong-sik’s mind.

The vision ended with a sharp pain. It wasn’t noticeably different from the previous visions.

“Seems E-grade doesn’t raise stats.”

When no message window appeared after waiting for a while, Yeong-sik looked disappointed. His gaze shifted towards the remaining Black Cubes.

There were 40 Black Cubes left. It was unlikely all of them were E-grade, so he still had many opportunities to experiment.

Yeong-sik reached for the next Black Cube.

Ding.

[You have successfully analyzed the structure of a D-grade Memory Cube.]

[The proficiency of your Structure Analysis skill has significantly increased.]

[Your Structure Analysis skill level has increased to 4.]

“Already!”

Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed as he saw the message. He had only used Structure Analysis on three Memory Cubes, yet the skill level had already increased.

Ding.

[The stat boost contained in the Memory Cube has been inherited.]

[Strength stat has increased by +2.]

“As expected, stats increase from D-grade Memory Cubes.”

Yeong-sik immediately opened his stats window to check his attributes.

[Summoner Information]

Name: Yeong-sik

Level: 30/40

Class: Machinist (Hidden)

Health: 732

Mana: 578

### Stats

Strength: 44
Agility: 47
Stamina: 38
Dexterity: 51
Intelligence: 21
Wisdom: 20
Luck: 21
Charisma: 42

### Skills

[Structure Analysis: Lv 4]
[Dismantle: Lv 2]
[Extract: Lv 3]
[Manufacture: Lv 4]
[Enhance: Lv 1]

“Click.”

Yeong-sik clicked his tongue in disappointment, considering the level cap would have been 45 if he hadn’t experienced the overload.

Originally, he had leveled up to 33 before the overload, but as the level cap decreased, his level and stats naturally lowered as well.

“Strength is 44, Agility is 47, Stamina is 38…”

According to the information he heard from Bae Han-seong, the average stat was about 15 points higher than one’s current level. This meant that at level 30, having around 45 stat points in key attributes was typical.

Of course, this average was primarily for major skills. A summoner with a warrior class would not have an intelligence stat 15 points higher than their level.

In Yeong-sik’s case, the most important stat for his class, “Dexterity,” was above average. This was because he had used his manufacturing skill extensively by utilizing the Iron Golem’s body.

A high dexterity stat was beneficial because low dexterity could result in failed manufacturing attempts or even the inability to attempt manufacturing at all. However, unfortunately, dexterity did not have a direct impact on combat.

“My strength and agility are about average, but stamina is below average.”

Given Yeong-sik’s almost assassin-like combat style, the most needed stats were agility, strength, and stamina.

He had seen numerous times how despairing the gap could be when there was a disparity in level and stats.

Even though high-level summoners could be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, the battle between the Salvator Guild and the Light Shield Guild showed that this was not always the case.

When high-level summoners formed a group, they became an insurmountable wall for a moderate number of low-level summoners.

“The fact that stats can increase without leveling up means…”

Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed sharply.

Summoners were so obsessed with leveling up because it uniformly increased health, mana, and stats. Even if one had a high level, if their stats were poor, they were just an empty shell with high health and mana.

“If this works, I can gain power beyond my level.”

Yeong-sik thought, grinning widely.

Suddenly, the image of Cheon Tae-hwang flashed in Yeong-sik’s mind. A summoner with such overwhelming talent that the term “overwhelming” felt inadequate. The figure who once seemed unattainably distant now felt almost within reach.

Yeong-sik reached out and meticulously used Structure Analysis on the Black Cubes, one by one.

Then, it happened.

Ding.

[You have failed to analyze the structure of an A-grade Memory Cube.]

[Your Structure Analysis skill level is insufficient.]

An A-grade Memory Cube had appeared.