Level Up Machine

Chapter 46 Explosive Level-up (4)

“Ahem.”

At her mumbling, Gil-soo covered his mouth, holding back the laughter that was about to burst out.

Yeong-sik, finding it difficult to argue, lightly frowned and opened his mouth.

“Hmm, anyway, we’ll launch the initial attack with these landmines and Ara’s magic. Of course, it won’t kill them all at once. But considering the terrain, there won’t be many that can climb up if we bombard them from above.”

“Hah. How are we going to lure the trolls? The person acting as bait could get caught in the area attack. It’s too dangerous… It’s too dangerous,” Ara started to say, but a thought flashed through her mind, causing her to exclaim briefly.

Yeong-sik grinned and pulled a fully charged drone from his inventory.

“This thing will herd the monsters.”

Buzz.

The drone’s propellers spun, lifting it into the air.

“Hah.”

A hollow laugh escaped Ara’s lips.

* * *

Near the domain of the Luberin territory lay the trolls’ habitat.

The trolls roamed the forest in groups of one or two, searching for their staple food, orcs. In truth, orc meat was tough and overly muscular, not the most favored prey for the trolls. Trolls preferred human and deer meat the most.

However, humans were rarely seen because ogres occasionally appeared in their habitat, causing ecological destruction. Deer were often preemptively hunted by the more populous orcs, so trolls rarely got to eat them.

Three meters tall with dark green skin and sharp fangs protruding to their cheekbones, the troll sniffed the air while tracking the scent of orcs, wielding a tree club as thick as an adult male’s thigh.

In terms of intelligence, trolls were lower than orcs, who could at least use basic language. However, trolls possessed uniquely long arms and a combat instinct more developed than that of wild animals.

Considering a single troll could easily overpower fifteen orcs, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call trolls the natural enemies of orcs.

Roaming the forest, the troll’s expression grew annoyed at the difficulty of finding orcs.

Orcs, despite being among the weakest of monsters, had immense reproductive capabilities, so their population rarely decreased. Hence, it was usually not hard to find prey. But today, the troll couldn’t spot any game and irritably swung its club.

Crash.

The tree struck by the troll’s club shattered miserably.

Then it happened.

Buzz.

– Grunt?

A peculiar noise, unlike anything the troll had ever heard, accompanied by the alluring scent of meat, tickled its nose. It was the scent of its favorite food, deer meat.

The troll turned its head to the direction the smell was coming from. A device about 20 meters in the air was emitting the scent of deer meat.

– Grunt!

– Grunt, grunt!

Lifting its head to look at the mysterious object floating in the air, the troll saw four more trolls crashing through the bushes, running toward it. Seeing other competitors, the troll’s expression turned urgent.

Deer meat was an irresistible temptation for trolls. The troll’s eyes began to fill with excitement.

– Grunt!

The troll that had been looking up at the sky stomped the ground, following the other trolls in pursuit of the deer meat.

* * *

“Good.”

Yeong-sik grinned at the drone camera feed visible through his right eye. He could see about ten trolls, their attention captured by the deer meat, chasing after the drone.

“Get ready. The troll pack will be here soon.”

At his words, Gil-soo and Ara nodded with tense expressions. Ara slowly closed her eyes and began casting a spell.

The spell she was casting was called Ice Rain. It was a new skill she acquired while exploring the abandoned mine dungeon, but since it wasn’t particularly useful inside the dungeon, she had kept it sealed.

Ice Rain was a good skill among ice-based area attacks, offering decent offensive power and a debuff called “slow.” However, it was a channeling skill, meaning she couldn’t move while casting it, and it could only attack a predetermined area.

– Buzz.

– Grunt!

– Roar!

One minute after Yeong-sik had told them to prepare for battle, ten trolls, roaring, appeared, chasing the drone.

Yeong-sik’s expression hardened slightly at the overwhelming presence of the trolls. It was clear why it took at least three level 40 summoners to handle just one troll—their presence was formidable.

‘But…’

Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed sharply. He had newly acquired weapons and a terrain advantage thanks to the security level release.

When thinking about siege warfare, the defensive side had a significant advantage due to the terrain. This terrain advantage could not be ignored.

Creak. Creak. Creak.

As the trolls were detected by the signal, five landmines embedded in the ground sprang up. The trolls ignored the mines and charged towards the drone flying toward Yeong-sik.

The mines, now amidst the trolls, began to tremble.

– Boom!

– Roar!

– Grunt!

A powerful explosion engulfed the trolls. The trolls caught in the explosion writhed in pain, letting out agonized roars.

“Ice Rain!”

Following the mine’s explosion, Ara’s attack commenced. Ice shards poured down like rain between the ravines where the trolls had gathered.

– Grunt!

Despite being attacked simultaneously by the mines and Ice Rain, the trolls did not die easily. They began to heal their bodies with their extraordinary regenerative abilities and started to awkwardly climb up the canyon walls.

Thanks to the slowing effect of Ice Rain, their movement wasn’t very fast, but their appearance was still quite threatening.

“Uncle Gil-soo!”

“Got it!”

At Yeong-sik’s call, Gil-soo rushed forward. He thrust his shield toward the trolls climbing the rocky wall. A bright white light emanated from the shield, releasing a shockwave.

– Thud!

– Roar!

The troll that was climbing the rocky wall fell to the ground. Yeong-sik, looking down at the confused trolls, prepared for a ranged attack.

Click.

Hundreds of grotesque black bullets poured out from his back. Despite not sustaining fatal wounds, there was no way the trolls could withstand the endless assault.

With ice shards endlessly falling from the sky and the bullets raining down, the trolls, already suffering from severe burns caused by the initial mine explosion, were in the worst possible condition due to the narrow canyon terrain, entangling their bodies.

Even trolls with superior combat instincts compared to wild animals couldn’t remain calm in such a situation.

– Roar!

As the attacks continued, the trolls began to collapse one by one.

Yeong-sik focused his attacks on the trolls trying to climb the walls.

Sizzle.

[All ammunition of the Gatling gun has been expended. Recharging will take one hour.]

The information about the Gatling gun’s depleted ammunition rang in Yeong-sik’s ears. Already familiar with the weapon’s specifications, Yeong-sik calmly retracted the overheated Gatling gun into his back.

“Five left.”

Yeong-sik counted the number of surviving trolls with sharply gleaming eyes. The five trolls that survived his and Ara’s attacks were desperately climbing the cliff with staggering bodies.

Although they survived the onslaught, the trolls were not in normal condition. Yeong-sik drew his blade and spoke.

“Let’s go, Uncle Gil-soo.”

“Understood.”

Gil-soo nodded, raising his shield.

“Hah, hah… Sorry. I can’t provide any more support; my mana is completely drained.”

Ara, having poured all her mana into the channeling spell, panted heavily as she spoke to Yeong-sik. Yeong-sik nodded in response.

“It’s okay. Taking care of the near-dead trolls won’t be difficult.”

Saying this, Yeong-sik charged forward.

Click.

Yeong-sik’s right arm bent, revealing two barrels from an opening. He aimed the barrels at the head of a troll struggling to climb the rocky wall.

– Boom!

– Grunt!

The shotgun blast at close range shattered the troll’s head. The troll, which had been climbing the rocky wall, fell to the ground.

– Roar!

While Yeong-sik dealt with one troll, another troll that had reached the top of the wall let out a ferocious roar. Throwing away its club, the troll climbed the wall and brought its hands down like a hammer.

“Counter!”

Gil-soo, who had been watching, stepped in and thrust his shield forward. The Shield of Radiance glowed with a bluish light, deflecting the troll’s fists.

“Ugh!”

The tremendous impact transmitted through the shield caused Gil-soo to drop to one knee involuntarily. Despite being injured, the troll’s strength was still overwhelming.

“Haap!”

Before the troll could attack Gil-soo again, Yeong-sik leaped at it. A burst of light from his feet lifted him into the air.

Turning halfway in mid-air, Yeong-sik aimed a precise strike at the troll’s head.

– Thud!

– Grunt…

The troll fell to the ground silently, a blade embedded accurately between its brows. Meanwhile, three more trolls that had climbed the wall charged at Yeong-sik.

“Wind Stealth.”

With a whispered incantation, Yeong-sik’s body vanished momentarily. This was a skill from his Cloak of Wind. Though the invisibility lasted less than a second, it was enough for Yeong-sik, boosted, to slip out of the trolls’ sight.

Click.

Having moved behind the trolls, Yeong-sik aimed his shotgun at one of their heads.

– Boom!

– Roar!

The head of one troll exploded from the shotgun blast.

‘Two trolls left.’

Yeong-sik’s sharp eyes focused on the remaining two trolls. At that moment, Gil-soo, who had been sitting on the ground, sprang up and thrust the Shield of Radiance forward.

“Charge!”

Gil-soo moved swiftly, slamming into one troll and knocking it back down the cliff.

Yeong-sik grinned as he faced the remaining troll.

“Energy Blast.”

With a low murmur, a blue energy projectile began to form on Yeong-sik’s left arm.