Level Up Machine

Chapter 50 Traitors (2)

In the past, the Salvator Guild was one of the strongest guilds in the East, boasting immense power.

The turning point that led such a guild to its downfall was the despicable ploy by the Elnote Kingdom. They targeted Tiria, the noble lady of the Erman family, and took her family’s nobles as hostages to coerce her.

In truth, it was absurd for a royal family to take the nobles of a duke’s family as hostages for personal gain, but in the case of the Elnote Kingdom, the royal authority was so powerful that such actions were possible.

Tiria, whose family was held hostage, faced a difficult choice.

Would she surrender the entire guild to the kingdom to save her family, or would she abandon her family and rebel against the kingdom?

It was an exceedingly harsh decision for a single woman to face.

She couldn’t make either choice and was stuck in her dilemma.

As her deliberation prolonged, the Salvator Guild began to split into factions: those who wanted to protect Tiria’s family by submitting to the kingdom and those who wanted to defy the kingdom.

Then, a decisive event occurred. The Elnote Kingdom approached Tiria and demanded the S-grade rare item ‘Archangel’s Blessing’ that she possessed.

The Archangel’s Blessing was a powerful artifact that formed the foundation of Tiria’s strength, enabling her to lead the great Salvator Guild to its peak.

While she was still hesitating, she received a crystal orb. The orb contained a video of her younger brother’s arm being severed alive.

The crystal orb echoed with her brother’s horrifying screams.

Blood gushed from the cross-section of his severed right arm.

Her brother screamed desperately for his life.

Tiria fell into a complete panic and handed over the Archangel’s Blessing to the Elnote Kingdom. She knew it was a trap. She knew it was a dangerous gamble.

But she couldn’t maintain her sanity. It was impossible for her to do so.

She had witnessed her brother’s arm being cut off. She had heard his horrifying screams of agony, his desperate cries for life.

In such a situation, how could she remain calm and suspect that this video might be a trap set by the Elnote Kingdom?

That was nonsense. How could any human stay rational in such a situation?

After that, the Elnote Kingdom, which had promised to release her family, naturally betrayed her and, while still holding her family hostage, began to demand even more rewards.

Hearing this news, the pro-Tiria faction within the guild was enraged and proposed an immediate invasion of the Elnote Kingdom.

Most members of the pro-Tiria faction were those who had been saved by Tiria’s kind nature when they were on the brink of death and had nowhere else to go.

However, while being ‘kind’ could be an advantage for a leader, it often turned into a disadvantage as well.

Those who had initially harbored resentment against her kind nature began to simultaneously rise in rebellion.

From the start, they had accumulated resentment against her for strictly prohibiting the guild from bullying or oppressing other guilds despite having immense power.

The unique family-like atmosphere of the Salvator Guild was not what they desired. They wanted power through strength, and the vast benefits that came from wielding that power.

They hadn’t joined the massive guild to do volunteer work.

The discontent that had been suppressed by Tiria’s power exploded due to this incident.

They rebelled, claiming that Tiria, having lost her power, was unfit to be the guild leader, which eventually led to a civil war that resulted in the collapse of the Salvator Guild itself.

Now, the anti-Tiria faction that left Salvator had formed a guild called Judas and was active in the Kingdom of Ixias.

“…So you’re saying that this Judas guild is pursuing our guild?”

“Yes. Yeong-sik will explain the details when he arrives.”

Han-seong spoke in a stiff voice. Yeong-sik hesitated for a moment, pondering, but soon nodded and replied to him.

“Understood. I’ll depart immediately.”

With the location Han-seong provided in his mind, Yeong-sik set off right away.

* * *

Leopold, the capital of the Elnote Kingdom.

It was a natural fortress backed by the Sirentium Mountains and the residence of King Derian III of the Elnote Kingdom.

Due to the steep terrain, even monsters found it difficult to live there. A group had gathered atop the Sirentium Mountains.

They were the Salvator Guild members who had parted ways with Yeong-sik’s group after the Light Shield Guild’s raid in the fortress city of Talion.

“Nice to see you. Have you been well, Yeong-sik?”

Tiria emerged from the tent and greeted him as he approached. She always had a bright and kind smile, but now she looked extremely exhausted.

“Yes, I’ve been well… but it seems the guild master has not.”

Yeong-sik said as he looked at Tiria, whose complexion was so poor she seemed on the verge of collapse.

With a faint smile, Tiria responded to him.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let you see me like this…”

“Tiria unnie! I told you to rest and not come out!”

Yu-na hurried over to support her.

With a deeply concerned look, Yeong-sik asked her,

“Are you ill?”

“No, it’s not that.”

The answer came from beside him. Yeong-sik turned to see who had spoken. It was Bae Han-seong, whom he hadn’t seen in a month.

“The guild master… she’s just exhausted from the mental strain.”

Han-seong said in a bitter tone.

Yeong-sik’s expression hardened slightly as he asked him,

“How did the traitors find out our location?”

“Hoo… I’ll explain. Come inside.”

Han-seong sighed deeply and led him into the barracks. Inside, all the other guild members were gathered.

“Hmm…?”

Yeong-sik lightly frowned at the few unfamiliar faces sitting at the table. Han-seong, who had approached his side, began to speak.

“First, let’s introduce ourselves. These three are new recruits to our guild.”

“New recruits… Did Salvator Guild have the luxury to accept new members?”

“Haha. We couldn’t let ourselves stagnate forever.”

The middle-aged man sitting at the table sighed and nodded.

Han-seong turned to Yeong-sik and spoke.

“These three here are the guild masters of Cheonseong Guild, The Pacer Guild, and Laira Guild. They have deep ties with our guild.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Hoo. I’ve heard you’re the 61st batch of summoners, and it seems you’ve had a rough start.”

Yoo Tae-sik, the guild master of Cheonseong Guild, sighed as he looked at Yeong-sik and his companions. Kim Chan-hyung, the guild master of The Pacer Guild, then spoke up.

“Still, since Tiria isn’t one to hide the guild’s situation, they must have joined with full awareness.”

“Yes, we were informed of the guild’s situation before joining.”

Yeong-sik replied to Kim Chan-hyung with a calm expression.

“Fufu. It’s still quite brave, isn’t it? Knowing the dangers Salvator Guild faces.”

“I was also in a desperate situation at the time.”

Yeong-sik chuckled at Park Eun-young, the guild master of Laira Guild, who then looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“Are you really from the 61st batch of summoners? You seem awfully calm…”

“Ah, let’s stop the small talk here. We don’t have much time.”

Han-seong interrupted Park Eun-young, who seemed suspicious of Yeong-sik, and stepped forward. He looked around at the people seated at the table and began to speak.

“After parting ways with Yeong-sik, we have been gathering support forces for our ‘plan’.”

Yeong-sik nodded at Han-seong’s words. He had expected this when he heard the introduction of the three guild masters.

“During this time, thanks to a report from Kim Chan-hyung of The Pacer Guild, we learned that the Judas Guild had discovered our location.”

“It’s reliable information obtained through an informant we placed in the Judas Guild.”

Kim Chan-hyung said with a stern expression as he listened to Han-seong.

“How did the Judas Guild find out our location before the kingdom’s public security?”

Yeong-sik asked, looking puzzled. Han-seong’s expression darkened at his question.

“It seems there was a traitor among the guilds we requested support from.”

Han-seong lowered his head in despair. It was clear that he hadn’t made the request for support without due consideration, so the betrayal must have been a significant shock to him.

“The Judas Guild has departed from the Kingdom of Ixias and is closing in on us.”

Han-seong lifted his head and continued speaking.

“Fortunately, it seems they haven’t contacted the kingdom’s public security yet. We need to deal with the Judas Guild ourselves before they do.”

“Why is the Judas Guild targeting the Salvator Guild?”

Yeong-sik asked Han-seong with a deeply sunken gaze.

Although Judas Guild was formed by those who betrayed the Salvator Guild in the past, there was no reason for them to come from another country to target the already fallen Salvator Guild now.

Han-seong answered his question with a heavy expression.

“They might be aiming to capture the guild master and demand a huge ransom… or they could be after the ‘Archangel’s Blessing.’”

“The Archangel’s Blessing…”

Yeong-sik furrowed his brows, recalling the item’s name that Han-seong had mentioned before.

“Yes. It’s the S-grade rare item I mentioned before.”

“Hm…”

Yeong-sik swallowed hard at Han-seong’s words. Indeed, an S-grade rare item was valuable enough to warrant crossing borders to obtain.

“But didn’t you say that the Archangel’s Blessing is a personal item for Tiria?”

Yeong-sik recalled that the Archangel’s Blessing was said to be the foundation of Tiria’s power.

“It’s not exclusive to her. It’s just that the guild master needs it to exert her power.”

“Hm. What kind of power does the guild master have?”

Yeong-sik realized that he had never heard the exact details of Tiria’s power and asked Han-seong.

“That’s…”

Han-seong hesitated and turned to look at Tiria. Sitting at the table with Yu-na’s support, Tiria struggled to speak.

“Our Erman family has inherited the power of angels for generations. The Archangel’s Blessing is an item that can control that angelic power.”

“…Unnie’s inherited power is the greatest in the history of the Erman family, making it almost impossible to control without that item.”

Yu-na added to Tiria’s explanation. Hearing this, Yeong-sik nodded with interest.

“Angelic power… Just how strong is it that it requires an S-grade rare item to control?”

Yeong-sik asked, unable to imagine the extent of the power.

Yoo Jin, who had been silently observing with his arms crossed in the corner of the table, answered.

“Even without fully controlling it, she’s strong enough to fight on par with a level 103 ranker.”

“Level 103…”

To Yeong-sik, it was a level so distant that he felt despondent.

When summoners reached level 100, they became known as ‘rankers.’

The reason they were called rankers and possessed overwhelming strength compared to other summoners was not merely because their level had three digits.

When summoners advanced from level 99 to 100, their stats increased explosively.

In other words, while there wasn’t much difference between levels 98 and 99, there was a significant gap between levels 99 and 100.

Summoners who surpassed level 100 were specially called ‘rankers,’ and nations and guilds were eager to recruit them.

Moreover, from the moment they surpassed level 100, their stats increased unimaginably with each level up, making level 103 a number that couldn’t be taken lightly.

“Does Tiria really possess such power…?”

Yeong-sik looked at her with an expression of disbelief.

The woman sitting in the chair with a gaunt face did not seem like someone who could fight on par with a level 103 ranker.

“I’m… sorry. Everyone, it’s because of me that you’re in this situation…”

Tiria mumbled in a sad voice, biting her lip.

At her words, Yu-na suddenly stood up and shouted.

“Why would you say that, Tiria unnie! You didn’t do anything wrong! It’s those scumbags trying to use you who are to blame!”

She shouted in an emotional voice.

Yeong-sik looked at Tiria, who wore a dark expression, with a deeply sunken gaze.

He seemed like he had something to say to Tiria, but he firmly closed his mouth.

“Han-seong, how close is the Judas Guild?”

Yeong-sik turned to Han-seong and asked. Han-seong replied with a dark expression.

“They’re nearby. They’ll arrive within three days at most.”

“Their numbers?”

“We don’t know their average level, but they have an army of over 100 people. The numbers are concerning, but the real issue is… they know us too well.”

Han-seong sighed deeply as he spoke.

Since the Judas Guild was formed by former members of Salvator who had betrayed them, they knew all the key strengths of the Salvator Guild members.

“It’s okay.”

“Okay? What do you mean…”

Han-seong looked at Yeong-sik with a puzzled expression.

Yeong-sik continued with a cold glint in his eyes.

“They don’t know about me.”