Level Up Machine

Chapter 15 The Crisis Returns (1)

It went without saying that to operate a hairdryer, it needed to be plugged into an outlet to receive electricity.

And even more obviously, in this world, there were no outlets to plug in a 110-volt or 220-volt power cord.

Yeong-sik looked at the hairdryer in Ara’s hand with a pained expression.

He didn’t have high expectations for making mechanical devices in the first place.

What was most important to him was leveling up his Structural Analysis skill, and he considered the machines he could create through manufacturing as merely a means to that end.

But no matter how you looked at it, wasn’t this too useless?

Without an outlet, using the hairdryer was impossible.

A machine that didn’t operate was just a piece of complicated scrap metal.

Yeong-sik let out a deep sigh.

“Is there really no way to use this…?”

“Hmm. What if we used electric magic to power it?”

Ara asked Yeong-sik as he sighed.

He shook his head at her suggestion.

“It’s not worth going to such lengths to use this thing. Besides, there’s no one who can use electric magic.”

Yeong-sik resigned himself to being content with increasing his Structural Analysis proficiency and picked up the hairdryer. It was at that moment.

Whirrr.
With a strange sound, the skin on his right arm opened.

Incredibly, a 220-volt outlet hole appeared where his skin had opened.

“What the…?”

Yeong-sik looked down at his right arm with a baffled expression.

He wasn’t the only one looking at his arm in disbelief.

Ara touched his arm, equally incredulous, and asked, “Is this for real…?”

On a whim, she plugged the hairdryer’s cord into Yeong-sik’s right arm.

Whooom.

The hairdryer powered on, emitting warm air.

A peculiar silence fell between Yeong-sik and Ara.

Yeong-sik felt strangely dejected as he looked down at his right arm.

“What kind of body is this…?”

In truth, having an outlet in his arm was probably nothing compared to being able to shoot his arm out or having a Gatling gun pop out of his back.

But.

But this…

It felt incredibly humiliating.

“Well, at least it works,” Ara said, averting her eyes with a similarly awkward expression.

Yeong-sik wasn’t sure whether he should be happy or sad that the machines he created could be operated in such a way.

‘For now, I should give up on the idea of making money with this.’

It would be a relief if he didn’t get scolded for selling something that could barely be used.

Yeong-sik sighed and tried to pull out the cord plugged into his right arm.

“Huh?”

At that moment, Ara reached out to him with a somewhat regretful expression.

Yeong-sik looked at her with a sense of disbelief.

Ara cleared her throat and slightly blushed.

“Since it’s come to this, why don’t you try using it just once?”

“…Do you really want to use the hair dryer that much?”

Yeong-sik felt increasingly miserable and let out a deep sigh.

“Sit down. I’ll dry your hair for you.”

“Oh… th-thanks.”

Ara thought it was quite a strange request even as she sat down.

With the hair dryer’s cord still plugged into his arm, Yeong-sik began drying her hair.

As he dried her shimmering, silky hair, Yeong-sik once again thought Ara was beautiful.

He looked down at Ara’s long, slender legs crossed in the chair and swallowed hard.

“But how does your body move, Yeong-sik? You eat and drink, don’t you?”

“Well… at first, I thought I moved just like any other person.”

Yeong-sik looked down at his right arm, connected to the hair dryer, and gave an awkward smile.

It was impossible to say he was the same as others while looking like this.

“Well, we’ll find out eventually.”

Yeong-sik said this with a smile that felt somewhat lonely.

Ara glanced at him, lost in thought.

Not being able to remember oneself… she couldn’t imagine how lonely and frightening that must be.

“Yeah. We’ll find out.”

Ara smiled, a bit more relaxed now.

Her smile made it hard to see the cold demeanor she had at first.

And so, Yeong-sik and his party’s first hunt came to a smooth end.

? ? ?

“Still haven’t found it?”

The port city of Belen. From a four-story building in the center, a cold voice echoed.

At the building’s entrance, a shield emitting a bright white light was engraved.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Jung Chan-hyuk bowed deeply, sweating profusely as he faced the person scolding him.

The man before him was Hong Seung-gal, the branch manager of the Light Shield Guild’s Belen branch.

His level was 74.

In Belen, where many of the newly summoned gather, it was rare to find someone as strong as him.

His hobby was seducing and forcibly taking pretty women among the novice summoners who had just set foot in this place.

Already, the number of novice summoners who had fallen victim to him was enough for his infamy to spread widely among the summoners.

“Hmm. You said she was really pretty, right?”

“Yes, yes! That’s right! She was at the level of a model or an entertainer!”

At Jung Chan-hyuk’s words, Hong Seung-gal started shaking his burly legs nervously.

“Ah… If she’s that good-looking, I don’t want to give up.”

Jung Chan-hyuk had reported back that they were good prey, but later it was revealed that they had discarded the tracker card.

Jung Chan-hyuk looked down at the discarded card with an expression as if he had been hit on the back of the head, but by then, they had already disappeared from that spot.

Normally, he would have given up at this point, but Hong Seung-gal had taken a great interest in the woman with model-level looks and had been searching for them in the city of Velen for two weeks already.

However, it was not an easy task to find them in a city, which was far from a tiny village.

“I think it would be better to give up around here…”

Jung Chan-hyuk spoke to him in a cautious voice.

Hong Seung-gal threw something on the table at him.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

A painful groan escaped Jung Chan-hyuk’s mouth as he was hit in the head with a thick book.

“Shut up, you bastard! Isn’t it because you lost them like an idiot?!”

Hong Seung-gal shouted at Jung Chan-hyuk, seething with anger.

It wasn’t just Hong Seung-gal’s personal hobby to deceive unsuspecting summoners.

The Light Shield Guild was tricking novice summoners into joining the guild and then selling them as slaves to make up for the guild’s lack of funds.

In other words, the guild itself was actually supporting human trafficking.

But perhaps because the summoners this time were particularly quick-witted.

They were able to attract far fewer than expected.

For Hong Seung-gal, who had to pay tribute to the guild headquarters in another city, this was a headache.

‘If only I could get that woman…

Beauty was a valuable asset in both Earth and this world.

Especially in this world, where human trafficking and the slave trade were much safer compared to Earth, it was possible to make even more money.

“I’ll send more people, so search the entire city thoroughly. We must capture her to secure the tribute for this quarter.”

Hong Seung-gal said with a fierce look in his eyes.

Jung Chan-hyuk nodded with a stiff expression at his words.

“Yes! I understand!”

Jung Chan-hyuk responded vigorously and turned to go outside.

Watching his retreating figure, Hong Seung-gal let out a deep sigh.

“Haa. This guild is getting more dangerous, so I need to hit it big and get out of here.”

Not all guilds resorted to illegal activities to make money like the Light Shield Guild.

In fact, there were only a few guilds that could maintain a significant power while engaging in illegal activities like the Light Shield Guild.

Usually, they were eliminated by other guilds before they could grow.

Since it had been over ten years since the Earthlings had arrived in this world, they had established their own rules here.

One representative rule was the ‘Agreement,’ which prohibited coercive actions such as killing, using violence, or kidnapping newcomers to this world for the first three days.

Violating this agreement would result in being marked as a public enemy by the three major guilds, making it impossible to operate in the eastern continent or causing the entire guild to be wiped off the map.

The Light Shield Guild exploited loopholes in this agreement by distributing cards embedded with tracking magic to targeted summoners and then kidnapping them after three days.

If a summoner joined the guild of their own accord, they were left untouched for the first three days.

However, this trickery couldn’t continue indefinitely.

The ominous rumors about the Light Shield Guild were beginning to reach the ears of other major guilds, and there was even talk of forming an extermination squad.

Even though the Light Shield Guild was one of the six powerful guilds just below the top three, it was clear they wouldn’t stand a chance against an extermination squad formed by the three major guilds.

Hong Seung-gal planned to stage a grand betrayal and escape with a significant haul before such an event occurred.

However, the lackluster influx of summoners this time had shattered those plans.

“I must catch that woman.”

Hong Seung-gal muttered with an anxious expression.

This was something he needed to do, considering both his personal greed and future plans.

At that moment, the crystal ball on his table began to vibrate.

Hong Seung-gal reached out and touched the crystal ball.

“Brother!”

“Why are you making such a fuss? Didn’t I tell you to find her quickly?”

Hong Seung-gal said irritably.

Jung Chan-hyuk’s urgent voice followed.

– We found her! She just came out to the market by chance…

“Ho?”

Hearing Jung Chan-hyuk’s words, Hong Seung-gal’s eyes sparkled. A broad smile spread across his face.

It was perfect timing, as if heaven was helping him.

“Follow her secretly and find out where she’s staying. If she leaves the city… capture her then.”

– Yes!

They were rookies who hadn’t even been in this world for a month.

There was no need for Hong Seung-gal to get involved personally.

Thinking he only had to wait for Jung Chan-hyuk to bring her in, Hong Seung-gal twisted his mouth into a grin and stood up.

“I can’t stay rotting here.”

With eyes gleaming with greed, Hong Seung-gal licked his lips.

He couldn’t see himself staying in this tedious beginner city forever.

Even advancing to the capital of the Elnote Kingdom would allow for a much more glamorous life.

To achieve such a luxurious lifestyle, he needed a bit more capital.

‘I’ve already saved up a decent amount…’

If he left the guild with his current savings and started a solo slave trade business, it wouldn’t be difficult to make a fortune.

Running an independent business would also make it easier to avoid the eyes of other major guilds, killing two birds with one stone.

“Ke ke ke.”

Hong Seung-gal chuckled as he dreamed of a rosy future.

This world had extremely low morality and ethics.

With enough money and power, he could indulge his vile desires to his heart’s content.

‘Still, I need to get my due for all that suffering.’

It had been four years since Hong Seung-gal arrived in this world. Over those four years, he had endured all sorts of hardships to claw his way up to his current position.

Despite having a higher level cap than average, leveling up was never easy.

Hong Seung-gal had narrowly escaped death several times before finally reaching his level cap of 74.

“I’ll give them a harsh education on the ruthlessness of this world.”

Hong Seung-gal grinned as he thought of the trio Jung Chan-hyuk had mentioned.