The Possibility of Growth (1)
Yeong-sik's expression twisted harshly upon confirming the faint trace of mana in the badge Jeong Chan-hyeok had handed him.
"What's wrong?"
Kim Gil-su asked with a puzzled look toward Yeong-sik.
Yeong-sik opened his mouth in a low voice.
"...No. It's just that my worries turned out to be right."
Saying that, he tossed the pure white badge Jeong Chan-hyeok had given him onto the ground. Seeing this, Seo A-ra asked him with a worried expression.
"What's going on? It's suspicious, sure, but do we really need to throw it away?"
"Mana was detected in the pattern on that badge."
At his words, Kim Gil-su and Seo A-ra's faces hardened. Yeong-sik spoke in a low voice.
"I can't tell exactly what kind of magic is on it... but it's probably the type that tracks our location."
"...He said it was like a business card, so maybe it's anti-counterfeit magic?"
"Even if that's the case, we can't carry it if there's any risk."
Yeong-sik stated firmly. Kim Gil-su swallowed a groan and nodded. He wasn't one to suspect others easily, but he wouldn't blindly trust something this blatantly suspicious either.
"...So what the hell was their goal?"
Seo A-ra furrowed her brows, her face showing utter incomprehension. If recruiting them into the guild wasn't the aim, there was no reason to go through all that trouble.
Honestly, the information Yeong-sik's group had gained from talking with Jeong Chan-hyeok was incredibly valuable—stuff they couldn't easily buy even if they spent all their gold. She couldn't understand why he'd give away such info to newbie summoners without holding back, all while pursuing them so relentlessly.
Yeong-sik and Kim Gil-su looked at Seo A-ra with hollow expressions. They fully understood why Jeong Chan-hyeok was going to such lengths to deceive them.
"Why? He's after you, A-ra."
"Me?"
Yeong-sik nodded and continued.
"You're incredibly beautiful."
He said it in a matter-of-fact tone, stating an objective truth without any ulterior motive. But the impact of his words was far from small. Seo A-ra's cheeks flushed red.
She'd heard compliments on her looks so often they'd grown tiresome, but this was the first time she'd felt this embarrassed, this strange heat rising in her body.
"Let's get out of here first. They might follow if they realize we ditched the badge."
Kim Gil-su and Seo A-ra nodded. Yeong-sik had booked rooms at an inn on the outskirts, near where they'd first been summoned. A single room cost 4 silver, a double 6 silver.
Given that 1 gold was worth about 1 million won, it was a fair price—not too cheap, not too expensive.
Good thing they don't gouge summoners on prices.
Yeong-sik thought this while staring at the innkeeper, who gawked at Seo A-ra with his mouth agape. The innkeeper was a native of this world, not a summoner from Earth.
He'd worried they might rip off clueless newbies in a city where summoners first appeared, but it didn't seem so.
Well, yeah.
Yeong-sik, lost in thought for a moment, soon nodded as if it made sense. According to Jeong Chan-hyeok, Earth summoners had much higher average levels than the locals.
Try to rip them off, and leveled-up summoners might come back for revenge later—that could get messy fast.
Security here isn't like Korea's anyway.
In Korea, revenge might land you in jail quick, but this world's law and order wasn't that tight. One wrong move, and you could vanish without a trace.
"What're our plans going forward?"
Once the group gathered in the double room Yeong-sik and Kim Gil-su were sharing, Kim Gil-su naturally turned to Yeong-sik and asked. His tone implied it was a given that Yeong-sik would lead them.
"First... we need to boost our combat power through leveling up."
Kim Gil-su let out a short groan at his words. Having never leveled up before, he had no real feel for it.
"Hunting monsters on our own might be risky, no?"
"Less risky than tangling with malicious folks."
Yeong-sik narrowed his eyes, thinking of Jeong Chan-hyeok.
"Think about it. A thousand clueless rookies just popped into this world. No way some won't have bad intentions."
"...True enough."
Seo A-ra nodded at Yeong-sik's words. In her line of work—or any field—plenty preyed on naive newbies for profit. They lacked info and were weak, making them easy marks.
"That's why we need some power ourselves. Guilds can wait for a good opportunity."
"Ho. I thought you weren't that interested in guilds, Yeong-sik."
Yeong-sik slowly shook his head.
"Beyond interest, the benefits of a solid guild are something we'll need down the line."
The strength of a group couldn't be ignored. Joining a structured organization like a guild would skyrocket their chances of adapting to this world.
"Problem is finding a good one... but we'll cross that bridge later."
Yeong-sik gave a wry smile. For Seo A-ra, it wouldn't be an issue at all. Beyond her looks and figure, she had a hidden class with a whopping level cap of 91.
He was sure even the top three guilds—the most powerful ones—would welcome her with open arms.
But Yeong-sik and Kim Gil-su? Not so standout. Kim Gil-su was above average level, but not by much, and Yeong-sik was actually below it. His hidden class was production-oriented, so who knew if it'd be popular.
And it's Machine Engineer, of all things...
Yeong-sik sighed deeply, dissatisfied with his class.
His body was some unknown machine, so maybe that's why he got it.
Whatever. I'll just use what I've got.
Yeong-sik had his own power, independent of levels or class. A force that might even surpass those elements.
He could only wield Rocket Punch properly now, but if he unlocked higher security levels later, he'd grow even stronger.
And eventually...
I'll recover my memories.
Yeong-sik gave a bitter smile, thinking of himself—still blank except for that one brief memory fragment.
"So, monster hunting starts tomorrow?"
Kim Gil-su asked. Yeong-sik shook his head.
"No. For the next few days, we'll gather info on local monsters and get familiar with weapons and skills for hunting."
"Smart plan. Monsters aren't just orcs, like that Jeong Chan-hyeok guy said, right?"
Kim Gil-su asked worriedly. Yeong-sik nodded gravely.
"Yeah. If the northern monsters were only orcs, summoners would've conquered the north in ten years easy."
"Haa. Kinda worried how strong the others are."
"We'll start with orcs—ones we've got experience with. You don't get EXP from lower-level monsters than you, but we're all level 1 anyway. No need for EXP yet."
"Phew... So after that, we still gotta deal with those pig bastards?"
Seo A-ra asked, looking fed up. Despite the penalty forcing tutorial fights with monsters, her expression said it all.
Yeong-sik chuckled at her words.
"It's different now, though."
"Ah... right."
Seo A-ra finally remembered gaining the Frost Mage class and the whole level concept.
"Wanna try a skill?"
"Sure."
She nodded and raised one hand.
"Ice Arrow."
Shuuuuk.
With the short incantation, ice crystals gathered in midair. They shaped into arrows.
"Whoa?"
She stared at the floating ice arrows on her hand, incredulous even after making them. Frigid chill poured off them.
A basic skill like Ice Arrow shouldn't emit this much cold normally.
But as a Frost Mage—a hidden class—it dealt bonus cold damage, hence the power. Frost Mages also used less mana for cold spells, learned higher-tier ones faster than regular mages, and more perks. A top-tier class.
Once she raised her level and skill proficiency, no summoner could match her in cold magic.
"Hehe. Guess I can stop being bait now."
She said it with a thrilled expression. Yeong-sik smiled and nodded.
"Now that we all have skills, orcs should be easier than before."
"Mm. Guess I should test mine too."
Kim Gil-su opened his status window, eyeing his skills.
Most warrior skills needed weapons, so only one was usable in the room.
"Bulk Up."
As he named the warrior buff skill, his body swelled slightly. An intense power surged through him, beyond what he thought his body capable of.
"Ooh... this is wild."
"How about your skills, Yeong-sik?"
Seo A-ra asked, eyes sparkling. Yeong-sik gave a wry smile.
"Mostly focused on manufacturing and gathering materials."
"Ah... right, not a combat class."
She nodded.
"But making machines sounds awesome, right? This world doesn't seem to have any..."
She glanced around as she spoke.
Yeong-sik sighed at her words.
"That's the problem. Structure Analysis only works on machines, but there are none here to use it on."
A skill exclusive to machines, in a world without them. To raise proficiency, he'd have to manufacture items himself and analyze them—a real catch-22.
A strange silence fell over the room. Seo A-ra and Kim Gil-su exchanged glances, hesitating to speak.
"What?"
Yeong-sik tilted his head at their odd behavior.
"Well, uh..."
"Don't get the wrong idea."
Kim Gil-su and Seo A-ra coughed awkwardly, flustered. Yeong-sik's confusion grew.
Seo A-ra swallowed and spoke carefully.
"For machines... couldn't you test it on your own body?"
"Ah."
A short exclamation escaped Yeong-sik's lips. Amid the chaos of summoning, he'd overlooked it.
His body wasn't flesh and blood—it was a machine.