Unexpected Jackpot (3)
‘Where... am I?’
A massive lizardman, easily three meters tall, opened his eyes. His name was Luderak. He was a valiant lizardman warrior. With a dazed, drugged look in his eyes, he stared blankly into the void.
A faint voice leaked from his lips, barely a whisper.
-Ready?
-Yeah. Just need to insert it now.
-Haa. Even making just one like this is this damn hard.
-Can't be helped. Right now, we're...
Faint voices from beyond his blurry vision filtered into his ears. In his hazy mind, Luderak looked around. He realized his body was bound to a sturdy metal contraption.
Interference with security code detected.
External interference attempting to decode security code.
External interference successfully decoded security code level 3.
Maximum unlockable security level raised to 3. Unlock security level?
One of the two beings conversing approached him. "Now, this is all you have to do."
The entity, no bigger than half the size of his fist—a small black regular hexahedron—pressed it against his head.
"Kill humans, Luderak."
With those words, excruciating pain wracked his entire body.
"Kugh!"
The vision playing in Yeong-sik's mind cut off. A stabbing headache flashed through his skull.
His companions ahead turned back toward him.
"Yeong-sik, you okay? Feeling unwell?"
"You good?"
Gil-su and A-ra approached with worried expressions. Yeong-sik clutched his forehead with one hand and replied.
"I'm fine. Just a momentary headache..."
"Hm. Could be fatigue building up."
Bae Han-seong, who had come over, extended his hand toward him.
"Cure."
A short skill name left his lips, and pure white light flowed into Yeong-sik's head. In an instant, the lingering ache vanished, leaving a refreshing clarity.
"I've cast a recovery spell on you for now. I'll handle any lizardmen we run into on the way back, so go ahead and rest."
"...Thank you."
Yeong-sik bowed deeply to Han-seong. He felt genuine gratitude toward him. No matter the Salvatore Guild's current state, they had once been a powerhouse that dominated the eastern continent. It was incomprehensible that a guild member would treat someone like him—a level 25 machine engineer, a production-class nobody below even the average level cap—with such kindness.
This went beyond mere interests; it meant Han-seong saw him as a guildmate, family.
Yeong-sik wasn't like Han-seong. He was cool-headed and calculating. He wasn't the type to betray allies ruthlessly for gain, but he didn't abandon profits for sentiment either.
To him, someone like Han-seong shone brilliantly.
"Haha, no need. We've got... a lot ahead of us to face together."
Han-seong gave a wry smile and turned toward Ruberin.
Back at the guild, Yeong-sik received Tiriya's warm welcome and a barrage of questions. Had he eaten well? Any injuries? Not too tired? Less like a guild master and more like a mother fretting over her child, her inquiries poured out.
"Nothing happened. No need to worry."
"Hmm. Still, your level's low, so I'm concerned. Coming to this world so suddenly must be disorienting..."
Tiriya gazed at Yeong-sik's party with a worried look. Yeong-sik chuckled softly at her fidgeting over something not even her concern.
He thought he understood why the Salvatore Guild members—Earthlings—followed a native like Tiriya as their master.
A bit worrying, though.
Her kindness was a godsend in this situation. But if she hesitated in a critical choice due to that very nature, like when the guild fell into decline, disaster could strike.
With that in mind, Yeong-sik spoke to her.
"By the way, Guild Master..."
"Call me Tiriya, casually."
"Uh, got it. You don't need the 'nim' either."
Her words left Yeong-sik looking awkward. He'd only been with Salvatore for about a day. Such excessive familiarity felt burdensome.
"I'll do that later."
"Mm. Alright."
Tiriya looked deflated at his distance. Yeong-sik sighed deeply and continued.
"Weren't the natives here thrown into chaos when the first summoners arrived?"
"Pretty much. The whole kingdom was in an uproar."
She continued with a bitter expression.
"And... plenty harbored ill feelings."
Yeong-sik nodded. Suddenly, thousands of strangers appearing—no one could resist trying to exploit them.
"Still, thanks to you summoners, we held back the northern monsters' advance. I can never thank you enough for that."
She said it with a gentle smile. Yeong-sik nodded with a smirk.
"We're grateful too, for the lodging and support without stint."
"Hehe, no. You must be exhausted today—go rest well."
Tiriya stood. Yeong-sik wanted to ask more but decided to save it for later and headed to his assigned room.
"We'll hunt again tomorrow, so prep in the morning."
"Got it. Rest easy."
"See ya tomorrow."
Gil-su and A-ra bid him goodnight and entered their rooms.
Alone now, Yeong-sik opened his door and stepped in.
"Hoo."
Finally solitary, he pulled the black cube from his pocket.
"This thing?"
He gazed at it with a complicated expression. He recalled the visions that surfaced when he'd used Structure Analysis on it.
Definitely Luderak's memories.
The lizardman bound to that massive metal device—it was unmistakably the boss monster Cheon Tae-hwang had slain.
Yeong-sik couldn't fathom why its memories had flowed into him via the black cube.
Like a black box of sorts?
He turned the cube in his hand, pondering. In that it stored the target's memories, it resembled a black box.
After mulling it over, he slowly shook his head.
It wasn't just a mere recorder. The words those unknown entities spoke while implanting it in Luderak nagged at him.
"More like a control device."
He muttered, narrowing his eyes. In a world of magic, a puppet-master tool wasn't surprising. The issue was that it was mechanical.
Why?
He frowned in confusion. This world had no machines—only magic tools fulfilled those roles. Yet one appeared inside a boss monster?
Yeong-sik closed his eyes, deep in thought. No matter how he turned it over, he couldn't grasp why the black cube from the boss was mechanical.
"Hmm. Set that aside for now."
He murmured and opened his status window. Structure Analysis showed as level 2, catching his eye. A thick smile spread across his lips.
"Good."
He placed his left hand on his right arm and activated Structure Analysis. Blue light seeped into his body, a strange heat enveloping him.
A mechanical tone rang in his ears.
Hiss.
Security Level 3 unlocked.
Boost now available.
Yeong-sik smirked and nodded as the expected mechanical voice sounded. Click. A gear-meshing noise echoed in his ears. A fragment of forgotten memory surfaced.
He walked a corridor of cold metal. Weary, exhausted, sickened, through the endless passage.
Then, something bumped his foot. Looking down, a black regular hexahedron rolled there.
"Time... to right the wrong."
He muttered and crushed it underfoot.
Crunch.
Black obsidian-like shards scattered across the floor. The memory cut off.
"Kugh!"
Yeong-sik clutched his head against the stabbing pain. His expression hardened as he recalled the vision.
Black cube?
The object in the corridor was just like the one in his hand. Now he understood the nagging familiarity upon seeing it.
He'd actually encountered one in his past.
Structure Analysis completed successfully.
Structure Analysis skill proficiency increased.
You have reached a new realm. Level limit increased.
Ding.
Yeong-sik's thoughts halted at the mechanical chime. He looked down at his body with flushed excitement. No visible external changes.
Ding.
His eyes sparkled at "level limit increased."
Rose to 35.
Checking his status, the limit had jumped by 10 as before, but his stats had surged even more dramatically.
A thick smile formed. His path to strength was right.
He clenched his fist. Cheon Tae-hwang's overwhelming form flashed in his mind—someone incomparable.
A baseless intuition swept through: he could catch up, surpass him.
"Boost, huh..."
He pondered the new ability.
"Time to test it."
Eyes alight with anticipation, he decided to try.
"Boost."
Shoooo!
Jet flames erupted from his shoulder blades like thrusters. His body rocketed forward.
"Wha—huh?!"
Unable to control the acceleration, Yeong-sik flailed in panic. But he couldn't stop the momentum.
Boom!
His body smashed into the wall. Like a cannonball, it punched straight through.
In the next room, A-ra was changing out of muddied clothes, half-naked. Their eyes met in midair.
Deathly silence descended.
Yeong-sik forced an awkward smile, sensing ominous doom. Desperate to salvage, he blurted the first thing that came to mind.
"As expected of a model, your figure is..."
"Kyaaaaah!"
Thwack!
A-ra's fist slammed perfectly into his solar plexus.