Level Up Machine 038: The Power of the Black Cube (1)
“Hauuuu……”
On the way back to the guild house, Chae-rin pressed both hands to her forehead and let out a groan. It was because Yuna had smacked the back of her head hard like lightning right after she'd asked Yeong-sik that meaningful(?) question.
“That's too much, Yuna unnie……”
“The too much one is your head.”
Yuna spoke sharply to the pouting Chae-rin, who flinched at her words.
“Haha.”
Yeong-sik watched their backs with a light chuckle. That's when Gil-su approached him. Behind him, A-ra glared at Gil-su with fierce eyes. Gil-su glanced at A-ra nervously and swallowed hard.
“Ahem.”
Gil-su cleared his throat awkwardly, but he kept sneaking peeks at A-ra. She stared back at him with a resolute gaze. Yeong-sik tilted his head and turned to him.
“What's up?”
“Ahem. Well, you see… don't get the wrong idea. I'm just asking out of pure curiosity.”
Gil-su avoided Yeong-sik's eyes and forced an awkward smile. Yeong-sik looked at him with a puzzled expression, unable to understand the behavior. Gil-su clenched his fists slightly and asked Yeong-sik.
“You know, is yours… really functional?”
Yeong-sik stared at him in disbelief, never imagining Gil-su would ask something like this. Gil-su avoided his gaze and kept clearing his throat. Yeong-sik let out a deep sigh and answered.
“Yes. It's there. And I have no idea how it's structured, but I feel sexual desire, and it gets hard.”
Yeong-sik's body had too many aspects that couldn't simply be called a 'machine.' He felt fatigue less than others, but he still had stamina limits, could eat food and drink water. Sexual desire was one of those 'human-like' elements. He had no memory of actually trying it, so he couldn't confirm if full intercourse was possible, but it did get erect(?) at least.
“Ah, I see.”
For some reason, Gil-su nodded brightly at Yeong-sik's words and burst into laughter. He turned to A-ra.
“See? That's a relief, right, Miss A-ra? Your worries are……”
“Kyaaah! What the hell are you saying, old man?!”
A-ra's face paled as she charged at Gil-su upon hearing his words. She grabbed his neck roughly and screamed. Gil-su writhed in pain. Yeong-sik watched them with a troubled smile, unsure what to say.
* * *
Back at the guild house, Yeong-sik and his group explained what had happened and his true identity to Tiriya and the other guild members. Yu-jin and Tiriya naturally didn't believe it at first, but when Yeong-sik demonstrated by showing his right arm, they had no choice but to accept it.
“So… you're not even from Earth, Yeong-sik?”
Tiriya asked, looking at him with an incredulous expression. Yeong-sik shook his head.
“I'm not sure about that either. I do have knowledge about Earth.”
Yeong-sik replied with a puzzled look. As he said, if he weren't from Earth but some entirely different being, having knowledge of Earth wouldn't make sense.
“Then… a machine lifeform made on Earth?”
“……No way that's possible.”
Yu-jin sighed at Yuna's words. Earth's science creating something like Yeong-sik? Absurd nonsense. Maybe in a future thousands of years ahead, but not now. Humanoid machine lifeforms like him were impossible with current tech.
“No way! What if it's NASA?!”
Chae-rin, who had been listening quietly, raised her hand excitedly with sparkling eyes. Yu-jin sighed as if her head hurt.
“Shut your mouth, kid.”
“Eek?! I'm not a kid!”
Chae-rin yelled, stung by Yu-jin's direct hit. Tiriya stepped in to stop their bickering.
“Calm down. That's not what's important right now.”
Tiriya said with a dark expression. Bae Han-seong nodded gravely.
“Yes, exactly. That's not the priority.”
They had been ambushed by Light Shield, one of the top ten guilds in the eastern continent. Thanks to Yeong-sik, they'd escaped a desperate situation, but the issue wasn't fully resolved.
“Guild master, this is our chance. With their leader and core forces all dead, we can strike Light Shield and gain a lot.”
Tiriya's face darkened at his words. She spoke cautiously.
“But if we do that……”
“They already know about us. Hiding has no meaning anymore.”
Bae Han-seong said firmly. Tiriya's expression grew even darker. The Salvatore Guild's current plight—wanted across the entire Elnot Kingdom—came to mind.
“I thought it was too early, but… it's time to execute the plan.”
His words made the Salvatore members except Yeong-sik's group tense up. Even Chae-rin's usual bright smile turned grim.
“……You're serious?”
Yuna asked Bae Han-seong sharply. He nodded.
“Yes. Dead serious. For Tiriya's sake too… we have to do this.”
He said it like he was squeezing it out. Yeong-sik, who had been listening, spoke up.
“Mind if I hear what this plan is?”
Yeong-sik asked with a sunken expression. Bae Han-seong nodded heavily. He'd seen what Yeong-sik could do, how ridiculously strong he was. Even if he couldn't control it freely yet, that potential alone made him ranker-level or higher. No reason to hesitate sharing the plan.
“We're going to war against the Elnot Kingdom.”
Yeong-sik's group's faces hardened. Such mad words from a guild of barely ten members.
“Fight a whole kingdom? With our current numbers?”
Yeong-sik asked lowly.
“We have plans for manpower. But it won't be easy.”
“……Why?”
Yeong-sik's eyes sharpened. Bae Han-seong glanced at the anxious Tiriya and spoke.
“To save… the guild master's family.”
“As I mentioned before, Elnot Kingdom is holding Tiriya's family hostage to blackmail her.”
Tiriya bit her lip darkly at Bae Han-seong's words.
“Our guild will fight Elnot Kingdom and rescue the hostages.”
Bae Han-seong continued.
“We'll grow back into a guild as great as before—no, greater. So no one can ever threaten us again!”
Thud! Bae Han-seong stomped and shouted. Rage burned in his eyes like a volcano.
Hearing his cry, Yeong-sik felt a chill down his neck and a thrilling shiver through his body. He knew nothing of Salvatore's past. How grand they'd been, how brutally they'd fallen—just hearsay. Yet Bae Han-seong's passion made his heart pound wildly.
Was I always like this?
Yeong-sik recalled meeting Cheon Tae-hwang. Watching him soar with unimaginable support that Salvatore couldn't dream of now, he'd felt a strange defeat. He wanted to surpass that, to challenge the top three guilds' power. The desire boiled up instinctively. As if he'd always thought he must do it.
Why…?
Yeong-sik touched his forehead, lost in thought. The question lingered like sediment in his chest.
Yeong-sik wasn't greedy. He only wanted his memories back and enough power for a stable life. Never dreamed of ruling the continent or building an unstoppable force.
But now, Bae Han-seong's words revealed it: his lost memories, the instincts beyond, screamed for greater power, an unassailable force.
“Han-seong……”
Tiriya looked at him with pitying eyes. Ignoring her, he turned to Yeong-sik.
“For that, we need your power, Yeong-sik.”
“……The power you saw can't be controlled by my will.”
Yeong-sik replied lowly. Forced Liberation was awe-inspiring—enough to shatter a giant like Light Shield.
But it wasn't his to wield, and the cost was too fatal. Relying on it in crises would lead only to ruin.
“But I'll do my utmost for this plan.”
Yeong-sik met Bae Han-seong's rage-filled eyes.
Their gazes locked in the air.
“I'm a Salvatore guild member now, after all.”
Yeong-sik smiled.
Bae Han-seong nodded in satisfaction.
“Guild master. Now it's your choice.”
He said stiffly, looking at her. All eyes turned to Tiriya. She closed her eyes. Anxiety, expectation, joy, sorrow swirled within.
“Understood.”
After long deliberation, Tiriya opened her eyes slowly. Resolve hardened her gaze.
“Using this chance… let's rise again.”
A strange heat rose in the guild house at her words. Bae Han-seong smiled and nodded.
“The rewards from Light Shield will be substantial. Especially their leader Han Cheol-ho. He's famous for collecting all sorts of items.”
He adjusted his round glasses.
Yeong-sik tilted his head.
“All sorts of items?”
“Yes. Rare items, monster gallbladders, precious gems—everything.”
Yeong-sik nodded in understanding. Snagging Han Cheol-ho's collection wholesale would hugely aid rebuilding the guild.
“But that guy doesn't just collect valuables, right? I heard he hoards useless junk like Black Cubes too?”
Yuna said casually.
Yeong-sik's eyes widened at her words. His lips twisted upward.
Black Cube. A chance to obtain that paradoxically rare item due to its worthlessness had fallen into his hands.