Power of the Black Cube (4)
Black Cube. A useless "junk item" dropped by boss monsters. It was so worthless that it didn't even trade on the market.
But it was different for Yeong-sik.
Yeong-sik gazed at the dozens of Black Cubes buried amid the pile of junk loot, twisting the corner of his mouth into a smirk.
The last time he'd used Structure Analysis on a single Black Cube, the skill's level had shot up immediately. With this much quantity, he could only imagine how much it would rise now.
And... Yeong-sik's eyes sharpened.
Black Cubes contained fragments of the boss monster's memories. Through them, he figured he could uncover a bit of this world's secrets.
Those secrets are probably tied to me.
Yeong-sik recalled unlocking a Security Level before. In his memories, he'd clearly seen the shape of a Black Cube.
He glanced down at his right hand. This time, unlocking Security Level 4 had brought the most vivid memory yet.
The image of himself passing through a tunnel, descending deep underground.
That memory clearly connected to the one from unlocking Security Level 3.
If this works... Yeong-sik reached out toward the Black Cubes.
If he could raise Structure Analysis's level further with these, he could uncover what came next in that memory.
"Yeong-sik-ssi?"
Bae Han-seong, packing goods in Han Cheol-ho's warehouse, looked at Yeong-sik standing there blankly.
"It's nothing. Let's grab the stuff and get out of here."
"Yes. I've set up the sound-blocking magic circle, but someone might've seen the fight."
Han-seong nodded in agreement with Yeong-sik's words. It was obvious—they couldn't keep using the Light Shield Guild's building after wiping them out. For Salvatore Guild, who needed to hide their identity, that would've been far too risky.
Even if their cover was blown through Light Shield, openly using their guild house to wage all-out war with the kingdom would be idiotic.
Vmmm.
At that moment, light flowed from the crystal orb in Han-seong's pocket. He pulled it out.
Park Cheol-tae and Yuna's voices came through the crystal orb. Han-seong nodded.
"Get out of there fast and head to the rendezvous point. Stay out of sight as much as possible."
-Got it.
Park Cheol-tae's reply ended the call.
With the warehouse loot secured, Yeong-sik's group slipped out of the guild hall.
They headed for a mountain on the outskirts of Talion. Park Cheol-tae's party and Yuna had arrived even faster, waiting inside.
"Cleanup done?"
Han-seong asked, looking at Yuna and Cheol-tae.
Park Cheol-tae nodded.
"Put all the Light Shield members' bodies in subspatial scrolls and tidied the area as best we could."
"I cleared the corpses too. Burned the subspatial scrolls with Chae-rin's magic. But..."
Yuna glanced bitterly at the Light Shield headquarters.
"Couldn't erase every trace of the battle."
"Yeah. We were short on time."
Han-seong nodded, as if he'd expected it.
"...How long do you think we can keep it hidden?"
Yeong-sik asked Han-seong, his eyes dark and sunken.
Han-seong clicked his tongue.
"Three months at most."
Yeong-sik nodded at his words.
A massive guild in the Six Strongholds had vanished overnight. No way to cover that up.
Even if they erased evidence, the fact that Light Shield was gone couldn't stay hidden. The kingdom's public security would investigate to confirm.
And not just them—the Three Great Guilds would probe who toppled a guild this size.
People leave traces. Especially for Salvatore Guild, whose identity was already exposed to Hong Seung-geol. They didn't know who he'd bribed or how many knew. From their position, containing that info's spread was impossible.
The moment they hit Light Shield HQ, Salvatore Guild had lit the fuse on a time bomb that had to blow eventually.
Three months.
Yeong-sik swallowed a heavy sigh, recalling Han-seong's estimate. After that, hiding was off the table. Conflict with Elnot Kingdom was inevitable.
If it was just about grabbing gold and vanishing, it wouldn't be hard—flee to a country beyond Elnot's reach.
But Salvatore's goal wasn't mere escape. They had to infiltrate Elnot's royal castle and rescue Tiriya's family, held hostage.
And it's not just about the hostages.
Yeong-sik frowned, recalling the plan from Han-seong. Saving hostages was secondary; their real target was something else.
To even plan a castle infiltration, Salvatore couldn't afford to hole up abroad.
Chasing them would be the kingdom's elite public security anyway. On Ernoir Continent, where border control was lax compared to the modern world, they could extend influence abroad.
I need enough power within those three months.
Yeong-sik thought, eyeing Park Cheol-tae, Choi Yu-na, and Yu-jin. They weren't full Rankers, but their strength dwarfed his current level—untouchable for now.
Forced liberation might reverse that gap, but the risks made relying on it unwise.
His only path: match them in three months.
With that many Black Cubes.
Yeong-sik's eyes gleamed, thinking of the haul. Dozens of them. Used right, he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in that short time.
And... He turned to Han-seong.
He'd heard the rough plan before, but one part still nagged.
Harsh as it sounded, clarifying it was key—joining Bae Han-seong's scheme blind would be reckless.
"Han-seong-ssi."
"Ah, yes."
Yeong-sik spoke lowly.
"Why is Elnot Kingdom hunting Salvatore Guild in the first place? If the initial goal was swallowing a huge guild like Salvatore whole, they've already lost most of that value."
Han-seong gave a wry smile.
"Probably because of the Guild Master. Tiriya-ssi has special powers."
"Special powers? Like what?"
"Haha. I'll explain later. You can't use it right now anyway."
Yeong-sik looked puzzled. Han-seong continued softly.
"Beyond that, we have powerful summoners like Yuna-ssi, Yu-jin-ssi, and Cheol-tae-ssi. They'd build around them, I suppose."
"Hm... I see."
Yeong-sik nodded, still not fully grasping.
"But can such a small group really raid the palace?"
Han-seong fell silent at the obvious question. After some thought, he spoke firmly.
"You said fighting a kingdom with just ten people doesn't make sense, right?"
He continued lowly.
"I agree."
Yeong-sik's eyes lit up. He could guess what came next.
He nodded, murmuring low.
"There's more. Forces backing the Guild Master."
"...Not confirmed yet. But they're not the type to abandon us easily."
Yeong-sik nodded. If other backers existed, Han-seong's bold plan had real odds.
"Then we'll split for three months to build strength."
Yeong-sik said flatly.
"Split up?"
Han-seong looked worried.
Ernoir was too dangerous for solo leveling without support.
"As I said before, I can't rely on support forever."
"Truthfully, it'd help, but..."
Han-seong scratched his head awkwardly. He needed every High Level summoner for his plan.
But sending Yeong-sik's low-level group alone worried him.
Especially Yeong-sik-ssi...
Han-seong recalled the awe-inspiring power Yeong-sik had shown. Before, he'd valued Seo A-ra more as combat force—over level 90 potential, Frost Mage hidden class.
But seeing Yeong-sik solo-wipe Light Shield's elites changed that. He'd been dead wrong.
Yeong-sik wielded immeasurable power. Beyond control, the mere possibility proved he was beyond common sense.
That power was vital for Salvatore's revival—more than his own life.
Sending him monster-hunting alone? Unsettling.
"Don't worry. I have a plan."
Yeong-sik said calmly.
Han-seong sighed and nodded.
"If that's your will, no choice. While your party's out hunting, we'll keep in touch via comm crystal. Oh, and take some of the rare items we got."
Seeing Yeong-sik's resolve, Han-seong handed over a comm crystal.
Yeong-sik took it and spoke.
"One more request."
"What is it?"
"Use some of the gold to buy iron ingots."
"Iron ingots? Planning to Manufacture something?"
Han-seong tilted his head.
Yeong-sik smirked.
"Yes. Thinking of making a drone."
Han-seong's face went blank.