Chapter 102

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Episode 102 (102/227)

Episode 102: Out-of-Spec Trader

Ail escaped from the dungeon through the staircase he first entered.

Thanks to the White Puff Guild bastards, he had to flee without fully exploring this dungeon he barely found.

Ail immediately hid his body in the thick fog and slipped away from the Undeads.

“Thankfully I managed to escape… but it’s too early to relax.”

The effect of the flash was brief, only meant to create a momentary gap.

Even if they’re not visible right now, the guild members must’ve regained their senses by now and are chasing me hard from behind.

Judging by how they tracked my traces through this thick fog, they likely have tracking items or skills. If they focus, they’ll catch up in no time.

Moreover, the only nearby base, Tully Village, doesn’t even have proper guards.

To evade their pursuit, I need to run much farther.

“If I’m thinking correctly about this area… there’s no other option but that place.”

Heading in the opposite direction of the village and stockade, Ail quickly left the foggy plain.

At the end of the plain stretched a dense forest with towering trees, perfectly suited for hiding.

But just relying on its complex structure isn’t enough to shake off the trackers chasing me, nor is it the breakthrough I have in mind.

While continuously checking his position and map, Ail searched for something.

KWAANG!

A javelin flew past Ail narrowly, smashing the tree trunk in front.

But Ail neither flinched nor looked back, continuing to run.

“They really followed after all.”

Despite drinking a doping potion to boost speed upon exiting the dungeon, the guild members were still hot on his trail.

Judging by the sound, the javelin was thrown from quite a distance, yet precise enough to have skewered him if he hadn’t noticed and moved in time.

With the level difference, once they close the distance, there’d be no hope.

“Finally, found it…!”

As if there wasn’t some divine rule forcing him to die, the pit he’d been searching for appeared.

Though it looked like an unremarkable small hole on the surface, Ail knew well what lay inside.

CHAAACK!

Throwing himself into the hole, Ail slid down.

Upon arriving at the bottom, he saw a cave completely covered in large and small spider webs on all sides, including the ceiling and floor.

This creepy atmosphere, with the chilling breeze, belonged to a spider den.

It was the habitat of Giant Spiders, a formidable 150-level monster classified as a regular monster but rivaling elite monsters in difficulty.

Their dens spread out extensively in all directions, more than enough to leave this area.

Of course, under normal circumstances, stepping into such a place with Ail’s specs would be akin to suicide.

But not today.

KRURRKK!

Threatening breathing sounds came from above.

Lifting his gaze reflexively, Ail saw an enormous spider dangling from the ceiling, fast asleep.

These thoroughly nocturnal monsters slept deeply during the day, only waking when directly attacked or exposed to thunderous noises like rock explosions.

Despite the grotesque sight, this was his only salvation at the moment.

“That way.”

Among dozens of passages branching off in all directions, Ail spotted a large hole in the wall.

Though Giant Spider dens had complex structures, each space followed specific patterns.

With the right knack, one could easily identify internal passages that weren’t dead ends, and Ail possessed that knack.

He found sections of spider web that had lost their stickiness, climbed them to reach the wall, and stood atop a passage carved into it.

However, instead of fleeing immediately, he stood there waiting silently for some signal.

Not long after, the sound of someone descending the hole Ail used reached his ears.

“Now’s my chance!”

Pulling out a bow from his inventory, Ail immediately drew the string.

PAK!

The arrow shot heroically but bounced off harmlessly against the giant spider’s tough exoskeleton without dealing any damage.

But that didn’t matter.

It successfully woke the sleeping monster.

DRUDRDUK!

BOOM!

The Giant Spider landed heavily, its dozens of red eyes rolling as it tracked the intruder who disturbed its slumber.

And precisely at that moment, Godin descended below.

“What the…!”

KEEEEEEEK!

The awakened Giant Spider roared.

Spider silk erupted from its enraged mouth, shooting toward the ceiling then rapidly covering the entire area.

This was the monster’s pattern, preventing anyone from escaping until the attack concluded.

Through the newly formed webbing, Godin’s eyes met Ail’s.

Already positioned near an escape route, Ail gave Godin a clear view of his situation.

Seeing this, Godin instinctively realized the chase was over.

“Why do you refuse the guild? You give us your name, and we protect you from pressure. Why decline this offer?”

“Sorry, but I don’t need protection from a bunch of incompetent losers who can’t even catch one guy.”

Ail’s smirk twisted Godin’s face into a painful grimace.

Deciding further conversation was pointless, Ail turned his back, leaving Godin staring at his departing figure.

“Still, since you’ve been playing for so short a time, you might not understand yet… But with that naive mindset, you’ll never survive! In Warode, guilds are everything. Even the strongest ranker will eventually be crushed without support. What exactly do you think you can accomplish, not even reaching 50 levels? You can’t do anything alone!”

“On the contrary, a single user can do more than you think. Let me show you.”

Ail disappeared beyond the wall.

* * *

“…”

Standing before the giant spider’s corpse sprawled across the ground, Godin sheathed his sword, expression unreadable.

Just then, another guild member arrived, panting heavily.

“Master, what happened?”

“We completely lost him. The rumors about him surpassing Roden aren’t exaggerated.”

An outcome he hadn’t anticipated.

Godin admitted he’d underestimated his opponent and let his guard down.

“But this won’t last long. There’s a limit to what one person can achieve against a guild.”

“Is all this really necessary? It’s not our usual style, after all.”

“It’s an unavoidable decision. After reaching an agreement with FrostFlame, the guild atmosphere has become extremely poor.”

Godin forced himself to hide his irritation while speaking.

Their guild, White Puff, had successfully negotiated an agreement with FrostFlame Guild without conflict following recent tensions.

However, the negotiation process hadn’t been smooth.

During negotiations, FrostFlame consistently maintained an aggressive stance, forcing Godin to make many concessions and step back twice to ensure preparations for the upcoming alliance and stronghold battles proceeded smoothly.

Though it meant swallowing his pride, securing a stronghold was an irreplaceable goal for the guild, making it a highly rational choice.

Nevertheless, dissatisfaction among guild members was inevitable.

If they’d clashed with a truly powerful guild, the members wouldn’t have complained about retreating.

But that wasn’t the case here.

Facing a guild seemingly equal in strength, capable of winning if they fought properly, and having their guild retreat first after serious friction severely damaged the members’ pride.

Though the story hasn’t spread widely yet, if FrostFlame’s members start taunting them, it would be an unbearable disgrace.

Naturally, guild members with strong loyalty would develop resentment toward the guild master who made such a decision.

“Though I expected some resistance, the current mood ahead of the alliance is definitely problematic. We need to bring in a named player to improve morale.”

Forcing someone into the guild was a somewhat reckless attempt.

But with major discontent building just before the crucial stronghold battle, it couldn’t be ignored.

Now was the perfect time for some mood improvement.

“The bastard doesn’t have any backing power or connections. Just look at how he struggled against Amaranth despite getting lucky.”

Godin knew everything, including how his younger brother had hired a bounty guild to deal with Ail.

However, Amaranth reportedly abandoned and ignored the job entirely after discovering Ail had accidentally met one of their guild members.

Truly characteristic caution from Amaranth.

But if they hadn’t stopped, Ail would’ve been finished.

“He can’t keep avoiding forever. For now, he’ll have to follow our orders. All we need is for him to fulfill the role of raising our guild’s profile and improving the atmosphere.”

Besides the power disparity, they also held one of Ail’s weaknesses – his desire to stay hidden.

He seemed interested in earning video revenue but wanted to avoid troublesome situations, preferring quiet activity.

If he wanted to remain low-profile, he’d have to accept the guild’s proposal.

But then, another guild member who followed through the hole approached urgently.

“Guild Master! His name and face have been revealed!”

“What nonsense is this? I already know that information…” Godin questioned the strange report.

But the member shook his head and hurriedly explained.

“No, it’s different! He revealed his identity himself!”

“What… what?”

Confusion clouded Godin’s face.

* * *

“Haha… They must be totally baffled by now.”

Inside a passage where spiders dangled everywhere, Ail chuckled imagining Godin’s perplexed expression.

Moments ago, Ail had disclosed his nickname on WarTube and completely removed the filters obscuring his face in the videos.

It was better to reveal himself rather than letting them discover his identity later.

Eventually, to genuinely impact individuals, both name and face needed to be public anyway.

Already, reactions were heating up intensely to Ail’s unexpected self-disclosure.

But now wasn’t the time to focus on those responses.

Though he’d successfully escaped their grasp for now, resisting solely on his own was clearly impossible in the long term against a mid-sized guild with hundreds of members.

Unlike Amaranth, they wouldn’t react sensitively to various factors, and expecting the same stroke of luck again was unreasonable.

Furthermore, given Ail’s current situation, seeking help from deities, churches, or other NPCs was equally difficult.

No easy escape routes were visible, making Ail’s thoughts crystal clear.

“There’s no resolution unless we finish this. Holding back any longer would be meaningless.”

Having fully resolved himself, Ail accessed the messenger function on the screen.

Then he entered the code for a channel he’d carefully memorized.

[Connection request approved.]

[‘NightMare-4918’ channel connecting!]

It was time to play his secret card that had remained unused until now.