Chapter 46

Level Up IlDanSimPanGwan – Episode 46 (46/227)

Episode 46: Silence and Together (2)

Evermarch, one of the central cities in Esmaier.

Thanks to its large size and convenient geographical location, it was a place where many guilds active in the Esmaier region had their bases.

Of course, guilds capable of owning their own territory could simply set up shop there, but with the Six Major Guilds occupying most of the land, it wasn’t an easy feat these days.

Due to political and strategic reasons, the few territories not held by the Six Great Guilds were fiercely contested among the remaining numerous guilds, making the competition several times more intense. As a result, only a handful of guilds managed to secure territories.

That’s why even medium-sized guilds well-known in the region chose to establish themselves in such major cities.

The headquarters of White Wing, which had a run-in with Ail, was also located here.

“So… is there anything else?”

Guild Master Godin, sitting at the end of the conference room, asked.

At this, the guild executives seated on either side of the long table began to speak one by one.

“Frostfire still shows lukewarm responses to our negotiations. They seem to be waiting for us to offer something more.”

“Guild Master, let’s just break through head-on. These guys are impossible to reason with. With our strength, we can easily overwhelm them.”

“No, if war breaks out like this, regardless of victory or defeat, our plan to secure a territory by the end of the year will go down the drain.”

“Then are you saying we should give them everything they want? Even if we keep it secret, once the guild members find out, there’ll be more than just complaints.”

“That’s…”

As expected, the issue was heatedly debated among the executives, while Godin silently listened, letting out a small sigh.

No matter how small, the value of a single territory was immense.

For any ambitious Warlord guild, securing territory anywhere was akin to a lifelong goal, and they too had planned to capture a small territory on the outskirts of the Solstice region in the southeast by the end of the year.

Of course, with their strength alone, seizing a territory would be absolutely impossible, so they had already formed an alliance with other guilds to achieve their objective.

Several guilds targeting the same territory would form an alliance and divide the profits and rights obtained from the territory.

This type of alliance was commonly seen among mid-level guilds like White Wing.

Unless extremely powerful, it was too risky for a single guild to declare a base battle against another guild or alliance holding a territory.

Moreover, even if they succeeded in capturing the territory after a hard-fought battle, that wasn’t the end.

To prevent another guild from taking it away, they would have to continue defending it, which required tremendous effort. Thus, such alliances were formed to share the burden and combine strength.

“How did we manage to get into this situation…”

Godin gritted his teeth.

If they engaged in all-out warfare with Frostfire, the resulting weakening of their forces might make it difficult to participate in the alliance.

After cultivating their strength while focusing solely on securing a territory, and having arranged the alliance position, it was unacceptable to him.

“How are our allies responding?”

“They’re reluctant to weaken themselves at this point. They probably won’t actively help us.”

“Yeah, who’d stick their neck out when they’re at a disadvantage? I wouldn’t either.”

Frostfire, known for messy battles despite being at a disadvantage, wouldn’t make things easy.

Especially since they were preparing for a crucial base battle, no one wanted to take on such a headache.

Besides, they had a thorough secret alliance.

Keeping the alliance secret to prevent the territory-holding guild from reacting was fundamental.

It was unrealistic for them to suddenly reveal the alliance and come to their aid at this point.

“Our carefully laid plans are about to fall apart. We need to resolve this somehow…”

But resolving it easily was impossible given the deep animosity between the two guilds’ members.

Normally, they could smooth things over with some coaxing, but Frostfire was problematic as they were notorious warmongers.

Ever since starting as a small mercenary guild and growing into a war-specialized one, they didn’t hold back even in fierce guild wars, and this time was no different.

If this were a regular online game, they could just duke it out, respawn, and call it a day, but this was Warlord, where entire guilds and vast sums of money were at stake.

A single war loss could lead to massive losses, and in worst cases, guild dissolution.

All members of White Wing were naturally professional players, so as their leader, he couldn’t afford to make rash decisions.

“But we can’t back down either. Appearing cowardly isn’t just bad for the guild’s reputation; the members wouldn’t stand for it. We need to create a picture of both sides stepping back… It’s such a headache.”

When disputes arose between similarly sized guilds, the basic approach was for both sides to back off appropriately. But with this particular opponent, it was especially troublesome.

Though tempted to grab his head in frustration, he restrained himself, only frowning in front of the guild members.

Beeeep!

At that moment, someone signaled from outside the connection pod, and a call-only audible to him began ringing.

Apparently, someone had come looking for him.

“…I’ll be right back. I’ll return soon.”

“Understood.”

Creeeak!

The connection pod opened, and Godin slowly lifted his upper body out.

To his surprise, standing outside was his younger brother.

“What brings you here?”

Godin asked while fully exiting the pod.

If it was just for pocket money like usual, there was no need to personally visit his house.

“There’s someone who needs fixing.”

His brother said with blazing eyes.

None other than Becken, the swordsman who got thoroughly trounced by Ail in the Ingol Forest, burning with a desire for vengeance.

Becken, a formidable 176-level warrior and brother of Godin, the guild master of White Wing, had been able to swagger around fearlessly thanks to this connection.

But his pride was mercilessly crushed by some unknown lunatic, and he even ended up tied to a post and burned alive.

The horrific white flames scorching his entire body was an experience he never wanted to relive.

Not only was he unable to log in, but he also suffered a level decrease, lost equipment, and even misplaced a quest item.

In Warlord, players could confirm what items they lost upon death, so he knew for sure.

The “Feather of Emergency” was a quest item he had acquired through great difficulty via direct trade, planning to raise his stats a bit more before embarking on the related quest. He never imagined he’d lose exactly that item among all the ones he was carrying.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t deal with your mess this time. The guild situation alone is giving me headaches.”

“Hold on… What guild situation? What’s going on?”

“Yeah, we’ve got a conflict with another mid-level guild. It’s killing me.”

Godin shook his head while speaking.

At his answer, Becken was shaken to the core.

‘What if what that guy said was true? No way!’

He had dismissed Ail’s story as a childish fabrication meant to wriggle out of trouble.

Knowing another guild’s affairs better than his own seemed absurd.

But now, that absurd tale was becoming reality.

Overcome with shock, Becken clung desperately to his older brother.

“Brother, Brother… That bastard dared to kill me, a member of White Wing! And he’s only 20 levels! Sending a couple people to kill a low-level player is nothing! This is practically a declaration of war against our guild!”

Exasperated by his endlessly ranting younger brother, Godin sighed deeply.

“I’ve got nothing more to say about this.”

“Huh…?”

“This isn’t kids’ play. It’s a matter that could jeopardize the existence of a guild with hundreds of members. Whether war or peace, resolution must come first. Your extravagant spending money comes from here too.”

“GRRGH!!!”

KWAANG!

Listening to his brother’s words, Becken trembled uncontrollably and stormed out of the room.

He never dreamed his own brother would turn a blind eye to his plight.

Standing outside, Becken’s eyes glowed faintly with uncontrollable rage towards Ail.

“Fine… I’ll handle it myself. I’ll make sure he can’t even touch Warlord again.”

* * *

After finishing his meal in real life and reconnecting, Ail quickly moved to the city and headed straight to the Adventurer’s Guild.

He could’ve sold items first before visiting, but this time, there was a good reason to complete the quest first.

Approaching the guild representative with a nervous heart, Ail completed the Batola extermination quest.

The record showed he soloed a recommended 3-player boss monster in the Ingol Forest, allowing him to claim all the money and experience rewards exclusively.

[You have leveled up!]

A message announcing his level-up appeared alongside completing the quest.

Seeing this, Ail clenched both fists.

Normally, his experience situation would only allow him to level up once from clearing bosses and quests, but luckily, adding the experience from defeating three similarly-leveled users pushed him barely over the line for two level-ups.

Which meant he was now at the point where he could use the coveted Skill Books.

Moving to a secluded spot where no one was around, Ail took out two Skill Books from his inventory.

Two books glowing beautifully with a violet light.

“Please…”

Before officially opening them, Ail clasped his hands together in prayer.

With regular Skill Books, he could’ve casually opened them without much ado and moved on, but this was completely different.

‘Honestly, even at its worst, this has to be at least Upper Tier…!’

The violet Skill Book represented the fourth stage out of six tiers in Warlord Skill Books.

On average, Upper to Rare Tiers frequently appeared, and only in the worst-case scenario would a Common Tier emerge.

While there was talk of potentially getting a Hero Tier skill, the next rank above Rare, that was beyond his expectations.

Starting with two Rare Tier skills would be ideal.

‘Alright… Let’s do this. Come on out!’

Taking a deep breath, Ail placed his hand on the violet Skill Book, and bright light burst forth from it.

POOF!

[Dense Escape Fat (Lowermost Tier)]

– A thick layer of fat minimally prevents fatal injuries.

– Increases defense by 14 (fixed value).

“Aaah…”

The atmosphere suddenly turned somber.