Overgeared

Chapter 140

Winston's parade ground.

There were exactly 100 soldiers gathered in a large space that could accommodate 5,000 people. They were bewildered.

"Morning training has ended, so why are we here?"

"I agree… It is also just our 100 man unit."

Currently, Winston had 2,030 troops. Many troops had been lost due to the repeated battles with the Yatan Church, but Earl Steim had brought new soldiers to fill up those numbers. Only 100 of them were called out of 2,000 troops, so they couldn't help feeling anxious. 

They were the 13th Hundred Man Unit, famous for causing a lot of mishaps! Therefore, they waiting anxiously as they thought about the punishment they would receive.

“First of all, let's try to think about what we did wrong. Last night, the armory guards… The third group? Did you doze off while keeping watch?"

“That doesn't make sense. The situation is still tense because of the Yatan Church, so how can we sleep on duty? We slept secretly in turns. Our network was very thorough. We weren't caught."

"Really? Then the second group? You patrolled the market. Did the merchants complain that you stole things?"

"It can't be. We only ate fruit or meat skewers, and no one made a fuss."

"Umm… I don't think we did anything wrong recently. We made some gangsters who worsened security disabled, but we can't be punished for that. Right?"

“That act deserves a reward… Then what? What did we do wrong that we were made to gather?"

In the end, the soldiers couldn't solve it on their own and asked their captain, Jude.

“Captain, why have we been called?"

"…I don't know."

Jude was also unable to understand the situation. He was moving about the usual schedule when there was suddenly an order to assemble. Jude wasn't smart enough to guess why, so he just stood silently.

“Anyway, our captain won't know anything about it."

"I agree. Fighting is our captain's strongest point. He is useless in everything else."

“…”

The soldiers were in the midst of talking when two knights appeared. They were Romeo, an outstanding knight and his second in command, Deck.  Romeo, who wore glittering golden full plate armor and a red cloak, shouted in a loud voice.

“Be quiet and pay attention! Viscount Grid is coming!"

“Viscount Grid?"

He married the lady just yesterday. Did he become a noble today? A noble should consume their stamina on the first night and enjoy the honeymoon, so why was he coming to the parade ground?

Grid appeared while the soldiers were feeling puzzled. He was wearing white armor and gloves and a great sense of dignity was coming from him. He made Romeo's brilliant gold armor seem shallow.

‘The rumored hero who saved Winston from the previous lord and the Mero Company…!'

This was the first time the 13th Hundred Man Unit saw Grid. They all felt admiration.

'There is a story that he rescued Lady Irene after killing Malacus.'

'Isn't he also a great blacksmith? He is amazing.'

Grid had a high amount of reputation, and was also rich in the dignity stat. The soldiers were envious and overwhelmed him with their gazes, causing Grid's head to lower in embarrassment. Grid climbed onto the podium and fixed his attention on Jude before smiling faintly and saying,.

"The quality is generally good. Irene recommended this hundred man unit for a reason."

The average level of the current Winston soldiers were around 70~80. The soldiers that Grid saw yesterday had an average combat power of around 1,000. But the soldiers of the 13th Hundred Man Unit had an average combat power of 2,000 while Jude had a huge 5,000 combat power.

Given the fact that the level 180 knights armed with top-tier items had a combat power around 7,500, Jude's combat power was unusually high for someone only wearing poor quality chain mail.

Grid felt a strong interest and touched the sheath at his waist. Then he pulled out the sword received from Irene.

[Commander's Sword]

Durability: 100/100   Attack Power: 100

* Dignity +30

* Skill ‘Character Observation' will be generated.

A sword given to military commanders appointed by royalty or nobles. It isn't suitable for use as a weapon because of all the jewels. 

But it gives the military command the advantage of being able to observe the soldiers' abilities closely. It is useful when commanding an army.

Weight: 220

'Character Observation.'

[Your insight is more than 600 points. Due to the influence of insight, Character Observation Lv.3 is activated.]

[Character Insight Lv.3]

You can grasp not just the personal information of the target being observed, but their current stats, the limit of their stats and their skills.

* Targets to be observed are limited to allies.

Name: Jude

Age: 25   Gender: Male

Occupation: Captain of Winston's 13th Hundred Man Unit

Level: 103

Strength: 818/2,080   Stamina: 431/908 

Agility: 34/330    Intelligence: 11/20

Skills: Snatch the Enemy's Weapon and Use it as a Weapon (S). Silence (A). I have no Idea (SS-).

A rare fool born in Winston. When it comes to strength, he doesn't fall behind anyone. He is a natural warrior who doesn't know fear.

Unfortunately, his brain is less evolved. No matter how hard he tries, he can never climb to a higher position. It is close to a miracle that he became the captain of a hundred man unit.

'Then what about the knights?'

Grid followed by observing Romeo and Deck.

Name: Romeo Laniche

Age: 34   Gender: Male

Occupation: Lady Irene's knight.

Level: 196

Strength: 878/910   Stamina: 420/441 

Agility: 253/270    Intelligence: 174/200

Skill: Elite Spirit (A+). Decent Blow (A+) Cool-headed (B).

The son of Viscount Laniche and Phoenix's disciple. He followed Captain Phoenix and naturally served the Steim family.

His talent grew from the beginning and trained in an elite course. However, he is in distress because his growth has been stagnant lately.

Name: Deck

Age: 32   Gender: Male

Occupation: Lady Irene's knight.

Level: 185

Strength: 750/1,050   Stamina: 334/536 

Agility: 213/320    Intelligence: 199/230

Skill: Flattery (B+). Ability to Grasp the Situation (S-). Conventional Swordsmanship (B).

His ability to read the situation is excellent. He always acts according to the trends. He has talent as a commander.

Looking at the total stats, the knights were much higher than Jude.

'But considering the level difference, Jude actually has higher stats compared to the knights.'

The innate stats that Jude were born with were higher than the innate stats of the knights. It was a reasonable thought. By nature, weren't humans born with different talents? Jude was born with talent higher than Romeo and Deck. 

'But more than the innate stats… It is the maximum growth of the stats.'

The numbers that Jude's stats could grow to completely overwhelmed Romeo and Deck. If Jude was able to grow to his full potential, he would be at least twice as strong as Romeo.

'The disadvantage is his unreasonably low intelligence, but Jude has many advantages to overcome that shortcoming.'

Grid noted the ratings of Jude's skills. The ratings of Jude's skills were much higher than the knights, and these skills seemed to be one of the sources of Jude's high combat strength. Grid made his decision.

‘Jude, I will raise you as my knight.'

As a viscount, Grid had the authority to appoint three knights. A normal person would've wanted a smart knight or a governor of a city, but Grid thought differently.

'I can't be stupid.'

He would pick those whose stats could grow to become his knight and make them as loyal as dogs. Grid smiled wickedly and started to check the character information of the other soldiers. Unfortunately, none of the remaining 100 soldiers had talent worthy of Jude. But they definitely were more skilled than ordinary soldiers.

If Grid made them work in this raid… No, if he trained them well, they would be reborn as elite soldiers who would help protect Winston and Irene.

'Is it good to have a husband like him?'

'What is he doing?' 

After Grid's appearance. He didn't say anything and pulled out a sword, looking over the soldiers with a grin. Grid's appearance didn't look normal. The person who was lauded as a hero was behaving strangely, causing the knights and soldiers to feel anxious.

'This is a little…'

'It seems like they are just rumors.'

They started to feel disappointed with Grid! After verifying all of the soldiers' information, Grid finally returned the Commander's Sword to its sheath before cutting straight to the point.

“We will depart for Bairan Village."

“Bairan?"

"Why are we going there all of a sudden…?"

The soldiers started to murmur. Romeo frowned at them.

"Hey! Concentrate!"

"Ah, what a surprise."

"I'm sorry."

Grid was startled because he was standing right next to Romeo. He smiled at the soldiers then started explaining, “We are going to Bairan Village to defeat the Guardian of the Forest. It will be a tough journey, so everyone should be prepared."

“Heok!"

The exclamation of shock wasn't from the soldiers. It was from Romeo, who looked at Grid with hesitation. As a knight from a noble family, he was normally highly conscious of his image. However, he forgot about it as he trembled in front of the soldiers.

“V-Viscount? You want to defeat the Guardian of the Forest? With just these people? Are you serious?"

Of course."

"Hat…! No, why are you saying something so absurd?"

The Guardian of the Forest was a peak golem type monster, and was impossible to damage with merely swords and arrows since its body was covered with hard rocks and orichalcum. It also constantly summoned small golems and the attack power was threatening enough to cause earthquakes. It was one of the strongest monsters in the north.

“It will be difficult to defeat the Guardian of the Forest, even if you bring along all of Winston's troops!"

Romeo asserted. This wasn't an exaggeration. The Guardian of the Forest required dozens of magicians or two or more great magicians to defeat. But the magicians in Winston were at a mediocre level and there were only four of them.

It was impossible to knock down the Guardian of the Forest with 2,000 troops if they didn't have a powerful magic unit. The 2,000 troops would be wiped out. Yet Grid wanted to defeat the Guardian of the Forest with 100 soldiers and two knights?

Romeo then recalled the Tzedakah Guild.

"Ah! Perhaps you are planning to call the Tzedakah Guild? Are you planning to join forces with them, just like when you defeated Malacus?"

"What nonsense are you saying?"

Obviously, it would be easy to defeat the Guardian of the Forest if he called the Tzedakah Guild. But Grid had no intention of doing the raid with the Tzedakah Guild. The soldiers and knights were NPC salary workers, so they couldn't look at the items dropped by the Guardian of the Forest, while the Tzedakah Guild members were equal to Grid. 

If he did the raid with them, Grid would have to split the items with them. He didn't want that. In other words, Grid planned a raid with NPCs in an attempt to monopolize all the drops from the Guardian of the Forest.

'In the first place, there is no need to ask for their help.'

Grid had defeated the pope alone. Why should he borrow the guild's hands when he could easily get rid of the Guardian of the Forest? He shouted, "Everybody move! We will depart straight away!"

“Isn't this like a lightning bolt out of the blue…?"

The knights and soldiers were grouchy. They thought they would die. Grid was making the wrong moves as soon as he became the lady's husband. They were worried about their future. But Jude had no thoughts. He just silently followed Grid.

It was the day when Grid's subordinate fostering program began.

At the same time, Khan's smithy.

“…When is Grid coming to work?"

Vantner had arrived at the smithy since early morning and had been waiting for Grid for five hours. He had been too agitated about being deprived of Irene and lost his temper. Therefore, he wanted to apologize to Grid for being rude and ask him to make the armor.

It was the moment he had been waiting 40 days for. He hoped that Grid would come to the smithy as soon as possible. But Grid never showed up at the smithy, even when lunchtime passed and it became night. 

'He is enjoying his honeymoon and not even showing up to his job… That bastard… He isn't even responding to the guild chat or whispers…'

Vantner's expression turned dark.

Too busy tomorrow so have the chapters today instead. Also, no Q&A this month.

OG: 

Current schedule: 20 chapters a week.

Chapter 141

During the three day journey towards the Grey Forest on the outskirts of Bairan, Grid constantly worked Jude and the soldiers.

He instructed them to fight the monsters who were drawn by Malacus' Cloak. However, the Bairan monsters had a minimum level of 100, while the Grey Forest monsters had a minimum level of 120. It was hard for the level 70~80 soldiers to fight them. There were the sounds of suffering.

But Grid was firm. He never gave orders for the soldiers to retreat. They were forced to fight, even if they had to die. He gave almost no breaks. In the end, the soldiers couldn't refuse his commands and were forced to fight with a real determination to die. Indeed, they almost died several times.

The soldiers no longer regarded Grid as a hero. They thought he was the devil.

Initially, the soldiers thought that this expedition was to torment them. But none of the soldiers lost their lives to the monsters. Every time the soldiers were on the brink of death, Grid and the knights saved them.

This repeated for three days, and the average level of the soldiers increased to 90. Jude always fought in the lead and managed to reach level 110.

'Certainly… NPCs are different from users.'

Grid realized some new facts. Users gained 10 fixed stat points every time they gained a level, while NPCs randomly acquired a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 20 stat points. Every time Jude levelled up, he got at least 16 stat points. Indeed, Grid was interested in a Grade A NPC.

Grid was encouraged.

'Yes Jude. Grow quickly. Then become my faithful dog.' 

The next day, the party finally reached the Grey Forest. From here, the atmosphere became strange.  The spirits of the soldiers that had grown under Grid's direction faded away in an instant.

"I-I'm sorry but we can't move any further."

The start of the forest was covered by a poison fog generated by the poison flowers. A radius of 300m was filled with poison. The soldiers and knights naturally shrunk back. They were five meters away from the poison, but their skin was already irritated. They could feel their health deteriorating in real time.

Romeo judged that stepping into the forest without a Rebecca priest was nothing more than suicide.

"It is unreasonable to beat the Guardian of the Forest with this group. It's impossible to reach the Guardian of the Forest itself. It's great that we reached here, but we can only turn back…"

The knights and soldiers stood still and didn't move.  Grid didn't force them.

'The poison flowers' poison fog does 350 damage per second.'

Putting aside the knights, the soldiers had less than 3,000 health. If he forced them into the fog, they wouldn't even be able to move 100m before dying. Grid worked hard to train them, so he didn't want to lose them like this.

'I have to go ahead.'

The poison flower wasn't simply a poisonous plant. It was a level 160 carnivorous plant that attacked anything that came into its range with its tentacles. It was the object of complete terror for travellers and monsters.

But the flowers weren’t a threat to Grid. The tense Grid put a hand into his inventory. He was planning to take out Dainsleif in order to get rid of the poison flowers.

"Jude?"

Jude was silent as usual as he walked forward towards the fog. He was heading towards the poison fog that scared even the knights!

'Indeed! He's a person that I am paying attention to!'

Grid was filled with anticipation. What would Jude use to break through the poison fog? He watched with curious eyes. Then Jude finally stepped into the fog. Jude's health gauge started to decline at a tremendous pace.

But Jude didn't care. He groaned and kept advancing. Then he fell down onto the grass.

"…Eh?"

Grid was perplexed by the unexpected development. Then the soldiers were in an uproar.

"Ah Captain! He moved without thinking and is digging his grave!"

"Let's go rescue Captain quickly!"

"Shit, we have to go into that poison fog? We'll die as well!"

"Uhh… Will Captain die like this?”

Jude's poisoned gauge was falling quickly. The helpless soldiers were forced to watch as their captain died in front of their eyes. Grid noticed his mistake.

‘Wasn't he stupid?'

Despite repeatedly gaining levels, Jude's intelligence was still stuck at 11. There was also the unknown skill with the ominous name of 'I have no Idea.' The reason Jude went into the fog wasn't because he had a means of breaking the fog, but because he had no idea. Grid belatedly discovered this face and hurriedly moved.

'I can't lose him like this!'

"Viscount!"

Romen and Deck cried out. A viscount was throwing himself into poisonous fog just to save a mere captain? They couldn't understand Grid's behavior.

Deck shouted in an urgent voice, "Sir Romeo! If the viscount dies, then we are finished!"

"Come on…!"

But it was too late. Grid's movement speed was superhuman. The moment Romeo and Deck thought to stop him, Grid was already in the middle of the poison fog.

“Drink it quickly!"

"…?"

His vision became cloudy. A terrible pain filled his body. Jude thought he would die like this. Someone suddenly ran up to Jude and raised his body. Then Jude was fed a potion? The person was Grid.

"…?"

A noble was willing to risk his life to save a commoner? Didn't nobles consider soldiers to be meat shields on the battlefield? Grid was different from the nobles that Jude had met. Why was he different? He was curious, but Jude's intelligence couldn't infer the reason. So he was just thrilled.

Then he made a stupid look as tentacles from the poison flowers flew towards him. The tentacles were like flying birds, but none of them could reach Jude. It was natural. How could level 160 monsters exert their power in front of Grid?

"Pagma's Swordsmanship, Wave!"

Swords of light moved in all directions around Grid.  The tentacles flying towards Jude were destroyed and dozens of poison flowers screamed. Then the poisonous fog started to disappear like a lie. Jude made a stupid expression and admired Grid's skill.

'Strong.'

Clean air started pouring into the poisoned lungs. His innate health meant Jude was quickly freed from suffering and he raised his body. Then he bowed to Grid. 

“Thank you.”

These words were too simple towards someone who saved his life. Grid was embarrassed for a while.

'He really is stupid.'

He told Jude, "It's good to be brave, but you should think before moving forward. You don't have 10 lives, right?"

"…Um."

Jude nodded like he understood. But the expression was too subtle. It was like he didn't understand what it meant. Grid felt uncomfortable. He couldn't help feeling anxious. It wasn't a difficult demand. Grid just asked him to be careful. But how stupid was he to not understand?

Then the knights and soldiers ran up to them.

"You're safe!"

They gazed at Grid with admiration.

"It's amazing that you can sweep up dozens of poison flowers all at once! This is the majesty of the hero who defeated Malacus!"

"The acting of rescuing the captain is the epitome of all nobles and knights!”

Romeo and Deck started to praise Grid. The soldiers who misunderstood Grid as a devil once again recognized Grid as a hero.

"Viscount is the best!"

"Thank you for saving the captain!"

The cheers from the soldiers and knights! Grid smiled at them, but it had an ominous feeling.

"How is it? If you are with me, you can easily defeat the Guardian of the Forest."

"…No, that…"

Despite the fact that Grid had shown his greatness, the knights and soldiers still reacted skeptically to beating the Guardian of the Forest.

Grid didn't care. He was willful from the beginning, so he just started moving forward again. The knights and soldiers were forced to follow him. Then the party encountered something in the center of the forest.

"Humans! No humans in forest! Humans pollute forest! No forgive humans!"

It was a goblin lord. Most goblins were around one meter tall, but he was around two meters tall. And his strength was beyond imagination. As a level 180 field boss, he was an intermediate boss that had to be defeated before meeting the Guardian of the Forest.

He summoned dozens of hobgoblins. Grid identified this and began conducting his troops.

"This is the final training before we defeat the Guardian of the Forest! Three soldiers will mark one hobgoblin, while the knights and Jude will look at the entire battlefield and help those in danger. Once the goblin lord starts acting strange, it is the precursor to an earthquake. At that time, spread out and minimize the damage!"

The goblin lord had the same attack pattern as the Guardian of the Forest.

The goblin lord summoned hobgoblins while the Guardian of the Forest summoned golems. The goblin lord also possessed the same wide range earthquake technique as the Guardian of the Forest.

That's why Guardian of the Forest raid parties tended to meet the goblin lord before meeting the Guardian of the Forest. Grid had familiarized himself with the process and responded as calmly as possible.

Then!

The knights and soldiers marked the hobgoblins according to Grid's instructions, while Grid approached the goblin lord. Then he used Pagma's Swordsmanship, Kill, in order to suppress it.

[Critical!]

[The Holy Light Gloves option effect is activated, causing you to attack the target five times.]

[You have dealt 302,555 damage.]

[You have defeated the guard of the Grey Forest, the goblin lord!]

[2,600,100 experience has been acquired.]

[The Goblin Lord's Club has been acquired.]

[The Goblin Lord's fang has been acquired.]

[Your level has risen.]

"…Ah."

The critical strike combined with the Holy Light Gloves' option and Kill was a blow that managed to cause the level 280 griffon boss monster to fall into a critical state. Therefore, it easily took care of the level 180 goblin lord.

Of course, this wasn't his intention. Why was the power of his items applied at such exquisite timing?

"Hiik! Humans! Scary!"

The hobgoblins ran away with fear while Grid was feeling embarrassed. Grid grasped the situation.

'Damn, I should've taken off the gloves.'

Grid felt regret over missing the opportunity to train the troops, while the knights and soldiers were baffled.

'Is that a human?'

‘Ridiculously strong…'

"The Guardian of the Forest. It's time to hunt it."

In the midst of the chaos, only Jude was moving forward without thinking. 

OG: 

Current schedule: 20 chapters a week.

Chapter 142

A few months ago, Grid had owed money to creditors. He suffered all types of persecution under the Mother’s Heart is Happy employees. 

He did hard labor every day in order to pay back the interest and practically lived as a slave with no signs of a better life. He couldn't even dream of being loved by others, or enjoying himself over a bottle of soju.

But now it was different.

Grid had got a legendary class and barely succeeded for a while. However, now the debt had been completely cleared and he became rich.

Since the Malacus raid, he produced the Thorn of Deep Grievance for Ibellin and earned 4.61 billion won in revenue. He still had 2.95 billion won left, despite paying 5% of the gold sales commission fee to the item trading site, paying off his family's remaining debt, and purchasing a car.

Nowadays, Grid could eat chicken once every two weeks. He could eat one chicken in one meal without having to share. Now that he could enjoy such luxuries, he wanted to collect 10 billion won to buy a piece of land and build a residence!

But before starting that, he thought he needed to produce Failure first. Then he moved to purchase blue orichalcum, which was the main ingredient of Failure. However, there were no blue orichalcum at the auction site in the game or on the Internet.

It might be because no users had raided the Guardian of the Forest, or the drop rate of blue orichalcum was low, or another blacksmith had bought the blue orichalcum. Grid didn't know the exact reason why there were no blue orichalcum for sale. But he knew the answer to obtain blue orichalcum.

Wasn't it a simple task to collect them directly from the Guardian of the Forest raid?

'I obtained three blue orichalcum when selling the Sword of Self-transcendence to Administrator Vladi… I need 12 more blue orichalcum to produce Failure.

And…

Grid was currently in front of the Guardian of the Forest.

"Here." 

The deepest part of the forest. There was a huge crater where the forest used to be. Grid started to observe all the topographic features, including the trees tinged with grey ash.

'The soldiers don't have enough cover to depend on. The trees will be crushed like cookies… It will be a frontal confrontation.' 

Grid wasn't particularly worried. As long as the knights and soldiers marked the golems summoned by the Guardian of the Forest, he could defeat the Guardian of the Forest in that gap. But the knights and soldiers were afraid.

"E-Excuse me Viscount… Shouldn't we go back now?"

"Please save us! If I die, my wife and children will be sad!"

"I'm still young…"

Despite Grid showing his strength on the way here, the morale of the knights and soldiers was still low. In the end, Grid threw off the broad-brimmed hat he had been wearing. Then he wore the Holy Light Crown and pulled out the Commander’s Sword to raise his dignity stat.

"The Guardian of the Forest? Didn't I get rid of Malacus, who filled the world with terror? You just have to believe in me. Yes?"

"O-Ohhh…!

Grid's current dignity stat was 364 points. If he added 200 points from the Holy Light Crown and 30 points from the Commander's Sword, his dignity stat neared a huge 600 points. This was comparable to the dignity stat points held by the top NPCs that represented each nation, even if they weren't kings. The general soldiers as well as the knights, Romeo and Deck, couldn't help bowing to Grid.

“I have great faith in the viscount. We will follow you with no more complaints."

“Okay.”

The troops fell silent. Grid felt satisfied and started to look around again.

'By the way, why isn't the Guardian of the Forest appearing? Shouldn't it appear now?'

Grid had confirmed the raid timetable through a website in advance. Today was the day that the Guardian of the Forest was supposed to respawn, and the timing was right as well. He also had to be careful of other raid parties, so he had deliberately hid his face and identity with a hat.

But when he arrived here, there were no raid parties and the Guardian of the Forest couldn't be seen.

'Don't tell me the site is a scam?' It was a paid membership site. Grid was angry since he had paid 130,000 won in order to check the raid timetable. 'I trusted it because it has a lot of members…!'

Grid was convinced that he had been cheated of the price of six chickens and kicked a rock furiously. Then the small rock started to shake loudly. 

Jude clapped with wide eyes, "Amazing. The rock you kicked is dancing."

"That's not it…"

The knights and soldiers became frantic. The rock that Grid kicked was moving and growing larger? Like a turtle hiding inside its shell, it was the moment when the crouched up Guardian of the Forest fully emerged.

However, it was a little strange.

"What is this guy?"

Grid was confused. Originally, the Guardian of the Forest should be over 5m and large. However, this one had a height similar to Grid and was sleek looking.

'Isn't it like a human?'

There were five fingers and toes on each extended limb, just like a person. Except for the back that was made of hard rocks, the whole body was composed of transparent ores and flashing above its head was the name 'Awakened Guardian of the Forest.'

"You, what are you?"

He tried to measure the combat power but it was ???. There were only question marks. Grid instinctively perceived the danger and became alert. Then the Awakened Guardian of the Forest narrowed the distance in an instant.

Kwaang!

There was a storm in the aftermath of his movements. The ash scattered all over the place and the roots of the trees were shaken.

Peeng!

It was like watching Regas. The Awakened Guardian of the Forest aimed a sharp kick. Then Deck, standing next to Grid, coughed up blood and turned into light.

[The knight Deck has died.]

"Crazy!"

Killing a level 185 knight in one blow? Grid hurriedly exclaimed, "Avoid it! Especially Jude! You absolutely must survive!"

The knights and soldiers wouldn't be any help. The tense Grid put a hand into his inventory. The black greatsword was pulled out and Dainsleif showed its majestic appearance.

***

It had now been 47 days.

Grid had promised to make a new armor for Vantner. Following Pon and Ibellin, he was fortunate enough to be the third winner of Grid's production item.

'Now I can be born again as an overgeared person!'

When armed with the strongest armor that Grid would produce, his defense would be sufficient and he could run amok! Vantner was excited. It wasn't an exaggeration to call him the most delighted person in the world. 

But what was this? An absurd thing happened. Grid abandoned the armor production for a quest? Then there was no news.

From that day, the time of waiting begun. Vantner waited every day for Grid to return. A fortnight passed and he waited indefinitely. Whenever he walked the street, he would frantically look if he heard any grumbling. If he saw an Asian man, he would think it was Grid.

Grid didn't return until a month and two weeks later. Vantner wasn't able to contact Grid because the guild chat and whispers were blocked.  It was enough to make Vantner curse. He honestly didn't know how many times he insulted Grid.

But as he waited for Grid, Vantner fell in love.

Then four days ago! Grid returned to Winston as Vantner dreamed of. Vantner's long wait would be repaid. 

'I can finally get my armor…!'

Vantner was thrilled to tears. He ran off to meet Grid, like he was reuniting with a lover. Then he became frustrated. Instead of producing an armor, Grid suddenly announced his marriage. It was also to Lady Irene who Vantner had been longing for!

On the day of the wedding ceremony, Vantner was in turmoil from the unexpected developments and couldn't hide his hostility towards Grid. Rather than bringing up the wait, he was angry at Grid taking away Lady Irene. Then he became drunk during the wedding, cursed Grid, and was kicked out.

He regretted it the next day. He realized that he had lost control. Irene was just an unrequited crush, so how could he be angry at Grid for taking her away? Vantner felt ashamed and sorry. He was worried about Grid's reaction. 

'Surely he won't refuse to make my item?'

He was well aware of what a narrow-minded person Grid was.  So after the wedding, he stayed for three days at Khan's smithy. He wanted to apologize to Grid for his actions and to ask for the production of his item.

But Grid never showed up in Khan's smithy after his marriage. Khan knew the reason why. But he wouldn't tell Vantner Grid's whereabouts, no matter how he asked.

“Hey, look Old Man. Why won't you tell me where Grid went?"

“Didn't you swear at Grid on his wedding day? I don't want someone like you becoming involved with Grid."

"Hah, really…"

Khan was a twisted old man. There was a reason why he was a good fit with Grid. Vantner failed to find out Grid's whereabouts for three days and eventually asked Jishuka.

–Master, can you go and see Irene?

–You want me to ask about Grid's whereabouts?

–Yes…

-Okay. I also think that now is the time for Grid to work.

The Tzedakah Guild recruited Grid because they needed his blacksmith abilities. Grid also joined the guild to act as a blacksmith. As the guild master, Jishuka had to remind Grid of his duties.

She went to see Irene. Then she was shocked by Irene's words.

"Huh? Grid… No, Viscount Grid has gone to defeat the Guardian of the Forest?"

"Yes. He said that he wants to defeat the Guardian of the Forest for our sake. Isn't he like Prince Charming? So cool."

"…This is a headache."

Like other games, Satisfy was a thoroughly competitive society. All users and guilds struggled for their own interests. One of the easiest ways for a guild to profit was to control a hunting ground.

Guilds controlled hunting grounds where honey flowed and prohibited outsiders from entering. This was called guild monopolization. It was a natural occurrence. The Tzedakah Guild also controlled two hunting grounds around Bairan without opening them to outsiders.

The first place was Ruger Dungeon where monsters over level 250 appeared, and the second place was the Grey Forest where the Guardian of the Forest appeared.

The Guardian of the Forest was very strong. It was a level 245 field boss, but it was stronger than a dungeon boss. Its stats were abnormally high and it had a wide range of CC and summoning skills, making it very difficult to deal with.

It also possessed a passive skill to reduce physical damage and along with its natural defense and health, it took the current Tzedakah Guild at least three hours to defeat it. But Grid only led 100 soldiers and two knights to the Guardian of the Forest raid.

It was also during this cycle!

'The Awakened Guardian of the Forest is several times stronger than the normal Guardian of the Forest.

Blue orichalcum is a mineral born with the power of moonlight and the Guardian of the Forest. Was that why? The Guardian of the Forest and blue orichalcum were very sensitive to moonlight. 

Once every four months, the two full moons would rise at the same time and the blue orichalcum, which made up most of the Guardian of the Forest, would show an infinite power and awaken the guardian.

Right now, it was the awakening cycle. Four months ago, the Tzedakah Guild wasn't aware of this and was annihilated after challenging the Awakened Guardian of the Forest. The Awakened Guardian of the Forest had significantly less health and defense than the normal one, but it exerted overwhelming attack power and agility.

'It is much stronger than a pope, who was a priest. This time, Grid can't avoid death.'

Even the Tzedakah Guild have given up on the Guardian of the Forest raid during this awakening period. Therefore, they didn't bother controlling the Grey Forest. They planned to try the Awakened Guardian of the Forest raid in four months.

No matter how she thought about it, the odds of Grid succeeding in the raid alone was 0%.

'This is better.'

If Grid ever participated in the guild's community, Grid would've found out that the guild monopolized the Guardian of the Forest raid and would've been able to ask for the blue orichalcum that he wanted.

But he didn't. His ignorance of the guild community and his insistence on personal activities led to this. Jishuka hoped that Grid's habit would be fixed.  She wanted him to realize the importance of the guild community with this incident and hoped that he would refrain from personal activities in the future.

In front of Khan's smithy.

"Really, that Grid…"

Vantner clicked his tongue after receiving Jishuka's explanation through a whisper. He wanted to help Grid, but it was impossible because he was too far away.

'He will be angry from the experience loss after dying and might not want to make my item…'

A man arrived at the smithy while Vantner was feeling worried. Khan, who only treated Vantner badly, enthusiastically welcomed the man.

"Ohh! Hasn't it been a really long time? Has it been a few months?”

“It's good to see you. Has My Liege been well?"

“Huh, you haven't heard the news about him these days? He's become tremendously successful. Now he is once again on a brave raid…"

Khan suddenly paused in his conversation and whispered in the man's ears. What was he saying? The man was happy.

"As expected from My Liege… Really amazing. He tried to run away from the frostlight orc chief and now he is raiding a monster alone? I will go to meet him."

The man said goodbye to Khan and exited the smithy. Then he blew a whistle, riding the drake that was called and soaring into the sky.

Vantner was confused.

"I've never seen that ID among the rankers who use drakes as pets."

Was a new rookie popping up again? The stagnant Vantner became frustrated.

OG: 

Current schedule: 20 chapters a week.