by Park Saenal
“Please lend me Regas!”
“…Hah.”
Grid didn’t think of withdrawing, so Jishuka was forced to retreat.
“Okay, let’s leave it to Regas.” Jishuka let go of Regas’ ear and then placed the burden on him. “Do you know better than anyone what a desperate situation our guild is in right now? Do you have time to help others?”
“Uhh…”
As Regas hesitated, Grid begged, “Regas, I’m asking you. You are the only one I can rely on.”
Regas’ worries didn’t last long. Grid expressed that he lost everything and even wanted to commit suicide. At this time! He said Regas was the only one he could rely on.
“I will help!”
Snap!
In the end, Regas grabbed hold of Grid’s hand.
Pajik.
There was the sound of something snapping in Jishuka’s head. All of the spectators looked at her. However, both Grid and Regas didn’t hear it.
“Thank you, Regas! I will consider you my lifelong benefactor!”
“Haha, it is nothing. After all, it is my responsibility to protect justice and help the needy!”
Regas was very motivated. Jishuka wanted to use violence against Regas right now, but she couldn’t act because there were too many eyes watching.
“… Yes, you have decided? Okay, I understand. Good luck.” Her red lips twitched as she suppressed the urge to curse. There was no energy in her voice.
Regas bowed and apologized to her, “I’m sorry! Please understand this once! I’ll do this and then help you straight away! Now, Grid! Let’s go!”
“Yes!”
Grid and Regas left the area, leaving Jishuka alone in the end.
“Choosing a guy you don’t know over a friend of a few years…”
The spectators watched her mutter and gossiped,
“Jishuka was rejected for a man…”
“It wasn’t another woman, but a man.”
“Amazing…”
“……”
Jishuka decided not to listen to the noises entering her ears.
‘I will definitely break both of them.’
Then the spectators brought up an interesting story:
“But that guy, isn’t he a blacksmith? Don’t you know? He competed against that great beauty in the item creation game.”
“Ah ~ The one who joined with Khan for a two-against-one match, but still lost to that woman?”
Jishuka’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘Is that guy Khan’s disciple?’
Apart from the whereabouts of Euphemina, the Tzedakah Guild also wanted to find Khan’s disciple. He was the one who competed with Euphemina, so he probably knew something about Euphemina.
However, he was difficult to find because Khan never revealed his identity. Jishuka hurriedly whispered to Regas,
“Regas! The man with you is likely to be Khan’s disciple! I have to talk to you right away! Where are you now?”
[The recipient has blocked all whispers.]
“… This bastard.”
Regas had blocked all whispers because he was afraid that Jishuka would threaten him with a whisper. Jishuka summoned a holographic keyboard. Then she spoke in the guild chat window.
{Hey, Regas! Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas Regas!}
{Guild Master (ㅡ.ㅡ) Don’t spam the chat.}
{Shut up = _ = This isn’t the time for jokes.}
{ㅠㅠㅈㅅㅈㅅ}
{Regas! Can’t you see the chat? Hey! Do you really want to die?}
{If he is quiet in front of your bombardment, has he blocked the guild chat? What is it? Did Regas get into another incident?}
{Regas is with Khan’s disciple! But he doesn’t know that the person is Khan’s disciple!}
{Eh? Khan’s disciple? ㅡ ㅡ; How did that guy end up with Regas?}
{Anyway, find Regas right now! If he is Khan’s disciple, he is likely to have a clue about Euphemina!}
At this point, Jishuka and the Tzedakah Guild members couldn’t imagine. Khan’s disciple, who they just wanted to ask about Euphemina’s whereabouts, was actually the unknown craftsman they wanted to meet!
***
“Hrmm…”
I explained the whole story to Regas. Of course, I omitted or changed some parts since Regas knew me as a blacksmith, not a warrior. In the first place, I only needed to convey a description of the thief.
“So, Grid received a quest and went to Winston Castle, where a soldier suddenly turned into an elderly person and stole your item? You wanted to chase that old man, but ended up missing him?”
“Yes, that’s right. A black aura emerged from the soldier’s body and he suddenly transformed…”
“A black aura?”
“Yes.”
Regas thought carefully. “Doesn’t it sound like someone from the Yatan Church?”
Such a thing? The Yatan Church believers were said to feel pain just facing the Divine Shield. But that old man was fine when holding the Divine Shield in his hand.
“I don’t think it is a Yatan follower…”
I cautiously denied it, but Regas shook his head.
“It is definitely a Yatan follower. Those who deal with black magic have a 90% chance of being a Yatan follower. Let’s find the nearby hiding places of the Yatan follower. If we defeat the hideouts one by one, we will find the one who robbed your item.”
In the end, I added to the explanation. “No, in fact, the item that the old man stole was something that would deal great damage to the Yatan Church followers. But the old man easily touched the item, so he can’t be part of the Yatan Church…”
“If it was a high priest who transformed, he might not be influenced by the item because of his high faith.”
“Is that right? Hrmm…” After a moment of worry, I finally made a decision. “Okay. I will trust Regas’ words. By the way, where is the hideout of the Yatan Church?”
Regas scratched his head.
“I’m not sure. Don’t we just need to find it?”
“……”
Regas was a powerful person who was called a Taekwon Master. His combat strength would certainly be amazing. But he seemed to be lacking when it came to the intelligence aspect.
***
“…This place?”
Irene woke up in the darkness. Where was this place? She couldn’t tell. It felt like she had been asleep for a very long time. The voice of a man was heard while she was feeling confused.
“Don’t be afraid. Darkness is originally easy to adapt to. You will soon realize where this is.”
As he said, Irene’s eyes gradually adapted to the darkness. After a while, Irene discovered where this was.
“The Yatan Temple!”
“No. This is just a common cave that can be found everywhere. I just decorated it like a temple.”
“You…?”
Irene found a man kneeling in front of a statue of God Yatan. The man turned his head and introduced himself.
“I am Malacus.”
“……!”
Irene knew who Malacus was. No, there were few people on the continent who didn’t know the name.
Malacus.
He was the Sixth Servant of God Yatan and responsible for the sacrifices of the Yatan Church. It was Malacus who determined the number of virgins to be sacrificed every year. One word from him controlled the lives of many virgins on the continent.
“H-How are you…? Where is this place? And why am I here?”
Malacus got up. Then he slowly approached the confused Irene. “Winston Castle has a way of making the Divine Shield. Then I made a deal with a skilled blacksmith.”
“……”
“Light exists to be colored in by darkness. Do you know? What will happen if the Divine Shield contains dark magic?”
Malacus gave a wicked laugh. Irene grabbed Doran’s ring tightly with trembling hands.
‘Doran… Doran!’
Doran was a shadow who
protected the Steim family for a long time. Irene had been saved by Doran whenever she was in danger from her youth. However, now he was gone. That fact made Irene feel despair.
Irene recalled Doran’s last words.
‘If you find the man who knows this ring, lean on him. It was thanks to him that I was able to save My Lady this time… He will surely be a big help if he is by your side. Be sure to keep him with you.’
When would the man that Doran spoke about appear? Irene earnestly hoped for it.
‘Doran… please help me meet him.’
On the other hand, Grid and Regas arrived at Rolf Mountain. Grid was gasping for breath.
“Pant… pant… what if all of this is in vain?”
A day had passed and they went through all the forests and mountains near Winston, looking for the Yatan Church’s hiding place. Grid was tired and sleep deprived, but Regas was full of energy.
“If this is in vain, can’t we just go to another mountain?”
“……”
Regas spoke without hesitation while smiling widely. The usual Grid would’ve already tackled him. But Grid was currently filled with the idea of finding the Divine Shield. So he followed after Regas with no complaints.
Then when he reached the middle of Rolf Mountain.
[Your persistence has risen.]
As Grid checked the notification that had appeared 10 times already, Regas shouted.
“This is the place.”
Grid turned his gaze towards where Regas was pointing. He discovered a large cave guarded by Yatan followers.
“The numbers aren’t a joke… Aren’t there at least 30 of them?”
Winston’s army had gone out several times under the pretext of subjugating the Yatan Church. Nevertheless, Grid never dreamed that there would still be so many followers in Winston.
‘The army led by the strongest knight in the north… He was armed with the Sword of Self-transcendence, but he still lost. He really is incompetent.’
Grid was busy criticizing Phoenix.
“Bring it on! You evil people!”
“Heok.”
Grid was shocked. He wanted to move as secretly as possible to avoid the enemy’s gaze, but Regas shouted loudly and jumped into the middle of the enemy.
‘He is crazy!’
Regardless of whether Grid cursed him or not, Regas was very excited.
“Isn’t this quite good? Gale Attack!”
Chachak!
Regas’ legs sprang up as quickly as the wind. The Yatan followers near him collapsed. Regas was even more delighted when he saw a follower hit by him get up.
“Okay! These guys are strong! Bring it on! Force Palm!”
Pepepepeng!
The 30 against 1 fight started.
“……”
The longer Grid spent with Regas, the harder it was to adjust to Regas.
‘I need to regain my senses.’
Grid couldn’t see the old man among the 30 people outside the cave. Grid moved towards the cave, in the hope that the old man would be inside. He was able to move effortlessly because all the Yatan followers were distracted by Regas.
The moment when he stepped into the cave.
“I don’t like uninvited guests.”
A bizarre voice was heard inside the cave, giving the illusion that two voices were simultaneously talking. Then a notification window popped up.
[God Yatan’s Sixth Servant, Malacus has appeared.]
[The mighty dark power has applied a fear, weakness and immobilizing effect.]
[A legend doesn’t feel fear easily.]
[You have resisted all the abnormal conditions.]
[Malacus has unleashed a surprise magic attack.]
Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
“……!”
Grid noticed the black blades flying from the cave and quickly escaped.
However, Regas was different. Despite being outside the cave, he was overwhelmed by Malacus’ magic power and stood still. Therefore, he couldn’t escape the flying magic and suffered great damage.
Chapter 86
Chapter 86
“Kuk… I didn’t think someone like this would be here.”
Regas took a potion to restore his health and immediately changed his system setting.
“Whisper unblock. Guild chat unblock.”
Then…
{Hey you! You will die if you don’t find Regas today!}
{T-Take it easy, Master.}
{Yes, excitement isn’t good for your skin. Isn’t Master a woman as well?}
{Shut up… All of you, shut up! If you have time to chat, look for that bastard Regas!}
“……”
The guild chat window was filled with chaos. Jishuka was reacting worse than Regas expected, so he hesitated for a moment before typing on the keyboard,
{The slope of Rolf Mountain. Please send support.}
The chaotic chat window became more frenzied.
{Regas!}
{Hey, Regas! What have you been doing all day? Why did you block the chat? Answer me!}
{You don’t know how we have been tortured because of you!}
{Rolf Mountain…? I will visit you soon. ^^}
Kwa kwang! Kwang!
Regas avoided the black magic that the followers were shooting from all directions, elbowed the face of the closest believer, and typed in the chat again.
{Come prepared for battle. Malacus has appeared.}
The chat window got crazy once more.
{Malacus? The Sixth Servant?}
{Eh? Why is he on Rolf Mountain? Shouldn’t he be with the other Yatan bastards?}
{What… Where have you been wandering around? ㅡㅡ}
{Why is Malacus there?}
{Isn’t he a monster that is level 310?}
{ㅡㅡ;;}
Everyone was amazed by the presence of Malacus, while Jishuka was obsessed with Khan’s disciple.
{Hey! Regas! Are you still with the person called Grid?}
{ㅇ ㅇ}
{Grab Grid tightly and don’t let him go! He is Khan’s disciple that we are looking for!}
“What?” Regas frowned as he saw Jishuka’s words. “Grid is a blacksmith? No way.”
Regas exclaimed while kicking two Yatan followers at the same time. After counterattacking, he quickly hid behind a tree and entered the chat again.
{That isn’t possible?}
{It must be -_-^ I heard it from a witness. Grid is definitely Khan’s disciple.}
{That eyewitness must be mistaken or gave you a false report.}
After typing briefly, Regas blocked the chat again to focus on the battle and turned to Grid. Grid was holding a large sword that was more than 3m long and was facing Malacus alone.
“There is no way he can be a blacksmith. The guild master… she must be mistaken.”
In the meantime, Grid…
‘What is going on?’
Malacus expressed great interest in Grid since he first appeared.
“I am impressed that you can endure the pressure of my magic power.” Malacus judged that Grid, who avoided all his status effects, wasn’t a regular person. “Then you… are you like Yura? An extraordinary person among travelers?”
Grid wanted to solve it with dialogue as much as possible. “Not really… well, I didn’t come here to meet you. So can I go my own way?”
“I can’t allow that.”
“Please have mercy just once. Hehe.”
“One of the most insignificant words in the world is mercy.”
Malacus was one of the most brutal religious figures in Satisfy. It was foolish trying to communicate with him.
“Che, whatever.”
Grid opened his inventory. Then he equipped armor without being conscious of Regas at all. After that, he pulled out Dainsleif, which had been strengthened to +5.
[+5 Dainsleif (Reproduction)]
Rating: Unique
Durability: 500/500 Attack Power: 549~772 Attack Speed: -8%
* Additional damage equal to 10% of the target’s current defense will be dealt.
* The greater the number of enemies, the greater the damage.
* The skill ‘Golden Flash’ has been generated.
A work created by Albatino, the first human to receive the nickname of ‘craftsman before Pagma’s era. He attempted the reproduce the mythical weapon, Dainsleif.
It is far lacking compared to the original Dainsleif, but he succeeded in restoring some of its features, making it a masterpiece on its own.
It was acclaimed as a ‘masterpiece of human history’ by the founder of the Eternal Kingdom and the king of the north, Loran.
The legendary blacksmith Pagma is said to have received great inspiration from Albatino’s work.
User Restriction: Level 250 or higher. More than 1,800 strength. Advanced Sword Mastery.
Weight: 1,580
“A great sword. But can it reach my body?”
Malacus wasn’t a monster but a human. He didn’t have a special appearance. He was just an ordinary man in his 30s, wearing a black mask and a long cloak covering his body. He seemed less scary than the terrible monsters Grid faced in Kesan Canyon.
“You will see soon! Blacksmith’s Rage! Quick Movements! Pagma’s Swordsmanship, Link!”
In the mural, Pagma held Dainsleif in one hand and wielded it. However, it was impossible for Grid to wield Dainsleif with one hand with his current strength. Thus, he held Dainsleif with both hands and didn’t look as dazzling.
Buuuong. Buuuong.
Dainsleif moved with a speed that was disproportionate to its huge size. Then he slashed at Malacus’ body. But just before Dainsleif hit Malacus’ body, a black shield appeared, blocking the sword in its path.
Kaaang!
“Ugh!”
After the attack was blocked, Grid hurriedly placed Dainsleif back in his inventory and then pulled out the +8 Ideal Dagger. He consumed 490 mana after using Blacksmith’s Rage, Quick Movements and activating Pagma’s Swordsmanship. Grid used his remaining 277 mana to activate one of Ideal Dagger’s integrated skills.
“Wind Blast!”
Pepepepeng!
Wind Blast exploded against Malacus’ body. But it couldn’t touch Malacus. Just before the winds touched Malacus’ body, a black shield emerged at the point of collision and blocked all winds.
Gulp gulp.
Grid pulled out a mana potion and drank it before activating Wind of Justice.