by Park Saenal
Mercedes was ignorant about plants and didn’t know anything about this situation, but it was obvious that Grid was the one driving this situation. Grid started sweating as Mercedes’ shining gaze focused on him. ‘No, what…’
[Tend to the Elven Forest]
[Difficulty: A
Beniyaru, one of the 12 guardians who defend the elves, has a request for you.
She wants you to make this forest beautiful!
Quest Clear Conditions: Prune 2,000 trees (0/2000)
Quest Clear Reward: Affinity with the entire elf species will increase by 20. Leaves of the World Tree (20), Fruits of the World Tree (5).
Quest Failure: Your relationship with the elves will become hostile.]
“…I’m not a gardener.”
Yes, Grid was a blacksmith. So, why did he receive quest meant for a gardener? Grid had come here for equipment and to level up. He couldn’t afford to waste time pruning 2,000 tree branches.
‘How hard will it be to strike the trees?’
This quest should be rejected! Grid wanted to shout out loud.
However, the quest reward was the problem. The leaf of the world tree that he had given to Sticks was a panacea. Grid was intensely curious about what effect the fruit of the world tree would have, since it seemed more precious. Additionally, the increased affinity with the elves was also crucial.
‘Why…?’
Grid didn’t accept or refuse the quest. It was because one person passed through his mind.
‘Piaro!’
He was a legendary farmer who knew crops! Maybe Piaro had also specialized in the management of other plants, including trees? Grid thought of this and immediately used Knights Summoning. The legendary farmer and the elves—this would be the first meeting between people who cherished nature.
Had Piaro thought his king was in danger? Piaro had felt anxious and immediately responded to the summoning.
“Elves…” He faced the elves while holding a hand plow and sickle in his hand. The elves sniffed him, and their faces became flushed.
“A wonderful man…”
“…”
The smell of soil around Piaro’s body struck the elves’ emotions. It was fortunate for Grid. “Okay. From now on, I will make armor while Mercedes will eat honey. Meanwhile, Piaro will prune the branches with the elves.”
Grid’s method of handling things wasn’t wrong. In the first place, subordinates were meant to be used. However, Grid’s subordinates were a legendary farmer and legendary knight…
Chapter 818
Chapter 818
The branches, which were longer than humans, were as threatening as sharp blades, while the lush and overgrown foliage interfered with one’s vision. The giant trees eagerly reached for the sky. Was there anyone who wouldn’t feel reverence when standing before this scene? They would feel so overwhelmed that they couldn’t breathe.
However, Piaro was a legend. Nature was familiar to him as he immersed himself in the fields. The clean air and nature stirred up his mind and body.
“I’ll clean you up!!” Piaro yelled as he moved like a flying squirrel between the trees. Every time Belial’s sickle moved through the air, the branches of the giant trees fell to the ground. It took less than 10 minutes for a giant tree to be trimmed neatly.
Grid’s expectations were met. The legendary farmer had a high understanding of plants as a whole, giving him spectacular pruning skills. His hands gave life to the trees.
[Your subordinate, Piaro, has completed the pruning. (1/2,000)]
“Well done!”
Ttang! Ttang! Grid started hammering a metal plate on top of the hole in the portable furnace. It was a move that was more reminiscent of a drunk soldier dancing.
‘Amazing!’
In the case of quests that required hunting a certain number of monsters, those killed by his party members who accepted the quest and his pets would also count. So, Grid had thought about it. Why did he need to do the pruning himself? Couldn’t he get his pets or subordinates to clear the quest for him?
His idea was reasonable and actually came true. Thanks to the legendary farmer, Grid was able to proceed with the pruning quest much faster than if he did it on his own.
“Cool…”
“I didn’t realize there could be a human who is so close to nature and understands nature better than us.”
“Look at how he has become one with nature. He is a few times better than our elves. If I was going to have a baby, I would like to have that man’s children.”
It seemed there had come a day when the noble elves would fall in love with a mere human. The female elves now realized why the species called half-elves existed. Their eyes were wet as they watched Piaro prune a tree. Mercedes felt a strange pride. ‘This is the attraction of a true hero that transcends even species. Piaro is truly amazing.’
He was indeed the person she admired. Mercedes dipped a finger into the honey and licked it. She seemed to be the most leisurely one out of Grid’s group. During a time when she should be protecting her king, she was actually eating honey? Anyone who didn’t know the situation would misunderstand Mercedes if they saw this scene. However, Mercedes had her own troubles.
‘I have to eat sparingly.’
The Media Mountain honey—this expensive honey that Grid was reluctant to eat was extremely fragrant and sweet compared to the premium honey Mercedes had tasted previously. It was so fresh that she could keep eating without getting tired of it. This honey was so delicious that the legendary knight Mercedes felt a desire to eat it indefinitely. Yes, it was hard to resist the honey which had a demon-like temptation.
Lick…
She wanted to eat it all at once! Mercedes looked more beautiful than usual as she barely suppressed this intense desire, taking a little bit of honey with her fingertips and bringing it to her tongue. Grid stared at her blankly while hammering and realized, ‘Why haven’t I seen a bear-wolf yet?’
It had been 20 minutes since Mercedes first started eating the honey. 100ml of honey cost a huge 50 gold. It meant that 60,000 won was wasted on the uselessly expensive honey.
‘Am I going to waste money in vain?’
Ttang! Ttang! Grid kept hammering as his nervousness reached the peak.
Lick.
“Hah… Hah… Y-Your Majesty. It is difficult to endure any longer.” The look in Mercedes’ eyes changed. She started breathing hard, and more and more honey began to cover her fingers.
[Mercedes has entered the ‘intoxicated’ state.]
“What?”
It couldn’t be resisted even with a legend’s passive resistance. This was the terrifying power of expensive honey!
“N-No…! My money…!” Grid screamed as 60,000 won worth of honey was about to enter Mercedes’ stomach at once.
Did his desperate cry reach the heavens?
Kwaaaaah!
Finally, a bear-wolf that Grid had been waiting for so long showed up.
[The bear-wolf is enticed by the sweet scent!]
[The atrocious cry incites fear in all those who hear it!]
[You have resisted.]
[The cry of an atrocious beast has filled the ears of those scattered throughout the forest. If you can’t hunt the bear-wolf within five minutes, a new bear-wolf will pop up! Be careful! The bear-wolves have excellent collective hunting ability and will become stronger as their numbers increase!]
“Hah!” A smile appeared on Grid’s face as he sighed with relief. As soon as an enemy appeared, Mercedes recovered from the intoxicated state. She licked the honey on her hand without swallowing all of it and pulled out a shield with her other hand. The bear-wolf leaped with a wolf’s nimble body and struck Mercedes with a big paw that was reminiscent of a bear. Mercedes blocked it with a shield and took two steps back.
Grid, Mercedes, and Piaro, who was pruning the trees, were all surprised.
‘Isn’t this strength equivalent to an ogre’s?’
At this point, it was dif
ficult to classify the bear-wolf as a normal monster. If Grid couldn’t hunt the bear-wolf within five minutes, a new bear-wolf would pop up. Grid had been glad about being able to save the honey by hunting the bear-wolves slowly, but now it wasn’t a positive message.
“The bear-wolves are also a threat to the elves!” Beniyaru’s shout rang out. She felt a great affinity toward Piaro and was concerned about Grid’s party.
It was an urgent atmosphere. Grid was a bit embarrassed as he shouted the name of the skill, “C-Can you Become the King of the Dead?”
Clack! Clack clack!
Two skeletons rose from the ground. They were Overgeared Skeletons One and Two.
“Undead!”
The bear-wolf didn’t respond to the skeletons, but the elves were different. The elves, who adored nature, disliked the undead that went against the providence of nature. As such, they aimed their bows at the Overgeared Skeletons reflexively.
“These children aren’t bad undead, they are good undead,” Piaro explained as he jumped down from a tree. There was no basis for his argument. Undead were undead. What was a good undead and bad undead? It wasn’t logical at all. Yet the elves were persuaded to believe it. Words from those they respected were the most powerful thing in the world.
What would happen if an ugly man talked to a beautiful school junior? He could be called a molester. Then what if a handsome man was nice to the junior? They were likely to directly become a couple. It was similar to this.
“I see. They are good undead!”
“I looked again, and their appearance is really good!”
Haha, hoho! Piaro and the elves formed a cheerful atmosphere. Piaro was surrounded by a flower field, and this was a pleasant feeling for any man. Moreover, the elves had a much milder attitude than usual.
‘Is he going to marry an elf?’
There had already been the precedent with Povia. Marriage between humans and elves wasn’t impossible. It was good to see the affinity the elves had toward Piaro due to their common love of nature. Grid began to imagine it. If Piaro married the elves, an alliance between the elves and the Overgeared Kingdom would be born…
“No, now isn’t the time to be thinking about this.”
Mercedes’ small shield cracked as she defended against the bear-wolf’s paws. After leaving the empire, the equipment Mercedes used was terrible as they were what she had used during the days when Piaro was a captain. The level of the sword, shield, armor, boots, and gloves she used were all in the 200s. It was a level that would cause any poor man in the army to tremble.
“Kyaaak!” Randy was summoned after the Overgeared Skeletons. He fought the bear-wolf and was blown back. The good news was that the Overgeared Skeletons were still safe. The bear-wolves ignored them because their low-level attacks couldn’t penetrate the bear-wolf’s leather at all. It didn’t care even when it was attacked by the skeletons.
In fact, the damage that the Overgeared Skeletons dealt to the bear-wolf was fixed at 1 damage. Not only did the bear-wolf’s defense power exceed the attack power of the Overgeared Skeletons, the gap between their levels was overwhelmingly great.
As such, Mercedes’ role became even more important. It would take at least 20 minutes to accumulate damage on the bear-wolf to the extent that the Overgeared Skeletons gained experience points. In the meantime, Mercedes had to steadily endure the bear-wolf’s attacks as well as avoid the attacks of the new bear-wolves that appeared.
However, was that even possible? Mercedes’ shield was about to break. It would be too risky for her to fight with just her swords if her shield broke. Grid couldn’t let that happen and opened his inventory. The item he took out was the World Crushing Sword of the Noble White Tiger that he had designed with Sword Saint Kraugel.
“Mercedes!”
The usage condition of the White Tiger Sword was that the user had to be one of the top three rankers in each class capable of using a sword-type weapon. Could Mercedes meet this condition? Of course, Grid thought she could meet it. She was a legendary knight and would naturally be judged as the top ranker of her class.
It was as he expected. Mercedes caught the sword Grid threw over to her. She blocked the bear-wolf’s paw with her shield without looking, while she examined the White Tiger Sword. Then Mercedes got goosebumps. It was the aftermath of examining the White Tiger Sword with her insightful eyes. The small shield could no longer endure the impact of the bear-wolf’s paw and cracked, splitting apart completely.
Kwaaaaah! The bear-wolf roared as it swung its sharp claws. However, its claws couldn’t reach Mercedes’ face. Instead, the White Tiger Sword struck the bear-wolf’s abdomen. Simultaneously, a stone pillar rose and hit the bear-wolf’s big body. The pillar was several hundred kilograms heavy and caused the bear-wolf’s body to fly up five meters.
“Unbelievable…!” Mercedes was amazed by the power of the divine sword which couldn’t be seen even in legends. Grid’s voice entered her ears, “I congratulate you on becoming a legendary overgeared knight, Mercedes.”
A product of the worst naming sense, which would’ve caused someone else to cry, made a stir in Mercedes’ heart.
‘Legendary overgeared knight…’
She was an overgeared knight of the Overgeared King. Mercedes felt a strong sense of belonging, and her loyalty to Grid increased even further. She was now a real member of the Overgeared Kingdom.
Chapter 819
Chapter 819
The bear-wolves were gray wolves with a lot of fur, and they had a body length of around three meters. The first impression one would have of a bear-wolf was that it was a very threatening ‘big wolf’. However, people would soon realize this was a big misunderstanding after seeing its thick paws. The bear-wolf wasn’t just about size. The destructive power of its paws was more like that of a bear.
The bear-wolf was struck by the White Tiger Sword’s pillar and flew up five meters. At first, it was confused by the power and instinctually rotated into a position to gain acceleration. This was a near explosive move. The bear-wolf borrowed the power of gravity, and its hundreds of kilograms fell toward Mercedes’ face. It was an instant cast skill that couldn’t be avoided by humans or even elves.
However, Mercedes avoided it with relative ease. Her insight and experiences allowed her to read the attack easily. Therefore, she narrowly avoided the bear-wolf’s linked skills.
“…!”
As Mercedes avoided it, the bear-wolf used the wolf’s agility to place a paw on the ground and did a wheel spin. The perfect conversion of the bear-wolf’s missed attack aimed at the defenseless Mercedes. Mercedes sensed the attack late, so she gave up on counter-attacking and instead secured a safe distance away from the bear-wolf.
Grrrr…
Perhaps it was to gain leverage to leap forward…? The bear-wolf bent forward with its chest close to the ground.
‘I think it will spin.
Mercedes recalled the bear-wolf’s body structure and agility, using it to predict the power of the next attack. She held the White Tiger Sword in one hand and another sword in the other. This was the moment when the legendary knight went all out against a monster.
Ttang! Ttang! Grid couldn’t hide his embarrassment as he almost finished repairing the portable furnace.
“What type of monster is that?”
Grid imagined himself in the situation that Mercedes had just been in. He might’ve been able to avoid the first strike, but he likely wouldn’t have been able to escape the pivoted paw that followed immediately afterward and would be thrown into the air. Grid would’ve ended up being battered.
‘Kraugel wasn’t exaggerating.’
Sword Saint Kraugel had called the bear-wolf ‘strong’ and said that they wouldn’t be easy to hunt. How could a field mob be a threat? Grid had jokingly thought this at the time. However, he now realized it was true. If Grid hadn’t brought Mercedes here, he wouldn’t have been able to raise the level of his Overgeared Skeletons alone. He wouldn’t be
able to control the Overgeared Skeletons while hunting the bear-wolves at the same time.
Beniyaru’s admiring murmur entered his ears, “Going up against an ancient species…”
“Ancient species?”
“I am referring to beasts or organisms that have been present since the beginning of the world tree’s existence. The bear-wolves are one of them. The damage they suffered during the elves’ thousands of years of history hasn’t been severe, but for a human to be facing them…”
One person was dealing with the bear-wolf alone. She even seemed to have room to breathe.
‘Truly a legend…’ Beniyaru was reminded of the half-elf Povia, the legendary archer. Then Beniyaru returned to her senses when she heard the bear-wolf’s piercing scream. The bear-wolf had started spinning like a spinning top. It had expected to mangle Mercedes with its sharp claws, only for the situation to reverse. As its front paws were pierced by Mercedes’ twin swords, the bear-wolf howled. The White Tiger Sword’s rapidly rising weight pushed down on the bear-wolf’s heavy body.
[There will be a one-second penalty in the recovery of the White Tiger Sword.]
This was the moment when the fatal disadvantage of the White Tiger was revealed. Mercedes couldn’t retrieve the White Tiger Sword that was pressing on the bear-wolf. At this moment…
“Haaap!” Mercedes’ two swords shone. She swung the other sword in her hand, leaving the White Tiger Sword in the bear-wolf. Then just as she was about to deal the finishing blow, she stopped. Mercedes was reminded of her mission. Her role was to attract the bear-wolf’s attention, not hunt it. The finishing blow…
Clack! Clack clack!
That was for Randy and the Overgeared Skeletons to do. They unleashed an onslaught on the bear-wolf but the damage naturally wasn’t high. The Overgeared Skeletons only decreased the bear-wolf’s health by one, while Randy turned into Grid but could only deal damage in the thousands.