Chapter 22

Chapter 3

Rabbit's Proposal

Grid and Yufemina ran as fast as they could, fearing that the knights might catch up with them.

Thanks to Yufemina, who had already mapped out the structure of the first and second floors of the underground prison, the two managed to escape without getting lost and finally reached the surface.

Brilliant sunlight! A blue sky! A green meadow!

Unlike the underground prison, which was surrounded by walls and reeked of foul odors, the bright and beautiful natural scenery filled their vision, and Grid couldn't contain his excitement.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!! Escape success~!!!"

The underground prison where Grid and Yufemina had fought was located in a tower built against the eastern inner wall.

Currently, the two had escaped from the tower, and right above their heads was a watchtower.

In other words, if they made too much noise, there was a risk of being immediately discovered by the guards in the watchtower.

"Be quiet. We're still in the middle of the enemy's territory."

Yufemina tried to calm Grid down, but he was so happy to have successfully escaped that he didn't hear her voice.

"Kyah! How long has it been since I've breathed such fresh air! The underground prison was full of damp, foul air! The air was so bad, I thought my nose and lungs were rotting! Air is really important! Now I understand why city people long for the air in the countryside!"

Goodness, he was so excited, shouting and rolling around on the meadow like a mad dog. He was completely out of control.

Yufemina had a headache.

Although they had killed most of the soldiers, from the conversation of the knights earlier, it seemed that the lord's personal guard was still fully intact.

The personal guard, while not as strong as knights, were beings with levels and skills surpassing ordinary soldiers.

Yufemina didn't want to face them. In the worst case, they could be captured by the guards and then attacked by the knights who followed them from the underground.

"Hey, Grid, we need to escape from here as quietly and quickly as possible. So, please be quiet..."

"Whew~ I didn't know the smell of grass could be so fresh and invigorating! I don't envy the scent of pine needles anymore!"

"..."

Yufemina's temples throbbed. She was reaching her limit of patience.

"..."

Finally, Yufemina took action. She approached Grid, who was sniffing the grass, and grabbed him by the back of the neck.

Then, she leaned in close to his ear and shouted with all her might.

"Hey! I told you to be quiet, didn't I?! Do you have a brain? We're in the middle of the enemy's territory!! When are you planning to stop rolling around and shouting?!"

"Ah~!!"

Shouted directly into his ear, Grid couldn't help but feel as if his eardrums were about to burst.

He even shed tears and writhed in pain, to which Yufemina firmly said,

"You, stop pretending to be an idiot and making me look bad. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible. So, do it properly. If you act like an idiot again, I'll really kill you, quest or no quest."

Yufemina knew that Grid had a higher-level job than her. She never underestimated him.

However, as Grid kept provoking her, she couldn't hold back her anger and made a declaration of war.

Grid, who was already trembling in fear of Yufemina, suddenly turned his gaze to one side.

Then, he cautiously asked Yufemina,

"Hey... are they the enemy?"

A foreboding feeling!

Yufemina slowly turned her head in the direction Grid was pointing.

Then, she was disheartened.

Sixteen members of the personal guard, fully equipped in full plate armor, appeared in perfect formation, as if measured with a ruler.

Clank!

The sixteen swords, drawn in unison, reflected the sunlight, illuminating the entire castle.

Grid, feeling the glare, frowned and grumbled.

"What did this girl eat, a train boiler...? You shouted so loudly, the enemies are coming."

Yufemina was upset.

"It's because you shouted first!"

Yufemina's genuine murderous intent!

Grid, trembling in fear, pleaded,

"S-Sorry. I was wrong. It was a slip of the tongue, so please let it go this once."

Yufemina felt a headache.

'What concept is this guy trying to portray? Why does he keep acting like he's afraid of me?'

Grid had defeated a knight known as the Northern Saint in a one-on-one fight. He had even intimidated four knights with his mere presence.

His skills, even without direct observation, were easily guessed. Grid was strong. It was impossible for such a man to be afraid of anything in Satisfy.

Yufemina, who was confident of this, shuddered.

'This guy is just playing with me.'

Yufemina had disliked Grid from the beginning.

When the two first met at the item crafting competition, Grid was not swayed by Yufemina's beautiful appearance.

This alone was a humiliating experience for Yufemina, and to make matters worse, she had been subjected to all sorts of insults by Grid.

Calling her a brat, a fox, and unlucky!

To be insulted by a man for no reason at all!

It was a shameful memory that Yufemina wanted to forget for the rest of her life.

At that moment, a middle-aged man, elaborately dressed in gold and silver, appeared from the rear of the personal guard.

He was Lord Lowe.

He was the one who had lured the Mero Guild into Winston, causing the lives of the Winston residents to deteriorate, and he was the lord of Winston.

"Are you telling me that all the soldiers and knights were defeated by you? H... Ha-ha-ha!! I can't believe it!"

Lord Lowe laughed as if he had gone mad.

Losing all his troops to just one intruder and one escapee made it impossible for him to keep his sanity.

"...Without soldiers, I can't control the people. Now that there's no way to stop the people from seeking out Baron Staim, it won't be long before all my evil deeds are reported to Baron Staim, and then my life and family will be over."

Realizing that his fate was sealed, Lord Lowe was extremely angry. He could not forgive Grid and Yufemina, who had taken everything from him.

"Attack them! I can't rest in peace unless I tear these guys to pieces!"

Receiving what might be their final order from the lord, the sixteen members of the personal guard began to form a battle formation.

It was a surefire strategy of the lord's personal guard, capable of fiercely competing even against knights.

But it was useless against Yufemina.

"Tail of the Demon King."

"Ugh?!"

The entire personal guard groaned. Their armored suits began to heat up.

Then, an astonishing scene unfolded.

Whoosh!!

A cold, blue flame, like ice, rose from the bodies of the personal guard.

"Aaaah!!"

"What, what is this...! Gah!"

The terrifying screams and writhing in pain lasted only a short while.

The time it took for the personal guard to turn into ashes, armor and all, was not long.

"Wow."

"Unbelievable..."

To eliminate sixteen members of the personal guard with just one spell!

Grid and Lord Lowe, who witnessed the scene, couldn't believe it.

As their faces turned pale with shock, Yufemina was smiling brightly.

The stress that had reached its limit due to Grid had been relieved by defeating the personal guard.

'They are indeed the lord's personal guard. The experience points are quite substantial.'

Grid and Lord Lowe felt the same way when they saw her.

'She's a crazy woman who even ghosts would avoid...'

'She's a demon. That woman is a demon.'

After that, Yufemina captured Lord Lowe.

Bound with ropes, he was dragged along like a dog being led to a restaurant.

Grid reaffirmed his resolve.

'No matter what, I must never provoke this woman. If I do, I might end up like him.'

Froy had managed to delay the knights, so their pursuit had not yet been felt.

Yufemina hurried, and the three managed to escape the castle safely.

Outside the castle, they encountered an unexpected person.

It was none other than Rabbit, the second-in-command of the Mero Guild.

He was waiting with over ten towering men.

The lord's face lit up.

"Oh! Rabbit! Did you come to rescue me after hearing the news!"

Grid tensed up.

'Oh no... Is this a reinforcement sent by the Mero Guild?'

While Grid was inwardly lamenting, Yufemina approached Rabbit. After examining his subordinates, she asked,

"Are these the people you mentioned earlier?"

Rabbit nodded.

"Yes. They were originally Balmond's subordinates, but they were disappointed by his cruel nature and now follow me. They are skilled in sword and spear techniques. I don't think they will hold you back."

"They look strong at first glance. That's good. I can rely on them."

The two conversed as if they were old friends!

Grid felt extreme unease.

'How did they get so close? Wait, Yufemina was hired by the Mero Guild, right? Then what? Is Yufemina's rescue of me a trap?'

Grid's speculation was as follows:

1. The lord of Winston and the Mero Guild are in cahoots.

2. Yufemina, hired by the Mero Guild, is also in cahoots with the lord.

3. Therefore, Yufemina is the enemy.

If Yufemina was really in cahoots with the lord, she wouldn't have wiped out the lord's soldiers. She wouldn't have captured the lord and dragged him around like a dog.

In the first place, if Yufemina was the enemy, there would have been no need to rescue Grid from prison.

It would have been impossible for her to return a unique-grade dagger, which could be sold for a high price in cash.

However, Grid was so flustered that he couldn't think deeply.

He simply judged that Yufemina was the enemy.

'I'm done for... I shouldn't have easily trusted a black-haired beast! I believed in her temporary kindness and followed her, only to end up in a big mess!'

Repeating a line from a historical drama he had seen, Grid made a decision.

'I can't just let this happen. I was planning to think more carefully about stat allocation, but now I have no choice. Status window.'

Name: Grid

Level: 45 (3,400/238,000)

Job: Pagma's Descendant

*Increased probability of adding additional options when crafting items.

*Increased probability of item enhancement.

*Can wear all equipment items without conditions, but penalties apply based on item grade.

Title: The Legendary One

*Resistant to status ailments.

*Hard to die when health is at a minimum.

*Easily recognized.

Title: The First Unique Item Crafter

*Handiness +200

Title: Knight Slayer

*Health +100

*Strength +30

Title: Messenger of Justice

*All stats +10

*The Messenger of Justice is valiant and fearless.

Health: 2,964/2,964 Mana: 243/243

Strength: 166 Health: 244 Agility: 118 Intelligence: 91

Handiness: 391 Endurance: 82

Composure: 66 Indomitable: 74 Dignity: 66 Insight: 66

Courage: 10

Stat Points: 240

Weight: 842/4,960

Grid's status window was extraordinarily impressive.

Despite being only level 45, the sum of his stats was comparable to that of a mid-100s level user.

Especially, the fact that he had unlocked six rare stats—Endurance, Composure, Indomitable, Dignity, Insight, and Courage—was the highlight.

Not only that, he owned four titles.

Titles are notoriously difficult to obtain, and a user with four titles is only found among the top-tier players. Yet, Grid had already acquired four titles at level 45.

It was a truly overwhelming status window, befitting the only Legendary-class job holder in Satisfy.

However, Grid was far from satisfied or happy.

'After hammering away day and night to craft items and grind stats, and suffering through absurdly difficult quests, this is all I get? I even had to fight a knight one-on-one at level 21, and the results are so mediocre? Damn it. By now, all my stats should be around 300. What kind of Legendary job is this? Damn... Yufemina, with just an Epic job, can spam all sorts of spells without a break, while I have all crafting-related skills... Ah... I'm so unlucky.'

While grumbling inwardly, Grid was also checking the equipment of Yufemina and Rabbit's group.

Yufemina, as a mage, was only wearing a robe, while Rabbit was wearing a visibly expensive chainmail and a one-handed sword. His subordinates were equipped with leather armor, spears, swords, and bows.

'With no heavily armored individuals, I can easily land effective hits by focusing on attack power... But I have no armor now, so increasing my health to boost my HP and defense will help with battle endurance... Agility is sufficient with the ideal dagger...'

In a time-sensitive situation, Grid couldn't deliberate for long and quickly made a decision.

'I'll invest 150 stat points into Strength and 90 into Health.'

Fundamentally, Grid was a blacksmith, so it would be wise to invest as many stat points as possible into Handiness. The higher the Handiness, the greater the chance of crafting higher-grade items.

However, Grid's innate nature was that of a warrior. He had a basic desire to enhance his combat power, and increasing Strength and Health was a wise decision to overcome the immediate crisis.

'Besides, Handiness naturally grows with more crafting, so it's not a waste to not invest stat points into it.'

Moreover, thanks to the title "The First Unique Item Crafter" obtained from the item crafting competition with Yufemina, his Handiness stat had increased by 200.

So, Grid didn't feel any regret about his Handiness stat.

[Invest 150 stat points into Strength. Is this correct?]

'Yes.'

[Once invested, points cannot be refunded. Proceed?]

'Yeah.'

[Invest 90 stat points into Health. Is this correct?]

'Yes. No need to ask again, just do it quickly.'

[The changed stats have been applied.]

With this, Grid's Strength stat became 316, and his Health stat became 334.

Considering that the average Strength for blacksmith users is around 80 and the average Health is around 100, Grid's Strength and Health were absurdly high.

In fact, comparing him to combat-oriented classes would better illustrate the greatness of Grid's stats.

At level 45, the average Strength for combat-oriented classes that prioritize attack power is 210, and the average Health is 100. For those that prioritize defense, the average Strength is 100, and the average Health is 230. For those that prioritize speed, the average Strength is 120, and the average Health is 80.

Most importantly, the total pure stats for level 45 combat-oriented classes are less than 500.

Compared to regular users, Grid's stats were truly remarkable, even surpassing the norm.

However, Grid was not aware of his own strength.

From Baron Ashur and the knights to Doran and Yura, and then to Leo and Yufemina, he had been involved in various events and completed difficult quests, continuously encountering strong beings. As a result, he perceived himself as weak when compared to them.

But what is the truth? With the "Ideal Dagger