Chapter 39

Chapter 2.

While completing the quest for the administrator, Jihun crafted two Divine Shields. One of them, the Legendary-grade shield, was stolen while he was wide awake, but Grid still had the Rare-grade shield.

<Divine Shield>

Grade: Rare

Durability: 360/360 Defense: 189 Magic Resistance: 150

*Rare chance to completely resist dark magic.

This shield was crafted by an unknown craftsman with great skill and potential, but relatively lacking in experience and reputation.

The blessing of the Goddess of Light, Rebecca, has been imbued through the divine power of Cassius, a priest of the Rebecca Church. It shows strong resistance to dark magic, and even the demons and followers of the Yatan God suffer when they face this shield.

Usage Condition: Level 190 or higher. Strength 500 or higher. Divine Power 1,000 or higher. Priest of the Rebecca Church.

Weight: 800

"What is that shield?"

The moment Grid took out the golden shield that shone brightly, the rabid dogs that had been rampaging fearlessly retreated in unison.

They cowered and whimpered like puppies in front of a predator.

The Chedaka guild members were amazed. Especially Jishuka, who fell into a state of extreme excitement.

She clung to the last shred of hope she had been holding onto and asked Grid.

"That shield... did you make it? Like the Special Yapha Arrow?"

"......!"

Grid being the maker of the Special Yapha Arrow?

The Chedaka guild members doubted their ears. Grid, who had been focused solely on protecting his life, nodded without a second thought.

"Yes, I made it. But this is..."

Crunch!!

Grid suddenly gritted his teeth. Then, with his eyes wide open, he roared.

"This is a failure! Damn it!! The true masterpiece was stolen by some damn bastard!!"

"Ah..."

Among the Chedaka guild members, Tovan, who had the best eye for shields, was shocked.

He had marveled at the value of the Divine Shield and was stunned by the word 'failure.'

"That... that great shield is a failure? This shield is one of the best I've ever seen!"

The guild members were in an uproar! Fon, who had been standing next to Jishuka, spoke up.

"Grid's dagger and armor are not ordinary. Both clearly have excellent performance. The dagger requires a Faker-level agility to equip, and the armor is heavy armor that only knights can wear. Most importantly, the power of the sword dance Grid displayed earlier was tremendous. And a blacksmith? Someone who even crafted the Special Yapha Arrow... Could he be the unknown craftsman we've been searching for?"

What blacksmith in the world could arm such a great dagger and heavy armor? And wasn't he also capable of performing sword dances that surpassed renowned Blade Dancers?

Fon, who was skeptical, received a response from Jishuka, though she didn't deny it outright.

"Grid recognized the Special Yapha Arrow at first glance and claimed he made it. There was no reason for him to lie in that situation. So, for now, let's assume he could be the unknown craftsman."

"Hmm..."

Fon had always trusted and followed Jishuka's judgment since the L.T.S era. She was a reliable person, despite her youth, and that was why she was made the master.

But this time was an exception.

It was impossible to believe that the young man, Grid, could be a blacksmith.

Fon, who was still skeptical, received a decisive blow from Malakthus.

"That's the Divine Shield...! Could you be the blacksmith who has been rumored to be trading with Lord Winston!!"

Malakthus was clearly shaken.

"The fact that you have the Divine Shield... means Mustar failed his mission... I wondered why he was so late, that pathetic guy!"

Grid finally understood the entire situation.

The Yatan God's follower who had brainwashed the administrator to craft the Divine Shield and then stole it was none other than Malakthus's subordinate.

"Damn it! Was it you! Were you the one who ordered the shield to be stolen!!"

Malakthus, the one who had made Grid suffer so much, was cursed by Grid upon realizing this!

He combined all the vulgarities that ordinary people had never even imagined and poured them out. Fon's body shuddered as he watched.

He felt an uncontrollable thrill.

'Even Malakthus calls Grid a blacksmith.'

Given the circumstances, it was highly likely that Grid's identity matched Jishuka's suspicions.

'If he is a blacksmith who can arm such an excellent dagger and heavy armor, and can even perform sword dances that induce abnormal status effects...'

Fon asked Jishuka for confirmation.

"Master, you judged Grid to be a hidden class changer, didn't you?"

"That's the only way to see it, right?"

Jishuka nodded!

Fon's tone became more excited.

"To confirm Grid's true identity, we need to finish this raid quickly. Right, Regas?"

"Yes, that's right."

Regas, who had been called, quietly stood up from the corner. He had been healed and recovered by the guild members.

His expression was full of confidence.

"Since I already know Malakthus's strategy, let's finish this in one go."

Regas, who had observed the battle from right next to Malakthus, was even more skilled in pure combat ability than Fon. He asked for help from none other than Grid.

"Mr. Grid, since those dogs seem to be afraid of your shield, it would be great if you could help us."

Everyone's gaze had been fixed on Grid since earlier.

Feeling a mix of emotions such as curiosity, confusion, and anticipation, Grid nodded.

"If you promise to give me 50% of the items dropped by Malakthus, I'll help you."

Bantner, who had been squatting on one side and drinking potions as soon as their cooldowns were up, suddenly shouted.

"Hey! If we add me to the 17 of us, that makes 18. So, we should divide the dropped items into 18 parts, not you taking 50% all by yourself! Especially since you're getting free service from Regas, you're really shameless! You want to help for free but charge for helping? What the hell?"

"17 and 1 can't be calculated that way. You 17 are one organization, right? It should be calculated as one organization and one person. And isn't what I did with Regas separate from what I did with you? I helped Regas, not you. Why are you taking credit for it?"

"What? Huh, me! I've never seen such a shameless person in my life! Hey! Where in the world is there such a calculation method! If it weren't for us, you would have been killed by Malakthus long ago. Aren't you grateful to us? Don't you have any conscience?!"

"You should be grateful. Thanks to me, you got the chance to raid Malakthus. And thanks to my shield, you survived just before the raid failed."

"Damn!"

"Stop it, Bantner."

Grid's temper was not ordinary, and Fon quickly made a judgment.

Calming Bantner, he nodded to Grid.

"You're right. We'll divide the dropped items 50-50 as you suggested. Remember, we are being unconditionally friendly to you."

Fon was laying the groundwork to recruit Grid into the guild.

But Grid, who didn't understand his intentions, had a different misconception.

'Malakthus must really need my Divine Shield. I should have asked for a 70-30 split instead of 50-50.'

While regretting his decision, Jishuka invited Grid to the party.

Grid, who reluctantly accepted the party, was shocked when he saw the party member list.

'All of them are in the 200s!'

Grid knew that the Chedaka guild was a small, elite group.

But he never imagined they would be this good.

'Jishuka is level 251... Fon is 243... Regas is 239... They must all be in the top 20 of the overall rankings. There are many others in the top 100 as well... What kind of monster group is this?'

In Satisfy, there are countless guilds. Among the well-known strong guilds, there are one or two top 1,000 overall rankers, and at most five.

However, all 17 members of the Chedaka guild were in the top 200, making them truly a small, elite group.

Though small in number, they were undoubtedly one of the strongest guilds in existence.

On the other hand, the Chedaka guild members had mixed expressions when they checked Grid's level.

'95... That's low.'

'For a blacksmith, it seems high, but if it's as Jishuka and Fon suspect, he's not just a blacksmith but a hidden class changer, right?'

'If he's a hidden class changer and still level 95...'

'He must be really bad at the game.'

"What? What's with you guys?"

Grid felt uncomfortable from the expressions of the Chedaka guild members.

But Regas, who was smiling brightly unlike the others, led him forward.

"Let's go!"

"Huh? Wait...!"

Regas suddenly lifted Grid and threw him right between Malakthus and the Hell Hounds.

"Ah! Are you trying to kill me!! Ahh!!"

Bang!

"Ow! My butt!"

Squeak! Squeak!

When Grid, armed with the Divine Shield, fell from the sky, the Hell Hounds scattered in fear. But Malakthus was unimpressed.

"Take that shield, thank you! Huh?"

Malakthus, who was about to cast a spell, was surprised to see Regas appear in front of him. But he soon sneered.

"Charging at me head-on? Haha! You've lost your mind!"

Regas's fist struck him.

Boom!!

"Ugh!"

Blood spurted from Malakthus's mouth.

The pitch-black shield that boasted absolute defense crumbled before Regas's iron fist.

'What is this?'

Malakthus had not made a mistake. He had deployed the shield accurately at the point of attack. But Regas's fist pierced through and hit the vital spot.

He couldn't understand what had happened.

And once again!

Smack!

"Ugh!!"

Regas's elbow struck Malakthus's face.

Only after suffering two hits did Malakthus understand the situation.

'This guy's attacks change trajectory mid-flight!'

It was accurate.

Regas had chosen the simple and brutal method of 'changing the attack trajectory in real-time' to break through Malakthus's defense.

Smack!

"Ugh!"

The fist flew up from below to the chin, but the chin was shielded. However, the damn fist stopped mid-air and struck the throat.

Crack!

"Ugh!"

The fist flew from the left to the head, but the head was shielded. However, the damn fist changed direction and struck the chin.

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