Chapter 92 of 100
Chapter 92
8 min read2,111 words
Volume 14 - Chapter 18
Pascal, the third son of the Count Chirita.
He knew all too well the unfairness of the world, having been pushed out of the line of succession simply because he was born a year or two later.
Did he wallow in self-pity and despair over it?
No.
Instead, Pascal worked hard.
He found his path and left home, dedicating himself solely to the service of Goddess Rebecca and enduring great hardships.
As a result, he changed his fate.
He was on the verge of becoming the Pope.
‘Now it was my turn to rule!’
He had prepared to savor this unjust world as a cardinal.
But then Grid appeared and thwarted him.
‘Grid! You’ve ruined my life completely!!’
He was furious, his heart felt like it would burst. Blood surged up and burst through his eyes.
“Gaaaaah!!”
Pascal’s resentful gaze, now turning to ash, pierced through Grid.
Grid was not unaware of the hatred and curses contained in that gaze.
But Grid was not afraid.
‘Curses? Go ahead and curse.’
I have already lived a life like hell and overcome it.
Even if a new hell opens up due to the curse, I will surely overcome it.
This is the firm belief of the grown Grid.
“Rooooar!!”
Pascal, who witnessed Grid’s unwavering eyes, could not hide his resentment until the very last moment, when he turned into a handful of light.
His resentful scream echoed through the council chamber, and an alert window appeared in Grid’s field of vision.
[You have defeated Pascal, the papal candidate who plunged countless people into sorrow.]
[You have gained 725,477,950 experience points.]
…
..
An incredible 725 million experience points!
Pascal, as a high-level named boss, indeed dropped a massive amount of experience.
However, Grid was not satisfied. On the contrary, he looked disappointed.
‘I thought I would at least level up by two.’
Until now, Grid had always leveled up multiple times whenever he raided a boss.
But things were different now at level 296.
The problem was the drastically increased amount of experience needed to level up.
Even with over 700 million experience points, the experience bar did not even fill halfway.
An unexpected result.
‘It seems I can no longer level up just by raiding.’
Grid, who had been grinding by hunting beings that others could not, had now reached the limit of that method.
It was time to put in the effort for grinding.
Carrying a full load of potions and sitting in a hunting ground, killing monsters over and over again.
It was time to experience the epitome of tedious, repetitive work.
The first target was, of course,
“Huh.”
The 16 councilors, who met Grid’s gaze filled with greed and killing intent, were terrified.
“It’s you.”
The <Blackening> ability, which is attributed to the Darkverse earring, can only be used once every 12 hours.
The duration is 5 minutes, and the cooldown is 12 hours.
Unlike the White Light embedded in the divine artifact, the Blackening embedded in a mere artifact was incomplete and inefficient.
Now, Grid could not rely on the artifact.
He faced the 16 councilors with his pure abilities.
“Holy Missile!!”
“Holy Wave!!”
“Great Heal!!”
The councilors clenched their teeth and resisted Grid.
Their determination not to suffer the same fate as Pascal amplified their focus, and their casting speed became even faster.
“Union!”
Grid, who had obtained the hidden piece <Sealed Ability> and had a 10% reduction in the cooldown of his unique skills, could now use Pagma’s sword dance more frequently.
He swiftly cut down two councilors with swift sword strikes and finished them off with unyielding justice.
Then he spun and unleashed a killing blow.
Thud!!
A councilor, who was trying to heal his ally, was taken aback by the flapping hood and spat out blood.
Looking down, he saw a blue greatsword piercing his chest.
“Guh, guh…!”
[You have defeated the corrupt councilor Hwaiber.]
[You have gained 45,908,230 experience points.]
[Your demonic power has increased by 1.]
[You have defeated the corrupt councilor Silence.]
[You have gained 46,441,000 experience points.]
[Your demonic power has increased by 1.]
[You have defeated the corrupt councilor Raid.]
…
..
The experience points given by the third-class councilors were enormous, at least ten times more than that of a regular monster of the same level.
This was possible because they were quasi-named NPCs.
While Grid was pleased, the actual situation was not good.
Without the artifact, Grid’s attacks could not deal significant damage to the councilors.
It was impossible to defeat them with just normal attacks without using skills.
While Grid was stuck in skill cooldowns, the councilors, who could endure with healing, continuously cast spells, dealing effective hits to Grid.
Boom!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The bombardment of light continued.
Grid’s wounds increased, and his holy light armor set, dyed red, gradually turned to rags.
‘This won’t do.’
Grid recalled Fabranium, who had been protecting the prostitutes.
It was an unavoidable choice.
Clang! Clang!!
The golden spear blade began to assist Grid.
Sometimes it defended against attacks, protecting Grid, and other times it attacked enemies, amplifying Grid’s destructive power.
“Gaaaah!”
As the spear blade shattered the Holy Shield and Grid’s normal attacks followed, the councilors’ health bars dropped.
Grid, who had taken a mana potion, unleashed a barrage of skills whenever their cooldowns were ready, taking them down one by one.
‘This is tough!’
The councilors’ faces showed signs of despair.
Initially, priests were more suitable for support roles rather than frontline combat. Their abilities alone could not deal fatal blows to Grid.
“Uaaaaaah!!”
Grid gradually went berserk, moving swiftly with his superior physical abilities.
Of course, there were moments of crisis, but Doran’s ring saved him once again.
5 seconds of invincibility and Doran’s ring.
Grid effectively had three lives.
The combination of class and gear was, frankly, broken.
‘Damn it!’
There were only eight councilors left.
They finally resorted to their worst option, taking the prostitutes, who were trembling in the corner, as hostages.
“Don’t move a step! If you move, I’ll kill all these women!”
The innocent prostitutes.
They were now in danger of losing their lives, having been caught in the slaughter they witnessed.
Truly a tragic situation.
Grid’s hesitation confirmed the councilors’ smirks.
‘It worked!’
‘Now we just need to hold out until the holy knights arrive!’
Grid deliberately protected the prostitutes with the golden spear blade.
The councilors’ strategy was to exploit this, having realized that Grid valued the prostitutes’ lives.
But.
“Kill them.”
“Wha…!”
Grid, who seemed to have stopped, began to move again.
He did not care that the councilors’ hands were gathering mana, aimed at the prostitutes.
“If they die, it won’t be a loss to me.”
Of course, it felt uncomfortable.
It was a moral issue.
How could anyone in the world be pleased to see innocent people die as a result of the chaos they caused, unless they were a psychopath?
Therefore, Grid did his best.
He took the hit to protect the prostitutes and supported Rapha’s spear blade.
That was enough.
He did not want to fail the quest because of them.
‘It’s for the best.’
The prostitutes were witnesses.
They could potentially give testimony that would be detrimental to Grid, having seen him defeat Pascal and the councilors.
It was better for them to die.
Thud, thud.
As Grid approached without hesitation, the terrified councilors cursed.
“D-don’t come closer! I really will kill these women!”
Sssss-
The mana gathered at the councilors’ fingertips, aimed at the prostitutes, grew stronger.
Grid snorted.
“Kill them, I said.”
Boom!
Grid leaped.
The councilors’ eyes widened as they saw him unleash his sword dance in mid-air.
“I really will kill them!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The bodies of the prostitutes, who were sobbing in fear, were swept away by the explosion of light.
Grid’s eyes turned cold as he confirmed that they had turned to ashes with their screams.
“Wave.”
Swoosh!
A wavy wave of sword energy struck the eight councilors.
The blue sword light cut through them, who were struggling with reduced speed, again and again.
After about 10 minutes of intense battle.
“Huff… huff…”
Now, only Grid and Count Chirita remained in the council chamber.
“P-please! Please spare me!”
Count Chirita, who had witnessed the helpless defeat of Pascal and the councilors, was half-mad as he pleaded to Grid, who was staggering towards him, drained of stamina.
Grid was cold.
“I told you. The only one who will survive here is me.”
Thud!!
“Cough…!”
[You have defeated Count Chirita of the Saran Empire.]
[You have gained 3,110,400 experience points.]
[You have gained 2,000 gold.]
[Your demonic power has increased by 1.]
“This is an unexpected harvest.”
2,000 gold.
A huge sum, equivalent to 2.4 million won in real money.
Chirita, who was dressed in luxurious attire, dropped an enormous amount of gold.
[You have completed the time attack quest <Evidence Elimination>!]
[Your reputation in the Saran Empire has been suppressed!]
Rumble…
The council chamber began to collapse due to the aftermath of the battle.
Grid hurriedly left, noticing the ceiling falling and the pillars cracking.
“Master! Why do you look like that? Meow!”
Grid, who had taken refuge in Isabelle’s room, was lying on an old bed, and Noe was worried.
The atmosphere was dark.
Grid, feeling guilty for the prostitutes who died because of him, stroked Noe’s small head.
“It’s nothing.”
Although he sometimes forgets amidst his love for Irene, this is ultimately a game world.
It’s good to value NPCs, but excessive immersion is toxic.
Grid calmed himself and began to check the items dropped by Pascal.
<Divine Essence 1>
<Blessed Weapon Reinforcement Stone 5>
<Blessed Armor Reinforcement Stone 7>
<Prime Magic Stones 11>
<Key to Pascal’s Secret Warehouse>
No equipment items were dropped.
While it was somewhat disappointing, Grid was satisfied.
<Divine Essence>
A necessary material for creating the three great divine artifacts (forgeries) of the Rebecca Church.
It was a pleasant surprise to receive it from Pascal, as he only had a small amount.
<Prime Magic Stones>
Each worth 4,000 gold, they can be used for crafting magic items.
‘The more blessed reinforcement stones, the better.’
None of the items dropped by Pascal were common.
The golden key, in particular, caught Grid’s attention.
<Key to Pascal’s Secret Warehouse>
A key to open Pascal’s secret warehouse.
Pascal’s secret warehouse is filled with mountains of gold and treasures.
‘Mountains of gold and treasures…!’
How much wealth could there be to be described as a mountain?
‘Am I about to become a tycoon!’
Grid, who was excited, sprang up from his seat.
At that moment, a whisper from Damian arrived.
-There’s chaos outside! Pascal and the councilors have all been killed by someone!
-I did it.
-What?
Damian, who doubted his ears, asked Grid.
-Do you know where Pascal’s warehouse is?
Damian, who was momentarily stunned, finally replied.
-The warehouse…? I don’t know, but I do know that Pascal often used the first prayer room.
‘The first prayer room.’
Grid wasted no time. He immediately headed to the first prayer room and searched for the warehouse door.
Click.
He inserted the key and opened the warehouse door.
Whoosh!
A brilliant golden light filled his vision.
It was so blinding that it was painful.
“Jackpot…”
Inside the massive warehouse, gold was piled up like a mountain.
It looked like a miniature version of a dragon’s lair.
“Is all this mine?”
If he took it all, it would be worth hundreds of billions in real money!
A thrill of joy, making his sphincter muscles tremble, washed over him.
“Hahaha! I’m rich! I’m rich!!”
Grid, filled with joy!
A shocking alert window appeared before him.
[The safety mechanism of the secret warehouse has been activated due to the lack of Pascal’s divine power.]
[The warehouse will explode in 3 minutes!]
[Collect as much treasure as possible within 3 minutes!!]
“Damn it!”
It seemed too good to be true.
How could he collect as much gold as possible within 3 minutes?
In a panic, Grid stuffed gold coins into Noe’s mouth, but then a brilliant idea came to him.
“Summon knights!!”
A system he had never used, even in moments of crisis, to monopolize experience points, was activated.
“I answer my lord’s call.”
“Give me your orders.”
“Grid!”
About 10 members of the gear-blessed team, including Pia and Asmofel, appeared with a burst of light.
Grid shouted.
“Collect the money! Money!”
“…”
Our historical first mission, once evaluated as the pillar of the empire, turned out to be collecting gold coins with our cloaks.
Pia and Asmofel’s feelings were complex and subtle.