by Park Saenal
The orc dropped the bow, took out a hand axe, and ran towards him. Then the axe descended towards Grid’s face. Grid defended with the Ideal Dagger.
Kaaang!
“Ugh!”
Grid’s eyes narrowed. The orc was so powerful that his arm became numb. It was a sensation similar to when he blocked the sword of Leo, the Northern Nova.
‘Strong!’
Now Grid acknowledged it. The frostlight orcs were strong! It was natural.
Grid didn’t know it, but the frostlight orcs were level 120. Their agility might be lacking, but their attack power and stamina was far superior to their level. Originally, the level 45 Grid wouldn’t be an opponent for the frostlight orcs. It was normal for him to die in one blow.
However, Grid’s status was equal to a mid-100s user thanks to the superior stats of Pagma’s Descendant, performing all types of quests and creating items. He was able to face the frostlight orc head on.
“Come, orc!”
Bbaek!
Grid kicked the orc in the stomach while quickly thinking.
‘What should I do? Should I run away? No, no! I can’t return empty handed after coming here! Besides, it will be difficult to enter Kesan Canyon if I don’t get the sylphid scales!’
Grid was frustrated.
“I will give it a try. If I take advantage of my skills…!”
Originally, a blacksmith had no combat skills. But Grid was different. Since becoming Pagma’s Descendant, he’d completed all types of quests and armed himself with the Ideal Dagger, meaning he now had a couple of combat skills.
[Blacksmith’s Rage]
Lv. 1
Increases attack power by 10% and attack speed by 30% for 20 seconds.
Skill Mana Cost: 50
Skill Cooldown Time: 60 seconds
[Unbreakable Justice]
Lv. 1
Deals 300% of your attack power.
Skill Mana Cost: 350
Skill Cooldown Time: 100 seconds
“Blacksmith’s Rage!”
[Blacksmith’s Rage has been activated. Your attack power and attack speed will increase significantly for 20 seconds.]
Grid felt strength boiling inside him. Then he stood firmly in front of the frostlight orc.
“Wind Blast!”
“Kuwek!”
Thanks to the 10% increase in attack power, Wind Blast did a little more damage than before. Grid broke through the gap while the frostlight orc was in pain and stabbed the orc’s neck with the Ideal Dagger. This was the moment when his experience of hunting monsters as a warrior showed.
[Critical!]
[You have dealt 923 damage to the target.]
[A bleeding effect is applied because you aimed precisely at the target. The target will receive continuous damage.]
“Kuweeeeek!”
The frostlight orc shook with pain as blue blood emerged from its thick neck. Due to the heat from the flowing blood, steam occurred and covered its eyes. But even in the midst of this, the orc continued swinging its axe.
[You have suffered 807 damage.]
[You have suffered 1,005 damage.]
“It hurts! Damn! It hurts, you orc bastard.”
The frostlight orc’s attack power was very high. Grid suffered enormous damage even with the defense from his set items. Nevertheless, Grid kept up his spirit and fought back. He counterattacked every time he was hit. It was a dogfight between Grid and the orc to see who would die first.
[You have dealt 501 damage to the target.]
[You have suffered 1,051 damage.]
[You have dealt 607 damage to the target.]
[You have suffered 988 damage.]
[You have taken an intermediate health potion. 1,500 health will recover.]
[You have dealt 700 damage to the target.]
[You have suffered 890 damage.]
Who would die first? Red and blue blood dripped as the fight between Grid and the frostlight orc continued. Due to the heat, a blue and red fog spread around the area. Grid was the one who was in a crisis first. His health was low and his potion was still on cooldown.
‘This!’
Grid tried to buy some time for the potion cooldown to finish. But the frostlight orc persistently chased after Grid.
[You have suffered 929 damage.]
“Kuk!”
In the end, Grid allowed an attack and his health fell under 10%.
[The Apostle of Justice’s bravery is unmatched.]
This was the passive effect of the ‘Apostle of Justice’ title that Grid hadn’t experienced yet.
[The Apostle of Justice is in a crisis. You won’t easily collapse in front of the enemies.]
[All stats will increase by 30%.]
Grid smiled widely.
‘I can’t resent Huroi anymore, since he gave me this! The title Apostle of Justice has an excellent feature like this!’
Kwajak!
[You have dealt 1,100 damage to the target.]
“Kueeeek! Kuwek! Uweeek! (Aaack! You! You became stronger all of a sudden!)”
The screams of the frostlight orc changed drastically. The faces of the orcs watching from the watchtower gradually distorted.
“Kuruk…ikku? Kururuk… (What…that human? Strong…)”
“Iwukeek purukurururk! (He became stronger all of a sudden!)”
“Kururukuk! Eiokku! (We can’t just watch! We will also join!)”
The orcs descended the watchtower in order to help their colleague. They were astonished when they entered the bloody mist. Their colleague was turning into a grey light on the floor, while the human wearing bear skin turned towards them while covered in blue blood.
“Ruurek? (How is this possible?)”
The orcs’ eyes widened.
“Rekrekpukeoke! (He didn’t even get hurt!)
The orcs clearly saw how fiercely the bear skin covered human fought with their colleague. The human must be severely injured. However, they weren’t able to find one wound on the human’s body.
Why was Grid fine? The reason was because he raised his level.
[You have defeated a frostlight orc.]
[7 gold has been acquired.]
[Frostlight orc leather has been acquired.]
[Crude Hand Axe has been acquired.]
[266,000 experience has been acquired.]
[Your level has risen.]
Satisfy employed the system where health and mana were restored when a user levelled up. Thanks to the level up, all of Grid’s wounds from the struggle with the orc recovered. In this bloody fog, Grid grasped the appearance of the two newly arrived orcs and smiled happily.
“It’s great… experience!”
Thanks to the fight, Grid determined that the frostlight orcs were strong, but they weren’t bad opponents. If he used the Unbreakable Justice skill, he might be able to deal with two orcs at once.
“Ahahahat!”
Grid was excited. He gained a level from hunting just one orc, so they gave a lot of experience. To Grid, the frostlight orcs were now his prey.
“I will raise my level a bit more! Unbreakable Justice!”
Kwaaaaang!
Grid was able to fight two orcs at the same time by using Unbreakable Justice. In the middle of the fight, an option of the Ideal Dagger was luckily activated.
[Critical!]
[The Ideal Dagger’s option effect is activated, instantaneously killing the target.]
“Kuweeeeek!”
Thanks to the use of a wide area skill and the dagger’s option, two orcs died instantly.
[You have defeated a frostlight orc.]
[8 gold has been acquired.]
[Frostlight orc leather has been acquired.]
[Your level has risen.]
[You have defeated a frostlight orc.]
[10 gold has been acquired.]
[Your level has risen.]
“Kuk…! Kukukuk! Kuahahaha!”
Grid laughed like crazy. His hunting instincts woke up at this mom
ent.
“Today I will kill all of you! Ignorant orcs!”
He tasted the pleasure of hunting after a long time! Grid forgot his original purpose of obtaining the sylphid scales as he ran into the village.
***
Huroi always visited Khan’s smithy after he finished his hunting. It was the same today. After staying at the hunting ground for four days, he returned to the village and immediately stopped at Khan’s smithy.
“Where is the person I want to meet?”
“Oh, aren’t you Huroi?”
Huroi greeted Khan politely, then he asked. “My Liege… no, have you seen Grid? Can you tell me where he is?”
“He left for the northern snowfields three days ago.”
“Northern snowfields? Why there…?”
“He’s hunting the frostlight orcs.”
“Frostlight orcs?”
The frostlight orcs were monsters not known to ordinary users. But Huroi happened to encounter one while carrying out a quest in the past. He had trembled at its strength.
“No, why is Grid after the frostlight orcs all of a sudden?”
“He wants to gain materials.”
“So stupid!”
Huroi had witnessed Grid overwhelm the knights despite being a blacksmith. But even so, he couldn’t help being worried.
‘The frostlight orcs are well organized. They will be dangerous opponents for Grid!’
Huroi equipped the longsword and shield that he purchased from Khan’s smithy a while ago. Originally, an orator couldn’t use a sword or shield. Huroi was able to use it only after obtaining the second class, Apostle of Justice’s Partner.
“I will go and help Grid!”
“Oh, how reassuring! Please go safely.”
Huroi said farewell to Khan and stopped by the general store before heading to the village of frostlight orcs. He purchased 50 firebombs from the general store. He was aware that frostlight orcs were incredibly vulnerable to fire.
“My Liege! I’m coming now!”
Huroi left for the northern snowfields. A few hours later, he was able to arrive at the village of frostlight orcs.
“What?”
Huroi couldn’t shake off a sense of strangeness. There were no frostlight orcs, and the village was as quiet as dead mice. Huroi was worried it might be a trap and moved carefully, but then he heard an orc screaming not far away.
“My Liege!”
He instinctively grasped that Grid was there and ran over. Then he saw it.
“Kuwek! Kuweeek!! Kirarurarak! (This guy! This evil bastard! He is destroying our village!)”
“Kuruek! Kuweeeek! (I will resent him even after death!)”
Grid was easily dealing with the frostlight orcs.
“As expected from My Liege… I worried for nothing…”
As he watched Grid overwhelming the frostlight orcs with a dagger that pierced the thick leather, Huroi wondered how to return the firebombs to the owner of the general store.
Chapter 70
Chapter 70
“Status window.”
Name: Grid
Level: 83 (331,400/2,298,000)
Class: Pagma’s Descendant
* The probability of adding additional options when making items will increase.
* The probably of item enhancement will increase.
* All equipment items can be worn unconditionally. However, there is a penalty depending on the rating of the item.
Title: One who Became a Legend
* Abnormal conditions don’t work well on you.
* You won’t die when health is at the minimum.
* Easily acknowledged.
Title: First Unique Item Maker
* Dexterity +200
Title: Only Legendary Item Maker
* Dexterity +350
Title: Knight Slayer
* Stamina +100.
* Strength +30
Title: Apostle of Justice
* All stats +10.
* The Apostle of Justice’s bravery is unmatched.
Health: 7,886/7,886 Mana: 522/522
Strength: 679 Stamina: 517 Agility: 202 Intelligence: 174
Dexterity: 844 Persistence: 198
Composure: 149 Indomitable: 168 Dignity: 149 Insight: 149
Courage: 93
Stat Points: 0
Weight: 8,302/17,540
After three days of struggle, I was able to grow rapidly by exterminating the frostlight orcs. I was level 45 when I first came here and now I was level 83.
“3 days… level 83 in only 3 days…”
In my days as a warrior, I spent a year trying to reach level 80. It was due to a lack of talent and financial power, but I had blamed the system. However, now I caught up with my level as a warrior in just three days. It seemed impossible.
“In the past, I never really played the game… Or is it that I’m too fraudulent now…?” I concluded that I didn’t really play the game in the past. “If I think about it, people who buy one good item can reach level 100 in just a month. It isn’t so great that I gained 38 levels in three days.”
I opened my inventory while once again realizing that money was the best. My inventory was filled with 40 frostlight orc leather, 60 old jewels, crude hand axes and bows, and three sylphid scales.
“I have 580 gold… It isn’t a bad income.”
I whistled with satisfaction, when my spine suddenly felt cold.
“Wait, I only have three sylphid scales?”
I had been so blinded by leveling up that I forgot for a moment, but why did I come here to hunt the orcs? I meant to obtain 20 sylphid scales! But I only obtained three sylphid scales after three days of hunting?
“What is this? Why are there only three sylphid scales? I hunted over 80 orcs!”
This meant the probability of dropping sylphid scales was extremely low! Huroi reached me as I belatedly realized this fact.
“Grid, hello.”
Huroi had been observing me for a while. I knew it, so I wasn’t surprised by Huroi’s appearance.
“Ah, you came.”
“Heok? Grid! Did you perhaps hit your head?”
“What are you saying?”
“No, isn’t this strange? Normally you would be cursing at me and turning me away!”
“Oh, that is true. So? Do you want me to swear everytime I see you?”
Huroi hurriedly shook his head. “No, I would never want something like that. This is much better. I’m glad that you are acknowledging me.”
Huroi scratched his head and laughed. Until recently, Huroi seemed like a crazy person, so I didn’t want anything to do with him. But now it was different. I got the title of Apostle of Justice from saving Huroi, and due to it, I became stronger and it was easier to hunt orcs.
I decided to stop ignoring Huroi and attempted a conversation.
“Huroi, I understand why you think of me as a savior. I was the one to rescue you from prison. But why would you want to serve me?”
Huroi’s eyes widened as I expressed my intention to communicate, then he explained with a bright expression.
“I wasn’t simply stuck in prison. I was doing a quest where I couldn’t log out for 50 hours in real time. I was stuck in solitary confinement for 200 hours in game time. It was truly hell… But Grid was the one who saved me from that hell.”
“What? No, what’s with that absurd quest? Being unable to log out and spending 50 hours of real time in solitary confinement? Does it make sense that a quest like that exists?”
I didn’t believe him, so Huroi explained.
“It is a quest where the reward was a second class. It was difficult.”
“What?”
Did I hear it wrong? Right? I doubted my ears and quietly approached Huroi. Then I asked.
“S-grade quest? The reward was a second class? Is that true?”
Huroi glanced at me with unwavering eyes and replied, “That’s correct.”
I grabbed Huroi’s shoulder with trembl
ing hands. Then I took a deep breath and asked, “Perhaps… the first person who obtained a second class was you?”
Huroi gave a refreshing laugh. “Yes, that’s right. Hahahat! Are you surprised? I’m always amazed when I see my story on the news. Hahahahat! This good luck is all thanks to Grid!”
“… You should serve me always.”
Kwack!
I inserted strength into the hand that was gripping Huroi’s shoulder. I had invested most of the stat points acquired during my three days of levelling up into strength. Therefore, Huroi was unable to withstand my high strength and trembled with pain.
“G-Grid…?”
“Ugh! Kuooh!”
I couldn’t speak because of my boiling anger. My jealousy was rising. The first one to acquire a second class was Huroi! In addition, I was the one who helped him acquire the second class!
“This is…I didn’t realize I was so lucky that I gave you the perfect fortune!” I grabbed Huroi’s neck and shouted. “You! Serve me for the rest of your life! I will be your master from this day onwards! You are my servant! This damn lucky bastard!”
“K-Keeeok! U-Understood. Haven’t I already sworn it? So let go of your hand. I-I can’t breathe…!”
The moment I was making a fuss…
Kuuong! Kuuong!
Huge footsteps were approaching from the edge of the village. Huroi and I became alert as we felt the shaking of the earth, then we saw an orc that was over 4m tall.
“What is that…?”
An orc that was reminiscent of a giant ogre! Huroi exclaimed with amazement.
“That is the chief of the frostlight orcs! He’s a level 140 field boss. He must’ve come out after hearing that you exterminated the village.”
“…”
Certainly, the name Frostlight Orc Chief appeared on top of the giant orc’s head. The boss monster’s name shone a brilliant gold. Behind him were 11 frostlight orcs.
I ordered Huroi, “Buy some time while I run away!”
Huroi had an obligation to make this sacrifice for me. I planned to abandon Huroi and run away alone. Then why was Huroi following after me instead of staying behind?
“#!@#&! What are you doing? You promised that I was your master! So why aren’t you listening to me?”
Huroi chased after me and explained.
“There is no need! If we combine our abilities, we can hunt him!”
“What?”
I hesitated and Huroi explained.
“The identity of my second class is the ‘Apostle of Justice’s Partner!’ When I am with the Apostle of Justice, all my stats will increase by 20% And I am currently level 138! You also overwhelmed the knights, so if we join forces, we can deal with a level 140 field boss!”
