Chapter 135

"It's not like that. This is pure luck.”

Grid was even more surprised than Toban. He never expected a critical hit and to trigger the option of the gloves along with Kill.

‘A critical attack and five hits... It’s absurd.’

He felt invincible. The confident Grid declared, "Toban, I will completely get rid of the griffons.”

Until a little while ago, Toban put the griffons above Grid. However, he quickly changed his attitude after watching Grid turn the Griffon Captain into a critical state in one blow.

“Yes, it is possible if it is Grid! Let me serve as the bait!”

"Okay." Grid was satisfied by the answer and dealt the ultimate blow to the collapsed Griffon Captain. “Pagma's Sword Dance, Link!”

Level 2 Link dealt 800% of his attack power. The Griffon Captain was severely injured by Kill and couldn’t withstand this attack.

Pipit! Pipipipit!

The Griffon Captain couldn’t resist the bombardment of energy swords that came out. It screamed painfully and turned into light.

[You have killed the Griffon Captain!]

[4,500,900 experience has been acquired.]

[3 griffon tendons have been acquired. ]

[4 griffon leather have been acquired]

[7 griffon bones have been acquired.]

[The spellbook ‘Tornado’ has been acquired.]

[Your level has risen.]

There were three types of bosses.

The first was a hidden boss such as Malacus, Pope Drevigo and Vampire Countess Marie Rose. They were usually humanoid NPCs and were the only ones who didn’t respawn again after dying. Their story was big enough to have a direct effect on Satisfy’s world view and they were overwhelmingly strong, making the rewards (items and experience) huge as well.

Unlike monsters, humans had an inherent limitation in their low health. But they had high health compared to ordinary users, so it couldn’t really be pointed out as a weak point. Their artificial intelligence was also high, so they were real bosses with close to zero weaknesses.

Ordinary users didn’t get a chance to meet a hidden boss and even if they did, they wouldn’t dream of succeeding in the raid.

The second was a dungeon boss. They appeared in the deepest part of each dungeon at regular intervals, and gave high rewards for those who succeeded in the raid.

Their basic abilities were at least 10 times higher than normal monsters and they had diverse attack patterns that made them difficult to handle with a small group of people. In particular, they had huge health and it was likely to be a long-term raid.

Most users referred to dungeon bosses when talking about boss monsters. It could be said that the goal of ordinary users was to raid dungeon bosses.

Finally, the third type was a field boss.

They directly threatened users all over Satisfy. Their stats were at least four times higher than normal monsters of the same level and their health was halfway between a hidden boss and dungeon boss.

The attack patterns didn’t have a lot of variation so it was hard to say they were exceptionally strong. For users with excellent combat control, it wasn't impossible to hunt a field boss that was 30 levels lower alone.

But there were occasional field bosses with mutations. The mutant field bosses were as strong as dungeon bosses and users needed to be vigilant. For example, the Guardian of the Forest that dropped blue orichalcum was a mutant field boss.

Right now, the Griffon Captain was a common field boss. Grid didn’t like the rewards.

‘What is with this loot...’

Field bosses were originally like this. The frequency of raids was high so they rarely dropped rare items. However, users were able to acquire a large amount of experience and miscellaneous loot, so it was good to raid them.

In addition, Grid was quite lucky. The Griffon Captain had dropped a unique Tornado spellbook. The probability of the Tornado spellbook dropping was only 0.1%, and the Griffon Captain was hard to raid because they only appeared in griffon habitats. But Grid wasn’t a magician and was thus unaware of the value of magic books.

‘It’s just an old spellbook... no way it’ll sell for an expensive price... Tsk, I’m glad I got a lot of experience and loot at least.’

As Grid was grumbling with disappointment...

Toban felt a chill as he wildly ran away from 22 griffons. Then Toban belatedly realized his mistake.

‘Dammit! I’m not in the party!’

The death of the griffon boss! Toban also expected to acquire experience and items, but the notification windows didn’t pop up? He hadn’t noticed because it wasn’t an ordinary situation, but he currently wasn’t in a party with Grid. He wanted to ask Grid for a party invite right now; however, he was too busy running away from the griffons that he couldn’t easily send an invite. He hurriedly exclaimed.

“Grid! Party! Quickly add me to the party!”

Grid was puzzled as he asked, “Why?”

"What do you mean, why? So I can be in your party!”

"No, I mean why should you be in the party?”

Toban exclaimed, "You're asking why? Isn’t it natural to form a party when you go hunting with others?”

“Are you crazy? Why should I share my experience and loot with you?” Grid’s eyes shone. "You keep forgetting that you’re my slave, and are thus not equal to me. Just follow me."

"W-What?”

After Grid killed Box’s group, Toban accompanied Grid and came to realize that the Holy Light set wasn’t just a simple quest item, but a legendary set. Therefore, he felt even more ashamed and guilty about trying to rob the items from Grid.

But this was this, and that was that. At a minimum, they should hunt together in a party!

"You are really spiteful!” Toban was upset and started to blame Grid, "I’m truly sorry that I betrayed you, but it’s too much to not even let me in the party! I might be small in front of you, but I am also a ranker. Experience is extremely valuable to me! I have to perform the role of bait, so you should at least give me some experience!”

Kiooooh!

Toban stopped and the 22 griffons surrounded him. But Toban didn’t shrink back as he only stared at Grid.

In the end, Grid had to take one step back. "Okay, I understand. If you say so, I will add you to the party. If you wish, I’ll even release you from your status as a slave."

“Eh? R-Really?"

Toban was suspicious but slightly excited at Grid’s sudden change in attitude.

However, Grid then continued to say, "Instead, I’ll tell Jishuka what you did to me, and I will absolutely never make an item for you.”

"..."

"How funny. You’re being punished for trying to grab my rice bowl in the first place.”

“G-Grid...”

Kiooooh!

The griffons roared and started to attack Toban. It was impossible to defend against 22 griffon beaks with only one shield. Toban realized he would die in this way and started begging Grid, “I was wrong! I was too agitated after seeing you catch a boss monster that I lost control! Please save me! I won’t presume to join the party again. Just save me!”

“I don’t want to.”

“G-Grid!”

"...I will save you if you promise not to forget your position as a slave again.”

"I understand! Okay!”

It was wrong no matter how he looked at it. Grid was too spiteful. Toban was frustrated by the realization that he wouldn’t be able to escape his current status for the moment. At this time, he still didn’t know. The type of luck he would encounter while being Grid’s slave...

***

The power of the Tzedakah Guild was famous among NPCs. Numerous royalty and nobles of each kingdom tried to recruit the Tzedakah Guild. They were tempted several times by titles, territories, and riches.

However, the Tzedakah Guild couldn’t decide who to go under. They waited to work in Winston with Grid, so they resisted all types of temptations and quietly waited.

Finally, the Tzedakah Guild also earned a large reputation with the lady of Winston.

In the counterattack against the Yatan Church that began with the birth of the Eighth Servant, Lady Irene showed great favor to the Tzedakah Guild who cleared many quests and even succeeded in the Malacus raid.

“To the east of Winston, there is a village called Bairan. Monsters often pop up so the population is small, but the area is large and there are several mines, so the possibility of development is indefinite.”

"..."

“Jishuka, would you like to take over that village and receive the title of baron?”

Bairan was a very significant village to Jishuka.

The auction house in Bairan Village was where Grid first made the Special Jaffa Arrows and where his existence was announced to the world. In addition, the Guardian of the Forest appeared around Bairan Village so it was a place she visited often to perform quests.

'There are several hunting grounds and dungeons for high-level users, and the distance to Winston is only half a day using a carriage...’

Geographically, it was easy to interact with Grid and it was a village where the guild members could easily level up. In addition, the population might be low but many users would come. If the guild managed it well, the taxes would be profitable.

Jishuka finally made her decision, “I am grateful for Lady Irene’s favor. I will be loyal to you for the rest of my life.”

"I am glad to have a talent like you.”

[You have become a baroness of the Eternal Kingdom!]

[You have obtained the right to enter the social circle of the nobles.]

[You have become the lord of Bairan.]

[The estate management system has been created.]

It was simple after that.

Jishuka convened the guild and immediately headed for Bairan Village. Along with the 100 soldiers residing in Bairan Village, Pon and Ibellin took care of nearby monsters to stabilize security, while engineers were employed to repair and extend an old castle.

On the other hand, Faker and several guild members identified the characteristics and financial status of Bairan Village and discussed future directions for development. The absence of Toban, their chief of staff, created more work for Jishuka and the guild members, but it wasn’t a big burden. In the first place, Toban wasn’t particularly outstanding as the chief of staff so there wasn’t much difference.

But there was an empty feeling.

"When will Toban come?”

It had already been a week since the guild members rejected his request for help with the SS-grade quest. At one point, he had blocked all whispers so they couldn’t help wondering if something was wrong.

However, they weren’t particularly worried. Toban was a top ranker who was dependable, so they believed he was earnestly completing his quest.

"He is busy with his quest. Well, he will come back when he can. On the other hand, when will Grid return?”

Vantner was still complaining about Grid. Indeed, Grid was really late. It had been a month since he left for his quest and he still hadn’t come back. They couldn’t contact him through the guild chat window or whispers.

"In the first place, Grid left because of a quest right? That guy has reached level 170 in the past month. It seems more like he is hunting in a dungeon to level up than doing a quest, just like Regas.”

Certainly, Grid’s level up speed identified in the guild information window was phenomenal.

‘Pagma's Successor...’

Jishuka had seen Grid receive Braham’s quest in real-time and investigated Pagma’s identity. Grid was the successor of undoubtedly the greatest blacksmith in history, Pagma.

‘As the class quest of a legendary class, the difficulty will be enormous. I can understand why he is late.’

It wasn’t just Vantner who wanted Grid to return quickly. Jishuka wanted Grid to return as soon as possible. The members wanted to see Grid’s growth and were eager for Grid to produce their items.

On the other hand, Bairan Village developed rapidly. Users heard that the reputed Tzedakah Guild were ruling it and began to steadily migrate to Bairan Village. If this trend continued, they would be able to achieve rapid economic growth. Someday, Bairan could be promoted from a village to a city, just like Winston.

But in the midst of this, there was some bad news. Three of the six new guild members that they had high expectations for... Asuka, Black Teddy and Box left the guild one day without saying anything.

“They just walked away. What are they doing?”

“They were dubious in the first place. They would’ve just muddied things up if they stayed in the guild. It is better to let them leave.”

The existing guild members blamed the three people, but were quick to cool down. However, the other new guild members were frightened.

Toon was appointed chief of security in Bairan Village and was doing his daily patrol. He couldn’t resist his curiosity and whispered to Box.

-Hey, what is this? I thought you were going to stay in this guild until you know the identity of the skull helmet?

Box thought this was fun.

-I have already met him. It led to unwanted results. So I’m leaving.

-Hoh...? Really? So who is he?

-It’s no fun if I tell you too easily. I will give you a hint. He is a very surprising person.

-What? Is that it? Do you want to die?

Toon’s tone changed after he became annoying by the hint. Toon restrained himself and said goodbye.

-Toon, do you remember my suggestion? After you meet the skull helmet, make sure to leave the Tzedakah Guild and join my guild. We will always welcome someone with skills like you. Then I’m going.

"Che, what a wily bastard.”

Toon ended his whisper with Box and checked the guild information window. He was surprised by something when he checked the information of the 21 remaining guild members. The level 110 blacksmith he met in Winston a month ago was now level 172?

“...Ohu.”

Toon’s eyes shone with fighting spirit.