Chapter 189
“This is the end.”
Huroi was an ordinary orator until level 127, so he invested his stat points in both intelligence and persuasion. Since getting a second class at level 127, he was now level 236 and he invested his stats primarily into strength, stamina and agility.
It was to take advantage of the Apostle of Justice’s Partner class. The courage stat he acquired increased his attack and defense at the same time.
But it still wasn’t enough. Even considering the effect of his courage stat, his starting line was completely different. Therefore, Huroi was lacking in physical ability compared to others of the same level. His Sword Mastery was only intermediate level 2.
It would take more time for Huroi to demonstrate the true combat ability of his class. However, things changed recently thanks to Grid. Grid created and produced the Mass-produced One-handed Sword (Prototype) for him, which was enough to cover Huroi’s lacking combat power.
This was the power of items.
Swaeek!
The black sword that the group was confronted with!
“Ugh!”
Shay’s group tried to get revenge on Grid, but they would die without seeing him? No. They still had a means. Just before his heart was pierced by the sword, Shay shouted urgently.
“Kasim!!”
At that moment. A shadow emerged from behind Shay and wielded his daggers.
Chaaeng!
The movements were as fast as lightning. The dagger blocked the black sword and then sliced at Huroi’s neck.
[You have suffered 4,140 damage.]
“Ugh…!”
The bleeding Huroi retreated and immediately took a potion to restore his health. It was instincts that caused him to move and avoid death. The person who appeared from the shadow, Kasim, looked at Huroi and asked.
“You escaped a fatal wound? Your sensitivity is better than I thought?”
‘He isn’t a player?’
It was a thin man wrapped in grey clothing. The name ‘Kasim’ floating above his head was green, indicating an NPC. Huroi was baffled.
‘An NPC assassin is escorting them.’
He wasn’t a normal assassin. Huroi lost 4,000 health from one blow. It was estimated that the opponent was at least a level 280 named assassin. How did Shay’s party get such a big shot as an escort? Huroi was questioning it while Shay overcame his confusion and shouted while taking a health potion.
“Willingly give up your life! Kasim is a third advancement assassin! You’re not his opponent!”
‘Third advancement class?’
Huroi started sweating. The abilities of a second and third advancement class were as different as the sky and the earth. If two level 299 and one level 300 person fought, the third advancement level 300 person would win.
Furthermore, Huroi was only level 236. Not just the class difference, but the level difference was enormous. For him, the current situation wasn’t good. He had to judge carefully.
‘Calm down.’
It wasn’t a matter of pride. He didn’t know who these people were and he didn’t want to die. First, he had to escape from them and secure his safety. Then he would send a whisper to Euphemina. As Huroi was making a decision, Shay’s party became excited and their momentum increased.
“We completed a S-grade quest and paid a huge sum of money to hire Kasim! All in order to get revenge on Grid!”
“Before we kill Grid, we will experiment with Kasim’s power on you!”
“What…?”
They wanted to hurt Grid? He finally figured out why he was attacked. Huroi froze in place instead of stepping back. Then he glared like a devil at Shay’s party.
“You guys, I will kill you here.”
He would wipe out Shay’s group, even if he died from that NPC assassin. It was his duty.
“I will never let you see My Lord’s shadow!” The furious Huroi summoned his drake. “Descend! Lord of the Skies above the Grasslands!”
The naming sense of the Mongols was emotional and descriptive. The fire drake ‘Lord of the Skies above the Grasslands’ flew above Huroi’s head. Shay’s party were pushed back against the walls by the wind pressure.
“Drake…!”
After the National Competition, the drakes had lost most of their dignity. In the pet marathon, dozens of drakes were defeated by Grid’s cat. Some people dismissed drakes, stating that their reputation was exaggerated.
But what was the truth? Drakes were still great pets. Their combat ability, mobility, intelligence, stamina, and all other abilities were overwhelming. Grid’s cat, the best demonic beast of hell, was just unusually strong.
“This guy has strong items and a strong pet? What the, you! You are compatible with Grid!”
Huroi didn’t respond to the shouting Shay. He just commanded the drake.
“Turn these people to ashes. I acknowledge you. You are the strongest drake, so you can do it.”
Kwaaaaah!
[Your drake ‘Lord of the Skies above the Grasslands’ was inspired by your words and his morale has risen. His attack power and magic power has greatly increased.]
Hwaruruk!
The drake was powered by the orator’s buff skill and spewed out a mighty fire breath. This was a narrow alley. Shay’s party couldn’t escape it, while Winston became covered with flames. Many people witnessed it.
“What? A drake?”
“Wow… Is it a fight between rankers?”
“In the middle of the city? Amazing! Let’s go!”
Was there anything more fun than watching a fight? This was a great opportunity to enjoy it. Numerous users and people scattered around the city rushed in the direction of the turmoil. The soldiers also saw it and hurried.
“Captain! We have to hurry!”
“Go ahead and bring the guards!”
Winston’s security policies were excellent! The guards took pride in this. They immediately went to the scene of the crime in order to calm the turmoil. But the security chief was the problem.
“We need to turn off the lights. Wind…? Fan?”
The chief of the security forces saw the flames burning the city and wondered what was necessary to suppress the fire. The person was none other than Jude. In order to evenly grow his stats, Grid had given him all types of tasks such as monster subjugation, security activities, minerals extraction, sparring, etc.
“First of all, a fan. Please.”
Jude’s intelligence was at the level of an idiot. He came up with a stupid answer to the troubled guards.
“Fans won’t be able to stop this!”
“Bring in others to put it out!”
The guards urged him. In the end, Jude reached the limits of his patience. As always, he didn’t think.
“I will go.”
The fire didn’t matter. He would go there and see. He forgot about Grid’s urging to always think carefully before acting, and chose swiftness.
Tadak!
‘Fast!’
The guards were dismayed. Jude ran three times faster than them despite wearing full-plate armor and carrying a 3m long greatsword on his shoulder. He didn’t look like a human in their eyes. Indeed, there was a reason for his ignorance.
At Khan’s smithy.
“Hrmm, isn’t there a splendid fight over there?” Euphemina’s eyes shone as she discovered the fire outside the window. “I will go.”
For Euphemina, fights were important. It was an opportunity to duplicate outstanding skills. She, like everyone else, ran straight in the direction of the turmoil. Thanks to this, Khan was finally able to breathe. He was able to take a break for the first time today as the customers ran out towards the fight.
At the same time, Winston Castle.
“What?”
Grid had one habit. He disassembled and assembled items every day to increase the understanding of items. He had reached 100% understanding with Dainsleif a long time ago, so now he was devoted to disassembling and assembling the Holy Light Armor.
Grid was waiting for Euphemina at the castle’s smithy. Then he heard the soldiers rushing towards the flames that were soaring in the area where Khan’s smithy was located.
“Khan…!”
Was Khan in danger? Grid worriedly ran out of the smithy, then equipped Braham’s Boots and flew into the sky. Lauel followed behind him.
***
The fire drake’s greatest strength was their high damage. The drake’s fire breath was the strongest among any other drakes. However.
“How is this possible…?”
Huroi couldn’t believe the sight in front of him. The moment that Lord of the Skies above the Grasslands fired his breath. Kasim summoned dozens of shadow soldiers as a barrier, completely blocking the breath. Due to that, the breath didn’t cover Shay’s group and scattered in all directions. There was a sea of fire.
‘How does an assassin have that type of defensive capabilities?’
An assassin was agile. They had outstanding attack power and mobility. On the other hand, their defensive ability was poor. However, Kasim use the shadow soldiers as shields and showed excellent defense. He was completely different from the known concepts of assassins.
Shay shouted to the stunned Huroi. “This is the power of the third advancement! It’s my future! How about it? Isn’t it a class completely incomparable to an orator? Hahahat!”
Assassins were classified into four major categories. There were those who specialized in stealth and assassination like Faker, those who used swords like Shay, those who threw weapons like Sniffer and those who installed traps like Kerb.
But that was the case for second advancement assassins. A third advancement assassin had more techniques. One of them was shadows. The shadow technique allowed the assassin to perfect assimilate to other’s shadows, move between shadows or even summon shadow soldiers.
And Kasim was a master of shadows. He was the peak of the assassins, only rivaled by Doran. He wasn’t someone that the present Huroi could deal with.
“Let’s play a little bit.”
Sururuk.
Kasim disappeared into Shay’s shadow. Then he appeared in the shadow behind Huroi and wielded his dagger.
Seokeok!
[You have suffered 4,010 damage.]
“Ugh!”
Kasim relentlessly aimed at the weak points. It was impossible to defend or avoid. If Huroi tried to fight back, Kasim would hide in the shadows again so it was useless.
Puok!
“Kuak!”
If he attacked the shadow, Kasim would reappear in the shadows of other objects. It was a spectacular sight. The people who gathered admired it.
“He is terrific. What is that skill?”
“A hidden class?”
“Assassin…? Considering that he’s an NPC, is he a third advancement class?”
“Wow, this is a big hit. I’m going to be an assassin.”
Sakak! Seokeok!
Huroi lost most of his health after being attacked by Kasim, who used all the shadows around him. He would’ve died already if it wasn’t for the drake protecting him.
[The Apostle of Justice’s Partner’s bravery is unmatched. Your current health has fallen below 20%, so all stats will increase by 30%.]
This was his last chance. He was strengthened so he needed to defeat Shay’s group now. After judging that Kasim had disappeared into the shadows again, he headed towards the giggling Shay’s group, who were caught off guard. Then something rose from Shay’s shadow. A shadow soldier.
Kwachak!
Huroi’s desperate sword swing collided with a shadow soldier and was nullified.
“This…!”
The moment that Huroi felt despair.
“This isn’t fun. I will end it quickly.”
Kasim emerged from the shadow behind Huroi and pointed his dagger at Huroi’s neck. Then a woman’s voice was heard.
“Raise Shadow Soldiers.”
Kuoooh!
“…!”
Kasim was amazed. Shadow soldiers rose in the vicinity and attacked him?
Chaaeng! Chaeng!
Kasim’s attack was defeated and he lost interest in Huroi.
‘The same technique as mine was used?’
Did that mean there was an assassin with a similar level in the area? Kasim started to observe the spectators. He commanded the shadow soldiers in the crowd and quickly discover who was attacking him. It was a blonde girl.
Kasim thought it was ridiculous.
“An assassin wouldn’t have such white skin. Then how did you use the shadows technique?”
The blonde girl, Euphemina replied to Kasim. “What is this? Is it a technique that only you can use?”
“Kukuk…! Stop talking nonsense!”
It must be black magic. Kasim ignored the shadow soldiers and focused on Huroi. He would take care of that girl after killing his target. However.
“What are you doing?”
A cold voice was heard from above. Kasim and Huroi. Thousands of spectators, including Euphemina and Jude, turned their gaze towards the sky.
Shay shouted, “Grid!”
That’s right. The person who appeared in the sky was Grid. The spectators’ eyes shone like lanterns.
“God Grid! God Grid has showed up!”
“Pagma’s Descendant…!”
“Kyaaak! Oppa!”
Indeed, he was really popular. Everyone praised Grid, irrespective of national and gender. People shouted at Grid to look at them and enthusiastically waved their arms. However, Grid’s eyes were only fixed on Kasim. He didn’t like Kasim pointing a dagger at the wounded Huroi’s neck.
“Take your hands off what is mine.”
The command entered Kasim’s ears, who replied. “What if I don’t want to?”
“Then die.”
Chwachwachwachwachwachwa!
Seven golden blades were revealed as everyone was paying attention. It was the special item of Pagma’s Descendant that attracted the attention of the world at the National Competition. People were excited, while Kasim breathed out.
‘Artifacts that move by themselves?’
He originally didn’t feel anything remarkable from Grid. But he seemed to be more than what Shay’s group told him. In addition, there was a boy with silver hair with him. But the more important thing…
‘Why does he have Doran’s Ring?’ Kasim’s attention was stolen by the blue ring on Grid’s finger. ‘This is interesting. I need to learn a bit more, rather than fighting needlessly.’
In the end, Kasim let Huroi go. Then he disappeared into the shadows.
“…Eh?”
Shay’s group was left alone. How could they think that Kasim would flee? How much money did they spend to hire him?
‘Is this a lie?’
Grid smiled at Shay’s party who couldn’t grasp the situation.
“You came again? Did you come to give me more items? Eh?”
Grid showed the Kenen’s Belt, the trap installation tool and poison blender that he received from them. They wanted to kill him even more. However, it was an impossible task without Kasim.
“…Haha.”
Shay’s group laughed awkwardly, but Grid asked coldly, “Is something funny?”
Thanks to realizing his strong sense of camaraderie at the National Competition, Grid was furious at the people who hurt Huroi. He was pulling out Failure to kill them when Lauel stopped him.
“Imprison them instead of killing them.”
“Why? Isn’t that a waste of the taxpayer’s money?”
Lauel whispered to the grim-looking Grid.
“If a criminal is put in prison, the ruler can check the criminal’s belongings. You can dispose of them after asking Lady Irene to check the items they have. Anyway, can’t you kill PK users at any time? It is more beneficial to trade them the items for their lives.”
“Hoh…”
Lauel had a lot of ideas and knowledge. Therefore, he was always helpful. This was the reason his mother told him to make smart friends when he was in elementary school. Grid was convinced and ordered Jude.
“Lock them up in jail.”
Euphemina approached him. She carried the production method to create the best orb associated with Braham.