Chapter 194
“Jishuka, take the kids and come under me.”
The moment that Grid said so. Lauel winced and hurriedly sent him a whisper.
–Grid, what did you say just now?
Grid was confused.
–What’s wrong?
Lauel spoke with frustration.
–Your way of talking is wrong!
Lauel knew that the Tzedakah Guild was a prestigious guild that existed since the days of L.T.S. The scale was small, but they had a tradition of at least six years. They had the pride of those who reigned at the top. But rather than respecting them, Grid told them to come under him? It was obvious that the proud guild members would be disappointed and repelled by Grid.
–You should negotiate. You have to respect them. Then convince them to cooperate. Do you think that if you speak to them like that, they will just follow you?
“…”
Grid noticed his mistake. If he thought about it from the position of the guild members, he realized that he made a huge mistake.
‘Disgusting.’ Was he any different from Lee Junho in his high school days, who made Grid his bread shuttle just because he was more powerful? ‘In the first place, the words I chose were wrong.’
But things had changed since entering the Tzedakah Guild. Grid had many memories with his guild members. They got to know each other little by little. Grid recognized the guild members as friends or colleagues. Yet he told them to come under him, like they were servants.
Grid was very disappointed in himself.
‘How could I treat them like this?’
He controlled them with his items, so did he subconsciously perceive them as below him?
‘I am better than them. I also have high fame.’
Was he ignoring them? Just like the alumni ignored him in the past?
‘Dammit! Just a while ago in the National Competition, I realized that I fought for my companions!’
Grid’s character had deepened and matured compared to the past. But that was only when compared to the past. His personality was still lacking. The evidence was that he was jealous of Noe’s popularity and posted malicious comments about him on the Internet. His nature was filled with self-righteousness and egotism due to his unfavorable environment, so he couldn’t mature in such a short amount of time.
But.
“I’m sorry. I’ll correct what I just said.”
By default, Grid was someone who tried hard. Thanks to his efforts, he could barely be middle of the pack at school, despite having no talents. In addition, he was able to become the first legendary class in Satisfy.
As long as he realized and corrected his mistakes, he would change quickly.
“I will say it again. All of you, please join the guild that I will make. I want to continue to be with you, and I need your strength. I will also give you strength… Let’s join together to build a country. I consider you as friends and colleagues, so please.”
Grid bowed deeply. His attitude was very polite. The stiff expressions of Jishuka and the guild members slowly released.
Jishuka spoke, “Give us time to talk about it.”
***
“What should we do?”
Grid returned to Winston after causing a fuss. The Tzedakah Guild started to engage in an in-depth discussion.
“Grid is a necessary existence for us. Not just as a blacksmith, but also as a warrior. He’s a source of great strength. We can’t lose him.”
“I agree with that part, but can Grid be the leader of a guild?”
Leadership was needed to lead an organization. In order to exert leadership, they needed charisma to force people or to make people loyal to them. But that ability wasn’t something that anyone could have.
Why was the Tzedakah Guild operating on a small scale? There were many reasons, but the important one was that there was no leader in the guild. Those who acted to rise to the top possessed strong individualistic tendencies. None of them had the talent to lead others. Even Jishuka was limited to just commanding the current personnel.
Grid was stingy, filled with jealousy and only acted for money, so could he fulfill the role of a leader? Furthermore, he wanted to become a king? It was impossible.
“A clever person like Lauel can make up for the intelligence that Grid is lacking. But it is impossible for someone who isn’t a leader to maintain or expand the organization.”
“That’s right. If Grid creates a guild, won’t it soon collapse?”
A competent leader of a small guild was better than an incompetent one of a large guild. Everyone thought so. They judged that it was just Grid’s futile dream. But an unexpected person came up with a different opinion.
“Grid is a natural leader.”
What was this nonsense? Everyone’s eyes focused on one person. The person who received their interest. It was Toban. He was the Tzedakah Guild’s chief of staff, who became Grid’s slave in the past. At one time, he was reluctant about Grid, but now he appreciated Grid more than anyone else.
“What is required to be a leader? Isn’t it to unite and lead the organization, and ultimately develop the organization? Think about it. Grid has a power that can replace leadership.”
Buzz buzz.
The guild members started murmuring.
“Power that can replace leadership?’
“What is it? I can’t figure it out.”
Toban gave a hint to the guild members who couldn’t understand. “Don’t overlook the fact that Satisfy is a game.”
“Ah…!” Jishuka and Pon noticed before anyone else. They shouted at the same time. “Items!”
Toban was satisfied.
“That’s right. When people play games, they have one basic desire. And Grid can meet those needs. As long as he makes items for the guild members, they will never betray him. And Grid will evolve while trying to do his best for the guild.”
The main reason why the Tzedakah Guild was reluctant to lose Grid was due to his ability to make items. That’s right. At least in Satisfy, Grid was fully qualified to be a leader.
“If Grid produces items for the guild members with high achievements as a reward, the members won’t want to leave Grid forever. At the same time, they will gradually become elites.”
“Just like us…”
In the first place, a smart person like Lauel wouldn’t become Grid’s king maker if he didn’t have a reason. Lauel obviously planned to foster the strongest guild through Grid. The guild would become tremendously powerful through items.
“It’s lucky that Grid has Lauel.” Those were Jishuka’s words. She continued. “Thanks to Lauel, Grid will be able to reign at the top.”
Currently, Pagma’s Descendant was the strongest class in existence. But there were a total of nine legendary classes in Satisfy. As a blacksmith, Pagma’s Descendant was relatively weak in combat compared to the other legendary classes.
If Grid kept playing the game in an individual manner, there would eventually come a day when he couldn’t surpass this limit and would have to concede the position of the best to someone else.
But the story would change if he owned the strongest guild. The strongest guild that only Grid could create! This power would make Grid reign at the top!
“Why don’t we go under Grid? Anyway, we have reached the limitations of expanding our power.”
“I think so as well. I don’t want to watch Zibal or Chris’ guilds slowly swallow up this continent.”
“Certainly… unlike L.T.S., there is a limit to what a small number of people can do in Satisfy. It would be better in the long run to be included in a bigger force.”
“I can never escape from Grid’s items. I unconditionally want to go under Grid.”
All the guild members agreed. It was decided.
Jishuka stood up and declared, “Today, the Tzedakah Guild will be disbanded. The 21 members, including myself, will go under grid.”
They dreamed of becoming the strongest, like they were in L.T.S. In order to achieve those dreams, they chose Grid. Thanks to that, Grid swallowed up the strongest force for free. It was an event that would go down in history.
***
The guild that represented the Eternal Kingdom was by far the Giant Guild. The Tzedakah Guild was famous for its small number of elites, but that couldn’t compare to the Giant Guild. It was because the Giant Guild had more than 700 people. It was a level that could deal with the Snake Guild, who was expanding its power in the Haken Kingdom.
“Golem army?”
Pedro City, in the southern part of the Eternal Kingdom.
Chris was stunned. More than 1,000 golems were advancing towards the Eternal Kingdom.
“What type of magician can control over 1,000 golems? It isn’t possible, even if all the great magicians on the continent joined their power together. Isn’t this ridiculous?”
The golems weren’t roaming a particular area. Rather, they were moving with a clear destination, so someone was obviously controlling the golem. One of the seven captains, Zirkan, responded to Chris with wide eyes.
“This information is definite. The golems are currently advancing towards the Eternal Kingdom, and it is likely that the south will be the first target, based on their movement path.”
Another of the seven captains, Asellas, spoke. “In the future, there will be a quest from the king of the Eternal Kingdom to defeat the golem army.”
Chris smiled widely. “This is a good sign.”
So what if over 1,000 golems gathered? They were just slow masses of stones. Chris was determined to defeat the golems in order to raise the guild’s reputation and increase their contribution to the kingdom.
“This is an opportunity to become an earl.”
After Chris was defeated by Regas in the National Competition.
The Giant Guild became confused. The loss of the guild master reduced the guild’s morale, and the guild seemed to be walking down a path of decline.
However, Chris was a person with outstanding charisma. He led the guild along with the seven captains, and the Giant Guild managed to escape its confusion. They boasted a stronger force than before.
Chris was confident.
“We will be thoroughly prepared when the king’s quest arrives. First of all, tell the magicians to store AOE magic in their orbs, and distribute large weapons to the physical damage dealers.
Then after a few days. There was a messenger from the capital.
“In the name of the 13th king of the Eternal Kingdom, King Wiesbaden. Viscount Chris, slaughter the golems that dare advance towards my sacred kingdom!”
[Defense War]
Difficulty: S
Precisely 1,231 golems have crossed the border of the Eternal Kingdom.
Defend the Eternal Kingdom.
Quest Clear Conditions: Repel the golem army (0/1,231)
Quest Clear Rewards: One small city. 25,000 contribution to the kingdom. The guild level will rise by 1. Two million gold will be obtained.
Quest Failure: The golems will advance to the capital of the Eternal Kingdom. The kingdom will fall into chaos.
They were colossal rewards.
Chris’ blood was boiling.
‘Zibal, you aren’t the first user who will become an earl. I will also be the first one to get 1,000 guild members!’
Chris didn’t doubt it. He had experience with clearing guild quests with an A-grade difficulty, so he didn’t shrink back before the S-grade one. He just wanted to defeat the golems to achieve his goals. All the Giant Guild members, there wasn’t one person who thought this quest might fail.
Three days later.
Breaking news appeared around the world.
『 A few days ago, golems gathered from all over the continent and advanced into the Eternal Kingdom. The Giant Guild acted to intercept them… 』
It was a tragedy. The Giant Guild could only defeat 300 golems. The southern part of the Eternal Kingdom was ravaged. Chris was desperate as he looked at Pedro, swallowed up by a raging fire.
“How did this happen…?”
One year and six months ago.
When Chris became a viscount and gained Pedro, it had only been a small village when he first arrived. In the past year and a half, Chris had developed it into a city. It was lost in an instant. All the buildings collapsed, while thousands of NPCs turned into grey light. The damage would be difficult to repair.
Chris was frustrated, but he had no choice but to watch as the golems advanced to the capital. The true destination of the mighty golem army was the north of the Eternal Kingdom. They planned to advanced from the south to the north through the capital.
The great magician Braham did this just to draw Grid’s attention.