Chapter 287
There was a mysterious person following Grid’s party. He had long arms, thick lips, and impressive skin that was as black as charcoal. His name was Kasim. The last descendant of the Nero people destroyed by the Saharan Empire, and the ultimate assassin with the title of ‘King of Shadows.’
“Hrmm.”
Kasim had observed Grid from before he became a duke. He always maintained a distance of 5m from Grid. Recently, he had to increase the distance to 7m thanks to the skills of the young assassin called Faker, but it wasn’t a huge hindrance. There was still a large difference between Kasim and Faker’s skills.
“Vampire city…”
Kasim found out the destination of Grid’s party.
Vampires. A branch of the demonkin, they lived in the human world rather than in hell. Their strength was overwhelming. It was natural since they were designed to hunt humans. Entering their lair was an act of suicide.
‘In particular, the problem is the True Blood clan. Duke Grid can deal with a viscount but…’
He wasn’t a match for earls yet. Kasim was sure of this because he had a firm grasp of Grid and the Overgeared members’ power.
‘If they meet an earl, they will all be wiped out.’
Should he stop it? No, that wasn’t necessary. Based on Kasim’s observations, Grid and his companions were all immortal cursed existences(users). The cost of death for them wasn’t big.
‘Sometimes defeat is a good medicine.’
Wasn’t that right? Doran. They had fought thousands of times and a defeat in one spar didn’t always mean victory in the next.
“…I miss you.”
Doran. A friend who grew up together under the same mentor. Why did Grid have the ring Doran inherited from their mentor? Kasim questioned. He was following Grid to figure out why. It didn’t take long to figure out why. All his questions were answered after finding out that Grid was Irene’s husband.
Nevertheless, the reason he stayed with Grid was because he saw the possibility of Grid growing to rival the Saharan Empire. The Saharan Empire! They persecuted the innocent minorities and wiped them out if they refused to submit.
Kasim had a huge grudge against the empire. He wanted to watch Grid one day destroy the empire.
Suruk.
Kasim disappeared. He would stay by Irene’s side until Grid came back. Nothing should grab Grid’s ankle while he was growing. Kasim planned to thoroughly protect Irene, who Grid loved.
Piaro was working in the fields, Asmophel training soldiers, and Kasim was hiding in the city. Now Reidan was much safer than when Kraugel had been here. It was an impregnable fortress unless a dragon or great demon attacked.
Administrator Rabbit could develop the city with confidence.
‘In a few months, we can finally escape from a the deficit. I have to slowly raise the labor costs to increase the efficiency of the workers. Is it enough if I raise it by 0.1%?’
Grid was unaware of this, but there were many positive people around him. All of this was created by Grid’s changes and growth, so he should be proud.
***
[The giant worm has been destroyed.]
[2,330,900 experience has been acquired.]
[The desert toad has been destroyed.]
[2,607,400 experience has been acquired.]
‘It is great.’
They headed to the vampire cities. Grid’s group slayed desert creatures as they moved forward. Peak Sword marvelled from among them.
‘These monsters give too much experience. I can’t adapt.’
The desert monsters gave at least 20% more experience than the monsters on the top floor of Cork Dungeon. However, it didn’t take long to hunt them. This was absurd. It was the reason why the Overgeared members monopolized the top rankings after Grid was appointed as lord of Reidan.
‘The vampires will give a lot more experience than the desert monsters. Maybe I might achieve level 307 in this expedition.’
Peak Sword didn’t think that entering the top 10 was a dream. On the other hand, Grid was full of complaints.
‘The experience is too low.’
Most users raised their levels by hunting or quests, but Grid was a special case who raised it through raids. So it was natural for him to complain.
Considering that the knights and elders of the Rebecca Church gave tens of millions of experience, and Pascal gave 700 million experience, the two million of the desert monsters was terrible.
‘When can I reach level 300?’
Pagma’s Descendant didn’t have the concept of second or third class advancements. But at level 300, his stats went through the third awakening like any other user. Since Grid had unusually high stats, he would be dramatically strengthened the moment he reached level 300.
He dreamed of that day, but Grid was currently only level 296. His experience gauge wasn’t even half full yet. He was sighing when he suddenly recalled the Reputation Store. He broke through 30,000 reputation after obtaining the ‘Sealed Ability’ hidden piece and was able to use the Reputation Store.
He had looked at it the other day.
‘There is a potion that gives an experience buff.’ What if he took that potion after entering a vampire city? ‘I can level up!’
Grid opened the Reputation Store.
“Reputation Store!”
Ttiring~
[This is a special service for the best in Satisfy!]
Immediately after this phrase, a golden carriage only visible to Grids eyes fell from the sky. It was very similar to the golden carriage that occasionally came to front line troops that had no PX (Post exchange).
Grid was convinced that the inventor of this system was someone who served in the military.
[Introducing the luxurious goods to our guest!]
[Sweet Candy]
A little candy bar!
A candy with natural sweetness is the best!
There are no chemicals added!
Effects: When the sweet candy is in your mouth, all stats will rise by 30% for 5 minutes.
* This item can only be purchased five times per account.
Price: 20,000 reputation.
It started with the limited-edition products that offered the best performance to…
[Good-looking Sunglasses]
The large frame is the highlight of the square sunglasses!
It is big enough to cover half the face, so it will help someone ugly look handsome!
Effect: Look handsome.
* The charm stat isn’t created or increased. It is a simple accessory with no special function other than a visual effect.
Price: 5,000 reputation.
…Items that had no practical use.
The golden carriage. No, the Reputation Store had around 30 products displayed. There were event-limited products that were occasionally released. In any case, Grid only needed one item right now.
‘Where is the experience potion? Ah, found it!’
Grid’s gaze fixed on a specific produce.
[Draw! Draw! Draw everything!]
A random drawing machine.
At the price of 999 reputation, you can get a variety of items randomly.
* Limited edition items aren’t included.
* There is a certain chance of gaining an experience buff potion.
Price: 999 reputation.
‘This is great!’
Satisfy didn’t have a maximum level, so experience buffs could exponentially increase the gap between users. The experience buff potions common in ordinary games couldn’t be found in Satisfy.
But the Reputation Store was a special place. Only a few users could gather such great achievements, so it needed to be attractive to them. That attraction was the experience buff potion.
Grid went over there in a flash.
‘The cost is cheap. Why is it 999 reputation instead of 1,000?’
There were many 20,000 products in the world valued at 29,990 won. This was a marketing technique to deceive people.
‘It is an opportunity to get a buff potion for a low price!’
999 reputation. Considering that he got 150 reputation when making a unique item and 500 reputation from a legendary item, it wasn’t a cheap price. However, Grid judged that it was worthwhile to try and used 999 reputation on the drawing machine.
[Draw! Draw! You have drawn a product.]
Chwaruruk!
The goods in the machine started spinning. Then after a while.
Rattle!
An item popped out.
[Congratulations! Pretty Hairpin has been acquired!]
[Pretty Hairpin]
A colourful and pretty hairpin.
If you gift it to a woman, she will be delighted.
Weight: 0.1
“…?”
It was the result of losing his mind at the thought of a experience buff potion. Grid temporarily forgot about the odds of a game like this.
“Dammit!”
The blue hairpin was really pretty. It would surely have a great effect with Irene’s silver hair. However, it wasn’t worth wasting 999 reputation on. Grid cursed and tried to throw the hairpin away, but eventually put it in his inventory. It would be a gift for Irene.
He pictured Irene and his anger calmed.
“Yes, it is hard for things to happen the first time.”
The second time. He would try a second draw. Grid bought another spin.
[Congratulations! You have acquired the world’s most delicious skewer.]
[World’s Most Delicious Skewer]
It is a skewer of a hell dog’s hind legs aged for 100 days, then roasted with a secret sauce.
It is the supreme taste that gourmet raiders enjoy.
“It’s just dog meat!”
[This! You have failed! Unfortunately, please look for the next opportunity.]
“There is even a failure?”
Prior to the release of virtual reality games. Grid hadn’t experienced the mobile games that most people in the world played. He only played MMORPGs that he could enjoy on his PC. He didn’t know the fear of drawing games, and was confused.
“Dammit! Bullshit!”
Grid’s anger aimed at innocent creatures. On the way to the vampire city, Grid killed more monsters than anyone else. Even Pon and Regas were surprised at his speedy hunting.
“Grid is really motivated.”
“He is in a high position, so he feels a strong sense of responsibility.”
“Grid has matured even more after the guild merger. Truly wonderful.”
Bias was scary. Filled with misunderstandings, Grid’s party finally arrived at a vampire city.