Chapter 90
For the administrator’s quest, he created two Divine Shields. While the legendary shield was stolen from right in front of him, Grid still had the rare shield.
[Divine Shield]
Rating: Rare
Durability: 360/360 Defense: 189 Magic Resistance: 150
* There is a rare chance of completely resisting dark spells.
An item made by a craftsman with great skills and potential, but his experience and reputation is somewhat lacking.
Thanks to the power of Cassus, a priest of the Rebecca Church, it shines with the divine power of the goddess of light. Due to its strength against dark magic, all followers of demons and the Yatan Church will suffer when facing this shield.
User Restriction: Level 190 or higher. More than 500 strength. More than 1,000 divine power. A member of the Rebecca Church.
Weight: 800
“What, that shield?”
As soon as Grid pulled out the golden shield, the wildly rampaging dogs stepped back at once. Then they started whining like puppies.
The Tzedakah Guild were filled with admiration. In particular, Jishuka was extremely shaken. She couldn’t let go of her hope and asked Grid, “That shield… Did you make it? Just like the Special Jaffa Arrow?”
“…!”
The creator of the Special Jaffa Arrow was Grid? The Tzedakah Guild members doubted their ears. Grid was only focused on saving his life, so he nodded without thinking.
“Yes, I made it. But this…”
Kwaduduk!
Grid suddenly gritted his teeth before raising his eyes and roaring, “This is a failure! Shit! The real finished product was stolen from me by some jerk!”
“Heok…”
It was one of the most outstanding shields the Tzedakah Guild had seen. They admired the Divine Shield, so they were shocked to hear it being called a ‘failure.’
“T-That great shield is a failure? When it’s one of the top three shields I’ve seen so far?”
The guild members were perturbed. Pon went to Jishuka’s side.
“Grid’s dagger and armor are unusual. It is clear that both of them have an outstanding performance. That dagger seems to require high agility and that heavy armor is only worn by knights. Above all, Grid revealed a strong sword technique earlier. However, he is a blacksmith? The one who produced the Special Jaffa Arrow… Is he the unknown craftsman we are looking for?”
What type of blacksmith could be armed with a dagger and heavy armor? Didn’t he also do a sword dance that was typical for a blade dancer? Jishuka didn’t have an answer for the suspicious Pon, but she didn’t agree either.
“Grid recognized the Special Jaffa Arrow with one glance and said it was made by him. There is no reason for him to lie. So, let’s assume he is the unknown craftsman.”
“Hrmm…”
Pon had been with Jishuka since L.T.S. and trusted her judgment. She was an open and credible person, thus she became the guild master. But this was an exception. No matter how he looked, it was impossible that Grid was a blacksmith.
As Pon was unable to get rid of his suspicions, Malacus cried out. “That is the Divine Shield…! Are you the rumored blacksmith who has business deals with Winston’s lady?”
Malacus was particularly agitated.
“The Divine Shield is in your hands… It means that Mesta failed his mission… No wonder there was a delay in his arrival!”
Now things made sense to Grid. The one who brainwashed the administrator and stole the Divine Shield was a subordinate of Malacus.
“You fu*ker! It was you! You are the jerk who stole my shield!”
Grid became furious after discovering that Malacus was behind this. Pon shook as he heard the vulgar words coming from Grid. It was because he felt a strong excitement.
‘Even Malacus is calling Grid a blacksmith.’
It was evidence that Grid’s identity was as Jishuka thought.
‘A blacksmith who can wear heavy armor and use that dagger, in addition to the sword dance…’
Pon thought about it and asked Jishuka to confirm.
“Master. Perhaps Grid has a hidden class?”
“It looks that way, right?”
Jishuka nodded. Pon’s tone increased in excitement.
“In order to determine Grid’s identity, we have to finish this raid quickly. Right? Regas.”
“Ah, yes.”
Regas emerged from a corner when called. His health and wounds had recovered with the help of his guild members. Confidence was written all over his expression.
“I already know a strategy to attack Malacus, so I will finish it at once.”
Regas who watched the battle from right beside Malacus! The one with pure combat skills asked Grid for help, not anyone else.
“Grid, these dogs seem afraid of your shield, so I hope you will help us.”
All eyes concentrated on Grid at the words. Questioning, doubt, confusion, and expectation were in their eyes as Grid nodded.
“I will help you if you promise to give me 50% of the items that Malacus drops.”
Vantner, who was sitting on one side and watching for the potion cooldown time to be over, shouted angrily.
“Hey! If you add the 17 of us and you alone, there is a total of 18 people. Therefore, the dropped items should be divided into 18 equal parts. Why should you take 50% alone? In the first place, isn’t Regas helping you for free? You are receiving free help but when you help, it is paid? Eh?”
“You shouldn’t be counted as 17 people. Aren’t all 17 of you one organization? Shouldn’t an organization be counted as one person? In addition, Regas work with me is different. I was helped by Regas, but have you helped me? Why is this uncle acting so patronizing?”
“What? Hey, you! This is the first time I’ve met someone worse than Pon! Hey! Who in the world would make calculations like this? If it wasn’t for us, wouldn’t you already be killed by Malacus? So shouldn’t you thank us? Isn’t this too unconscionable?”
“It is you who should thank me. Didn’t you get a chance to fight Malacus because of me? The raid was on the verge of failure, but you survived thanks to my shield.”
“Huh!”
“Stop it Vantner.”
Pon quickly determined that Grid wasn’t an ordinary person. He calmed Vantner and nodded at Grid.
“You are right. I will divide the items 5:5 according to the condition you have proposed. Please remember. We are unconditionally kind to you.”
Pon was laying the groundwork to have Grid join the guild. But Grid had no knowledge of this and mistook it.
‘They need the help of my Divine Shield to defeat Malacus. This shit.. I should’ve made the item allocation 7:3 instead of 5:5.’
Jishuka invited Grid to the party. Grid accepted with an unwilling expression and was surprised to see the list of party members.
‘More than level 200!’
Grid knew that the Tzedakah Guild was a small and elite force. But he never imagined they would be at this level.
‘Jishuka is level 251. Pon is 243… Regas 239… If this is the case, shouldn’t all three of them be in the top 20 of the unified rankings? The others can be in the top 100… What is this monster like group?’
There are numerous guilds in Satisfy. Among the established guilds, there were a few belonging to the top 1,000 of the unified rankings. Each guild should have around five rankers at most. Yet all 17 members of the Tzedakah Guild were at least top 200 rankers. They might be few in numbers, but they were certainly one of the strongest guilds in Satisfy.
On the other hand, subtle complex emotions crossed the faces of the guild members who checked Grid’s level.
‘Level 95… Low.’
‘It is high for a blacksmith but… Isn’t he a hidden class like Master and Pon are suggesting, not a pure blacksmith?’
‘Level 95 for a hidden class is…’
‘If this is real… I can’t play games anymore.’
“What? What is it?”
Grid felt somewhat uncomfortable as the Tzedakah Guild members looked at him. But unlike the others, Regas just laughed and grabbed him. “Let’s go!”
“Eh? W-Wait a minute…”
Regas lifted Grid’s body. Then he threw the baffled Grid between Malacus and the hell’s keepers.
“Aaaaack~~! Do you want to kill me? Wahhhhh!”
Kwang!
“Oh! My butt!”
Yip! Yiiip!
As Grid and the Divine Shield fell from the sky, the hell’s keepers were frightened and scattered. But Malacus was different.
“That shield, I will thankfully take it! Huh?” He was confused to see Regas appear in front of him. Then he laughed. “You want to face me head on? Kukuk! You must be crazy!”
Regas struck him.
Peeng!
“…Keok!”
Blood poured from Malacus’ mouth. The black shield, which boasted the absolute defense, collapsed in front of Regas’ fist.
‘What?’
Malacus didn’t make a mistake. He deployed the shield at the exact point of attack. But Regas’s fist wasn’t blocked by the shield and hit his abdomen unobstructed. Malacus couldn’t understand how.
Then once again!
Peeok!
“Kuak!”
Malacus’ face was hit by Regas’ elbow. This time, Malacus was able to grasp the situation.
‘This guy is able to change the trajectory of his attacks!’
It was correct. As a means of defeating Malacus’ defense, Regas adopted the simple method of changing the attack orbit in real time.
Peeok!
“Kkeok!”
If the fist aimed for the bottom of the chin, the shield was deployed there. However, the fist would stop along the way and hit the neck instead.
Pakak!
“Ugh!”
The shield opened on the left side of the head, but the fist stopped in the middle and struck the jaw instead.
Dadadadada!
Pepepepeok!
Regas’ fists, which had a passive skill that ignored the enemy’s defense by 33%, hit Malacus at a speed that wasn’t visible.
Peeeeeonk!
In the end, Malacus was hit cleanly in the chest and he flew back into the forest.
Ku tang tang tang!
Malacus’ body pierced through a few trees before being stuck deeply in a large rock.
“K… Keuok…”
Malacus was broken and bloody all over as he emerged from the rock. But he recovered like all that damage was a lie. It was an overwhelming recovery based on magic power. However, this meant an excessive consumption of magic power.
Malacus exited the forest and spoke to Regas in an unconcerned manner.
“You are stupid. If you change the orbit in the middle of the attack, won’t your muscles tear apart? On the other hand, I can heal from all attacks. The more you hit me, the more you are damaging yourself. Even more…”
Regas ignored the talking Malacus and once against wielded his fists. Malacus unfolded the shield to protect his whole body. Then he laughed. “If I use the shield like this, it doesn’t matter if your fist can change orbit. You will never touch my body!”
“Yes. My fists are useless. But that…”
Regas smiled. Arrows flew towards Malacus.
Jeeeong!
“…!”
The arrows penetrated through the shield and hit Malacus. Regas explained to Malacus who had fallen down. “I saw your shield becoming weaker as the range expanded. And your weakened shield can’t stop Master’s arrows.”
Archers were special among the combat classes. Due to their poor defense, they were rated as one of the worst in close combat, along with magicians. Instead, they had an extremely high attack power. In all of Satisfy’s classes, few could do as much physical damage as archers.
And Jishuka was at the peak of archers. The woman who was called the expert archer.
Regas witnessed Malacus using three layers of shields against Pon’s Mach Spear and two layers against Jishuka’s arrows, so he developed the current strategy.
“Y… You…!”
The wound was slow to heal because it was a fatal injury. The Tzedakah Guild poured attack skills towards the temporarily defenseless Malacus.
“Kuaaaaak! Divine Punishment!”
Kwarururung! Kwang kwang!
Dozens of black lightning bolts fell from the sky. Malacus sensed a crisis and used his best spell. It dealt catastrophic damage to the Tzedakah Guild.
“This enormous attack power…”
Toban and Vantner managed to endure it. However, the other guild members were stunned and became defenseless. The guild members with weak magic resistance died instantly. Despite the fact that they raised their stats, including health and mana, with various buffs and potions, they suffered a crisis and were on the verge of annihilation.
Fortunately, Jishuka maintained a careful distance and was safe, while Grid was protected by the Divine Shield. Grid sighed with relief when he saw the guild member’s health go down instantly.
‘If it didn’t have the option of a rare chance of defeating dark magic, I would’ve died. Ku… I should buy the lottery ticket later on.’
“You…”
Malacus got up with great difficulty. Most of his injuries were healed, despite being a semi-corpse a moment ago.
‘This is the last chance!’
They had to hit Malacus before he completed healed. Jishuka didn’t want the sacrifice of her guild members to be in vain, so she used her strongest attack skill that consumed 100% of her mana.
“Phoenix Arrow!”
The Special Jaffa Arrow flew through the air and flames appeared around it in the shape of a huge phoenix. The phoenix burned everything around it and swallowed Malacus.
Kwaaaang!
An explosion that shook the earth! The Tzedakah Guild hoped that it was the end of Malacus, but no system messages appeared. Malacus, who lost half his body, emerged from the flames.
“Ku…keok… Girl…! I…kill…!”
The remains of a five-layer shield were in front of Malacus. Jishuka’s Phoenix Arrow was able to smash through Malacus’ five-layer shield and damage him. But as a result, Malacus survived. Indeed, a boss monster had enormous health.
Toban and Vantner went forward.
“We have to end him before he fully recovers!”
Toban’s mace and Vantner’s twin axes aimed at Malacus’ body. But their attacks didn’t hurt Malacus or play a role in restraining his regenerative power.
Regas and Pon lamented as they watched.
‘The two of them are lacking attack power…!’
Jishuka reached her mental limit from exhausting her mana, so she didn’t try for another attack. With the exception of Toban and Vantner, everyone else was still in the stunned state. Malacus laughed as he dismissed Toban and Vantner’s attacks.
“Kuhahahaha! Okay! Okay! Hell’s keepers! Eat those people!”
Grrrung.
Bark! Bark bark!
This was the end. The raid failed. As everyone was watching the hell’s keepers desperately-
“Pagma’s Swordsmanship.”
Grid, who was armed with a greatsword instead of a dagger, started to dance.
Buuuong. Buuuong.
The greatsword was over 3m in length but it moved through the air to an invisible tune.
“You…?”
Malacus’ expression hardened. That familiar aura was being emitted from Grid again. This was killing intent. It was truly a perfect killing intent. The killing intent around Grid was compressed into the sword.
“Y-You… This is ridiculous!”
Malacus had sacrificed thousands, tens of thousands of virgins as living sacrifices. He experienced all types of hatred and anger, but this was the first time he was threatened by a killing intent.
“You!”
It was coming. Malacus wanted to prepare for it. But his body still wasn’t fully recovered, so he couldn’t act freely. Then Grid’s sword dance ended.
“Kill!”
After entering the party, Grid received the buff skills like the other members, causing his stats to rise! His maximum mana increased, allowing him to trigger Kill.
Kuooooh!
The greatsword filled with extreme killing intent pierced straight into Malacus’ heart. Then a notification window flashed in front of Grid.