Chapter 129

Box discovered Toban and greeted him with a smile, "You’ve already arrived.”

Box was an extremely handsome man. He had clear skin, a flattering jawline, and eyes that were sharp enough to capture a woman’s heart. He had long black hair tied up, and the harmony of his appearance and hairstyle made him seem like a young master in the oriental paintings.

But there was a saying to look beyond face value. He played around too much with women. His nickname was Octopus Prince. There were rumors that he had several women on the hook at the same time. So many women had a grudge against him that female users launched a group called ‘Box Killing Group.’

"You’re on time.”

Toban, who was nervous after talking to the spy, welcomed Box. Then he greeted Black Teddy and Asuka as well. But they lacked sociability, unlike Box. They ignored Toban’s greeting and urged immediately.

“Let’s go.”

Black Teddy was a man in his 40’s who was around 2m tall. Not only did he have a good physique, but he also gave off a tough impression with his eyes. However, he always carried a cute teddy bear in his arms that didn’t fit his appearance or age. Toban had met him several times, but it was still difficult to adapt.

‘That teddy bear...’

To be honest, it was hard to look at. A large hairy hand was touching the bear’s head. The mole whispered to Toban, who was frowning.

“Toban, the person who knocked down the pope... He’s wearing the Holy Light Armor. I think it’s right to punish him, for the sake of our church.”

[The contents of the quest ‘Franz' Descendant’ has changed.]

“This.”

Toban’s expression changed as he confirmed the new contents of the quest. He explained the situation to Box’s group, "The treasures I have to recover are no longer in the Vatican. A user has intercepted them, so we have track him down.”

Box looked troubled. “User? Ah, I’m sure it’ll cost a lot of money. I don’t know who he is, but nobody will give away quest items for free. He will likely ask for a lot of money.”

Toban shook his head, “Money isn’t a problem. We must fight that person. The altered quest is telling me to kill him. It seems like the treasures will drop if he is killed.”

Box’s color returned.

“Really? It’s good that it’s so simple.”

The four people gathered here were top rankers. With their combined strength, it would be easy to defeat a user.

"I’ll track him down quickly.”

Box was confident. Black Teddy and Asuka were sniffing like this was trivial. Toban felt the need to make them more cautious.

"Despite the quest contents being changed to fight a user, the difficulty is still SS. This means the opponent is strong, so we should be alert. Share the quest information.”

Toban’s quest information appeared in front of the three of them.

[Franz' Descendant (2)]

Difficulty Level: SS

According to the information from a spy, an enigmatic figure killed the pope alone and obtained Franz’ treasures.

Unfortunately, he seems to be wearing Franz’ treasures.

Only Franz’ descendant can wear his treasures, so Pascal’s plan to prove his authenticity is slowly fading away.

Track him down and kill him!

Then take away Franz’ treasures!

Quest Clear Conditions: Kill the enigmatic figure and reclaim the Holy Light Crown, Armor and Gloves.

Quest Clear Reward: Level +5. The Sword of Wisdom.

Quest Failure: Pascal’s plan to become pope will be wasted. You will be hated by Pascal.

“...?”

Box’s expression stiffened. Black Teddy also hesitated while stroking the teddy bear. There was a moment of silence. Then Asuka opened her mouth for the first time.

"Even I can’t kill the pope alone.”

Asuka was 28th on the unified rankings. The guild often compared her combat capabilities to Pon or Regas. In fact, she had the experience of killing a boss monster in the low 200’s by herself. But according to the information they had, the pope was at least level 330.

She would never dare try to kill him alone. But the enigmatic figure described in the quest contents was said to kill the pope alone.

"Someone capable enough to defeat the pope... They must be at least in the top 10 of the unified rankings and have a hidden class. Perhaps it was Agnus?”

7th on the unified rankings, Agnus! He was one of the three epic hidden classes. He had countless unbelievable sagas.

Box sounded excited, “If it’s him, this will be fun. It’s a chance to figure out what his hidden class might be.”

But Black Teddy disagreed, “Isn’t the opponent too strong? Maybe we’ll all die.”

Asuka hissed at him. "If you are scared then leave. I will fight.”

“Young Lady...”

Asuka was the daughter of the chairman of a global conglomerate. And Black Teddy was her attendant. Black Teddy started Satisfy due to her command. Asuka needed an attendant in Satisfy and chose Black Teddy.

At first, Black Teddy didn’t know the game he was supposed to play. But as he played Satisfy with Asuka, he became a ranker. Now, as a genuine gamer, there were times when he forgot his duty.

"Then I’m out. I don’t want to lose experience... It’s hard to gain levels...”

“Ah, is that so? Will you really leave? I understand. Instead, you're fired. I don’t need an attendant who doesn’t follow their master.”

"It was a joke. I will fight with you.”

Black Teddy was the main breadwinner who supported his old parents and his terminally ill brother. He needed Asuka’s huge paycheck for the cost of living as well as his brother’s medical bills. So, he couldn’t leave her. In fact, it wasn’t just because of money. He had been around Asuka since she was five years old, so he was attached to her.

"If you’re determined, let’s depart.”

The group to hunt the enigmatic figure who killed the pope was formed. They received the guidance of the spy and started to track the path of the enigmatic figure.

Then after three hours? In the dark woods that were like night, thanks to the thick trees blocking the sunlight, Toban was able to find a single man walking.

“Shh!”

Toban signalled his companions to stop. Then they hid as much as possible in the bushes.

"Is that him?” Box asked as he watched the black-haired man walking approximately 100m in front of them.

Toban nodded, "That's right. The system is telling me that it is him.”

Box was puzzled.

“What is he doing with a shabby cloak like that? Doesn’t he look too poor? Is he really the target?”

Toban replied, “High level users don’t always arm themselves with the best items. Some don’t like to be noticed.”

The cloak the black-haired man was wearing was somewhat familiar to Toban. But the cloak didn’t have any special design on it. Therefore, he didn’t think much about it. Asuka silently glanced at Black Teddy. Black Teddy had served her for nearly 20 years, so he could read the meaning in her eyes.

“I understand. I will test his skills.” Then Black Teddy used a skill. “Summon Black Bear.”

Kwaaaaah!

The largest bear on Earth was the grizzly bear. The males had a body length that was around 3m and weighed more than 600kg. They were like a compact car. The black bear that Black Teddy summoned was around 1.5 times bigger and heavier than a grizzly bear.

The bear roared and started charging towards the black-haired man.

“...?”

The man who was peacefully humming stopped at the commotion. Then he turned his head. As soon as his face was revealed, the ID ‘Grid’ appeared over his head. Toban’s eyes widened.

‘Eh? Grid?’

Kwaaaaah!

While Toban was feeling confused, the black bear swung its front paw precisely at Grid’s face. Toban belatedly recovered his spirit and cried out urgently.

“S-Stop! Stop that bear now!”

"What? What are you saying all of a sudden?”

The moment that Black Teddy was feeling puzzled.

Pipit! Pipipipit!

The huge black bear’s body was hacked by dozens of sharp slashes. Then it turned into grey light.

"...Strong!”

Box admired it.

The black-haired man held a small dagger and took care of a level 200 summons in the blink of an eye. Tremendous damage. Box knew of only two people who could exert such physical damage, Jishuka and the one in the skull helmet.

‘Yes, he is strong enough to defeat the pope. But I am unfamiliar with anyone called Grid...’

He wasn’t a ranker? How could he be so strong without being a ranker?

‘Does he have a hidden class?’

While Box was making guesses, Black Teddy was furious.

“You mean bastard...! How dare you cut the cute bear without even a change in expression!”

“H-Hey! Just wait a minute!”

Toban tried to calm the situation down, but it was useless. Black Teddy loved bears, and once his rage was out of control, only Asuka could control him. But Asuka let him rampage.

“Summon Brown Bear Knights!”

Three browns bears, twice as small as the black bear, but armed with helmets, armor, swords and shields were summoned. They were level 240! Black Teddy commanded them, “Get revenge on the slaughterer of your own kind!”

Kuwaaah!

The bears were influenced by their master’s psychological state and angrily flocked to Grid. They started to put pressure on Grid with their swordsmanship. But their momentum was brief. Grid avoided the brown bears’ attacks and countered by stabbing his dagger in a gap of a brown bear’s armor. However, summons didn’t know pain. They kept swinging their swords at Grid, despite suffering from huge injuries.

Grid clicked his tongue. “Why are you so strong?”

Pepepeng!

Grid threw a dart at a bear knight. Then poison mist emerged from the dart.

Kwaaaaah!

The poisoned knights started to bleed and stumble. Grid used this gap to deal the fatal blows, then turned his gaze towards the forest where Toban’s group was hiding.

"What are these bears? Did they come from the circus?”

Toban realized as he looked at Grid.

‘It isn’t a system error... Grid really did defeat the pope.’

Black Teddy was 1st on the summoner rankings. In the guild membership test, he summoned the bear knights and showed great skills against Faker. Now those powerful bear knights were taken care of by Grid in just two minutes.

‘When did he become this strong?’

Grid was presumed to have a legendary hidden class. It was the strongest class rating that could be obtained in Satisfy. But Grid’s level was still low. When he checked the guild information window two weeks ago, Grid was only in the low 100’s.

'Anyway, it’s good.’

Toban had many questions, but he could ask them slowly. Toban would ask Grid to cooperate with his quest.

But the situation went wrong.

“Hey Grid...”

“I won’t forgive you!”

The moment Toban was able to raise his body to say hello to Grid! Black Teddy pushed his way out of the bushes and summoned new pets. In addition, Asuka was exchanging blows with Grid.

Toban made a mistake. Come to think of it, Grid had never met the new guild members. So they didn’t know each other. They might’ve seen each other’s IDs in the guild information window or chat window, but they might’ve forgotten it since it was insignificant.

“Hey, all of you wait a minute... We are part of the same guild...”

Toban tried to calm the situation down, but it was useless. Due to Black Teddy and Asuka’s pincer attack, Grid had pulled out his greatsword.

“Isn’t this a pretty interesting situation?”

Box figured out Grid’s identity after seeing the greatsword and smiled meaningfully. Then he used the puppet magic that was the symbol of linkers and started to control Toban’s body. The situation was worsening.

Toban felt like crying.