Chapter 160

Bairan Village was completely restored from the war and enjoyed a larger boom than before.

There were many users who became fans after watching the Tzedakah Guild’s battle through TV and the Internet.

Some of them tried to spy on Pagma's Successor, but there was nothing to worry about. It was impossible to obtain a clue about Grid just by looking at the video, and Grid’s residence was Winston, not Bairan. It was futile placing spies in Bairan.

“If the current trend continues, the population will exceed 12,000. It’s expected to steadily increase in the future."

“12,000? Can the size of this village accommodate that many people?”

“We need to expand the scale of the village by raising our internal affairs. But to do that, money is required, and we don’t have any at the moment.”

"The tax revenue will naturally increase as the population grows, so won’t time solve the insufficient funds? Isn’t it better to invest in internal affairs afterwards, instead of getting into debt?”

"There is no need to be in debt. Most of the new migrants have a very good feeling towards us. If we get our fan club to donate money to us, we will be able to grow our internal affairs faster than expected.”

“Oh...! The women’s cries filled the street whenever I walk through the village, are they my fans? Puhahat~!”

“They can’t be called fans but... Anyway Vantner, you are pretty popular. It seems that people liked the appearance of you trying your best to protect Jishuka.”

“Ohh, really? There will be more requests for broadcasts in the future. I have to quickly earn money and pay Grid for the armor! Puhahat~!”

The atmosphere of the Tzedakah Guild had been desperate when the large-scale army invaded and shattered the village. But now they were relaxed and in a better situation than before. As they were conversing happily, the quiet Faker said.

"This is all thanks to Grid."

There wasn’t one person who denied the opinion.

“It was big when Pon and Regas were tied up. If Grid hadn’t appeared on time and helped us, we would have all died. We might’ve managed to stop the Yatan Church if we fought hard, but the damage would’ve been too big.”

“I never dreamed that Grid would make such a big difference on the battlefield when he was brought on as a blacksmith.”

“I thought with Grid’s nature, he would ignore us when we were in a crisis. But he helped us. I was honestly impressed.”

"When I first saw him, Grid was incredibly selfish, but not anymore. His personality has become softer and there is some sense of fellowship. He is growing as a colleague we can depend on in the future.”

"We should try to be colleagues that Grid can rely on.”

"Of course.”

Grid’s reliability and affinity with the guild members reached its peak.

‘I am proud to see that Grid is being recognized.’

Ibellin had admired Grid since he smashed the Giant Guild in Winston.

"Did you see the broadcast? I watched it a few days ago and Grid really looked like the protagonist of a movie. I got goosebumps.”

Laella currently wasn’t a singer, but she used to be a global idol.

“I also saw the video. I didn’t know it at the time of the battle, but Grid was really nice on the video. In particular, the scene of him showing up to save Jishuka was fantastic.”

Bairan Village Castle’s meeting room.

The guild members sitting around the big round table turned their gaze towards Jishuka. Then they spoke with playful expressions.

"At that time, Jishuka looked different from usual.”

“Right? She seemed to be looking at Grid like a woman. She was blushing.”

"Master, are you attracted to Grid~?”

"..."

Jishuka didn’t deny the giggling guild member’s words. It was true that her heart started beating quickly the moment Grid saved her from death.

"...He was definitely cool. But he’s already married.”

Jishuka muttered in a small voice with a sad expression. Nobody heard her and kept on talking, with the exception of Faker, who had excellent hearing due to the nature of the assassin class.

‘Master is finally interested in the opposite sex.’

Faker gave a rare smile and changed the atmosphere. "I heard that the blacksmith in Bairan Village has become an advanced blacksmith.”

The topic changed in an instant.

"Ah, I heard that as well. Isn’t it strange? An old man who was a beginner blacksmith for decades suddenly became an advanced blacksmith in a few days?”

“I don’t know why, but it’s still good. Thanks to that, the production speed and quality of the weapons have greatly improved, so it is easier to replenish the soldiers.”

“An advanced blacksmith... I’m looking forward to the synergy with the genius miner kid recruited by Grid a week ago.”

"If the power of those two are added to Grid’s power... Kouh, it is big. The day when the guild will have the power of an army will someday arrive.”

The Tzedakah Guild was a collection of talented people dreaming about the future. They became the strongest guild since the recruitment of Grid, so their potential for growth was endless.

***

Bairan Village’s library.

“...What am I doing?”

The boy genius, Minor, was exhausted.

For the past week, he had been reading 16 hours a day and was mentally at his limit. He had never picked up a book and now he had to read two books a day? In the beginning, he only read books about minerals, so he was interested. But now he had to read books related to geography.

In the end, Minor got up from his seat.

“I am a miner! Why does a future king’s miner have to read?”

A knight noticed his shouting. "Have you forgotten that this is a solemn place? Be quiet and study hard.”

No matter how much of a genius he was, Minor was still just a boy. He couldn’t take it and eventually wept.

“This is torture. Why do I have to stay here all day reading books? Huh? Sob sob.”

"This is Viscount Grid’s command. Follow it without complaining.”

Jishuka’s knight had no mercy. He thoroughly performed his supervisor role. Minor became filled with more spite with every day that passed.

"Grid, that bad man... I will get revenge later on.”

At the same time, Smith’s smithy.

“Why are my ears ticklish?”

Grid was disassembling, reassembling and enhancing his equipment, like the Holy Light Armor and Dainsleif, in order to increase his understanding. Smith approached him with a frown and suggested.

"Do you need an earbud?”

"...Please act moderately.”

He still felt insecure about Smith’s gay tendencies. Grid wanted to leave here as soon as possible.

Kaaang! Kaaang!

He kept hammering. Grid was better at disassembling and reassembling items than before, then he turned his attention towards the entrance of the smithy.

"I have completed my mission and returned.”

A Mongolian man appeared with perfect timing. It was Huroi. In the last 12 days, he had led Jude and 100 soldiers to hunt the frostlight orcs, and now he had returned. It was finally time for Grid to go back to Winston.

Grid smiled at this thought and welcomed Huroi. Then he observed Jude using the Ruler’s Sword, which he still hadn’t returned to Jishuka in the name of finding another talent.

Name: Jude

Age: 25 Gender: Male

Occupation: Captain of Winston’s 13th Hundred Man Unit

Level: 120

Strength: 1,016/2,080 Stamina: 490/908

Agility: 54/330 Intelligence: 11/20

Skills: Snatch the Enemy’s Weapon and Use it as a Weapon (S). Silence (A). I have no Idea (SS-).

A rare fool born in Winston. When it comes to strength, he doesn’t fall behind anyone. He is a natural warrior who doesn’t know fear.

Unfortunately, his brain is less evolved. No matter how hard he tries, he can never climb to a higher position. It is close to a miracle that he became the captain of a hundred man unit.

‘He gained 17 levels and his stats increased by 280.’

A user gained 10 fixed stat points with every level up, while a NPC randomly gained between 6~20 stat points. Jude was a superb NPC who got at least 16 stat points every time his level went up, so it was a truly dazzling growth. But there was one annoying part.

‘Isn’t his intelligence the same?’

Grid frowned for a moment.

'In the first place, his maximum intelligence is 20... He’s so stupid that I won’t expect anything from him. Let’s check the details of his skills.’

[Snatch the Enemy’s Weapon and Use it as a Weapon]

Rating: S

A talent that one person per 100,000 people will have.

If you take advantage of a chance, you can take the enemy’s weapon and use it.

[Silence]

Rating: A

* The default rating of the ‘Silence’ skill is S-grade. However, the intelligence of the owner is so low that it is demoted.

A talent that one person per 100,000 people will have.

Those with this talent are very reticent and don’t boast about what they see and hear.

In general, your loyalty to your superiors is high, so it’s rare for you to betray your masters. Most stewards have this skill.

[I have no Idea]

Rating: SS-

A Jude only skill.

You are ignorant and brave. In order to fulfill your mission, you will even run into a fire pit.

You will never feel the fear state. However, the chances of receiving other status conditions will increase by 50%.

If you face a crisis, there is a high chance to activate the ‘Fight Desperately’ skill.

[Fight Desperately]

For three minutes, damage will be reduced by 50% and attack power will increase by 80%.

‘The level of the soldiers rose by an average of 8~10 and there are no victims.’

Overall, it was a great performance. His plan to make Jude’s Hundred Man Unit an elite unit of Winston had taken one step forward. Grid smiled and reached out to Huroi. Huroi thought that Grid was going to pat him on the shoulders. But that wasn’t it.

“What about the sylphid scales?”

"..."

Huroi couldn’t hide his sadness and searched his inventory. Then he pulled out the 28 sylphid scales that he worked hard to earn over the past 28 days.

‘I am finally able to create the invisibility cloak.’

Grid happily collected it and said. “As you may have noticed, the sylphid scales are items not easily traded between users. So it is difficult to determine how much to pay you.”

His words were the truth.

The frostlight orcs weren’t well known and their habitat was so cold that most users didn’t hunt there. It was much more beneficial to hunt other monsters of the same level. The drop rate of the sylphid scales was also very low, so its value wasn’t known.

Therefore, Grid meant to pay for it in a different way.

"Huroi, I heard that you obtained the Sword Mastery skill after acquiring your second class?”

“Yes.”

"Okay, I will make a sword for you. Let’s return to Winston first.”

Grid returned the Ruler’s Sword to Jishuka, said goodbye to the guild members and left Bairan. Of course, he took Minor with him. The guild questioned Grid’s strange way of educating Minor, but Grid had asked Minor to be assigned to him and they trusted him.

***

『 Satisfy’s national competition is to be held in three days, and the number of tourists visiting South Korea is estimated to reach 800,000. 』

『 Considering that tourists for the Olympics averages between 200,000 and 500,000, the popularity of Satisfy’s national competition is well above the Olympics and the ratings will be very high... 』

Time passed quickly when one was busy.

Four months passed in Satisfy time, while it was time for the national competition in reality.

“Is this the last one?”

The north of the Eternal Kingdom.

A black-haired man was standing in front of a small cave in an unexplored forest. Then a boy with a sharp impression, who seemed like he would become handsome when older, replied gruffly.

“Yes.”

“Okay, you wait here.”

The black-haired man, Grid, pulled out something from his inventory. It was a white hooded zip up worn by young people in modern society. An amazing thing happened once he wore it. The man suddenly disappeared. It was a sight that seemed like a lie.

But the boy, Minor, didn’t seem surprised at all. He looked like he was tired and leaned back against the entrance of the cave.

Then after a while.

A huge explosion sounded from the deepest part of the cave. It was like an earthquake, causing the forest outside the cave to shake and for birds to fly into the air. But Minor didn’t wake up. How much sleep was he lacking to be so deeply asleep?

“Eek?”

The orc group that ran away with fright because of the earthquake stopped as they found Minor.

"Uwekukukrerek (Grab that puny human kid).”

“Ekkukikuk? Eekuik (An emergency food supply? It’s a good idea).”

Ssik.

The orcs exchanged sly smiles and quietly pulled out their axes. Then they were surprised as they cautiously approached Minor.

"I can avoid the golems’ gazes, but it’s impossible to stop Braham’s trap. It seems that Stealth is useless against it. I feel bad every time my passive disappears.”

“Eek?”

In front of the sleeping boy. Someone’s voice was heard, but there was no one there. The orcs doubted their ears and rubbed their eyes. Suddenly, a shark-shaped sword popped out of thin air.

“Kiek!”

Blood spurted at the same time from the five astonished orcs. A man slowly appeared in front of the orcs. It was Grid wearing the Hooded Zip Up. He whistled as he held an egg shaped lump in his hand.

“With this, I have recovered all the pavranium in the Eternal Kingdom. Okay, I should go back now.” (TL: This doesn't mean he recovered all the pavranium on the continent, only the ones in the Eternal Kingdom)

If he wanted to acquire all the pavranium that Braham hid around the continent, he needed to revive Braham after receiving the blessing from God Yatan. But it was currently impossible.

So Grid tried to figure out a different approach. It was to raise Minor’s intelligence, maximize his minerals detection ability, and then use him to search directly for the pavranium. These actions were enough to stimulate Braham.

[Pagma's Successor has started questioning my identity? Then I have to take the next step.]

Satisfy’s team manager, Yoon Nahee reported it to Chairman Lim Cheolho.

“The emergence conditions for a new legendary class, Braham’s Successor, has been achieved.”

Lim Cheolho enjoyed it.

"The truth that Braham is a wicked liar has finally been grasped by Grid?”

"...It seems unlikely.”

Yoon Nahee replied to Lim Cheolho with an embarrassed expression.

“Hahaha! That friend is still the same. His name is on the national competition’s list, so it will be a lot of fun to watch.”

“The person who registered his name on the list isn’t him, but Yura, who is backed by the Korean government. It is unlikely that he will participate in the national competition.”

Lim Cheolho gave a meaningful smile. “Is it really like that?"