“It’s a good idea.”

Based on Ung’s fist, the monsters were a lot more powerful than Grid expected. He had no confidence that White could survive. White’s declaration that he would step down was very much in line with Grid’s thoughts.

‘At least he isn’t a disruptive character.’

White was a middle-aged black man. Grid seriously liked him. He was looking at White with satisfaction when Sua approached.

"It’s great that you are fine after being hit by Ung. Did you make this armor yourself?”

Grid was able to withstand the attack for a reason. It was thanks to his stamina stat, not just Triple Layers. Grid had a huge 1,500 points in stamina. Grid’s minimum defense was equivalent to tankers in the mid-200s. But Sua wasn’t aware of this fact.

From a common sense perspective, it was impossible for Grid to have high stamina when he was a blacksmith. Sua thought that Grid’s high defense was only due to his armor.

"I made the armor."

Chwaruruk!

Grid puffed up his chest, highlighting the beautiful appearance of Triple Layers even further. The hundreds of black scales shone as they moved with Grid’s body, showing a superb art form created by a craftsman.

“Okay. I won’t stop you any longer. You’re someone who can access the dungeon. However, if you want to preserve your body, be prepared to act according to our instructions.”

“Yes.”

Grid didn’t pay much attention to the instructions. Sua had been consistently polite from the beginning and her intentions were purely for Grid’s sake. There was no reason for Grid to think badly of Sua.

‘Well, I’ll end up doing what I want anyway.’

Sua and the Red Phoenix members might be the elite troops, but they would have to concentrate on the armored needles instead of Grid after entering the dungeon. They wouldn’t have the capacity to control Grid.

‘Still, I won’t cross the line.’

Considering the background of the East Continent and the strength of the armored needles, the skills of the Red Phoenix Group were probably above the Red Knights that he had met. It wasn’t unusual for them to be fourth advancement classes and to be stronger than Grid. They weren’t good people to become enemies with.

‘It would be fun to observe them one by one with the Great Lord’s Sword. I will take any talented people to Reidan.’

As Grid was feeling greedy, the Red Phoenix team finished their preparations and started to enter the well one by one. They fell down the deep well without any hesitation.

“Let's go.”

“Yes.”

Sua and Grid were left at the end.

"Please be careful.”

Sua was worried about Grid getting hurt. Her actions of trying to protect Grid made him smile.

‘Her sense of responsibility is unbelievably strong.’

He had a good feeling. It wasn’t just because her touch on his arm was tender.

***

[You have entered the dungeon of Pangea’s castle.]

[The inner wall of the dungeon sucks out light. Using light tools or magic is meaningless.]

[Your field of view has narrowed.]

[This is a physical phenomenon. It can’t be resisted.]

[You can only see within 5 meters of you.]

'It’s worse than the vampire’s dungeon.’

A darkness without any light. It was a darkness that seemed hard to adapt to, no matter how much time passed. Grid felt the need to estimate the size and shape of the dungeon. His fingers reached out to touch the wall and ended up stroking someone’s skin.

At that moment.

“Haaack!”

A Red Phoenix member groaned as he was touched by Grid. The bearded man in his 40’s flushed and made a strange sound. It wasn’t good to see. His legs trembled and weakened.

“Hey Ryu! I know that you have a lot of energy, but there is a time and a place!”

"Doing something so wretched on the battlefield...”

"At a time like this, when we’re with Captain Sua...”

The Red Phoenix members seriously misunderstood.

Stagger.

Ryu felt chagrin as his body barely recovered.

“I was just walking along! I didn’t do what you imagined!”

“Making that sound just by walking?”

"No, something suddenly caressed my wrist!”

“...”

Feeling like that just from his wrist being touched? Sua smiled at Ryu’s absurd plea.

“Your body is very sensitive.”

Ryu was ashamed and couldn’t raise his head, while Sua looked at him with interest. Grid thought it was like a cat with fish placed in front of it.

‘That pervert.’

Sua probably wasn’t to his taste after all.

‘The mild Irene turns into a beast in the...’

How much wilder would it be with Sua?

‘I should watch my hands.’

Since he could only do it once a month, Grid hid his hands behind his back and gulped.

Flash!

Grid’s higher insight caught something shining in the darkness before anyone else.

‘Thread?’

The dungeon passage allowed five heavily armed soldiers to walk side by side. The thread spread out like spiderwebs on one of the paths suddenly shone.

‘It can’t be... Is that silver thread?’

The moment Grid felt astonished.

“An armored needle!”

The Red Phoenix Group discovered it one step later than Grid and prepared for battle. They pulled the bow and aimed at all the other passages apart from the one blocked by the silver thread.

Step, step.

The bows aimed at the passage that footsteps were coming from.

"It’s coming!"

Pik!

Pipipipipit!

The Red Phoenix members attacked in unison. It was quick and accurate archery.

Puk!

Puuoooook!

“Kuwaaaah!”

A scream rang out from the dark passage. It was proof that the arrows of the Red Phoenix members had hit their target.

“Isn’t it great?”

Measuring the position of an invisible target using sound and shooting the arrow accurately.

‘What is their Bow Mastery level?’

Grid admired it while Sua handed him a yellow talisman.

“During the battle, I can’t pay attention to your safety. Please have this talisman.”

[The Protection Talisman has been acquired.]

[It can invalidate an enemy attack when carried. This effect can only be used once.]

[After defeating an enemy’s attack, your defense will increase by 20% for two minutes.]

[The item will disappear after the effect ends.]

‘A one time invincible buff item?’

It was unfortunate that it would be destroyed, but it had a great effect. In particular, it would be godly in PvP or raids. It would sell for a huge price if it could be traded between players.

‘The Red Phoenix Group is giving me such a valuable item...’

Grid felt a great appreciation towards Sua. But he was soon disappointed.

‘It’s an untradable item?’

He couldn’t even move it to his pet inventory. His plan to keep it and sell it later was useless.

‘Maybe it will be consumed in this dungeon.’

Grid clicked his tongue with regret.

“Kuwaaah!”

Four armored needles with arrows piercing their bodies finally showed up. They were zombies wearing bamboo hats. Their silver armor was melting down, embedding in the rotten blood vessels of the zombies. Based on this, Grid deduced one fact.

‘The blood of the armored needles are hot enough to melt silver.’

It was a good idea to avoid their blood when attacking the armored needles.

‘I have to rely on the God Hands for this part.’

Chaaeng!

Chaeeeeeng!

The Red Phoenix members started to deal with the five armored needles. They actively used swordsmanship, which was even better than the archery skills they showed before. But the armored needles were undead monsters. They couldn’t feel pain and weren’t afraid of wounds. They fought fiercely despite being stabbed by the Red Phoenix members’ swords.

Peeeeeong!

The swordsmanship of the armored needles combined power and speed. They were so fast and powerful that the Red Phoenix members couldn’t avoid the blows. They had to defend, forcing them to take a few steps back every time. Some of them fell down.

‘But.’

In Grid’s eyes, the armored needles weren’t a match for the Red Phoenix members.

The Red Phoenix members were really proficient in battle and had high stats. There was surprisingly no fourth advancement class, but the armored needles were thoroughly marked due to the number superiority. It seemed impossible for the armored needles to hurt the group.

However, this was a rash judgment. The armored needles started showing their true skills.

Chwarururuk!

“Be careful!”

The armored needles realized that swordsmanship alone wasn’t enough to overpower the enemies and simultaneously changed battle modes. After inflating the muscles of their body, they extracted the silver thread embedded in their rotten blood vessels. Then they used the thread to threaten the Red Phoenix members.

“Ugh!”

The Red Phoenix members became busy. The silver thread was like a living serpent that stretched out in all directions. Sweat flowed down as they focused on protecting their bodies.

‘How hard is it?’

The silver pieces melted into the blood vessels and the armored needles used them as weapons. The situation changed rapidly the moment the silver thread was used as a weapon. The Red Phoenix couldn’t find a way to counterattack and also had to protect their bodies.

‘Certainly... It is very tricky.’

One armored needle took out around 8~15 strands of silver thread that were 10 meters long. The armored needles used great skill to wield all the strands freely at the enemies.

‘That can’t be avoided. I have to definitely fight with the God Hands.’

It might be different if someone like Regas or Faker were here, but no one present could act freely in front of the silver thread.

Jjejejeok!

Pepepepeong!

The silver thread was very strong. When it encountered the sword of a Red Phoenix member, the member was thrown into the air and pierced the ground or wall like a bullet.

‘Sometimes it’s like a blade, and sometimes a whip...’

The durability was also considerable, seeing that the thread didn’t get damaged by the swords and armor of the Red Phoenix members. There was a reason why the blacksmiths of the East Continent considered the silver thread to be the best material.

‘It looks like a version of pavranium that is as thin as a thread. What is possible?’

What items could be made with the silver thread? As Grid’s infinite imagination as a blacksmith ran wild, the Red Phoenix group was facing a great crisis.

“They have appeared!”

There were two main reasons for blocking the passage with the silver thread. The first was to block the intruders from escaping. The second was to buy time for the armored needles to fuse together. The fusion of the armored needles was terrible.

At least two armored needles were connected together with silver thread and became one. Of course, there was no inconvenience with their movements due to the seamless connection. Therefore, it could be described as a monster optimized for war, with at least two extra limbs.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

The sound of the monster’s roar exploded from the pathway blocked by the silver thread.

“Everyone retreat!”

Sua had never experienced facing four armored needles at the same time and instructed the Red Phoenix members to retreat. But the armored needles didn’t allow them to leave. The silver thread shot out like spiderwebs to block the retreat. The Red Phoenix members’ attempt to get to the passage behind Grid was blocked off.

“This...!”

The Red Phoenix fell into confusion. A fused armored needle with four limbs and five ordinary ones ran at them! Danger was approaching. Sua felt a strong sense of responsibility. She was the captain of the Red Phoenix group and successor of Han Seokbong. She couldn’t let the Red Phoenix members and the saviour of Pangea, Grid, die in this place. She flew forward without hesitation and faced the armoured needles alone.

“I will buy time while you run away!”

“Captain!”

“Young Lady!”

The Red Phoenix members couldn’t stop her. Sua was the fastest among them and had already fallen into the middle of the enemies. However, Grid was beside her.

“You!?”

No, what was with this blacksmith? Why did he come to die when she sacrificed herself to let him run away? Sua thought it was absurd when an unexpected development occurred.

“Pagma's Sword Dance.”

Intense energy moved around Grid as he completed the sword dance and wielded the +9 Failure.

“Wave.”

Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!

A powerful light was shot from Failure and moved through the darkness.