“He is greater than the rumors.”

Marbas—it was a name that was often mentioned when discussing hell. It was said he had the power to change the order of the great demons. In many ways, Grid thought it was an exaggerated reputation. The order of great demons was determined by strength. They fought and won, and their ranking increased as they won. It wasn’t something that could be forced by the power of others. This was what Grid thought.

Now it was definitely ambiguous. Marbas expelled Grid’s party from hell as if declaring that hell was his home. It was a force that dismissed the dignity of a god. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the peak of power.

“That guy is Yatan’s agent?” If not, it doesn’t make sense for him to treat hell as his home.

Yura agreed with Grid’s speculation, “Yatan’s agent is known to be Amoract, but... after seeing Marbas, I think Yatan might have multiple agents.”

Marbas’ power had always been attributed to his ability to breed demonkin and demonic creatures, but this seemed to be fundamentally wrong. It was clear he had strong backing.

Nefelina took one more bite of food and praised Marbas’ skills, “Regardless of his force, his magic abilities are great. I didn’t feel any fluctuations in mana until he appeared in front of us so his magic casting speed is more than my perception.”

She might be a hatchling who was just born and had high pride as the blood of the insane dragon, but she didn’t disparage others without basis. She was fully aware and convinced that there were many people in the world who were stronger than herself, just as she expressed deep gratitude to Grid for protecting her from the tower members.

“Then why did Marbas help us?”

“......”

No one could answer this fundamental question.

Grid changed the question, “What was the level of the cerberus and black knight?”

Marbas had said that the 20th Hell was still too early for them. Grid was also vaguely aware of it. Every time the cerberus fired flames, the world of transcendence was activated and the messengers couldn’t easily respond. Yet this was just the pet of the 20th Great Demon. The 20th Great Demon, who wore full body black armor and had a red glow—he was likely to be stronger than the cerberus.

“The cerberus is a mythical creature that represents hell along with the hydra. It is a very powerful and fierce beast that even the gods of the sky are afraid of. It won’t be able to win easily even if we overcome the oppression of hell.” This was Zikfrector’s answer.

Grid couldn’t deny it. He experienced that the cerberus he met so far were completely different from the cerberus of the 20th Hell.

“The Black Knight... I don’ t know. Our seven good people didn’t experience hell, so I only know bits and pieces of it.”

“I know.” Sariel raised her hand when she heard this. Her blonde hair was shiny and her seductive collarbone was revealed. Sariel wore only a thin piece of cloth on her body and a lot of her skin was exposed. The curves of her body were revealed when she moved. Of course, Grid had no interest. It was because in Grid’s eyes, Sariel had a neutral gender. It was hard to recognize her as one way or another—whether as a male or a female—when she kept changing her appearance between a man and a woman.

“One of the targets I was trained to be most vigilant about in case of a war between heaven and hell is Black Knight Eligos. I heard he is one of the strongest in all of hell. I wasn’t expecting him to be guarding the 20th Hell... I was surprised as well.”

“One of the strongest in all of hell?” Grid frowned. It was a response like he wasn’t convinced. It was natural. Eligos was the ruler of the 20th Hell. He might be named, but there should still be limits. It was hard to admit that he was no different from a single digit great demon.

Sariel added an explanation, “Black is a color that symbolizes wickedness and evil. From the moment that black was used to describe Eligos, it proves that he is a special being among great demons.”

Grid murmured, “Um... If that is true, then the conquest of the 20th Hell should be postponed until after all of us completely overcome hell’s punishment.”

“Is there a way?” Braham’s question in response was unfavorable. As a vampire i.e. a demonkin, he knew how hard it was for non-demonkin to be liberated from the oppression of demonic energy. From Braham’s point of view, the only ones who could overcome the oppression of demonic energy among Grid’s messengers were himself and Nefelina.

Grid laughed in this heavy atmosphere. “There is naturally a method. There is a huge pushover.”

Hell Gao. The 9th ranked great demon who periodically invaded the human world because he wanted to regain the body sealed by Muller or because he wanted to erase the mistakes of being repeatedly defeated by humanity. He was a single digit great demon who was still a famous name in hell. Just being acknowledged by him helped improve Grid’s reputation in hell and erased hell’s penalty.

***

Under Grid’s guidance, the Hell Gao raid teams were overhauled. Hell Gao appeared along with seven fire stones. Grid had to lead the team directly in order to raid him, but Grid was excluded from the list. Grid’s vacancy was filled by Braham, Nefelina, Mercedes, Piaro, Sariel, and Zikfrector. It was a gorgeous selection of members.

“Isn’t it better for us to be removed from the group at this level?”

Once the number of fire stones increased, Hell Gao’s emergence cycle was slower than before. It was exactly once every 45 days. The 10 meritorious retainers who had been supporting Grid expressed their disapproval. They believed they would be a small help when they were with Grid, but now it was hard to have that belief.

If the messengers joined forces, Hell Gao could be easily eliminated. Was there any reason for them to join the raid team? It wasn’t just a waste of manpower. The problem was that they would get a share of the rewards. The items would enter the treasury, but experience was different. The difference was based on contribution, but it was shared between all the raid team members. The 10 meritorious retainers believed it wouldn’t be helpful to share the experience.

Grid understood their thoughts. “I know it is much better for you to hunt personally rather than spending time on the Hell Gao raid. Still, I hope you will participate for the sake of the guild’s development. There is a title you will get from raiding the great demon a certain number of times and you should obtain it.”

They were words full of consideration. Anyone who heard it would think that it was the 10 meritorious retainers suffering losses.

“Grid...”

The Overgeared members were warmed by Grid’s gentleness, but this became a dagger for Jishuka. She wanted to give up her feelings for Grid and to hate Grid. However, it wasn’t possible when witnessing things such as this over and over again. Jishuka bit her red lips and left the meeting room first.

Grid looked after her with a sad expression and Yura was also depressed. She was as ignorant about love as Grid and Jishuka, but that didn’t mean she was blind. She noticed the atmosphere between them and realized something had happened.

At first, she was happy. She was happy when thinking of the fact that Grid, who was conflicted between her and Jishuka, finally made up his mind and chose her. Then that joy... it only lasted a few days. She had no choice but to admire Jishuka as a woman. She felt guilty when she saw the always bright Jishuka being depressed and in pain. It was also hard to see Grid suffering from his choice.

In fact, Grid seemed to hesitate. The number of dates between Grid and Yura had increased significantly recently, but their relationship hadn’t deepened. Maybe... the one that Grid should’ve chosen was Jishuka, not her.

Jishuka was someone who came to South Korea to be with Grid. Could Yura do that in her position? Yura had confessed to Grid in front of people around the world and placed shackles on him. It was hard to imagine a cowardly person like her would’ve acted as courageous as Jishuka.

‘The person who should be by Grid...’ Yura thought about Grid smiling happily at Jishuka’s actions despite being embarrassed. The person who suited Grid who was passive in love was Jishuka, not Yura. Yura already knew this.

‘But...’ She didn’t want to leave yet. She wanted to be with Grid, at least for the moment when Grid needed her for the hell expedition.

‘Please understand this last greed.’ Yura apologized as she looked at the back of the departing Jishuka.

***

There were a total of 31 items such as bones, leathers, and horns with diverse attributes and different shapes. There were also four peak quality gems and 39 highest quality gems. There were five bloodstones and 22 obsidians.

One week in reality. This was the list of materials secured during the week-long expedition in hell. These were just the crafting materials among the loot. Among the items, there were nine legendary rated ones and he gained a huge 43 enhancement stones. There were also the former legend’s skills and the skill level rise from Dantalion.

Hell. An uncharted land that no one dared to invade except for Yura. The area with one of the highest difficulties in existence and a place ordinary players couldn’t access was recognized as a treasure trove by Grid.

‘I heard the respawn time of the great demons who die in hell is at least one month to three months... It is regrettable.’

The problem wasn’t the respawn interval. It was that the resurrected great demons were weaker and had a lower drop rate than before they died. For example, if Dantalion was resurrected, then he would be resurrected with only two heads. Then as the years passed, he would accumulate knowledge and grow more heads. This meant the chances of dropping the knowledge essences were reduced.

‘Even if the drop rate is lower, I can still get a lot... Is there a way to shorten the respawn interval?’

He wanted Dantalion to resurrect faster and kill him more often...

It was a truly devilish idea, even from the perspective of a great demon.

“Oh my, aren’t you a frequent visitor these days?” Elizabeth was pleased when Grid entered her workshop. Looking at the pile of work, she was probably richer than her uncle by now. Grid smiled and handed Elizabeth a bag full of jewels.

“What is this?” Elizabeth wondered.

“Open it.”

“Heeek...” Elizabeth was shocked. The gems used to create the national treasures were the highest quality. The gems had great potential, were beautiful, and were just as rare. Meanwhile, these were peak quality jewels. Elizabeth was an artisan and it was her first time seeing peak quality jewels.

“This... I heard that the probability of producing them is only 0.5% with a master level alchemy facility...”

The highest quality gems needed to be used as a material. In order to artificially make peak quality gems, highest quality gems were needed. Additionally, the quality of the gems used as materials would be degraded if the production was a failure. The production probability of 0.5% meant it was virtually impossible to make. It couldn’t even be attempted until the alchemy facility was master level.

Grid explained, “The great demons often dropped it.”

“Wow...” Elizabeth also received news of Grid’s expedition to hell every day. The moment she turned on the TV, she received news reports about the great demons that were killed. The popular searches on the Internet were also filled with the names of the great demons, so she couldn’t help knowing. “The ranking of Yura unni also went up significantly. Hell is good in many ways.”

“Yes, it is a land of milk and honey.”

Perhaps people would misunderstand hell. Many who mistook hell as a land of opportunity would challenge it by any means.

...They were going to feel despair, but Grid didn’t know about this. "How about it? Can you make some useful accessories from it?”

“Um... It is worth looking forward to the things made from peak quality gems. It might be impossible to make the Ring of Absurdity, but I’m confident I can make something with better results than Doran’s Ring.”

It was overlooked since Grid used it from the beginning, but Doran’s Ring was a very good artifact compared to the rating. How many items in the world were better than an artifact that instantly restored half of the damage suffered, increased attributes resistance, and relieving poisoning and curses? The weakness was that the defense wasn’t high due to the limitations of the unique rating, but Grid still liked to use Doran’s Ring.

"Okay, then please do so.”

“What form or options do you want?”

“I’ll leave it purely to your inspiration. Please make something as good as possible no matter how much time it takes.” Grid entrusted it to her and immediately left the workshop. It might seem impolite to leave after making this vague request, but Grid knew Elizabeth’s personality. She resembled him. Just as he wanted to run to the smithy right now, she would want to go and work on the jewels.

“Leader!”

“Eh?” Grid was heading to the smithy district when he stopped. He looked back and could see Elizabeth gasping for breath. It seemed she ran with all her strength to chase him here. “If you have something to say, then just send a whisper. Why...”

“I think it is better to look directly at your face and say it.”

“......”

It was an expression of determination. Grid showed a kind smile when he noticed that Elizabeth had made an important decision. “What is it? Don’t feel burdened and tell me.”

“That...” Elizabeth couldn’t easily open her mouth. Grid waited silently. He was afraid she would be hurt by moving carriages so he approached her side and protected her. “That...”

Elizabeth hesitated a long time before gulping and summoning up her courage. “Is it okay to smash all the gems?”

“...Huh?” This was unexpected.

Elizabeth explained to the flustered Grid, “In fact, I had a strange encounter a while ago. This person commissioned me to create the parts necessary for a magic power mechanism. The magic power mechanism he was trying to create would clearly have the best performance I have ever seen. If you give permission... I want to make it...”

“Is there a design?”

“I made a number of speculations while making the parts. So probably... Of course, there is a good chance I will waste all the gems.”

“Even the peak quality ones?”

“Yes... I can’t guarantee I can do it even with the peak quality gems... Ah, I will understand if you don’t give permission. I know how shameless I am to be asking you this right now.”

“Try it.”

“Huh?”

“If you think it is right, then do it. I will try my best to cooperate, so don’t be too burdened.”

Grid spread his wings only after joining the Tzedakah Guild. His colleagues believed in him and gave him expensive materials. This was how he got the chance to experience both success and failure. The experiences of that time created the Grid of today. Now it was Grid’s turn to create a second or third Grid.

“Thank you, Leader!” Elizabeth was so pleased that she jumped up and hugged Grid hard. The roots of the Overgeared Guild were becoming stronger.