Chapter 7: Chapter 7
Author: Sorry for the late post. I have been busy and a little bit exhausted, but don't worry. The chapter posting will return to normal, so it doesn't clash with my family reunion or such events. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter.
-Eternal Kingdom, Patrian, Ashur's Dungeon-
When Ashur finally got the information regarding the head chef, he got nothing at all. The head chef was just a normal commoner with nothing noteworthy. He even asked his most trusted aid to get information from the 'Underworld' even though there was no trace of the chef having any connection to a criminal organization or any noble connection.
'Damn... There's no single piece of information about him being a spy or an assassin ordered to kill my wife... All the information regarding him makes him innocent, and the only remaining suspect who might have poisoned my wife is the courier who delivers food in our state.'
After Ashur finished arranging the information he got regarding the possible culprit he cast 'Magic Detection' on all the magic orbs scattered around the territory, after waiting for 5 minutes the suspect courier was seen hiding beneath a huge tree, Ashur saw the man trying to escape was pissed and yelled at his knights standing by.
"All Knights! Chase the courier in the forest now! Don't even think of letting him step out of Patrian do you understand me!?"
"Sir yes sir!"
The knights immediately sprinted out of the dungeon and yelled a bunch of commands to the soldiers, including the reserve units. Ashur, after seeing all his troops moving to catch the courier, used magic 'Teleport' to move into the lounge of his mansion. After arriving via teleport, he went towards his lovely wife Feya's room, where she was being checked up by the personnel doctor of the household.
As Ashur arrived at the door, he knocked 'thud' and 'thud'. After that, he waited 10 seconds and heard, "You may enter." Hearing this, Ashur opened the door gently. As he entered the room, he saw the personnel doctor checking Feya's health. Seeing his wife's sickness made him sad because not only did he fail to notice she was being poisoned, but he also failed in his role as a husband to protect his family.
Feya who was in bed smiled at Ashur to show him that she was fine knowing that her husband was blaming himself, Ashur smiled as well and walked near Feya kissed her cheeks, and asked.
"How are you feeling Feya?"
"Not much, but thanks to Sir Grid noticing the poisoned food I feel much better than yesterday when I ate the food, that the head chef made."
Ashur clenched his fist tightly hearing this and was saddened once again, but stopped blaming himself because his wife Feya might get mad at him if he continued moping around, instead he thought to himself.
'Sir Grid said that he can make a cure with some of my assistance... Though I'm still worried about the culprit behind Feya's poisoning... And once the knights capture the courier, I will be the one to personally extract information from him whether it takes days or even weeks of torture I will get to the bottom of this.'
Ashur who was thinking of this suddenly sensed his magic orb vibrating, as he took the magic orb out he looked at Feya and said.
"Feya, it seems the knights are calling me using the magic orb... Dear, I would leave for an hour or two to talk with the knights... Would you be ok without me here?"
Feya understanding her husband's reasons nodded her head as she kissed him on the forehead and said "Good luck dear and stay safe." hearing this Ashur smiled and went outside the room activated to magic orb and said.
"Status report."
The leading knight seeing Ashur's face saluted him and said.
[Earl Ashur we have captured the courier.]
Hearing the news of the knights Ashur smiled and said.
"At ease knight... And well done capturing the courier, as of now your top priority is to escort that courier to the dungeon and protect him from any harm that comes your way, I want him alive for info extraction do you understand?"
The leading knight put his hands down and said with a loud voice.
[Your command shall be done, my lord!]
"Good now hurry up before the sun sets down, since it's quite dangerous during the night, now if there's nothing more to discuss you're dismissed."
[That's all my lord!]
Said the leading knight, Ashur hearing this nodded his head at the leading knight seeing this the leading knight once again saluted Ashur, he then deactivated the magic orb and thought to himself.
'I hope the one who did this to my wife is alive because once I find them I will be tearing them into shreds and feeding their bodies to the monsters near my territory...!'
As he was thinking this he unconsciously released his mana causing the nearby windows to crack.
-Center of the Forest of Abyss-
Grid who was being threatened by Isabel a few minutes ago is now walking alongside her, after explaining that he was just an adventurer hunting around this area and not part of the Yatan Church, after explaining himself they just discussed why the Yatan Church was doing a ritual here in the 'Forest of Abyss' Grid gave his deduction as why they were here, by explaining that one of the Yatan Servants was trying to control the ancient knight named Lancelot, who is skilled enough to be a Great Swordsman with aura in the olden days.
"So what you're saying is that they're trying to control this death knight called Lancelot? Who has the skills of a Great Swordsman with the power of aura?"
Isabel said to Grid, and he nodded his head and said.
"Yes, because a death knight of his level could cause a lot of damage especially if his empowered by the dark magic of the Yatan Church, also unlike other death knights. Lancelot was able to keep his aura pure similar to a living being despite him being an undead which means his a unique death knight who doesn't use the skill 'Death Aura' which can be countered by divine power but if it's an aura that has no element it would be a different story."
Hearing Grid's explanation, Isabel was worried that such a death knight even existed, Grid seeing Isabel's worries said.
"You don't have to worry about them creating a death knight similar to Lancelot, because it's virtually impossible for them for one sole reason, and that's they cannot get the blessing of Spirit of the Lake. And if the legends were true then that means no death knight can copy what Lancelot has."
Isabel let out a sigh of relief hearing Grid's explanation because if such a death knight fell into the hands of the Yatan Church it would cause a lot of chaos and the momentum of the Yatan Church would soar to the sky.
'If Sir Grid failed to stop the ritual of the Yatan Servant the damage we would have received is very high, and I alone wouldn't be able to beat both the Yatan Servant and Death Knight at the same time without suffering any loss.'
As Isabel was thinking this, Grid distributed the 510 stat points to his stamina and agility, making him a little bit faster and lasting longer in battle with a bigger defense and health.
[Name: Grid
Level: 102 (325,730/1,520,000)
Class: Veteran
*Can learn new skills when certain conditions are met.
Health: 13,100/13,100 | Mana: 13,750/13,750
Strength: 30 +340 | Stamina: 460 +290 | Agility: 460 +345
Intelligence: 10 +590 (+150) | Good Luck: 11 +320 | Dignity: 10 +380 (+39)
Charm: 10 +270 (+56) | Sense: 1 +270 | Willpower: 1 +270
Persistence: 1 +270 | Indomitable: 1 +270 | Insight: 1 +270 (+27.1) |
Regeneration: 1 +270 | Wisdom: 1 +270
Stat Points: 150]
Grid smiled seeing that his stats were quite broken if compared to a level 100 knight or a named NPC, and thought to himself.
'If my information is right most of the high-level NPCs that are not transcendent should be around mid-level 200s to low-level 300s so it's possible that I can fight them when I reach level 200.'
As he was thinking this Isabel suddenly spoke and said.
"Sir Grid, may I request your aid, to get rid of the remaining Yatan Followers in the Decaying Forest, since my fellow believers are currently dealing with the other followers in the south of the Abyss Forest... As a reward for helping me get rid of the followers, I would gladly help you in the future if you need my spear... As long it's not used for evil.
[Hidden Quest: Isabel's Request
Difficulty Level: A+ to S-
Isabel has requested your aid as she cannot get rid of all the Yatan Followers inside the Decaying Forest since her fellow believers are busy fighting the south of the Abyss Forest.
Quest Clear Conditions: Get rid of all the Yatan Followers you see in the Decaying Forest.
Additional Quest: Kill all the Yatan Followers only using magic.
Clear Reward: Isabel's Affinity +10, Isabel's Aid, Rebecca Church Affinity +5, High Healing Scroll.
Additional Reward: Permenately increase Intelligence by 100, all magic-related skills and passive increase by 2 levels, resistance to darkness increase by 5%, +50 stat points.
The growth class 'Battle Mage' would be obtained.]
'Hmm… helping Isabel hunt down the Yatan Followers should be easy enough… But seeing the S- difficulty that means this would be a chain quest, if so I need to be wary of a possible servant appearing.'
Grid after thinking about this said.
"Ok, I accept the quest but… I think we should be wary of the Yatan Followers placing traps in certain areas, though I think you could disarm a few using your spear since they mostly deal with curses or poison."
Isabel was happy that Grid accepted her request and gave attention to Grid's words since what he declared was right since the Yatan followers specialized in curses and ambushing unsuspecting people and luring them into a trap.
"I understand Sir Grid, since you're helping me I should also share some information regarding our possible opponents, from what are intel has gathered the 6th servant Malacus is working alongside the 7th servant DarkBus, but since the other one has already fled via teleport then that only means that only Malacus and few Yatan Followers are left in the Decaying Forest.
Grid hearing Isabel's words nods his head and remembers Malacus the 1st boss he raided alongside his guild, or to be more precise the Tzedakah Guild.
'So Malacus is the reason why the quest difficulty can go up to S- rank if I'm correct he should only be at early level 200s… It's doable for me to raid him right now… But if I killed him now it would have a big effect on my meeting with Irene… Damn it…!'
Grid who thought this was distressed due to him not being able to make a proper choice, whether he should kill Malacus or not, after thinking for a few seconds he spoke to Isabel and said.
"Thanks for the info, as I said there's a possible trap laid out everywhere so do be careful Miss Isabel, and lastly if I meet Malacus I will cast a fireball in the sky to alert you."
This was Grid's answer, if he met Malacus instead of killing him he would just damage him enough to make him flee the area in that way, the ongoing events would not be altered by much, and little did Grid know his action would have a consequence whether be it good or bad in the future.
"Ok, then Sir Grid I wish you luck, and may the goddess Rebecca watch over your back…!"
Isabel yelled towards Grid while running toward the right area of the 'Decaying Forest' Grid just smiled at Isabel's words as he also started running towards the left area and took out his new weapon 'Deluxe Staff' which was quite powerful that it's comparable to the level 200 magic staff.
As Grid was running he spotted 3 Yatan Followers and immediately charged toward them, and at the same time swang his staff and activated 'Wind Cutter' instantly killing 2 of the followers, seeing his comrades die the follower immediately cast 'Fireball' but Grid already who already predicted his movements he cast 'Water Bolt' instantly destroying the enemies spell due to him having more magic power and followed it up by using 'Stone Arrow' instantly killing the follower.
[You have defeated 3 Black Magicians.]
[You have acquired 300 gold coins.]
[7,500 experience has been acquired.]
Grid who was done killing the followers looked around sees he was surrounded by 37 followers thought to himself.
'Damn… I guess my bad luck even followed my new life hahaha… Well, I guess I just have to take advantage of the situation.'
As he was finished with his thoughts, Grid smiled as he cast two spells in both his hands one being 'Fireball' while the other one being 'Water Bolt' he then put a lot of mana into both spells making them larger, seeing his actions all 37 black magicians simultaneously cast different spells aiming to end Grid.
Both the spells that Grid cast were already big a boulder and he aimed at the sky making the two spells collide, causing a small shockwave and causing all the spells to be blown away instead of hitting Grid causing some of the black magicians to be hit by their spell, and also a lot of steam from the collision making a kind of mist and Grid took advantage of it.
"Damn it…! Find that heathen who defies the teaching of God Yatan…!"
As he was shouting, Grid already killed 7 black magicians without wasting time using 'Stone Arrow', the other magicians panicked and tried to fire their spells at random in hopes of hitting Grid, what they didn't know was that Grid was very proficient in controlling or sensing mana because of the title 'Master of Mana' which allowed him to use the mana of their spell and the surrounding mana, and use this to create an artificial wind barrier around his body to move or defend against their spell.
[You have defeated 7 Black Magicians.]
[You have acquired 700 gold coins.]
[17,500 experience has been acquired.]
As the steam thickens due to the panicked black magicians shooting multiple 'Fireballs' randomly, Grid casts a 'Water Bolt' and makes it as big as possible. The 30 remaining black magicians, sensing this, try to intervene. Still, Grid, already predicting this, decides to use a lot of mana and inject it into the ground, making it rise to form a circle wall surrounding him.
As the 30 'Fireballs' hit the earth wall that was protecting Grid, because of this a lot of dust spread, making the battlefield harder to see due to the huge dust and steam spreading. Grid, not wasting any time, hurled the gigantic 'Water Bolt', killing 17 black magicians instantly. Not wasting any time, Grid focused all his mental strength on creating lightning-based magic to kill all the remaining black magicians in one go.
[You have defeated 17 Black Magicians.]
[You have acquired 1,700 gold coins.]
[42,500 experience has been acquired.]
The remaining black magicians saw Grid's magic killing 17 of them got scared as they spread running in different directions, Grid was finally able to create the magic smiles and concentrate his mana into a single point and said.
"Chain Lightning...!"
As he said this, the magic hit all the remaining black magicians due to them being soaked by the 'Water Bolt' They got fried by lightning and instantly killed all the remaining black magicians.
[Magic skill 'Chain Lightning' has been created.]
[You have learned the spell 'Chain Lightning' without the help of the system.]
[!!!]
[Due to your achievement 'Chain Lightning' has been enhanced, and Intelligence is permanently increased by 50]
[You have defeated 13 Black Magicians.]
[You have acquired 1,300 gold coins.]
[32,500 experience has been acquired.]
[You have cleared the hidden quest 'Isabel's Request'.]
[Affinity with Isabel +10]
[Affinity with Rebecca Church +5]
[You have obtained High Healing Scroll.]
* Intelligence permanently increased by 100
* All magic-related skills and magic-related passive increase by 2 levels, and resistance to darkness increases by 5%, +50 stat points.
[You have obtained the epic (growth) class 'Battle Mage'.]
[Dexterity stat has opened.]
[Magic skill 'Acceleration' has been created.]
[Magic skill 'Reinforce' has been created.]
[Magic skill 'Fortification' has been created.]
[Magic skill 'Magic Coating' has been created.]
[Passive skill 'Magic Sense' has been created.]
[Passive skill 'Magic Armor' has been created.]
[Passive skill 'Magic Weapon' has been created.]
[Passive skill 'Magic Lord' has been created.]
Grid seeing the quest being completed was happy, but still worried about the possibility of Malacus dying since his trigger is important because he's the one who will kidnap Irene in the future.
'Damn... I took way too long to kill all of them, I need to hurry and go to the other side of the forest and try to stop the death of Malacus.'
After finishing his thoughts he shouted "Acceleration...!" his movement speed was increased by 10%, and agility by 25% for 30 minutes, he then started running towards the other side of the forest and at the same time used his aura to reinforce his legs to make him even faster.
-Right side of the Decaying Forest-
The right side of the forest where a battle was ongoing between a Yatan Servant and Rebecca's Daughter was burning and being destroyed due to flames being hurled at Isabel, and Isabel's divine strikes using her divine power, as Malacus continued to cast multiple 'Dark Cutters' and 'Fireballs' towards Isabel he said loudly with a sinister smile.
"Hahaha...! Is this all the power you can muster up!? Pathetic...!"
Isabel paid no mind to Malacus's words instead, she focused on attacking while defending the kids behind her who were gonna be used for rituals, as more and more spells were cast, Isabel's divine power was being depleted fast as more time passed, seeing this Isabel grim situation thought to herself.
'Curses...! If I keep solely focusing on defending the children I would be running out of divine power... I have to make a sacrifice... I-i forgive me Goddess for I will sin.'
As Isabel was ready to attack and ignore the children suddenly all of the people in the area heard a loud voice yelling "Extrem Shot...!" suddenly a silver spear flew pass Isabel heading to Malacus, seeing the fast projectile that was the spear Malacus attempted to depend himself using 'Magic Shield' but it instantly broke piercing his side.
[Critical Hit!]
[Due to the level gap being over 118 the damage you dealt is decreased by 64%]
[You have dealt 42,781 damage.]
Isabel who saw the spear was worried for a moment because she didn't know if it was an ally or an enemy, after 5 seconds she saw Grid coming from the area where the spear was thrown and yelled happily "Grid...!" Grid hearing Isabel's smiles and looks at her and said.
"It seems you're in a predicament Miss Isabel, though I want to chat with you right now it seems I have to deal with him first."
Grid said as he looked at Malacus who only had 65% of his health remaining, Malacus who was critically injured by Grid's new skill yelled at Grid.
"Who the hell are you...! How dare you interfere in me killing Rebecca's dogs...! You have no right stopping me from getting the honor of killing one of Rebecca's symbols...!"
Grid hearing this laughed out loud and said. "Hehehe...Buhahah...! That's the funniest thing I have ever heard, you saying honor? Ha, you make me laugh when you use the children to gain an advantage against Isabel? You don't have the right to say you have any honor you worthless idiot."
Malacus hearing Grid's words was beyond furious as he activated one of his trump cards, 'Divine Punishment' but Grid already foresaw the event and immediately used 'Magic Coating' on Malacus enhancing his water magic and encasing his body in a water barrier, Malacus seeing this laughed and thought Grid was a fool for enhancing him but what he didn't know this was all part of his plan.
Suddenly Grid cast 'Chain Lightning' aiming directly towards Malacus, seeing Grid's magic Malacus immediately canceled his trump card instead he used 'Dark Cloak' to lessen the damage.
[Critical Hit!]
[Due to the level gap being over 118 the damage you dealt is decreased by 64%]
[You have dealt 8,327 damage.]
[Chain Lightning has paralyzed Malacus for 10 seconds.]
Malacus who was paralyzed was glaring at Grid, but he paid Malacus no mind and yelled to Isabel.
"Isabel…! Take the children out of here while I hold him off until you come back."
Isabel hearing Grid's words was about to protest, but seeing Grid's eyes filled with worries she reluctantly agreed and led the children to safety, the children hesitated to see their savior being left behind, and Grid seeing their hesitation smiled at them indicating he would be fine, they finally left alongside Isabel.
Malacus who was standing there because of the paralysis was finally free from the effect of the 'Lightning Chain' prepared his magic and spoke to Grid with a glare.
"You… You had the chance to attack me, yet you insisted that Rebecca's Daughter leave and escort the children? Hahaha…! You're much more idiotic than I thought…!"
Grid just ignored his words and took back the spear that he had thrown, and took out the other spear to dual-wield, Malacus seeing this prepared to attack but stopped due to sensing multiple divine powers.
"…It seems you got lucky this time… The next time we meet will be your doom, so prepare yourself as I the servant of Yatan would personally kill you…! Until then watch your back."
As Malacus said his final words he teleported out of the 'Decaying Forest' Seeing this Grid let out a sigh and pondered to himself.
'It seems that Malacus might get stronger in the future… But then again even if he did I'm confident enough that I can kill him with no problem'
As Grid looked back he saw Isabel along with the children and some priests and paladins heading toward him, Grid smiled at them and raised his silver spear indicating his victory...
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