‘Isn’t it a bit unclear?’
Grid smashed the jiangs.h.i.+’s head and looked at the blood-soaked golden hammer. The Blacksmith Hammer to Go Against the G.o.ds—it was a production item made when competing against Hexetia. The performance was so excellent so the last of the pavranium was left behind in it instead of being used as a material for Greed. The performance was naturally referring to the performance a.s.sociated with producing items.
The Blacksmith Hammer to Go Against the G.o.ds wasn’t a combat weapon so he was vulnerable. The physical damage was only 870. It had a better attack power than an epic rated weapon but that was it. There was no separate option for enhancing combat power, except for the blessing of the four G.o.ds.
It also wasn’t a sword so the pa.s.sive effect of Grid’s Swordsmans.h.i.+p wasn’t applied to it. Nevertheless...
The jiangs.h.i.+ fell too easily. Grid was just too strong. Grid’s superior stats, various t.i.tles, the Weapon Mastery skill that increased the damage of all types of weapons, and being level 405, allowed Grid to easily destroy the steel jiangs.h.i.+ with the hammer. It wasn’t inconspicuous. In other words, Grid was breaking the basic rules he had to follow in this adventure.
‘This won’t work.’
Grid felt the attention of people and swapped items. Rather than the Blacksmith Hammer to Go Against the G.o.ds, he pulled out the Dragon’s Hammer that only had 290 damage.
Peok peok!Peok peok peok!
‘Um, this is just right.’
Grid looked gratified as he defeated the jiangs.h.i.+ at a similar pace to other people. Since the critical damage caused by the ‘Death in One Shot!’ t.i.tle was too strong, he cheated people’s eyes by adjusting his attack speed.
‘Now there will be no more misunderstandings about being a ranker?’
Three attacks in two seconds—Grid swung the hammer as slowly as possible at the steel jiangs.h.i.+ while glancing at Hera. She was gazing at Grid with envy. After realizing the reason, Grid quickly used a skill he had acquired in the Behen Archipelago.
“Hu, the jiangs.h.i.+ are so strong that I have to keep using my skills, consuming a lot of mana.”
“This isn’t the first time you’re using a skill?”
“I’ve been using it all the time?”
“I-I see. I thought you were just swinging in a basic attack.”
“That can’t be. I am an ordinary person. I guess my skill impact is so ordinary that it is hard to distinguish it from a basic attack.”
‘There is a story.’
Hera thought there must be a story when an unusual person continued to emphasize their mediocrity. She didn’t want to embarra.s.s the other person so she focused on exploring her surroundings.
‘It is definitely near.’
Hera, a doctor, had come to the East Continent to seek medicine. There were a total of seven types of medicine she needed to obtain. Among them, the crystal dandelion roots and the white balloon were said to grow naturally near Pangea. However, she couldn’t seem to find them no matter how she looked...
“Ah!”
They had been moving for an hour but was still far away from the horizon. Hera was just beginning to get tired when her eyes flashed. She found the dandelion petals s.h.i.+ning like a transparent crystal. She was concerned about slowing down her benefactor’s pace so she quickly took out tools to gather the dandelion roots. However, there was an unexpected problem...
‘The difficulty of collection is too high!’
The crystal dandelion roots exerted a medicinal role only if it was collected intact. In order to gather the roots whole, the dandelion petals shouldn’t be damaged. The petals of the crystal dandelion melted at even the slightest human touch due to the warmth.
‘It will take a long time to get the root out without touching the petals.’
The crystal dandelion had no stems. The root was right underneath the petals. In other words, the petals were close to the ground. A s.p.a.ce needed to be dug around the soil in order for the root to be collected entirely. However...
‘I can’t ask him to wait...’
Hera looked at Kentrick, who was fighting the steel jiangs.h.i.+. Unlike his blunt appearance, this man was already providing Hera with enough convenience. Although he could break through the plains faster, he delayed his schedule in order to match Hera’s pace. Hera wasn’t shameless enough to ask him to wait while she collected medicine.
‘The crystal dandelion roots are available in Karas.’
Karas was the capital of the Cho Kingdom. It was a place where products from various parts of the country were concentrated so there was also a way to obtain dandelion roots. Hera judged in a moment and got up from her spot with regret.
“Did you come to seek medicine?” Grid, who had just knocked down a steel jiangs.h.i.+, approached Hera and sat down.
Hera nodded. “Yes, that’s right. I’m looking for ingredients for a medicine that can cure my client’s illness.”
“Isn’t this the medicine you’re looking for?”
Grid pointed to the crystal dandelion petals and Hera laughed bitterly.
“That’s right. However, I think it will take too long to gather...? Eh?”
Hera’s eyes widened. Kentrick dug at the dirt with his bare hands and quickly extracted the crystal dandelion root.
“H-How?”
Hera couldn’t believe it. The dandelion petals and roots weren’t damaged at all. The rating of the dandelion root required for the medicine was ‘superior’ or above. However, the dandelion root that Kentrick dug up was in such perfect condition it could be cla.s.sified as high cla.s.s-grade or special-grade.
“D-Do you collect herbs as a side job?”
The crystal dandelion roots were so hard to collect even with full tools yet he collected it perfectly in seconds and it was with his bare hands? Grid handed the crystal dandelion roots to her as she made a dumbfounded expression.
“Please pay the market price.”
“O-Of course!”
Typically, special-grade medicines were exclusive to the royal family. Hera nodded cheerfully because she was certain it would be difficult to find special-grade medicine in Karas.
***
[The Advanced Herb Gathering skill has been opened.]
[Increases the rate of herb gathering and increases the probability of gathering herbs with a higher rating.]
‘Not bad.’
Just as the mining skill was opened when he dug up minerals, gathering was a common life skill activated through direct action. However, it usually activated at beginner level. Meanwhile, Grid’s gathering skill started at advanced. It was a natural result since he collected several crystal dandelion roots which had a high gathering difficulty.
‘Doing a good job brings blessings.’
Grid finally crossed the horizon and checked the 12 dandelion roots piled up in a corner of the inventory with a pleased expression. The price Hera paid for one root was 53 gold. It was a little over 60,000 won.
‘Digging up a few herbs is equivalent to enough nutritional meals for a month.’
Ah, it seemed he could even buy meat. Grid generated revenue outside of national taxes for the first time in ages and wanted to hum. It felt like the easiest money he had ever earned in his life. Hera looked at Grid like he was a monster.
‘What the h.e.l.l is this guy?’
Of course, the crystal dandelion root was a precious medicine. The rarity was reduced compared to other medicines of the same level because it was found near Pangea but it was still valuable. In fact, the first dandelion flower Hera found during the two hour journey across the plains was the only one. Meanwhile, in one hour, Kentrick had found 12 dandelions and collected all of them perfectly.
Where did he come from and why did he have such ridiculous searching and gathering skills? Based on the blunt weapon he used, he probably wasn’t an a.s.sa.s.sin. After leaving the desolate plaints filled with the jiangs.h.i.+, a new field appeared.
“Do you need any more roots?”Grid asked as he was parting with Hera and she shook her head.
“The earlier purchase was enough.”
In fact, she wanted to secure some more just in case but it was too expensive. She didn’t have enough money. Hera was swallowing her regrets when Grid handed her two dandelion roots.
“Use it when you need it someday.”
“Eh...” Hera waved her hands. “I can’t receive this as a gift when you’ve taken care of me so much. Ah, I’m also a married woman...”
“It is an investment, not a gift.”
Hera misunderstood in a strange direction and her words were cut off in the middle. Yes, it was a gift but also an investment. How could it be common for a doctor to cross continents to obtain medicine for a difficult quest? Hera was likely to be a rare doctor and a very skilled person. After a moment of thought, Hera nodded and quickly accepted the roots.
“You won’t lose from today’s investment. Thank you for the help."
Hera said goodbye politely before heading south. She knew that the north had a large number of monsters and it was virtually impossible for her to go there. Even if it was hard, she would reach Karas safely after taking a detour.
‘One day, we will see each other again, unofficial ranker.’
Hera’s bandages reserves were the same as before she met Kentrick. Unlike others, Kentrick had never rested during the two hours he took to cross the plains and he wasn’t even hurt. In many ways, he was an amazing person.
***
“Magic Detection.”
Grid arrived at the lazy cow community and used magic to find the enemy. It was a magic he hadn’t felt the need to use after gaining transcendence but there were so many cows grazing on the green gra.s.sland that he felt the need to collect accurate information.
‘I can be easily isolated if there are any enemies hiding.’
He couldn’t be careless. The difficulty of the big poisonous rats was significant even when he thought about it now. The queen rat and her husband had been over level 400 so the monsters here wouldn’t be trivial. The proof was that the distant communities still existed despite many players visiting the East Continent over the past two years.
‘There is no one hiding.’
The cows were grazing in the meadows—in other words, all the cows were in sight. Grid finished using Magic Detection and pulled out the Enlightenment Sword. He summoned the G.o.d Hands and ordered them to lure the nearest bull.
Mooo!
The bull cried out as it was. .h.i.t by a sword swung by the G.o.d Hand. It took one second for the bull’s gaze to head to Grid. The ground shook every time the bull took a step. The closer he got, the more Grid realized how big he was.
‘I should measure the level first.’
Grid planned to face the bulls with three horns with his basic attacks. He focused and waited for the distance to be narrowed to an appropriate level. However, Grid didn’t get the timing of the attack. The running bull suddenly stopped in place and returned the way he had come.
Moo.
“......”
Grid realized that the bull’s wounds had quickly disappeared. The bull had forgotten his anger and was grazing again. This was why they were called ‘lazy cows.’ Was this why no one had ever attacked this place?
‘It is impossible to lure them one by one and kill one. I am forced to jump into the meadow and deal with the majority at once, or hunt them one by one from a distance.’
However, the health and resilience of the cows made them too difficult to hunt from a distance unless there was a really powerful ranged skill.
“Um... Transcend.”
Grid thought for a while before starting a sword dance that doubled the power of his basic attacks and switched him to long-range attacks. Intense waves surged and Grid’s black hair soared upward.
Moo.
The bull stood in place and stared at Grid. His chewing of the gra.s.s seemed to ridicule Grid. Grid smiled and started to wield his sword. He was wearing Alex"s Quick Gloves. Nine energy blades per second poured out toward the bull.
Mooooooo!
Hundreds of bulls repeatedly rushed to Grid and were turned to ash.