Do good work at least 50 times a month. This was the minimum condition for maintaining the Saintess cla.s.s. If a Saintess didn’t do any good works, she would be deprived of her qualification and she couldn’t be a Saintess again. In other words, Ruby had been doing good deeds every day for the several years that she had been a Saintess.
Angel with lost wings, Rebecca’s incarnation, etc. The large number of people that Ruby helped praised her with various names. Minstrels sang songs about her.
Grid might be the most famous player, but Ruby was the most beloved player. The words about the siblings delivered to the people were manipulated by Orator Huroi’s cry. There were Overgeared members spreading it everywhere.
“Saintess, Saintess Ruby! Please try this. The bread is well-baked today.”
"Saintess, will you accept this bracelet? I found it at the market in Winston and I bought it because I thought it would look good on you. Please accept it.”
"This is a coat made with the leather of wild boar. The weather is getting colder recently, so it would be nice to wear this. Don’t get a cold. I’ll be sad.”
“Saintess!”
“Saintess Ruby!”
[You have received 10 quality rye bread from Reinhardt’s baker, Jackson.]
[You have received a low grade emerald bracelet from Reinhardt’s merchant, Ale.]
[You have received a wild boar leather coat from Reinhardt’s hunter, Revalo.]
[Reinhardt...]
...
...
This was a common sight every time Saintess Ruby appeared on the street. People who found her would come running over with gifts. Ruby originally rejected, but the persistent thanks of the people was big enough to surpa.s.s imagination. They felt frustration and sometimes depression when Ruby refused the gift, giving her no choice but to accept. As the people’s love and respect for Ruby grew, so did the amount and quality of the gifts that she received.
The average value of Ruby’s daily gifts was now around 80 gold. 80 gold! Converted to Korean won, it was worth 100,000 won. Thanks to the good work that she did over the years, Ruby could now make 100,000 won a day just from logging in. It was why she refused pocket money from her brother a few months ago.
Ruby joined the ranks of people making money from the game. Her surroundings started to tempt her. Why did she need to go to university when she could making money playing games like her brother? Many people were talking like this.
But Ruby’s commitment to going to university didn’t break. She couldn’t believe in the uneasy future of Satisfy. Like all the youth of South Korea, Ruby had dedicated her elementary and middle school years to enter a good university. She didn’t want her efforts to be wasted and she wanted to see for herself the values of a good university.
However, her goal of getting a job after graduating from university was becoming faint. She knew how desperately she was needed in the Overgeared Kingdom.
‘Perhaps... Once I go to university, I will have more time to concentrate on the game.’
She didn’t dislike it. Rather, it was good. She was happy to be able to help people and above all, she wanted to contribute to her brother’s work. Even if she didn’t like the game, she would’ve concentrated on it for her brother. It was natural. Just a few years ago, Ruby was worried about money every time she bought school supplies. She grew up in a house that wasn’t economically stable, so even buying snacks on the street was a luxury. From her point of view, her recent affluent life was appreciated.
‘This is all thanks to Oppa.’
A warm smile appeared on Ruby’s face as he thought of Grid. The worry that appeared every time she thought of Grid in the past had changed to relief.
‘Mother and Father are laughing every day. Thanks to Oppa, my family is full of happiness.’
She felt very grateful and proud of her brother. Ruby would do anything for her brother. And Lauel knew this about her.
"Ruby, please encourage people to visit the Hall of Fame once every three days. Tell them to pray once every three days to the stone statue of Grid.”
It was enough to give orders to the soldiers. However, the ordinary people were different. If the kingdom forced the people to do this, they could lose public sentiment. That’s why Lauel took advantage of Ruby.
“Please.”
“...I understand.”
After the Behen Archipelago was cleansed, Sticks dismantled the seals on most of the entrances to it. Now it was relatively easy to move from Reinhardt to the Behen Archipelago. But it was only ‘relatively easy.’ In particular, the Hall of Fame was located on the last island of the Behen Archipelago.
It took at least five hours to get to the Hall of Fame from Reinhardt. It meant that the people of Reinhardt had to waste five hours every three days. Ruby had this part in mind. But she couldn’t refuse when she thought of her brother.
"Instead, I will treat them better. Let’s try a bit more, Sehee.’
The intensity of the good deeds Ruby was doing increased over time. Ruby was also in danger. But Ruby was prepared to endure it. Ruby’s red lips tightened with determination. Her eyes were lovely as she grasped both hands together tightly. Lauel couldn’t help smiling at the sight before coughing.
"There is no need to worry about the people. This wors.h.i.+p will be a good thing for them. Won’t their stamina go up if they regularly walk for five hours?”
“Bah... I don’t trust you.”
"Yes, please don’t trust me. I don’t want to be a sinner who disappoints you.”
“...”
Lauel was confident that his comments were perfect. He didn’t doubt that the G.o.ddess’ heart was romantic enough to be captured. But Ruby didn’t listen to Lauel’s words. Lauel was also a solo person since he was born.
***
[Visit Grid’s Stone Statue]
Difficulty: Repeated quest in the Overgeared Kingdom.
Once every three days, go to the Hall of Fame and wors.h.i.+p at Grid’s stone statue.
Quest Reward: A Grid ma.s.s production item for every 20th consecutive visit.
“...”
It was the contents of a new quest that players of the Overgeared received. The players thought it was absurd.
"I went to see the Hall of Fame the other day and the buff from Grid’s stone statue is garbage...”
“It has no effect on combat cla.s.ses like ours.”
"How many cla.s.ses are there...”
"Wow, isn’t Grid really smart? He made a new quest to fulfil his own self-interest.”
"It is more vulgar than smart.”
“Ah, I’m angry. We have to do this quest to obtain Grid’s set.”
“Che, whatever. It takes a few hours to get to the Hall of Fame.”
"Administrator Rabbit says he will sell movement scrolls to the Behen Archipelago...”
“Wow? Isn’t this a good business? The servant is like the king. They met each other very well.”
Grumble.
The Overgeared players were full of complaints about the new quest. But what could they do? They had moved to the Overgeared Kingdom in the first place to get the Grid set. They couldn’t refuse the quest that would give them one of Grid’s set items every two months.
"It’s really dirty. Once I collect all of Grid’s set, I will immediately go to the empire.”
"I"m going to Valhalla."
There were many people who thought like this. For most players, the Overgeared Kingdom was just a stepping stone to another kingdom. Lauel didn’t condemn this.
"Let’s increase the types of ma.s.s produced Grid set items.”
The current ma.s.s produced Grid set consisted of weapons, armor, helmet, gloves, and boots. There were only five parts so it was hard to keep players for a long time.
“Didn’t you learn the tailoring skill? Add a cloak and underwear to the set. Preferably socks as well.”
“...I can’t.”
The set effect of the ma.s.s produced Grid set was concluded with five parts. It was originally designed like this. If he added the cloak and underwear, there would be no set effect added. Lauel smiled wickedly at Grid.
"Even if there is no set effect, can’t you fool them with the same name? Put the underwear and cloak as a quest reward first, so that players will slow down in collecting the Grid set.”
“...Don’t you have a conscience?”
"Aren’t I thinking about the players? Aren’t you the only player in the world who can produce underwear with options? Where will people go to get good underwear? They will be happy.”
“...”
Yes, it at least increased defense by one point. Grid was convinced and threw the pile of underwear he made at Lauel.
"I will keep sending them every time I make new underwear.”
"It’s a good decision, Your Majesty.”
"...I should also make socks.”
If Grid had a conscience, he would think that ‘I should make a good cloak.’ It wasn’t difficult to produce a quality cloak because Grid intended to ma.s.s produce Lantier’s Cloak for the evil eyes. Unfortunately, Grid had no conscience. His mind was already full of a method to make cheap socks.
‘No, I can’t do this in the long run."
Grid shook his head.
‘If I want to tie up the player’s feet a bit longer, I have to make a good cloak. In addition, learn how to make socks.’
Grid was at least better than Lauel. As a result, the Overgeared Kingdom was running well. The one problem was what the empire would do about Lubana’s rebellion.
***
"You missed the descendant of the Undefeated King?”
The imperial capital, t.i.tan. The emperor’s voice resonated in the imperial palace, one of the most magnificent and beautiful palaces on the continent.
“Useless...! Does it make sense to miss the rebel army?”
Emperor Juander was furious.
His eyes were filled with disdain as he looked at Sword Duke Limit.
“The Red Knights these days are really trivial! This wasn’t the case when Piaro was here!"
“...”
Juander was a powerful person who could claim to be master of the continent. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that the present day Red Knights were under the influence of Empress Marie and felt wary towards them. There were a number of cases where they were constrained and weakened.
“I will hold the commander of the army, 1st Knight Mercedes and 2nd Knight Lucas responsible! They will be on probation for three months!”
“Y-Your Majesty...!”
The bowing Sword Duke Limit cried out with surprise. Mercedes and Lucas were the backbone of the Red Knights. It would be a severe blow to the operations of the Red Knights if they were gone for three months. Juander also knew this. Juander spoke before Limit could ask him to reconsider.
"Don"t worry. Kyle will take their place for three months.”
‘Kyle...!’
Kyle was one of the five pillars of the empire. He was the youngest of the five pillars and his ability wasn’t perfect right now, but he had great potential. Therefore, he received a lot of favor from Juander. Limit immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation.
‘Kyle has a high virtue, but he’s actually a snake skilled in propaganda and manipulation.’
The Red Knights were tired from years of continuous warfare. The reason why they could fight without a break was because they were eager to jump forward. No matter how hard they tried, they weren’t acknowledged like the Red Knights of the previous generation.
In the meantime, several Red Knights were killed in the former Eternal Kingdom and the 6th Knight Reidorn had recently gone missing. All sorts of rumors spread and the reputation of the Red Knights plummeted. Anxiety dominated them. If their spiritual pillars, Mercedes and Lucas, disappeared and that snake-like Kyle filled the vacancy...
‘Kyle will rule or break the Red Knights. This is His Majesty’s motive.’
This was a chance to concentrate the power distributed by the empress back to Juander, as well as increase the influence of Kyle, who was relatively weak in the five pillars. It was the worst situation for Sword Duke Limit, who belonged to the empress’ faction. But he couldn’t veto it. The leader of the rebel forces. The Red Knights missed the descendant of the Undefeated King, who was the greatest threat to the empire in history.
On the other hand, there was a man watching the conversation between the emperor and the Sword Duke in the form of a quest format. It was the first ranked necromancer and Agnus’ closest subordinate, Veradin.
‘The quest content will change depending on how Limit deals with this.’
Based on circ.u.mstances, Kyle was likely to aim the Red Knights at Valhalla. The emperor couldn’t forgive Ares, who dared to take in the descendant of the Undefeated King. What would Limit’s choice be at this time? Would he obediently watch as Kyle destroyed Valhalla and built up publicity?
‘Maybe Agnus and Ares might end up holding hands.’