[ Skill Attached to Hellfire Staff Triggered ]
[ Power of Inferno Spear increased—additional 1000% magic damage applied. Soul Corrosion effect added. ]
"Nice timing." Alan smiled as he launched the spear toward Piaro.
The infernal spear shot forward like a falling star, dragging hellfire in its wake.
"Supreme Swordsmanship: Fourth Style!"
Piaro slammed his sword down in front of him. Sword energy erupted outward, forming a dense barrier of pure blade intent.
But the spear didn't slow.
It ignored evasion.
Ignored defense.
It pierced straight through the sword barrier.
Fueled by hellfire, it detonated on impact—
Critical Hit.
[ Opponent's Health has reached the minimum threshold. ]
[ You have won. ]
"You were really great," Piaro said, breathing heavily.
[ Piaro is astonished by your magic. ]
[ Piaro's determination to grow stronger has increased. All stats increased by 10%. ]
"Hm." Alan nodded, then looked directly at Piaro.
"Maybe you just haven't found the right path for yourself yet."
"Or are you still hell-bent on Asmophel?" Alan continued.
"Alright. After checking a few things here—and with Khan—I'll go and see Asmophel myself."
Piaro's eyes widened slightly as Alan added calmly,
"I'll leave the punishment to you."
"Okay, though I'll be leaving these kids in your care to help them grow. They're fragile, so don't kill them—they'll die if they break," Alan said calmly, summoning the two skeletons.
"Huh… undead, but they don't have the same stench as other undeads," Piaro said, curiosity flickering in his eyes as he looked at the skeletons.
"Hm. I got this power after dealing with some vampires, so I left them in your care. As I said, they're very fragile—don't go hard on them or destroy them," Alan explained.
Piaro nodded in understanding.
"I guess then I will begun their training with farming"
"Framing? Well I leave them in you care" Alan said as he walked in the city.
"The houses are renovated too" Alan nodded seeing this as he then went to the administrator office.
"My lord, you have returned," Rabbit said.
"You've done a great job taking care of the city so far," Alan said, as Rabbit smiled proudly.
"Thank you, my lord."
"So, how is everything going?" Alan asked, and Rabbit began explaining all the recent developments in the city.
"Hm… so for now, you're focusing on agriculture to feed the residents, and also looking into alchemy?" Alan prompted.
"Yes. For the Alchemy' needs, there's a Yellow Mithril mine on the mountain range west of here, which is a great resource for alchemy. If we acquire it, we can mine the yellow mithril easily and use it for our alchemy at a rapid pace," Rabbit explained.
"Plus, the enhancement stones are produced with alchemy, so we can generate a lot of profit from that," he added. Alan nodded in approval.
"So, did you secure the mine?" Alan asked.
"I hired some mercenaries, but the path to the Yellow Mithril mine is guarded by a powerful monster. I was going to ask Sir Piaro, but you returned before I could," Rabbit said. Alan nodded.
"I will take care of the monster" Alan nodded " But first I am going to Winston and get others back, since we now have an city we should focus on it" Alan said as Rabbit nodded.
Alan then left once again, this time heading for Winston.
But midway, he ran into someone unexpected while crossing Radolf Mountain.
"Grid, what are you doing here?" Alan asked, noticing Grid struggling alongside a blonde-haired man.
"Alan? Help me! Someone stole my shield!" Grid panted, clearly relieved to see Alan and asking for his assistance.
"Hm… what happened?" Alan asked, as this scene reminded him of Malacus arc and also when Grid first met Tzedkah guild properly.
"I made a shield on Lord Winston's orders, but some Yatan Church people came, and then that old man—he stole my shield and ran away!" Grid explained.
"Is he your friend?" the blonde man asked.
"Hello, my name is Regas," he added, extending a hand, as Alan shook hands with him.
"Regas here is a kind guy who's helping me," Grid said quickly.
"Alright, let me help you. You've already been taking care of Khan anyway," Alan said, and Grid nodded gratefully.
"I like that NPC too," Grid added with a small smile.
"So… do you have any idea where he went?" Alan asked.
"There's a Yatan temple base nearby. We're heading there—you can join us," Grid replied.
Alan nodded as they began to climb Radolf Mountain.
"By the way, what have you been doing all this time? Why is your level still so low?" Alan asked Grid.
"I was busy crafting," Grid grumbled.
Alan patted Grid on the shoulder. "Brother, let me tell you a secret. Actually, the higher your level, the better your item crafting will be."
"What? You're not lying, are you?" Grid asked, eyes wide.
"No, I'm not. You can even check online forums about the blacksmith class if you don't believe me," Alan said.
Grid nodded. "I'll check later, but first… let's get my shield back."
Alan smiled and nodded in agreement.
Meanwhile, Regas looked on, confused. Isn't Grid wearing heavy armor? Why are they talking about the blacksmith class then?
Normal Blacksmith can't wield equipments ulike Alan unique hidden class and Grid legendary hidden class which allow them to equip items, and Grid who was wearing a Heavy armor was an warrior class in Regas eyes.
"This is the place."
Grid and Alan followed Regas's gaze and saw it: a massive cave entrance, heavily guarded by Yatan followers.
"The numbers… they're not a joke. At least thirty of them?" Grid muttered under his breath.
Winston's army had marched out several times, claiming to subjugate the Yatan Church. Yet Grid never expected there to still be this many followers lurking here.
The army was led by the strongest knight in the north… armed with the Sword of Self-Transcendence. And yet… he still failed. He really is incompetent, Grid thought bitterly, criticizing Phoenix silently.
Grid's eyes narrowed, his hands gripping his weapons tightly, when suddenly someone charged forward.
"Bring it on! You evil scum!"
"What are you doing?!" Grid shouted. "We need a plan!"
"That's exactly why you should have leveled up," Alan said, shaking his head. He drew the Hellfire Staff and pointed it at the Black Mages, his aura flaring with dense mana.
Seeing the staff, Grid instinctively activated Appraisal—and froze.
"Legendary Rank!"
"And it's a drop from a Great Demon… Did he really defeat a Great Demon?" Grid muttered, staring at Alan in disbelief.