‘The black magicians are the problem right now...’ 

Grid was currently level -1, and his strength and stamina stats were only one point each. Mengel’s Plate Armor added five strength, for a total of six strength. When all of these stats were added up together, Grid had a measly total of 34 health. He might be able to punch a few black magicians before going to the netherworld.

‘Can I get away?

The failure of the quest was fixed anyway. Grid just wanted to preserve his life. No, he definitely had to survive. If someone died two times in a day, they wouldn’t be able to access the game for 12 hours. Okay, this was the only way!

“Log out!”

[You can’t log out of the game here.]

“Fuck! I should’ve expected this!”

It was common knowledge that it was impossible to end the game while a timed quest was underway. There was a way to force it, but Grid didn’t want to use it since he would get a huge penalty. After failing to log out, he looked for a way to escape. However, this was the stronghold of the enemy. 

Grid was being surrounded by a rapidly increasing number of followers. No matter how many calculations he made, there was just no way to escape. There was no hope for him when he was as slow as a tortoise.

While Grid was planning out his actions, Doran shouted at him, “Break through to the basement at once!” 

Then Doran pulled out two daggers and threw them without delay. His hand gestures were so fast that it happened in an instant.

Pepeok!

“Kuaack!” 

One of the daggers struck a person’s eye while the other pierced another’s heart. 

Doran narrowed the distance toward the pained believers and wielded his dagger. “Open up.”

The believers couldn’t even scream as their necks were sliced, and they vanished into a flash of gray light. Grid couldn’t resist admiring it. His lack of information meant he didn’t know the exact levels of the Yatan believers, but he knew temple NPCs were generally at least level 150+. These believers were likely to be the same. 

Yet Doran handled them so easily that Grid couldn’t even imagine what his level could be.

‘Is he perhaps a named NPC?’ Grid’s impression of Doran changed. 

Maybe Grid could clear this absurd quest if he depended on Doran. 3,000 gold! A huge 3,600,000 won was in front of him! The earl’s son-in-law! Grid imagined getting his hands on a +20 to all of his stats and a beautiful wife! He would become a lord with his own territory, where he could steal high taxes from the users and NPCs!

‘If I become a landlord, I will be able to get revenue every month. How exciting!' 

Grid began to cheer Doran on. “Good! Doran, fighting! I have admired you for a long time!”

“Eh? For a long time? When have you ever seen...”

“Ah! Danger! Over there! You must take care of your body!”

“B-Body...?”

While Doran was surprised by Grid’s sudden change in attitude, he focused on dealing with the enemies in front of him. Gray lights appeared in succession.

‘Really strong!’ Grid thought.

Doran skillfully threw numerous hidden weapons as if they were merely extensions of his limbs. Old Sword Demon, the number one person on the assassin ranking whom Grid had seen on a broadcast two months ago, was like a young child next to Doran.

‘Isn’t he three times stronger than Ashur? I must befriend him and ask him to assassinate Ashur!’

The Yatan believers ignored Grid and attacked the threat, Doran. However, their efforts couldn’t stop Doran’s advance. Doran focused solely on those who were chanting spells, attacking them to stop their magic.

The black magicians couldn’t cast their magic, making them no threat.

“Amazing! You are really amazing! Doran, you are my god!” 

Grid heard a magic spell being recited but went on to cheer as a black magician’s mouth was then pierced by Doran’s dagger.

This was the best! By relying on the strength of the NPC, Grid really could complete this quest! This was truly a fantastic quest! It seemed pathetic that he had been trying so hard to refuse the quest a few minutes ago!

Thanks to Doran stopping occasionally, Grid could just barely chase Doran with his slow pace. “Are you waiting for me? How kind. Hehe.”

Doran was looking around with a terrible expression. “These guys have started to use their heads.”

“Huh?” Grid looked around like Doran was doing and saw that the black magicians were chanting spells at the same time.

“Blessed souls underground.” 

“Use your grudges and fears to ensnare the enemy.”

“Those who feel fear will have their legs restrained.”

“Their minds will be crushed, and they will lose their willpower.”

“Become a doll with a lost soul!”

The black magicians chanting the spell alone would be stopped by Doran before they finished. Therefore, the group shared the spell by chanting the sentences one by one. Those sentences would connect to form one spell, and the magic would be cast.

“Be prepared,” Doran advised Grid.

Grid grabbed Doran’s collar and said, “Be prepared? You should do something!”

“It is too late.”

“Dammit!"

Kuoooooh!!

A line of blood was drawn on Doran’s face, and black energy rose like a mist to cover him.

“N-No! I am finished if you die!”

Grid had boarded the same boat as Doran, and Doran was the oarsman. If Grid was alone on this boat, he wouldn’t be able to escape failing the quest.

“Cough!”

Grid cursed and shouted at Doran, who was coughing up blood. “Fuck! If it was going to be like this, you shouldn’t have made me feel expectant in the first place!”

At that moment, a green light flowed from the ring Doran wore and surrounded him. Then Doran's complexion was gradually restored.

‘W-What?’ Grid wondered.

Doran attacked the surprised black magicians, who were chanting new spells.

“This ring is special. It protects the wearer from curses and poisons; however, the protection isn’t perfect. The damage is cumulative, so I need to avoid as much magic as possible.”

“Yes, indeed! The great Doran is even wearing a small ring like this!”

The ring clearly had an Epic or higher rating. Was there a way to obtain it?

While Grid was thinking about the ring, Doran started to slaughter the enemies again. He allowed a few magic spells to be cast but eventually succeeded in creating a path. 

Doran stared at the entrance of the staircase leading to the basement. “Come on!”

“Yep!” Unlike his vigorous reply, Grid chased Doran down the stairs at a slow pace. 

The black magicians pursued the two people with spells, but they were no threat because Doran threw daggers as soon as he heard chanting. Then Doran and Grid soon arrived at the dark basement.

“Young Lady!” Doran spotted a beautiful woman bound to the altar at the center of the basement and ran to her.

However, a crowd blocked his way. To be precise, there were a dozen black magicians.

Grid laughed at them. “These ridiculous bastards! They need more people than that to be our opponents! Now, Doran! Get rid of them!”

“Of course!” Doran nodded and wielded his daggers in front of him.

Doran might be tired, but the number of opponents was too small. Grid was excited as he imagined the black magicians turning into gray light. The quest clear signal was right around the corner.

“3,600,000 won and the earl’s daughter, here I come!”

Tatatang!

“...Eh?”

There was an unexpected result. The hidden weapons that were thrown by Doran suddenly stopped and fell to the ground. Doran’s advance was also stopped.

“A shield?”

Defense magic couldn’t be used by black magicians. It was only possible for black magicians who had completed their second class advancement. While Grid was baffled, a young woman walked out from among the black magicians. It was a woman who boasted the best beauty—a unique beauty that caused the beauty of the noble young lady to pale in comparison. 

Somehow, she looked familiar...?

Grid checked her name and was shocked. ‘Blood Witch!!’

The Blood Witch, ID: Yura—she was the Korean user who was ranked number one on the black magician ranking and ranked number five on the unified rankings. She was a famous person who frequently appeared on TV because of her beautiful appearance and outstanding abilities. Why was she here?

Yura looked toward Grid and stretched out a hand. “I’m sorry, but I can’t allow you to take away the sacrifice.”

Peeng! A red fire sword emerged from Yura’s hand with a fierce momentum. 

Unlike a black magician who didn’t have a lot of attack magic, she was well versed in it.

Grid felt intimidated when he saw the flames. ‘Did I get this far, only to die?’

Why the hell was Yura here?

As despair filled Grid’s body, a notification window popped up.

[You have been hit by a blow!]

[A legend doesn’t die easily. You can resist all attacks for 5 seconds with the minimum amount of health.]

Grid had one health point remaining. He had temporarily forgotten about it, but the attribute of his title was activated and he now had an immortal body temporarily.

Yura had a perplexed expression when she saw that Grid survived, despite having been hit by her magic.

“That was clearly a critical hit... Based on your equipment, you are probably only around level 80. So how are you fine after being hit by that attack?” Yura asked while hiding herself behind the black magicians in preparation for Doran’s counterattack.

She always had a calm smile on TV, so Grid was probably the only one who had seen Yura’s flustered expression.

Grid ran forward and shouted to Doran, “Quickly! Let’s finish it in five seconds! I’ll use my body to block their attacks, so Doran must kill them! I believe in you, Doran! My god!”

The spells of all the black magicians, including Yura, were concentrated on Grid. This meant that Doran could strike freely. It was the best development. 

‘Yes, hit me! No matter how you hit me, I won’t die!’

Today would be the day when an ordinary user stood up to a ranker. 

Grid narrowed the gap toward Yura as all types of curses and attack spells hit him. Meanwhile, Doran followed the path Grid made and dealt devastation to all the black magicians. Then Doran stepped on Grid back and jumped toward Yura.

Despite being in a state of confusion, Yura blocked his attack. On the other hand, Doran’s momentum rose.

‘We can win!’

Yet, was it because Doran stepped on Grid's back...?

[You have died.]

“......?”

‘Eh? Eeeeh?’

Grid wanted to reject this situation, but reality was cruel.

A new notification window popped up as his vision turned grey.

[Quest failed!]

[Your level has dropped by 2.]

[You are now level -3.]

[As you have died two times within 24 hours, you won’t be able to connect to the game for 12 hours.]

‘Hah, it somehow turned out like this.’

Grid gazed toward Doran fighting... No, Grid’s last sight as he closed his eyes was that damned Blood Witch.