Chapter 193: Gremory’s Trial

In front of a dark and dreary temple, a statue in the form of a female demon stood tall. The space beside the statue was suddenly torn apart, revealing a woman whose skin was jet black and glistening. To anyone who looked at her, she was seductively charming and beautiful. This was none other than the demoness, Gremory. Gremory, one of the three great demons, stood beside the statue as she murmured about something that caught her sight.

‘Someone unsealed my map. Will they be coming to my temple soon?’

Gremory chuckled lightly before starting to mutter something. After the spell-like incantation, a middle-aged man was suddenly summoned in front of her.

“Why did you call me?”

The man that spoke impudently in front of Demoness Gremory was none other than a human being! This scene might have been shocking for others, but Gremory just smiled as she crossed her arms and said, “It seems like being cold and frosty still lingers over time, right?”

“Just tell me the reason why you called me,” the middle-aged man asked irritably.

“Well, I just wanted to see the face of the man they call ‘Sword God’ who saved the world a long time ago, you know?”

She had summoned the man, ‘Sword God’. However, the man just furrowed his brows at her words. Gremory and the Sword God. These were two existences that were strongly connected in the?Athenean?System. Their story was something that dated back more than ten years ago. During that time, an unidentified entrance was found in a small village. From the depths of the entrance, a huge number of demons jumped out to wreak havoc and kill the people in the vicinity. That was when he appeared: the Sword God and his Ghost Squad. Their techniques and movements were elusive, which helped them in killing the demon race. Eventually, they also succeeded in closing the ‘entrance’. This was how the middle-aged man in front of her became known as the Sword God.

Gremory, on the other hand, was created due to the conflict between two different demons in the system. In addition, even if she was a demoness herself, she did not wish for the demon race to invade the human world. She was an emotional and sentimental demon. She only wished to look and play in the mortal realm where humans resided. During that time, Gremory had lent her great skills and strength to the Sword God and his Ghost Squad. Because of that, the Sword God was now in front of her.

Sword God was also one of the Seven Myths, but no one knew anything else about the Sword God and his squad. Whether it was their faces or their names. They just showed up like ghosts, and disappeared like ghosts.

“Are you still in reclusion?”

“It’s comfortable this way.”

“What are you doing now?”

“I teach the foreigners that step into this world for the first time, in a small village. I think it was what the?Athenae?God wanted me to do.”

“...”

Gremory was left speechless. She asked, “Just, just... like a teacher?”

“Yeah. I got married too. My wife recently just gave birth to a baby.”

It was their small reunion after a long time, but Gremory squinted at him. She said, “Where did you put that sword that you always carry around all the time? That shabby-looking sword that did not suit you.”

He smirked at her and said, “I gave it to a person that gave me good memories.”

“Hmmm.”

Gremory nodded. She knew that in the end, the Sword God was also a human. However, he was also a human that used the most amazing sword that had ever existed.

Then, the Sword God asked, “Is someone going to arrive soon?”

She nodded and said, “If they overcome those things, they will be able to gain some of my strength.”

Then, the man grinned as he said, “I can’t wait to see who it is.”

***

Minhyuk had heard the notifications. Gorac had given him the Map to the Hidden Temple when he asked the former for something delicious before and Gorac promised him that there would be delicious ingredients in that place. So, he quickly checked the contents.

[Linked Quest: Hidden Temple]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: Level 340

Rewards: 300,000 EXP

Penalty for Failure: -30 to all stats

Time Limit: 48 hours

Description: This is the map to the Hidden Temple. Once you find the hidden temple, you will know about the rewards that you can receive. You have to go there within 48 hours. Otherwise, you will have to face the penalty. In addition, if you have a noble title, you can take one of your vassals with you, and share the quest with one player.

The rewards were still ‘undetermined’, but he was sure of one thing.

‘I think there will definitely be ingredients...’

Minhyuk did not know what ingredients there were, but the penalty for failure was too huge. Furthermore, there was a time limit, and the quest had a very surprising rank.

‘SSS.’

When one looked at the country or the entire world, there were few instances of SSS-ranked quests. However, they were difficult to find, comparable to finding and transferring to a God class.

‘I’ll have to do it because of the restrictions.’

Of course, even if there was no time limit, Minhyuk would have still gone to do the quest. He knew that something tasty was hidden there, so he had to go. Looking at the description, he tilted his head in thought.

‘I can take a vassal and a player with me?’

However, the description was also implying subtly that he did not need to bring anyone with him. It would be good if Minhyuk did not need to find someone to come with him. He felt that it would be good to do it alone. At the same time, Minhyuk had read something about these kinds of quests before. It was said that the trials would be stronger and more difficult, if there was a need for a vassal or a player to come along with them added in the description. Of course, it meant that the rewards would also be better.

‘Hehe. If Kaistra and Grandpa Ben are done with getting the ingredients, I’ll ask them.’

Minhyuk chuckled loudly. He looked quite similar to a wicked lord with a wicked plan, with how he was smiling.

***

“Of course!” Kaistra answered loudly and smiled when he heard Minhyuk’s proposal.

“I’ll go there with you right away!”

‘Anywhere is fine as long as I’m by Minhyuk’s side!’?His expression was something similar to that. It was the same for Grandpa Ben.

“Hoho. Are we going out on a picnic? With my son… No, we’re going out with the lord?”

“...We’re not going out on a picnic.”

“Well, if you’re going out together like this then it’s an outing, right?”

“That’s right. I’m so excited! Going out on an outing with Minhyuk! Ah, I’ll wash the dishes as best as I can!”

“I’ll also work hard to make coffee! I got Luwak beans this time, it will taste super amazing!”

‘...These people aren’t normal either,’?Minhyuk thought. He felt that he was the only normal person around here.

The hidden temple was an extraordinary quest, but there were no signs of nervousness from the participants at all. If one thought about it, it was because they have ‘confidence’ in themselves. Kaistra was the unofficial number one in the country’s ranking, and Ben was a legendary spear master. So, it was only natural that they did not feel any tension at all. Minhyuk first shared the quest with Kaistra. As soon as he shared it with Kaistra, the same notification rang in their heads.

[Please select the quest’s main host.]

Both Minhyuk and Kaistra tilted their heads in astonishment when they heard the notification.

“Of course, the main host should be Minhyuk.”

Minhyuk had received the quest, and Kaistra was only the spoon that was added on top of the dish. Not long after, Minhyuk chose himself as the main host. Right before they started their quest, Kaistra said, “Wait, Genie Noona wanted to meet with Minhyuk. She told me that you should take all the ores?”

“Is that so?”

Not too long ago, Minhyuk received two types of ores after he successfully hunted Baphomet. One of them was antarinium. Antarinium ores had a subtle red glow on them. It was from the Demon World, but since no one had entered the Demon World yet, Minhyuk was the first person to ever acquire the ores from that place. It seemed like Genie was trying to yield more benefits to him since he was the one who successfully hunted Baphomet. The antarinium that was in his hands was identified as ‘mysterious ore with unknown properties’. On the contrary, the other ore, blutinium was well-known for its weapon-enhancing effects.

Weapon-enhancing ore.?The weapon-enhancing ore was something that was not yet released in?Athenae. However, the operators said that they would release the update slowly. Just as its name implied, blutinium could reinforce a weapon, just like a normal reinforcing stone. However, the only difference was that blutinium could randomly strengthen a weapon ranging from 1~3 levels. While artifacts would disintegrate if the strengthening failed for most reinforcements, in the case of blutinium, there were no such side effects. This meant that the artifact would not disintegrate, even if the strengthening had failed.

Minhyuk currently had two blutinium ores. He had decided that he would strengthen and reinforce his team first, before they left to do his quest. According to the description, only those with a DEX above 500 could use and work with blutinium.

[An anvil is needed to use blutinium.]

Minhyuk raised the Ancient Water Dragon Barraca’s Sword on top of the anvil. Then, he grabbed the hammer and struck at it with all his might.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Of course, Minhyuk’s vision was filled with red marks so he made sure to hammer exactly on those parts. Then, the notifications rang loudly.

[You have achieved the perfect strengthening.]

[You have succeeded in strengthening +1.]

[You have succeeded in strengthening +2.]

[You have succeeded in strengthening +3.]

“Oh!”

Minhyuk realized that the effects of DEX were also quite great in this aspect. Then, he used another blutinium.

[You have achieved the perfect strengthening.]

[You have succeeded in strengthening +4.]

However, even if he achieved the ‘perfect’ again, there was no miracle like having another +3 strengthening in one go. After finishing his strengthening, Minhyuk quickly checked the Ancient Water Dragon Baracca’s Sword.

(Ancient Water Dragon Barraca’s Greatsword+4)

Rank: Legendary

Restrictions: Can only be used by Minhyuk

Durability:?∞ / ∞

Attack Power: 850

Special Abilities:

STR +18%. AGI +17%.

?Passive Skill: Sword Advanced Mastery Level +7

?There is a 18% chance of triggering the abnormal state: Difficulty in Breathing in every successful attack.

?Attack Failure Rate is reduced by 70%

?Skill: Artifact Subspace

Description: This is a sword made out of the bones of the Ancient Water Dragon Barraca and god’s mineral, Adamantium. It is also called the Supreme Sword in the world of gods.

The attack increased by as much as 150 and the Sword Advanced Mastery had a +2 increase. The attack speed that was originally 1.5x had also increased to 1.7x as a result. In addition, there was an additional 8% to STR and 7% to AGI. The effects of the reinforcement stone were much stronger than what he had thought.

When he finished all of the preparations, Minhyuk spoke up while riding behind Kaistra with Ben on Penrus’ back.

“Kaistra.”

“Yep?”

“What are you going to do if you get some delicious ingredients from the Demon World?”

“I’ll give it to Minhyuk of course!”

“Hahaha. But you don’t have to, though? If you really wanted to give it to me then I would have no other choice. Despite the ‘serious look’ on my face, I won't give you a very hard time, you know? But, I would feel bad if I don’t accept it. Since you’re giving it to me with sincerity, I will have no other choice but to receive it wholeheartedly.”

“Yep. Please make me some bread instead.”

Kaistra liked bread very much. He liked it regardless of its kind. It was because Minhyuk always made bread for him, so he liked it. Even Grandpa Ben had told Kaistra, “You’re truly a bread addict.”

It was like saying that he was a ‘junkie’. In truth, Kaistra was really addicted to bread. Recently, the bread that Minhyuk made for Kaistra had become truly delicious. It was so delicious to the point that if he did not eat at least one each day, he would get withdrawal symptoms. This was the reason why he called Kaistra a ‘bread addict’. Since they were riding on Penrus’ back, they were able to arrive at the place that was indicated on the map in no time at all.

“I think this is the right place.”

Minhyuk looked around, but all he could see were trees. It seemed like they were in the middle of a forest.

‘But is it a place that players can’t find easily? That shouldn’t be the case.’

“Hmm.”

Minhyuk did not know this, but the Hidden Temple was a dungeon that would only appear as soon as the quest began. Also, admission to the dungeon would be impossible if the players did not receive the quest. As he thought about how they would proceed, Minhyuk saw a subtle glow from the Map of the Hidden Temple. Minhyuk tried to move his body and the glow intensified and sparkled in some parts of the map.

“Let’s go this way!”

Minhyuk and his party members moved forward. After moving for quite some time, the sparkling glow disappeared and was replaced by a white light. A thicket of vines in front of them covered the way forward and hindered their vision. Penrus’ opened his mouth and a faint light emitted out of it.

Flash!

Crackle!

The vines immediately grayed out then the ‘entrance’ appeared in front of them. They looked through the entrance and slowly moved inside. At that moment...

Creaaaaak─

Bang!

They heard the sound of the entrance closing with a bang from behind them. Along with the ominous bang, the notifications began to ring out loud.

[You are the first person to discover Gremory’s Temple.]

[You have gained 10 REP.]

[You can now begin challenging Gremory’s Trial.]

[The ‘Second Trial Type’ will be carried out since you have brought a vassal and a player with you.]

Then, at that moment, he felt a presence appear near them.

“Welcome to Gremory’s Trial.”

‘Huh?’

Minhyuk quickly turned his head around. It was because he felt that the voice that he heard was somewhat familiar. When he looked in the direction where the voice came from, Minhyuk’s eyes widened. Even the man who spoke was looking at him wide-eyed.

Then, Minhyuk said, “Why did Instructor appear here...?”

At that moment… he heard the notifications.

[You have met the Sword God Valen, one of the Seven Myths.]

[You have gained 100 REP.]