‘The God Hands are the best.’
Grid had felt a bit at a loss when he broke through the lazy cow community and entered the jungle. The jungle had been untouched by humans for a long time and was a mess. It was hard to see in the darkness. The bushes poked at his eyes and skin while poisonous insects entered his ears and mouth. There was the unpleasant moisture, scorching heat, swamp areas hidden by vines, etc. The difficulty of moving through the jungle itself was quite high. The difficulty level was comparable to an instance dungeon.
However, Grid had the God Hands. The power of the God Hands, each one holding a sword, was incomparable to the weed killers of the army. They cut the bushes much faster and move actively, providing Grid with visibility and a safe path.
“It’s cool.”
He just had to walk along the opened road so it was fun. For the current Grid, even the hot wind felt like a fresh spring breeze.
‘It would be nice to make the God Hands in reality.’ Grid thought this as he walked slowly.
He was checking the loot he obtained from the black cow.
[Foolish Gambler’s Die]
[Rating: Unique
Durability: 5/5
* The durability is reduced by one with every use.
* Can’t be repaired.
A die obtained from the black cow. You can roll the desired number.
Conditions of Use: None.
Weight: 0.1]
First, there was the die. The purpose wasn’t exactly stated. It seemed like a simple entertainment item. However, the ability to ‘always roll the desired number’ was never simple.
‘It is definitely something that will help in certain situations. In addition, the black cow’s horns are the perfect high-grade material superior to a minotaur’s horns.’
Most of the famous bows currently in circulation were made of a minotaur’s horns. A bow made of the higher rated material, the black cow’s horns, were more likely to have a ‘minimum’ legendary rating. The conclusion was that both the die and the black cow’s horns were a great luxury. Clearing the lazy cow community was not a bad choice.
Nevertheless, Grid felt more regret than accomplishment. The cause was the title.
[Pangea's New Star 2nd Stage]
[Stage 1: It is relatively easy to obtain information from the residents of Pangea.
Stage 2: The quest acquisition rate increases in the Pangea region.
* Every time you destroy a monster community formed in the north, the level and effectiveness of the title will increase.]
‘As expected… It might’ve gone up one stage but it is still a title only usable in Pangea.’
It wasn’t strange since ‘Pangea's New Star’ was the name. It was fully understandable but he still felt regret. Now Pangea was a complete ghost town. Quest acquisition rate increase? There was no meaning. There were no residents to talk to so getting a quest was nonsense.
Step, step.
Grid hastened his pace. The foliage was constantly being cut. No, the God Hands were floating in the air in the distance while waiting for Grid. It seemed that they had reached the end of the jungle and judged their mission was over.
“Defensive stance.”
Grid issued a new order and the God Hands raised their blades. They spun unusually fast around Grid. It was a type of sword curtain. It wasn’t a great technique that boasted absolute defense like Sword Saint Kraugel or Biban’s sword curtain but it was good enough for Grid, who expanded the application of the God Hands. They were poised to tear all threats to Grid to shreds.
“Wow…” Grid exclaimed as he was guided by the God Hands and reached the end of the jungle. He admired the clear scenery. The red maple leaves turned yellow against the purple sky, creating a mysterious and dreamy harmony. A mountain towered in the center of the landscape, shining gold in symmetry with the sun. It was a completely different atmosphere from the scenery of the West Continent.
‘This is the community of toothless tigers…’
Grid didn’t have time to spare and leapt off the hill. Was it surprised by the arrival of a stranger after a long time? The red clay-like land was shaking like it was wary of Grid.
‘…I don’t think there are any big problems.’
It happened while Grid was stepping on the land, touching it, and smelling it. The leaves of the area shook and 10 tigers appeared. Strangely, the tigers walked like humans. They were one head taller than Grid and their shoulders were wider than a bear’s. The muscles on their bodies were developed. They had sharp claws and teeth and they were very intimidating.
‘What? They are fine?’
The lazy cows were, as the name suggested, lazy. However, these tigers had their teeth, unlike their name. No, it was beyond a decent level. The sharp teeth glowed white without any tartar and raised Grid’s alertness.
‘They’re different. They could be tough opponents.’
Grid handed Mjolnirs to the God Hands and held the Enlightenment Sword. He adjusted the distance so that he couldn’t be surrounded by tigers and prepared to perform the sword dance at any time.
“Ttak!”
“…?”
“Ttack!”
“…!”
Grid’s concentration was boosted to the extreme, only for him to become flustered. He was surprised because the tigers shouted instead of attacking.
“Rice cake! Rice cake! Rice cake! Rice cake!!”
The tigers were shouting as they repeatedly tried to surround Grid and failed. Grid kept moving strangely and escaping from their encirclement so they became angry and expressed their irritation.
“Your rude brat! Let me talk, talk! Hold still for me to talk!”
“…!”
“It is my time to talk! A human should be terrified when seeing a tiger!”
“…!”
“Hold still! Don’t squirm around and stay in place!! Looking at your body, you’re an adult. As an adult, you should know that your butt is heavy! What female would like a guy with a light butt? You won’t be able to mate for the rest of your life!”
“…”
Weren’t there monsters that spoke the human language in Satisfy? It wasn’t unusual for tigers to speak the human language. Yet Grid was surprised and speechless. The tigers' tone was too realistic. It was reminiscent of the tone of the unemployed elderly people who lived in his neighborhood. Grid stared blankly at the tigers who kept yelling at him and they growled with satisfaction once they succeeded in encircling him.
“Give me a piece of rice cake and I won’t eat you.”
“Wave.” This was the best method with dealing with a large number of enemies. The wide-area sword dance was activated almost immediately and energy blades were launched in all directions around Grid. He planned to deal with the tigers immediately by linking it with a basic attack. However…
“…!”
Grid’s ambush was blocked in advance. The tiger blocked the sword that wanted to cut off its neck using its hard teeth. Its upper body strength was lower than Grid but there didn’t seem to be a significant difference. However, its agility seemed to be boiling over. The stats of the lazy cows he met earlier focused on specific skills rather than physical strength.
“Can’t you stand still and listen instead of swinging your sword? Youths these days…!”
‘They are truly tigers.’
Grid didn’t listen to the tigers’ cries. He felt he would be distracted if he focused on their conversation.
‘The king of beasts should have superior racial bonuses so I should think of them as elite monsters.’
Grid amplified his strength with Blacksmith's Rage and recovered the Enlightenment Sword from the toothless tiger. Then…
“Aheung!”
The tiger biting the Enlightenment Sword uttered a scream. Grid could see tears in its eyes. Grid was surprised. “Dentures?”
It was the moment when the secrets of the teeth were revealed. Grid stared at the absurd sight of dentures embedded in the Enlightenment Sword and a toothless tiger spoke to him, “Rice cake… we want to eat soft rice cakes.”
[A quest has been created due to Pangea's New Star’s effect!]
[Give a Piece of Rice Cake]
[★ Hidden Quest ★
The toothless tigers lost their instincts after losing their teeth.
They stay away from hunting and eating meat and miss soft food like rice cakes.
Even though the big hero felt sorry for the tigers and gave them dentures, they still miss rice cakes. They used to threaten the merchants passing by to take away the rice cakes.
Quest Clear Conditions: Provide rice cakes to the toothless tigers.
Quest Clear Rewards: Increased affinity with the toothless tigers.
Quest Failure: Hostility with the toothless tigers.]
“……”
An increase in the quest acquisition rate in the Pangea region. Grid was silent for a moment as he experienced the effect of the second stage of Pangea's New Star. There had been rumors that named bosses could give quests but perhaps he was the first person to receive a quest from a normal monster, not a boss.
Grid scratched his head and pulled something out from his inventory. It was a snack made by Sherry, a chef of the Second Overgeared Guild. It was the moment her effort to make traditional snacks from various countries due to the diverse origins of the Overgeared Guild came to fruition.
“It is melting, heung.”
“It is more delicious than the rice cake I used to eat, heung.”
“It is good that my gums don’t hurt, heung.”
The tigers were intoxicated on the sweet yet savory bean flavor and laughed as they enjoyed the rice cakes.
‘They are surprisingly cute…’
Maybe the tigers weren’t simple monsters but were mythical creatures? Then they were corrupted by the evil daoist. Grid watched from far away.
[★Hidden Quest ★ ‘Give a Piece of Rice Cake’ has been cleared.]
[Affinity with the toothless tigers has increased as a reward for the quest.]
[The satisfaction of the toothless tigers are very high!” Affinity has increased further!]
Now it was time to find their value. Grid started to question the tigers who were sucking the soybean flour on the tip of their claws. “Why are your teeth missing?”
“One day, the king of Mount Bukdu came down to the forest and pulled out all our teeth. Aheung.”
“Mount Bukdu?”
“There.”
The tigers pointed to the mountain towering in the distance. Was it because of the sun? The mountain, that had been illuminated in gold when he first saw it, was now covered with the shadow of deep darkness.
“Who is the king?”
“The blue tiger… his fur colour is blue, unlike us.”
“A blue tiger…”
“A blue tiger. He is the offspring of the white tiger, one of the four sacred creatures, and is a terrible monster, heung.”
“A descendant of the white tiger?”
The bosses of the communities Grid had been to were clearly powerful. Yet a descendant of a sacred creature?
‘Won’t it be different from the others?’
Was this why the level of the toothless tigers was particularly high compared to the rats and cows? Grid became tense.
“Why did he pull out your teeth?”
“Aheung… I don’t know. The king was captured by a yangban a long time ago and his personality became strange after he returned. I don’t know what he is thinking because he stays in the mountains alone. In the past, he was very gentle and helpful…”
“Yangban!”
Did they drag away a rare animal for a show? It was possible when considering Garam’s personality. Maybe the blue tiger was ruined by the yangbans.
‘I’ll know if we meet.’
Grid frowned and moved onto the next question.
“Is the identity of the big hero a daoist immortal? He gave you dentures.”
The hero who saved Pangea from a crisis—he left his mark here and on the colony of the big poisonous rats. After saving Pangea, he had kept moving north. This might suggest that the Peach Blossom Spring was somewhere in the north. However, the answer was completely different from what Grid expected.
“He wasn’t a daoist immortal.”
“What?”
The person was so powerful despite not being a daoist immortal or a yangban?
It happened as a chill was going down Grid’s spine.
“Human! Get out of here!!”
A thunderous roar came from the top of Bukdu Mountain and the entire forest shook.
[You have discovered a strong presence of this era!]
[The Hero King’s fighting energy has started to boil!]
[Your transcendent senses warn you of danger!]
The jungle landscape and Grid were assimilated. Grid was surrounded by the red-purple fighting energy and his sense of existence became as huge as a forest.
“B-Blue tiger…!”
The tigers’ eyes widened and they turned deadly pale.
‘I don’t know how strong he is.’
Grid noticed a small dot descending from the mountain and started a serious and beautiful sword dance. His long arms moved in a spiral and blue-black petals scattered everywhere.
‘I can’t fall in a place like this when I have to take down Garam…’
Grid’s expression stiffened. The blue tiger got close enough for his eyes to be visible and tears spilled like a waterfall—he obviously cried as he looked at Grid. “Pagmaaaaaa!!!!”
“…!?”
