[★Hidden Quest★ The Vatican’s Crisis has occurred.]

[The history of the continent will change depending on the result of the story.]

[The privilege of witnessing the ★Hidden Quest★ The Vatican’s Crisis has increased all stats by 2. Movement speed is permanently increased by 1%. You can sell your story at an expensive price to the bards drifting around the continent.]

[★Hidden Quest★ Escape from Death is in progress.]

[Escape from Death]

[★ Hidden Quest ★

It is your responsibility to escort Irene and Lord. 

Escape with Irene and Lord from the Vatican, which has become a battlefield after being attacked by the Yatan Church.

Quest Clear Conditions: Escort Irene and Lord safely out of the banquet hall.

Quest Clear Rewards: Irene will never forget your accomplishments. Your reputation in the Overgeared Kingdom will rise sharply. The Overgeared Kingdom is a nation founded and ruled by the player ‘Grid.’ The precise compensation can’t be predicted.

Quest Failure: Disqualified from being an Overgeared Knight. Expelled from the Overgeared Kingdom. Level -5.

※ Subquest (1) ※

Kill 150 black magicians (0/150)

Subquest Reward: Strength +10

* The average level of players currently in the Vatican is 301. The level of the Yatan Church’s black magicians is set at 275.

※ Subquest (2) ※

Survive when health has fallen below 10%.

Subquest Reward: Stamina +20

※ Subquest (3) ※

Keep the health of the escort target Irene at 100%.

Subquest Reward: The title ‘Protector’ is obtained.]

“Cough...”

An urgent situation had suddenly occurred, and a hidden quest was triggered. The considerable compensation was worth looking forward to, but Coke wasn’t happy at all. His facial expression distorted.

‘How can I break through?’

Coke had to escape with Irene and Lord. This thought wasn’t just due to the quest. It was his duty as a knight.

‘First of all, I can’t go against Yatan’s Servants.’

The Yatan Church was a group that could fight against the Rebecca Church, the largest religion on the continent. It was easy to guess the strength of the named NPCs representing the Yatan Church, and Coke didn’t have the power to break through them as a third advancement player.

‘In the end, I have to break through either Rose or Agnus...’

It was a terrible predicament. Coke might be the peak of the new generation of rookies, but he wasn’t first in his class rankings. Rose’s and Agnus’ talents in their respective fields were at least equal to Coke’s, and their levels were also higher than Coke’s. Above all, there was a gap that couldn’t be narrowed by items.

Agnus and Rose had been playing the game since the beginning. Coke assumed that the quests and boss monsters they had cleared were extremely valuable. This made him think that both Rose and Agnus had a higher level than him and that his items and skills were also inferior.

‘I can’t stand by idly.’ Coke drew his sword and waited for orders from his superiors.

He knew his precise role in this event that had suddenly occurred. It was a supporting role. The faces of the other actors on stage were too brilliant for him to be mistaken as a lead actor. The supporting role only followed the thoughts and judgment of the actors.

Chucksley and Royman were in the middle of a discussion.

“Rebecca’s Daughters will handle Yatan’s Servants. We have to break through the necromancer blocking the right entrance.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Chucksley and Royman were apparently targeting Agnus.

Kasim also agreed with them. He came out of the shadows and told Chucksley, “According to the report of my shadow soldiers, an undead army is deployed outside the banquet hall. The paladins and Rebecca’s Daughters candidates can’t enter because of them. The man who controls the undead must be that necromancer.”

“He no longer has the capacity to defend himself if is commanding such a large army,” Chucksley and his companions made this judgment.

On the staircase of the banquet hall, Isabel moved from where she had been trying to break Pope Damian’s barrier and rushed toward Agnus. “Goddess’ Wrath!” 

Her judgment was the same as Chucksley’s. Most of the people gathered here analyzed Agnus as the weakest enemy. However, the reality of it wasn’t that clear.

“Kik!” Agnus laughed at one of Rebecca’s Daughters, who were considered invincible.

He raised his sword and defended against Lifael’s Spear. Isabel and those present were astonished. It was unbelievable that a necromancer succeeded in defending against an attack from one of Rebecca’s Daughters with a sword. Coke and the other players shouted simultaneously:

“He isn’t an ordinary necromancer!”

“He is Baal’s Contractor!”

“Baal’s Contractor...?” Isabel murmured.

Agnus’ rusty-looking sword engaged with Lifael’s Spear, and divine power started to escape from the spear. It had a curse that could even neutralize divine power? Isabel was convinced of it once she heard that the necromancer before her was Baal’s Contractor.

“Dispersed Dream.” Rose, the 1st ranked black magician and Yatan’s Eighth Servant, used one of her ultimate skills. It was a huge black magic that inflicted 10,000 fixed damage to all targets in sight and cursed targets without black magic with the abnormal conditions of confusion, weakness, and silence.

“Kuk...! Kuaaaaak!” Screams rang out from everywhere. In particular, people with low status resistance fell to their knees. On the other hand, the royalty of the other nations, including Irene and Lord, were safe. All of them were covered by their knights and weren’t in Rose’s vision.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Irene said, but her voice and body trembled as she hugged Lord. She was anxious, yet she tried to make a bright face for her son.

“Mother...” Lord, who felt his mother’s anxiety and love at the same time, was filled with a sense of purpose. He had to protect his mother. Coke witnessed Lord jumping up from his position and was shocked.

‘I thought he was a smart child!’

Coke had heard many rumors about Lord. Wasn’t he a genius among geniuses? Lord had learned assassination from Kasim and farming from Legendary Farmer Piaro, and he studied under High Elf Sticks. There were rumors that he was a genius who would surpass his father. However, he was only a six-year-old child. Even if he could use an assassin’s techniques, how well could he fight when his strength, stamina, and agility were lacking? Coke was dumbfounded when Lord rushed toward Yatan’s Servants, including Agnus. He thought that Lord was letting his emotions get ahead of his rationality.

‘It can’t be helped since he is still young. I have to pay more attention to him.’

Coke was filled with a larger tension, while Kasim and Chucksley blocked the road ahead of Lord. No one had to say anything. Kasim and Chucksley supported Isabel, who was struggling with Agnus and Rose. Chucksley attacked Rose and separated her from Isabel, while Kasim emerged from Agnus’ shadow and struck Agnus’ back with a dagger.

“Kuhat! Hat!” It was hard to distinguish if Agnus was screaming or laughing. Still, one thing was clear. Kasim’s attack dealt huge damage to Agnus. Apart from Grid, there were no players who could easily handle the attacks of named NPCs over level 400. 

Chucksley and Kasim succeeded in pulling Rose and Agnus away from the entrance and shouted at the same time, “Royman!”

“Yes!”

It was now time for the young knights, including Royman and Coke, to take action. They placed Irene and Lord in the center and rushed toward the empty entrance. Rose and Agnus weren’t particularly interested in Royman’s group though. Their primary goal was the Rebecca Church itself. In fact, the quest they were carrying out required them to get rid of Rebecca’s Daughters, Pope Damian, and the paladins. Eliminating them would give Rose and Agnus great rewards.

However, the other Yatan’s Servants were different. The Third Servant, Aliburn shouted, “Don’t miss a single person! We must kill all of them and announce the dignity of the Yatan Church!”

Aliburn used black magic. He could burn the mental power and mana of others to use as his own resources. The Rebecca Church’s subjects were helpless before him.

“Ah...! Ahhh…!” The Rebecca priests and paladins paled as they lost their mana and couldn’t use magic. The thousands of black magicians in the banquet hall started to target the royal family of each nation, including Irene and Lord.

“Dark Vocation...”

“Where are you going?”

The Overgeared Knights were busy. They continuously swung their swords at the warlocks aiming for Irene and Lord.

[You have defeated a black magician of the Yatan Church.]

[2,290,190 experience has been acquired.]

The average level of the black magicians was proportional to the average level of the players present. They weren’t particularly strong, so Coke killed them relatively easily. The problem was that there were too many black magicians. The Overgeared Knights killed and killed, but new black magicians kept appearing. The chants of spells being cast were heard all over the place.

In the end, Royman allowed a black magician to cast a spell. The dark flames, shackles, and curses bombarded Royman’s group, including Irene and Lord.

“Your Majesty! Prince!”

Coke had to defend them. He didn’t think of anything else and embraced Irene and Lord. Receiving the bombardment of black magic spells with his back, Coke’s health gauge fell to less than half in an instant, and he suffered a lot of physical and mental pain.

“Cough!”

“A-Are you okay?” Irene was worried about Coke, who suffered from the curse and coughed up blood. Coke smiled brightly as he suppressed his pain and replied, “I am fine as long as both of you are okay.”

“Sir Coke...”

Blood flowed down his back and hips. Coke was worried about Irene’s troubles increasing and stepped away from her without showing his back. Then he immediately cut down two black magicians and cleared the way.

“Now, let’s go.”

“Yes...” Irene didn’t hesitate. She knew that Coke and the other knights would be in greater danger if she slowed down. “Thank you.”

Coke ignored the pains in his body and started running after Irene when he heard familiar voices in his ears.

“Your Majesty!! Prince Lord!”

“Prince, where are you?”

They were the Rebecca’s Daughter candidates. Lord tried to respond to the cries of those outside the banquet hall, but it was impossible.

“You won’t be able to take one step outside.” Yatan’s Fourth Servant, Silvenas, flew like the wind and blocked Irene and Lord’s way. She let out an ugly laugh as she pulled out a weapon and pointed her other hand at the entrance. Then she shot black magic toward the entrance, sweeping the Rebecca’s Daughter candidates waiting outside into an explosion. Through the smoke, Silvenas’ eyes focused on Irene. “I have been watching you while I was hiding. You are beautiful and speak well. Bah, whatever. Pretty things are just ugly.”

The courage Irene had garnered from her desire to protect Lord disappeared in a flash. Irene’s body trembled with horror as she confronted the Yatan Servant.

“Hahhh, your terrified face is very good.” Silvenas was ecstatic. Her cheeks flushed red, and she licked her lips with a red tongue that contrasted with her grey hair as she approached Irene.

“Your Majesty!” Coke defeated the black magicians following closely and came just in time. However, Silvenas’ sword moved at a speed that was too fast for Coke. A red energy blade cut Coke’s armor, and he lost a big amount of health.

[You have suffered serious damage!]

[The durability of the Grid Armor Made by a Craftsman has decreased by 47.]

[You have survived with less than 10% of your health.]

[As a result of the subquest reward, the stamina stat has permanently increased by 20.]

“K...uack...! Not yet...!!”

He couldn't die, and his quest couldn't fail. Coke tried to raise his body quickly. He had to somehow protect Irene and Lord until Royman’s group finished off the black magicians and joined him. However, it wasn’t easy. The bleeding status made him dizzy, and Coke eventually fell onto the bloody floor.

Silvenas gazed into Irene’s eyes. “Where do you want me to tear you apart? Huh~?”

Rose, Agnus, and the black magicians were tying up the enemies’ feet, so Silvenas could afford to take her time with Irene and Lord, who were helpless sheep. She was going to enjoy this pleasant situation slowly.

...At least that was until the little prince, whom she had thought of as a meek lamb, bared his teeth. “Storm Sword.”

“...?!” A storm of sword energy swallowed up Silvenas.