Park Deok-Gu had long filled his experience bar up to the brim. The golden light that was bursting from his body was so bright that I couldn’t even open my eyes. I was proud because it was like the time when I changed into Dragon Alchemist.

‘You did it!! Shit!!!’

Naturally, I was worried that all this planning and acting would become a waste, but the result was way better than I had imagined. Honestly, if I hadn’t seen the Dark World with Kasungao Yuno, then I wouldn’t have been able to come up with this plan.

When Park Deok-Gu embraced me during the time dozens of magic and arrows showered down, I focused on the fact that the Lee Ki-Young of the Dark World had survived. Park Deok-Gu definitely had a strong body, and even now, his endurance and stamina stats were great, but that didn’t mean he would be able to save me. No matter how strong he was, his body would eventually break down, and the fact that he was able to save me despite the many magic spells that could destroy a city wasn’t simply a miracle. At that time, Park Deok-Gu had probably experienced the same situation he was experiencing right now. If my assumption was correct, he had potential.

Even while blocking Park Yeon-Joo’s sword with his shield, the light continued to shine. I was able to check Park Deok-Gu’s status window right after the blinding light faded away.

‘Nice!’

[Checking Player Park Deok-Gu’s Status Window and Stats.]

[Name - Park Deok-Gu]

[Title - None. Please work harder.]

[Age - 23]

[Nature - A simple, ignorant, and ardent person]

[Job - Shield of Faith - Legendary Rank]

[Job Effect - Acquired basic swordsmanship knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired basic shielding knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired intermediate shielding knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired advanced shielding knowledge]

[Job Effect - Acquired advanced magic knowledge]

[Stats]

[Strength - 70/Above epic growth limit]

[Agility - 35/Below rare growth limit]

[Stamina - 81/Above epic growth limit]

[Intelligence - 29/Below rare growth limit]

[Endurance - 90/Above epic growth limit]

[Luck - 29/Below average growth limit]

[Magic - 28/Above average growth limit]

[Overall Review - Player Park Deok-Gu has reached 90 points in his endurance stats. Even though his magic and agility stats are still the same, his high stamina and endurance work well with his legendary-ranked job ‘Shield of Faith,’ and he has grown enough to be able to rise to the top. The limit on his stamina and endurance is a bit bothersome, but since it’s above and not below, I think he can grow a little more based on how much effort he puts in. Of course, he will suffer a lot in the process, so please support and encourage him as much as you can.]

‘Wow… his endurance is 90?’

It was so ridiculous that I started to cough, and as the overall review had mentioned, the fact that an important stat reached 90 meant that a path where he could rise to the top had opened for him. Of course, his other stats were pretty bad, but there had to be a meaning behind him obtaining a legendary-ranked job and reaching ninety endurance points.

Moreover…

‘Advanced magic knowledge?’

This kind of knowledge was something that people like Park Yeon-Joo, Cha Hee-Ra, the dead Ito Sota, Victor Hart, and Kim Hyun-Sung possessed, so the fact that he had it was very surprising. Park Deok-Gu’s magic was only 28 points, so I guess the number of magic points didn’t matter when it came to acquiring knowledge about it. I was sure it would be difficult for him to put this knowledge to use right now, but the fact that it would help him climb one step higher was undeniable.

The most surprising part of all of this was the huge increase in his endurance points. When I last checked his status window, his endurance wasn’t even above eighty, so it was obvious how his endurance reached ninety points. He had definitely received a bonus from the new job he had unlocked.

[Shield of Faith - Legendary Rank]

[From ancient times, Shield of Faith wasn’t a name for a class but a title made to honor great warriors. Only warriors who had risked their lives to protect others earned this title, and they were enshrined in a tomb of warriors where they were worshipped by the ancient warriors for centuries. Upon inheriting the will of the great heroes, the title—Shield of Faith was bestowed upon Park Deok-Gu as a job. His endurance has increased by 15 points, and excluding his endurance stat, all other stats decreased by 1 point. He has been blessed by the heroes and has acquired advanced shielding knowledge and advanced magic knowledge. As the Shield of Faith’s special job effect, the legendary-ranked attribute, Noble Sacrifice, has been unlocked.]

[Checking Player Park Deok-Gu’s Attribute.]

[Noble Sacrifice - Legendary Rank]

[For a certain period of time, damage to the selected target and external shock will be transferred over to the user.]

‘No way!!!’

I knew he would unlock a job, but this was too much. I couldn’t keep my mouth closed because his endurance stat had increased by 15 points, and he had also obtained an attribute that would allow him to receive other people’s external shock and damage for them. His low agility stat had also been resolved through his new attribute, as he could still receive damage for someone else even when they were unreachable.

I wasn’t sure if this was the growth Park Deok-Gu wanted, but he had just gotten a job that had turned him into the most amazing meat shield throughout the entire continent.

“Aaahhh!!!”

When I heard a click, a transparent shield appeared in front of me. This was probably his attribute, Noble Sacrifice.

‘I don’t want to get hit by him.’

I was cheering him on as he was overflowing with dignity, but I was worried about one thing. If he found out that the black sword could actually deal no damage, the situation would become very serious, and since we had already come this far, we had to hide the fact that all of this was just a prank. I guess Park Deok-Gu had obtained more than his attribute, as I wasn’t getting any more injuries since he started blocking Park Yeon-Joo’s attacks. However, this hidden camera prank would end once a black sword stabbed through me.

‘I can’t let that happen.’

All of this was for him, but I couldn’t even imagine how betrayed he would feel if he discovered that all of this was staged. When I made eye contact with Park Yeon-Joo, I had to nod at her to tell her to disappear and then she slowly turned her head. I assumed that she would retreat, but Kim Ye-Ri was in the direction where she had turned her head to, and the latter was losing consciousness.

‘Shit…’

Park Yeon-Joo had definitely misunderstood my nod as a signal to attack Kim Ye-Ri, as her black swords started to fly toward Kim Ye-Ri. Even after seeing the golden light on Park Deok-Gu’s body, she must have misunderstood my signal as a sign to continue with the act, and I guess she was just really passionate with all this, as meeting Kim Hyun-Sung was part of the deal.

‘She’s crazy!’

“Nooo!!!”

Park Deok-Gu extended his hand out, but it couldn’t reach her. In the end, he had definitely thought that activating his attribute was the right thing to do because I saw transparent shields covering Kim Ye-Ri on the floor.

‘Shit!’

The moment the swords landed on the shield, he could discover that all of this was just an act, so when I tried to quickly use alchemy, I saw Ahn Ki-Mo getting stabbed by the swords in Kim Ye-Ri’s place.

‘So, you still got it! You bastard!’

“Nice one, Ahn Ki-Mo…” I mumbled.

I guess he was showing that he still had some life in him, and the way he acted was so great that I complimented him without realizing it.

“Ugggh…”

“Ki… Ki-Mo, bro!” Park Deok-Gu yelled.

“I can’t let… this child die yet,” Ahn Ki-Mo muttered.

The scene was already touching and dramatic enough that he didn’t have to say that. Now, it seemed that Park Yeon-Joo wasn’t the only person overflowing with passion in this act—Ahn Ki-Mo was really into his role as well.

‘Let’s stop now.’

Being overdramatic wasn’t good. I know they wanted Park Deok-Gu to feel touched and desperate, but they were in the danger zone, which caused me to gulp out of nervousness. It was time to put an end to this.

While Park Deok-Gu was focused on Ahn Ki-Mo, I kept sending Park Yeon-Joo the ‘OK’ sign. I saw her nod, so she definitely understood what I meant this time.

Park Deok-Gu had gotten noticeably stronger. As if he was getting rewarded for all the work he had put in, not only had he gotten compensated for what had been holding him back, but he had also received a legendary-ranked attribute and job. Still, I didn’t think that was enough to defeat Park Yeon-Joo. Naturally, I thought maybe he was a worthy opponent after seeing him block all of her attacks, but his role was to protect the rearguard, not to fight people in close combat.

‘Park Yeon-Joo isn’t serious, anyway.’

Rather than putting on a poor act of being defeated, it was better for Park Yeon-Joo to leave the situation like this. She must have thought that this was the right time to leave, as she got ready to leave. But of course, there was a real reason why she started to retreat because right at that moment, we heard a loud voice.

‘The Black Swan Guild.’

A rescue team had come to rescue us.

‘We didn’t lose her.’

‘Rangers, please start tracking right away.’

We heard voices from all over the place and the elite rangers, which were the pride of the Black Swan Guild followed their guild master and disappeared. Not only did the priests immediately rush to us, but I saw the guild members busily moving around as well. They gathered around Jung Ha-Yan, who had passed out with a sword in her chest, and Ahn Ki-Mo, who had gotten stabbed in Kim Ye-Ri’s place. The priests started to gather around Kim Ye-Ri as well, who might have actually fainted. Park Deok-Gu was still trying to figure out the situation when the support team suddenly appeared, but it didn’t take long for him to come back to his senses. It was because an elite member of the Black Swan Guild started talking to him

“Mr. Park Deok-Gu of the Blue Guild? I’d like to ask a few questions regarding the accident.”

“Wh-What?” Park Deok-Gu stuttered.

“You can rest now…” they assured him.

“H-How? What’s going on?” he asked.

“We saw the distress signal,” they replied.

“Oh… oh… a distress signal… What about hyung-nim? Are hyung-nim and noonim doing alright? What about Ye-Ri?” he asked.

“Our priests are currently taking care of them right now,” they answered.

“C-Can I see—”

“We’re currently in an emergency situation,” they interrupted.

“I-I’m going to go with them. Together! Let go of me!” he screamed.

My body was being transported to a carriage against my will, and the carriage had to be bigger than I thought because Kim Ye-Ri, Ahn Ki-Mo, and Jung Ha-Yan entered the carriage one by one. The carriage looked like an ambulance, and this helped me realize that the Black Swan Guild’s system was better than I had thought. When I discreetly opened my left eye, I saw Deok-Gu trying to get in the carriage we were in. To make things worse, his face was covered in tears and snot.

“Gaaaaah… hyung-nim…!” Park Deok-Gu cried out.

I guess he was releasing the tears he had been holding back because as the other actors and I entered the carriage, he extended his hand out into the air.

“Gaaaaaah… hiccup… noonim, don’t die. If you die… no, I’ll die with you! I’ll go with you!” he screamed.

He must have realized that it was really over now because when the support group arrived, the brigade’s villain ran away, and he could finally take a closer look at his dying comrades.

“Let me go! Hyung-nim! Hyung-nim! Say something. Anything! Gaaah…!” he yelled once more.

“Please don’t do this, Mr. Park Deok-Gu. The patients are in critical condition, so they have to rest as much as possible!” the elite member informed him.

“Gaaaaaah… Please save my hyung-nim…” he begged.

“We’ll do our best,” they replied.

“Please save them. Please. Gaah… Ye-Ri! Mr. Ahn Ki-Mo!” Park Deok-Gu screamed.

“Please don’t come near the carriage! They need rest!” one of the members informed him.

“Gaaaaaaah… You have to save them. Please…” he begged again.

“Alright, please trust us,” they told him.

The way he cried was so sad that even I felt like crying. Outside, I heard the doctors and priests trying to calm him down, and despite their efforts, he didn’t sound like he was calming down.

“Hicuuup…”

His crying was bothering me a lot.

“She might come back for the carriage, so I want you to focus on the safety of the carriage, Mr. Deok-Gu,” a member requested.

Seeing him calm down after hearing that request made me think that he was a really responsible person.

I could still hear Park Deok-Gu sniffling outside, and when the carriage door closed, the four of us slowly got up. There was an indescribable emotion written on the other’s faces.

‘I know that feeling very well.’

It was interesting to see them feel the same emotion I had always felt on a regular basis. Ahn Ki-Mo looked proud as if he had successfully achieved something, but that was it. He felt ashamed when he saw Park Deok-Gu cry, which meant he felt somewhat guilty, but among us, Kim Ye-Ri looked the grimmest.

‘She’s awake all this time.’

She had definitely received the most shock of us all, as she felt an awful sense of guilt. When the four sinners looked at each other in silence, I heard Kim Ye-Ri speaking quietly.

“Next time. I don’t want to do something like this. I feel like… trash.”

“You did well… and… we succeeded,” I told her.

It was difficult to tell everyone that they had done a good job because of the very serious air around us.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young...” Kim Ye-Ri suddenly said.

“Yeah?”

“We did the right thing, right?” she asked.

I nodded lightly, but I couldn’t talk with a positive tone, as I could still hear Park Deok-Gu sobbing outside the carriage. I guess the innocent Kim Ye-Ri was still feeling guilty. When I spoke quietly toward her, I saw her nod.

“Sometimes in life; you have to do things you don’t want to do.”

“Okay… I understand…” she replied.

However, Kim Ye-Ri was still worried.