I will become the ice jellyfish queen with the Chat Group

[Grey Pov]

Every bite hurt. My jaw ached, my organs felt like they were rearranging themselves, and yet I kept eating. The taste of meat and bone marrow was the only thing grounding me.

Then—someone dared to speak to me.

[???]: Hey, miss…

I ignored him. Ripping the last bits of meat from the bone, I bit into the marrow, savoring the rich taste.

[???]: Can you spare a moment?

I sighed and reached for the largest mug of mead I had ordered. Taking a deep gulp, I slammed it onto the counter and finally looked at him.

[Grey]: What do you want? Speak.

The man didn't flinch. He had black hair, black eyes, and an air of authority that most thugs lacked. His clothes were clean and well-maintained—not the attire of a common nobody, but of someone who is screaming I'm important.

[Ash]: Well, my name is Ash. Prince Ash, leader of Crossroad Fortress.

A prince? That explained the arrogance.

[Ash]: I want to hire you for your mercenary skills.

I wiped the bone marrow from my lips, my gaze cold and unreadable.

[Grey]: And what makes you think I'm a merc?

Ash smirked, leaning slightly against the counter.

[Ash]: You walked into the mercenary guild covered in blood and half-dead, ordered an insane amount of food, and haven't flinched once despite looking like you should be in a grave. If that's not the mark of a battle-worn mercenary, I don't know what is.

He had a point. Plus, information—I needed it. And working for him might give me the information I need to understand this world.

I looked at him with a calculating gaze, waiting for him to offer more.

[Grey]: So… what do you want me to do, and who do you want me to kill?

Ash didn't seem bothered by my bluntness. His eyes remained steady, his tone unfazed.

[Ash]: All I need you to do is assist in the coming monster attack and help protect this fortress.

I leaned back in my seat, considering the offer. I could use the job to gather more intel about the fortress and the people here.

Reaching out, I took a piece of cheese from the waitress's hand, biting into it with a satisfied expression as I chewed thoughtfully.

[Grey]: Consider me hired, Your Highness. This is some good cheese.

Ash blinked, his face unreadable for a moment as he stared at the piece of cheese in my hand. Then, his smirk returned.

[Ash]: ...That was the sponge the waitress used to clean the table.

I froze for a split second, my face twitching. Great. I just ate some filthy sponge cheese. I swallowed with a forced smile, trying to maintain my composure.

[Grey]: ...Well, at least the sponge was fresh.

After that conversation, I was officially recruited into Prince Ash's army.

Now, I sat at a long dining table in the Lord's Manor dining hall, surrounded by key figures responsible for the upcoming defense. Everyone was tense as the news of our impending enemies—a vampire army—was being laid out in great detail. Their ranks, their leaders, their strength… it was all in the prince's report.

My mind was focused as I processed the situation. One thing stood out to me.

[Grey]: Doesn't that mean we will need a silver mage?

The room fell silent. A little girl at the table, whose name I remembered as Evangeline, raised her hand curiously.

[Evangeline]: What's a silver mage?

I leaned back, folding my arms across my chest, and looked around the room.

[Grey]: Silver mages are those who can manipulate silver like water, controlling it with magic. It's highly effective against vampires, considering their vulnerability to silver.

An old woman sitting nearby with a single eyepatch, her name was Jupiter, chuckled darkly.

[Jupiter]: In all of my years, I've never seen or even heard of a silver mage. But since you claim to be a mage yourself, perhaps you could tell us—what is your element?

The room shifted uneasily as all eyes fell on me. I didn't hesitate.

With a swift motion, I summoned a blazing storm of Ice-Fire Magic, the cold hellfire swirling dangerously, before combining it with my Light and Dark Magic. The room fell completely silent as my powers cascaded through the air, an overwhelming show of magical might.

[Grey]: This is my element. It's a mix of fire, ice, light, and shadow. I'm versatile. But I have to ask—please tell me you at least have a priest or artificer for healing, or someone to help with the wounded.

The prince looked visibly stunned, but there was no time for more conversation. I was immediately assigned to the front lines of the defense against the vampire horde.

Before I left, Prince Ash caught my attention.

[Ash]: Grey, I need you to hold the gate alone. Can you manage that?

I locked eyes with him for a moment. His request was bold, but it didn't phase me. The gate had to hold.

[Grey]: I'll keep it standing. Don't worry about it.

As I prepared to leave, I noticed the old woman, Jupiter, and her blonde granddaughter—who seemed to be in worse condition than I had first realized. The girl kept coughing up blood, each spasm more intense than the last.

I dug into my pack and pulled out several health potions, handing them over to both of them. One of the potions I gave to the granddaughter was a strong healing elixir, hoping it would stabilize her for now.

[Grey]: Take these. They'll help. Especially the one for her—it's strong enough to keep her on her feet.

The old woman, Jupiter, looked at me with a mix of surprise and gratitude as she carefully accepted the potions.

[Jupiter]: Thank you, Grey. This could make a difference.

With one last glance at the girl who continued coughing, I left the room and made my way to the Wall. The battle was coming, and I needed to be ready.

[Ash first meeting with Grey]

[Ash's POV]

After we encountered Celendion in the dungeon, my mind was racing. I was thinking of every possible way to defeat him with minimal casualties. Every scenario played out in my head, but none seemed foolproof. Celendion's power was overwhelming, and his strategy was impeccable.

But I couldn't afford to lose. This wasn't just about us anymore—it was about protecting the fortress, the people who relied on us, and the future of everything we were fighting for.

So, Lucas and I decided to visit the mercenary guild. I hoped we could find something, anything, that might give us an edge in this fight. As we stepped inside, my gaze immediately fell on something strange—something new.

It was a nameplate that caught my attention, glowing with an eerie aura.

[Name: Grey]

I narrowed my eyes at it.

The name was unfamiliar to me, but the stats listed beside it were anything but normal.

[Name: Grey] (EX)

[Skills: Expand]

This wasn't just a random mercenary. This was a broken character, not even part of the original game design. I could feel the weight of this revelation. Whoever Grey was, whatever she could do—it wasn't supposed to be possible.

Her skills, her very existence, felt like an outlier, a variable that should not have been. The fact that she was even in this game, that she had EX-rank stats, meant she was beyond anything I could've imagined.

This was exactly what we needed. Someone unstoppable.

But there was something else, a feeling gnawing at me. Something told me that Grey's potential wasn't just about raw power. It was more than that. It was as if she had the ability to reshape the game itself, defy the rules, and alter the course of everything.

I needed to find out more.

And as fate would have it, the moment I locked eyes with her across the guild, I knew we were about to meet, and that she was going to be crucial to the fight ahead.

This wasn't just a random mercenary.

This was a game-changer.

[Ash]: Lucas, we need to approach her. She's our best bet to win this.

[Chapter end]