A grub should keep to the ground. This is the mantra by which Riftan Calypse lives his miserable life at the very bottom of society in the Duchy of Croyso. He toils at the smithy all day, only to return to a drunk stepfather and an indifferent mother at night. Riftan’s only solace is the duke’s red-haired daughter, whom he occasionally glimpses around the castle grounds. But a mixed-blood peasant like him could never dare to approach a girl of noble descent, so he simply admires her from afar.

When tragedy strikes, Riftan makes a bold decision: He sneaks onto a mercenary wagon and leaves behind everything he’s ever known. With exceptional strength and nothing to lose, Riftan gradually climbs from lowly mercenary to recruit of the unorthodox new order known as the Remdragon Knights. But through countless battles of ever-increasing peril, the red-haired daughter of Croyso never leaves his mind, or his heart . . .

This volume collects side-story chapters 1-44 and three bonus chapters of the original webnovel by Suji Kim.