by Park Saenal
Lauel’s expression stiffened.
The Saharan Empire, based on a nationalist ideology, was trying to make the largest religion on the continent its state religion? The aftermath would be enormous. It would be prohibited to serve Goddess Rebecca unless they were part of the empire.
The Saharan Empire was already the greatest power. There were a total of 17 nations on the continent, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that all of them were under the rule of the empire.
‘The Saharan Empire…’
They grew arrogant, as there were no enemies in the world.
‘If I was going to hand the Rebecca Church over to you, I wouldn’t have made Damian the pope.’
The cynical Lauel laid out a map of the West Continent. Then he examined several kingdoms that bordered the Saharan Empire.
***
Thorny Vine Forest.
It was one of the roads connected Reidan and the Saharan Empire, and was the place where the legend of Faker, the god of death, began.
“Isn’t this where the Ice Flower Guild was wiped out by Faker?”
“Do you believe that ridiculous rumour? The Ice Flower Guild is one of the strongest guilds, and part of the Seven Guilds. How could they be wiped out by Faker?”
“That’s right. Bondre alone would be able to take care of Faker.”
“Grid just spread an exaggerated rumor in order to increase the reputation of Overgeared. It’s just a bluff.”
Japan’s leading right wing guild, the 180 players of Sakura, were hiding in the forest. Their goal was Damian. Their first task was to kidnap and detain the traitor who was heading for Reidan.
“We can wait around here. We’ll make that traitor pay for betraying his country.”
“Building a temple in Grid’s damn territory, he must be a Zainichi.”
“Whoa whoa, suppress your killing intent. We can’t kill the person who will become our puppet.”
The Sakura Guild members gritted their teeth. After a while, they witnessed a long procession entering the forest.
“Happy-chan~ isn’t it difficult? Do you want me to do it?”
“Your Holiness, please maintain your dignity.”
“I don’t care about my dignity if it means ignoring girls who are having a hard time.”
“…”
“Now~ Happy-chan, come on. Yes? Are you shy? You are completely cute. I want to pat your head like this.”
“Kyaaak! Your Holiness! Don’t use too much strength!”
The Sakura Guild members frowned. Pope Damian was part of a procession with 200 young girls? They heard he was an otaku, but they didn’t know he was a lolicon as well.
“He’s enjoying this world properly after becoming pope.”
“Bringing his harem girls on a journey…!”
“Is he the emperor of the Lorije Empire?”
Kkirik!
Yoshimura, the master of the Sakura Guild, pulled back his bowstring. The bow of the person who was once the 2nd ranked archer was aimed exactly at Damian’s heart.
“First, eat this!”
Piing.
A quick shot was fired. Yoshimura might’ve fallen to 4th place on the archer rankings, but it was rare to see someone with such a good bow skill in the world. The arrow quickly broke through the gap in thorns and precisely struck at Damian’s heart…
“…This is?”
Yoshimura was astonished. The 200 beautiful girls in white clothing who were following Damian. The young girls aged from 10 to 15 years old instantly brought out spears, swords, and shields, and blocked Yoshimura’s arrow?
‘Reading the arrow’s position and even blocking it? An arrow shot by Yoshimura?’
‘These kids are freely swinging a blade bigger than their bodies?’
‘The speed at which they take their formation is like well-trained soldiers!’
The Sakura Guild members couldn’t believe the sight that was happening in front of them. They wondered how little girls could show such great talents and agile movements. It didn’t make sense.
“…”
Deep in the quiet forest.
The Sakura members’ mouths gaped open as they hid, while the beautiful girls looked around the forest while holding weapons. Damian stood in the center and gave a meaningful smile.
“Trying to fight the Rebecca’s Daughters candidates, how foolish.”
The eyes of the Sakura Guild members shook.
‘Rebecca’s Daughters candidates!’
The Rebecca Church only chose girls who were born with divine ability and talents, secretly training them to be the strongest paladins who could handle the three divine artifacts. And the name of the strongest paladins were called ‘Rebecca’s Daughters.’
These girls were the candidates?
‘Shit! Aren’t the candidates secretly fostered in a secret temple of the Rebecca Church? Why are they accompanying Damian?’
‘These young girls are unbelievably strong…!’
The confused Sakura Guild members were about to turn back after realizing the situation, when…
“Goddess’ Eyes.”
Pahat!
A golden light concentrated on Damian’s fingertips and spread out all over the place.
[The pope receives Goddess Rebecca’s blessing.]
[Goddess Rebecca detects all living things within 300m of you. Undead and the demonkin will receive great damage.]
“There are exactly 180 people.”
Damian’s eyes sank coldly.
“I don’t want blood covering the fine hands of these girls. I will do it myself. Goddess’ Blessing.”
Pahat!
Pa pa pa pa pak!
It was truly spectacular. More than 200 green lights streaked through the dark forest, falling from the sky and hitting Damian and the girls.
[The Goddess’ Blessing increases you and your party members’ stats by 10% for 5 minutes, negates one strike and will create a shield that absorbs 8,000 damage.]
“Ack…!”
The Sakura Guild watching Damian frowned. It was due to the intensity of the green light that wrapped around Damian and the girls that made them shine. Damian gazed towards the location where most of them were gathered.
“Goddess’ Wrath.”
Chiiiiiing!
Two huge magic circles, around 3m in diameter, were quickly created behind Damian’s back.
‘What’s that?’
The Sakura Guild couldn’t get a sense of Damian’s actions. It was natural. Among the users, only Grid would recognize the pope’s skills.
“Die.”
Damian’s declaration was a signal.
Kuwaaaaaang!
It was like watching an anti-tank gun. Two huge rays were fired from the magic circles created behind Damian’s back, moving in a straight line that swallowed everything in its path. Half of the forest was destroyed.
[Party member Gigs has suffered 14,100 damage!]
[Party member Kinji has suffered 15,500 damage!]
[Party member Rokman has suffered 14,990 damage!]
[Party member Yoshimura has suffered 12,100 damage!]
[Party member Orochi has suffered 9,900 damage!]
[Party member…]
[Party…]
…
…
“This is ridiculous!”
The faces of the Sakura Guild members turned white. It only took a few seconds to cast a large area skill that inflicted huge damage to dozens of guild members that were at least level 210? This was a complete scam!
“How…? How can a user be so strong? This is ridiculous! It’s unbalanced!”
Damian just laughed.
“The pope’s tenure is limited to one year, so shouldn’t I be able to exercise this much power? Your level is just too low.”
“Eek! We would be able to win if you weren’t the pope!”
“I know that I’m the pope, but you’re stupid.”
“I didn’t know a pope was so strong! Shit! Damn!
If you were weak, we would be able to easily take care of you!”
Truly unscrupulous guys. Damian sighed and pulled out a sword. Then he threw off his white clothing, revealing golden armor. ‘I love Isabel-chan, Rin-chan and Luna-chan’ was beautifully engraved on the armor.
“I don’t need to use the pope’s power on you.”
Teong!
Damian rushed towards Yoshimura, the master of the Sakura Guild. Yoshimura calmly fired an arrow, despite being surprised at the paladin’s speed. It was a strong blow, but the arrow was offset by the shield of light around Damian.
“It’s just this much.”
“…!”
Seokeok!
Great skills.
Damian showed a high level of swordsmanship that Yoshimura couldn’t escape with his agility, leaving him wounded. It was far beyond the range that the Yoshimura Guild estimated for the first unique hidden class and the pope.
Damian might look silly because he was an otaku, but his ability was actually really great. However, when compared with Grid…
Chapter 357
Chapter 357
All paladins had similar swordsmanship.
Every time they wielded the sword, they poured their whole heart into it, making it close to the concept of breaking the target. Due to this, the orbit was simple, and when the attack failed, it inevitably revealed a gap.
Yoshimura had a lot of experience and was aware of this fact. How could an archer with high agility struggle against a paladin? It was like that until now. For Yoshimura, paladins were merely solid targets. They wouldn’t easily fall down, but they weren’t a threat.
Damian was the exception.
Seokeok!
“Kuak!”
Every time Damian wielded his sword, Yoshimura’s body became covered in wounds. Yoshimura couldn’t avoid his attacks.
“You..! How can a paladin use such splendid swordsmanship? Is it because you’re a hidden class and not a paladin anymore?”
It was an incorrect guess. As Goddess’ Agent, Damian was still a paladin. However, it was a unique class. He was able to learn a higher Sword Mastery skill than general paladins, and that was the key to his high quality swordsmanship. Furthermore, Damian…
“I’m a paladin. A paladin with the strongest master.”
That’s right.
Damian was a person taught by Piaro. He grew by leaps and bounds when he was farming under Piaro. It was thanks to a clear enlightenment, as well as the quest reward for ‘★ Hidden Quest★ Fun and Exciting Training!’
“Supreme Swordsmanship might be slower than other swordsmanship techniques and less varied, but it is the most excellent one.”
“Why?”
“A good sword might be controlled with strength, while an excellent sword is controlled by the mind and heart. It can accelerate according to the speed of the mind, while making many changes like the heart.”
“…”
As a paladin, Damian couldn’t understand it. If this was reality, Damian wouldn’t have felt anything from Piaro’s teachings. But a game was different from reality.
[You have received the teachings of the sword by Piaro and awakened!]
[Accuracy is increased by 30% when wearing sword type weapons. This effect is applied separately from the Sword Mastery skill.]
In other words, it was an additional reward for the hidden quest. Damian was well behaved and built up a great deal of favor during the hidden quest, and was able to gain great strength thanks to it.
“The strongest teacher? What are you saying?”
“There’s no need for you to know.”
Puok!
“Kuaaack!”
“Master!”
Yoshimura was deeply stabbed in the side and eventually sat down. Orochi saw this and ran over aggressively.
“How dare you do this to Master!?”
The strongest person in the Sakura Guild, Orochi. He was the master of twin swordsmanship. He was particularly strong in PvP as a high ranking player, capable of dazzling the target with his swordsmanship.
But he wasn’t Damian’s opponent. Damian scoffed as he easily defended against Orochi’s sword with a shield.
“Even Reidan’s farmer who likes potatoes will yawn against you.”
Reidan’s farmer who likes potatoes?
‘Who is that?’
Did he mean the legendary farmer who caused an uproar in the world by smashing Hurent and 2,000 troops in a short amount of time? Orochi felt doubts.
Chaaeng!
Damian pushed at Orochi using his shield and then stabbed his chest.
“You aren’t my opponent. You should at least be a temporary farmer in order to deal with me. Oh, I am still lacking compared to him.”
Temporary farmer?
“Who is that?”
“I also don’t know.”
“…?”
From then on, a one-sided massacre took place. The Sakura Guild lacked a third advancement class, so they were totally overwhelmed by Damian, who was over level 300. Damian’s basic defense was high and his healing was fraudulent, so it was difficult to kill him.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that Damian’s endurance in battle was the best. The Rebecca’s Daughters candidates were also a problem. The Sakura Guild’s hands and feet were tied up because they thoroughly assisted Damian.
“Shit! Shitt!”
Once their colleagues started dying, the Sakura Guild members became angry.
Yoshimura cried out, “Why? Why are you helping a Korean person!?” (TL: Once again, a Japanese word meaning Korean person that has negative connotations)
“Korean person? What an old-fashioned and racist remark. You should apologize.”
“What? You… Keook…!”
Damian no longer continued the conversation. He knew that the opponents weren’t worth talking with, so he just silently killed the Sakura Guild members.
On this day.
The Sakura Guild suffered big damage. All the guild members died and lost experience and some items. It was a huge loss, making them unable to do anything big for a while.
***
Grid became certain of one thing after the spar with Kraugel. His goal of becoming the best wasn’t a fanciful dream.
‘Geniuses… No, it’s true that my talent is poo compared to the general public.’
He didn’t deny it, since it was a reality he’d realized since his childhood.
‘But.’
Grid had a weapon that no one else had. It was the power of items. It wasn’t the usual items, but the items which had collapsed the sky above the sky.
‘First, polish the weapons.’
In order to regular users to obtain items, they had to devote themselves to raids or hunting. However, Grid was different. As a legendary blacksmith, he was able to produce ideal items directly.
‘But it isn’t easy.’
There was a limit on the performance of items. It was virtually impossible to make a 10 billion damage weapon that could kill a target unconditionally, or to be invincible by making a 10 billion defense armor.
‘It’s about creating ideal items within the limits.’
It couldn’t be done by staying in the smithy. Grid knew from experience. Then what did he have to do?
“…”
Reidan’s smithy.
Grid was locked in thought for a while.
“Expand my insights.”
Would it be possible to build up his current skills if he was alone like Kraugel, even if he was a genius? It wasn’t possible. Through repeated adventures, meeting new people and enemies, and learning and growing through them.
‘I should do that.’
There was a place that Grid decided to go.
‘Behen Archipelago.’
It was made up of 66 islands. Even Kraugel had only managed to reach the 30th island. By challenging it and experiencing new things, he could overcome his shortcomings and design more ideal items.
T
he determined Grid moved to the castle.
***
“Abu! Abuuuu!”
“Welcome back.”
Irene and Lord welcomed Grid. Irene’s affectionate gaze and Lord’s envious gaze were directed towards Grid.
‘I want to make them happy for the rest of my life.’
Satisfy was different from reality. Enemies were everywhere and his precious people could be in danger at any time. In order to completely protect them, Grid wanted to become stronger. Grid summoned Lauel.
“Did you call?”
Lauel, who was buried in a pile of papers in his office, came running wildly. Grid was thankful for his diligence, despite always being tired.
“I’m incompetent, so you’re experiencing a lot of hardships by taking on everything.”
“I wanted to do it. You don’t have to worry. Continue to rely on me.”
“Yes, I will believe in you and leave for a while.”
“…Huh?”
“I’m planning to go to a place called the Behen Archipelago. Please look after Reidan and my family while I’m not here. Ah, can I also take some of the potions produced by the alchemy facility?’
“Huh? Ah yes, of course.”
Lauel was confused, but he didn’t ponder over Grid’s choices and actions. Grid had become more cautious since the spar with Kraugel, so Lauel thoroughly trusted him. After that, Grid made love to Irene, said goodbye to Lord, and left for the Media Kingdom.
“Aba! Abubu! Abu!”
Lord held the ‘Baby’s Wooden Sword’ in his hands and cried out as he looked at his father’s distant back. But there was no one who could understand the baby’s words. People thought that Lord was just saying goodbye to his father.
However, the truth was different.
A few days later. After some suffering, the pope procession succeeded in crossing the desert and finally arrived in Reidan. Damian’s heart was overflowing with joy. He was happy because he could see Grid and Piaro, who had helped him a lot without blaming him for being an otaku.
But the touching reunion didn’t occur easily.
“A murderer like you can’t enter the city!”
The soldiers guarding Reidan’s gates blocked Damian’s way. It was unavoidable. Damian’s name was bright red from killing the Sakura Guild.
“No, I’m the pope.”
“Nonsense!”