by Park Saenal
“He’s truly a great man.”
Jishuka couldn’t understand why Grid destroyed the targets and attracted aggro the moment the game started. But now she sensed Grid’s deep meaning.
‘The God Hands have completely disappeared from the minds of the enemies. Grid is taking advantage of his presence.’
He even used Yura as bait. On the current battlefield, it was rare for people to be aware of the presence of the God Hands in the sky. If South Korea was able to withstand the barrage, they would obviously obtain the medal.
Since the allied teams were mostly weaker countries that couldn’t have won medals in the first place, it was likely that Korea could endure the alliance’s offensive. Apart from Grid, South Korea also had Yura and Peak Sword.
‘Grid, you’re great. But I’m sorry. The gold medal is mine.’
Jishuka only started the target hunting after entering the forest and securing her safety. In other words, she started the match very late compared to the South Korean team. Nevertheless, the gap was gradually narrowing.
The Brazil team could safely concentrate on the target hunting, while South Korea had to deal with enemy teams. Thus, there was a difference in speed. In particular, Jishuka’s archery was very great.
‘Grid, be satisfied with the silver medal.’
Jishuka knew how to distinguish between public and private matters. She didn’t worry about her colleagues and wanted respect.
Kkirik!
Jishuka pulled her bowstring while feeling sorry to Grid in her heart. She would win the gold medal, become stronger, and get the title of strongest woman. Her gaze became more intense and sexier. However, her brightly shining eyes soon became shaken.
“I can’t leave you alone, so I came after you.”
A low voice was heard from the dark forest. The owner of the charming voice showed up between the trees. Jishuka and the Brazilian rankers paled as they saw him.
“T-The sky above the sky…!”
The 1st ranked user, Kraugel. His waist long hair was tied up and his beautiful eyes shone.
“I’m sorry, but I have to do this.”
He would make Russia 1st on the overall rankings. It was the condition of payment for the new drug developed by the Russian government that would help Kraugel’s mother. Kraugel only accepted these terms for his mother.
He vowed to knock down the competitors, trample on them and lead Russia to victory. His goal in the target processing match was to assassinate the ranged dealers, and Jishuka was his fifth victim.
That’s right. Unlike Grid, Kraugel had stealthily and faithfully acted in his role as a close range damage dealer to assassinate four ranged dealers while Grid was attracting the public’s attention. They didn’t even know it.
“Who said I will be easy?”
She didn’t think she would be caught by such a big person…
Jishuka felt astonished, frustrated, and desperate as she pulled back her bowstring.
Kkirik!
The bow that originally aimed at the target switched to Kraugel…
Peeng!
Godly archer. The arrow of the godly archer that exceeded the human condition left the bowstring.
Kiiiing-!
Pepepepeng!
The arrow rotated and split into five arrows, exploding and blocking Kraugel’s escape. Jishuka pulled her bowstring again during the time when Kruagel was delayed. She was hoping that Kraugel was alone.
‘First of all, I will deal as much damage as possible while the team members take up a pincer formation.’
They had a chance of winning, even if the opponent was Kraugel. The 14th ranked Jishuka was qualified to make this positive analysis. However, her opponent was the sky above the sky, who made even gods insignificant.
His innate skills and Keen Senses passive skill meant that he escaped most of Jishuka’s exploding arrows. Kraugel avoided big injuries and rushed through the blast towards Jishuka.
“…Oh?”
She didn’t think there would be someone who could emerge unscathed from that attack. Jishuka was at a loss, but she calmly fired her bow.
Swaeek!
Sharp arrows rained down on Kraugel’s head.
Suuk.
Kraugel twisted and avoided the arrows. As expected, Jishuka’s arrows exploded to try and inflict damage on Kraugel. Kraugel used White Light Steps and easily avoided it. He steadily broke through the Brazilian rankers.
“Kuack!”
“Eek!”
“Hiik!”
Kraugel’s moves weren’t as destructive as Grid and Chris, and they weren’t as dazzling as Faker or Regas. But he was as strong as Grid and Chris, as fast as Faker, and as unconventional as Regas.
He was like flowing water. All of his actions seemed natural.
“…Why did you lose to Grid?”
Kraugel avoided Jishuka’s continuously firing arrows and eliminated the Brazil team in an instant. A few arrows hit his body, but he exquisitely avoided any fatal blows. The reason why Kraugel was called the sky above the sky, Jishuka understood after seeing it directly.
***
『 Jishuka has been logged out! The Brazil team has been wiped out! 』
“Once again, the world is wide and there are many strong people. Right?”
Pon and Jishuka. Grid didn’t know that some of the strongest people in Overgeared were eliminated in succession.
The teams from 11 countries also couldn’t have imagined. The fact that they would be crushed by a country weak in Satisfy, South Korea.
“M-Monster…”
The last survivor turned to grey. All of the team members were dead, and Grid was at the center. He was breathing roughly, but there were no obvious wounds on his body.
Armor that looked like it was made out of black dragon scales. Giant red gauntlets reminiscent of an ogre’s fist. A black cloak that changed color whenever it flapped in the wind. Gold leggings and a plate helmet with horns rising up on both sides.
Armed with new items, Grid’s appearance was like a magnificent mountain. The world was shocked because it looked like he would never collapse.
Chapter 416
Chapter 416
There was nothing in front of strength.
This was one of the truths of the game. It was an undeniable law.
An extreme example of this law was applied in boss raids. Bosses that had millions of health? If they suffered from tens of thousands of damage from dozens of players, they would eventually fall.
But what if the boss monster had the power to knock down the players in one go? This truth was likely to be broken. In that sense, it wasn’t impossible for Grid to wipe out 37 people from the allied teams alone.
***
South Korea vs the allies.
Despite the efforts of Yura and Peak Sword, South Korea went increasingly on the defensive because the numerical disadvantage was too much. All of the Korean players except for Yura and Peak Sword were logged out.
This was the end for South Korea! The moment that the people of the world were thinking the worst.
“The protagonist appears.”
After defeating Bondre and Bubat, Grid finally joined the battlefield. As always, he appeared with truly exquisite timing. Originally, the commentators and spectators would be thrilled to see him…
『 Grid’s outfit is really unique. 』
『 Um… It is vague. 』
The commentators and spectators were embarrassed as they saw Grid. Black armor and cloak, golden leggings and helmet, and red gauntlets. Grid’s appearance was ridiculous after he wore different armor.
“He has no sense of aesthetics.”
“How can he go around looking like that? Isn’t it embarrassing?”
“My daughter is in elementary school and she has a better grasp of colors than Grid…”
If they looked at Grid’s armor individually, all the pieces were beautifully designed and nicely colored. But the harmony of colors together was a mess. Th
e black armor and red gauntlets were okay, but the armor was the same color as the cloak, as well as the leggings and helmet…
The combination didn’t look good. It was a funny outfit that comedians would wear when they played punishment games.
“Grid, what are you doing? Are you aiming to kill us with laughter?”
“How thick is the sheet of iron in front of your face that you can go around like that?”
“I would rather be naked.”
The momentum of the allied teams rose. They laughed at Grid’s state and lost their tension. In the first place, Grid had wasted a lot of skills and mana while dealing with Bondre and Bubat, so the allied teams believed that they could easily kill Grid if they worked together.
But the result? They were all wiped out. Most of the team members had second advancement users and weren’t able to penetrate Grid’s defense. Meanwhile, Grid’s attack power shattered the defense of the allied teams.
Grid paid back every blow with 10 blows and slaughtered 37 people.
Hit, hit, hit, and hit. Grid’s simple battle strategy caused the enemies to feel an enormous fear.
“If I can’t reproduce the strongest attack power because of the patch then I will show the strongest defense.”
He didn’t keep this declaration. Unlike his declaration, he showed the strongest attack power and the strongest defense. It was truly an overwhelming display of items. It was a show of hope for millions of people dreaming of being overgeared.
『 A-Amazing… Amazing! 』
『 The current Grid can probably deal with two third advancement classes alone… 』
『 At the end of Grid’s performance, the allied teams have been knocked out! 』
It was the moment when the commentators praised Grid for the annihilation of the allied teams.
“Grid…!”
Zibal was sitting down and resting to recover from the powerful damage dealt by Pon. He watched the scoreboard with bloodshot eyes.
1st. South Korea – 83 points.
2nd. United States – 68 points.
3rd. Russia – 47 points.
4th. Canada – 36 points.
…
…
Kwaduduk!
The allied teams, those guys were useless. Not only did they not destroy the South Korean team, they couldn’t even stop South Korean from hitting the targets. Lauel saw that Korea was ahead and said.
“I hoped that we could catch up while South Korea’s scoring was slowed down. Now that they can concentrate on the target processing, we’ll be forced to defend second place.”
“What if we hit South Korea?”
“We have a chance. South Korea is tired and we’re all strong, except for you.”
Lauel emphasized the ‘except for you’ part. Zibal frowned at the words, causing Lauel to laugh.
“But I can’t say how long it will take to defeat Grid. Currently, Grid has at least 3,100 defense and he seemed to have an extreme resistance to physical attacks.”
“…”
The average defense of the third advancement tankers was at least 2,500. Yet it was estimated that Grid had a defense that easily surpassed 3,000, despite being a blacksmith and not a tanker. He didn’t even have any passive skills to increase his defense.
‘Damn items.’
Zibal also had excellent items due to the 1st ranked blacksmith, Panmir. It was why he wasn’t killed by Pon’s Rail Spear. But somehow, it seemed shameful in front of Grid.
“If we fight Korea, we’ll be giving a chance to Russia and Canada. It’s better to be satisfied with second place.”
The top of the mountain. Lauel handled the targets while looking down at the Russian team. It was honestly surprising. Despite Kraugel not being present, the six people were handling the targets quickly while confronting the Italian team.
‘The four third advancement class rankers have better skills than rumored. Is Kraugel raising their morale?’
『 Sofia has been logged out! The Hungary team is eliminated! 』
“…A monster.”
After crossing the forest and mountains, Kraugel assassinated famous ranged damage dealers. His destructive power was beyond common sense. It was unrealistic. Lauel questioned if even Grid could withstand Kraugel’s onslaught.
‘…Wait.’
Looking at the situation, Kraugel was the most active person on the battlefield. Maybe he was aiming for gold? Lauel had overlooked Russia’s power and realized it late.
‘If that’s the case…!’
Kraugel’s next target would be…
‘Yura of South Korea.’
Would the biggest match of Grid vs Kraugel occur in the opening event? Before being Lauel of Overgeared or Lauel of the United States, Lauel was a player of Satisfy. His honest desire as a pure player was to watch the confrontation between Grid and Kraugel.
It was the common wish among the hundreds of millions of people watching the National competition.
***
“…”
The Chinese and Japanese teams were facing each other on the lowest of the three mountains on Tira. Both teams believed themselves to be Asia’s ambassadors, so they couldn’t focus on target processing because they were busy interfering with each other.
However, there were three people who weren’t tense. They were Japan’s Damian and Katz, and China’s Hao.
“Indeed! Grid truly is great!”
Damian. The strongest paladin who rose to become the first pope user was merely watching Grid’s activities and feeling admiration.
“Bah, how boring.”
Katz. One of Japan’s top rankers and an epic class user, he yawned without any hesitation.
“The sky above the sky…”
Hao. The draconian and king of fighting was only conscious of Kraugel.
“…Hey guys. What do we do now?”
Yoshimura, who was once called one of the best rankers in Japan. He was strong against the weak and weak against the strong.
Then Katz stepped forward.
“Indeed, it’s less boring to kill these uncivilized bastards than to stay still.”
The faces of the Chinese rankers reddened.
“What? Uncivilized?”
“This nasty brat is speaking nonsense!”
“I will kill you!”
The Chinese rankers were hot-blooded. Once Katz provoked them, the rankers rushed forward at once.
“Kukuk.”
Katz laughed and pulled out a sword from his waist. It was the moment when the might of the Blood Warrior, which absorbed the enemy’s health with every attack and could use wide range skills using blood, was exposed. Hao saw Katz’ strength instantly and finally came forward.
The struggle between the two Asian countries started in earnest. The Chinese mainland and Japanese island simultaneously went wild. But Damian’s remark poured cold water on them.
“Korea will be the best anyway.”
“…”
It was the moment when the ‘Damian is Korean’ theory became stronger.
***
‘A 10 billion won neck.’
Tarma was part of a dark gamers group, Blood Carnival, which committed all types of bad acts. He participated in the National Competition for Greece and his goal was to assassinate Kraugel. He was involved in all possible events that Kraugel would participate in, and he would aim for Kraugel’s neck every time. He didn’t care about the gold medal.
‘I will gain additional benefits if I kill him three times in PvP… Killing other famous rankers will also gain me benefits. Kukuk, I will make hundreds of millions of won and migrate to the US.’
He would enjoy a luxurious life in a mansion with beauties every day! He dreamt of a brilliant future as he moved after Kraugel. Then a golden hand hovered around him? It was Grid’s famous God Hands.
‘This is very irritating.’
Armed with a sword, it was flying alone and handling the targets. It didn’t care about what was happening
in the surroundings. Tarma was afraid he might be spotted by Kruagel because of the God Hand, so he nervously hit the hand with a dagger.
Chaaeng!
The hand was hit hard and stiffened.
“What?”
He hit it hard enough for it to go flying, but it just stayed in place?
“Go away!”
Jjang! Jjang! Jjang!
Tarma scowled and hit the God Hand several more times. Then all of the scattered God Hands gathered and headed towards Tarma. They recognized him as an enemy.
“Wow.”
They not only moved by themselves, but had the ability to make decisions. There was a reason why Grid was famous for his items. Tarma was feeling confused when he heard an unfamiliar voice.
“What are you doing, assaulting someone else’s item?”
“…Grid?”
Grid appeared in front of Tarma, who had promised to win against Kraugel.
Tarma snorted.
Chapter 417
Chapter 417
Grid.
He was a legendary class, and the most famous one among the informal rankers. He was behind so many topics that even people indifferent to Satisfy knew Grid’s name.
But evaluations were split in two. He was either an inexperienced person lucky to obtain a legendary class, or he had the ability itself to acquire a legendary class. And so on. A person who received both praise and criticism like Grid was rare.
However, those who praised Grid and those who criticized him came to a common consensus. Grid was strong.
But Tarma thought differently.
‘I’m stronger than a blacksmith.’
In fact, Tarma had seen Grid’s battle video several times. Grid was lacking a lot when seen from the viewpoint of a combat specialist. His combat skills were all aggressive and lacked any defense, but he had no control skills to cover for that lack of defense.
‘Well, he might seem good when looking at it from the level of the public.’
Tarma ridiculed and made a shooing motion with his hand.
“Get lost, small fry. I don’t have time to deal with you.”
Before the National Competition started, the world predicted that Grid wouldn’t play a big role, and it was the same for Tarma’s client. Tarma’s client didn’t put a bounty on Grid’s head. In other words, Tarma didn’t target Grid. It was a waste of energy to kill him. He intended on sending Grid away, but his tone was the problem.