by Park Saenal
The first condition for becoming a king was lineage, but users had no concept of lineage. What Grid needed was justification and a vast territory. It was his destiny to constantly take part in wars to expand his territory.
“Originally, a war simulation requires huge manpower and money. It’s difficult to do with Overgeared’s current capacity. But today, we have an opportunity to try a free simulation.”
“…”
“Try your best. I will teach you strategies and tactics. Well, if you’re afraid, you can give up early. This is your limit.”
Lauel was the only one in Overgeared who criticized Grid. Lauel always pointed out Grid’s faults, sometimes making him feel ashamed. The reason? He was hoping for Grid’s development. Yes, it was the same right now. Lauel spoke in a high and mighty tone, clearly provoking Grid.
He knew. The current Grid had lost motivation. Thus, Lauel couldn’t stay still.
“…”
The Grid of the past would’ve felt resentful without grasping Lauel’s intentions. But now it was different. He saw why Lauel was provoking him and replied.
“Okay, bring it on.”
He was idle for a moment. Giving up? It was clear that he forgot himself these days.
‘Wake up.’
Clap.
Grid slapped his cheeks with both hands. His black eyes once again gained their like.
‘I will try my best to win.’
As always.
***
“You’re taking care of Grid.”
“Do you think I will lose on purpose?”
The American representatives heard the conversation between Lauel and Grid. Lauel shrugged at them.
“You don’t need to worry. I will fight my best for Grid’s development.”
Above all, he had to win until they met Russia. Lauel had no intention of being defeated by South Korea.
‘The variables that Korea has are the Ruler’s Cloak and the Hooded Zip Up.’
Lauel was aware of most of Grid and the Overgeared members’ items. First, the Ruler’s Cloak. It was a legendary rated item that Grid acquired the day that Reidan’s Overgeared knights were created. Charge Command, Military Command, and Ruler’s Voice were all skills attached to the Ruler’s Cloak, allowing for a simple and efficient commands delivery system. If Grid took advantage of it, he would be able to efficiently command 50 NPCs and act as a moderate threat.
Next was the Hooded Zip Up. The invisibility cloaks made by Grid out of the sylphid scales were luxury Overgeared items. Grid, Yura, and Peak Sword all possessed one, so it was necessary to guard against stealth.
‘Other than that.’
He needed to pay attention to Grid’s basic attack power. Yura hadn’t grown enough to be comparable to the US representatives outside of hell, while Peak Sword could only tie up one US representative. The other Korean representatives weren’t worth discussing.
“Let’s go.”
South Korea and the United States were the opening match of the siege event. Hundreds of thousands of people cheered for them as they entered the capsule.
***
[You have entered Anterava Forest.]
[You have 20 minutes before the siege starts. Please prepare during these 20 minutes.]
“South Korea… They are only good for warming up the body.”
“Can they even warm up the body?”
“Hahaha!”
In fact, the atmosphere in the United States team was the worst when Zibal picked the A lot. The siege where they only knew the map and simple rules. There was a lot of pressure because they didn’t have information about 50 NPCs and were expected to open the event in the first match. They were also worried about meeting Japan in the beginning.
But Grid pulled out the A lot after Zibal. He was truly a nice guy. The US representatives could relax because they weren’t worried about South Korea. Their footsteps were light as they entered the castle, which had walls of a low height of one metre.
“Hoh, they are the rumored NPCs.
“Let’s take a closer look.”
The castle’s garden.
50 NPcs were present. 15 of them were tankers who were heavy armor and were armed with large shields, while 20 were close combat soldiers wearing light armor and holding sharp weapons. On top of that, there were 10 archers and 5 magicians.
“Panmir, check the status of their items. Then we will measure their stats with a simple spar.”
Zibal was surprised to see the NPCs’ faces when he issued the orders.
“Isn’t it rude to want to look at our equipment and skills just like that?”
“A rude group of people arrived as reinforcements…”
“Do you have any skills? I don’t trust you.”
The NPCs remarked. Zibal and the US representatives were baffled at their attitude.
‘These NPCs aren’t our subordinates…’
‘They are equal to our position?’
‘We are playing the role of NPC reinforcements?’
Then a notification window appeared in front of the US team.
[A joint quest has occurred.]
[Siege War]
Level of Difficulty: Not measurable.
Two countries are in a war for ownership of Anterava Forest.
You are a member of Kingdom A.
Cooperate closely with the knights of Kingdom A to occupy the castle of Kingdom B and take over Anterava Forest.
* This quest is specifically developed for the National Competition and isn’t related to Satisfy’s story. However, the NPCs understand Satisfy’s worldview.
Victory Condition: Take over Castle B or wipe out the troops of Kingdom B.
* The time limit is 2 hours. If there is no victor within the time limit, the country with the highest number of survivors wins.
* If you don’t attack and only defend, your affinity with the NPCs will drop exponentially and this will lead to defeat.
‘This…’
They thought that the NPCs had the concept of soldiers. But they were allies? It was quite different from what they expected. It would be difficult to form an absolute command system.
“Let’s go the enemy castle. Let those seven people follow our plan.”
The NPCs started to act arbitrarily. If the US team couldn’t give orders to them, any plans developed would become useless. What should they do? The US representatives were in turmoil for a while before coming up with a good idea.
{Lauel, explain your strategy to the NPCs.}
{Yes, if they listen to a good plan, they will understand and pass the command rights over to you.}
It was true. However, it was doubtful if explaining the plan would change the attitude of the NPCs. They couldn’t rule out the possibility that there might be stupid NPCs. Lauel asked his team members.
{Who has the dignity, leadership, or charm stats?}
‘Ah!’
The US team members noticed Lauel’s intentions. Among them, Zibal, Skill, and Zephyr went forward. They were top rankers and held various titles, including a nobility title. They had at least 300 points in dignity. In particular, Zibal and Skull had opened up the leadership and charm stat.
Lauel took the lead and declared to the NPCs.
“I am Lord Lauel. As an earl and hero of the Eternal Kingdom, we won’t fail. If you trust in my honor and status and follow my commands in this war, I will guarantee victory.”
Lauel was followed up by Zibal, Skull, and Zephyr. Then more than half of the NPCs exchanged looks and nodded.
“I will trust you for the moment.”
“But if you’re judged incompetent, we will no longer follow your orders. At that time, you will have to follow our orders instead.”
“…Okay.”
Lauel and Zibal nodded without hesitation. Exactly 31 NPCs bowed to them, while the remaining 19 NPCs watched silently. Still, it was a level where the chain of command could be completed. On this positive note, Lauel started to explain the plan to the
NPCs. The NPCs became impressed by Lauel and gradually started to trust him.
The viewers of the world watched this process and were impressed.
-Wow, I thought it would be bad at first when I saw the status of the NPCs.
-The dignity stat of the US representatives is enormous. Now the NPCs are following them willingly.
-Lauel is first class.
-Doesn’t Lauel seem to have over 500 dignity?
-The dignity stat is the dignity stat, but the NPCs were quickly inspired by the plan. It seems like Lauel has prepared a great operation.
Then what about South Korea? As the US representatives checked the equipment and skills of the NPCs, the screen switched to the Korean castle.
『 Grid is the first user to become a duke, so it’s estimated that his dignity and charm stats are higher than Lauel’s… 』
『 It’s unknown if the other Korean representatives have opened up special stats like dignity. 』
『 In addition, South Korea doesn’t have a strategist like Lauel. We have to worry if it is possible for Grid to persuade the NPCs… Heok? 』
『 W-What is this? 』
The commentators were amazed and their mouths dropped open. It was the same with the viewers. Why? Grid wore a small crown and as he walked forward…
“I will swear allegiance to you!!”
“Just say the word! I will follow you!”
The 50 proud NPCs knelt before him! The world fell into a great shock as Grid smiled.
‘Lauel, it doesn’t matter if you are good at strategies.’
Grid would show his unique value by breaking all this down with items. Grid grabbed the Great Lord’s Sword and gave an absurd command to the kneeling NPCs.
“Take off your equipment.”
Chapter 428
Chapter 428
Apart from strength, stamina, intelligence, and agility, special stats could be opened by clearing specific quests or acquiring a title, position or class. In addition, it wasn’t possible to put points into special stats, so they were very difficult to increase.
But Grid was different. Every time Grid created items with a certain rating, ‘all stats’ increased. There was also the various titles that increased his stats such as Apostle of Justice, Kingdom’s Hero, and First Duke. He even had items. The Holy Light Crown increased his intelligence by 300 and his dignity by 200, while the Great Lord’s Sword gave him 150 dignity, insight, and leadership.
The result? At present, Grid had 2,000 dignity, 1,000 charm, and 300 leadership.
This wasn’t the end. There was even the Pagma’s Descendant class effect of ‘easily acknowledged.’ NPCs, especially NPCs with the proper perspective, had no choice but to instinctively look up at Grid. They were able to sense that he was a ‘great person’ simply by meeting Grid’s eyes.
Grid’s presence was overwhelming. This was one of the reasons Lauel often stated that ‘Grid is a qualified king.’
However…
Now, take off their equipment? No matter how great the person, it was an absurd command that couldn’t be easily accepted. They had to take off their equipment? It might be different if their affinity was high, but the 50 NPCs didn’t follow Grid’s unreasonable command.
In this confused atmosphere, Grid put on the Ruler’s Cloak and ordered again.
“Take it off. If you want to win the war, believe in me.”
“…!”
Grid was just repeating himself. However, Grid’s voice rang out through the castle. There was a heavy weight in his voice that caused the listeners to feel a thrill. This was the effect of the passive skill attached to the Ruler’s Cloak, Ruler’s Voice.
“…I understand.”
Grid’s words contained a mysterious power. For some reason, everything that Grid said seemed to be a reality. The 50 NPCs felt an infinite trust in Grid and started taking off their equipment.
Grid observed them with the Great Lord’s Sword.
‘The fastest and most obvious means of making them stronger is item enhancement.’
At first, he thought about strengthening the equipment of the 50 NPCs. But the economic spending was too big. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that these NPCs were ‘disposable,’ so he had to avoid excessive investment. In the first place, he didn’t have a lot of enhancement stones. In order to prepare for the National Competition, he had enhanced the recently produced Triple Layers.
Thus, Grid came up with two possible methods. The first was to utilize the Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal skill. He planned to strengthen the NPCs by finding hidden features in their items. But the result wasn’t good.
‘Is it all a failure?’
Grid appraised the items of all 50 NPCs, but none of them had a hidden feature. One method was discarded. Grid was disappointed, but he didn’t judge it to be hopeless yet. There was another way to strengthen the NPCs. This method was to utilized the Character Observation skill attached to the Great Lord’s Sword.
For example, in this way.
Name: Tron.
Level: 300
Class: Heavy Armor Knight
Strength: 1,610 Stamina: 1,300
Agility: 500 Intelligence: 105
Possessed Skills: Piercing, Charging, Three People Provocation, Shield Throw, Steel Skin, Intermediate Spear Mastery Lv. 3, and Intermediate Shield Mastery Lv. 5.
Unique Skills: Increased Attack Power (Passive), Rotation Cut, and Advanced Sword Mastery Lv. 5.
Name: Cary
Level: 300
Class: Armored Sword Knight
Strength: 1,500 Stamina: 600
Agility: 1,415 Intelligence: 80
Possessed Skills: Increase Aura Attack Power, Three Stage Cutting, Ascending Slash, Intermediate Sword Mastery Lv. 8.
Unique skills: Multi Shot, Quick Shot, Advanced Bow Mastery Lv. 6.
“Tron.”
“Yes!”
“Throw away the spear. Take Cary’s sword and use it. Cary, give him the sword and take up a bow.”
“Huh? Ah… Yes! I understand!”
Everyone in the world had particular aptitude and skills. However, when living in society, it was inevitable that they would face a situation where they had to compromise, taking up a job that wasn’t suited to their aptitude or skills. It was the same for NPCs. Some of them were wasting their talents due to their own circumstances, or they weren’t aware of their aptitude.
Grid realized it when watching the soldiers and knights of Reidan.
“How did he…?”
“He noticed my skills at first glance?”
“There were no vacancies in the light armored knights, so I suffered from acquiring shield skills that I’m not interested in.”
“…Thanks to Grid, I’m able to use what I’m interested in.”
[Affinity with Tron has risen by 20.]
[Affinity with Cary has risen by 20.]
[Affinity with Faiba has risen by 20…]
…
…
The affinity of the NPCs towards Grid started to climb. It was gratitude for Grid identifying their aptitudes and redistributing their items and roles. The amazed NPCs couldn’t tear their gaze away from Grid. It was the same with the Korean representatives.
‘How is this possible?’
‘Grid constantly shows things that are beyond common sense.’
‘He’s top class. Different from normal players.’
As the Korean representatives and NPCs were feeling admiration. Grid was observing the rest of the NPCs when he suddenly made a strange smile.
“I found someone interesting.”
Grid’s sharp eyes were fixed on a NPC called ‘Lucky’ standing among the magicians. Lucky was the only one among 50 NPCs to have a special stat, and it was the good luck stat. It was a stat that even Grid failed to have, despite his 14 stats. Well, it was a stat that Grid would probably never get.
“You will use this weapon.”
“…?”
Grid handed s
omething over to Lucky, causing all eyes to widen. They couldn’t understand the current situation. Grid seemed like he was playing around. It was natural. The new weapon that Grid gave to the ‘magician’ Lucky was a flail.
“Why… why are you giving me farming equipment…?”
He liked magic, but had no interest in farming. Why was he being given a farming tool in this situation?
‘Is he indirectly saying that I am useless?’
Lucky was confused. His chest heart at the thought of his presence being denied.
“Take it.”
As an awkward silence flowed, Grid moved away from Lucky and pointed to another NPC.
“Swan, follow me for a while.”
Grid was smiling strangely again. The anxious Swan was brought to a tent.
***
『 What is he doing? 』
『 I can’t understand Grid’s behavior. 』
The commentators for the National Competition were confused. It was difficult for them to understand why Grid had the 50 NPCs take off all the items and they swapped equipment around.
-He’s changing the role of the NPCs?
-It’s too absurd and stupid to interpret it as something deep.
-Why did he give a magician a farming tool?;;;
-I can’t understand it…
As the chaos among the viewers increased, some keen experts speculated.
『 I just remembered. Grid’s current sword looks similar to the Lord’s Sword. The Lord’s Sword can only be received from the king or emperor, and it’s capable of showing detailed information of the desired character. 』
『 In other words, Grid is confirming the abilities of the NPCs and giving them roles and items more suitable to them… 』
『 Unfortunately, we can’t be sure about this. The Lord’s Sword is a rare item without a lot of information about it, and Grid’s sword has some differences. 』
『 Anyway, one thing is for certain, the act of giving a magician a farming tool is a joke. 』
『 Haha… Ah, as we are speaking, the battle between South Korea and the US is about to start. 』
20 minutes of preparation time ended. Now the first match of the siege event started.
***
The US team.
The US representatives and NPCs, led by Zibal and Lauel, left the castle. Zibal gazed at the Anterava Forest in front of him before turning his attention to the wall. The blacksmith Panmir was at the walls.