by Park Saenal
“…”
As expected from a ranker. Peak Sword was able to accurately grasp and explain the contents of the battle, relieving the thirst of the viewers. However, they had to suffer through the terribly biased commentary.
***
“Kill.”
Puok!
Grid’s strike penetrated straight through Damian’s full plate armor. Damian confirmed there was 16,000 damage and was thrilled.
“As expected from Grid…! That’s amazing! Cough, cough.”
Damian coughed up blood while praising Grid. He confirmed his health gauge as soon as the blindness disappeared.
‘One quarter of my health disappeared with that blow.’
The unique class Goddess’ Agent was strictly classified as a tanker. By default, it boasted high defense and health, especially when the full buff state and additional defense was added. This was the first time Damian experienced receiving more than 10,000 damage from a user.
‘Right now, only 50% of PvP damage is applied.’
He was convinced by the damage because the opponent was Grid. Damian laughed and used a healing skill. It wasn’t Goddess’ Breath, which restored 100% of his health, but Pope’s Charity. He only recovered 5,000 health, but this alone was enough to put a strain on Grid.
‘There is only Pinnacle Kill.’
Grid was in full buff state. When armed with Grid’s Greatsword, he was confident that he could kill a few high rankers with one blow. It didn’t matter if PvP damage had been reduced to 50%, he only dealt 16,000 damage? Damian’s extraordinarily high defense and healing with a short casting time made him frustrated.
‘A unique battle duration…’
Grid’s odds might be lowered if they fought for a long time. It was wise to make quick decisions. But there was one thing he had to consider.
‘Why did he consume the shield in advance?’
How could the skill that would definitely protect Damian’s life be consumed so meaninglessly? But Grid couldn’t guess what Damian’s intentions were. He just instinctively sensed danger based on his cumulative combat experience.
Chaaeng!
Chaaeng!
It was two seconds or so. The four God Hands were bothering Damian while Grid was thinking. Each of them was armed with a sword. It was all blocked by Damian’s shield, but it wasn’t meaningless.
[The Sword Mastery of ‘God Hand’ has risen!]
[The experience of Iyarugt has increased by 0.1%!]
‘…I want a long battle.’
Damian’s defense abilities were excellent, increasing the experience of the God Hands and Iyarugt. If they fought for a full hour, he might have a chance for Iyarugt’s experience to reach 99%. But Grid shook his head.
‘It’s dangerous.’
What if he lost to Damian because he wanted to raise his item rating? He wouldn’t be able to fight against Kraugel, his goal.
Pepeng! Peng!
The battle was entering a new phase. Damian noted that Grid had a high level of physical defense and started to aggressively use magic.
“Holy Cross!”
Damian was originally a paladin, so he didn’t have a lot of magic. Apart from Goddess’ Wrath, he only had a few basic magic spells. But that alone was sufficient to threaten Grid in the Blackening state. The pope’s absolute divine power burned at Grid.
[You have suffered 4,100 damage.]
[You have suffered 3,990 damage.]
“Ack…!”
A burning pain! Grid swung his greatsword after being hit by the magic. It was once again easily blocked with Damian’s shield. However, it wasn’t bad for Grid. In return for defending against Grid’s attack, it allowed the God Hand’s strikes to go through!
“Uhhhh…”
Damian groaned as his side was hit. The God Hands had much lower attack power than Grid, but they were aimed with the best items, such as Failure and Iyarugt. They dealt excellent damage, so Damian couldn’t ignore the God Hands.
‘There is a reason why Chris died from the God Hands.’
Damian was convinced and used Pope’s Charity when the cooldown ended. Then he became confused.
[2,500 health has been restored.]
“Ah?”
The healing amount was halved. It was due to Iyarugt that one of the God Hands was using. One of Iyarugt’s basic options was to ‘reduce the target’s healing ability by 50% when attacked,’ and this was fatal for Damian.
“Pagma’s Swordsmanship, Wave.”
Kurururung!
As Damian was feeling confused, Grid used the footwork of Wave! Damian was hit and his speed slowed down. For Damian, who was slower than Grid from the start, the slowdown debuff was very painful. Grid’s Greatsword moved in a big line. It wasn’t a profound sword and there was no reason to be excited.
“Ku….ock!”
Damian failed to defend and tried to counterattack, but he was too slow. Grid avoided the sword and struck again. Blood rose like a fountain at every spot where the blue black sword moved. Damian kept bleeding. At this point, Grid’s Rune of Darkness activation only had 10 seconds left.
“Pagma’s Swordsmanship.”
He couldn’t be passive because he feared the opponent. Grid knew that he needed to sacrifice something to achieve any result.
Kwadududuk!
Grid twisted his arm in a bizarre direction and used a skill.
“Pinnacle Kill.”
The ultimate cutting skill. It boasted a 100% accuracy and the option to ignore defense. The moment that the most powerful skill penetrated Damian’s body.
“Sacred and Inviolable!”
There was a sharp flash of light around Damian’s body and Grid instantly became a rag. It was the effect of a reflection skill.
[You have dealt 40,600 damage to the target.]
[The target has reflected the attack!]
[You have suffered 31,050 damage.]
Reflection skills were different from counterattack skills. Counterattacking returned the attack to the enemy, on the premise of completely protecting the user. On the other hand, reflection skills were triggered when an enemy’s attack hit. The person had to take the damage, so it wasn’t compatible with counterattack skills. However, the advantage was that the difficulty was much lower.
“Kuack!”
“Keok!”
Grid and Damian screamed at the same time. Both were wounded and their health gauges fell sharply. In particular, Grid was on the brink of death. He had less than 100 health left. It was like a miracle that he survived!
-Wow, Grid survived that. ㅡㅡ;;
-He has good luck! ㄷㄷ;;
It was extremely rare for anyone to know about Grid’s immortal passive. It was only the Overgeared members and Kraugel. The viewers thought that Grid’s survival was purely based on luck. But what was the truth?
[A legend doesn’t die easily. You can resist all attacks for 5 seconds with a minimum of health.]
“Ohhhhhh!”
“Goddess’ Breath.”
Grid decided to fight during the five second window, while Damian set up a square shield and used Heal to slow down his momentum.
[50% of your health has been restored immediately.]
“This…”
The one who spoke was Damian, not Grid. Originally, Goddess’ Breath restored 100% of his health, but this was halved due to Iyarugt.
‘Dangerous!’
Jjejeong!
The momentum behind Grid’s greatsword was terrifying. Damian had no reason to meet it face-to-face, so he used magic.
‘Damian will win!’
Everyone in the world was convinced, except for Kraugel and the Overgeared members. It was natural. Grid’s health was currently at the bottom! It was obvious he would die when hit by magic and Damian would be the winner. But the result was different from what everyone expected.
‘Eh?’
‘Why isn’t he dead?’
Pepepepeng!
Grid flew into the
air and pierced through Damian’s magic. He didn’t die and his sword pierced Damian’s heart.
Puok!
“Indeed…”
The second blow.
“You…”
The third blow.
“…Are a god.”
Puok!
The fourth blow. It was Linked Kill. Damian had all his abilities returned to normal due to the duration of the buffs being over. He couldn’t withstand Linked Kill and turned to grey. His last appearance of giving a thumbs up to Grid gave a strong impression to the Korean people.
“Good work.”
Grid was left alone on stage. He landed on the ground and paid homage to Damian. There was a notification window that the rating of Tiramet’s Belt had increased.
Chapter 458
Chapter 458
[Tiramet’s Belt has been upgraded from epic to unique!]
[Tiramet’s Belt]
Rating: Unique (Growth)
* Reduce damage received by 10%.
* Stamina +250.
A belt that contains the unique magic power of Vampire Viscount Tiramet. * If this belt grows to a legendary rating, the wearer can summon Vampire Viscount Tiramet.
Weight: 13
‘It added 150 points to the stamina stat?’
The third awakening increased health by 25 and defense by 0.9 for each point in stamina. The value of a 250 increase in stamina was tremendous, making Tiramet’s Belt a coveted item for everyone, regardless of class. He could even summon Tiramet if it was raised to a legendary level. A powerful monster that even Grid found hard to raid.
‘…Then.’
There was one thing Grid wasn’t happy about. The ‘Tiramet’s Power’ attached to the Rune of Darkness wasn’t triggered.
[Tiramet’s Power]
If your health drops below 10%, 30% health will be restored in an instant.
Cooldown Time: 12 hours.
Grid had high expectations for this recovery skill that could overturn the unfavorable battlefield. He always thought of it as a solid insurance. But it was never activated in the critical moments. It was the same when he met Lantier in the Behen Archipelago.
Grid was embarrassed and betrayed. It felt like he met an insurance company that he had to pay huge sums to every month. He felt like it was a scam. The Grid of the past would’ve suspected a bug or manipulation. But now Grid was different. There was a reason for the phenomena.
‘When I met Lantier, the immortal passive was activated… The immortal passive is triggered when I’m about to die. Maybe this is why Tiramet’s Power doesn’t work.’
In other words, Tiramet’s Power didn’t restore Grid’s health because he was already dead. In order to enjoy the effect of Tiramet’s Power, his health needed to fall below 10% and have the immortal passive not be activated.
“Comet Group.”
Grid thought this before suddenly looking at the camera and using PPL. Sure enough, he was the model of promoting in the broadcasting industry. Damian received the crowd’s applause and cheers as he logged out and greeted Grid.
“I have learned well, Grid. You are my eternal idol.”
“Don’t exaggerate. Don’t you know that the difference between our skills is just one sheet of paper?”
“…”
Damian knew. Grid hadn’t used all his power. If Grid had used Pagma’s Swordsmanship, Restraint, the match would’ve been much easier. However, Grid didn’t use Restraint.
‘It is to maintain my pride. If a pope is defeated too easily, my reputation will plummet.’
Damian interpreted it freely and was thrilled. In fact, Grid hadn’t used Restraint because he wanted to raise his item experience a bit more. In addition, high rankers had a high level, stats, and recovery ability. There were also accessories that increased resistance to status conditions. Damian overcame most states in one to three seconds, so the effect of Restraint wasn’t absolute.
“I want the pope’s term to end quickly so I can serve you.”
Damian wanted to free the Rebecca’s Daughters during his term and then move to Reidan with Isabel. But that wasn’t what Grid wanted.
“No. If you really want to follow me, you shouldn’t retire.”
“…”
Maybe he would never be able to retire from being a pope? Damian was seriously worried.
***
『 The fourth round is finally here. The end of the long National Competition is approaching. 』
『 Viewers, please stay on this channel until the last minute. 』
The broadcasters asked in vain. More viewers around the world were focused on OGC’s channel. They were fascinated by the biased and precise commentary of Peak Sword.
“Why don’t you become a commentator?”
It was a big hit. The OGC director excitedly asked Peak Sword after seeing that the number of viewers was over 100 million.
“I will answer if you occasionally invite me, but I’m a Satisfy player.”
“Haha, indeed. You are one of the heroes who represent South Korea.”
“…What hero?”
Peak Sword looked sad. It was natural. He was 15th on the unified rankings and one of the strongest in South Korea, but he received the nickname of ‘Useless Peak Sword.’ He was very frustrated and disappointed that he couldn’t win a medal.
‘Let’s go into mining as Grid suggested…’
Peak Sword was seriously considering it as the fourth round began.
The process was very fast. The winner of the first match was Kraugel, the second match was the US’ Skull and the third match was won by Canada’s Dean.
『 Despite PvP damage being reduced by 50%, the match is over in an instant. 』
『 It’s because they are high rankers. Thus, their attack power is too strong. On the other hand, there is a limit to their health. In particular, there are skills that apply fixed damage or ignore defense, making the defense system ineffective. Well, it’s rare for there to be a long battle because the difference between opponents is clear. 』
『 The fourth match is starting. 』
『 It’s the Grid vs Pon match that everyone expected. 』
『 Peak Sword, who do you think will win? 』
The viewers were able to anticipate Peak Sword’s answer.
‘Naturally, God Grid will win.’
‘It is his victory.’
‘Will he win in three seconds?’
Peak Sword had greatly favored Grid over Damian. It was possible to say that he made the buzzword ‘God Grid.’ But surprisingly, Peak Sword’s answer was different.
『 Pon is very strong. In particular, the attack speed of Rail Spear and Mach Spear will be hard to handle, even for God Grid. If God Grid is hti by one of those two skills, it might be difficult to win. 』
『 Hoh… Isn’t this an unexpected answer? Does this mean that God Grid will lose? 』
Peak Sword denied it.
『 No, why will God Grid lose? It will be hard, but God Grid will win. Do you know God Grid? 』
『 Ah, yes… 』
It went as they expected. People saw Peak Sword was someone who would say that God Grid would win over Kraugel. At this time, the fourth match of this round started. Whatever the result, it would be interesting and fun! The commentators and viewers were filled with intense anticipation as they started on the match.
But surprisingly, the match ended easily. Grid used the four God Hands to immediately restrain the legs of the white horse Pon was riding and it tilted. Due to the impact of losing his mount, Pon’s stats fell and he was pushed by Grid’s power. It was a battle method that accurately attacked the shortcomings of a spear knight, who had to be ‘riding’ to use their full power.
“Shit… I could’ve fought better if I had a pegasus or soul horse.”
There was a limit to ordinary horses with no combat ability. Grid reached out a hand to Pon.
“If you buy the diamond class capsule from the Comet Group, you will get a egg that
hatches random pets every day as a gift. Maybe a pegasus will hatch from that? Ha. Ha. Ha.”
“What? Is there something like that? I should buy the diamond class capsule from the Comet Group right away…!”
“…”
Pon fell for a typical capitalism method. He maximized the effect of Grid’s PPL, increasing the appeal of the Comet Group. The Comet Group accepted this very positively. Now there were few people in the world who didn’t know about the Comet Group. In South Korea, the birth of another conglomerate after the S.A. Group was about to be born.
***
‘Am I actually incredibly strong?’
As a third advancement class, Dean of Canada was classified as a high ranker. In fact, he worked with Chris and Vantner during the National Competition to make Canada fourth in the rankings. But he made it to the semi-finals of the PvP. This was an unexpected result for Dean, his teammates, and the Canadian people.
‘At first, I thought I was just lucky…’
Yes, he thought it was luck when he made it to the round of 16. He never met one of the winning candidates. But this thought changed after he made it to the round of 4. Was there anyone weak among the PvP participants? No. They were all high rankers. Even those who didn’t qualify as winning candidates were in the top 0.1%.
Was it possible to reach the semi-finals just by being lucky? Never. There was also a limit to luck. He must have skills as a base. Dean realized it.
‘Yes, in fact, I am very strong.’
His confidence grew steadily.
‘I am qualified to go to the finals.’
It didn’t matter if he didn’t attract attention because he wasn’t a winning candidate.
‘I am strong!’
Dean climbed onto the stage with that firm belief. On the stage, a man with black hair was waiting for him. Grid had sharp eyes, like a beast of prey. A talented person who had defeated a lot of winning candidates to reach the semi-finals. A monster who won four gold medals alone in the National Competition.
But.
‘I am also a monster.’
Dean didn’t shrink back.
‘I am also equal to Grid.’