by Park Saenal
‘It’s comforting that there’s a mine in a position where I can respond immediately to the enemy’s invasion.’
Ttang! Ttang!
The dark mine. Peak Sword lit a few torches and started swinging his pickaxe. He hit the solid wall and collected minerals. He wasn’t in a hurry. In the first place, the minerals weren’t the goal. He needed to raise his stamina. Labor was the only way to increase his stats.
[Your persistence has increased by 1.]
[Your stamina has increased by 1.]
[The Intermediate Mining skill has increased to Lv. 3.]
“Kuk…! Good!”
How fun was this?
Kaaang! Kaaang!
A smile appeared on Peak Sword’s face as he kept mining.
Teong!
Teeeeeong!
“…?”
The deepest part of the mine. A faint noise was heard from the end of a tunnel. Peak Sword tilted his head to one side.
“What?”
It was fundamentally different from the sound of wind. There was a sense of weight to it and above all, the sound came from behind the wall.
“…Perhaps?”
Peak Sword’s eyes shone brightly.
“Is there a secret dungeon?”
If so, this was a big jackpot. He would receive a great reward in return for finding a new dungeon. He could also use the monsters to deal a big blow to the enemy.
‘This is a dungeon located near the battlefield. If I act properly, the mobs can be used against the enemy.’
It was presumed that they wouldn’t do that much, but it was enough to have expectations.
Gulp!
Peak Sword was filled with anticipation and tension. He gripped the pickaxe and pointed it at the completely blocked wall.
‘A hidden place would have great value.’
Peak Sword eagerly wanted to see it! He tightened his grip on the pickaxe. Then he took the familiar stance of drawing a sword. It was to enjoy the class bonus effect when using a weapon or tool from the drawing attention. In addition, it was to imitate Piaro, who combined farming and swordsmanship.
“Draw Sword.”
Surung!
The pickaxe that Grid made. It had a different durability and attack power from normal pickaxes and could be used as a weapon.
“Fang.”
Paaaat!
It was like a ray of light was shot from Peak Sword’s fingertips.
Kurururung!
The wall that was Peak Sword’s target suddenly fell down by itself? And…
“Eh?”
From behind the collapsed wall, a strange man appeared. The ID was Soldier. It was a player like Peak Sword.
“?????”
“?????”
A moment of time. Peak Sword and Soldier’s eyes met and the same question appeared in their minds.
‘Who?’
It was only a short amount of time. Peak Sword and Soldier understood the current situation but Peak Sword’s pickaxe hit Soldier first.
Puok!
“Kuk… Keeoook!”
What the hell was this? A miner with coal covered his face. Why was a person mining in this critical wartime situation and why was he mining in front of the secret tunnel?
“D…Dammit.”
A person who was going to become a powerful figure in the Eternal Kingdom’s army was going to die here?
Stagger.
Soldier’s confusion was maximized as he stumbled. Blood flowed from his forehead where the pickaxe hit and he slowly turned to grey. Drawing the sword. It took a long time to activate and recover, but the attack power alone was worthy of being among the top.
This wasn’t an ordinary pickaxe, and the power of the skill cast through Grid’s pickaxe was incredibly strong. It was enough to knock out the level 250 Soldier, who was within the top 10,000 rankings. Peak Sword’s overwhelming presence gave the opponent a sense of resistance.
“You… What are you?”
The R77 squad members were confused when their colleague was murdered in front of their eyes. Peak Sword grasped the situation late and replied.
“Swo… No, a miner. An ordinary miner of Cork Island.”
“What?”
Coincidences might’ve overlapped, but their ace soldier had died in a single blow. The R77 members knew that the miner in front of them was less likely to be an ordinary miner. However, it was hard to deny that he was a miner.
Clink!
On the other hand, Peak Sword recovered the bloody pickaxe and took an attack posture again. Of course, this time he used a sword instead of a pickaxe. The R77 members shouted when they saw him place a hand on the sheath.
“This isn’t a joke!”
It was already too late. The R77 troop members. They gave time to Peak Sword.
“Annihilate.”
Ku kwa kwa kwa kwa! Ku kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The R77 unit under the command of the Navy. The greatest elite troops who built up a lot of fighting abilities in all types of wars were now wiped out. It was a rare event that would make the navy rush around frantically.
Chapter 545
Chapter 545
[Grid’s Pickaxe]
Rating: Unique
Durability: 117/180 Attack Power: 233
* 20% increase in mining speed.
* 10% increase in attack power.
* Shape conversion is possible.
A tool with long blades extending on both sides.
A pickaxe made by the legendary blacksmith Grid.
At first glance, it is no different from a normal pickaxe. But there are obvious differences.
The blades on both sides can be folded as needed and half the hilt is made of a blade.
It can be used as a sword.
However, since it is far from the ideal sword form, it isn’t recommended to be used with bad skills.
Conditions of Use: Mining or Farming skill. Advanced Mastery Level 1. 1,200 strength.
Weight: 880
In fact, Peak Sword hadn’t understood it when he received this pickaxe. Shouldn’t a tool be faithful to its original role? Why did Grid make the pickaxe a weapon? Wouldn’t it be better to have a separate blade instead of a pickaxe? Peak Sword wondered what this was about. It was still an unknown world.
Due to the peculiar form of the pickaxe, Peak Sword was able to use his style of swordsmanship and eventually destroyed the forces who secretly infiltrated Cork Island. He took the momentum and destroyed the R77 troops.
[Your level has risen.]
[You have neutralized the Eternal Navy’s covert operation.]
[A signal flare has been found on the dead enemy’s body. It can be used to disturb the enemy.]
“God Grid… You’re the best.”
Grid made the pickaxe a weapon because he foresaw what would happen today. Peak Sword was thrilled by Grid’s foresight and respected him even more. The real reason why Grid made the pickaxe a weapon? It was purely for Piaro, but Peak Sword interpreted it this way.
***
Skin that was golden from the sunlight. Red hair that was intense as blazing flames and lustrous lips. She was the best beauty of South America, Jishuka. She stood on the high walls of Patrian and looked down at the battlefield.
“The players’ participation rate is increasing every day.”
The Eternal Kingdom had named Grid and the Overgeared members as traitors. The players in the Eternal Kingdom received a tsunami of quests.
Defeat Grid. Defeat Overgeared. Occupy Bairan. Occupy Reidan. Occupy Patrian. Capture Grid’s family, etc.
The quests that threatened Grid and the Overgeared members promised huge rewards for the players. The players naturally wouldn’t refuse the quest. They coveted their rewards, and it was their natural obligation as people of the Eternal Kingdom to suppress the rebellion.
That’s right. The players were immersed. Life as a citizen of Eternal. They weren’t just playing games, they existed as heroes of ‘another world.’ An ove
rwhelming sense of immersion. This was the true attraction of a virtual reality game.
“Why?”
Jishuka swallowed her saliva. There were too many enemies. In fact, the 10,000 soldiers of the Eternal Kingdom wasn’t a big problem. Their average level was 160. They couldn’t be a threat to the elites of the Overgeared members. But the players were a problem. There were thousands of players, including high level rankers. The large variety of classes was diverse and the risk factors were huge.
Jishuka laughed at the nervous Toban.
“What are you doing?”
Kkirik!
Jishuka drew her bow and aimed at the army.
Hwaruruk!
Flames sparked at the end of the arrow.
“Sweep them all away. Should we show any mercy to dogs who dare to bare their teeth at us?”
“…No, what?”
In this situation, why wasn’t this woman scared? Toban was surprised when he saw that Jishuka didn’t shrink back.
Kuwaaaaaang!
The fire arrows crossed the battlefield and struck the middle of the enemies, causing a powerful explosion. Dozens of people died in an instant. The players of the Eternal Kingdom turned white.
“Red flames archer… It’s true that they’re fraudulent when it comes to sieges.”
“How can we break that arrow bombardment?”
In just a few seconds. The fire arrows shot by Jishuka consecutively flew through the sky. The battlefield became a sea of fire. It was truly huge firepower. It was a power optimized for mass destruction. Both the Eternal Kingdom and Overgeared members were amazed by Jishuka’s power, but Jishuka herself felt regretful.
‘I can’t display my power with this bow.’
It was a bow she commissioned from Grid. She hadn’t been able to replace it, despite being 22 levels beyond it. It was because there was no good alternative. From the standpoint of Jishuka, this bow had a lower limit than her level and wasn’t satisfactory.
***
‘Marquis Steim is more cautious than necessary.’
Reidan.
Lauel had a headache. What was the biggest reason for occupying Patrian? It was to connect Reidan to the north and gain Marquis Steim’s support. But unexpectedly, Marquis Steim was just watching the situation. He wouldn’t side with Grid if it was unlikely Grid would become the king.
‘He isn’t nervous, despite Irene being in Reidan.’
Marquis Steim loved his daughter. In addition, Irene was Marquis Steim’s only heir and Grid was Irene’s husband. Lauel expected that Marquis Steim would naturally take Grid’s side in this war. Grid becoming king would make his daughter a queen and his grandchild a prince.
But Marquis Steim was a more cautious person than Lauel expected. He knew how to distinguish between business and personal matters and didn’t cling to his bloodline. If he made the wrong choice, the millions of people in the north would be affected. It was obvious that Marquis Steim was worried about their safety and aiming for a more certain choice.
“Well… I don’t blame him.”
Lauel understood and respected Marquis Steim’s choice. It was good to see a noble that cared for the people. Still, he couldn’t help feeling frustrated.
‘I appreciate the fact that your political accomplishments that have revived the north. But your ankle is caught by the people and you can’t be used as a tool.’
He wasn’t a person who could be assigned to a key position when the kingdom was founded later. Lauel decided and opened the list of rankers. It was a habit. In his view, it should be the default to monitor the level of the high rankers.
“…Eh?”
Lauel was looking at the list of rankings to determine the level of the forces that could potentially be hostile to Grid. He doubted his eyes. Grid had been level 322 just three hours ago and he was now 324.
“W-What?”
Grid’s level had been rising rapidly in the East Continent. He was about to enter 15th place on the unified rankings. But no matter how fast he was, gaining two levels in just three hours?
“9th rank on the list? Grid, what the hell are you doing?”
He wondered if Grid was bugged. Lauel laughed as he anticipated the reaction of the media, only to suddenly feel anxious.
‘Maybe he’ll come back to the West Continent much sooner than expected?’
Would Grid return before the project to make Grid a king be complete?
***
“…”
In the darkness. Faker breathed as he watched Irene and Lord. He focused on protecting them from any threats. But Faker soon came to realize something. There was no need for his protection.
‘Potato?’
Irene was reading a book with Lord in her arms. On the wall above where she was sitting, a worker bringing potatoes to the soldiers accidentally dropped one potato. It was the famous rainbow potato. The potato fell quickly towards Irene’s head and Faker prepared to move.
“Ahat.”
Lord, laughing in Irene’s arms, suddenly pulled out a dagger and threw it towards the sky. It was so fast and stealthy that Irene didn’t even realize Lord had thrown it.
Peeok!
Faker made a bemused expression as the potato hit by Lord’s dagger split in half.
‘My protection… It isn’t necessary.’
It wasn’t just due to Lord’s excellent abilities. There were 200 girls in the vicinity of Irene and Lord. Faker realized that they had also taken out their weapons to protect Irene from the potato. There was also Kasim, king of shadows, hidden in Lord’s shadow.
“…Both of them will be safe in Reidan.”
Faker had nothing to do. He wondered if there was anything more pointless than protecting the safest people in the world.
***
[You have succeeded in killing 10 armored needles.]
[The quest ‘Subjugate the Armored Needles (1)’ has been cleared.]
[Affinity with the Red Phoenix group has risen and 5 silver threads have been acquired.]
[Affinity with the Red Phoenix has risen to the peak.]
[The quest ‘Subjugate the Armored Needles (2) has been created.]
[Subjugate the Armored Needles (2)]
Difficulty: S
There are a large number of armored needles in the dungeon beneath Pangea Castle.
Bring peace to Pangea by repelling those who can threaten Pangea at any time.
Quest Clear Conditions: Kill 20 armored needles.
Quest Clear Reward: 5 silver thread.
He had only obtained two silver threads from defeating 10 armored needles. The drop rate for the silver thread was the worst. Grid judged that the most realistic way to acquire the silver thread was to complete the quests.
‘But giving out five threads for killing 20…’
The appearance rate of the armored needles was too low. It would take a long time if he wanted to hunt 20.
‘It might take two days if I’m unlucky.’
Grid sighed and left the dungeon with the Red Phoenix group.
“Ohh! Pangea’s Duke of Virtue! You’re safe!”
“Grid!”
In front of the well. Half a day had passed since Grid entered the dungeon but White and Han Seokbong were still waiting. They were quite worried about Grid. Sua explained the whole story. She spoke about how Grid defeated the armored needles with overwhelming strength and condemned Arube.
The liking in Han Seokbong’s gaze towards Grid increased.
“You really went through a lot of trouble, Pangea’s Duke of Virtue. You were a big help. Now, you must be exhausted and hungry. I have prepared delicacies that can only be enjoyed in Pangea for Pangea’s Duke of Virtue.”
[Lord Han Seokbong is feeling more favorable towards you.]
[There is a place for you to stay in Pangea Castle. It is a place with hot springs for stamina recovery.]
[All facilities of Pangea Castle are available free of charge and you will be served a meal whenever you want.]
<
br /> “Delicacies…”
Grid gulped because he was starved. The thought of delicious food stimulated his appetite. But Grid was always rewarded for his effort and patience. He barely suppressed his appetite.
“The meal… I will eat outside.”
He had to go to Idan’s restaurant. It was important to secure stats, even if he experienced food poisoning. Grid swallowed his tears and left the castle. He walked with unmotivated footsteps and pulled out the Unknown Mark and Arube’s Ring.
‘I shouldn’t expect much… Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal.”
It was time to acknowledge that most of Grid’s predictions always went the opposite way.
Chapter 546
Chapter 546
Capture or kill Arube?
If 100 players were given the ‘Location of the Red Phoenix Bow’ quest, 100 out of 100 would’ve chosen to capture Arube. It was natural. Capturing Arube would allow them to win the Red Phoenix Bow. Wasn’t it strongest battle gear? People wouldn’t be foolish enough to kill Arube just for a rise in level.
‘…I’m a stupid jerk.’
How many of the two billion users would think that being too strong could be a sin? Grid accidentally killed Arube. He got two levels and Arube’s items in exchange, but he couldn’t help feeling depressed.
“Hah.”
Grid’s shoulders were slumped as he used the Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal on the Unknown Mark and Arube’s Ring. Grid didn’t have high expectations. These were items that wouldn’t have been revealed to the world unless Arube was killed. In other words, it was unlikely that the items would be too good.
“Still, he was a named NPC so it wouldn’t be garbage… Eh?”
Grid’s footsteps stopped as he checked the item details. He was so surprised by the outcome that his body stiffened like a stone statue.
[The blacksmith who became a legend can appraise items with an excellent discerning eye. If a hidden feature exists in the target item, it will be found.]
[Unknown Mark]
A black sun mark.
The usage is unknown.
[You have discovered a hidden feature in the item!]
[Mark of Evolution]
Rating: Unique
A functional marker developed by the alchemy facility.
If this mark is attached to your body, one of your strength, agility, stamina, or intelligence stats will increase by 200.