by Park Saenal
Cooldown Time: 5 minutes.]
“…Amazing.”
There was a CC that couldn’t be resisted as well as an autonomous attack power. Although it was limited to a dark target, it could surpass a Sword Saint’s cognition. This was just the performance of a level 1 elemental. Grid didn’t know how great the elemental would be when the level rose.
The 12 Te weren’t exaggerating when they were worried about the seven malignant people. Jishuka’s eyes turned to heart shapes as the Sword of Light started to hover beside Grid. “A visual explosion…”
It was like the lights that were set up for shooting commercials with celebrities. The power of the light was almost fraudulent. Grid was becoming equipped with more systems.
Chapter 839
Chapter 839
[The lower wind elemental whispers that it will make your arrows faster.]
[The lower wind elemental whispers that it will your spear lighter.]
[The lower wind elemental whispers that it will your mouth lighter.]
“Why is it my mouth?”
“…??”
Jishuka, Pon, and Huroi contracted with wind elementals.
[The lower earth elemental promises to make your body more solid.]
Regas succeeded in contracting with an earth elemental.
It was a bit disappointing after seeing Grid contract with an advanced spirit, but they didn’t express it. After all, if it wasn’t for Grid, they wouldn’t even have the opportunity to contract with an elemental. It was an undeserved honor for them to even contract with a lower elemental.
‘Good.’
Jishuka and Pon had their attack speed and attack accuracy increased slightly due to the lower wind elemental, while Huroi had his talking speed increased thanks to the wind elemental. Regas gained more resistance and defense due to the earth elemental, making him fully satisfied. He was particularly joyful because his low defense had grabbed his ankle several times.
Meanwhile, Faker and Chris received great fortune.
[The lower wind elemental notices that you are faster than it and has retreated with frustration.]
[The intermediate wind elemental whispers that it is going to have fun with you.]
[All lower elementals have felt the qualities of a tyrant and have run away.]
[The intermediate earth elemental promises to govern your rough nature.]
After seeing the people who successfully contracted with the intermediate elementals, Chris established a hypothesis that the most important factor when contracting with a higher elemental was a ‘higher rated class’. The basis for this hypothesis was the two men who managed to make contracts with intermediate elementals. Faker had received the second class ‘Shadow Master’s Student’ after Khan’s death while Chris had the second class ‘Tyrant.’
“It is highly likely. Isn’t this why Grid contracted with an advanced spirit?”
“Hrmm… We will know for sure when we see the result of Yura’s contract.”
Would Demon Slayer Yura succeed in contracting with an advanced elemental like Grid? Grid and all the members of Overgeared were filled with expectations.
***
There was a thick fog around the poisonous river. It was a terrible fog that caused the ‘poisoned’ state when it was breathed in. The volcanoes in the area were active and the earth was shaking with agitation. The sense of balance was lost. The boiling lava melted skin with heat alone and didn’t allow any living thing to enter.
This was the 32nd Hell. It was full of chaos after losing its ruler, Belial. Creatures were no longer controlled, and its residents had long since left their homes. Only hungry demonic creatures were left wandering aimlessly. In this place, gunshots rang out, announcing the deaths of the demonic beasts.
Tatang! Tang tang!
A demonic beast turned to gray whenever the gun fired. Dozens of pillars of gray ash kept rising through the fog. The demonic beasts witnessed their kin being killed and lost momentum. Their tails dropped, making them seem like puppies as they ran away.
However, the beauty didn’t miss any of them. She jumped through the space itself and shoved her sword into the mouths of the retreating demonic beasts. The Demon Slayer’s beautiful white skin looked red as blood splashed on her.
“Sigh… Sigh…”
Any communication with the human world was blocked in hell. It was impossible to live alone in this barren landscape with a normal mentality.
Yura had never lost her composure apart from when she dealt with Grid. However, life in hell was hard. Her body and mind had long been exhausted. Now, she couldn’t tell if the screams that constantly rang in her ears were real or false, and her thoughts were a mess.
Nonetheless, Yura kept moving forward. She walked without resting in the unchanging scenery that she had seen for several months already and pointed her gun at a demonic beast.
Tatang!
She longed to be qualified to stand at the same level as Grid, who had collapsed the sky to become the new sky. Yura wanted to feel proud again. Desperately wanting to be the best again, she wanted to prove that the Demon Slayer class she had selected wasn’t lacking compared to Sword Saint and Pagma’s Descendant. She didn’t want to be ashamed with facing Grid. Furthermore, she didn’t want to be a burden to Grid after abandoning the Yatan Church for the Overgeared Kingdom.
“…?” Yura stopped in place as she was moving forward. Then her eyes shook. It was because she felt a change in the landscape of hell that had been the same for two months. In the distance, she saw a black castle covered in fog.
‘Belial’s Castle?’ Yura gulped as the light of the castle reflected in her eyes.
She was filled with hope that perhaps something left in the ownerless castle would help her. There might be a fierce monster, but she was convinced there would be a treasure to help her grow further. This wasn’t without basis. Considering the symbolism of a great demon’s castle, Yura’s expectations were reasonable.
A huge dusty gate opened instantly under Yura’s hands.
“…” Yura’s eyes narrowed as she observed the scenery outside the castle. Had the demonic beasts eaten themselves after becoming hungry? The outside of the castle was filled with the stench of rotting corpses. Yura’s footsteps were careful while she moved forward. As the distance to the front doors narrowed, she started to detect ‘something.’ She wasn’t mistaken.
[The Demon Slayer’s intuition has felt a strong demonic energy.]
[You will enter the Prepared to Die Posture. The extremely concentrated magic bullets will have a 10% increase in the creation speed and physical defense will increase by 15%. Magic resistance has increased by 20%.]
The passive skill that hadn’t activated when she faced the 32nd Great Demon Belial told Yura something. The gift beyond the door would be much larger than her expectations. Yura gulped and controlled her thoughts. ‘I am over level 300 now.’
This place was also hell. It was a stage that maximized a Demon Slayer’s abilities. The present Yura was incomparable to during the time of the Belial raid. Yura recognized this fact and overcame her fear, pushing open the door with her small, fine hands. The rusty iron made an unpleasant sound as it was opened, but it was the ‘man’ on the throne in the dark great hall that caused chills to run over Yura’s skin.
“Why are you here?” Yura’s voice trembled as she asked the man sitting on the throne. The last time she was so blatantly shaken had been when she faced Grid.
Why? Grid was the one who always transcended her expectations. Yes, like right now.
“Pagma’s Swordsmanship.”
The man raised his body from the throne. He took one and then two steps forward before dancing. His sharp eyes, reminiscent of a bird of prey, stared at her.
“Transcended Linked Kill Wave Pinnacle.”
The atrocious surge of energy moved with a fierce momentum and hit Yura.
“…!!!”
The giant castle that was the symbol of the 32nd Gre
at Demon’s supremacy collapsed like a sand castle.
***
In the past few years, the Overgeared members had actively utilized Grid’s reputation and abilities. They had called in people by using Grid’s name, and Lauel had selected talents to join the Overgeared Guild.
Now, the Overgeared Guild had reached 620 people. It was unbalanced since more than half of them were production-oriented classes. However, it was natural since the ‘army’ of the kingdom meant production classes were more valuable than combat classes.
“All the blacksmiths have contracted with the fire elementals?”
“Yes. Panmir as well.”
“Shit… Why am I the only one with a light elemental? Isn’t Pagma’s Descendant a blacksmith?” Grid’s obsession with the Duke of Fire was greater than imagined. It couldn’t be helped since he was pursuing Pagma’s shadow.
Lauel soothed the grumbling Grid, “Isn’t the light elemental a higher class spirit? I heard that they are elementals of the royal family. Isn’t it better than the fire elemental? Be calm and satisfied.”
“I know that. However, it isn’t very good if the target isn’t of the dark attribute.”
“In’t the water elemental a counter for the fire elemental? What result would ever give 100% satisfaction?”
“No, think about it. How convenient would it be if I had a fire elemental? It would be comfortable when I’m making an item and it’d be easy to cook rice while traveling.”
“…You only eat beef jerky anyway.”
Grid’s words were just petty grumbles, so Lauel gave up trying to calm Grid and looked outside. Hundreds of Overgeared members were standing before the world tree. Their contracts with the elementals were successful, and they were full of happiness as they cheered for Grid.
“In any case, it is really great. I always admire your performance.”
“Did you sign with an elemental?”
“Of course. I followed the attraction of my soul and communicated with an elemental as soon as I entered the forest.”
As he stared at the laughing Lauel, Grid asked carefully, “Did you contract with a dark spirit?”
“That’s right. I hesitated for a moment between the fire and dark spirit due to the black flame dragon sealed in my arm, but I eventually decided on the dark elemental.”
“Crazy!”
At this point, the game system was creepy. It seemed to penetrate the personality of the target person perfectly. Lauel asked for a final confirmation from Grid, “If the Overgeared members team up in groups of eight, they can raid the ancient species called the bear-wolf… Are you sure there is nothing wrong with this command?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t you know that the current full power of the Overgeared members can attempt the Belial raid again?”
“Yes.”
“The bear-wolves are that strong?”
“They are strong. That’s why I’m leaving Mercedes and Jude behind. They will take responsibility for the safety of the guild members when they’re hunting and growing together in the forest.”
“Really… Will you really go alone?”
Grid had declared that he would invade and destroy the city of Merchant King Kir alone. As such, Lauel couldn’t help feeling worried. Although Grid had taken care of Kir’s elite knights, there were still thousands of troops left in the city. There would even be hundreds of players. There were also dozens of high rankers who had ties to Kir due to the items he had given them. Did it make sense to be able to defeat them with one person? Despite having a grasp of Grid’s strength, Lauel thought it was impossible. The recent growth of the rankers was scary, and the trend was gradually rising.
Grid shrugged. “Don’t worry. I have become much stronger.”
Kir’s chance of escaping had disappeared the moment Agnus became a legend. He had to shatter Kir to a level that made it impossible for him to recover. This was a natural need when considering Kir’s personality.
“I have to hurry. Kir might’ve already made contact with Agnus.”
The Saharan Empire, Immortal, the Yatan Church, and the great demons…
Grid had no intention of neglecting a variable in the upcoming wars which couldn’t be avoided. The determined Grid left the World Tree’s Forest and headed for the city of Merchant King Kir.
Chapter 840
Chapter 840
[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]
[A legend doesn’t die easily. You can resist all attacks for 5 seconds with a minimum of health.]
“U-Ugh!”
In the collapsed wreckage of the castle, Yura’s head was dizzy as she barely escaped from the pile of rocks. Why was Grid in a place like this? Why did he attack her? Furthermore, she was driven to death with ‘one blow’? She had never imagined this situation. It was difficult to make a reasonable judgment due to the confusion that surged in like a tsunami. Her willpower was scattered. She didn’t know what she was doing, what situation she was in, and what she had to do.
‘No.’ Yura gritted her teeth and regained her composure. Grid didn’t have a reason to visit hell at the present time. The opponent who attacked her couldn’t be Grid.
That’s right.
‘This person isn’t Grid.’
Her confusion was settled. Yura moved through the remnants of the castle. Then she confronted the mysterious person who had driven her to death in a single blow.
“Grid…” Yura’s eyes widened as she confirmed the name of the mysterious person. The name ‘Grid’ was present on top of the person who looked like Grid. However, the golden shining name made him clearly different from Grid. He had the symbol of a named NPC.
“What is this?”
Why did a named NPC version of Grid exist, and why was he located in hell? In the midst of her growing confusion, Yura made several hypotheses.
‘Is it Yatan black magic?’ Were they trying to assassinate her for betraying the church? ‘Perhaps there is a demonkin that can copy people’s appearances…’
In any case, he was an enemy. Yura drank a potion and aimed her gun at Grid’s head.
“Question,” the demonkin who borrowed Grid’s appearance spoke in a voice that also resembled Grid’s, “Are you human? Are you the same creature as Grid?”
“…!” The demonkin’s question was enough to increase Yura’s confusion. ‘Do you know Grid?’
Then demonkin’s questions continued. “Surprise. It is the first time I’ve seen a human here.”
“…”
“Question. Can Grid come here?”
He knew about Grid and was obsessed with Grid? Yura heard the question and asked, “Are you looking for someone called Grid?”
“Answer. That’s right.”
“What is your relationship with him?”
“Answer. There is no relationship.”
“Then why are you looking for him?”
“Answer. I have to kill him.”
“Why?”
“Answer. I was born for the sake of killing Grid.”
“You… Who are you?”
“Subtle. Grid?”
“…” Yura’s hair started rising. She felt an extreme fear despite the man in front of her having the same appearance, voice, and name as Grid. However, she wasn’t afraid of him because he was strong. This was a more primitive type of fear. The man cocked his head. “Question. Does our conversation mean anything?”
“…” Yura stepped back. This wasn’t an unidentified monster whose ego was incomplete but a bomb that she couldn’t deal with. So, she turned around and ran away.
“Pagma’s Swordsmanship, Flower.” Dozens of energy blades reminiscent of a flower blooming appeared.
“…!!” Yura’s vision flashed red. Once again, the blow dealt her a serious injury. Fortunately, her health was still in the unit of 10s. She escaped from the ruins without looking back. However, the man in the hall didn’t chase after her. Instead, he returned his rusted sword to its sheath and muttered, “Diffi
cult. Need to find a new home…”
Who was he? He had never thought about it. He only knew that he had to kill Grid.
***
“I will make it so that the gangster can’t piss anymore! Funny, how funny! How are the other rankers so incompetent that they are pushed by that fool?”
There was a small city with a population of 30,000 at the eastern end of the Gauss Kingdom—Penan. It was a city that Merchant King Kir had bought for a large sum of 20 million gold. He had paid 10 billion won in cash, but he hadn’t thought it was a waste of money.
If he developed the city as planned, he would be able to withdraw his investment in seven years of game time and turn it into a surplus. Yet it was all wasted now because of Grid. The first large-scale project that would’ve been a stepping stone for profit had failed due to Grid’s interference. This morning, he lost more money than what his city was worth.
Kir resented Grid’s ‘ignorance’ more than his ‘evil.’
“Stupid bastard! Doesn’t he know that joining hands with me will result in a huge profit for him? Why did he have to make me so tired by becoming my enemy?”
It was always like this. Low intelligence caused disgust to form inside him. In short, Grid was a lump of cancer. Reminded of Grid, Kir was feeling resentful and irritated when he received good news.
“Earl Taru has promised to support with his troops.”
“Okay. It is natural.” Originally, Penan had been one of Earl Taru’s countless cities. The amount of money Kir had given Earl Taru in the process of purchasing Penan was significant. “How much money did I give him? He can’t refuse my request if he has a conscience.”
Kir was in a dangerous condition because he had lost many troops and three knights to Grid. His top priority was securing as many troops as possible. He had to expand his business quickly to recover the lost money, but this required force. As soon as he resurrected, he had contacted Immortal in order to secure some military strength.
“I didn’t think we would meet this way.” The door opened and a white-haired man appeared. The man who shook hands with Kir was Veradin.
Merchant King Kir smiled brightly and grabbed Veradin’s hand with both hands. “Thank you for accepting the invitation.”