by Park Saenal
‘The difference when I have the hammer is like the difference between heaven and earth.’
If he devoted the same amount of time, money, and effort to make an item, the result would be influenced by ‘luck.’ From the viewpoint of Grid who was always careful when making an item, it made him ill if the finished product had a normal or rare rating. The damage was serious. If he used the Blacksmith Hammer to Go Against the Gods, he would be able to make an item that was at least epic rated and would avoid any damages. As such, he couldn’t avoid feeling greedy over the hammer.
‘However, if my blacksmithing ability increases in return for my combat ability falling, there will be many limitations on my activities. I have to be careful.’
Grid took a deep breath and pressed the button of the Pulling Device, causing the Enlightenment Blade—which was connected to the silver thread—to spin in their air. It spun dozens of times per second around Grid, making Damian feel tense. The pulling device joined items together into the shape of a clear sword.
Damian’s face was already pale since early on. He had experienced being beaten like a dog by the Enlightenment Sword, so he couldn’t help feeling fearful now. Damian shrank back and lost his fighting spirit.
“I will cheer for Your Holiness!”
“Receive Goddess Rebecca’s blessing!”
However, Damian couldn’t back down from the moment he agreed to duel with Grid. How could he show weakness to the hundreds of church members who were cheering for him?
“Your Holiness…”
“Isabel-chan…”
The woman he loved was also among those gathered. Damian wanted to be a great guy in front of her. Despite having no chance to win this match, he wanted to show his best abilities to the end.
‘Watch me, Isabel-chan! I’ll show you a man’s fight.’ Damian’s eyes were filled with this desire as he looked at her.
“Please fight in moderation before yielding. I don’t want you to get hurt.” These were Isabel’s words. She said this because she was worried about Damian, but she was also telling Damian that he wasn’t a match for Grid. It was something that Damian acknowledged himself.
‘Still, I am a bit sad.’
He wanted to be the best person to the woman he loved! Damian’s fighting spirit was once again ignited.
“Divine Protection, Incarnation of Light, Goddess’ Blessing.”
[Divine Protection increases the defense of you and your party by 30% for 5 minutes.]
[Incarnation of Light increases the attack power of you and your party by 20% for 5 minutes.]
[The Goddess’ Blessing increases you and your party members’ stats by 15% for 7 minutes, negates one strike, and will create a shield that absorbs 12,000 damage.]
Flash! Flash! Flash!
Damian’s body became surrounded with light as he continuously used buff skills. The performance of his buffs had improved compared to the time of the 3rd National Competition. This was natural since the skill level had increased. Damian had also grown, and although this growth could be a poison, it was just enough to stimulate the Hero King.
[You have discovered a strong person of this era!]
[The Hero King’s fighting energy has started to boil!]
As Damian used his buffs and became stronger, the red and purple aura around Grid started to thicken. Damian jumped with surprise and shouted, “It won’t be easy!”
Conscious of Isabel’s gaze, Damian didn’t lose his fighting spirit. A small golden magic circle appeared above Damian’s left shoulder as he held his sword. It was like a miniature version of the magic circles which appeared when Goddess’ Wrath was used.
‘Perhaps?’
The moment that Grid became alert of this, a flash of light emerged from the small golden circle. The power of Goddess’ Anger was four times weaker than Goddess’ Wrath, but it was possible to always keep it activated as it consumed lesser resources. Grid was hit by the flash of light. An explosion occurred at the point where Grid was standing, causing the Rebecca followers to feel in awe while the elders groaned.
“King Grid!”
“Your Holiness! Why are you attacking so suddenly? Don’t you dare kill him!”
“No, that person…”
Why was the pope being treated as the villain? Since when did the elders like Grid so much? Damian was embarrassed by the elders’ attitude and started sweating nervously. Then the smoke was slowly removed from the area of the explosion, and Grid appeared there unharmed.
‘How?’
Goddess’ Anger consumed less magic power and had a higher minimum damage. No matter how high Grid’s magic resistance was, it should possible for Damian to deal Grid 7,000 fixed damage. Damian found it hard to understand why Grid had no wounds.
“Heok…!”
“What is that?”
Damian was confused while the elders were shocked, although they didn’t show it because of their status. Meanwhile, the ordinary members of the Rebecca Church couldn’t even close their mouths. A sight beyond common sense was unfolding before them. A beautiful ivory blade was moving alone in the air and guarding Grid.
That’s right. A blade had replaced the role of the God Hands.
‘What is this?’
Pavranium was the exclusive item of Pagma’s Descendant. Other people didn’t know the secrets and functions hidden within it. So, it was impossible for Damian and the other followers to know that the blade that just appeared had been made out of the God Hands. Meanwhile, Grid analyzed the Blade Aiming at the Gods.
‘The reaction rate is the same as when it was the God Hands.’
This was natural. The pavranium protected Grid and reacted to the enemies at the same speed, whether it was in the form of a disc or the God Hands. It was easy to predict that this would stay the same even after it became a blade. There was just one surprising thing.
‘It seems that the total damage it can receive has increased?’
The pavranium would normally freeze for a while once it received damage beyond a certain amount and lose its original function. The discs and God Hands would become stiff for one second every time they received more than 10,000 damage, yet the blade endured 10,000 and was still fine.
‘It is because the amount of pavranium in the blade is more than there was in the God Hands? Or is it the result of combining it with other minerals?’
It was likely to be due to both. Grid’s smiled with satisfaction and provoked Damian, “Why don’t you try a proper attack instead of this small one?”
Grid’s insight was now above normal. He was aware that Damian was conscious of Isabel in the crowd.
“If you want it!” As expected, Damian wanted to show a nice appearance to Isabel and responded to the provocation. If Grid were the ‘enemy’ and if this were a real battlefield, he would be laughing. Two large magic circles, which were 3 meters in diameter, were created above Damian’s shoulders. Grid knew what this phenomenon was. It was the precursor to the strongest skill that showed the dignity of the pope.
“Goddess’ Wrath!” Damian first triggered only one of the two magic circles. A flash of light was fired and hit Grid. It was incomparably larger than Goddess’ Anger. The shockwave that followed shook the entire garden, and the church members started to fall.
“Are you insane?” There was a barrage of criticisms from the elders. They resented Damian, who launched an enormous attack on the church’s benefactor.
“Who cares now?” Damian dismissed them as he looked in front of him. The pillar of light was clashing with the ivory blade. This was the moment when the pope’s strongest technique was easily weakened. The flash faded, and the blade froze in place, shaking.
Grid’s lips curved as he watched it. ‘30,000!’
It was a huge 30,000 damage. The Blade Aiming at the Gods would only become frozen if the damage was over 30,000. It could absorb 20,000 more damage than the God Hands.
“Maybe it isn’t bad… Eh?”
The frozen state of t
he Blade Aiming at the Gods wasn’t over yet! Damian attacked during this gap. A new flash of light was fired from one of the two huge magic circles, and it reached Grid.
‘This is bad!’
This blade was still frozen! It was burdensome for Grid to receive this attack that would deal at least 70,000 damage.
‘…Wait?’ Grid stopped just as he was trying to swing the Enlightenment Sword to offset some of the damage. Then he pulled out the Blacksmith Hammer to Go Against the Gods from his inventory. The hammer met the flash of light that was about to hit Grid’s chest.
“Hat..!” Grid burst out laughing. He recalled that the hammer was also made of pavranium and then started a sword dance. It was the sword dance for Transcend. The atmosphere surrounding Grid boiled. His attack power increased, and his attacks were transformed into ranged ones.
“Kuak!”
Wasn’t this a scam? Damian could only fight in close combat, so it became more difficult for him to deal with Grid, who started to fly into the distance. Damian had to set up a shield and crouch like a turtle while slowly narrowing the distance. Unlike Grid who could freely move while swinging his sword, Damian had to shoot magic while hiding behind a shield. This caused his hit rate to drop substantially. At this time, Damian’s shield was pointed upward in front of him. It was set up like a wall to constantly block the many strikes. This meant that the Blade Aiming at the Gods pierced Damian’s unprotected side easily.
[You have suffered 8,170 damage.]
“Keuk?”
Grid didn’t swing it, but it moved by itself. To think that the blade which could only exert its own attack power actually dealt so much damage to the fully buffed Damian…? The damage wasn’t much different compared to when he was directly hit by Grid.
A chill went down Damian’s spine.
“Link.” Grid used Freely Move to appear by Damian’s side and used a new swordsmanship.
“W-Wait a minute! Time!” Damian cried out, but Grid didn’t stop. In the course of the sword dance, the Enlightenment Blade fell off the sword and was replaced by the Blade Aiming at the Gods. This was the birth of the Sword Aiming at the Gods.
“Isn’t it okay to die in sparring mode anyway?”
“It doesn’t feel good…!” Damian shouted urgently, but Grid still had many things to check. It wasn’t worthwhile to Grid for them to stop the spar now. Grid swung the sword, and a lightning bolt fell over Damian’s head while golden clouds appeared in the sky.
Then a transparent God Hand hovered around Grid. Grid felt it was still lacking and asked the enraptured elders, “Elders, can you participate as well? Help the pope in his spar with me…”
The elders shook their heads. They were incredibly terrified as they looked at Grid, who was completely fine, and then at Damian, who was injured on the ground.
‘We can’t make him angry…!’ In the minds of the elders, Grid’s presence was becoming so big that he was comparable to the goddess. It wasn’t too long before Grid gained a new deity stat point.
Chapter 897
Chapter 897
[The Sword Aiming at the Gods was born after being smelted and forged in Asgard: First World.]
[The energy of Asgard: First World is released from the Sword Aiming at the Gods.]
[Golden clouds have appeared!]
[The golden clouds will be the bridge between you and Asgard: First World.]
“…!”
The golden clouds that descended from the sky were layered like stairs. It felt like they were telling Grid to step on them and climb into the sky.
“Oh…! Ohh?!”
“A bridge to the goddess…!”
The Rebecca members were fascinated. The elders were frightened of Grid while being captivated by the golden clouds. Heaven existed! The golden clouds of stairs proved there was meaning in their lifelong faith and infinite worship in all those who served a god.
[The appearance of the golden clouds has amplified the morale of all those who serve the gods. During the three minute summoning time of the golden clouds, all those who serve a god will have their attack and defense increased by 10%.]
[Everyone who doesn’t serve a god will feel terrified by the golden clouds. During the three minute summoning time of the golden clouds, their attack and defense will decrease by 10%.]
[You serve multiple gods, so your attack power and defense have increased by 10%.]
“Ah…” Grid sighed.
Those who served a god and those who didn’t…
After dividing humanity into these two types, the power of the golden clouds, which generated a global buff and debuff, turned out to be below Grid’s expectations. Grid had hoped that the golden clouds were a powerful wide area attack skill like the black flames explosion.
Yet what was this wide area debuff and buff? The buffs and debuffs didn’t even distinguish between friend and foe. Right now, the Overgeared members had visited the Hexetia Temple and had the status of serving Hexetia. Then what about other players? Grid speculated that many players had already joined a religion. It meant that people could receive the golden clouds buff even if they didn’t have a class like a paladin or priest.
‘If these clouds are summoned in the middle of a battlefield…’
The war situation might significantly tilt depending on how many soldiers had joined a religion. Just looking at the Saharan Empire, the Rebecca Church was a state religion.
‘It is a complete mess… No, at least I will receive minimal damage if I have all my people serve the Hexetia Temple…’
In any case, it was below expectations. The golden clouds weren’t very appealing to Grid who had been able to gain an overwhelming power after the Astaroth raid. Then something happened. It was as if his disappointment was noticed.
[The baby angels at the other end of the golden clouds touching the highest heaven are reaching out. The angels have a great interest in the ground. However, they can’t come down to the ground because they know the summoning time of the golden clouds is short.]
[The linked skill of the golden clouds, Angel’s Aria, has failed to activate.]
“…??”
‘Angel’s Aria?’ Grid’s disappointment quickly disappeared as he recalled the young angels he had met in the world of the gods. He felt anticipation now that he knew the golden clouds could be a platform for a special skill, not just buffs and debuffs.
On the other hand…
“…” Damian was overcome with pained frustration as he lay on the ground. What was defeat? It was denying his own efforts and value. Damian admired and respected Grid more than anyone else, but this was separate from losing. He felt ashamed and humiliated at being defeated every time he competed with Grid.
‘Putting my pride aside, it is a real problem. This is why Grid is disappointed with me.’
Damian had grown as time passed, but he still seemed weak. He felt like he disappointed Grid and was anxious, despite being the pope. Damian wanted to prove his worth. He wanted to prove his past efforts. Yes, time was equal to everyone. Just as Grid went through all types of incidents after the 3rd National Competition, Damian was the same. He shouldn’t be defeated in such a manner. Damian raised his body that had been burned with lightning. He didn’t rely heavily on the 10% increase in attack and defense that appeared thanks to Grid’s golden clouds as he knew that Grid was likely to have received a similar buff.
“Goddess’ Breath.” A light surrounded Damian, and his health was restored to 100%.
Grid saw his fighting spirit and looked surprised. “Do you still want to continue?”
Damian hadn’t wanted this duel from the beginning. Thinking he would lose, he had started the fight with a dejected spirit. Grid had been somewhat disappointed with that. Where had the old Damian gone? This was the man who fought against the corrupted Pope Drevigo, the farmer Piaro, and the sky above the sky Kraugel. His conviction had never dampened.
However, Damian had changed little by little after becoming pope. He had w
orried over the status of a pope more than his own beliefs and gradually bowed his courage under the pretext that it was for the church. It was the same for this spar. A few years ago, Damian would have been happy just sparring, but now he was only crying. He had the attitude of not wanting to be embarrassed in front of his beloved Isabel but showed no fighting spirit to overcome Grid.
Unlike Grid, Damian had gotten weak. Grid was bound to think of Damian like this and felt many complicated emotions. Damian’s change, which could be evaluated as maturing in some way, was bittersweet and painful. Yet at this moment…
“I will continue. It might be one-sided, but it is problem if Grid doesn’t feel any fun.” Damian was regaining his old self. He threw off the cumbersome white clothing that symbolized a pope.
“Your Holiness!” The elders frowned and rebuked him. They didn’t like Damian’s behavior of casting aside the pope’s clothing in front of the congregation. The usual Damian would’ve scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. Instead, he said, “It is uncomfortable. I can’t fight while wearing it. What am I supposed to do when the fabric catches on armor every time I move?”
“…”
“Please respect the fact that unlike other popes, I am a paladin and not a priest.”
“…”
“Didn’t the first pope fight in armor instead of clothing when sealing Marie Rose?”
He felt good as he watched the elders close their mouths. Then he pointed his sword at Grid. Damian still had 1 minute and 10 seconds left on his buffs.
“I am going to use all my power.”
This time, he didn’t pay attention to the eyes of the church’s members and Isabel. Damian would fight for himself. He would also discard the pope’s dignity. Reading Damian’s determination, Grid laughed. “Okay. Come, Damian.”
Then he quickly pulled four hammers out of his inventory. They were the Mjolnirs which could cause a target to become stiff. Of course, the Ultimate Enhanced Mjolnir was included. Grid was curious. Was it possible for the God Hands made by the Sword Aiming at the Gods to wear equipment?