by Park Saenal
“…” Ares sensed the grandmaster wasn’t ordinary.
When he was just about to ask for more details, Ares was interrupted by a knight who approached them. “I came to meet you at the grandmaster’s command. Are you the king of Valhalla?”
Ares thought the knight was a Red Knight due to the red armor, but the shape of the armor was different. In the absence of light, the armor looked more black than red.
“Isn’t it polite to introduce yourself before asking about the other person?”
“I am Susan of the Neo Red Knights. I’ll ask you again. Are you the king of Valhalla?”
“…”
Sima Hui nodded on behalf of the wary Ares. “That’s correct. You are speaking to King Ares, father of Valhalla and distinguished God of War.
“Follow me.” Susan guided Ares and his men to a castle. She must have a considerable position in the empire as she led Ares’ party toward a grand castle, which was too large to measure with one’s eyes, without passing through a single checkpoint.
“…!” Ares rose on the horse for dozens of minutes and was speechless when he saw the appearance of the palace. The palace, which had been built with mysterious timber and stone, was shining with brilliant hues. It was shining brightly enough to break the boundary between night and day.
“This is the celestial palace where the grandmaster resides.”
The celestial palace! A palace where the emperor wasn’t staying had such a grand name…? Ares found it hard to understand. He was filled with a greater vigilance as Susan urged him, “Come in.”
“My escorts…”
“They can come in as well.”
“…”
Their weapons weren’t even collected?
‘Is it impossible to harm the grandmaster at our level?’
How great was this person? Feeling nervous, Ares entered the palace. The grandmaster was seated deep inside the palace. His eyes slowly examined Ares.
“I was thinking that Valhalla’s actions were unusually fast. So, it turns out that a precious asset of the east is serving Valhalla. It is nice to meet you. I think we can maintain a good relationship in the future.”
Chapter 972
Making accessories was the realm of the accessories maker. No matter how good Grid was at blacksmithing, he couldn’t make accessories unless he gained the relevant skills first. However, Grid had a way out.
‘Item Understanding.’
He only recently realized that item understanding was the most fundamental force and fraudulent concept of Pagma’s Descendant. By observing, using, repairing, disassembling, and assembling the target item, he would achieve 100% understanding and gain the production method.
That’s right. Grid could learn how to make accessories as long as he had the Item Understanding skill. Of course, he needed time and effort to increase the understanding of the item, but that wasn’t a problem for Grid—master of labor. He was willing to invest days and months to gain the production method of necessary items.
‘Nevertheless, I can’t make all items just because I have the production method.’
The absence of the craftsmanship skill was a problem even if Grid gained the production method for the Ether Glasses. It was simply impossible for him to make the item without the relevant skills. However, Grid had a secret technique that could solve that issue. That’s right.
‘Item Modification!’
It reinterpreted items with a 100% understanding into a new form. Grid was planning to use this skill to integrate the Ether Glasses with a helmet or mask. By classifying the Ether Glasses as a defense item rather than an accessory, he would gain the ‘reasonable right’ to make the defense item.
‘Then I will cooperate with Elizabeth.’
It was the same as the Overgeared King’s Crown. The crafting of the Ether Diamond was left to Elizabeth while Grid planned to increase the completeness of the item by adding it to a defense item. Item Modification was a skill with a limited number of uses, but this item was worth it.
‘I am investing in the evil eyes king.’
Additionally, he was looking forward to the defense item which would be made with the Ether Glasses. If a defense item with a high amount of magic resistance were born, he might be able to mass-produce it one day and strengthen the Overgeared Guild.
‘Okay. Let’s try it properly.’
Feeling motivated, Grid became absorbed in his work. As he worked on the glasses, his presence in the smithy for a few days was a great concern for Panmir—the first ranked blacksmith and chief blacksmith of the Overgeared Kingdom.
‘Shouldn’t he do something like hunting or questing?’
After the 4th National Competition, the levels of the players were rising like crazy. The gap was closing. As players levelled up, the gap between classes was reduced, and Chairman Lim Cheolho’s words were becoming a reality. The normal class rankers—who made up the majority of players—found hope at the 4th National Competition, and this hope became passion. The rankers, including the hidden classes, were dreaming of becoming the second Grid. The long-term experience gain buff from the National Competition rewards meant it wasn’t an exaggeration to say most players were hung up on hunting.
During this important period, Grid was spending all his time in the smithy while the 10 meritorious retainers were at the evil eyes village carrying out a mission. Thus, Panmir realized that the weight on their shoulders was enormous.
‘The more responsibilities there are, the more you have to lose. I can’t help feeling that it is really amazing.’
The Overgeared Kingdom would become stronger and never collapse easily. The confident Panmir also felt a sense of responsibility. He rushed through the dozens of smithies in the blacksmith district and encouraged the blacksmiths.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
The hammering sound that lasted day and night was the symbol of Reinhardt and the Overgeared Kingdom.
***
Lepio was a small estate with only rice fields and mountains on all sides. It was one of the most popular secluded sites in the Gauss Kingdom, and people were very enamored with it.
“I never thought the evil eyes’ village would be in a place like this. It’s properly hidden. Won’t the empire have a hard time finding it?”
“Kukukuk… Headless man. It might be hard, but I will personally correct your words. This place is the mysterious land where darkness and chaos co-exist, not the evil eyes village. We also aren’t hiding but have ‘sealed’ ourselves in. The world will perish if the power of the evil eyes goes on a rampage─”
“Am I a dullahan? Why do you call a person with a head a ‘Headless Man’? I can’t understand what you are talking about.”
“…”
The rest of the meritorious retainers looked sadly at Vantner, who was shaking his head and scoffing. The only person who couldn’t understand the evil eyes’ words was Vantner.
Euphemina changed the topic, “It is a beautiful place.”
A desolate land where darkness and chaos co-existed…
The evil eyes village boasted a completely different landscape to what the 10 meritorious retainers had imagined. They had imagined a barren land where demonkin lived, but it was a pretty place with small, rounded houses.
“The roof colors would be prettier if the sun comes up.”
“Kukukuk. The moon is better than the sun. When we wash our bodies under the cold moonlight, the blood flow in our bodies is stabilized and the roar of the monster called ‘Me’ stops.”
“You are underground, so you don’t get the moonlight here, right?”
“…”
Regas’ pure question stung. The evil eyes—who had just been talking with great pride—flinched, and their shoulders drooped. The 10 meritorious retainers watching this scene clicked their tongues.
‘The evil eyes are weak against a tactless person.’
Then Jishuka brought things back to the point, “Let’s go straight to the evil eyes king. The
re is no time because the empire will likely attack in the near future.”
Faker and the Overgeared Shadows were already scattered throughout the village and searching. They were considering the paths the empire could use to invade the village and searching for terrain and objects that could protect it. A few minutes later, the 10 meritorious retainers—who were guided by the Destiny Guardians—arrived at the castle.
The castle was really small. The average height of the evil eyes was 1.2 meters, so all the buildings were small in size, including the king’s castle. The castle was barely 1.5 cm taller than the gates, so it looked miniature. Then it happened when all of the 10 meritorious retainers apart from Euphemina crossed the gates.
“We have been waiting.”
The highest ranking nobles of the evil eyes species—the so-called ‘ministers’ were waiting for the 10 meritorious retainers. All three of them were standing on the wall, sweeping their hair or placing a hand over their face.
“We know that you came here to defend our great king and that you are the subordinates of Grid, the only human who didn’t succumb to us.”
“However, we can’t just let you meet the king. We must make sure that you are qualified to meet our great king.”
“We know you aren’t enemies. The evil eyes king is an absolute presence that takes away the life and destiny of a man with just his eyes. If an unqualified person meets him, they will fall into the hell of eternity and eventually reach death. We have to test you. Submit.”
The three of them took off their eyepatches at the same time. Their exposed evil eyes turned round and round, disturbing the spirits of the 10 meritorious retainers.
[You have made eye contact with an evil eye.]
[Your spirit and soul is giving way before the mighty evil eye.]
[You have fallen into the ‘submissive’ state.]
[For 3 seconds from now, you will behave differently from your will!]
It was a three-second status skill. The time limit meant it was classified as a low-level effect, but the function was fraudulent.
“What is this…?”
Vantner started rubbing his head with both hands and barking like a dog while Jishuka behaved completely differently from her will as she measured her chest size. What if the evil eyes commanded the 10 meritorious retainers to attack each other?
‘Crazy…! This tremendous ability!’
The 10 meritorious retainers were honestly impressed by the evil eyes ministers, who were on a different dimension. They thought that not even the empire could pass through the gates they guarded. The evil eyes ministers said, “I’m sorry but you aren’t qualified. You can try to see our great king next time.”
“We are only doing this for your safety. Please don’t be offended. We have no intention of letting you enter, but we are thankful and appreciative. We’ll provide you with accommodation, so please do well in the future.”
“Protect our king and our village.”
The attitude of the ministers was surprisingly pure and favorable. They had also anticipated the empire’s invasion.
“The evil eyes people must have excellent books and intelligence…” Lauel shook his head whilst in awe of them. “It is hard to imagine the evil eyes, who live in a closed off space with only a few thousand residences, having books or an intelligence network. This is probably the power of Future Sight. Huhuhut… It is a great species.”
“…”
“Everyone, as I’ve already told you, the empire will invade here in the near future. Until then, our mission is to protect the king. It isn’t easy to wait for the enemies, but please remain motivated and responsible. We must not lose the evil eyes king.”
“I understand.”
Following this, the 10 meritorious retainers and the Overgeared Shadows settled down completely in the evil eyes village. They alternated patrols and took precautions to ensure the safety of the evil eyes king.
Three days later…
“You’ve gone through a lot of trouble.”
“From now on, we will join the mission.”
Coke, Zednos, and Laella arrived at the evil eyes village with 600 elite soldiers. The soldiers, who were armed with Grid’s mass-produced set, guarded the evil eyes village like steel bars.
‘We can stop a Red Knight easily like this.’
It was spectacular to see the gathering of the 10 meritorious retainers, including Faker and Yura—who were normally hard to see—as well as the elite forces. The Overgeared Guild wasn’t afraid of the empire’s invasion. They had the confidence to repel even a great demon.
‘This time, we’ll do our best without needing Grid.’
Chapter 973
It was the sixth day since the Overgeared Kingdom’s troops were stationed in the evil eyes village.
“It is rumored that at least 500 million players belong to the empire,” Pon expressed concern over his colleagues’ optimistic attitude about preventing the invasion of the empire. “Won’t we be swept away if the empire issues quests to all the players?”
“…”
The atmosphere sharply cooled down. They imagined the scene of five million players flocking together continuously. How long could they hold out against the waves of enemies that kept coming?
“…I never thought of the players.”
Coke and some of the Overgeared members paled and shivered. Fear dominated them before Lauel reassured them, “Quests must have rewards. In particular, the rewards for war quests are several times more than normal quest rewards. It is difficult for the empire to release quests to hundreds of millions of players, no matter how much money they have.”
“Umm… Is it a problem for a nation to have too many players?”
“I can’t say it is completely good since there are many players who joined the army or were knighted. It is easy to move soldiers and knights who have to respond to a ‘certain duty’ without giving many rewards.”
“Soldiers… Why the hell do they want to enlist in the army in a game?” Peak Sword complained. As a citizen of South Korea, he had experience with military service. He didn’t want to go to the army again, no matter how patriotic he was. It was hard for him to understand the psychology of the players who joined the army. However, the other Overgeared members understood it well.
“Joining the army isn’t mandatory unless it is a special situation like South Korea. There are surprisingly many people who have fantasies about the army.”
“That’s right. They don’t want to join the army in reality, but they can at least do it in the game.”
“…Um.”
“That makes sense. Sometimes it is a disadvantage that so many of the Overgeared Kingdom’s players are Korean. They will never join the army even in the game.”
“Does it mean the Overgeared Kingdom’s ability to use the player forces is less than other countries?”
“Yes. This phenomenon will continue in the future unless Korea is quickly unified.”
“It is strange…”
To think the real world could affect the game this way…? The Overgeared members were very interested in it.
“Let’s go back to work.”
It was time for their shift. The Overgeared members scattered all over the evil eyes village.
***
It was the 10th day after the Overgeared members were stationed in the evil eyes village.
“This is boring.”
“I want to hunt. Why can’t the empire arrive faster if they are going to attack?”
Vantner and Peak Sword, famous for their lack of patience among the 10 meritorious retainers, finally reached their limit. The evil eyes village was a completely secluded place underground, and it destroyed the human spirit because it didn’t have any entertainment or hunting grounds. The two men had been guarding the gate for 10 days, and they were bored and anxious.
“Everyone outside is probably hunting right now.”
“I guess. You will suffer if you don’t hunt during
the National Competition’s buff period.”
“We aren’t hunting, so the damage…”
“If there was a hunting ground near here, I would’ve hunted after every shift but there is no hunting ground…”
“Hah…”
“Sigh…”
Peak Sword and Vantner checked the time habitually as they wanted their shift to end quickly. They wanted to log out, sit in front of the TV, and have a beer.
“Huh?”
Peak Sword and Vantner, who were standing in front of the small castle where the evil eyes king lived, turned toward the entrance of an alley across the street. Three exceptionally short evil eyes were staring at them. The short evil eyes were less than one meter tall. Their faces were especially round, and there was a flush on the cheeks. One of them had a running nose with a long snot hanging from it.
“Little kids.”
“How cute.”
The evil eyes boasted cute doll-like appearances. Sometimes they had scars on their face and some were unusually ferocious, but they were still cute. People couldn’t help smiling at their appearance. Then what about the young evil eyes? Peak Sword and Vantner smiled like fathers and waved to the children. They were surprised by the shy nature of the evil eyes children hiding in the alley. Peak Sword and Vantner felt they were even cuter.
“It is really nice as long as they don’t open their mouths.”
“Yes, as long as they don’t open their mouths.”
They recalled that first day when they arrived at the evil eyes village. Thanks to the Destiny Guardians confirming their identities, they had entered the village easily and had to face the enthusiasm of thousands of evil eyes. It had truly been hell. 1,000 people like Lauel had come up and talked to them. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say they had almost lost their minds.
It was fortunate they had prepared earplugs in advance or they might’ve fainted. The earplugs were developed to resist the curse. They hadn’t known that an item that was normally classified as a miscellaneous item would be so useful.
“The chuuni disease of the evil eyes king must be much greater. How much did God Grid suffer becoming friends with the king? God Grid is truly great. He isn’t a god for nothing. Ah, really… The first time I met God Grid…”