by Park Saenal
***
The crazy combat power of a madman…
The video of Agnus fighting alone in the midst of enemy territory became a hot topic. First, the scene was impressive. Agnus blew away the executioner with magic and turned him into a skeleton soldier. Then he flew forward while blocking dozens of arrows with the skeleton soldiers. Everything was perfect, from the speed at which he summoned the undead to his insight and ability to control the undead.
During the one hour battle, Agnus killed his enemies, made them into shields, and swung them as weapons, leading to his advantage. It was the ultimate area that necromancers pursued. Agnus had already reached it.
“Controlling dozens of undead like that. I wonder if it is possible for a human. Even Kraugel had a hard time controlling a few swords…”
“I agree. I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. His concentration must be enormous since he maintained the best judgment throughout the battle.”
“Isn’t it like the Savant Syndrome? You know, a genius who is born with impaired brain function.”
“Oh? That sounds quite plausible?”
“By the way, isn’t it known that the higher the dominance stat, the more undead that can be controlled? Then will Agnus become much stronger in the future?”
“Maybe he can grow on par with Grid…”
The members of the Overgeared Guild were gathered and talking about Agnus in a common room on the first floor of the palace. They admired Agnus’ skill that was different from ordinary people. Grid was very unhappy when he walked through the corridor and overheard their conversation.
‘What’s so great about him?’
Then Toban’s voice rang out, “No matter how great Agnus is, he can’t compare to Grid. Grid can kill his enemies in one blow. It is frustrating to see Agnus fighting while summoning skeletons.”
“To tell the truth… Grid will sweep them up in one blow, no matter how many undead Agnus has.”
“Huhuhut.”
That’s it. Grid was much better than Agnus.
…No matter what kingdom, it would be impossible to wipe out Agnus’ undead army in one blow.
‘Well, whatever.’ Grid was in a good mood after hearing his colleagues’ conversation. He hummed as he moved toward the smithy.
***
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
Grid hunted while occasionally returning to Reinhardt. Normally, there was no need to explain why he returned from the hunt. Whenever he hunted, items such as potions would reduce in number or the durability of his items would fall. Thus, it was necessary to return to a village.
This time though, Grid returned for a special reason. Thanks to his blood-sucking ability and his pets, he could hunt without potions. He could also repair his items himself, meaning he had returned for another reason. It was to repair someone else’s item. That item was naturally… the helmet with ether. It was the ‘eye’ of the evil eyes’ king.
Ttang! Ttang! Ttang!
Grid hammered with all his heart while a little boy crouched beside him. The cute little boy spoke with closed eyes, “My only king, who has captivated my heart with the generosity of the universe… I can’t raise my head every time I trouble you.” Very few people could stay beside the Overgeared King while he was absorbed in his work. Grid wasn’t aware of it himself, but even the Overgeared members didn’t come near him when he was concentrating.
In other words, the little boy sitting next to Grid was either a very special person or an idiot who didn’t notice such things. This time, it was the former.
“You don’t need to be burdened. I’m sorry that I’m not a greater help to you.”
The identity of the child was the evil eyes’ king. He was the owner of the evil eyes who only at least a legend can afford. No one could deal with the evil eyes’ king easily, just like they couldn’t deal with Grid easily. Ordinary people couldn’t imagine that the world-class talents would be sitting next to each other in a smithy.
“My king, do you remember?” The cute evil eyes’ king tried to speak solemnly. When he heard the voice of the evil eyes’ king which was more serious than usual, Grid raised his head. “What?”
“I have the ability to plant an evil eye in others.”
“…!”
It finally came! Grid thought of the first day he met the evil eyes’ king. The king said he had the ability to implant an evil eye in others. These words had aroused Grid’s blind goodwill.
That’s right. It was why Grid did his best for the evil eyes’ king. Grid sought the power of the evil eye, so he tried to attain maximum affinity with the evil eyes’ king. Finally, the time had come.
“I-I remember. Why? Do you want to implant an evil eye in me?”
“I have been thinking about it since the day I pledged to serve you. However, you know that the evil eye is also a curse.”
“…”
It was why Grid didn’t cling to the evil eye heavily. A curse…
Yes, the evil eye’s power to exercise its ability by simply looking at the target could be dangerous.
“The faces of your loved ones can’t be seen with both eyes. You might unintentionally harm your colleagues. One eye must always be sealed. I can’t bear to plant an evil eye when it will give you loneliness and discomfort.”
The king had been suffering his whole life because of his evil eyes. He didn’t want to burden Grid with an evil eye. Even so, he brought up the story of the evil eyes because it was the only thing he could do for Grid. It was true that the evil eye was powerful even if it was a curse.
“Um…” Grid thought carefully. He didn’t make a hasty decision, just like when he agonized over whether it was right to consume two slots of the creation skill for the Overgeared Skeletons. After a long time, Grid handed the repaired ether helmet to the evil eyes’ king and asked, “How many types of evil eyes are there? Can I choose the evil eye I want?”
There were evil eyes that froze the target they looked at and those that didn’t deal physical damage and caused obedience. If Grid could choose an evil eye, the risk of the transplant would be greatly reduced. The evil eyes’ king replied, “I don’t even know how many types of evil eyes there are. Additionally, the evil eye is a force closely related to the nature of the person it is implanted in. Thus, it is pointless to instill a certain evil eye in you. You will be reborn with a power suitable for you once the evil eye is assimilated with you.”
In other words—
‘It’s random?’
Grid’s headache became more painful. He thought it would be dangerous to have an evil eye when there wasn’t any ether to be used.
“If I’m unlucky, I might have to wear an eyepatch all the time…’
Grid had long favored the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch. He was aware of the inconvenience of having one side of his vision covered…
‘…Wait, there’s none?’
[Slaughterer’s Eye Patch]
[Rating: Unique
Durability: 7/7
* The skill ‘Vital Spot Detection’ will be generated.
The Slaughterer was tortured for a long time. He was also forced to watch the torture of countless people.
As a result, he has a high grasp of the vital spots.
This eyepatch has been used by the Slaughterer for a long time and gained this ability.
Conditions of Use: None.
Weight: 0.1]
The Slaughterer’s Eye Patch was a special artifact. There was nothing about ‘interfering with vision’ in the description and only had the hint of ‘seeing the vital spots.’ The Slaughterer’s Eye Patch didn’t interfere with his vision. This meant there was no discomfort wearing it. There was no reason to hesitate to transplant the evil eye.
Grabbing the evil eyes’ king, Grid shouted, “Give me the evil eye!”
He believed in his good luck stat. Grid expected that he could get an evil eye without significant risk and the performance would be excellent.
Chapter 991
�
�You chose your own destiny. Okay. If this is Your Majesty’s will, I won’t stop you. My king, I—Poriorderporonopitonojiodebe—will implant an evil eye in you.”
Why was it that ‘Evil Eyes’ King’ floating on top of the king’s head instead of his real name? Grid had been secretly wondering, and now he knew why.
‘Is there a character limit?’
It was also difficult to remember. Let’s assume he didn’t hear the real name. “Please implant it in my left eye.”
“I understand. Don’t let the weight of your new destiny crush your soul.”
It happened while Grid’s hands and feet were curling up, cringing at the line. The evil eyes king covered Grid’s left eye with his small hand.
‘What type of evil eye will it be?’
Grid’s heart thumped. Believing in his good luck, Grid was 80% expectant and 20% anxious. He hoped that the evil eye would be the best one for him.
[The evil eyes king has used his power!]
[The evil eyes king will try to transplant an evil eye into you!]
[The system will analyze your game history and patterns. The current progress is 3%, 4%, 7%, 11%…]
‘The evil eye’s ability is closely related to the nature of the person it is being transplanted into…?’
The system seemed to grasp the player’s tendencies based on an analysis of their history and patterns before giving them the evil eye that best suited them.
‘It is a very good sign.’ Grid was a legendary blacksmith who made more than 700 types of items and had a lot of combat experience. The evil eye given to him couldn’t be ordinary. ‘I will obviously get the best one.’
Grid’s expectations grew even greater. However, it was only for a moment.
[The current progress is 39%.]
‘…Wait.’
Grid’s expectations, which had soared to 90%, fell to the depths of hell. Looking back at old memories, he realized there were too many wrongs related to his ‘deeds.’ In particular, the early days before he became Pagma’s Descendant were a problem. Eating, acting, fraud, arson, violence, deception, cursing, and so on—the evil deeds he had committed during his immature days almost exceeded the capacity of his brain.
‘I have committed too many wrongs…!’
The most disturbing part was the massive amount of swearing directed toward the operators. If he listed all the profanity in print, it could fill 1,000 pages. It seemed to go beyond two volumes of books.
‘D-Don’t tell me there is something like a swearing eye?’
Dammit! What if he had to swear every time he used a skill? Would he have to shout it out? Just imagining it was terrible.
‘Still, the performance should be good.’
In his prime, Grid was a master of swearing who was even greater than Huroi. After all, Huroi used irony to ask about the parents of others, but Grid was different. It was possible for him to spit out a limitless amount of curses without being exhausted. If Grid had a swearing eye, the enemy’s mentality would quickly be devastated.
‘However, it is a bit wrong.’
No matter how good the performance, it was counterproductive if it ruined his image. It would have an adverse effect on the Overgeared Guild and Overgeared Kingdom if he obtained this type of evil eye.
‘I can’t get the swearing eye.’
[The current progress is 54%…]
Was it because his gameplay duration was too long? Or were there too many incidents in the game? The system’s analysis of Grid’s history and patterns was slower than expected. Despite this, Grid thought it was a good thing. He was able to calm his mind during this time.
‘As the saying goes, imagination can become reality. Let’s think positively, think positively.’
Grid had a close relationship with fire. He was always using fire when producing tens of thousands of items. It would be good if he got something like an ignition eye.
‘Pagma was said to be the Duke of Fire, and I am qualified as his descendant… Ugh.’ Grid stopped thinking and closed his eyes for a moment.
As the progress of the analysis exceeded 80%, a large number of notification windows started to emerge.
[Currently trying to grasp your essence based on your history and patterns but there are too many conflicting intentions.]
[Since it is judged that your essence can’t be determined with just history and patterns, an algorithm will guess your goals and desires.]
[You have too many goals and desires!]
[You aren’t suitable for many evil eyes!]
[The current progress is 95%… 100%.]
[It is concluded that you can’t be defined.]
[Potential system error. Your achievements needed to be reviewed in detail for reconfirmation. Understanding the type, contents, and process of your achievements.]
[You have too many achievements!]
[Morpheus’ main server needs to intervene to properly analyze you and decide what evil eye to implant in you.]
The evil eye was a force closely related to ‘essence.’ Due to its nature, Grid had to face the contents of terribly realistic notification windows.
‘What supercomputer can’t properly analyze the data of one player?’
It was such a ridiculous development that he was speechless! A new notification popped up as Grid was clicking his tongue.
[Completed the search for the evil eye closest to your essence.]
“…!” It was finally here. Grid was nervous. Then small sparks appeared around his left eye. The colour of the iris turned red. The shadows seemed to split in half around the small point of the pupil.
“Heok! T-This eye…!”
As Grid’s eye was changing, the evil eyes’ king grasped the identity of the evil eye and was astonished. Grid was also astonished.
[The evil eye transplant is successful!]
[You have obtained the castration eye due to your selfish greed!]
“Is this a joke?!”
Castration? Was this a 19+ game? Grid felt an instinctive reluctance and fear. He was so upset that he forgot to wear an eyepatch. Grid wanted to be sick. The fact that he could castrate the evil eyes’ king in front of him gave him goosebumps.
“I won’t allow your comfort.”
Grid was hurriedly putting on the eyepatch only to harden like ice. He was greatly embarrassed about the phrase spoken when the evil eye was activated, only to realize the evil eye didn’t affect the king.
‘It is impossible to damage the king of the evil eyes with an evil eye?’
Or was it that ‘castration’ wasn’t actually castration? As the evil eyes’ king looked confused, Grid sighed with relief and checked the detailed information of the castration eye.
[Castration Eye]
[-A type of evil eye.
Blocks some of the beneficial effects of the target watched.
There is a high chance of blocking the beneficial effects of an atrocious target.
However, the target must be within 12 metres.
Resource Consumption: 500 Mana.]
“…!?”
Grid was astonished. It was because he was well aware of the meaning of ‘beneficial effect.’ Beneficial effects were all phenomena related to ‘luck.’ In terms of combat, there was the critical hit rate, the evasion rate, the accuracy rate, the defense rate, resistance, and item acquisition rate. Non-combat related effects were item enhancement success rate, production success rate, hidden piece acquisition rate, quest acquisition rate, and so on.
Those were the only things that came to Grid’s mind right now. All phenomena related to beneficial effects were so diverse that it was difficult to manually mention them.
‘The power to block positive odds…!’
This was a big hit, a great jackpot. It might not have an immediate dramatic effect like weakening or strengthening the target, but it blocked the variables. Additionally, it was possible to ruin a particular target. For example, if a competitor was raiding a boss monster, he just had to watch
them to lower their odds of succeeding.
‘Wait. Then will I do a team kill?’
Grid imagined raiding with his teammates only to be called a troll. He thought about it for a long time before his expression distorted.
‘I thought it was great, but the constraints during group activities are too big.’
It was too bad. He didn’t seem to have received the highest-grade evil eye. Grid was complaining when the trembling voice of the king entered his ears.
“I-If you can’t see how great the c-castration eye is…”
“…”
The evil eyes’ king was someone who understood the principle of the evil eyes. Grid felt like he was naked in front of the king. He was worried that the evil eyes’ king would see his lowly jealousy and be disappointed. However, there was no need to worry. The evil eyes’ king was a demonkin who wasn’t hostile to humans. He peeked at Grid’s essence and felt great joy. “The demon-like being whom I chose as my king! My king, who is only generous to me! I feel infinite respect and trust in your selfishness and greed!!”
“Y-Yes. It is great.” The praise caused Grid to sweat, and he went on to exit the smithy. He still had some things remaining on his schedule. Damian had tried to help Agnus at Lauel’s request but lost his way. Then Grid heard from Lauel that Damian was visiting the Overgeared Kingdom.
Regas applied for a duel with Damian, and the guild chat window was already in an uproar, causing Grid to rush to the training field. He couldn’t miss the opportunity to watch the duel between the top talents.
By the time he arrived, the duel was in full swing. Damian was wrapped with all types of buffs as his sword cracked the ground. Meanwhile, Regas’ splendid combos aimed at Damian’s loopholes. The two people smashed against each other in the air before falling apart. Damian fell toward Grid’s side.
“I won’t allow your comfort.”
“Huh?”
There was one part that Grid overlooked. The trigger of the evil eye was the ‘owner of the evil eye looking at the target.’ Even if he didn’t see the target’s eyes, the opponent was seen by the owner of the evil eye. Trying to hide the evil eye with the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch meant that nothing was blocking the evil eye’s view. Ether was also necessary for Grid.