by Park Saenal
“You want to point your sword at an old man who might die tomorrow? Hey, I’m 110 years old this year, 110. My blood pressure will elevate just from swinging the sword and I can die. Eh, you are a bad guy. I didn’t know that you would use such means.”
“…” Pagma, who had drawn his sword, showed no special reaction. He listened to Chreshler’s unusual words and replied quietly, “If you might die tomorrow anyway, does it matter if you die today?”
“W-What?”
“Your Holiness, please be prepared to die and teach me.”
“Hah! I have never seen such a shameless fellow! The cooked stew doesn’t taste right, so you added some politeness and boiled it again? It is the first time in my life that I’ve met someone like you!”
“Your Holiness, the current peace isn’t eternal. If you die after the first pope, the power to suppress hell will disappear. The age of grief will occur again as the forces of the Yatan Church rise and the great demons run wild without fear.”
“You know that yet you still sealed our church’s three treasures?”
“It was a friend’s request.”
“A friend’s request? Huhu, what ludicrous words. An insane person like you has friends? You don’t know what loyalty is.”
“I will become stronger.”
“…?”
“I will become strong and defend the world without the need for the Rebecca Church and Franz. I was prepared for this, so I fulfilled my friend’s request. Please cooperate with me.” Pagma raised his sword.
Chreshler clicked his tongue. “Protecting the peace of this world alone? As the descendant of a fallen god, you are arrogant. Tsk, you yangbans.”
“I’m ignorant about the history of the yangbans. I have never thought of myself as the descendant of a god. I just want to save humanity as a human.”
“Then are you going to kill this old man right now? Is that really the duty of a human?”
“…Your sacrifice will become an opportunity to save tens of millions of people, so it is righteous and justified.”
“Kuk, kukukuk! You are an arrogant and selfish man!”
Chreshler’s anger was transmitted to Grid who was assimilated with him. Chreshler was disgusted with Pagma. “From a human’s perspective, you are out of line. You don’t feel it yourself?”
“I am ready to take the blame.”
“Shut up! Your thoughts aren’t as sublime as you think they are! You don’t know? You don’t know because you are a yangban! You aren’t in a position to speak for humans!”
“What is the difference between a yangban and a human? A yangban lives longer and has gained greater power, but they are no different from humans. Our minds, our aversion to evil, and our appearances are the same as humans. We even bleed like humans. Every human is equal, so I will fight for humans.”
“Crazy bastard. You are crazy. A crazy maniac who doesn’t know he is crazy. Oh, good. It is better for you to die here. It was too risky to keep you alive.”
It was close to a miracle. Chreshler’s faith was like a sea that created infinite holy power. This holy power was exercised according to Chreshler’s will. Hundreds of thousands of spears of light poured out. Pagma looked like his limbs were pierced, and it seemed like he would die instantly.
However, the reverse happened. Pagma had already completed two linked sword dances. It was a readable move because Grid currently shared Chreshler’s vision.
“Flower Revolve.”
‘…!’ Grid was astonished. Hundreds of petals containing sword energy bloomed as they revolved. All the spears of light that aimed at Pagma returned to Chreshler. Chreshler set up a barrier of light to absorb the spears and was honestly amazed. “It is a curious swordsmanship. You are the best after Muller and the Undefeated King.”
“I can’t compare to them in swordsmanship. That’s why I have to develop.”
“Even by selling your soul to a great demon?”
“…”
“Kukuk, you aren’t denying it.”
This man was dangerous. He shouldn’t be kept alive. Chreshler’s intuition told him this. He believed that his last mission was to kill this distorted man in front of him.
“The pope said this. He wouldn’t have chosen me as a successor if it wasn’t for the crisis. My martial arts were always too weak that he didn’t accept it. However, you are worse than me. You don’t sympathize with anyone. You are insensitive to the suffering of those who are sacrificed for your purposes. I don’t know if you were like this from the beginning or that you’ve changed but you are already evil.”
Chreshler’s body was covered with 12 colors of light. The sword and armor hanging on the war were wrapped in five colors of light and flew to Chreshler. He applied over 17 types of buffs to himself and his battle gear. A too powerful force shattered the ground and shook the building. As Chreshler’s power overflowed, Grid felt naked. He could see the ‘world that transcendents saw.’
-!
Time stopped. In a world where only light refraction occurred, Chreshler advanced by breaking through the stopped fragments in the air. As the distance between him and Pagma narrowed, Pagma’s eyes didn’t blink once. A sword that followed the light—it was only after it penetrated Pagma’s shoulder three times that a sound was made belatedly, and blood splashed out. Grid saw the gushing blood that consisted of numerous ‘droplets’.
‘He avoided it?’
Grid gulped. Pagma clearly avoided the pope’s sword that was fired like a flash of light. It was originally the heart that should be pierced, but the damage was minimized to one shoulder.
“…” Pagma’s physical body started to strengthen. Blacksmith’s Rage was a buff that Grid knew, but the other four buffs were unfamiliar. They could be skills that belonged to Pagma’s items or Pagma’s own skills.
-!
The swords continued to collide in the air, but there was no sound. The present world was like a paused movie. The blood that flowed from Pagma’s shoulder froze as thousands of droplets in the air. Against this backdrop, Pagma and Chreshler moved and exchanged blows. The sounds could only be heard after the collision. In that gap, Pagma and Chreshler had already exchanged dozens of blows.
“Transcend Kill Flower.”
“Transcended Linked Kill Wave Pinnacle.”
“Linked Revolve Pinnacle.”
“Linked Kill Revolve Pinnacle Chop.”
“Linked Kill Flower.”
“Transcended Pinnacle Kill Chop.”
The sword dances continued constantly.
‘Pagma admired the work of Dainsleif and Valhalla and gave an example. It is said that he showed off his swordsmanship while wearing Dainsleif, which has never been used by any hero. The beauty of it was unbelievable, and the swordsmanship seemed to pierce the sky, creating lightning.’ The description that Albatino, Khan’s ancestor, used to describe Pagma’s swordsmanship came to Grid’s mind.
A swordsmanship that pierced the sky—Grid had always thought it was an exaggeration. It was because there was a huge gap in the Pagma’s Swordsmanship that he had learned and the description of Pagma’s Swordsmanship. However, not now. This was the true Pagma’s Swordsmanship.
“Cough!” Pagma, who was covered in wounds, struggled to stand up. Meanwhile, Chreshler had only allowed one blow, but he was staggering. He used heal to restore the wound, but the 17 buffs were coming to an end.
“Damn rotten thing,” the pope’s disbelieving voice emerged from Chreshler’s mouth. He grumbled like a child, “Ah, I don’t know! No! I quit!”
“Pant… Pant… Pant…” Pagma didn’t have the energy to even speak.
It couldn’t be helped because his magic and swordsmanship had reached the limit. Chreshler took off his armor. “It is hard. My body is heavy.”
“Pant… Pant…”
“You really tried to kill me. Shit. It is sad to be old.”
“Pant… Pant… Thank… Thank you…” Pagma, who had been holding on, finally flopped down. His fingertips wer
e trembling. “Thank you for Your Holiness’ teachings… More sword dances are available…”
“Tsk,” Chreshler clicked his tongue. He was still worried. Chreshler thought that Pagma was dangerous and should be killed. However, he didn’t want to be hurt by such a disaster. Eventually, Chreshler chose to flee.
‘In any case, I’ll die soon, so the fate should be borne by those left behind.’
Ah, he didn’t know. He would just take a break. This was his last thought. Chreshler’s consciousness was cut off. He had died. Chreshler’s bluff that he would die if he did too much hadn’t been an exaggeration. In his darkening vision…
“Go peacefully. I will respectfully enshrine your soul in the Sacred Wood Coffin.”
Pagma’s figure could be seen bowing politely. Then Grid returned to reality.
[The past experience is over!]
[You have seen and understood the Great Swordsman Pagma’s Swordsmanship!]
[The title ‘Great Swordsman’ has been obtained.]
[The new resource ‘Sword Energy’ has opened because of the title effect.]
[The effect of the Sword Mastery skill has slightly increased due to the title effect.]
[The information of Great Swordsman Pagma’s Swordsmanship has updated.]
[The fusion of sword dances has become relatively free.]
[When using a sword, the resource consumed will be changed from mana to sword energy.]
[The level of all sword dances has been reset to level 1 instead of being strengthened. The maximum level of all sword dances is three. However, the level of the fusion sword dances is fixed at one.]
[The new sword dance Flower has been learned.]
“…” Grid opened his eyes quietly in the coffin. He was licking his lips when Chreshler’s voice entered his ears, -There’s nothing special, right? That’s all I know about Pagma. He is a bit crazy—a liar and the murderer of an old man.
“Ah, yes…”
There were too many parts to argue about that Grid turned away. He shook his head and rose from the coffin. Grid felt himself becoming stronger.
Chapter 998
Should he thank Rose Marie? Or should he thank the empire for making him depend on Marie Rose?
‘I didn’t expect to become stronger in this way.’
The past Grid had half given up on sword energy. The method to obtain it was too vague. However, he was helped by the events that took place when he came to strengthen his relationship with Marie Rose. Cause and effect—as always, the concept of connection became Grid’s greatest strength and weapon.
‘Now, let’s see.’
Grid calmed down his joy and checked the information of the swordsmanship.
[Great Swordsman Pagma’s Swordsmanship Lv. 1]
[Increases physical attack by 40%, critical hit rate by 50%, and critical damage by 80%.
* This effect is only applied when a sword type weapon is equipped.
* Reduces the stride of the sword dance.
* You can create five fusion sword dances.
* Every time the skill level rises, the number of sword dances that can be created will increase.
* With this skill effect, you can only create four linked sword dances.]
[Wave Lv. 1]
[Unleash a violent sword dance like a high and powerful wave.
Inflicts 325% of your attack power to all enemies within 5 meters and reduces all speeds by 50%.
* A target that resists the affected state will only have a 19% reduction in movement speed.
* Once a target blocks, the ‘violent shockwave’ effect will occur and potentially create an ‘ignore defense’ effect.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 80
Skill Cooldown Time: 2 minutes.]
[Restraint Lv. 1]
[A restrained and understated sword dance.
Overwhelms the surroundings. Nobody can approach you for 3.5 seconds.
* A target that resists the status anomaly will have a low probability of being stopped for 0.1 to 0.3 seconds.
* Not applicable to the undead.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 60
Skill Cooldown Time: 5 minutes.]
[Link Lv. 1]
[A dazzling sword dance that is like the wings of a butterfly.
Deals 900% of your attack power to a single target 20 times in total.
* Takes one second to cast.
* This skill isn’t affected by attack speed.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 50
Skill Cooldown Time: 1 minute.]
[Kill Lv. 1]
[A killing sword that expresses hatred.
Deals 1,850% of your physical attack power to a single target. Once hit, the target will be given the ‘bleeding’ and ‘despair’ effects and the ‘Disarm’ effect will be temporarily applied.
* Disarm: The item effect won’t apply for one second. However, this corresponds to the area that is hit.
* The bleeding and despair effects won’t apply to targets that can resist abnormal statuses.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 100
Skill cooldown time: 10 minutes.]
[Pinnacle Lv. 1]
[A sword that expresses the essence of a warrior god.
Deals 900% of your attack power to a single target. This skill will ignore 65% of the target’s defense.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 60
Skill Cooldown Time: 3 minutes.]
[Revolve Lv. 1]
[Like the eye of a storm, it is calm and powerful.
It seems to conform to the flow, but this is actually a lie.
Resists 100% of all attacks that hit within 1.2 seconds of being cast.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 50
Skill Cooldown Time: 1 minute and 30 seconds.]
[Drop Lv. 1]
[A sword dance that displays a grudge against the sky.
It is a deep and serene sword dance that informs the world of the authority of the fallen sky.
Inflicts 500% of your physical damage to all enemies within 5 meters of you, and there is a 50% chance of ignoring the enemy’s status resistance. Deals an additional 400% damage to all divine beings.
That target that is hit can’t attack and defense will decrease.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 80
Skill Cooldown Time: 6 minutes.]
[Flower Lv. 1]
[A sword dance that depicts fluttering petals.
Any marked target will be hit with 61% physical damage + 10% magic damage.
* One mark can be produced per two points of sword energy.
* Every time the target is hit, a mark will be left. A maximum of five marks can be stacked up.
* Any object seen with the eyes will be recognized as a target and a mark will be left. Only one mark can be left as a target effect.
* The duration of the mark is 10 seconds and this duration is updated every time a new mark is left within these 10 seconds.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 60
Skill Cooldown Time: 1 minute.]
[Transcend Lv. 1]
[A sword dance that transcends imagination.
Your attack power is doubled and your basic attacks will turn into ranged attacks.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 200
Skill Duration: 30 seconds.
Skill Cooldown Time: 40 minutes.]
[As the swordsmanship has been reorganized, all f
used sword dances that have already been acquired have been reset.]
“Wow…”
It was more than he had expected. First of all, the changes to Wave and Drop were dazzling since they previously had comparatively low attack power and range.
If the range of the coverage was too narrow to reach the enemy, the efficiency would be low. Now, it had increased by several times and could be used more frequently. Additionally, the increased attack power meant it could deal a sufficient blow to strong enemies. It was also attractive that the movement speed of targets resistant to the abnormal status was lowered.
Drop hadn’t changed in range, but its power had risen sharply and the probably of ignoring the status resistance had increased by 20%. The change in Restraint was noticeable since it had been obsolete in front of enemies with a higher status resistance. The probability and duration were low, but suppose the opponent was a legend like Kraugel… If he could block some of the opponent’s movements, he could turn the tide of the battle.
‘It is painful about the change in Link…’
Link was a skill with an excellent synergy with the Enlightenment Sword. Whenever Grid swung the sword at the highest speed, the number of strikes exceeded 30 times per second, greatly increasingly the probability of the black flames exploding. Now it would always be limited to 20 times.
‘If my attack speed was slow, the fixed number of attacks would be rather attractive.’
Well, he couldn’t interpret it as a loss. The damage was greatly increased, and the cooldown had been reduced by as much as 30 seconds. On the other hand, the cooldown of Kill had increased by a minute, but the power was tremendously strong. The previous Kill dealt 1,500% attack power at level one, but the new Kill boasted 1,850% attack power at level one. The health cost penalty was also removed. More than anything, the effect of Disarm was fraudulent.
‘Once I use Kill, I can literally send them to death.’
Kill, which had been one of the best single target skills, was now reborn as a deadly blow. Pinnacle had also increased in damage and defense reduction effect. The effect of Transcend was the same as before, but the cooldown had decreased by 10 minutes. Given that Transcend was one of the best skills, the 10 minute reduction in cooldown was a transcendent benefit.
However, Grid’s favorite part was the change in Revolve. Previously, he had 0.5 seconds to counterattack the enemy’s attacks, but now it was increased to 1.2 seconds, making it make easier to utilize. The cooldown was also reduced by 30 seconds.