“Excuse me, Lauel… why did you call me?”
There was a rest time given after Jishuka left. During this time, a man approached Lauel, who went to his office without taking a break. It was a man who had sat awkwardly throughout the meeting. It was Ibellin. Unlike Lauel, who still had a bit of a youthful feeling due to his innocence, he had a face that looked like he experienced suffering.
It was different from the shining days of his youth. He was one of the first generation 10 rookies and was considered Lauel’s biggest rival due to having a similar age and ranking to Lauel.
It was a very old story. Lauel had to take care of the Overgeared Empire’s internal affairs and he had stepped down from active duty a long time ago. Ibellin also failed to grow into a top power, contrary to people’s expectations.
Of course, this was a story when compared to those classified as the top powers of a ‘non-human standard’ such as the 10 Meritorious Retainers, Kraugel, Damian, Hurent, Zibal, and Haster. If this small number of monsters weren’t used as a comparison target, Ibellin was a powerhouse who could be ranked among the strongest.
However, it was clear that he didn’t meet people’s expectations. Ibellin boasted a tremendous growth rate based on his unique comprehension and ability to act, and he was definitely the best talent. All of the Overgeared members, including Grid, believed that Ibellin would one day become a pillar of the Overgeared Guild.
However, reality was cruel. From Yura to Chris, Damian, Hurent, Zibal, Haster, and Kraugel—the series of geniuses who might emerge once in a hundred years kept joining the Overgeared Guild and Ibellin’s talent became relatively weak. Ibellin was knocked out of competition due to these monsters and ultimately wasn’t included in the top powers. So far, the only consolation was that his skills were slightly superior to Coke.
For Ibellin, today’s position was bound to be awkward. All the people gathered here today were the top forces participating in the Baal expedition. They all built up transcendence and were qualified to become masters of the dragon weapons and armor. Ibellin was the only plain and shabby one among them.
Lauel spoke to him, who was somewhat discouraged. “Of course, you are a candidate for the expedition. You should become familiar with the contents of your future mission in advance.”
“Me? I’m a candidate for the expedition?” Ibellin questioned it. He seemed to doubt his ears. It was a semitone that was more bewildered than delighted.
“Your self-esteem has lowered during the time when I haven’t seen you.” Lauel had a slightly pitying expression. “I almost miss the time when you couldn’t grasp the subject and had a rivalry with me.”
“…Forget the old stories. In any case, how did I become a candidate for the expedition? Isn’t there a mistake?” Ibellin was well aware that he didn’t deserve it. Lack of skills was the second problem. He didn’t meet the conditions to handle the dragon armor and weapons.
“Talking about a mistake to this body, the prime minister of the empire and the second-in-command of the Overgeared World… how pathetic.” Lauel sighed while covering half his face with one hand. The retort of why he was the second-in-command of the Overgeared World entered one ear and went out the other.
“It isn’t a mistake. After discussing it with His Majesty, I have decided that you are fully qualified. It was close to the cut-off line, but it is still great.”
“No, isn’t this strange? I haven’t built up a transcendent status. I can’t use items like the dragon weapon even if you give it to me. Why am I a candidate for the expedition?”
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“Angels.”
“……?”
“The angels of the Overgeared World can use the items made by His Majesty Grid, just like the apostles. Of course, unlike the apostles, there are restrictions. Even so, the dragon weapon is very valuable.”
“……!”
“Of course, the number of angels that HIs Majesty can appoint is very small. It is only five angels. In order to be included in those five, you have to compete fiercely with the other candidates during the remaining fortnight.”
Only two angels could be appointed when the Overgeared World was level 1. Then in the process of securing the human gods, the level of the Overgeared World steadily rose and Grid was now able to appoint a total of five angels. It was still small, but Lauel thought it was just right.
‘It is also a problem if the number of people reborn as a new power increases in a large amount all at once.’
The world changed in the aftermath of Fire Dragon Trauka releasing his power. On the surface that was exposed to new dangers, the top-tier forces of the Overgeared Guild were active on behalf of Grid and they accumulated a new level of transcendent status.
Of course, most of the people had accumulated a transcendent status by taking advantage of the legend skill tree, not becoming a transcendent, so they were still at a lower level. Even worse, there were some who only accumulated one level of a transcendent status.
In any case, the conditions to wear the dragon weapon and armor created by Grid were fully met. It was only right that angels should be appointed from talented people who would become top powers in the future, not in the present. This was also Grid’s meaning.
The five angels—in the hierarchy of the Overgeared Guild, they would enjoy a power and glory comparable to the 10 Meritorious Retainers. The number should be moderate so as to not cause confusion.
“Ibellin, I personally think that you will be the first to be appointed as an angel.”
Ibellin believed the reason why he failed to develop into a top power was purely due to the difference in talent. He was being too humble. The reason why Ibellin was pushed out in the competition with others wasn’t only due to the difference in talent, but also because he was a ruined character.
A ruined character—he was someone who got on the wrong growth tree. It wasn’t because he was as ignorant as Vantner, who placed all his stat points in strength despite being a tanker. Ibellin’s growth tree was twisted by external forces.
Grid’s early masterpiece, the Thorn of Deep Grievance—it was the conditionally powerful weapon that inflicted ‘damage proportional to health’ on the target. It was Ibellin’s pride and blessing, but it was also a curse. In the early days, Ibellin was able to grow at a terrifying rate thanks to the Thorn of Deep Grievance. Unfortunately, he was dragged down by the titles he acquired along the way. The cause was slaughtering the boss monsters.
Of course, the boss monsters were field and dungeon bosses, not named bosses. In other words, they were bosses that respawned. They were weak and powerless compared to the named opponents Grid had been hunting. However, they were a big challenge from the perspective of an ordinary player.
Ibellin slaughtered such monsters with relative ease. He took the lead in most groups and inflicted critical damage to the boss monster with a single blow. The accumulated achievements gave him a great deal of titles that were coincidentally very biased in their effect.
Additional damage was added when dealing damage proportional to health.
Acquire buffs when dealing damage proportional to health.
Stats will rise permanently when dealing damage proportional to health, etc.
They were titles that forced the use of the weapon, Thorn of Deep Grievance. Ibellin solidified this concept in order to take advantage of the power of the titles he earned and the vicious cycle was repeated. He grew in a completely different direction from ordinary swordsmen.He dealt one powerful blow, but he became powerless after consuming that one blow. It was different from the swordsmen who used footwork techniques.
During the few seconds of cooldown time that occurred after Peak Sword used Draw Sword, he used the sheath as a means of defense. If this didn’t work, he used acceleration buffs and dodged to buy time.
Evasion skills—they were the basic skills possessed by not just swordsmen, but most combat classes. However, Ibellin had no evasion skills at all. Instead, he possessed a number of charge skills. In return for gaining the momentum to deal a powerful blow under any unfavorable conditions, he lost the potential to recover after dealing the blow. He had no skills that would help with utility.
Ibellin’s skills were all focused on attacking. He had a few titles that generated buffs every time he dealt damage proportional to health, but even that was random.
The type of buff, the numbers, everything. Usually, there were no big problems. Ibellin’s stats were very high thanks to the fact that his stats increased permanently when he dealt damage proportional to health several times. By adding his genius senses to his high stats, he often dodged enemy attacks without the need for an evasion skill. Even if he allowed an attack, he often avoided serious injuries thanks to his Grid produced armor.
This was a story for ordinary situations. It was different when it came to beings above the named level. Ibellin’s subtle strengths were easily destroyed in front of higher ranked beings who had better stats than Ibellin or the insight to predict the players’ intentions.
To put it simply, Ibellin was only good against moderately strong enemies. This was why he didn’t become a top power.
‘Still, his strengths are clear.’
Ibellin’s ability to decrease the enemy’s health by a large amount at once was invaluable. Of course, named bosses were immune to things like damage proportional to health, but Baal wasn’t the only target of the Baal expedition. Were there only one or two demons and demonic creatures that moved according to Baal’s will? The number of demonic creatures that poured out during the Great Human and Demon War was in the millions at least.
Grid had said it—Khan and Hexetia were working on a dragon weapon that turned normal attacks into wide area attacks. If Ibellin’s attack extended over a wide area and affected many monsters, it would be easier for their colleagues to finish them off.
‘Above all, if Ibellin becomes a legend or builds up transcendence, then he will be able to show off his strength against named enemies as well.’
Lauel believed that the old rival he acknowledged would surely break through the egg’s shell and fly. Of course, he also had high hopes for the potential of the other angel candidates.
***
The areas newly formed by Trauka had various characteristics.
There could be distant ancient relics incomprehensible to modern common sense or knowledge, there were places where various wonders unfolded like gaps in the dimension, and there were areas where demons appeared like the entrance to hell was connected.
Of course, the members in charge of the escort mission had to be wary of the areas connected to hell. There was a high chance that Baal would appear.
“I don’t want to.”
However, there was someone who had a twist in the mission from the start.
Sword Saint Kraugel—he was the second most powerful player after Grid and perhaps had an even better grasp of the East Continent than Grid. His escort target was naturally Daoist Sabaek. The East Continent was his main stage and it was unclear if Sabaek was an enemy or ally, so there was no one better than Kraugel to control a lot of variables.
Kraugel accepted the assignment without hesitation. Then he quickly regretted it.
“I don’t like it either. Do we really need to go back when there is a shortcut?”
“……”
Kraugel’s grip on the sword briefly tightened. It was while looking back and forth between Sabaek, a guy who asked uncooperatively, ‘Who is this guy to escort me?’ and Hwang Gildong, who did the same thing rather than persuade him.
-Hwang Gildong has a very eccentric side. There is no malice in it, so please don’t misunderstand and calm down.
The whispers sent by Old Sword Demon barely calmed Kraugel down.
Kraugel took a deep breath and nodded. Wasn’t Old Sword Demon with him?
The oldest ranker—he was wise, like a sage. Even if the worst situation occurred, Kraugel calmly judged that he would be able to respond well if he cooperated with Old Sword Demon.
“There is an inn that I frequent at the entrance to a city called Jinju. Compared to you, the dog raised by the six year old daughter of that inn’s owner is better than you. At the very least, he is quiet when you throw him a bone.”
This was until a few minutes later when he saw Old Sword Demon start exchanging insults with Sabaek.
‘This place… I think Huroi would’ve been the right person to come here, not me.’
Kraugel’s black eyes gradually dimmed.
