The chain explosions of different shapes and colors gradually disappeared. It was a terrible proof of slaughter but it was beautiful. The eyes of the executives staring at the screen were red.
The red that stretched out like a wave devoured the other explosions and slowly filled the screen. The 100,000 Army Massacre Sword, the Blockade Sword, and Fated to Perish. It was a sight created by 100,000 Army Swordsmanship being reproduced with the Fire Dragon Sword.
Director Yoon Sangmin blankly watched the screen where hundreds of smashed demons drowned in their own blood and expressed concern. “The Undefeated King’s swordsmanship… it is too strong.”
At this very moment, the two billion players were steadily growing. The attack power that knocked down monsters with one strike, the defense power that was like a mountain, the speed that deceived cognitive abilities, and the ability to cast high difficulty magic. They were no longer exclusive to Grid.
The players’ constant enthusiasm discovered a number of hidden classes and the normal class players who experienced the fourth class advancement were on par with the hidden classes. Players who gained the ultimate attack skills with an attack power coefficient of over 200% came onto the stage one after another and the raid times of infamous boss monsters were becoming shorter every day. The numerous records built by Grid that seemed to be immortal started to be broken one by one.
Of course, this didn’t mean they were players who could fight against Grid. However, external factors such as the evolution of classes and titles and the emergence of new items meant the average growth rate of players was gradually accelerating. The ‘balance’ that the S.A Group was obsessed with was slowly occurring.
At this time, Grid acquired the original 100,000 Army Swordsmanship. Was Director Yoon Sangmin worried that the gap between Grid and the other players, which was starting to grow smaller, would widen once again?
“Don’t you know how special the Undefeated King is? Could the board tolerate the poor design of a great demon dropping the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship?”
Yoon Sangmin reprimanded the development team who designed the great demon Dantalion. However, the development team was under the personal management and supervision of Chairman Lim Cheolho. The chief designer Jacob didn’t even blink at Director Yoon Sangmin’s threat.
“Dantalion is one of the few beings close to the truth. The operations director doesn’t seem to know much about Dantalion.”
“I know that Dantalion has been obsessed with knowledge for thousands of years. Still, do you think the logic is right that he would’ve acquired the best swordsmanship in the worldview simply because he accumulated a lot of knowledge? If that is the logic then all the strong people in Satisfy would be scholars.”
“Dantalion’s knowledge is the realm of a power. How can it be compared to a scholar? Even Dantalion didn’t personally recreate the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship. He just understood it theoretically and placed it in his knowledge.”
“Then Grid happened to get it? Hah.”
“……”
It was a well-known fact in the industry that Yoon Sangmin was a longtime fan of Grid. Now he was sighing at the current situation. At this point, the chief designer Jacob also had to shut up. He also realized that the situation wasn’t very good.
“The probability of 100,000 Army Swordsmanship dropping from the knowledge essence is only 4.2%… We can only say that Grid was too lucky…”
“Why did such a gimmick exist in the first place? The value of Dantalion dropping the skills of the former legends is enough. Did you have to use the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship as bait?”
“Dantalion is proficient in the skills of the former legends so we had to include the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship. The rule of the development team is that we must keep the setting no matter what variables it might cause. This is the truth that runs through Satisfy. If we don’t follow the setting or make errors, the immersion of the players will be broken and Satisfy will just become a game.”
“What about the problem with variables?”
“We have to believe that the players will bear it and overcome it on their own. This is one of the factors that guarantees freedom.”
“Is this the position of the development team?” Yoon Sangmin’s gaze turned toward Chairman Lim Cheolho. Chairman Lim Cheolho was silent. It confirmed Director Yoon Sangmin’s interpretation.
Yoon Sangmin sighed. “The operating team can’t tolerate it. Chief Designer Jacob is always talking about the setting. Isn’t Madra’s setting that the more it is passed down, the more it becomes a myth?”
The 100,000 Army Swordsmanship skill was myth rated. If someone could see Grid’s status window, the 100,000 Army Swordsmanship wouldn’t be marked with SS or a question that meant a variable. It would be unreadable.
“Thanks to Magic Swordsman of the Epics, Grid who has become a god gained additional myth rated skills that have nothing to do with his class. That… It will have an unparalleled impact on Grid when Pagma's Successor gets the skills of other legends.”
It was a natural flow for a player to become a god. The warrior who saved the world against the great demons would be hailed as a hero. What would they call a great player who defended humanity many times if not a god? Morpheus predicted that a player like Grid would appear one day. Thus, the myth classes were set from the beginning. Myths were more powerful than legends. If a player had the powers of two myths then they would feel omnipotent.
“Director Yoon, what are you so worried about? Are you nervous that other players won’t be able to keep up with Grid? Why worry about it now?”
The other executives listening in silence clicked their tongues. They didn’t agree with Director Yoon Sangmin at all.
“Wouldn’t it have made more sense to talk about the gap between Grid and the players long before this?”
To be exact, it was after Grid got Magic Swordsman of the Epics. The competitors of myth classes were assumed to be transcendents, not players. It was absurd to discuss the gap with other players at this time when God Grid grew Magic Swordsman of the Epics to just before the myth level.
"Yes, I’m aware of that. It is a fact recognized by a large number of players. The thing I’m worried about is the possibility of Grid changing and going bad.”
Yoon Sangmin became a fan of Grid because most of his choices and actions were correct. Grid had a bad mouth, was greedy, and had many complaints, but he was still a very moral person. He possessed the best power and force in the West Continent but he never wielded his power recklessly and poorly. Considering the hundreds or thousands of kings in real world history who wielded their power, Grid was almost a saintly, noble person.
However, the Undefeated King’s swordsmanship was too powerful. It was hard for Grid to keep his original intentions when he could kill thousands or tens of thousands of people simply by swinging his sword. Director Yoon Sangmin speculated that Grid becoming intoxicated by power and being corrupted was close to 100%.
“I will ask one thing.” Chairman Lim Cheolho, who had been quiet throughout the meeting, opened his mouth for the first time. “Does the operations director have the right to deprive a player of the ability they have just acquired?”
“…No. However, I think we should sanction the swordsmanship of the Undefeated King even if we need to build a new policy. I’m convinced this is the right thing for the future of Satisfy.”
“The S.A Group hasn’t accepted the appeal of any group or individual. No matter the judgment of the operations group or the board, we’ve never made any updates. All the trends have been given to Morpheus and the players. What will happen if companies try to intervene in Satisfy after we change our policy? Director Yoon, can you handle being responsible for everything your decision creates?”
“T-That… I was too short-sighted…”
Director Yoon Sangmin backed down. He blushed when he realized he spoke unreasonable nonsense because he was too agitated. Chairman Lim Cheolho and the executives shook their heads and once again turned their gazes back to the screen. The explosions of various forms and colors were still ongoing.
This was the result of Grid and his messengers’ destructive march. All the hells in the 20s, except for the Dog’s Mouth, were captured by the Overgeared Guild in just one week.
“As expected…”
Lim Cheolho smiled happily. He had watched Grid for a long time and trusted Grid, but he was worried at this time. He fully agreed with Director Yoon Sangmin’s concerns. Still, he knew that the lifespan of Satisfy would drop dramatically the moment the company intervened.
Even if Grid became a terrible tyrant drunk on this new power, the best thing the company could do was watch. He believed there was nothing wrong even if Grid became a tyrant. It was because Morpheus would respond to the emergence of a new evil. Someone else would take over Grid’s role.
***
It happened when the S.A Group was flipped over because of the emergence of one skill.
‘It is cool.’
Grid had a free and easy feeling as he appreciated it. Omnipotent? He didn’t feel this at all. The experience of destroying a monster with one or two blows wasn’t unique to Grid. It happened more than once or twice. It might be different if the destructive power of 100,000 Army Swordsmanship was proportional to the amount of damage inflicted, not the physical attack power. However, it didn’t have the effect of Falling Moon Sword so Grid didn’t feel dramatically stronger.
He definitely thought it was strong when he saw it causing great damage to the great demons but… He was already too strong to be intoxicated with this much power.
[You have entered the 20th Hell.]
“Um…”
Grid was tense once they reached their final destination. There was a large river reminiscent of the Styx and lightning flashed in the dark sky. The screams of souls were mixed in with the sharp wind. The 20th Hell presented the scenery of hell that most people commonly thought of. There was also a cave that rose in the center with five tributaries swirling around it. It was larger than a normal castle and resembled the skull of a dog with its mouth open.
“Is that the castle?” It was a question that naturally emerged because the cave was very difficult to access. It was like a fortress.
Yura nodded in response. “Probably. I heard that the 20th Hell is called Dog’s Mouth. Now I know the reason.”
The red-skinned demon Glant. He didn’t become a great demon but he was an excellent adviser. Grid recalled the demon who put on an apron to clean the Indestructible Castle and asked his messengers, “How about the penalties? Did it become worse?”
“It feels like my strength and stamina have fallen below half. My movements have become very dull and my thinking isn’t smooth either,” Piaro replied honestly.
The other messengers didn’t raise any objections so the situation was almost the same.
‘A penalty of more than 50%…’
This was despite using all the means and methods to reduce penalties… He once again realized how excellent the title ‘Recognition of the 9th Great Demon’ that he obtained from Hell Gao was.
‘Once we finish this expedition and go back, I will have to instruct the messengers to raid Hell Gao.’
The title ‘Recognition of the 9th Great Demon’ activated the hell reputation system and it was speculated to be obtained by doing the Hell Gao raid twice after killing a number of great demons.
‘Mercedes will get it in the next raid but it will take a long time for the other messengers to get it… Until then, I will be stuck in the smithy for a while.’
The byproducts obtained by killing the great demons were great. In particular, there were many gems so it seemed that most of his accessories could be replaced with new ones although they wouldn’t be as good as the Ring of Absurdity.
‘It isn’t possible with Elizabeth’s current skills, even if she has the help of Braham and alchemy.’
He didn’t mean to disregard Elizabeth’s skills but the talent of great magician Pauld was that excellent. Braham had given up several times when it came to the production of artifacts.
In the forefront, Grid started moving. The messengers might’ve received more penalties after entering the 20th Hell but there was no tension. They considered that the power of the 21st great demon was similar to that of Dantalion and they determined that the 20th great demon would be similar as well. They didn’t want to stay in one place for too long. The moment their location was discovered, Barbatos was likely to track them down.
‘It is a strangely peaceful place.’
Not a single demonic creature appeared as they reached the river surrounding the fortress. Although it was hard to describe it as quiet when the screams of the souls were constantly heard…
“Yura.” Grid extended his hand to Yura. She understood what it meant and blushed slightly as she grabbed Grid’s hand. Grid held Yura in his arms. Yura was wearing armor but her physique was so good that she easily fit in Grid’s arms.
“Let’s go.” Grid gave a signal and opened his dragon wings. Braham, Nefelina and Zikfrector floated using magic while Mercedes and Sariel spread out their wings. Piaro planted and sprouted beans in the ground and he also rose up. It wasn’t as good as Braham who floated using gravity magic. The party started to cross the river.
Grrr…
The growl of a beast echoed and the hot heat made their skin warm. The source of the heat was inside the cave called the Dog’s Mouth. The whole group scattered reflexively.
Flames shot out from the cave. The flames were reminiscent of a dragon’s Breath and the light of the flames was like when the Fire Dragon Sword used 100,000 Army Swordsmanship. The speed was so fast that it was hard for the messengers to avoid it with their reduced stats.
Grid relied on his transcendent ability and used 200,000 Army Crushing Sword to get rid of the flames. The sword energy flew to the location where the flames emerged and caused an explosion. A cloud of dust rose and a giant dog came out of it. It was a three-headed cerberus, but it was 100 times larger than any cerberus seen so far. The even more eye-catching thing was the great demon on its back. He wore black armor and his red eyes looked at Grid’s party.
“You are all trivial trash apart from one person.”
Could it be due to the penalties? The assessment of the messengers was very low.
“Hoh… It is the most ridiculous barking I’ve ever heard in my life.” Braham frowned at the words and laughed in an absurd manner. He immediately cast magic but the oppression of hell slowed the flow of mana. The flames that the cerberus fired reached him before his magic was cast. The flames came simultaneously from three heads. The power and range was so outstanding that it couldn’t be compared with the initial flames.
‘This rotten thing.’
It seemed hard to protect all the messengers. He could only pray that they endured it well. It happened the moment when Grid hugged Yura tighter and tried to deflect some of the flames using Revolve.
“It is still too early for you.” A middle-aged man wearing a fedora appeared with his back to the approaching flames and flicked his fingers. Grid saw that the name above his head was ‘Marbas’ before his vision darkened.
[The person of power in hell has expelled you from hell.]
“……”
Grid’s party was returned to the human world.
