“……”
Mir stood still without leaving until the ice that covered the desert melted and the fire dissipated.
Death and fear. They were unexpected, therefore they were concepts and emotions he was unprepared for. He reflected again on the experience of being constrained in mind and body. The moment when he was distracted because he was worried about the eyes of the gods. The embarrassment of allowing his body to be cut in half…
The strange emotions ate at Mir’s rationality and he experienced his own nature. At that moment, he was just obsessed with life. He went crazy with the determination that he didn’t want to die.
“Haha…” Looking back, he had considered himself special. It was natural when he was born with an unrivaled talent among the yangbans. Therefore, he had always been doing things for others. He believed he should protect them because they were worse than him. Yet when he was exposed, he was a normal person with nothing special.
“Are you ashamed?” Jingle.The voice of the martial god came along with the faint sound of bells.
Mir politely bowed to the approaching martial god and answered, “No, I’m glad.”
He was a life created to be dedicated to Hanul. He thought he would lose it, so he didn’t have any lingering feelings for it. He just felt sorry for the fact that he wouldn’t be able to become the martial god and it would end. However, today he realized it. He might be a life created by someone’s needs, but he was obsessed with life. He was also an ordinary person. Nevertheless, he embraced and cared for other ordinary people. His goodwill and care weren’t the arrogance of the strong. He just sympathized with the pain of others. It was a very minimal qualification. It was the qualification to become a god.
“I see.” Mir’s appearance as he gained enlightenment made Chiyou smile. He noticed that Mir had the slightest chance of becoming a god killer.
Jingle.
Mir watched Chiyou leaving with the ringing of bells and had a thought. The reason why the gods of the Hwan Kingdom hadn’t noticed the unexpected event was probably due to Chiyou’s favor.
***
The forest of the Twelve Zodiacs—Grid had designated it as his resurrection point before leaving for Kaya. The first thing he did when he opened his eyes was to check his inventory. He checked the items lost and the durability of his equipment.
‘Two shields are broken and one knife dropped.’
It was a waste, but it was only three out of dozens of secondary equipment. His divine sword wasn’t lost… Grid adjusted his heart and sent a whisper to Kraugel, –You didn’t drop anything, did you?
–White Tiger Sword.
-What?R-Really?
-It is a joke.
-…No, what is this concept?
Originally, Kraugel had a humorous side. At every important moment, it was time to eat with his mother (although it was all true). However, it wasn’t to this extent.
‘Is he excited? Well, it is understandable.’
Kraugel proved he was qualified to be the Sword Saint without learning the Matchless Swordsmanship. Would Grid be recognized as Pagma’s Successor if Pagma’s Sword Dance or the legendary blacksmith’s techniques were sealed? It would never be possible if it was Grid. It wasn’t just Grid. It was something that no one apart from Kraugel could’ve achieved. He was the lord of labor who knew how to seek extreme gains. It was convincing that he was the 1st ranked player despite having a normal class.
Kraugel’s whisper continued as Grid was becoming tired. The two people shared their opinions and reviewed the battle a while ago. They pointed out each other’s mistakes and deficiencies and sought ways to make up for them. It was a more valuable time than gold. By the end of the replay, they concluded that Mir was the same as Baal. If they denied that Mir was in the same position as Baal, then it couldn’t explain their overwhelming defeat.
Grid and Kraugel were aware of their own skills. Grid was close to or had already surpassed the prime of the past legends, and Kraugel wasn’t much inferior. Yet it was in the realm of the ‘impossible’ to fight Mir and win. Of course, Baal was more likely to be stronger than Mir, but it wasn’t unreasonable that they were in the same grade.
-So the archangels will be Baal-grade, right?
–I think so.As far as I know, Mir was made to compete with Raphael.
-Tut…
Grid had never met Raphael. Furthermore, the oral traditions related to angels were rare, so information was insufficient. In order to rescue Hexetia, he would have to break through the angel army led by Raphael and the archangels. He was already troubled at the thought that Raphael would be as strong as Mir.
Then Kraugel said something unexpected, –I don’t think you need to worry too much.For you, Mir is likely to be a more tricky opponent than Baal or Raphael.Even if their specifications are higher than Mir, they don’t have the power of the four gods and there is a clear relationship between divinity and demonic power.
–Certainly…
Grid agreed. The reason why Mir was so tricky was that he had mastered all martial arts, not his high specs. Over hundreds of years, he had completely refined and controlled the power of the Four Auspicious Beasts. It was Mir’s greatest weapon and it was one level higher than the power of the Four Auspicious Beasts that was in Grid’s items.
Grid could compete if it was purely the power of the red phoenix, but Mir knew how to combine the power of the Four Auspicious Beasts freely to create various effects and attributes. Mir even neutralized the heart of the red phoenix in Grid. Their compatibility was the worst. On the other hand, Baal and Raphael were different cases. Rather, there was room for Grid to gain the upper hand.
Grid could create a ‘holy sword’ and ‘demon sword.’
Baal and Raphael would be critically injured whenever they allowed an attack from Grid. It was just like Mir’s body was cut in two by the Falling Moon Sword.
‘The holy sword and demon sword might have limitations on their sustainability, but they won’t end with just one swing, so they will be 100 times better than the Falling Moon Sword. I can reduce the damage as much as possible if I wear holy attribute and demonic attribute armor on my body.’
There was just one problem…
In order to make divine items and demonic items, he needed the help of the Rebecca Church and Yatan Church. Grid could make it using divine or demonic attribute minerals, but it couldn’t be called a true holy sword or demon sword.
‘I can leave the divine blessing to Sehee, but the problem is the demonic attribute.’
Over the past few years, Sehee had tried very hard. She hadn’t been lazy for a single day since she felt her limits in the higher leveled vampire cities. She only focused on hunting and her class quests until the daily access time limit was reached. It was also while she was engaged in external activities such as volunteering and appearing on broadcasts.
The problem was that it was very difficult to play solo due to the nature of her Saintess class. In some cases, the hunting efficiency was often poor because they had to protect two people due to the addition of Yerim. The hunting locations also had to be a place with the undead or demonkin.
Additionally, Sehee’s game talent wasn’t at the level of a genius. She had a rare talent when it came to healing and buff timing, but it stopped at the level of being talented. Of course, this was great as well, so she could level up enough to reach the edge of a high ranker.
He just wanted her to reach level 400 as soon as possible.
‘The fourth awakening will strengthen the blessing related stats that grant permanent holy power… perhaps the making of a holy sword won’t be a problem.’
It might be weak in comparison to Rebecca’s holy sword, but he was certain it would be quite deadly for a great demon. Where could he find the curse that would give the demonic attribute? The Yatan Church was the only organization to make demon swords… it designated Grid and the Overgeared Kingdom as an enemy. It was natural since Grid had killed the Yatan Servants.
‘The evil eyes might have the skills of that field.’
He was going to meet the evil eyes king anyway. He was exhausted every time they met and avoided the king for a while, so now it was time to show his face.
“God of Virtue~!”
“Overgeared God.”
Blue Tiger and the Twelve Zodiacs came running when they saw that Grid was back. Grid had just made up his mind to meet with the evil eyes king and he laughed when he saw them.
***
“The queen..?”
Kraugel said he would stay in Kaya. Grid returned alone to the West Continent and upon arrival in Reinhardt, he witnessed an unexpected sight.
Yap, yap.
He heard a strange sound coming from the garden and found Irene practicing swordsmanship there.
“You’re back!”
A presence that shone due to Grid’s efforts in the East Continent—it was very beautiful to see Irene smiling brightly while looking young enough to remind him of their newlywed days. This wasn’t to say that she wasn’t beautiful when she was older. In Grid’s eyes, Irene had always shone more than jewels.
“I’m glad to see you are safe and sound.”
She wanted to come closer a bit faster, make eye contact, and feel his breath. Irene picked up the end of her dress with one hand and came over. Her heart wanted to run over. However, she didn’t run because she had a wooden sword in her other hand. If she put down the wooden sword, she could’ve picked up the dress with both hands and ran, but she didn’t do this. It was because she respected the sword.
She wasn’t a swordsman, but she knew the source of the peace and happiness she enjoyed right now. The soldiers, knights, and Grid all wielded their swords to achieve peace. Those who had been guarding Irene’s side were also knights using swords. Therefore, Irene didn’t treat the sword as a mere tool. She respected it. She couldn’t just throw it aside.
Grid’s heart trembled greatly after vaguely reading her inner thoughts. He remembered the first moment he started liking Irene. Today was the 156th time he fell in love with Irene.
‘I will meet the evil eyes king tomorrow.’
The smiling Grid stood behind Irene. He held her small shoulder between his arms and wrapped his hands around her wrists. Then he spoke to Royman, “I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can give up the position of being the queen’s teacher.”
Chief Knight Royman laughed slightly. “I can’t afford the queen’s brilliance with my small talent.”
Royman was trained intensively by Piaro and Asmophel. Her skills were absolutely outstanding, but they were still feeble compared to Grid.
“Now, Irene. Your feet should be like this. Your eyes and shoulders this way.”
“This… I don’t think it is your swordsmanship?”
“……!”
Grid was surprised as he corrected Irene’s posture. It was the posture just before opening the sword path. He was surprised because Irene had asked such a sharp question. Was this truly Earl Steim’s blood? Or was it due to divinity? Perhaps it was proof that she had always been watching him…
Grid couldn’t help kissing Irene on the cheek as he answered, “Correct. This isn’t my swordsmanship.”
“I want to learn Your Majesty’s swordsmanship.”
“Haha, my swordsmanship is specialized in dealing with multiple people so it doesn’t suit you.”
The best knights were always protecting Irene’s side. If the moment came when she needed to grasp the sword, she would only be facing one or two enemies. The best knights of the Overgeared Kingdom, who were led by Piaro and Asmophel and wore Grid’s items on their backs, would all protect Irene, even if a thousand enemies attacked her. In the worst case scenario, only one or two people would get through. This was why—
“This is the best swordsmanship for you.”
Grid taught her the swordsmanship of the Sword Saint. No, he taught Kraugel’s swordsmanship to Irene. Kraugel’s swordsmanship that Grid saw in the fight against Mir were optimized for short-term combat. Of course, it was just the surface of it.
Just as Kraugel couldn’t imitate the movements of the sword dance to use Grid’s sword dances, it was impossible for Grid to reproduce Kraugel’s swordsmanship even if he had the Matchless Heart Technique. However, Kraugel’s swordsmanship could exert power as long as there was the form. It was because his swordsmanship was at the utmost limits and ideal.
“Yap!”
[Your wife ‘Irene’ has acquired the Beginner Sword Mastery skill.]
Irene’s appearance as she followed his movements made Grid smile.
This was Irene—a being who made Grid bear the desire to ‘protect this world’ and the obligation to ‘protect this world.’
