Were they carrying an invisible rock? Most of the people walked around with their heads lowered. They were afraid the scenery of hell that was projected into the sky would enter their vision.
Nevertheless, there were a few people who dared to raise their heads and gaze at the sky. They carefully watched the scenes that others said were scary and unpleasant. They were the rankers with a high reputation in each region. Most of them were fighters. They were people who enjoyed the fight itself or struggled to get something. This was a huge opportunity for them.
“Playing an active role in front of everyone watching…? There can be no better stage to build up my fame.”
“There will be a personal camera the moment you enter hell. Even a small performance will make you stand out more than in the Great Human and Demon War.”
There was a lot of speculation that the final boss of Satisfy was Baal. His force was that high. Moreover, this incident caused by Baal was very threatening. Based on the atmosphere alone, it seemed like an event that would determine Satisfy’s fate. It wouldn’t be strange if humanity was defeated when following the flow of this story.
The level of attention was bound to be high, apart from those who were walking around with their heads lowered. It was a large-scale event that was incomparable to the National Competition and was at least above the level of the Great Human and Demon War.
In short, it was a situation that all of humanity would be paying close attention to. What if they went to hell at this time and played an active role? They would surely become heroes. Being heroes meant money. The named rankers proved it from the very beginning. Didn’t they say that the money from commercials alone was tens of billions of won a year…
It was a bonus that there were countless scandals about the actors or actresses they appeared on shows with.
“This is a really huge opportunity.”
“We are going to be the second Grid.”
How many people in the world wanted to become the second Grid? There were many people in the world who called themselves the second Grid the moment they did anything. There were many people, regardless of their age or gender, so it was very funny. Even so, no one expressed it.
The rankers who formed a cooperative group together—it was right to respect their great ambition to cross the line together in the future, rather than laugh at them.
“Huh…?”
The western mountainous region dominated by the slash-and-burn farmers. The high ranker Musashi had been ruling this territory that received less attention from the Overgeared Empire due to its low value. Now he cocked his head. He was a German-British man whose terribly red hair didn’t match his ID. His hair fluttered in the wind like a flame and it naturally caught people’s attention. His outfit was also very fancy. Gold sheets or jewels hung from every piece of equipment he wore. The rumor that he controlled more than 30 small and medium-sized hunting grounds and received admission fees from people seemed to be true.
It was something people couldn’t take an issue with. It was just the strong enjoying the rights they deserved. Yes, Musashi was a strong powerhouse. If only 3,000 strong players in the world could be counted, then there was a high probability that he would be mentioned. He was such a person.
“What… is this?” he murmured with an absent-minded expression. It was the expression of a person seeing something he shouldn’t have seen. It was a frightening reaction. He was someone who never lost his composure even when seeing the video of Baal appearing in Reinhardt. Now he suddenly reacted violently and the impact was great.
The moment Musashi became agitated, anxiety quickly spread among the people belonging to the same guild as Musashi.
“What is going on?”
Another high ranker who couldn’t see what happened was questioning it, only to stiffen. It was because in one of the videos in the sky, people were dying one after another. The ranker who participated in the great demon raids during the Great Human and Demon War were being slaughtered by mere demons?
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Players had grown rapidly since the Great Human and Demon War. They gained so much experience and even had the cooperation of the Overgeared Guild. One simple example was that the high-end items previously only distributed within the Overgeared Guild were released on the market. The Overgeared Guild, who rejected outside players before the Great Human and Demon War, started to cooperate under the banner that ‘humanity is one.’
Yes, most of the players who took the elevator down to hell were great people. They deserved to hunt the demons in hell. So what was this miserable appearance? The high level and Overgeared Guild’s items were being overshadowed and trampled on in a disastrous manner. It was an even bigger shock because there was someone Musashi considered a rival among them.
“That… does this make sense?”
Musashi had very good eyes. He had invested heavily in insight because his main focus was on counter skills. Due to this, he noticed it. The skills that the demons used… they were very familiar. Skills that symbolized particular rankers. The techniques that made them known were being used with the bodies and magic power of the demons.
It was a completely unexpected blow that hit him properly. He could accept the reason why the rankers were helpless.
‘How is this possible?’
The stronger the skill, the more difficult the conditions of use. They had to gain skills by taking a specific path and being promoted to the right class. It was also greatly influenced by their stats and the weapons used. The sight of a demon holding a club while using human fist techniques, a bare-handed demon using human swordsmanship, or even using demonic energy as a replacement for mana was bound to feel strange.
‘How is this difficulty level set?’
He was reminded of Baal’s words that a new rule had been set in hell. It ignored the existing laws, so the newly set difficulty level could be considered a hardcore level. This made Musashi shrink back. He was frightened because he could see many things.
“Musashi?”
It was only a few steps to the city where the warp gate was located. They would be able to reach their final destination of Reinhardt in less than 30 minutes. Then one of the captains of the group, Musashi, suddenly stopped and didn’t move.
Musashi hesitated as the eyes of numerous people focused on him. “This probably…”
It seems like it isn’t possible. The situation is more serious than I thought. If we go to hell like this, we are more likely to be killed like dogs. Let’s step back and watch the progress.
…He wanted to say this, but he was afraid his honor would be lost.
It happened at this moment…
[The founder of Echo Magic, ‘Jessica,’ has emerged.]
[The one who takes reality as a canvas, ‘Abellio,’ has emerged.]
[The one who smashes a great mountain with his first, ’Ken,’ has emerged.]
[The one who trains monsters and demons, ’Jurene,’ has emerged.]
[The one who breaks the chain of reincarnation, ’Betty,’ has emerged.]
[The ancient wise sage, ’Radwolf,’ has emerged.]
[The ancient wise warrior, ’Fronzaltz,’ has emerged.]
[The teacher of Muller, Sword Saint ‘Biban,’ has emerged.]
World messages emerged one after another. Some familiar names were mixed with unfamiliar names. The thing they had in common was that they were all unusual. Biban and Jessica instilled such an awareness.
First of all, Biban. He was known as the teacher of Muller, the greatest Sword Saint of all time. Players who had reached the minimum level of great swordsman would’ve come across his records and felt envious.
Next was Jessica. She was a legendary great magician of a past era and was the founder of the famous Echo Magic. The theory of Echo Magic contained the logic of ‘creating multiple magic with one spell,’ so it was often rated as the best magical theory of all time.
Those who appeared with them could never be ordinary. The modifiers were no joke.
“An acquaintance in Reinhardt said that they came to see Grid?”
“What are tower members?”
“Tower?”
Dragon Slayer Hayate was well known, but the Tower of Wisdom was still unfamiliar to people. The tower had still kept itself a secret. However, at this moment—
[The Tower of Wisdom, which has been defending humanity behind the veil, has declared that they will fight against the demons.]
The tower revealed its identity out of its own volition. They knew that danger would come from provoking the dragons, but they still came out for the sake of humanity.
“What are you doing? Go quickly!” the previously intimidated Musashi urged the group. He was full of energy and his voice was strong.
Similar things were happening all over the continent.
***
It was really exquisite timing. Grid was very happy and thankful that the tower members came to him as people were gradually losing hope. But…
“Isn’t it dangerous to leave?”
The duty of the tower members was to be on the lookout for dragons. No one could handle it if the dragons were active while they were away in hell.
“Don’t worry. Sir Hayate will keep his position.”
Biban wasn’t very comfortable as he explained it. Based on Hayate’s personality, it meant he would almost never sleep and would stand guard. Therefore, Biban and the tower members were intent on responding even more aggressively to this incident.
Grid’s attitude was the same. “Let’s settle the situation as quickly as possible and return.”
Baal was too strong. Grid and his apostles couldn’t completely resist the debuffs, so it would be the same for the tower members. Grid made a realistic judgment. Rather than aiming to kill Baal, the priority was to stop the function of the hell moon. The morale of humanity could only be restored when the landscape of the surface returned to its original state. There was a high possibility that the currently active Asura Path would end when the hell moon was removed. It meant that he could save those trapped in hell and use them as an extra force.
Of course, this was all just a hypothesis so far. Nevertheless, Lauel and Grid decided that this hypothesis was very realistic. What if stopping the function of the hell moon didn’t improve the situation? If that was the case, it meant the possibility of humanity winning would be infinitely close to zero. There would be no answer. However, there would always be answers in Satisfy. Grid and Lauel were the best duo who found more answers than anyone else. They believed in their own judgment.
“Depart.”
In front of everyone watching, the apostles except for Sariel, the tower members, Grid, and the gods of the Overgeared World all stood in front of the hell elevator. Grid’s inventory was full. He took all the potions made in the alchemy facility and packed the materials necessary for blacksmithing. During the battle in hell, he planned to repair or make new items for the apostles and tower members.
[The 20th epic of Overgeared God Grid has begun.]
[It comes from the mouths of those who watched him go to hell.]
The temples of the Overgeared God scattered all over the continent radiated a soft light. They were prepared to record the epic that would be added line by line in the future.
***
[……]
The old dragon, who had existed since the beginning of time, opened his eyes. The pure white membrane split open and revealed the universe. The longitudinally torn pupils were the first chaos and the circles dotted in the iris were like countless planets derived from chaos.
The moment the old dragon slowly raised his head and unfolded his long tail, a raging wind occurred in the huge lair. The aftermath was terribly great. The great mountain where the lair was situated and the forests surrounding the great mountain shook as if they had been hit by an earthquake. The birds and beasts were startled and immediately abandoned their homes to flee.
[…Things are interesting…]
The dragon’s expression was calm as he let out a long breath and checked the scenery outside the lair. However, the smile that his snout made looked twisted and wicked. He was suited for the moniker of evil dragon.
