by Park Saenal
A notification window appeared in Grid’s field of view as he aimed at the follower taking a defensive posture with only one arm.
[The world calls you a magic swordsman.]
[A new class will be given to you to define you.]
[The third class ‘Magic Swordsman of the Epics’ has been acquired.] (TL: Epics = epic poetry)
Ttiring~
[Magic Swordsman of the Epics]
[Rating: Legendary (Growth)
A magic swordsman who was born after inheriting Pagma’s power and Braham’s blessing—his epic will begin with a legend and end with a myth.]
[The class effect of Magic Swordsman of the Epics has permanently increased sword energy and mana by 20%.]
[The class effect of Magic Swordsman of the Epics has integrated magic and swordsmanship and permanently reduced the cooldown of all skills by 10%.]
[The class effect of Magic Swordsman of the Epics has permanently increased the strength and intelligence stat by 100 points.]
[The class effect of Magic Swordsman of the Epics means you will gain two additional stat points with every future level up. The additional stat points will be automatically invested in strength.]
[There will be more beneficial effects if the Magic Swordsman of the Epics class grows to the myth rating.]
[Your status has risen sharply. You are a special being. The special passive ‘Origin True Energy’ has been created due to the status increase.]
[★Origin True Energy ★
Possessed: 3
You can consume one Origin True Energy to double a specific stat. The duration is one minute.
If you consume all the Origin True Energy, all your stats will be permanently reduced by two times.
* The consumed Origin True Energy is impossible to be recovered.]
“…!”
Origin True Energy—Grid knew about this concept a long time ago. It was the reason why Mercedes’s hair turned white. In order to deal with the cave cricket, she had pulled out the Origin True Energy. She had been unable to cope with the aftermath and aged partially, losing her beautiful blue hair. Grid was filled with guilt when he was reminded of Mercedes. He bit his lips and shook off his thoughts.
‘I won’t use this even if I’m dying.’
This energy could only be used three times. If he used it three times, all his stats would be permanently halved. It was a nuisance. He was afraid to touch it.
Enchant Weapon, Detect Force, Lightning, and Wind Cutter… Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle combined with magic started to hit the follower. The follower resisted Grid by using a counterattack martial arts, but it was an unreasonable feat with only one arm. Grid continued to use the sword dances like Transcended Link Flower and Pinnacle Kill.
“Kuek…! Cough!” The follower lost all his health. Then he said something as he collapsed in a pile of blood, “Thank… you.”
“…!” It was so unexpected that Grid unconsciously backed away. Thinking about it, all the followers he’d met so far had been monsters who respawned in the same spot.
“My name is Merlin… I abandoned everything and trained for 50 years while pursuing the path the war god showed me…” The follower who had mastered 10 secret techniques was able to talk. “…I couldn’t see the end and was blinded by despair. Now it is finally over. I… welcome… the rest.”
He wasn’t a monster and was instead closer to an NPC. The follower called Merlin started to turn to gray ash. Grid gritted his teeth. Rather than rejoice in getting a new class, he felt great anger at War God Zeratul. He was raging because he saw Pagma’s image in Merlin.
‘How many people has he destroyed?’
Countless people must have suffered like Pagma and Braham. It was terrible. The moment Grid thought this…
[War God Zeratul is looking at you.]
-Are you baring your teeth at me?
The voice in Grid’s mind seemed emotionless. It didn’t show any displeasure or bitterness toward Grid. This was natural as War God Zeratul was an arrogant existence. He didn’t react seriously just because a mere mortal showed hostility toward him. Grid’s expression became even more terribly distorted. The war god’s leisurely behavior was hateful. A curse was already eating at Grid. It was a curse resulting from the killing of the war god follower.
[You feel an uncontrollable anger!]
[You want to release your anger!]
[It is impossible to distinguish between enemies and allies!]
“Kuek…!” Grid’s vision turned red, and he spun around heavily. Grid was confused by the changes in the position of the sky and the ground, and he floundered. By the time he barely managed to regain his mind, the area around Grid was crawling with followers. There were more than 300 of them. The dukes, the knights, and his precious companions were gone without a trace.
“These jerks…!”
They dared to hurt his colleagues…? Then it happened when the bloody Grid was about to start a sword dance.
-Calm down.
[The blacksmith god Hexetia is keeping you in control.]
“Grid…! Grid! Wake up!”
“Ah…” Grid’s red and spinning vision was restored to normal. The hundreds of followers surrounding Grid were gone, and there were his companions, the dukes, and the knights.
‘Don’t tell me…’
…The followers he just saw were actually them? He was about to hurt them with his own hands…? The god’s curse—a chill went down Grid’s spine as he grasped how terrifying the weight of this punishment was. His shoulders shook with fright.
“What is it? Did you see a ghost?”
Yura, Jishuka, and his other colleagues supported him. They didn’t say many words and just watched Grid with warm eyes. This alone was a great strength for Grid.
“It wasn’t a ghost. I saw a monster.” Grid smiled and checked his condition. He calmly controlled the emotions that had run wild because of the unknown curse. Grid had gained a huge 20% increase in experience in exchange for killing the follower who had mastered 10 secret techniques. However, he still didn’t get a perfect secret technique. Only a damaged version entered his inventory.
‘Is this the right reward?’
Without hesitation, Grid left the place where the follower had died and headed to the back of the waterfall. It was the place the follower had been guarding. Skunk guessed that treasure was likely to be hidden in this place. Once they entered, they found it was covered with murals. The mysterious and dreamlike murals, similar to those in Buddhism, covered the walls and simultaneously stimulated primitive fears.
“I need a long time to interpret it,” Skunk muttered when he saw the scale of the murals. He didn’t seem to expect an answer, but based on his sparkling eyes, he was obviously very pleased with what he saw. Skunk was looking forward to the story that would be told every time he unraveled a mural. Grid thought about it and used his insight stat to look around carefully. Then he found the entrance to a small cave.
“I will enter first.” Faker stopped Grid who was about to enter the cave and moved forward carefully. He used the assassin’s ability to detect traps. Then he signaled to the party once he determined it was safe. The cave was around 100 meters deep and wasn’t too big.
“This is…”
They reached the end of the cave and saw a large mural. Humans as small as ants were bowing toward the sky. It wasn’t clear what existence they were worshipping. There was only a red radiance in the sky. It wasn’t the sun. The radiance was more brilliant and larger than the sun.
“Due to the nature of this place, it must be the symbol of the warriors.” Skunk approached the mural. He took a closer look and cocked his head. “Still, the image of worshipping the god is a bit strange. Normally the humans depicted in these sorts of paintings would have longing or joyous expressions, but the humans in this painting are screaming.”
At this moment, the cave started to shake and the ground surged. The bulging ground took the form of an altar with an old box on
it.
[Secret Technique Box]
“It is also locked…” Skunk didn’t finish saying that they had to find a key. It was because Grid pulled out the master key and opened the lock.
‘A scam.’ Skunk clicked his tongue.
***
Simultaneously, at the waterfront of the ruins…
“We’ve finally arrived.”
An imperial ship anchored itself. It had taken two times as long than expected to get here, but the reinforcements finally arrived.
“This…?” Drunk Duke Diworth jumped from the ship and laughed when he saw the ship flying the flag of the Overgeared Kingdom. “The war will continue here.”
Diworth had the previous track record of missing the enemy king right in front of his nose. It was the shame of his long life and a mistake he had to make up for.
“Just wait, Overgeared King. This time I’ll cut off your head.”
Please note that Diworth’s power was one level inferior to that of Grenhal, Morse, and Basara.
Chapter 1030
At the S.A Group’s headquarters…
Tok. Someone ate a chicken leg that had been leftover.
Tutok. Someone else hadn’t bitten the chicken wing yet.
“…” It dropped from their hands. Their souls were lost in the aftermath of the first player to obtain a third class.
“…Ah.” Director Yoon Sangmin belatedly recovered his spirit and looked at the scattered pieces of chicken on the table. It was fortunate, really fortunate. He dropped the chicken breast. The relieved Yoon Sangmin gulped down bottled water instead of beer. He wiped the spicy sauce on his mouth and said, “I thought the first one to obtain the third class would be Agnus, but there was a reversal.”
In fact, the concept of ‘first’ wasn’t very important. There were no benefits from being the first to get a third class. Instead, honor followed. There were currently 1,311 people with a second class. Among them, there was only one person with the title of ‘First to Obtain a Second Class’, and it belonged to Huroi.
This was something that couldn’t be taken away—an eternal record. It was impossible to predict how great Grid’s pride would be after surpassing two billion competitors. Moreover, the point to note was that Grid had obtained a class that directly indicated the possibility of a myth rated class.
[Someone unknown has received a third class for the first time.]
[His epic will begin with a legend and end with a myth.]
On the monitor, this world message emerged. The people who noticed this would surely recognize the existence of myth rated classes. Huge ramifications were expected.
“…The reaction of the person involved is really calm.”
Grid didn’t show great joy. No, to be accurate, he didn’t show any reactions. Grid had to focus on the battle with the follower and then he had to overcome the war god’s curse. The employees in this place watched Grid and forgot to eat chicken. They wanted to see Grid rejoicing over finishing everything in order for them to wrap up the day with a warm heart. It was a type of surrogate satisfaction. The employees were aware of Grid’s past and wanted to support him.
However, Grid didn’t show any reaction until he reached the Secret Technique Box in the waterfall. Some employees questioned the smaller-than-expected response. “Is it possible to be so casual after getting a growth type legendary class?”
“Why not?”
The number of achievements Grid had built over the years was too numerous to count. He was the first to acquire a legendary class and the first to produce the first legendary items. He also became the first king by establishing the Overgeared Kingdom and was the hero who saved the Eternal Kingdom.
The one who won the most gold medals in the National Competition, the Hero King who cleansed the Behen Archipelago, the man who inherited some of the power of the legend Braham and the Undefeated King, and so on—Grid had a number of unique titles. He was also the person who made diplomacy with the Saharan Empire possible and the person who went to Asgard to challenge a god.
Grid’s feats were so great that even a mediocre player would become a world star or high ranker with just one of them. Even so, Grid’s current achievement was particularly exceptional. It was normal to show a reaction of joy. Thus, the employees were confused when Grid didn’t have a significant reaction.
“Is there less joy because it is an opportunity gained through sheer coincidence and luck?”
They weren’t being sarcastic. The employees really thought like this. Agnus was scheduled to get the third class Demon World Noble in the next few months. The result was purely due to his efforts. Then what about the Magic Swordsman of the Epics that Grid obtained this time?
It was the result of coincidences and luck overlapping. What if Skunk hadn’t found the Ruins of the War God? If Grid hadn’t stepped into the ruins, Braham wouldn’t have woken up and the third class would still be a distant concept for Grid.
However, not all the executives thought the same.
“It is due to coincidence and luck that Grid could reach the Ruins of the War God…? Not at all.”
“Right. It was possible because Grid gained the sea route by planting Huroi in enemy territory in advance.”
“Katz’ financial resources were also a great help.”
“Didn’t Grid lay the foundation by creating the master key and building affinity with Braham to the maximum? It is purely a result of his ability that Grid obtained the third class.
“Right. A person who isn’t prepared can’t catch up no matter the coincidences and luck.”
“Hrmm…”
That’s right, it happened again. Perhaps it was due to the alcohol. The small number of people who regarded Grid’s achievement as a result of luck and coincidences belatedly reflected and fell silent. They apologized to Grid in their heart. The S.A. Group’s executive meeting room—it became a place for Grid’s fan meetings.
Chairman Lim Cheolho was sweating. ‘These people, have you finished all your work?’
***
The Overgeared members and the dukes broke through the jungle and killed the follower who had learned 10 secret techniques. These accomplishments were already great. It was natural that a reasonable compensation would be given.
[Secret Technique Box]
[Contains a secret technique of War God Zeratul.]
The second technique of the war god…
It was the ultimate skill book. Grid’s expression brightened when he received it.
The truth of the world… He was relaxed despite the reminder that Satisfy’s final boss might not be Evil God Yatan.
‘Yes, what does it matter if Goddess Rebecca is the final boss? In the first place, a player can’t fight against dragons.’
The final boss of this world wasn’t a problem for players to worry about. It would be dealt with by an entity other than players. There was no need to worry or fear that his people and family might be harmed by the true darkness of the world.
‘Let’s just enjoy it for now.’
Just in case, he would try to be even stronger. Grid controlled his mind and opened the lock using the master key. However, he didn’t open the box urgently. There was a part he had to make clear before opening the Secret Technique Box. Grid spoke to the dukes in a voice that maximized his dignity stat, “I think I have the right to obtain this. What are your thoughts?”
The knights were agitated. This was despite the fact that Grid had played the main role in breaking through the jungle and overcoming the follower who had mastered 10 secret techniques. Even if Grid wasn’t present, the dukes would have eventually reached this point. It would’ve just taken much more time and caused a bigger loss in power. Additionally, the achievements the dukes had achieved while breaking through the jungle were considerable. After all, the dukes had fought the followers more than anyone else.
The secret technique of the war god… Honestly, it was impossible to concede to Grid a mythical treasure that might be kept i
n the imperial treasury.
…This was what the knights thought.
“Of course, it belongs to Your Majesty.”
“If it wasn’t for Your Majesty, we wouldn’t be alive now. We don’t have the right to covet the secret technique.”
Meanwhile, Immortal King Grenha and Gold Crown Basara showed a polite attitude that respected Grid’s position.
“Hmm, our achievements aren’t small… His Majesty the Emperor might be angry if he finds out later. But well… the Overgeared King’s merit is the biggest. We will aim for a greater achievement and gain the next reward…” Beast King Morse muttered to himself in a somewhat unwilling manner, but he didn’t raise any objections.
Putting aside his position and thoughts, Grid was clearly qualified to be the owner of the secret technique.
“Thank you for the concession.”
It wasn’t a concession. He had the right to take it. Yet Grid outwardly thanked the dukes, and this raised their pride greatly. Thanks to Grid’s care, the dukes’ affinity increased by one.
Then Grid turned to his colleagues. The Overgeared members were more curious about the world message that had just appeared in front of them.
“I’ll tell you the detailed story later. Let’s check the contents of the Secret Technique Box and decide on the owner.”
There were at least hundreds of secret techniques. It was reasonable considering the number of techniques known by the followers they had met so far had reached 100. If the secret technique regarded the spear, then he would give it to Pon. If it regarded the shield, then he would give it to Vantner. Grid thought about how to share the secret techniques. He had no intention of monopolizing the secret technique. Rather, he wanted to use this opportunity to make up for some of the damage his colleagues suffered fighting the empire on his behalf.
“That is the right idea,” Lauel agreed with Grid, so the reluctant looking 10 meritorious retainers were forced to nod. They also had to become stronger. If they didn’t become stronger, they would only grab at Grid’s ankles.
‘I can’t be indebted to him forever. I have to become stronger and pay him back several times in the future,’ the 10 meritorious retainers pledged.
