by Park Saenal
Grid’s face distorted. “Then why are you speaking like that?”
“Uh…?”
An enormous pressure was released. Dio, the soldiers and the users in the inn were overwhelmed by the pressure and hesitated. It was because Grid’s dignity stat was comparable to the king of a nation. He threw off his hat.
“G-Grid…!”
“God Grid!”
Dio was astonished, while the other users cried out. Grid pressed his finger to Dio’s forehead. “If you knew I was Duke Grid, why did you speak without using honorifics? Eh? What did you originally say? Did you call me a bastard? Eh? Are we friends?”
Grid had bad feelings towards Earl Ashur’s knights as well. The one who killed Grid when he acquired Pagma’s Rare Book wasn’t Earl Ashur, but Earl Ashur’s knights. And Dio was one of them.
“I tried to endure it, but this bastard is too arrogant.”
Grid couldn’t suppress his rage and slapped Dio. It was a terrible experience for Dio, who had never even been scolded by his parents.
“Y-You hit me…!”
He bit his lips as Grid hit Dio’s cheeks again.
“You didn’t even apologize for not bowing! This rude bastard!”
Grid had matured after several incidents, but the roots of a human didn’t easily change. Grid’s natural tendencies weren’t good. Grid slapped Dio in front of all these people, without considering Dio’s position at all.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Dio’s handsome face quickly swelled up like a toad. In the end, Dio’s string of reason snapped. He grabbed his sword, forgetting Earl Ashur’s order to ‘graciously’ bring Grid to him.
“Such humiliation…!”
“What? Do you dare to show disrespect to a duke? You want to be like this until the end?” Grid’s eyes shone. It was the same as when he was called the Psychopath Butcher. “You are sentenced to death.”
Jeeeong!
He swung Failure. Dio couldn’t cope with a single strike and was thrown back into the wall.
“Cough! Cough!”
The soldiers panicked as they watched Dio coughing up blood. Should they protect their leader? But wasn’t that considered a rebellion against the duke? As the soldiers were troubled, the cool blade was held to Dio’s jaw.
“Do you remember that day?”
“That day…?”
“The day that I found Pagma’s Rare Book.”
“I clearly remember.”
Dio couldn’t forget, since it was the day that Earl Ashur’s anger pierced the sky. Grid gritted his teeth, “On that day, I was killed by your swords. I will give you a chance to experience the same pain.”
Unlike a user who would resurrect if they died, the life of a NPC was finite. In Satisfy, killing an NPC was equivalent to murder in reality. Grid was unwilling to harm an NPC. It was even more so after forming a relationship with Khan. Due to that, he didn’t intend to kill Dio and was just planning to terrify him.
However, Dio became honestly scared and pissed himself. He started foaming at the mouth and lost consciousness. It was an event that would become a lifelong trauma for Dio, who had been an elite since childhood.
***
“It seems strange if you’re the duke of the kingdom.” Piaro remarked.
Grid shrugged. “This was a dirty case. I have a bad chemistry with this place.”
“So that’s why you hid your identity.”
The two people left the inn and were moving to exit Patrian. Coke rushed after them.
“Grid! Grid!”
Grid frowned. “Can’t you see that I am moving in secret? Why are you calling out the name of a person without thinking?”
“I-I’m really sorry. I was so excited that I wasn’t thinking…” Coke took out a piece of paper and asked Grid. “Please sign this!”
“…Sign?” Grid’s distorted expression disappeared. “Are you my fan?”
“You’re my idol! I want to be just like you!”
“Hmm hmm.”
He was an idol. Grid had been ignored by others for his whole life, so he had to be thrilled. He signed Coke’s piece of paper.
“Thank you.”
It was the moment when Coke, who would be included in the next 10 Rookies, became Grid’s real fan.
Meanwhile, Earl Ashur received the news about Dio.
“I can’t leave this alone.”
The embarrassment of his subordinate was the embarrassment of the owner! Earl Ashur became more furious at Grid and grasped his exact position with the magic spheres. Then he used Mass Teleport on him and his knights.
Grid stopped as he was leaving Patrian. He saw the light from the sky and Ashur appeared in front of him.
“In the end, you came here. Do you really want to die? Are you crazy?” Earl Ashur angrily asked Grid.
“I’m not like I was in the past. I’m no longer to be trifled with. Can you afford to go against me?” Grid asked arrogantly, and Earl Ashur scoffed.
“I’m the only great magician in the Eternal Kingdom, and one of the 10 great magicians on the continent.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration. Earl Ashur was the strongest man in the kingdom. That’s why he was appointed to the strategic point of Patrian.
“I’m not afraid of Pagma’s power. You aren’t Pagma. I have enough skills to get rid of you… Heok?”
Earl Ashur suddenly became shocked. It was because an overwhelming amount of energy was being emitted.
“I would like to compete with one of the 10 great magicians of the continent.”
It was the moment when Piaro’s competitive spirit was triggered.
“W-Who are you?”
Earl Ashur could no longer worry about Grid due to the unexpected emergence of a monster. It was putting the cart before the horse.
Chapter 212
Chapter 212
The Eternal Kingdom and Gauss Kingdom didn’t have a good relationship. Over the past decades, there had been countless disputes and frequent bloodshed. The Eternal Kingdom used the guide of being a neutral kingdom to monopolize some of the Gauss Kingdom’s products.
But the Gauss Kingdom wasn’t able to induce conflict with the Eternal Kingdom. It was because the great magician Ashur was present at the border. Earl Ashur’s power was like a nuclear warhead in modern society, so it was enough to suppress any conflicts.
But Piaro was more than that.
“W-Who are you?”
In the beginning, Earl Ashur had no interest in the beggar. No, he hadn’t even noticed. He only paid attention to Grid. Now the beggar was emitting an energy that could reverse the situation. At this moment, Earl Ashur’s five senses were only concentrated on the beggar. His original purpose of taking care of Grid disappeared.
‘Is this fear I’m feeling?’ Goosebumps covered his entire body. ‘There was a monster like this hiding in the kingdom?’
Earl Ashur gulped as Piaro asked for a duel.
“I want to experience the skills of one of the continent’s 10 great magicians.”
“I refuse. I have no reason to fight you, nor do I want to fight.”
Earl Ashur was adamant. But Piaro just pulled out his sword.
He was still obsessed with revenge, but he was also thirsty to fight against the strong. He was filled with a desire to become a sword saint. In particular, he was obsessed with Earl Ashur, because he had no experience fighting great magicians.
“You have no choice.”
‘Crazy bastard!’
This was his only chance to get revenge on Grid, who stole Pagma’s Rare Book, as well as his son’s crush. Once Grid arrived at Reidan and solidified his position as a duke, Earl Ashur would no longer be able to act against him. Later, he would be forced to bow before Duke Grid.
But at this critical junction, someone interfered. Earl Ashur’s anger soared.
“Who the hell are you?”
Earl Ashur knew about the group with the strange name of Overgeared who were working with Grid. But there was no inf
ormation about this beggar being part of Overgeared.
Where did this guy suddenly pop out from?
“Why are you with Grid? Are you his protector?”
“Protector? You’re mistaken. I don’t have anything to do with Duke Grid. This is my personal interest.”
In the first place, did Grid need his protection? It was clear that this person called Ashur didn’t know much about Grid.
“Anyway, you aren’t Duke Grid’s opponent. It is better for you to compete against me. Right now, I am in an incomplete condition.”
“This person!”
Earl Ashur sounded resentful towards Piaro, but his head was calm.
‘I must be calm. I shouldn’t turn him into my enemy.’
The rumors might be exaggerated, but Grid’s strength that he showed in Reinhardt wasn’t negligible. Grid was praised as the kingdom’s hero, so Earl Ashur had to fight seriously. After fighting with a much stronger opponent, could he take care of Grid?
‘It is impossible.’
The wisest choice was to let Grid go. But.
‘I can’t miss the chance for revenge that will never come again.’ Earl Ashur made a decision. ‘Create a space where Grid and I can fight.’
In other words, create a three dimensional space. Space magic was different from other magic, so the consumption of magic power was very extreme. Even Earl Ashur had to consume half of his magic power to create a space ward. But he was willing to do this to handle Grid.
“Buy me some time.”
An earl was only supposed to have five knights, but Earl Ashur had dozens of knights as a commander of a fortified city. He not only had great individual power, but his forces surpassed that of his title.
The elite knights got into formation at once. In that gap, Earl Ashur chanted a spell.
“Shake hands.”
Elite knights? They were nothing compared to the knights of the Saharan Empire, the strongest nation on the continent. Furthermore, Piaro was the captain of the Red Knights.
“It’s a waste of manpower.”
Piaro’s missing sword shot straight ahead. A knight defended by raising his shield, but Piaro predicted this.
“Supreme Swordsmanship 3rd style.”
Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
It was comparable with the skill of a martial artist. Piaro’s sword collided with the shield. The owner of the shield became a rag, while the other knights standing behind him spurted blood. It was the moment when the knights that Earl Ashur was proud of were knocked down by a single blow.
“Heok?”
“Defense is useless?”
The knights freaked out as it felt like they were hit by a tornado. Piaro leapt lightly. He didn’t give the knights time to reform their formation.
“Kuaaaaak!”
He really was like a god. Piaro defied the laws of gravity as he stood in the air and wielded his sword. The vulnerable knights were unable to respond as the sword techniques fell from the sky. They couldn’t use the advantage of numbers to threaten Piaro, so they could only defend.
However, Piaro’s sword accelerated so quickly that it was difficult to chase with the eyes, making it virtually impossible to defend.
“Ugh!”
Jacks, the leader of the knights, swung his halberd and tried to counterattack in the gap when his men were being attacked. But it was difficult to hit, because Piaro rotated his body in the air at a dizzying speed.
“This monster!”
It was unbelievable. He completely avoided the large and wide attack of the halberd in the air? Was this old man a rumored assassin? Jacks continuously wielded his halberd. The opponent avoided it until the end. Then there was an unforgettable experience.
“What?”
The halberd started to be sucked into the rotating Piaro, as if it was attracted by a magnet. Jacks tried to withstand it with all his strength, but it was useless. He let go of the halberd.
Jjejejeok!
The halberd lost its master and shattered in the air.
“Keok.”
The falling fragments of the halberd aimed precisely at the knights on the ground. They were wearing expensive armor, but whether it was coincidence of Piaro’s intentions, the fragments only aimed at the gaps on the armor. The armor was useless and the knights instantly collapsed.
“M-Monster…!”
Jacks couldn’t close his mouth. Earl Ashur was even more surprised.
‘They couldn’t last?’
One minute. That was the amount of time required to generate the ward. The 23 knights couldn’t withstand that short amount of time.
Cheok.
At last, Piaro landed on the ground and stepped forward, ignoring Jacks. He neared Earl Ashur.
“In the end, we have to fight?” Earl Ashur screamed at Piaro. “That’s right! Okay! Let’s try it once!”
It seemed he couldn’t avoid the fight. Earl Ashur pulled out a staff that was 50 cm in length. Most magicians used orbs due to the versatility of the orb that could store magic. However, Earl Ashur was fast in magic casting, so he used a staff that amplified magic.
“Haste!”
One of the most important elements in a magic battle was speed. The opponent must hit before the magician finished casting a spell, and the magician must finish casting a spell before allowing an attack. Earl Ashur quickly increased his movement speed with Haste and widened the distance with Piaro.
He already finished casting the next spell.
“Orion’s Illusion!”
It was an illusion technique. Earl Ashur created five clones of himself and once again opened up the distance while Piaro was searching for the real body. Next was debuff magic.
“Soul Weakness!”
Piaro’s body became as sticky as oil and unpleasant magic power suppressed him.
“Disgusting.”
Piaro’s body lost its swiftness, but he bent like a bow and shot forward like a thunderbolt. He maximized his body’s ability to increase speed, offsetting the effect of the debuff.
‘Did he resist? My magic? No, it’s impossible.’
Earl Ashur’s eyes widened as he faced Piaro. But he tried to remain calm and finished casting the magic spell.
“Ice Tornado!”
It was a mixture of two A-grade spells with different attributes, and exerted more power than an A-grade spell. It was still significantly less powerful than S-grade magic, so why did he use it?
Even a great magician couldn’t cast S-grade spells in an instant. Using S-grade magic without precautionary measures against a person like Piaro was close to suicide.
Jjejejejeok!
Piaro’s body froze as he approached Earl Ashur. Earl Ashur’s magic power exceeded common sense, so there was no one who wouldn’t be frozen.
‘This guy won’t die like this.’
Earl Ashur believed that Piaro would recover within five seconds and started to chant a S-grade spell in that gap. However, he underestimated Piaro.
Chaaeng!
“…!”
Earl Ashur was shocked. An intangible energy was felt from the frost and it shattered before even a few words could be chanted?
“You’ve already recovered?”
It was too fast to use S-grade magic. He had to quickly accumulate more damage using A-grade spells. He belatedly responded to Piaro’s sword that was flying.
“Shield!”
It was the manifestation of basic defensive magic that even beginners could use.
“Great magic power.”
Piaro admired Ashur, who absorbed most of the damage with his shield. However, he continued to wield his sword. Earl Ashur stood firm. He tried to avoid as much damage as possible by relying on the previously activated Haste, while minimizing the actual damage using Shield.
Despite the continuous wounds he kept receiving, he used Shield while chanting S-grade magic in his head. Earl Ashur’s concentration was truly worthy of respect.
“Yes!”
Piaro was swin
ging his sword when he suddenly felt alarmed. He detected a strong magic power and used the Supreme Swordsmanship 5th style, a defense technique.
Kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Something intangible shot out of Earl Ashur the moment the spell was completed.
“Fluid Escape.”
Fluid Escape was a spell that separated the soul and body of the caster for three seconds. The caster could control the soul that emerged from the body, while the body became immune to all damage.
Jeeeong!
Earl Ashur’s body wasn’t damaged at all despite being hit.
‘This is the power of Fluid Escape!’
Earl Ashur’s soul passed through Piaro’s body and dealt damage in proportion to his magic power.
“Kuk!”
Blood poured from Piaro.
“I can’t tangle with this monster forever.”
Earl Ashur’s soul headed towards Grid, who was watching the battle with folded arms. He didn’t give up on his original goal of aiming for Grid.
“Die!”
Kwaaaang!
Earl Ashur’s soul went through the grid.
[You have suffered 40,985 damage.]
[You have received catastrophic damage all at once, and your spirit can’t endure it.]
[You have resisted.]
Grid was unprepared for the damage and suffered. The soul’s movement speed was so remarkable that the pavranium responded late. It was virtually impossible for a human to perceive it. Ashur’s soul returned to his body.
“You deceived me!”
Piaro suffered great damage to his pride and wielded his sword, but there was a powerful shockwave as soon as the soul returned to the body. Piaro knew this fact, but he was confident that he could neutralize it with his blade.
However, Earl Ashur’s magic power couldn’t be pierced by the sword.
Peeng!
“This…!”
Piaro was pushed back by the shockwave. While he was upset, Earl Ashur aimed at Grid.
“This is the end!”
Finally, his grudge would be repaid. Earl Ashur was determined to kill Grid while Grid was suffering from great damage and not in the right mindset. But what was this? Grid moved smoothly and Earl Ashur’s vision was covered with blue-white light.
“Kuaaaaak!”
Earl Ashur screamed at the unexpected attack. He suffered cumulative damage when reciting the S-grade magic, so he easily fell down.
