by Park Saenal
“Hah?” Susan was dumbfounded by the absurd words. Her reaction was natural. After all, Coke’s level was lower than everyone else, and it was impossible for the NPCs not to know this. During the Yatan fight, Coke had been weaker than the young prince, yet he was going to beat all the Red Knights?
‘Why is he saying nonsense like this?’
Dulandal and the Red Knights had serious doubts.
“I’m looking forward to it. On the day that the truce ends and the empire aims a sword at us, my words will become reality.”
Making the weak stronger—that was the power of items. Grid, who intended to use the goddess’ blessing to enhance the Legendary Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill, whispered to Coke, “Don’t be scared. There is still plenty of time. I will show you what it really means to be overgeared.”
The Saharan Empire was a huge nation. One city in the empire was equal to the full size of the Overgeared Kingdom. It was impossible to control all the people with the imperial family alone. Yes, Grid had already been preparing. He thought that the empire would threaten them when the truce ended or even before the truce ended, regardless of the emperor’s will. Grid needed to train talents to prepare for that time.
‘After clearing this quest, I will show a true overgeared army.’
‘The target is too high. His Majesty is making a mistake.’
While Grid and Dulandal were having a staring contest, someone was feeling tense. Coke felt like he was sitting on a thorny cushion.
Chapter 879
Chapter 879
Coke felt like he was sitting on a thorny cushion.
‘Am I misunderstanding something?’
On the day that the truce ended, this young knight would knock down all the Red Knights of the empire, and the young knight that Grid was pointing to was Coke. Coke had the lowest level among the people gathered here, so it was ridiculous.
‘Is he pointing at Royman instead of me? Yes, I misunderstood!’ Coke didn’t accept reality and looked at Royman on his left.
Yet, Royman was staring at Coke. The same was true for the other knights behind her. Everyone was looking at Coke.
‘No, it’s right?’ Coke’s panicked eyes shook. ‘I’m going to destroy the Red Knights?’
How…? What was this?
‘Ah…!’ It was naive of him to take this practical joke seriously. Grid lay a hand on the confused Coke’s shoulders just as he was thinking this was a joke. “Don’t be scared. There is still plenty of time. I will show you what it really means to be overgeared.”
“…”
Grid was serious. Coke was able to realize it since he had been steadfastly watching Grid as his fan. A fierce will shone in Grid’s eyes. It was a willpower he showed every time he spoke true words.
‘Does he really think I can go against the Red Knights?’
Coke was well aware of the power of the items that Grid showed but…
As his thoughts became complicated, Coke gulped.
He was happy that Grid trusted him, but he felt anxious that he couldn’t live up to Grid’s trust. Coke thought he was a failure before it even happened.
“How interesting,” Dulandal’s derisive voice entered Coke’s ears. Dulandal was laughing at Grid’s bluff. “I didn’t think there would be a person who would act so vainly before me… Interesting. It’s really pleasant. Is your occupation actually a clown?”
The prince’s mocking gaze moved from Grid to Coke. “The innocent lamb is already trembling with fear. Kukuk! Is this a cattle being taken to the slaughterhouse?”
The imperial prince wasn’t wary of Coke at all, treating him as a total nobody.
All the Red Knights were going to be defeated by this guy…? It was something that the imperial prince couldn’t imagine.
“…” Coke stayed silent.
After all, the imperial prince’s assessment was accurate. Coke was the peak of the second generation rookies and a player with exceptional talent, but that was all. He wasn’t at a level comparable to the strongest Red Knights on the continent. In fact, weren’t the high rankers who started the game a year earlier than him afraid of the Red Knights?
‘I will only be able to defeat a Red Knight after a few years.’
So, why did Grid trust him? Coke was full of doubts.
“It might seem funny now, but won’t it be different once he is overgeared?” Grid maintained his confident answer.
‘Ah!’ Coke belatedly realized it wasn’t that Grid trusted Coke. It was that Grid trusted his items. ‘He has the confidence to create the best knight!’
This was a confidence that only a legendary blacksmith could have! Duguen! Duguen! The anxiety dominating Coke’s mind was lifted, and expectations filled its place. Coke was curious. How much could he grow when armed with Grid’s items, and could he really defeat the Red Knights?
“Overgeared…? You are talking nonsense. Well, this is just a conversation. Empty talk is a waste of time.” Prince Dulandal had an unpleasant expression on his face.
Tsk! He clicked his tongue and warned as he turned his back to Grid’s party, “You better keep one thing in mind. Next time we meet and you omit honorifics, I will cut off your head immediately.”
The blood of the imperial prince was great, and he should be respected by everyone on the continent as a king above kings. To Prince Dulandal, Grid’s rudeness was an unforgettable insult. However, the reason he hadn’t immediately cut off Grid’s head was due to the emperor’s truce. No matter what sin Grid committed, the prince couldn’t ignore the truce that the emperor created. It would be a rebellion against the emperor!
‘Hut… Today’s patience will flow to His Majesty, and my position will rise.’
“Hrmm.” Dulandal evaluated his patience highly and left while smiling with satisfaction. Grid watched Dulandal’s back with a relaxed gaze. He was feeling relieved.
‘I thought an imperial prince would be a big shot, but he is ordinary.’
The prince was a type of person that Grid had often met. Grid judged the prince as being strong enough to stimulate his fighting energy, but that was the only thing Grid had to be wary about. He didn’t have the daunting feeling that Grid had felt from the emperor.
‘He is lacking compared to his father. I hope the other imperial princes are the same…’ Grid prayed sincerely.
He was anxious that if the emperor’s successor showed excellent skills, it would become ever harder to cope with the empire.
“Your Majesty…” Mercedes confirmed that the imperial prince had completely disappeared from view and began to speak. She was very worried. “I heard about Sir Coke’s actions last night. He is promising, but his talent isn’t fully proven. It is too early to declare that Coke will defeat the Red Knights.”
Of course, Mercedes knew what Grid was capable of. Considering the performance of the sword and armor that Grid had given her, there was room for the young knight to be stronger than she thought. However, the difference between the two couldn’t be easily overcome. The Red Knights were geniuses selected from among tens of thousands of nobles and were granted the swordsmanship that had dominated the continent for hundreds of years. They were also given the strength of the red energy, giving them the pride of the strongest. It might seem useless from Grid’s point of view, but Coke wasn’t Grid.
‘Furthermore, the new Red Knights will receive the great powers of the grandmaster.’
Mercedes knew that Susan was very clever and that her confidence wasn’t unfounded.
“Don’t worry too much. By the way, what is a grandmaster?”
“…” Mercedes looked at Grid with a strange expression. He was a person who had used the power of an individual to build a new kingdom, become a hero, and gotten recognized by even the emperor. Grid was certainly great. That’s why Mercedes was even more worried. She wondered if Grid had lost touch with reality due to being carried away by his greatness. Mercedes failed to conceal the frosty shadow on her face as she replied, “The gran
dmaster is a great person who has mastered several martial arts, magic, and academics.”
“He has mastered martial arts, magic, and academics?”
Mercedes’ answer surprised Grid.
‘In the end, it means that he is good at everything? A jack of all trades?’
A jack of all trades was familiar to Grid. It was because Grid was a typical jack of all trades himself. He knew blacksmithing, swordsmanship, magic, tailoring, and so on. Grid could do much more than a normal player.
‘However, the depth is shallow.’
He was exceptional with blacksmithing, but what about swordsmanship, magic, and tailoring?
‘My swordsmanship can’t escape the limits of a sword dance, and I’m often caught by how long it takes to use.’
Meanwhile, magic was difficult to use because of his low intelligence.
‘If I have to throw away the sword, I can arm myself with Belial’s Staff…’
He was able to bring down so many mighty enemies because he possessed a variety of items, titles, and fraudulent skills. Yet his tailoring was still at the intermediate level. Ultimately, he could never be afraid of a jack of all trades! This was Grid’s evaluation.
‘Like me, the grandmaster is outstanding in one field, but he isn’t an all-rounder like the world assumes.’
“To be honest, I don’t use the word ‘mastered’ for nothing. The grandmaster is outstanding in all areas. You should never take him lightly,” Mercedes warned him.
Grid frowned. “What exactly do you mean by outstanding in all areas? Can he use a sword better than a Sword Saint or use magic better than a great magician? And is he smarter than a sage?”
“Yes.”
“Eh?”
“There is no Sword Saint or great magician in our time who can reach the feet of the grandmaster. Since the grandmaster can freely enter and leave the imperial library, he is likely to boast more knowledge than Sage Sticks.”
“What…”
It hadn’t been long since Kraugel became a Sword Saint. In particular, the limitations of a player meant he was weaker than the previous Sword Saint. The situation was similar for the great magicians. There were no legends among the current great magicians. It was understandable to some extent that the grandmaster was stronger than them. However, Grid couldn’t acknowledge that the grandmaster boasted more knowledge than Sage Sticks.
Mercedes said, “If the grandmaster had been watching the events in the empire, I assure you that all of Great Demon Astaroth’s tricks would’ve been blocked in advance. Additionally, if the grandmaster had been in the imperial palace on the day Astaroth revealed his identity…”
“If he had been there…?”
“Astaroth would’ve disappeared as a handful of ashes before he could summon the Storm Demonic Energy Field.”
It was due to their absolute trust in the grandmaster that the imperial princes weren’t afraid of great demons and legends. There had been a day when the Magic King said, “The Undefeated King was the only one who was able to fight the grandmaster. The moment the grandmaster reveals himself to the world and is stamped into history, a new legend will be born.”
“…” Grid was silent for a long time after hearing Mercedes’ explanation.
Mercedes saw that Grid was finally alert. “You can’t make fun of the new Red Knights who are being trained by the grandmaster himself.”
Grid was silent for a while before shrugging. “Mercedes, you are mistaken about one thing.”
“I am mistaken?”
“Yes. I’m not making fun of the Red Knights.” It was natural. The Red Knights had been raised by the legendary knight Mercedes, and now they were stronger than before. “I just want to say that my items are better.”
“…?”
“I’ve been waiting, Overgeared King.”
As they were talking, the group arrived at the banquet hall. Grid followed the elders’ instructions and saw that in front of them was a table of delicacies across from the imperial prince. Prince Dulandal had a very unpleasant expression. He couldn’t understand the elders’ actions of treating Grid so well.
‘What am I? I am a blacksmith.’
The various titles such as Hero King, Great Magician, and First King were all secondary. Grid hoped this boring lunch would end soon. He wanted to hold a hammer in his hand and cleanse the sword. That evening…
“Are you ready?”
“Yes.”
All of the royalty, including the imperial prince, left the Vatican. Then Grid headed to a small smithy in a corner of the Vatican. The holy sword had lost more light compared to when Damian showed it this morning. The speed of the petrification brought on by the Stone of Original Sin was very fast.
“Item Disassembly!”
Grid had to first raise his understanding of the holy sword to 100%. Despite the holy sword breaking down in front of his eyes, Damian didn’t feel uneasy. He just believed in Grid!
Chapter 880
Chapter 880
There was a concept of understanding items. He could get up to 100% understanding by observing, using, disassembling, and assembling an item. Once he succeeded in acquiring 100% understanding, he could gain the method to make the item.
“Item Disassembly!”
Grid intended to increase his understanding before cleansing the holy sword. The more he understood the holy sword, the easier the cleansing process would be.
‘It might not be possible to raise my understanding to 100%.’
Why? Wasn’t this holy sword the symbol of Rebecca—the goddess of light—and the pride of the supreme religion on the continent? It was exceptional among myth rated items, so was it impossible to raise the understanding of this item with a human’s ability? No, all myth rated items were equally special. The performance might vary, but there was no arguing about the ‘meaning’ of a myth rated item. The reason why Grid thought it would be difficult to raise his understanding to 100% was that the holy sword was a quest item.
[First Holy Sword that is Becoming Petrified]
[Rating: Myth
The first holy sword of humanity. It was sealed by the Stone of Original Sin, but Pagma’s Descendant—Grid—has temporarily unsealed it.
It still isn’t completely free from the curse.
The Stone of Original Sin is encroaching back on it.]
At the time of the Crossroad of Good and Evil hidden quest, the name of the holy sword had still been Sword Stuck in the Stone. Information, such as details about the attack power, durability, and the options, hadn’t been shown at all. It had only been a brief description. When he saw Damian deal a serious injury to Aliburn in a single blow, Grid had gotten convinced that…
‘The holy sword is a quest item. It can’t be used as a normal item.’
Quest items were items which didn’t have any special function apart from in special moments. After all, it didn’t make sense to mass-produce items made for specific quests.
‘In order to preserve its symbolic value, the system would prevent a 100% understanding.’
However, it could go up to 99.9%. Grid couldn’t learn how to make the item, but he could fully grasp the item’s hidden functions and intentions.
‘Just this much will give me a glimpse of how to cleanse it.’
First, he had to see how the curse had eroded the sword. As Grid judged this, he used the hammer in his hand.
Ttang!
Grid hit the church’s relic without hesitation! It was a sight that would make the thousands of members of the Rebecca Church furious. However, Pope Damian watched Grid silently.
Ttang! Ttaaang! Ttatatang-! Ttaang-!
It didn’t matter that Grid used various tools on the holy sword. Damian didn’t shake at all despite the sword being thrown into the furnace. He just watched as his trust in Grid was absolute. Ultimately, Damian had no choice but to trust Grid. After all, Grid had already demonstrated his power, having disassembled and assembled Lifael’s Spear dozens of times while saving
Isabel!
‘By the way…’
30 minutes must’ve passed. Damian gradually started to feel anxious as he watched Grid. When Grid placed the holy sword in the furnace, it maintained its full form instead of changing or breaking down.
‘Am I mistaken? Why does it seem like there is no progress?’
It didn’t seem to be a mistake.
‘Is something wrong?’
The anxiety that Damian felt was correct.
“Pant pant… Damn?” Grid was cursing as he hammered and used the bellows repeatedly. He was about to go crazy.
[You have failed to find the melting point of the metal that makes up the target item.]
[The smelting has failed.]
[You can’t find the binding section of the target item.]
[The disassembly has failed.]
‘Why isn’t my understanding rising?’
It might be a myth rated item, but Grid thought that his understanding of the item would gradually rise while disassembling the item. However, the method of understanding the holy sword was unconventional. Despite Grid’s repeated attempted disassembly, his understanding was kept at 7%.
‘I’m not hoping for 100%… I just want 99.9% or a clue toward cleansing the sword.’
No, there was nothing wrong with it.
‘Will it rise if I keep trying?’
Grid’s greatest strength was his persistence. Instead of feeling frustrated or demotivated after seeing his low understanding, he just controlled his emotions and started the disassembly again.
If he didn’t understand after disassembling it 10 times, then he would have to do it another 10 times.
If he didn’t understand after disassembling it 20 times, then he would have to do it another 20 times.
If he didn’t understand after disassembling it 20 times, then he would have to do it another 30 times.
If he didn’t understand after disassembling it 30 times, then he would have to do it another 40 times.
Grid continued trying.
“Pant pant! Pant! Keok!”
Suddenly, something came to Grid’s mind. Blacksmithing was a heavy labor class that required high stamina, and he felt like he was on the verge of dying.
