Chapter 163

"Here it is."

Grid paid 500 gold and took out the Holy Light Armor and Holy Light Gloves from the inventory. He handed them over to Ellen and respectfully said, “Please add fire resistance to these.”

The two parts combined would have a 20% fire resistance, so this was an investment with huge benefits. Ellen smiled warmly at the expectant Grid.

"Hoho, I’ll dye it beautifully. Huh?”

Ellen was amazed as she received the armor and gloves. Her sagging eyes, that couldn’t bear the weight of the years, widened.

“How is this possible…?”

Ellen had been dyeing things since she was 15 years old, and she was 71 this year. Over her 56 years as a dyer, she had dyed many different types of clothes and armor of various colors. However, this was the first time she saw such a great white armor.

“A perfect harmony... I wondered if a better armor than this exists? So beautiful... The blacksmith who made this armor probably isn’t a regular person. Is this the skill of a master who surpasses dwarf craftsmen?”

Grid felt interested as he saw Ellen’s admiration.

‘This grandma’s eyes are more discerning than normal.’

Trust started to fill him. A person with this level of insight would surely dye his items well.

Ellen showed high motivation, “I will do my best not to ruin these wonderful armor and gloves.”

The Holy Light Armor covered the neck, shoulders, chest, waist and right arm. The Holy Light Gloves were several layers thick and had gold thread embroidered near the wrist. It was a glamorous embroidered pattern that looked elegant. If the embroidery was dyed red as well, the armor and gloves would become too monotonous. Therefore, she had to do this work as delicately as possible.

Chwaack. Chwaack.

Every time the white gloves were immersed in the fire stone dye, they became a pale pink. As this process repeated, the pale pink became a dark pink and then gradually became a strong red. But surprisingly, the gold embroidery was preserved because not a single drop of dye touched it.

‘Great skills.’

Grid observed the work without missing a single thing. Following the gloves, the armor was dyed.

1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours.

It took a considerable amount of time, but Grid didn’t lose focus until the end. He didn’t want to miss an opportunity to observe the craftsmanship of other fields.

[Insight has increased by 10.]

[Your dexterity has risen.]

[You have learned a little bit about how to dye cloth and paint metal.]

The Holy Light Armor and Gloves were reborn with a dark red color. Grid read the pleasant notification windows and Ellen smiled brightly.

“Please check it.”

Grid received the armor and gloves from Ellen and examined the details. Then he was delighted.

'It’s better than I expected!'

The armor had 19% fire resistance and the gloves had 7% fire resistance. It was great that Ellen gave new options to legendary items for just 500 gold.

“I will use it well."

Ellen was grateful to the truly delighted Grid. "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to dye such an excellent armor and gloves before I die. Thanks to you, I have achieved a higher level. Now, please wear it.”

Ellen led Grid to the large full body mirror on one side. Grid didn’t delay in front of the mirror as he wore the armor and gloves. Then he marvelled at his own appearance.

‘I look much cooler.’

The Holy Light Armor was a legendary item made by Pagma. Despite the metal material, it was custom made and perfectly suited the lines of the wearer. The problem was that the color was pure white. Like many Asians, Grid had yellow skin and dark hair, so the pure white clothes didn’t suit him. The Holy Light Armor looked more awkward than cool. But now the red armor became a good match for Grid’s skin and hair.

Ellen’s eyes shone as she praised, “Very cool! I want to transfer your image to a picture frame!”

She wasn’t exaggerating. The harmonization of the black boots with the dark red armor and gloves with gold thread was a level that anyone would admire.

‘Is this really me?’

Everyone dreamed of looking nice. It was the same for Grid. However, he was despised because of his unimpressive appearance, and the shameful experiences significantly contributed to his personality.

Grid was no longer ugly.

‘...I’m not ugly.’

Grid closely observed his appearance in the mirror for a long time. Unlike the past where he always shrank back, his eyes were full of confidence and his shoulders were broad. His face had fattened, suiting the skeletal frame. From an objective point of view, he looked much better than before.

The armor looked so good that he wanted to take a photo.

‘But there is a little something missing...’

It was like a flaw in the jade. There was no gold embroidery on the lower part of his body, so it looked very monotonous. Grid thought it would look twice as nice if this part was supplemented, so he looked at Ellen. She was moving to greet the next guest.

“Pavranium.”

Grid spoke in a small voice. Then a fantastic sight was seen. Seven blades around 15cm long, 8cm wide and 3cm thick silently appeared and floated around him.

“Join together.”

Grid imagined the shape that the pavranium should form and ordered. Then the seven blades gathered together. The finished appearance was a thin sword around 1m in length. Grid made it like a wave or snake that could move to the left and right, then he fitted it onto the ring-belt that protruded near the tail of the armor.

“Kill.” The blade-like tail extending under the red armor was threatening, giving him a frightful feeling like a devil. “It is completely to my taste.”

Grid was making a happy face when he heard Toban’s voice.

-Grid, have you arrived at Cokro Island? Hell Gao will appear in exactly one hour. Please take care, and I hope you find the fire stones.

Grid left Ellen’s house. He was conscious of people’s eyes as he released the armor and answered.

-Believe in me.

***

Cokro Island was the largest of hundreds of islands in the Eternal Kingdom and was abundant in resources. The scenery was beautiful and countless guilds coveted the island.

The Sakura Guild was particularly ambitious. The guild considered only of Japanese right-wing extremists. They wanted to put a flag on Cokro Island because it looked similar to Takeshima Island which ‘Korea was illegally occupying.’

When the war between the Alliance and the Yatan Church broke out, the Sakura Guild took this opportunity.

"We will join the Eternal Kingdom’s army and gain enough achievements in order to receive Cokro Island as a reward!”

The Sakura Guild’s plan was successful. The Sakura Guild participated in the war, gained high contributions and got a chance to receive something from the king. They hoped to become the owner of Cokro Island.

But forces barred their way.

It was the Silver Knights Guild, led by the 16th ranked Peak Sword. Most of the guild members, including Peak Sword, were Koreans, and they confronted the Sakura Guild because they wanted to ‘stop the insane Japanese people who can’t tell virtual reality apart from reality.’

The two guilds had similar contributions in the war, so the king couldn’t easily determine the owner of the island. Both guilds had to fight for a long time. In the end, the Silver Knights Guild won. The average power of the Sakura Guild was higher, but thanks to the success of Peak Sword, the Silver Knights Guild could win the war and became the owner of Cokro Island.

The sword and shield, which was the original symbol of the guild, changed to the three-legged raven four months ago. The Silver Knights Guild became one of the large guilds that represented Satisfy.

Their next goal was the Hell Gao raid.

‘We can grow much faster if we clear the Hell Gao raid. We can nurture Korean rankers based on items dropped by Hell Gao.’

Despite the request of the South Korean government and Yura, he didn’t participate in the National Competition this year. Peak Sword was more familiar than anyone else that South Korea couldn’t obtain a good ranking in the competition, even if he participated.

‘But it will be different starting from next year.’

He would foster Korean rankers and regain Korea’s reputation as powerhouses in games! After the extreme patriotism war with the Sakura Guild, Peak Sword resumed the Hell Gao raid that he had already failed five times.

"Over the past month, we have become stronger and invested our money wisely. Now we will surely be able to take Hell Gao. Have courage and let’s defeat Hell Gao!”

“Ohhhh!”

The 4th floor of Cokro Island’s dungeon.

It was 10 minutes until Hell Gao emerged. He encouraged the morale of the 200 elite guild members, but this morale wasn’t maintained for long.

Five minutes later.

Hell Gao’s emergence was near, so tension and anxiety started to appear on everyone’s faces.

“Four minutes left!”

They clearly remembered Hell Gao’s strength. Could they really beat that monster? They couldn’t help questioning.

“Three minutes left!”

After three minutes, Hell Gao would appear and this place would turn into a sea of fire. Some of them would die just due to the flames.

“Two minutes left!”

A hot heat started to slowly fill the room.

‘Shit.’

Peak Sword wanted to encourage everyone, but he was afraid. He was clearly reminded of the overwhelming appearance of Hell Gao, who was shrouded in flames and wielded a staff.

‘Are we still lacking the power to defeat him?’

It might be different if the power of the top 10 rankers were added, but he couldn’t help thinking that this expedition would fail with their current strength. However, the guild’s best ranker couldn’t show his weakness, so Peak Sword endured it.

‘Do it. We can do it. We are strong!’

Peak Sword steadied his heart and took various buffing potions, with the others following him. It was at that moment.

"One minute left... Eh? Intruder! There is an intruder!!”

“What?”

All of the guild members’ eyes headed towards the entrance. A young man had entered. It was unusual because he was covered by a cloak, with no armor or weapons visible.

‘Did he break through the defensive troops downstairs?’

Was it a highly trained assassin? No. An assassin wouldn’t openly reveal themselves in a place like this.

‘Grid?’

Peak Sword pondered on the name above the head of the black haired youth. However, no matter how much he looked through his memory, it was an unfamiliar name.

‘He isn’t a ranker?’

Peak Sword glanced at his companions, but they all shook their heads.

‘A non-ranker coming all the way here. Pathetic.’

Peak Sword came to this conclusion and warned the youth with a frown.

"This is an area controlled by the Silver Knights Guild. I don’t know how you managed to reach this point but if you don’t want to die, go back.”

"My stealth suddenly disappeared. Was it because I was detected by Hell Gao?”

The young man ignored Peak Sword’s warning and threw off his cloak while talking to himself.

“Ohh!”

There were exclamations from every direction. The appearance of the armor rapidly being equipped on the body of the youth was quite cool. It was an elegant blend of red, black and gold. The particularly unique point was the one meter long tail that stretched from the vicinity of the tailbone. It was sharp like a blade, and amazingly moving on its own.

“W-What, that armor?’

"It’s terrific... Unique grade?”

It was the first time they had seen such armor, so the guild members struggled to hide their interest. Peak Sword raised his voice, “That isn’t important right now! Why aren’t you throwing him out right now?”

Hell Gao would soon appear. Then no one would be able to escape from the dungeon. They had to deal with the outsider before that. The moment that the guild members interested in the armor tried to carry out Peak Sword’s order,

Kuwooooh!

[Hell Gao, the master of Hellfire has appeared.]

[Hell Gao’s roar has applied fear, chaos and debilitating effects.]

[Hell Gao’s fire reduces heat resistance by 50%.]

[Fire pillars have risen to cover you.]

“Kuack!”

"Hiiik!”

Due to the silent flames that surrounded the whole area, half of the guild members fell into a dying state, or were burned to the point where they couldn’t even be recognized. Barely half of the people standing were able to hang on. Peak Sword was surprised at the notification window that popped up.

‘I raised my fire resistance to 86%, but to still receive this degree of damage...!’

They would fail again. As Peak Sword was feeling despair, he suddenly doubted his eyes. The unknown young man with the ID of Grid. While the others were surrounded by flames, he alone was moving forward. He moved freely like he wasn’t affected.

"H-how...? Heok?”

Peak Sword fell silent as he witnessed a ridiculous scene. As Hell Gao ran amok and slaughtered the guild members, the young man pulled out a pickaxe. Then he headed to the wall and started swinging the pickaxe?

Kaaang! Kaaang!

The young man swung it with good form and complained as he wiped off the sweat.

“Ugh, hot! Isn’t the labor getting worse? Why does this mineral only appear when the boss mob is present? Based on this, I might have to visit a dragon’s lair with my pickaxe!”

At that moment, a hot wind emerged from the staff that Hell Gao waved and hit the young man. Peak Sword expected the young man to receive huge damage and collapse. But unbelievably, the young man only suffered minor injuries.

'A huge defense power...! A guardian knight?’

"Excuse me, Mister.” The youth stopped his pickaxe for the first time and turned his attention to Peak Sword. Then he said with an irate expression. "Why are you just standing there blankly? It’s hot, but it will just get hotter.”

What was he seeing now?

Peak Sword belatedly regained his spirit and asked, "How can you be fine?”

The young man replied like it was obvious.

“It’s the item effect.”

Chaaeng! Chaeng!

The tail on the young man’s armor moved by itself and fought against Hell Gao’s staff. Peak Sword couldn’t close his mouth as he gaped at the sight.

‘W-what is this...?’

He belatedly recalled that there were a few high level users who didn’t register their names in the rankings. They liked to play the game like hermits in a martial arts movie.

‘Is he one of those people?’

While Peak Sword was feeling suspicious, Grid couldn’t focus on his pickaxe anymore because of Hell Gao and opened his inventory. Then he pulled out the +8 Dainsleif.

“Hey, you monster. I don’t want to fight you, so don’t bother me and go away.”

Over the past four months, Grid had repeatedly disassembled, reassembled and repaired Dainsleif dozens of times, raising his understanding to 90%. He held the pickaxe in his left hand and wielded Dainsleif with his right hand.

Kwang!

Hell Gao defended against the attack, but he was pushed back a few steps. The flames grew bigger and he seemed to be at a loss. The members of the Silver Knights Guild, including Peak Sword, were speechless.