Chapter 214

Grid and Piaro walked alongside each other, while Bland awkwardly followed behind. Grid looked at Piaro to verify.

“How was it? The skills of one of the 10 great magicians on the continent?”

“It was more than I expected. He was mentally strong enough to withstand my oppression. If he used an orb as a weapon, it would’ve been a close fight.”

For magicians, the staff was a weapon with the concept of high risk and high return. There was no magic storage function, so its stability was poor, but the magic amplification rate was so high that it was possible to use a powerful one-shot.

Most magicians were burdened by the high risk and turned away from the staff, but Earl Ashur had overpowering magic casting speed. Unlike regular magicians, he used a staff as a weapon, and that was a weakness when dealing with someone strong like Piaro today. He was defeated before he could use magic in front of Piaro.

‘Ashur is really strong.’

Grid didn’t show it, but he was terrified when hit by Ashur’s Fluid Escape.

He wore the Armor of Holy Light made out of the god mineral adamantium by the legendary blacksmith Pagma. The legendary item had the effect of ‘50% reduction in magic damage,’ so he was surprised that he suffered 40,000 damage from a single strike. 

‘Ashur showed a more powerful damage than the other boss monsters I have come against...’

It was overwhelming. Grid received so much damage, while Piaro survived Earl Ashur’s attack without any damage.

‘Did he temporarily raise his defense through the operation of qi?’

Grid was reminded of body protection qi from martial arts.

“How strong is Asmophel that you can’t get revenge by yourself?”

Piaro grimaced as he heard the dirty name. "It’s difficult to reach him, rather than him being strong. There is nobody who doesn’t know my face in the empire. If I step foot in the empire, I will die immediately.”

“Stop complaining. Who can kill you so easily? Even if you’re besieged, can’t you use Fated to Perish to knock them down? You don’t have to worry if you fought like you did against Ashur.”

"If it was so simple, would I be hiding for the past two years? You have no idea of the power of the empire.”

Piaro suddenly stopped.

“What’s going on?”

"A monster.”

"Monster?”

After escaping from the thick forest, Grid turned his gaze in the direction Piaro was indicating. An endless expanse of desert stretched out before them.

“I don’t even see an ant, let alone a monster?”

Piaro spoke briefly towards Grid, who was trying to see what was visible.

“Below.”

“Eh?”

There was a subtle vibration from the ground. Grid checked the sand and moved as he realized his mistake.

Kwaang!

In the place where Grid were just standing, a huge elongated creature came up. It was a centipede. An extra large centipede that had lived for thousands of years.

Kiyaaak!

“Ugh.”

The length of the body was well over 10m, and the hundreds of legs were as big as human limbs. They wriggled in a disgusting manner. Grid felt disgusted by the creature that had a yellow liquid pouring from it and blocked his nose.

"You’re squeamish like a girl.”

“What does being a man or woman have to do with anything? Dammit.”

This was an insect. It was the first time he saw such a big one. It was much bigger than the spiders in Kesan Canyon. Grid jumped and cut down at the centipede. The surface of the centipede was very hard. It wasn’t easily destroyed by the +9 Failure, an absolute weapon. It was a defense comparable to the ancient weapon.

‘Is it a monster that specializes in defense?’

The determined Grid didn’t consider a counterattack and kept striking. However, the centipede was surprisingly agile. It quickly moved its massive body and attacked.

[You have suffered 6,300 damage.]

“What?”

It was safe to say that this was the first time Grid suffered so much damage from a normal monster after wearing the Holy Light set, the strongest armor currently in existence. A very surprised Grid corrected his posture. He finally took the battle seriously.

But the desert terrain hindered him.

“Che.”

Grid’s stride was off due to the thick sand, leading to a weakening of his grip. A normal person would’ve suffered a great setback, but this was Grid.

“Fly!”

He used the magic possessed by Braham’s Boots to fly into the sky and strike the centipede’s head. However, the counterattack wasn’t formidable enough. Grid was pushed back and winced. In the meantime, another centipede emerged from the ground and Grid was pincer attacked by two enemies.

Piaro tried to help, but suddenly stopped. He carefully observed and advised Grid.

“When attacking in any situation, place weight on the end of your sword. It is the basics even when flying through the air. Mobilize not just your limbs, but the muscles in your neck, and then transfer your weight to the end of your sword. You are too distracted to do the basic movements. Organic movements are needed to get the most out of your power. But before that, fix the habit of your head first...”

‘What is he saying?’

Grid was disturbed by Piaro while fighting the two centipedes. It was impossible for him to understand what Piaro was talking about, so he was confused.

‘I’m playing right now, so why is he acting like this is a sword dojo?’

In the first place, he didn’t need it. He ignored the words of the best swordsman pouring into his ears and leaned on his skills, as he always did.

“Pagma's Sword Dance, Link!”

The dozens of blue-white energy blades fell and shattered the two centipedes.

[The giant worm has been destroyed.]

[2,330,900 experience has been acquired.]

[The giant worm has been destroyed.]

[2,340,100 experience has been acquired.]

[The giant worm’s leg has been acquired.]

The giant worms gave a huge amount of experience. Grid was surprised and confirmed the details of the giant worm.

[Giant Worm]

Level: 330

A worm that lives in the western part of the Eternal Kingdom. It dwells deep in the earth, and once it detects the presence of creatures, it will emerge through the ground and attack. It is a very common species in the western desert.

Some scholars speculate that they can be used as medicines, but in fact, they have no nutritional value.

‘Level 330? A monster of this level is a common worm?'

There were such strong monsters in the western part of the Eternal Kingdom, but very few users knew about it. Most users weren’t able to advance to the west because they couldn’t break through the habitat of the twin ogres, so information was scarce.

‘The western part is the most difficult area in the Eternal Kingdom. So when creating a character, there are no starting villages in the west.

This was good news. Wasn’t Reidan located at the end of the western area? There was a possibility that it was inhabited by level 400 monsters. Grid and the Overgeared Guild could hunt the strongest monsters, which meant they could grow quickly.

But if he thought about it.

‘No, wait. Then isn’t it impossible for beginner or mid level users to come to Reidan?’

If there was no influx of users in Reidan, Grid would have to grow the economy solely based on NPCs. It was the worst. There was a setback in his plan to get rich from hundreds of thousands of people.

“Dammit...” Grid frowned and cursed. Then another giant worm popped up. “Ah, I don’t know.”

Grid didn’t panic. He carelessly thought that Lauel would take care of everything and concentrated on the monsters in front of him.

‘This is an opportunity to raise my level.’

After the reunion with Euphemina, Grid hadn’t been able to hunt for a while due to large and small incidents. His level was stagnant at 270, so he was delighted to raise it by hunting these chunks of experience.

"I will begin in earnest."

Grid checked his status window. At the time of the National Competition, he was level 253 and had 230 stat points. Now he was level 270 and had 400 stat points.

“Invest all points in agility.”

He referenced Piaro’s stats.

[Agility has permanently increased by 400.]

His agility rose by 400. In other words, Grid had elevated his agility by 40 levels and his body felt completely lighter. He started to hunt the giant worms at a quick pace compared to the past.

Piaro remained on the ground and constantly advised Grid in the sky.

“If you concentrate more strength in your thighs and buttocks, then your upper body’s forward speed will increase. This means that the speed of your sword will increase. In addition, it is better not to think about the direction of the swing and just do it naturally.”

‘Who cares about my thighs? And what is this nonsense about telling me not to think? Am I Jude?’

The teachings of a great swordsman could increase even the level of a useless knight. In particular, Piaro was able to teach because he mastered the Empire's Military Tactics and had experience commanding the Red Knights. There were many people who would pay money to receive his teachings.

Grid was receiving it for free, so it was like winning the lottery. It was an opportunity to dramatically increase his so-called ‘control.’ But he didn’t know how to appreciate it and found the advice jarring.

“Pagma's Sword Dance, Kill!”

Kiyaaaaak!

[The giant worm has been destroyed.]

[2,339,500 experience has been acquired.]

“Puhahat! I hope I will level up today?”

Grid’s experience gauge had accumulated a lot before the golem invasion, so it was already over 70%. He used his skills and enthusiastically killed the giant worm. On the other hand, Piaro was curious. It was because Grid’s abilities didn’t improve, despite his teachings.

‘Why?’

Piaro thought that Grid was an extraordinary and clever person. The evidence was that he didn’t immediately execute Earl Ashur, taking his son as hostage instead in order to set foot on the political stage.

‘A person that smart should be able to understand my teachings.’

So why didn’t his skills improve? Piaro was puzzled and came to a conclusion.

‘Pride.’

As Pagma's Successor, Grid wanted to refuse the teachings of people other than Pagma.

‘He would be much stronger if he could take advantage of his physical abilities.’

If Grid’s basics were tightened up, he would be a great sparring opponent. But it wasn’t easy.

‘Hmm?’

Piaro’s gaze suddenly shifted to Bland. Bland was struggling alone in the distance against a giant worm. However, his skills had risen dramatically compared to when he hunted the horned goblins a few hours ago. He had absorbed Piaro’s teachings towards Grid.

'Indeed, a lion’s cub.’

A rare talent. He was a genius who inherited his father’s magic power and a talent in swordsmanship. Piaro thought that he should teach Bland well in the several days before they arrived in Reidan.

***

[Unified Rankings]

1st. Kraugel - White Swordsman.

2nd. Zibal - Debirion’s Envoy

3rd. Chris - Destruction Warrior

‘Chris finally got his third advancement class. Destruction Warrior, he chose the class that fit his alignment the best. He would’ve received it a little quicker if it wasn’t for the golem army.’

It was Kraugel’s habit to check the rankings from time to time. Looking at the trends of those pursuing him was the basics.

“Now then.”

He had been hunting for 15 hours without stopping, so he started sorting the items in his full inventory. He calculated the items that weren’t priced yet, the items needed for production and quests, the remaining junk items, and if he could get more from selling them to an NPC or user.

After a while.

Kraugel finished organizing his items and rose from this spot. Then he went through his skills list and made plans.

‘I have raised the skill level of the two sword style to intermediate, so I should challenge it again.’

Kraugel, who chose the third class of White Swordsman, had crossed from the West to the East Continent, but he couldn’t fully capture it. He struggled against the high barrier of the East Continent for a while, and got new titles and steadily raised his level, becoming even stronger.

His next goal was to attack the eastern and southern parts of the Saharan Empire, as well as the labyrinths in Orias, and the western part of the Eternal Kingdom. After staying in the West Continent for awhile, he would once again challenge the uncharted land of the East Continent.

Kraugel was a true gamer and the 1st ranked user, playing the game with joy and thorough planning.

It was a lot different from someone else.