Chapter 272

‘I just need to obtain the materials if I don’t have them.’

Grid’s eyes were filled with greed as he dismantled Raphael’s Spear.

‘Shouldn’t I get some profit?’

Grid had saved Isabel by sacrificing the Goddess' Essence. He wanted to receive a little something in return.

‘I will melt Raphael’s Spear.’

Then he could obtain some adamantium. It was a unique opportunity to obtain a god mineral for free.

‘It will be okay if I can take off a small portion of the spear.’

(Understanding of Gods’ Weapons) Legendary Blacksmith’s Craftsmanship Skill was level 6 and ‘greedy eyes’ was mastered. According to the result of his analysis, Raphael’s Spear was longer and thicker than necessary. It was somewhat unsuitable for women to use.

‘It will turn out nicely for Isabel if I reduce the length and thickness of the spear.’

Grid justified it to himself as he threw the spear into the furnace. There was no hesitation. The essence of Grid’s nature was greed. This was fueled by his desire as a blacksmith to make an item of a higher level as soon as possible. The present Grid was the embodiment of desire. No one could control him. Even the person involved couldn’t suppress himself. He was like a drug addict in front of drugs.

Ttang! Ttang!

Grid’s hands were much faster and sophisticated than before. It was thanks to the increase in skill level of his production skills. Raphael’s Spear became shorter and thinner under his hands.

“Ohh!”

The blacksmiths in the smithy were at a loss for words. They looked at Grid’s skills and wondered if this was a blacksmith of the gods.

“It’s finished!”

After three hours of struggle, Grid reconstructed Raphael’s Spear. His face distorted. The result was terrible.

[Incomplete Raphael’s Spear has been created.]

[Incomplete Raphael’s Spear]

The harmony designed by god is broken. This is a useless stick.

“...It’s like this.”

Had he experienced this only one or twice? Satisfy was thoroughly designed not to give any easy benefits.

“Sigh.”

Ttang! Ttang!

The frustrated Grid started to restore Raphael’s Spear. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be helped. He didn’t know what Goddess Rebecca would do if he gave Isabel an incomplete spear.

Ttiring~

Thus, he invested another three hours into restoring Raphael’s Spear. Then there was a cheerful sound effect and an unbelievable message window popped up.

[The result was terrible, but your vision and spirit to challenge reinterpreting a god’s weapon are deserving of high praise. You are qualified to become a true legend.]

[One of Pagma's Successor’s hidden pieces ‘Sealed Ability’ has been acquired.]

[The skill ‘Legendary Blacksmith’s Reconstruction’ has been acquired.]

[Legendary Blacksmith’s Reconstruction Lv. 1]

Reinterpret items with a 100% understanding into a new form.

The performance of the modified item will depend on your interpretation, skill and intentions.

* An item can only be reconstructed once.

* When the skill level increases, the number of reconstructions will increase by one.

[You have taken one step closer to becoming a true legend by opening the hidden piece ‘Sealed Ability.’ Skill cooldown time will be reduced by 10%.]

[Reputation throughout the continent will rise by +2.000.]

[You currently have 30,011 reputation throughout the continent. You can now use the Reputation Store.]

"...The old saying isn’t wrong.” Grid clenched his fists before he burst out laughing. "Nice people live well! Kuhahahahat!”

Grid benefited greatly from returning Raphael’s Spear to its original shape, and saw himself as a good person. That’s right. His original malicious intent of trying to obtain adamantium was erased from his memories. The brain resembled its owner and was selfish.

***

OGC was the world’s first gaming specialty channel.

Decades before the emergence of virtual reality games, it held various game content and established the e-sports culture. Now Satisfy dominated the games market and OGC reigned as one of the world’s top gaming stations.

"Let’s do a live broadcast of the pope candidates’ speeches.”

The director of OGC. He was a former PD who rose to an executive status, and had many accomplishments. It was enough to give him the nickname of ‘Guaranteed Viewership.’ But the members of his planning team raised concerns.

“How many people will be interested in who the pope of the Rebecca Church is? No one will be interested apart from the users who are part of the Rebecca Church.”

"Speech events are just static. The ratings will hit the floor and it won’t be easy to obtain advertisements.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to air the PvP tournament that is taking place in the Zik Principality at that time?”

"We can record it, but why does it have to be a live broadcast? It’s the prime time.”

"It isn’t worth recording. It is better to cover it briefly in the news...”

The director watched his rebellious team and clapped. Once he confirmed that their attention was on him, he made a shocking remark.

“I was informed that a user is a pope candidate.”

“Heok?”

“I-Is this true?”

Last year, the Rebecca Church had around 71 million members. But this year, the number of members had crossed 80 million. It was estimated that it would cross 90 million by the end of this year. It truly was Satisfy’s first religion, as the growth rate was unbelievable. It was difficult to gauge how big it would grow in the future.

Then what if the master of this religion was a user? This was a rare scoop. It was a scoop comparable to the events that Grid was involved in. The motivation of the planning team started to burn.

"A live broadcast is good! Start promoting it right now!”

“I will seek sponsors.”

"I will obtain advertisements!”

“Whoa, whoa.” The director calmed his excited team members. “Do you want to create rumors? I don’t want to share this expensive information with other broadcasters. Our goal is to have the exclusive live coverage. This information should only be disclosed once it has started.”

As SNS evolved, the people’s speed of information sharing was fast enough to exceed common sense.

“This pope candidates speech event. At the start, the ratings might by less than 0.1%, but it will reach at least 15%. The prices of the ads we insert in the middle will be a new record. Now, go and prepare.”

“Yes!”

“Ku~ we will be busy.”

At the time, the director didn’t know this. OGC would secure the highest audience rating since its creation.

***

Earl Chirita.

Pascal’s father was a mere viscount 10 years ago. The political circles of the empire didn’t pay attention to him. But 10 years ago. His position suddenly changed after his son Pascal became the head of the Judar Church. He was the father of the leader of a church with 20 million members, so he played a major role in politics and he earned the title of earl.

And now...

"Hup~! The air of the Vatican is very clear!”

Earl Chirita received the favor of Emperor Juander. It meant he became one of the best powers in the empire. It was natural, since his son would soon be pope. The earl’s body was covered with various luxuries, so he really stood out. The various nobles who came to listen to the speeches of the pope candidates gathered around him.

"Earl Chirita, it’s an honor to meet you.”

"In a month, you will be the father of His Holiness.”

“Won’t you be awarded the title of duke at that time?”

The earl was excited at the behavior of the nobles from other nations. His life had changed like this thanks to having a good son. Pascal approached him at this time.

"Welcome, Earl Chirita.”

“Ohh, Sir Pascal. It has been a long time.”

Pascal was married to the church. Since he had an official position, he had to treat his father like everyone else. The two people excused themselves and moved to a secret place.

"Did you receive support from the emperor?”

“Um, yes. He sent five Black Knights and one Red Knight.

Pascal’s face twisted.

‘Only one Red Knight...’

The Red Knights were called the strongest group on the continent. But not long ago, didn’t Grid take down Kamiyan with one blow? He was skeptical about sending only one Red Knight as support.

"What is the number of the knight?”

“The 19th knight.”

“...!”

Pascal’s eyes widened with surprise. The disappointment and anxiety on his face disappeared.

‘A knight in the 10’s was sent!’

The number attached to the knight was a measure of strength. The 30th knight was called a 100 man army, while the 20th knight was called a 1,000 man army. The 10th knight? They were at a level that could cope with five people with the strength of the 20th knight alone. The 19th knight was dozens of times stronger than the 30th knight, Kamiyan.

‘The emperor truly cares about me!’

Pascal trembled with excitement when Earl Chirita asked him.

"But why did you ask for support?”

“A fly is bothering me.”

Pascal had seen Grid as a disaster just a while ago. But not anymore. Now that the 19th knight came, Grid was just a fly.

‘My hair loss will soon disappear.’

Pascal’s forehead had become exposed in just a few days, but now he had a wide smile on his face.

***

“There will be a fuss.”

The Vatican was fully crowded. Grid frowned as he watched the surging crowd.

‘OGC Station?’

Broadcast cameras were installed throughout the Vatican. Choi Hyeyoung, an OGC announcer was rehearsing in front of the fountain.

‘It will be annoying.’

The public’s interest in the pope election seemed to be much higher than expected. If they saw him here, he would be flooded with interview requests. In order to avoid this, Grid wore the Slaughterer’s mask and eye patch. His face and ID were hidden.

‘It’s easier these days.’

Damian and Huroi approached the relieved Grid. Isabel was with them. Then Grid handed Raphael’s Spear to her.

"White Transformation was sealed. It won’t eat at your health anymore.”

"Thank you... Thank you very much.”

Isabel was thrilled to tears. Thanks to Grid, she was saved from a hellish life and she liked Grid more than before. To her, Grid and Damian were bright lights from Goddess Rebecca. Meanwhile, Huroi was sighing with relief.

‘I was worried that My Lord would try to take some of the materials and receive a divine punishment...’

Fortunately, it seemed like he didn’t do anything to the divine weapon.

‘Not becoming greedy when seeing such a great item... My Lord has grown further. It’s really commendable.’

Huroi gave Grid a thumbs up.

‘Why is he doing that?’ Grid was bewildered.

Meanwhile, there were eyes closely watching him.