Chapter 384

"Whistle!"

A chilly autumn morning, in front of Grid’s house. Before he knew it, Kang Cheolgyu had been waiting for 13 hours and his nose became runny. He felt confused as his cold body shook.

‘The car isn’t leaving...’

For Kang Cheolgyu, a house was just a place to sleep. To him, it was impossible for someone to stay in their house for more than 13 hours.

'What’s wrong with him?’

A single storey house. It was a very small house that was 25 pyeong, and this included the garden area. Kang Cheolgyu somehow felt sorry as he thought of the young man living alone there.

“Poor fellow.”

Kang Cheolgyu lost his parents early on. He lived in poverty and had no place to lean on. He remembered the days when he lived in a basement room off ramyun noodles and how cold it was. Now the current Grid seemed to overlap with his own past, causing Kang Cheolgyu’s heart to feel sorry.

“...No, wait.”

Wasn’t Grid living with his family?

‘I’m not in a position to worry about him.’

Kang Cheolgyu was suddenly filled with doubts.

‘Even though he lives with his family, why hasn’t anyone left for 13 hours?’

The lights in the house weren’t even turned on.

‘Perhaps...’

Could it be a robbery?

Kang Cheolgyu was worried.

‘Perhaps Grid and his family are being held hostage by robbers?’

It wasn’t possible. Grid was his target. He needed to hurt Grid to be paid.

“Shit, I guess I have to rescue them.”

Kang Cheolgyu might have a good fighting ability, but his head was bad. It wasn’t just that he didn’t go to school and read, but that he was born with a terrible brain. He forgot the reason that he watched Grid’s house for 13 hours was because the house had a security sticker on it and started to climb the fence.

The reason for making such a stupid choice was nervousness.

Chirpppppppp!

The sensor detected Kang Cheolgyu hanging from the fence and the alarm sounded. It was a loud noise that rang out through the neighborhood.

“Heok.”

Kang Cheolgyu was startled and jumped from the fence. He tried to escape when someone blocked his way.

"A rat came here.”

“...?”

The man was wearing a eyepatch over his left eye. He was a young Westerner with a big nose, light green eyes, and short grey hair.

“Who are you?”

Kang Cheolgyu was alert as the Western spoke in a foreign language that couldn’t be understood.

“Kyaaack~ spit!”

The Westerner didn’t speak for long. He spat out phlegm and acted like he was going to make a move on Kang Cheolgyu. Kang Cheolgyu’s face distorted.

"This crazy one-eyed bastard.”

They wanted to act against the chief of the Poisoned Wave gang?

"I don’t know who you are, but you will regret this.”

Kang Cheolgyu’s fists were fast and powerful. It was three consecutive blows and a jab, a perfect killing technique based on boxing. But the Westerner was several times better. The Westerner blocked all of Kang Cheolgyu’s punches with just his right hand, then grabbed Kang Cheolgyu’s wrist.

Kang Cheolgyu’s face paled.

‘This guy!’

He saw through the lightning fast punches and even neutralized it? The movements were at the level of a world-class boxer! The Westerner saw Kang Cheolgyu’s shaking eyes and raised a long leg.

Pakak!

“Kuk...!”

Kang Cheolgyu shook as he raised his left arm to guard against the Westerner’s attack. He tried to pull away the right wrist held by the Westerner, but the grip was too powerful. The Westerner pulled Kang Cheolgyu and raised his knee.

Peeok!

"Heeok!"

Kang Cheolgyu’s nose was crushed by the hard knee. The Westerner still gripped his wrist as he tried to block the blood. Kang Cheolgyu determined he couldn’t break free with force, so he rotated and swung his elbow.

The Westerner had a sharp scar on his nose. It was like a knife cut.

‘Fairly good.’

The Westerner was somewhat impressed. But it was only up to there. Kang Cheolgyu’s strength was broken after he suffered great damage to his face. In the first place, the Westerner was more proficient, since Kang Cheolgyu suffered from a one-sided violence.

Bam bam! Bam bam bam!

The Westerner was really cruel. He kept punching, punching, and punching Kang Cheolgyu. Blood flowed down from Kang Cheolgyu’s face, and he now seemed pitiful.

“You... Who the hell are you...?”

Why was this Westerner so strong, and why was he beating Kang Cheolgyu to death like this? The Westerner introduced himself to Kang Cheolgyu.

“I’m Grid’s bodyguard, Toon.”

That’s right. The identity of the Westerner was beast master Toon. He once broke the balance of the Italian mafia, and was the strongest player in reality. The reason he was staying in South Korea was at Yura’s request.

"Toon-ssi, you are lacking funds to buy land in South Korea? If you want to move to South Korea like the other guild members, I will arrange a place for you to live. Instead, please be responsible for Grid-ssi’s safety.”

Grid’s safety was the desire of all Overgeared members, not just Yura. Because there was Grid, the Overgeared Guild could exist. Because there was the Overgeared Guild, they could be in their current positions.

In particular, Toon had a great tendency to rely on Overgeared. The existence of colleagues who he could rely on was very important for an orphan.

"Touch, Grid, kill.”

Chill.

Toon’s eyes were as cold as a beast as he spoke in broken Korean. Kang Cheolgyu nodded.

“U-Understood. I won’t step on Grid’s shadow in the future!”

The moment he declared this.

Creak.

The door to Grid’s house opened and a young man appeared. Grid had been lying in the capsule for 13 hours and ran over when he heard the alarm sound.

“What? What's going on? Eh? Toon? Why are you here? When did you come to Korea?”

There was an unidentified man and Toon. Grid couldn’t figure out why. At this time, three security company cars arrived in front of Grid’s house.

“You’re safe!”

The security company’s employees descended from the cars and checked Grid’s safety. Grid wasn’t just a customer, they were also fans of Grid.

“Eh... Well, I’m okay.”

Grid replied while standing next to Toon, so that there wouldn’t be any misunderstandings. Meanwhile, the security company employees arrested Kang Cheolgyu and reported it to the police station. The officers were astonished when they saw Kang Cheolgyu’s face.

And at dawn. There was an explosion of TV and Internet news.

[Grid, he played a significant role in the arrest of a drug trafficker.]

[Kang Cheolgyu, the chief of the drug dealers in South Korea, was caught by Grid and his colleague Toon.]

[The city of Seoul is awarding an honorary citizen’s medal to Grid and Toon.]

[The National Police Agency will provide an appreciation plaque and prize money to Grid and Toon.]

[The Blue House is thinking about a president’s citation.]

“...Ah, I have to play the game.”

Grid didn’t even know why he received the honorary citizen’s medal. It was an honor, but Grid’s expression showed that it was merely inconvenient. He didn’t want to waste time travelling to Seoul City Hall and the police station with Toon, as well as have interviews with reporters.

"I don’t have time to play the game.”

"...”

Toon felt vaguely sorry towards Grid.

***

[You have entered the 40th island.]

Grid educated Lord and made a spear and bow to be used. He was fully prepared and returned to the Behen Archipelago. Sticks greeted him.

“You finally came.”

“I will start the challenge immediately.”

Grid didn’t ask if the other Overgeared members had reached the 20th island. He had faith that his colleagues would do well, and now he had to concentrate on his own development. The reason why Grid was so worried?

It was simple. The 2nd Satisfy National Competition was to be held in Paris, France. Grid had to play a big role there.

‘I must unconditionally win three gold medals.’

Was it because he coveted the god mineral adamantium? Of course. But that was just secondary. The reason Grid wanted to act in the National Competition was because he was aware of his position as representative of the country.

Grid had the hopes of 50 million people and his family on him. Grid didn’t want to disappoint them. That’s right. Now Grid felt a strong sense of responsibility. It was a noble attitude that couldn’t be compared with his personal feelings during the 1st National Competition.

“Hoo.”

Grid breathed in deeply as he stepped foot into the gate of the 41st island. His vision darkened before a new landscape unfolded in front of him. It was a serene bamboo forest.

[You have entered the 41st island.]

[A mission will be created.]

[41st Island]

Fight with yourself and win.

First Clear Compensation: You can raise the level of one skill.

‘There aren’t any challenger points?’

But Grid wasn’t disappointed. Grid had legendary skills that were hard to raise their levels, so he was quite pleased with a skills level up.

‘This feels like a bonus stage.’

The mission of the 41st island was to overcome his ‘past self’ and transcend his ‘present self.’ It felt like a test. What was at the end of the Behen Archipelago, which forced the challenger to constantly grow?

Grid wondered while looking around nervously.

Sururuk.

A person who looked exactly like Grid appeared. There were four golden hands moving around him.

‘The God Hands are recreated?’

It seemed like the copy of Grid reproduced all of Grid’s items and skills. Grid became tense. Then the clone moved to Grid’s shock and horror.

“Pagma's Sword Dance, Linked Kill Wave.”

“...What?!”