Ibellin and the Overgeared members hadn’t killed a single enemy. They had found it hard to intercept the air force who attacked from a high altitude, and they had also failed to penetrate the defense of the griffon and wyvern’s heavy armor. Yes, they hadn’t protected Bairan. They had been seriously trampled on, but they hadn’t run away.

Instead, they had held on till the end and protected the people. They had taken on the arrows and spells pouring from the sky on behalf of the people, lost their lives, and resurrected while gathering information on the enemy. All of this information had been passed onto Lauel.

Thanks to this, Lauel could determine the power of the air force. Yet the one he sent as reinforcement was only Grid. The Overgeared members in Bairan were furious. Even if Grid was strong, how could he handle the 5,000 air force members and Sky King Rigal? Why had Grid been sent alone without the best archers, magicians, and tankers to protect him?

They felt that Lauel had failed to understand the seriousness of the situation. Additionally, it wasn’t good that they were placing great burdens on Grid all the time. In the end, they realized it was all because of their incompetence and felt a sense of shame. If they were strong in the first place, Bairan wouldn’t have been captured and Grid wouldn’t be burdened...

The Overgeared members knew they should reproach themselves, not Lauel. Consequently, they couldn’t make eye contact with Grid. In the meantime...

“...!” Grid smashed the air force with a single blow. He also beat up Rigal until the latter was bloody. Grid might’ve crashed to the ground and failed to hide his pained expression, but he stood up for his colleagues and people. He declared to Rigal that he would protect all of them.

“...”

Then Piaro and Mercedes arrived and destroyed all enemy forces.

“I’m sorry.” The Overgeared members approached Grid and bowed. They still couldn’t meet Grid’s eyes.

“I’m sorry that I’m never of any help.” Their words were full of bitterness.

They shook as Grid glanced at them. “What are you saying? More people would be dead without you.”

“...”

“It would’ve been harder if you hadn’t told me the information about the air force.”

“...”

“You did well enough. Thank you.”

It wasn’t a pretense. Grid was touched and thankful to his colleagues who had fought and died. He was relieved to see that the people were relatively well. To his colleagues who still couldn’t raise their heads, Grid added some words, “If it is annoying to take the bus now, you can pay me back later with a plane.”

“How can we do that?”

“I’m sure it is possible.”

Grid was now certain. The gap was closing. Chairman Lim Cheolho’s words would surely come true, and the gap between hidden classes and normal classes would be narrowed.

Transcendents...

The more normal the class, the more accomplishments they could gain. The more levels they raised, the more powerful they would be.

‘It must be.’

The 25 Overgeared members who fought to defend Bairan—they were classified as the mid-to-upper range of power in the Overgeared Guild. Then what about among the two billion users? They were high rankers that would feel far beyond ordinary people. Nevertheless, they were treated like children by one unit of the empire. It wasn’t a good balance.

If the players were unable to do anything against increasingly stronger enemies like the empire, the great demons, and the yangban in the future, the willingness of the players to continue playing would gradually decrease and the game would be ruined. The S.A Group couldn’t be unaware of this. Chairman Lim Cheolho had predicted the situation and arranged the transcendence system.

‘The people who deal with strong opponents and are frustrated will become transcendents faster.’

The first transcendent player would surely come from the Overgeared Guild. Grid didn’t doubt it and told his colleagues his thoughts. The Overgeared members were stunned for a moment before asking Grid, “Don’t you think it is unfair?”

“What?”

“You worked hard to become a legend and widened the gap with ordinary players. If that gap narrows, won’t it be unfair and frustrating?”

“Who knows?” Grid stared up at the sky. Many stars decorated the night sky, but there was only one moon.

[Gold Dragon Armor]

[* When attacked by the same target within 3 seconds, the damage is reduced by 5%. This can go up to 30%.]

[Giant Greatbow]

[* Every time the bowstring is pulled, the power of the giant race can be felt.

The bow has special options because of the materials that make up the item.]

Grid had great interest in the items and planned to stay in the smithy for a while. He wanted to dismantle the Gold Dragon Armor and Giant Greatbow and make a new item with their characteristics.

Mercedes gave a somewhat disappointing report, “We have succeeded in capturing 957 griffons and 26 wyverns, but it won’t be easy to tame them.”

Their loyalty to their former master was too strong. Even named horses didn’t easily change their masters, let alone griffons and wyverns. The Overgeared members were filled with regret.

“It’s okay. Leave them with Nyangmong.” Grid was the only one smiling.

***

Spear Saint Rachel was a descendant of Dehakel, a meritorious retainer at the founding of the empire and a legendary spearman. Among the Seven Dukes, her innate lineage and talents were excellent, and no one could treat her casually. Only one person was different.

Rigal, her childhood friend, treated her in a comfortable and easy manner. Perhaps he was a special existence. That’s why the shock was larger.

“Rigal died?” Rachel couldn’t believe the news that she received. Rigal had succeeded the duchy because his more talented older brother had been short-lived. Rachel knew better than anyone else how much effort Rigal had put in. In order to become a man worthy of being one of the Seven Dukes, he had trained hard day and night, looking after the people while feeling sorry for his dead brother. Rigal had been rewarded for his efforts. Yet he had died. Moreover, it had occurred in a war against a small country with less than 10 years of history.

“It isn’t a funny joke in the morning.” She felt nauseous. Her head was dizzy. Rachel, who looked unbelievably young and beautiful despite being 40 years old, swept back her signature long hair nervously. Her wavy blond hair shone in the sunshine while the expression of her adjutant was dark.

Rachel was unable to bear the uncomfortable silence and asked again, “...Is it true?”

“Yes, unfortunately…” The adjutant once again expressed the reality.

“The air force?”

“They were annihilated.”

“...” Rachel's face crumpled in a terrible manner. The first person she thought of was Rigal’s only son. The small child was only 9 this year. The child who lost his mother at an early age was now truly alone. Would the little child be able to keep the air force, which was the basis of the Gelder Family, from the hands of the greedy people wanting it? It was impossible. One of the seven families representing the empire was completely destroyed.

“Pathetic guy. I told you to quickly get married and give birth as soon as possible.”

Rachel knew the young Rigal had delayed his marriage because he liked her. However, the national law prohibited marriage between duchies, and Rachel had been forced to ignore Rigal’s heart. She remembered how the young Rigal had always looked at her with a burning gaze.

“Will you go out?” The adjutant carefully asked.

The Twilight Spearmen—the elite army raised by Rachel was ready to go to war at any time. However, Rachel shook her head. She was a duke of the empire, and she couldn’t be swayed by emotions.

“There is something I have to do first.”

Rachel put on a cloak and left the barracks. Once she appeared, 30 knights split apart to create a path. One knight reported, “According to a report from the scouts, he returned last night.”

“We must not forget who the opponent is. He isn’t forced to be polite, so don’t be offended by his words or actions.”

“Yes!”

The best spearsman on the continent, Kirinus—it had taken her several years to find him. She came directly to this distant place to meet him. Rachel wanted to know if he was better than her. Was she not a legend because she was inferior to him? She had to find out the answer.

***

Inside Kirinus’ cabin, Kirinus was interested in the development of the youth he had been teaching for nearly a year.

“You have improved with Control Sword.”

Pushing forward, swirling, or stabbing—the motions that were the basis and essence of the spear were contained in eight swords floating in the air. They flew forward and cut the air. This was the moment when the fairly monotonous Control Sword evolved. After clearing a few hidden quests, the skill had evolved, and Kraugel was pleased.

On the other hand, Kirinus was disappointed. “You still haven’t penetrated the essence.”

“The essence?”

“The one fighting the enemy is you, not the sword.”

“...” Kraugel understood immediately. Kirinus advised that there was no need for miscellaneous swords. Kraugel was reminded of the nature of the sword.

Cutting the target... In order to cut, he had to be fast and accurate. Kraugel took out a ‘number’ of swords when needed, but in fact, only one sword needed to be linked with Control Sword. The one sword flew at a speed much quicker than before and cut the rock. It was at a speed that humans couldn’t avoid.

[Sword Control Lv. 2]

[You can control the sword with your will. The attack power of Control Sword is proportional to the weapon’s attack power.

Number of available swords to be controlled: Up to 10.

Current Swords: Genuine White Fang.]

The moment he got the skill after becoming a Sword Saint, Kraugel had thought of Grid’s God Hands. Just like how Grid handled the God Hands, Kraugel expected that he could be more active in battle by operating more swords. That’s why he always took out many swords at the same time.

However, he was mistaken. It wasn’t important to handle many swords. Instead, it was more important and powerful to wield a single sword. In the skill description, it didn’t state that attack speed would increase depending on the number of swords. Rather, it was proportional to Kraugel’s concentration.

“Ah.” The enlightened Kraugel looked back on his battle with Grid. The battle had been more favorable before he used Control Sword. He had tried to avoid Grid’s God Hands and only fully wielded one sword. That was when Grid threatened Kraugel.

‘Control Sword isn’t a skill to assist in combat.’

It would be far more powerful to understand and apply it as a general attack skill. Kraugel realized that he had developed further. He felt that it was something he couldn’t have obtained if he walked on the path that Muller had laid. As such, Kraugel thought it was a good idea to have come to Kirinus—an opponent he could learn from and exchange feelings and thoughts. Kraugel realized the importance of a teacher as he thought about Khan and Grid.

Then it happened when he was concentrating.

“Kirinus, come out!” A group of people appeared and shouted.

“...?” Kraugel turned his head and was amazed when he saw Rachel. Kraugel, who had more information than other players, couldn’t be ignorant about the empire’s Seven Dukes. Unexpectedly, Rachel also knew Kraugel. The Sword Saint was also a celebrity in the empire.

“Why are you here?” Rachel inquired.

“It is a sign that I shouldn’t turn a blind eye to a friend’s crisis,” Kraugel gave an answer with an unknown meaning. The Sword Saint pressured Rachel’s knights.