“My goal for this year’s National Competition? It is to naturally win three gold medals. Huh? Haha, no. I’m still not good enough to challenge Grid. I’ll have to try an event that Grid isn’t participating in.

“My ultimate goal is to break Grid and become the new supreme one. However, the hurdle is too high this year. Maybe I’ll be able to challenge Grid next year or the year after.”

The interview contained familiar faces who had participated in the National Competition. Since public opinion around the world was conscious of Grid, the participants were also forced to mention Grid. Moreover, the more experienced the player, the more likely they were to say ‘not yet’ and that they were aiming for Grid as a goal. It wasn’t humility but an attitude close to conviction.

On the other hand, the new participants were full of ambition. Most of them were young players who had just become high rankers.

“The era of Kraugel, who was hailed the sky above the sky, ended in three years. This is the third year since Grid has become the supreme one. Just as Grid ended Kraugel’s era, this year I will end Grid’s era.”

“I started playing Satisfy because I admire Grid. It has only been three years since I started playing Satisfy, but I’m lucky enough to participate in the National Competition. Yes, I’m happy. I’m so excited to see Grid that I haven’t been able to sleep for a few days. My goal? It is to join PvP and fight against Grid. I want to leave an imprint on Grid this year and beat him next year.”

The relatively inexperienced young high rankers weren’t scared. They trusted their talent instead of shrinking back in front of Grid. These players burned with a sense of challenge. Although they might not be convinced that they could go beyond Grid, they believed they had enough talent to make him nervous.

Of course, the public didn’t laugh at them. They were still immature at the moment, but it was unknown as to whether they could really surpass Grid in the next few years.

“My goal is to regain France’s honor...”

The interviews continued.

The public cheered on their participants and raised their expectations for the National Competition. In this year’s National Competition, what would be the highlights and the dramatic stories? How many heroes would be created, and how many geniuses would appear? Who would be called a rising star, and how terribly would the final boss, Grid, destroy them?

-Wow.

-Amazing.

The viewers were immersed in the opening video. They were filled with high expectations as it headed into the second half and were soon shocked. The War God Ares, the second player king after Grid, filled the screen.

“I want to prove that I might be third-rate in comparison to Grid now, but one day, I will become a first-rate person comparable to Grid. Additionally, our Valhalla is the only rival of the Overgeared Kingdom.”

Scott, Luck, Helil, Stima, and so on—the camera scanned the faces of Valhalla’s representatives. This thrilled the audience in the chat. Many people interpreted that this year’s National Competition would be different from the previous National Competitions that were swept clean by the Overgeared members.

In the midst of the turmoil...

“I think they have to go beyond me first.”

The video was dark, and the voice that spoke was low. The scene was then replaced. The camera showed a hawk flying in the blue sky before reversing and focusing on top of an unnamed mountain. A dopo embroidered with a yellow dragon fluttered in the wind.

-Ah...

-His presence itself is wonderful.

The viewers were excited. A man with long, black hair stood on the cliff. It was none other than Sword Saint Kraugel.

“I want to tell you to challenge me before challenging Grid,” Kraugel gave this warning to all participants before drawing his sword, and the sword split the world in half.

Then a huge royal castle appeared. The camera passed through a corridor lined with red carpet and showed Grid sitting on the throne. The legendary knight Mercedes and legendary farmer Piaro, who were familiar to viewers, stood on his left and right. Grid’s presence was no less overwhelming than Kraugel’s, and the viewers gulped unknowingly. As he gazed at the camera, Grid slowly opened his mouth and said, “So boring.”

“Huh?” The host’s voice was heard for the first time. She was very flustered.

Grid continued speaking, “What is the use of participating in a competition without an opponent? For me, the National Competition is a waste of time, nothing more and nothing less.”

“...!”

It was an unbelievably shocking remark. An unprecedented situation that wasn’t in the script had occurred, and the flustered host asked urgently, “Are you saying you won’t be participating in this year’s National Competition?”

Nod.

Grid moved his head and stared at the camera, the corners of his mouth rising. It was a provocative smile.

“I will wait for the Sword Saint to ripen a bit more.”

***

The opening video finished with Grid’s interview.

-(Fact) Last year, Grid said he wouldn’t participate in the National Competition.

-That's right. Then he joined as the demon king and hit people in the back.

-How valuable are the gold medal rewards? How can he give them up? There is no chance. ㅋㅋ

-Hrmm... He has been the demon king once. Doesn’t that mean he can't be the demon king again?

-Yes. Aren’t there any new events this year similar to the Demon King’s Subjugation?

-I think Grid is serious about not participating...

-If I were Grid, I wouldn’t participate if I was really bored.

-Ah -_- Grid is the highlight of the National Competition.

-A National Competition without Grid? ㅋㅋ It is no fun.

The public’s response went through several stages—denial, acceptance, and disappointment.

Once the S.A Group officially acknowledged Grid’s refusal, the media became upset. People gave opinions on what a National Competition without the supreme one meant, giving the example that Kraugel hadn’t participated in the 1st National Competition. They clashed with those who thought the move would make things balanced and create many points of view.

The bottom line was:

『 The main character of this year’s National Competition is Kraugel. 』

It was like this.

『 The main character of the 1st National Competition was Grid. Then in the National Competition of the year that followed, Grid competed with Kraugel, who was the supreme one at the time. This hinted at the emergence of a new sky. I feel that Kraugel will be the star of this year’s National Competition and compete against Grid again starting from next year. 』

The media took the lead in starting the fire, and the public’s attention was focused on Kraugel. The public wondered if he could play against the Overgeared members and Ares’ Army or defeat this year’s demon king, who was believed to be Damian. They also wondered if he could crush the new participants like how Grid had done.

The popularity of Sword Saint Kraugel was so great that it filled in the gaps Grid had created.

***

[(Column) The water will rot. It is clear that Grid has given up his right to foster the younger generation.]

[(Column) Grid has given up his position of the protagonist to Kraugel, who was once his rival. He is irritated by the position of the supreme one and wants a new competitor.]

[(Column) Can Kraugel revive according to Grid’s expectations?]

The world started to pour out one-sided interpretations of Grid’s refusal to compete in the National Competition. People were completely fascinated by Grid’s choice of giving up his rights and giving the national stage to his competitors. This made his popularity soar. He might not be participating in the National Competition, but Grid received more proposals from companies to be their advertising model than any other person in history. Grid naturally rejected all offers.

The reason why he didn’t participate in the National Competition and gave up all the gold medal rewards was that he needed time.

-I’m sorry I spoke such cheap words in the interview.

-No, you just told the truth, so you don’t have to apologize.

Since the end of last year’s National Competition, Kraugel had studied under Kirinus for nearly three years in game time. He became stronger rapidly by mastering the spear, applying it to his swordsmanship and training his willpower and Control Sword.

There was just one problem—his level. Kraugel had been unable to hunt during his training under Kirinus, so his level wasn’t much different from last year. His training strengthened all types of special stats, and he acquired new skills, resulting in a significant increase in combat power. However, his level was far lower than Grid’s.

This year, he pledged to be Grid’s enemy, but it wasn’t enough. Kraugel needed more time, and Grid knew this.

‘Next year is definitely...’

[Your level has risen.]

There was less than a month until the 5th National Competition. Kraugel finally left Kirinus’ hut and visited the hunting grounds after a long time. He pledged and entered leveling mode.

***

[Fenrir’s Cloak]

[Rating: Epic (Growth)

Durability: 285/285 Defense: 190

* All damage is reduced by 15%.

* All resistances are increased by 10%.

* There is a low probability of part of the cloak turning into bats when hit. The cloak’s durability and options will remain the same, and the bats will attack the targets perceived as enemies. The bats will deal 500 fixed damage to the target and disturb the target’s vision. It will also restore the wearer’s health by 100% of the damage dealt.

* If this cloak grows to a legendary rating, the wearer can summoned Vampire Marquis Fenrir. Once Fenrir is summoned, the Blood King effect can completely liberate Fenrir.

Conditions of Use: Blood King

Weight: 510]

Thanks to the angel’s blessing, the items that Fenrir dropped were excellent in both quantity and quality. Fenrir’s cloak was lined with rich fur and was comparable to Lantier’s Cloak. The legendary rated Lantier’s Cloak reduced the damage of stabs, cuts, and throwing attacks by 20%. Meanwhile, Fenrir’s Cloak reduced the damage of all types of attacks by 15%, despite only being epic rated. Additionally, Lantier’s Cloak would increase its resistance depending on the climate while Fenrir’s Cloak always increased the resistance.

Of course, Lantier’s Cloak had the fraudulent effect of a 10% probability of blocking physical attacks. However, the bats of Fenrir’s Cloak were also formidable. Tests showed that the cloak split into exactly 31 bats. This meant they could deal up to 15,000 fixed damage to the target and absorb that much health. Furthermore, the bats even disturbed the target’s vision.

Grid’s assessment was that the higher the rating of Fenrir’s Cloak, the higher the chances the probability of becoming a bat, and the number and damage of the bats would increase. Thus, it was better than Lantier’s Cloak.

Additionally, the Strange Magic Power Stone was just as great as Fenrir’s Cloak.

[Strange Magic Power Stone]

[Rating: Legendary (Growth)

* Can increase the rating of the target item to the same rating as the stone.

* Absorbs magic power when hunting transcendents, great demons, archangels, and half-gods (currently 0/5).

* Once the magic power absorption reaches the maximum value, the rating of the stone will increase by one level.

Weight: 1]

Grid struggled for a moment. ‘Should I use it on Fenrir’s Cloak right now?’

No, no…

It was very easy for the cloak to gain experience because it was easily exposed during combat. It was also too luxurious to use on Elfin Stone’s Ring and Latina’s Necklace, which were too far from the legendary rating. Yetima’s Greatsword and Cray’s Bracelet were being raised by Chris and Euphemina respectively.

In the end, there was only one candidate left. It was Ruson’s Shoes. However, it didn’t seem wise to summon Ruson straight away and consume the Strange Magic Power Stone. If he could increase the stone to a myth rating, he could raise an item to the maximum myth rating. Besides, the options of Ruson’s Shoes were so ordinary that he was reluctant to use the stone on them.

‘It’s annoying, but I’ll need to start grinding.’

The defense of Ruson’s Shoes was too low due to the nature of leather boots, and the blood-sucking option shared a cooldown with the vampire ring. It was why Grid neglected the shoes. Grid had put Ruson’s Shoes on the back burner because he was too vain to entrust it to someone else to raise.

However, things were different now. Grid had become the Blood King, freeing all the direct descendant vampires and having them accept him. In order to increase his power, Ruson’s Shoes had to grow to the legendary level. This was why Grid decided not to participate in the National Competition. Grid planned to increase the ranks of his vampire equipment instead of participating in the National Competition and having to fly to the United States, wasting time on all the official schedules.

Of course, he also wanted to raise the rating of the Strange Magic Power Stone.

‘Angels are targets that I can’t recklessly be hostile to. The only transcendents or half-gods I know are in the Tower of Wisdom and the grandmaster...’

Hell was inaccessible to humans. It was virtually impossible to go directly to hell and raid the great demons, so he had to wait for the advent of the great demons. Grid was struggling when he suddenly thought of someone.

‘The yangbans?’

Lee Jung, the follower of the martial god, had said that the Hwan Kingdom consisted of gods who were cast out.

Nevertheless, the only yangban Grid had met, Garam, didn’t seem comparable to a god.

In the end, only a few of them were the expelled gods, such as the Five Seniors and Chiyou. Those like Garam were just the descendants of the gods. (TL: Originally, I translated Chiyou as the Chiyou Test because of a link I found. Now, it is more likely to be a rank below the Five Seniors, and Chiyou Test should actually be Chiyou’s test)

Would they be classified as half-gods?

“...Garam.”

Grid’s gaze turned to the east as he sensed that the time of revenge was approaching.