[The fifth page of the epic has been completed.]

[Your status has risen to the next level with the completion of that epic.]

[You have checked your own flaws based on the increased status.]

[Identified that there are less frequently used skills in your possession.]

[Recognize the need to combine less frequently used skills into one skill.]

[The ‘Skill Synthesis’ system is activated.]

[Your Deity stat has increased by 1.]

‘Eh?’

Every time he built up his transcendent senses, Grid earned rewards like developing his senses and strengthening his physical abilities. He naturally thought that perfect transcendence referred to a person with better senses and body. Now it seemed a bit misleading.

‘Is the ultimate transcendence a flawless existence beyond just level?’

Grid recalled the ‘absolute’ status mentioned in the God Killer title. In order to reach the absolute state through a typical route, the prerequisite was to acquire transcendence by exceeding his limits.

‘Absolute being... based on the name, it seems obvious there should be no defects.’

[Skill Synthesis]

[Select the skills that are least frequently used and they will be reborn as one new skill.

Number of available uses: 1/1

The number of available uses will increase with every three levels in transcendence.]

“Um.”

Regarding his skills, he had been aware of the problem for a long time. No matter how strong the skills were, they often couldn’t be utilized frequently due to a lack of resources, cooldown time, and his perception limits. Therefore, he felt joy and burden every time he got a new skill. He was worried that some skills might turn into useless things that only wasted skill space.

‘However, now I don’t need to worry.’

He couldn’t use it lightly before understanding the effects of Skill Synthesis but in any case, the news of the Skill Synthesis was great. What was the end of transcendence...?

As Grid was thinking, the world regained its original form. Once the crater on the black tortoise’s shell closed, the poison stopped and the darkness cleared. The sky was once again clear. It had been such a long nightmarish time yet it was still daytime.

“......”

The black tortoise’s body leaning against Grid’s hand was becoming smaller. The ‘old god,’ who crushed the city with a body larger than the mountain, became smaller than Grid and became a real tortoise. The snake head stretched out in a long manner and looked ugly.

‘Old god...’

The high rankers watched Grid and the black tortoise and their hearts shook violently in a manner a third party would never understand. Having grasped the present state of affairs through Grid’s epic, they recalled the truths they had just learned.

First, the myths of the East Continent were mostly false. Second, the master of the false myths was the yangbans and the master of the real myths was the forgotten Four Auspicious Beasts. Third, the world that would perish that was mentioned in the fourth and fifth epics was likely referred to the East Continent and the main culprit of the destruction was the yangbans.

‘We didn’t know this and were going to be the dogs of the yangbans.’

‘Even if I knew the truth, I would’ve never dreamed of antagonizing a god.’

‘Yet Grid fought alone.’

Just as all humans had different personalities, the characters of the high rankers were different. Even if the East Continent was to be destroyed, most people wouldn’t feel concern or sympathy. Even if they knew the real identity of the yangbans, there were many who would stand on the side of the yangbans depending on the situation. Originally, it was like this. However...

“All I did was help you do the right thing.”

The reason why the high rankers were feeling heavy was due to Grid’s words. The high rankers reflected on the meaning.

Do the right thing...

Originally, this was a good way to be treated as a pushover. Doing the right thing, human feelings, and good deeds—these concepts had long been thought to be outdated. Modern society ridiculed those who sacrificed themselves for others without gaining anything.

The same was true for the high rankers. Of course, there were exceptions but most high rankers were able to become high rankers because they thoroughly calculated the profit and losses. However, wasn’t it okay to take a loss at least once in life?

“Hey, Grid.”

“...?”

“Only one time.”

“We want to help you just this once.”

“What?”

“If we receive grace, then we should pay it back. Isn't that right?”

“......”

Grid was baffled by the high rankers’ offer and shut his mouth for a moment. He knew that their qualities were naturally excellent. However, it wasn’t yet enough to handle the yangbans. If they got caught up in the mood and joined him, they would definitely regret it.

All types of words filled Grid’s throat but he eventually smothered them. People like high rankers were level-headed. Yes, they already knew they would regret it. Nevertheless, they were going to help him. They were keen about the game and became the best people, but they also had their pure side.

“...Do whatever you want.” The smiling Grid stood next to the high rankers while suppressing his overwhelming emotions. He spoke to the black tortoise looking up at him, “Guide us to where your other half is.”

Nod.

The black tortoise nodded in answer and walked in front.

***

“Usa will be pleased.”

The steps which were as light as a feather and didn’t damage any of the thin ice as they were walking on it were mysterious.

“Once the black tortoise has completely calmed down, we can control the birth of life alone.”

The name of the yangban who didn’t lose his balance despite moving on the slippery ice was Maru. Unlike the other yangbans who were neatly and modestly dressed, he exposed his abs by unbuttoning his clothes. Maru smiled at Bondre, who was gathering mana after using Absolute Zero.

“It is amazing that a human can freeze the black tortoise. You must’ve worked tirelessly to achieve your skills.”

“T-Thank you.”

Bondre shook his head uneasily. The person talking to him was a god. He had a presence that was too large to be perceived as just a block of graphics with artificial intelligence. They were in a position where the big players who had frustrated him, such as Grid, Faker, and Agnus, would never reach for the rest of their lives.

‘I understand the feelings of those who are emotional to NPCs...’

In recent years, the number of mentally ill people treating NPCs as real people had increased sharply. In Bondre’s memories, it started happening after the news that Grid married a NPC became a topic. Bondre found it hard to comprehend. He couldn’t tell the difference between those who regarded NPCs as colleagues, friends, or lovers from the five year old children who played with dolls.

However, today he felt differently. Once he was suppressed by the yangbans, he understood the feelings of those mentally ill people who couldn’t distinguish between reality and a game.

‘This is a game... right?’

Perhaps the meteorite that people were making a fuss about possibly colliding with the Earth in the near future brought some cosmic power to break down the boundaries between reality and a game? It was a meteorite that appeared in an ‘unusual’ form. Bondre was thinking about the news of how it disappeared like a lie when he felt his mana fill up.

Then the cooldown of Absolute Zero reset. It was thanks to the divine favor. Due to the effect of the yangban Areum’s talisman, Bondre’s magic recovery rate was three times higher than before. The moment his mana was full, he received the miraculous buff of ‘the cooldown time of all magic is reset.’

The eyes of Maru, Areum, and the other yangbans were focused on Bondre. Bondre felt like a child at a school as he was once again suppressed by the yangbans’ existence and cast two magic simultaneously—Frozen Ice and Absolute Zero.

Bondre was the fourth player to enter the realm of double casting and was able to create a dramatic scene where the effect of Absolute Zero was applied to the entire range of Frozen Ice. This was why the king of Valhalla, God of War Ares, favored Bondre and Bondre later joined his army.

Everything from the dampness of the marble to the shallow puddles were completely frozen. Even the water in the bathtub was covered with a thin layer of ice. Bondre fell into an incomprehensible fatigue while Areum’s beautiful face was full of vitality.

“It is faster than I thought.”

In the bathtub where she was sitting, dozens of corpses lay frozen. Like centuries old mummies, the withered bodies belonged to the daoists who were proficient with ice. They had been the ones suppressing the black tortoise until Bondre came here...

***

“When will it start?”

At the underground waterway filled with a cold that would chill the bones...

Old Sword Demon looked up at the ceiling full of icicles and urged Hwang Gildong, “Let’s start. I will freeze and die before doing anything.”

"You look terrible,” Hwang Gildong, the only one who was wearing a bear skin, spoke with a meaningful expression, “Four times. We will step out once they freeze it four more times.”

“Why four more times?”

The ice formed every three minutes. It was crazy to endure for another 15 minutes in this place that was as cold as Antarctica.

“By that time, I think the current black tortoise will sense the crisis and open its eyes once. The black tortoise might be sealed in the bead but it will sense the crisis of extinction.” Hwang Gildong smiled while stealthily slipping his hands into the bear skin. “We will use the chaos of the moment to sneak in and steal the Black Tortoise Jewel.”

“......”

The more Old Sword Demon knew, the more annoying Hwang Gildong became. Old Sword Demon glanced at the path he had been walking for a long time and glared at Hwang Gildong who monopolized the bear skin the entire time.

‘By now, the outside would be completely devastated.’

Before infiltrating the underground waterway, Old Sword Demon had witnessed the high rankers gathering around the unknown white square building. They would’ve been exploited by the yangbans and died soon after.

‘Sorry, but I can’t help you. Take this opportunity to realize how terrifying the yangbans are and I recommend for you to never step onto the East Continent again.’

Old Sword Demon was praying for the high rankers when Hwang Gildong let out a cry of admiration. “Oh, are you looking for a way out in advance?”

“I was just looking back at the road we walked.”

“That is the exact opposite of the road we came from.”

At the same time, at the outskirts of Chiaotzu...

“...It is a disgrace.”

The wounded Braham sat down. He used magic to recover his right arm that had been cut off and coughed up blood as he stared at the cut surface with a frown. It was too hard to seal with magic because the cut surface was a mess.

Spit.

The problem was that he was too weak due to the blow to the soul that he suffered twice. Feeling disgusted by his own weakness, Braham spat out blood while around him, there were seven blue dragon dopos torn to pieces and scattered .