『 This is the end of the 5th National Competition. From the special program before the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the viewers who have been accompanying our BBD Station for a long week. 』

The quest Call of the Heavens didn’t have much repercussions. Only 11 people ignored the warnings of the S.A Group and dropped out of the National Competition. Some of them weren’t even medalists. It was difficult to make an issue about the absence of a few people when the world was shaken by the performance of Demon King Damian. Furthermore...

South Korea came first. Even without Grid, South Korea’s medals tally was far ahead of the United States and China. Most of the people in the world were busy talking about the results of the National Competition.

“This is all because of that Kraugel!”

The Chinese people booed Kraugel, who had taken China’s best gold medal chances several times.

“Lauel’s absence was regrettable...”

The Americans realized how much the person called Lauel had helped the United States. Some argued that it would be a big problem if Lauel naturalized to South Korea and the government should prevent Lauel from immigrating to South Korea. This meant that Jishuka’s performance was too great.

Incheon International Airport was paralyzed by crowds when she returned to South Korea after earning three gold medals and one silver medal, which included a team match. She had contributed greatly to South Korea’s overall ranking.

“Jishuka! Jishuka! Jishuka!”

“Player Jishuka! You have become a national hero the moment you naturalized to South Korea! Can I ask about your feelings right now?”

“In the United States, Korean food has been exposed and it became a big topic among the people. Did you find that the food also suited your taste and this allowed you to quickly adapt to Korean life?”

Most of the reporters who bombarded her with questions directly spoke Portuguese without using translators. It was intended to score points with Jishuka, a native of Brazil.

Jishuka smiled and responded in fluent Korean, “I’m happy to help Grid’s homeland. Now it is my homeland. Oh, I love Korean food. It is because my parents-in-law’s cooking skills are very good. I think my perception of Korean food has improved since I first saw it.”

“Your parents-in-law?”

“Oh my, yes. My parents-in-law. Hehe, I’m still clumsy in Korean.”

Jishuka’s shy smile caused the reporters’ faces to redden. The viewers were also enthusiastic. She was the representative of a strong woman yet she was showing a lovely face that was different from her usual image. A new charm was felt and they were once again fascinated.

The interview was proceeding in a warm manner when another protagonist appeared. It was Yura, whose white skin like a snowflake particularly stood out. The reporters welcomed her who appeared a bit later than Jishuka because it took a while to retrieve her belongings.

“Yura! You’ve worked hard this year!”

“You played alongside Jishuka and led South Korea to first place! Please tell us how you feel!”

“I hope my parents-in-law are happy.”

“Huh?”

“Ah, yes. My parents-in-law.”

Yura was smiling brightly but her eyes weren’t smiling. Her eyes seemed to be piercing the back of Jishuka’s head. Jishuka made an expression like she didn’t understand and looked around. “Do you hear a dog barking?”

“...!”

The reporters sweated as the two women engaged in a war of nerves without worrying about the hundreds of cameras. The reporters knew both Yura and Jishuka weren’t ordinary people and they were genuinely worried about Grid.

‘What if he is kidnapped and imprisoned by one of them later?’

‘Are they going to cut Grid in half and split him between them?’

‘Honestly, Grid is cheap.’

‘Grid needs to make his attitude clear so Yura and Jishuka can be happy.’

‘That dog Grid.’

Grid should choose one person. It should be quick so the one who wasn’t chosen would have time to heal her wounds. However, there was clearly a problem with Grid’s attitude and he enjoyed both of them for years. Honestly, it didn’t look good. The world’s best beauties who had both wealth and fame had met the wrong man. They felt sorry for what these women would suffer.

***

‘Someone is cursing me again.’

Grid was crossing Reinhardt’s city center. On the way to the training ground, he intended to compare Reinhardt’s development with what he saw in the East Continent.

‘Why do people keep swearing at me recently when I haven’t done anything wrong? Tsk.’

Grid stopped in the center of the crowd and dug at his ears. Many people passed by him but didn’t send him a single glance. It was due to the Hooded Zip Up. Ordinary people couldn’t detect Grid’s invisible state and he could freely roam the city center.

“Hrmm...”

Sure enough, the Overgeared Kingdom was a great kingdom. In less than a decade, it boasted a civilization that was equivalent to the Saharan Empire, which had ruled the West Continent for hundreds of years. The scale of the economy built up based on large arms exports made the Overgeared Kingdom stronger. Still, it was lacking. The civilizations of the Cho and Xing kingdoms were superior to the Saharan Empire. They had made great progress while being dominated by the yangbans.

‘Next time, it is better to ask the Cho king about construction techniques. Hmm, I wish I had a relationship with Xing.’

He was walking with regret when he saw the scene at the big training ground. Thousands of soldiers were entering the training ground. Seeing that they were covered in dirt, they must be on their way back from farming under the guise of training.

‘No, I think the effect of field work under the premise of training is very good.’

Piaro’s field work had a great effect. The Overgeared Kingdom was originally a new kingdom. Due to Piaro’s presence, the soldiers were able to raise their level to one similar to the soldiers of existing kingdoms.

‘However, as the level of the soldiers increased, Piaro’s training effect decreased...’

There was a cap on the growth of ordinary NPCs. There was a limit to how their stats could grow. The closer the stat value was to the maximum. the more noticeably the level up speed slowed. This was why the efforts of both Piaro and Asmophel didn’t increase the level of the soldiers.

The soldiers of the Overgeared Kingdom had already grown near the limit. Then Dante suddenly became healthy and the level of the soldiers grew rapidly? It was hard to understand. Grid was feeling doubts when Dante emerged.

“...!”

Grid’s eyes widened. He thought Lauel’s words were a bit exaggerated but it wasn’t an exaggeration at all. Dante was noticeably younger than he was a month ago. The wrinkles of the years still remained but the black spots symbolizing aging had disappeared and his eyes were completely clear. He looked at least 20 years younger.

‘What?’

The stunned Grid brought up Dante’s details.

[Name: Dante

Age: 73 Gender: Male

Race: Human

Title: Veteran

* All attacks will deal a critical hit and there is a high probability of triggering a weakness attack.

* When attacking, 30% of the target’s armor is ignored and there is a low chance of disarming them.

Title: Vigorous Old Age

* Always immune to critical hits and receives damage on behalf of nearby allies. Relieves 80% of the damage done to teammates.

Level: 482

Strength: 3,490 Stamina: 1,760

Agility: 2,515 Intelligence: 1,503

Deity: 1

Skills: Empire's Swordsmanship (S), Dotage Swordsmanship (S), Bodyguard (S), Reserve Strength (SS)

The Ninth Knight of the former Red Knights—he is a power who mastered the foundations of the Empire's Swordsmanship and is a mentor to all the Red Knights.]

“...!”

Grid had felt great sadness when he first met Dante.

[★ This person's life is coming to an end.

He is a lot weaker now that he is old, but he often exhibits a surprising strength.]

These sentences that hinted at the end had filled Dante’s status window. Now those sentences were nowhere to be found. Instead, the deity stat was added.

‘Ah...!’

Grid noticed the reason for the incident.

[You have achieved the ‘Half-God Killer’ achievement!]

[The Half-God Killer achievement has increased your deity stat by one point.]

It was the effect Grid got when killing the yangban Hangyeol.

[’Pungsa’ has caught a glimpse of you as you stand over Hangyeol’s corpse.]

[★ Note ★ Your knight Dante has formed a hostile relationship with the Hwan Kingdom.]

It was clear that this was also applied to Dante.

‘That’s right. Dante was judged to have achieved the Half-God Killer title because Pungsa misunderstood me as Dante.’

Deity referred to the dignity of a god, a divine dignity that couldn’t be reached. It was extremely rare among the hidden stats and the value was overwhelmingly high. After reaching 10 points in deity, Grid became the Duke of Fire and Duke of Virtue.

‘In my case, it was hard to see the effects until I had 10 points...’

Danta was a NPC. He was different from players. It could be interpreted that the existence of a god’s dignity couldn’t be tied to a human life span so it led to an increase in lifespan.

‘...Hah.’

The thrilled Grid looked at Dante with a smile. His mind was filled with the endless possibilities of how to use the human skin mask. Dante was rearranging the ranks of the soldiers who had just returned. He made them hold their swords without giving them a break and showed a swordsmanship demonstration.

‘Empire's Swordsmanship?’

Grid had killed at least a few thousand imperial soldiers. It was impossible for him to not recognize the Empire's Swordsmanship. However, as Dante’s sword demonstration became longer, Grid’s confidence faded.

‘It is much simpler than the Empire's Swordsmanship but it feels powerful...’

It had been simplified. In fact, the soldiers were easily following Dante’s movements. The momentum of the sword was considerably high. The swordsmanship that Dante conveyed to the soldiers was one pursuing the best efficiency. It happened as Grid was focused on observing.

“Sir Dante was a legend among the Red Knights. It was said that none of those taught by Dante failed to develop.”

“...?!”

A calm, clear voice entered his ears. The startled Grid turned his head and saw a beautiful, white-haired knight with her unique expressionless face. It was Mercedes. The invisibility of the Hooded Zip Up was useless in front of her Keen Insight.

“I-I don’t have a peeping hobby. It is just a matter of trying to move comfortably...”

Grid took off the Hooded Zip Up and added a useless explanation. He didn’t want Mercedes to misunderstand. Of course, Mercedes didn’t doubt Grid. No matter when, what, or where, she simply trusted and followed.

“I’m not questioning Your Majesty’s conduct. I will remain silent by your side even if you peep at the women’s baths.”

“Why would I peep at the women’s baths...”

...He never had such an idea. Should he go there later? Grid was seriously contemplating it when Mercedes gently leaned her forehead on Grid’s chest.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Your Majesty.”

“The most useless thing in the world is worrying about me.”

Grid didn’t avoid Mercedes’ clumsy embrace. He placed his chin on her forehead and gently patted her back. Then he saw Piaro coming over.

Grid pulled out his sword. “Piaro, Mercedes, I want to ask you guys for a duel.”

Grid wanted to check the power of the Overgeared Kingdom.