The 12th Great Demon Sitri—his hand advanced through the mountains, crushed houses, and instilled great fear in humanity. How huge was it? The hand was just a ‘part’ of something. The sight of it breaking down cities and a kingdom was shocking. The moment they thought of the ‘entire’ body, the destruction of the world came to mind.

Grid had also felt fear. The scene that he witnessed later on TV was so amazing that he was overwhelmed by the past that had already happened. Sitri’s hand was that great. Now did he hear a sound akin to a mountain being hit by a tsunami? The sound of this breathing was awful.

‘This guy...’

The eye spun around like a vortex. It was huge and red, and Grid immediately noticed its identity. It was Sitri’s eye. A being from another world was staring at this world.

‘Do I have to fight this guy as well?’

Grid felt fear when staring at Sitri’s hand because he imagined a future where he had to fight Sitri. Great demons were the enemies of humanity and the Overgeared Kingdom belonged to humanity. It was his destiny to fight them.

‘This big guy…’

He measured it based on the size of the hand and the eye and found it wasn’t comparable to Radwolf’s magic machines. Sitri’s main body seemed comparable to a dragon. A supergiant creature that threatened all things with his mass alone. He was exceptionally special considering that all the great demons Grid met so far had been similar to humans.

‘His nickname is also Demon God... is he a special existence in hell?’

A great demon’s status was lower than that of a god. Of course, the power of the higher ranked demons might be stronger than some intermediate ranked gods. However, a god had many powers. They might not be able to fight directly against a great demon and win, but they could appoint a warrior to attack the demon and use their power to help the warrior grow. Even the 1st Great Demon, Baal, the child of Evil God Yatan, didn’t dare to place ‘god’ in front of his name.

However, Sitri was called Demon God despite being a great demon. This was also despite his relatively low ranking.

‘What the hell is he?’

Well, his identity didn’t matter right now. Grid stood up and tidied up his clothing. His expression was very solemn.

Antrino behaved like an elderly man. “Ah, I'm sorry. I was distracted for a moment. Where did our conversation get up to?”

‘I didn’t see your ugly appearance because I was lost in thought. I didn’t see you fall to the ground with a small scream.’

Antrino’s attitude contained careful consideration. The grateful and embarrassed Grid stared at Sitri’s eye that was peeking at this world. He was obviously looking this way. However, his eye was so big that it was difficult to tell what he was seeing. He could be looking at Grid or he might be unaware of Grid.

Grid asked, “Is that the eye of the 12th great demon?”

“That’s right. He’s been making trouble with his hand for years, and now he is staring with his eye. I want to chop that eye with my axe right now.”

“If it was me, I would’ve taken an axe to it the first day I saw it.”

“Do you think I haven’t done that?”

Antrino immediately pulled out his axe. In fact, he was a man who was faster to act than to speak. He wasn’t a talkative person in the first place. The reason why he was Grid’s guide was purely out of respect. The strongest warrior who defended Talima—the pillar of the country served Grid directly, treating Grid as a VIP and consolidating Grid’s position.

The axe left Antrino’s hand and spun as it flew. Both the speed and accuracy were excellent. There was enough power in it to threaten Grid’s defenses. However, Sitri’s eye was unharmed. It was because there was an invisible barrier over the gap to hell.

The axe was blocked by a barrier and slid down helplessly. Antrino reached out a hand to recover it. It was a truly amazing sight. The axe was pulled toward Antrino’s hand like it had a string attached to it. At first glance, it looked like he moved the object through empty air using energy. Even so, this was Talima. This was the performance of an ego item.

‘It was noticeable from the beginning.’

Grid activated Pagma’s Eyes and observed Antrino’s axe—a legendary item with a top-rated ego created by Empress Maribel, the battle axe she made during her lifetime was praised as a legend during its time together with the best warrior named Antrino.

‘As expected.’

Grid was once again convinced—heroes and items were inseparable. In the first place, it was normal for humans to use tools and it was right to crave better tools. So why was relying on items criticized in games? Grid questioned the misconception that ruled the world just a few years ago and said, “The two worlds are disconnected.”

Antrino nodded. "That is correct. It is normal.”

Earth and hell were separate dimensions. Originally, it was impossible to come and go at will. However, Sitri’s hand invaded here. Even before the Yatan Church had come here and opened the interdimensional seal, Sitri’s hand had jumped out of the crack and snatched the mine. Grid was reminded of it and asked, “Then how could Sitri’s hand exert physical force on the ground?”

Antrino shrugged and drew a line with his feet. “We don’t know at all. I stopped caring after making sure his hand could only reach up to here.”

“……”

A great demon’s hand popped out, and he didn’t care? Antrino laughed when Grid made an absurd expression. “It wasn’t a valuable mine anyway... don’t you know it as well? Us dwarves originally aren’t interested in things like this.”

“A great demon appeared, but you don’t care...”

“Hum hum, in fact, we believed in the Fire Dragon. In any case, this is the territory of the Fire Dragon. We decided it wasn’t necessary to fight Sitri.”

They were relieved thanks to the support of the Fire Dragon.

In the end, a person could never understand the world. The kind dwarf in front of Grid had waved an axe at him just a few days ago. Grid shook his head and woke up from his thoughts.

Antrino’s next words were interesting. “I didn’t expect that guy to enter this world by cutting off his hand.”

“Did he cut off his hand? It wasn’t originally separated from him?”

Antrino touched the line he had just drawn. “Yes. His forearm was so thick that he couldn’t pass through the gap.”

“So he saw the other demons coming through the gap created by the Yatan Church and hurriedly cut his hand.. isn’t this a really scary obsession?”

That’s right—Grid wondered if he had any grudges in this world.

‘In any case, it is a foregone conclusion that I have to eventually fight him.’

He needed to be stronger. However, a player’s stats were limited, so having items was the top priority. Grid asked Antrino for his understanding, “Is it okay if I dig up some ether diamonds?”

“Of course. I will agree to any request from the benefactor who liberated the empress’ soul. Take it to your heart’s content.”

Unfortunately, it was very difficult to mine the ether diamonds. It was because the gemstones were so hard and deeply-rooted that it inevitably took a long time. Even the most skilled miners barely gained three or four a day. It would be much harder for blacksmiths who were unaccustomed to mining.

“I’ll call the miners, so wait. I don’t know how many people will come...”

Most dwarves dreamed of becoming blacksmiths. The number of dwarves with occupations other than blacksmiths was limited and it was the same for miners. The miners of Talima were naturally busy every day. In order to meet the orders of the blacksmiths who outnumbered them greatly, it wasn’t sufficient to have 10 clones. Additionally, there were all types of mines in Talima so the miners were scattered all over. It wasn’t easy to bring them up here.

Nevertheless, Antrino believed in himself and Grid. He thought there would be a few miners willing to come to repay Grid for his kindness.

‘It is shameless, but I have to make this request.’

It was the moment when Antrino summoned Cradle’s masterpiece, ‘Duras,’ to deliver a note to the miners...

He saw Grid pick up a pickaxe and started mining. Antrino soon imagined Grid crying out with pain...

Clang! Clang! Claang!

“....?"

Grid’s pickaxe never stopped and the ether diamond ore, deeply rooted in the stone wall, started to reveal itself. It was a truly amazing sight.

“H-How? Did you inherit Kis’ technique?”

A legendary blacksmith and legendary miner—it was indeed an ideal dual class. He didn’t have to rely on others and could gain all the minerals in the world. Then he would be able to use the minerals to make everything in the world.

‘There is a reason he was acknowledged by God Hexetia.’

Grid shook his head at the admiring Antrino. “No, it is just the power of being overgeared.”

The options of the pickaxe Grid used increased his mining speed and probability of mining successfully by 300%. It also increased the chances of obtaining the best quality mineral by 200%. Finally, it reduced stamina consumption during mining. It was a legendary rated pickaxe that was born after steadily researching and producing pickaxes for Peak Sword.

“Over...geared.”

Antrino understood the meaning of being overgeared through context and developed a dream. A warrior. They were now useless in the isolated Talima. On the other hand, miners were different. Miners were always necessary and lacking. They were one of the most useful jobs in Talima. Antrino dreamed of a second life. “Perhaps... can you give me a chance to become a miner?”

“...Huh?”

On this day, Grid made a new pickaxe on the spot and dug up the minerals together with Talima’s strongest warrior, Antrino. Antrino had high stats as a named NPC and he was never exhausted. Thanks to this, Grid was able to secure a number of ether diamonds above his target in just one day.

For some reason, the sound of Sitri’s breathing became smaller and he slipped away from the gap. Then he disappeared completely beyond the darkness. He seemed to be flustered. It seemed he noticed that he had become a folding screen.

‘Indifference is evil for those who want an audience.’

Grid wanted to sprinkle salt to ward off evil but, he just picked up the sacks full of ether diamonds. “I’ll go back first. I’ll discuss with my friend a method to break through Trauka’s barrier and how to go back and forth from Talima.”

“Huhu, is your friend a legendary magician? It won’t be easy even if he is a legendary magician... your disappointment will be bigger if your expectations are high. I recommend that you clear your mind properly.”

It was the advice of the experienced. Talima had long abandoned any ideas of exchanges with the outside world. They had adapted to an isolated life.

“I will come back with good news,” Grid told Antrino.

“Huhut. I will try to become a great miner until then. I’ll save as many minerals as I can for when you need them.”

Fire Dragon Trauka might return today. It was also unknown when he would go away again. It might be a hundred years or even a thousand years later. They might never be able to reunite with Grid. As a result, Antrino made a sentimental promise. It was the mistake of a lifetime.

“I won’t forget that promise. Then I’ll see you again soon.”

Why did Antrino suddenly become a miner? Grid was doubtful, but in any case, he was grateful. There was a light from a return scroll and Grid left.