“This is the last place?’

“...Yes.”

The impression of being happy ended with the second time. From the 41st restaurant onwards, Raiders would often put down his cutlery without saying anything. The remaining 66 restaurants didn’t have any big defects compared to the previous 40 restaurants. As far as he could tell, every restaurant served delicious dishes, but Raiders’ standards were higher than Grid’s. He had existed for tens of thousands of years and had been pursuing delicious food during this time so he was naturally more picky than Grid.

‘Now I know how hard it is to satisfy Raiders’ taste buds 20 times in a row.’

It was a miracle that he felt happy even once. Grid realized this and was soothing his regret when Raiders spoke to him, “I really enjoyed it, these four days. A short moment in time feels unusually shorter.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

From Grid’s point of view, these four days had been extremely long. It was too much pressure mentally to go around with an uncontrollable dragon. It felt like he had been walking on a thorny path for four days. He felt a sense of liberation now that it seemed the quest was finally over. Then Grid’s brightly smiling face stiffened like a stone statue.

“Hmm... It is a shame to leave just like this.”

“......”

“As far as I know, you built your kingdom on the Eternal Kingdom?”

“...Yes.”

“I’m going to stop by your kingdom before leaving.”

“Why...?”

Grid’s heart sank. He never wanted to bring the crazy dragon to the Overgeared Kingdom. Grid’s honest feeling was that he wanted to break the relationship neatly here. However, Grid didn’t have the right to refuse.

“It is a fledgling country. There must be a new culture and there will be many foods I have never experienced before. I want to experience a new food culture.”

Raiders woke up once every 100 years. This meant that if he went back to his lair and fell asleep, he would have to starve for the next 100 years. He wanted to eat one more meal before going to sleep. What right did Grid have to stop him?

‘I might arouse his anger if I try to stop it...’

It was a checkmate move. The existence of a dragon itself was too fraudulent. Refusing was impossible. Grid inwardly sighed before he responded politely, “I understand. I will guide you. Just... it isn’t a kingdom that is famous for its food, so don’t expect too much.”

The good thing was that Raiders wasn’t the type to get angry just because he ate bad food. He just left the restaurant quietly if he didn’t like the dishes. It was just that the restaurant owners’ minds would break as they wondered why he left the food, but...

‘In that regard, I just have to pay attention to the restaurant owners in advance... besides, Raiders knows that I’m protecting Nefelina.’

‘Nevartan. He may feel grateful and cooperate with someone who heals his madness. You are also protecting his daughter, so he is more likely to cooperate.’

Grid recalled Raiders’ words and reduced his vigilance toward Raiders. It was determined that he was unlikely to make trouble in the Overgeared Kingdom. He was very concerned that Sticks would feel unhappy, but this wasn’t enough to stop a dragon’s actions. The great bloodline of a high elf and the title of ‘great sage’ wasn’t a card that could be brought out against a dragon.

“..Let’s go.”

Eventually, Grid took Raiders back to the Overgeared Kingdom. There wasn’t any of the trouble he was worried about.

“This... it is a food that expresses the lair of that Trauka guy? Are you provoking me?”

He revealed some killing intent after seeing the soft tofu stew recommended by Peak Sword, but fortunately, it was passed safely. Raiders admired the taste of the rice and wheat of the Overgeared Kingdom. He also rated the rainbow potatoes as not bad. It was a scene that would’ve made Piaro feel proud.

On this day, Raiders really left the Overgeared Kingdom after finishing his meal. His lack of interest in Nefelina and Sticks, as well as Mercedes and Piaro, proved that the Overgeared Kingdom still had a long way to go.

***

‘Six times... no, it is eight times weaker.’

Damian—objectively, he lost everything. He was deprived of his class as Goddess’ Agent for violating the revelation that Goddess Rebecca had given him. He also changed his faith and put down his status as pope, losing the First Holy Sword and his second class.

Instead, he got the new title ‘Pope of the Overgeared God Church,’ but it didn't mean much. The Overgeared God Church was only level 1. The church was just established and lacked believers, faith, and authority. It was impossible for the pope of such a small religion to have special power. There was no exclusive skill for the pope of the Overgeared God Church. For the moment, he was no different from ordinary church members.

“Umm...”

At a hunting ground near Reinhardt...

Damian frowned as he hunted a monster using a weapon he previously received from Grid. Lowered stats, lost skills, and no Holy Sword...

For many reasons, his damage was more than three times lower than before. The drop in defense was even more serious. Overall, it was clear that he had weakened by at least eight times. As such, he would struggle fighting ordinary rankers of the same level.

‘The passive skill is good.’

Damian opened the skills window.

[Overgeared God’s Protection Lv. 1]

[Passive

Reduces the item’s wearing restrictions by 5%.

Temporarily reduce the wearing restrictions of items made by Overgeared God Grid by 10%.

When wearing items created by Overgeared God Grid, their performance is improved by 5%. This effect is also applied to skills attached to an item.]

It was a common skill. A basic skill that anyone could gain if they were a paladin or priest of the Overgeared God Church. Even so, the performance was huge. A level 400 item could be worn at level 380 or 360. If the item was created by Grid then the performance would also increase. It might only be 5%, but this 5% was likely to have a huge effect considering that the stats of items created by Grid far exceeded normal items.

‘It is only a level 1 skill, but it is to this extent...’

Damian was certain. Sooner or later, there would be a lot of turbulence on the item exchange. The market price of items that had been neglected due to their high wearing restrictions would skyrocket and this would lead to scarcity in goods. However, this was only the case if people believed in this passive skill and converted to the Overgeared God Church.

‘There are no big merits other than this.’

Damian took a step. The flowing action made it seem like he was dancing. “Kill.”

The sword light extended in a straight line and pierced the monster’s heart, turning it to gray ash. It was an explosive power but Damian’s expression was dark.

‘It has a high damage factor but the motion is too big.’

[Overgeared God Church’s Sword Dance Lv. 1]

[A sword dance to honor the greatness of Overgeared God Grid.

Increases physical attack power by 20%, magic attack power by 10%, and critical hit probability and critical hit damage by 30%.

* This effect is only fully applied when a sword type weapon is equipped.

* If a staff or orb weapon is equipped then only the magic attack power increase effect is applied.

★ A fusion sword dance can be created every time the level of the sword dance increases.

★ Every time faith in the Overgeared God accumulates, magic effects are attached to the sword dance.]

[Kill Lv. 1]

[Perform a sword dance that expresses the anger of the Overgeared God bringing down a divine punishment.

Deals 1,300% physical or magical attack power to a single target.

*No magic effects attached.

Skill Resources Consumed: 1,200 divine power.

Skill cooldown time: 10 minutes.]

It was only level 1, but it had a very high damage factor. There was also a high possibility of growth due to the fusion sword dances and magic being attached. He didn’t feel any dissatisfaction with the long cooldown time of 10 minutes. His other currently active sword dances such as Link, Wave, Restraint, Revolve, and Transcend were as strong as Kill. The other sword dances such as Flower, Pinnacle, Drop, and Sky which were still inactive must also boast an excellent performance.

There was one problem. He had to take four or more steps. The delay before the skill was triggered was too long. This was the basic penalty for the sword dance based on the basic setting of ‘copying a god.’ it made sense that it wouldn’t be easy to copy a god.

‘In the early days, Grid also suffered a lot due to the delay in the sword dances.’

In the early days, Grid often cursed while doing the sword dances due to the skill being easily avoided by reading the route or stopping the activating of the skill by blocking the movements of the sword dance. However, the sword dance of the Overgeared God Church required more steps than Grid’s early sword dances (Pagma’s Sword Dance).

This was really a huge disadvantage. It might not matter when hunting low intelligence monsters but there was a high probability of it becoming a useless skill in PvP.

‘I think the higher the level of the sword dance, the shorter the strides or the magic granted later will alleviate the shortcomings.’

Of course, it was possible for Damian to use the steps of the sword dance as an evasive motion. However, there were few among the two billion players who had Damian’s control. Most of the other church members would be stuck on the disadvantages of the sword dance. This would increase the notoriety of the Overgeared God Church and hinder its expansion.

Damian was feeling worried when it happened...

“Wave Kill.” In the distance, Isabel performed a sword dance and slaughtered a group of monsters. He called it a slaughter, but it was a beautiful sight. Her long arms and legs stretched out in a cool manner and there was reverence and splendor in Isabel’s movements as she linked the sword dances.

In the first place, the skill effect was splendid. Waves of black sword energy stretching out...

It was a brilliant effect that could only be found in unique rated skills at the minimum.

“Wow.”

Isabel was truly the best. She had already learned the fusion sword dance. She was originally a Rebecca’s Daughter and her growth rate far transcended a player. It was a natural result since her basic stats were so good that she enjoyed various correction effects.

‘I also have to hurry!’

Damian increased the speed of his hunt. He had already taken the expensive buff potion that the public couldn’t dream of. From the moment he became the Overgeared God Church’s pope, he was intensively supported by the buff potions produced at Reidan’s alchemy facility

He wanted to raise the level of his sword dances quickly to learn the fusion sword dances. After being reminded of the power of the fusion sword dances that he had witnessed and experienced so far, he was no longer obsessed with the shortcomings of the sword dances.

He realized it. The fact that the possibilities were infinite as long as the Overgeared God Church’s sword dance was based on Grid’s sword dance. Damian expected that the number of people who wanted to join the Overgeared God Church would continue to increase so he didn’t worry.