“Luck’s class is related to the war god.” Chris whistled after killing the last war god follower. It was a type of sigh.
Luck’s name was also familiar to Grid. “Ares’ subordinate?”
“That’s right. Among Ares’ three men, he is one of the strongest three. Like the war god’s followers, he has the passive skill to unconditionally counterattack. He is a headache to fight. I can’t count how many times the Giant Guild was beaten by him.”
“Luck is very strong. I fought with him frequently in my beginner days and lost.”
“Regas, you lost? Is the unconditional counterattack skill that fraudulent?”
“ Haha. At that time, Luck didn’t have the counterattack skill. He was an ordinary martial artist like me. I was beaten with pure talent. Well, my level was lower at the time.”
Regas was a genius. He couldn’t lose just because his level was inferior. It was correct to say that the other person was also a genius.
“ Hrmm... ” Grid became tense as he was reminded of the fact that the world was wide and there were many strong people. If the Ares Army were to participate in this year’s National Competition, it would be much harder for Grid to play the role of the adversary.
‘Now that Kraugel is over level 300...’
Kraugel had gone to the final stages of the PvP after becoming a Sword Saint and having his level reset. How strong would he be this year after recovering his level? Could Grid glimpse the true power of a Sword Saint, the ultimate combat class? Pon saw the sinister smile that appeared on Grid’s face and asked, “What is so good? Did you get what you wanted?”
“Good? Me?”
“ Eh . You keep smiling.”
“I’m smiling?”
“ Hoh? Based on this expression, are you thinking about your lover? Yura? Jishuka? Or both?”
Grid felt tense yet he was smiling. It was proof that Grid was enjoying the tension. Getting rid of his smile, Grid shook his head. “It’s not like that. I didn’t get the things I wanted.”
“Really? Then what is it that you are looking for? You keep talking about a map. What is the map?”
“There is a place called the Sword Grave that is related to Pagma and Braham. The location is indicated on the map. The war god followers drop the map pieces.”
“What do the war god followers have to do with them?”
“I still don’t know. I will discover it gradually.”
It was a place involving two former legends. The group easily noticed it was a very important place for Grid, and they wanted to help him.
“You need to hunt the war god followers in earnest. Let’s group up and fight.”
Grid asked them, “Aren’t all of you busy preparing for the National Competition? You have to raise your level while hunting.”
If the goal was simply leveling up, then playing solo was better. The main way to raise their level was to hunt normal monsters as quickly as possible. There would be too little experience to gain if they joined a party with a person who had several pets. What about a raid party? The speed of hunting was slow, which meant leveling up was slow. Grid felt burdened from the excessive favor.
However, Pon didn’t allow him to refuse. “You shouldn’t be too moderate. I sometimes miss the Grid who was more selfish than anyone else.”
The more things that people had, the more they desired. People’s greed would grow even greater. Grid was the opposite, so it felt both fresh and worrying. When people were about to die, they would change, and Pon was worried Grid might be the same. Chris and Regas felt the same way.
“Yes, Grid. Let’s fight together until you collect all the maps.”
“We are happy to help.”
Grid muttered, “Really. Why do you want to help me when the National Competition isn’t far away? You have to take care of your own rice bowl.”
“The National Competition is important, but you are more important.”
“Hey! I’m getting goosebumps!”
“Goosebumps? I learned it from you. Stop nagging and form a party.”
***
In the end, he formed a party with Pon’s group.
Grid alone was able to target the war god followers just with Linked Kill Wave Pinnacle, the black flames, and when Blackening was activated, but it was different in Pon’s party. With them, he could raid the followers even when his skills were on cooldown. Chris’ heavy sword neutralized the followers for a second, and Regas was able to strike at all the joints of the followers thanks to the Dantalian’s Knowledge Fragment that Grid had given him. Meanwhile, Pon’s sharp attacks dealt serious blows to the followers.
[A war god follower who has escaped from the grave has been destroyed.]
[21,506,070 experience will be divided.]
[Party leader Grid has acquired the Sword Grave’s Map Fragment (2).]
“The experience gained is more than I thought it would be.”
“It is because they are too strong.”
A week after forming the party...
The expressions of the party members were bright after Grid finished half the map. They had teamed up purely for the sake of helping Grid, but the experience that accumulated wasn’t bad. At this pace, they would be able to achieve their goal of gaining one level before the National Competition.
It was thanks to Grid’s unrealistic attack power. Every time Grid swung the glowing Enlightenment Sword, the war god followers lost a significant amount of health. The party members could then concentrate on their role as supporters without worry. They focused solely on neutralizing the followers so that counterattacks couldn’t be used.
Kuwaaaang! Another war god follower was swept away by an explosion. The flames that the Enlightenment Sword emitted seemed to swallow up the war god followers. Chris carefully asked a question, “Grid, speaking of your sword... It isn’t due to the ‘coolness’ option from Reidan’s alchemy facility but the successful enhancement?”
“Yes. It is only +4, but this is a myth rated weapon. So, the appearance changed.
“What? +4? Isn’t it supposed to be almost impossible to raise the enhancement level of a myth rated item?”
Considering the base damage of myth rated weapons, the increase in attack power after being enhanced would be enormous. Yet it was +4...? Grid laughed at the astonished party members. “I am a lucky person.”
“Yes...?”
This was Grid who failed repeatedly. In particular, the early members of the Overgeared Guild knew just how unlucky Grid was. The party found it funny when Grid said he was lucky, but they had to acknowledge that it wasn’t a joke because the Enlightenment Sword had obviously gotten stronger.
Then Pon asked a question he had buried in his heart, “Why aren’t you participating in this year’s National Competition if you are so strong?”
Chris and Regas were curious too. Why would Grid skip the National Competition when he could definitely get some gold medal rewards? Everyone was focused on Grid’s answer. Grid was reminded of the terms of the contract with the S.A Group, which stated he shouldn’t leak information about the Demon King’s Subjugation event to the outside world.
“Just know that it isn’t in my nature to lose.” He couldn’t add anything else. There were no more words to say, and the situation suddenly changed.
“What?”
Was there a volcano erupting nearby? As Grid’s party moved forward, the huge labyrinth started to shake like it would collapse right away. They prepared skills and potions in preparation for the upcoming shock.
[A change has been detected in the underground of the Galgunos Temple.]
[After confirming that his army has been reduced, Galgunos warns the intruders upstairs.]
“If you don’t want to die... Get out now...”
[A voice filled with strong magic power affects your heart and mind.]
[The chaos, fear, and mental breakdown states have overcome you.]
[The effect of the mental breakdown has quickly depleted your mana. 1,000 mana will be lost per second for one minute. Mana potions can’t be taken for 10 minutes.]
“ Kuek...! ” The party members grunted with pain. They leaned against a wall and sweat dripped down Grid was the only one who was fine.
‘We didn’t enter the boss room, but the boss came out?’
Grid got a chill. The intermediate bosses of the Galgunos Temple—the ‘war god followers who escaped from the grave’—were on the level of elite monsters. The Galgunos Temple was more dangerous than the Overgeared Guild’s previous investigation, and the boss was likely to overwhelm the noble-grade vampires. It was as he expected.
“This is unpleasant...” [Tiramet has returned to his coffin.]
“I’m scared...” [Randy has run away.]
“ Hanyaaang... Sleepy, ong... ” [Noe feels sleepy. All of Noe’s mana has been depleted.]
Galgunos was a terrifying boss. Without appearing, he had already neutralized the elite party with just a ‘warning.’ The members would slowly recover after a minute, but it would take 24 hours before Grid could summon his pets again. What if the war god followers attacked during this time?
‘It’s dangerous...’
It was a dungeon that made numerical superiority obsolete. The Overgeared members wouldn’t be able to conquer this place until they learned how to deal with ‘mental breakdown.’ Grid was preparing for a raid on his own when his eyes widened. His shaky gaze was on the two skeletons.
[Overgeared Skeleton One is dancing.]
[Overgeared Skeleton Two is using ‘Ridicule.’]
The contents of the notification window were the same. Overgeared Skeleton One was shaking his shoulders and collarbones to an excited rhythm, while Overgeared Skeleton Two moved his jaw. They weren’t affected by Galgunos’ mental breakdown.
‘Is it because they are skeletons?’
Skeletons had no brains. They had no mental state to be weakened in the first place. Grid was trying to dismiss the matter as insignificant when he recalled Noe’s words.
‘Didn’t Noe say that the lich exerts power over the undead?’
It didn’t make sense for the Overgeared Skeletons to resist mental breakdown just because they didn’t have brains. Rather, the Overgeared Skeletons should’ve been more affected by Galgunos’ warning. At least, that would be the case if the Overgeared Skeletons were normal undead.
Yet, how were the Overgeared Skeletons normal undead? These guys weren’t ordinary skeletons. They were a legacy left by the vampire Latina, and even Braham wasn’t able to measure their strength. They were skeletons equipped with intelligence and capable of learning and emotions. A new notification window popped up.
[A change has been detected in the underground of the Galgunos Temple.]
[After confirming that he was mocked, Galgunos warns the upstairs intruders.]”
“Beriache’s experiments dare...! I will kill you if you don’t stop laughing right now!!
[A voice filled with strong magic power affects your heart and mind.]
[The chaos, fear, and mental breakdown states have overcome you.]
[Mental breakdown is stacked on, and the mana depletion speed has increased. The time required for recovery has doubled.]
[You have resisted.]
[Overgeared Skeleton Two is using ‘Ridicule.’]
[Overgeared Skeleton One has learned ‘Ridicule.’]
[Overgeared Skeleton One is using ‘Ridicule.’]
“These guys!! I will turn you into powder!”
[The angered Galgunos is calling for his experimental bodies.]
[A war god follower, who learned two secret techniques, has discovered your position.]
There were continuous explosions from far away. The walls seemed to be breaking in order for the true ‘intermediate boss’ to get here quickly.
“G-Guys? Quickly get up.” Grid tried hitting the cheeks of his companions, but it was useless. None of them regained their spirits. This meant Grid had to fight alone for one minute. “This really sucks.”
Clack! Clack clack!
No matter what Grid felt, the Overgeared Skeletons were still laughing.