Chapter 229

In the National Competition and golem invasion event, Grid proved to be the strongest. But now two months of real time had passed after the golem invasion, so was he still the strongest?

『 I don’t think so. 』 

『 What’s the basis for your claim? 』

『 The performance of a third advancement class is far superior to the second advancement class. It’s on a completely different dimension. Most of the top 50 rankers have reached their third advancement class, so Duke Grid, who is immature in control, is no longer unique. 』

『 I agree. Duke Grid overpowered the rankers in the National Competition with his items and class, but now he’s lost the advantage of his class. 』

『 What if Grid overcomes his insufficient control skills? 』

『 Haha! The possibility doesn’t exist. Looking at it from a professional point of view, Duke Grid has no talent for control. The only advantage he has is his items. 』

『 The advantage will be offset by the fantastic control of the other ranked players. 』

As the information of the third advancement classes started to be revealed one by one, the experts started to criticize Grid. In the first place, Pagma's Successor wasn’t a class specialized in combat. The experts were convinced that the third advancement rankers would be able to show skills well beyond Grid.

At the Second National Competition in Paris nine months later, Grid wouldn’t be able to win.

『 Ah, fans of Duke Grid, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not disrespecting Grid himself. He is a good leader who has absorbed the Tzedakah Guild, and also have talented people like Huroi, Lauel, Euphemina and Ruby. 』 

『 I also know that Duke Grid’s blacksmith skills are great. However, we are currently analyzing Duke Grid’s combat ability, so we have to criticize it. 』

In fact, Satisfy experts had a grudge against Grid. It was because their analysis of Grid during the National Competition was wrong and they were embarrassed in front of the public.

‘It would be nice if Grid’s era ends quickly.’

'I don’t want to discuss Grid anymore. It’s embarrassing every time my analysis is wrong.’

Would these wishes come true?

***

"Sura Charge!”

Pepepepeong!

After converting to an Asura, Regas’ combat power was twice as high as a martial artist. The enemy was confused by the punching and kicking changing trajectories, then he would dominate the battlefield by linking lightning and dark skills. The sight of him facing four giant worms simultaneously was excellent.

‘He’s stronger than when I won the duel. Has he completely adapted to his new class?’

"Nobody can call Regas a Taekwon Master now. Sooner or later, he will be called a war god.”

“Yes.”

As Grid and Lauel admired him, the spear knight aboard a camel started moving.

Puk! Puk puk!

Rumble!

Kiyack!

A spear knight’s attack power increased when riding on a ‘mount’ such as a horse or pet, so it was a spectacular sight. Even the monsters in the west were unable to cope with his blows. But it was impossible to kill the western monsters in one blow unless they were Grid.

Pon soon faced five giant worms. Was this a crisis? No.

"Gatling Spear.”

Pepeng! Pepepepeng!

The sonic spear moved several times in a fan-like range. Then the five giant worms became rags and transformed into light.

‘Great.’

Gatling Spear exerted a power comparable to Pagma's Sword Dance, Kill. Unlike the single-target Kill, it was a wide range attack. Grid was filled with admiration.

‘I have higher stats than Pon and the performance of Failure is much better than Pon’s weapon...'

Nevertheless, the difference in passive skills was too great. Combat classes all had the passive skill of Weapons Mastery, which had the effect of adding attack power. Meanwhile, Grid had a clear limit since he relied exclusively on Pagma's Sword Dance.

[Pagma's Sword Dance Lv. 2 (89.9%)]

-When the skill is deactivated-

You can become one with the sword at any time. Increases physical attack by 30%, critical hit rate by 20% and critical damage by 10%.

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

* The skill consumes no mana.

-When the skill is activated-

Become one with the sword. Wave, Restraint, Link, Kill, Transcend, Transcended Link and Linked Kill You can unleash a total of seven sword techniques.

* The effect of the deactivated skill will be lost.

* 20 mana is required to activate the skill.

* Once deactivated, it will take 10 seconds until the skill can be activated again. Nothing will be consumed when deactivated.

Pagma's Sword Dance had a fatal weakness. The effect of the passive skill disappeared when he used an active skill. The effect of a 30% increase in attack power, 20% increase in critical hit rate and 10% increase in critical damage wouldn’t be applied to skills like Kill and Link.

'The passive skill only applied to the base damage... This is the limit of the class called Pagma's Successor.’

But Grid wasn’t worried. Rather, he was overflowing with confidence.

'Right now, Regas and Pon’s strength might seem comparable to me, but that’s only for the moment. That gap will increase again the moment I reach level 300.’

There was an old saying in games that ‘levels were bullies.’ That saying was also established in Satisfy.

10 stat points were gained every time the level increased, and users would become stronger as their stats increased. It wasn’t just because of simple reasons like wearing better items or getting stronger skills, but also due to the unique function of stats.

For example, the strength stat. A level 200 user’s strength stat had 0.3 attack power, 7 health points and a weight limit increase of 40 with every point. A level 300 user’s strength stat had 0.4 attack power, 9 health points and a weight limit increased of 50 with every point.

In this way, the effect of the stats increased every 100 levels. This was called the stats awakening. The sum of the level 275 Grid’s stats were currently higher than the stats of the level 300 Overgeared members. Looking at the total number of stats, Grid’s level was nearly 380.

He went through a process called minus level, obtained special titles, and produced countless items. What if Grid reached level 300 and received the third stats awakening?

‘The difference between our passive skills only applies for now.’

The source of Grid’s power was his overwhelming stats. Grid was more familiar with this than anyone else, so he didn’t have to be nervous about the growth of others.

‘If I complete the Grid set then...’

He was the strongest.

“Huhuhu...”

‘Why all of a sudden?’

Grid smiled and Lauel felt a shiver. It was like encountering a monster on the level of a demonkin. Then Huroi shouted.

“My Lord! Seven basilisks are present 800 meters to the south!”

The Overgeared members were nervous.

“Seven basilisks?”

“We should bypass them.”

The respawn rate of the western monsters was unusually fast. If a battle lasted for an extended period of time in one place, they would end up surrounded by monsters. The basilisk was one of the strongest monsters in the west, so it was obvious they would face a crisis if they had to fight seven of them.

“There is a small mountain to the west. It might delay our journey, but we can bypass the monsters.”

“I don’t want to.” Grid ignored Lauel’s advice and grabbed Failure. “I haven’t hunted in 131 days. I will use this opportunity to increase my experience.”

The desert was a harsh terrain. Every time they moved, their feet sank into the sand, severely limiting their movements. The Overgeared members were experts in combat and already adapted to the desert terrain, but what about Grid?

The Overgeared members were worried. Grid’s dull movements and lack of combat sense meant it was impossible for him to exert his full power in the desert. So they were going to move first to clear any monsters they encountered on the journey to their destination.

But what was the truth?

Jebeok jebeok.

Grid was armed with heavy boots and walked in the desert like it was a plains area. He even sped up and ran. This was due to the thorough education from Piaro.

“Huh...?”

“What has gotten into Grid…?”

The Overgeared members doubted their eyes.

Kiyaaak!

A basilisk noticed a human running over and opened its mouth. Then the light of petrification that also caused great damage flashed. It was a skill that was hard to respond to because the range of the light was wide and fast.

The Overgeared members were sure that Grid would suffer great damage. Grid lacked control skills, so he was always hit by monsters. They thought it would be the same again this time. However.

“Have I only fought you once or twice?”

Grid had moved to Reidan from Patrian. Grid had been taught by Piaro and killed numerous basilisks, so he already predicted this. He was able to accurately estimate the timing of the flash and fired Pagma's Sword Dance, Wave to offset it. Then he approached the basilisk that was slowed, used Blacksmith’s Rage and stabbed the basilisk in its weak eyes.

Kiyaaaaaah!

The basilisk struggled from the pain. Suddenly, the six other basilisks surrounded Grid and swung their tails.

“My Lord!”

“Grid!”

The Overgeared members paled. If the six basilisks attacked at the same time, Grid would definitely die. But Grid was already in the rear. He avoided four tails flying from the front, and defended against the other tails using the pavranium.

Jjeejeeeong!

Kieek?

The basilisks were confused at the appearance of the golden blades that blocked their attacks. They felt danger. It was because they saw the black eyes of the human in the gap between the golden blades, looking at them like they were prey.

One of the top predators of the desert was prey? This human was dangerous. The basilisks were instinctively engulfed in fear. 

“First one.”

Grid stepped forward towards the basilisk that he had attacked first.

Teong!

The heavy weight of Grid’s boots made the desert sand run loose. Then Grid’s greatsword, which had a different power than before, struck the basilisk’s wounded eyes. This wasn’t the end. Grid evaded the basilisk’s subsequent counterattack and triggered Pagma's Sword Dance.

The sword followed the movements while he evaded.

“Kill.”

Peeeeeong!

The blue greatsword reminiscent of an ocean predator penetrated the skull of the basilisk.

Kuwaaah!

One of the seven basilisks instantly turned into a grey light. The Overgeared members couldn’t close their mouths as they watched.

"Is that Grid?”

The control skills that Grid used at this moment weren’t particularly outstanding. Anyone who played the game could show such movements. But who was Grid? He was mocked by everyone for having poor control skills. This person who wasn’t talented was taught the skills.

He overcame the weakness in himself.

‘Has Grid always been working where we couldn’t see him?’

‘How much effort did he put in?’

'This is truly my lord! I am proud!’

"No, aren’t you going to help me? Aaaaack!"

"...”

While the Overgeared members were feeling thrilled, Grid was becoming bloody due to the other six basilisks. The party window showed that his health gauge was exponentially dropping. The Overgeared members freaked out as they saw it and hurriedly moved to save him.

On the other hand, Piaro observed Grid’s battle from beginning to end and clicked his tongue.

“Really, there are no signs of improvement.”

Vantner heard Piaro’s voice and shook his head.

‘This farmer isn’t sane either.'