Chapter 359

[You have cleared the ninth island.]

[You have acquired 24 challenger points for the mission success.]

‘I have a total of 102 points.’

Grid reached the ninth island at a fast pace and was still okay. There were no signs of exhaustion at all. It was natural. He didn’t get tired because it wasn’t hard for him.

“It’s easier than expected.”

To be honest, Grid felt deflated. But he didn’t become overconfident. Wasn’t the Behen Archipelago the place that caused difficulty for Kraugel?

‘The difficulty is likely to rise exponentially over the next few islands.

Grid thought this and controlled his heart. He didn’t know.

The endless monsters on the first island, the hidden keys on the second island, capturing the escaped fox mice on the third island, swallowing the raging fire on the fourth island, surviving the blizzard on the fifth island, passing through the poisonous sixth island, the seventh and eighth islands where the strong boss monsters appeared...

And the ninth island that he just cleared...

From a general point of view, they weren’t easy. Grid was the only person who felt like the hell islands were easy. Even Kraugel suffered on the first and second islands.

[Do you want to enter the 10th island?]

“Yes.”

Grid was sucked into the gate.

***

The 2nd National Competition was to be held in Paris in around two months.

Thanks to that, the employees of the S.A. Group were constantly busy. They ate rice and frequently worked overtime, so they couldn’t stay healthy. They had to coordinate the details before the opening of the global festival.

“Hah, it’s hard.”

Even Chairman Lim Cheolho, who was more passionate than anyone, was sick. As soon as he returned from Paris, he sat down in his massage chair at work.

“I’m too old. No matter how much I manage myself, I quickly become exhausted.”

Kkuok. Kkuok.

The massage chair worked on his shoulders and back, giving a very good effect. Chairman Lim Cheolho properly recovered from his fatigue and asked the supercomputer Morpheus.

"Did anything happen to them?”

Them. They were the five miracles, including Grid and Kraugel. They were people who repeatedly caused results that even Morpheus couldn’t predict. Chairman Lim Cheolho watched the five of them with interest.

Before leaving for Paris, he asked Morpheus to monitor them. Morpheus reported with a mechanical voice.

[Kraugel and Grid confronted each other, while Agnus encountered Braham’s soul. The other two are just raising their level.]

“Huh?”

Lim Cheolho doubted his ears. His focus wasn’t on the part about Agnus and Braham. The meeting between the two of them was scheduled, so there was nothing special about it. On the other hand, Kraugel and Grid were different.

“What did you say just now? Kraugel and Grid fought? Why?”

[Kraugel visited Reidan after acquiring the Sword Saint quest.]

“Hah...! He has the Sword Saint quest already!?”

Kraugel was really amazing. As a player, he was perfect without lacking anything. No, his perfection could be described as transcendental. That’s why even the supercomputer Morpheus couldn’t predict all his actions.

“He will safely become a sword saint.”

It would be easy for him to deal with the relatively weaker Grid.

Sword saint. The most powerful battle focused class. In the future, how much stronger would Kraugel become? Chairman Lim Cheolho’s expectations were amplified. Morpheus spoke unexpected words.

[Kraugel failed to obtain the sword saint class.]

“...?”

Lim Cheolho’s eyes widened with surprise.

“It can’t be... Surely he didn’t lose to Grid?”

Chairman Lim Cheolho knew better than anyone how great Grid’s power was. It wasn’t an exaggeration. Lim Cheolho evaluated Grid higher than Grid did himself. But Kraugel was different. In particular, he was an overwhelming presence in PvP. Apart from Agnus, there was no player who could win against Kraugel in a one-on-one match.

Morpheus explained to the confused Lim Cheolho.

[Kraugel was incomplete. The cooldown time of an important skill hadn’t recovered yet, and his equipment was damaged, so he didn’t wear all of them against Grid. As a result, Grid’s odds increased from 21.13% to 54.98%.]

“Grid’s odds were so high from the beginning?”

[I analyzed the skill tree, items possessed and accumulated battle data of both people, but I can’t be sure it is accurate. Kraugel has made my analysis meaningless 185 times and Grid 13 times.]

That was why they were called miraculous beings. A smile appeared on Lim Cheolho’s face and he laughed loudly.

'Today is chicken and beer.’

Lim Cheolho decided to have chicken and beer while watching footage of the match between Kraugel and Grid. He was the one with the most assets in the world.

***

[You have entered the tenth island.]

It was a room rather than an island. The floor, walls, and ceiling were painted white, and the size of the empty room couldn’t be measured. It was hard to get a sense of the distance. Grid frowned as he looked around.

"What’s this?"

There were white pointed pillars rising from the ground. They were thin metal poles around 5cm wide and 2m long.

“There are hundreds... No, thousands?”

What was the identity of this pillars? A notification window popped up in front of Grid.

[A mission will be created.]

[Tenth Island]

Avoid the lightning that will pour down like rain!

The lightning can’t be defended against by any means. You can only evade.

Mission Success Conditions: Reach the gate for the eleventh island.

First Clear Reward: 30 Challenger Points.

* You will instantly die if hit by a lightning strike.

[The mission will start 30 minutes from now.]

[The ceiling is opened.]

Kurururung.

Then a roar was heard from above. He looked up and saw the sky that was revealed by the opened ceiling. It was a sky full of dark clouds.

‘A lightning storm that can’t be defended against.’

The lightning storm that would cause instant death would come pouring down. Considering the speed of the lightning, it was a mission that couldn’t be cleared. Only people with excellent control abilities could. For example, people like Kraugel, Regas, and Faker.

"The difficulty is growing.”

Grid finally became nervous. As he was worrying about what to do, he became interested in the pillars that appeared everywhere.

‘They wouldn’t be here for no reason.’

Identifying the use of the pillars was a priority. Grid approached the pillar closest to him and used a skill.

“Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal.”

[The Legendary Blacksmith’s Appraisal skill has been used.]

[The blacksmith who became a legend can appraise items with an excellent discerning eye. If a hidden feature exists in the target item, it will be found.]

Ttiring~

[Lightning Rod]

Durability: 1/20

A metal rod with a pointed end that attracts and absorbs lightning.

The durability is weak because it is severely damaged. It will immediately turn to ashes from one lightning strike.

Weight: 3

[A hidden function doesn’t exist.]

[Your understanding of the Lightning Rod is now 100%.]

[The ‘Lightning Rod’ production method has been acquired.]

“Ah, a lightning rod. I have to use this to avoid the lightning.”

Grid grasped the identity of the rods and looked more closely. The distance between lightning rods was around 15m on average. People had to properly utilize their dashing skills to use the lightning rod and avoid the lightning.

‘Can I do it?’

Grid wasn’t in a position to do it with his control skills. He worried for a while before coming up with an idea.

‘It’s really good that I made this.’

The item that Grid took from his inventory was the Portable Furnace that he created.

***

The number of players who had challenged the Behen Archipelago was exactly 990 so far. More than half of them were high rankers who dropped out at the first and second islands. Only 392 people reached the tenth island.

Of those 392 people, only 65 passed the tenth island. The degree of difficulty of the tenth island was incomparable.

“Heok... Heok...”

Sweat flowed down Sticks’ jaw as he sat on the ground. The burden on his heart was very painful. He took a deep breath and turned his gaze towards the magic ball again.

"He really won’t pass here.”

This person stimulated his bad heart, so Sticks couldn’t help giving him a bad evaluation. Sticks could clearly see that the black haired man had a strange ability, but the tenth island was a place where only people with divine control skills could pass.

‘It means he can no longer depend on artifacts.’

Could that man move 2,000 meters while avoiding lightning that fell three or four times per second? Sticks believed it was impossible. It wasn't a baseless idea. Unfortunately, that black haired man didn’t seem to be able to perfectly control his excellent body.

“Ordinary movements will never... Huh?”

Sticks murmured with confusion. In the middle of the magic space, the man pulled out a portable furnace and started lighting it with the bellows?

“What is it this time?”

There was no ‘portable blast furnace’ in Sticks’ wisdom. A furnace couldn’t be easily handled unless the person was a blacksmith.

“In the first place...”

Why bring out a furnace in this situation?

‘Is he crazy?’

No, it was a problem because he wasn’t crazy. Sticks’ confusion increased as the black haired man raised the temperature of the furnace and started to smelt the iron ore.

“...Eh?”

Sticks had a large amount of knowledge as a sage. So he was forced to feel astonished.

“What? That smelting skill?”

The black haired man exerted a tremendous smelting skill that completely destroyed the concept of ‘smelting’ that existed in Sticks’ knowledge. The iron was instantly melted and purified.

"A legendary blacksmith...!”

He seemed like a magician when shooting magic, a warrior when wielding the sword, a person with a lot of artifacts, and a thief who could easily open solid locks. Now he was also like a blacksmith.

“What’s your identity?”

A question mark appeared over Sticks’ head.

Ttang! Ttang!

The mysterious man finished smelting the iron and started hammering it. Soon after that...

“Lightning rod?”

That’s right. A metal rod, similar to the lightning rods rising from the ground of the tenth island, was born in the hands of the black haired man. However, the size was significant. It was a huge 7m in length.

"...”

Sticks was no longer surprised. No, he tried not to be surprised. He was afraid that his heart pain would occur again.

Kururung! Kurururung.

Suddenly, a heavy rain of lightning started. The black haired man was safe. It was thanks to the floating golden hands that carried the large lightning rod. The man moved like a noble covered by the umbrella his retinue was holding as he moved through the island.

“Uh... Urghh...”

In the end, Sticks was surprised and he grabbed his chest as he collapsed. It didn’t match the appearance of the imposing Grid.