‘That magic sword can wreak that much havoc alone?’

A magic sword could only be created by combining the strengths of a magician and a blacksmith. Although a blacksmith or magician could sometimes produce it alone, this was a very rare occurrence. Goldhit had past experiences of producing magic battle gear with blacksmiths and knew this. ‘It is difficult to produce such a magic weapon alone.'

There were three types of magic weapons.

Firstly, there was a magic battle gear imbued with complete magic. In this case, it was possible to consume the user’s mana when the magic was used.

Secondly, there was a magic battle gear enhanced with magic. It increased the magic power of the wearer.

Thirdly, there was a magic battle gear containing a pure attribute. It consumed the wearer’s mana while having a certain probability of releasing fire, ice, electricity, and so on. It wasn’t very powerful despite being able to express the pure power of an attribute.

The sword Grid was currently using was the third type. However, the user’s mana wasn’t being consumed. The atmospheric mana was used every time flames were released. Thus, the user wasn’t tired, and the power of the flames was huge. This was a weapon which would appear in legends.

‘A legendary sword...!’

As Goldhit recalled that Grid was Pagma's Successor, all her nerves concentrated on Grid’s long sword. She saw that it wasn’t made out of an ordinary material.

‘Demonic energy? Don’t tell me...?’

The story of Grid defeating the Great Demon Belial was already well known, so Goldhit could easily guess what type of material the sword was made out of.

‘A by-product of Belial!’

For sure, this sword would be worshipped as a legendary sword later on. Additionally, it was likely that Grid had made it personally. Goldhit got goosebumps. How many years had it been since she felt such admiration for someone? Looking back on her faint memories, it seemed to have happened half a century ago. A dark smile appeared on Goldhit’s face as her impression of Grid changed. He was no longer just the beneficiary of enhanced magic. She now accepted him as a greater person.

‘In fact, it was like this from the beginning.’

Grid was a legend, the hero of a nation... He was a person who had built a new kingdom and was a hero of heroes. Now that her narrow-mindedness caused by her obsession with enhanced magic was released, Goldhit had genuine respect for Grid.

‘A hero that transcends the era... It is right to greet him politely.’

However...

‘I can’t forget my original purpose.’

Respect and purpose were separate things. She wanted to be respectful to Grid, but she needed to do what she had to do. Goldhit needed to encourage Grid to use enhanced magic. She checked on Grid, who was on the 16th floor, and pulled out her trump card.

“Let’s try the lilith guardian.”

***

[You have dealt 1 damage to the target.]

[You have dealt 1...]

[The Sword Born from Enlightenment and Strong Desires has emitted flames. It deals 5,000 fixed fire damage to the target.]

The Enlightenment Sword had ‘a certain chance to release large flames with every attack.’ Based on Grid’s experience, the probability of that was around 30%. As the number of attacks increased, the probability of releasing flames would increase exponentially. It also had a very good compatibility with Alex's Quick Gloves which raised Grid’s basic attack speed.

In comparison to Grid’s black flames, the ordinary fire released by the Enlightenment Sword had low power and was often useless against enemies with high fire resistance because it had a pure fire attribute. However, it was useful in situations like the one Grid was currently in. The Enlightenment Sword was sometimes more capable than the black flames which were separated as physical attacks.

‘There are many item options remaining.’

A huge smile appeared on Grid’s face!

Wasn’t this a huge stroke of luck? Grid smiled as he saw that his intelligence stat had increased by 12 points, and he ascended to the 16th floor. He had been able to handle all the guardians while climbing up here and didn’t feel any great tension. That said, this didn’t mean he wasn’t being vigilant.

‘Isn’t this different?’

Snap!

Grid opened the door to the 16th floor without a hitch and looked at the features of the waiting guardian.

Its physique was very small and was at the level of a normal adult male, so there wasn’t any big pressure. However, it was less likely for monsters on the higher floors to be weaker than monsters on the lower floor. So, it was ridiculous to judge the difficulty level based on the monster’s outward appearance.

‘It reminds me of Braham’s golems...’

Grid recalled the golem invasion of Reinhardt from years ago. The humanoid golems with small physiques had caused the most casualties. Their strength, which had been incomparable to that of ordinary golems, was still vivid in his memories.

‘Doesn’t this golem look similar? Am I mistaken?’

[Lilith Guardian]

Grid looked at the name and appearance of the monster before trying to grasp the type of metal its body was made of.

“Kuk!”

However, he then reflexively raised his sword. It was because the guardian narrowed the distance with footwork reminiscent of Yangban Garam’s Shunpo and suddenly appeared in front of Grid’s nose.

Peeeeeong!

Shockwaves broke out the moment the Enlightenment Sword collided with the guardian’s fist. One of the 16th floor’s inner walls and a part of the ceiling collapsed. Grid ignored the rain of stones and fought back, hitting the guardian before seizing the moment to raise his sword. As he linked attacks without stopping, he judged that the act of widening the distance against the guardian would be bad. So, Grid kept wielding his sword and didn’t give the guardian a break.

Kaang! Kakakang!

Every time Grid hit the guardian, it suffered one point of damage. Like the previous guardians, this one was resistant to physical attacks. There was no defense against a man who cut and stabbed while unafraid of being hit. The guardian punched with its right fist when Grid slashed and responded with its left fist when Grid stabbed it in the center.

[You have suffered 1,900 damage.]

[You have suffered 1,780 damage.]

[You have suffered 1,910 damage.]

The damage that Grid received was accumulating. Despite the outward appearance of the fight, Grid was being struck one-sidedly. Yet he wasn’t irritated and waited for the release of the flames.

Peeng!

Finally, the Enlightenment Sword burned red. However...

[You have dealt 1,660 damage to the target!]

‘What? Why is its fire resistance so high?’

The guardian’s health gauge only received a small scratch as the total health was also high. It was difficult to tell how long the guardian would take to die if Grid only relied on the release of flames which dealt a small amount of damage. Maybe Grid’s stamina would be depleted quicker than it would take for the guardian to die.

Jjeejeeeong!

The guardian ignored the Enlightenment Sword, jumped into the air, and kicked out. Grid’s vision filled with the crumbling ceiling as he flew backward. Meanwhile...

“Yohohoho... Is it hard to hold on?” Goldhit, who was on the 80th floor, saw Grid’s shaky eyes clearly.

In fact, at first, she had chills.

She had been amazed beyond admiration when she saw Grid respond to the guardian’s first space jump using the magic, Blink. She knew that Pagma's Successor was a blacksmith and swordsman, but she had never dreamt that Grid would show such strength and agility. Yes, Grid was much more outstanding than rumored. Maybe the empire had underestimated him.

‘But...’

Resistance was a factor that neutralized strength. In order for Grid to defeat the guardian with excellent fire resistance, he had to discard the sword and bring out magic. Goldhit’s expectations had reached their peak. She hoped that the Grid she saw in the crystal ball would use the enhanced magic she wanted.

However, Goldhit still didn’t know... Grid was actually an expert at destroying common sense.

***

Peok!

Kwajajak!

‘It isn’t painful.’

The distressed Grid felt Khan’s presence every time he was hit by the guardians’ punches and kicks. It was because the work Khan left behind was protecting Grid. Valhalla emitted a little bit of smoke every time the guardian hit Grid, but only Grid knew what it was the precursor of.

Chukakakakak!

Peeng!

Grid cut at the guardian’s chest while accumulating minor damage and smiled.

Jeeeeeong!

The guardian’s fist firmly hit Grid’s arm, and green smoke emerged from the armor. It was now a fog.

“This...!” Goldhit, who had been watching closely in order to not miss the moment when Grid used magic, was shocked and stood up. She noticed it. The identity of this fog was poison!

Shaaaaah-

It was the poison that Kyleo had completed after many experiments. The powerful poison, which was hard to resist, filled the 16th floor. It was an option attached to Khan’s armor. The lilith guardian suddenly lost its destructive momentum. It couldn’t resist the poison. Not only did its health drop, but its movements also became dull. The unidentified metals which made up its body quickly rusted.

“This is ridiculous!”

To think that Grid had a powerful magic armor as well as a magic weapon? It even caused reflective damage? Goldhit was nervous as Grid quickly cleared the 16th, 17th, and 18th floors with the help of the armor. He was now entering the 19th floor.

It was the last gateway. If Grid broke through the 19th floor, he would reach the 20th floor. However, in the end...

-Expand the gateways by 10 more! Goldhit’s urgent voice rang in the minds of the tower’s magicians. Her disciples were upset.

-Aren’t you giving an outsider too many benefits?

-Master, the internal backlash will be great.

The essence of knowledge, which was obtained every time the tower was climbed, was incredibly large. Therefore, climbing the tower had great meaning. The magicians of the Tower of Eternity studied hard in order to qualify to climb the tower. Yet Goldhit was giving preferential treatment to Grid, an outsider.

Goldhit asked the worried disciples,

-How many people can climb the tower even if they qualify? This is a trial, not preferential treatment. No matter how much I increase the gateways, it will be pointless if Grid fails. And Grid...

He was rising. He kept continuing to rise! Even without magic!

“Dammit...!”

Goldhit had been blocked by a wall for decades. The lack of development meant the past few years of Goldhit’s life had been hell. Her only hope was Grid. However, the problem was that Grid wasn’t a person whose actions could be predicted.

[Grid is on the 24th floor.]

[Grid is on the 25th floor.]

[Grid is on the 26th...]

…….

…….

“...No, is he still not using magic?”

Who could imagine that the strongest magician on the continent would be sulking like a child? Even Grid couldn’t imagine that despite him making Goldhit like this.

[A new gateway has opened. Please challenge up to the 40th floor!]

“Is this heaven?”

The gateways kept being generated, and he kept getting rewards! Grid had secured 40 intelligence in just three hours. The smile couldn’t disappear from his face. He was extremely happy.