The black tortoise was resurrected and the false myths were removed. The people rejoiced and prayed, and then the god said that he had received help from a human—the Overgeared King, who punished the fake gods that deceived the people and polluted the land.

‘...I thought it was an exaggeration.’

The king of a nation and a warrior—one of the Xing King’s identities was that of a warrior, and the senses he polished for decades were extremely sharp and delicate. Moreover, he witnessed the yangbans since childhood and it was safe to say his ability to sense the strong was at a transcendent level. For example, him...

‘It wasn’t an exaggeration. This person... no, he is real.’

He shook the moment he saw Grid. A human being who harmed the yangbans who ruled humanity with natural strength and force...

The Xing King discovered that such an unbelievable achievement was actually the truth. “The Overgeared King.”

Step.

The Xing King came down from the throne and approached Grid. He bowed deeply under the attention of his officials and warriors who served him as the supreme one. “It is the highest honor. An infinite honor.”

“......!”

There was a commotion among the officials. The appearance of the golden robe embroidered with the black tortoise being dragged on the ground and crumpled was a sight that the people of Xing couldn’t imagine.

“Since Your Majesty resurrected God Black Tortoise, peace and stability was restored to Xing.”

No matter if they were a king over 10,000 people or a king over tens of millions of people, they should be equal. Once thinking of their subjects, they shouldn’t regard another king as an elder. The Xing King believed so. He might’ve received great grace from the Overgeared King, but he had no intention of bending down. He didn’t want to undermine the pride of the people and he would repay grace with grace.

However, his mind changed the moment he actually met the Overgeared King. They were both kings, but they had a different status. Bowing down to this person wasn’t an act that would shame the people. He didn’t need to feel guilty to the people. This was just pure respect. It was because this was their savior.

“Raise your head.”

The Xing King didn’t know it, but Grid had spent several days with him in the form of Irene, and Grid got a grasp of the Xing King’s personality and essence. He was a man of reason who knew the right path to follow and didn’t forget grace. He strove to be a proud king to the people. Yet such a person was bowing in front of everyone?

Grid didn’t want this. It was easy to understand when thinking of it from a different perspective. Would the members of the Overgeared Guild be happy to see Grid kneel to others? It would be hard to tolerate. The more people who believed that Grid was the best, the more people there were aiming at Grid. Grid knew this and hurried to raise the Xing King, but the king didn’t look up.

“I am a sinner. Not only was I able to repay my benefactor’s favor, but I also let you worry. I really can’t raise my head.”

“Worry?”

“The queen... the Overgeared Queen is missing.”

“Ah.” Grid’s expression changed and he started sweating. He should’ve used Irene’s face, but his thoughts were lacking, causing the Xing King to be in a dilemma.

‘I made a mistake.’

Grid rebuked himself and coughed a few times. “My wife went home... Hum hum, she went back to our home kingdom.”

“Is that true? Crossing the Red Sea was impossible until only a few years ago and it definitely isn’t easy...”

“One of my friends is a resourceful sage. Thanks to his help, intercontinental travel isn’t very difficult.”

“I see...”

Calling a servant a friend?

‘I think I know what type of person he is. I also have to imitate it.’

The Xing King smiled happily and never dreamt of the reality of the Overgeared King who used his friend as a movement vehicle.

***

‘Fortunately, Lord resembles Irene.’

After living in Irene’s form for a while, Grid returned to his real form and realized how important a person’s appearance was.

‘I don’t think the drinking capacity of most of them is one bottle...’

Every time Grid attended a party or dinner in Irene’s form, all of Xing’s officials would drink at least three bottles of wine. Yet at Grid’s welcoming party today, forget three bottles. Most of the officials couldn’t even drink one bottle. It was like they couldn’t drink. Even the king’s young sons distanced themselves like teenagers in the rebellious period. The guys who kept bothering Irene didn’t give Grid a single glance.

“In any case, her appearance is the best.”

“……”

Grid shook his head and Piaro looked at him like it was absurd.

‘You don’t know why the princes of Xing and the officials are so nervous?’

Grid returned after a few days and had become an absolute powerhouse.

The previous Grid had shown a great presence as a ‘strong man who is a legend,’ but something was different now—he seemed like a being one couldn’t get close to, no, an untouchable existence, so much so that even Piaro’s feeling of ‘I want to compete and try out my skills’ was suppressed.

This feeling was similar to...

‘A god.’

No, this was too much even if he looked at his king with blinded eyes. Piaro shook his head with a smile. Then Grid asked him, “Did you find a way to grow the golden walnuts?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He would still be in the forest researching if he hadn’t found a way. Grid’s face brightened as Piaro told him the good news.

“In the future, our people will be able to eat the golden walnuts.”

The golden walnuts were a health food before they were an elixir. NPCs that constantly consumed the golden walnuts didn’t only increase their stats. Their health and life expectancy also increased. Piaro honestly confessed to the genuinely pleased Grid, “The Overgeared Kingdom is too hot in the west and too cold in the north. The Yatan Church’s headquarters was located in the far east so the land and air are polluted.”

The golden walnuts were sensitive to climate and soil so it was difficult to grow them in large quantities.

“The only place in the Overgeared Kingdom where the golden walnuts can be grown is Cokro [1] Island. Even on Cokro Island, it can’t be grown near the dungeon where Hell Gao’s heat remains. It can only be grown in limited areas.”

“How many trees can be planted?”

Grid asked and Piaro replied immediately. “500 trees.”

“It is still a long way to securing a large amount of golden walnuts...”

He saw it when visiting the golden walnut forest that the golden walnuts weren’t grown easily. The number of golden walnuts that could be collected from 100 trees averaged to 10 a year. It was difficult to obtain the golden walnuts even in the Xing Kingdom, the origin of the golden walnuts. Grid tried not to show his disappointment and Piaro smiled at him.

“Don’t worry too much. I will somehow change the environment in the east of the kingdom so we can plant more golden walnut trees.”

It didn’t matter if it took years or even decades. His efforts were bound to come to fruition. Grid gained hope from Piaro’s assertion and nodded.

“I feel reassured thanks to you. Okay, then let’s go home.”

The purpose of visiting the East Continent was achieved. He secured the white phosphorus wood, the method of growing golden walnuts, and formed a blood alliance with Xing. The Xing King even said that he hoped that Grid would treat him as a brother.

‘I really gained a lot.’

In particular, he was lucky to have visited the Hwan Kingdom. Not only did he raise Irene’s deity stat more easily than expected, he also became stronger. He gained a deeper understanding of the worldview and gained a strong ally in the grandmaster.

He wanted to see Irene quickly. He wanted to share his joy with Irene, who would be healthy and young.

The eager Grid left and the Xing King started to build a new shrine next to the one dedicated to the black tortoise.

***

Baal’s Contractor—it was the highest level of combat class that inherited some of Pagma's Sword Dance due to him being the previous Baal’s Contractor. Additionally, it was the king of the dead with a dominance beyond that of necromancers’.

Hidden quests were directly supplied by Baal, the 1st great demon, one of the strongest beings in the world. This meant the growth potential was infinite. If Agnus’ purpose was to be ‘strong’ in itself, then the player in the highest position would naturally be Agnus.

It had to be so. The role of Baal’s Contractor was that of a pure villain. Baal’s Contractor was alone against the world, so it was designed to slaughter hundreds or thousands of people alone. The growth rate was so fast that it was normal to be reborn before the Sword Saint’s ‘heart’ had revealed its true potential. One of the events of the National Competition, the ‘Demon King’s Subjugation’ was actually based on one of the aspects that Agnus should’ve shown on the main server.

“This is why Grid looks like Baal’s Contractor.”

The S.A Group sighed deeply when Grid visited the Hwan Kingdom and they saw his rapid growth. They weren’t objecting to the fact that Grid had become stronger. They were dissatisfied that Agnus hadn’t fully blossomed his class’s potential while Grid transcended the limits of his class several times and became an unrivaled existence.

Agnus had actually lost to Jishuka. Agnus should’ve smashed the Cho Kingdom and Jishuka, yet he was defeated. This was a great shock to the S.A Group. At this rate, the intention behind creating the Baal’s Contractor class would be lost. Thus, they were worried about the future of the game.

“Due to Agnus, several episodes weren’t born and the Yatan Church is on the verge of destruction. The operations and development teams predict that the crisis will only be resolved if Baal accepts a new contractor.”

“That would be best. Didn’t Agnus turn down most of Baal’s quests in the first place? That’s why his assimilation rate is low and there isn’t much power when possessing the body. I think Baal would also be dissatisfied with Agnus.”

“...Yet surprisingly, Baal likes Agnus.”

“He likes a disobedient person who doesn’t listen?”

“It is because it is all a joke to Baal. He is having fun watching Agnus’ choices and actions.”

“What does that mean...? Then he won’t pick a new Baal’s Contractor?”

“At this moment, Baal doesn’t want to.”

“……”

The meeting room was filled with a sorrowful atmosphere. They were worried that if the ‘legend attack strategy’ recently discovered by some high rankers were known to the world, then Agnus would become a punching bag for others.

In the early days of Satisfy, Agnus was filled with pure malice and carried out reckless PK, igniting the resentment of many people. If Agnus really became a punching bag then Baal’s Contractor might not be able to recover.

In the midst of the worries, Yoon Sangmin opened his mouth, “The reason Agnus hasn’t grown is that first, he didn’t communicate with Baal. Second, he wasn’t obsessed with leveling. Third, he didn’t avoid death. He played the game very roughly. That’s it.”

In particular, he used his deceased creation skill in such an absurd manner. Agnus wasn’t interested in the game despite being a top ranked player.

“However, I think it will be different in the future.”

Director Yoon Sangmin’s mouth curved up in a smile as he brought up the holographic report that had just arrived from the head of the operations team. “There is a record that Agnus fled as soon as he confirmed that his health was getting dangerous during battle.”

“......!!”

Anyone who felt danger of death during battle was bound to escape. Running away was the right answer. The penalty that occurred due to death was ‘a loss of a huge amount of time.’ Everyone was afraid of death because the experience they spent days accumulating was lost in a moment.

Agnus responded in the same way. This was great evidence that Agnus had decided to focus on the game.

“I’m sure he will start interacting with Baal soon. I’m already looking forward to the new deceased that Agnus will create.”

He might be threatened by the strongest in an individual battle, but he was invincible in a war. This was Baal’s Contractor. If Baal’s Contractor had done his job well in the first place, the Yatan Church wouldn’t be at risk of destruction. As long as Agnus was in good spirits, the balance would surely be maintained.

The faces of the S.A Group executives brightened.

On the other hand, Chairman Lim Cheolho, who had been silent throughout the meeting, still had a dark expression on his face.

‘Now there is only one left.’

Sword Saint—it was a class that had a slow growth rate and relied heavily on Formless Will. It was the class that was most affected by talent because the player needed to create combat skills themselves. The difficulty of growth was very high, but the potential was the best. Therefore, Chairman Lim Cheolho had felt great joy and anticipation when Kraugel became the Sword Saint.

However, Kraugel’s recent appearance shattered Chairman Lim Cheolho’s expectations. There was no ranker who wasn’t stubborn, but talking about ‘my own swordsmanship’ and ignoring the secret techniques of the former Sword Saints...

At this point, it wasn’t stubbornness. It was ego.

‘Even that Agnus has changed. Now it is time for you to give up your ego too.’

This was what Chairman Lim Cheolho wanted.

“……”

In the video, Kraugel once again didn’t learn the new secret technique of Muller that he acquired. The executives seemed to expect it and didn’t show any interest in Kraugel. Chairman Lim Cheolho sighed. However, even Chairman Lim Cheolho couldn’t imagine it.

The fact that Kraugel’s actions were scratching at Biban’s pride.

[1] I will be changing Cork Island to Cokro Island to more accurately reflect the romanization)