“There is no access from here on.”

At the road to Kars, capital of the Cho Kingdom...

He picked a rough mountain road to move, but the defense was thorough. It was clear what it would be like elsewhere. Even a single ant wouldn’t be able to enter Kars.

“I have business in Kars. When will the access restrictions be lifted?”

“I’m not sure... the capital can’t be blocked forever, so I think it will be released soon.”

“Can I ask what incident happened?

“What incident? We are just preparing for an important festival, so we’re temporarily blocking anyone outside from entering.”

“Is that so? Then keep up the good work.”

The capital was the heart and face of the kingdom. It wasn’t good if it was known that something had happened in the capital, so he understood the position of the Cho Kingdom.

Kraugel politely bade farewell to the soldiers before secretly using True Clouds. Blue clouds covered the foggy mountains and the soldiers’ five senses were temporarily paralyzed. Kraugel leisurely passed through the blockade.

“Why are there clouds all of a sudden...?”

The bewildered soldiers couldn’t imagine that the handsome young man who just went back had already passed by them.

***

Upon arriving in Kars, Kraugel examined the city while avoiding the eyes of the soldiers. There were white bones scattered throughout the city and traces of tombstones being excavated. It was clear that the reason for the collapse of the street houses and palace walls was a necromancer’s invasion. There were also traces of at least a dozen necromancers invading.

‘This...?’

Kraugel frowned as he searched through the rubble of a wall. The wall’s surface was uneven like they had been cut with a saw, but there were no cracks in the cut part. It was proof that a saw blade, not a sword blade, had cut the wall quickly in one blow. Kraugel knew the master of this swordsmanship.

‘Cao.’

The orc warrior death knight. It was none other than Agnus’ servant. In other words, it meant there weren’t dozens of necromancers who invaded Kars. It was Agnus alone. Agnus had been working alone since he abandoned Immortal.Some people might argue that one player couldn’t turn a big city into ruins.

‘They are safe despite Agnus’ invasion.’

Kraugel’s thoughts were the opposite. He was greatly impressed with Kars’ power, which protected the city after Agnus’ invasion.

‘Is it the power of the red phoenix?’

Kraugel quickly inferred the reason why Agnus failed to capture Kars. The loss of the Kars army was surprisingly small. There were few casualties, so Agnus had difficulty securing bodies and he eventually had to withdraw. It must’ve been possible because the power of the red phoenix continued to heal the wounds of the soldiers.

‘It seems that Agnus hasn’t grown unexpectedly.’

The Baal’s Contractor who momentarily appeared in Muller’s story showed the dignity of an absolute. It was enough for him to protect the Behen Archipelago alone from the great demons’ forces. Moreover, soldiers died more easily than great demons. The dead soldiers were soon resurrected as slaves to Baal’s Contractor, so it was impossible for a human army to stop Baal’s Contractor.

Yet Kars stopped Agnus’ invasion relatively easily. All the houses outside the city inner walls were destroyed. They gave up on the outer walls and defeated Agnus. It was a remarkable achievement even considering that Agnus was incomparably weaker than the former Baal’s Contractor. Judging from the status of the tombstones, Agnus must’ve spent quite a long time collecting power.

‘Even such a powerful kingdom became infinitely smaller in front of the yangbans.’

Kraugel indirectly felt the greatness of the yangbans and looked tired.

“Kraugel?”

Kraugel waited without avoiding the familiar voice and a woman appeared. She was none other than Jishuka, the woman so beautiful that it made Kraugel impressed even though he didn’t care about the concept of appearance.

“Did you help the Cho Kingdom?”

One more reason was added to Agnus’ defeat. Kraugel quickly grasped the situation and Jishuka smiled at him.

“It is the strength of the Bow Saint.”

It was Bow Saint, not Povia’s Successor—someone who succeeded in pioneering her own path was standing right in front of him. Kraugel’s eyes were extremely warm as he gazed at Jishuka. His respect was revealed.

“Congratulations on becoming a legend.”

“There is still a long way to go when compared to Grid, but... thank you.”

Jishuka scratched her head like she was embarrassed by the praise. She showed no signs of regret at all. Kraugel was once again convinced—it was definitely more interesting to carve out his own path. He had pursued pure fun from the game after his mother overcame her illness, so he shouldn’t forget the essence of ‘the game should be fun.’

“I am the thankful one. Thanks to you, I can see hope.”

“Huh? What?"

“Haha.”

“What is it? Tell me quickly.”

Jishuka was the only person in the world who could grab the collar of Sword Saint Kraugel and he couldn’t help laughing. Kraugel had a brief exchange with her and left for Kaya.

***

Time was fair to everyone. Just as the members of the Overgeared Guild grew during Grid’s adventures, Mercedes also wrote new chivalry codes. The place where a knight should die was the battlefield. It was a chivalry code written from the enlightenment gained by seeing Irene’s young and healthy appearance.

Mercedes noticed that Grid didn’t want his precious people to die a vain death and injected energy into her body through the new chivalry code. The results were astounding. Miraculously, the origin true energy that she used to fight the ancient monster was restored. Her bone density increased and her white hair returned to its original color. Layers of skin fell off to be replaced by new skin and the scars and calluses on her body disappeared.

At first, Mercedes was in turmoil. She felt ashamed that her hands and skin had become as soft as a child’s. She had lost the calluses she gained from training all her life and was worried she might’ve lost her qualifications to be a knight. It was a groundless worry. She was actually undergoing a metamorphosis—it was an evolution, not a degeneration.

“I remember the first time I met you.”

Grid smiled brightly when he saw the blue hair that Mercedes had recovered. The first meeting—Mercedes recalled the memory of telling Grid to kneel and blushed.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“It is as pretty as it was back then. Don’t let it turn white again.”

It wasn’t just a confession of his tastes. It was advice telling her not to overdo it. Origin true energy was something that was directly related to life force. Grid didn’t want to see Mercedes exhaust her origin true energy because of him again. It was heartbreaking when thinking back to the sight of her hair turning white.

“I will keep that in mind.”

Mercedes gave a good answer. Contrary to her response, the light in her eyes was blazing. Grid saw it and shook his head.

‘If the same situation occurs, then I will protect you.’

Grid definitely felt it—he had become stronger. It was enough to be considered the strongest in the Overgeared Kingdom. Therefore, he walked while thinking he should take on greater responsibility. Suddenly, he stopped in place. It was due to the man standing in the middle of the large hallway. The moonlight flowing through the window shone on his silver hair.

“Braham.”

Braham’s nose was raised so high it seemed like it would hit the ceiling. Braham’s lowered eyes and raised chin made it seem like he was looking down on the world as always. “You are cocky.”

“Huh?”

Was this what should be said to a friend he hadn’t seen in a long time? Grid frowned when he heard the word ‘cocky’ instead of welcoming words. Then Braham smiled and flicked his finger. The landscape changed. The wide hallway covered with a red carpet and the scenery of the night sky collapsed and soon disappeared. Countless bookshelves started to fill the space like grains of sand in the desert. This infinite library was one of Braham’s mental worlds. It was his first world, the Knowledge Room.

“This is unbelievable...”

Grid started shaking in an overwhelming manner. He was overwhelmed by Braham’s mental world, which was so large that it reminded him of Chiyou. It was already another world. It could be added to concepts such as earth, hell, and heaven. Braham was even able to implement a total of three worlds. This meant that even this huge world was only a party of Braham.

“Do you know what people should be most vigilant about?” Braham appeared where the corners of the library were cut at certain angles and asked.

Grid carefully replied, “I think it is laziness.”

He had recently witnessed the frightening power of laziness. The grandmaster when he was affected by the Curse of Sloth was completely different from when he overcame it.

Braham shook his head. “No, the most important thing to watch out for is pride.”

“……”

Was this what he should be saying? Braham was arrogant and thought he was the best in the world. Did he perhaps read Grid’s mind as Grid glared at Braham?

“I’m not arrogant because I am the best.”

“Ah, yes.

“On the other hand, you are different.”

Braham’s red eyes were more provocative today.

“You are still a child. Don’t mistakenly think you are strong yet.”

Grid was frustrated. He fully understood Braham’s intentions, but he still found it unpleasant. It was ridiculous that Braham still considered him a child when he had learned Chiyou’s secret technique and built up his divinity. He wondered, “Is there a problem with your eyes?”

“Are you trying to deny my assessment?”

“Of course.”

“Then try changing my assessment.”

Braham pulled out Belial’s Staff and placed it at an angle on his shoulder. His expression was terribly arrogant as he dared Grid to try it. Grid didn’t refuse. He really wanted to accurately judge how far his skills had developed. Braham hadn’t yet regained his original strength, so they should be well-matched.

Grid deployed Transcend just by holding the sword. Then he immediately used Shunpo. The moment he appeared behind Braham, he realized that Braham had disappeared from view. Shunpo, which was proof of a transcendent, was met with teleportation magic.Grid was amazed by the power of ‘magic that is triggered without casting’ and looked around. Then he heard Braham’s voice from above his head. “This is one of the ways to hit a person using Shunpo.”

“......!”

Did he predict how Grid would fight? The magic that Braham cast in advance using Alarm was triggered in a timely manner. It was Disintegrate.A spear of light that destroyed existences pierced Grid’s body.

‘It is harder than I thought.’

There was light in Braham’s eyes as he watched Grid trembling in pain. It was because Grid endured the legendary great magic. It was so amazing that Braham got goosebumps all over his body. This was the first time that Braham had opened his mental world against a human and armed himself with a staff. His plan was to smash Grid with one blow to teach him a lesson before letting Grid learn a new spell.

He was surprised because contrary to his thoughts, it wasn’t that easy.

‘He has reached the stage where I need to worry.’

Was it him who was arrogant? There was a smile on Braham’s face. It felt completely different from his usual twisted smile. It was a smile derived from pure admiration and joy.