Grid realized the importance of duels and introduced the ranking battle system to the Overgeared Kingdom. He hoped that the Overgeared members and Overgeared residents could compete with each other, find opponents with similar strength, and learn and grow.

The response was explosive. The participation rate of the members was much higher than Grid expected. There were the concepts of ‘points’ and ‘ranking’ so the participation rate was bound to be high. Originally, players were crazy about things like rankings.

“There are truly many strong people in our guild.”

“There are dozens of people where it wouldn’t be strange if they stood on their own and built a guild.”

“By the way, the rankings are a bit surprising...”

Two weeks had passed since the ranking matches started. The top rankings were dominated by the former Tzedakah Guild members, Yura, and Chris. Meanwhile, the very top of the list were dominated by Grid, Braham, Piaro, Mercedes, Sariel, Asmophel, and Katz.

“......?”

“......?”

The performance of others was as expected but Katz’s was an extraordinary event. While Katz was naturally strong and he was one of the top ranked players in the Overgeared Guild, most people evaluated him as one step lower than Yura, Jishuka, Faker, and Chris. In particular, Katz was more unfavorable than Regas and Pon in a one-on-one match. Yet now he stood shoulder to shoulder with Grid’s messengers and knights...?

Katz shrugged, feeling satisfied with the reactions of his colleagues who were surprised to see the rankings.

“Hut... Aren’t there sayings like ‘stand head and shoulders above others’ and ‘talent will reveal itself’? I can’t hide it even if I wanted to. In terms of this body, I am the first ancient class. It is natural.”

“Ancient class? Did you get a bug?”

The world message that stated that Katz had changed to an ancient class hadn’t appeared. The world messages came when they progressed to a certain point in their class quest and had unlocked some of the power. However, Katz couldn’t find even a clue to where Beriache’s paintings were. He was blocked at the very first class quest, so it was futile to expect a world message to appear.

“A bug... Well, you’ll find out sooner or later.”

Katz was pleased even if he was treated as a foolish person. The reason why he didn’t certify his class right now and only mentioned it secretly (?) in words was to create a dramatic situation in the future. He imagined the world being turned upside down the moment his identity was revealed and was filled with pleasure.

“It seems the match between a Blood Warrior and vampire is great,” Chris approached and spoke to Katz. He had met Katz in the ranking match and lost a lot of points, but he didn’t care about his ranking that had fallen. Chris was well aware of the potential of his peers. He didn’t find it strange when his colleagues became stronger than him.

To be honest, losing to Katz was quite a shock, but it was convincing considering that Katz had changed his species to a vampire. He just had to fight and win next time. It was enough if he won the next time they fought. It would be 10 fights and 2 wins.

“Well, I guess so. Chris, why don’t you change your species as well?”

“I have no thoughts about it.”

“Why? You will be several times stronger than you are now if you change to an orc.”

The characteristics of an orc were to amplify physical attack power, breakthrough power, and endurance power. Chris was the user of a greatsword and had the Tyrant class. The greatest synergy would occur if he changed his species to an orc. Nevertheless, Chris had no intention of changing his species. Chris’ aesthetics rejected the appearance of the orcs.

“I don’t want to be a green monster.”

Was it really right to have an unwanted appearance just to become strong? It would be very unfortunate. If he wasn’t satisfied with his appearance, then he might not enjoy the game and quit because he was exhausted.

It wasn’t just Chris who thought this way. One of the reasons why people preferred the vampire species was their appearance after all. Of course, this didn’t mean that orcs were unsightly. There were certainly people who preferred the orcs according to their taste. However, Chris didn’t like it.

‘This is why the Skin Maker is sitting on money these days.’

The Skin Maker was famous for changing the appearance of items while maintaining the performance. Recently, it had reached the point where they could change the appearance of the character. It might be impossible to change the shape of the facial features, but it was said they could change the position of the facial features, the color of the skin, the eyes, and the body hair... this alone seemed like it would cause a very big change.

Katz was seriously thinking about meeting the Skin Maker. He wanted to change the appearance of his armor. Grid’s works were very beautiful because they were delicate and elegant, but... the beauty that Katz desired was where flames flowed out of the item and wings sprang out. It was a type of fashion that was gorgeous and eye-catching rather than classy and elegant.

As he was thinking, the ongoing ranking battle ended. It was a confrontation between Jishuka and Damian and the result was Jishuka’s victory. Damian was regaining the power of the past after receiving a new sword from Grid, but he was one-sidedly killed.

“Jishuka has already scored 2,567 points... she is definitely stronger after becoming the Bow Saint.”

A wide field of view and attack range, sniping from invisible positions using arrows that could change their trajectory, evasive maneuvers, and rapid fire that enabled close combat...

Jishuka changed to a Bow Saint and demonstrated the strongest skills at any distance. She was a flawless existence. She would reach the very top as long as she could recover her level.

‘Meanwhile, my level didn’t reset.’

As expected, the ancient class was special. Katz laughed deeply at the feeling of becoming the protagonist of a popular web novel. Then he cocked his head. It was because Grid, who was waiting his turn in the standby room, ran into Jishuka and showed floundering hands and feet. His face turned bright red when he saw her and he squirmed like he was very itchy. Katz wondered, “Why is Grid like that?”

“Vantner said that Grid has fallen for Jishuka.”

“Vantner?” Then it was bullshit.

Katz shook his head and entered the dueling room. To be precise, it was a ‘dungeon.’ It was a dungeon created exclusively for the ranking battle by Eat Spicy Jokbal. There were only two dungeons at the moment, but he planned to increase the number. Each dungeon was intended to have its own characteristics to help the guild members adapt to a wider variety of environments.

Eat Spicy Jokbal claimed he was doing this to help Elizabeth establish her position in the Overgeared Guild. In fact, it was obviously an excuse no matter who heard it. Eat Spicy Jokbal acted cold on the outside, but he actually did a lot of work for the Overgeared Guild. He was too enthusiastic for it to be just helping his niece.

‘Well, I understand how he feels.’

The Overgeared Guild was a group created by geniuses. People who developed their talent, influence, and dreams were constantly joining. Therefore, there was always a lot of energy in the Overgeared Guild. All the members were full of the spirit of improvement, so they ran forward without any laziness. There was no choice but to be enthusiastic when with them. One wanted to run and cheer together.

Eat Spicy Jokbal would have the same fire. He must’ve forgotten the resentment of losing Blood Carnival due to Grid. The proof was that the first ranking dungeon he created has a structure that looked like Grid’s smithy. Like all members of the Overgeared Guild, Eat Spicy Jokbal respected Grid.

“Katz, you have over 3,000 points. Your points will be reduced by a lot when you lose to me. Be prepared.”

“The only person who is qualified to speak like that to me is Grid.”

“Hahat! We’ll only know after trying! Mach Spear!”

Winning the ranking battles didn’t give any rewards or honor. Both the scores and rankings were things only known inside the Overgeared Guild. However, being able to fight opponents on the same level was a great help. Those who couldn’t find opponents of a similar level were able to meet good competitors thanks to the objective score and the ranking system. This was directly linked to rapid growth and enjoyment.

The ranking battles were a sweet rain to the Overgeared members who were tired of hunting and raiding. Fighters like Regas and Toon were able to play the ranking battles for three days straight.

***

“This is shit!”

Zibal was experienced. He was a person who had competed with Kraugel in the early days and had accumulated experience in many fields. He knew how to cope with certain situations. For example, he was good at tracking and escaping because he had been through dozens of quests that required him to throw off the enemy’s pursuit.

Zibal had confidence that he couldn’t be caught by the followers of the martial god. In the process of searching for a place to hide the grandmaster, he left no traces behind. After determining a hiding place, he moved carefully and he also changed the hiding place regularly. However, in just 10 days, the followers of the martial god tracked him down.

‘Why do I keep being found?’

At this point, he had to wonder if there was a spy. However, the knights currently working with Zibal were absolutely loyal to the grandmaster. Rather, they were in a position to doubt Zibal.

“Are we going to keep going like this?”

Zibal was an ancient rider and handled all vehicles perfectly. Everything he drove showed a higher performance and there was no distinguishing between living things and machines. This was why the knights’ breathing was harsh as they chased after Zibal’s carriage. The carriage carrying the grandmaster moved so quickly through the forest that it pushed the stamina of the elite former Neo Red Knights to the limits.

“Uh, we are going to run the whole time.”

“However, it is the empire’s territory from here on out.”

“We are going to get them mixed up with the imperial army and then escape in the meantime.”

“Yes...”

The knights were exhausted by the constant pursuit of the enemy. Even so, they trusted Zibal and followed his instructions. Their hideouts had been discovered so many times that Zibal was suspicious, but they still tried to believe in him. The grandmaster told them to follow Zibal so they had to believe him and follow him.

“Hiyah! Gasp?” Zibal, who was whipping the horse, was startled and hurriedly stopped the carriage. It was because the followers of the martial god were blocking the road ahead. It was as if they expected him to flee this way.

“These damn bastards, do they have CCTV? What the hell is this?”

He couldn’t help swearing. Zibal couldn’t understand the situation at all. He hadn’t made any mistakes in the process of escaping. He had deceived people’s eyes and erased their traces, so why did they keep getting tracked?

‘It is even by these blindfolded guys...’

It was very unpleasant because it felt like the system was interfering. He felt like his freedom was being violated. Zibal was born and raised in the United States, a country of freedom, so he couldn’t tolerate this manipulation.

‘Still, there are only three people. It is worth fighting.’

They were followers who mastered 8 secret techniques. It was a very high level, but they weren’t the opponents of Raiders. Moreover, there were nine former Neo Red Knights on his side.

“Break through. Kill them all.”

Think positively. The followers of the martial god had a certain probability of dropping the martial god’s secret techniques. The average person wanted it, but they couldn’t find it or obtain it.

Zibal controlled his heart only to stiffen as he got out of the carriage. It was because dozens of followers of the martial gods appeared belatedly.

“...It is ruined.”

It was the first time he felt such a great sense of crisis since the time he fought Grid. In other words, there was no answer. Nevertheless, his decision should be quick. Zibal was about to summon Raiders when the knights surrounded him.

“We will open the way so run away.’

“What? Then what about you...”

“Please be sure to save Zikfrector.”

It was Grandmaster Zikfrector who saved them when they were wandering knights. He guided the talents they didn’t know they had and gave them the strength they longed for. They could sacrifice their lives for the noble man who had the mission of overthrowing the ugly gods.

“It is strange to say this, but we believe in you...”

Just then, the heads of the determined knights who were smiling fell to the ground.

“......”

Zibal stiffened. The knights who were breathing right by his side— No, it felt unrealistic to see his colleagues lose their heads, spray blood, and then collapse.

“I heard you were with the one who killed Lee Jeong, but the level isn’t very good. Lee Jeong is pathetic.”

Zibal heard a voice above his head. He looked up and saw a man standing on a thin branch with one hand. The Triad, Haegak. This was his name.

“I don’t have to come out on my own.”

Haegak didn’t even look at Zibal. He gestured to the followers and dozens of them rushed to the carriage at once. The grandmaster was still asleep in the carriage. He couldn’t be protected. There was no way to protect him.

Zibal knew this but he still chose to fight. He summoned Raiders, boarded it, and pulled the carriage. He knew how important the grandmaster was to the worldview. He didn’t want to abandon his colleagues who had struggled together for months and were risking their lives to protect him.

It was 7 years after starting Satisfy.

For the first time, Zibal had red eyes.

[The soul of the 1st evil, Jake, is watching you.]

[The hidden passive skill ‘Providence’ has been acquired after achieving the special condition.]