There were also four peak quality gems and 39 highest quality gems. They were gems where the value couldn’t be discussed using the common sense of ordinary people. The rare treasures that should’ve decorated the national treasures of the empire or the coffins of emperors were scattered around Elizabeth’s workshop. Broken things were a frequent occurrence and some even turned into powder. It was a sight that would’ve caused Administrator Rabbit to pass out if he witnessed it.

However, Elizabeth felt no guilt. Her face was only filled with joy. ‘This...! This can possibly succeed!’

There wouldn’t be a second chance.

The accessory commissioned by a suspicious, genius boy. The imaginary product that came to her mind in the process of making only seven parts was of incomparable value to the emperor’s coffin. This was just Elizabeth’s personal opinion, but... to be honest, she was scared. Now, at this moment, Elizabeth let go of all her fears. Her worry about what would happen if she caused damage to Grid disappeared.

It was natural. She created part of a permanent mechanism that absorbed the mana of the atmosphere and changed it to energy. It was still very small and even if it was completed, there was the disadvantage that the size of the mechanism was too big...

Still, this alone was enough for her to glimpse the infinite possibilities. Elizabeth imagined the super large aircrafts that would cross the skies of the Overgeared Kingdom, the warships that would dominate the seas, and the birth of the magic machines that would pave the foundations of ruling the continent.

A notification window popped up in her shaking vision.

[You are approaching the creation of an ‘absurd artifact.’]

[You haven’t produced any results yet, but your name deserves to go down in history just for establishing the theory.]

[In recognition of the first achievement in hundreds of years since the great magician Pauld, your Artisan skill has risen to the master craftsman level.]

“......!!”

Mastering the Artisan skill. This meant that the success rate of the permanent mechanisms under production would increase. However, the part to be pleased about now wasn’t the immediate achievement, but the rise in potential. Achieving master level in the Artisan skill meant she was qualified to become a legend. She wasn’t being hasty. The great blacksmith Khan had actually proved it.

“K-Kyaaak! Amazing... E-Eh?” Elizabeth was letting out cries of excitement when she felt something strange. It was the first achievement since Pauld? There was no way. She wasn’t the one who established the theory of the permanent mechanism. It was the genius boy whom she met not long ago.

“...Don’t tell me?” An eerie chill went down Elizabeth’s spine.

On this day, the Overgeared Shadows was in a state of emergency. They had already set a considerable number of assassins to keep an eye on Inferno and now they were ordered to search for a lich who was believed to be Pauld.

“Change mission priority to tracking Pauld.”

There was information that Pauld was resurrected as Agnus’ lich. In the past, Kraugel had delivered this information through Grid. This meant that Agnus had acquired or was likely to gain the permanent mechanism. Faker and the Overgeared Shadows had to find it and destroy it.

***

The yangbans didn’t realize it. No, they wouldn’t have understood even if they perceived it. They just saw a crazy guy stabbing his sword into the air at nothing and wondered what he was doing. Then the sword that pierced the air greatly increased its length and wrapped itself around his body and the body of his colleague. It was only at the moment of joining that they went ‘uh...?’ and felt goosebumps on their skin.

Their understanding was too late. At this moment, the yangbans exposed to the inexplicable were no less than the ordinary people they hated. The cold weapon bent like a whip and wrapped around the bodies of the yangbans.

Kraugel wondered, ‘Is this really a sword?’

Just then, the small blades of the Formless Sword twisted. The 30 joints moved in the reverse direction to change the angle of the blade. The blades that rose like saw blades or thorns tore and carved at the skin of the yangbans held by the Formless Sword.

[The yangban ‘Saesak’ has been killed.]

[The yangban ‘Mulgyeol’ has been killed.]

They were already critically injured by Kraugel. They turned to gray ash as they died and Grid and Kraugel simultaneously gained experience. Kraugel leveled up. His spirit also rose. After recovering from the special medicine Reidan’s alchemy facility created, he suddenly felt like he was struck by lightning.

He linked together Thunderbolt and Frenzy Sword.They struck the bodies of the yangbans who were staring blankly at their colleagues who died in vain. The yangbans were one step late in recognizing the blood that flowed from their bodies. Kraugel was already standing behind them and stabbing his sword deep in the sand.

Heaven and Earth Rupture—the sword technique that was promoted to the legendary transcendent rating destroyed the ground and the sword energy that erupted from the cracks in the ground swept over the yangbans.

“Wow.” Grid exclaimed from among the yangbans. He was still holding the Formless Sword in his hand as he entered the midst of the enemies that Kraugel had gathered together. If he used the Undefeated King’s Swordsmanship with the Falling Moon Sword, then he could simply cut the necks of the yangbans, but Grid wanted a performance test of the Formless Sword. The Formless Sword twisted, stretched out, and reversed the 30 joints as it wrapped around the bodies of the yangbans.

The stormy sword inspired Kraugel. Kraugel’s talent overflowed at the sight of the inherently ‘impossible’ sword movements created by Grid’s sword toward the yangbans. Kraugel’s sword energy repeatedly rotated. It followed the path of the Formless Sword, intertwining but not disturbing as it gradually accelerated and cut at the yangbans.

His cooperative attack that showed his miraculous talent inspired Grid this time. Kraugel’s sword energy drew a diagonal line after turning. Then it repeated another turn and added acceleration. It was offering better sword paths for the Formless Sword.

Grid heard a type of auditory hallucination. The limits of his imagination were shattering.

“Keok!”

“Kuaack!”

Unlike the critically injured Saesak and Mulgyeol, the three yangbans who joined later were in good condition. Despite experiencing Kraugel’s Thunderbolt and Frenzy Sword, they immediately surrounded themselves with the energy of the white tiger and minimized the damage of Heaven and Earth Rupture. Until now, they had plenty of room to relax. This was until the man who killed Saesak and Mulgyeol with the strange sword appeared right next to them using Shunpo.

‘This guy, he is the rumored...!’

‘He passed Chiyou’s Test...!’

The yangbans were vigilant. They would be birdbrains if they let down their guard after seeing the devastating scene of their fellow yangbans dying. They were alert from the start. They raised their power from the time they allowed Kraugel’s surprise attack and started to resist with all their might when Grid broke in.

The problem was that Grid and Kraugel were stronger than rumored. Kraugel’s sword suddenly became complicated and difficult to respond to, while Grid’s sword, which was already complicated, became faster and harder to react to.

‘These guys... they are getting stronger in real time.’

The reason why the yangbans liked to use soft swords was because they were easy to use to kill. The lightness of the soft sword wasn’t a disadvantage for them, who had the power to unconditionally kill as soon as they hit the target. However, Mir had instructed them not to use the soft sword when fighting Kraugel. The speed and irregularity of the soft sword, which took advantage of its lightness and elasticity didn’t work against Kraugel, so they were instructed to use heavy weapons.

Mir was a special existence for the yangbans. He was like an idol. The only yangban who was Mir’s opponent was Garam. It had been a long time since the aforementioned Garam died.

Therefore, the yangbans listened well to Mir’s advice.

They prepared a heavy sword and zhanmadao to fight against Kraugel. It was just that Kraugel wasn’t the only one who was here right now.

“Shit...!”

They kept being pushed in speed and the wounds on their bodies were increasing. The yangbans had no choice but to blame the heavy weapons. It didn’t matter who went first, but they abandoned their weapons and released the soft sword they were wearing like a belt.

Their speed increased. They used the natural advantage of their body to create anomalies in their attacks. The yangbans were more focused than ever. It was just like when they were challenging Chiyou’s Test. However, if focusing could produce the best results, then they would be gods, not half-gods.

“......?!”

Kraugel’s sword suddenly became heavy. He abandoned the rotation of his sword and it fell down like a thunderbolt. Here, the elasticity of the soft sword exerted its power. It halved the strength of the White Tiger Sword and bounced it back. The yangban was dumbfounded. He almost lost 10 years of his life blocking this attack.

“......?”

The yangban was trying to attack Kraugel, who was being chased by a colleague after his attack was blocked, when his vision tilted. His neck was hot as he was slashed by Grid’s whip-like sword.

“This damn...”

Kraugel, who was flexible in dealing with changes, and Grid, who stuck to his strategy despite changes—the two people with completely different personalities were so compatible. Their cooperation was like cog wheels that spun without rest. A huge cog that was bound to crush them the moment they were sucked in. Were they fellow soldiers who had crossed the line of life and death with each other all their lives?

The yangbans swallowed down their swear words and looked back on the day. Was there anything different than usual? It included minor things like finding something on their sleeves a bit late as they were getting dressed, or stepping on something dirty while walking down the street. Maybe their luck was especially bad today. Perhaps this was why they met two monsters beside each other.

It happened when the demotivated yangbans took a step back...

There was a cold that didn’t suit the hot desert. The sand that was heated by the sun quickly froze, turning parts of the desert into ice sheets. A chill went down Grid and Kraugel’s spines.

[There are no attacks that you won’t recognize.]

It was already there by the time the notification window appeared.

“Keuk...!” Grid twisted his waist with all his power. A flash of lightning brushed by Grid’s hair and caused an explosion on one side of the desert. The explosion also occurred at the place where Kraugel stood. Did he get hit? The worried Grid was soon relieved. it was because Kraugel’s harsh breathing was heard from beyond the dust.

A new voice was heard from the sky, “You have grown.”

The man who was holding coldness and lightning in his hand like the tail of a dragon could clearly be seen floating there. The identity of the man whose white dopo fluttered in the air was Mir. He was the one who made Grid a ‘challenger,’ and the last threshold of the Hwan Kingdom.