[He witnessed a noble belief.]

[It was a belief that didn’t break under the attention or advice of excessive greed, even when he received criticism and ridicule for being stupid.]

[It was sometimes poison.]

[The saint was slowly encroached by poison and wandered near the abyss.]

A person who was praised as the sky above the sky. His actions as the Sword Saint were far from people’s expectations.

He stayed in Kirinus’ hut during the height of his growth and turned away from the Sword Saint’s Matchless Swordsmanship that he was able to secure. Then in the past year, he had an unreasonable struggle against the yangbans of Kaya and repeatedly died. It wasn’t something that fit in with common sense. Those who knew Kraugel’s recent life had no choice but to feel sorry or think he was crazy.

However, it was time for everyone to realize it. Kraugel’s asceticism wasn’t pointless. He was a man who was the sky above the sky. It was foolish arrogance to judge him by a single standard.

[However, the saint’s beliefs remained unchanged. He cast doubt aside with the sword and the trials were slashed with a sword as he proved himself to be the Sword Saint.]

“......”

The Matchless Swordsmanship that had been shunned for a long time. Kraugel’s expression was subtle as he finally faced it. The world messages that were rising. He noticed that Grid’s epic was describing himself.

‘...I’m embarrassed.’ It was true that he had been wandering around the abyss, but for it to be publicly disclosed was a bit...

Grid felt sorry for Kraugel who was blushing with embarrassment. In fact, this wasn’t something for Grid to feel sorry about. The epics described not only Grid’s direct experiences, but his emotions and things he witnessed. Additionally, when witnessing and describing others, information that Grid didn’t even know was often stated. It was good to recognize it as a secondary part of the system.

In conclusion, Grid didn’t know that Kraugel had struggled enough to be told he was near the abyss. The contents of the epic weren’t intended by Grid.

[He was enlightened through the saint.]

[The most reliable and dependable thing is the great power that is passed down.]

[He learned that being himself wasn’t being wise.]

[A conviction that was unwavering in the face of everyone’s denial.]

[He learned and embraced the beliefs of the noble saint.]

......

…

[Overgeared God Grid has completed the 12th page of the epic.]

‘I’m glad it isn’t long.’

Grid’s inner worry was relieved. For him, whose past or innermost thoughts had been exposed in the epics, the epic involving Kraugel was quite uncomfortable. It could’ve been rude to Kraugel or it could’ve revealed his feelings toward Kraugel? For example, the phrase ‘he learned from the saint’ could’ve had the word ‘longing’ added. It was true that he longed for and admired Kraugel. He didn’t want to hide his heart, but the picture of him publicly confessing it to the party involved made him feel ashamed.

[The 12th page of the epic has been completed.]

[Your status has risen by one level as a reward for completing the epic.]

[Maximum health will increase by 5%.]

[There is a chance of reflecting status abnormalities.]

[The probability of reflecting status abnormalities already exists in your First King title.]

[The increase in status will relax the conditions of reflecting status abnormalities of the ‘First King’ title.]

[The passive skill ‘Noble Belief’ has been acquired.]

[Noble Belief]

[Passive

The more difficult the situation, the more you believe in your own power.

Every time a skill is on cooldown, one stat will rise slightly. The increase stat is randomly determined and the duration is proportional to the skill’s cooldown time.]

‘This is a jackpot.’

The consumption of skills meant weakness. It was natural for combat capability to weaken every time a skill was on cooldown. Noble Belief had the effect of breaking that logic to some extent. Stats unrelated to combat might rise, such as charm, political power, or dexterity, but Grid had dozens of skills. No matter how unlucky, he believed he would be able to see the benefits of Noble Belief.

‘Besides, dexterity is pretty good. It will help with control of the Formless Sword.’

Grid awakened from his brief thoughts. It was because every time Kraugel wielded the White Tiger Sword, he created a storm of swords and the ice around them was cracking.

‘...It isn’t a joke.’

Kraugel had finally acquired the Matchless Swordsmanship and had proudly qualified as the Sword Saint. How much stronger had he become? Grid gulped with anticipation and Kraugel, who finished the inspection, silently took a new posture.

Mir opened his mouth from where he had been watching the situation with interest, “It is really amazing. Kraugel is the one who learned Matchless Swordsmanship, but the Overgeared God became stronger as well?”

‘He was waiting for us.’ Grid frowned. It took approximately eight seconds for the epic to be written and for Kraugel to learn the secret technique. It was a short time, but Mir could’ve swung his sword dozens of times in this period. Yet Mir didn’t attack the two of them. He wasn’t just watching blankly. He evacuated his colleagues and restored his severed arm completely.

On the other hand, Grid still had the loss of one arm. Certain conditions must be met to restore a severed body part and this was considered virtually impossible in combat.

‘It will be tougher now.’

They had become stronger, but the situation was worse. Mir was freed from the burden of defending his colleagues while fighting and his momentum would rise to the maximum. Meanwhile, Grid lost an arm. Far from checking his power, he was more likely to die in vain.

-Kraugel, no matter how I think about it, you should fall back.

-Wasn’t this story already over?

-......

Noble Belief bullshit. He was a stubborn ass. This damn stubborn guy.

-Yes, do whatever you like.

In fact, Grid was very grateful. If he fought Mir alone, then he was likely to die before he could test his skills properly. If Kraugel fought alongside him, then he would have more leeway and be able to try more things.

‘A friend and competitor...’ Mir was observing Grid and Kraugel closely. He had lost his reason to be impatient from the moment his colleagues fled. He could kill Grid and Kraugel as soon as he made up his mind to end this fight. For now, he wanted to watch this interesting situation a bit more.

Grid was a god. On the mental side, there would still be remnants of his human life, but he was someone worshipped by countless humans. Yet he was inspired by a mere human being and became stronger through enlightenment. Mir had just witnessed it himself.

‘I’m glad.’ A smile spread on Mir’s face.

Why didn’t he erase the scars caused by Muller and Grid? It was to not forget the painful moments. Mir recalled that day’s battle every time he saw the scar on his body. He thought it was a way to grow stronger. He wasn’t certain about this. The gods of the Hwan Kingdom had never shown themselves learning anything. It was an attitude that said a god was already flawless. Did he have to be arrogant like them to become a god? Was his way wrong?

This was a problem Mir had always been struggling with. Then at this moment, his worries were over. A human being that became a god—the moment he saw Overgeared God Grid learning from Kraugel, Mir confirmed that his method wasn’t wrong.

To be honest, Mir respected Grid. He was walking ahead on the path that Mir aimed for, so it was natural to want to emulate him. However, Mir had no choice but to be hostile as long as Grid sought the liberation of the Four Auspicious Beasts. If even the seals of the blue dragon and white tiger were released, then the Hwan Kingdom would lose a lot. All the yangbans except for Mir would lose their strength against Asgard’s angels. Then the gods of the Hwan Kingdom would have no foundation for their revenge against Asgard.

Mir had no interest in getting revenge on the gods. He didn’t want a war that would kill his colleagues, but he couldn’t go against Hanul’s will. This was the destiny of those who were made by Hanul. The only way to escape this fate was to become a god equal to Hanul. Of course, Mir wanted to be the martial god even without such a grand reason.

His spirit was refreshed. The smile on Mir’s face deepened.

Kraugel’s sword that was sliding over the ice sheet was quite fast. Mir lifted the Blue Dragon Dao and blocked the attack. Then he turned his waist and kicked. Mir’s foot penetrated the ice wall made along the Blue Dragon Dao’s path and was inserted into Kraugel’s solar plexus. It went in perfectly. Mir immediately swung his sword and thought Kraugel was going to die.

However, his sword didn’t slit Kraugel’s throat. The sword couldn’t touch it because the body floated backwards.

‘Did he stop it?’

Kraugel’s sword that pushed at his foot made Mir feel admiration.

‘I can’t believe he retrieved the sword in such a short gap.’

He thought the sword techniques had become faster, but it seemed that the person had also become faster. Kraugel’s sword made an illusion. As expected, it was a speed worthy of admiration. Defense or evasion was easily possible, but it was a bit tricky to see a timing to counterattack.

The Blue Dragon Dao stretched out like a fan and squeezed through the gap in the sword to aim at Kraugel’s heart. Then the Blue Dragon Dao tilted. The reason was because the weight of the White Tiger Sword that struck it was considerable. It wasn’t just the speed. The power also seemed doubled.

‘This swordsmanship...’

It was fast and strong, but the balance of offense and defense was perfect. It meant full control without suppressing speed and power. This was the Matchless Swordsmanship. It was the swordsmanship that Muller had used to hurt Mir hundreds of years ago.

Chill.

Mir glimpsed Muller’s shadow from Kraugel and was thrilled. He was delighted to think that Kraugel would one day grow up to be a good opponent. Yes, this was a story for later.

‘It isn’t enough yet.’

First, there was a fundamental problem. Mir had already experienced Muller’s swordsmanship many times. Unless Kraugel’s swordsmanship could surpass Muller, he was just dancing on Mir’s palm. Mir saw Kraugel’s movements and routes as he prevented a counterattack by using Sword Curtain and predicted clearly what type of sword technique Kraugel would use soon. It was a sword technique that came rushing in and just before reaching, it created three variables by holding the sword in reverse.

‘Matchless Sword 8th style, Beheading.’

The conclusion of the variables was the sword aiming at the neck. He even remembered the name. If he ignored the tricks and defended his neck, or fought back the moment Kraugel held the sword in reverse, he could retaliate. Mir moved faster than Kraugel after making a decision, only for his eyes to widen.

“Splitting the Sky.” It was because Kraugel used a sword technique other than Beheading. Mir was caught off guard and was stabbed while the sky behind him split apart.