[All the hell commanders of the hell army invading the Behen Archipelago have retreated.]

[The Behen Archipelago has temporarily entered a lull.]

The war wasn’t over. It wasn’t known when it would resume again. People were already afraid. Could they hold on if this break was shorter than expected? If the war was to resume again, how many lives would disappear at that time?

“Eddie is dead as well... the 12th company has been completely wiped out except for you and me...”

“Are you crying? This is why I told you not to get close to the soldiers.”

“How can I do that? We crossed the line of death together, helped each other, laughed and cried together...”

“You shouldn’t have mixed up with them and laughed and cried together.”

“How can I do that? Damn! How many times do I owe them? They talked about their dreams with shining eyes! How... how could I turn away?”

“In fact, I’m sad as well.”

Was this really the winning army? The atmosphere of the allied camp was gloomy. It was mostly the players. Unlike NPCs, who were prepared for the end (death) at the beginning of the war, the players weren’t properly prepared to accept death. They suffered great aftereffects after realizing the weight of death, which was particularly harsh on the NPCs throughout the war.

“Let’s become stronger. We have no choice but to be stronger if we want to reduce the number of victims, even by one.”

“Yes... Kuek.”

The sadness that became clearer as the night deepened was covered up with solemn determination.

***

The 6th evil—no, he should now be called the apostle of the Overgeared God. Zik, who defeated Beleth with overwhelming power, had been appointed as the new commander of the Behen Archipelago. He was a very capable person. He immediately grasped the current situation and reorganized the army. A new camp was established in order to take advantage of the terrain of the Behen Archipelago. The work was quick and perfect. It had no shortcomings in the eyes of Piaro, who had led numerous wars.

‘As expected, he is Sir Zik.’

It was worthy of being the figure who reigned the empire behind the scenes even before he regained his body. He was qualified to be an apostle chosen by His Liege.

‘It is a hundred times better than me.’

Piaro was confident in his skills. He was confident that the more he embodied the teachings gained from Biban and improved the realm of Natural State, the more he would develop. However, he evaluated that it hadn’t reached a level comparable to the other apostles. It was the truth, not self-admonishment.

The other apostles had been different since birth. Nefelina was a dragon and Zik was a half-god. Braham was from Beriache’s direct lineage and Sariel was an archangel. Mercedes was a human being, but she was the owner of Keen Insight. Her growth potential was in a different dimension.

‘Doing this at times like this...’

Don’t waver. I might get lost if I become swept away by anxiety. Let’s walk on the right path, even if it is slowly.

It happened as Piaro came out from the barracks and controlled his mind while taking deep, calm breaths...

“You’ve worked hard.” A tall man approached and greeted him politely. It was a man who boasted a height of 2 meters and 23 centimeters. He used his long limbs and elastic muscles to swing his spear like a whip and slaughtered the demons. The name was clearly...

“You are called Kujarak. I saw your performance and was impressed by it.”

“It is thanks to you tying up the feet of Baal’s subordinates and the great demons alone. In particular, the method of deceiving the eyes and ears of the demonic creatures by turning the battlefield into agricultural fields is great. Without you, our allies would’ve received twice the damage.”

Kujarak, the African leopard—he wasn’t the type of person to say meaningless things to get the favor of others. It was the reason why rumors spread that he was negligent when it came to human relations. He paid tribute to Piaro purely and truthfully. He had been watching Piaro from the time Zik appeared and chased Beleth away.

The reinforcement who arrived at the battlefield one step ahead of Zik—he feared that the hero, who helped his allies with a performance that was more than the rumors, would beat himself up by comparing himself to Zik.

“I’ve felt this since a long time ago. I’ve been looking up to you ever since I saw you blow away one of Belial’s arms. I hope you remember that many people are chasing after your back like me.”

“Haha... Your dream is to be a farmer?”

“No. Then I’ll be going now.”

“...I wish you good luck.”

He was truly a person who couldn’t say empty words. Piaro had a very regretful expression, but he soon smiled. His psychological burden was reduced with the encouragement of a true young hero.

***

Satisfy had a low degree of freedom when it came to customization. The player’s appearance wasn’t much different from reality. Skin color, eyes, hairstyles, tattoos, scars, and weight could be modified freely, while ‘naturally born physical conditions’ such as height and skeletal structure were very similar to reality.

Of course, a person who was missing a limb in reality didn’t face the harsh possibility of having no limbs even in Satisfy. Satisfy was extremely generous when it came to disabilities. There were only a few concessions when it came to the shape and length of the skeletal structure.

It was because physical characteristics played a major role in individual combat. The realistic law that a person with long arms was advantageous when fighting a person with short arms was also applied to Satisfy.

Satisfy interpreted the player’s body as an area of talent. It was just like reality. Of course, it wasn’t as harsh as reality. Satisfy had many classes and skills. Since the physical characteristics required for the weapons and techniques used were different, players used their physical conditions to their advantage by choosing a class that suited their body.

This was only for the hardcore gamers. People who dreamed about becoming rankers considered their physical conditions, but the average person didn’t care. In the first place, physical conditions only played an important role when fighting individuals or high intelligence monsters. There was no reason for an ordinary person to care. In that sense—

“Kujarak.”

Kujarak, who had long reigned as a top ranker, had superior physical conditions that were considered a blessing from God.

“Are you leaving?”

Katz—he had recently been showing a series of unrivaled activities and was rapidly emerging as a new signboard of the Overgeared Guild. His level rankings also rose sharply and he was selected as the person who benefited the most from the vampire species. He blocked Kujarak’s way as Kujarak was leaving the camp.

Kujarak stared at Katz with big and clear eyes like a calf and cocked his head. “This isn’t the Katz I know.”

In the past, there was a time when Kujarak and Katz’ hunting grounds overlapped. They met quite often and each time, Katz attacked Kujarak while saying that it was his area. To put it nicely, he was aggressive. To put it badly, he was worse than a brute. Yet now Katz was a completely different person. His eyes were calm.

Katz shrugged. “I’m not a child anymore.”

“I’m glad you’ve grown up, even if it is late. Finish the rest of the war well.”

“Are you really going to leave?”

“I want to fight in a place where my strength is needed more desperately.”

“Indeed...”

The fighting power of the resurrected Zik was beyond imagination. Katz measured him to be comparable to Grid or slightly above him. The Behen Archipelago would be safe as long as he was stationed here.

“Good bye.”

Kujarak looked at Katz, who was holding out his hand with a smile. “If you want to exchange farewells, you should apologize first.”

“Are you still upset about the old days? No, that is a very old thing. Additionally, I was the one who died every time.”

“Just because a robber is overpowered doesn’t mean that he is innocent. The sin doesn’t disappear just because it is in the past.”

“Damn. I’m sorry.”

“Remove the swear word.”

“...I’m sorry.”

In any case, Kujarak never had a moderate personality since a long time ago. Katz seemed to know why this person couldn’t easily get along with others.

‘It is because he doesn’t know compromise that he is trustworthy.’

Katz thought so and apologized politely. He didn’t intend to make friends with Kujarak now. It was simply closer to showing respect. Kujarak’s performance and attitude throughout the war were a great help.

“Your heart has become stronger. I wish you luck.”

The smiling Kujarak finally accepted Katz’ handshake. The big hand gave Katz a wonderful impression.

‘Everyone is growing.’

The Overgeared Guild was just a handful of players out of 2.2 billion players. It was less than a handful compared to the players who were active and developing in invisible places. Katz, who had always felt competitive with others, had a different mindset for the first time. The great human and demon war was the trigger.

‘I’m cheering for you.’

He hoped they would become stronger together and share Grid’s burden. Katz truly hoped for this. It was something that occured after seeing the video of Grid hiding his wounds.

***

The Abyss had Braham, Mercedes, Asmophel, Peak Sword, Chris, etc.

The Behen Archipelago had Zik, Piaro, Jishuka, Katz, Regas, etc.

They worked closely together to maintain the camp and prepare for the demon invasion. Additionally, Bunsdel and 500 half-draconians patrolled the sky and watched out for the mass outbreak of portals. Skilled individuals such as Eat Spicy Jokbal and Hurent also dominated the major strongholds. It was an almost perfect defense compared to the early days of the war.

‘Basara is ready.’

Basara was currently staying in the underground area of the imperial palace. It was to recreate the summoning magic circle that had been sleeping in the depths of the imperial library. It was a summoning magic circle that responded only to red energy. The better the quality of the red energy, the higher the effect. Basara had no choice but to do it herself.

‘Victory. We can win.’

In the worst case scenario where even Baal’s body emerged, there was a chance of winning when they joined forces with everyone. Probably. Of course, the damage would be terrible, but... the fact that hope existed was important.

Thanks to this, Grid could concentrate. He endured the heat emitted by the Furnace of God that was built up like a city wall, and smelted Gujel’s fang. He was worried that he had made a mistake when he saw the fang stained black, but fortunately, it was a natural process.

Gujel’s fang wasn’t metal so it didn’t melt into a molten form. The strength increased by burning the surface and reducing the volume. The expression ‘shedding’ seemed appropriate.

‘It is becoming stronger?’

Grid went beyond admiration and became shocked. He realized again why the level of the dragon weapons and armor made by the members of the Tower of Wisdom were so insignificant. Grid had no worries about how to smelt a tooth that didn’t melt. He naturally understood that his work was going in the right direction. The Overgeared God’s Techniques helped him understand it.

The surface of the ashy fang further increased the strength of the flames in the furnace. The powerful heat generated in an instant burned black all the top-grade stones making up the furnace and withered the trees and grass in the area. The windows of Grid’s smithy, located not far away, melted because they couldn’t be bent. Then judging from the exterior walls that started to crack, the steel frames supporting the building seemed to be twisting.

“Ugh...”

The blacksmiths, who were waiting for him in the distance, stepped back in pain. Their skin had already turned red. Grid summoned Noe and Overgeared Corn to help the craftsmen flee.

Eventually, the smithy collapsed. It was because it couldn’t overcome the heat. Grid’s work clothes had already burned and disappeared. He was naked. To be precise, he was only wearing Beriache’s Underclothing.

‘This is crazy.’

If this continued, the furnace would also be destroyed. The rise of heat, caused by the by-product of the fang, exceeded expectations... Grid’s concerns soon became a reality. Cracks started to occur on the surface of the myth rated furnace. Even so, Grid didn’t stop the bellows. He stared at Gujel’s fang, that blackened as if trying to shed again, only to blow a stronger air.

‘I can feel it!’

Grid vaguely felt it. The willpower in the fang that emitted light as the flames intensified. Perhaps it was the thoughts of the dead Gujel. It was a part of his dignity that wouldn’t give in to anyone.

An explosion occurred. Part of the surface of the Furnace of God was destroyed and the flames circulating inside the furnace erupted. Some of the inner city walls hit by the flames collapsed and the palace shook from the aftermath that occurred at this time. The ponds evaporated and the garden burned down. The sky was red.

“Uwaaaah!”

Grid’s developed hearing captured Rabbit’s scream coming from somewhere. However, Grid’s use of the bellows accelerated instead. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to stop now. It was all or nothing. He believed that Lauel would’ve evacuated the others, including Irene.

How much time had passed? It was to the point where even Beriache’s Underclothing was in tatters.

Just then, Gujel’s fang, which had become smaller in size, emitted a transparent glow. The infinite flow of light illuminated the interior of the furnace that was burned black. The furnace seemed to become the universe. The fiercely burning flames died down like it was a lie.

Grid stretched out his tongs. He got rid of Gujel’s thoughts, placed the subdued fang on the anvil, and hit it with his hammer. The clear sound that had never been heard before gave Grid a refreshing thrill. The sensation rushed through the back of his neck and penetrated his brain.

[You have succeeded in smelting Gujel’s Fang.]

[Your willpower and mental world have strengthened.]