Overgeared

Chapter 131

“…”

It was the first time Grid saw such bad acting. It was even more awkward than an idol appearing in a drama for the first time. Anybody watching it would be embarrassed. But the acting wasn't the important thing right now. What was he planning after claiming to be enchanted?

Grid had no doubt that Toban was lying.

'Interesting.'

Toban's greed was awakened due to the quest, and now he was trying to betray a colleague.

Box said with satisfaction, "The situation is like this… Grid, I want to experience the skill of the hidden class that smashed the Giant Guild. Chief, use buff magic on us."

'This isn't right.'

Toban hesitated until the end. It might be for a quest, but he was worried and feeling guilty about betraying a fellow guild member.

‘It goes against logic.'

He knew it. No matter the reason, he shouldn't betray a colleague. He couldn't refute, even if he was called garbage.  But he didn't want to give up this quest. This was a SS-grade quest that he received for the first time, with a legendary rated sword as a reward. It was an opportunity that wouldn't come again, so he couldn't miss it.

After careful consideration, Toban made his decision.

'I'm sorry Grid… But this is all your fault! You are a bad person!'

Can't you give up the quest items for a guild member? He wasn't even asking for free, since he was willing to pay compensation. But it was rejected? Was that too much to ask?

'Grid! I have to kill you for the quest! I will surely repay the damage that you will suffer today!'

In the end, Toban decided!

He started acting again, "Ah! How is this possible? My body has to move as Box commands and now I am using a skill? I want to reject it, but I can't! This! It can't be helped. I'm sorry, Grid! Forgive me! God of health and wisdom, Judar! I earnestly pray for you to give us your blessing. Light's Glory!"

[The effect of Light's Glory is activated. The stats of you and your party members have increased by 20%.]

Paladins of the Judar Church were specialized in buff skills. Not only was their buffing ability superior, the buff effect extended to all party members, including the pets. Therefore, the Judar paladins were one of the most popular classes for party hunting.

“Let’s start again. Show us all of your abilities." Asuka felt stronger and restarted the battle with Grid. "Spear Frenzy!"

Berserkers were more aggressive than any other class and could use all types of weapons. Asuka was a second generation conglomerate heir, so she had a variety of unique weapons. She pulled out a spear from her inventory and started a crazy rampage.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

Sword Frenzy was a single target skill, while Spear Frenzy was a skill with a wide range.

The spear attacked the target and surrounding area at the same time. It inflicted 50% damage to enemies within the attack range, causing the ground to shake and for the target to rise in the air for 0.8 seconds.

Even if the target avoided the attack, they couldn't avoid the aftermath. The so-called CC (crowd control) technique.

Chaaeng!

Grid wielded his greatsword to stop the spear. However, his body was affected by the aftermath. He started to rise in the air.

Asuka didn't miss this gap. She had countless combat experience so she rushed to complete the combo. It was possible to damage someone in the air using 'Chain Frenzy.' This would cause the opponent to hang helplessly in the air for two seconds and receive one-sided attacks.

She pulled out the chain, but Grid wasn't stuck in the air. He stood on the ground like a magnet was attached to his feet.

"Eh?"

"Resorting to petty tricks." Grid grinned at the panicked Asuka.

Asuka hurriedly retrieved the chain. Then she pulled out the double swords she used as a main weapon and defended.

Kaang!

‘It is still fast and heavy!'

All her stats had increased by 20%. Nevertheless, Grid still felt strong.

Kikik! Kkikikik!

'Amazing.'

Asuka's face was blissful instead of fearful as she blocked the greatsword with her double swords.

'He's immune to CC. Is this man's class immune to status conditions?'

Wasn't this a fraudulent effect that would collapse the balance? She earnestly started to covet it. Asuka wanted the same hidden class as Grid. She would pay Grid astronomical amounts of money to find out how to obtain his class.

She didn't care about money. She believed that she could get anything she wanted.

But what was the reality? Most users didn't know this, but the way to change to a hidden class changed every moment. 

In order to change to class A, three loaves of bread needed to be eaten three times in front of a certain place. This condition wasn't always constant. Depending on the person and situation, they might have to shout four times or eat four loaves. 

A hidden class was obtained once every condition was met, and it could change depending on luck and coincidences. Think about it. If the method of obtaining a hidden class was fixed, wouldn't a hidden class sell the method for money and it would become commonplace?

It was only possible to buy a class change book, not the actual method. And in the first place, Grid had a legendary class. A legendary class was unique.  It was useless even for a billionaire. As long as Grid was Pagma’s Descendant, no one else could become Pagma’s Descendant.

"Wave."

Grid sensed the presence of the white bear warrior while dealing with Grid, and used the skill that smashed the Giant Guild members in the past. Asuka and the white bear warrior, who were in front and behind Grid, both flew away.

"Cough!"

[You have suffered 4,500 damage.]

It was tremendous attack power. Despite her unique rated armor, Asuka lost a quarter of her health from the attack. Then warning windows flashed in front of her amazed eyes.

[Due to the enemy's skill, all speeds have decreased for 10 seconds.]

'The wide area skill deals large damage and has a debuff effect?'

He was also immune to status conditions, so the category of Grid's class must be beyond common sense. Asuka was sure of it. Grid didn't have a rare hidden class.

"There is still one epic class still undisclosed… Is that you?" Asuka asked Grid like she knew everything.

"Think what you want."

He was about to attack again when Asuka cried out, “Let me know how to obtain your hidden class. In exchange, I will give you enough money to play around for the rest of your life…"

The moment that Asuka was about to negotiate, Box jumped forward and blocked her mouth. “Miss Asuka, don't you want to have some more fun?"

After speaking one-sidedly, Box opened his folding fan and started to wield it like a baton. It was a weapon that controlled magic power.

‘This parasitic bastard.'

A handsome man was humming while swinging his fan around like a maestro. He was handsome so anything he did would become a painting. Grid was feeling a strong animosity when Box stopped his conducting. In less than two seconds, he used a skill to connect the magic power of himself and his party members.

"Magic Power Resonance."

[The effect of Magic Power Resonance is activated. The buff effect applied to you and your party members will increase by 1.5 times.]

Linkers weren't just about puppet magic.  It could amplify beneficial effects and extent the range of the effect. The same was true for harmful effects. If the enemy had a debuff on them, he could extend the debuff range by connecting his magic power to the enemy's and amplifying the effect.

Linkers belonged to the magician class by default. They also had attack magic.

“Magic Pistol.”

Tatatang!

Box fired his magic power like he was holding a gun. The damage was low but the activation speed was so fast it was almost impossible to avoid. Grid couldn't respond and was hit.

[You have suffered 307 damage.]

[You have suffered 315 damage.]

The Holy Light Armor was light armor. But it was made of the god mineral adamantium and had a higher defense than level 250 unique rated heavy armor. The defense was 872 points. It could be considered as one of the best armors in existence. 

Grid didn't meet the conditions of use and with the penalty, only 393 defense was applied. It was around the same level of defense as a level 200 rare rated heavy armor. However, the Holy Light Armor had a fraudulent option of 40% reduction in physical damage and 50% reduction in magic damage. In addition, the set effect of the Holy Light Battle Gear gave +500 defense so the default defense wasn't low.

Grid didn't even blink despite being hit with Magic Pistol one after another. Box was surprised and covered half his face with his fan. It was to cover as much of his confusion as possible.

'Magic Pistol only did 300 damage? The damage of a linker is weak, but isn't this too much?'

Furthermore, hadn't his stats increased by 30% due to the combined effect of Light's Glory and Magic Power Resonance? Yet he only did this much damage?

'It is more than I imagined.'

In general, classes with excellent attack power had low defense. Box predicted that Grid would have low defense. Then what was this? Grid seemed to have uniquely high attack power and defense. 

'It's a class with a perfect balance… No, that's too much. It might be his items. Perhaps the battle gear that Toban considered as simple quest items are actually amazing? Okay. First of all, let's stay calm.'

No matter how high his defense, he wouldn't have infinite health. Box thought he would be able to kill Grid if this continued. Then he used magic again.

“Magic Pistol.”

Tatatang!

[You have suffered 290 damage.]

[You have suffered 310 damage.]

[You have suffered 305 damage.]

The advantage of Magic Pistol wasn't just its activation speed. The mana consumption was low, so he could use it freely. Grid's nerves were sharpened by the magic power bullets that continued to fly.

‘This is irritating.'

The damage wasn't threatening. Currently, Grid was level 170 and had a health that was close to 40,000. This included the 6,000 health acquired from the Holy Light set and Doran's ring. 300 damage was like a mosquito biting him.

But what if the damage continued to accumulate? He couldn't overlook the attacks that were impossible to avoid. Grid decided that Box should be removed first. But the white bear warrior blocked his path to Box. There was also Toban behind the bear. He was the 1st ranked paladin, so he was famous for his iron wall defense.

Box believed that the current battle formation was perfect.

‘Black Teddy's summons and Toban will tie up Grid's feet, while I deal damage from the rear. Asuka will look for a gap and deal the fatal blow.'

The opponent might be a monster who killed the pope, but they were four top rankers and the balance was excellent. It was a fight that was virtually impossible to lose. Victory was natural. Toban and Box's group thought so.

But Grid thought differently.

‘I am stronger than Pon or Regas.'

He alone defeated the pope, who was even stronger than Malacus. Grid believed that with the pavranium, he was the strongest user. That's right. Grid had the pavranium.  He finally pulled out the pavranium. He would use all his strength.

"First of all, take care of the annoying guy…"

'What is that?'

Box's companions were amazed as two golden discs suddenly appeared.

Kiiiiing!

The discs turned like cogs and rose into the sky. They easily flew through Toban's defense on the ground, like they were laughing at him. After descending again, they hit Box's chest, who was stunned and fell down.

“Kuaaaaak!”

These discs flew alone and attacked the enemy? What type of absurd item was this?

"Toban, what is that? Did he have something like this?"

While everyone was focused on the golden discs, Grid unfolded his sword dance. 

"Pagma's Swordsmanship, Transcend."

Subsequently, he used Blacksmith's Rage and greatly increased his attack power and attack speed. After that, he launched the energy swords at Toban and Black Teddy's pet.

Kwa kwa kwa kwang!

"Kuoong!"

Toban used a defense buff and hurriedly raised his shield in front of him. But it was useless. His epic rated shield was turned into scrap metal in front of the bombardment. Toban felt like crying.

‘Grid. Why are you so strong?'

Jishuka, Pon and Vantner told him that Grid was actually a very talented person, but he never imagined a class like this. If this continued, wouldn't they lose the battle?

‘Isn't this too disgraceful…?'

Death would cause a loss in experience. As Toban was feeling desperate, Asuka spoke with admiration.

"Really amazing."

On one side, Box was being hit by the two golden discs, as they constantly flew past Toban and Black Teddy's defense. This wasn't a battle between rankers. It was like a high level user playing with low level users.

It was completely one-sided.However, the situation might change if the main damage dealer, Asuka joined in again. 

As a berserker, she became stronger the more health she lost. She lost a quarter of her health to Grid's strike, so she had a 20% increase in attack power and 10% increase in attack speed due to the passive effect. She was confident that she could face Grid.

But Asuka made another choice. She was fascinated the more she watched Grid's class, so she cried out, "Grid! Let me know how to obtain your hidden class! I will provide you with a large amount of money, enough for you to play around for the rest of your life!"

He could live a comfortable life for some game information. Who could resist this temptation? Asuka naturally thought that Grid would cooperate. 

Of course, Grid's ears pricked up. He stopped the bombardment and asked Asuka, “How much are you going to give?”

“Tell me the amount you want.

Grid spoke to her confidently. “One trillion won."

"What?"

It wasn't 100 billion, but one trillion? It wasn't the type of money that even a second generation heir would have. One trillion won was an astronomical amount equivalent to one-thirds of her father's company's assets.

"Are you crazy?" Grid sincerely questioned Asuka. "Is there something wrong with your head?"

How could a hidden class be sold so easily?

"There is something called a brain. Do you think the class change method is the same every time? If it could be told to anyone, would the hidden classes be as rare as they are now? They would be as common as stones on the street.

“…”

She listened to him. Grid scoffed as Asuka made a stunned expression after realizing what she had overlooked.

"You have a lot of money, but you don't see the world. How stupid." Right now, Grid was grumpy. “You asked for the method to obtain my hidden class? Attacking people randomly for such absurd reasons…"

Grid wanted to clear the quest as quickly as possible and return to Winston. His goal was a first night with his pretty bride! He wanted to return to his daily life after losing his virginity. He was earning money and stats as a blacksmith, then he would embezzle Winston's taxes once he became a lord.

Yet these guys were delaying his journey. It was for items or purely selfish reasons. 

"What are you doing?"

It was okay to interfere with others, but he couldn't tolerate others interfering with him. Grid's eyes shone.

"Kill."

Grid underestimated Toban and Box's group. This carelessness almost caused a big misfortune. 

OG: 

Current schedule: 20 chapters a week.

Chapter 132

It was true that the pope had a higher level than Malacus and a higher overall combat power due to his stats. The problem was that his class was a priest.  A priest was a class that specialized in support abilities, with their combat ability being the lowest among all classes.

Indeed, the pope's only attack spell was Goddess' Breath(a regular user would've died in one blow from Goddess' Breath). The only method the pope used to attack Grid was to release magic power (ordinary users wouldn't have survived even a simple magic bombardment).

On the other hand, rankers chose the right class for their power and they had a lot of combat experience.

"Did you call me stupid? Even my father never said such things to me."

Asuka's face reddened as she puffed up angrily. She rushed towards Grid and started to wield her double swords. The duration of Transcend and Blacksmith's Rage ended, and Grid was in a state of crisis.

He was startled.

'What? Isn't she much faster than earlier?'

Jjejeong!

"Kuk!"

It wasn't easy to keep up with the double swords coming continuously. Then Grid fired Pagma's Swordsmanship, Link.

Chaaeng! Chaeeeeeng!

Asuka barely managed to block 3 of Grid's 17 linked strikes. Then she used Sword Frenzy to block up 9 more strikes.  But there were still 5 remaining. She allowed those five attacks. In the party information window, Asuka's health dropped to less than half in an instant.

Toban panicked, but Black Teddy was always beside Asuka and he wasn't worried. Black Teddy knew better than anyone that a berserker became stronger when their health fell.

Kwakakakang!

“Eh?"

Asuka's attack power increased by 40% and her attack speed by 20%. Grid started to become injured as the battle continued.

[You have suffered 1,900 damage.]

[You have suffered 2,080 damage.]

'No, why is she so much stronger?'

Grid hurriedly recalled the pavranium from where they were attacking Box. Then he regained some breathing room.

Chaaeng! Chaeeeeeng!

Wasn't it easy for the pavranium to rotate around Grid and defend against all of Asuka's strikes?

"What is that item? Legendary rated?"

Grid ignored Asuka's question and pulled out the Ideal Dagger. He used Quick Movements because swiftly changing back to Dainsleif.

“Shut up and die quickly!”

Grid's high insight confirmed that Asuka's combat power was rising. Grid was frustrated. He resorted to only relying on pavranium to defend as the rushed at Asuka. He struck down on Asuka's shoulder and succeeded in slashing it. Grid linked his attacks while Asuka paused.

Papat! Papapat!

Asuka survived the stabbing attacks and her health was reduced to only 20%. From this point on, she showed the genuine strength of a berserker.

[You have suffered serious damage. Maximizing the berserk effect.]

[Attack power will increase by 80% and attack speed will increase by 50%.]

With the 50% increase in attack speed, the use of large weapons was now maximized. Asuka swapped to a halberd that was bigger than her body and wielded it.

Chaaeng!

"Kuk?"

Grid tried to defend against the halberd attack, but he couldn't endure the overwhelming attack power. Toban felt some hope at the scene and used a buff on Asuka.

“Fierce Momentum!"

[Fierce Momentum is activated. You and your party's attack power will increase by 30%, while defense is reduced by 20%.]

Box didn't stay still either.

"Magic Power Resonance!"

[The effect of Magic Power Resonance is activated. The buff effect applied to you and your party members will increase by 1.5 times.]

“Ohhhhhh!”

Asuka felt the overwhelming power and shouted. She swung the halberd again, leaving a red afterimage.

Peeeeeong!

"Crazy!"

The moment Asuka's attack was blocked by Dainsleif, Grid's body disappeared into the air. It was the moment when the immune Grid was forcibly caught in the air by a physical force he couldn't resist. It was another one of Asuka's unique weapons, 'Hell Chains.' Then she unfolded Chain Frenzy and Grid was stuck in the air for two seconds.

The white bear warrior rushed forward through this gap. Then it swung its paws at Grid. But the golden discs spun and defended against the bear's attacks.

Asuka smiled with satisfaction. She had been waiting for the gold discs protecting Grid's body to be preoccupied elsewhere. 0.5 seconds because Grid's captivity ended. Asuka revealed the 'Onslaught Greatsword,' her weapon with the strongest attack power.

She jumped and stabbed the greatsword into Grid's chest.

“Kuaaaaak!”

Grid screamed as red filled his vision.

[You have been hit by a blow!]

[You have suffered 29,900 damage.]

Given the fact that the Holy Light Armor reduced physical damage by 40%, Asuka's attack power was currently far above common sense. If Grid hadn't been wearing the Holy Light Armor, he would've lost his life.

Flop!

Grid's captive state ended and he rolled onto the ground. Box watched the blood pouring from him and was convinced that they could defeat Grid. Suddenly, a green light appeared on Grid's finger as the effect of Doran's ring was activated and 50% of the damage incurred to Grid was restored to his health.

Once this was triggered, there was a 10-minute cooldown, and it had been exactly 10 minutes since Grid first received a blow from Box's party. In addition, he hadn't equipped the Holy Light Armor 10 minutes ago. The Holy Light Armour had an option for a 300% increase in recovery magic! With 29,900 damage, Doran's Ring would restore 14,950 health. This was then tripled, making it equivalent to Grid regaining all of his health.

[44,850 health has been restored.]

"Shit. I almost died."

Grid cursed as he raised his body. 

"Eh…?"

Asuka's eyes widened. There wasn't a single wound on Grid's body, no mark where Grid's heart should be injured? There wasn't even a single scratch!

"What's this?"

Toban, Black Teddy, and Box were stunned.

The cooldown of Pagma's Swordsmanship, Kill, ended. Asuka perceived the killing intent and swapped back to using double swords for defense. However, it would be hard alone, prompting Black Teddy to command the white bear warrior to defend her.

However, the white bear's health was depleted from the previous bombardment and tt failed to defend against Grid's Kill, instantly destroyed by the blow. Then Kill passed through the white bear's flesh and collided with Asuka's double swords.

Jjejeong!

“Kyaaack!"

This was the first time Asuka experienced it: it was her first defeat to another Satisfy user, her first user-driven death.

[Your party member Asuka has died.]

“W-What?"

The person they relied on the most had died. Toban was half amazed and half frustrated. Box shivered.

'This is enough…!'

Box's reason for being obsessed with Grid was different from Asuka. He wasn't looking for Grid's class like Asuka. He was checking to make sure that Grid was worthy of an invitation. In fact, Box's true identity was a spy for another guild.

"Grid! Leave the Tzedakah Guild and come to our guild. In the unified guild rankings, we are…"

Box revealed he was part of another guild and tried to invite Grid! He couldn't even finish speaking. A black energy shield hit his neck.

[You have been hit by a lethal blow!]

[You have died.]

'Crazy.'

He wasn't called a psychopath for no reason. How could he cut a person's neck when they were talking? Box was dumbfounded. He died with a grimace and changed into grey light.

The only ones left were Black Teddy and Toban. Black Teddy was furious.

"You dare… How dare you kill the Young Lady!?"

Grid glared at him, "I'm wrong for killing her? Think about it. Who attacked me first and who tried to kill me first? Who should be angry right now? Ah, shit. I'm becoming angrier the more I think about it. Die."

Black Teddy was strong, but he wasn't that strong. His pets were already dead and couldn't be summoned again right away. Grid attacked and he also turned into light. Now Toban was the only one left.

"Haha…" Toban couldn't say anything and laughed awkwardly.

Grid smiled sharply at him, "Aren't you good at acting? You should receive something at this year's acting awards."

"Haha…"

Toban continued laughing and Grid's gaze became more menacing.

"Do you have any excuses?"

Toban also had a conscience. He no longer wanted to deceive Grid. He bowed in front of Grid and shouted, "I'm sorry! I was blinded by greed!"

Grid squatted in front of him. Then he extended a hand. Toban didn't understand what it meant. Grid spoke to the confused Toban, "Give me money. If you give me enough money to soften my anger, I might forget about this. You don't have to if you don't want to. I will just report you to Jishuka."

Jishuka's nature meant she couldn't stand traitors. Toban knew this better than anyone. 

Toban's inventory was robbed. He currently had 20,000 gold. It was worth 24 million won. But Toban was truly sorry towards Grid and was afraid of retaliation, so he didn't hesitate to pay a large amount to Grid.

In the end, some of Grid's anger was released. It wasn't bad that he earned 24 million won from one battle. Grid put the money in the inventory and told Toban.

"Okay. This is enough for now. But I'm sorry. Don't even dream of having an item made by me."

"G-Grid…!"

Toban felt like crying. However, he felt so sorry that he couldn't ask Grid to forgive him. Grid's heart softened as he saw the genuine regret and he gave Toban a ray of hope.

"Well… Yes. I will just forgive you. If you serve me like a slave, I will make you an item someday…"

"…Thank you."

Serve as his slave? Toban wasn't able to decide if he should appreciate this situation or not. But he had to accept since he was the one who did something wrong in the first place. Then Grid ordered,

"Stand up. Let’s depart.”

"Huh? Depart…? Where?"

Grid smiled sweetly at the confused Toban, "Let's go complete my quest. You have become my slave."

“…”

The 1st ranked paladin and the 68th user on the unified rankings. It was the moment when Toban, first ranked paladin of the Judar Church and chief of staff of the Tzedakah Guild, became Grid's slave.

OG: 

Current schedule: 20 chapters a week.

Chapter 133

Thanks to the great success of Satisfy, the S.A. Group became the world's best group. They had two billion loyal customers and hundreds of affiliated companies, so there was no group with more influence and wealth in history.

And South Korea was very dependent on the S.A. Group. South Korea had a small land mass and limited natural resources, so the jobs that the S.A. Group created and the numerous charitable projects were like a ray of light.

Just yesterday, South Korea's government brought a new request to the S.A. Group. It was to invite Satisfy's rankers to South Korea, where a national competition would be hosted.

“The opinion of the government is as follows. Users of the top 100 ranking will be invited to South Korea in teams for each country, where a competition consisting of raids, pet marathons and other contests will be held. It will be organized by the Korean government, and they hope that the planning, public relations and sponsorships will be handled by the S.A. Group."

A meeting room in S.A. Group's headquarters in Seoul.

Some people showed negative reactions.

"I don't know if we can continue to do favors for the Korean government. Are we a charity? I don't like their attitude of always asking us for things."

"A Satisfy competition can be hosted by companies and broadcasting stations in various countries. Why should we invest our money and manpower?"

“And why should we invite rankers to South Korea when it can be done online? What do they think the top 100 rankers are? The rankers are too busy raising their level and won't move for a small amount of money. Hundreds of billions of won would be needed to bring 100 people here."

Yoon Sangmin was watching the executives giving negative comments and finally opened his mouth.

"You should note that it will be a national competition. Competitions that pit countries against each other such as the Olympics and World Cup have always gained popularity around the world. More than one-third of the world's population is interested in Satisfy, so the popularity of various sports has fallen, yet the ratings for the Olympics and World Cup are still high. A national contest involving Satisfy… It is content that can become a global issue."

Kim Jiyoung, the branch manager of the South Korean branch, also gave a positive opinion.

“It's a good idea to invite rankers offline. If there are events such as stage greetings or an awards ceremony at Seoul Olympic Stadium in front of many spectators, it will give interest to the middle-aged people who think that Satisfy is just a game, and give them a real feeling of immersion."

President Lee Hoonyi was smiling.

"The rankers are stars and will attract crowds, so we don't need to worry about selling tickets. If they can see many famous rankers in one place, many tourists will come from all over the world. We can also sell the broadcasting rights to each country at a high price, so the profit will be good. This is the aim of the South Korean government."

Lim Cheolho was proud.

“If we compete by ranking each country, the people of each country will support their rankings and inspire patriotism. It's very desirable to build patriotism through Satisfy."

The expressions of the executives giving negative opinions changed. The decision seemed to have been made.

Kim Jiyoung drove in the wedge.

“Starting this year, we should hold a Satisfy national competition every year. We can think of unique events that can only be carried out within Satisfy and gradually expand the number of participants, so that the Satisfy national competition will someday become a prestigious event like the Olympics and the World Cup."

Lee Hoonyi clapped.

"Good, good. We won't receive any damages, no matter how much money we invest." 

Now everyone’s attention focused on Lim Cheolho, the top decision maker. Lim Cheolho nodded.

“Tell the South Korean government that we will approve their request."

At that moment, Yoon Nahee, the head of the operations team, quietly raised a hand. She didn't shrink back under the gazes of all the executives and expressed concern.

“We need some improvements because we approved the government's request."

Yoon Nahee was Yoon Sangmin's younger sister. Yoon Sangmin knew how meticulous and competent she was, so he listened to her words.

"Tell us."

Yoon Nahee explained, “First of all, if we divide the top 100 rankers by country, it won't be balanced. For example, there are 23 Americans in the top 100 ranking and only 2 Koreans. Since it's a national competition, the number of participating players must be raised, but the gap between countries is too big."

“What if we limit the participants to the top 30 instead of the top 100?"

"It is an extreme situation that will reduce the number of participating countries. Then it will be too small to be a competition that the world will enjoy."

The executives were agitated.

“I don't want the competition to be limited to rankers. Rather, those who stand out in each event should be selected, just like sports…"

“Then there's too much we need to do. Won't it take a long time to divide the two billion users into countries and examine their competence in each field before making a selection?" 

“In addition, inviting the rankers to the first competition will help it succeed. Who will be interested if the representatives of each country are people they haven't heard of?"

In the midst of this confusion, Yoon Nahee brought up another problem.

"In addition, yesterday at 23:55, Yura reached level 280."

"Hah…"

Wasn't the level up speed of the top rankers really amazing? The executives were thrilled and made a fuss.

"Great. Then the top five in the unified rankings have gone above level 280?"

"It is rewarding. Yura's achievement will be good news for Koreans who have been struggling in games recently."

“That’s right. When I was young, various gaming competitions were held and the Korean teams mostly won…"

“It isn't pleasing. Isn't the level up of rankers too fast?"

“That’s right. The prediction of Supercomputer Morpheus has once again missed the mark. Check the reference materials in front of you. Morpheus was expecting the appearance of a level 280 user in the next two months."

"Really. This is serious…"

Level 210, 240 and 270.

The levels were called the 'hell sections' by users because the amount of experience required to level up increased exponentially. Nevertheless, it was surprisingly that this didn't limit the level up speed of the top rankers.

"Since Satisfy began, a number of Morpheus' predictions have been wrong. Is it a virus?"

“It seems like a major overhaul is needed."

Yoon Nahee shook her head while the executives were feeling concerned.

"There is nothing wrong with Morpheus. It is just that the abilities of the top rankers is higher than expected. If we take this into account and reset the error range, Morpheus' predictions won't be wrong in the future."

"Haha… How terrific are the rankers?"

“They far transcend the general public. In particular, the abilities of the users in the top 30 are excellent. Their understanding of skills and battle comprehension are different from ordinary people. They hunt close to impossible monsters relatively easily and level up efficiently. Even the user called 'Regas' has a fast level up speed and is in the top 30, despite the fact that he doesn't use weapons and is hunting with his bare hands."

Yoon Sangmin frowned.

"Taekwon Master Regas? Is he still doing that?"

The class of martial artist was less dependent on weapons than other classes. By default, their skills had a high attack power and passive skills that could penetrate the defense of the target.  In the first place, the weapons that martial artists could wear were limited to knuckles. Knuckle-type weapons had the lowest attack power among all weapons. 

In general, martial artists were rarely obsessed with weapons compared to other combat classes. But no matter what, wearing knuckles was a few times better than fighting with bare hands. Regas had a record of not using weapons since starting Satisfy. Therefore, he was observed for a while and the executives knew about him.

“He is Taekwondo obsessed…"

Regas' real name was Roald Hoffmann. He was born in London, England. He had a special history as an Olympic Taekwondo gold medalist and was so obsessed with Taekwondo that he combined skills with Taekwondo in Satisfy.

“He doesn't use weapons because he thinks that the user of weapons violates the spirit of Taekwondo… Stupid. It is a type of psychosis."

“But why are you suddenly talking about Regas?"

“He was mentioned after stating that Yura reached level 280…"

“Ah, that’s right. Why did you suddenly talk about Yura's level?"

The executives looked questioning. Yoon Nahee explained to them.

“If the level up speed of the top five ranked users is maintained as they are, they will reach level 300 in the next three months and achieve the third advancement."

The users just reached the second advanced five months ago. In other words, out of the two billion users, there weren't even 100 users who were above level 200. At that time, the level of users within the top 5 of the unified rankings was only 230. 

Now there were over 1,000 users who reached the second advancement and the users in the top 5 were almost at level 300. This would lead to a major disruption in the national competition.

"If we accept that South Korea will be the host country, it will take at least three months for the preparation and publicity period."

The executives finally realized the seriousness of the situation.

"Hrmm, I see. If the competition is held after the third advancement users have appeared…”

"It won't work. The gap between the second advancement and third advancement users is so big that the games will be easier to predict and less fun to watch."

“The skills of the third advancement class are far superior to the skills of the second advancement class… Um…" 

The difference between the first advancement and second advancement classes was like the difference between the sky and earth. If a level 99 user was compared to a level 100 user, it seemed like there were just a difference of one level. But the actual difference was 50 levels.

And the difference between the second advancement and third advancement was more than that. The third advancement classes had a skill tree that was comparable to a few hidden classes. The third advancement classes were deliberately set up to be stronger, in order to minimize the sense of deprivation for regular users who didn't have hidden classes.

Yoon Sangmin asked, "Can't we accelerate the timeline of the contest? Do we have to hold it in three months?"

“If we invest more money and hire more manpower, we can shorten the preparation period. But there must be a minimum of three months publicity period in order to sufficiently promote it to the world…"

Yoon Nahee spoke awkwardly, then Branch Manager Kim Jiyoung offered an opinion.

“How about creating quests within Satisfy? It's difficult to confine the number of participants in the national contest to only rankers, so I would rather give quests to all two billion users."

Branch Manager Kim Jiyoung's opinion was as followed:

Through quests, the users would be informed about the national competition. This would naturally cause a publicity effect. They would encourage users to participate in the events of the national competition through the quests. The progress of the users' quests would be monitored and they would select competent people suitable to be representatives for each event.

"This will shorten the promotional period and take care of the selection of participants. It is also suitable for raising the interest of users and making the national competition a big deal…"

There wasn't one person who disagreed. All of them were in favor of Kim Jiyoung's suggestion.

***

The Dominion Church's sanctum. A priest approached the head of the church, who was praying.

“Leader, there is someone requesting a blessing from God Dominion."

"At this time? One of our followers?"

"That… No."

"…?"

The leader, Rhonda, was confused. The blessing of a god was a sacred thing that couldn't be given to anyone. It was a sacred ritual that could only be given to select people. He would select from one of the followers to receive the god's blessing once a year, but now a third party was asking for the blessing? The person had no concept of shame.

The priest added an explanation since Rhona was making an unpleasant expression.

“He is accompanied by the first paladin of the Judar Church. In addition, he has a letter of recommendation from one of Rebecca's Daughter, Isabel."

"Hrmm…"

The best paladins of the Rebecca Church and Judar Church? The religious leader was interested and rose from his spot. Then he met the man who came to see him.

He was an ordinary man with black hair. His mouth and eyes seemed stubborn, so he didn't give off a good impression. But there was something vaguely likable about this eyes. In addition, there seemed to be a halo of light around him.

'It is a strange impression.'

Rhona was stunned for a moment.

Then the first paladin of the Judar Church came forward. 

"Leader, this is Mister Grid. He is one of the great heroes who defeated the Sixth Servant of Yatan, Malacus and the agent of the goddess who killed Pope Drevigo, who was corrupting the Rebecca Church."

"Hah…"

The religious leader realized the origin of the halo around Grid. He was a great person who had already received Goddess Rebecca's blessing.

“It is an honor to meet you, Mister Grid."

The leader of the Dominion Church bowed to Grid.

Toban was amazed as he saw the scene.

'I introduced him as Grid said, but for him to be treated like this?'

The authority of the pope and leaders of the churches transcended imagination. Each of them had tens of millions of believers and were even respected by the kings of various nations. But this existence was bowing down to one user?

As Toban was stunned, Grid asked the religious leader.

“I hope that you can bestow the blessing of God Dominion on something."

"I'll willingly do it."

After that, Leader Rhonda did the ceremony. While dozens of believers were praying, he blessed the two golden discs. Then a notification window flashed in front of Grid.

[God Dominion's blessing has fallen on the pavranium.]

[The attack power of the pavranium has been strengthened.]

Grid appraised the golden discs.

[Golden Discs Made of Pavranium]

Durability: Infinite

Golden discs made of pavranium, the strongest mineral produced by the collaboration between the legendary blacksmith Pagma and the legendary great magician Braham.

By default, they revolve around and protect their owner. But they will also take other actions when given commands from their owner.

* They have obtained healing skills due to Goddess Rebecca's blessing. They will increase their owner's health recovery speed by 300%.

* They have obtained an attack buff skill due to God Dominion's blessing. The owner's attack power will increase by 15%.

Weight: 3

"Kuk…"

Grid was thrilled.

He had suffered so much to receive the blessing of Goddess Rebecca, so he was worried about what type of hardships he would have to go through to receive God Dominion's blessing. But unlike his worries, it was easy to clear the quest and he acquired an excellent buff effect.

"Okay. Next is the Judar Church."

Toban freaked out at Grid's shocking statement.

"J-Judar Church?"

Toban was the first paladin of the Judar Church! He was on a quest for the leader of the Judar Church. He originally had to take away the Holy Light set from Grid.  He had to return to the church with Grid without achieving his purpose? It was clear that the leader would be angry. He didn't know what to do.

"Excuse me, Grid… I don't think I can accompany you to the Judar Church. That’s because…”

Toban started to explain. He told the situation in detail so that Grid could understand. Grid listened for a while before finally opening his mouth, “I don't care about your reasons. What does it have to do with me? You are my slave, so just follow my commands. Follow me."

"G-Grid…"

Grid had no mercy. But Toban couldn't express his complaints. In the first place, he was the one who did something wrong and he was now seeking forgiveness, so he had to follow Grid unconditionally.

However, tears couldn't help flowing down.

OG: 

Current schedule: 20 chapters a week.