-It is Damian. -Right.It is Damian. -Yes. [Pope Damian declared that he won’t participate in the National Competition] The media around the world were buzzing with the news but the people’s reaction was calm. They had already foreseen the identity of the demon king this year. Damian’s declaration that he wouldn’t attend the National Competition was simply admitting that he was the demon king. -Ah. ㅋㅋ Who would be deceived? If it was me, I would just stay silent or be honest. ㅋㅋ -He is a Grid fan so he is going to follow Grid. ㅋㅋ -Damian is honestly cute. There was no reason for Damian to refuse to participate in the National Competition. In the world that was divided into the heavenly system and earth system, apart from Grid and Kraugel, Damian was a top predator belonging to the heavenly system. This year’s National Competition without Grid was a great opportunity for him to play at his best. In the first place, the Demon King’s Subjugation was specialized for Damian. Damian had a variety of buff skills and percentage heals. He was more likely to become an immortal demon king if he gained the health boost. -Besides, Damian has many talented people. Rebecca’s Daughters—Damian’s three strongest NPCs were equivalent to Grid’s knights, and the senior Vatican members had healing abilities beyond Damian and were considered as Damian’s subordinates. If they became the Four Heavenly Kings and guarded the gateways, it would be difficult for the players to invade. -Additionally, the Templar have started to act recently. The Templar were the secret knights of the Rebecca Church and everything about them was veiled. According to information leaked by players in the Rebecca Church, the Templar stopped operating as a separate private organization and recently started supporting Damian. If the head of the Templar—who was likely to be a named NPC—appeared as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, then this year’s Demon King—Damian—was likely to be invincible, just like last year’s demon king. -There is no reason to refuse to attend the National Competition unless Damian is senile. This was the people’s conclusion. No one doubted the identity of the demon king. Only Damian suffered. ‘I was going to surprise people by appearing like last year’s Grid!’ Yet the plan failed. Strictly speaking, it was due to Ares. During the time when there was no news about Ares’ participation in the National Competition, there was some speculation that this year’s demon king was Ares. Then he suddenly participated in the National Competition and this collapsed. ‘My surprise show...’ Damian turned his gaze from the TV talking about him to stare out the window. Reporters were surrounding the house. The situation was the same when he connected to Satisfy. There were a rush of whispers and shouts asking for interviews. Reporters disguised themselves as visitors and infiltrated the Vatican. By this time, even Damian was tired. ‘I’m tired because I attracted too much aggro.’ Damian insisted that the basic virtue of an otaku was to not lose his pace at any time or under any circumstances. No matter what others were saying, he didn’t care at all. Even when Japan was in the midst of the anti-Grid sentiment, Damian openly praised Grid. However, this level of interest was burdensome even for Damian. Everyone in the world was watching his every move and things were more uncomfortable than he could’ve imagined. ‘As expected, Grid is sugoi...’ Grid was a person who received attention every day. Damian deeply respected the fact that Grid remained focused while in the center of attention. ‘He is the one I acknowledge.’ Damian remembered the first time he met Grid and became determined. His goal was to grow into someone who could stand next to Grid. In order to do so, he needed achievements in the Demon King’s Subjugation. ‘In order to do this, I need to find Orbis’ Ring in the month remaining.’ Damian’s concern for the Demon King’s Subjugation was the healing reduction and no healing curses caused by burns, bleeding, and more. His unique class Goddess’ Agent had continued to grow and he was also the pope, so he had a resistance of more than 82%. Still, he wasn’t completely resistant, unlike Grid. He would be greatly weakened the moment he was hit with debuffs that lowered his resistance to abnormal states. Thus, he felt the need to block off this weak point. His only hope was Orbis’ Ring. It had a terrible probability of dropping from the banshee queen, who respawned every 36 hours in the Land of the Cryers. It was a legendary accessory that gave immunity to healing reduction and no healing skills. Damian had been aiming for the ring for three months now. However, he still didn’t get it. It was shameful to use the authority of the pope to have the paladins block and monopolize the hunting ground under the pretext of ‘purifying polluted land.’ However, if he didn’t do so, it would be impossible to obtain Orbis’ Ring. Likewise, he would have to compete fiercely with the rankers looking for the banshee queen. The banshee queen respawned 36 hours after death ‘somewhere in the field’ and was originally a type of field boss that went to the first person who found her. ‘If the reporters keep chasing me, they’ll know that I’m monopolizing a hunting ground.’ This was a serious problem. The news would be flooded and he would be inundated with public criticism. It was certain that a large number of people would appear to prevent Damian from monopolizing the banshee queen. ‘When will there be a new article?’ He wanted news big enough to turn the reporters’ attention away from himself. ‘...Well, such huge news won’t burst so easily.’ Perhaps if another great demon suddenly appeared... however, this was a wish that couldn’t be achieved. ‘I’ll have to be prudent for a few days. Let’s take that opportunity to leave the Vatican.’ It happened as Damian was sighing and trying to ignore that the banshee queen would respawn in an hour... [An unknown person has killed a half-god.] “...??” It was an absurd world message that was only one line. “Heok! Big news!” “G-God? What is it this time? Is it Grid again?” The reporters who had infiltrated the Vatican made a fuss and scrambled to leave. It was like seeing a procession of ants. “......” Damian lost his soul. He was stupefied for a long time before kneeling down and shouting, “God Grid! Ohh, God!” Pope Damian—he started to worship and pray to Grid when he should only be worshipping and praying to Goddess Rebecca. He truly deserved to be punished. It was a sin that should receive a stern warning from Rebecca’s Daughters, who were the keepers of faith. Yet Isabel pretended to be asleep—she was the first person to deify Grid. *** In the East Continent, the rabbit community... “Pant... Pant...” Grid had overextended himself in the battle against Hangyeol that he had won. He ignored the notification windows floating on one side of his field of view. He was mentally and physically exhausted. His body sank down and his eyes blurred. He couldn’t even read the text. ‘This is the limit.’ Just because he needed to rest his body didn’t mean he had to rest his mind. Grid focused as he checked himself and reviewed the battle. ‘It seems it is time to use my saved stat points and skill creation rights.’ The total number of times that God’s Command triggered in the battle against Hangyeol was three. In particular, the time when God’s Command activated when Flower Revolve was used, and then again later on when 200,000 Army Crushing Sword was used, was enough to influence the battle. This meant that luck played a significant role in Grid’s victory. ‘It would’ve been hard if I wasn’t lucky.’ Originally, Grid had a good chance of winning against the yangbans who hadn’t built up their divinity. They might have inherited the blood of a god but the reason for their birth and the significance of their existence was to be a ‘consumable.’ Yes, a consumable. Those who hadn’t built up their divinity were completely different from Garam. They were merely miscellaneous soldiers or extras in the war against the gods planned by the Five Seniors. There were clear limitations because they hadn’t been given a special story or role, unlike the grandmaster on the West Continent. Grid only recently realized it but it was clear that Kraugel had been looking into it for a long time. ‘Thus, I can fight the yangbans if I just reach level 500.’ True named NPCs boasted a growth that was beyond users. If Kraugel had thought of all yangbans as transcendents then Grid wouldn’t have even thought of fighting them. Yet at the end of the 3rd National Competition, Kraugel had made it clear—the yangbans weren’t as absolute as Bunhelier and the prerequisite for dealing with them was level 500. The current Grid was already enough to meet the conditions that Kraugel mentioned. Once Grid’s fighting energy reached the maximum, he boasted stats that even level 500 players would never dream of. There was also the Blood King title. ‘However, it still isn’t enough.’ There was a real difference. If God’s Command had triggered one less time, he might’ve lost the fight. This allowed Grid to understand his target. ‘The enemies are too strong to leave this.’ Grid had 606 stat points remaining after raiding Fenrir and reaching level 405. An average player gained 10 stat points with each level up. That’s right—Grid had been storing nearly 60 levels worth of stat points. He wasn’t conscious of the cliche ‘a master hides his strength.’ Rather than hiding his power, Grid had been running around more than necessary and wasn’t aware of the cliche. Grid was just cautious. If he wanted a 1:1 ratio of strength and agility, he would have to invest 400 points in agility. What if he regretted it? In a position where he already had enough damage and speed, wasn’t it more stable to aim for increased health? Should he increase his intelligence to maximize Braham’s magic stored in his sword dances? Etc, etc. Grid’s troubles continued every day and this naturally led to him saving his extra points. The biggest problem was his lack of references. Most players would look at higher leveled players to find a more efficient way to train. However, Grid was in the leading position and had no noteworthy references. In the past, he thought Piaro and Mercedes were the best and would’ve referenced their stats, but he couldn’t do that anymore. Piaro’s stats ratio after being a farmer for a long time was completely different from the days when he was a great swordsman. Meanwhile, Mercedes actively handled various situations through the use of Keen Insight and was a balanced-type knight who raised almost all her stats. She was different from Grid. Grid had to judge and pioneer the way for himself. It was the grievance of the supreme one. ‘It is best to use the premise of a 1:1 strength to agility ratio.’ Grid didn’t forget Piaro in his great swordsman days. Thanks to the perfect 1:1 ratio of strength and agility, Piaro’s swordsmanship was fast but heavy. He was ultimately powerful. It was a shame to invest 400 points in agility when his speed was already at the maximum but it was a good idea to use them rather than leaving them alone. ‘It is better to put it in health.’ Grid’s attack power was already sufficient after becoming the Blood King. He was reminded of all the named NPCs he had fought. The reason it was hard to deal with them was more about their health than their damage or defense. ‘My skills can be used as long as I’m alive.’ The smell of Overgeared Corn’s saliva, who licked Grid with his tongue to restore stamina and recovery, was starting to become terrible. Grid recovered moderately and checked the notification windows. [You have killed the yangban Hangyeol.] [Your level has risen.] [The Red Phoenix’s Breath has been acquired.] [The White Tiger’s Breath has been acquired.] [The Blue Dragon’s Breath has been acquired.] [The Black Tortoise’s Breath has been acquired.] [The Yangban’s Soft Sword has been acquired.] [The Yangban’s Dopo has been acquired.] [The Yangban’s Horsehair Hat has been acquired.] [1] “...!” Grid’s eyes widened. He thought the yangban would drop some breaths but he hadn’t expected one of each type. He also dropped a weapon, cloth armor, and a hat? It was a real jackpot. Grid’s heart was excited by the result beyond expectations and started to rampage like crazy. The notification windows were being updated. [’Pungsa’ has caught a glimpse of you as you stand over Hangyeol’s corpse.] [★ Note ★ Your knight Dante has formed a hostile relationship with the Hwan Kingdom.] “...?” [You have achieved the ‘Half-God Killer’ achievement!] [The soul of a half-god has been absorbed into the Strange Magic Power Stone. The magic power of the Strange Magic Power Stone has risen.] [The Half-God Killer achievement has increased the deity stat by one point.] [The ‘Hard-Working Rabbits’ who witnessed your achievement are deifying you. Your deity stat has risen by one.] [Your deity stat has reached 10 points and something special will happen.] “...?!” A light shone down over Grid’s body—it was a divine light that made the rabbits joyous. [1] Google Image Link