A person who was praised—there was no saying that was better used to describe Yura . She had a great background and talent that encompassed all disciplines . Yura wasn’t arrogant, and she had an upright character and an unparalleled beauty . Every innate element of hers made her shine .
Her achievements in Satisfy became her wings, and the responsibility she had shown by participating in the 1st National Competition alone while other Korean rankers had been absent made her a role model for others . Praise poured toward her constantly, and Yura had also been proud of herself . She had believed that she was doing well enough .
Yet these thoughts changed after she met Grid . Grid was a completely different type of person from Yura . He had lagged behind in luck and talent while suffering from countless adversities . He must’ve fallen down countless times from setbacks and accusations and fallen asleep with tears .
However, he hadn’t given up . Rather, he was tempered like steel . He had looked at the top of a hill when others were looking at the top of a mountain . While other people climbed 10 steps, he had taken one step . He hadn’t stopped while others rested . Instead, he had gone up slowly but steadily .
All types of misfortunes had grabbed at his ankle, but he had endured without giving up . He had achieved some good luck and continued working hard without being complacent about that luck . Ultimately, he had finally managed to reach the top .
Yura had congratulated him sincerely . Knowing how long and how hard the road that Grid took had been, Yura truly respected him . She couldn’t be the best even with her natural talents and knew better than anyone in the world how great Grid was .
On the other hand, she was ashamed of herself . She realized that no matter how hard she tried or how talented she was, she couldn’t stand side by side with Grid . Yura’s pride came crashing down . She couldn’t accept that she wasn’t the best, despite being born with better conditions than other people .
Thus, she tried and tried again . She had to get rid of this shame by proving herself . Then she would be able to face Grid . Still, in the end, she didn’t achieve it .
“ . . . ”
During the 4th National Competition, she wasn’t satisfied despite having won gold and silver medals . No, Yura’s eyes were shaking with despair as she watched the monitor . She discovered that the Demon King on the screen was Grid . Furthermore, Grid was in hell . He was facing hundreds of weapons, as well as humanity’s booing and anger, alone .
“Why . . . ”
Grid was stabbed by the spears and swords and quickly became bloody . Every time he screamed, Yura felt her heart ache .
“ . . . Why are you going so far . . . ”
Yura didn’t know why Grid became the Demon King . It might be for wealth or honor . She just vaguely felt that he became the Demon King because he wanted something . Nevertheless, was it necessary for Grid to win to get what he wanted? Probably not . It was absurd to discuss victory in a 400-against-1 fight . Grid could get what he wanted without necessarily winning . He would have a contract with the S . A Group in the first place .
Yet Grid was now fighting to win . He couldn’t move his fingertips and was screaming through the blood, but he didn’t lose his fighting spirit and persisted . Yura could see the reason for it .
‘There will be someone fighting to protect you,’ Grid had clearly said so .
Since then, her grandfather no longer contacted her . The shrewd Yura knew what had happened behind her back . “Why . . . ”
Grid managed to pass the crisis . He created a huge explosion and slaughtered hundreds of players . After that, there was another struggle . There were 80 survivors left, and Grid squeezed out his last remaining strength to fight them . In the process, he went through several crises and even lost his immortality .
In the end, he managed to knock everyone down . Once the last enemy’s health gauge emptied out, Grid stared into the camera before turning toward his old rival Kraugel . Beyond the broken mask, Grid’s eyes were clearly gazing at Yura .
‘Believe in me . ’ He looked exactly the same as when he said this to her in the past .
Yura was very pained . She knew that it was an unusual thing for Grid to be fighting for her . Everyone else believed that she could do well on her own . It was because they thought she was a superwoman . However, Yura wasn’t a superwoman . She could do better than others, but she couldn’t solve everything by herself .
Her vision blurred as she formed fists . Yura didn’t know when Viola came over, but Viola patted her on the shoulder . Viola thought Yura was truly delicate .
***
“ . . . ”
“ . . . ”
The two men faced each other silently . Above their heads, the four swords and golden hands clashed tirelessly with each other . The people didn’t know it, but both players had extremely exhausted mental states . Kraugel had to concentrate on controlling the four swords . Simultaneously, Grid concentrated on reading Kraugel’s attack timing while creating a new item in his head . Both people were unable to achieve their normal levels of concentration .
The God Hands and the controlled swords collided exactly 89 times . One of the swords was hit by Magic Missile and fell toward Kraugel’s feet . Grid noticed Kraugel’s right shoulder lowering, and Kraugel pulled the sword out of the sheath . The moment the flash came in contact with Grid, he wore Doran’s Ring . However, he was late by 0 . 1 seconds .
[You have suffered 18,500 damage!]
[Doran’s Ring is equipped . ]
The effect of Doran’s Ring wasn’t applied because the ring was worn after being hit .
“Kuek . . . !” Grid’s face distorted as he stepped back and raised the Enlightenment Sword . The sword was recovered, and Kraugel’s next swing at Grid was blocked .
[ . . . The black flames have exploded!]
The flames struck Kraugel .
[The target has received 3,200 damage . ]
Kraugel was already in the stage of communing with the Enlightenment Sword . The class effect of the Sword Saint saw through the Enlightenment Sword and reduced the damage of the black flames . He penetrated through the flames and kicked Grid . This was the moment when the effect of Doran’s Ring was wasted . Doran’s Ring only restored 900 damage from the kick .
At this time, Kraugel rotated in a diagonal line, and the White Tiger Sword rose from the bottom and aimed for Grid’s chin . Even so, Grid succeeded in evading Weapons Ascension . He was able to read the exact timing using his high insight and the power of the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch . The most important thing to watch out for when attacking a boss was an attack from the bottom . Grid was very strong against attacks from the bottom . He lightly twisted his head and tried to fight back with the Enlightenment Sword .
“ . . . ?!”
A stone pillar that followed the path of the White Tiger Sword had already risen and struck Grid’s abdomen .
[When attacked, there is a normal chance of ‘Pillar’ being released . The giant stone pillar has a blasting effect of up to five meters . The damage applied is 50% of the weapon’s attack power . ]
This was the pillar effect attached to the World Crushing Sword of the Noble White Tiger . Grid was thrown back and smashed into the half-destroyed organ . He hurriedly shook his head and stood up, only to see the sharp tip of a sword . It was an attack aimed for between his eyes . It stimulated an instinctive fear . It was an attack that a person had no choice but to respond to .
The grim looking Grid tried to stop the blade only to change his mind . He wasn’t convinced that this was Kraugel’s most threatening attack . Just as it was about to pierce Grid between his eyes, the White Tiger Sword twisted its trajectory like Pinnacle Kill, only to be blocked . Grid’s Enlightenment Sword blocked the White Tiger Sword’s path .
“ . . . ” Kraugel’s gaze sank as his move was detected unexpectedly . He tried not to express it, but he had already been surprised a few times . Kraugel felt thrilled from the moment Grid used Fly whilst on his knees and when he avoided the attack from the bottom twice .
The man in front of Kraugel was no different from himself . Grid was no longer the Overgeared King who compensated for his lack of sense, judgment, and ability with items . The Hero King had grown after winning against several heroes and continued to raise his experience . He had a different sense of pressure from the Hero, an artificial intelligence who could display his abilities to an excellent level .
Grid’s current level threatened Kraugel’s innate senses and talent .
“Pinnacle!” Grid used the strength that was clearly superior to Kraugel and pushed back the White Tiger Sword .
“Tearing the Sky . ” Kraugel counterattacked .
“Revolve!” Grid also responded .
However, Grid couldn’t shake off his uncomfortable feelings . Assuming that both players had one counterattack skill, the one who used it first would have the overwhelming disadvantage .
‘Did Kraugel create a new counterattack skill?’
A chill went down Grid’s spine as he was reminded that Kraugel could create new sword techniques .
“Quick Command . ”
“ . . . !?”
Black and white flashing wings appeared on Kraugel’s back, and he disappeared from Grid’s vision . The force of Pinnacle that was strengthened to the extreme from the two counterattacks cut the ground, and Kraugel reappeared on the cracked ground .
The White Tiger Sword was already cutting Grid’s shoulders . Three times the damage overlapped . This was the power of Quick Command which was classified as one of the three offensive passive skills . It was a skill that ignored physical concepts by evading ‘definite’ attacks . He would then return to his original position after four seconds, and his next attack would do triple the damage .
As the name suggested, it was a very swift skill with excellent utility . However, depending on the situation, the restriction of returning to the original activation point could become a great poison . This restriction also allowed him to destroy a player’s maximum strength skill by definitely evading one attack .
As a simple example, if he used Quick Command to avoid a wide range skill that lasted more than four seconds, he would return to the same spot after four seconds and wouldn’t be able to escape . It was incomplete, just like how Grid’s God’s Command had the fatal disadvantage of the ‘probability . ’
Of course, if Kraugel took the side of the seven malignant saints, the constraints would be lifted and the story would be different . Despite this, he avoided belonging to certain forces . He didn’t stand on the side of the malignant saints or the gods . If he were to stand on one side, then he would’ve already joined a guild . Of course, there was only one guild that he ever thought of joining .
‘Mine is XXX . ’ Grid didn’t know any of this and gritted his teeth . From his point of view, God’s Command was the best garbage skill . Grid had lost more than one-third of his health while Kraugel still only had minor injuries .
Everyone in the world held their breaths as the two men fought fiercely, not summoning any pets or drinking potions like they had made a promise . Even the bosses of the chicken stores focused on the TV without realizing that their phones had been ringing for a long time . The energy of Wave broke the ground while the force of Splitting the Sky swept into the sky .
The battlefield gradually became narrower . The gap between Grid and Kraugel shortened while the number of collisions increased . Grid borrowed the power of the Slaughterer’s Eye Patch to cut at Kraugel’s waist, while Kraugel relied on Super Sensitivity to save himself from a fatal injury and cut at Grid’s thigh .
Many people realized that Grid was in an unfavorable situation as the number of exchanges increased . Then Grid finished making the item and shouted like the protagonist of a cartoon, “Item! Production!”
『 . . . ? 』
“ . . . ?”
“ . . . ?”
Making an item during the battle . . . ? The commentators, spectators, and viewers watching the game were sweating . It was so absurd that they were speechless . Regardless, it didn’t matter .
“Blue Dragon Sword Breaker!” Grid shouted, and a bright light burst from his left hand . This was the moment that the dark blue sword with an electric current around it appeared in the world . The blade part was made from the remnants of Great Demon Astaroth, and there was a deep groove in the blade .
Kraugel’s shaky eyes were captured by the camera, and all communities over the world were a mess .
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