Chapter 82

Chapter 14 - Episode 8

Reviewing a lost battle is greatly beneficial for growth.

Kamiang, sitting with his eyes closed, reflected.

‘When Grid lunged to stab me.’

What if I had pushed forward instead of defending?

‘I would still have been hit. If Grid had struck horizontally, the result would have been the same.’

What if I had stepped back instead?

‘I would still have been hit. At that time, Grid had already closed the distance to the maximum extent possible.’

No matter how he looked at it, defense was the best choice.

However, the problem was that with Kamiang’s sword skills, it was impossible to defend against such an attack.

‘The time it took for the straight line to turn into a circle was an instant.’

The spear tip, which had been flying straight at me, struck my side in a circular motion just before it touched my sword.

Kamiang was truly chilled to the bone.

He could feel that Grid was a master of spear techniques.

‘I had to counter with a skill.’

If I had used <Super Armor>, I could have defended against the attack. I could have even retaliated, pushing Grid back with the counterforce.

‘Then I would have been the victor.’

I hesitated to use my ultimate means from the very first clash. Therefore, I didn’t use the skill, and the result was a futile defeat.

“Damn… I didn’t expect it to hurt so much.”

I, equipped with Red Armor, couldn’t withstand a single blow and fell.

Raphael’s spear’s attack power was beyond imagination. It wasn’t called a divine weapon for nothing.

‘It was a wrong fight from the start.’

Kamiang hadn’t assumed that Grid could use Raphael’s spear.

That’s why he was complacent, and when Grid retrieved Raphael’s spear and shook off my sword, he couldn’t react in time. From there, the momentum shifted to Grid.

It was frustrating.

‘A swordsman, they said?’

There were many priests who had witnessed Grid fighting the former Pope Drevigo. Among them were even elders.

They all shouted in unison.

Grid was a swordsman who used a greatsword.

But then, handling a spear out of nowhere?

‘And it was Raphael’s spear!’

Raphael’s spear was a weapon that only a very few ‘women’ who received the goddess’s oracle could use, wasn’t it?

“Really annoying.”

The biggest cause of this defeat was ‘incorrect information.’

Flawed information planted unnecessary preconceptions in my mind, leading to a result where I tripped myself up.

‘If only I had assumed that Grid could use Raphael’s spear.’

I wouldn’t have been caught off guard so absurdly!

Kamiang gritted his teeth. He was so frustrated that he felt like he was going mad.

Anger boiled up inside him.

He channeled that anger into his sword and threw himself into training.

“Grid! Next time will be different! I won’t let my guard down! I’ll show you the true power of a Red Knight!”

The current Red Knights were generally considered weaker than the former Red Knights.

It was inevitable.

The former Red Knights were directly taught by <Sword Hero Piaro>, while the current Red Knights were taught by <Sword Master Limit>, who was considered one level below Piaro.

Duke Limit had never once defeated Piaro in a match.

But that was just a story from the past.

‘Duke Limit’s realm has now surpassed Piaro’s.’

It is a self-evident fact that we, who have been taught by him, have also surpassed the former Red Knights.

To prove this fact, the Red Knights must remain undefeated.

Kamiang was determined to avenge Grid.

“Just wait and see!”

Kraak!

Kamiang’s aura-infused sword shattered a large rock with a single strike.

He had become even stronger.

***

“Pagma.”

The legendary blacksmith and a swordsman second only to Sword Saint Mueller.

He was known to be able to handle all types of weapons.

Grid, who inherited his strength, would be no different.

But to think he could even handle the three great divine weapons of the cathedral…

“This is really frustrating.”

The successor to the deceased Isabelle must be appointed quickly.

Pascal planned to strengthen his position by appointing a girl he had secretly raised as the new Rebecca’s daughter.

But it was a headache that Grid possessed Raphael’s spear illegally and refused to hand it over.

“…Damien, that brat.”

It was clearly Damien’s doing.

He must have asked Grid to protect Raphael’s spear to check me.

“I won’t fall for such a low trick.”

Pascal, who had let out a snort, went to the council of elders. He instructed them to draft an order for Grid to return Raphael’s spear.

“Grid, even you can’t disobey the official order of the cathedral.”

What if he disobeys?

‘Then there’s no choice. I’ll have to consider you an enemy… Hmm?’

Pascal, holding the order, was on his way to the blacksmith’s.

“Pascal?”

“Damien!”

Pascal accidentally ran into Damien, who was in the middle of a campaign.

Damien, who was gaining momentum with the help of a certain Loir, a smooth-talking but otherwise useless fellow, made Pascal’s blood boil.

“You! Raphael’s spear is a divine weapon of the cathedral! How could you arrange for Grid to possess it illegally? I will expose this matter clearly and make you pay for your crimes!”

Damien was confused.

“What are you talking about? The current owner of Raphael’s spear is Isabelle. She entrusted it to Lord Grid herself, so why are you—”

“Shut up!”

“…”

“Isabelle is already dead! So the ownership of Raphael’s spear should return to the council… Huh?”

Pascal, who had been speaking passionately, suddenly fell silent. He looked as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

His face turned even paler than when he had suspected Grid of being a woman.

He saw a woman with platinum hair that shone like a gem approaching.

“What’s the commotion about?”

The woman asking the question was none other than Isabelle.

“W, what is this?”

Wasn’t Isabelle dead?

Not only was she not dead, but she had completely recovered and was walking around on her own two feet?

Pascal, who was stunned, was scolded by Damien.

“Isabelle is dead? Have you finally lost your mind?”

“This can’t be!”

How could a woman who was on the verge of death recover her health?

‘Things are going terribly wrong!’

Unknown schemes are continuously unfolding in places I can’t perceive.

This is a serious problem.

Pascal, trying to understand the current situation, clutched his head and thought.

In the middle of this, he saw something fall into his field of vision.

It was a strand of hair.

The stress he had been under since Grid’s appearance had led to hair loss.

Thud. Thud.

“…”

Every time he touched his head, a handful of hair fell out, intensifying Pascal’s anger.

“Griduuu!!”

That guy.

Things started to go wrong after he appeared.

Pascal could no longer tolerate Grid’s existence.

He nervously tore up the freshly written order and made up his mind.

‘Grid! You are now my enemy!’

Once decided, he would thoroughly exclude him.

Damien and Isabelle, who felt a sense of satisfaction at Pascal’s retreat, clapped their hands.

***

<Wheel of Light>

Stabbing, thrusting, slashing.

Regardless of the form of the attack, it connects as a circular attack. The target cannot avoid this unconventional attack.

*100% hit rate.

*Light attribute.

A skill with a 100% hit rate, attributed to Raphael’s spear.

It even has no resource consumption or cooldown.

The power of this skill, which activates with a ‘high’ probability during normal attacks, was absurdly overpowered.

“I thought it would be useless because it doesn’t deal additional damage.”

That was a miscalculation.

Due to the extraordinarily high base attack power of Raphael’s spear, the <100% hit rate> option acted as a formidable weapon.

To think it could take down a famous Red Knight with a single normal attack.

Even Grid himself hadn’t expected this result.

‘Raphael’s spear. Truly the might of a mythic-grade weapon.’

However, there was one regrettable point.

“The spear doesn’t suit me.”

<Pagma’s Sword Dance> Level 3

When inactive, it increases Grid’s physical attack power by 32%, critical hit rate by 22%, and critical hit damage by 15%.

When active, it allows the use of active skills such as Kill, Chain, and Ultra.

However, the activation condition for this powerful legendary skill was to equip a ‘blade-type weapon.’

The skill wouldn’t activate if he equipped a weapon other than a blade.

It was a regrettable situation for Grid.

‘I’ll have to give up using Raphael’s spear myself.’

But I’ll include it in the <Grid Set> as planned.

For the guild members and soldiers who use spears, like Fon.

Indeed.

Grid had a plan to equip all his guild members and soldiers with the <Grid Set> someday.

“Hahaha! Puahaha!”

Temple of Item Boost!

Imagining the soldiers of his kingdom, whose name alone was fantastically cool, equipped with the <Grid Set> and lined up, Grid was filled with ecstasy.

“Isn’t that person… scary?”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

“Somehow, he doesn’t seem normal…”

In the cathedral’s blacksmith’s shop.

The blacksmiths, who kept muttering to themselves, felt a negative aura from Grid, who suddenly burst into laughter. The looks they gave him were far from friendly.

But Grid didn’t care about their gazes.

Or rather, he had no time to care.

His mind was solely focused on Raphael’s spear.

Clang! Clang!

Raphael’s spear, which he had completely disassembled over two days.

Grid tried to understand the hidden secrets of the spear’s structure through the process of reassembling it.

He devoted himself to research, locked away in the blacksmith’s shop for days on end.

He tirelessly and repeatedly went through the process of observation, disassembly, and assembly.

Thanks to his innate talent, ‘perseverance,’ and the ‘concentration’ he had acquired through effort, Grid was able to immerse himself in the tedious process without giving up.

As a result.

[Raphael’s spear understanding has reached 100%!]

[You have acquired the blueprint: Raphael’s spear!]

[Your realm has been elevated by one level due to your experience in dissecting a mythic-grade weapon!]

[The levels of your crafting-related skills have increased by 1!]

[The skill <Legendary Blacksmith’s Technique (Witnessed a Divine Weapon)> has evolved into <Legendary Blacksmith’s Technique (Understood a Divine Weapon)>!]

“Great!!”

Including the time he spent locked away with Isabelle, it took exactly 11 days to achieve this result.

Although there was no dramatic event where hidden abilities blossomed as expected, he learned the use of <Essence of the Goddess> and various skills were enhanced, so Grid was more than satisfied.

No, it wasn’t just satisfaction.

It was the acquisition of the blueprint for a mythic-grade weapon.

Grid was as happy as when he obtained Piaro and Asmofel.

“First.”

Currently, the materials to create a replica of Raphael’s spear were not available.

But…

Grid, with a meaningful smile, picked up the hammer again.