Chapter 1683

He gained a huge 13 levels. As a result, Grids current level was 760. It averaged more than 230 higher than the top 10 players in the unified rankings. It was equal to or higher than the level of named NPCs that rose in proportion to the growth of players and it was a level that chased after the level of super named NPCs, who were extremely rare.

The growth rate will be faster for the time being. Baal is a good opponent even if we fight 100 times and I just win once.

Of course, Grids stats fell far short of Baals. In order to threaten Baal, he would need to overlap all his enhancement skills and use the six fusion sword dance with a deceptive item. On the other hand, Baals potential was endless. As an extreme example, Baal was likely to utilize his h.e.l.l Leap skill in the next battle. Today, he had suffered his second consecutive defeat thanks to Yuras h.e.l.l Leap, so he would naturally be conscious of it and try to pay it back.

It is right to say that Yuras skills can also be used by Baal.

Baal acquired the skills of humans who died and fell to h.e.l.l. Furthermore, the soul of Demon Slayer Alex was in Baals hands, as well as Pagmas soul.

The good thing is that he wont be able to take full advantage of the Demon Slayers skills.

A Demon Slayers skill structure was mostly focused on weakening and purifying evil. If Baal used the skills, then it was equivalent to cutting at his own flesh. Therefore, he wouldnt be able to use all the skills. Even so, the fact that he could use h.e.l.l Leap was a big threat.

I have to be prepared.

There would be consecutive defeats for a while. Baal was superior to him in every way. Fighting and losing against him was a result that Grid should take for granted. No, lets go beyond the normal level and accept it happily. It wasnt an exaggeration to say it was a gain if he fought Baal 100 times and won once.

It isnt a loss if I lose and it is a jackpot if I win once.

Baals level was too high and Grid had a fraudulent pa.s.sive skill called enlightenment. Grid had pa.s.sed on the position of Pioneer to Kraugel, but this didnt mean he had lost his rights. There was Hayates favor behind Grid attaining the status of 10th Seat of the tower rather than Pioneer. The 10th Seat was a special status created by Hayate in order to benefit Grid without imposing any obligations on him.

Yura, spar with me.

At the crystal castle...

Ironically, the h.e.l.l branch of the Overgeared Guild was the safest place in h.e.l.l. There was a sense of stability that calmed Grids heart, which had been raging with tension and excitement all throughout the fight with Baal. Grid wanted to fight with Yura until the moment when the cooldown of his immortality, which was consumed at the last moment, ended. It was a judgment that it would be great research if he could experience how she used the h.e.l.l Leap skill from an enemys point of view.

Yura calmed him down. Lets go back to Reinhardt first.

The empire had a great deal of enemies. There were even enemies on a transcendent level. In particular, the celestial G.o.ds had the ability to observe the surface and they were unlikely to miss the gap when Grid was away.

Grid fully understood her, but he felt a bit reluctant. I think it will be hard to come back to h.e.l.l the moment I return to the surface...

The enemys invasion of Reinhardt was just a possibility. Furthermore, Reinhardts defense was close to perfection. The apostles might be away, but Asmophel and the Red Knights, powerful soldiers, and even Kraugel were prepared for an enemy invasion.

On the other hand, it was a predetermined fate that Baal would disrupt Grid. In fact, he had set up a trap at the place where Grid got off the h.e.l.l elevator. It was hard to predict what type of terrible traps would lurk the next time he got out of the elevator.

Yura read his concerns and smiled widely. Dont worry. You have me, right?

Thats right...

Grid recalled Yuras h.e.l.l Gate skill. It was a dimensional gate that moved between the surface and h.e.l.l. He heard that the level had increased significantly since she used it frequently over the past year. The number of people she could take with her had increased to four and it was easier to specify the coordinates. It was said that it was very rare for her to fall to an unexpected place and become lost.

The elevator is in a set position, so it is easy for Baal to place traps. Meanwhile, the h.e.l.l gate is different.

The h.e.l.l gate opened near a point designated by Yura. Even Baal had no choice but to specify the location only after Grids group arrived in h.e.l.l. It was difficult to dig a trap in advance.

There would be no answer if he leads an army to a trap or something.

Baal was the master of the 1st h.e.l.l. He had an army of thousands of demons, each one said to be at the level of great demons in the 30s, and an entourage comparable to the single digit great demons. There were also the red chunk of flesh and Asura, who were as potentially as fearsome as Baal himself. The power of Bals army wasnt at the level that Grid could handle.

However, Grid felt certain. There was no possibility that Baal would move the army unless it reached the point where Grid completely overwhelmed Baal. This guess was possible because he understood Baals personality.

Baal was different from Chiyou. He wanted to realize his death wish, but he didnt really intend to die. To Baal, the crisis of death was just a means to appease boredom and to obtain pleasure. His arrogance pierced the sky. Additionally, in most cases, ones arrogance was proportional to their pride.

He had to use an army to defeat just one G.o.d, especially one weaker than him? It was impossible.

Okay... lets go back.

From this day on, Grids schedule was the toughest it had ever been. He fought against Yura, who actively utilized her h.e.l.l Leap skill, until the cooldown of his immortality ended. Then as soon as his immortality was available, he broke into h.e.l.l again and fought against Baal.

He was defeated in the second battle.

He was also defeated in the third battle.

He lost the fourth battle.

Unlike Yuras h.e.l.l Leap, which slightly increased the cooldown once it was used more than a certain number of times, Baals h.e.l.l Leap skill maintained an extremely short cooldown. The demon sword he stabbed toward Grids right side appeared from above Grid and the kick he aimed at Grids abdomen came from behind Grids back. He almost peed in his pants when the waves of the One Million Army Swordsmans.h.i.+p flying from in front suddenly disappeared and cut the back of his neck as they pa.s.sed by him. The basic attack speed itself was fast enough that Grid could only react by relying on his artificial senses. Now that it was mixed in with some fakes, it wasnt at the level that Grid could respond to just by practicing.

The G.o.d Hands are terribly useless.

......

Did they understand Grids lament? The G.o.d Hands stopped moving in unison from where they were always hovering beside Grid. Grid felt somewhat guilty, but another sigh emerged. Ever since the old days, the G.o.d Hands had no power against enemies who were equal to or superior to Grid.

The G.o.d Hands themselves were an item that reproduced some of Grids stats, so it was unavoidable that they were an inferior version of Grid. Against an opponent Grid couldnt handle, it was impossible for the G.o.d Hands attack or defense to be effective unless a great deal of luck followed.

Tai Chi? There was no chance. Fortunately, they now played a big role through the artificial senses, but it was still a disappointment.

I think I couldve won if Meteor had hit at that time.

The ma.s.s of Greed that floated at a certain alt.i.tude. Grid called it Meteor while Braham called it an ignorant piece of iron. It naturally didnt hit Baal. It was read and avoided every time. Grid felt the need to devise a completely different way of using Greed. Of course, he came to the same conclusion as always. The conclusion was that the most ideal form of supplementary items that could be made out of Greed was the G.o.d Hands.

The G.o.d Hands are better than a magic machine against Baal. The G.o.d Hands reproduces my skills, while the magic machine has very few attack skills and the pattern is simple. Lets just increase the number of G.o.d Hands as much as possible.

It was on the day of his 3rd defeat to Baal. Grid immediately returned to Reinhardt and split up some of the ma.s.s of Greed that had been acc.u.mulating for a long time. Then he started making hundreds of G.o.d Hands. He wasnt nervous. He mightve been defeated three times, but his experience bar was full. It was enough as long as he didnt die. From Grids perspective, it was at a level where he would unconditionally gain if he fought unconditionally.

[If your cla.s.s rating is myth, then you can use up to 300 secondary weapons.]

[...It is an amazing achievement!

[The restrictions on the use of secondary weapons have been found by a player for the first time.]

[You have received the t.i.tle Do You Have a Conscience? as a reward for the first achievement.]

[Do You Have a Conscience?]

[Number of secondary weapons simultaneously used +10.]

......

Yura, Nefelina, Noe, and Randy looked at Grid, who had a total of 310 G.o.d Hands floating around him. They were the ones who had struggled in h.e.l.l with Grid for the past week. Their level had also risen significantly. Yura and Nefelina didnt have the enlightenment effect, but they escaped death thanks to Grids efforts. They rose several levels based on the experience they gained on the first day they defeated Baal. Then after that, they hadnt lost any experience points. Noe and Randy shared a common destiny with Grid. Once they joined the battle, they shared a portion of the experience that Grid gained.

Are you into Buddhism these days? Kraugel was responsible for a.n.a.lyzing Baals swordsmans.h.i.+p based on the scars left on Valhalla. He was deep in contemplation as he thought of a new notch to be engraved on Valhalla, only to belatedly grasp the situation and ask this question.

A body made up of a thousand hands and a thousand eyes that was said to be created by the Bodhisattva Guanyin to save all living things. Grids appearance looked just like the Thousand Hands of Avalokitevara. It was just that he looked to be ruling by might rather than divine.

Haha, Kraugel. I respect and love all religions in the world, not just Buddhism.

Why are you suddenly quoting a Korean textbook...

Haha, what are you saying?

Grid was in a position where he had to be conscious that there were eyes and ears that saw and heard him at any time and any place. He was loved by so many people that he couldnt be seen as showing favoritism for a particular religion. This was why he alternately sponsored not just churches, temples, and cathedrals, but took turns supporting all religious organizations in South Korea such as Hindu temples, Myanmar temples, Cambodian temples, and Mongolian temples.

It was Sehees advice and the effect was great. People from all walks of life sent special affection to Grid. It was safe to say that Grids allied forces were spread out not only in South Korea, but also throughout the world.

...Is he going to run for president some day?

He was so diligent that he lived a very tiring life.

Kraugel shook his head and pulled out his sword.

Twilightit was a dragon weapon that felt a bit more colorful and sharper than Grids Twilight. Kraugel started to carve new notches on Xenons scales that wrapped around Valhallas gorget, chest, and thigh area. The effect appeared immediately.

[The favor of the Sword Saint has added the immunity to same sword damage overlapping effect to Valhalla of Infinite Affection.]

The biggest part of Baals dominance over Grid was speed. The rapid swordsmans.h.i.+p had a permanent continuous attack effect. The moment one attack was allowed, he inevitably suffered from several more damages overlapping. Now he became immune to it. Of course, the effect was limited only to damage received from swords, but as long as Baal insisted on swordsmans.h.i.+p, the burden on Grid would be greatly reduced in the future.

Come back safely.

Yes.

Grid shared a high five with Kraugel before taking Yuras h.e.l.l gate to fight for revenge. Unfortunately, he was defeated again. Then in the sixth battle the next day, the battle became more intense. The day after that, he won the seventh battle. The help of Yura, Kraugel, and the G.o.d Hands that had increased to 310 became a strong support for Grid. Nefelina started to be more courageous and she was naturally the number one contributor to the victory.

Baal started to question it. What made this guy become stronger every day?

The lonely Absolute couldnt understand Grid.

......!

......!

Grid and Yura, who had turned around and fled as soon as they killed Baal, suddenly exchanged looks with wide eyes.

They heard the voices of souls. They were the souls of Pagma and Alex. They were the voices of the souls who regained their sense of reason while Baal was weakened.