Chapter 2013

Garam had been terribly persistent. He had controlled hundreds of Treasures until he drew his last breath and refused to die without taking someone down with him. The Treasures were a.s.sembled in a spear-like formation, and they had been bombarding the old dragons and the clone to keep them from helping Grid. Now, they turned their attention to the rankers on the ground.

That b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

Garam hadnt changed. He had remained the same since the day Grid had met him until he finally died. Grid was impressed with Garams consistency despite how much the world had changed over the years.

Grids first instinct was to get up, but his body didnt listen to him. However, there was no need for him to worry. The clone and the old dragons were now free to act, and they shot down most of the Treasures. No matter how powerful the Treasures used to be, their master was now gone, so their power dimmed. They couldnt withstand the bombardment of spells from the clone and the old dragons and were eventually destroyed.

The only ones still attacking the rankers with ferocity were the Treasures taken from the seven immortals, but...

Nyang!

...Noe and Randy stepped in and managed to stop them.

In the process, most of Noes Treasures were also destroyed. Still, this wasnt something to feel sorry about. Noe now had the Treasures of the seven immortals.

Its finally over...

It was only after everything calmed down that Grid felt relieved. He double checked the notification window announcing Garams death and sat down.

If reality changes to become like the game, will there be pain correction in the real world as well?

After checking his physical condition, Grid suddenly became afraid. He thought that if he met a strong opponent in real life and suffered a wound like today, he would die from sheer shock.

I dont think there would be any concept of defense or HP.

Even a sword brandished by a poorly skilled individual could kill people in real life. No, scratch that. Humans could die if they got punched wrong.

Would Grid have the courage to fight in real life? He gulped the moment he finally realized this very important problem.

"Waaaaahhhhh!"

The rankers on the ground cheered and rushed toward him. The fact that they were safe and that Grid had won made them very emotional.

Wait...!

Grids face turned white.

He was currently on top of the Refractive Dragon, and he wasnt sure how the dragon would react to people. If the Refractive Dragon went on a rampage, many people would die without even knowing why...

I dont even know how he will react upon seeing

me.

Grid had gambled when he got on top of the Refractive Dragons head. He didnt know whether the dragon would accept him, and even if he did, Grid wasnt sure if the Dragon Knight effect would activate. Grid hadnt been sure of anything, but he still used Shunpo to get on the Refractive Dragons head because it would have been difficult to defeat Garam without the Dragon Knight effect. He had to try, even if he risked offending the Refractive Dragon and getting eaten in the process.

Dragon Knight did activate, but...

Grrrrr...

Grid couldnt tell what would happen now.

After Garam dissipated, the Refractive Dragon tilted his head in confusion. Now he let out a ragged breath, as if in response to the commotion.

For those who couldnt see the Refractive Dragon, they only heard an echoing roar that seemed to come from the sky.

Are the heavens angry because a G.o.d died?

The clear sky roared as if a thunderstorm was approaching... Could this be the harbinger of some ominous event? The people who misunderstood the noise made by the Refractive Dragon breathing flinched for a moment.

The three masters, who had been silent throughout the battle, were now complaining. They all sighed and seemed upset, but they didnt seem to have any major regrets.

[Garam has always made irrational decisions because of his immaturity. We antic.i.p.ated that the Hwan Kingdom would fall when we found out Hanul had picked Garam as his successor.]

They didnt seem to be lying. It looked like they had expected this outcome.

[Kill us. We will not resist. That would be useless.]

The three masters laid down their weapons and closed their eyes. They had been born as a result of Hanuls will. They had been stirring up the wind, rain, and thunder just for Hanul and devoted their lives to gaining faith for Hanul by helping humanity, punis.h.i.+ng them, or making miracles happen.

From the moment Hanul died, they no longer had any purpose in life. If King Sobyeol had been chosen as the successor instead of Garam, this wouldve been different... Once the three masters realized that Hanuls real intentions werent to restore the Hwan Kingdom, but to get revenge on Grid, they thought that everything they had achieved was in vain.

Roaaaaar!

The Refractive Dragon roared and flapped his wings as he looked around. As a result, Grid fell from the dragons head and barely regained his balance in the air.

......

The Refractive Dragon was already gone. He surely realized that the light that had just been extinguished wasnt Rebecca and set off to find her again.

He is leaving without having any regrets.

Grid had no choice but to admit this. The Refractive Dragon was just doing his duty as a vaccine. Garam was right. Bunhelier was gone. The Refractive Dragon was just a beast guided by instincts.

This meant that Bunhelier now remained only in Grids memories.

There was a bitter taste on Grids tongue. He swallowed before staring intently at the three masters, who were frozen in place. They could have gotten rid of Grid at any moment now since he was defenseless without the Refractive Dragon around. But they didnt. It seemed that they genuinely wanted to die. They were just empty sh.e.l.ls with no will to live anymore.

And Grid had the power to extinguish their souls.

The three masters saw Grid not doing anything and asked, [Do you need time to recover your strength?]

Of course, Grid lied. If Annihilation energy was infinite, wouldnt I be invincible?

[Indeed...]

Fortunately, the three masters believed him. They had witnessed the power of the Annihilation energy from the sidelines, so what Grid told them made sense.

[If so, get plenty of rest before killing us.]

The three masters walked away for hundreds of meters and scattered in different directions. Even though they were far away, it looked like they were guarding Grid since Grid was in the center of their formation.

A black-haired man and a long-haired man, both incredibly beautiful and androgynous-looking, approached and said, They really do as they please. I cant understand the G.o.ds at all.

They were Raiders and Nevartan, who had polymorphed into humans.

Grid made eye contact with them and said, Dont humans and you two also do as we please? Only personalities and ideologies differentiate us. In the grand scheme of things, I think we are all the same. I believe we can all live together and enjoy life to the fullest.

Nevartan didnt think the same. Hmph, I dont agree. Regardless of personality or ideology, us old dragons have never deviated greatly from the will of the foreign G.o.d.

Raiders scolded him. I dont think thats appropriate for you to say since you went crazy and caused all sorts of incidents in the past.

Nevartan blushed and said things like, I forgot my purpose when the Refractive Dragon got sealed, blah blah blah, but Raiders ignored him.

Raiders stared at Grid with his characteristically cold and indifferent golden eyes.

Since we told you what our situation is, I would like to ask you a question. Now that weve lost communication with the foreign G.o.d, I dont know what we should do.

Ever since the resurrection of the Refractive Dragon, Raiders had regained his memories and had been communicating with Morpheus. He accepted Morpheus information and knowledge as truthful. Every time Morpheus told him to do something, Raiders thought that the foreign G.o.ds instructions were the only correct ones.

But things had changed. Morpheus was silent. Beings that had never been mentioned appeared and went on a rampage. Raiders felt lost, not knowing what to do next.

In any case, the Refractive Dragon was still chasing Rebecca. It was difficult for the old dragons to keep up with the G.o.ddess because of their abilities. And it was impossible for them to communicate with the Refractive Dragon.

Raiders couldnt figure out what the next course of action should be.

Grid shrugged. You dont need to worry. Just take a break.

A break...?

Sleep for a hundred years. You will regain your strength when you wake up.

And then?

Once you open your eyes, eat something. Call Idan and tell him to prepare a lot of dishes.

What next?

Who knows? Why dont you go on a food tour?

......?

Live as freely as you want, just like in the days when the Refractive Dragon was sealed. As I said before, isnt it the worlds providence that humans, G.o.ds, and dragons ultimately live according to their own wishes?

There is no way that the providence of the world can apply to me, since Im an apostle of the foreign G.o.d...

Is there a difference? After all, what the foreign G.o.d wants is for this world to keep existing. If you live freely and see something that threatens the peace of this world, something like the cultivators, then step in and help. Its that simple. You can live according to providence while also acting as an apostle of the foreign G.o.d.

I agree, Nevartan said. Taking a break is the right call. If I wake up in a hundred years and there is still no contact from the foreign G.o.d, then I can just do whatever I want.

Raiders was intrigued. Nevartan, do you have any hobbies?

Do I need to have a hobby? Nevartan answered casually before suddenly glaring at Grid. Grid, even though you are great, my daughter is still young.

Huh?

At the very least, keep in mind that you cant marry her before I wake up.

Who is marrying whom? Are you crazy?

You know that my madness has been cured a long time ago.

Is keeping an eye on your child your hobby...? Grid asked, agitated.

The old dragons ignored Grids response because they were embarra.s.sed and frustrated. They exchanged a few more words before dispersing in the direction of their respective lairs.

The rankers watching this were amazed.

[You have received the Blessing of the Gourmet Dragon, Raiders.]

[You have received the Blessing of the Insane Dragon, Nevartan.]

Strength boiled in rankers bodies. Buffs they never imagined before now stacked. They were brave, but they wondered if they were really capable of destroying all the remaining Full Moon Fortresses.

Grid... Grid blessed us...!!

The rankers suddenly came to their senses and started chanting Grids name. They mistakenly thought that Grids influence was behind the blessings received from the old dragons.

The special status of Dragon Knight was quite misleading.

Haha...

Grid laughed awkwardly. He felt very proud. The old dragons had blessed the players probably because they planned to leave the rest to the humans while they were taking a break.

In other words, the dragons of the world believed that humans were strong enough.

The world has changed so much.

Grid was happy.

Seeing that Grid didnt look so injured anymore, the three masters asked, [Not yet?]

Grid shook his head. I still have to wait for a while longer. Hey, why dont you stay with Piaro while I rest?

[...The farmer? Why should we?]

I think your abilities will be of great help to Piaros farming.

[Why should we help him farm?]

You dont have anything to do anyway, right?

[We can just... follow you around.]

Please dont. Piaro is my closest confidant, so you will still be close to me.

[Even if that is the case, why should we...]

Grid wanted to put an end to this conversation. Then what, are you just going to waste time doing nothing? Even the old dragons are trying to do

something

. Are you going to just sit around?

In any case, he would get forcefully logged out soon.

[Excuse me... Excuse me, Grid?]

Grid asked the clone to take care of the rest and logged out.