[You have suffered catastrophic damage!]

[A legend doesnt die easily. You can resist all attacks for 5 seconds with a minimum of health.]

U-Ugh!

In the collapsed wreckage of the castle, Yuras head was dizzy as she barely escaped from the pile of rocks. Why was Grid in a place like this? Why did he attack her? Furthermore, she was driven to death with one blow? She had never imagined this situation. It was difficult to make a reasonable judgment due to the confusion that surged in like a tsunami. Her willpower was scattered. She didnt know what she was doing, what situation she was in, and what she had to do.

No. Yura gritted her teeth and regained her composure. Grid didnt have a reason to visit hell at the present time. The opponent who attacked her couldnt be Grid.

Thats right.

This person isnt Grid.

Her confusion was settled. Yura moved through the remnants of the castle. Then she confronted the mysterious person who had driven her to death in a single blow.

Grid... Yuras eyes widened as she confirmed the name of the mysterious person. The name Grid was present on top of the person who looked like Grid. However, the golden shining name made him clearly different from Grid. He had the symbol of a named NPC.

What is this?

Why did a named NPC version of Grid exist, and why was he located in hell? In the midst of her growing confusion, Yura made several hypotheses.

Is it Yatan black magic? Were they trying to assassinate her for betraying the church? Perhaps there is a demonkin that can copy peoples appearances...

In any case, he was an enemy. Yura drank a potion and aimed her gun at Grids head.

Question, the demonkin who borrowed Grids appearance spoke in a voice that also resembled Grids, Are you human? Are you the same creature as Grid?

...! The demonkins question was enough to increase Yuras confusion. Do you know Grid?

Then demonkins questions continued. Surprise. It is the first time Ive seen a human here.

...

Question. Can Grid come here?

He knew about Grid and was obsessed with Grid? Yura heard the question and asked, Are you looking for someone called Grid?

Answer. Thats right.

What is your relationship with him?

Answer. There is no relationship.

Then why are you looking for him?

Answer. I have to kill him.

Why?

Answer. I was born for the sake of killing Grid.

You... Who are you?

Subtle. Grid?

... Yuras hair started rising. She felt an extreme fear despite the man in front of her having the same appearance, voice, and name as Grid. However, she wasnt afraid of him because he was strong. This was a more primitive type of fear. The man cocked his head. Question. Does our conversation mean anything?

... Yura stepped back. This wasnt an unidentified monster whose ego was incomplete but a bomb that she couldnt deal with. So, she turned around and ran away.

Pagmas Swordsmanship, Flower. Dozens of energy blades reminiscent of a flower blooming appeared.

...!! Yuras vision flashed red. Once again, the blow dealt her a serious injury. Fortunately, her health was still in the unit of 10s. She escaped from the ruins without looking back. However, the man in the hall didnt chase after her. Instead, he returned his rusted sword to its sheath and muttered, Difficult. Need to find a new home...

Who was he? He had never thought about it. He only knew that he had to kill Grid.

***

I will make it so that the gangster cant piss anymore! Funny, how funny! How are the other rankers so incompetent that they are pushed by that fool?

There was a small city with a population of 30,000 at the eastern end of the Gauss KingdomPenan. It was a city that Merchant King Kir had bought for a large sum of 20 million gold. He had paid 10 billion won in cash, but he hadnt thought it was a waste of money.

If he developed the city as planned, he would be able to withdraw his investment in seven years of game time and turn it into a surplus. Yet it was all wasted now because of Grid. The first large-scale project that wouldve been a stepping stone for profit had failed due to Grids interference. This morning, he lost more money than what his city was worth.

Kir resented Grids ignorance more than his evil.

Stupid bastard! Doesnt he know that joining hands with me will result in a huge profit for him? Why did he have to make me so tired by becoming my enemy?

It was always like this. Low intelligence caused disgust to form inside him. In short, Grid was a lump of cancer. Reminded of Grid, Kir was feeling resentful and irritated when he received good news.

Earl Taru has promised to support with his troops.

Okay. It is natural. Originally, Penan had been one of Earl Tarus countless cities. The amount of money Kir had given Earl Taru in the process of purchasing Penan was significant. How much money did I give him? He cant refuse my request if he has a conscience.

Kir was in a dangerous condition because he had lost many troops and three knights to Grid. His top priority was securing as many troops as possible. He had to expand his business quickly to recover the lost money, but this required force. As soon as he resurrected, he had contacted Immortal in order to secure some military strength.

I didnt think we would meet this way. The door opened and a white-haired man appeared. The man who shook hands with Kir was Veradin.

Merchant King Kir smiled brightly and grabbed Veradins hand with both hands. Thank you for accepting the invitation.

I am the one who should be thankful.

Immortal had lost their place due to the Overgeared Kingdoms killing order. It was hard to find a safe place to go since they were always chased by players. Then they received an invitation from Merchant King Kir. It was a proposal to stay in Kirs city.

Veradin faced Kir and smiled. Were you hit by Grid?

...What? Kir hadnt said anything about what hed gone through and why he had called Immortal. So why did Grids name pop up randomly?

Veradin shrugged at the confused Kir. Arent you famous for always putting your best interests first? If you were in a normal situation, you wouldnt go against Grid by inviting us.

Yes, Kir wouldnt do anything against Grid unless he was an idiot. Thats why Veradin guessed that Kir had already been hit by Grid. Kir sighed deeply. Well... I didnt intend to hide it. Your guess is right. I was hit by that damn Grid and have a debt to repay.

Veradins eyes shone. Interesting. Why dont you tell me more?

The beginning started with...

Kir needed Immortals cooperation and was obliged to make them a perfect ally. So, he explained in detail about what happened to him. However, he reduced the amount of damage hed suffered and hid his relationship with the Yatan Church. Then the lengthy explanation ended.

Yes. You went through a lot of trouble. You also suffered damage from the villain called Grid. Okay. Immortal will stay here and help you. Victims should help each other. Otherwise, who will help us? Veradin gave Kir a satisfactory answer. We will make this place our base and reserve our strength. Immortal will do our best to carry out your instructions.

Good. I will also support Immortal by providing items. By the way... what about Agnus?

In fact, it was because of Agnus that Kir first thought about Immortal. The world message which spoke about Agnus becoming a legend gave Kir hope. He assumed that it would be easier to get revenge on Grid if he had Agnus. However, he couldnt see Agnus here at all. He was feeling troubled by how Veradin responded like it was nothing, Isnt Agnus famous? At this moment, he is freely wandering the continent and enjoying the moment.

What about the kill order?

What is the use of a kill order against him? Who would dare to hurt Agnus apart from Grid directly?"

Haha! I see.

Yes, dont worry. Agnus will arrive after we deal with the miscellaneous matters.

That was a lie. Veradin had lost Agnus trust due to the Reinhardt invasion, so Agnus attitude was now very different from the past. He didnt leave any tasks to Veradin and completely neglected Immortal. However, Veradin couldnt reveal this fact. It was obvious that Immortal would be nothing without Agnus. Additionally, he believed that Agnus would find him again someday.

Shall we talk about future plans?

First of all, I will raise money. I will gather money from all types of commercial areas, regardless of means and methods. I will then develop talent and weapons.

Is this to defend yourself against Grid?

That isnt enough. I must take everything away from Grid.

Haha! It is a great mindset. Okay. Lets join forces to flatten Grid.

Is it enough to flatten Grid? We will destroy everything. Hahaha!

The sound of the two mens laughter filled the colorfully decorated office.

The two men planned to get revenge on Grid and believed it was fully feasible. After all, the stronger the Overgeared Kingdom became, the more people became jealous of them. Thus, Kir and Veradin were confident that they could trample on the Overgeared Kingdom.

This was something Grid and Lauel were concerned about. They couldnt give any room to people who had already become enemies.

K-Kir!

Veradin! He came!

...?

The cheerfully laughing Veradin and Kir closed their mouths and stiffened at the same time. Their faces turned pale as their rushing colleagues explained the situation.

What?

***

At that time, I was careless.

Thats right.

Boutian and Arisathe two high rankers belonging to Merchant King Kirs forcesreplayed the fight in the forest.

It was a shame when I tried to use magic to blow him away. It wouldve been enough to tie up his feet.

If he had blocked the movements that were required for Pagmas Swordsmanship, Grids power wouldve been weakened by several times. They had analyzed Grids weak points in the National Competition videos but hadnt been able to utilize them due to their greed.

Boutian was filled with frustration while Arisa confessed honestly, We made a lot of mistakes. I was too conscious of Blackening and got caught off guard. It wouldve been easier if I did my best from the beginning...

Then Tarot, who was sitting quietly between the two people, laughed. You shouldve taken me along. I wouldve been able to hunt Grid easily. Isnt that right?

Tarot was someone with Blackening, like Grid. He had gained a mighty power during a great demon quest and evolved into a half-demonkin. Even Boutian and Arisa were deeply regretful that he hadnt encountered Grid at this time.

Ah, it was a chance to hunt him and get bonuses.

It couldnt be helped. You had a separate mission.

That was a mistake in the first place. If you waited until my mission ended, you wouldnt have gone through such humiliation... Huh? Tarot was blaming Kirs stupidity when he let out a sound of confusion. He rubbed his eyes a few times before pointing at the gate.

Isnt that Grid?

What?

Boutian and Arisa frowned at the same time. They thought that Tarot was joking in this serious atmosphere. Tarot licked his lips like he had a delicious meal in front of him. Ah, how bad is a humans vision? It has been a few months since Ive been a human, so I have forgotten.

What are you doing?

It was too much to fool around. Boutian and Arisa became confused as Tarot suddenly used Blackening. Unfortunately, Tarot wasnt joking right now. He pulled out a red sword and jumped toward the gate. Then a white sword of light flew and pierced his brow.

...Eh? Tarot was stunned as he lost half his health from the one blow. He lost his momentum and fell helplessly. Then a man passed by him, and Tarot was hit with hundreds of energy blades and turned to gray.

Boutian and Arise hurriedly shouted, E-Emergency!

Gather the entire army right now!

100,000 Army Massacre Sword.

...!!

Alarm bells rang as a wild beast appeared in the city.